A Second Language
A six-part narrative podcast about how a church in Little Rock, Arkansas, has tried to live out its mission amid a changing culture
Release date: August 23, 2023
How does a church live out its mission amid a changing culture?
“A Second Language” from Good Faith Media is a six-part narrative podcast about Second Baptist Church in downtown Little Rock, Arkansas, and how its location and leadership have shaped its witness.
Founded in 1884, the church grew as a hub for powerful religious and political personalities on local, state and national levels. Its influence touched on major issues of the day, including alcohol and race.
A turning point for the church occurred in 1957 during the city’s integration crisis, when the church’s Rev. Dale Cowling and Congressman Brooks Hays were seen as too soft on the race issue.
The church continued to evolve, leading on some critical issues while avoiding others, all in the context of rapid cultural change.
The podcast is a story about a mostly white Baptist church in the South and what its experience can teach us about life and death, hypocrisy and honesty, faith and fear – the risk and reward — of talking about hard things.
“A Second Language” includes interviews with church leaders and members, historians, interfaith friends and community leaders, as well as archival material.
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The sanctuary of Second Baptist Church in downtown Little Rock (January 2022)
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Preston Clegg, pastor of Second Baptist Church in downtown Little Rock (February 2023)
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Chris Ellis (far left), associate pastor of Second Baptist Church in downtown Little Rock, welcomes folks to church (January 2022)
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Cliff Vaughn (left), writer and producer of the podcast, interviews Rev. Preston Clegg at Community Bakery in downtown Little Rock (January 2022)
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A 1959 booklet from Second Baptist Church celebrating its 75th anniversary
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Second Baptist church members Jim and Gayle Maloch being interviewed at their home (January 2022)
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Professor John Kirk of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock being interviewed for the podcast (January 2022)
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The Albert Pike Apartments next to Second Baptist Church in downtown Little Rock (January 2022)
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Rev. Dale Cowling’s sermons in the archives at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia (February 2023)
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Dr. Sara Tariq (left) and Dr. Kevin Heifner in Tariq’s home (January 2022)
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The first page of Rev. Dale Cowling’s essay “Protect the Church?” (housed in the Ouachita Baptist University Archives)
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The Bramble Market in Little Rock (January 2022)
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(left to right) Writer-Producer Cliff Vaughn, retired Judge Wendell Griffen, Dr. Kevin Heifner (February 2023)
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Rev. Starlette Thomas of Good Faith Media joins Rev. Preston Clegg on a walk around Second Baptist Church in downtown Little Rock (January 2022)
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The Heritage Conference Room at Second Baptist Church in downtown Little Rock (January 2022)
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Rebecca Cowling stands with a portrait of her father, Rev. Dale Cowling (January 2022)
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Lani Allenbaugh, deacon chair of Second Baptist Church in downtown Little Rock, being interviewed for the podcast (January 2022)
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Kwami Abdul-Bey talks about the lynching of John Carter, as well as the new memorial marker (February 2023)
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(left to right) Writer-Producer Cliff Vaughn, Rev. Preston Clegg, Rev. Starlette Thomas (January 2022)
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A Second Baptist Church newsletter from 1958 (housed in the Ouachita Baptist University Archives)
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A photo of Rep. Brooks Hays at a book-signing in 1957 (housed in the Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives)
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A letter to Rep. Brooks Hays in 1957 (housed in the Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives)
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Rabbi Gene Levy being interviewed for the podcast (February 2023)
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Congregants and others at Second Baptist Church in downtown Little Rock applaud Sophia Said (February 2023)
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(left to right) Dr. Kevin Heifner, honoree Sophia Said, Dr. Ray Higgins, Dr. Ali Khan (February 2023)
Episode 1: Seal the Lips
Episode 2: All of This Just Speaks
Episode 3: Nimrod
Episode 4: The Nerve to Say
Episode 5: Lunar Soil
Episode 6: Words That Unite Us
“A Second Language” was written, produced and narrated by Cliff Vaughn of Good Faith Media. The executive producer was Mitch Randall. Please like, rate and share the podcast. The music comes from Pond5. Learn more at GoodFaithMedia.org.
Thanks to our interviewees: Kwami Abdul-Bey, Lani Allenbaugh, Rebecca Cowling, Preston Clegg, Chris Ellis, Wendell Griffen, Stephanie Harp, Eric Higgins, Ray Higgins, John Kirk, Gene Levy, Jim and Gayle Maloch, Jenna Sullivan and Sara Tariq.
Special thanks to: Starlette Thomas, who hosts “The Raceless Gospel” podcast from Good Faith Media – and to Cally Chisholm for the artwork.
Huge thanks to Kevin and Angie Heifner. And thank you to the following:
Lisa Speer and Taylor Lawson at the Ouachita Baptist University Archives
Taffey Hall at the Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives
Carolyn Wilson in the Special Collections Research Center at the William & Mary Libraries
Casiday Long in Special Collections at the University of Arkansas
Jim Pfeifer
Sandra Hubbard
Billie and Marc Heflin
Patrick Fleming and Debbie Huff
Marquis Hunt
Joe and Charlotte Jeffers
Connie New
Community Bakery in downtown Little Rock
David Rice and everyone at the Bramble Market
If you’re interested in learning more history about Little Rock and Arkansas, visit the fabulous EncyclopediaOfArkansas.net, a project of the Central Arkansas Library System. Other helpful resources:
Online Resource: Encyclopedia of Arkansas ~ https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/
Organization: Arkansas Peace & Justice Memorial Movement ~ https://apjmm.org/
Organization: Second Baptist Church ~ https://2bclr.com/
Archive: Southern Baptist Historical Library & Archives ~ https://sbhla.org
Archive: Ouachita Baptist University Archives and Special Collections ~ https://obu.edu/archives/
Article: Power from the Pedestal: The Women’s Emergency Committee and the Little Rock School Crisis by Lorraine Gates (The Arkansas Historical Quarterly, 2007)
Article: The Arkansas Baptist State Convention and Desegregation, 1954-1968 by Mark Newman (The Arkansas Historical Quarterly, 1997)
Book: The Long Shadow of Little Rock: A Memoir by Daisy Bates (1962)
Book: A Southern Moderate Speaks by Brooks Hays (1959)
Book: Politics Is My Parish: An Autobiography by Brooks Hays (1981)
Book: This World: a Christian’s Workshop by Brooks Hays (1958)
Book: Beyond Little Rock: The Origins and Legacies of the Central High Crisis by John A. Kirk (2007)
Book: Redefining the Color Line: Black Activism in Little Rock, Arkansas, 1940-1970 by John A. Kirk (2002)
Book: The Embattled Ladies of Little Rock: 1958-1963, The Struggle to Save Public Education at Central High by Vivion Lenon Brewer (1997)
Book: The Wild Ass of the Ozarks: Jeff Davis and the Social Bases of Southern Politics by Raymond Arsenault (1988)
Documentary: The Lost Year by Sandra Hubbard (2007) ~ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxpQaO-W-HE