Culture Archives - Baptist & Reflector

RANDY DAVIS’ STATEMENT TO THE SENATE STUDY COMMITTEE

August 12, 2019

Editor’s note: The following is the full text of TBMB President and Executive Director Randy C. Davis’ statement to the Senate Study Committee delivered in support of pro-life legislation proposed in SB 1236. Full news coverage of Davis’ appearance before the committee can be found here and the audio podcast of his testimony can be found here.

It was a shocking scene. New York governor Andrew Cuomo stood at the podium defiantly poking his finger toward his audience; the audience responding with enthusiastic cheers. He had just signed into law one of the most comprehensive pro-abortion bills in our nation’s history. I thought, “God help us. That man has just signed the death sentence of thousands upon thousands of children.” I’ll never forget the disbelief, devastation, and disgust I felt in that moment. [Read more…]

DAVIS CHALLENGES LEGISLATORS TO STAND FOR LIFE

August 12, 2019

By Lonnie Wilkey
lwilkey@tnbaptist.org

TBMB President and Executive Director Randy C. Davis testifies during the Senate Study Committee, advocating senators advance SB 1236, a strongly pro-life bill that acknowledges life begins at conception. To support his position before the senators, Davis referenced the binder that has the names of more than 16,000 Tennessee Baptists and nearly 1,000 Tennessee Baptist pastors who signed the “I Stand for Life” petition over the past three weeks.
Photo: Screen shot from TN General Assembly web video.

NASHVILLE — When New York governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law one of the nation’s most comprehensive abortion laws earlier this year, he “woke a sleeping giant,” declared Randy C. Davis, president and executive director of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board.

Davis was one of five pro-life proponents who appealed to a nine-member Tennessee Senate Judiciary Summer Study Committee Aug. 12 to join thousands of Tennessee Baptists and other evangelical Christians in standing for life in the Volunteer State. Longtime observers of the Tennessee Baptist Convention believe it may be the first time that a representative of the convention has addressed Tennessee senators on a major legislative issue. (Read the full text of Randy Davis’ statement to the Senate Study Committee and the audio podcast of his testimony can be found here.)

[Read more…]

CHURCHGOERS HOLD CONFLICTING VIEWS ON THE NEED FOR OTHER CHRISTIANS

August 7, 2019

By Aaron Earls
LifeWay Christian Resources.

NASHVILLE — Protestant churchgoers say they can walk with God just fine by themselves, but they also say they need other believers to help them do it.

A LifeWay Research survey sponsored by the Center for Church Revitalization at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary finds majorities of those who attend U.S. Protestant or non-denominational churches at least monthly agree with the two sentiments that are seemingly in conflict. [Read more…]

ARE WE WISELY USING THE TIME GOD GIVES US?

August 6, 2019

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

It’s hard to believe that summer is nearly over. When I was a kid, we usually did not return to school until later in August or even after Labor Day. Now, most schools across Tennessee already have begun.

It is a reminder that time is fleeting.

We think we have plenty of time, but unfortunately, too many of us waste valuable time that God gives us, myself included. James 4 (HCSB) reminds us, “… For you are like smoke that appears for a little while, then vanishes.” [Read more…]

DAVIS URGES TENNESSEE BAPTISTS TO JOIN THE FIGHT

August 6, 2019

By David Dawson
Baptist and Reflector

FRANKLIN — In the days leading up to his appearance on the floor of the Tennessee Senate, Randy C. Davis continues to encourage Tennessee Baptists to be active participants in the “I Stand for Life” campaign.

Davis, president and executive director of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, is scheduled to address the Tennessee Senate on Monday, Aug. 12. When he does so, he plans to present the “I Stand for Life” petition to state officials. [Read more…]

AMERICANS MOST LIKELY TO FIND IDENTITY IN FAMILY AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS

July 30, 2019

By Aaron Earls
LifeWay Christian Resources

NASHVILLE — In “Overcomer,” a new film from Alex and Stephen Kendrick opening August 23, a young girl struggles to understand where her identity is grounded. Most Americans say they find their identity in relationships and achievements, according to a new study.

Nashville-based LifeWay Research asked 1,010 Americans about their sense of identity and what matters most about themselves. These are important questions to ask, said Alex Kendrick, director of “Overcomer.” [Read more…]

COOKEVILLE PREGNANCY CLINIC HELPS WOMEN CHOOSE LIFE

July 22, 2019

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector
lwilkey@tnbaptist.org

COOKEVILLE — Nancy Knowlton knows the pain and guilt associated with abortion. She has had two.

Yet, she also knows God has forgiven her, and that is the story she openly shares as the director of the Cookeville Pregnancy Clinic, a nonprofit organization that seeks to “educate, empower and encourage women and men with life choices when facing an unplanned pregnancy.” [Read more…]

TBMB LAUNCHES ‘I STAND FOR LIFE’ INITIATIVE

July 22, 2019

By Chris Turner
Director of Communications, TBMB
cturner@tnbaptist.org

FRANKLIN — Tennessee Baptists have the opportunity to “stand for life” in a new initiative launched by the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board on behalf of Tennessee Baptists.

“I Stand for Life” is a petition campaign to garner thousands of signatures from Tennessee Baptists in an effort to let Tennessee’s lawmakers know that Tennessee Baptists would like to see legislation passed that protects the lives of unborn children. The petition officially launched July 23 and can be found at istandforlife.org. [Read more…]

ANTI-ABORTION TO COMPREHENSIVELY PRO-LIFE

July 22, 2019

By Randy C. Davis
TBMB President & Executive Director

This one has always been clear cut for me. Any person with a moral compass, common sense and even a little knowledge of abortion’s horrors is against the taking of a life in the womb.

Unfortunately, we live in a culture that not only demands the right to murder these sweet gifts of God, it celebrates the murderous practice. The image is seared in my mind of celebration that followed New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s signing into law late-term abortions up to the point of birth. How perverse is that? I never want to see that celebration in Tennessee, and as Tennessee Baptists we not only have an obligation to our Lord to protect unborn children, we have an opportunity to stand and be counted for life. [Read more…]

DEALING WITH THE DOUBLE STANDARDS OF CULTURE

July 10, 2019

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector
lwilkey@tnbaptist.org

At times, culture makes no sense. We live in a society where animals are better protected than unborn children.

Yet, culture itself doesn’t even follow its own rules on unborn children.

A few weeks ago, I wrote a “Before It Hits the Press” column about a young woman (Sierra Cahoon) and her 2-year-old child who were intentionally rammed by a driver and killed. Mrs. Cahoon (whose husband Matt is an athletic trainer at Carson-Newman University in Jefferson City) was also pregnant. The unborn child died too. See the column here. [Read more…]

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