Baptist & Reflector

Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835

SPENCER TO RUN FOR TBC PRESIDENT

Baptist and Reflector

Dan Spencer is senior pastor of First Baptist Church, Sevierville. — Photo credit: BP

FRANKLIN — Dan Spencer, senior pastor of First Baptist Church, Sevierville, will be nominated for the presidency of the Tennessee Baptist Convention when the annual meeting convenes at West Jackson Baptist Church on Nov. 10-11.

Chris Kendall, senior pastor of Oak City Baptist Church, Seymour, informed the Baptist and Reflector on Aug. 14 of his intention to nominate Spencer, who has been the pastor at First Baptist since 2011.

“Dan is the right man to lead our incredible network of Tennessee Baptist churches onward toward Great Commission cooperation and collaboration,” said Kendall. “His heart beats for reaching our neighbors and the nations with the gospel of Jesus. With years of state convention experience coupled with his pastor’s heart, Dan brings the leadership necessary to champion the convention’s strategic initiatives.” [Read more…]

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FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS DISPLAYING OF TEN COMMANDMENTS IN TEXAS

From the Baptist Paper

SAN ANTONIO — A federal district judge in San Antonio blocked implementation of a law mandating the display of a prescribed version of the Ten Commandments in every Texas public school classroom.

U.S. District Court Judge Fred Biery issued the preliminary injunction Aug. 20 in Rabbi Mara Nathan, et al, v. Alamo Heights Independent School District, et al.

Biery ruled SB 10, due to take effect Sept. 1, violates both the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment and “crosses the line from exposure to coercion.”

[Read more…]

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FROM THE PEW TO THE PULPIT

By Randy C. Davis
President & executive director, Tennessee Baptist Mission Board

Randy C. Davis

Three men. Three vocations. One shared calling.

Nathan is an emergency room nurse in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. His nursing job provides for his family. His calling is to plant a new church in the area, hopefully with some he connects with at the hospital.

Bob spends his summers as a long-haul trucker transporting explosives to northern Alaska. The trips provide his family’s annual income because Bob, a 60-year-old Master of Divinity student at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, also serves as pastor of a Baptist church in LaGrange, Kentucky.

Amos, in the Bible, was a farmer. He owned sheep and grew figs near the village of Tekoa, about 12 miles south of Jerusalem. Like Nathan and Bob, Amos worked a marketplace job while answering the calling to preach, serving as God’s prophet. His book is worth reading. [Read more…]

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TENNESCENE: AUGUST 27

EVENTS

East Hickman Baptist, in Lyles, Tenn., will have revival services Oct. 5-8.  The evangelist will be Phil Glisson of Memphis.

EDUCATION

Students heading to college can connect with Baptist Collegiate Campus Ministry through a referral link for spiritual growth, fellowship, and mission opportunities on campus. The Tennessee Baptist organization encourages families to refer incoming freshmen to help them find ministry connections at their specific campus through www.tnbaptist.org/incoming-college-freshmen.

DEATHS

Whitehead

Janie Lou Whitehead, 69, died July 30, 2025. Janie was a beloved wife, mother, and grandmother. She was a member of Hillcrest Baptist Church in Maryville, Tenn., a church of which she was proudly the first baby born. She devoted many years to teaching Sunday School and serving as a deeply involved pastor’s wife. Most recently, she found joy working at Mom’s Day Out at Mount Lebanon Baptist Church, where she lovingly cared for babies. Janie was family-oriented and passionate about hosting people and bringing them together. On a birthday, she delighted in making a customized meal, cake, and homemade ice cream. She was generous, genuine, giving, kind, and welcoming to everyone she met. Janie also loved all things purple, shopping trips, and matching her nails with her outfits. She was preceded in death by her parents Roy and Lucy Lowe, her brothers Randy and Tim Lowe, and her in-laws Robert and Josephine Whitehead. She is survived by her husband of 51 years, John Whitehead.

Hill

Rev. Harrison Henry Hill, 82, of Maryville, died after a short illness on Aug. 10, 2025. He was a devoted and faithful Christian and pastor for over 50 years. He was member of Ridge View Baptist Church. Harrison loved the Lord, his church, his kids, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. He pastored three churches in the Blount County area: Macedonia Baptist, Friendly Hill Baptist and Mountain View Baptist. Harrison worked for Hill Brothers Masonry Contractor for over 40 years with his three brothers and finally retiring from Anderson Lumber Company. He was preceded in death by parents Henry and Kate Hill; wife Nancy Lee Hill; brother Mike Hill; sisters Lucille Harkleroad and Henrietta Hill. He is survived by daughter Charlene (Brent) Bailey of Maryville; sons Duane (Kristi) Hill of Maryville and Darrell (Tammy) Hill of Knoxville.

  • New Salem Baptist Church in Soddy Daisy sponsored their annual “Operation: First Day” project. New Salem is located directly across the street from Allen Elementary School in Hamilton County. On the first day of class every year, volunteers from New Salem line up across the church parking lot holding inspirational signs to greet the kids who are in line to be dropped off at Allen school. They have received many positive comments from grateful parents who say that our presence has helped calm their child’s “first day jitters.” This project has also strengthened the church’s relationship with the staff and faculty at the school.
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BUCKNER’S BELIEF: ‘ALWAYS ENDURE!’

