Baptist & Reflector

Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835

ECLIPSE ‘BUZZ’ SPURS GOSPEL WITNESS BY CHURCHES

By David Roach
Baptist Press

A map of the United States showing the path of totality for the August 21, 2017 total solar eclipse. -Image: NASA

NASHVILLE (BP) — When the sun goes dark Aug. 21 during a total solar eclipse, churches from Oregon to South Carolina will use the event as an opportunity to illumine their communities with the Gospel.

The first total eclipse visible from the U.S. since 1979, this month’s cosmic event will occur when the moon passes between the sun and the earth and blocks the sun, according to NASA’s total eclipse website. Everyone in the contiguous U.S. will be able to see at least a partial eclipse. But the 70-mile-wide “path of totality,” in which a total eclipse will be visible, will pass through 14 states. [Read more…]

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SBC PHOENIX: REGISTRATION TOTAL FINALIZED, COSTS DOWN

By David Roach
Baptist Press

Steve Gaines, president of the Southern Baptist Convention, helps lead worship during SBC’s annual meeting in Phoenix.
-Photo by Matt Miller

PHOENIX (BP) — Data compiled following the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Phoenix indicates more messengers than 2011, the last time the convention was held in Phoenix, and a net annual meeting cost reduction of some $800,000 since that time.

Nominees elected to boards and committees were notable for their ethnic diversity, Cooperative Program support and representation of churches with 250 members or fewer.

Registration

A total of 5,015 messengers attended the 2017 Phoenix annual meeting, falling short of the 2016 annual meeting messenger count of 7,321, registration secretary Don Currence has announced. Registration exceeded the 2011 Phoenix total of 4,852 messengers. [Read more…]

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LINDEN VALLEY HAD LIFELONG IMPACT ON 5-YEAR-OLD

By Courtney Shaw
Summer Intern, Linden Valley

Melissa Russell, center, attended Journey Weekend Camp earlier this year as a sponsor with her daughter, Brianna, right, and Nikki Anspach.

LINDEN  — Most campers do not have the opportunity to attend Linden Valley Baptist Conference Center at the age of 5.

Melissa Russell did and it has had an impact on her life ever since.

When Russell was 5 years old, her mother taught Mission Friends at Northside Baptist Church in Columbia. One night the lesson focused on missions in China and her mother served Chinese food, a first for the 5-year-old. “We had never had that. It was weird spaghetti,” she recalled. [Read more…]

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FAITH CONTINUES TO SUSTAIN RUTH MARTIN

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

Ruth Martin holds melted glass that contains items from her Gatlinburg home that was destroyed by the fire on Nov. 28, 2016.
— Photos by Corinne Williams

GATLINBURG — Ruth Martin is not likely to ever forget Nov. 28, 2016. That’s the day she became homeless.

The 91-year-old widow of a Tennessee Baptist pastor left her home of 40-plus years that night with just the clothes she wore.

As fire surrounded her home atop a mountain road overlooking the city of Gatlinburg, she and her son and daughter (who also had houses on the property) did what has come naturally over the years — they prayed.

With their cars blocked by fallen trees, they did not know if they could even get off the mountain. Martin’s daughter, Debbie Gillespie, said she prayed, “Lord, if you want us off this mountain, you will have to send someone to get us.” A moment after that prayer, she saw the headlights of a truck just a few houses down the mountain. [Read more…]

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KNOXVILLE IMPACTED THROUGH CITY REACH

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

A special treat for the children who attended Camp Journey at Beaver Dam Baptist Church in Knoxville last week was the helicopter from the local Sheriff’s Department which made a guest appearance. Tim Hopkins, center in blue shirt, directs the children. The camp was part of City Reach Knoxville.
— Photo by Corinne Williams

KNOXVILLE — Last November messengers to the annual meeting of the Tennessee Baptist Convention overwhelmingly adopted City Reach, an effort to reach the five largest metropolitan areas in the state — Knoxville, Nashville, Memphis, Clarksville, and Chattanooga.

