Transitions for the week of 04.14.17

Please submit transitions — including staff changes, ordinations, anniversaries or deaths — to Barbara Francis. This page will be updated weekly.

STAFF CHANGES

Hambric Brooks, to First Baptist Church, Forsyth, Ga., as pastor, effective May 14. He comes from the pastorate of First Baptist Church, Griffin, Ga.

Kevin Bowman, to Oak Grove Baptist Church, Lebanon, Va., as pastor.

Jody Breeding, concluding her tenure as pastor of Blackey Baptist Church, Hurley, Va.

Lonnie Brown, to Union Baptist Church, Mystic, Conn., as pastor. For the past 13 years he has been music/worship pastor at First Baptist Church/Pathways, Gaithersburg, Md.

Mattie Monroe-Cassel, to Plainfield Community Baptist Church, Plainfield, N.H.

Richard Croxton, to Beech Grove Baptist Church, White Marsh, Va., as interim pastor.

Bruce Gourley, resigning as executive director of the Baptist History and Heritage Society, effective June 3, to pursue opportunities in speaking and writing.

Brent Phillips, to Covenant Baptist Church, Lancaster, S.C., as student and family pastor. He comes from First Baptist Church, Owensboro, Ky., where he was outreach and college pastor.

Taylor Sandlin, to Sugar Land (Texas) Baptist Church, as senior pastor. He comes from the pastorate of Southland Baptist Church, San Antonio, Texas.

Larry Stinson, concluding his tenure as pastor of Cleveland (Va.) Baptist Church.

David Strosahl, to Camp Neddick (Maine) Baptist Church, as interim pastor.

Matt Toupin, now serving as associate pastor of youth and outreach at First Baptist Church, Oregon City, Org.

Matt Wolf, to Stapleton Fellowship Church, Denver, Colo., as lead pastor. He comes from the pastorate of Gibbon (Neb.) Baptist Church.

RETIREMENTS

Norman Burnes, retiring as senior associate pastor at Bon Air Baptist Church, Richmond, Va., effective in September.

William Miller, retiring after 31 years as pastor of First Baptist Church, Farmington, Mo.

Gary Skeen, announcing plans to retire as president of CBF Church Benefits, effective June 2018. He was its founding president in 2000.

DEATHS

Allen C. Lang, 69, died April 1 in Charlottesville, Va. He served churches in Delmont, Tripp and Aberdeen, S.D., before serving the United Church of Christ of Oxford, N.Y. for 25 years. He is survived by his wife, Carol; parents, Michael and Norma; two daughters, Kathryn Alexander and Elizabeth Fowkes; and five grandchildren.

Quentin Curtis Sewell, 89, died Jan. 31 in Framingham, N.H. A retired American Baptist minister, he had served churches in Maine, Illinois, Iowa and New England. He is survived by his wife, Joann; son, Mark and Craig; daughter, Jeanette Sewell; and three grandchildren.

William Carlton Smith Sr., 81, died March 25 in Appomattox, Va. He had served as pastor of Berea Baptist Church, Trevillians, Va., Listra Baptist Church, Chapel Hill, N.C., Jefferson Street Baptist Church, Roanoke, Va., and Southside Baptist Church, Florence, S.C. He was preceded in death by his wife, Janet. He is survived by three sons, William, Louis and Ashley; eight grandchildren; and a great-granddaughter.

J. David Stewart, 94, died April 5 in Mount Pleasant, S.C. He served churches in North and South Carolina for many years. He was pastor of Masonboro (N.C.) Baptist Church from 1978-1988. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Ruby. He is survived by his wife, Helen; two sons, David and John; four grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

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