James Bell has served as pastor at Southside Baptist since May of 1975. He and his dear wife, Cindy, have been married since May 27, 1967. She serves as the Southside Church Organist and is an RN in the local hospital.

James, a native of Sparta, Georgia, was saved by the grace of God, baptized and later received a calling/desire (1 Timothy 3:1) from God to become a pastor— all while attending Jewell Baptist Church, Jewell, Georgia. Later, while attending Truett-McConnell College, Cleveland, Georgia, he began his first pastorate at Fairmount Baptist, just outside of Sparta, Georgia. James graduated from Truett-McConnell and Belmont University, Nashville, Tennessee. Soon after marrying Cindy, they moved to Ft. Worth, Texas, where James attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. After seminary, James served as pastor of First Baptist Church; Hartsville, Tennessee for six years and since those days serves as pastor at Southside Baptist Church in Gallatin, Tennessee.

In the 1980s, Southside embraced the Biblical concept of plurality of leadership or Elders/Pastors. At present, James, Cloyd Young, Dickey Richard and Jaden Allen are our Elders. The pulpit ministry is shared with men in the congregation. The Elders, the Deacons, those who serve in Music Ministry, and other servant leaders seek to work together in a spirit that honors our LORD. Beyond that, we wait upon the LORD for the raising up of future, additional Elders.

THE MUSIC MINISTRY AT SOUTHSIDE BAPTIST CHURCH

Presently, Bradley Pennington and Adam Troutt lead the Praise and Worship ministry. Several paragraphs down, is a statement expressing our philosophy of worship and praise.

About Southside Baptist Church

You will find a warm welcome as Southside church gathers to Worship God. We desire with all our hearts that all that is done in the local church be done so that "Christ might have all the preeminence". (Colossians 1:18) We invite you to attend our church services!

We seek to be a Christ-centered, Bible-believing Fellowship

Believing that Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church (all believers) and that He communicates with the Church (His Body) through the Scriptures as illuminated by the Holy Spirit, we, who rest our faith wholly in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, have banded together around a common understanding of the nature and extent of the Scriptures that will reveal to us the mind of our Savior in order that we might be faithfully obedient.

THE PURPOSES OF Southside Church are declared to be:

To bring glory to God, both in the earthly and heavenly realms, by committing ourselves together to worship God in spirit and in truth and by each member ministering to one another as each is gifted and empowered by the Spirit of God so that each can advance to a point characterized as mature while attaining a unity in relationship to one another and to the Son of God, resulting in true worship unto the true God and effective deployment for the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

MOREOVER, the purpose of this church is to glorify the God of the Scriptures in promoting His worship, evangelizing sinners, and edifying saints. Therefore, we are committed to the proclamation of God's perfect Word and the glorious Gospel of His grace through all the world and to the defense of "the faith once delivered unto the saints"(Jude 3)

We acknowledge no ecclesiastical authority other than our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Head of the Church (Ephesians 5:23) and who directs the affairs of the church through elders chosen and ordained according to the precepts of Holy Scripture. The elders themselves at all times and in all their activities must stand under the authority of Holy Scripture. Moreover, God may choose to speak wisdom and/or direction for Southside through any who are in Christ. Thus, we desire that Church rule not be majority or minority or elder rule but that of the Word of God and the Holy Spirit guiding the congregation in unity.

Southside Baptist Church is Bible-believing and Sovereign Grace oriented in our beliefs and practice. We are an autonomous congregation. Moreover, our primary identity is found in the person of Jesus Christ, not in a denominational or non-denominational tag. We are blessed to have fellowship, affiliation and association with various Bible believing and Christ honoring Christians! The fundamental issue is that we are disciples of Jesus, Christians, saints, brothers and sisters with all who form the Bride of Christ— “The LORD knows those who are His… Let all who name the name of CHRIST depart from iniquity.” (2 Timothy 2:19) The church may and does cooperate with other like-minded churches in matters of mutual interest and concern.

Furthermore, we rejoice in the rich heritage of countless thousands who have gone before us, laying down their lives for Jesus and His glorious Gospel of Grace. We do especially rejoice in those Christians called "Baptists", who in years gone by, were not so called because they were insecure of being identified as "Christians" or "followers of the Lord Jesus Christ"; but rather in dark hours of history when the visible church (Rome) was teaching salvation by works and salvation through their denomination, and when they baptized or sprinkled infants and held to many other heresies, [Which they still hold and practice], God sustained those who embraced the basic doctrines of our own statement of faith.

These saints of God in Christ held to the basic doctrines of grace and, therefore, "believer's baptism", and they were ridiculed, persecuted, killed, and called by their enemies "Anabaptists" (those who baptized again). This was later shortened to "Baptist" while many others from this movement were later known as Mennonites, Brethren, etc. The term "Anabaptists" or "Baptist" was an offensive epithet in order to convey the impression that they had founded a new sect or cult.

