Great Souled Men

One of my heroes is George Washington Truett, one time pastor of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, TX. In fact, I know few from the past or present who do not respect this great preacher and Baptist statesman, save for J. Frank Norris, who attempted to rattle and shake his state of mind.

Truett once preached a sermon entitled, "Baptists And Religious Liberty." Today it is considered a classic treatise on a Baptist view of church and state. He, though being dead, still speaks.

My point is simply, "Where have men like Truett gone?" Where are our great pastor/leaders like Herschel Hobbs, and R.G. Lee? What happens as now leaders such as Adrian Rogers are gone, and others are retiring or near retirement? Why do we not have such great souled men today? Is the nature of our culture so divided and partisan that we are beyond producing leaders who somehow rise above the fray and are able to speak to an issue in such a way that brings people together instead of creates more division?

A couple of years ago, I asked one of our Convention leaders this very question. His response was a bit telling. He said, "You know, I was just discussing this with some other Convention leaders. They don't know either."

Apparently the sentiment is shared outside the church. Today I saw a bumper sticker that lamented, "I miss Reagan."

We need more great souled men.

In the words of Rudyard Kipling:

If

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!