Texas Baptists Committed - A Rancher's Rumblings, June 24, 2008

Experiencing Elvis
Loretta and I enjoyed a wonderful trip to Memphis to attend the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship General Assembly. She had never been to Memphis, so we went a few days early to tour Graceland and Sun Studio and remember Elvis.

Sun Studio was the most fun part for me. Hearing the history and seeing where Elvis, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and others recorded their first songs was nostalgic and moving for me. Everyone knows I love music.

One stop we had to make was Graceland, Elvis’s home. Mother, Lance, Chad, and I visited there years ago during a drive to Nashville for a Mainstream meeting, but this was Loretta’s first time to see Graceland. I enjoyed seeing all the gold records and thinking about what a once-in-a-lifetime talent he really was.

Across from Graceland is all of the commercial stuff, except for Elvis’s cars and two airplanes. A gift shop, of course, awaits you no matter which way you exit. There, you can buy everything imaginable carrying Elvis’s picture or name.

Being a history buff, I started searching for a good biography of Elvis. Notice I said a “good” biography – not an Elvis “adoration” book or a “slam” Elvis book. Well, I found one – a two-volume biography written by Peter Guralnick. So far, I have read 252 pages of volume 1, titled Last Train to Memphis. I look forward to reading volume 2, titled Careless Love.

Let me share a few facts that I found fascinating. Elvis’ first real girlfriend was Dixie Locke. He was 18, and she was 15. They met at the First Assembly of God Church in Memphis. They soon found that they loved going to hear the Blackwood Brothers together. In fact, Dixie’s Sunday School teacher was the wife of one of the Blackwood Brothers. If I remember correctly, Dixie ended up serving the same church as a secretary a few years later.

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Until Guralnick interviewed her in preparation for his book, Dixie had refused to discuss her long relationship with Elvis. She described a very sweet, shy young man who was always very polite and very close to his mother.

I was fascinated to read a May 1955 interview with Elvis, in which he was asked about the traveling he had done the previous 2 months. He replied, “Yes, ma’am, I’ve covered a lot – mostly in West Texas is where, that’s where my records are hottest. Around San Angelo and Lubbock and Midland and Amarillo . . .“

This week, while visiting with Terry Gayle, pastor of the Cowboy Church of San Angelo, I asked Terry – who grew up in San Angelo – whether he knew that Elvis played in San Angelo at the City Auditorium in early 1955. He grinned and replied, “I sure do. I was there.”

So let me ask you, readers – who among you actually saw Elvis in person? If you did, please email me. I’m anxious to hear your stories. Personally, I consider him the greatest singer in the history of the world. You may disagree – if so, please go listen to “Love me Tender” or “Can’t Help Falling in Love with You,” and see if you can keep from tearing up. You just can’t do it.

Experiencing CBF
I really enjoyed this year’s General Assembly. There were, of course, the great meals I attended – sponsored by the Associated Baptist Press and the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty. As always, they featured some amazing speakers. I especially enjoyed hearing my friend Daniel Vestal preach. I was also moved by the testimony of Lauran Bethell, who received the Baptist World Alliance’s Human Rights Award for her ministry to women trapped in the world of prostitution trafficking. This is the third time I’ve heard her speak. She is a gifted preacher, and – believe me – she preached the Word.

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TBC and CBF have always been separate organizations – each with its own distinct goals and ministries. But I continue to struggle to understand the reluctance shown by some Texas Baptists to support CBF. Yes, CBF break-out sessions are occasionally led by someone who thinks way “outside the box,” which was the case with John Killinger this year. But one of the purposes of such meetings is to challenge us to think seriously and deeply about the full implications of the Gospel for our lives. I understand feeling threatened by those who tell us what to think. But we shouldn’t feel threatened by those who give us new things to think about. What we do with it is still up to us.

I still find it puzzling to see Baptists support the Southern Baptist Convention despite the actions of its leadership. SBC leadership does everything it can to control and exclude. This year’s elections demonstrate another hard turn in that direction. SBC leaders criticize the BGCT and CBF over anything with which they disagree – no matter how trivial. That is no way to build God’s Kingdom or treat God’s people. Yet some Baptists continue to support them.

Next year, CBF will meet in Houston. If you are a Texas Baptist pastor, and you’ve never been to CBF, I’m anxious for you to experience next year’s CBF meeting in Houston. I hope you’ll go with an open mind and see what CBF is really all about.

These are critical days for the Baptist witness. The world sees vastly different interpretations of what it means to be a Baptist. As we’ve seen, there’s a gulf between the SBC Baptist way and the CBF Baptist way. We need to be reading God’s Word with open minds and hearts, and asking God to help us understand what it really means to be a Baptist and how we can most effectively partner with Him in spreading the Kingdom. That’s what it’s really all about.

I close with one final thought – Elvis was the King, but not the King of Kings! And being Baptist is about experiencing the freedom of Christ, not the control of man.