By Zoë Watkins
Communications specialist

Corey Buckner

FAYETTEVILLE — God gave Corey Buckner a battle cry in 2013 when he was fighting cancer: always endure.

Little did Buckner know that diagnosis would spark a mission that has grown into a multifaceted nonprofit helping children and families overcome barriers to adoption, medical care, and foster care.

“Everything we do comes from our story,” said Buckner. “The support we received during my cancer journey made a huge difference, and we wanted to reciprocate that blessing to others.”

Buckner was diagnosed with Stage 2A Hodgkin’s Lymphoma at age 27, and the community rallied to help cover his medical expenses not covered by insurance and to meet other needs. People delivered home-cooked meals, mowed his grass, and even took him to work when he was unable to drive himself during treatment weeks. [Read more…]

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BY FAITH

By Corey Buckner
Founder, Always Endure

George Müller

One of my heroes in the faith is George Müller. He lived in the 1800s and cared for 10,024 orphans in his lifetime by means of the “faith principle,” which meant he would pray to God and never directly ask another person for money.

Nor did he ever borrow money for anything. He was renowned for great faith in our Lord and peaceful trust in God’s provision, even when a deadline loomed and food was short.

The Lord has shown our family His unending faithfulness. This doesn’t mean that there have not been difficult seasons – we’ve journeyed through many and are in one currently. It means that no matter what happens today, we have decided to trust in the Lord with all our heart. We have decided to endure, to persevere, to keep moving forward in faith. We know nothing and no one can thwart His plans to glorify His Name and use our circumstances to sanctify us to be more like Him.

When we said “yes” to adopt our daughter in 2018, the Lord had to make a way where there was not a way. We did not have the additional $20,000 to pay the adoption attorney, nor did we have any of the travel expenses needed to live across the country for several weeks, all within a 48-hour deadline. [Read more…]

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TBDR ISSUES FLOOD RECOVERY CALLOUT FOR CHATTANOOGA AREA

Baptist and Reflector

FRANKLIN — Wes Jones, disaster relief specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, issued a callout on Aug. 21 for flood recovery teams who can respond to needs in the Chattanooga area.

“There are 15 open jobs that need to be filled by local or nearby teams,” Jones said in an email.

Historic rainfall inundated roads across Chattanooga in mid-August. Part of an interstate was shut down, and dozens of people were rescued from flooded homes and sinking cars, he noted. [Read more…]

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CHURCH BRANDING: IT’S ABOUT MISSION, NOT JUST LOGOS

By Scott Barkley
Baptist Press

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store restaurant in Victorville, Calif. – Getty Images

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (BP) – The brouhaha over a certain country-themed restaurant/store’s brand redesign touches on a topic that churches encounter at some point.

Words like “branding” and “marketing” can cause ministers to flinch, because there is no greater example of either than the work of the Gospel in a person’s life. But a logo is often the first visual associated with a church, and there’s a pretty simple way to know if it’s a good one.

“Someone in your congregation should want to get a cap or t-shirt with your logo on it, and wear it,” said Mark MacDonald, founder of BeKnownForSomething.com and author of the book by the same name. “It actually represents them, since they are the church.”

It goes much deeper than a shirt, though, and expands beyond the church’s walls. [Read more…]

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MAPLE GROVE MISSIONARY: PICTURE OF PERSEVERANCE, PRAYER

By Zoë Watkins
Communications specialist

A rare glimpse of Maple Grove Missionary Baptist Church’s early days, though much of their history has largely been erased by fire and time.

DICKSON — Maple Grove Missionary Baptist Church has stood the test of time through nearly 150 years of American history.

Founded in 1875 in the Sylvia area outside Charlotte (Tenn.), the church took root during Ulysses S. Grant’s presidency, the same year the Civil Rights Act was signed and Alexander Graham Bell made breakthroughs in sound transmission. It was also the year that produced beloved hymns like Fanny Crosby’s “To God Be the Glory.”

“Some folks got together and decided they wanted to form a Baptist affiliated church while the Cumberland Presbyterian Church system was being established there,” explains pastor Parks Chastain, who has led the congregation since 2020. [Read more…]

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POWELL’S CHAPEL: A LIVING LEGACY OF FAITHFULNESS

By Zoë Watkins
Communications specialist

Powell’s Chapel Baptist Church then and now: The church has undergone many changes since 1940. “It is such a blessing to be part of a church that has prevailed for 150 years,” said Cindy Phillips, whose great-great-grandmother, Callie Hood Jones, was among the 10 charter members of the church in 1875.

MURFREESBORO — The words of “How Great Thou Art” rose to the rafters of Powell’s Chapel Baptist Church on a hot Sunday morning as about 200 congregants celebrated a milestone 150 years in the making on July 27.

Women fanned themselves, children squirmed in wooden pews, and men shook hands as the small church overflowed with members marking the sesquicentennial of their beloved congregation.

“It is such a blessing to be part of a church that has prevailed for 150 years,” said Cindy Phillips, whose great-great-grandmother, Callie Hood Jones, was among the 10 charter members who established the church in 1875. [Read more…]

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Contact Information

Mail: Baptist & Reflector, P.O. Box 682789, Franklin, TN 37068
Physical Address: 4017 Rural Plains Circle, Franklin, TN 37064
Email: bandr@tnbaptist.org
Phone: 615-371-2003

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