The Gospel of J. Edgar Hoover by Lerone A. Martin
Author:Lerone A. Martin
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Published: 2022-12-05T00:00:00+00:00
Shepherding Pastors
Galvanized by the RSV controversy, pastors from across the country sought Hooverâs approval and guidance on a host of issues. They fashioned Hoover a pastor to pastors. Clergy wrote for guidance pertaining to the purity of their ministries and denominations, and the propriety of their personal piety. They looked to Hoover to police and purify the faith.
First and foremost among clergy seeking Hooverâs guidance was Hooverâs pastor. Reverend Elson admitted âon numerous occasionsâ that he went to Hoover âfor counsel.â He made a habit of requesting Hooverâs clearance on books and religious material for the church. He asked if Hoover would investigate certain books and authors and report back to him âwhether or not any of the books or authors are on the subversive list, or are in any way implicated in subversive activities.â24 The pastor did not trust his own judgment as much as he trusted Hooverâs adjudication of theological purity.
Reverend Elson even looked to Hoover, like a Bishop, to police church membership. Reverend Elson described the most âticklishâ occasion, involving Larry Motherwell, a young ordained elder in the congregation. The pastorâs suspicions were awakened when Motherwell, the leader of the Sunday Evening Club, began collecting money from the clubâs twenty- to thirty-five-year-old parishioners for a trip abroad. The pastor asked Hoover for help. âFor months,â the pastor proudly recalled, âFBI agents attended church dinners and services, sitting near Motherwell, without anyone in the church knowing what was going on.â When the taxpayer-funded investigation concluded, a disappointed Hoover stopped by the church office, a folder full of investigative memos in tow, and baldly asked his pastor, âHow did this bird get into our church, let alone get elected an elder?â Motherwellâs real name was John Cavender, a carpenter who had served time in prison for impersonating a naval officer. Reverend Elson rendered the manâs ordination null and void and dismissed him from the church for impersonating a committed Christian.25 Hoover was well pleased.
Pastors across the country did likewise. They wrote Hoover for religious guidance, hoping he would help keep them and their flocks and denominations on the straight and narrow. Reverend Jospeh E. Humerickhouse, pastor of First Baptist Church, Fowler, Colorado, got straight to the point in his March 24, 1960, letter. He asked the FBI Boss to answer one simple but profound question: âIs the American Baptist Convention ⦠in any way officially connected with the Communist Party ⦠An official statement from you will be greatly appreciated.â26
Others asked about specific theological and ecclesiological issues. Reverend Karl E. Blake, pastor of Redeemer Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lebanon, Connecticut, requested Hooverâs theological position on church raffles. âAs a Christian pastor for 40 years I am opposed to all forms of gambling including raffles, because the word of God states: âThou shalt not steal,â â he told Hoover. He asked the FBI director for his position, âpro or con or both on raffles.â27 No issue was too small.
Pastor Tyler Terry of the Evangelical Free Church of Oroville, California, wrote
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