Baptist & Reflector

Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835

MUSLIMS DO BECOME CHRISTIANS, SAYS ARAB PASTOR

By Connie Davis Bushey
News Editor, Baptist and Reflector

Editor’s note: You can hear William Burton discuss ethnic ministries during Episode 4 of Radio B&R,the  official news podcast of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board.

Arabic and ethnic Baptist leaders in Tennessee pause during a leadership conference for Arabic Baptist churches in Middle Tennessee on Jan. 21 in Murfreesboro. From left are Maged Boles, pastor, Arabic Baptist Church, Murfreesboro; Anderow Shafik, member, Arabic Baptist Church of Tusculum Hills Baptist, Nashville; William Burton, ethnic evangelism/church planting specialist, Tennessee Baptist Mission Board; and Nathan Awad, pastor, Arabic Baptist Church of Tusculum Hills Baptist.

Arabic and ethnic Baptist leaders in Tennessee pause during a leadership conference for Arabic Baptist churches in Middle Tennessee on Jan. 21 in Murfreesboro. From left are Maged Boles, pastor, Arabic Baptist Church, Murfreesboro; Anderow Shafik, member, Arabic Baptist Church of Tusculum Hills Baptist, Nashville; William Burton, ethnic evangelism/church planting specialist, Tennessee Baptist Mission Board; and Nathan Awad, pastor, Arabic Baptist Church of Tusculum Hills Baptist.

MURFREESBORO — Muslims do become Christians, said Maged Boles, pastor of the Arabic Baptist Church here. He should know. He lived in Egypt all of his life until four years ago when he immigrated to the United States. Egypt has a majority of Muslim residents. Boles was a Christian missionary there.

William Burton, ethnic evangelism/church planting specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, agreed, noting this is occurring in Tennessee mainly because of Arab Baptists.

“These guys are very, very evangelistic,” said Burton. [Read more…]

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ETHNIC CHURCHES DOUBLE IN TENNESSEE

Learn about, consider fervent evangelism of ethnics: William Burton

By Connie Davis Bushey
News Editor, Baptist and Reflector

Editor’s note: You can hear William Burton discuss ethnic ministries during Episode 4 of Radio B&R, the  official news podcast of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board.

 

Jana Guy of the Arabic Baptist Church, Murfreesboro, participates in an activity of a children’s Sunday School training conference on Jan. 21 in Murfreesboro. The conference was led by Vicki Hulsey, right, of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board staff. Looking on is Amira Abdul-Sayed of the Arabic Baptist Church of Tusculum Hills Baptist, Nashville.

BRENTWOOD — Ethnic Baptist churches associated with the Tennessee Baptist Convention have nearly doubled in number — to about 200 — in the last 18 months.

One of the most important groups being reached by the new churches are Arabic speakers, said William Burton, ethnic evangelism/church planting specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board. Currently there are five Arabic Baptist churches in Tennessee.

“For me, that’s one of the most exciting things that we’re doing because that’s a group that’s obviously in the news. There’s a lot of fear, concern.” [Read more…]

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WHITE CHRISTIAN AMERICA DECLINING, BUT STILL PACKS PUNCH

By Jeff Brumley
Baptist News Global

bible-american-flagConservative evangelicals have lost their cultural and political clout as their numbers and vitality wane, author Robert Jones argues in his book The End of White Christian America.

The book was published in the summer of 2016 — just a few months before Donald Trump rode the support of fearful Caucasian Christians all the way to the White House.

As a result, Jones said he received a slew of post-election social media messages, many of them tongue-in-cheek suggestions that he re-title his book. [Read more…]

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ARE WE REALLY SURPRISED?

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

Before it Hits the PressThe Boy Scouts of America announced Jan. 30 that the organization would begin accepting transgender members. In other words, what’s on the birth certificate doesn’t matter anymore.

The BSA stated: “Starting today, we will accept and register youth in the Cub and Boy Scout programs based on the gender identity indicated on the application.”

While sad to hear, is anyone really surprised? [Read more…]

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NOT HALF THE MAN HE USED TO BE

Pastor leads church members to lose 1,200 lbs. in 2016

By Connie Davis Bushey
News Editor, Baptist and Reflector

These members of Mary’s Chapel Baptist Church, Ripley, lost at least 30 lbs. and kept it off during 2016. They were challenged to do so by their pastor, Ryan Culpepper, who lost about 222 lbs. in two years, nearly half of his original weight. Culpepper was motivated to begin a health program by the “Chubby Challenge” of Randy C. Davis, president and executive director, Tennessee Baptist Mission Board. A total of about 100 people participated in the church’s 2016 health challenge. The church draws about 150 to Sunday morning activities. — Photo by Mackenzie O’Kelley

These members of Mary’s Chapel Baptist Church, Ripley, lost at least 30 lbs. and kept it off during 2016. They were challenged to do so by their pastor, Ryan Culpepper, who lost about 222 lbs. in two years, nearly half of his original weight. Culpepper was motivated to begin a health program by the “Chubby Challenge” of Randy C. Davis, president and executive director, Tennessee Baptist Mission Board. A total of about 100 people participated in the church’s 2016 health challenge. The church draws about 150 to Sunday morning activities. — Photo by Mackenzie O’Kelley

RIPLEY — “I’m not half the man I used to be,” sang the Beatles, in the song, “Yesterday.”

