by Sandy » Mon Nov 04, 2013 11:51 am
The premise of Patterson's message had to do with not taking the conflict of the church before unbelievers. During the resurgence, I don't really recall ever seeing Patterson involved in a television interview. There was a "debate" on the subject televised on a Sunday night that was simulcast on stations in Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and Austin, involving some Texas pastors. Lester Collins, of Tallowood in Houston, was one of the moderate representatives, I don't recall the others, Vestal, perhaps, maybe Cecil Sherman. The conservatives included John Bisagno, W.A. Criswell, and I think maybe Ed Young. Patterson wasn't involved. Nor did he make an appearance in Bill Moyer's documentary on the subject. Pressler did, though not to comment on his involvement in the SBC, and cut the interview off when that line of questioning developed.
Patterson always insisted, though the whole controversy, that if Southern Baptists in the pew had the opportunity to know what their leaders were preaching and teaching when it came to the issue of Biblical authority, they would reject that view. He most definitely used the denominational press to attempt to get that message out, and when he discovered that was going to be a difficult process, he utilized the rapidly developing independent media. I don't ever recall seeing him on television, and I lived in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area for several years while that was going on, or even directly quoted in the secular media, and I don't think he believed that was a viable means of getting the message to the people in the pew.