Only a shell remains of the historic sanctuary of First Baptist Church in Dallas after a fire. The sanctuary opened in 1891 and was still in use. Photo @OverbyCenter.com.
Editor’s note: The historic sanctuary of First Baptist Church in Dallas was destroyed by fire. The church opened a larger, state-of-the-art sanctuary in 2013, but the older sanctuary was still used for worship and other activities. No one was injured in the fire, the cause of which has not been determined.
The historic sanctuary of the First Baptist Church in Dallas has been standing as a beacon in the heart of the city since 1891. For over 130 years, generations have gathered within its hallowed walls each Lord’s Day. Until the evening of July 19, when it succumbed to a massive fire. As former pastor, I watched as its beautiful century-old stained-glass windows melted and poured down the sides of the building.
From that building scores of thousands of men, women, boys and girls found a new life in Christ. From that building hundreds of our sons and daughters left the comforts and confines of home and hearth for far-away places like India and Africa, establishing hospitals and orphanages around the world. From that building, the dynamic pulpit of Dr. W.A. Criswell thundered forth the message of the Bible for 50 years. From that building, Criswell’s influence turned the largest non-Catholic denomination in the United States, the Southern Baptist Convention, to his historic conservative roots. From that building, we were baptized, married our children, and buried our loved ones.
The present pastor, Dr. Robert Jeffress, stood in front of the towering flames to remind the news media that the church was not brick and mortar, but rather it was the people. However, there is a real sense in which such a building is like a body. When a loved one dies, and we place the body away in a grave, we have a myriad of memories to sustain and comfort us. But we all know how we would like to hold that departed one in our arms just one more time, express our love and appreciation, and sit again for a visit. While our church building is now gone, we are filled with memories of baptisms, weddings, funerals, and high hours of worship. Yet, how we would like to sit just one more time on those beautiful curved oak pews and how I, personally, would like to stand in that historic pulpit and preach in that room just one more time to those people I love.
It is not hyperbole to say that the First Baptist Church in Dallas has one of the richest histories of any church in American history. Pastored by George W. Truett for 47 years (1897-1944} and W.A. Criswell for 50 years (1944-1994), the church reached worldwide fame. But we, the church, are not resting on our past. We are seeing some of our greatest days of growth and outreach today under the leadership of present pastor Robert Jeffress.
The Bible speaks of a coming day when “The earth and everything in it will burn up” (2 Peter 3:10). This is a reminder that what is real and what will last into eternity is not the material but the spiritual. My body, my flesh and bones, this building in which I live, will one day go back to dust. But my spirit, that part of me that will live as long as God lives, is what will last forever.
The church is the people who are resilient in the face of any and all challenges, and as scripture tells us, nothing can defeat her. The church triumphant is alive and well. Watch the people of First Baptist Church in Dallas as they experience the truth of Isaiah 61:3 which promises that the Lord will give them “beauty for ashes…that He might be glorified.”
O.S. Hawkins served as pastor of First Baptist Church Dallas from 1993 until 1997. He is the retired CEO of GuideStone Financial Resources and chancellor at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth. He is the author of more than 50 books, including “Joshua Code” and the entire Code series of devotionals published by HarperCollins/Thomas Nelson. His most recent book, “Criswell: His Life and Times,” is the sequel to “In the Name of God: The Colliding Lives, Legends, and Legacies of J. Frank Norris and George W. Truett.”