Messenger-Fall 2012

MID-AMERICA LOOKS BACK AT A BLESSED HERITAGE, FORWARD TO A BRIGHT FUTURE MID-AMERICA BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

FALL 2012 | NATIONS IN MEMPHIS | CHURCH PLANTING IN THE URBAN SOUTH | BRIDGE PROGRAM | CREATION CONFERENCE

Editor’s Notes

READ THE STORIES OF MID-AMERICA TOLD THROUGH THE LIVES OF PEOPLE

BY BRAD JOHNSON

What an exciting season at the seminary as Mid-America celebrates its fortieth anniversary this fall! For four decades, MABTS has been training men and women to minister in the local church and to serve as missionaries throughout the world. We invite you to rejoice with us as we commemorate this special occasion and to reflect with us on our incredible journey since those first classes began in 1972. As the Mid-America legacy continues to grow, we are amazed at how deeply and richly the Lord has provided for us and how He continues to use Mid-America to prepare men and women for His service.

In these pages, you will read about students and alumni who are putting the training they received at MABTS into practical application, ministering to peoples nearby and around the world. Articles from two current PhD students describe diverse local ministries. Dallas Pitts offers a fresh perspective on church-planting in the urban South, and Ryan Bush provides an eye-opening testimony about reaching the nations in Memphis.

Both essays remind

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us of the Lord’s call to intentionally and deliberately serve those He brings into our lives and communities.

As always, the Messenger also offers alumni notes, sharing with you the many ways our alumni are carrying the Gospel across the world. Alumnus Alan Bandy is highlighted in this issue for a recent teaching award, and he discusses how his time at Mid-America prepared him for the classroom.

As friends and family of MidAmerica, you are no doubt familiar with Mid-America’s founding President Gray Allison’s rendition of the Miracle of MidAmerica, a beloved MABTS tradition in which he recounts the amazing history of the school and the Lord’s incredible guidance and provisions. That story is much on our hearts during this anniversary season, but in these pages, you will see that the Miracle of MidAmerica is not limited to the beginning of the Seminary. The miracle continues through the lives of our students and alumni as they invest in His kingdom.

We appreciate the role you have played in the seminary’s remarkable journey, through your prayerful support and friendship, and we are excited to see what the Lord has in store for Mid-America in the coming years.

We hope you enjoy this issue of the

Messenger. Please feel free to send me any feedback, questions, or story ideas. I would love to hear from you.

NEW LOOK FOR MESSENGER HELPS TELL THE MID-AMERICA STORY You’ll notice that this issue of the Messenger features an exciting new design that complements the new look for Mid-America communications. Throughout our 40-year history, telling the Mid-America story has been an integral part of the MidAmerica life and culture. From “The Miracle of Mid-America” story told by founder Dr. B. Gray Allision each year during Founders’ Days to the brand new website launched earlier this year (www.mabts.edu), telling the Mid-America story is really all about bringing glory to God. We hope you enjoy this issue of the Messenger and that you in turn become “Messengers” of Mid-America, spreading the Good News of Christ as well as the story of how Mid-America is helping to take this Good News to all the world for Jesus’ sake.

MABTS.edu | Mid-America

COVER STORY Mid-America kicks off a celebration that’s been 40 years in the making, as we celebrate four decades of equipping men and women to take the Gospel “to all the world for Jesus’ sake.”

VOLUME 40, NUMBER 1 FALL 2012

Published by Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary PRESIDENT

Michael Spradlin, PhD EDITOR

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Cross-cultural missions when the nations come to us

Brad Johnson CONTENT COORDINATOR

Cindy Cowherd DESIGN

Eternity Communications

IN HIS OWN WORDS Church planting in the urban South

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

DEPARTMENTS Editor’s Notes 2 Practical Missions Report 4 Photo Highights 22 Alumni News 24 President’s Page 26

6 10 20

ALUMNI PROFILE

BRIDGE PROGRAM Earn course credit before you even enroll

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Practical Missions

PRACTICAL MISSIONS REPORT SUMMER 2012 Mid-America’s purpose is to train men and women to fulfill the Great Commission. We believe the best way for students to learn how to effectively witness and minister to their communities is...to witness and minister to their communities. In addition to the academic requirements at MABTS, all students are expected to participate in practical missions and ministry.

The MABTS Practical Missions program challenges students to share their faith on a regular basis and work with gospel-centered ministries, with the expectation that students will dedicate at least two hours a week to their chosen ministries. Practical missions opportunities range from feeding the homeless to teaching English as a second language to serving regularly in local churches.

MABTS faculty and advisors can help students find practical-missions sites that fit their talents, passions, and callings.

