God and Humanity at Marshall
Toward November 14, 1970, and Beyond
Imprint: Resource Publications
The movie We Are Marshall brought national attention to the tragic loss and dramatic reconstitution of the school's football team. But neither this film nor the Emmy-winning documentary, Marshall University: Ashes to Glory, explores the spiritual context and effect of the plane crash.
Few know that a visiting campus preacher touched the life of a popular defensive lineman the week before his ill-fated flight; that a campus minister was surprised several weeks later by a nighttime visit from students who'd come to ask "the Jesus man" how to be saved; that two years before the crash, a new, young professor, with a doctorate from India, enlisted five students to help evangelize the campus; and that three decades later, a devout linebacker urged the coach to change the name of a play since it was demeaning to women.
The story extends back to the school's log-church beginnings, up through the decades when campus Ys generated foreign missionaries, to the national championship years, when key players testified freely to their faith--nearly two centuries of spiritual highs (and yes, lows) in the life of this remarkable school.
Mark Coppenger (PhD, Vanderbilt; MDiv, SWBTS) has retired as professor of Christian philosophy and ethics at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, having begun his teaching career at Wheaton in 1975. He’s also been a pastor, an army officer, and author of Moral Apologetics (2011), A Skeptic’s Guide to Arts in the Church (2019), Cases and Maps: An Introduction to Christian Philosophy (2019), and the forthcoming If Christianity Is So Good, Why Are Christians So Bad? (2020).
“The tragic crash of the Marshall University football team caught the attention of the nation and much has been written and filmed about it, but no one has done what Mark Coppenger is uniquely qualified to do and that is to explore the spiritual context and effect of that fatal plane crash. The volume covers nearly two centuries of spiritual highs and lows in the life of this state university and the people that played significant roles in the process. Coppenger deftly covers the work of the Spirit of God through the lives of very interesting, sometimes quirky people, but all with the loving passion of proclaiming Jesus in this institution. People have heard about the Marshall Revival, but Coppenger puts it in the context of the long-term work of God in that place. It’s an encouraging read about the modern activity of the Holy Spirit.”
—James Parker III, recently retired Professor of Worldview and Culture, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Director, The Trinity Institute, Tehuacana, Texas