Devil in the Baptist Church: Bob Gray's Unholy Trinity

by Tim Gilmore

Bob Gray built Trinity Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida from a minuscule congregation to what once was the largest Baptist church in Florida. As he became a national leader of Baptist fundamentalism, he also sexually abused children for more than 50 years. This book tells the story of the rise of Southern fundamentalism and the lengths to which one church went to cover up for its pastor's crimes.

Genres: Religion, History

350 pages, Paperback

Published July 28, 2016

About the author

Tim Gilmore is the author of several books.

Reviews

[Shaun Marksbury · Rating 3 out of 5]

I could say I picked up this book only to understand how a man can become an institution in a church and the community while also harming the children there. Yet, since I was a bus kid who spent his childhood at this church, who also became a teen helper and spent a semester at the church’s Bible college, I also have a personal interest in knowing how this could have happened at Trinity Baptist Church. The allegations and charges are shocking; this is the church I came to know the Lord, as well as Tom Messer and other staff. Though I never met Bob Gray, I wanted to know: What went wrong?

Unfortunately, I can’t say this book was as helpful as I would have liked in answering that question. While the author was a student at the school and clearly has exposure to Christianity, reporting on a world not foreign to him, he’s also obviously not a believer today; taking swipes at the Bible throughout the book and the uneducated rubes who attend these IFB churches. It’s hard to blame him with what transpired at Trinity, though, and how it was swept under the rug.

Still, the bias comes through and proves distracting at times. He rightly highlights as problematic the narcissistic demands of a self-righteous preacher facing accusations, but also simple Christian doctrine. He devotes text to what is wrong with everyone associated with the church and broader Baptist fellowships rather than zeroing in on the pedophile and those who mishandled the charges at Trinity (some of which is warranted, of course). One review I read accuses the author of meandering too much, which is an accurate criticism — the book could have been more focused on Gray, the man and his actions, but the path makes more sense if the reader assumes prejudice against any Christianity that’s even nearly conservative.

That said, there is quite a bit that’s worth noting here. There are plenty of peccadillos and failings that characterize IFB churches. For instance, hair length, card playing, drinking, dancing, rock ‘n’ roll, television, movies, mixed swimming, and many other supposed evils occupied the pulpit for decades, filling the vacuum of preaching on personal holiness and the goodness of the gospel for God’s people. Indeed, in my years of bus and youth ministry, I digested plenty of messages about soldiering on in missions and evangelism, but I recall none about spiritual disciplines, personal communion with God, and practical holiness. I knew why the church didn’t like modern Bible translations, but not enough about the nourishment God’s Word could bring the Christian’s soul.

Perhaps that is part of the problem, which interviewees in Gilmore’s book likewise suggest. The bluster about Elvis and women wearing pants served as a façade of holiness, a distraction away from the lack of applied righteousness. We see that with other fallen leaders listed in this book. There’s plenty of things to occupy men’s anger in the pews, while that which would make them the most angry — the abuse of their wives and daughters and sons — can be overlooked. And, in many of these churches, there is an unbiblical leadership structure, ignoring the call for a plurality of elders, and instead placing a single pastor above all others — above all accountability.

Because of an assumed personal piety, men like Gray continued on for decades without criticism. In fact, as Gilmore reveals, Gray devoted many sermons over the years to the unquestionability of God’s servants. Just as many a fallen televangelist has preached the “touch not the Lord’s anointed” message, Gray used that prooftext as a shield against censure. He did so while preaching emotionally-manipulative sermons, working up the congregation with as much charisma as a Pentecostal teacher, ironically while ostensibly holding to an anti-Charismatic position. These two factors in a preacher should be immediate red flags that something is amiss, but they were missed by an adoring congregation.

