The Southern Baptist Convention Reformation, 1979-1990: a Social Drama
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Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses Graduate School 1993 The outheS rn Baptist Convention Reformation, 1979-1990: A Social Drama. William Stanley Stone Jr Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses Recommended Citation Stone, William Stanley Jr, "The outheS rn Baptist Convention Reformation, 1979-1990: A Social Drama." (1993). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 5549. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/5549 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. 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Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographicaily in this copy. Higher quality 6" x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. University Microfilms International A Bell & Howell Information Company 30 0 North Z eeb Road. Ann Arbor. Ml 4 8 1 0 6 -1 3 4 6 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Order Number 9401571 The Southern Baptist Convention reformation, 1979-1990: A social drama Stone, William Stanley, Jr., Ph.D. The Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical Col., 1993 Copyright ©1993 by Stone, William Stanley, Jr. All rights reserved. 300 N. Zeeb Rd. Ann Arbor, MI 48106 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION REFORMATION, 1979-1990: A SOCIAL DRAMA A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Speech Communication by William S. Stone Jr. B.A., Union University, 1979 M. Div., New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, 1981 May 1993 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to express appreciation for the enormous time and effort that Harold Mixon invested. He guided the growth of this study with the commitment befitting a scholar and with the concern of one who shared a common heritage in the Southern Baptist Convention. I would also like to thank Michael Bowman for his encouragement in the initial stage of this project. 1 would also like to thank Andrew King, Owen Peterson, John Baker, and William Cooper who served on the dissertation committee. My greatest appreciation belongs to Glenice Stone. You sacrificed to give me the freedom to pursue this study. Without your hard work and love, none of this would have been possible. ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ....................................................................................................................ii ABSTRACT..................................................................................................................................................v CHAPTER 1 IN TRO D U C TIO N ......................................................................................................................1 D efinitions..................................................................................................................... 3 Limitations of the S tu d y..............................................................................................10 Significance ................................................................................................................... 12 Methodology................................................................................................................... 14 Victor Turner's Dramaturgical M o d e................................................................. l 18 Breach ...................................................................................... 23 Crisis ............................................................................................................24 R e d r e s s ............................................................................................................25 Reintegration and/or S ch ism ........................................................................26 Other Methodological Considerations.................................................................27 2 UNITY AND PLURALITY IN THE SBC: THE HISTORICAL SETTING . 31 Competing World V ie w s............................................................................................. 32 Competing World Views in SBC H i s t o r y......................................................... 38 Triumphalism and Cultural Homogeneity................................................................ 46 Implications for the SBC Social D r a m a................................................................ 59 3 ACT ONE: B R E A C H ............................................................................................................ 61 Breach Rhetoric from a Social Drama Perspective.................................................. 61 The Setting for the Breach............................................................................................. 64 Symbolic Act: O n e .....................................................................................................66 Symbolic Act: T w o .....................................................................................................67 Symbolic Act: T h re e .....................................................................................................67 Goldzwig's Contribution to the Concept of Breach Rhetoric.... 68 Symbolic Act: F our............................................................................................................ 75 Other Breach A c t s .....................................................................................................78 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 84 4 ACT TWO: CRISIS ............................................................................................................85 Crisis Rhetoric from a Social Drama P erspective..................................................85 Cathcart's Contribution to T u rn e........................................................................ r 87 An Overview of the Crisis R h e to ric........................................................................89 Crisis Rhetoric in the Pastors' Conferences.................................................................99 Crisis Rhetoric in the SBC F orum............................................................................. s 131 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 152 iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 5 ACT THREE: R E D R E S S .....................................................................................................159 Redressive Rhetoric from a Social Drama Perspective..........................................159 An Overview of Redressive R h eto....................................................................... ric 161 Redressive Rhetoric in the Pastors' C o n feren ces.................................................167 Redressive Rhetoric in the SBC F o r u m................................................................ s 177 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 182 6 ACT FOUR: REINTEGRATION AND S C H IS M ......................................................... 186 Reintegrative Rhetoric from a Social Drama P erspective.................................. 186 An Overview