Based on analytics from the B&R Website, here’s a list of stories that garnered the most views in the past 12 months:
1. PLATT APOLOGIZES TO SOUTHERN BAPTISTS
David Platt
Posted: Feb. 17, 2017
Written by: Lonnie Wilkey, B&R Editor
ONTARIO, Calif. – David Platt, president of the Southern Baptist International Mission Board, issued an apology to Southern Baptists on Feb. 15 for the IMB’s involvement in an amicus brief last summer. Platt apologized during a meeting of the Association of State Baptist Publications held in Ontario, Calif. He also apologized to Baptist state convention executive directors during their session on the same day. In May of 2016, the IMB, along with the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, signed an amicus brief in support of a mosque to be built in New Jersey. The action, which was done without the knowledge of IMB trustees, led Tennessee pastor Dean Haun of First Baptist Church, Morristown, to resign as a trustee. “I grieve how the amicus brief in the recent mosque case has been so divisive and distracting,” Platt told editors, adding that his purpose in bringing it up “is not to debate religious liberty” but to say he wants the IMB to remain focused on its mission.
2. OPEN LETTER TO ABSENT CHURCH MEMBERS
Posted: March 14, 2017
Written by: By Daryl Cornett, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Hazard, Ky.
FRANKLIN – In an open letter to absent church members, Daryl Cornett, the pastor of First Baptist Church in Hazard, Ky., said, “This letter is not to fuss or to shame … (and) I’ll never rant in the pulpit about your absenteeism. But I want you to know how much I care about you. I want you to understand that my greatest joy would be to see you love God and His church. …You’re part of the flock God has entrusted to me, and every sheep is precious. You’re not just a number. God loves you and so do I. … I pray that if you truly know Christ, that you’ll come to your senses like the prodigal son and run home to your heavenly Father who stands with open arms.”
3. TBMB RECEIVES REPORT ON CARSON-NEWMAN
Posted: Sept. 13, 2017
Written by: Lonnie Wilkey, B&R Editor
FRANKLIN – The board of directors of the TBMB was informed in mid-September of an action by Carson-Newman University board of trustees to “incorporate the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message and the Preamble as part of the standards and regulations concerning the operations of the university.” The directors also heard the response of their Partner Ministries Committee (PMC) which had been in dialogue with C-N officials during the past year: “The Partner Ministries Committee of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board appreciates and receives the positive response of the Carson-Newman University board of trustees toward our concerns,” the PMC said.
4. TBC COMMITTEE PREPARES FOR ISSUE REGARDING SEATING OF MESSENGERS
Posted: Oct. 24, 2017
Written by: Lonnie Wilkey, B&R Editor
FRANKLIN – Roughly three weeks prior to Tennesee Baptist Convention’s annual meeting, the B&R reported that “messengers to the annual meeting possibly (would) decide if churches with women pastors can have messengers seated.” The article noted that “the Tennessee Baptist Convention’s Committee on Credentials met Oct. 18 and agreed that a church with a woman senior pastor does not fit the definition of a “cooperating church” as defined by convention bylaws. If a church with a woman senior pastor tries to register messengers, the request will be denied, but the decision to seat messengers from the church ultimately will be decided by a vote by messengers.”
In a follow-up article in mid-November, during the annual meeting, the B&R reported that messengers of the Tennessee Baptist Convention had voted overwhelmingly to not seat messengers from First Baptist Church, Jefferson City. First Baptist attempted to register seven messengers, including new pastor Ellen Di Giosia, who has been in the position since Aug. 1. Di Giosia and messengers met with the media following the vote, and she provided a statement in which she acknowledged that while “some spoke to oppose this action, a majority vote of the messengers speaks on behalf of the entire fellowship of churches, according to Baptist polity. Therefore, our church is no longer a part of the Tennessee Baptist Convention.” She went on to say “this was not a fight or a battle. It’s a disagreement between brothers and sisters in Christ.”
5. KNOXVILLE CHURCH BAPTIZES 105 NEW BELIEVERS
Posted: May 3, 2017
Written by: Lonnie Wilkey, B&R Editor
KNOXVILLE – The B&R reported that Faith Promise Church in Knoxville baptized 105 new believers on Sunday, April 23. The baptisms came following 331 professions of faith between April 12 and Easter Sunday, April 16. During that time frame the church held 42 services in eight locations, said Pastor Chris Stephens, who noted 16,432 people attended the services. Services were held April 23 on eight campuses, including two prisons in Morgan County and Bledsoe County. “We had 105 people transformed. It was a glorious weekend,” Stephens said.
6. VEGAS SHOOTING IMPACTS WEST TN CHURCH
Posted: Oct. 2, 2017
Written by: Chris Turner, TBMB Director of Communications
FRANKLIN – A West Tennessee Baptist church felt the blow of the mass shooting at a Las Vegas concert when it learned one of the victims was Sonny Melton, 29, who grew up in Big Sandy and attended Ramble Creek Baptist Church (Western District Association). He was killed when he was struck by gun fire while shielding his wife, Heather Melton. “It’s rocked this whole community,” said Jim Twilbeck, director of missions for the Western District Association.
7. FBC, MORRISTOWN, ADOPTS GIVING OPTIONS
Posted: Oct. 2, 2017
Written by: Lonnie Wilkey, Editor, B&R
MORRISTOWN – First Baptist Church, Morristown, developed a plan to continue financially supporting worldwide missions after the church had previously announced it would escrow Cooperative Program funds in response to a decision by two Southern Baptist Convention entities last year to sign an amicus brief in support of a New Jersey mosque. Randy C. Davis, president and executive director of the TBMB, affirmed the autonomy of the local church.
8. TENNESSEE PASTOR RESIGNS AS IMB TRUSTEE
Posted: Oct. 2, 2017
Written by: Lonnie Wilkey, Editor, B&R
FRANKLIN – Dean Haun, pastor of First Baptist Church, Morristown, resigned as a trustee of the Southern Baptist Convention’s International Mission Board in response to an action taken by IMB leadership in the summer of 2016. He had another year to serve on his present term, but he told the Baptist and Reflector his resignation was in response to the IMB’s May 2016 decision to sign an amicus brief in support of a mosque to be built in New Jersey.
9. WHY PLATT’S APOLOGY IS SO IMPORTANT
Posted: Oct. 2, 2017
Written by: Chris Turner, TBMB Director of Communications
FRANKLIN – Early in 2017, TBMB director of communications Chris Turner wrote an opinion piece in which he examined the impact of David Platt’s apology for the amicus brief the IMB offered last summer in support of the building of a New Jersey mosque. Turner said many pastors felt the IMB leadership went beyond its denominationally assigned purpose in filing the legal brief and created an unnecessary distraction, thus creating the need for Platt’s apology.
10. A PLEA FOR UNITY AND COOPERATION
FRANKLIN – TBMB Executive Director Randy C. Davis wrote an opinion column in February in which he stated, “There is a litany of issues causing the increasing tension that seemingly permeates every conversation taking place across our denomination and we no longer have the luxury of pretending there isn’t a problem. … The division has to stop – now. This is my plea for unity and cooperation.” Davis called on church leaders to set the tone: “I believe pride and a lack of humility are fueling the division and we’ll never get to unity and cooperation if we don’t address them. These are obviously sins against which all Christians must wage war, but leaders must take the point.”
