Does Baptist matter in Collinsville Alabama /914Update for Martha, Brad and Butch

Thursday Sept 14 Update from the Berry Library:
As the great evangelist T Perry Brannon with whom my Grandfather WD Shorty Fox was deeply enamored in the great Revivals of Rome Georgia and Lindale in the 30's and 40's; as T Perry Would Say: Dearly Beloved
But this is fox talking now to the church where myMother was baptized. If Dr. Morgan, if what he is telling you on Sunday night the next several weeks in Bible Study does not for the most part mirror what I have just read Carolyn Crumpler of the WMU and Sam Hill who himself and his father both have degrees from Southern Seminary before it became a branch of Karl Rove's political machinations
If what Morgan is telling you does not mirror the testimony of Sam Hill and Crumpler in the UTenn Published book by Carl Kell Exiled; then he wittingly or un is LYING to you.
I know that is a strong word by the testimonies in this book are strong. Balmer's book is available. Kell is there. By several copies and pass them around. Engage the pastor and local bullies on this matter. Do something your grandchildren will be proud of you for doing, as Jon Templeton's will be of him and Jeffers of Him and Grissom of him, as I am of my Mother for walking out on Charles Stanley's convention sermon in 1986 cause she knew it was a bunch of hogwash.
Donnie Myers asked a good question of David Currie and company when the good baptists came to town in Feb of 02: "Why Bring it Here?"
Kell's book answers that question in stronger ways in my experience than Dr. Morgan could even begin to imagine, even if he had the guts to tell you if he did imagine the truth in this matter.
This ain't Kansas anymore and hasn't been for about 25 years now.
John and Susan are finding it out in Americus, Matthew had to learn a few things at Yale; Becky knows out there in Waco, and about time somebody told Donnie Myers and many others of you who ought to know better the same.
Stephen.
Don't worry about me. I'll be home soon.
Alert the amphibious squadron.

Martha: Others beside you and your deacon Son Brad and Dr. Morgan are key to keeping Collinsville Baptist Church in the Honest Baptist column, but I name you as Instructive.
As I think I have told you before I found the Dekalb Advertiser profile of the Collinsville Study Clubs interesting in one particular area this last year; that is where it said back in the 30's I think it was, your study clubs became less about books and ideas and more about flowers.
I think it can be read into that, whatever other virtues some of you may bring to the table, the kabballah on that sentiment is you become a club about status and who had money in town and who wanted it and who wanted little touch of aristocracy.
So towhatever merit you and your family may bring to the table, it is all for nought if you can't buck up to the forces that are rapidly putting the nails in the coffin on whatever was good and pure and true about the legacy of Grissom, Jeffers, Appleton, and the best of the Jordans, a consensus of which I gather would be any of the offspring but me.
So as you said in the Hardware a few days ago, you are busy. I believe you, especially here near Quiltwalk time and the street name change that may go with it this year. It may be more than just a street, because it may be the end of the neighborhood symbollically as far as Baptist goes.
That is why I consider your Bible Study important, and challenge you and Donnie Myers, and Brad and Sherrie Pruett and Buddy Acker to do a little outside reading.
Off campus, I am hoping Susan Weaver Morgan and her husband--they are becoming quite enamored of President Carter and weekly becoming more intune with his views of what it means to be a Baptist, and that should scare the beejeesus out of the Fortner crowd back at the home church, where it was recently brought to my attention by a new blogging friend at Baylor, the Christian Coalition is now linked on the website of the church where my Momma was baptized. Becky Kennedy is a little peeved at me in all this, but it would be interesting for you and Donnie to get a statement from her if it really matters what a Baptist is in Collinsville, Alabama anymore.
I am in the Berry College Library now, where they have a copy of Carl Kell's book Exiled. This collection of essays includes one by Paul Simmons, the man whose name I broached earlier this year in Sunday School; the conversation ensuing that so outraged your Son and Dr. Morgan.
It gets pretty close to exhausting the questions I have for Morgan and Gloria and Casey Mattox in their annual emphasis on abortion.
In all kindness and candor, not much aristocracy to your Study Clubs and or leadership in the religious and civic life of the community if you and Brad cannot influence the church and local library to get a copy of this book, and use your considerable intelligence to ask your pastor appropriate questions PUBLICLY, in this study of what it means to be a Baptist in Collinsville Alabama.
I am more than happy to do what I Can to help bring Jon Appleton to town to help shed some light on the matter. I have to believe he has more insight into the discussion than Bill Fortner and or the woman who got a quickie aside torpedo remark at the close of choir practice just a short time ago saying, no denominations don't really matter at all.
If not, why don't she and Fortner start a nondenominational church out on the INterstate and yall let me back in the local babdiss and see if we can't refire some creative thinking about Baptist Christian Ministry.
Rae or Joey Bobo can help you fast access Kell's Book published by the University of Tennessee.
Or you can go on business as usual with certificates to the Librarian in the Presence on Congressman Aderholt.
Uncle Bill thought a lot of you and I think you know in your heart I do not hold you in as low esteem as some of my detractors may try to spin this straightforward dissent in the church community.
I think I can speak for Appleton and Grissom that a lot is at stake in these matters.
I hope you and Brad can do a better job on these matters than you have done in the last several years as the town ideology has taken a decided dive. In the end it may not be the magnificent STevie after all that fumbled the ball.
Read Kell, Read Russ Beene's Friend Balmer.
Ask tougher questions in Bible STudy.
Demand the goofiness stop by 15 after the hour so you may have time for serious study.
Go for it Martha. Your namesake in the Holy Bible is calling you out.