Although some students may find the expectation to share their faith on a weekly basis daunting, personal evangelism training is woven into the first-year MABTS curriculum. In the classroom and through hands-on experience, students are equipped to serve in whatever field of ministry they choose and to confidently share their faith, a skill they can use to reach others for Christ for the rest of their lives.

Twice a week during chapel, students are given the opportunity to share testimonies from their practical missions and personal evangelism experiences. Each week, students provide moving accounts of how they have seen God at work. Since 1972, over 150,000 people have made a profession of faith as a result of a gospel witness from MABTS students.

TENNESSEE NEW YORK

TOTAL

PRACTICAL MISSIONS

19,354

2,199

21,553

PERSONS WITNESSED TO

11,182

1,294

12,476

PROFESSIONS OF FAITH

1,089

383

1,472

SERMONS PREACHED

4,143

428

4,571

Practical Missions reported August 2011–May 2012

PROFESSIONS OF FAITH SINCE 1972 = 158,299

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MABTS.edu | Mid-America

Alumni Profile

CROSS-CULTURAL MISSIONS WHEN THE NATIONS COME TO US I came to Memphis to prepare for the mission field. In the process, He showed us we were already there.

This journey started in 2005 when the Lord called my wife and me to serve a two-year assignment with the International Mission Board (IMB) in South America. When our assignment ended, we sensed that the Lord’s call on our lives to cross-cultural ministry had not ended, but we needed additional training first. So, we loaded the moving truck and set our sights on Memphis and Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary.

I blazed through seminary classes, and we began the application process with the IMB. Then, something happened. The IMB said they weren’t sending anyone to South America, and to check back in a couple of years. To our dismay and confusion, the door was shut. At the same time, however, the Lord was moving in our hearts. I took a week-long class with Dr. Wade Akins called “Cross-Cultural Church Planting.” Each morning we studied in the classroom. Each afternoon we went into a Sudanese community and did simple Bible studies with people. The Lord used that experience to revolutionize my understanding of cross-cultural ministry. He set my heart on fire with a vision and desire to minister crossculturally in my culture, in Memphis.

I WASN’T SURE WHERE OR how to start. So, I climbed in my 1994 green Ford Aerostar (a.k.a. The Ministry Mobile) and started driving and praying.

I said, “Lord, you have put this desire in my heart. You know what you want me to do. Please, show me where to start.” I worked my way outward from the seminary exploring neighborhoods in the area. About 45 minutes into my exploration, I drove down a street named Goldbrier. I had never been on it before.

As I made my way down the street, I could see ahead what seemed like a dozen kids running around in a yard. As I got closer I could see they were Latino, and could hear them laughing and speaking Spanish. In that moment, it was as if the Lord said, “Start here.”

So, I did. I began mapping the area starting on that street.

After I had identified several dozen Latino homes, I began to systematically visit them. I would knock on the door and say, “Hello. My name is Ryan. I am a Bible teacher. Can I pray for your home? Would you like to learn about God through the Bible?” The first two Bible studies that I started were in homes

within eyeshot of the house where the kids were playing. I continued to map neighborhoods and visit homes. I kept meticulous records on each home that I visited. This was necessary because I was visiting several hundred families on a regular basis.

I MAPPED, VISITED, CONDUCTED Bible studies, and plodded for about six months before the first breakthrough.

There was one home that I knew was Latino but had not visited yet. I was in the area one day and decided to go to it. I knocked and no one answered. I knocked again, still no answer. As I turned to make my way back to the Ministry Mobile, I noticed a middle-aged Latino man sitting in the front seat of his truck in the driveway. I hadn’t noticed him before.

He was talking on his cellphone and seemed upset. In fact, he looked like he was yelling. I thought it was a good time leave. As I cut across the yard, the man set the phone down, stepped out of his vehicle, and met me as I passed behind his truck.

“Who are you looking for?” he asked.

“No one in particular,” I said. “My name is Ryan. I am a Bible teacher. I am looking for people who want to study God’s word.”

“Wait right there,” he told me.

He hadn’t shown any signs of friendliness, and the last thing I wanted to do was to “Wait right there,” but I did. I watched as he walked to the cab of his truck. The door was still open. He bent over and reached his hand under the driver’s seat. My first thought was to “Run!” At any rate, I didn’t have time to do anything. In an instant he was walking

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back toward me. In his hand was a Bible. That was pretty much the best case scenario, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

“I have been talking to my mother in Mexico,” he said. “She is having some problems, and I was reading a Psalm to her.”

“That’s great!” I said. “Are you a Christian? Do you follow Christ?”

“Yes we are. We became Christians a year ago. But, we don’t know anything.

Will you teach us?” he asked.

“Of course! I would love to teach you.” He just stared at me. Then it dawned on me. So, I asked, “You mean right now?”

“Yes,” he said. “Right now.”

