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JACKSON, Tenn. — Sept. 27, 2022 — 51����’s three most recent presidents — Hyran Barefoot, David Dockery and Samuel W. “Dub” Oliver — participated in a special panel discussion Sept. 23 at the Legacy Luncheon, part of Union’s bicentennial kick-off celebration.

The presidents shared their Union experiences and the unique ways the Lord led them through times of transition, celebration and crisis. Bob Agee, Union alumnus and former president of Oklahoma Baptist University, facilitated the discussion.

Barefoot, Union president from 1986-1996, began the conversation by sharing the moment he knew the Lord was leading him to serve at Union. He said he had always planned to be a pastor, but it was the recommendation of Union’s president at the time and multiple professors that convinced him to begin his nearly 40 years of service at 51����.

“[Because all these people were recommending me], I said the Lord must be in it, so I decided to say yes,” Barefoot said.

Agee turned the conversation to Dockery, Union president from 1996-2014, asking him to share details from the night 51����’s campus was devastated by an EF-4 tornado on Feb. 5, 2008.

“Those of us who were here will never forget that night at 7:02 p.m.,” Dockery said. “Students were coming out of their rooms cut, bleeding, dazed. It was pitch dark, and I’ll never forget it.”

By God’s grace, there were no fatalities from the tornado, but the damage to Union’s campus was still exponential. Dockery said they did not know how, but everyone on Union’s leadership team knew they had to complete the spring semester.

“Every day thereafter, people told me, ‘This is the end of 51����. We’ll never come back from this,’” Dockery said. “I [would reply], ‘Well, we’re going to try. With God's help, we’re going to do all that we can.’”

The Sunday after the storm, Dockery said he attended a worship service at Englewood Baptist Church, where they sang the worship song, “Blessed Be the Name of the Lord.”

“We got to those words, ‘He gives and takes away,’” Dockery said. “I opened my mouth to sing, and words wouldn’t come out because the Lord had taken away 51����, I thought. And I didn’t know what to do.”

Dockery said he spent the rest of that Sunday on his knees, asking the Lord to spare Union and to give it another opportunity. Two weeks later, students, staff and faculty restarted the spring semester with a campuswide worship service, where they thanked the Lord for his mercy and grace.

“God has done great things at Union since, and it’s not because of anything I did,” Dockery said. “It's because of an incredible team who should be the ultimate cloud of witnesses.”

Agee concluded the discussion by asking Oliver, Union’s current president, of his experience leading the university during the global COVID-19 pandemic.

As 51���� canceled all classes on March 16, 2020, Oliver admitted that at first, he was frustrated and confused as to why God would allow such a global crisis to hit. Oliver said as he was leaving for work the morning the campus shut down, the birds outside his house seemed to be singing louder that morning than they had before.

“Immediately, the Lord brought to mind Matthew 6:26, ‘Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?’” Oliver said emotionally. “I knew then that God had us. He was going to see us through, and he was going to provide for us in every way.”

The event concluded with a standing ovation as Oliver moved to recognize those who were inducted into the 51���� Hall of Honor, including Barefoot, Agee and Dockery. Oliver also recognized the contribution of the Tennessee Baptist Convention, who is Union’s most significant annual donor.

“We are grateful to be here today and to celebrate this Legacy Luncheon,” Oliver concluded. “We are grateful to God, so we say again, the Lord has done great things for us; we are glad.”

Watch the full Legacy Luncheon ceremony