Mega-Churches.

Crystal Cathedrals.

Prime-Time Prayer.

Gone are the pipe organs and hymnals.

In place are the rock bands and big-screen projections.

Welcome to the world from which God’s Man in Texas was born. The world that grew from small-town faith into big-time success.

"The theatricality of mega-churches," says playwright, David Rambo, "really draws me in." And so it has for hundreds, even millions across the nation. And it's no wonder. Audience development of that magnitude has a germination stage that lasts for decades. Before stadium-sized churches and the popularity of television sets, radio broadcasts aired the legendary voices of headline-worthy preachers. By the early 1980s, televangelists found prominent airtime on major networks. On one station you'd find a Billy Graham Crusade while other stations shined the spotlight on teary Robert Tilton or zealous Jim Bakker. Today, hundreds of Mega-Churches (some boasting congregations of 10,000 or more) are popping up across the country making God’s Man in Texas an interesting examination of the "mass-evangelism" trend.

Is this a play about religion, though? You can answer that for yourself as Mr. Rambo points out. It does take place in a church. There are sermons. But at the heart of it lies universal themes:

Family

Ego

Temptation

Destiny

Greed

Humor

And the universality doesn't just stop with the themes. Each character Mr. Rambo has created plays a kind of "everyman". There's a slightly stubborn man in pre-retirement; a slightly naïve husband embarking on a new career; and a slightly annoying, but well-meaning lost soul. God's Man in Texas takes us to the pulpit of these men's lives where big decisions are being made -- decisions in the name of fame and faith where success seems just a "pepsodent" smile away.
 
 

Baptist preacher, scholar and teacher in his early 40s. A seemingly conservative, ordinary man, he gains stature when preaching, his voice is startlingly rich and movingly expressive.

"I made my mother drive me every week to wherever the Youth Crusade For Christ set up its tent so I could hear the preaching and compete in the Bible drill...The Crusade evangelists were kind enough to offer an ice-cold snow cone on the spot to any child that accepted Christ right then and there as their personal savior. I got saved just about every week. The old "right now close": get saved right now and get your snow cone, five delicious flavors!"

Legendary figure in the Baptist pulpit, 81 years old. A vibrant, passionate, stentorian, leonine, proud man.

"I built this church! Sure as the blood from my Daddy's swollen, dusty, cut-up fingers is on every piece of foundation stonework laid in Clarksville for twenty years, the foundation of this church, this multi-million dollar operation, has got my blood on it. And I will not -- will not! -- leave it in the manicured hands of any smiling, suntanned ping-pong player!"

Could be 35, could be 55, or anywhere in between. No one, including Hugo, really knows for sure. Reformed wreckage of a life full of drugs, alcohol and faithlessness.

When playwright David Rambo wrote God's Man in Texas, he sought to create the worlds of Texas and southern religious traditions. Here are some examples of text that helped him achieve this.

"Moody preached at this pulpit...and Truett" (Jerry)

Dwight Lyman Moody was a Boston shoe salesman-turned-preacher. He is remembered for founding the Chicago Evangelization Society, later renamed the Moody Bible Institute. George W. Truett is most remembered as the one of the youngest financial agents to work with Baylor University to free it from debt. By the time he graduated from Baylor, he was already acknowledged for his powerful preaching and marketing skills and quickly moved on to become minister of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, one of the largest Baptist churches in the world.

"Billy Graham wouldn't appreciate his Crusade being called a sales trip." (Hugo)

Billy Graham became one of the most famous preachers in the U.S. noted for his Crusades in which he preached to millions. Before he was a famous preacher however, he did hold office in sales as a "Fuller Brush Man" as Jerry informs Hugo.

"They say Baptist is the first religion at Baylor and ping-pong's the second." (Hugo)

Baylor is a University located in Waco, Texas founded in 1845. Its motto, "Pro Ecclesia, Pro Texana" translates to "For Church, For Texas." (see page___for more details)

"I didn't think that was one of your sugar sticks." (Gottschall)

This is preacher lingo for a pastor's "home run" sermon - a powerful sermon, well-known to the preacher that can always be used in an emergency.

"I got the numbers, Dr. G. Twelve hundred and thirty-one in attendance, sixty walked the aisle." (Hugo)

Despite the image it may bring, this does not mean a mass wedding. It refers to the act of walking down the aisle toward the preacher to publicly acknowledge the acceptance of the religious doctrine of the church into your life.

"Forget the Texas Baptist Standard, forget the Texas papers, period. Your picture was in Time magazine!" (Gottschall)

A popular weekly Dallas paper.

"We also ask that you bless our Aggies with victory today as they face-off against the Texas Christian University Horned Frogs." (Jerry)

The "Aggies" refer to Texas A&M University in College Station and the "Horned Frogs" hail from Ft. Worth.

