“A Stand for Truth” is the title of a book co-written
by my husband, John R. Michael, and me that is on the verge of publication. It is
about to be released and very soon I will be able to show you the cover. I can’t
wait to give a big “Cover Reveal.” We have seen the cover and are quite excited
about it but right now it is under wraps at the publishers awaiting some final
tweaking.
So, what is the book about?
In 1984, John was 28 years old, our life together was
new, and our family was young. Also, in 1984, John recieved a phone call that would
change our lives … and others’ lives too. It was a phone call from a man who
wanted to interview John for possible appointment to the Board of Trustees of The
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is the world’s
largest Protestant denomination. During the 1980’s and 1990’s the SBC fought an
historic battle over the truth of scripture and the basic doctrines of the
Christian Faith. As the flagship seminary of the SBC, Southern Seminary sat
prominently at the heart of this conflict.
In 1984, John was
elected to the Board, making him one of the youngest to ever serve on that
Board. Though naïve and inexperienced, he dramatically stood alone to challenge
the President and officers of Southern’s Board when they attempted to cover-up
heresy during a national investigation of alleged theological problems.
Though his
initial challenge was turned back by the seasoned and powerful leaders, John
continued to stubbornly resist. Even as he fought that battle, John also foiled
a deceitful plot by a group of liberal Trustees as they maneuvered to steal the
seminary and take it independent from the denomination.
At its essence,
this is a story of how God used a persistent and often lonely young man to play
a crucial role in the restoration of a prominent institution to its historical,
biblical roots.
So, why did we write our story—the story of John’s travails as a foot
soldier in this historic Holy War?
Even while
John was still a Trustee and the controversy far from settled, people would
come to him and ask for updates and details about the struggle. In the years
following, though he was still despised by many, there was growing appreciation
for John and his fellow Trustees. At church, or sometimes while he was on
campus for Foundation Board meetings, someone would point him out as “the first
conservative,” or the Trustee who stood up to the liberals. Soon he would be
surrounded by small groups of students, wanting to meet him and ask questions.
John often invited
them out to our home for grilled pork chops, or to his business office for
pizza, where he spent the evening giving the highlights, and lowlights, of his
Trustee experience.
The students were
always riveted. Without fail, at the end of the evening, the students would say
that they had heard a lot about the years of controversy, but most of what they
knew was from the beginning of Dr. Albert Mohler’s presidency. They had no idea
that all this had happened before Mohler’s arrival. They would often urge John
to write a book about it.
For years, John just
accepted the compliments, but had no intention of writing a book. Aside from
the time and energy it would take, there was no way that he would write about
himself. That was just too awkward.
However, many years
after John left the Board a seminary student came out to the house with some friends to
hear the stories. Like others before them, the students said John should tell
his story in a book. But unlike others, this student stayed on John’s case
about it. He was a member of our church at that time.
Then one Sunday, in
the aisle after a Sunday worship service, the student once again pressed John
about writing his story. When John gave his usual excuse, the student asked if
John was willing to give his testimony. Was he willing to tell others about his
faith in Christ, how God had forgiven his sin, and changed his life? If so,
then why wasn’t he also willing to share his testimony about how God used him
to help change Southern Seminary? That little exhortation had an impact on John. He couldn't get it off his mind, and realized that, somehow the story should be told.
