Marcia Phillips, coordinator of the Davie County Public Library History Room, has been working as a part-time Metadata Specialist for Special Collections & Archives over the past year. Her focus has been on describing the tapes we had digitized as part of our 2018 CLIR grant. She recently gave a presentation to the Association of Librarians and Archivists at Baptist Repositories (ALABI) and this presentation follows below:
ALABI Conference Presentation by Marcia Phillips
Documenting the Evangelical Movement of the 20th Century within the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina has been the work of the staff members of the Special Collections Department for some time. Wake Forest University was the primary repository for over a century of the materials of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina and hundreds of its churches. This particular collection is now digitized from 1500 original reel-to-reel tapes submitted by the convention. This project was supported by a Recordings at Risk grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR). The grant program is made possible by funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
The Baptist Historical Collection began to include recordings of convention meetings during the mid 20th century and this particular group spans 1938-1980, capturing a time of tremendous growth and also transition in the State Baptist Convention. It is a unique collection, occurring as emerging technology allowed for the first time the capacity to capture and preserve the ability to hear the actual spoken words from convention floors including the speaker’s tone, inflection and often passion, which brings insight and clarity but also transmitted the heat of challenges during a crucial time in the convention’s existence.
The recordings feature a wide range of types and subjects. Many are sermons preached to “messengers,” as the attendees are called, as the cornerstone of convention meetings and in specialized conferences on topics like evangelism or the family. Many others were convention business meetings that served its purposes, from the mundane election of officers to often heated discussions of resolutions and hot topics of the day…and there were plenty of these. Still other tapes were informative speeches on topics such as psychology, creationism and even telephone etiquette. Finally some were of music, ranging from classic organ hymns to gospel songs by church choirs to Debby Boone singing “You Light Up My Life” and even “What the World Needs now is Love, sweet love.”
These tapes also provide a microcosmic view of the shifting tides of the evangelical movement in the last century. The times they were indeed changing and the Baptists discussed, adjusted, resisted, adapted and changed as needed. Speakers represented old and new forces at work in evangelical Christianity, alongside the reading of ancient words.
The Baptists of North Carolina have always embraced new means of communicating the Gospel, as evidenced by early tapes that explained how best to capitalize on the then new technology of radio broadcasting (the Baptists were among the first to utilize it among denominations) and this collection includes a selection of 15 minute radio broadcasts from the 1940s.
However, recording it was a learning curve, as all technology provides, where many speakers, especially in the convention meetings, seemed to forget the presence of a microphone while others found it an enhancing friend. After all, it was the era of Billy Graham, a North Carolina native son who was also a repeated speaker on these tapes. Preaching is a physical as well as vocal exercise and being tied to a microphone created its own dilemmas. Preachers wandered around the platform, away from the stationary microphone, for some time before technology introduced the idea of it being attached and traveling with them.
The tapes, particularly business meetings, also featured speeches from the audience. Volumes waxed and waned and often required repeated close listening to a voice far removed from the mike. Technological issues included the original sound volume being too low, echoes, mechanical shrills and the habit of recording over previously recorded material. Seemingly there must have been a surplus of copies of Handel’s Messiah as performed by the Wake Forest College Choir available for reuse. On more than one occasion, a testy business meeting would conclude its recording, only to be followed by a rousing rendition of the Hallelujah Chorus. Oddly it often seemed more appropriate than incongruous.
There was much to be discussed on the convention floor in the second half of the 20th century, with multiple topics falling under the broad LCSH heading of Christianity and Culture – Civil Rights, the Feminist Movement, abortion, the motion picture and rock music industries’ influence on Baptist youth, the Vietnam War and even the effect of the Baby Boom generation’s coming-of-age upon the capacities of the convention’s seven colleges and universities.
One college in particular underwent massive changes in a physical move across the state and also shifting priorities. Wake Forest College morphed from a small Baptist school into a world class university during this 40 year span with the ensuing shifts in leadership on its board of trustees and administration as the Baptists reluctantly let their “grown daughter leave home” (this a direct quotation and oft repeated analogy of their conundrum). It is fitting those taped debates landed here at Wake Forest University because they reveal this institution’s transformation.
The implications of so much upheaval in the society troubled Baptist convention messengers but also challenged them to stay true to their calling and to the 1925 and then the 1963 Baptist Faith and Message.
