Wilmer Clemont Fields (March 16, 1922 – December 2, 2018) was an American Southern Baptist minister, public relations executive, newspaper editor, and the (co-)author or editor of 30 books. He was a pastor in Louisiana, Kentucky and Mississippi. He was the editor of ''The Baptist Record'' and ''Baptist Program'', a director of the

Baptist Press Baptist Press (BP) is the official news service of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) and is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. Baptist Press is a ministry assignment of the executive committee of the Southern Baptist Convention. Baptist P ...

, and the vice president for public relations for the executive committee of the

Southern Baptist Convention The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination, and the largest Protestant and second-largest Christian denomination in the United States. The wor ...

. He was a defender of the

freedom of the press Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic News media, media, especially publication, published materials, should be conside ...

Early life and education

Fields was born on March 16, 1922, in

Saline, Louisiana Saline is a village in southeastern Bienville Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 277 at the 2010 census. Saline is pronounced "Suh-LEEN". Jamie Fair, a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1980–1984, resides ...

. He was baptized at the Old Saline Baptist Church at the age of 8; by the age of 16, he was preaching at the First Baptist Church of

Arcadia Arcadia may refer to: Places Australia * Arcadia, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney * Arcadia, Queensland * Arcadia, Victoria Greece * Arcadia (region), a region in the central Peloponnese * Arcadia (regional unit), a modern administrative un ...

and the First Baptist Church of Gibsland in Louisiana. Fields graduated from the Gibsland High School in 1939. He graduated from

Louisiana College Louisiana Christian University (LCU) is a private Baptist university in Pineville, Louisiana. It enrolls 1,100 to 1,200 students. It is affiliated with the Louisiana Baptist Convention (Southern Baptist Convention). Louisiana Christia ...

with a bachelor's degree in 1943. He attended the

Southern Baptist Theological Seminary The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) is a Baptist theological institute in Louisville, Kentucky. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. The seminary was founded in 1859 in Greenville, South Carolina, where it was at ...

, where he earned a master of Theology in 1946, followed by a doctorate of Theology in 1950. Fields returned to Louisiana College to give the keynote address on Founders' Day in 1976.

Career

Fields began his formal pastorate at the Woodworth Baptist Church in

Woodworth, Louisiana Woodworth is a town in Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the Alexandria, Louisiana Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,096 at the 2010 census. This town is growing rapidly with a number of residential subdiv ...

. He also pastored churches in Woodworth, Belcher, and Gilliam in Louisiana, as well as the Bethany Baptist Church of

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

from 1948 to 1951. He served as the pastor of the First Baptist Church in

Yazoo City, Mississippi Yazoo City is a U.S. city in Yazoo County, Mississippi. It was named after the Yazoo River, which, in turn was named by the French explorer Robert La Salle in 1682 as "Rivière des Yazous" in reference to the Yazoo tribe living near the river's m ...

from 1951 to 1956. He was the president of the board of the

Mississippi Baptist Convention The Mississippi Baptist Convention (MBC or MBSC) is an autonomous association of Baptist churches in the state of Mississippi. It is one of the state conventions associated with the Southern Baptist Convention. Formed in 1836, it was one of the ...

for two years, and the editor of its newspaper, ''The Baptist Record'', from 1956 to 1959. Fields worked for the executive committee of the

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

from 1959 to 1987, where he started as the secretary and retired as the vice president for public relations. He was the editor of its magazine, ''Baptist Program'', from 1959 to 1972. He was also the director of the

, the SBC's news service. Fields supported the

, arguing, "We have to be honest, transparent, trustworthy. Maybe that includes telling them some things Baptists wouldn't want them to know, but they depend on their sources shooting straight with them." Fields retired in 1987, after 28 years at the SBC, and he was succeeded by Alvin C. Shackleford. Fields was a member of the

Public Relations Society of America The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) is a nonprofit trade association for public relations professionals. It was founded in 1947 by combining the American Council on Public Relations and the National Association of Public Relations Coun ...

. He served as the president of the

Associated Church Press Associated Church Press (aka "ACP", founded in 1916) is a professional membership organization brought together by a common commitment to excellence in journalism as a means to describe, reflect, and support the life of faith and the Christian commu ...

, the Baptist Public Relations Association, and the Religious Public Relations Council. He served on the boards of the Council on Religion and International Affairs as well as the Nashville chapter of the

National Conference of Christians and Jews The National Conference for Community and Justice is an American social justice organization focused on fighting biases and promoting understanding between people of different races and cultures. The organization was founded in 1927 as the Natio ...

. Fields was the namesake of the Baptist Public Relations Association's Wilmer C. Fields Awards Competition. He received the Religious Freedom Award from the

Associated Baptist Press Baptist News Global is an independent Baptist news agency. It was founded in 2014 as a merger of Associated Baptist Press (ABP), which was founded in 1990, and the ''Religious Herald'', which was founded in 1828. The ''Herald'' served as a journal f ...

in 2006. Fields was the (co-)author or editor of 30 books.

Personal life and death

Fields was married twice. He first married Rebecca Elizabeth Hagan in 1946, who died in 2002. The following year, he married his second wife, Lawanna Jane House McIver, who was the widow of Bruce McIver, the pastor of Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas. Fields taught Sunday school at the First Baptist Church in Nashville for two decades. Fields died on December 2, 2018, in Nashville, Tennessee. His funeral was held at the Woodmont Baptist Church in Nashville on December 8, 2018.

Selected works

References

External links

"Wilmer Clemont Fields." Gale Literature: Contemporary Authors, Gale, 2018.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fields, Wilmer Clemont 1922 births 2018 deaths People from Bienville Parish, Louisiana People from Nashville, Tennessee Louisiana Christian University alumni Southern Baptist Theological Seminary alumni Southern Baptist ministers Writers from Louisiana 20th-century American newspaper editors American public relations people American book editors