CedarBluff
Baptist Church
He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.
(Psalms 40:2)
Pastor: James E. Burke
Bro. James Burke is a young man 28 years of age. He was saved when he was 12 years after going to a camp-meeting in Florida for a week. He had been under conviction for about 6 months then God put the pressure on. On April 24, 1992 he asked God to save him from sin and hell. A year and half later after sitting under some of the best preaching and leadership in Florida, after much prayer and seeking the Lord, he surrendered to the call to preach.
In 1999 Bro. James moved to Tennessee and started attending Bays Mountain Baptist Church. He met Lori Rauhuff at church and two years later they got married and in March of 2006 had their first child.
After preaching for nearly 13 years and preaching all over Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee,
being considered by two churches to Pastor, God opened the door to Cedar Bluff. He has said that after just a couple of Services with the people there, he felt a burden for the people and for the community of Cedar Bluff.
In October of 2006 Cedar Bluff voted Bro. James in as Pastor. Bro. James has a burden to see the church grow, for the families, shut ins, and the lost. He has a desire to get the shut ins an audio tape or cd of the services so they can feel connected to what's happening at the church. He wants to visit the inactive members to encourage them to return to the church or join some Bible Believing Baptist Church. He also has a desire to begin a visitation program that would target our area and try to witness to the lost and by the Grace of God, see souls saved.
Pastor's Wife
“My testimony isn't very long but it is my story. I was saved in the second grade. We were in chapel service and all I remember was that when Pastor gave the invitation he asked if there was anyone that was lost, I raised my hand, but I didn't stay. We started back to our classroom and I knew I had to go back, so I did and found Pastor and we talked for a little while. That's when I prayed and asked the Lord to save me.”
Lori is now 25 years old and has lived in a preachers home nearly all of her life. Her dad Tim Rauhuff has been preaching now for over he also served as Pastor of a church in Wartburg, TN. Lori’s papaw is also a preacher and has been Pastor at Bays Mtn. Baptist Church for 30 years now. Lori and James have been married since 2002, so she’s still under the roof of a preacher.
Here’s some more of what she had to say:
“It's not been an easy road but He has always been there for me and gave me many blessings. Two of which I am very blessed to have are my husband and my daughter. I love them very much.”
“I am blessed to be a part of Cedar Bluff Baptist church as well. I love the people very much and love being with everyone there. They are such a blessing to know and they treat us like family and that means the world to me. The Lord has really blessed us with our family and our church family and I couldn't ask for anything more.”
May God richly bless you all.
Lori K. Burke