Tom Whatley, longtime pastor of Woodward Avenue Baptist Church in Muscle Shoals, died Oct. 22.
Whatley originally thought he would have a military career, but then he gave in to the call to ministry he felt God had on his life. His father T.W. was an Alabama Baptist pastor at the time and volunteered him to preach at a nearby church.
Whatley said preaching that sermon “was the happiest I’d ever been in life.”
He still had an obligation to serve three years in the military, but after he finished he resigned his commission and attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. During that time he served as pastor of a country church, then Leighton Baptist Church near Muscle Shoals called him as pastor.
Faithful service
Whatley spent five and a half years at Leighton Baptist until he returned to Southwestern Seminary to get his doctorate in ministry. After finishing his degree, he served as pastor of Central Baptist Church in Florence for five and a half years.
Then he accepted the offer to serve as pastor of Woodward Avenue Baptist and stayed there for 27 years until he retired in 2005. Over the years, he served in several leadership capacities in the Alabama Baptist State Convention.
He continued to serve after his retirement, including serving as interim pastor of Woodmont Baptist Church in Florence from 2015 to 2017.
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