DALLAS At 90, Bible teacher is still going strong

DALLAS MORNING NEWS
DALLAS -- Virtually every week for the past 70 years, Bessie "Betty" Marie Criswell has taught the Bible.
During those decades, she married, raised a child and lived in three Southern states. She has reigned as "first lady" of First Baptist Church Dallas since 1944, watching as the church blossomed into the largest Baptist congregation in the country.
Last year her husband, Dr. W.A. Criswell, died, followed six months later by the death of their only daughter, Mable Ann Criswell.
Through all this, Criswell has continued teaching, and, at age 90, has no plans to retire.
"She is an icon," said Anne Hood, a longtime member of First Baptist. "She is one of the greatest women teachers anybody has ever heard."
Then and now
Criswell taught her first class, a group of elementary-aged children, in 1933 at her hometown church in Mount Washington, Ky. She led Bible studies at churches in Kentucky and Oklahoma, where her husband served as pastor before taking the reins at First Baptist of Dallas in 1944.
And for the past 32 years, she has taught Sunday mornings before a class of 300 at First Baptist. KCBI-FM has aired the class at 9:30 a.m. every Sunday for 25 years.
Announcer Charlie Campbell, who introduces the program each week, says her audience of about 25,000 listeners is devoted.
"If there's some sort of glitch, or a dish is down, so they don't get the show, then I catch hell about it," he said. "The phones light up."
Preparation
Class members like her quick wit and down-home approach. "The amount of time she spends preparing is phenomenal," said the Rev. Robert Jeffress, 47, pastor of First Baptist Church in Wichita Falls. He likes to joke that he was exposed to Criswell's teaching before he was born -- his mother attended Criswell's class while she was pregnant.
At her antique-filled home in East Dallas, Criswell begins each day reading Psalms. ("No Bible, no breakfast," she likes to say.) She devotes several hours daily preparing her lesson, taking breaks only for a caramel Frappuccino from Starbucks at 3:30 p.m. and a few favorite TV shows ("Judge Judy" and "Wheel of Fortune").
Dr. Criswell, a nationally known speaker, used to say that his wife devoted more time to her weekly lessons than he spent preparing his sermons.
"I enjoy studying," said Criswell. "I don't know why, because I didn't like school. But I learn every day. I'll be studying a passage, and I'll think, 'I never saw that before.'"
Her teaching attracts people of all ages, from young married couples to a few of Criswell's contemporaries. She gets letters from around the state, including from prisoners. She's even convinced her cardiologist, who is Jewish, to tune in on Sundays.
Her methods
Criswell works through one book of the Bible at a time, alternating between the Old and New Testaments, usually working from the New King James Version. She once spent three years teaching the book of Revelation. Over the years she has taught every book of the Bible in this way, with only one exception. With a laugh, she vows she will never teach the somewhat racy Song of Solomon.
Her study is methodical, thorough and intuitive. When finished with one chapter, she prays for guidance to select the next. Her lesson isn't scripted -- she speaks without notes.
"Whenever I get to a passage I feel people need to know, I'll stop and talk about it," she said.
Every week, she reviews material from the archive of Dr. Criswell's sermons and writings as they relate to the week's lesson. Dr. Criswell's study remains untouched in her home, filled with his books and papers. Recently, she culled words from a sermon he gave from Luke 18 in the early 1970s.
"My greatest source is my husband and his sermons," she said.
Late husband's praise
Dr. Criswell, apparently, was equally awed with her work. He once told Campbell that he was never nervous before an audience -- except in his wife's class, where he feared he might disappoint in comparison. Dr. Criswell called her "the finest Bible teacher I have ever heard."
Mrs. Criswell, however, describes her talent in her characteristic, unembellished way:
"I guess we all have a gift," she said. "Mine is Bible study."