2017 marks 150th anniversary of Dallas pastor George W. Truett’s birth
By Joanne Sloan
George W. Truett was one of the most famous Southern Baptist pastors of the 20th century. He served First Baptist Church, Dallas, for 47 years.
This year is the 150th anniversary of his birth.
The seventh child of Charles and Mary Kimsey Truett, George Truett was born May 6, 1867, on a farm in Hayesville, North Carolina. As a child he read great literature such as John Bunyan’s “The Pilgrim’s Progress” and “Fox’s Book of Martyrs.” His love of books led him to eventually acquire a library of 10,000 books.
He attended Hayesville Academy from 1875 until he graduated in 1885.
At the age of 19 he was converted in a church service after hearing Hebrews 10:38: “But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.” He joined Hayesville Baptist Church and soon shared the gospel with friends and neighbors.
In 1887 he moved to Towns County, Georgia, where he founded Hiawassee Academy and became the first principal.
He left Georgia to follow his parents to Whitewright, Texas, and joined Whitewright Baptist Church and was ordained there in 1890. He preached his first sermon at First Baptist Church, Sherman. George Truett soon became known as a great orator.
The president of Baylor University in Waco, Texas, hired him to serve as the school’s financial secretary. George Truett raised $92,000 in 23 months, which erased the university’s debt. He studied there from 1893 to 1897, graduating with a bachelor’s degree.
He married fellow Baylor student Josephine Jenkins in 1894.
He became pastor of First, Dallas, in September 1897, a position he held until his death.
Membership increased from 715 to 7,804. The church was rebuilt three times to accommodate crowds.
George Truett was a humble man whose preaching was profound yet simple and filled with illustrations. He used short, concise sentences. Speaking in a conversational voice, his pathos and feeling often made parishioners weep.
He traveled the world preaching and making addresses.
During World War I, then-President Woodrow Wilson appointed him as 1 of 20 ministers to preach for six months to Allied forces.
On May 16, 1920, George Truett delivered one of his famous sermons, “Baptists and Religious Liberty,” on the steps of the Capitol in Washington. He stressed religious freedom and separation of Church and State.
He was president of the Southern Baptist Convention from 1927 to 1929. From 1934 to 1939 he was president of the Baptist World Alliance. He toured missions sites in the Far East.
An admirer of Charles Spurgeon, he was the only American to speak at the Spurgeon Centenary in London in 1934.
For 37 summers George Truett made annual trips through the Davis Mountains in west Texas, traveling with cattle drives and preaching at cowboy camp meetings.
He received many honorary degrees, including a law degree from the University of Alabama.
He died July 7, 1944, of bone disease and respiratory arrest. He was buried at Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery in Dallas. On his gravestone is etched: “My greatest desire is to help the people and to magnify the matchless name of Christ.”
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