Page 2A
iRe-13orter
January 9, 2019
By Diane Glidewell
news@mymcr.nef
Dr. Glenn Canup is the
new pastor of First Baptist
Church High Falls. He sees
a myriad of opportuni-
ties in the area and brings
a unique combination
of youthful energy and
a background in a wide
range of ministries to the
challenge. He comes to
First Baptist High Falls
from Mabel White Baptist
Church in Macon, where
he has worked to develop
and execute strategies and
worked with the budget,
calendar and facilities for
over nine years. He also
filled in with sermons, was
chaplain for Macon-Bibb
County Fire Department
and, for the last five years,
was the volunteer preach-
ing pastor at Central State
Prison, where he led wor-
ship services monthly for
over 250 inmates.
Canup said he has
ministered at small rural
churches and large urban
ones as he pursued his
education at Truett-Mc-
Connell, Brewton Parker,
New Orleans Baptist
Theological Seminary and
Luther Rice Seminary.
Glenn McCall served
as interim pastor at First
Baptist High Falls for the
last year-and-a-half as the
congregation waited for
the right pastor to answer
the call to the church full
time. Canup feels that he
is the right pastor. He said
McCall did a great job of
getting the church focused
and feels it is ready to go
forward.
"I believe the Lord led
me here" said Canup.
"There are thousands of
people [in theHigh Falls
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Driveways
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area] but no real evangelis-
tic outreach."
He has already moved
his family from Macon to
High Falls and has even
begun knocking on doors
to meet his neighbors and
invite them to worship
with him. One good sign
was that whereas it took 4
1/2 years to sell his home
in Dacula when he moved
to Macon, it only to'ok two
weeks to sell his house in
Macon after he committed
to come to High Falls.
Canup said he has read
that about 10,000 people
live within five miles of
High Falls Baptist, which
is at 4404 High Falls Road,
just north of High Falls
State Park. Then there are
the thousands of people
who visit the state park;
he has heard that it is the
second most visited park
in the state from March to
July each year.
Canup has already had
one good experience con-
necting with visitors at the
state park. A family that
was camping called to ask
about Christmas services
and decided to extend its
vacation and stay for the
church's New Year's Eve
bonfire. It turned out that
the family attends the
same church in Tampa as
Canup's in-laws.
Canup likes the mix of
people from all walks of
life who live and visit in
High Falls, and he hopes
to see that same mix of
people in the church.
Dr. Glenn Canup, his wife, Linda, and their daughter and son
County as he becomes the pastor of First Baptist High Falls.
have lust moved to Monroe
"The church is the only accident and his father very good writer, accord-
thing that will transform told him that God watched ing to her husband.
anything in America, over him for a reason. He "We're excited about the
including the prisons" he met his wife, Linda, at First opportunities" said Canup.
said. "I see the kids and Baptist Church AtlantaHe said he has worked
the homes; the church is while he was in school, for churches with congre-
the only way to transform They were married and gations of 50 and of 5,000
them. We are responsible he was ordained at First and has done whatever
to engage and transform Baptist Atlanta. They have needed to be done, from
the community. We're the two children, a five-year- cleaning to holding leader-
seasoning, the light. The old son, who is attending ship positions in the state
transforming power is the Hubbard Elementary, and and national Baptist Con-
gospel" a two-year-old daughter, ventions.
Canup grew up in Henry Linda has worked for "My goal is to get in there
County and made acom- In Touch Ministries, the and lead the church to
mitment to God and to the worldwide outreach of reach people and impact
ministry at Eagles Land- Dr. Charles Stanley, for 15 the community, not just be
ing First Baptist when he years. She now handlesspectators" he said. "Ewe
was 16, a few months after the digital content for In sit back, others will take an
he survived a serious car Touch Ministries and is a active role."
A 5-year-old girl at Hub-
bard Elementary School is
no longer riding the school
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bus after she was apparent-
ly assaulted by a 12-year-
old girl last month.
When Monroe County
students returned to school
on Monday, Aubrey Codey
decided her family would
be taking her little girl
Briellea to and from school
after she suffered an attack
on her Monroe County
school bus on Dec. 4. The
attack made the Macon TV
news last week and went
viral. The suspect, whose Hubbard Elementary kin-
name is not being re- dergartner Briellea Corley
leased, has reportedly been shows the welts on her face
suspended from school after she got off the bus on
after she was accused of Dec. 4.
five juvenile counts for her
actions. She is slated to go
to juvenile court on Jan. 23.
The accused's 9-year-old
brother was also involved
but is autistic and was re-
portedly moved to a special
ed bus and classroom.
Corley, who lives in High
Falls, told the Reporter
that Briellea got off the
bus at home on Dec. 4
with scratches on her face.
Codey said the bus driver
began to pull away but she
ran up to him to ask what
happened. The driver told
Corley that her daughter
was slapped by another
student and assured her
that he would write up the
instigators.
Corley said her fianc6
knows the instigators'
father, who wrote them an
apology letter. She said her
child's abusers have had a
hard family background,
but said that doesn't excuse
the behavior and she's glad
the school system has ad-
dressed it.
She said she works at
Land Headquarters in
Griffin and so her daughter
has to ride the bus to get to
school.
She said she's learned that
the instigators had been
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bullying her daughter to
varying degrees for some
time, stepping on her book
bag and at one time tossing
the bag to the back of the
bus.
Corley said she's waiting
to see the bus video of the
Dec. 4 incident. She said
she thinks the bus driver
should be removed because
he allowed it to happen.
Corley said her daughter
is very loving and didn't
even fight back against the
abuse. The little girl told
Monroe County deputy
Tyler Rodgers that her as-
sailants sat on her, slapped
her, scratched her and
poked her butt. She said
she was scared of them and
so didn't tell the driver until
she got off the bus. Rodgers
reported the little girl had
cuts under her right eye,
left cheek and chin.
Gorley said her daughter
has suffered from panic at-
tacks and nightmares since
the incident. She said she's
taking her daughter to the
CARE Cottage for counsel-
ing.
School superintendent
Dr. Mike Hickman told the
Reporter they are taking
the situation seriously.
"Once administration was
aware of incident, we im-
mediately started investiga-
tion by reviewing bus tapes,
starting student discipline
process with principals of
schools, reviewed incident
per personnel protocols,
and due to serious nature
of incident, involved law
enforcement which result-
ed in juvenile charges" said
Hickman ' 11 processes are
continuing."
The school board and
sheriff's office also said
after viewing the video
they didn't think the bus
driver did anything wrong.
Interim district attorney
Elizabeth Bobbitt said she
didn't know whether she
would be able to release the
bus video since there are
juveniles on the tape.
