EDITOR’S NOTE: BP Ledger carries items for reader information each week from various Southern Baptist-related entities, and news releases of interest from other sources. The items are published as received.
Today’s BP Ledger includes items from:
Samford University
Bluefield College
Bluefield College
Samford to Present Church Media Institute Aug. 1-2
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (Samford University)–Samford University’s Howard College of Arts and Sciences will present its 2012 Church Media Institute (CMI) Aug. 1-2. The institute, aimed primarily at church communication staff and volunteers, will offer something for all levels of experience and interest, including sessions on social media, video ministry and up-to-date applications of a host of traditional and new media.
“Our first Church Media Institute in 2010 made us realize that there were many church staff members who felt they could benefit from professional development in the use of media, particularly social media,” said Howard College Assistant Dean Dana Basinger. “We would ultimately like to become an ongoing resource for these churches and hope to develop a professional organization through which media professionals can network.”
CMI session leader and keynote speaker Andy Crouch is a dynamic and creative musician, producer, minister, editor and author of Culture Making: Recovering Our Creative Calling, winner of Christianity Today’s 2009 Book Award for Christianity and Culture and named one of the best books of 2008 by Publishers Weekly, Relevant, Outreach and Leadership.
Registration for CMI includes institute tuition and meals at one of the nation’s most beautiful campuses in Birmingham, Alabama, a culturally diverse city rich with Civil Rights history, fine arts, music and nationally-acclaimed cuisine.
Pre-Conference (Social Media Boot Camp) $40* Conference/Meals (register by July 1) $99* Conference/Meals (after July 1) $130*
*CMI offers a 20% discount for institutions registering three or more participants.
Information and Registration at http://howard.samford.edu/churchmediainstitute/
Contact: E-mail [email protected] or visit us on Facebook at Church Media Institute at Samford University.
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Virginia Baptists Serve on Mission at Bluefield College
BLUEFIELD, Va. (Bluefield College)–As part of its institutional mission and commitment to the Baptist General Association of Virginia, Bluefield College is dedicated to “service to God and the community.” Students are often found serving on mission at home and abroad, participating in service projects to support the community, or leading ministry efforts in Virginia Baptist churches.
This summer, however, the tables were turned when two Virginia Baptist mission teams came to Bluefield to give back to the college and its students through a missions project designed to complete much-needed renovations and improvements to BC facilities.
Twenty-one members of Virginia Baptist churches from Greater Richmond, along with five other BC friends, spent two consecutive weeks in June on the Bluefield College campus on a mission to support their Virginia Baptist partner.
“I do a lot of mission work as part of my ministry,” said Rev. Todd Combee, pastor of New Bethesda Baptist Church. “I have served on the Board of the Baptist General Association of Virginia, and I know how important Bluefield College is and how important it is for us (Virginia Baptists) to support the school.”
The Virginia Baptist missionaries represented Berea Baptist Church, Broadus Memorial Baptist Church, Cool Spring Baptist Church, Hillcrest Baptist Church, Mechanicsville Baptist Church, New Bethesda Baptist Church, Northside Baptist Church and Sharon Baptist Church, and included Rev. Combee (New Bethesda), Mike Adams (Cool Spring), Cecil Barrett (Mechanicsville), Kevin Blunt (Cool Spring), Berkeley Bullington (New Bethesda), Judy Burruss (Cool Spring), Lyn Folk (Northside), Beth Gryder (Cool Spring), Norris Gryder (Broadus Memorial), Charles Hall (New Bethesda), Tracey Jowers (Berea), Nancy Keeton (Sharon), Sam Loving (Mechanicsville), Bettie Mansini (Sharon), Edwin Morrison (New Bethesda), Jack Sarver (Cool Spring), Jean Sharp (Hillcrest), Cotton Sizemore (Mechanicsville), Fred Tipton (New Bethesda), Tommy West (New Bethesda), and Leroy Williams (New Bethesda).
Other missionary friends working on behalf of BC included alumnus and trustee Tem Marshall from Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church in Marietta, Georgia, and Beth Farley from First Baptist Church in Princeton, West Virginia, along with Grace Barrett from North Carolina and George Ossman and Sue Sherwood from Maryland.
“I’ve never done a mission trip before,” said Norris Gryder. “I’ve enjoyed it. It’s a new experience, and it’s great being around such a nice group of Christians.”
Burruss, on the other hand, was participating in her third consecutive mission trip to Bluefield. She started not long after she overcame a brain tumor, despite a diagnosis that she would live only about six more months.
“I’ve been committed to missions ever since,” said Burruss. “It’s basically my way of saying ‘thanks’ to God for letting me live.”
