Buck Hatfield

Luther Wallace "Buck" Hatfield (Businessman and Independent Baptist pastor)
Born	June 25, 1929 Near Anson Jones County, Texas
Died	February 14, 1995 (aged 65) Resting place: Hillside Memorial Gardens in Snyder Snyder, Scurry County, Texas
Spouse	Shirley Faye Webb Hatfield (married 1952-1995, his death) Children: Larry Don Hatfield Robert "Bob" Hatfield Shari Faye Hatfield Ronnie Keith Hatfield
Religion	Independent Baptist

Luther Wallace Hatfield, known as Buck Hatfield (June 25, 1929 – February 14, 1995), was an Independent Baptist pastor who in 1969 founded Faith Baptist Church in Snyder in Scurry County in West Texas, ninety miles south of Lubbock. In his preaching, Hatfield used the traditional King James Version of the Bible and was known for his humor and theatrics in the pulpit as well as his biblically-based optimistic spirit. He was often called to lead denominational revival services throughout West Texas and in other states.

...one thing you really have to watch is how the preacher spends the money. Some pastors with good intentions can bankrupt a church. And the church has to have responsible members in place to keep those kinds of preachers in line... -- Buck Hatfield

Background

Hatfield was born on a farm near Anson in Jones County, Texas, to Luther H. "Dukes" Hatfield (1902-1978) and the former Lema Goza (1906-2002), a native of Madison County, Texas. Hatfield had a sister, Doris Marie Hatfield Montag of Victoria, Texas (1924-1989), the wife of Woodrow Wilson Montag (1915-2005), and two brothers, Minor Bruce Hatfield (1936-2021) of Big Spring, Texas, and Jerry Weldon Hatfield (born 1939) of Snyder. His father nicknamed him "Buster", which was shortened to "Buck." Hatfield attended Noodle High School (named for the community of Noodle) near Merkel in Taylor County, Texas, but did not graduate.

Hatfield subsequently enrolled for the 1967-1968 academic year at Trinity Valley Baptist Seminary and College, which had been established in 1960 in Kennedale in Tarrant County near Fort Worth in what the institution calls the "cradle of fundamentalism." He graduated from the seminary, with much of his work done by correspondence. On its website, the seminary described itself as "Independent, Fundamental, King James Only."

Faith Baptist Church

After seminary, Hatfield and his immediate family lived for a time in Sweetwater in Nolan County, where they opened another restaurant. Hatfield's business experience proved particularly helpful to those in his congregation who were in the food-service business. Deborah Leigh Alexander, a member of one of his congregations, recalled that "It was a great blessing to have a preacher who could relate to things we went through as restaurant owners. He gave us insight in dealing with employees in a Christian manner. And he talked frankly about the everyday frustrations and responsibilities we were living through. He knew how to pray for our specific needs, and this was a special gift we appreciated."

He returned to Snyder and was associate pastor of the Calvary Baptist Church there. In December 1969, with some twenty-two believers, many being family members, Hatfield, then forty years of age, started Faith Church, which initially convened in a few meeting rooms of the Scurry County Coliseum in Snyder. The original church building began with barracks procured from the former Reese Air Force Base in Lubbock, Texas, temporary quarters which have since been expanded, updated, and consolidated at the original location, 208 37th Street in Snyder. In 1991, Jason Rogers, later a missionary in South America, succeeded Hatfield as pastor.

In 1984, Faith Baptist under Hatfield hosted the fundamentalist pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001) of the First Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana, in suburban Chicago, for a one-night revival meeting in the Scurry Coliseum. Independent Baptist churches from throughout the region, such as Ross Spencer of Bethany Baptist Church in Lubbock, sent members by bus to hear the nationally known Hyles, a native of Ellis County, Texas. Hatfield himself also preached at Hyles's church in Hammond. Faith's website proclaims that the church "believes in old-fashioned preaching, King James Bible, door-to-door visitation, and loving the brothers and sisters in Christ!"

After his twenty-one years at Faith Baptist, Hatfield entered the field of evangelism for three years and pastored Grace Baptist Church in Early in Brown County in Central Texas until his retirement in 1994.

Hatfield once said that a church could be permanently split over the selection of the color of the carpet in the sanctuary, but "one thing you really have to watch is how the preacher spends the money. Some pastors with good intentions can bankrupt a church. And the church has to have responsible members in place to keep those kinds of preachers in line because they have no concept of handling money."

Personal life

On March 31, 1952, Hatfield married the former Shirley Faye Webb (1934-2021) in Sweetwater in Nolan County in West Texas. A native of Merkle, she resided in Midland from 1999 unti her death. Both generations of Hatfields moved to Snyder in 1953 to operate a restaurant, the Sweet's Shop Drive-in. Hatfield's mother worked in the business for more than forty years. The Sweet's Shop remained in family hands until 2007, when Jerry Hatfield sold it.

The Hatfields had three sons and a daughter: Larry Don Hatfield (born 1953) of Midland, Robert "Bob" Hatfield (born 1958) of San Angelo, Texas, Shari Faye Hatfield (born 1962) of Hobbs, New Mexico, and Ronnie Keith Hatfield (born 1964) of Sweetwater.

Hatfield died at the age of sixty-five at Cogdell Memorial Hospital in Snyder some three months after the diagnosis of cancer of his adrenal glands. Services were held at Faith Baptist Church with the Reverend Jason Rogers officiating. Along with his wife, he is interred at Hillside Memorial Gardens north of Snyder.