Baptist and Reflector
SEVIERVILLE — The 2016 Tennessee Baptist Pastors Conference will feature six speakers including Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary President Paige Patterson.
The speakers will help “Honor the Unknown Heroes of the Tennessee Baptist Convention.”
The afternoon session on Nov. 14 from 1-4:15 p.m. features Jim Collier, pastor, Kirby Woods Baptist Church, Memphis, and president-elect of the conference; Stephen Rummage, pastor, Bell Shoals Baptist Church, Brandon, Fla.; and James Noble, assistant professor of pastoral ministry at Anderson (S.C.) University. The evening session will be held from 6-9:30 p.m. and features Monty Hamilton, pastor, Come As You Are Bible Fellowship, Myrtle Beach, S.C.; Dean Haun, pastor, First Baptist Church, Morristown; and Patterson of Fort Worth, Texas, who will give the closing address.
The conference will feature music by Dale Stokes of Black Oak Heights Baptist Church, Knoxville, and Steve Ladd, Christian recording artist from Centre, Ala.
Todd Stinnett, pastor of Black Oak Heights and president of the Pastors Conference, noted that “while we have some large churches and well known pastors in our state, the majority of our churches are small and many of our churches are bivocational.
“They are husbands, fathers, and many of them work 40-plus hours a week. Yet, somehow they find time to prepare sermons, visit hospitals, and preach funerals, among other duties,” he noted.
Stinnett called the bivocational pastors in the state the “unknown heroes” of the Tennessee Baptist Convention. They are like the men “of whom the world was not worthy” (Hebrews 11:38).
Stinnett said the purpose of this year’s conference is to “honor God and recognize the men who labor with very little recognition.
“Each preacher will be sharing the story of a little known Bible hero, and I know all of us will walk away encouraged, no matter what size church we pastor,” he added.
