Honoring Randall Lolley

Remembering

Randall Lolley

Dr. Randall Lolley, a pivotal figure in the formation of CBFNC and the Cooperative Baptist movement, passed from this earth on March 21, 2022. A public celebration of life service was held for him on May 14 at First Baptist Church, Greensboro, the last congregation he served as pastor before he retired from full-time ministry. Randall and Lou Lolley with the first class of Lolley Scholarship

CBFNC Executive Coordinator Larry Hovis shares, “To say that recipients. Randall Lolley was a giant among free and faithful Baptists would be a gross understatement. From exemplary pastoral leadership to shaping a whole generation of ministers to lending strong leadership in the early days of our CBF family, Randall left an indelible mark on countless pastors, their churches and an entire movement.”

Randall and his wife, Lou, worked with CBFNC in 2008 to establish the Randall and Lou Lolley Endowment for Theological Education to fulfill their dreams of supporting men and women preparing for ministry. Below, some of the previous Lolley Fund scholarship recipients share about the impact Randall has had on their lives and ministry.

“I first met Randall Lolley in 2012 when I reached out for an interview with him for a class project. From our first conversation at Panera Bread, I felt so encouraged and affirmed by him as a woman in ministry and as a child of God. The friendship we shared over the last decade is something I will always cherish. Thanks be to God for Rev. Dr. Randall Lolley.” –Amy McClure, 2012 Scholar

“It was the flagship honor of my Duke experience to be named to the first class of Lolley Scholars and it continues to be a joy to participate in the selection of future scholars year after year. The Lolley legacy is defined by public advocacy that is steeped in religious liberty and academic freedom. My vocation has taken me to avenues of congregational service as a pastor, higher education leadership as a professor and public policy service as a health care advocate. Through each part of my journey, I seek to model the courageous advocacy that was reflected in Randall Lolley’s life. I am grateful to CBFNC for continuing to honor his legacy through the Lolley Fund.” –Andrew Barnhill, 2012 Scholar

“It would be an understatement to say that the Lolley Fund has been instrumental in allowing me to live out my ministerial calling. As I continue my studies at Duke University, learning more and more about the foundations of sound theology, I am inspired by Randall’s principled resistance to hostile theology. I cherish the role I have as a piece of Randall Lolley’s legacy. It is both a privilege and a joy.” –Luke Perrin, 2019 Scholar

Missions in a COVID World, continued from page 3

Local Church Outreach

The examples listed above describe some of the collective mission efforts of our fellowship since the start of the pandemic. There are countless additional stories of congregations who have served their communities faithfully, even sacrificially, in spite of the challenges they have faced. FBC Mount Olive provides a moving, inspiring example of one such effort (see p. 7) but we know there are many more.

Emile Bruner, the great Swiss theologian, said, “The church exists by mission, just as a fire exists by burning.” I’ve heard some (thankfully not many) leaders say that their church has been so disrupted by the pandemic they don’t have the luxury to do much beyond offer worship services and pastoral care for their members. They say they will resume missional engagement when church life returns to a more normal state. While I’m sympathetic to their struggle, I don’t see churches returning to “normal,” if normal means exactly the way things were before the pandemic (and let’s admit, they weren’t always great even then).

I pray our churches would adopt a “new normal” with mission at the center. Otherwise, we may starve the church of the essential oxygen needed to burn brightly for the world to see.