05/29/2026
SUNDAY SCHOOL SPOTLIGHT: Fellowship Class
1. What’s your name and what do you do for a living, or what did you do if you’re retired? Describe your family.
My name is John Bradley. Prior to retirement, agronomist (education and research), I worked as a U of TN Agricultural Extension Agent in West TN and as Director of Research at the U of TN Milan Research Extension Center (22 years). My focus was addressing the tremendous soil erosion issues with No-Till Crop Production. Additionally, I served in the roles of Conservation Tillage Specialist for Monsanto (17 US cotton producing states), Director AgriCenter International, and Vice President for Research FBSciences. I also maintained a cattle farm and operation in Hardin County since 1975.
Presently, Debra and I live on the edge of Wayne County in a country setting. We have our adult children and nine grandchildren, ages ranging from 7 to 19 years old. We still own our cattle farm but have it leased.
2. What class do you teach? What demographic is this geared toward?
I teach the Fellowship Coed Class. The class is geared toward mature adults basically age 50 and over, but we welcome any aged person or couple.
3. What curriculum do you teach from? Why did you choose this particular one?
We have been studying chapter by chapter Paul’s letters to the Romans, Corinthians, and Galatians. Presently I am focused on teaching a series entitled the "Soil of Our Soul." I chose it because I am an agronomist and parallel soil with our Christian souls. Amazing the similarities!
4. Describe what an average Sunday looks like in your class.
The average attendance is low of 4 to a high of 12 to 20 people. Most bring their Bibles and follow closely. There's moderate verbal participation, but I’m working on more participation. I really want to grow the class and have invited numerous people to Sunday School, but they seem to be landing in the larger classes. Many of our members' spouses teach other classes.
5. What do you hope attendees get out of your class?
I hope the attendees will be better able to relate and apply the Scripture to their everyday life and grow their Christianity.