The Intersection: Where Religious Liberty and Power Meet

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The video was a joint project between American Baptist Home Mission Societies (then “National Ministries, American Baptist Churches USA”) and the Baptist Joint Committee. Filmed at The Riverside Church in New York City, production was by Ward & Associates of Washington, D.C.

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The story behind “The Intersection”

By Susan E. Gillies

James Dunn’s wit and wisdom captivated folks all over the country. I watched him woo and persuade those on the left and right politically and theologically. I saw him influence the thinking of poor and rich, educated and less so, urban and rural. And I wanted to capture that. I wondered how we could “package” the uniqueness of James.  

In the 1990s, I was deputy executive director of the American Baptist Home Mission Societies – part of American Baptist Churches USA, which is one of the Baptist Joint Committee’s supporting bodies – and I decided we needed a video of James being James. It took nearly two years of mentioning it to him repeatedly. One day he called and suggested instead of me interviewing him, how about his friend Bill Moyers doing it. You need to understand I worked in public radio (primarily in North Dakota) before I worked for American Baptist Churches. Bill Moyers is my broadcasting hero, as James is my Baptist-faith-in-action hero. James called a few days later and said, Bill has a production crew he’d like to have record and edit the video. They’ve done pieces for major TV news programs. Would that be all right? Less than a millisecond passed before I agreed.

The day of the taping, James got on the train in D.C., I got on in Philly and we proceeded to The Riverside Church in New York City. The production crew liked the ambiance of the sanctuary. Both the crew and Bill Moyers treated me as the producer and I was floating. Then the taping began. Quality people, quality work.

I originally thought we’d get James being witty in the manner of many platform presentations he had done. But he was sitting with a brilliant, dear friend talking about core values. The result was a fascinating conversation. I wish you could see all the raw footage.

After the taping, we headed home. As the train slowed down at Philadelphia, I got up to leave, then turned around and said one last thing, “James, I’ll never forget this night as long as I live.” The man in the row ahead of us raised up in his seat and peered over at us in great curiosity. I had meant no double entendre. Nearly every time I saw James in the years following, he had to re-tell that part of the story to as many people as he could gather round. Imagine James’ voice saying, “This fella looked over the seat to see what kind of a man had gotten her to say that – and it wasn’t even midnight yet – and he saw this little, withered up old man. He couldn’t believe it!”

I never have and never will forget that night.

Enjoy watching “The Intersection.”

Susan E. Gillies