Stephen Fox
Berry Library
Rome Georgia
Justabout Supper time Sept 14
two miles from the Flower Garden in my Dad's Honor at the Floyd Baptist Associational offices, the site of his elementary school.



And here is another article that really matters if anyone in collinsville really cares what really matters in this discussion. Hugo Black, lead paragraph of this article; his grandson spoke in collinsville April of this year, but casey mattox goes blindly on doing his thing with www.clsnet.org
Here is an article that matters; and if it only matters to me and Big Daddy Weave and the like then so be it.
www.christiancentury.org/article.lasso?id=2349


Tuesday Sept 12 update:
The pastor has made at least two, maybe three trips to Israel. To my knowledge he continues to refuse to read Charles Kimball's great book When Religion Becomes Evil, whose author one of his travelers on the last trip to Israel was invited to meet when Kimball was in Montgomery April 03.
The church needs to ask itself squarely in the face Is this the kind of Baptist they want to be
www.ethicsdaily.com/article_detail.cfm?AID=7879
The pastor differs with his own sister in law Mary about the end times. I heard him in person when she was in the room in Sunday School about two years ago shortly after they left Smyth and Helwys literature to take up Tim LaHaye. Mary pretty much bought it, while the preacher, his 1st son and daughter in law did not.
To Mary's credit however, she has raised a son, Troy, who had the Al Pacino part in The Merchant of Venice in one of Atlanta's Better theatres recently. Would be great if Troy would come over and do a standup for the Collinsville City Council, the Part "hath a Jew not eyes, dimensions"; as some of them are crestfallen they can no longer use the N word at will, and now they hold Hispanics as less than. Troy could accent a teachable moment in Gloria and her sister will get on the program in this matter.
And you will want to all see Big Daddy Weave's comment in the Fight him with Words post. He is interfacing with Collinsville products at Baylor, the pastor's #1 son is going to hear President Carter this Sunday; and as a lot of you know Carter has written a recent book on the mindset of the takeover artists and Richard Land, the counterfeit, that Collinsville Baptist church now supports with its cooperative program dollars.
You would have to expect that a church chocked full of public school teachers, a profession, the SBC seems hell bent on eviscerating, would have the competence to deal with this question the preacher is addressing on the next several Sunday nights.
The preacher has asked a timely question, finally. Pray to God Martha and the Study clubs will have the gumption to prevail in this discussion, and the legacy of John Bulow Appleton, Fred Grissom and John Jeffers; not to mention Truett, Roy Honeycutt, Bill Hull, Bill Leonard, Molly Marshall, Paul Simmons and others that taught or Morgan went to school with; Pray it all was not for naught in the church and community where my Mother was baptized.


