1
CURRICULUM VITAE (revised Nov. 2012)
William L. Pitts, Jr.
717 Ivyann
Waco, TX 76712
(254) 776-3665 – H (254) 710-6321
EDUCATION
1969:Vanderbilt University, Ph.D.
Major – Church History
Minor – American History
Dissertation: “World Christianity: The Church History
Writing of Kenneth Scott Latourette.”
Supervisors: EgonGerdes and Wilhelm Pauck
1963:Vanderbilt Divinity School, M.Div., Church History concentration
1960:Baylor University, B.A., Double Major: History and Religion
1956:Duncan Senior High School, Diploma, Duncan, Oklahoma
ACADEMIC/LEADERSHIP HONORS
2010:The Norman W, Cox Award for the best article published by the Baptist History and Heritage Society in 2009.
2006:Baptist History and Heritage Distinguished Service Award, June 2, 2006
2005:Phi Kappa Chi Professor, April 7, 2005 (Chris Watkins)
2004:Outstanding Graduate Professor, Baylor University (Graduate Student
Association Award) May 3, 2004
2003:Phi Kappa Chi Professor, April, 2003 (Patrick Broaddus)
1998:Directory of American Scholars
1995:Phi Kappa Chi Professor, April, 1995
1993-94:Mortar Board Distinguished Professor
1991:Who’s Who in Religion
1974:Piper Professor Nominee
1966-67:Highest Student Rating, Mercer University
1964-65:Lilly Scholarship for Vanderbilt Ph.D.
1963:Church History Prize, Vanderbilt Divinity School
1963:Luke-Acts Prize, Vanderbilt Divinity School
1960:Baylor Rifle Team letter, 1956-60; captain, 1960
1956:Outstanding Senior Man, Duncan Senior High School
1956:Crossman Award: Outstanding Student, DHS
1956:Student Council President, DHS
1955:State President, Oklahoma Royal Ambassadors
EMPLOYMENT HISTORY
1975ff:Associate Professor and Professor, Baylor University
1970-75:Associate Professor, Dallas Baptist University
1969-70:Assistant Professor, Houston Baptist University
1966-69:Instructor, Mercer University
LISTINGS/BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Directory of American Scholars, 1978, 1998, 2000, 2003
Who’s Who in the World, 1999
“Portrait,” Chronicle of Higher Education, March 24, 1993
Who’s Who in America, 1992
CSSR Directory of Faculty, 1992
Who’s Who in Religion, 1991
Who’s Who in Education, 1979
North American Protestant Overseas Directory, 1976
INDIVIDUAL AND COLLABORATIVE TEACHING AREAS
Teaching Areas:
American Church History, European Church History, Reformation Studies,
Old Testament (Introduction).
Courses Taught at Baylor:
Current Offerings:
The Christian Heritage
Introduction to Church History
History of Protestantism
Introduction to Religion in America
Colloquium on Church History
American Religion I, 1607-1860 (seminar)
American Religion II, 1860-present (seminar)
Modern European Christianity (seminar)
World Cultures II, 300 C.E.-1600 C.E.
Courses Occasionally Offered:
The Middle Ages (seminar)
The Continental Reformation (seminar)
The English Reformation (seminar)
Introduction to Christian Missions
The Christian Scriptures
Introduction to New Testament
Old Testament History
Western Thought and Culture
Team Teaching and Syllabus Design:
1995-present: Coordinator of eight professors for World Cultures II, (300 – 1600
C.E.), a course designed for the innovative Baylor Interdisciplinary Core
(BIC) program.
1992-2001: Western Thought and Culture (five professors): Baylor in Great
Britain (taught each summer in London).
1971: Scripts for Video Instruction: Dallas Baptist University
1969: Sophomore Core Curriculum: Houston Baptist University (six professors)
GRADUATE ACTIVITIES
Graduate Faculty, 1976-present.
Director of Graduate Studies in Department of Religion, 1988-91; 2006-2010
Director/Reader of Dissertations/Theses:
Thirty-eight Ph.D. Dissertations and seven M.A. Theses completed;
Second/third reader for numerous additional dissertations and theses
within and outside the Department of Religion (English, History, Church- State studies, Music).
