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New Book on Kentucky Baptist History

Discussion in 'Baptist History' started by West Kentucky Baptist, Aug 12, 2012.

  1. West Kentucky Baptist

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    Book on 20th century Ky. Baptists nearing completion

    By Drew Nichter

    Farmington—Think it’s tough leading a church in today’s economy? Try being a quarter-time pastor during the Great Depression.

    N.S. Castleberry served a number of churches throughout west Kentucky at the turn of the 20th century. He twice was pastor of Farmington Baptist Church, once from 1904-05 and again from 1925-28.

    Ben Stratton now leads the Graves County congregation. He recalled the story of Castleberry encouraging members of the four churches he led simultaneously—hence, a quarter-time pastor—to sell all the eggs their hens laid on Sundays and give that money to missions.

    Stratton said one of those churches earned a total of $20 for Southern Baptist missions efforts, a significant sum in a time when some families struggled to make that much money in a week.

    It’s individuals like Castleberry and about 400 other Kentucky Baptists who are the subjects of a soon-to-be-published book from the J.H. Spencer Historical Society.

    The book, titled “20th Century Kentucky Baptist Biographies,” compiles biographical sketches of hundreds of ministers, missionaries and laypersons who served the bulk of the ministries in 20th-century Kentucky.

    The book’s editor, Bill Whittaker, has worked tirelessly since early 2011 to compile the biographies that he and 90 other writers penned for the 300-page volume. It now is in the publisher’s hands and is expected to be completed in late October and made available to the public at the Kentucky Baptist Convention annual meeting in November.

    The J.H. Spencer Historical Society voted at its 2010 annual meeting to tackle the book project. The independent group was formed in 2008 after the dissolution of the Kentucky Baptist Archives Advisory Board and maintains loose ties with the KBC.

    Stratton, who serves as treasurer for historical group, said he believes the book will serve as a “good reference tool” for Kentucky Baptist historians, “because a lot of people in this book haven’t been written about anywhere else.

    “It shows you the great diversity of the state,” Stratton said, noting that individuals from every region of the state are represented, revealing the many “theological trends” that wove through the state during the 20th century.

    “You’ve got Calvinists and non-Calvinists, Landmarkers, fundamentalists—there’s a little bit of everybody in there,” Stratton said.

    Whittaker, a retired pastor and former president of Clear Creek Baptist Bible College, called the months-long project an “interesting and enjoyable” experience. He spent many hours poring over thousands of old Western Recorders, church history volumes and even personal journals.

    Whittaker said he hopes the book will encourage individuals and churches to record and preserve their histories, something congregations these days often fail to do.

    “It was sad to make contact with some historic churches … and find they had very little (recorded) history,” Whittaker said. “Sometimes today, a church leader gets caught up in what he’s doing right now and he may not be interested in history. But most every church has somebody or a committee that could preserve some things along the way.”

    Fields Publishing in Nashville, Tenn., is printing a run of 400 copies of the book. The book will be on sale for $30 at the KBC annual meeting, but advance copies can be purchased for $25. To pre-order a copy, send a check to the J.H. Spencer Historical Society at P.O. Box 26, Farmington, KY 42040.

    The group also is looking for sponsors it’s calling “partners in history preservation,” Whittaker said. These sponsorships are available for $100 and include a free copy of the book and the name of the church or individual included in the book’s “partners” section. Sponsorships can be mailed to the same address as the advance orders. (WR)

    From the Western Recorder, July 31, 2012


    http://www.westernrecorder.org/rece...n-20th-century-ky-baptists-nearing-completion
     
  2. Rhetorician

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    Dear West Kentucky Baptist,

    I am an alum of Mid America Baptist Theological Seminary. I came under the influence of Dr. Roy O. Beaman of West Kentucky in the early to mid 1980s. I was wondering if Dr. Beaman is featured in this new volume? This would be a contributing cause for me to find and purchase this new volume. Can you tell me if he is featured in the new work?

    Please advise when possible.

    "That is all!" :thumbs:
     
  3. West Kentucky Baptist

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    "20th Century Kentucky Baptist Biographies" will be an important book, giving a snapshot of Kentucky Baptist life in every decade and every region of the state. This hardest part of writing this book was determining which Kentucky Baptists from the 20th century would be included. We only had room for 400 individuals and when you consider how big Kentucky is and long the 20th century was you can easily see our problem.

    I considered writing an entree on Roy Beaman, but seeing that the majority of his ministry was spent outside the state, I focused on other individuals. However the book does have entrees on his teacher H. Boyce Taylor as well as some of his close ministerial friends from Kentucky such as C.D. Cole and Carroll Hubbard.

    Hope this helps,
     
  4. Rhetorician

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    Hello again WKB,

    This does indeed help. Where and when will the volume be on sale? Please advise.

    FTR, check out our work if you have not: John A. Broadus: A Living Legacy edited by David Dockery and Roger D. Duke. I think you will like it for sure. Let me know what you think.

    "That is all!" :thumbs:
     
  5. West Kentucky Baptist

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    The book "20th Century Kentucky Baptist Biographies" will be available for sale at the November 2012 annual meeting of the Kentucky Baptist Convention. The cost will be $30.

    However before November the book can be pre-ordered for $25 ($5 off the final cost). You can pre-order the book by sending $25 to:

    J.H. Spencer Historical Society
    P.O. Box 26
    Farmington, KY 42040
     
  6. Rhetorician

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    When is the earliest the book will be ready?

    Please advise.

    "That is all!" :smilewinkgrin:
     
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