Baptist & Reflector

Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835

WAFFLE HOUSE KILLER ARRESTED FOLLOWING ‘SCARY’ SUNDAY

NASHVILLE (BP) — With the lone suspect in a Nashville mass shooting still on the loose Sunday morning, area churches tightened security and heightened their focus on prayer.

“It was a scary thing to a lot of our people,” said Cathey Williams, the ministry

assistant at Hickory Hollow Baptist Church, which is less than two miles from a Waffle House where Travis Reinking is accused of killing four people and injuring four others shortly after 3 a.m. April 22.

After a Waffle House customer wrestled away Reinking’s AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, the suspected gunman fled seminude and likely armed, according to police. Some 160 law enforcement officials searched the area for more than 24 hours before Reinking, 29, was arrested today (April 23). [Read more…]

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AN IMPORTANT HIRE

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

In February, the International Mission Board learned that President David Platt was returning to the pastorate, so trustees are in the process of searching for a successor. This will be an important hire because the individual will be leading Southern Baptists’ largest missions-sending organization.

But just recently another SBC leadership position opened that is just as, if not more, important.

Frank Page resigned as president and chief executive office of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee in March after acknowledging “a morally inappropriate relationship in the recent past.”

Before it Hits the PressThe person who replaces Frank Page just may be the most important hire the Southern Baptist Convention will have in the next decade, even more important than the next leader of the International Mission Board.

Why? Because the president and CEO of the Executive Committee will be the face of Southern Baptists. He will be the most important cheerleader and advocate of the Cooperative Program. He will be the person who will work with state convention leadership to help promote the Cooperative Program, which funds every level of an Acts 1:8 strategy, enabling Southern Baptists to reach people for Christ across the street, in their states, and around the world.

Lonnie Wilkey

Unfortunately, I am not convinced that every SBC entity head has totally bought into the concept of cooperation and the Cooperative Program. They may give lip service, but most seem more interested in their own entity, rather than the best interests of Southern Baptists as a whole.

I hope I’m wrong, but that’s what I have observed from afar in recent years.

It is imperative that the next leader of the SBC Executive Committee be 100 percent totally supportive of the Cooperative Program. He must understand the importance of Baptist state conventions in the life of the convention and welcome them as equal partners. Without everyone on board for the Cooperative Program, we will eventually drift back to the old societal method of giving. That would be a tragedy.

Pray for the search committee for the new EC president and CEO. They have a tremendous job ahead of them. Pray that will totally seek the person God has in mind for this position. Personal agendas must be set aside. Too much is at stake for the future of the denomination.

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GOTM GIFTS FALLING SHORT OF GOAL, NEEDS

Baptist & Reflector 

FRANKLIN — With just over four months to go in the 2017-18 Golden Offering for Tennessee Missions year, gifts are running 4.75 percent behind the same point last year. This leaves the offering about 18 percent short of the $1.925 million goal. [Read more…]

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PRAYER MADE A DIFFERENCE, BEARDEN AFFIRMS

May 20 is set as the second annual day of prayer for Tennessee Baptist Conference Centers

By David Dawson
Baptist and Reflector

FRANKLIN — Tim Bearden said last year was a good start.

Now, he is hoping for even greater participation — and more impactful results — during the second annual Day of Prayer for the Tennessee Baptist Conference Centers.

Bearden, the TBMB’s conference centers senior manager, is encouraging churches across Tennessee to “pray with expectation” for the two conference centers — located in Carson Springs and Linden Valley — when the second installment of the Day of Prayer is held on Sunday, May 20.  [Read more…]

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BAPTISTS RALLY AROUND HISPANIC FAMILIES

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

David Williams, pastor of Hillcrest Baptist Church, Morristown, speaks during a prayer rally for Hispanic families affected by a recent raid at a Bean Station slaughterhouse.
— Photos by William Burton for the Baptist and Reflector

BEAN STATION — Tennessee Baptists are ministering to families affected by the raid on a Bean Station slaughterhouse on April 5.

Federal agents raided Southeastern Provisions, a cattle slaughterhouse in Grainger County, as part of a probe on allegations that the company was paying undocumented immigrants cash to avoid paying $2.5 million in payroll taxes over the past three years, according to the Knoxville News-Sentinel.

Of the more than 95 employees who were detained until their immigration status was verified, approximately 54 have been held for possible deportation due to their undocumented status, according to news reports. Those who have been released still face court dates and possible deportation, sources said. [Read more…]

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TRAGEDY LEADS PASTOR’S WIFE TO SHARE STORY

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

Kim Harmon

GREENBRIER — By her own admission, Kim Harmon led a “fairy tale” life.

She was reared in a pastor’s home and later married and became a pastor’s wife.

And even though she had chosen a career in law enforcement which can have its “ups and downs,” Harmon had not experienced a true crisis in her life.

At least not until she received a phone call on Jan. 10, 2010 that would change not only her life, but the life of her family as well. [Read more…]

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WHY AREN’T CHURCHES HAVING REVIVALS?

Tennessee Baptist vocational evangelists offer their opinions on revivals and evangelism

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

Tennessee Baptist evangelists, who were part of a meeting in Jackson recently to discuss the future of vocational evangelism, included, from left, Jerry Drace, Jackson; Ron Herrod, Sevierville; Keith Cook, Springfield; Phil Glisson, Memphis; and Richard Hamlet, Memphis.

JACKSON — In a day when the word “revival” is making a comeback, usually in the secular sense, fewer and fewer Southern Baptist churches are having multi-day revivals. And, even one-day “harvest revivals” aren’t as in demand as they once were. As a result, the number of vocational evangelists across the Southern Baptist Convention has dropped significantly over the past four decades.

The question is why?

Approximately 15 Southern Baptist vocational evangelists met in early March to discuss their profession and calling from God. Among them were five evangelists from Tennessee with a combined 173 years of experience in vocational evangelism — Phil Glisson, Memphis; Jerry Drace, Jackson; Keith Cook, Springfield; Ron Herrod, Sevierville; and Richard Hamlet, Memphis. [Read more…]

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GIVING A PART OF PASTOR’S, CHURCH’S DNA

Editor’s Note: View the Cooperative Program video featuring David Green at the end of this article.

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

David Green

GREENEVILLE — First Baptist Church, Greeneville, has been giving through the Cooperative Program since the Southern Baptist funding channel was established in 1926.

First Baptist currently gives 13 percent of its undesignated receipts through the Cooperative Program, said David Green, who has served as pastor of the East Tennessee congregation for 18 years.

“Giving is part of the DNA of our Baptist family here,” Green explained. “If there’s a need, we’re going to give to it. If there’s an opportunity to expand our missions reach, we’re going to give through that opportunity,” he continued. [Read more…]

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