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Fall Meeting of Church Relations Council Held at Campbellsville University

By Linda Waggener, assistant director of university communications

CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – The fall meeting of the Campbellsville University Church Relations Council (CRC) was held recently in the Ransdell Chapel. Members were welcomed by Dr. Michael V. Carter, president, who said, “Together we enter our second century with thanksgiving.”

Beginning the meeting in a moment of gratitude, the Rev. John Chowning, CU vice president for church relations, shared Psalm 100, “Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.”

“We have been blessed at this university,” said Chowning, “and it is now our responsibility as stewards to make sure every decision we make reflects our core mission, to serve God, and to serve the students that He sends here.”

In announcing office changes, the Rev. Skip Alexander, pastor of Campbellsville Baptist Church, was honored as outgoing chair and thanked for all he has done during the past year of service. Chowning said, “Since our spring CRC meeting, Skip has completed his doctor of ministries degree at Beeson Divinity School in addition to having done a tremendous job as chairman. He has always been there, always willing to do whatever needed to be done for CU. Now we will have to call him reverend doctor Skip Alexander.”

The Rev. Dennis Bickers is the CRC incoming chair. Bickers is Southeast area resource minister for the American Baptist churches of Indiana and Kentucky.

Chowning said, “We are very fortunate to have Rev. Dennis Bickers taking the reins. When I think about Bivocational ministries, Dennis comes to mind among the top two or three names. His work transcends the American Baptist family, he is called on across denominational lines around the country to speak.”

Matthew E. Smyzer Jr., executive director of the Baptist Fellowship Center in Louisville, joins CRC leadership as the incoming chair-elect. He will serve one year in that capacity then move into the position of chairman following Bickers.

Helen Henderson, a member of Saloma Baptist Church in Campbellsville, continues her duties as the CRC secretary.

An appearance by missionary Lonnie Turner provided an update on works in Africa. “I will always be grateful for the education I received at Campbellsville University,” Turner said. “It is good to be back here and see so many who were important to me in the quality education I received here — Bob Clark, Paul Horner, Jim Coker, Bobby Himes, Dr. Treadway — I am proud to say that I’ve learned that the way to build a country is to build a schoolhouse.” He said that the best way to invest in the lives of young people is to invest in education.

Turner invited testimony from Dr. Donna Wise and her students who reported on their recent trip to Zambia and how impressed they had been with needs of the people there.

After the meetings and a special luncheon in Winters Dining Hall, the School of Theology hosted the January 2008 Bible Study Preview with Dr. Douglas Moo, a Blanchard Professor of New Testament at Wheaton Graduate School in Wheaton, Ill., who previewed Paul’s longest, powerful letter to the Romans.

“We were honored to have Dr. Moo visit our campus and lead the study,” said Dr. John Hurtgen, dean of the School of Theology and professor. “It was a special opportunity to learn more about this book of the Bible.”

“Moo has applied himself to the Biblical text by writing commentaries on James, 2 Peter and Jude, and Romans (no less than two commentaries on Romans: NIV Application Commentary and New International Commentary on the New Testament),” said Hurtgen.

For more information on Church Relations at Campbellsville University contact Chowning at (270) 789-5520 or e-mail at jechowning@campbellsville.edu.

Campbellsville University is a private, comprehensive institution located in South Central Kentucky. Founded in 1906, Campbellsville University is affiliated with the Kentucky Baptist Convention and has an enrollment of 2,310 students who represent 100 Kentucky counties, 32 states and 28 foreign nations. Listed in U.S.News & World Report’s 2008 “America’s Best Colleges,” CU is ranked 22nd in “Best Baccalaureate Colleges” in the South and eighth in the South for “Great Schools, Great Prices.” CU has been ranked 15 consecutive years with U.S.News & World Report. Campbellsville University is located 82 miles southwest of Lexington, Ky., and 80 miles southeast of Louisville, Ky. Dr. Michael V. Carter is in his ninth year as president.