He led me into his home. He called his whole family, three generations, into the living room. He set an office chair in the middle of the room and asked me to sit in it. He then turned to his family and said, “This man has come to

teach us the Word of God, and we are going to listen.”

I didn’t know it then, but that first Bible Study was the birth of Iglesia Bautista Pueblo de Dios (People of God Baptist Church). The Lord has blessed Pueblo de Dios with a faithful core group of families, a storefront space, and strong leadership. They are growing spiritually and numerically. They are also praying for and participating in planting new Latino churches in the city.

I am a missionary. My mission field is Memphis. The Lord has opened my eyes and heart to the unprecedented opportunity we have to “go and make disciples of all nations.” Right now, in Memphis, a follower of Christ can freely engage people groups that are “unreached” and that originate from “closed countries.” Ministry among these groups has traditionally been contingent upon obtaining visas, creating platforms, selling homes, quitting jobs, and moving across the globe. This is no longer the case. The Lord has brought these unreached people groups to our work places and neighborhoods. They are preparing our food, cutting our lawns, painting our fingernails, selling us gas, and treating

our illnesses.

Jesus has entrusted close to 200,000 immigrants, most of whom do not know the Lord, into the care of believers in Memphis. They are not a threat to the American way of life; they are treasured creations of our Father. They are people for whom Jesus died. The Lord has brought the mission field to our doorstep.

May the Lord call churches to send missionaries across town. May the Lord call his children to pray and plead on behalf of these people groups. May the Lord break our hearts for those He has brought to our city.

If you would like more information about work among the immigrant population in Memphis, contact Ryan Bush (901-286-2005, thefamilybush@gmail.com).

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MABTS.edu | Mid-America

2012 MABTS DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL GOLF CLASSIC

Thank you to all our friends and supporters who participated in the 2012 MABTS Development Council Golf Classic. We want to express special appreciation to our Corporate Sponsors for their generous support: • Brim’s • Papa John’s • Lenny’s Sub Shop • Trustmark Bank

• Heavenly Sunshine Cleaning, Inc. • Qdoba Mexican Grill • Rawlinson Gallery and Studio

The proceeds from the golf tournament benefit the Morris Mills Scholarship Fund. If you are interested in supporting our students through a scholarship fund, or donating to the Seminary by other means, please contact Duffy Guyton at dguyton@mabts.edu or 901-751-3030.

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MABTS.edu | Mid-America

in his own words

CHURCH PLANTING IN THE URBAN SOUTH

BY DALLAS PITTS

In Luke 15:11-32, Jesus tells the story of what we know as the “Parable of the Prodigal Son,” but we must not think this story is about just one son. Rather, it is the tale of two sons. Both a younger brother and an older brother are in view. The younger brother takes what he can from the father and wastes it. The older brother stays with the father, but he uses the father too as we see at the end of the story. You may ask “what does this parable have to do with church planting?” and the answer is everything. I will return to this later, but first let me tell you about planting a church in the urban South.

TWO YEARS AGO I BEGAN to feel God’s tug to plant a church in Memphis, and I was not sure about following through with it. After many months in prayer, my wife and I were finally convinced it was God’s leading to plant the church. I resigned from my

ministry position at FBC Collierville and began gathering a core team. We held preview services last summer and finally launched in September 2011. Our church has had victories and challenges, but we have remained faithful to the call God has placed on our lives. We have lost people and gained people, baptized people, and ministered to the least of these. But nothing could quite prepare me for coming to the realization of the vision God has for those who are far from Him. I realized through ministering and sharing the gospel with people who could be considered “younger brother types” that God is doing a work among them.

We have several “younger brothers” that come to our church, and I knew God was drawing them to Himself as any good father would. However, I was not sure about my vision for this and my part in God’s work. I slowly began to understand the part I was to play. When you plant a church, there is a great deal of time spent at the beginning developing a mission and vision for what this new church will look like and when will it be self-supporting,

but nothing can give you that vision like God’s word, especially passages like in Luke 15 that explain the heart of the Father.

MEMPHIS IS A VERY RELIGIOUS city and some of the largest churches in the United States are here. One might say that the church in Memphis is doing well, but I might add that it is doing well among a certain type of people, primarily older brother types, who love to attend church and be close to the Father’s house.

Starting new churches in Memphis is reaching more younger brother types, who are religious in their own way, but, nevertheless, are far from God. In many ways they want God’s stuff; they just don’t want God. It is really the same with the older brother types too. One type runs from God by being far away from the Father and the church, and the other runs away by being very close to it. “Older brothers” have always been there for God, and don’t need Him to change their lives when there are those with bigger, more visible problems. Either way, both avenues are wrong ways to approach God.

