J. Frank Norris: God's Rascal

The history of Christianity is filled with many colorful characters, none of which may be as colorful and controversial as the Baptist preacher, J. Frank Norris. Here are a few of his more memorable moments:

"The famous pastor by the name of J. Frank Norris enters into the pulpit carrying a broken quart bottle with him. It is the early part of the 20th century and the church is relieved that their pastor was just acquitted by court allegations that he had torched the church. With fervent passion the preacher is proud in his exoneration from the accusations. He preaches a sermon from the text, "Thou are weighed in the balances and found wanting." He tears into the attorney who had brought charges against him. The lawyer has just met a horrible death driving his Cadillac on North Main accompanied by a lady companion. His vehicle is full of liquor and is driven head on into the streetcar. Pastor J. Frank announces to the congregation that in the broken bottle there is whiskey and brains from the lawyer"

if that is not wild enough,

"When the Fort Worth city council voted to buy a section of land from the Catholic Ignatious Academy for $90,000 more than the original price for the whole campus, many citizens felt it was nothing more than a gift to the Roman Catholic Church. Norris immediately began to attack Mayor H. C. Meacham for his Roman Catholic sympathies and associations. Dexter Chipps, a close friend of Meacham’s, became angry and called Norris, threatening to come to his office and settle matters. He did appear about 20 minutes later and exchanged words with Norris. In the tenseness of the situation, Norris reached for the pistol in his desk and fired four shots. Chipps was mortally wounded with bullets in his arm, abdomen and neck. In the murder trial, Norris claimed self-defense"

and to top things off,

"Norris designed First Baptist’s Sunday evening services to attract people from outside the church … He advertised his sermon titles on a large canvas banner that stretched along the side of the church building. The provocative titles got Fort Worth’s attention … He treated the congregation to visual spectacles as well. Once, when a cowboy was converted, he had the horse brought into the service to witness the baptism … when Norris preached against evolution, he brought a monkey into the meeting. The monkey, dressed in a little suit, sat on a stool next to the pulpit. Each time Norris made a point against evolution, he turned to the monkey and asked, ‘Isn’t that so?’ Norris was quite the showman.”

That last bit of monkey-business seems like a 1920's version of Ed Young, Jr.

For a full reading of his bio, click here to read a postive assessment of his life.

For a more critical analysis, check out this site.

For an unbiased look, click here.

As one can see, Dr. Norris was not just some loud-mouth hick preacher. He was a scholar and a renaissance man of sorts with a heart for the lost, even if his methods would now be considered "unorthodox" (to say the least).