The 20th century evangelical movement in which the Southern Baptist Convention was swept along also saw one of its own, Jimmy Carter, be elected President of the United States in 1976. The cream had indeed risen to the top and produced an influential voice for the straight and narrow. There was much rejoicing about this in the North Carolina Baptist Convention tapes, even as this level of involvement in politics made them more than a little nervous. To widen and be inclusive or “hold the line” marked a growing division within the North Carolina Baptists, spiritually even more than politically.
The Evangelical movement of the 20th century was dominated by a theological shift and struggle between old beliefs of those who held to the Fundamentals and new ideas emerging from more modernist teachings. This showed up in the North Carolina Baptist Convention in its many discussions captured in these recordings. The loyalty to the Bible was never questioned but interpretation of its words challenged its devoted preachers to examine how they would present it to their congregations. In addition, new translations of the Scriptures were being printed and distributed to where many speakers began a sermon with chapter and verse but also which translation they were reading. This debate over holding to the tried and true was not in a vacuum but in real time, the next Sunday morning in thousands of church sanctuaries across the state.
This debate was also reflected not only in the carefully chosen speakers for meetings but also the elected leadership of the convention. Positions on such practices as whether Baptism by immersion was the only acceptable means for church membership pitted old school, small town pastors against degreed seminary professors. Voices emerged from zealous North Carolina men like M.O. Owens and Vance Havner who were passionately fighting for the soul of their association. By the end of these tapes in 1980, the emerging Conservative Resurgence that would culminate in the revised 2000 Baptist Faith and Message had produced leaders for the larger Southern Baptist Convention, men like Adrian Rogers and Charles Stanley, who spoke to the North Carolina Baptist Convention and whose sermons still dominate the air waves today. The 1970s was a turning point in the convention reflected often in the jarring and sparring heard in these recordings.
The uniqueness of such a varied selection of recordings provided its own logistical challenges. Some held lengthy sermons where the exposition of Bible chapters were heavy with meaning. Others were rather dry business meetings where the fine details of Roberts Rules of Order were intentionally followed to maintain order…right up to the point where they weren’t when a heated discussion broke out on the convention floor. The speakers may not have been always loud and clear but the gavel was always right next to the microphone when pounded on the pulpit! Capturing rowdy debates in summarized words proved as challenging as translating spiritual insights into condensed form. Then finding a LCSH listing for topics like church autonomy created its own dilemma. I often felt like I was squeezing these passionate Baptists into a box (almost literally on a spreadsheet) and they were fighting back, resisting being stereotyped.
The tapes varied in length from snippets of a musical selection to 45 minute sermons to hours long business debates. The challenge of listening to and entering the data for each in 20 minutes on average, when I had to rewind and listen carefully for the pronunciation of a tricky name or soft spoken reference, made me thankful for the fast forward button.
Most tapes had begun recording even after the speaker began (always making me wonder if the person with his finger on the RECORD button never saw it coming). Usually the recordings begin with an abrupt mid-sentence word, with no introduction of the speaker or Bible reference captured. Googling the words of the verse for the correct reference or speculated spellings of the preacher’s name to the background of the beginning joke became the norm. I even kept my own Bible within reach to confirm a reference. To be doing anything other than diligently listening to the sermon goes against everything in my upbringing as a front row pastor’s kid.
There were also times when I found myself being blessed by good preaching even while diligently typing away and editing the best descriptive language I could muster on their behalf. I felt the responsibility of getting this right for those preachers of the past and for future researchers.
Incidentally those traditional beginning jokes are now classics. To their credit the speakers most often told jokes on themselves and only rarely about their parishioners. The best one had to have been by an out-of-state visiting speaker who got up to speak following a particularly vocal disagreement (Shall we say fight?) on the convention floor. He told the story of the two men fighting out some difference of opinion with fisticuffs while a crowd circled around them, cheering them on – “Fight! Fight! Fight!” Suddenly an Irishman burst through the onlookers and ran up to the pair, whipped off his coat and threw it on the ground and said “Is this a private fight or can anyone join in?” Laughter often relieved the tension in the air. In opening jokes and concluding touching stories, I was reminded of what great storytellers these preachers were. Being captured on tape preserved that and every other contribution they made to spiritual life.