Graduate Students at Scholarly Meetings:
Ph.D. students read papers regularly at regional and national meetings of the AAR and ASCH, and other professional organizations.
Mentor, Five people who received “Outstanding Graduate Students” at Baylor:
Jonathan Kris Pratt (2004)
Carol Crawford Holcomb (1999)
Jeff Taylor (1998)
Steve Oldham (1997)
Mel Hawkins (1995)
Mentoring Committee Member for Truett Seminary Student:
Jeff Huckeby (June 2002)
Compiler of “Bibliography for Ph.D. Students in The History of
Christianity,” 2004; periodically revised, most recently in 2012.
Religion, Politics and Society (formerly Institute for Church State Studies:
Regularly serve on Ph.D. preliminary examination and dissertation committees’
School of Music: Regularly serve on Master’s Oral Examination committee.
Assisted Baptist Studies effort with planning, travel, committee meetings.
Secured funding for Graduate Student Travel, Dissertation Subventions and Baptist publications
Participated in Graduate School Seminar on Preparing CV’s and Application cover letters
PUBLICATIONS
Research and Publications Areas:
Baptist History and Identity, New Religious Movements/Alternative Religious Movements, Spirituality, Rauschenbusch, Historiography.
Articles Published in Journals: (* refereed articles)
“Texans Begin Baptist Work in Brazil,” Common Call, August 2013, 17.
* “SHEkinah: Lois Roden’s Quest for Gender Equality,” Nova Religio,
*Leadership in the Youth-Led Revival Movement,” Texas Baptist History,
* “Debating the True Church on the Grounds of Believer’s Baptism: The Ecclesiology of Hanserd Knollys,” Baptist History and Heritage, XLVII (Summer 2012), No. 2, 55- 67.
* “Conscience and Compromise: Strategies of Dissent in Late Tudor England,” Journal of Church and State, vol. 54, No. 4 (Autumn 2012), 581-602.
* “Why Baptist History Matters: Rauschenbusch and Latourette,” American Baptist Quarterly, XXIX (Fall 2010), No. 3, 149-171.
* “The Popular Reception of Rauschenbusch’s Christianity and the Social Crisis, 1907-1910,” American Baptist Quarterly, XXVIII (Summer 2009), No. 2, 162- 179.
* “Baptist Origins and Identity in 1609: The John Smyth/Richard Clifton Literary Debate,” Perspectives in Religious Studies, 36 (2009), 377-390.
* “Women Leaders in the Davidian and Branch Davidian Traditions,” Nova Religio, Vol. 12, No.4 (May 2009), 50-71.
* “Arguing Regenerate Church membership: Baptist Identity during Its First Decade, 1610-1620,” Baptist History and Heritage, XLIV, No. 1 (Winter 2009), 20-39.
* “Recruiting for Missions: the Baylor Volunteer Foreign Mission Band, 1900-1916,” Baptist History and Heritage, Vol. XLIII, No. 1 (Winter 2008), 94-110.
* “Personal and Social Christianity in Rauschenbusch’s Thought,” American Baptist Quarterly, Vol. XXVI, No. 2 (Summer 2007), 138-160.
* “Women, Ministry, and Identity: Establishing Female Deacons at First Baptist Church, Waco, Texas,” Baptist History and Heritage, Vol. XLII, No. 1 (Winter 2007), 71-84
* “Christianity and the Social Crisis: Rauschenbusch’s Legacy After a Century.”
Baptist History and Heritage, XLI (Summer/Fall 2006), No. 3, 35-48.
“Z.N. Morrell, Texas Baptist Pioneer.”Baptist Way, Issue 21 (September,
October, November 2003).
* “Current Trends in Texas Baptist Ordination.” Perspectives in Religious Studies,
29, No. 3 (Fall 2002), 259-267.
* “Kenneth Scott Latourette, Church Historian.” Baptist History and Heritage,
37, No. 1 (Winter 2002): 52-70.
* “Changing Views of the Millennium in the Davidian Tradition.” Journal of
Religious History, 24, No. 1 (February 2000): 87-102.
* “Millennialism in the Western Religious Tradition: A Basic Bibliography.”
Choice, 37, No. 4 (December 1999): 645-655.