Because Summit was in East Tennessee last year, Knoxville was chosen as the first city. Tennessee Baptists are responding well, according to leaders in the city and the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board.

“City Reach has had a significant impact on the churches that are part of our network,” observed Phil Young, director of missions for the Knox County Association of Baptists. “We have seen partnerships formed that have encouraged and enabled churches to connect with their communities in ways that have helped move people toward a relationship with Christ and the local church,” he said. [Read more…]

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TRANSFORMED LIFE BEGAN WITH INVITATION

By David Dawson
Baptist and Reflector

Jay Binkley sits in the pew where he accepted Christ at Highland Park Baptist Church in Columbia. He attended the service because he was invited by a church member.

COLUMBIA — Stroking his long, gray beard and pausing occasionally to collect his emotions, Jay Binkley shares his story about how he came to know Jesus.

It’s a modern-day Road-to-Damascus narrative, complete with the persecution of Christians — at least those who dared to come onto Binkley’s property.

“I wasn’t a good man,” said Binkley. “I had an attitude toward people: I didn’t like them. And for years, I didn’t want to have anything to do with God.”  [Read more…]

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CHURCHES TACKLE HUMAN TRAFFICKING

By David Dawson
Baptist and Reflector

BRENTWOOD — With an urgent desire to fulfill the biblical principle of bringing light to dark places, a large collection of churches in the mid-state area has become actively involved in the battle against one of the country’s most horrific problems: human trafficking.

In addition to raising awareness of the issue, the churches are immersing themselves in each area of the problem, including the rescue and reintegration of the victims and the prevention of future crimes through community assessments.

Many of the churches are following the guidelines that are outlined in a curriculum called Engage Together, an initiative developed by the Alliance of Freedom, Restoration and Justice, Inc. (based in Smithville).
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VOLUNTEERS REBUILD ROARING FORK BAPTIST

Editor’s Note: You can listen to Kim McCroskey discuss the fire that destroyed Roaring Fork Baptist Church last November and the current rebuilding process during Episode 10 of Radio B&R, the official news podcast of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board.

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

Rebuilding efforts are in full swing at Roaring Fork Baptist Church in Gatlinburg. Volunteers for Builders for Christ have been busy since May helping to build a new sanctuary and family life center at Roaring Fork Baptist.

GATLINBURG — Fire may have destroyed the buildings at Roaring Fork Baptist Church here last November, but it did not derail the spirit of church members.

After the shock wore off, “we began to figure out what to do next,” said Pastor Kim McCroskey.

“We knew that we had a lot of work ahead of us. Because of that, we went back to business as quickly as possible. That helped us more than anything,” the pastor recalled. [Read more…]

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5 ENCOURAGEMENTS FOR SHORT-TERM SUMMER MISSION TEAMS

Baptist Press

IMB photo

RICHMOND, Va. (BP) — Summers provide great opportunities for short-term mission teams to serve the cause of Christ around the globe.

At the same time, missionaries in cross-cultural settings are anticipating the arrival of those teams — a process that can bring joy and excitement, but sometimes fear. Short-term summer mission teams can provide much needed help for missionaries, but for both the missionary team and the volunteer team to profit, each side needs to prepare well. [Read more…]

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MRM REACHES UNDERSERVED PEOPLE GROUP IN STATE

By Chad Freeman
Baptist and Reflector

Tom Moore of Salem Baptist Church, Trenton, gives water to a homeless man at a work service in Church Park of Memphis. The man had collapsed due to the heat and Moore responded to the need. “That is compassion ministry in a nutshell,” says Randy Pool, who leads Mississippi River Ministry in Tennessee.

TRENTON — During the height of the Jesus Movement in 1972, 15-year-old Randy Pool, witnessed an explosion of students coming to faith in Christ. Students from all over the country flocked to Dallas, Texas’ Cotton Bowl stadium. Many students Pool personally knew from his hometown in Millington also attended the “Explo ’72” event.

The Campus Crusade for Christ (now Cru) event, drew more than 80,000 college and high school students. [Read more…]

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