BRENTWOOD — The Baptist University and College Accountability Subcommittee of the Tennessee Baptist Convention Executive Board’s Strategic Relationships Committee has continued to meet and carry out its assigned task.
The subcommittee was formed in response to a motion made by Bill Carden, a messenger from First Baptist Church, Tullahoma, on the floor of the TBC annual meeting in Hendersonville last November.
Specifically, the subcommittee was charged with the responsibility of determining:
(1) Whether or not TBC colleges and universities are demonstrating accountability to Baptist convictions and an authentic Christian worldview education and;
(2) In what ways they either are or are not doing this.
The subcommittee has spent the last few weeks visiting the campuses of Carson-Newman College and Union University, according to Cleo E. “Jack” Jackson, pastor of First Baptist Church, Lenoir City, and chairman of the subcommittee.
During these visits, meetings were held with Randall O’Brien, president of Carson-Newman College in Jefferson City, and David Dockery, president of Union University in Jackson.
Other relevant parties were also interviewed. These persons have included current and former students, persons involved in administrative leadership and members of the boards of trustees, Jackson related.
These fact-finding trips have centered on determining the demonstration (or lack thereof) of accountability at these institutions to historic “Baptist convictions and an authentic Christian worldview education,” Jackson said.
The discussions also focused specifically on the efforts underway at these institutions designed to integrate faith and learning as a way of manifesting such accountability, added.
The next step for the subcommittee will be the process of assimilating what all has been discovered, he continued.
Jackson said the subcommittee anticipates giving a full report of its findings to the TBC Executive Board in its September meeting.
That report and any actions and/or recommendations by the Executive Board as a result will be published in the Baptist and Reflector in advance of the annual meeting of the Tennessee Baptist Convention in November, Jackson said.
In addition to Jackson, the subcommittee is comprised of Cindy Medlin, church clerk, Pine Grove Baptist Church, Wilders-ville; Larry Robertson, pastor, Hilldale Baptist Church, Clarksville; Dennis Trull, pastor, First Baptist Church, McKenzie; and Douglas White, pastor, First Baptist Church, Oneida.
Ex-officio members include H. Dean Haun, pastor, First Baptist Church, Morristown, in his role as chairman of the TBC Strategic Relationships Committee; David Green, pastor, First Baptist Church, Greeneville, in his role as president of the Executive Board; Randy C. Davis, TBC executive director/treasurer; and Gary Rickman, director of strategic relationships, TBC.
