Mid-America Messenger-Spring 2015 by Mid-America Seminary

TO ALL THE WORLD FOR JESUS’ SAKE GLOBAL MISSIONS– HERE AND EVERYWHERE

MID-AMERICA BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

SPRING 2015 | MISSIONS AT HOME AND ABROAD | MISSIONARY FAMILY | MISSIONS TRIP TO SERBIA | CHURCH PLANTING IN ARIZONA

President’s Page

TO ALL THE WORLD FOR JESUS’ SAKE BY DR. MICHAEL SPRADLIN

And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ. —Acts 5:42 The Mid-America Alma Mater begins with the words, “To all the world for Jesus’ sake, where bodies hurt and

sad hearts ache. . . .” For more than 40 years our students have sung these words as they prepare to take the Gospel to the nations. At Mid-America our faculty have ministered around the world so that our graduates can minister to the world. Take the Gospel and Go is the key to practicing true biblical Christianity. THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION always faces the challenge to discuss missions and evangelism without practicing it. The Practical Missions program at MABTS requires every student to witness with the Word of God in a genuine attempt to lead people to Christ. This witnessing

experience means that our students are not only knowledgeable about evangelism but that they have also formed the godly habit of personal soulwinning. Our graduates take this practice of evangelism with them wherever they go, whether overseas or into local church ministry in North America. THE GOOD NEWS OF JESUS CHRIST was never meant to be just a passenger along for the ride as a Christian goes to the World. The Good News was intended to be preached, shared, and taught. It is time to return to the New Testament pattern of evangelism and go to “every house” just like they did in the book of Acts. What we need is a revival of Gospel preaching from house to house and around the world until every person has heard the love of Jesus and the message of salvation.

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COVER STORY Domestic or international, all roads lead to missions with Mid-America’s MMICS degree. Explore the degree paths and follow the journeys of two members of the MABTS family whose hearts beat for missions.

VOLUME 43, NUMBER 1 SPRING 2015

Published by Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary PRESIDENT

Michael Spradlin, PhD EDITOR

Randy Redd

FAMILY AFFAIR The Shirey family—two alum brothers and their parents—has taken the Gospel to four continents.

CONTENT COORDINATOR

Deanna Coscia DESIGN

Eternity Communications

MEMPHIS INTERNATIONAL You don’t have to go far to go on mission since “The nations live across the street.”

P.O. Box 2350 Cordova, Tennessee 38088-2350 901-751-8453 • info@mabts.edu MABTS.edu

MORE NEWS President’s Page 2 Practical Missions Report 5 TEAM Mid-America 9 Faculty News 18

STUDENT TEACHER MABTS student Emily Gray journals about her inspiring missions trip to Serbia.

10 12 16

NEWS | EVENTS | PEOPLE | MINISTRY

Practical Missions

PRACTICAL MISSIONS REPORT SPRING 2015 BY DR. KIRK KILPATRICK

MABTS students have been busy this semester sharing the Gospel message and seeing many professions of faith in the Lord Jesus. The “Seminarians against Abortion” saw God work on Good Friday 2015. Sarah Horn, a student at Mid-America, brought two of her children to minister outside of Planned Parenthood of Greater Memphis. While holding signs designed to encourage individual engagement, Sarah interacted with four different women during her two-hour weekly mission. She witnessed completely to two of the four. Those young women who heard the Gospel responded in repentance and faith. The other turned away from her abortion appointment at Planned Parenthood. Another was turned away from Planned Parenthood for

payment reasons and left after receiving some Scripture encouragement and crisis pregnancy information from Sarah Horn. THE GROUP HANDED OUT two dozen tracts and 18 copies of the Gospel of John while one sermon was preached on the street by an MABTS alumnus, John Rech, the practical missions site supervisor. Two women came to the Lord in two hours at a Memphis bus stop in front of an abortionist’s office! The Holy Spirit had each of them ready for salvation. One woman from Jackson, Tennessee, was at the building for a probation appointment. She told Sarah Horn that she prayed every night for salvation. She didn’t feel saved and wanted to know how she could be saved. Sarah knelt on the pavement and opened her Bible, taking 45 minutes to lead her to the Lord and encouraged her to find meaningful discipleship at church. AS SARAH HELD HER SIGN on the sidewalk another woman approached her with questions about God. She had been collecting information about God

and different worldviews and was trying to make a decision. Sarah witnessed to her, and the woman indicated that she wanted to now put her trust in Jesus. Other MABTS students engaged in this practical mission with regular attendance are PHD student Daniel Jones, third-year student Kevin Kilcrease, and second-year student Michael Kelly.

