Baptist & Reflector

Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835

TENNESSEE BAPTIST DR COMPLETES WORK IN KENTUCKY

By Baptist and Reflector

MOUNT JULIET — Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief teams are concluding their work in Carrie, Ky., after assisting flood victims for six weeks.

Tennessee teams have completed 175 jobs and teams are finishing up another 11 demolitions, said Wes Jones, disaster relief specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board.

“Going from working tornados in Ohio to helping folks in Kentucky recover from massive flooding, Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers have done an incredible job of serving Kentuckians and sharing Christ,” he said.

In addition to helping with flood recovery, Tennessee teams presented the gospel as they worked. “We praise God most of all that in the midst of tragedy, we were blessed to see 21 people enter the kingdom of God through trusting Christ as Savior,” Jones said. [Read more…]

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GREENWAY NOT GOING TO IMB

By BP staff

NASHVILLE — In a post to Twitter on Sept. 28, former Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary president Adam W. Greenway announced that he would not be moving to a new position with the International Mission Board.

“Carla and I are grateful for the many expressions of care and concern that have come our way since our transition from service at @SWBTS was first announced,” he wrote.

“While we initially thought our path would take us to the @IMB_SBC, we have not been able to find the Lord’s peace to move forward in that direction. We covet your prayers for ourselves and for our children as we seek the Lord’s direction regarding His next vocational assignment for us.” [Read more…]

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IMB: THE PIPELINE’S GROWING, BUT SO IS THE NEED

By Myriah Snyder
IMB news writer

Nurse Donna Storey checks a patient’s blood pressure during a free medical clinic at a church in Chincha, Peru. Storey was a volunteer on a mission trip with a group of Christian medical workers from Rome, Ga. — IMB Photo

RICHMOND — Four years ago, 300 candidates waited in IMB’s missionary pipeline, considering a call to the nations.

That pipeline just surpassed the 1,100 mark, the highest in decades. This means that more than 1,100 individuals have started a process to help solve the world’s greatest problem — lostness — by becoming a missionary with the IMB.

When IMB President Paul Chitwood came into his role four years ago, he knew something needed to change. Due to those who begin the application process compared to those who complete the process, it takes 900 candidates in the pipeline to produce 250 missionaries.

With natural attrition such as retirements, completion of service and resignations, 300 additional missionaries are needed each year to simply keep the number of missionaries the IMB has on the field stable. [Read more…]

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SCRIPTURE, NOT CULTURE, HAS THE ANSWERS

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

Lonnie Wilkey

Pew Research recently released a report that predicts Christians will comprise less than 50 percent of the population of the United States by 2050 (see full story at baptistandreflector.org under the SBC tab). 

That projection may be optimistic. If you add the number of Christians who sometimes forget who they serve to those who absolutely reject Christianity, Christians may already be in a minority. 

And, even if Christians are still truly a majority in America, it’s apparent that we are having less impact on non-Christians than culture/society is having. 

On page four of this issue is a report from Lifeway Research on the State of Theology in America. The full report also can be found on our website. Quite frankly, it is discouraging. 

COVID-19 did a lot of damage to Americans both physically in the large numbers of people who suffered with the disease and the thousands upon thousands of people who died, and mentally as well.  [Read more…]

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OCT. 2: NO ESCAPE

By Dustin Allman
Pastor, The Fort Church, Kingsport

Focal Passage: Jonah 1:15-2:10 

Sunday School Lessons explore the bibleEvery believer in Christ has a testimony. And all of them are great! No matter the background or condition of a person before they met Christ, one thing every believer has in common — we were dead in our sin! 

Not half-dead, or a little dead, but dead-dead. Spiritually dead! But God made us alive! 

I don’t have a testimony of salvation that would make most people’s hair stand up, shed tears, or juicy enough to make a TBN documentary. But God rescued me from death and has declared me righteous because of Jesus! 

However, I do have quite a story of my “call” to pastoral ministry. To make that long story short, I ran from God’s call on my life to pursue pastoral ministry. I grew up as a pastor’s kid. My grandfather was a pastor. Two of my great-grandfathers were pastors. That’s a lot of pastors in the family and I didn’t want to be just another one. But God outran me.  [Read more…]

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OCT. 2: FAITH ON DISPLAY IN FACING THE ENEMY

By Kevin Shrum
Pastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, Nashville

Sunday School Lesson Bible Studies For LifeFocal Passage: James 4:1-10 

“Enemy love” is one of the most difficult biblical truths to embrace. It is difficult to turn the other cheek and walk the second mile, especially when you’re being abused and misunderstood. 