Pastor Ryan Culpepper can claim the statement literally and with joy. Culpepper lost nearly half of his body weight, or 222 lbs., in two years!

In addition, about half way through his odyssey he challenged members of his church, Mary’s Chapel Baptist Church, Ripley, to become fit and lose 1,000 lbs. in 2016. Members lost about 1,200 lbs., he proudly reported.

All of these accomplishments can be traced back to the “Chubby Challenge” issued by Randy C. Davis, president and executive director of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, in January of 2015. Davis challenged people to become fit by losing at least 10 percent of their body weight so “we’ll be living healthier lives and be better witnesses for Christ.” [Read more…]

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CHURCH DISPLAYS KINGDOM VISION

Forerunner Baptist to open Covington campus at Rialto Baptist

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

Participating in a joint worship service of Rialto Baptist Church, Covington, and Forerunner Baptist Church, Ripley, were, from left, Thomas Bester, pastor, Forerunner Baptist; Carl Funderburk, pastor, Rialto Baptist; and Clay Gilbreath, director of missions, Big Hatchie Baptist Association.

Participating in a joint worship service of Rialto Baptist Church, Covington, and Forerunner Baptist Church, Ripley, were, from left, Thomas Bester, pastor, Forerunner Baptist; Carl Funderburk, pastor, Rialto Baptist; and Clay Gilbreath, director of missions, Big Hatchie Baptist Association.

COVINGTON — The handwriting has been on the wall for years at Rialto Baptist Church in Covington.

The almost 100-year-old church once was a vibrant congregation with more than 200 members. But as the community transitioned, many members moved away. Many of those who stayed have since died.

As of Jan. 15, Rialto Baptist had about five members plus pastor Carl Funderburk and his wife Jane. Funderburk, 79, has been pastor of Rialto for 14 years. In 2005 Funderburk led his then congregation of 13 members to make plans should the church eventually have to close its doors. [Read more…]

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THE STATE OF EVANGELISM IN TENNESSEE

New TBMB evangelism director has passion to see lost souls saved

Editor’s note: You can listen to Roc Collins discuss evangelism during Episode 3 of Radio B&R, the official news podcast of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board. That podcast can be found here. 

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

Roc Collins, pastor of Indian Springs Baptist Church, Kingsport, delivers his president’s address.

Roc Collins delivers his president’s address at the Summit last November.

BRENTWOOD — “It’s later than you think, but it’s not too late.”

That phrase, uttered during his president’s address at the annual meeting of the Tennessee Baptist Convention, has become the signature statement for Roc Collins, past president of the convention and former pastor of Indian Springs Baptist Church in Kingsport.

In December, Collins was announced as the director of evangelism for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board. In an interview with the Baptist and Reflector in early January, Collins offered his candid views on “the state of evangelism in Tennessee.” [Read more…]

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TENNESSEE PASTOR RESIGNS AS IMB TRUSTEE

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

160114imb-officeMORRISTOWN — A Tennessee Baptist pastor has resigned as a trustee of the Southern Baptist Convention’s International Mission Board in response to an action taken by IMB leadership last summer. He had another year to serve on his present term.

Dean Haun, pastor of First Baptist Church, Morristown, 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.  [Read more…]

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REPORT: ABORTION RATE HITS ALL-TIME LOW

By Tom Strode
Baptist Press

pregnant-woman-holding-sonogramWASHINGTON (BP) — The abortion rate in the United States declined to an all-time low, while the number of lethal procedures dropped below a million for the first time since 1975, according to a new report.

The Guttmacher Institute reported Tuesday (Jan. 17) the rate fell to 14.6 abortions per 1,000 women 15 to 44 years old in 2014, which is a decline of 14 percent since its most recent survey in 2011. In its census of all known abortion providers in the country, Guttmacher found abortions totaled 958,700 in 2013 and 926,190 in 2014. [Read more…]

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CONFESSIONS OF A WHITE BOY ON MLK JR. DAY

By Chris Turner
Director of Communications, TBMB

martin-luther-kingConfession One: I struggle with racial prejudice against blacks.

There, I said it. God has consistently convicted me of that and increasingly helped me let a lot of that go over the past 20 years. It occasionally rises up, but He reminds me that racial prejudice is rooted in pride, one race believing it is superior to other races, and that in His eyes, all men are truly created equal since He created all men. [Read more…]

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