A former member of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s national staff has been tapped to lead the Tennessee CBF, one of 18 autonomous state and regional organizations that relate to the 1,800-church Fellowship.
Rick Bennett
Rick Bennett, pastor of First Baptist Church in Elkin, N.C., since 2012, begins Oct. 1 as Tennessee CBF field coordinator. He succeeds Terry Maples, who left the post last December to become field coordinator for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Virginia. Gene Wilder, retired pastor of First Baptist Church in Jefferson City, Tenn., has been filling in as Tennessee CBF interim coordinator since February.
Bennett served eight years as director of missional congregations with CBF Global before stepping down to become a pastor in 2012. Prior to that he served as ministerial staff at churches in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
During his previous tenure at the CBF, Bennett, along with Mercer University professor David Gushee, was lead planner for the April 2012 [Baptist] Conference on Sexuality and Covenant at First Baptist Church in Decatur, Ga. He also worked as team leader in the development of Dawnings, a resource for missional churches released in 2013.
Stephen Cook, chair of the field coordinator search committee, said Bennett “brings a blend of experiences that range from local, congregationally based ministry roles to service with CBF Global.”
“His pastoral warmth, thoughtful and spiritually sensitive style and his capacity to connect with others in meaningful ways are among some of the many qualities we see as being the right match for our opportunities here,” said Cook, senior pastor of Second Baptist Church in Memphis, Tenn.
Bennett is a 1994 graduate of Campbell University who went on to receive both the master of divinity (in 1998) and doctor of ministry (2008) degrees from Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond, a CBF partner. He is married and has two teenaged sons.
Bennett said he is “humbled by the opportunity” to serve as Tennessee field coordinator and “excited about returning to service through CBF.”
“I return with a newly cultivated heart for pastors, with a perspective on the unique challenges pastors face in congregational life, and even greater hopes for CBF beyond 25,” Bennett said.