By Kelly Norrell, Special Contributor… KNOXVILLE, Tenn.—In 1986, when the Rev. Bob Bean became the new pastor at Emerald Avenue United Methodist Church, he found an aging congregation with low morale, no youth and no youth program. Once solidly middle-class, the surrounding neighborhood near downtown Knoxville had fallen on hard times as residents fled to the suburbs. “My first Sunday, there were 70 gray-haired people in their 60s, 70s and 80s and a couple of kids,” Mr. Bean said. “The atmosphere and attitude was, ‘We’re probably going to die.’” But [...]