Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835
From B&R, wire reports
MOUNT JULIET – Even as the Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief teams continue their efforts in Texas to provide aid for those effected by Hurricane Harvey, additional teams are standing ready to provide assistance in Florida following Hurricane Irma.
Wes Jones, the disaster relief specialist for the TBMB, said on Thursday, Sept. 14, that officials in Florida are “in the process of setting up locations for response and deciding where those will be.” [Read more…]
Compiled from IMB website
RIDGECREST, N.C. – Trustees of the Southern Baptist International Mission Board have given approval for President David Platt to serve as teaching pastor of McLean Bible Church in McLean, Va., in addition to his duties with the IMB.
Approval was given during the IMB board of trustee meeting held Sept. 11-13 at Ridgecrest (N.C) Baptist Conference Center.
By Ben W. Curtis
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Tracy City
Focal Passage: Exodus 7:1-13
As parents, we tell our kids not to play in the street. There are laws of the road we must follow, such as speed limits and seat belt laws. Construction workers have safety protocol they must heed. Refusing to heed instructions in any of these situations could lead to serious injury or even death. While hearing and obeying are important in all aspects of life, they’re essential when it comes to God’s Word. [Read more…]
By Nathan Washburn
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Greenbrier
Focal Passage: Mark 9:17-29
Demons believe in God. They are not atheists (who claim there is no God), and they are not agnostics (who claim that we can’t know whether there’s a God). No, demons are monotheists — they know and believe there is one God — and they even fear him. “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe — and shudder!” (James 2:19). However, while they believe in Him and fear Him, they also hate Him. They can’t stand Him, and they are against everything He’s for. [Read more…]
From staff reports
Baptist and Reflector
As the updates and images continue to emerge from the destruction caused by Hurricane Harvey, many Baptists in Tennessee are looking for ways to help aid the relief effort.
Wes Jones, disaster relief specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, wrote a letter to Tennessee Baptist Churches that outlines ways in which churches can get involved. The letter, which can be viewed below, was sent to pastors and church secretaries across the state. [Read more…]
From Union University News Office
JACKSON, Tenn. — Union University president Samuel W. “Dub” Oliver and three other Union faculty members were initial signers of the Nashville Statement released Aug. 29 that affirms biblical teaching on issues pertaining to gender and sexuality.
The statement, released by the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, counts among its initial signatories such evangelical leaders as John Piper, D.A. Carson, R. Albert Mohler Jr., James Dobson, Russell Moore, Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth, Steve Gaines and dozens of others. [Read more…]
Baptist Press
Francine, left, and Laura with a family photo album
BARTLESVILLE, Okla. — Francine Perry and her daughter Laura recently sat down to look at family photos. As they reflected on the good times, they also could see how God was at work, especially through the difficult times — and there were many of those.
On the heels of rebellious teenage years, Laura lived as a transgender man for nearly a decade of her adult life. Other than her family and select friends, though, most people just knew Laura as “Jake.” [Read more…]
By SBC staff
The “1% Challenge” is simply a request to every Southern Baptist pastor and every Southern Baptist church to increase their Cooperative Program gifts by one percent of their church’s undesignated contributions.
Frank S. Page, president of the Executive Committee, issued this challenge during the Executive Committee report at the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. He said, “To do better what we’re doing together, we’re asking you… we challenge you, we encourage you to raise your Cooperative Program support. Would you do that? One percent? Next year?”
During his report, he noted that though the dollar amount contributed through the Cooperative Program has increased fourteen of the past twenty years, a twenty-year decline in percentage of funds forwarded by local churches through the Cooperative Program was a reflection of a much larger cause for concern. He said, “We’ve been headed in the wrong direction in several ways. In 1989 our gifts to total missions expenditures were 16.5 percent of our total receipts [average per church]. Twenty years later, in 2009, our gifts to total missions expenditures had declined to 12.3 percent. That’s a 4.25 percent drop in missions giving. Did you hear me? I’m not even talking about the Cooperative Program, I’m talking about missions expenditures… that is not right! [Read more…]
