Baptist & Reflector

Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835

‘IT WASN’T ABOUT THE SHOWERS’

By Connie Davis Bushey
News Editor, Baptist and Reflector

Praying for a man who had just become a Christian are Tennessee Baptists, from left, Tony Broyles, Phil Whitaker, Liz Thompson, Tal Thompson, Les Guinn, Beverly Jones, and George Jones. — Photo by John Thomas

Praying for a man who had just become a Christian are Tennessee Baptists, from left, Tony Broyles, Phil Whitaker, Liz Thompson, Tal Thompson, Les Guinn, Beverly Jones, and George Jones.
— Photo by John Thomas

DAMASCAS, Va. — Tony Broyles was a little out of his comfort zone. A lot of the folks he was meeting at Damascas Trail Days for “through hikers” of the Appalachian Trail were different from most folks he knows.

“Back in the 60s, when folks like these became popular, I was just a kid,” explained Broyles. And he didn’t live around any such folks. He has always lived in rural East Tennessee.

Of course, there were regular people attending Trail Days, he added. [Read more…]

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BELLEVUE’S STEVE GAINES ELECTED TO LEAD SBC

Tennessee Baptists second in number of Southern Baptist Convention messengers with 824

By David Roach
Baptist Press

Editor’s Note: Due to the publication schedule of the Baptist and Reflector, this issue contains a condensed wrap-up of the SBC annual meeting held June 14-15 in St. Louis. Extensive stories were posted on the B&R web site last week.

 

Outgoing Southern Baptist Convention President Ronnie Floyd, left, together with presidential nominee J.D. Greear, center, congratulate Steve Gaines, pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova after he is elected president of the SBC. Greear withdrew from the race and moved that the convention elect Gaines by acclamation during the SBC’s annual meeting at America’s Center in St. Louis on June 15. — Photo by Bill Bangham

Outgoing Southern Baptist Convention President Ronnie Floyd, left, together with presidential nominee J.D. Greear, center, congratulate Steve Gaines, pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova after he is elected president of the SBC. Greear withdrew from the race and moved that the convention elect Gaines by acclamation during the SBC’s annual meeting at America’s Center in St. Louis on June 15. — Photo by Bill Bangham

ST. LOUIS — The election of Tennessee pastor Steve Gaines as president on the third ballot and a historic repudiation of the Confederate battle flag were among the highlights of the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting June 14-15 in St. Louis.

The convention’s resolution on the Confederate battle flag capped an emphasis on racial reconciliation throughout the meeting that included the election of a 2017 Committee on Nominations with 25 percent of its members drawn from ethnic minority groups and a panel discussion on “racial unity in America” featuring Jerry Young, president of the historically African American National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc.

The unofficial total of 7,321 registered messengers — up from 5,407 last year — also devoted an entire session to praying for awakening in America, listened to a panel discussion on “pastors and the church in American politics today,” and addressed on multiple occasions whether Baptists should support Muslims’ right to build mosques in the United States.

When registered guests, exhibitors, and others are included, the count of those at the annual meeting was tallied, as of June 15, at 11,581. Tennessee ranked second in number of messengers to the annual meeting with 824, trailing only host state Missouri’s 877 messengers. [Read more…]

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SBC NOT BUILDING MOSQUES, LEADERS REPORT

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

Parody-not-everything-trueBRENTWOOD – Simply put, neither the Southern Baptist Convention nor the Tennessee Baptist Convention are building mosques.

Yet, the false rumor that Southern Baptists are building mosques is running rampant on social media, particularly Facebook. TBC staff have received multiple inquiries regarding the rumor which is based on an article written for The End Times website, a self-described “news satire and parody site.” The title of the article written by The End Times editor Scott Alan Buss was “Southern Baptist Convention Launches Mosque Building Program to Promote ‘Religious Liberty’ and ‘Niceness.’ ” Attempts to contact Buss were unsuccessful.

“Neither the convention nor any of its entities promotes building houses of worship for any other religious group,” according to Frank Page, president of the SBC Executive Committee in a statement provided to the Baptist and Reflector. [Read more…]

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YOKEFELLOW, PASTOR MINISTER TO PEOPLE IN HOMES

By Connie Davis Bushey
News Editor, Baptist and Reflector

Preparing to offer communion recently to a family who has been unable to attend First, Hermitage, are Pastor David Taft, second from right, and Mike Kinle, right, of the church. From left are Mary and Bob Earle and their granddaughter, Adrianna.