MABTS student Sarah Horn with her children

TENNESSEE NEW YORK

TOTAL

PRACTICAL MISSIONS

9,897

675

10,572

PERSONS WITNESSED TO

6,814

386

7,200

PROFESSIONS OF FAITH 723 98 821 SERMONS PREACHED 1,474 151 1,625 Practical Missions reported August 2014–April 10, 2015

Missions

DOMESTIC OR ALL ROADS LEAD TO MISSIONS WI

“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!” – Romans 10:15 To All the World for Jesus’ Sake is more than just the Alma Mater Mid-America alumni sing at special events. It is the purpose for which the Master of Missiology and Intercultural Studies program is designed. The MMICS degree prepares men and women for effective cross-cultural missions. Through exposure to domestic and international aspects of missions, students are guided toward personal maturity and professional ministry competence.

DOMESTIC

ON-CAMPUS STUDIES Students can complete the MMICS through three years of prescriptive on-campus studies.

EVANGELISM Students witness to at least one person a week while they attend Mid-America.

PRACTICAL MISSIONS Through the Practical Missions program, students are actively engaged in missions throughout the community during the time they are enrolled in the degree program. Continued on page 8, left column

INTERNATIONAL, ITH MID-AMERICA’S MMICS DEGREE

INTERNATIONAL

ON-FIELD STUDIES Students can choose to substitute the third year of on-campus studies for a two- or threeyear appointment with the International Mission Board. The objectives of the on-field study are accomplished through prescribed research, field ministry, and language acquisition under the immediate direction of experienced field missionaries and under the final auspices of the Missions faculty at the Mid-America Cordova campus.

SHORT-TERM MISSIONS TRIPS Throughout the year, a student at MABTS will have multiple opportunities to

Messenger | Spring 2015

participate in overseas missions trips, often with the very professors they learn from in the classroom.

PROFESSOR EXPERIENCE Students are trained by professors that have extensive practical experience in crosscultural missions. DR. MARK TERRY, Chairman of the Department of Missions and a favorite Missions professor, describes his time on the field: “Just before I graduated from seminary in May 1975, my wife and I were appointed as missionaries by the Foreign Mission Board (now International Mission Board). We went to the Philippines in 1976, and after language school, we began our Continued on page 8, right column

DANIEL WALKER came to Mid-America because he recognized the incredible training in MABTS alumni: “The way they speak and preach, you can see the training; their teaching is full of deep theological truths made simple.” As a Missiology student, Daniel’s training is preparing him for the international mission field by providing him with practical experience in a much closer context. Daniel works with Faith Baptist Church’s Engage Memphis Urban Ministries. For the last year, he has spent one day a week visiting an apartment complex in South Memphis. This area is characterized by dangerous housing accommodations, a void of reliable transportation, limited employment opportunities, less than ideal education, and a near absence of the Gospel. “When you put that all together,” Daniel explains, “you have a mission field.” The Engage missionaries take a holistic approach to the Gospel. They do not present the Gospel and leave; they live the Gospel faithfully in the midst of a dangerous environment, making Christ the clear reason they minister to the needs of the people. “Relationships are key. They have to see that we care about them, that we’re not just there to sell church to them. They are looking for love; they respond to the knowledge that a Savior is interested in them, in a relationship with them.” HIS CONCERN FOR THE PEOPLE and passion for sharing the hope of Jesus are evident as he speaks about this Practical Mission assignment that has become more than a school requirement. The ministry has seen great progress in the area in the past three years, but it is only the beginning. “It’s a dark place,” Daniel says. “You close your eyes, and it feels like a third world country. But because of the work of the Holy Spirit in Warren, the community has grown spiritually. It has officially been taken off the nuisance list. We’ve been accepted there. We have good attendance at our Bible studies. We are discipling the Christians to take ownership, and they are beginning to take leadership. Our main goal is to work ourselves out of a job. We’ve got a long way to go, but you just learn to not sweat the little things and celebrate the victories as they come.” 8

