Overton museum marks preacher B. C. Goodpasture's place in history

by Amy Davis
TENNESSEE BIBLE COLLEGE

LIVINGSTON — His father had told him to "shoot without rest" while preaching.

And, according to friends, relatives and numerous historical accounts, that's just what Overton County native B.C. Goodpasture did, blasting sermon after sermon during his 64 years of preaching.

As a minister and evangelist in the church of Christ from 1912 until his death in 1977, Goodpasture made waves from pulpits throughout the southeastern United States, brazenly proclaiming the gospel message amidst religious controversy. What's more, he was editor of the top brotherhood journal, the Gospel Advocate, a post he held for 37 years in Nashville. And to this day, a pre-K-12 school bears his name — Goodpasture Christian School of Madison, Tenn.

B.C. Goodpasture (1912-1977)

"He was one of the greatest preachers in the church of Christ during his time," said cousin Billie Hill of Cookeville, who recently took steps to ensure that future generations recognize Goodpasture's place in his native county's history. It all started with a trip to the Overton County Heritage Museum in late 2007.

"I went to the new museum and saw exhibits on influential people I had known who have passed on," said Hill, a native of the Flat Creek community of Overton County, where Goodpasture also grew up. "And I thought, 'One of the greatest men who came from this county was B.C. Goodpasture.' I was related to him, had been employed by him (at the Gospel Advocate) and loved him dearly and thought people in Overton County needed to know about him and what he accomplished in his lifetime."

From there, Hill began gathering photos and other memorabilia of the preacher for display in the museum. Aiding her in the effort was Goodpasture's niece Reba Flatt.

"She was a great help," Hill said. "Reba had a lot of family pictures, and she also had a dress that B.C.'s mother had made, which is now in the exhibit."

The B.C. Goodpasture exhibit also includes a bust sculpture of the preacher, issues of the Gospel Advocate, a photo scrapbook, a book of sermons by Goodpasture, and a biographical book, The Anchor That Holds, by J.E. Choate (1971).

"He was recognized by churches of Christ as one of the top men in the brotherhood, and he did some outstanding work helping the church while he was preaching and editor of the Gospel Advocate," said Hill, who had been hired by Goodpasture at the Advocate in the mid-1950s to help meet her tuition needs at David Lipscomb College. She graduated in 1960 with a bachelor's degree in home economics and secondary education.

"B.C. was a great help and encouragement to me," she said. "If it hadn't been for him, I probably wouldn't have made it through school."

Goodpasture had also been a big influence on her husband, Malcolm, who became a preacher and founder and president of Tennessee Bible College in Cookeville.

He said, "B.C. Goodpasture was a very intellectual and down-to-earth man who loved humanity, and from him I learned to serve and do my best in the work of the church. He was very much for Christian education, and, no doubt, had quite an influence on me in thinking about Christian education."

Billie Hill of Cookeville shows one of the latest additions to the Overton County Heritage Museum, an exhibit on the late B.C. Goodpasture (1912-1977), an influential preacher in the church of Christ who also served as editor of the Gospel Advocate for 37 years and had a school named in his honor, Goodpasture Christian School in Madison. Goodpasture was a native of the Flat Creek community of Overton County.

The Benton Cordell "B.C." Goodpasture story began on a farm in the Rocky Mound community of Overton County, in the edge of what is now Standing Stone State Park. The eldest of eight children, he was born April 9, 1895, to John Jefferson and Elora Thompson Goodpasture. He was named after prominent Tennessee political figure Benton McMillin (later elected governor of Tennessee) and a promising young lawyer in the area named Cordell Hull (who later became Secretary of State and "Father of the United Nations").

The family later moved to the Flat Creek community, between Hilham and Livingston. In 1909, at age 14, Goodpasture was baptized and three years later preached his first sermon at Holly Springs. He had been educated in small, primitive schoolhouses around Flat Creek and Hilham, before leaving home for Burritt College in Spencer, Dixie College in Cookeville (now Tennessee Tech University) and Nashville Bible School (now David Lipscomb University), where he graduated in 1918 as valedictorian of his class.

That same year, Goodpasture married his first wife, Emily Cleveland Cliett, and the couple had two sons and a daughter. After his wife's death in 1964, Goodpasture wed Freddie Goetz in 1965.

Goodpasture joined the Gospel Advocate staff in 1920 and was editor from 1939 until his death in 1977 at age 82. In addition, he had preached for church of Christ congregations in Shelbyville; Atlanta, Ga.; Florence, Ala.; and Nashville and held gospel meetings in 20 states.

He served on the board of directors at Goodpasture Christian School, which was founded in Madison in 1965 and named in his honor. Goodpasture was one of two Gospel Advocate editors — the other being David Lipscomb — with a school bearing his name.

"The Gospel Advocate has meant a lot to the churches of Christ, and it's had some great editors," Hill said.

What does Hill hope museum visitors will take from the B.C. Goodpasture exhibit?

"A lot of people in Overton County and elsewhere, especially the younger ones, do not know who B.C. Goodpasture was," Hill said. "So I just want them to view the exhibit and realize what a great Christian he was, what he meant to Overton County and its citizens and the good he accomplished as a preacher and Christian."

The Overton County Heritage Museum is located at 318 Broad Street in Livingston and open Thursday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, call (931)823-7636 or (931)498-2551.