wfn.org | Lawyer's faith draws BBC film crew to church

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

March 17, 1999 News media contact: Tim Tanton*(615)742-5470*Nashville, Tenn.
10-71B{145}

By Woody Woodrick*

LEXINGTON, Miss. (UMNS) - All churches like to have visitors, but when
members of Lexington United Methodist Church gathered for worship Feb. 28,
eight first-timers particularly stood out.

The visitors were members of a crew from the British Broadcasting Corp.
(BBC) who came to tape the church's service. The footage is expected to be
part of a three-part documentary about the tobacco industry in this century.
The segment taped in Mississippi will focus on Don Barrett, a Lexington
lawyer and member of the church.

Barrett played a key role in winning major concessions from the tobacco
industry in lawsuits filed by several states. He admitted he wasn't
enthusiastic about having his church service taped.

"I was reluctant because I'm a born-again Christian and will tell anybody
about it when I get a chance," he said, "but I was afraid somebody would say
'look at him showing off.' I still have a little problem with it.

"I assumed they were trying to make a point," he said. "Brother Bob (Welch,
the church's pastor) said it was an opportunity to make a Christian witness.
That made it OK."

In a letter to Welch, producers of the segment asked permission and assured
the pastor they would be as unobtrusive as possible. 

Welch said Barrett had told him to expect the letter. Shortly after
receiving it, the pastor attended a meeting with Bishop Jack Meadors and
showed the letter to him.

"I had no objections, but at the same time, I wanted to be clear about it,"
Welch said. "I showed it to the bishop, and he was elated. He said it was a
good thing."

Four of the crew members attended the service and for the most part stayed
to the side. At times, they joined Welch and music director Mike Chandler in
the chancel area or stood at the end of the pew where the Barrett family was
sitting.

"I told the people from BBC they could come, but I would not modify my order
of worship," Welch said. "They assured me they would not interfere with the
service in any way. The only time I noticed them was when I was sitting
behind the pulpit and a guy crawled up between me and pulpit to get a shot.
They were not disruptive at all."

It also helped that the sanctuary, a historic church dating back to the
1800s, has large stained-glass windows. They provided adequate lighting so
the crew didn't have to set up its own lights.

When word got around the small town that the BBC would be at the church,
Barrett got some good-natured ribbing. However, he said, "everybody has been
loving and supporting and enthusiastic about it."

Welch said he hasn't heard any negative comments about having a worship
service taped.
"I didn't hear a single word from anybody who thought it was out of line,"
he said. "It went better than I anticipated. Usually with something like
that, you have someone make a remark where they didn't appreciate this. I
didn't have anything like that. They welcomed a chance to support Lexington
Methodist."

The documentary will be shown in the United States, but no release date has
been set.

BBC producer Peter Molloy said he and his crew became intrigued when Barrett
made frequent references to his faith during interviews for the documentary.
"He was very natural about his faith," Molloy said.

Barrett said he thinks the cultural difference between Great Britain and the
United States played a part in the BBC's interest in his faith.

"I was a little surprised that they were surprised," he said. His impression
is that a low percentage of people in Great Britain attend church.

"They were surprised when they asked how I could stay in the tobacco fight
for 13 years. I told them I was undergirded by God. I prayed about it
constantly and thought this was what God wanted us to do. This was his
fight, and for that reason I was at peace, even when we were broke and
scared that the bank would call the note on the house. I was at peace that
we were doing what the Lord wanted us to do."

In the letter to Welch from the BBC, John Blystone wrote, "We have
interviewed Mr. Barrett at length, and one thing which becomes clear in
talking with him is the central importance in his life of his faith and his
church. Both as motivation and as sustenance, his Christianity informs much
of his thinking on tobacco as on other matters. 

"Furthermore, it seems that in Mississippi generally, religion plays a large
role in the life of the community as a whole and is a vital element to
illustrate in presenting your state to our viewers across the world."

Over the course of 13 years, Barrett carried three lawsuits against the
tobacco industry to jury verdicts. Along the way, others followed his lead,
and he eventually became part of Attorney General Mike Moore's team of
lawyers pursuing cases on behalf of the state.

Barrett was the lawyer who negotiated the most important part of the suit,
the agreement with the Liggett Group, which broke ranks with other tobacco
companies to reach a settlement. The agreement forced other tobacco
companies to settle too.

"It was a fight against something very evil. I felt privileged to be part of
that," Barrett said.

"I'll tell you an interesting story about this case," he said. "I've been in
this litigation for 13 years. I've been to the brink of bankruptcy more than
once. I have worn out the knees of my pajamas praying that God would let me
win one of the cases I tried. Every time, he said no. 

"But it was because he had something greater in store. He had a greater
victory that he was going to let me be a part of than I ever could have
conceived of when trying those cases. He helped me bring that whole industry
down."

Barrett said his experience shows God always answers prayers, even though
the answer might not be the one you expect or want. He said God's answer is
always the right answer, the answer that advances his kingdom.

# # # 

*Woodrick is editor of the Mississippi United Methodist Advocate, the
newspaper of the Mississippi Conference

______________
United Methodist News Service
http://www.umc.org/umns/
newsdesk@umcom.umc.org
(615)742-5472