Biographical Note: James M. Bulman (1922-1987) was a Baptist pastor, church parliamentarian, and author. He served four North Carolina churches after graduating from seminary: Cornelius Baptist Church, Cornelius, NC (1949–1955); East Spencer Baptist Church, East Spencer, NC (1955–1960); Providence Baptist Church, East Spencer, NC (1960–1967); Oak Ridge Baptist Church, Oak Ridge, NC (1967–1980); and Central Baptist Church. He was parliamentarian of the Southern Baptist Convention (1971) and of the North Carolina Baptist Convention (1963–1975). He authored two books and numerous articles for theological journals.
He was born in Spartanburg, South Carolina and educated at Furman University (B.A.) and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Th.M., Th.D.).
Scope and Contents: This collection contains correspondence, notes, sermons, baptist periodicals, audio cassette tapes, photographs, an LP record, and other materials created and collected by James Bulman from 1942–1987. These papers primarily document Bulman’s seminary studies, his published and unpublished writings, materials related to areas of his theological interests, sermon material, and his work as parliamentarian.
These papers also include materials related to (1) the church property dispute of North Rocky Mount Baptist Church, Rocky Mount, NC, and issues of church autonomy, (2) Bulman’s lawsuit against the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention, (3) his dispute with the North Carolina Baptist Convention, (4) his charges of liberalism against Eric Rust, professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, as well as (5) papers presented at the Conference on Biblical Inerrancy held at Wake Forest University (1980). It also contains substantive runs of Faith and Free Press and Southern Baptist Free Press, two publications initiated to represent conservative opinions in the Southern Baptist Convention.