LEADERS
Michael Martin will begin serving as pastor of Meridian Baptist Church, Knoxville, on June 1. He previously served as senior pastor of Seventh Street Baptist Church in Cullman, Ala., where he served as senior pastor for 10 years. Martin received his master of divinity from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Ky., and his undergraduate degree from Union University in Jackson. He was licensed to the ministry in March 1998 at Union Grove Baptist Church in Beech Bluff, and ordained at Calvary Baptist Church in July 1999 in Osceola, Ark. He and his wife, Sarah, have two children.
Unity Baptist Church, Madisonville, recently called Mike Blair as pastor.
Jacob Shatzer, associate provost and dean of instruction at Union University, has been named the university’s provost, effective July 1. Shatzer will replace John Netland, who has served as Union’s provost since 2017 and chose to return to the classroom as a professor. Shatzer joined the Union faculty in 2017 as assistant professor of theological studies and associate dean of the School of Theology and Missions. He is a member of West Jackson Baptist Church, Jackson.
North Knoxville Baptist Church, Knoxville, has called Jim McNeal as pastor and Tracy Clayton as minister of music.
EDUCATION
Union University trustees have approved a new graduate theology program for the university. The master of arts in Bible and theology begins in the fall of 2024. The cohort-based, in-person classes will be taught at Union’s Union Avenue campus in Memphis. The MABT is designed for pastors and church leaders who want in-depth biblical and theological preparation. The 42-hour degree will include 18 hours of biblical languages and 24 hours of theology. The MABT is designed for students with a high level of undergraduate academic preparation. For more information about the program, visit www.uu.edu/mabt.
EVENTS
The Mental Health Mission Field: Mobilizing the Church conference will be held on Oct. 12, from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., at Alpha Baptist Church, Morristown. Keynote speaker will be Heather Evans, LCSW, along with therapists, mental health providers and other professionals who will be there providing tools and resources to equip the church. The cost for lunch and materials will be $20. For more information or to preregister call Annette (423-585-7163) or Martha (423-312-3383).
DEATHS
Forrest Creekmore, retired pastor of Mount Calvary Baptist Church, Gallatin, died March 17 at the age of 88. He served churches in Bledsoe Baptist Association for more than 60 years. He was honored by the Tennessee Baptist Convention in the mid-1990s as a “Small Church Pastor of the Year.” He is survived by his wife, Marilyn, three children, eight grandchildren and 16 great grandchildren.
Retired Tennessee Baptist pastor John T. Fields Jr. of Jackson, died March 20 at the age of 82. He was a pastor for more than 40 years. Pastorates included Alamo Baptist Church, Rives, and New Hope Baptist Church, Dyer. He was preceded in death by his wife, Kay, and a son. He is survived by three children, four grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
Gwendolyn Mays Armour died Jan. 24 at the age of 93. She was the widow of former director of missions Robert Armour (Western District, Weakley County and Beulah Baptist associations). She is survived by a son, five grandchildren and numerous great grandchildren and two great great grandchildren.
Ernest E. “Gene” Gafford died March 24 at the age of 92. Gafford served as pastor of several churches before he became director of the Bartlett location of Tennessee Baptist Children’s Home in the early 1980s. He helped initiate the Boy’s Ranch in Millington. He was a member of Leawood East Baptist Church in Memphis during his retirement years and continued to minister and serve others. He was preceded in death by his wife, Shirley, and two children. He is survived by three children, 10 grandchildren and 13 great grandchildren.
Bob D. Lynch, retired bivocational pastor of Cedar Grove Baptist Church, Maryville, died March 23 in Dandridge at the age of 88. He served as pastor of First Baptist Church, Gate City, Va., for three decades. He was preceded in death by his wife, Billie. Lynch is survived by three children, five grandchildren and several great grandchildren.
Retired pastor Nat Phillips Jr., died Feb. 28 at the age of 93. He served as pastor of several churches in Tennessee and other states, including Kingwood Baptist Church, Chattanooga. He taught for many years at Tennessee Temple College in Chattanooga. He was preceded in death by his wife, Delores. Phillips is survived by two children, six grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren.
Cecil Marvin Spivey, retired pastor of Ardmore Terrace Baptist Church, Memphis, died March 2 at the age of 85. He is survived by his wife of 66 years, Lynnette Cotton Spivey, two children, 14 grandchildren and nine great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by a daughter.
Doris Jordan, wife of retired Tennessee Baptist pastor Herman Jordan, died March 19 at the age of 77. Jordan was pastor of five churches in McMinn and Meigs counties. His last church before retirement was Old Salem Baptist Church in Delano. The couple served on six mission trips to Ghana, Africa. She was preceded in death by a son. She is survived by her husband, a daughter and several grandchildren.