105 Welch College Students Make President’s and Provost’s Honor Roll

by jowens | Jan 22, 2019

Jose Rodriguez to Start New Welch Hispanic Training Institute

by jowens | Jan 13, 2019

Miami Pastor Jose Luis Rodriguez has been tapped to start a new Hispanic training institute at Welch College, according to Welch Provost Matthew McAffee.

“Jose Rodriguez, senior pastor of Ebenezer Free Will Baptist Church in Miami for almost two decades, is the foremost leader of the Hispanic Free Will Baptist movement in this country,” McAffee said. “We want to redouble our commitment to Hispanic theological education among Free Will Baptists, and Mr. Rodriguez is just the person to make it happen.”

Rodriguez, pastor of Ebenezer Free Will Baptist Church in Miami, Florida, since 2001, graduated from Welch with a B.A. in pastoral training in 1994. During his time in college, he ministered in Hispanic church planting among Free Will Baptists in Middle Tennessee. After graduation, he worked in planting the Renacer Free Will Baptist Church in the Miami area until reaching self-supporting status in 2000.

A native of Cuba who has also lived in Panama, Rodriguez holds the M.A. in theological studies from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and the M.Div. equivalent from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, where he is completing his D.Min. degree.

“There is no more respected minister in our movement than Jose Rodriguez,” said Welch President Matt Pinson. “He brings an unparalleled zeal for evangelism together with a keen theological appetite, a striking expository pulpit ministry, and the proven ability to build and grow a church in a challenging urban environment. His success in urban and intercultural ministry will prove very beneficial to our program here at Welch, and he will allow us to begin building a needed, regionally accredited Hispanic educational effort in our denomination.”

McAffee said, “Mr. Rodriguez will begin his duties next summer. His main task will be to help us formulate a strategy for Hispanic theological education, which includes fundraising, but he will also teach Bible and ministry courses and engage in other administrative responsibilities.”

Rodriguez has been married to his wife Maday, a senior accountant for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida, for 23 years. They have two sons, Samuel, a senior in high school, and Daniel, a sophomore.

For more information about Welch College’s associate’s, bachelor’s, and master’s degrees in theology and ministry, visit welch.edu or email recruit@welch.edu.

Welch Students Serve on Capitol Hill

by jowens | Dec 9, 2018

By Meagan Fulcher

On November 15-18, a group of Welch College students participated in the 49^th Assembly of the Tennessee Intercollegiate State Legislature (TISL). The group of seven included Kandace Ailworth, Ashley Floyd, Meagan Fulcher, Daniel Hubin, Micah McClintock, Seth Oliver, and Kullen Williams. Over sixty other colleges also sent representatives to the mock legislature.

These seven students represented Welch College well with four Representatives in the House, one Senator, one Alternate Senator, and one Lobbyist. The mock legislature at TISL was held at the Tennessee State Capitol. Students debated various bills and had an up-close experience of the political world.

Welch College was given one seat in the House and one seat in the Senate. The students alternated turns sitting in the seat on the floor during the sessions. While in the seat of either the House or the Senate, the students were able to speak and vote on diverse bills that different Tennessee colleges had proposed.

One of the bills many students found interesting was one that stated that the harmonica should be recognized as Tennessee’s State Instrument. This bill was heavily debated in the House and resulted in a failure to pass. On a more serious note, many of the bills proposed were very well put together and have the potential to positively impact the state of Tennessee.

The students had a meaningful experience—and a lot of fun—and were able to represent the Christian mission of Welch College positively.

For more information about TISL or about exploring law and politics through the lens of a Christian worldview at Welch College, email Frank Thornsbury (fthornsbury@welch.edu) or Phillip Morgan (pmorgan@welch.edu).

Pinson Honored by Southeastern Seminary

by jowens | Dec 3, 2018

Welch College President Matt Pinson was recently honored with an award from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS) in Wake Forest, North Carolina, according to Welch Provost Matthew McAffee.

“Each year Southeastern Seminary honors several evangelical scholars at the annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS),” McAffee said. “At this year’s annual meeting in Denver, Colorado, SEBTS honored President Pinson along with four other honorees—Kevin Vanhoozer of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Peter Gentry of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Nathan Finn of North Greenville University, and Matthew Emerson of Oklahoma Baptist University.”

In particular, Pinson was recognized for generating outstanding scholarship as both an author and editor at the academic and popular levels while also leading a college at the highest administrative level. Among those works that SEBTS Provost Bruce Ashford highlighted were A Free Will Baptist Handbook: Heritage, Beliefs, and Ministries (Randall House, 1998), Four Views on Eternal Security(Zondervan, 2002), Perspectives on Christian Worship: Five Views (B&H Academic, 2009), Classical Arminianism (Randall House, 2011, by F. Leroy Forlines, edited by Pinson), Arminian and Baptist: Explorations in a Theological Tradition (Randall House, 2015), and Sexuality, Gender, and the Church: A Christian Response in the New Cultural Landscape (Welch College Press, 2016).

McAffee, along with Welch colleagues Jeff Cockrell, Matt Bracey, and Jesse Owens, who also attended the annual meeting, joined Pinson for this special recognition. McAffee remarked, “I am delighted to see our president receiving this well-deserved recognition. It is encouraging to see the impact that Welch College is having on the broader evangelical community, and the lion’s share of this effort has been led by President Pinson. Welch College is exceedingly proud of its president and his accomplishments.”

Readers may see SEBTS’s press release here, as well as pictures from the event here.

Welch College Announces Project SEARCH Welcome to Welch

by jowens | Nov 2, 2018

Welch College has announced a new collaboration with Project SEARCH, according to Greg Ketteman, vice president for strategic initiatives. “Project SEARCH is a program of Sumner County Schools in partnership with The ACCESS Program (a statewide supported employment agency), and Tennessee’s Department of Human Services. The college will host Project SEARCH’s Welcome to Welch! on Monday, November 12. Project SEARCH facilitates job market entry for special needs students who are transitioning after high school,” Ketteman said.

Beginning in fall 2019, Project SEARCH students will come to the Welch campus each day for a class taught by the program teacher, followed by on-the-job mentoring and work in varied roles such as clerical assistance, maintenance and janitorial assistance, and food service assistance. Welch College is currently the only middle Tennessee collegiate site for Project SEARCH and The ACCESS Program.

The Welcome to Welch! event takes place from 5:00-7:30 p.m. on Monday, November 12, with campus tours scheduled from 5:00-5:30. For more information, contact Dr. Greg Ketteman, Welch College Vice President for Strategic Initiatives.