ministry on the island of Mindanao in the southern part of the Philippines. We served on Mindanao from 1976–1989. That was a great harvest time, and the number of Baptist churches increased from 100 to 1,000. It was also a difficult time, however, because the Communists and Muslims had both rebelled against the government. Gun battles were Dr. Mark Terry common, and bapitizing in the ocean we often went to as a missionary to the sleep hearing gunfire. Both of Philippines. our children were born while we served in the Philippines, and I completed my PHD in Missions at Southwestern Seminary by studying on two furloughs. In 1989, due to family needs, we resigned from the Foreign Mission Board. “WHEN WE RETURNED TO THE UNITED STATES, I taught missions and served as Academic Dean at Clear Creek Baptist Bible College in Kentucky. After four years at Clear Creek, Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville invited me to join the faculty. I taught missions and evangelism there from 1993–2004. I had a part in founding the Billy Graham School of Missions and Evangelism at Southern Seminary. We saw the enrollment grow from 42 students to more than 900. In 2003, we applied for reappointment as missionaries by the International Mission Board and were reappointed in November 2004. We went to serve at Malaysia Baptist Seminary in Penang, Malaysia. I taught missions, and Barbara served as a librarian. We started Master of Arts and Doctor of Missiology degree programs at the seminary. So far, 12 students have graduated with their DMISS degree. In 2013, we returned to the States for our final furlough, and Mid-America invited me to join the Missions department. My dream for Mid-America is that we could train many missionaries and professors of missions who will take the Gospel to all the nations and train others to do so, thus fulfilling my life verse, 2 Timothy 2:2.”

YOU. Sure, we have a website, brochures, and a modest ad budget. (No plane banners, though!) But our best advertisement? You. In fact, according to a recent survey, 91% of MidAmerica students heard about MABTS through someone they knew—a pastor, student, alumnus, or other friend of the seminary. In other words, someone like you. On board yet? Mid-America is a team. Faculty. Students. Alumni. Supporters. All working together toward one goal: taking the Gospel to all the world for Jesus’ sake. That’s why we’re introducing TEAM Mid-America. It’s a network of friends of the seminary, all dedicated to helping Mid-America accomplish our mission. So join the TEAM today. And win for Christ.

JOIN NOW AND RECEIVE A FREE GIFT!

Sign up at MABTS.EDU/TEAM today, and we’ll send you the special TEAM Mid-America Kit with 40 ways you can help tell the Mid-America story. Plus, you’ll receive a free gift! We want YOU on board. Join now! What is TEAM Mid-America? It’s a special team from the seminary family committed to the following goals:

T—Telling the Mid-America story. E—Educating prospective students about our programs and benefits. A—Assisting the seminary in its mission through prayer and financial support. M—Mentoring the called as partners with us. JOIN NOW AT MABTS.EDU/TEAM

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Family Legacy

MABTS ALUMNI EMBRACE GLOBAL MISSIONS, FAMILY BY DUFFY GUYTON

A phrase from the Alma Mater that forever rings in the hearts of all alumni is, “To all the world for Jesus’ sake.” Since the inception of the seminary, the three-fold mission of the school—Bible, evangelism, and missions—has not wavered but has strengthened in intensity due to the growing number of graduates, now totalling 2,768. Mid-America graduates are renowned for their devotion to the inerrancy of Scripture and urgency of personal evangelism, and

no matter where our faithful alumni are serving, their lives reflect brokenness for the nations. Reared in the southwest Louisiana town of Moss Bluff, fellow alumni and brothers David and Charles Shirey solidified their call to international missions while the Lord was training and equipping them at Mid-America. Their passion for global missions was not an option but conviction. The calling was not only for two brothers, but their mother and father, Bob and Nancy Shirey, committed to following God’s calling to ministering overseas after seeing their sons faithfully live the Gospel. From experiencing their sons’ devotion to share the Good News with great urgency in Suriname and in Africa, Bob and Nancy knew the Lord desired for them to devote the rest of their lives to international missions. The Shirey family emulates the verse in Acts 20:20, “How I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house.” THE SHIREY FAMILY faithfully serves the International Mission Board (IMB). For the past 15 years, Charles, wife, Brittany, and The Shirey family: On the left, Charles and Brittany with their three children in front: Caleb, Abigail, and Ethan. In the center, Bob and Nancy. On the right, David and Kendall.