The two groups constructed and painted a locker room for the school’s new football team and completed renovations to a faculty house on campus. They also converted administrative offices into residential space to meet the growing demand for on-campus housing for students.
“I like to fix things and work with my hands,” said Adams, who added he discovered his talents through a spiritual gifts inventory exercise at Cool Spring. “I’m glad I have that gift, and this is a good opportunity to use it. When I found out about this project, I thought I could help and that it’s got to benefit the school somewhere down the line.”
The mission teams also repainted and re-wallpapered the foyer in BC’s Harman Chapel and installed new lighting and painted in hallways and stairwells of Rish Residence Hall, all for the sake of giving back to Bluefield College and to God.
“The Lord has richly blessed me,” said Hall. “I enjoy working with my hands and knowing that at the end of the day I have helped somebody.”
Spearheaded by Williams, a Bluefield College alumnus and longtime missions leader at New Bethesda, the annual summer mission project at BC began in 2009 when Williams organized a crew of more than 100 workers to renovate the school’s dilapidated cottages into married-student housing.
Since then, Williams, Barrett, Folk, Loving, Marshall and West have served four consecutive summers. The college recognized the symbolism of their four years of service to BC, like four years of study for a student, with the presentation of certificates of appreciation.
“I cannot adequately express the profound appreciation I and the campus community have for Leroy Williams and the volunteers who assisted him,” said Bluefield College president Dr. David Olive. “He has a servant’s heart and is willing to do anything we ask of him and his team of volunteers. We are blessed by the improved facilities, and our faculty and students will enjoy the enhancements as they arrive in the fall.”
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Bluefield-Leland Pact Helps Harriett Roane Prove It’s Never too Late to Earn Your Degree
BLUEFIELD, Va. (Bluefield College)–Harriett Libby finished Middlesex High School in Saluda, Virginia, in 1960, married Howard Roane that September, and set her heart on finishing her education with a college degree.
But, despite a calling to professional ministry, which would require a college degree, Roane passed on her dream, because “colleges were so far away” from her Urbanna, Virginia, home.
Now 69 years of age and living just a few miles away in Glenns, Virginia, with the support of her husband and three grown daughters, Roane has finally earned that degree, a bachelor of science in management and leadership from Bluefield College in Bluefield, Virginia.
Roane’s studies were sidetracked many times through the years by the responsibility of not only raising a family, but also frequent treatment for bipolar disorder.
“I’m well now,” she said. “The doctor came up with the right medicines. The key is to let people know if (you) have an illness like that, that there is hope for getting an education. If (you) want it, (you) can’t just give up. If it could happen for me, it could happen for (anybody).”
The bachelor’s degree, which Roane earned in December 2011 and wanted to get before she turned 70, is part of her complete plan to earn a master’s degree in divinity in three years and finally be able to enter professional ministry. It’s also a part of a plan between Bluefield College and The John Leland Center for Theological Studies.
In fact, in the fall of 2010, Bluefield and Leland signed an articulation agreement that allows students who have an interest in Christian ministry greater access to the theological training they will need to fulfill that calling.
A Christ-centered liberal arts college in Southwest Virginia, Bluefield College offers 20 undergraduate degrees, including Christian studies, but does not offer master’s degrees. Located in Northern Virginia, Leland offers graduate degrees in theology, as well as a pre-baccalaureate Diploma Program in Biblical studies, but no bachelor’s degree.
“What Leland or Bluefield might not achieve alone,” said BC’s Dr. Robert Shippey, vice president for academic affairs, “we have determined to achieve together for the benefit of students like Harriett Roane and all Virginia Baptists.”
The pact between the two schools allows students to begin their academic preparation for Christian ministry with Leland, complete their bachelor’s degree at Bluefield, and then continue with graduate study back at the seminary. In fact, when she earned her bachelor’s degree from Bluefield College this past winter, Roane became the first ever student to complete the Leland-to-BC exchange.
“I’m an achiever, and I wanted to get that degree,” said Roane about earning her bachelor’s degree from BC. “If you really want it bad enough to make the sacrifices,” such as time away from the family while hitting the books, “you can get it at any age, if it is something you’ve desired all your life.”
Now enrolled in the master’s program at Leland, Roane is just one chapter away from realizing her dream. In addition to her studies, she works full time painting, preparing exhibits and managing a Village Art Gallery. She also feeds her passion for ministry by participating in a group that provides study and worship services at local campgrounds.
“We hope Harriett is the first of many to complete this program,” said Dr. Shippey. “Those who are called into some form of professional ministry, like Harriett, need to benefit from quality theological education, and the Kingdom of Christ deserves informed spiritual leaders equipped with critical and creative thinking skills. This partnership between Bluefield and Leland helps achieve that goal.”
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