“Enemy love” has become particularly difficult in our hyper-political age where anyone on the ‘other side’ of an issue is our enemy. Polarization is not THE issue, demonization is. Jesus declared in the Sermon on the Mount that we are not to return evil for evil (Matthew. 5:38-42) and we are to love and pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:43-48).  [Read more…]

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CHITWOOD SAYS GREENWAY TO BRING ‘INVALUABLE’ EXPERIENCE TO IMB

By Scott Barkley
Baptist Press

IMB Building

NASHVILLE — Former Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary president Adam Greenway is joining the International Mission Board in a role that “will be focused on training missionaries to address the greatest problem in the world: spiritual lostness,” according to an entity spokesperson today.

Greenway made his resignation official Sept. 23 after several hours of online speculation overnight. He had been president of Southwestern since February 2019.

IMB President Paul Chitwood, who was executive director of the Kentucky Baptist Convention when Greenway served as state president from 2011-12, welcomed Greenway aboard.

“Having known Adam for many years, I was confident he would approach his work at the seminary with the Great Commission at the forefront. He has done just that. His years of experience in seminary classrooms, as dean of the Billy Graham School of Missions and Evangelism at Southern Seminary and as president of our seminary in Ft. Worth, will be invaluable to the IMB as we are in a season of growing our reach among the nations by deploying and developing Southern Baptists’ missionaries.” [Read more…]

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TBDR READIES FOR HURRICANE IAN RESPONSE

By Baptist and Reflector

MOUNT JULIET — Tennessee Baptists Disaster Relief volunteers have been placed on alert status for possible deployment to Florida in response to Hurricane Ian.

As of early afternoon on Sept. 26, Hurricane Ian is projected to pose a danger to western Cuba before it hits Florida, according to The Weather Channel. In addition, the news report said a hurricane watch has been issued for Florida’s west coast, including Tampa Bay.

ABC News reported that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has declared a “state of emergency” for the entire state. [Read more…]

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GREENWAY RESIGNS FROM SWBTS CITING SCHOOL’S LEGAL / FINANCIAL CHALLENGES

File photo / Baptist Press

FORT WORTH, Texas — Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary announced Sept. 23 that president Adam W. Greenway has resigned from his post effective immediately, citing financial and legal challenges the seminary faces as motivations for his resignation. The announcement follows an all-day meeting of the executive committee of the seminary’s board of trustees and the seminary administration on Sept. 22.

According to a statement released by Greenway, he stated, “Carla and I accepted the call to come back ‘home’ to Southwestern Seminary with an understanding of these challenges, but also with the strong desire to be part of the solution. What we failed to appreciate was the enormity of the reputational, legal, and financial realities that would welcome us to the Dome.”

Danny Roberts, chairman of the board of trustees and executive pastor at North Richland Hills Baptist Church, expressed the board’s “deepest appreciation” for Greenway’s three-plus years of service to his alma mater.

“He came to Southwestern Seminary during a difficult time of transition and has worked tirelessly to lead the institution to serve well the churches of the Southern Baptist Convention,” Roberts said of Greenway. “Among his other accomplishments, President Greenway has assembled an impressive faculty of scholar-ministers who are daily impacting the lives of their students. He also provided steady leadership during the COVID pandemic, which dramatically altered the delivery of theological education.” [Read more…]

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THE COSTLINESS OF FORGIVENESS

By Todd E. Brady
Vice president for University Ministries, Union University, Jackson

Recently, President Joe Biden announced that he would erase student debt up to $10,000 for every person making less than $125,000 in income. For those who receive a Pell Grant, their debt elimination would rise to $20,000. 

The decision by the president to unilaterally spend $330-$800 billion of taxpayers’ money will have tremendous implications. Some say that those implications will be beneficial. Others say they will be detrimental to the economy.  

According to a statement on the White House web page, “President Biden, Vice President Harris, and the U.S. Department of Education have announced a three-part plan to help working and middle-class federal student loan borrowers transition back to regular payment as pandemic-related support expires. This plan includes loan forgiveness of up to $20,000.” [Read more…]

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