Spiritual marker

The black and silver Alabama Historical Association marker stood tall on the edge of the cotton field in 1973 as 3,000 Alabama Baptists celebrated the 150th anniversary of the Alabama Baptist State Convention (ABSC).
   
They gathered under a tent in the middle of that field during the state convention’s annual meeting to pay tribute to the 15 messengers who started the ABSC in 1823 at Salem Baptist Church. Although the southwest Alabama church was gone, the sign — erected in 1954 — was a visible and constant reminder of the historic events that took place just east of Greensboro on Alabama Highway 14.
   
But 32 years later, the sign had become little more than a vague recollection and a leaning marker in a grass field at the intersection of two rural Alabama highways.
   
That is until David Chapman uncovered it while marking a route for Samford University’s Old Howard 100 Bike Ride.
   
“We decided to fix (the sign) so Alabama Baptists can be proud of their heritage,” said Chapman, dean of the Howard College of Arts and Sciences at Samford. “It’s a heritage we need to celebrate and honor.”
   
Chapman said that through the joint effort of representatives from Samford, nearby Judson College and the Alabama Baptist Historical Commission the sign was restored. 
   
And on April 9, Alabama Baptists were again reminded from whence they came in a dedication ceremony for the restored sign.
   
Although the gathering was much smaller — about 30 people — the reverence for their heritage was much the same, as evidenced by Samford President Thomas E. Corts.
   
“It’s one of those crucial points in [Baptist] heritage that we want to look after,” Corts said. “So much happened here; the vision for Samford happened here. If the messengers (in 1823) had not been so energetic about forming the [state] convention, Samford might not have happened.”
   
Restoring the sign was an opportunity to recognize Samford’s roots, as well as the partnership Alabama Baptists have with their other two schools, Judson College and University of Mobile.
   
“Higher Christian education has always had a very high priority with Alabama Baptists,” said Earl Potts, former executive director of the ABSC. 
   
That partnership is just one result of the 1823 gathering, Potts said.
   
“Since 1823, the Alabama Baptist State Convention has functioned as a group of Alabama Baptists called by God to minister and care for people,” he said.
   
And the only way those ministries can continue is by remembering the past, Corts noted. “Coming here reminds you that we can have a lot of different views and still be united.
   
“So much functions well because [Alabama Baptists] organized,” he said. “It’s an organization that still works today, and the fact that you and I are here is testimony to that fact.”
   
Rick Lance, executive director of the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions, told The Alabama Baptist he was grateful the sign had been restored. “Preserving our history is an important responsibility for every generation of Alabama Baptists to assume,” he said. “The marker is an attractive reminder that big things can come from small beginnings when they are blessed by the Lord’s leadership.
   
“My prayer is that Alabama Baptists of the 21st century will have the same fervor for the commitment to the Great Commission as our founding ancestors in 1823,” Lance noted. “This would please those in ‘the cloud of witnesses’ and more importantly, it would please God.”
   
Samford University further remembered its beginnings with the Old Howard 100 Bike Ride. Featuring routes of 30, 50, 70 and 100 miles, the ride began and ended in Marion, 18 miles from Greensboro, and the site where Samford first began as Howard College in 1841. It remained there until 1887, when it moved to Birmingham.
   
One hundred forty-four bikers participated in the ride, which benefited Sowing Seeds of Hope in Perry County. 
   
Samford students and faculty regularly take part in the initiative, which seeks to improve the quality of life and work in the rural area.
   
Samford also sponsored events for non-riders, including walking tours of Greensboro and Marion, as well as a Fun Fest on the campus of Marion Military Institute and a health fair conducted by Samford’s McWhorter School of Pharmacy and the Department of Exercise Science and Sports Medicine.