HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. — Nov. 15, 2011 — Fred Shackelford, a 1999 51社区 graduate and pastor of Springhill Baptist Church in Paris, Tenn., was elected president of the Tennessee Baptist Convention Nov. 15 during the TBC annual meeting at First Baptist Church in Hendersonville.
Shackelford previously served as the TBC vice president.
鈥淚 want to encourage pastors and I want to encourage churches to be about taking the gospel to the ends of the earth,鈥� Shackelford said. 鈥淭o me, that鈥檚 why we cooperate. That鈥檚 why we鈥檙e together. We don鈥檛 cooperate to maintain clubs or to maintain the status quo in our own comfort. We cooperate together so that we might reach the nations with the gospel.鈥�
Shackelford will serve as TBC president over the next year and will preside over next year鈥檚 annual meeting at Faith Baptist Church in Bartlett, Tenn. He said the TBC presidency is not something he sought, but that he was willing to serve when others asked him to consider it.
Corey Cain, pastor of Maplewood Baptist Church in Paris, Tenn., and also a Union alumnus, nominated Shackelford for the position. Shackelford was unopposed.
鈥淢aybe it鈥檚 good for somebody like me in my situation to be in that position,鈥� Shackelford said. 鈥淢aybe it can be an encouragement to some of the younger guys, some guys who are maybe serving in smaller churches, to reiterate the fact that they really do have a voice. It doesn鈥檛 matter what size church you鈥檙e in, we鈥檙e all in this together.鈥�
A native of Memphis, Shackelford served as minister of students and education at Malesus Baptist Church in Jackson before becoming pastor of Spring Hill in 2004. He has master鈥檚 and doctorate degrees from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
He and his wife, Jennifer (a 2000 Union graduate), have three sons.