Photography and website by Glenn Luttrell
"Dr. T"
. . .if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
                                                        Romans 10:9-10
. . .LOVE is patient and kind; LOVE is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude.  LOVE does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right.  LOVE bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  LOVE never ends. . . .

. . .Faith, Hope, LOVE abide, these three; but the greatest of these is LOVE.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8a, 13
In memory of a faithful Shepherd
Dr. Clifton R. Tennison
Dr. T in his office about 1973
In search of the lost sheep
In a church committee meeting with Finance Chairman Henry Little
Dr. T and long-time FBC Associate Pastor Bill Reed
Dr. Clifton Tennison, Pastor Emeritus, (fourth from left) at the 75th Anniversary service of First Baptist Church of West Monroe, Louisiana
"Dr. T" was well-known to the citizens of northeast Louisiana, having served as Pastor of the First Baptist Church of West Monroe for almost 30 years.  He came to us in April 1961 from Houston, Texas where he was pastor of Park Place Baptist Church.  He had served many Texas churches as pastor since his ordination in 1939.  The son of a Baptist preacher in west Texas, Dr. Tennison received his Master of Theology degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Dallas, Texas and attained his Doctor of Divinity degree from Howard Payne College in Brownwood, Texas.

Dr. Tennison was active in many boards and committees of the Southern Baptist Convention on the local, state and national levels.  He served as President of the Louisiana Baptist Convention and Chairman of the Home Missions Board of the Southern Baptist Convention.  He was a world-traveler, having participated in city-wide mission crusades in Japan, Portugal and Granada in the West Indies. 

Under his leadership, the budget receipts of First Baptist Church grew to almost $1,500,000 from the $200,000 budget of 1961.  He led an expansion of church facilities to meet the needs of the community.  In addition to new nursery, chapel and music facilities and renovations to the sanctuary, the first worship center ever built in the U. S. specifically for the deaf was built in West Monroe.  During his pastorate, First Baptist of West Monroe consistently ranked at the top for Louisiana churches in giving to the Cooperative Program (Southern Baptist missions).  He baptized over 2,000 new Christians and received over 3300 new church members by letter or statement.  He performed 459 weddings and conducted 759 funerals while leading his "family of faith".

Dr. T is now reunited, in heaven, with his wife, Daphine Fern Hunn, of Wichita Falls, Texas, who preceded him in death.   But, prior to their reunion, no doubt he was met with the greeting, "well done, my good and faithful servant".

"And now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Fresh as the morning,
Sweet as the dew,
Rest and abide upon you always is our prayer.
Amen.
Dr. T always had a candy mint for "his kids" after every service.
Anita Bryant with Dr. Tennison, always the gracious host, prior to her speaking at First Baptist Church.
Photography and website by Glenn Luttrell