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We have planted Bluff City Church to be a church for the younger brother to come home to. Younger brothers are met on the way. They don’t come to a service, but come into our lives at work, the gym, school, and our pastimes; and then are drawn home. Bluff City probably has more older brother types at this time, but we all must respond to the invitation of the father to come home, older or younger.

I recently shared the gospel with a guy who said he grew up Southern Baptist, but is agnostic now. After I shared the gospel with him, he said that despite his experience in church as a child, he had never heard that clearly before. He did not accept Jesus that day, but the dialogue is open. I asked him to think about what I had said. He is a younger brother type, living for himself. God is giving those who are willing, the chance to share the gospel and connect with people who are far from God. I have found most are willing to listen if you take time with them. It could be months or years before they come to Christ,

but that is our call. If our church plant grows in any form, I want it to be because younger brothers are turning to the Father. Bluff City Church wants to be a part of the party.

JESUS GIVES TWO SIMILAR parables to preface His parable of the prodigal son; and in Luke 15:7, Jesus concludes His parable of the lost sheep with this, “I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” Church planting in cities is the most strategic way to reach those who are far from God. We labor for those who are far from God because we are all

sinners, older brother or younger brother, who need the unfailing love of the Father.

At the end of Jesus’ parable, the father comes to the older brother and invites him to the party for his younger brother, but he declines the invitation stating that he has been faithful. Why should the Father throw a party for the younger? The father reminds the older brother that all He has is his, and he should rejoice over his brother who has come home. The parable ends there, and I think very strategically. It’s as if Jesus wanted to leave the door open for all the “older brother types.” Several years ago, I was a younger brother type, but somewhere in there I left the party and became an older brother. God is showing me now through church planting that He has been inviting me to a celebration for the younger brother, in whom He is doing a work; and I have finally said “yes” to an invitation I have been getting all my life. Church planting in the urban South has taught me to have the heart of the Father for people who are all far away from God, just in different ways.

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MABTS.edu | Mid-America

Creation 2013 The stars of creation science are shining brightly at Mid-America for one amazing three-day conference that will shed light on a subject that suffers from much darkness in our world today.

MARCH 4-6, 2013 MID-AMERICA BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

zz KEN HAM Answers in Genesis zz DR. TERRY MORTENSON Answers in Genesis zz DR. ANDREW SNELLING Answers in Genesis zz TOM VAIL Grand Canyon Ministries zz DR. WILLIAM BARRICK Master’s Seminary

Cover Story

CONSERVATIVE BEFORE CONSERVATIVE WAS COOL Every year at Founders’ Days, Dr. Gray Allison, the first president of MABTS, tells the story of Mid-America’s beginnings. It’s titled the “Miracle of Mid-America,” and if you’ve ever listened to the story, you know Mid-America is, indeed, a miracle.

After nine years of praying for a Bible teaching, conservative Southern Baptist seminary, Dr. Allison and other some other men finally decided to start one themselves. In 1972, he and three other professors started MidAmerica in the upstairs section of Olivet Baptist Church in Little Rock, Arkansas. They began with only twenty-eight students, no rent, and no money. Despite having no funds and no endowment, the school operated without any debt and with an increased enrollment year over year.

WITHIN THREE YEARS, the school had outgrown the facilities at Olivet and they began a search for their own building. God again miraculously provided for Mid-America. In just five days, God brought enough money for a down payment on the Reformed Jewish Temple and Hebrew School in Memphis, Tennessee. Payment for the school was

finalized in 1976, and Mid-America officially resided in Memphis.

From the beginning, Mid-America faculty and administration had desired to establish a Bible-believing, Bible-teaching branch campus in the northeastern United States. The hope was that a campus in the northeast would train pastors for evangelism and church planting in that heavily populated and strategic area of the U.S. After six years of striving to make this dream a reality, classes officially started for the Northeast Campus in the fall of 1987.

In 1996, the Seminary again moved, this time to an eight-acre campus in Germantown, Tennessee. The move allowed them to begin offering evening courses and provide more opportunities for students’ wives to be involved in seminary life and classes.

The year after the Germantown move, Dr. Michael Spradlin, at that time serving as the Director of the Northeast Campus, was appointed President. Dr. Spradlin has earned a B.A. from Ouachita Baptist University and holds both an M.Div and a Ph.D from Mid-America.

He also started the Live by the Word radio program, a verse-by-verse study of the books of the Bible aired weekly.

IN 2004, BELLEVUE BAPTIST Church voted to give Mid-America thirty-five acres of land in Cordova, Tennessee, right near I-40. With the purchase of an additional sixteen acres, Mid-America was finally able to build a campus and student housing complex suited to their needs. Construction was completed in 2006 and classes began that fall.

Mid-America was originally started with a focus on post-graduate education, however, in recent years, the Seminary has noticed a need for clear Bible-training and practical ministry experience for undergraduate students as well.

