Theologically, our legs are like Anna’s: they’re often just a little bit too short. We sit in this place of worship—this sanctuary of God—and our feet, theologically, will just not quite reach the floor. We dangle in this space between belief and doubt, certainty and uncertainty. [button link=”http://bit.ly/JnzJI0″]Download MP3 Audio File[/button]
'Flynt' tagged posts
On Saturday, 17 August 2013, Dr. Wayne Flynt sat down with Ms. Frances Stevenson, member of Auburn First Baptist Church since 1961, to record her history as it relates to AFBC. The Oral History Project is an endeavor of the 175th Anniversary Committee in celebration of our Church’s rich history, and one which we hope…
Tonight, I am going to begin the first of a number sessions where we’re going to talk about Auburn First Baptist Church. This is the last session where I’m going to embed that in a much larger—and I think more more important—story. And so, from here on out, I’m going to be talking more about…
Earlier this afternoon, Dr. Wayne Flynt sat down with Mr. Bob Stevenson, member of Auburn First Baptist Church since 1961, to record Bob’s history as it relates to AFBC. The Oral History Project is an endeavor of the 175th Anniversary Committee in celebration of our Church’s rich history, and one which we hope will become…
The question of what “Baptist identity” means is bound-up in a whole series of issues that began right at the first of our history, and I want to go back to England and the fact that England had a state church. And, as a consequence of that, people who did not believe that religion should…
It is very important for you to understand historical context. So, if I start with Auburn First Baptist Church, you have missed the whole point. Because, Auburn First Baptist does not simply pop up. It is part of a very long tradition which defines it and which helps explain why First Baptist Church is the…
When asked to name Auburn First Baptist Church’s golden age, long time members often mention the years from the end of World War II to the 1960s. America’s most formidable global economic competitors lay in ruins. People discovered new and profound meaning in their families. They sought religious renewal. Baptist evangelist Billy Graham launched a…
Intersections can be figurative or literal, destructive or constructive. Sometimes, they can be both. We are the church at the corners of Glenn, Gay, and College. But in 1900 we also occupied intersections of a new century, a failed pastorate, a phenomenally successful new pastorate, a period of growth unprecedented in church history, a strong…
Between 1861 and 1865, one in five white Alabama males of military age lost their lives to disease or combat. East Alabama Male College shut its doors. First Baptist Church, which met only once a month, became a Confederate military hospital. Whether one believes in miracles, lots of Confederate soldiers wounded in the defense of…
The years between the beginnings of Auburn First Baptist and the Civil War were like those of most new institutions: short-term leaders; slow development of patterns, traditions, and practices; financial challenges; some eccentric people. For instance, the mother of the second pastor dreamed three nights in succession that she would birth a son, who would…