their children have lived in Suriname ministering to the Aukan people living along the jungle rivers where canoes and boats are the only source of transportation. David and his bride, Kendall, a fellow IMB missionary, were married on November 8, 2014, and they are currently serving the great people of France. Bob and Nancy also serve the IMB, coordinating logistics for Chile. The Shirey family’s love for the Lord and the realization that He set their family apart for the peoples of the world, personally calling them to global missions, exemplifies Acts 20:24, “None of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the Gospel of the grace of God.” MID-AMERICA IS GRATEFUL for the Shireys and honored that the Lord led them to our seminary in which He could capture their hearts for international missions. We are grateful for this entire family’s commitment to passing on the legacy of Christ to ones who have never heard the love of the Redeemer. May we pray for future Mid-America friends and families to be global families of legacy. For more information regarding investing in future servants who pour their life into spreading the Gospel throughout the world, please visit our website at mabts.edu, and please feel to contact Duffy Guyton, Chief Development Officer, at dguyton@mabts.edu or at (901) 751-3030.

MABTS STUDENT ENGAGES PEOPLE GROUPS IN MEMPHIS BY RYAN BUSH

I had looked in just about every corner of my hometown in rural Arkansas for something that would give me peace, joy, and fulfillment. I was 17 years old and had come up empty. God used the simple invitation of a friend in my high school and the ministry of a wellknown youth speaker to bring me to a clear understanding of the Good News of Jesus on February 7, 1998. Eighteen years later the transformation that took place in my heart still confounds me. I felt as though I had been pulled from the

water only moments before drowning. That perspective remains with me. I know where I was and what I was saved from. SOON AFTER BEING SAVED, the Lord began to show me that I wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t the only one who needed rescue. In June 2000, I found myself on an airplane with 20 other students from Ouachita Baptist University headed for Windhoek, Namibia. My time there was key in orienting me toward cross-cultural ministry. In 2005, my wife and I traveled to Lima, Peru, to serve as missionaries with the International Mission Board on a twoyear assignment. Being part of a missions team that labored to reach pockets of lostness in the Andes Mountains was a

formative and wonderful experience. We grew greatly during this time, but we also realized that zeal alone was not sufficient to make us effective, long-term cross-cultural workers. We needed more training. The Lord led us to Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary in 2008. I approached the Masters of Missiology program as a soldier does boot camp. My goal was to work hard, learn as much as I could, and get to the battlefield as soon as possible. As I neared graduation, it became clear that the mission field I was so eager to get to was all around me. The nations live across the street, quite literally.

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EQUIPPED WITH THOROUGH AND PRACTICAL missiological training and a renewed vision for reaching the nations, my wife and I began to engage people groups living in Memphis. Since 2010, we have been a part of new churches being formed among Latinos and Vietnamese. We have also been a part of developing and implementing church planting strategies to reach groups from North Africa and the Middle East. In 2012, I returned to MABTS to begin doctoral studies. The experience of combining intense study with intense ministry, while at times challenging, has been exceedingly fruitful. Study motivated

me to do missions work. Doing missions work drove me to study. Oftentimes, I spent mornings encountering missions principles in seminars and evenings applying those same principles in ministry settings. The fruit that we have seen over the past five years is due to power of the Holy Spirit and the Gospel. But the Holy Spirit used the training and insight I have received from my professors at Mid-America to make me a more effective communicator of the Gospel across cultures. As I look forward to graduation in May, I am thankful for the solid, biblical

training passed on to me through the lectures and lives of my professors. I am also grateful to the donors committed to giving to Mid-America. Through their generosity and the Lordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s grace, we did not have to take on the impediment of debt to gain the advantage of missiological training. May the Lord continue to use MABTS to send workers into the harvest.

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Church Planting

MABTS STAFFER PLANTING ARIZONA CHURCH BY DR. RAY MEADOWS

When a student comes to Mid-America, he or she is challenged to examine his or her commitment to serving Christ. This challenge is not meant to tear down your faith, but through classes, chapel, and the seminary community, you’ll come to examine the extent of your commitment in light of God’s requirements. Other areas that impact the lives of all students are practical missions and personal witnessing encounters. Students are not simply cast out and told to share their faith. They are trained, then sent out to share Christ, personally, with people in the community. Dr. Gray’s evangelism class challenges and prepares all participants. If you allow God to work, He will light a fire of passion for seeing people give their lives to Christ and be transformed through the work of the Holy Spirit. God used these things in my life to develop a passion for church planting. When I first stepped on campus over a decade ago, I had no real understanding of the concept of missions and planting churches. WITHIN A MONTH OF COMING to seminary, God provided a job for me as a church-planting intern. God providentially placed me in the care of a godly man who mentored me and demonstrated passion for Christ and for people. Before long, God moved our family to New York, to pastor a church plant in the inner city of Schenectady. In New York, God once again placed me around men and woman whose hearts were passionate for planting churches.