To meet that need, the Bachelor of Arts in Christian Studies program was started in fall 2011.

Mid-America was originally founded on three principles: Bible preaching, missions, and evangelism. Through the years, those tenets have remained core to everything the Seminary does. Despite moves and changes, Mid-America has continued to uphold the desire expressed in the school verse, Colossians 1:18 “That in everything He might have the preeminence…”

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2,591 GRADUATES DURING THE PAST 40 YEARS

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“LOCATIONS,” INCLUDING TWO CAMPUSES, THREE EXTENSION CENTERS, PLUS ONLINE AND NON-RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS

TO ALL THE WORLD FOR JESUS’ SAKE WHERE BODIES HURT AND SAD HEARTS ACHE LIFT HIGH THE CROSS, HIS LOVE PROCLAIM MID-AMERICA BEAR HIS NAME. HIS KINGDOM IS COMING, OH LOUD LET IT RING HIS KINGDOM IS COMING, BE JOYFUL AND SING LIFT HIGH THE CROSS, HIS LOVE PROCLAIM MID-AMERICA BEAR HIS NAME. —Mid-America Alma Mater

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DEGREE PROGRAMS, INCLUDING D.MIN AND PH.D. PROGRAMS

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163,000 VOLUMES IN LIBRARY

70

PERCENT SCHOLARSHIP FOR EVERY STUDENT

SEMINARY DISTINCTIVES SEE WWW.MABTS.EDU FOR DETAILS

158,000

+

PEOPLE WHO HAVE MADE PROFESSIONS OF FAITH AS A RESULT OF STUDENT PRACTICAL MISSIONS

MID-AMERICA...

BY THE NUMBERS

90 PERCENT OF ALUMNI INVOLVED IN VOCATIONAL MINISTRY

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Dr. Alan S. Bandy (left), Rowena R. Strickland Assistant Professor of New Testament at Oklahoma Baptist University, received OBU’s Promising Teacher Award during the university’s Spring Commencement, May 11, from OBU President David W. Whitlock.

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MABTS.edu | Mid-America

Alumni Profile

MABTS ALUM RECEIVES OBU PROMISING TEACHER AWARD Mid-America alum Dr. Alan S. Bandy was recently honored with the Promising Teacher Award at Oklahoma Baptist University, where he is an Assistant Professor of New Testament.

Bandy credits his time at Mid-America for helping prepare him for teaching, saying that at MABTS, “I was able to get up close to my professors both in and outside of the classroom. They were men who lived their calling, and they were role models to me for teaching excellence that emphasizes the supremacy of Christ.”

BANDY GRADUATED FROM MidAmerica with a MDIV in 2002 and went on to complete his PhD at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Before joining the faculty at Oklahoma Baptist in 2009, Bandy served as Assistant Director of PhD Studies for Southeastern Baptist Theological, as Assistant Professor of Christian Studies at Louisiana College, and as an adjunct professor at Liberty University Online.

During the presentation of Bandy’s award, which honors outstanding teaching potential, OBU President David Whitlock described him as an exemplary teacher, involved not only on campus but in the lives of his students.

“His classes are rigorous and filled to capacity,” Whitlock said. “His personal

concern and commitment reach far beyond the classroom. His students seek him out for assistance, encouragement, and service as a mentor.”

Bandy says this commitment and dedication to students, for which he was honored, was modeled for him by faculty at MABTS. “They took time to invest in me personally as I hammered out my theology or struggled with issues in ministry,” he said. “They took me witnessing and showed me their love for people and passion for the gospel. I have sought to reproduce all of these traits in my life, ministry and teaching.”

BANDY HAS BEEN ACTIVELY involved in church ministry since 1992, holding positions including senior pastor, associate pastor, and student pastor in churches in North Carolina, Tennessee and Kentucky. He has led OBU students on Global Outreach trips to work among people groups in the Amazon jungle.

Bandy recalled the Mid-America alma mater as he described his desire to take students on international trips “so that they will go ‘to all the world for Jesus’ sake.’”

He also expressed his passion for his students to be “amazed and captivated by the Word of God and the God of the Word.” “I want them to think through the text for themselves as I was encouraged to do while at MABTS,” he said. “I learned how to read the Bible at MABTS, and I learned how to think about its implications for all areas of life. I want to produce a generation of brilliant young minds who are submitted to the authority of Scripture, who are knowledgeable of the entire canon, and who are skilled at interpreting the text accurately.”

BANDY’S AREA OF EXPERTISE includes the New Testament and Greek, with a specialization in The Apocalypse of John. In 2010, he published his dissertation, “The Prophetic Lawsuit in the Book of Revelation” in Sheffield Phoenix Press’ New Testament Monographs Series. He has also contributed to God, Marriage, and Family: Rebuilding the Biblical Foundation; The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown: A Comprehensive Introduction to the New Testament; and Invitation to Biblical Interpretation (Kregel, 2011).

