Brooks Hays: Politics Is My Parish

              Brooks Hays:  'Politics Is My Parish'   by Tom Miller     His highest honor came in his church relationships, but the greatest moral dilemmas were in the political arena.  That was the description given by Brooks Hays of a long career in government and a lifetime of relationship with Southern Baptist churches.  The former president of the Southern Baptist Convention and 16-year veteran of the U.S. Congress, spoke in Richmond April 9, as part of a series of conferences at Grace Church.    A native of Russellville, Arkansas, Hays represented his home district in Congress for eight terms until his religious and moral convictions on race relations ran counter to public opinion. In the election of 1958, while he was president of the Southern Baptist Convention, he lost his seat in Congress and gained a larger place in history.    Speaking on "A Christian's Responsibility to the Political System," Hays told of a letter he received from a Baptist missionary in Nigeria: "I'm not glad you lost the election," it said, "but you will never know how much good it has done our work to be able to say, 'The president of the Southern Baptist Convention considers a Christian stand on race relations more important than his seat in Congress.' "  Hays was a victim of his time. He was caught in the emotionalism surrounding the introduction of federal troops to desegregate Little Rock Central High School.  He has lived to see a majority subscribe to his position, but in 1958, he was among the minority.   The president who sent the troops, Dwight D. Eisenhower, reached for the "retired" congressman and made him a special assistant.  John F. Kennedy retained him in the same capacity.  He also was an assistant secretary of state and later first director of the Ecumenical Institute at Wake Forest University.   If ever he completes his memoirs, Hays says he will call the book "Politics Is My Parish."   It is possible someone else will have to write that book.  The energetic, 77-year-old Hays has kept a near frantic schedule of government service, teaching, travel and ecumenical Christian effort for 17 years since he left the Congress.  He has lectured on 278 college campuses where he enjoys the new freedom of students to challenge the professor.   "I thrill to the response of the young," he said, "as I talk about a committed life in terms of politics."   Hays, who was a two-term president of the Southern Baptist Convention (1958-59) said, 'I'm concerned about our country.  The extremes of wealth and poverty are divisive.  I do not believe America can survive with 80 per cent wealthy and 20 per cent wretched."  He said he hoped churches would make themselves heard during the coming Bicentennial celebration.  "If we aren't careful," he noted, "the voice of the church won't be heard.  All we will experience are parades and bands and oratory which can approach     8     THE RELIGIOUS HERALD