Preparing to offer communion recently to a family who has been unable to attend First, Hermitage, are Pastor David Taft, second from right, and Mike Kinle, right, of the church. From left are Mary and Bob Earle and their granddaughter, Adrianna.

HERMITAGE — Mike Kinle and Pastor David Taft visit shut-ins for First Baptist Church here every Monday afternoon.

Kinle always reads the Scripture he has chosen for the people they are visiting. He also leads the prayer, including for prayer requests learned of during the visit.

Kinle may not take the lead in the conversations, but he listens and prepares to pray.

A good time is had by all if measured by the smiles which appear, hugs exchanged, and conversation. [Read more…]

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TENNESSEE RANKS SECOND IN NUMBER OF SBC MESSENGERS

Baptist Press

More than 7,000 messengers gather at America's Center in St. Louis for the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention on Tuesday, June 14. The theme of the 2016 meeting was Awaken America. -Photo by Van Payne

More than 7,000 messengers gather at America’s Center in St. Louis for the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention on Tuesday, June 14. The theme of the 2016 meeting was Awaken America. -Photo by Van Payne

ST. LOUIS (BP) — The Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting drew 7,321 messengers to St. Louis June 14-15 from the nation’s 46,000-plus Southern Baptist churches. The unofficial total is 35 percent above last year’s 5,407 messengers in Columbus, Ohio.

When registered guests, exhibitors and others are included, the count of those at the SBC annual meeting rose to 11,581 as of Wednesday morning.

SBC registration secretary Jim Wells said the results were higher than his pre-annual meeting estimate. [Read more…]

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MINISTER OF MUSIC COMPLETES 60 YEARS

Wilson Henderson credits hard work and loving people as basics of his ministry

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

Wilson and Charline Henderson, left, pause at the piano with Pastor Mark Proctor of Highland Park Baptist Church in Columbia. Henderson will retire after 15 years as minister of music and his wife will step down as pianist on July 17.

Wilson and Charline Henderson, left, pause at the piano with Pastor Mark Proctor of Highland Park Baptist Church in Columbia. Henderson will retire after 15 years as minister of music and his wife will step down as pianist on July 17.

COLUMBIA — On the last day of December in 2000, Wilson Henderson retired after about 45 years as a minister of music, including the last 13 at Dalewood Baptist Church in Nashville.

In April of 2001 Henderson was contacted by Highland Park Baptist Church in Columbia to see if he would “supply” for a few weeks. Before the year was over the supply status had turned to “interim” and later “permanent part-time.”

Fifteen years later, the 76-year-old Henderson will retire once again (this time after 60 years of ministry) as he plans to step down at Highland Park on July 17.

Henderson acknowledged that he really thought he was through with his music ministry after retiring from Dalewood but God had other plans. [Read more…]

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A LIGHT IN MOUNTAINS OF DARKNESS

By Chris Turner
Director of Communications, TBC

Lucila Huamani (wah-MAHN-ee) is a widow. She faithfully maintains God’s house every week and puts fresh flowers at the altar. On Sundays, she opens the church, reads her Bible, prays, and sings hymns. Many weeks she’s the only one there. She daily faces ridicule from neighbors for her Christianity. She perseveres. Her prayer request is that the church will one day be filled and that the gospel will spread across the mountains that surround her village of Machahuay (mah-CHAH-why). Pray that God will reward her faith by granting her prayer request.

Lucila Huamani (wah-MAHN-ee) is a widow. She faithfully maintains God’s house every week and puts fresh flowers at the altar. On Sundays, she opens the church, reads her Bible, prays, and sings hymns. Many weeks she’s the only one there. She daily faces ridicule from neighbors for her Christianity. She perseveres. Her prayer request is that the church will one day be filled and that the gospel will spread across the mountains that surround her village of Machahuay (mah-CHAH-why). Pray that God will reward her faith by granting her prayer request.

VIRACO, Peru — Julissa knelt beside her daddy and urged him to get back on the donkey. He’d collapsed by the side of the road, torso in the bushes, legs and feet stretched out into the dusty mountain road.

“C’mon Papi. We need to go home.”

But he was barely conscious and unable to move, a stupor brought on from a morning of heavy drinking.