"With the RBC symphony orchestra, the RBC Voices of Jubilee, America's mightiest pipe organ, and Dr. Gottschall's special guests, the legendary Clint Black and Lisa Hartman Black" (TV announcer)

Country music singer Clint Black was already a chart-topper when he married actress Lisa Hartman, best remembered for her role in Knots Landing. The two merged their talents and often perform as a country music duo.

"Mrs. Bush is coming, and she's bringing Lee Greenwood along to sing 'Happy Birthday.' How about that?" (Gottschall)

Award-winning country singer who got his start in the smoky casinos of Reno and Las Vegas. The damage done by the smoke left his voice with a signature hoarseness which worked to his advantage. Often compared to Kenny Rogers, Greenwood recorded such hits as "Dixie Road" and "God Bless the U.S.A." - a recurring theme song for several Republican campaigns during the Reagan and Bush administrations.

What was it like growing up in Waco?

Waco is my home town, so what can I say? I have very strong Texas roots and like all Texans, I am very proud of those roots. Waco has acquired some bad raps with the David Koresh incident, but overall, it's a typical Texas town: Small. Conservative. Filled with kind people (a lot of my relatives are still there).

Is everyone in Texas Baptist? Is everyone in Waco Baptist?

Of course not. But the majority is, I would think.

Like the character Jerry Mears, you attended Baylor University for your undergraduate degree. What can you tell me about the Baylor experience?

High expectations, but a good school! I was at Baylor studying for my degree in directing. It was the best training I could have hoped for. Perhaps the stronger decision would have been to try and get into Yale or Carnegie Mellon, etc., but looking back and being out in the world now, I wouldn't trade my training at Baylor for anything. We cut our teeth on the classics and yes we had to steer away from the more controversial, contemporary pieces because it is a conservative Baptist college. However, I am very fortunate that the theatre department had such amazing faculty.

Is ping-pong really the "second religion" at Baylor as Hugo implies?

The theatre students were too busy drinking coffee to keep us going to even think of playing ping-pong!

You had said that there was something significant about the use of "Texas" in the play's title. What is it?

Texas is larger than life. There is really an attitude in Texas about how we could really break from the union and be our own country. Hah! We grow up knowing that and it feeds into our attitude about ourselves and our roots. God is a typical Texan. He has the world by the tail. We place ourselves pretty high up, which of course means we have a long way to fall.

Who: James Orsen (Jim) Bakker
Major Ministry Association: PTL ("Praise the Lord") Club or "The Jim Bakker Show"
Claim to Fame: Convicted of 24 counts of fraud related to dealings with PTL money

Who: Jimmy Lee Swaggart
Major Ministry Association: Swaggart Ministries
Claim to Fame: Banned from preaching by the Assemblies of God denomination after his encounters with prostitutes.

Who: Jerry Falwell
Major Ministry Association: "Old Time Gospel Hour"
Claim to Fame: Founder of Thomas Road Baptist Church, Lynchburg Baptist College, organized Moral Majority, Incorporated (a secular conservative political organization) and replaced Jim Bakker as head of the PTL.

Who: Pat Robertson
Major Ministry Association: CBN (Christian Broadcasting Network), The 700 Club (CBN's flagship program)
Claim to Fame: The growth of flagship organizations of CBN and non-profit fundraising, sometimes in questionable circumstances.

Who: Robert Schuller
Major Ministry Association: "Hour of Power"
Claim to Fame: Began preaching from the roof of a snack bar at a drive-in theatre and ended up as head of the Crystal Cathedral Ministries which includes a congregation of over 10,000 members.

Who: Robert Tilton
Major Ministry Association: "Success-N-Life" and Word of Faith Family Church
Claim to Fame: Fraud investigation over donations with prayer requests

Who: Billy Graham
Major Ministry Association: BGEA (Billy Graham Evangelistic Association) and "The Hour of Decision"
Claim to Fame: Former "Fuller Brush Man" and street corner student-preacher most noted for "mass evangelism" including international crusades and seminars.
 
 

God's Man in Texas received critical acclaim at the Humana Festival of New American Plays this past season. In this new work we find preacher Jerry Mears on a quest. He "auditions" for the pastorship of a renowned Texan mega-church. But when Dr. Philip Gottschall, the legendary figure of this Baptist pulpit, decides he doesn't want to give up his dynasty, institutional power struggles ensue. Below, playwright David Rambo shares some thoughts on his life and the life of his play.

I understand you are not a Texan by birth. Where do you call home?

Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. I lived there until I was 19 and then moved to New York City.

You are not new to the arts. You have spent a good deal of time as an actor also, haven't you?