In terms of academic as well as personal, influences, he remembers “marveling at the vastness of God and the complexity of theology with rapturous delight while listening to Dr. John Mahoney lecture,” and credits Dr. Kirk Kilpatrick for instilling within him a passion “to teach in such a way to facilitate the presence of God in the classroom.”

He traces his heart for missions, in part, to his study under Dr. Howard Bickers, and notes that Dr. Steve Miller impacted him to “pursue scholarship in the original languages and with attention to the discipline of archeology,” while acknowledging a number of other teachers who were also influential in his maturation as a student and teacher.

“I know enough by now to know that any award I may earn is only because so many men and women have impacted me along the way,” Bandy said. “I believe that this award is a recognition of the great teachers who taught me how to think, study, love, and teach.”

Bandy and his wife, Necoe, have five children.

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MABTS INTRODUCES NEW BACHELOR’S AND MASTER’S BRIDGE PROGRAMS

We are proud to introduce the Bridge program for students entering bachelor and master level course studies. We designed the Bridge to provide an opportunity for incoming students to receive credits for specific classes already taken by completing simplified requirements at Mid-America.

Master’s Bridge Program

Depending on the course, these requirements are either a proficiency test or a one week class. Ultimately, the Bridge allows for students to complete a seminary degree in less time and maximize the education they have already received before coming to Mid-America.

EARN UP TO 30 HOURS TOWARDS A MASTER’S DEGREE WITH MID-AMERICA BEFORE YOU EVEN ENROLL!

HOW DOES THIS WORK? Master’s Advance Seminars (MAS): One-week seminars, up to 15 hours possible Master’s Testing (MT): Up to 15 hours possible WHAT COURSES ARE OFFERED? MAS COURSES MT COURSES Old Testament Issues Hebrew 1 Old Testament Intensive Hebrew 2 New Testament Issues Greek 1 New Testament Intensive Greek 2 Biblical Hermeneutics History of Christianity

WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS TO ENTER THE PROGRAM? Major or minor in Religion, Christian Studies, or Biblical Studies from an accredited college or university OR Completion of sufficient credit hours with a 3.0 grade point average in an area such as New Testament, Old Testament, Church History, Greek, Hebrew, Ethics, etc.

HOW MUCH DOES THE PROGRAM COST? MAS courses are only $100 per credit hour ($45 less than standard tuition) and MT courses are only $50 per credit hour ($95 less than standard tuition).

HOW CAN I FIND OUT MORE? Contact our Admissions department: 901-751-3060 WWW.MABTS.EDU

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MABTS.edu | Mid-America

Bachelor’s Bridge Program HOW DOES THIS WORK? Just take four classes as a junior and four classes as a senior in high school.

HOW CAN I TAKE CLASSES? Traditional: In classrooms during the fall and spring semesters (8:00 a.m.–2:20 p.m.)

Online: During fall and spring semesters Mini-Term: One-week intensive classes offered in June and August WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS TO ENTER THE PROGRAM? A call to ministry

Messenger | Fall 2012

EARN UP TO 24 HOURS TOWARDS A BACHELOR OF ARTS IN CHRISTIAN STUDIES DEGREE BEFORE YOU EVEN ENROLL! A 3.0 average on a 4.0 grading scale Practical Missions (witness to one person per week and serve in some ministry) Recommendation from a teacher, guidance counselor, principal, or pastor WHAT COURSES ARE OFFERED? Music Appreciation Introduction to Computing English Grammar 1 and 2 World History 1 and 2

HOW MUCH DOES THE PROGRAM COST? Courses cost the same per hour as regular bachelor program tuition rates—no special fees!

ARE THERE SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE? Yes! We offer a Bachelor Bridge Scholarship to one student from every school or homeschool group in the area and a Distinguished Bachelor Bridge Program Scholarship to one student.

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GRADUATION MAY 18

MORRIS MILLS DAY MAY 8

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MABTS.edu | Mid-America

SPRING PICNIC MAY 5

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to all the world...

1976

DENNIS ELLIS (THM) is serving as Director of Eastern Europe, Final Frontiers Foundation.

1980

MONTE SHINKLE (MDIV) is currently serving as the National Alumni Vice President for Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary.

1990

THOMAS HAMMOND (MDIV) was approved as Vice President for Convention Advancement during the SBC Executive Committee’s Feb. 20-21 meeting in Nashville, TN. SAM REVES (MDIV) is the new music director at Victoria Heights Baptist Church in Byhalia, MS.