Julissa’s plight is not that uncommon from many other children living in the isolated Andean Mountains of Peru where there is a high level of alcoholism among men. Much of the bacchanalia centers around the veneration of Catholic saints, such as Saint Ursula, who is the patron saint of the town of Viraco (vee-RAH-co), located in the shadows of the dormant volcano, Coropuna.

Saint Ursula is uniquely recognizable. Most female Catholic saints have crowns atop their heads. Not Ursula. She wears a cowgirl hat. Legend has it that Ursula appeared to the Inca people here in the 1500s to warn them of an impending Spanish ambush. The people rallied and defeated the Spanish, solidifying Ursula’s significance in perpetuity. [Read more…]

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GAINES ELECTED PRESIDENT OF THE SBC

(Left to right) Outgoing Southern Baptist Convention President Ronnie Floyd together with presidential nominee J.D. Greear congratulate president-elect Steve Gaines, pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova, Tenn., after he is elected president of the SBC by acclamation after Greear withdrew from the race and moved that the convention elect Gaines by acclamation during the SBC's annual meeting at America's Center in St. Louis Wednesday, June 15. -Photo by Bill Bangham

(Left to right) Outgoing Southern Baptist Convention President Ronnie Floyd together with presidential nominee J.D. Greear congratulate president-elect Steve Gaines, pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova, Tenn., after he is elected president of the SBC by acclamation after Greear withdrew from the race and moved that the convention elect Gaines by acclamation during the SBC’s annual meeting at America’s Center in St. Louis Wednesday, June 15. -Photo by Bill Bangham

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist & Reflector

ST. LOUIS — Tennessee pastor Steve Gaines was elected by acclamation as president of the Southern Baptist Convention after fellow nominee J.D. Greear of North Carolina withdrew his name from consideration.

The day before (June 14), Gaines, pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church, Cordova, missed election as president by three votes in a runoff election with Greear, pastor of Summit Church in Durham, N.C.

Gaines received 2,410 votes or 49.96 percent, while Greear received 2,306 votes or 47.80 percent. However, 108 votes were considered illegal because the wrong ballot was used or an indistinguishable mark was made. SBC President Ronnie Floyd announced, that according to Robert’s Rules of Order, the winning candidate needed 2,413 votes. Gaines fell short by three votes.

Earlier in the day, on the first ballot, cast by 5,784 messengers, David Crosby of New Orleans, La., received 583 votes or 10.08 percent; Gaines received 2,551 votes, or 44.1 percent of the votes; and Greear received 2,601 votes, or 44.97 percent. None of the candidates received 50 percent or more of the votes. [Read more…]

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NUMBER OF SBC, TBC CHURCHES INCREASE

By Carol Pipes, Editor, Facts & Trends at LifeWay Christian Resources
and By Lonnie Wilkey, Editor, Baptist and Reflector

160614churchesNASHVILLE — Southern Baptists as a whole and Tennessee Baptists in general may find cause for hope in the latest Annual Church Profile report.

Both the Southern Baptist Convention and Tennessee Baptist Convention added more churches in 2015, due mostly to church planting efforts. Churches also experienced an increase in total giving.

However, according to the Annual Church Profile (ACP) compiled by LifeWay Christian Resources in cooperation with state conventions, other key measures declined. Those included membership, average worship attendance, baptisms, and missions giving. [Read more…]

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LOTTIE MOON OFFERING REACHES $165.8 MILLION

By Julie McGowan
Baptist Press

Christian worker Gary Warrior (name changed) leads praise songs and teaches a Bible study in a national's home at night. Providing clean water to communities gives Warrior and his team a welcome reception in people’s homes, and they are often open to the message of the gospel. -IMB Photo

Christian worker Gary Warrior (name changed) leads praise songs and teaches a Bible study in a national’s home at night. Providing clean water to communities gives Warrior and his team a welcome reception in people’s homes, and they are often open to the message of the gospel. -IMB Photo

RICHMOND — Southern Baptists provided resounding support through the 2015 Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions.

Finalized in early June, the 2015 Lottie Moon offering totaled $165.8 million — the highest total in the 127-year history of the offering. The offering surpassed the previous all-time record of $154 million in 2013 by $11.8 million. The 2014 Lottie Moon offering totaled just over $153 million.

Through June 7, Tennessee Baptists have contributed $10,726,904 to the Lottie Moon offering. The amount is approximately 10 percent ahead of last year. The Tennessee Baptist Convention will continue receiving LMCO gifts through November of this year. [Read more…]

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