Hmm, Kentucky and he is a deacon in a Baptist church?
Is it a Primitive Baptist church? There are many in the Appalachians.
There is a PBC group called the "no-hellers (which is a misnomer)" who, though they don't deny the reality of hell, do not believe it is forever:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primitive_Baptist_Universalist
There are three different orders of the Primitive Baptist, because I am one, I can explain the differences of belief in some of the Primitives.
Some believe in Absolute predestnation: they belief that whatever happens no matter how good or how bad that it has to happen just exactly like everything does. For instance today I am writing this because GOD predestinated it to be, I couldn't help but write this message and every topic on this Baptist Board has already been predestinated by GOD. I guess you could say," Couldn't help it" if I wrote this.
Another group are known as the, "No Hellers." That would make Hell a non-existant place. All go to heaven regardless of what they do, either good or bad. The group I am affiliated with believe that both Heaven and Hell both exist and there wil;l be a place for the Devil and his angels. We belive in as much as most folks know as the TULIP Doctrine by interputation of the Scriptures. TULIP doctrine is not a bad belief because it is upheld in the Scriptures. so there is three different Primitive Baptist and they separate themselves to one of the three mentioned in my post.
HankD