Jeremy Gray

OTD in 1970, Baptist Press reported that eleven staff members of First Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, had resigned following a controversy over racial discrimination. The dispute began when Winifred Bryant and her 11-year-old daughter, Twila, who had participated in the church's neighborhood tutoring ministry, sought membership in the all-white congregation. After two months of controversy, the church voted to deny their membership. Pastor Herbert Gilmore and youth director Betty Bock announced their resignations, declaring they would not serve a “racist church.” Nine additional staff members subsequently resigned in support. The controversy deeply divided the congregation. An earlier attempt to dismiss church ministers had failed by just four votes, 237–241. Following the membership decision, approximately 300 members walked out in protest, calling themselves the “Company of the Committed.” The protesting members pledged their financial support to the departing staff and began discussing the possibility of forming a new church. Associate pastor John Sims explained that the disagreement was not simply about church programs or differing opinions, but concerned the church's understanding of and commitment to “Christ, his church and his gospel.” The October 22, 1970, Baptist Press report provides a remarkable look at the struggle over racial discrimination within Southern Baptist churches. Read the original report below.