EGN NEWS DESK
(CP) Pastor Robert Jeffress stated former President Donald Trump despatched him a observe after he was knowledgeable that the historic sanctuary of First Baptist Dallas was engulfed in flames.
“This historic sanctuary that burned to the bottom was the positioning that presidents visited once they got here to Dallas. Woodrow Wilson, Gerald Ford, President George H. W. Bush had been all worshipers in that sanctuary,” Jeffress advised CBS affiliate KTVT concerning the 134-year-old church constructing in downtown Dallas that was reported on hearth simply after 6 p.m. Central time Friday night.
Trump, who beforehand spoke on the church on Dec. 19, 2021, despatched Jeffress a observe and “supplied his assist to do something he might,” Jeffress added.
When requested if he thought the church was attacked as a result of somebody was angered by his vocal assist for the previous president, Jeffress responded that he didn’t imagine there was any connection.
“I do not imagine my assist for President Trump has something to do with this fireplace,” he maintained.
On Saturday, hearth investigators had been joined by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the FBI to analyze the reason for the fireplace.
When requested if arson was suspected as a explanation for the fireplace, Dallas Fire-Rescue Interim Chief Justin Ball stated Friday night that investigators must decide that because the trigger was but unknown.
Ball stated it appeared the fireplace “could have began within the basement and moved as much as the second ground” the place firefighters first battled the blaze. As many as 100 firefighters responded to the four-alarm hearth. “Thank God [there were] no casualties,” Ball added.
The basement housed the church’s library the place the church’s historic information had been saved.
“We’re not going to let these flames have the ultimate say,” Jeffress advised KTVT. “The reality is, the church isn’t made up of wooden and brick and mortars; it’s made up of the people who find themselves in that worship heart.”
First Baptist Dallas had simply wrapped up its Vacation Bible School, which was attended by 2,000 kids, and used a portion of the historic sanctuary for a few of its occasions. The incontrovertible fact that the fireplace began after VBS ended and nobody was injured was “miraculous safety by God,” Jeffress stated.
The church introduced Saturday morning that as a result of smoke affected newer areas of the church inbuilt 2013, Sunday worship can be held as one service on the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center at 11 a.m. native time.
On Saturday, the Dallas Fire Department advised church workers that what stays of the historic a part of the church inbuilt 1890 must be torn down as a result of it has no “structural integrity” and must be demolished quickly in order that the road could be reopened to site visitors.
The pink brick constructing, referred to as the church’s previous sanctuary, was inbuilt 1890. It was the church’s dwelling earlier than the brand new $130 million worship heart was inbuilt 2013.
“We have skilled a fireplace within the Historic Sanctuary. To our data, nobody is harm or injured, and we thank God for His safety. He is sovereign even in probably the most troublesome instances,” Jeffress wrote on X Friday night time. “‘And we all know that God causes all issues to work collectively for good to those that love God, to those that are referred to as in response to His function.’ — Romans 8:28.”
In an interview with Fox 4, Jeffress stated that the sanctuary was the positioning of many private occasions, together with his baptism when he was 6, and ordination for the ministry at 21.
“It holds quite a lot of reminiscences,” Jeffress stated. “We thank God no person was harm. … I’m grateful that the church isn’t brick and mortar, its folks. The folks of God will endure. First Baptist Dallas will endure. We thank so lots of our buddies across the nation who’re praying for us proper now.”
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who famous that world-renowned evangelist Billy Graham was as soon as a member of the church, prolonged his prayers to its pastors and members in a submit on X, including, “I’m assured God’s Light will shine down on First Baptist.”
While the late Graham did not reside in Dallas, he was a member of the church from 1953 till 2008, when he moved his membership nearer to his dwelling in North Carolina, The Dallas Morning News beforehand reported.
Denny Burk, the director of the Center for Gospel and Culture at Boyce College of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kentucky, wrote on X that he and his spouse had been members of the church earlier than transferring to Louisville. He referred to as the fireplace a “grievous loss.”
“The church had back-to-back historic pastorates within the twentieth century. Two pastors who every ministered for 50 years. Two pastors in 100 years! George W. Truett adopted by W.A. Criswell. Both of them preached in that constructing. Both of them towering figures within the SBC.”
© The Christian Post