The accusations against Gray mainly come in the second half of Gilmore’s book. While I had later heard of accusations against the former pastor (I never knew of them while attending Trinity), the scope of them were staggering. They span half a century, and they arise from nearly every aspect of Trinity’s ministry, from Gray’s car, to the church, to the camp, to the school, and even to the baptismal water. They come from children, both boys and girls, of varying ages, and varying degrees of violation. These accusations arise from victims and their families, with some speaking for others who couldn’t testify due to their suicides. What Gilmore documents against Gray is gut-wrenching.

This was a hard read for a number of reasons. As I said, I never knew Gray, though knowing I walked many of those same halls on Hammond Blvd. prompts a shudder. It’s perhaps more difficult for me, someone who appreciated Tom Messer as my pastor at one time, to hear how much he knew and how much he swept under the rug. Even though I’ve developed some disagreements over the years with the theology I learned at Trinity, I previously had thought of Messer as a man who, at the least, knew Scripture and cared for its teaching; I found it hard to stomach how unbiblically he handled Gray and the victims who pled for help.

I feel for the families involved, and I pray that they can find peace. I’m also sorrowful for folks like Gilmore, those who may have heard some of the truth of God in Trinity, but who may have rejected it due to the degenerate actions of an unqualified pastor. I hope that they would not throw the baby out with the bathwater, as there are countless who have passed through the baptismal waters, who grew up unmolested under the care of many preachers personally believing and practicing the truth. There is hope in Jesus Christ for life and peace, even if there are some who have shamefully taken His name in vain.

I recommend this book for those wanting to know what happened at Trinity and to see how some pastors avoid accountability.

[Ryan Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a lifetime member of Trinity Baptist Church, I was eager to explore insight into the history of the church and school that I love, despite its flaws. Insight, while gained, was carried only through choppy storytelling, distracted tangents, and forced attempts at poetic language.

I appreciate Gilmore's candid questions, which gave me considerable pause and reflection; truly, I struggled to cope with the depravity of this book. Even so, there is no denying Gilmore's clear bias towards Christianity, which is blatantly inferred on nearly every page

I recommend this book for its content, not its construction.

[Liz · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book attempts to tell the untold story of victims of Trinity Church but the writing style and editing made the book almost tiresome to follow. The book could have benefited with concrete chapters, citing a specific argument or referring to specific evidence. The book kept going back and forth between specific times and read more like a hate speech than educational. Although I'm much more aware of what happened at Trinity Church, this book needed to choose whether it's purpose was to share the history and stories at Trinity Church through cohesive chapters or simply served as a platform to mention some of the stories, followed by harsh language about the Church and its followers. Although I can agree that the Church's coverup and Bob Gray's actions were deplorable and deserve much worse language than was included in the book, I think criticism for the Church would have been more effective if the book had been set up better.

[Dan · Rating 2 out of 5]

i wanted to rate this 1-star but realized the book did make me think quite a bit. the writing style and the choppy approach to telling the story made me rate it so low. it's written more like a long term paper than a story uncovering the past of both the preacher and the church. that said, the content is pretty powerful in and of itself. my heart goes out to the victims, who're about my age now. what they've had to deal with internally is without a doubt uncalled for. we can learn a lot about how to be better people by reading this book. watch for signs; look out for other people; talk to your children with an open and honest intent. i'll get off my horse here, but the message in this book will stick for a while.

[Robby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tragic Reportage - I grew up in the neighborhood where Trinity was, spent time at Trinity Camp and Camp Tracey, and have a dozen or more connections with this place and time.

I read the book in one sitting. Tim Gilmore offers a rare glimpse into an exact moment in time, and gave me insight into the basis of the fundamentalist Baptist tradition I was immersed in (pun inevitable) at a very young age. This is an important entry not only into the history of Jacksonville, but of the intersection of religious zealotry and sexual violence in American culture.

[Sarah]

Maybe later I will write a more thorough review, but for now I'll just say this book was badly in need of an editor. It's a story that should be told, as horrific as it is, but wading through the unrelated material and choppy writing was a chore.