Rev. Tim Tinsley, former pastor at First Presbyterian Church, died Saturday after a hard struggle with pancreatic cancer.
Rev. Tinsley in recent months had written updates on his painful condition under the heading "Thoughts of a Dying Man."
He had resigned as pastor of the church in January 2019 as he and his wife, Laura, joined an organization to work in evangelism and mentoring in cities in the U.S.
and abroad.
Rev. Tinsley said at the time, "We are not leaving First Presbyterian, and we are not leaving Chattanooga."
He stayed on as pastor through May. The church is currently searching for his replacement.
Rev. Tinsley was just the 13th pastor of First Presbyterian Church in its long history.
He was elected pastor by the congregation just before Christmas 2009.
At the time, Judge Mickey Barker, chairman of the nine-member search committee, said. "We're excited about Rev. Tinsley. He was the senior associate at a church of about 5,000 members."
He said Park Cities is "a flagship church of the PCA."
Judge Barker said, "Rev. Tinsley is coming from one of the largest churches in America to the oldest church in Chattanooga." He noted that First Presbyterian was founded in 1840 - just after the Indian Removal.
Rev. Tinsley took the place of Dr. Mike Milton, who left in December of 2007 to become president and professor of practical theology at Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte.
The search committee interviewed a number of candidates during a year-long search in 2009.