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It's pretty much the norm these days--preachers going "political," speaking up for candidates who reflect common values and opinions. But the lines separating pulpit and politics, not to mention church and state, were not always as blurred as they are in our time. The harsh partisan tone, combined with the practice of take-no-prisoners-politics on the part of some Christian ministers in our day is something that can be traced back to one controversial pulpit-pounding powerbroker--J. Frank Norris.
At the mid-point of the 1920s, people flocked to Norris's First Baptist Church in downtown Fort Worth, Texas--America's original "megachurch." He would do just about anything to draw a large crowd. Thousands came to witness his latest extravaganza.
He was a folk-hero to many.
To many others, J. Frank Norris was a MENACE.
By the summer of 1926, he presided over a religious empire, one that included America's largest Protestant church, a tabloid newspaper that reached nearly 100,000 readers every Friday, and his own radio network that saturated cities and towns across the American Southwest. Norris had already survived multiple criminal indictments. He boasted that he could handle anything that came his way. He had fanatically loyal followers (including members of the Ku Klux Klan) and great lawyers. But would they be enough when he found himself charged with first-degree murder and face to face with "Sparky"--the nickname for the Texas electric chair?
David R Stokes
David R. Stokes is a Wall Street Journal bestselling author, ghostwriter, broadcaster, and retired pastor. His latest book, JFK'S GHOST: Kennedy, Sorensen, and the Making of Profiles in Courage, was released by Lyons Press (Rowman & Littlefield) June 1, 2021. His earlier book, THE SHOOTING SALVATIONIST, appeared twice on the Wall Street Journal Bestseller list in 2011. This story has been recently revised and republished with 30,000 words of new material. David has also written screenplays based on two of his novels, CAMELOT'S COUSIN and JAKE & CLARA, and they are currently being represented for production in Hollywood. Retired FBI Agent and Bestselling author, Bob Hamer, says, "David Stokes combines his meticulous research with a writing style which makes you feel as though you are that fly-on-the-wall witnessing history as it unfolds."David grew up in the Detroit, Michigan area and has been an ordained minister for more than 45 years. Now retired from pastoral ministry, he writes full-time. David has been married to his wife, Karen, since 1976, and they have been blessed with three daughters--all now grown and with wonderful children of their own. There are, in fact, seven grandchildren, a fact verified by hundreds--maybe thousands--of pictures, as well as an ever-growing collection of toys and gadgets joyously cluttering their home.His next book, THE HOPE NOT PLOT: A Novel of Churchill's Final Farewell will be published in fall, 2025. Visit David's website: DavidRStokes.com.
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