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News Articles

BP ledger, Nov. 18 edition


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 contains items from:
Campbellsville University
Bluefield College
Judson College

Campbellsville University learns about human trafficking
By Jose Soriano

CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. (Campbellsville University) — Dr. Wayne Barnard, director of student ministries for the International Justice Mission (IJM), was on Campbellsville University’s campus raising awareness on human trafficking issues around the world.

He spoke at the Kentucky Heartland Institute on Public Policy and at chapel Oct. 22 and 23, respectively.

Barnard quoted the first Global Slavery Index that says there are 29.8 million people in the world who are in slavery.

“Since being in college myself, I’ve always known that students are the key to creating social change in our world,” Bernard said. “Students create movements that literally change the world.”

IJM’s justice professionals work in their communities in 16 field offices in Asia, Africa and Latin America to secure tangible and sustainable protection of national laws through local court systems.

He focused on one main theme, and even more than a theme he focused his speech in one specific word, “Justice.”

“Justice-the mandate that all children, women and men, human beings that bear the image of God, have the ability to flourish among God’s creation, to live without abuse, to exercise power and freedom in their lives-to have the life, liberty and dignity for which they were created, to enjoy the very fruits of their love and their labor,” he said.

IJM’s mission is simple — rescue, protect and prove that justice to the poor is possible.

Barnard said there are 4 billion people in the world who are poor, more vulnerable to slavery and human trafficking and not able to protect themselves. He said they cannot ask for help or call 911, and that’s why IJM was formed to try to help.

IJM has a way to reach their goals including how to “strengthen the local justice systems so that the laws against these crimes, that are already on the books, are enforced on behalf of the most vulnerable of society.”

Barnard has found success along the years, saving thousand of people in needs every single year. He said the number of people being rescued each year keeps increasing.

Barnard showed a 12-minute video presentation about a girl who was sold into slavery twice and how IJM rescued her both times.

His motivation and strength to work in human trafficking comes from God he said.

“Seek the Lord and he will deliver you from all your fears,” Barnard said. “We are called to move beyond our fears, to take up the mantle of courage, knowing that God goes before us, and that his glory is our rear guard.”

Campbellsville University is a widely acclaimed Kentucky-based Christian university with more than 3,600 students offering 63 undergraduate options, 17 master’s degrees, five postgraduate areas and eight pre-professional programs. The website for complete information is campbellsville.edu.
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Bluefield College mourns loss of past president Roy A. Dobyns
By Staff

BLUEFIELD, Va. (Bluefield College) — Dr. Roy A. Dobyns, 82, of Dandridge, Tennessee, passed away peacefully at the Jefferson County (TN) Nursing Home on November 12, 2013.

Born January 31, 1931 in Bristol, Virginia, Dr. Dobyns served as the eighth president of Bluefield College from 1989 to 1996, during which time he led the school in its most notable era of student growth. In fact, under Dr. Dobyns’ initiatives, enrollment at BC more than doubled from 1989 to 1995 to an all–time high of 853 students. A significant part of that growth came through the school’s first-ever adult degree completion program, envisioned and launched by Dr. Dobyns in 1991.

Under Dr. Dobyns, the college also launched its largest fundraising effort to date, the 75th Anniversary Campaign, which was designed to fund additional growth on campus in facilities and academic andathletic programs. By the end of the campaign, the college had raised $7.5 million for a new Science Center, two new parking lots, a new campus roadway, an expansion to the Student Activities Center, renovations to Lansdell Hall, and additional investments in faculty and students.

Before his retirement from BC in 1995, Dr. Dobyns also developed two new academic divisions and an institutional effectiveness program. He also spearheaded the school’s reaffirmation of accreditation with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in 1993.

Before Bluefield, Dr. Dobyns served as vice president for academic affairs and professor of math at Carson Newman University. His higher education experience also included tenures at Clayton State College in Georgia, Georgetown College in Kentucky, McNeese State University in Louisiana, and Louisiana College in Louisiana. In addition, he served on the Board of Trustees at Cumberland University in Tennessee.

A United States Army veteran and a graduate and Distinguished Alumnus of Carson Newman and Vanderbilt’s George Peabody College, Dr. Dobyns was a member of First Baptist Church in Jefferson City, where he served as a deacon, trustee, andmember of many committees. He also was a charter member of the Jefferson City Rotary Club and a recipient of the Paul Harris Fellow Award.

His wife of 58 years, former BC First Lady Kathryn Dobyns, still resides in Dandridge. He is also survived by his three children, Roy A. Dobyns, Jr. and wife, Robin, of Boone, North Carolina; John Dobyns and wife, Carol, of Raleigh, North Carolina; and Joe Dobyns and wife, Donna, of Jefferson City, Tennessee; among many grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

Funeral services for the former Bluefield College president will be conducted at First Baptist Church in Jefferson City on Friday, November 15 at 11 a.m. The family will receive friends at First Baptist-Jefferson City on Thursday, November 14 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
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New Judson professor teaches and writes about religion
By Staff

MARION, Ala. (Judson College) — Dr. Eric Gilchrest is the new assistant professor and head of the Religious Studies Department at Judson College. Dr. Gilchrest is also the author of a new book on biblical studies.

After recently completing his doctoral degree at Baylor University, he moved from Texas to Alabama. He is commencing his academic tenure at Judson.

Gilchrest says he enjoys teaching a full slate of college classes at Judson College, as well as helping to raise a family of two children with his wife Kendel Elizabeth Gilchrest in Marion. Both he and Kendel are passionate about student engagement and wish to be part of the Judson community both in and out of the classroom.

Gilchrest speaks positively about his first semester at Judson College: “I have a big teaching load, but I like the challenge. I am very pleased with the number of students interested in my courses. In fact, I was really surprised that 12 students enrolled for my Greek I class – it’s a very difficult course,” Gilchrest said.

In addition to the course in biblical Greek, he is teaching four other classes: the Old Testament, the New Testament, Philosophy and Johannine Literature. He specializes in the New Testament, particularly the connection between Judaism and Christianity.

As a new book author, Dr. Gilchrest is pleased with his first entry in the religious press. His book is entitled Revelation 21 – 22 in Light of Jewish and Greco-Roman Utopianism. The book offers a creative and compelling reading of Revelation 21 – 22 and is used as a textbook on the subject. It is published by Brill Press.

Gilchrest grew up in Coral Springs, Florida, but moved to Kentucky as a teen. He attended Asbury College in Wilmore, Kentucky, where he received a bachelor’s degree in psychology. He went on to earn two master’s degrees in theological studies and biblical studies from Asbury Theological Seminary before earning his Ph.D. at Baylor University in 2012.

He enjoys music and plays the acoustic guitar. He has been married to his wife Kendel for 11 years; they have two children, Ezra five and Lizzie two. He also likes college sports and follows the University of Kentucky’s basketball team.

Founded in 1838 by Alabama Baptists, Judson College was recently ranked by the Washington Monthly among the top 60 national liberal arts colleges in the nation and the #1 liberal arts college in Alabama. The college website is www.judson.edu.
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