Original Post
And here is a great link to set Dr. Morgan's study course off in the right direction, a conversation that includes Russ Beene's good friend Randall Balmer


http://blog.faithinpubliclife.org/2006/08/faith_in_public_live_mainstrea.html




The newsletter link at www.collinsvillebaptist.com says that during the next few weeks the church that voted off the property May 28 by a vote of 32-20 a free lance writer routinely published in Baptists Today during the 90's, a man who was the driving force in Bringing David Currie, Kat Allen and Mark Bagget to the church where his mother was baptized; this church will be having a series of talks on does the Baptist denomination matter in the 21st Century.
Just three years or so ago, a woman who some believe has become the most influential force in the church and the community answered the question in the negative, Denominations don't matter. It is her concern that with the local ministerial association sponsored a a free weenie deal the Sat before Labor Day this year; just a few month after April 4 when she told me I was not invited to any function her concerns had anything to do with. which raises the question is that the view of the local minister's association. More specifically, if a Christian group uses her services and that Christian group invites me to be a part of their get together, can she ban me; and if she can what part of the Minister's Association or their various outreaches is in fact Christian if they deal with such an exclusivist as her.
But back to Baptists. I am indeed fascinated they are having this discussion, since it was announced in Sunday School this year, there would be no discussion of baptist politics or the takeover of the SBc in that church. The pastor said so, and the head deacon was right there when he said it.
So looks like the reading list for this study course will be narrow indeed.
Even so if any body in the church actually gives a damn, here are a few unsolicited suggestions for the pastor and his wife and their church.
Stricklin's Geneaology of Dissent.
Barry Hankins: Uneasy in Babylon; hint a copy is in the Ft. Payne Library and it was written by a man who teaches where Becky is on staff
Buddy Shurden's pamphlet How We Got That Way. Ms. Wilkins has the phone number or you can get in touch with him and or read the pamphlet clickin around at www.baptistlife.com > I know some folks know the site cause almost every week during the spring they were copying stuff off there and puttin it on the bulletin board at the Post oFFICE ON post office stree.t
And here is one written by Lynn Gilbreath Beene's Son Russ's friend Randall Balmer: Thy Kingdom Come. Has a chapter Where Have All the Baptists Gone?
Short answer is we know not many of them went to Collinsville Baptist Church and joined there and the one that did got voted off the property May 28.
Last night Curtis said he got voted off too. We both laughed.
So if you live in the area, or Lamar, not far for you to drive over from Rockmart, drop in this discussion on Sunday evenings at 6 Bama time and see if you can make any sense of this deal that has every bit of the makings of another whitewash.
The pastor can blog, can respond to this post as he made daily dispatches from Israel back in the summer. Would love to hear him justify his syllabus whatever it is. I have reported before two sons went to UVA, one to Duke and one interned for Congressman Aderholt.
One son and his significant other I got word today will be at FBC Americus Ga this Sunday to hear President Carter. If they have a sense of humor, I may join them.
I have contacted Big Daddy Weave to see if he can get the Baylor Collinsville connection on the record about all this. With Big Daddy, at least two former interns for the Baptist Joint Committee know about this study course in Collinsville.
And of course I will be letting Jon Appleton know.
Which direction is this local congregation gonna go. Great case study for Hankins class out there at Baylor, Big Daddy, if yall are paying attention.
Church phone number is 256-524-2367 but it is unlikely you can get the preacher during Wednesday night Prayer meeting as he is usually playing volleyball during that hour.

Sfox
If you can make it over on the night they talk about Baptist history of dissent; please bring a tape recorder. Love to hear how they deal with that one; and whether or not somebody with the Historical Association will print up a copy of the discourse for the local lyberry.