‘Notre Dame of SBC’ burns in Dallas

A church building the Southern Baptist Convention president called the Notre Dame of the denomination fell victim to a four-alarm fire Friday night, July 19.

Firefighters have not yet determined the cause of the fire that took down the historic sanctuary of First Baptist Church of Dallas in an hours-long event broadcast live on local TV and making national headlines. Flames and smoke billowed hundreds of feet into the air between downtown skyscrapers beginning around 6 p.m.

After the second alarm of the fire appeared to have gotten the blaze under control, the roof of the 1890 building collapsed into the sanctuary where George W. Truett and W.A. Criswell preached, setting the brick and wood structure ablaze again.

What remains is the charred brick wall outline of the structure, with most windows gone. On Sunday morning, as church members gathered at the nearby Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, a gentle rain fell in Dallas, tamping down the still smoldering remains.

Dallas Fire ladder trucks remain on site to ensure the blaze is not kindled again. The smell of fire and ash lingers over the nearby streets of downtown.

Senior Pastor Robert Jeffress — a nationally known figure because of his role as a Fox News commentator and vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump — told the crowd gathered at the convention center: “It’s like those flames represented the flames of hell and they were destroying the truth that I had banked my life and eternity on. You know, as I watched that I thought of what Jesus said. He said to his disciples, ‘Destroy this temple and in three days it will be built back.’ Now he was talking not about the physical temple but his body, but his disciples didn’t understand that, but when Jesus died on that Friday, when he was buried, when he was taken off the Cross the disciples had the same feeling we did Friday — a feeling of despair, discouragement. But three days later, Jesus arose from the dead and the story changed.

“Last Friday night, it looked like the gates of hell were prevailing, that Satan was going to win. … But ladies and gentlemen, it is Sunday morning, it is a day of resurrection, it’s not a day of death and I am pledging to you we’re going to rebuild that sanctuary. We’re going to recreate it as a standing symbol of the truth, the unchangeableness, the endurance of the word of God.”

What will be built in place of the historic sanctuary will take time and committee work to figure out, he said. But rebuilding is necessary to defeat the plan of the devil, he said.

The building that burned no longer is the primary worship space for the megachurch. A new building — in an ultra-modern style — opened in 2013. The old and new structures abut each other, but there has been no mention of any damage to the new building. First Baptist occupies buildings on multiple city blocks.

Jeffress told his congregation Sunday morning architects had advised against creating a new sleek modern building adjacent to the historic red-brick sanctuary, declaring it would be an “architectural monstrosity.”

“But it was a theological necessity because we were painting a picture to people throughout the community and world that yes, methods change for sharing the gospel, media changes but the message never changes; the message remains the same. And having that old Victorian style building right next to a building filled with glass and all the modern technologies is a reminder, was a constant reminder, that the truth of God’s word never never changes.”

Jeffress grew up at First Baptist Dallas and was baptized in the old sanctuary. Across social media Friday night and into the weekend, others who grew up in the church, were married or baptized in the church posted memories of their beloved space. Because of the influence of Truett and Criswell, thousands of people who never were members of the church passed through its doors and had memories to share.

Jeffress did not preach Sunday morning. The sermon was delivered by Executive Pastor Ben Lovvorn.