Lonnie Wilkey, editor of the Baptist and Reflector for the past 26 years, has published a collection of columns he wrote while serving on the staff of the state Baptist paper of Tennessee.
Lonnie Wilkey
Faith, Family and Life’s Lessons: Reflections of a Christian Journalist includes more than 70 columns written over three decades under Wilkey’s “An Occasional Word” and “Reflections” headings. “A few are related to events in the nation and denomination, but the majority are columns which relate to lessons I have learned as I journeyed through life,” Wilkey writes in his preface.
The columns are devotional in nature, drawing from his own experiences, including glimpses into his family life. “I tried to keep them real, drawing from lessons I was learning ‘on the job’ in life as a husband, parent, layman in my local church and in my career as a writer,” Wilkey says.
“I hope you enjoy these reflections from across time.”
Wilkey is “God-called to be a journalist,” writes Chris Turner, director of communications for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, in the book’s introduction. “Lonnie has faithfully served God in the life purpose to which God called him while faithfully loving and serving his family.”
Wilkey, who will retire to Upstate South Carolina this December, served as associate editor at the Baptist and Reflector for 10 years before becoming editor in 1998. A native of Marietta, he graduated from Travelers Rest High School and from North Greenville College (now University), before earning a bachelor of arts in journalism degree from the University of South Carolina. He also worked for both North Greenville and the Baptist College at Charleston (now Charleston Southern University).
Faith, Family and Life’s Lessons (Courier Publishing, 132 pages, $13.95) is available from major online booksellers, including Amazon and Barnes & Noble.