“1950-1959: Strong Commitment Fuels Missions Growth.” The Baptist
Standard, November 1999: 11.
* “Southern Baptists and Millennialism, 1900-2000: Conceptual Patterns
and Historical Expressions.” Baptist History and Heritage, 34, No. 2
(Spring 1999): 7-27.
“Religion of the Future,” Baylor News. (1999)
* “The Persistence of the Millennium,” Medieval Perspectives 12 (1997): 1-24.
* “Texas Baptists’ Maturing Role in Education,” Texas Baptist History 15 (1995):
15-40.
* “Robert Andrew Baker: Texas Baptist Historian.” Texas Baptist History 13
(1993). 69-86.
* “The Davidian Tradition” The Council of Societies for the Study of Religion
Bulletin 22, No. 4 (November, 1993): 99-101.
* “The Mount Carmel Davidians: Adventist Reformers, 1935-1959.” Syzgy2,
(Winter/Spring 1993): 39-54.
“Baptists Search for Unity Among Divisions.” The Baylor Messenger, October
1993:2.
* “Millennial Spirituality of the Branch Davidians.” Christian Spirituality Bulletin,
1, No. 1 (Spring 1993): 19-20.
“Denomination or Cult?” The Baylor Line, Summer 1993: 37-38, 79.
* “The Priesthood of All Believers in the Baptist Tradition.” Southwestern Journal
of Theology, Spring 1988: 34-45.
* “Religious Cults in America: A Bibliographical Essay.” Choice 21, No. 8 (April
1984): 1094-1102.
“Brazilian Baptists to Mark Centennial October 15 in Salvador.”The Baptist
Standard, October 1982:16.
“Baptist Beginnings in Brazil: Notes on the English Sources.” Texas Baptist
History 2 (1982): 45-48.
* “Baptist Beginnings in Brazil.” Baptist History and Heritage 17, No. 4 (October
1982): 4-16.
“George W. Truett.” Texas Baptist History 1 (1981): 62-63.
“Editor’s Note.” An annual contribution to Texas Baptist History, 1981-2000.
“1894 Dallas Convention Reduces Mission Debt.” Baptist and Reflector 131,
No. 18 (May 6, 1965): 3. Reprinted in several Baptist state papers.
“The Use of the Old Testament in Light of the Critical Method.”Koinonia 7,
No. 3 (March 1963): 5-8.
Articles Published in Encyclopedias and Dictionaries:
“The Branch Davidians.” Religions of the World, 4 vols. Edited by Gordon
Melton, Denver, Colorado: ABC CLIO, Vol. 1:160-162; 2nd Edition, 2009.
“The Branch Davidians.” Religions of the World, 4 vols. Edited by Gordon
Melton, Denver, Colorado: ABC CLIO, 2002, Vol. 1:160-162.
“Davidians.” Encyclopedia of Millennialism and Millennial Movements.
Edited by Richard Landes, New York: Routledge, 2000, 113-117.
“Independence, Texas.” (with Byron Augustin) The New Handbook of Texas,
Edited by Ron Tyler, Austin: Texas State Historical Association, 1996,
Vol. 3:823.
“Davidians and Branch Davidians.” The New Handbook of Texas. Edited by
Ron Tyler, Austin: Texas State Historical Association, 1996, Vol. 2:
520-521.
“William Buck Bagby.” The New Handbook of Texas.Edited by Ron Tyler.
Austin: Texas State Historical Association, 1996, Vol. 1:333.
“Victor T. Houteff.” Encyclopedia of New Religious Cults and Sects, Edited by
James Lewis, New York: Facts on File, 1995.
“Davidian Seventh-day Adventists.” Encyclopedia of New Religious Cults and
Sects. Edited by James Lewis, New York: Facts on File, 1995.
* “Davidians and Branch Davidians,” New Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 19
Supplement 1989-1995. Edited by Berard L. Marthaler, Washington
D.C.: Catholic University Press, 1995, 96-98. Selected in 1999 for
inclusion in new edition of NCE.
* “Enlightenment and American Protestantism.” Dictionary of Christianity in
America. Edited by Daniel G. Reid, Downers Grove, Illinois: Intervarsity
Press, 1990: 393-395.
