Fire destroys historic church

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: a four alarm fire in Dallas.

On Friday evening, firefighters responded to calls from the First Baptist Church where the section of the church built in the 1890s was on fire. What happened and how is the congregation responding?

WORLD Radio executive producer Paul Butler has the story.

SOUND: [Firefighters, flames and shouting]

PAUL BUTLER: At 6:09pm central time on July 19th, firefighters arrived on the scene. Black smoke billowed from the roof, and soon flames were bursting through as well.

Senior Pastor Robert Jeffress spoke with reporters outside the sanctuary.

JEFFRESS: I just left the church and a little bit after 6 p.m. (local time) we got word that the church was on fire, our historic sanctuary.

The victorian-style red brick church was built in 1890, and since the beginning has been led by pastors with national influence.

DENNY BURK: In the 20th century, they had two pastors—one right after the other—that had 50 year pastorates. So you had George W. Truett, and then he was followed immediately by W. A. Criswell. So for 100 years, they had two pastors.

Denny Burk attended First Baptist Church of Dallas from 2004 to 2008 while teaching at the church’s school, Criswell College.

BURK: So the church has just been enormously important, not only to Southern Baptists, but also just in terms of national influence and significance, and a lot of it has centered in that old sanctuary that was right there, there in downtown Dallas.

By 7:30pm, the firefighters raised the level of alarm from two bells to three, increasing the number of units on the ground. And news of the fire was spreading on social media.

RON HARRIS: I was actually out of the country and saw some Facebook posts.

Ron Harris is a long-time member of the church. He was traveling in Europe when the news broke.

HARRIS: Probably 30 minutes afterwards uh, a comment and then couldn't go back to sleep for wanting to see what was happening to our church. If you saw the video and the flames, uh, and the smoke that poured over all of downtown Dallas, it was astounding to see that place go up in those flames, and I think everyone was shocked.

Remarkably, no one was injured. Here’s Pastor Jeffress again.

JEFFRESS: We had just concluded Vacation Bible School with over 2,000 kids. They were all gone. So, God has protected us through all of this.

About three hours after arriving on the scene, firefighters had the fire under control, but not before the roof came crashing down. Fire Chief Justin Ball:

JUSTIN BALL: We think it may have started in the basement and then gone up to the second floor, but until we clear it out and get an investigation we won't know.

In the days since the fire, authorities have begun their investigation, but have yet to determine how the fire started…or if any mischief was involved.

As to where it started, Harris says the basement was more than a storage space.

HARRIS: The church library. And the church historical area, which housed not only that pulpit, but the, the offices or replicas of the offices of Dr. Criswell and before him, Dr. Truett with their desk and chairs and things. And that was all there. I'm sure that's probably gone.

All that’s left of the historic church building is three exterior walls and its iconic steeple.

JEFFRESS: I’m grateful that the church is not bricks or mortar or wood, it’s people. And the people of God will endure, First Baptist Dallas will endure, and we thank so many of our friends around the country who are praying for us right now.

The church’s newer $130 million dollar worship center next door is unharmed, but smoke has left its mark. And so on Sunday morning, the congregation met at a nearby convention center for worship and a sermon from Colossians…preached by Executive Pastor Ben Lovvorn.

LOVVORN: Trials and tribulations will come our way. But Jesus promised that he would build his church and even the gates of hell would not prevail against it.

Pastor Jeffress also addressed the congregation.

JEFFRESS: I want to say a special word of thanks to the 100 firefighters, and the untold number of police … (duck applause and thanks)

Jeffress reported that the church’s insurance would cover the damage, and he promised that the historic sanctuary would not stay in ruins.

JEFFRESS: So we’re going to rebuild that sanctuary. We’re going to recreate it as a standing symbol of the truth. The unchangeable, the endurance of the word of God, the grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God shall stand forever.

The leaders of First Baptist are now working with the city to see if the structure is stable enough to remain standing…or if it will need to be demolished before rebuilding can begin. On Wednesday, Pastor Lovvorn announced that the city approved the church’s plan to try and preserve the walls.

LOVVORN: Now, I can make no guarantees about how that work will go or even if it will be successful, but we do have approval to try.

But in the midst of the devastation, one artifact was saved. Here’s Ron Harris again.

HARRIS: By God's grace, that historic desk somehow made it through the fire, and everyone has been astounded to see it. Now, it's scarred a bit, maybe singed a bit, but even the red velvet on the top of the pulpit is there, and I'm certain they can easily restore it.

Harris sees the historic pulpit as a metaphor for a more important lesson.

HARRIS: The Word of God that was preached from that place, uh, will remain. And it becomes kind of a visual illustration for many, many people uh, about the power, the Word of God preached from that pulpit for so many, many decades.

For WORLD, I’m Paul Butler, with reporting by Harrison Watters.

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