1999

JAMES WALLING (MDIV) is serving as pastor of Grace Church, Jackson, MS, and received his DMIN from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

2002

ALAN S. BANDY (MDIV) Rowena R. Strickland Assistant Professor of New Testament at Oklahoma Baptist University, received OBU’s Promising Teacher Award during the university’s spring commencement May 11, 2012.

2003

BOB JOHNSON (MDIV) is the new pastor of Rehobeth Church, Lawley, AL. ALAN MOSER (MDIV) is serving as pastor of Moore’s Memorial Baptist Church near Gate City, VA.

2004

DAN MORGAN (MDIV) is pastor of Cherry Road Baptist Church in Memphis, TN. RON FRANKS (MDIV) has accepted the call to serve as pastor of Reynolds Baptist Church, Paragould, AR.

2006

KRIS SMIKO (ADIV) is pastor for Grace Fellowship, Sedan, KS.

2010

MATTHEW SLIGER (MDIV) is serving as pastor of community life at South Woods Baptist Church in Memphis, TN.

2011

CLAY COX (MDIV) is currently serving as the National Alumni Second-Vice President for Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary.

2012 CONGRATULATIONS TO THE MAY 2012 GRADUATES FROM THE CORDOVA CAMPUS TANNER ARROWOOD (MDIV) is serving as Director of Outdoor Sports Outreach at Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova, TN. DAVID AUXIER (MDIV) ALEX BARNEY (MDIV) is serving as student pastor of First Baptist Church of Senatobia, MS. BARRETT BOWDEN (MDIV) is serving as pastor of Island Community Church in Memphis, TN. BRIAN CARLISLE (ADIV) is serving as pastor of Faith Baptist Arlington in Arlington, TN. JAMES CORDES (MDIV) is employed at Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary.

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CARLOS DEFREITAS (MDIV) is serving as youth minister of First Baptist Church of Monette, AR.

CHARLES MCKENDREE (ADIV) is serving as pastor of Friendship Baptist Church, Marianna, AR.

WILLIAM VASSAR (ADIV) is serving as interim pastor of Calvary Missionary Baptist Church, Manila, AR.

DAVID DILLON (ADIV) is serving at Bellevue Baptist Church, Cordova, TN.

WILLIAM MCREYNOLDS (ADIV) is serving as pastor of Flatwoods Baptist Church, Holladay, TN.

DAVID YANCY, II (MDIV) is serving as pastor of Spring Chapel, African Methodist Episcopal Church, Grand Junction, TN.

JASON ELLIS (MDIV) is serving as pastor of The Body Church in Germantown, TN. TRENT GANN (MDIV) is serving at Bellevue Baptist Church, Cordova, TN. ROBERT MATTHEW HALL (MDIV) is serving as a Sunday school teacher at Longview Heights Baptist Church, Olive Branch, MS. JUSTIN HARTZELL (MDIV) is serving as pastor of middle school and missions at Crosspointe Baptist Church in Millington, TN. DAVID HELLWIG (PHD) is serving as pastor of First Baptist Church of New Summerfield, TX. JOHN HONEA (MDIV) is serving as associate student pastor at Bartlett Baptist Church, Bartlett, TN. PAUL JO (PHD) is serving as pastor of the Korean Ministry at Kirby Woods Baptist Church, Memphis, TN. JIM KELLEY (MDIV) is serving at Bellevue Baptist Church, Cordova, TN. RUSTY KELTNER (PHD) is serving as pastor of First Baptist Church Corning, Corning, AR. MITCHELL KIMBRELL (MDIV) is serving as associate pastor of Crossroads Baptist Church, Cordova, TN. DELLABENA MACK (ACE) is serving at Bellevue Baptist Church, Cordova, TN.

MICHAEL MOORE (ADIV) is serving as voluntary associate pastor of Brookside Baptist Church, Olive Branch, MS. WILLIAM PHELAN (MDIV) is pastor of Gates Baptist Church, Gates, TN. ABU ROO (DMIN) KYLE ROY (MISS) is serving as minister of youth and outreach at Iglesia Bellavista, Memphis, TN. CHRIS RUSSELL (MDIV) is serving as youth pastor of Miracle Baptist Church, Memphis, TN. BILLY SCOTT (DMIN) is serving as pastor of Petrey Memorial Baptist Church, Hazard, KY. JOSHUA SMITH (MDIV) JOSH STONE (MDIV) is serving at Bellevue Baptist Church, Cordova, TN. JARROD THOMAS (ADIV) WILLIAM WEAVER (MDIV) is serving with Fellowship of Christian Athletes, TX. MARK WILLIAMS (MDIV) is serving as Calvary Colony Pastor at Memphis Union Mission, Memphis, TN. NICHOLAS WILLAMS (MDIV) is serving at Leawood Baptist Church, Memphis, TN. JOSHUA WOLLBERG (MDIV) is an adjunct professor at Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE MAY 2012 GRADUATES FROM THE NORTHEAST CAMPUS CHRISTOPHER HALL (MDIV) is serving as pastor of Bethel Baptist Church, Long Island, NY. ZAC SANDIFORD (MDIV) CORY MACNEIL (MDIV) is serving as pastor of Hague Baptist Church, Hague, NY. CHRISTOPHER ADORNO (AAS) Self employed.