* “Romanticism and American Protestantism.” Dictionary of Christianity in
America, edited by Daniel G. Reid. Downers Grove, Illinois: Intervarsity
Press, 1990: 1028-1030.
“Hermond Edwin Westmoreland.” Encyclopedia of Southern Baptists, Vol. IV,
Supplement A-Z. Nashville: Broadman Press, 1982: 2545.
“Blake Smith.” Encyclopedia of Southern Baptists, Vol. IV, Supplement A-Z.
Nashville: Broadman Press, 1982: 2455.
Artcles in Religious Online Publications
“Labor Day and the Faith: Walter Rauschenbusch’s Prayers for Workers,”Ethics Daily.com,August 29, 2013.
Reprints
Dissertation selected for microfilm reprint services, 1976.
Contributions to Books
“Foreward,”, by Jerry Faught, Mellen Press, 2013.
“Foreword,” The Life and Writings of Thomas Helwys, by Joe Early, Jr., Atlanta: Mercer University Press, 2009.
* “Recruiting for Missions: the Baylor Volunteer Foreign Mission Band, 1900-1906,” Baptists and Mission: Papers from the Fourth International Conference on Baptist Studies. Vol 29 of Studies in Baptist History and Thought, ed. By Ian M. Randall and Anthony R. Cross, with Foreword by David Bebbington. London:Paternoster Press, 2007. Pages 164-177.
* “Women, Ministry and Identity: Establishing Female Deacons at First Baptist
Church, Waco, 1996.” Baptist History and Thought: Baptist Identities. Vol. 19 of International Studies from the Seventeenth to the Twentieth Centuries, ed. By Ian M. Randall, Toivo Pilli and Anthony R. Cross, with Foreword by David Bebbington. London: Paternoster Press, 2006. Pages 99-110.
* “Current Trends in Texas Baptist Ordination.” Baptists and Ordination. Ed.
William H. Brackney, published by National Association of Baptist
Professors of Religion 2003.
“God Will Again Dwell Among His People: Meditations on Zechariah 1-8,” in
Advent Devotions, for First Baptist Church, Waco, Texas, Fall 2002.
* “Davidians and Branch Davidians: 1929-1987,” in Armageddon in Waco. Ed.
Stuart Wright, 20-42, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995.
* “The Davidian Tradition,” in From the Ashes: Making Sense of Waco. Ed.
James R. Lewis, 33-39. Lanham, Maryland: Rowland and Littlefield
Publishers, Inc., 1994.
* “The Spirituality of A.B. Simpson.” Modern Christian Spirituality:
Methodological and Historical Essays. Ed. Bradley Hanson, 223-248.
Atlanta: Georgia: Scholars Press, 1991.
* “Baptist Relations with Other Christians.” The Believer’s Church: Essays
In Honor of James Leo Garrett. Ed. Paul Basden and David Dockery,
235-250.Nashville: Broadman, 1990.
Contributor to Books for College Libraries, 3rd edition 1988.
* “Jack Flanders: A Biographical Sketch.” With Steadfast Purpose: Essays
On Acts in Honor of Henry Jackson Flanders, Jr. Ed. Naymond H.
Keathley, 1-27. Waco, Texas: Baylor University Press, 1990.
“Writing Book Reviews,” A Scholar’s Guide to Academic Journalsin
Religion. Ed. James Dawsey, xxi-xxiii. Metuchen, New Jersey: The
Scarecrow Press, 1988.
BOOK REVIEWS
American Baptist Quarterly
Bruce McIver, in American Baptist Quarterly, 2005.
Baptist History and Heritage:
Review of AMiracle of Grace: an Autobiography, by E. Glenn Hinson, in Baptist History and Heritage, Vol. XLVIII, No. 2 (Summer 2013).
Review of Thy Will Be Done: a Biography of George W. Truett, by Keith E. Durso., in Baptist History and Heritage Society, Summer2011.
Review of The Changing Shape of English Nonconformity, 1825-1925,
by Dale A. Johnson, in Baptist History and Heritage, 2001.
Review of Can Somebody Shout Amen!: Inside the Tents and Tabernacles of
American Revivalists, by Patsy Sims, in Baptist History and Heritage, 1998.
