Rev. Dr. C.B. Akins to keynote the 2023 Baccalaureate Assembly
Graduates will hear from the Rev. Dr. C.B. Akins, renowned, retired pastor of First Baptist Church Bracktown in Lexington, who will serve as the 2023 Kentucky State University Baccalaureate speaker Thursday, May 11 at 11 a.m. in the David H. Bradford Hall, Carl H. Smith Auditorium. Akins was recently appointed to the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education Board by Governor Andy Beshear.
Dr. Akins is a highly sought-after speaker and leader nationwide and is honored to serve and represent underserved and disenfranchised communities. He was raised in the church by a praying mother. Dr. Akins responded to his call to the ministry in 1977. He was licensed to preach, ordained in 1980, and became the pastor of Carneal Chapel MBC in Paducah, Kentucky, from 1980-1983. In 1983, he accepted the call to pastor First Baptist Bracktown, Lexington, Kentucky, where he remained a faithful servant of God until he retired on November 7, 2020.
Dr. Akins served as a multilingual interpreter in the United States Air Force from 1969 to 1973. From 1973 to 1980, he taught foreign languages in the Military Intelligence Division of the US Army Reserves. He has also studied eight additional languages, including Czechoslovakian, Russian, Chinese, Mandarin, German, French, Greek, Hebrew, and Latin.
In his educational pursuit, Dr. Akins graduated from Carrier Mills High School, Carrier Mills, Illinois, 1968; from the Defense Language Institute, Czechoslovakian Department, Monterey, California, 1971; University of Maryland, German Department, Rimbach, Germany, 1972; Draughon’s Business College, Paducah, Kentucky, 1976; Paducah Community College, Paducah, Kentucky, 1978; the University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, 1993, BASW with honors; Lexington Theological Seminary, Lexington, Kentucky, 1996, Master of Divinity; Simmons Bible College, Louisville, Kentucky, 1998, Honorary Doctor of Divinity; and the Lexington Theological Seminary, Lexington, Kentucky, 2001, Doctor of Ministry.
Dr. Akins is the author of the book, “From Burden to Blessing” and is writing a book on planned pastoral succession. His motto is: “Our Sole Business is Soul Business.”
Baccalaureate can be viewed online via Zoom.