There is a great need for new, Biblebelieving, outwardly focused or missional churches in the Northeast. Only one SBC church exists for every 80,000 people, and in some places, less than two percent are evangelical. Please pray that God would send more people passionate for others to receive Christ as Lord and Savior. NOW GOD HAS PROVIDED my family a path to plant out West. This summer we continue the journey of church planting in metro-Phoenix, Arizona. Just as in the Northeast, there is a great need for new churches to be planted out West. In the next decade, a million more people are expected to move to the metro-Phoenix area, pushing the total population to well over six million. Most of the people there have no evangelical witness that will intersect their lives. Our plan for planting in Arizona begins with prayer. Jesus said to pray that the Lord of the harvest would send laborers, so we pray, and thus far, He has blessed us with a team that will move and serve as the core of this new church. We pray God will use our team to plant a strong, multiplying church. We want to multiply believers, leaders, and churches. This means we must train new believers to be leaders, to follow God’s call to move outward, sowing the seed—the Word of God—and watch the Lord of the harvest grow His churches. We must mentor and coach new believers to allow the Holy Spirit to ignite a passion for their lost families, friends, and neighbors, just as was done for us at Mid-America. One of the great things about Mid-America is that it helps

students see the biblical requirement of a wholehearted commitment to Christ. This type of commitment is proclaimed by and demonstrated in the Word of God. For example, Jesus left the glory of Heaven and took on Himself human form. Because of His love for us, He became a man, a bondservant, Who would offer Himself as a sacrifice for all mankind. In Matthew 22, Jesus is challenged by the Pharisees to proclaim the greatest commandment. Jesus responds with the Shema (from Deuteronomy 6): “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind.” Then He followed it with a second, which He said “is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” He proclaimed that all the Law and Prophets stand on these two commands. A wholehearted love and commitment to God means a wholehearted love and commitment for humanity. This is why we plant churches! To be able to love God with all that we are, we must love others, no matter where they are. We must share the Gospel! Jesus gave us a commission to make disciples, and He said that if we love Him, we will obey Him. How can you get away from that? To love God fully is to love people created in His very image and bring the life transforming Good News to a lost and dying world. Come plant with us. Partner with us in the Lord’s harvest!

Dr. Ray Meadows, Director of Information Services at Mid-America, his wife Deenie, and daughter Allison.

Missions Trip

STUDENT APPLIES PRINCIPLES FROM CLASSROOM ON MISSIONS TRIP BY EMILY GRAY

With graduation around the corner, it is easy for me to see how my time ending at Mid-America is bittersweet. Despite the academic demands in my Master program and taking a full load of classes every semester, this school has been a huge blessing in drawing me closer to Jesus. Over the past couple of years, MidAmerica has become a special place that has been equipping me and preparing me even more for my calling into ministry. While I have learned much in many of my classes, a couple of courses in particular have challenged me to get out of my comfort zone and seek to live out what I was learning in a unique way. I REMEMBER MY FIRST SEMESTER taking “History of Christianity.” That class really opened my eyes, and the professor definitely challenged me to take what I was learning to heart. The following school year, I began “Principles of Teaching.” This course, which is a two-semester class, is aimed at preparing students to be efficient teachers of the Word. By doing so, students are challenged to practice teaching publicly as well as learning different teaching styles. Normally I am not one who likes a lot of attention focused on me, so the idea of taking a class where I would eventually have to teach in front of my peers multiple times definitely caused me some stress. I knew, however, Jesus had brought me to this for a reason and that it would enhance

my ability to effectively minister to others in the future. When I started feeling led to go on a missions trip geared at teaching students in a foreign country, I knew Jesus had been preparing my heart. My church was looking for a team to go to a ministry school in Serbia and help teach and disciple the students there. Serbia is not a very evangelical country, and these students have little community to look to for training and discipleship other than what they learn at their school. My heart ached to help disciple the girls there at the school, so they in turn could make disciples in their country. Part of the “Great Commission” is discipleship, and it is such a needed and crucial thing for all followers of Christ. In a sense, that has been what seminary has been for me—a source of spiritual discipline and discipleship. Through this missions trip, the Lord gave me a desire to go out of my comfort zone and teach, help train others, and apply my seminary experience. AFTER MUCH PRAYER and officially signing up for the trip, I was excited and nervous. I found out I would be teaching to the second year students there, and not only that, but I was assigned to help teach the history of Christianity! The

