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Encyclopedia > Bellevue Baptist Church
Bellevue Baptist Church
Bellevue Baptist Church

Bellevue Baptist Church is a large, Southern Baptist megachurch in the Cordova area of Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (2048x1194, 1594 KB) Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova, TN. Frontal view. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (2048x1194, 1594 KB) Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova, TN. Frontal view. ... The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a United States-based cooperative ministry agency serving Baptist churches around the world. ... The interior of Rev. ... cordova tennsee it was a bad ass place to live in i really mean it i used to live there there was the cordova high school and i used to live around that ... For other uses, see Memphis (disambiguation). ...

Contents

History

Bellevue Baptist began in 1903 in a small, log cabin like facility. The church completed a 3,000 seat building in 1952, which was one of the first air-conditioned churches in Memphis. Bellevue became one of the largest Southern Baptist churches in the United States in the 1950s with more than 9,000 members. The church relocated to its current building (2000 Appling Road), which seats more than 7,000, on a 400 acre (1.6 km²) campus in Cordova, a Memphis suburb, in 1989. Current church membership is more than 27,000, making Bellevue one of the largest churches in the United States. The church's location near Interstate 40 is marked by a display of three crosses that are visible from several miles away. The center cross is 150 feet (45.75 m) tall, flanked by two 120-foot (36.5 m) crosses.[1] 1900 (MCMIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Friday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... St. ... 1952 (MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Note: in the broadest sense, air conditioning can refer to any form of heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning. ... // Recovering from World War II and its aftermath, the economic miracle emerged in West Germany and Italy. ... For other uses, see Memphis (disambiguation). ... Housing subdivision near Union, Kentucky, a suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Interstate 40 (abbreviated I-40) is a major west-east interstate highway in the United States. ... The metre, or meter (symbol: m) is the SI base unit of length. ...


Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary is located on 51 acres across the street from Bellevue (35 of the acres were donated by Bellevue). However, Mid-America operates independently from Bellevue. Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary is a fully accredited institution of higher learning with the objective of preparing graduate theological training for individuals called into vocational ministry. ...


Leadership

Bellevue has been led by only four pastors since 1927. Robert G. Lee was senior pastor from 1927 to 1960, and he was followed by Ramsey Pollard from 1960 to 1972. The church's most well-known leader, Adrian Rogers, was the senior pastor of Bellevue Baptist from 1972 until March 2005. During this period, the church's membership grew from 9,000 to 27,000 and the church moved into a new facility. On July 10, 2005, members voted to make Dr. Steve Gaines the new pastor. Gaines previously served as pastor at First Baptist Church in Gardendale, Alabama for fourteen years. His first sermon as new pastor at Bellevue was on September 11, 2005. Rogers, who was pastor until March 2005, acted as Pastor Emeritus until his death in November 2005.[1] A pastor is a minister or priest of a Christian church. ... 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... Adrian Rogers Adrian Rogers,Th. ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... July 10 is the 191st day (192nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 174 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Dr. John Steven (Steve) Gaines (born December 31, 1957 in Corinth, Mississippi) is a Southern Baptist pastor. ... Gardendale is a city in Jefferson County, Alabama and is a northern suburb of Birmingham, Alabama. ... September 11 is the 254th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (255th in leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... ← - 2005 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December- → Deaths in March • 31 – Terri Schiavo • 30 – Mitch Hedberg • 29 – Johnnie Cochran • 27 – Wilfred Bigelow • 26 – Paul Hester • 26 – James Callaghan • 21 – Jeff Weise • 21 – Bobby Short • 19 – John De Lorean • 18 – Gary Bertini • 17 – George F... Ongoing events • Abramoff-Reed gambling scandal • Al Jazeera bombing memo • Avian influenza (H5N1) outbreak • Black sites scandal • Conservative leadership race (UK) • Fuel prices • Irans nuclear program • Jilin chemical plant explosions • Kashmir earthquake • Malawi food crisis • Malaysian prisoner abuse scandal • New Delhi bombings investigation • Niger food crisis • North Indian cyclone...


Theology

Bellevue was a key supporter of the conservative faction within the Southern Baptist Convention during the "conservative/moderate" controversy of the 1970s and 1980s (Rogers served as SBC President for three terms), and the church remains conservative today. Conservative Christianity, (also called Traditional Christianity) is a descriptive term applied to a number of Protestant and Roman Catholic groups or movements. ... Template:A year The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, inclusive. ... The 1980s refers to the years of 1980 to 1989. ...


Controversy

Website

In September 2006, The Commercial Appeal, Memphis' predominant newspaper, reported that recent changes at Bellevue have led to protests by some members.[2] A website, savingbellevue.com, contains allegations by some church members that the church is, under the leadership of Gaines, moving toward becoming part of the "church growth movement", moving toward an elder-led (as opposed to congregation-led) form of governance, mismanaging its finances, paying its leadership too much, intimidating members that want the church's leadership to be more open, and otherwise "moving away from its traditional roots."[2] [3] According to Bellevue's leadership, information on the website has appeared and disappeared repeatedly, and quotes and information about church leadership decisions have been taken out of context.[4] In response to the site's accusations, Gaines said that the church is not leaving its traditional roots, is not a part of the church growth movement, and that the website is creating confusion.[2] The Commercial Appeal is the predominant daily newspaper of Memphis, Tennessee. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...


