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by Alan J. Lefever (Author)
In every era of Baptist history, leaders have emerged who have become navigators of the faith through their beliefs and actions. These men serve as guides to their fellow Baptists, attempting to teach them the proper religious course. In so doing they not only guide their contemporaries but also set a course which future Baptists will follow. In the latter half of the nineteenth century, Benajah Harvey Carroll emerged to become one of the navigators of this era, whose greatest navigational tool would be the founding of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. In his book "Fighting the Good Fight: The Life and Work of B. H. Carroll," Alan J. Lefever examines the path which Carroll took as he rose to prominence among Southern Baptists. Beginning with Carroll's boyhood, Lefever explores his family life, early religious experience, self-proclaimed infidelity, service during the Civil War, and his conversion experience. Continuing into adulthood, the author highlights Carroll's ministry as both a preacher and a teacher. Carroll was a natural leader who played a prominent role in every major controversy among both Texas and Southern Baptists during his lifetime. Save for his stand in favor of prohibition, Carroll never lost a battle. Lefever continues with an in-depth examination of Carroll's role in the founding of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and of his years as the school's first president. "Fighting the Good Fight" is the story of a man, a denomination, and a state, of how they matured together and of the impact that they had on one another along the way. In exploring the life of his Baptist navigator, one can better understand the course that Baptists took as a result of B. H. Carroll's work.
