J. T. Spurlin (Baptist pastor)

J. T. Spurlin (James T. Spurlin, 29 December 1908 – 15 August 2000) was a Southern Baptist pastor from Christian County, Kentucky. In 1946 he organized the First Baptist Church of Juneau, Alaska, and he was president of the Alaska Baptist Convention during its first three annual sessions.^[1][2][3][4]

Family and early ministry

In 1946 the Daily Alaska Empire called him a fourth-generation Baptist preacher. It said his great-grandfather had been a pioneer preacher in Kentucky who organized his first church in Christian County, and that Spurlin had made his own profession of faith in that church.^[2] A history of Sinking Fork Baptist Church in Christian County, brought up to date in 1949, names Rev. L. L. Spurlin as a grandson of the preacher James Utley Spurlin and a nephew of Rev. J. H. Spurlin. It names J. T. Spurlin as L. L.'s son.^[5] Second Baptist Church in Hopkinsville lists J. T. Spurlin among the ministers it ordained.^[5]

The 1946 newspaper profile said he was educated at Bethel College, a Baptist school in Kentucky, and held a Doctor of Divinity degree. It said he had been pastor of churches in Kentucky, Missouri and Michigan and had been moderator of the New Madrid Baptist Association in Missouri. It also listed him as first vice-president and a faculty member of a Baptist assembly at Van Buren, Missouri, and as a trustee of the Baptist Foundation in Missouri.^[2] A 1966 history of the Muhlenberg County Baptist Association in Kentucky lists a J. T. Spurlin as pastor of Graham Baptist Church from 1934 to 1936.^[6] Church histories collected for Christian County name both L. L. Spurlin and J. T. Spurlin among the pastors of Palestine Baptist Church.^[7]

Juneau

Spurlin arrived in Juneau with his wife and two children on the steamer Princess Norah on 28 August 1945. The Empire reported that they had come "to take charge of the Baptist Church work in Juneau", and the ship's passenger list printed the names James T. and Nell B. Spurlin.^[1] The paper's church column listed him as minister of the Juneau Baptist Mission, which held its Sunday services at the American Legion Hall.^[8] That September he was also advertised as "singer and speaker" at Juneau's second Youth for Christ rally, where he sang a solo and gave the message.^[9][10]

The First Baptist Church of Juneau was organized on 3 February 1946 with thirteen charter members, four of them from the Spurlin family. The Empire called it the fourth church in the city. It reported that Spurlin's work was supported by a Michigan church, named in the article as Antioch, which he had recently served, and by other Southern Baptist churches. The congregation met at the American Legion "Dugout" and had taken an option on a building site.^[2] In late August 1946 Spurlin announced that services would move to property the church had bought at Fourth and Franklin streets. The paper said membership had risen by 60 percent since the church was organized.^[11] The church's own history lists Spurlin as its first pastor, serving from 1946 to 1947.^[12] A 1947 business directory lists "1st Baptist Church – 4th & Franklin, Juneau; J. T. Spurlin DD".^[13]

Alaska Baptist Convention

According to Baptist Press, Felton Griffin, longtime pastor of First Baptist Church in Anchorage, started a conversation with two other pastors, Curtis Dunkin of Fairbanks and "J.T. Spurlin of Juneau". That conversation led to the founding of the Alaska Baptist Convention. The convention held its organizational meeting at First Baptist, Anchorage, on 27–28 March 1946.^[14] The historical table published by the convention's successor, the Alaska Baptist Resource Network, shows that Spurlin preached the annual sermon at that organizational meeting. It lists him as president at the first three annual sessions: Anchorage in August 1946, Juneau in August 1947 and Anchorage in September 1948. L. L. Richardson is also listed under 1948.^[3] When the Juneau church hosted the 1947 session, the Empire described Spurlin as president of the convention. Its account differs from the table on the early dates: it said the convention originated at Anchorage in April 1946 and held its first annual session at Fairbanks in August 1946.^[15] The 1949 Sinking Fork history calls him "the first Missionary Baptist preacher in Alaska" and the first president of the state convention.^[5]

In the summer of 1947 Spurlin preached at 17 churches in Mississippi, Kentucky, Ohio and Michigan. He also visited Hopkinsville, where his parents lived, and Crofton, Kentucky, home of his wife's relatives.^[16]

Later pastorates

In November 1947 the Empire reported that Spurlin, who had come to Juneau from Detroit, Michigan, was leaving with his family for a church in Hayti, Missouri.^[17] The 1952 Southern Baptist Handbook reported that "J. T. Spurlin, Hayti, Missouri" had accepted a call from the Edgefield church in Nashville, Tennessee.^[18] He later returned to Christian County. A history of Pembroke Baptist Church says he was called there twice and names him as its pastor in 1972.^[7]

Death

A Find a Grave memorial records J. T. Spurlin (29 December 1908 – 15 August 2000) in Riverside Cemetery, Hopkinsville. It links to the memorials of his wife, Nell Brown Spurlin (1913–2005), and of a daughter named Donanel (1936–1993).^[4] The memorial does not give an occupation. The identification rests on the matching names: the 1945 Juneau passenger list names James T. and Nell B. Spurlin, and a Donanel Spurlin was among the Juneau church's charter members in 1946.^[1][2][4]