Lord definitely was using pieces of my seminary training to help me. The Spirit definitely calmed any nerves and worked through me on the trip. Going to Serbia was an amazing experience. I was able to invest in the girls at the ministry school there as well as build relationships and help teach and disciple. As an added bonus, on the plane rides there and back, the Lord presented opportunities for me to share the Gospel with non-believers. Having taken the Evangelism class before, as well as my experience with practical missions, I was able to share insights I’d learned as I told these people about Christ. Mid-America definitely helped prepare me for this trip in different ways, and I am so thankful Jesus brought me to this school for this season of life.

My heart ached to help disciple the girls there at the school, so they in turn could make disciples in their country.

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MABTS Faculty

A TRIBUTE TO DR. JIMMY MILLIKIN FOR 40 YEARS OF FAITHFULNESS Dr. Jimmy Millikin will be retiring from the faculty of MABTS at the end of the Spring 2015 semester. The following tribute to Dr. Millikin is by Dr. Gray Allison, his long-time friend and colleague and founding President of Mid-America. BY DR. B. GRAY ALLISON

When we sent out the letter about the beginning of MABTS to all Southern Baptist preachers listed in the SBC Annual, I had never heard of Jimmy Millikin. A number of pastors wrote to me recommending Jimmy for our faculty. We had our four professors for year one and could not afford another. (Truth is, we couldn’t afford the four professors we had!) I called Jimmy and told him of the letters and asked him to preach at our first Founders’ Days. He came, and God knit our hearts together. IN 1973, I invited him to join our faculty, and he agreed to come. He and his precious wife, Ruby, immediately

became part of our family. Jimmy Millikin has been, and is, one of my very best friends. I love and trust him. He has been one of the best professors at MABTS. Jimmy is a gentleman and a scholar with a warm heart and has influenced our students in many ways. Many of our graduates have told me and have written to me to tell of his influence in their lives and ministries. JIMMY IS WELL VERSED in many areas. I was disappointed when he told me that he felt led of the Lord to go to Williams Baptist College as president. He was much loved as he taught here at MidAmerica. After one and a half years at Williams, he was led of the Lord to return to the Seminary. We did not need another professor of New Testament at the time, and I asked him to teach Theology and to serve as head of the Theology Department. He agreed and served in that position with distinction until we were able to return him to his first love, New Testament. It is my opinion that we could not have had anyone who could do as well as he did in that work. LEFT: In 1973, Dr. Millikin (top right) was the first addition to the original faculty, which included (left to right) T.V. Farris, Philip Allison, Gray Allison, and Roy Beaman. RIGHT: As enrollment continued to grow, so did the faculty. Dr. Millikin is seated, second from right.

Jimmy and I both are concerned about ecclesiology and have attempted to teach our students of its importance. This may well be Jimmy’s major influence. We have had more than 40 years of working together, and my love for and appreciation of him have continued to grow. I wish that we had men of his stature teaching in all of our seminaries. His love for Jesus and for his students has been consistent. He has never wavered. Jimmy is a wonderful Bible preacher. He is always prepared and “prayed up.” God has spoken to many hearts through his messages. He has always been much in demand by churches. Those who have heard him never forget him. One of the jokes at MABTS relates to his preaching. He will be teaching one of his classes and will say, “I think I have a sermon on that” and begins to preach. There are many things to be said of Jimmy, but the best is that he is a man of the great God. It has been my honor and my privilege to work with him through these many years. When I think of him, I am reminded of Psalm 133:1: “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.”

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Mid-America announces new fully online degrees. We call it the MABTS “Connected Campus.” Take one course or an entire degree—100% online, 100% accredited, and 100% Mid-America. It’s not just about convenience. It’s about connections— whether you’re in Memphis, Tennessee, or Memphis, Egypt. You not only get access to a world-class education—anytime, anywhere—you’re also connected with MABTS faculty who are committed to being involved in students’ lives. And you’re networked into the student community, a family you take with you as you explore your future. For more information, visit

mabts.edu/ConnectedCampus. And get connected with your future today.