Dr. Charles T. Carter, retired senior pastor at Shades Mountain Baptist Church, has been named the James H. Chapman Fellow of Pastoral Ministry at Beeson Divinity School, Samford University.
The Birmingham native has pastored churches in Alabama and Kentucky, served in leadership roles in the Southern Baptist Convention and led missions world-wide for more than 45 years.
He served at Shades Mountain Baptist for 26 years, retiring in 1998. Church membership grew from 2,000 to almost 6,900 under his leadership.
"Our students will learn much from his pastoral wisdom and great skill as a superb expository preacher of God’s word," said Beeson Dean Timothy George. He added that Carter’s appointment underscored Beeson’s commitment to "forge strong ties with the congregations we serve."
Carter served two terms as president of the Alabama Baptist State Convention (1988, 1989), was chairman of the SBC resolutions committee (1995) and served nine years on the International Mission Board of the SBC.
He has preached abroad extensively, including a mission to nine countries in 1973, two evangelistic crusades in Antigua (West Indies) in 1975 and 1977 and crusades in seven cities in the former Soviet Union in 1991.
Carter is a graduate of Samford and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Ky. He serves as a member of the Samford Board of Trustees.
Carter and his wife Janice are parents of two adult daughters.
The Chapman Fellow works to increase the students’ understanding of faithful pastoral ministry and links the work of the Divinity School to local churches and denominational constituencies. It is named after the late James H. Chapman, long-time chair of the Department of Religion and Philosophy at Samford.