Yes. I started out as an actor in New York. Acting is what brought me to LA where I did film work for a while. I think being an actor was very valuable to me as a writer. I learned a lot about what juicy words seem to work best as well as how to keep objectives in mind, and so forth.

When did you realize that you had written something to take to the stage?

I realized I missed the theatre scene very much and didn't want to be in film anymore, so I began selling real estate to finance a theatre career. One night about seven years ago, I sat down in my attic in the Hollywood hills and began to write a play on an old typewriter. I became obsessed with it. I don't even remember much about the process except coming to the end of the second act and typing "end of play." I guess I knew it was time for something new when I found myself at open houses writing lines of dialogue on the back of my realtor information sheets.

Many playwrights have used their childhood haunts in their earlier work. What about you?

Textbook. Absolutely textbook. My first play was about my hometown and childhood. My second play was about my day job in real estate and my third play was about the lives of my older relatives. It wasn't until I got those things out of my system that I started to write about larger issues.

How did the "Lone Star State" make its way into your writing?

I have relatives in Texas and have spent a lot of time travelling there, particularly to Houston. So I'm familiar with the landscape.

The title of your play, God's Man in Texas, conjures certain images. When you're asked to describe what kind of play it is, what do you say? Do you consider it a play about religion?

Sure, if you want it to be a play about religion, it can be. I don't want to cloud anyone's perception by telling them my viewpoints about religion or by saying that it is a certain type of play. I want them to make that discovery on their own. I do think it is a play about the selling of religion and the religion of selling.

Reverend Hershael York, professor of preaching at Louisville's Southern Baptist Theological Seminary saw God's Man in Texas and praised your attention to detail. He also noted that the play has a unique universal appeal. What did you do to prepare so well in writing this piece?

I spent about a year doing research. I watched a lot of religious programming and read autobiographies. A lot of preachers were very willing to talk to me about their jobs. I also read the Bible, which was something I hadn't done in a long time. (Like the play's character Jerry, I learned to read from the Bible at an early age). I was especially drawn to the chapters of Exodus, Jeremiah, and the Gospels.

Were you looking for certain themes, or did the themes find you?

Both. I immediately found a link between Jerry and Jeremiah. Jeremiah was weepy and even a little whiney so I kept that part in the play through Jerry. I was really struck, however, by the extraordinary literary potency of Exodus.

What was the attraction to the world of mega-churches?

The theatricality of mega-churches really draws me in. These churches use the same techniques that theatre uses and with the same goal: to produce an emotional response from the audience (or the congregation). I love the bigness of it and the melodrama. I was doing research on early 19th century drama and found notes about lampshades rattling from the big booming voices. I love that kind of power.

God's Man in Texas is very character-driven. Dr. Philip Gottschall, the legendary Baptist Pastor; Hugo Taney, his technical support; and Jerry Mears, his co-pastor each brings to the play a rich personal history. Whose story do you tell when asked to describe the plot?

Jerry's quest to find the real thing. Much like artists, Jerry is looking for the job that has the most appeal and the most potency. The story is about a power struggle and so is the Bible. I originally wrote the script with seven actors to play fifteen characters, but soon ran out of gas by page 35. After seeing a wonderful two-character play (Old Wicked Songs), I asked, "Why can't I do that?" But when I wrote it with just Gottschall and Jerry, I found I was still stuck, so I created Hugo. The minute I added him, the heavens opened, so to speak. I realized I had a trinity: the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. The first act was very much the Old Testament and the second act was the New.

Speaking of those characters, is there any significance behind the names? Gottschall sounds like "God's Call."

Yes. I wanted very much to use a German name for the older pastor because so much of Texas was settled by Germans. I remember hearing and seeing the name Gottschall often there. Plus, I learned that it means "God's Echo" which I thought was perfect for a preacher. Jerry comes from Jeremiah in the Bible. Hugo was inspired by a contractor who was working on my house while I was writing the play.

We discovered God's Man in Texas at the Humana Festival of New American Plays at Actors' Theatre of Louisville. How did you get involved with this renowned theatre festival?

My agent submitted the play and the theatre responded very quickly. I felt very at home there and was thrilled to be a part of this "theme park" of theatre. Artists fill every crevice of the building - actors, directors, playwrights, etc. are always working in some form to help shape the festival.

When the Hippodrome made the decision to include God's Man in Texas in the 99-00 season, we weren't alone. Many regional theatres shared our interest. What's in the play's future?

It will be going to several regional theatres including Florida Stage, Northlight Theatre in Illinois, Houston in the early summer, the Old Globe Theatre of San Diego in late summer and New York in the fall.

What about you? What are your plans for the new millennium?

I am part of a project for next year's Humana Festival. Although I can't divulge too much at this point, I think it's going to be very exciting.