Exiled: Voices of the Southern Baptist Convention Holy War

by Carl L. Kell (Editor)

 It has been one of the major news stories in religion and culture of the past twenty-five years. From 1979 to 1995, the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) was rocked by assaults on its leadership by fundamentalists, who used questionable
tactics to gain top positions and then used their power to purge Baptist seminary presidents and professors, church pastors, lay leaders, and women from positions of responsibility. America's largest Christian, non-Catholic denomination is firmly locked in a “holy war” to secure its churches and membership for a never-ending struggle against a liberal culture.

Voices of the Southern Baptist Convention Holy War is a compilation of first-person narratives by conservative and moderate ministers and lay leaders who were stripped of their positions and essentially became pariahs in the churches to which they had devoted their lives.

While other books have described the takeover in historical, political, and theological terms, Exiled is different. Individual people tell their personal stories, revealing the struggle and heartache that resulted from being vilified, dispossessed, and exiled. Kell includes a variety of perspectives-from lay preachers and church members to prominent former SBC leaders such as James Dunn and Carolyn Crumpler.

The emotion captured on the pages-sadness, shock, disbelief, resignation,
and anger-will make Exiled moving even to readers who know little about the Southern Baptist movement. Exiled will also be of particular interest to historians, sociologists, philosophers of religion, and rhetorical historians.

Genres: History

240 pages, Paperback

First published April 15, 2006

Reviews

[Kathy Stone · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many parallels between this Church environment and other parts of life.

[Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This compilation of essays by (formerly) Southern Baptist ministers and lay leaders during the fundamentalist takeover of 1979-1995 chronicles the personal experiences of the authors during the years of the takeover. The authors also discuss their feelings associated with being exiled from the church with which they strongly identified and to which they had devoted their lives. For readers unfamiliar with the world of Southern Baptists as it used to be versus as it is now, this book clarifies in a compelling way just what happened, what Baptists used to and should stand for, and how the Southern Baptist Convention of today is not truly Baptist any more.
[p.s. My father was on the losing end of this battle and is quoted in this book, so I obviously found this book more interesting than some folks might.]

[Stacey Gish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed reading the personal accounts of pastors and lay people when the conservative movement took over the SBC. For those readers interested in or who grew up in Southern Baptist life, it's sad to read how well-known leaders were pushed aside so publicly because of a few differences in opinion. Some of these leaders were openly criticized, their faith and salvation doubted, their past work dismissed.