By Larry Chesser
For nearly two decades, James M. Dunn served as Baptists’ “hired hand” in Washington, working for religious liberty and the separation of church and state. He frequently used that self-description, and it said a lot about how he led the Baptist Joint Committee.
When he arrived in 1981, James brought a full tool chest — a Ph.D. in ethics, experience as a pastor and campus minister, leadership of Texas Baptists’ ethics agency and an amazing collection of close ties to Baptist clergy and laity, journalists and politicians. He used all these gifts to advance religious liberty, as well as to bolster the BJC after losing the support of its largest member body.
Almost from the start, James and the agency came under fire from the emerging fundamentalist leadership in the Southern Baptist Convention. James did not back down when it came to the historic Baptist principles of soul freedom and religious liberty and the idea that the separation of church and state is the best way to protect religious liberty.
He was head of the close-knit Washington office for 14 of the 19 years I worked in the communications department. He constantly encouraged us and gave us freedom to do the job. I don’t recall him asking to review an article before it was published. Conversely, when we suggested changes in his writings, he took it in stride. Only a time or two did he say, “No, Larry, I said what I meant to say, and that’s the way I want to say it.”
James’ column for Report from the Capital always arrived hand-written on anything from a legal pad to a napkin to the backs of scrap paper or envelopes. It was the same handwriting he used to send what had to be thousands of personal notes. As their hired hand, James believed Baptists should hear from him personally, and he spent time every day making that happen.
James lived both ethically and frugally. His lunch frequently consisted of either a bowl of Senate bean soup or a handful of Hubs peanuts that he often shared with the staff.
He loved to mentor young folks. The internship program he developed at the BJC was — and is — wildly successful. It’s not surprising that when he retired as head of the BJC, he moved to Wake Forest University Divinity School where he continued to invest in the future.
James was a staunch defender of religious liberty who knew his way in the political world of Washington. But he also was a compassionate full-time Christian minister. I remember James flying back from Texas after funeral services for his father to keep a commitment to preach a revival at a Northern Virginia Baptist church. It did not get press coverage, but it was just as much a part of James as his Capitol Hill testimony.
Monday morning staff meetings normally dealt with BJC work plans, but they also were a time to focus on personal concerns. I recall the Monday after our 8-year-old daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. James led the staff in prayer, using his customary King James English. “We need Thee every hour, our Father,” he began the prayer. I don’t recall anything else from that staff meeting, but to this day I can still hear James voice those words.
I witnessed a fuller view of James when he served as interim preacher at Ravensworth Baptist Church in Annandale, Virginia. Until then, I had mostly heard James speak or preach about religious liberty or soul freedom, but this lengthy interim gave me the chance to hear him deal with a broader range of subjects. One Sunday morning after the service, I ran into the late Col. Robert Alsheimer. We had just listened to James “tell the truth with the bark still on it,” as his colleague Foy Valentine once said. After we both complimented the sermon, Bob emphatically said, “I love that guy.” It is a sentiment shared by a lot of folks at Ravensworth and elsewhere who are grateful for James’ rich contributions to their lives.
Larry Chesser served as the BJC’s information associate in the early 1980s and later as the director of communications from 1990-2004. He is retired and living in Arkansas.
From the July/August 2015 Report from the Capital. Click here to read the next story.
BJC Executive Director Brent Walker and former staff member Kenny Byrd also wrote tributes to James Dunn for this edition of Report from the Capital.
