Staff
Dr. John M. Finley
A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Dr. John Finley became our Senior Minister in July, 1994. He is a graduate of Vanderbilt University (B.A., 1976), The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (M.Div., 1979; Ph.D., 1984), and has done post-doctoral study at the University of Durham in England, the International Baptist Theological Seminary in Prague, Czech Republic; and the Evangelische Akademie in Berlin, Germany. Previously, he served churches in Georgia, Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee, and Missouri.
In Savannah, Dr. Finley has been involved in a variety of community-based institutions, including service on the Clinical Pastoral Education Advisory Committee of Bethesda Home for Boys, the Community Advisory Panels of the Savannah Morning News and Kemira Pigments, Inc., and the official boards of the Savannah Baptist Center, United Ministries of Savannah, and the Coastal Counseling Practice.
In Baptist life, Dr. Finley has served as Secretary-Treasurer of the Georgia Baptist Pastors’ Conference, Chair of the Georgia Baptist Historical Commission, President of the Georgia Baptist Historical Society, and board member for the Penfield Christian Home. He most recently has served on the Coordinating Council of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Georgia and on the board of directors of Morningstar Children and Family Services. Since 1995, he has led nine mission trips to Cuba in partnership with the Fraternity of Baptist Churches of Cuba. In 2003, he was named to the Task Force on Ecumenism and Justice of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, and since that time has served as CBF representative on the Faith and Order Commission of the National Council of Churches as well as Christian Churches Together in the USA.
Dr. Finley has been a contributing author in Defining Baptist Convictions: Guidelines for the Twenty-first Century (Providence House Publishers, 1996) and Families in 3D (Baptist Center for Ethics, 1997). He is the author of numerous sermons, articles, book reviews, and lessons appearing in such publications as Review and Expositor, The Christian Index, Baptist History and Heritage, Christian Ethics Today, Baptist Heritage, and Viewpoints. He is a regular featured columnist for EthicsDaily.com, the web site of the Baptist Center for Ethics, and with Dr. George Shriver, has recently completed an updated history of First Baptist Church, Columbus, Georgia.
Dr. Finley and his wife, Norma, are the parents of three children. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, traveling, photography, and refinishing antique furniture.
Rev. James C. Richardson
Rev. James C. Richardson is the Associate Minister at First Baptist Church, having joined the staff in 1971. He attended Mars Hill College, graduating in 1968 with a Bachelor of Music degree. He was the recipient of the John Crisp Music Medal in 1968, served as a College Marshal, and graduated magna cum laude.
Rev. Richardson attended Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, where he graduated in 1971 with a Master of Church Music degree, with major in Organ Performance. He was voted by the faculty the Most Outstanding Student in the School of Church Music in 1970, and was a Luther Rice Scholar.
Rev. Richardson's ministerial experience is with churches in Stuart, VA, Burnsville, NC, Louisville, KY, and the First Baptist Church of Savannah, GA. He was ordained by the First Baptist Church of Savannah in 1978.
Rev. Richardson has a number of organ and choral compositions in print. He was co-author of "Worship Planning at First Baptist Church, Savannah, Georgia" for the Review and Expositor (Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1988), wrote book reviews for the Southern Baptist Church Music Journal, and was a contributor to the worship leader's edition of The Worshiping Church: A Hymnal (Hope, 1990).