The past week has been a time of good memories and exciting moments.
Last week, I started reading a copy of a book that will be published soon: A Search for Authentic Christianity, by Dr. Nat Tracy. I studied under Dr. Tracy at Howard Payne. He has been gone now for at least 30 years.
Dr. Gary Manning, long‑time professor and friend from Wayland Baptist University, has revised, rearranged, updated, and edited this glorious book and found a publisher for it. I could not be more excited! Reading it brings back so many wonderful memories of taking Dr. Tracy for eight different courses. Yet I remember that, in truth, I heard Dr. Tracy teach “What Christianity Means to God,” as understood by Nat Tracy, eight times!
Dr. Tracy would often say, “we have come dangerously close to missing authentic Christianity in America.” He believed that we tend to understand salvation from a human perspective rather than God’s perspective. Man focuses on “being saved out of life,” whereas God is focused on “saving people to become more like God and partner with Him in this life.”
To my mind, Dr. Tracy rightly reasoned that, since God originated the Christian faith by sending Christ to live, die, and be raised among us, we need to try to understand “what Christianity means to God.”
I am praying that, when this book is published, someone with the means and the conviction will spend the money needed to send a copy to every pastor in Texas. I am praying that every Texas Baptist university and seminary will use it as a textbook, and that all Baptist universities and seminaries across America will do the same. I promise you it is that good. I also promise to let you know as soon as it is available for purchase.
Last Friday night, I attended the Baptists Today dinner in Greensboro, North Carolina (as a part of the New Baptist Covenant meeting held at Wake Forest), at which Dr. James Dunn received the Judson-Rice award. I teared up as James talked about the “glorious quartet” of which he was a part. He was speaking of the first four directors of the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission – Foy Valentine, Jimmy Allen, James Dunn, and Phil Strickland. He said that he often finds himself saying, “I need to call Foy or Phil and ask them about this or that.” Oh my, how many times do I hear myself saying the same thing?
Funny how these two people – Nat Tracy and James Dunn – keep coming back into my life. I met both of them my first semester at Howard Payne, and they shaped my understanding of God. As I reflect on God’s intervention in my life, I can’t help but think how blessed I was to sign up for Dr. Tracy’s Old Testament class. I had no idea who he was – his class just fit my schedule, my freshman year at Howard Payne. Then, that first fall, I met James Dunn when he came to Howard Payne and spoke and then came to our dorm Bible Study and dialogued with about 10 of us for over 2 hours. That was my first introduction to Christian Ethics – 38 years ago.
On Monday, many of us spent a great day at two very special meetings in Brownwood.
That morning, we had a wonderful TBC-BGCT Hope for the Future meeting at First Baptist Church, Brownwood. I was pleased with the attendance, and our speakers provided a lot of valuable information about the work of BGCT institutions. It’s exciting to see the enthusiasm for the BGCT and its ministries. They touch many lives.
One of our speakers was Lanny Hall, president of Howard Payne. One of the most important points made by Dr. Hall was that the BGCT is the largest single contributor to Howard Payne. As a member of the Howard Payne University Board of Trustees, I’m keenly aware of the critical importance of the BGCT’s contribution to Howard Payne. That’s very important to me – because Howard Payne University touched me in so many ways, very special ways.
Then, Monday afternoon, we held the Currie-Strickland Distinguished Lectures in Christian Ethics, which focused on the relationship of Christian ethics and evangelism to the problem of world hunger. Bill Tillman and Jim Denison made presentations that would take your breath away. I wish 1,000 people could have heard them and, in fact, they will be able to. We plan – within the next few weeks – to post, on our TBC Web site (www.txbc.org), video presentations of last year’s inaugural lectures by Jimmy Allen, Richard Jackson, and David Sapp; as well as this year’s lectures by Bill Tillman and Jim Denison. We’ll alert you by email when we post them, and I urge you to watch and listen. You will learn a lot and be moved.
Having these lectures in my name is the greatest honor I will ever receive. I know I’m not worthy, but it is very special to me. And to share it with the finest man I ever knew, Phil Strickland, makes it even more wonderful.