This fall, we welcome Dr. Mike Williams to Auburn First Baptist for our fourth annual lecture series on Sunday, September 17. All Sunday school classes from youth to adult classes will be invited to the lecture in the Fellowship Hall at 9:45 a.m., and Dr. Williams will also be our guest preacher.

Dr. Michael E. Williams, Sr.—known by many of his students as “Dr. Mike”—is Professor of History and holds the M.Div. and Ph.D. (Church History) from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and the M.A.C.T. in history from Auburn University. He has authored three books: I. T. Tichenor and the Creation of a Baptist New South (University of Alabama Press), To God Be The Glory: The Centennial History of Dallas Baptist University, 1898-1998, and Victory Through Faith: A History of the Rosen Heights Baptist Church. He is co-editing a book entitled, Turning Points in Baptist History to be published by Mercer University Press. He is especially interested in Baptist history, Nineteenth-Century American and Southern history, and Reformation studies.

In February 2015, we hosted our inaugural Claude H. Moore Lectures when Dr. Bill Leonard joined us for meaningful discussions about faith and the church. Bill was followed in September of 2015 by our second Claude H Moore Lecture Series Guest Speaker, Julie Pennington-Russell.

Claude H. Moore was a dedicated and beloved member of Auburn First Baptist Church. In honor of his commitment to this congregation, the family of Claude H. Moore enabled the church to establish these lectures in his name. Having joined the church in 1957, Claude and Mary Virginia, along with their children, Marianne, Elizabeth, David, Bill, and Ginger, are grateful for this congregation’s place in the life of their family. Claude served the church in a number of ways, particularly as the Treasurer of Auburn First Baptist as well as a deacon for countless years. He also served as the Chair of Deacons from 1983-1984 and as a Sunday School teacher in the children’s ministry for a number of years.