The Rev. Dan Summerlin, center, president of the Kentucky Baptist Convention and pastor of Lone Oak First Baptist Church in Paducah, Ky., was guest speaker at the weekly Campbellsville University chapel service Sept. 11. Pictured in Ransdell Chapel are, from left in front: Ed Pavy, director of campus ministries, Dr. Michael V. Carter, CU president; Summerlin; Dr. Joseph L. Owens, chairman of the CU Board of Trustees and senior pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church in Lexington; and Dr. Scott Wigginton, professor of pastoral ministries and counseling. In back, from left: the Rev. John Chowning, vice president for church and external relations and executive assistant to the president; the Rev. Mike O’Neal, senior pastor of Campbellsville Baptist Church; Dr. Shane Garrison, assistant professor of educational ministries; and the Rev. Jay Hatfield, director of missions for the Central Baptist Association and member of CU’s Church Relations Council. (Campbellsville University Photo by Linda Waggener) |
By Linda Waggener, marketing and media relations coordinator
CAMPBELLSVILLE, KY – “When you have a passionate speaker like Dan Summerlin sharing the gospel with you,” said Campbellsville University president Michael V. Carter, “it’s a good day.” Dr. Dan Summerlin, president of the Kentucky Baptist Convention and pastor of Lone Oak First Baptist Church in Paducah, Ky., was the guest speaker at the weekly CU chapel service Sept. 11.
Summerlin said he has a passion for higher education “because in order to change the world, students have to be educated before they can provide answers.”
Noting the theme for this year’s chapel series, “A Light to the Nations” (Isaiah 49:6), Summerlin told CU students to simply remember God’s mandate, to go to corners of the earth and reach out for Christ. He said we are all mandated to go and make a difference whether it’s a foreign mission or a community one.
Dr. Dan Summerlin, spoke at a luncheon after Wednesday’s Campbellsville University chapel service. He has served as president of the Kentucky Baptist Convention (KBC) since 2012 and is a member of the executive committee of the Southern Baptist Convention, a position held since 2010. He has been the pastor at the 3,000-plus member Lone Oak First Baptist Church in Paducah since 2002. (Campbellsville University Photo by Linda Waggener) |
He said the Lord loves to give us impossible assignments, callings that make us say, “Lord, that’s impossible.” Summerlin said the Lord knows that, but He can do the impossible through us.
“Be the light,” Summerlin said, “by the power of the Holy Spirit that lives within us.”
Campbellsville University is a widely acclaimed Kentucky-based Christian university with more than 3,600 students offering 63 undergraduate options, 17 master’s degrees, five postgraduate areas and eight pre-professional programs. The website for complete information is campbellsville.edu.
This group of Campbellsville University freshmen headed for the E. Bruce Heilman Student Complex after chapel Wednesday. From left are Colton Rathbun, Bowling Green; Cullen Byrne, Danville; Blake Mason, Danville; and Roscoe Walker, Elizabethtown. (Campbellsville University Photo by Linda Waggener) |