It was during this troubled time that, intentionally, black preachers from their sister denomination were invited to speak to the convention. Routinely, they brought their own musicians and even congregants so the whole atmosphere changed and became charged by their energy. These preachers did not hesitate to mention Civil Rights issues and were admirably bold in confronting their brothers after emphasizing that they were indeed brothers. Their unique style of preaching, accompanied by more than the average number of “Amens” and other loud encouragement from the listeners presented its own challenges in listening. These were the times when the back arrow would come into play a lot.
Some logistical issues included identifying the date of the recording, if not indicated on the original labeling. They were not strictly in chronological order but clues utilized included other messages by the same speaker, timely topics, business meetings topics that could be verified or even quick mentions of historic events that could be triangulated such as the election of President Kennedy (the first Catholic ever) but before he was inaugurated. (Incidentally, the Baptist convention discussed it at length but ultimately decided to send their wishes of congratulations and promise of support with prayers in a formal statement like all other presidents in spite of their religious differences.) Other less interesting clues mention the upcoming Thanksgiving date which helped narrow down the possible year. Several dates were determined by the date of death of the speaker. Most dates could ultimately be identified or at least given a Circa reference although a few lone ones remain “Undated.”
The oldest recording verified so far, from 1938, popped up oddly in a mix from the 1950s so it appeared to be perhaps a typo until I was able to confirm that it was indeed 1938 due to several clues, including the scratchy nature of the sound. It was a unique recording of a college chapel program at Wake Forest College, while still located in the town of Wake Forest, that brought back a handful of retired professors to briefly address the present study body. These men’s names represented the shaping influence of theology in the early 20th century who had taught and written for and impacted a generation of pastors. They were all elderly and indeed the death of one of them within months of this recording nailed down the date for certain as 1938. Given the time frame and their ages, it may well be the only recording in existence of the actual voices of these men, a real and rare treasure perhaps for some future researcher or even a descendant.
Because these taped reels were not labeled necessarily with an eye to preservation and certainly not being transformed into another medium, the sessions were often labeled something like “Tuesday A.M. Meeting.” Finding an appropriate title was often an exercise in exploring existing options for a good fit.
An additional challenge in cataloging these tapes was in capturing accurately the names of speakers, usually just one preacher but often many more in business meetings. Names that were quickly mumbled or abbreviated because clearly known to the crowd then sent me stalking them in obituaries (amazingly a few are still alive) and online church chronicles, to get the name and spelling correct for search term purposes. Many of them are not on the LCSH list. I always felt badly that my own name shows up there but not that of some faithful pastor who has served decades at a church on a country highway, just beyond the “Resume Safe Speed” sign. They deserve this acknowledgement.
One group in particular were almost never clearly identified by their personal names. The vast majority of women, whether giving committee reports, missions updates or being honored (but never preaching) were identified by their husbands names unless single. For instance, in one session, the convention gave a missions award to Grady Wilson, well known evangelist on Billy Graham’s team, and to Mrs. Tom Womble. Fortunately I know Mrs. Womble (90 years old this year) living at a senior facility near us so I know my friend’s first name is Jo and found out her maiden name is Maiston. I was able to enter her name alongside his in the cataloging. Other wives’ personal names are more challenging to find but it has become a personal project to attempt the restoration of her name. I know personally how much a pastor’s wife contributes to church life and they deserve to have their individual names recorded for history.
It was intriguing to hear selections from a wide range of famous sermons to testimonies by Hollywood actors to the voice of historians like Kenneth Scott Latourette and John Woodward, the collector and organizer of this collection for many decades. The room was filled with the voices of orators like Foy Valentine quoting Virginia Brasier’s “This is the age of the half read page.” There were glimpses into moments in history such as the recounting of Wake Forest College closing early the spring of 1861 so the students could enlist in the exploding Civil War as well as missionary accounts from modern revolutions in Cuba and Africa. Finally, much was recounted of the Baptist State Convention’s contribution to local landmark institutions like Wake Forest University and the Baptist Hospital (still locally called that although now Atrium and a major researcher in cancer), alongside its other charitable institutions such as the Children’s Homes. The compassion and generosity of this generation of Baptists was impressive.
Forty years have lapsed since this group of taped recordings ceased and the State Baptist Convention of North Carolina has continued to evolve to meet the challenges of the times. So this was like a snapshot in time, or more accurately, voices from the past. They echo from another era but there is no better way to step back in time and experience that era than to turn up the volume and listen to their words in their own voices.