PAT BOONE AND THE BOMB SCARE

The foregoing testimonial from Pat Boone is representative of “the New Look” in the Church of Christ, and we must admit that it is a refreshing one. Some will be left uneasy with some of Pat’s experiences, but such ones must realize that God deals with us in different ways. No wise parent treats each of his children in exactly the same way. We are of different temperaments and we have different needs, so if experiences are real, they will necessarily be different. The will of God is never exactly the same for any two people, and what would please God in one person might displease him in the case of another. God wants our experiences to be authentic and personal, and so it is consistent for some of us to become poets while others of us restrict ourselves to prose.

If one needs some scriptures in order to get through Pat’s piece, beside those he cites, he might consider 1 Cor. 12:7: “In each of us the Spirit is manifested in one particular way, for some useful purpose.” And for those who would judge him too quickly there is 1 Cor. 14:39: “Do not forbid the speaking in tongues.”

Apart from Pat Boone’s adventure in the Holy Spirit is the remarkable change that has come in his life as a public figure. It sounds strange that a movie actor and TV star is conducting prayer meetings in his home and baptizing people in his swimming pool. And one can believe that when Pat Boone sings about the Lord and portrays the life of a missionary to teenage gangland that it is not just acting and entertaining, but a genuine testimony to what he really is on the inside.

But in this addendum my purpose is to share with you an unusual performance by Pat Boone recently in the Cotton Bowl, which I attended with two of my children. It was a gathering of some 15,000 teenagers on drug abuse, and Pat and Shirley Boone flew in from California so that Pat could serve as master of ceremonies. They also had John Wayne there, who received an Oscar for the best actor of the year, along with eight or ten of the Dallas Cowboys. Dr. Hardin Jones of the University of California lectured on drugs and some drug addicts gave testimonials of their deliverance. But it was all more like a religious revival than an educational meeting, and there was a definite implication that the Christian faith is the answer to the drug problem. Dallas has had its problems in this area and the sponsors were hopeful that such a meeting would prove helpful. They were wise in selecting Pat Boone as the emcee.

The story up to this point is not particularly unusual, even though it was encouraging to hear men like John Wayne talk about God and call our youth to religious faith. And the kids of course got a bang out of seeing Pat Boone in person, who somehow still seems to be young like they are. While I was unable to get to Pat to meet him personally, I thought of our correspondence while I sat there watching him, and I was especially conscious of his recent experiences in the Holy Spirit as I was at that time preparing the above article for publication.

But then something most unusual did occur. I sensed something was up when Pat made the odd suggestion that we all take a break, all 15,000 of us, and go get something to drink. The kids shouted back their rejection of such a suggestion, for they wanted the show to go on. After some exchange with the powers that be, including the chief of police who was on the stage in the center of the Cotton Bowl, Pat leveled with the kids and told them he knew they’d keep their cool but that the police had a report that a bomb had been planted under the stage, set to be detonated at 2:30. It was then 2:25. The city authorities, and perhaps Pat too, feared the kids might panic and stampede at the announcement and we’d have another tragedy on our hands, so Pat let it down easy. But these kids today are so adjusted to our dangerous world that he might as well have told them that they were going to turn loose 101 Dalmatians. When Pat threatened to stay on stage and go on with the show, ignoring the bomb threat, they applauded.

But Pat was not about to do anything like that, not in Dallas that is, not even if he wanted to. Dallas is now very sensitive about protecting the celebrities that come to town, and they are disinclined to take the slightest chance. So all the stars came tumbling down from the platform while a search was made, plank by plank, and when 2:30 arrived a dozen or more policemen were inside and outside the platform looking for a bomb that was at that moment suppose to blow up in their faces.

All that was one more brief footnote in the story of our psychopathic world, but it did give the lieutenant-governor, who graced the rally with his presence, a chance to say what he thought of folk that had that kind of idea of having fun. We all agreed that they were bums, to use a term that comes from rather high places these days. What was really unusual about the episode was the way Pat Boone conducted the affair while the police quietly took the place apart.

He made a prayer meeting out of it! After allowing the lieutenant-governor to say his bit, Pat went on to talk of God and love, pointing to what John Wayne said in calling youth back to religious values. Then at the time the bomb was suppose to go off Pat began to pray. Already he had sung about love as only Pat can sing, and now he was praying, right there in the Cotton Bowl, with all those young people tuned in, and with celebrities all over the place. I thought of the above testimonial, where he says he was once sensitive about his image and did not want to confuse his “church life” and “public life.” But now he was praying impromptu in a very delicate situation, and what a testimony it was for the Christian faith. And in the prayer he glorified the Christ!

I was glad for my children to see it. Here was a man they had seen on TV and heard over stereo, wealthy, young, and famous, who handled a crisis by turning to God, with governors and police chiefs standing by. A public figure who is unafraid and unashamed to call upon the Lord. Pat Boone is one more reason I have hope for the future of the Church of Christ and why I believe this country has not yet gone to the dogs.—the Editor