Len G. Broughton

Rev. Dr. Len G. Broughton

Len G. Broughton in 1911

Len G. Broughton in 1911
Born Leonard Gaston Broughton
(1865-12-05)December 5, 1865
Wake County, North Carolina
Died February 22, 1936(1936-02-22) (aged 70)
Atlanta, Georgia
Nationality United States
Education Wake Forest College
Kentucky School of Medicine
Occupation Founder of Tabernacle Baptist
Preacher at Christ Church
Known for Fundamentalism, Evangelicalism, Temperance movement, Prolific author
Title D.D., M.D.
Religion Christian (Baptist)
Spouse(s) Roxana Barnes
Children Len G. Broughton, Jr.

Leonard Gaston Broughton (December 5, 1865 – February 22, 1936)[1] was a fundamentalist Baptist minister, medical doctor, founder of Tabernacle Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia and of Tabernacle Infirmary, which later became Georgia Baptist Hospital.

Early life

Broughton was born in 1865 on a farm in Wake County, North Carolina,[2] about 12 miles outside of Raleigh, North Carolina.[3] He was the second son of Gaston H. Broughton[4] and Louisa Hawkins Franks.[5] His father was a poor farmer who fought in the American Civil War in the 26th North Carolina Regiment, was captured by Union troops at the Battle of Gettysburg, and was held prisoner until the end of the war.[2] After his return (and on Louisa's urging) the family moved to Raleigh where the children (including Len) were schooled via the aid of a wealthy relative.[6]

At the age of fourteen, Broughton was baptized into his faith at what was later known as Tabernacle Baptist Church in Raleigh.

Broughton attended Wake Forest College with his brother Charlie[2] though he did not graduate due to illness. (Wake Forest granted him a D.D. later).[5] Broughton went on to attend the Kentucky School of Medicine at Louisville and achieved an M.D..[2]

Career

He moved to Wilson County, North Carolina to practice medicine and it was there that he met his wife Roxana Barnes. He later also practiced medicine in Reidsville, North Carolina for four years. It was there that he contracted Typhoid fever. A long period of recovery helped him make the decision to become a minister.[2]

In March 1891 he became the pastor of a small church in Winston, North Carolina.[3] In the year and a half he was there, the church gained one hundred members. He became known for this and other churches sought his services.[2] He accepted such an offer in November, 1893 at Calvary Church in Roanoke, Virginia.

In March 1898 he became pastor of Third Baptist Church in Atlanta. He had been in Atlanta only a short while when he started a project to build a much larger facility for the congregation, nearer to the center of town, to be known as the Tabernacle. Many of the older members of the church opposed Broughton's plan, and when it passed by a vote of 542 to 240, the church was split into two. Those opposed remained to form Jones Avenue Baptist Church in the existing facility, and the rest went with Broughton to form Tabernacle Baptist Church nearby.[3][7] On March 5, 1899 a church structure was dedicated[7] but rapid growth quickly rendered it obsolete.[8] On March 9, 1910[9] the cornerstone was laid on a huge new four-story structure to house the church. (This structure still stands, it is now used as the music venue The Tabernacle). Broughton had a long and successful tenure as pastor of this church,[10] creating many new programs including Tabernacle Infirmary in 1901 (which would later become Georgia Baptist Hospital) and the largest Bible Conference in the South at the time.[3]

Broughton again was receiving many requests to leave his church for posts elsewhere. In 1912 he accepted such an offer of a position at Christ Church in London, England, a church famous among Baptists of the time because of the work of F.B. Meyer. He remained there for over 2 years, but the outbreak of World War I and his own declining health took its toll. He left in 1915 and took a post at First Baptist in Knoxville, Tennessee.[2]

Broughton returned to Tabernacle Baptist Church in Atlanta from 1929 to 1931.[11] He died in 1936 and was buried in Knoxville.[1]

Selected bibliography

References

  1. 1 2 "Len G. Broughton". Find a Grave. Retrieved October 17, 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Graham, Balus Joseph Winzer (1917), Baptist Biography Volume 1, Atlanta, Georgia: Index Printing Company, pp. 45–49, OCLC 3906727, retrieved 2009-01-27
  3. 1 2 3 4 Meyer, Rev. F.B. (May 1910), "Rev. Len G. Broughton D.D.: An Appreciation", Record of Christian Work, XXIX (5): 308–310, ISSN 0364-4855, retrieved 2009-01-27
  4. ↑ "Gaston H. Broughton". Find a Grave. Retrieved October 17, 2010.
  5. 1 2 Marquis, Albert Nelson (1913), Who's Who in America, Volume VII, 1912-1913, Chicago: A.N. Marquis & Company, p. 252, retrieved 2009-01-27
  6. ↑ "Louisa H. Broughton". Find a Grave. Retrieved October 17, 2010.
  7. 1 2 Garrett, Franklin Miller (1954), Atlanta and Environs: A Chronicle of Its People and Events, Volume II, Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press, pp. 378–379, ISBN 0-8203-0263-5, OCLC 191446
  8. ↑ Moody, W.R. (May 1910), "Editorial", Record of Christian Work, XXIX (5): 305–308, ISSN 0364-4855, retrieved 2009-01-27
  9. ↑ "Tabernacle Cornerstone Is Placed In Position Before Immense Crowd", The Atlanta Constitution, XLII (268), p. 4, March 10, 1910
  10. ↑ "The Ministry of Leonard G. Broughton at Tabernacle Baptist Church, 1898-1912: A Source of Southern Fundamentalism", American Baptist Quarterly, 4, March 1985, ISSN 0745-3698
  11. ↑ Balmer, Randall Herbert (2004), Encyclopedia of Evangelicalism, 2nd Edition, Waco, Texas: Baylor University Press, p. 104, ISBN 1-932792-04-X, retrieved 2009-01-27

External links

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