Baptist & Reflector

Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835

BCM – REACHING THE NEXT GENERATION

BCM mobilizes believers, trains leaders, influences campuses

By Bill Choate
bchoate@tnbaptist.org

(Left to right): Hattie Zhang, Hannah Lee, Tori Qualls and Ashley Rivera get together for a selfie during a Baptist Collegiate Ministry event. The four students, all Vanderbilt graduates, are among the roughly 5,000 students in Tennessee who are impacted by BCM each year.

I looked across Mark Whitt’s desk at MTSU Baptist Collegiate Ministry office and asked, “What are the blue cards?” Mark, BCM Campus Minister, said all 750 were contact information cards from new students coming to MTSU.

They were gathered by Mark and student leaders over a summer of on-campus student orientation events.

Of the approximately 4,500 new students on campus at MTSU this fall, BCM already has touched and gathered contact information from 750. School hasn’t even started! [Read more…]

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DEATH, DYING EXAMINED BY STATE BAPTIST NEWSPAPER

By Grace Thornton
Baptist Press

GREENVILLE, S.C. — In 37 years as a pastor, Rudy Gray sat at the bedside of many terminally ill church members. He stood at gravesides with many grieving families. He sought to speak comforting words — at least he hopes they were comforting. [Read more…]

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DR CELEBRATES 40TH ANNIVERSARY

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

Wes Jones, disaster relief specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, participated in the 40th anniversary of Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief along with former state DR directors David Acres, left, and Tim Bearden, right.

MOUNT JULIET  — Nearly 300 volunteers from every area of the state flocked to the Missions Mobilization Center in Mount Juliet July 14 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief.

“We’re here today because for 40 years Tennessee Baptists have been responding in a united, cooperative manner to disaster,” observed Wes Jones, disaster relief specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board.

“From earthquakes to tsunamis, from floods to fires, from tornados to ice storms and terrorist attacks, the men and women of Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief have shown up to assist,” he continued. [Read more…]

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CARSON-NEWMAN’S O’BRIEN ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

Randall O’Brien

JEFFERSON CITY — Randall O’Brien, president of Carson-Newman University in Jefferson City since 2008, has announced his plans to retire, effective Dec. 31, 2018.

O’Brien celebrated his 10th anniversary as Carson-Newman’s 22nd president on July 8.

O’Brien was elected by the university’s trustees in July of 2008 and began transitioning to the position in August of that year. He didn’t officially join the college until Jan. 1, 2009. A native of McComb, Miss., O’Brien was executive vice president and provost at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, at the time of his election. [Read more…]

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FAITH SUSTAINS MAJOR LEAGUE DRAFT PICK

By Bill Sorrell
Contributing writer, B&R

Jonathan Bowlan fires a pitch while playing for the University of Memphis. Bowlan, a member of Bellevue Baptist Church, Cordova, was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in this year’s Major League baseball draft. — Photo courtesy of University of Memphis Athletics

MEMPHIS —  When pro scouts began showing up at University of Memphis baseball games this spring, Jonathan Bowlan’s teammates started calling him “draft guy.” He would answer, “We’ll see.” [Read more…]

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YOUTH LEARN LIFE LESSONS ON TRIP TO GUATEMALA

By David Dawson
Baptist and Reflector
ddawson@tnbaptist.org

Ethan Stacy, of First Baptist Church, Manchester, interacts with the boys and girls during the missions trip to Guatemala. TBMB youth ministry specialist Bruce Edwards said the youth on the trip who knew how to play guitar were instantly “rock stars” with the children.

FRANKLIN — The concept of “giving the shirt off your back” played out in an almost literal sense for a group of roughly 40 students and leaders who recently traveled to Guatemala for a week-long mission trip sponsored by the Youth Evangelism Conference and the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board.

“Many of the kids left for the trip with a suitcase packed full of clothes, and came home with a virtually empty suitcase,” said Bruce Edwards, youth ministry specialist at the TBMB. “We asked them to bring clothes that they would be willing to donate to the underprivileged in Guatemala, and I think the experience of doing that was very meaningful for many of the kids.” [Read more…]

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