A Hill on Which to Die: One Southern Baptist's Journey

by Paul Pressler

This is a 362 page softback authored by Judge Paul Pressler and published as a special edition requested by the author. The complete title is, A HILL ON WHICH TO DIE - One Southern Baptist's Journey. The author tells the story of the Battle that changed the Southern Baptist Convention forever. The battle lasted for decades. It cost people their jobs, their family stability - and even their faith - as moderates and conservatives fought for control of the SBC. Now, the author shares his eyewitness account of those tumultuous times and takes you behind the scenes for a look at what really happened, and why. T

Genres: Biography, History, Christian Living, Christianity, Cultural, Autobiography

Paperback

First published July 1, 1999

Reviews

[Ryan Linkous · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this when I was younger and more naive about the account Pressler gives. I'm retracting my original review.

There were red flags when I read it the first time. Since then, credible accusations of sexual assault and molestation have been made against Pressler. Also, it seems like one-by-one, all the living architects and players of the SBC Conservative Resurgence have gone out in a ball of flames, but are hellbent on taking down everyone else with them as they build their own kingdoms.

[Phillip · Rating 5 out of 5]

Began this book well-over fifteen years ago and never finished it. Ordered a copy of the book and figured it was high time to finally read it from beginning to end. The events, as described by the author, coincide with what I remember growing up as a Southern Baptist. I really enjoyed the greater insight into the events of what really happened. The author also connected the dots on a few gray areas that were not "public knowledge" behind the veil of the Liberal's tactics. The war for the heart and soul of the Southern Baptist Convention sounded in the liberal's death rattle as the conservatives fought for and won the battles for biblical inerrancy and sound doctrinal and theological moorings. I thank God there are men of principle such as Judge Pressler.

[Heather Denigan · Rating 4 out of 5]

You might say that reading this book is like weight-lifting: you'll benefit while reading it, but the after-effects yield even more results. And then you'll understand its potency.
I didn't care too much for "A Hill on Which to Die" while I was reading it -- I found the politics a little obscure, the writing not that great (as in, I got distracted counting all the instances of passive voice within one sentence), and had some difficulty keeping track of all the players.
BUT, as I've made more friends in the SBC and become an admirer of their lives and work, Judge Pressler's book has resonated with greater significance. The conservative resurgence was a great work of God.
The title itself is instructive and echoes Sun Tzu's five keys to victory. In fact, it might be handy to read "The Art of War" alongside "A Hill on Which to Die."

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book ended up being more intriguing than I anticipated. It brings to light so many concerns today. I've seen first-hand colleges that were once conservative that are now so liberal. We have churches today, in the SBC that are not teaching us to be aware of what our convention is doing. Are we as influential in American society and politics as we should be? I mean, what has the ERLC done for us lately? More research on my part needs to be done. I have seen articles that the SBC has taken money (grant) from Facebook even, to research into the control and spread of "misinformation" (to focus on Christian ethics).
https://reformationcharlotte.org/2021...

Just need to keep ensuring we know what we are supporting in the SBC and fix it now, if need be.

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a mix of a biography and some history of the Southern Baptist Convention. It has some testimony of God’s work too. It also exposes how destructive liberalism when it creeps into the church. Very informative.

The part I didn’t like was how political and bureaucratic the SBC is. At the high level anyway. I don’t think of church as bureaucratic. I see it as a way to learn about God and the Bible. Also to spread the Gospel. I know that some systems have to be in place so everything can flow. But some parts of the SBC is way too close to Washington DC in how they function. I’ve attended SBC churches most of my life and I didn’t see any of the bureaucracy or politics at the church level. (Thank God!) But this book shows how bureaucratic they can be.

[Matt Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was given this book by my pastor as I began being mentored for possible eldership or ordination. I knew the name but couldn’t remember why. It reminds me of the current By What Standard by Jared Longshore. That was a better read. This book more so follows judge pressler as opposed to the actual controversy. Indeed the inerrancy of Scripture is a Hill to Die on.

[Ben Vahle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting insight, though clearly, sometimes obnoxiously biased. Pressler was clearly full of himself his whole life

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is both an autobiography of Paul Pressler and a detailed history of the controversy over inerrancy within the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), and the role he played in the conservative resurgence within the SBC. He and others such as Paige Patterson played within the SBC's own rules of governance and used those rules to gain the ascendancy within the presidential office and then throughout various committees and offices within the SBC.

Pressler details how, despite the disapproval of his own wealthy and influential family, and despite the critical illness of his own son, he spent years on the road as he had time outside his professional legal and judicial responsibilities, speaking to groups all over the US about how college and seminary professors were eroding belief in an inerrant Bible amongst college kids and seminarians through their teachings and writings.

The book is well written and for anyone interested in church history, it's well worth your time.

[Luke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I LOVED this look at how the Southern Baptist Convention turned the tide away from drifting off the Gospel and God's Word. A detailed account of the way prayerful people took unpopular action towards accomplishing God's purpose.