July 13 likely will be a day that Bill Highsmith will never forget. Nearly 200 people gathered in the fellowship hall of Tusculum Hills Baptist Church in Nashville to help him celebrate his 80th birthday, along with his retirement (see story on page 8 of the print edition).
While many people may not know who Bill Highsmith is, his legacy will live on for years to come, at least in Middle Tennessee.
Rusty Sumrall, director of missions for Nashville Baptist Association, says Highsmith, who held the title of minister of recreation/activities, senior adults, missions and education at the time of his retirement, is a pioneer in the areas of church recreation and senior adult ministry in Nashville. “He is one of the best in the country at what he has done,” Sumrall affirmed.
Paul Gunn, Highsmith’s pastor and friend, described him as “a product of everything Baptist.”
He grew up and was saved at the age of 8 in a Tennessee Baptist church (Springfield Baptist in Springfield), attended Austin Peay State University in Clarksville where he was active in the Baptist Student Union (now Baptist Collegiate Ministry), and while in the BSU he served on RA camp staffs at both Linden Valley and Carson Springs. He served as a summer missionary in Oregon and Washington and later worked for the state convention there and later in Tennessee.
For me, he was all of that, but first and foremost, Bill is a friend.
I first met him in the 1980s after moving to Nashville and becoming involved in umpiring and refereeing sports in Middle Tennessee. Being Baptist, I checked with the Nashville Baptist Association and learned they had a tremendous sports program with leagues in multiple sports. This was during what I describe as the “heyday” of church recreation when churches were building gyms and family life centers to reach people.
At the time I met Bill, he was an active member of Belmont Heights Baptist Church in Nashville where he was heavily involved with Royal Ambassadors and church recreation. We immediately connected because Bill was a former employee of the Executive Committee of the Tennessee Baptist Convention (now Tennessee Baptist Mission Board). He served in the former brotherhood department where he did leadership training and conducted Royal Ambassador (RA) camps.
One of the highlights of his tenure was getting astronaut Jim Irwin (Apollo 15) to speak at the RA Congress in Memphis. Highsmith recalled that more than 2,500 people attended the Congress that year.
Bill joined the staff of Tusculum Hills Baptist in 1991 when the church constructed a family life center to reach the people not only in their church but across South Nashville.
I played, coached and officiated basketball in that facility for several years. As an official, I especially enjoyed going to Tusculum Hills. Bill and the staff treated the officials with respect.
For those of us who arrived early, there would be snacks. I remember some great conversations with Bill and his assistant, Kim Wood.
Regrettably, church sports began to wane in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Upward Basketball arrived on the scene and many churches in Tennessee and across the nation turned to that outlet. Even Upward is not as popular today as it was at first.
While church recreation programs ceased to exist at many churches, that was not the case at Tusculum Hills.
Under Bill’s leadership, basketball continued on Saturdays with its own league. The church utilized a number of other recreational activities such as jazzercise and the Striders Club which was geared toward helping senior adults maintain fitness through walking on the track above the gym.
As I listened to many of his friends share stories about Bill during his retirement luncheon and birthday celebration, I realized that no one will truly know the impact that Bill Highsmith has had on the kingdom of God.
I am blessed to know him. He truly is a servant leader who loves his Lord and Savior.