Choice:
Review of The Invention of Peter: Apostolic Discourse and Papal Authority in Late Antiquity, by George E. Demacopoulus, in Choice, 2013.
Review of An Introduction to German Pietism, by Douglas Shantz, in Choice, 2013.
Review of The Life & Pontificate of Pope Pius XII: Between History and Controversy, by
Frank J. Coppa, in Choice, 2013.
Review of The Religions of Canadians, ed. Jamie S. Scott, in Choice, 2012.
Review of Ten Popes that Shook the World, by Eamon Duffy, in Choice, 2012.
Review of The Inner Lives of Medieval Inquisitors, by Karen Sullivan, in Choice, 2011.
Review of Octavia, Daughter of God: the Story of a Female Messiah and her Followers, in Choice, 2011.
Review of The Children and Mary: the Order of Christ Sophia, by James R. Lewis and Nicholas M. Levine, in Choice, 2010.
Review of Moral Re-Armanent: The Reinventions of an American Religious Movement, by Daniel Sack, in Choice, 2010.
Review of A New Science: the Discovery of Religion in the Age of Reason, by Guy G. Stroumsa.inChoice, 2010.
Review of Saints Alive: Word, Image, and Enactment in the Lives of the Saints, by David Williams, in Choice, 2010.
Review of Cults, Terror and Mind Control, by Raphael Aron, in Choice, 2009.
Review of Understanding Jonestown and Peoples Temple by Rebecca Moore, in Choice, 2009.
Review of The Beauty of Holiness: Anglicanism & Architecture in Colonial South Carolina, by Louis P. Nelson, in Choice, 2009.
Review of God’s Strange Work: William Miller and the End of the World, by David L. Rose, in Choice, May2009.
Review of The Crusades and the Christian World of the East:Rough Tolerance, by Christopher MacEvitt, in Choice, 2008.
Review of Alien Worlds: Social and Religious Dimensions of Extraterrestrial Contact, ed. by Diana G. Tumminia, in Choice, 2007.
Review of The Art of the Sublime: Principles of Christian Art and Architecture, by Roger Homan, in Choice, 2007.
Review of God at Work: the History and Promise of the Faith at Work Movement, in Choice, 2007.
Review of Women, Men, and Spiritual Power: Female Saints and their Male Collaborators,
By John W. Coakley, in Choice, 2006.
Review of God’s New Man: the Election of Benedict XVI and the Legacy of John Paul II,
by Paul Collins, in Choice, 2006.
Review of TheBahai Faith in America, by William Garlington, in Choice 2006.
Review of Dear People: Remembering Jonestown, Selections from the Peoples
Temple Collection at the California Historical Society, edited by Denice
Stephenson, in Choice 2005.
Review of Aliens Adored: Real’s UFO Religion, by Susan J. Palmer, in Choice
2005.
Review of Mary’s Mother: Saint Anne in Late Medival Europe, by Virginia Nixon,
inChoice 2005.
Review of New Age and Neopagan Religion, by Sarah Pike, in Choice 43 No. 2004.
Review of Making the American Religious Fringe, by Sean McCloud, in Choice
42 No. 2 (October 2004).
Review of Prosperity and Plunder, by Derek Beales, in Choice 41 No. 10 (June,
2004).
Review of The Artificiality of Christianity: Essays on the Poetics of Monasticism,
by M.B. Pranger, in Choice 41, No. 2 (October 2003).
Review of Religions of the United States in Practice, 2 vols., ed. By Colleen
McDannell, in Choice 40 No. 1 (September 2002).
Review of Business of the Heart: Religion and Emotion in the Nineteenth
Century, by John Corrigan, in Choice 39 No. 10 (June 2002).
Review of Inside the Nation of Islam: A Historical and Personal Testimony of
A Black Muslim, by Vibert L. White, in Choice 39 No. 8 (April 2002).
Review of American Methodist Worship, by Karen B. Westerfield Tucker, in
Choice 30 No. 3 (November 2001).
Review of Upon This Rock: The Popes and Their Changing Role, by Paul Collins,
inChoice 38 No. 11/12 (July/August 2001).
