LEADERS
Joe Shannon
Joe Shannon, director of missions for JST Baptist Association resigned recently to accept the pastorate of Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in the association, effective Dec. 1. He served with the association for 14 years as an administrative assistant and assistant director of missions before becoming the DOM.
William Taylor recently celebrated his 25th anniversary as pastor of Midway Baptist Church, Johnson City.
Union University journalism professor Ted Kluck has recently published A Hard Thing on a Beautiful Day, a series of essays on life, family, sports, pop culture and the church. The book is available for purchase at Amazon.com.
Luis Lopez, assistant director of missions for ethnic work with Robertson County Baptist Association has been named vice chairperson of the SBC Hispanic Leaders Council.
Doug Finch
Doug Finch joined the technology services team of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board on Jan. 6. He has more than 20 years of experience in technology as an IT professional. He is a member of The Church at Spring Hill in Spring Hill. Finch and his wife, Amy, have two children
Pleasant Hill Baptist Church, Martin, has called Michael Norton as pastor. He recently served as minister of discipleship and worship at South Fulton Baptist Church, South Fulton. He and his wife, Christy, have five children.
DEATHS
Charles Russell Baker
Charles Russell Baker, 84, died Dec. 21 in Collierville. Baker served for 42 years with Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis. When he retired, Baker was the executive vice president. He was an active member of Germantown Baptist Church, Germantown, for more than 40 years. He later joined Covenant Baptist Church in Collierville. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Joan, a son and a granddaughter.
CHURCHES
The Church at Nolensville, a regional campus of Brentwood Baptist Church, hosted a grand opening at its new, permanent location on Jan. 5. Originally meeting on the Brentwood campus, The Church at Nolensville was established in 2018 after church leadership decided to begin building a regional campus in one of the fastest growing areas in Middle Tennessee. The core group of the Nolensville campus temporarily held services at the Nolensville Sports Arena from April of this year until the new building was completed.
The youth group from Ethridge First Baptist Church recently attended the Hearts on Fire conference held in Pigeon Forge in November.
Ben Proffitt and his wife Malinda were recently recognized at Holston Baptist Association’s annual gathering. He has announced that he will retire as director of missions in 2020. A date has not yet been set.
