Letter to the Editor
The Hammond Times, February 28, 2001
Most of us here at First Baptist Church were happy with the write-ups of Brother Hyles.
For everyone who cut him down, you will find hundreds who knew he gave his best. Most of the folks who cut him down got help from him in one form or another. He may have died of a heart attack, but if you would have rolled him over in the casket you would have seen a whole bunch of stab wounds from folks who stabbed him in the back.
My family and I and all the ones who stayed here over the years thank God we didn't do what they did. I know dozens of them. Their so-called Christianity isn't worth anything. They were and are nothing but a bunch of backstabbers. Some came to view the body, but only to make sure he was really gone. They are very sick people.
The church will go down some because people will leave, thinking there is no one there now to milk.
But a lot of us are consumed with the fact that this is our church, and we will make it go in spite of our critics. When you are kind, we want to thank you for being kind. Trust us; you will see the real First Baptist Church from now on.
Rick Nelson (Griffith, IN)