[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 92 (Thursday, June 20, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1138-E1139]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  A TRIBUTE TO DR. JAMES G. McCLUSKEY

                                 ______


                        HON. JOHN J. DUNCAN, JR.

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 20, 1996

  Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I want to recognize Dr. James G. McCluskey 
for his 37 years of service as pastor of Wallace Memorial Baptist 
Church in Knoxville, TN. His leadership and service has truly blessed 
Wallace Memorial Baptist Church.
  Today Wallace Memorial is one of the largest churches in the east 
Tennessee area with over 3,000 members. It is devoted to its missions 
outreach which was inspired by Dr. Bill Wallace, after whom the church 
was named.
  Dr. McCluskey joined Wallace Memorial as its pastor in 1959 when 
there were approximately 45 members. At that point, he had held several 
different high level positions with many agencies and ministries. He 
had served as the president of the Tennessee Baptist Convention, the 
Tennessee Baptist Pastor's Conference, the Tennessee Baptist Youth 
Evangelistic Conference, the Ridgecrest Baptist Assembly, and senior 
teacher for Evangelism Explosion International. Additionally, he had 
traveled to several foreign countries on mission work.
  Most importantly, his love for Christ and his mission to share that 
love with others has guided Wallace Memorial as the church's membership 
and programs have grown over the years.
  Dr. McCluskey has said that the inspiration of his own growth has 
been ``a wonderful wife and family who sustained and were encouraged. 
She has been the most stabilizing and encouraging. The church will miss 
her more than they miss me.''
  Several church members are sad to see the McCluskey family leave. 
Theresa Wilson described it best when saying:

       For the 14 years that I've been a member of Wallace 
     Memorial Baptist Church and have known Jim and Lib, their 
     ministry has been an example of putting Christ first and self 
     last. Their leadership has always been full of energy and 
     enthusiasm for the Lord and his church. We will sorely miss 
     Jim and Lib and we are thankful for their years of service.

  Rev. Jim McCluskey recently told the Knoxville News Sentinel: ``The 
Church is not built on me, but on Christ. The best is yet to be. Move 
onward, upward and forward and give new leadership the same following 
they gave me.''
  I request that a copy of the article that recently appeared in the 
Knoxville News Sentinel be placed in the Record at this point so that I 
can call it to the attention of my colleagues and other readers of the 
Record.

                          Move Onward, Upward

                            (By Bill Maples)

       Wallace Memorial Baptist Church at 701 Merchant Drive is a 
     huge edifice. Its auditorium seats hundreds. It has a 
     reputation for its far-reaching mission outreach and for its 
     Christmas and Easter programs. It has 3,162 members.
       But its members are feeling a painful sense of loss this 
     weekend. Dr. James G. McCluskey, its pastor for 37 years, is 
     preaching his last sermon on Sunday. He is retiring.
       ``There are other things I want to do but not in a full-
     time pastorate,'' he says. He mentions consulting, teaching, 
     substitute preaching.
       Then, too, there are children and grandchildren he and 
     wife, Elizabeth, want to visit more, and some traveling they 
     want to do.
       Dr. Roy T. Edgemon, director of discipleship and family in 
     the development division of the Baptist Sunday School Board, 
     will serve as interim pastor.
       The church is having a reception at the church Sunday, 
     April 14, from 2 to 4 p.m. The public is invited.
       It has been a colorful voyage. Wallace Memorial has grown 
     from 45 members when it was founded in 1952 to more than 
     3,000 members today. What made it grow so rapidly?
       ``Wallace Memorial was well-born,'' McCluskey says. ``It 
     was started by Arlington Baptist Church in a growing 
     community. It has had good lay leaders and good followers.''
       Asked what has been the strength of his own growth, 
     McCluskey says, ``A wonderful wife and family who sustained 
     and were encouraging. She has been the most stabilizing and 
     encouraging. The church will miss her more than they will 
     miss me.''
       Before they were married April 2, 1953, she was Elizabeth 
     Ann Peters of Knoxville. Known to members as ``Lib,'' she is 
     a consultant in working with children with the Sunday School 
     Department of the Tennessee and Southern Baptist Conventions. 
     She has been a trustee with East Tennessee Baptist Hospital 
     since 1989 and is president of the advisory board of the 
     Carson-Newman College of Nursing. The couple has four 
     children and eight grandchildren. One son and one son-in-law 
     are ministers.
       Jim McCluskey, as he prefers to be called, grew up in 
     Chattanooga and earned his bachelor's degree from Carson-
     Newman in 1952. He went on to earn the master of divinity and 
     master of religious education degrees from Southern Baptist 
     Theological Seminary and the doctor of ministry degree from 
     Luther Rice Seminary. He has held two other pastorates, in 
     Squiresville and Lawrenceburg, Ky. He came to Wallace 
     Memorial in 1959.
       He has held various high-level board and advisory positions 
     with at least two dozen ministries and agencies during his 
     career, including president of the Tennessee Baptist 
     Convention; denominational speaker at the Tennessee Baptist 
     Convention, Tennessee Baptist Pastors' Conference, Tennessee 
     Baptist Youth Evangelistic Conference, Ridgecrest Baptist 
     Assembly; and senior clinic teacher for Evangelism Explosion 
     International. He has traveled to several foreign countries 
     on mission work.
       Wallace Memorial has always emphasized mission work. It has 
     sent forth 42 persons from among its members as spiritual 
     leaders--ministers, ministers of music, teachers and 
     laypeople involved in spiritual missions.
       It has sent more than 101 mission teams to foreign and 
     American locations on mission and mercy trips. These included 
     emergency disaster teams sent to hurricane locations. Its 
     annual mission giving is in the hundreds of thousands of 
     dollars.
       One impetus for this enthusiasm is the inspiration for the 
     church's name--Bill Wallace, a native of Knoxville who died a 
     Christian missionary martyr in China in 1951. When his body 
     was returned to the U.S., he was buried in Greenwood 
     Cemetery. The funeral was held at Wallace Memorial. A room 
     containing Wallace's memorabilia has been set aside by the 
     church.
       Many members have come forward with a farewell word for the 
     McCluskeys. Typical is that of Theresa Wilson: ``For the 14 
     years that I've been a member at Wallace Memorial Baptist 
     Church and have known Jim and Lib, their ministry has been an 
     example of putting Christ first and self last. Their 
     leadership has always been full of energy and enthusiasm for 
     the Lord and his church.
       ``Jim and Lib have truly made Wallace Memorial feel like a 
     large family through their loving and caring attitudes. 
     Wallace Memorial as a church family has been truly honored to 
     have been under the leadership of Jim McCluskey as our senior 
     pastor for the past 37 years. We will sorely miss Jim and Lib 
     and we are thankful for their years of service.''
       What message does Jim McCluskey leave with the church? 
     ``That the church is not built on me, but on Christ. The best 
     is yet to be. Move onward, upward and forward and give new 
     leadership the same following they gave me.''

[[Page E1139]]

       What message would he give to a starting church? ``Focus on 
     meeting people's needs.''
       What message would he give a starting preacher? ``Spend as 
     much time preparing yourself as you do preparing a sermon.''

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