William Wallace Finlator is a Southern Baptist preacher. Except for three years a t Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in the mid-1930s he has spent all of his life in North Carolina. Like most North Carolina Baptist ministers, Finlator has vigorously opposed gambling and the consumption of beverage alcohol. But while many ministers were organizing “Christian” segregation academies, Finlator campaigned for elimination of racial discrimination in public and religious institutions. He has opposed capital punishment and the war in Vietnam. He advocated separation of church and state, opposing prayer in public schools and proposing abolition of tax exemptions for church property. He has served as chaplain of the North Carolina AFL-CIO, chairman of the North Carolina Committee on Civil Rights, and vice president of the American Civil Liberties Union. Even in retirement Finlator remains a prophet, a humanist, and a pastor to many people who seek his compassion and counsel.