Memory Lane

About a week ago I was asked to speak at the chapel service of my old high school, Anchored Christian School in Bowling Green, KY. I just finished speaking this morning, and it was really good to be back. Many of the faces were easy to recognize ( there are some who will probably never leave, much less graduate!), and there were quite a few I didn't know, as well. It sure is strange how our worlds can change over four years...high school seems so long ago! For those of you that don't know, Anchored is a small, Christian school (100 or so grades K-12 when I was there), and I tend to embellish the fact that I graduated seventh in my class...the only problem with that, of course, was that there were only eight, but hey, that's beside the point!

At last count, one of those in my class has already married, and two are engaged (we'll see if that holds up...I'm pulling for them!!). Three or four people I went to school with in different classes are also engaged, and a couple of them have asked me to marry them...of all things! I told both couples that the only legal power I possess to marry them is about the same as Michael Jackson has to adopt children right now, but it was nice of them to ask. I'm ordained as a deacon at church, but not as a preacher (I just preach as a layman, which means that I don't have a certificate or official license).

I really enjoy the place where I'm at right now, and I feel like God is guiding my path, but at the same time, it's hard not to feel a nostalgia for things gone by. Sometimes I miss having to go to school with the same people, seven hours a day, five days a week, with basketball games and church services on the weekends...it just really gives you an opportunity to get to know and enjoy people in a different atmosphere. College is great, but you don't always get to see the same people every day (which can be a blessing in some cases!), and some of the people you would like to see, you almost never run into...But no complaints here! Shakespeare, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle...they're all gone. This is our place and our time, and that's exciting.

Barry E. Fields

All Things New is the preaching and teaching ministry of Barry E. Fields, pastor of Hawesville Baptist Church, a regional congregation on the Ohio River with two campuses in Kentucky (Hawesville) & Indiana (Crossroads Tell City) and membership in five counties.

Originally from Bowling Green, he grew up at Glendale Baptist Church under the ministry of Pastor Richard Oldham, competed for Western Kentucky University's nationally recognized speech and debate team before receiving a B.A. in History in 2007, completed an M.Div. from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville in 2010, a Th.M. in 2012, and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Homiletics and Church History at Southern, serving as Garrett Fellow to Dr. Hershael York from July 2012-December 2014. He has also taught theology and church history as an adjunct instructor for Campbellsville University. Before coming to his present ministry, he was pastor of Mt. Tabor Baptist Church in Buffalo, Kentucky, for almost 5 years.

Active in denominational life, Barry currently serves on the Southern Baptist Convention's Young Leaders Advisory Council, a small group of pastors and ministry leaders seeking to engage the next generation in cooperative missions and ministry; recently completed a term on the SBC's Committee on Committees; currently represents the Blackford Breckinridge Baptist Association on the Kentucky Baptist Convention's Executive Mission Board; and has served on the KBC's Committee on Nominations, as well as several associational roles.

In his free time, he enjoys reading history and politics, listening to WKYU's Barren River Breakdown (Bluegrass and folk music) along with a variety of podcasts, as well as watching historical and political documentaries and the Andy Griffith show. Barry has a desire to help people fulfill the Great Commission through the Great Commandments: by showing the love of Christ, we can better share the love of Christ, and make disciples of all nations. And just so you know, he bleeds BLUE (UK Basketball)!