Review of Hearing Things: Religion, Illusion and the American Enlightenment, by
Eric Schmidt, in Choice 38 No. 7 (March 2001).
Review of Mystics and Messiahs: Cults and New Religions in American History,
by Philip Jenkins, in Choice 38 No. 2 (October 2002).
Review of Hitler’s Pope: The Secret History of Pius XII, by John Cornwell, in
Choice 37 No. 10 (June 2000).
Review of Comprehending cults: the Sociology of New Religious Movements, by
Lorne L. Dawson, in Choice 36 1999.
Review of The Encyclopedia of Apocalypticism, 3 vols. ed. John J. Collins,
Bernard McGinn, and Steven J. Stein, in Choice No. 6 (February 1999):
1076.
Review of End-time Visions: The Road to Armageddon, by Richard Abanes, in
Choice 36 No. 3 (November 1998): 535.
Review of The Making of the French Espiscopate, 1589-1681, by Joseph Bergin,
inChoice 34 (May 1997): 1514.
Review of Inside the Vatican: The Politics and Organization of the Catholic
Church, by Thomas J. Reese, in Choice 34 (May 1997): 1516-1517.
Review of Protestant History and Identity in Sixteenth-Century Europe: v.1: The
Medieval Inheritance; v. 2: The Later Reformation, edited by Bruce Gordon, in Choice 34 (April 1997): 1357.
Review of History of Vatican II: v. 1: Announcing and Preparing Vatican Council
II: Toward a New Era in Catholicism, ed. By Giuseppe Alberigo, in Choice
34 (October 1996): 297.
Review of God, Cosmos, and Humankind: the World of Early Christian
Symbolism, by Gerhart B. Ladner, in Choice 34 (September 1996):
144-145.
Review of The European Reformations, by Carter Lindberg, in Choice 33 (July/
August 1996): 1811.
Review of The Perfection of Solitude: Hermits and Monks in the Crusader States,
by Andrew Jotischky, in Choice 33 (October 1995): 311.
Review of The Uneasy Center: Reformed Christianity in Antebellum America,
by Paul K. Conkin, in Choice 33 (September 1995): 144.
Review of Seventh-Day Adventist Attitudes Toward Roman Catholicism, 1844-
1965, by ReinderBruinsma, in Choice 33 (September 1995): 144.
Review of Pluralism and Particularity in Religious Belief, by Brad Stetson, in
Choice 32 (May 1995): 1468.
Review of The Bianchi of 1399: Popular Devotion in Late Medieval Italy, by
Daniel Bornstein, in Choice 31 (July/August 1994): 1741.
Review of Julius II: the Warrier Pope, by Christine Shaw, in Choice (March
1994): 1151.
Review of England, Rome and the Papacy, 1417-1464: the Study of a
Relationship, by Margaret Harvey, in Choice 31 (January 1994):
805-806.
Review of The Protestant Evangelical Awakening, by W.R. Ward, in Choice
30 (September 1993): 138.
Review of Christianity Comes to the Americas, 1492-1776, by Charles H. Lippy,
inChoice 30 (September 1992): 138.
Review of In the South the Baptists Are the Center of Gravity: Southern Baptists
and Social Change, 1930-1980, by Edward L. Queen, in Choice 29
(June 1992): 1563.
Review of The Undermined Establishment: Church-State Relations in America,
1880-1920 by Robert T. Handy, in Choice 29 (April 1992): 1244.
Review of Volunteer: With the Poor in Peru, by Jeff Thielman, in Choice 29
(February 1992): 912.
Review of Cane Ridge: America’s Pentecost, by Paul K. Conklin, in Choice 29
(September 1991): 121-122.
Review of Baptist Battles: Social Change and Religious Conflict in the Southern
Baptist Convention, by Nancy TatomAmmerman, in Choice 28 (May
1991): 1505.
Review of The Papacy, 1973-1198: Continuity and Innovation, by I.S. Robinson,
inChoice 28 (February 1991): 952.
Review of Theological and Aesthetic Roots in the Stone-Campbell Movement,
by Dale A. Jorgenson, in Choice 27 (January 1990): 821.
Review of Southern Baptists: A Subculture in Transition, by Ellen M. Rosenberg,