The point is this: After confessing that I am a Christian, it is also an honor, historically, to be called a Baptist— for to be so called is to suffer reproach for holding true to the Scriptures and our Savior. So may it ever be among the Christians at Southside Baptist Church. However, to hold the title in pride or in the sense of denominationalism and/or in pre-eminence over being "just Christians" is not only against Scripture but is not baptistic!

Our Philosophy of WORSHIP and PRAISE

The congregation's highest priority and privilege is worship. Psalm 2:11 declares, "...Worship the Lord with reverence, and rejoice with trembling." The modern trend today finds churches seeking to please the masses by offering up worship services whose pattern and sound comes from the pagan world. Many churches seek a blend of whatever is popular or desired by people.

However, true worship is ALL ABOUT GOD! God is worthy that we should Praise Him! Worship and praise to God surely must be from the heart and therefore not dull or emotionless! But neither should it be man-centered, carnal and full of showmanship. At Southside, there is a variety of expressions in music. But in every case, our goal is and God is leading us to offer up genuine Worship that is GOD-GLORIFYING and not MAN-CENTERED!

Our purpose is not to create an atmosphere of entertainment, but rather to worship God and to come to know Him in a deeper way. (Jeremiah 9:24; Philippians 3:10) God is infinitely holy. (Isaiah 6:1-3) We believe we should seek to come into His presence as a congregation with reverence, awe and with hearts ready to honor and submit to Him. I Chronicles 16:29: "Give unto the Lord glory due unto His name: bring an offering, and come before Him: Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness."

PREACHING THE WORD

There is a trend today to de-emphasize preaching by incorporating plays and skits into the service in a "theater" type setting. Good, old-fashioned Bible-filled sermons have been replaced by skimpy "sermonettes and stories". However, the Scriptures plainly exhort us to "preach the Word, be instant in season and out of season." (II Tim. 4:2a) The Bible emphasizes the ministry of preaching the Word. That is our emphasis. We come to bow our hearts before God's Word and say ‘AMEN!’ to its truths. Part of the reason preaching is being de-emphasized in some circles is because doctrine is no longer appreciated. This should be no surprise to us, for Paul warned that "the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears." (II Tim. 4:3-4)

Southside Baptist Church is committed to emphasizing what GOD emphasizes in His Word, regardless of whether it is popular or not. God knows better than we do what we need to hear! In a day when many seem to shy away from teaching doctrine, by God's grace, we are determined to continue preaching the whole counsel of God and contending for the faith once delivered to the saints. (Jude 3)

MINISTRY

We believe that God has equipped every believer to serve Him, and that every believer should be using his/her gifts for the glory of God. (I Pet. 4:10) That includes ministry in the local church. Thus, we hope you will find us to be a caring group of believers, who seek to "provoke one another unto love and good works" (Heb. 10:24-25).

The purpose of the local church is to grow together and minister to one another in love in such a way that the whole Body (the church) is strengthened and the life of the indwelling Christ is manifested (Eph. 4: 11-16) to the world. We encourage believers (young and old!) to become active in the church through various forms of ministry. Genuine, Biblical Christianity is not a "spectator sport". (I Corinthians 12:7-27)

We also seek to reach out to those who do not know Christ. The Lord's GREAT COMMISSION is our command to tell others the good news of salvation through faith alone in the finished work of Christ on the Cross (Matthew 28:19-20). It is our belief that when the church service ends on Sunday, our individual service in the community as ambassadors for Christ begins (II Corinthians 5:18-20)!

As a church, we seek to get the message of Christ out to our local community as well as around the world. We encourage each individual believer to be involved in personal evangelism. We also support overseas and local missionaries. Jesus said to "make disciples" and to "teach them all things whatsoever I have commanded you". We see this as our Christian responsibility and great privilege.

PRIESTHOOD OF THE BELIEVER

The church, the Body of Christ, does not have a priesthood. The church is a priesthood! (I Peter 2:5-9) Every true believer is a believer priest in God's sight, (male or female; young or old) and is to worship, praise, and serve the Lord. As a believer priest, he/she is personally accountable and responsible to Jesus Christ. (Romans 14:12) We believe that the Christian is to live under the principle of grace and should demonstrate the fruit of the indwelling Holy Spirit daily. (Galatians 5:22-23) Love, joy and peace as well as holiness and purity should characterize the life of a New Testament believer priest.

Quite frankly, to some, the Southside Church might seem a bit "old fashioned" and not very contemporary. We do not believe that this is a bad thing! Not all forms of worship men offer to God are accepted by God! (Genesis 4: 1-7; II Samuel 6:1-10; I Chronicles 15:13)

Without apology, we seek to minister to modern man and address modern problems in helpful, Biblical, and therefore relevant ways, knowing and believing that the "old fashioned" Bible, quickened by the Holy Spirit is all we need for life and godliness (II Peter 1:2-3)! The Bible, the Word of God, is living, fresh, exciting, and produces great JOY in the heart! "God's Word and God's ways may be old, but they are never out of date!" To God be the glory!