For years, this was a thing in Georgia: People would drive to Plains to attend the Sunday school class taught by former President Jimmy Carter.
So many people would come to Maranatha Baptist Church that visitors greatly outnumbered regular members. The members welcomed guests and helped sort out problems in the parking lot.
As a new resident of the state, I was interested in this phenomenon. The best explanation I’ve seen came from Jennifer Ayers, a professor at Emory University’s theology school. She pointed out that people don’t routinely overrun churches to hear famous people teach Sunday school. But with Carter, Sunday school wasn’t a gimmick. At Professor Ayers put it:
People most likely wanted to be close to someone who had such a spirit of integrity. It’s such a powerful force that makes people want to come, listen and be present.
A spirit of integrity is a powerful force, and I wish it were always present in all our public institutions.
• Source: Shelia Poole, “Even after he quit teaching, interest in Jimmy Carter’s Sunday school lessons keeps growing”; Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Dec. 29, 2024. The article is online here:
https://www.macon.com/news/state/georgia/article287184110.html
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