On September 24, 2006, Gaines addressed the criticism during the evening church service.[5] Other newspaper articles discussing subsequent developments followed in October.[5][6][7]


In November, 2006, the church formed a communication committee to address the controversy. In mid-November, a website was launched by the committee.[8] The Communication Committee's site discussed recent reviews of the pastor's credit card expenses. According to the site, deacons from the church met on November 5 and reviewed Gaines' credit card charges, unanimously finding no inappropriate expenditures.[8]. The Communication Committee's website has since been taken down.


Handling of minister misconduct

On December 18, 2006, the church announced that Paul Williams, a minister and staffer at the church for 34 years, had been placed on leave with an investigation pending regarding a "moral failure," identified by Gaines and others as alleged child molestation in the 1980s.[9] The next day, December 19, Gaines released a statement that acknowledged that he had been aware of the allegation since June 2006 but that he did not address it for several months because Williams had been attending professional counseling, because of confidentiality concerns, and out of compassion for the staffer.[9] The same day, Michael Spradlin, who is president of Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary (located across the street from Bellevue's campus), told the Commercial Appeal that "[i]f a minister has first hand knowledge of child molesting and does nothing about it then that minister should resign."[9] Spradlin later noted that James Dobson supported his statement, with Dobson reportedly telling him, "[w]hen prominent leaders have no accountability and make these kinds of decisions, other prominent leaders must stand up and hold them accountable."[10] Conservative radio talk-show host Michael Reagan discussed the situation on his show, noting that he thought that it was comparable to the Catholic sex abuse scandal and that he believed churches should deal with these types of allegations immediately.[10] The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary is a fully accredited institution of higher learning with the objective of preparing graduate theological training for individuals called into vocational ministry. ... James Clayton Jim Dobson, Ph. ... Michael Edward Reagan (born March 18, 1945 as John Flaugher), adopted son of President Ronald Reagan and his first wife Jane Wyman, is the host of a conservative talk radio show, the Michael Reagan Show, which is syndicated to over 200 radio stations in the United States through Radio America. ...


On December 20, 2006, Gaines addressed several hundred members of his congregation, saying he would like to remain pastor at Bellevue.[11]


On January 28, 2007, a church committee released a report on its investigation of Williams' conduct and the staff's handling of Williams. The report alleged that Williams had sexually molested his son in the 1980s, that Williams and his wife had informed Jamie Fish, the church's minister of biblical guidance, of his past actions in May 2006, that Steve Gaines met with Williams and his wife in June 2006 to discuss the issue, a meeting that was kept confidential, and that Williams was retained on staff thereafter. In early December 2006, Williams' son, the target of the alleged abuse, met with Gaines to discuss why Williams was allowed to remain on staff. The report found that no other children were molested by Williams. The report criticized both Gaines and Fish for not immediately coming forward with the information related to the abuse, either to the church or to authorities as possibly required by Tennessee law.[12]


On January 29, 2007, a group of fifty Bellevue members formed a non-profit called "Integrity Does Count" with the aim of restoring more control of the church to the congregation.[13]


On February 21, 2007, the Associated Press reported that the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests was beginning a campaign to prevent sexual abuse within the Southern Baptist Convention, based in part on the recent allegations and purported cover-up at Bellevue.[14] The Associated Press, or AP, is an American news agency, the worlds largest such organization. ...


References

  1. ^ a b Bellevue Baptist Church's History and Vision from bellevue.org
  2. ^ a b c Is Bellevue changing?, James Dowd, The Commercial Appeal, September 20, 2006.
  3. ^ Savingbellevue.com, website critical of the church's leadership
  4. ^ Bellevue Leadership Report from September 24, 2006
  5. ^ a b Bellevue pastor is urged to resign, by James Dowd, The Commercial Appeal, October 5, 2006
  6. ^ Bellevue leaders say 'nonsense', by James Dowd, The Commercial Appeal, October 6, 2006
  7. ^ Bellevue conflict bleeds onto Internet, into Public Square, by Gregory Tomlin, Baptist Press, October 18, 2006
  8. ^ a b Bellevuecommunicationcommittee.org
  9. ^ a b c 'People losing trust' in Bellevue pastor, seminary leader says, by James Dowd, The Commercial Appeal, December 20, 2006. Accessed December 21, 2006.
  10. ^ a b Seminary head hears Gaines reaction, by Yolanda Jones, The Commercial Appeal, December 23, 2006. Accessed December 23, 2006.
  11. ^ Gaines wants to remain at Bellevue, by Jody Callahan, The Commercial Appeal, December 21, 2006. Accessed December 21, 2006.
  12. ^ Bellevue details 'moral failure', by James Dowd, The Commercial Appeal, January 29, 2007. Accessed January 29, 2007.
  13. ^ Members of Bellevue form group, by James Dowd, The Commercial Appeal, January 30, 2007. Accessed January 30, 2007.
  14. ^ Sex abuse victims' advocates go after Southern Baptists, Associated Press, February 21, 2007

External links

  • Bellevue.org, official website

  Results from FactBites:
 
Bellevue Baptist Church - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (661 words)
Bellevue Baptist Church is a large, Southern Baptist megachurch in the Cordova area of Memphis, Tennessee, United States.
The church's most well-known leader, Adrian Rogers, was the senior pastor of Bellevue Baptist from 1972 until March 2005.
Bellevue was a key supporter of the conservative faction within the Southern Baptist Convention during the "conservative/moderate" controversy of the 1970s and 1980s (Rogers served as SBC President for three terms), and the church remains conservative today.
  More results at FactBites »


 
 

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