GRANTLEY MCLEOD (AAS) is serving as pastor of Harmony Fellowship Church, Schenectady, NY.

MID-AMERICA EXTENDS DEEPEST SYMPATHY TO THE FOLLOWING TOMMY CUNNINGHAM (THM ‘75) in the death of his wife Susan.

RALPH W. STONE (MDIV ‘94) in the death of his wife Janice June.

Sympathy goes to the family of alumnus DAVID FOSTER (MDIV ’85). Rev. Foster passed away April 2, 2012.

Our sympathy is extended to Trustee STAN HARRIS of Columbia, LA, in the death of his mother, Faye B. Harris. Mrs. Harris was the wife of Ken Harris, one of the founding trustees of MABTS.

NEWS | EVENTS | PEOPLE | MINISTRY Messenger | Fall 2012

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President’s Page

LOOKING BACK AT 40 YEARS, LOOKING FORWARD TO AN EXCITING FUTURE

BY MICHAEL SPRADLIN

This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

—Psalm 118:24 As Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary approaches her fortieth birthday as an institution, we can look back and

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see many days of great rejoicing. Hearing our Dr. B. Gray Allison tell the story of the beginning of the seminary each year at Founders’ Days is a constant reminder of the wonderful blessings of our Lord.

Words can never express adequate thanks for the many wonderful works that God has done to bring about Mid-America.

As Mid-America approaches her 40th birthday, we can also look around and see God’s wonderful provision in the present. A debt-free campus and, in time, debt-free student housing. We have faculty second to none and alumni serving all over the world. What were once just a few alumni are now a mighty army of thousands who are faithfully preaching and teaching the Word of God across America and around the world. The faithful service of our alumni is an ongoing faithful work of our Lord through the ministry of Mid-America.

As Mid-America approaches her 40th birthday, we can also look to the future with great anticipation.

The distinctives upon which this school was founded are still our distinctives today. Preaching the Bible as the inerrant Word of God, personal evangelism, and missions are what we will continue to train people to do.

Some new initiatives we are developing: zz Broadening our geographic base as a ministry-training institution zzEnhancing our training curriculum to prepare students

for ministry in complex culture challenges. zz Developing in our students a better understanding of and commitment to the Cooperative Program and the Southern Baptist Convention. zz Using the best ministry-training practices in the classroom zz Spreading the passion for personal evangelism beyond the student body and alumni I would like to see the Lord provide a new army of thousands of Jesus-loving, Bible-believing pastors to preach and teach all over the United States and beyond. I hope you will pray with me that the Lord will call out His pastors, church staff leaders, and missionaries to carry out His perfect will. I hope that you will pray with me that the Lord will raise up financial supporters of Mid-America to make this dream possible.

As always, we know that the provision for Mid-America comes from the loving heart of God. Thank you to you, our friends and supporters who pray and give so that the work of training pastors, church staff leaders, and missionaries may go to all the world for Jesus’ sake.

MABTS.edu | Mid-America

Adrian Rogers Center for Biblical Preaching

CONFERENCE September 24-26

Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary The Adrian Rogers Center for Biblical Preaching Conference emphasizes the power of the Word for evangelism, growth, and impact. In today’s ever-changing

Vance Pitman Richard Owen Roberts

world, the unchanging truth of Scripture still stands.

Adrian Rogers Center for Biblical Preaching www.adrianrogerscenter.org

Haddon Robinson

NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID MEMPHIS, TN PERMIT NO. 831

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

GET A ONE-DAY OVERVIEW OF MID-AMERICA AT OUR FALL PREVIEW DAY, OCTOBER 16.

Come spend the day with us and get the 30,000-foot overview of MABTS. Whether you are interested in the Bachelors, Masters, or Doctoral programs, we have a special day planned for you, October 16.

Participate in class, tour our campus, and attend chapel to hear a special guest speaker. We will serve you lunch, and you’ll hear from students, faculty, and staff, all describing life at Mid-America and the connection between learning and community. We’ll also take you to our Student Housing complex adjacent to our main campus. You will have dinner out with one of our faculty members, then come back to the Seminary for a Dessert Reception with our president, Dr. Michael Spradlin.

We look forward to you visiting with us. To register, go to www.mabts.edu/admissions, e-mail gnorville@mabts.edu, or call the admissions office at 901-751-3060.

The deadline to register is October 9, 2012.