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PATRIOTIC DISPLAYS COMMON IN JULY 4TH CHURCH SERVICES

June 30, 2022

By Aaron Earls
Writer, Lifeway Christian Resources

NASHVILLE — Protestant pastors say they will worship God and honor America at church services this weekend, and they’re not too worried churchgoers will confuse the two.

Most pastors (56 percent) say it’s important to incorporate patriotic elements into worship services the week of July 4th to celebrate America, including 27 percent who strongly agree, according to a Lifeway Research study of 1,000 U.S. Protestant pastors. Two in 5 pastors (42 percent) disagree, and 2 percent aren’t sure.

These findings represent a small decrease from a 2016 Lifeway Research study, when 61 percent of pastors felt such worship service elements were important.

“While not a date on the Christian calendar, most Protestant churches adjust their worship services to acknowledge the birth of the United States each July,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research. “For most churches, it isn’t just tradition. The majority of pastors agree it’s important to incorporate it into the worship experience.” [Read more…]

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ACADEMY, CHURCH BAPTIZE 15 NEW BELIEVERS

June 30, 2022

Baptist and Reflector

Pastor Cliff Marion of First Baptist Church, Covington, baptizes a new believer who is a student at Tipton Baptist Academy.

COVINGTON — For their final chapel service of the year, Tipton Christian Academy had 15 students, from grades 3-8, baptized in the newly renovated lake baptistery at First Baptist Church, Covington, on a sunny, warm May afternoon where hundreds of their classmates and family members were in attendance. 

Most of the students prayed to receive Christ as their Lord and Savior during school, whether it be during a chapel service or class. 

Tipton Christian Academy (TCA) is a ministry of First Baptist that began in 1979 as a preschool ministry, said pastor Cliff Marion. 

He related that in 2008, the church saw a void of Christian education in the area, and the church voted to start a school, adding one grade per year.  [Read more…]

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Filed Under: Featured, News, Tennessee

ONLY GOD CAN BRING CALM TO THE CHAOS

June 29, 2022

By Clay Hallmark
President, Tennessee Baptist Convention

Clay Hallmark

The WMU decided to go out to the nursing home and visit some of their former WMU members. One particular lady was 95 years old. When one of the WMU ladies entered her room, she inquired as to how she was doing. “Oh,” said the lady, “I am just worried to death!” 

Her visitor asked, “You look rather well and healthy today. Are they taking good care of you here? Are you in any pain?” The older lady said, “They are taking very good care of me here. I am in no pain.” 

The visitor then asked, “Well if you are doing so well, then why are you worrying?” They 95-year-old lady leaned back in her rocking chair, sighed a heavy sigh, and said, “Well young lady, every close friend I have ever had has already died and gone on to heaven. I am worried to death because I am afraid that they are all wondering where I went!”  [Read more…]

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‘PAY IT FORWARD’

June 28, 2022

Youth saved at All Nations Camp returns with campers from her church

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

Maritza Cruz, left, accepted Christ as her Savior in 1996 while Dave Shelley was leading his first All Nations Camp. Twenty-six years later she had the opportunity to visit with Shelley again, who is still leading All Nations Camp for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board. Cruz led a group of 18 people from Iglesia Bautista Cristo Rey in Brownsville.

NEWPORT — Maritza Cruz attended her first All Nations Camp in 1996 when she was 15 years old. While at camp, she made a decision that has impacted her life forever.

Cruz accepted Christ that summer while attending the camp with a group from Brownsville Baptist Church in Brownsville. She is grateful to the church which began a ministry to Hispanics shortly after her family moved to town. 

The church offered an English as a Second Language class and took Cruz and her siblings to All Nations Camp that was held that year at Linden Valley Baptist Conference Center in Linden.

She is forever indebted to then pastor Bob Connerley and the members of Brownsville Baptist. [Read more…]

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PRAISING THE GOD OF EVERY LANGUAGE

June 27, 2022

Eighty-eight campers make professions of faith at ANC

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

The 2022 All Nations Camp drew about 300 participants from across Tennessee to Carson Springs Baptist Conference Center. — Photos by Kevin Perrigan

NEWPORT — The nations came to English Mountain in Newport in early June.

More than 300 children, teenagers and adults from across the state attended the All Nations Camp (ANC) held June 6-10 at Carson Springs Baptist Conference Center. The camp was sponsored by the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board.

It is the largest attended camp since 2019, said William Burton, new churches team leader and ethnic specialist for the TBMB. The camp was canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19 and last year’s attendance was less than 100, far short of the record 500 who attended in 2018.

What makes All Nations Camp special is that “it is all about evangelism, worship and connecting with children and youth from our language churches,” Burton said. [Read more…]

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TBC LEADERS RESPOND TO REVERSAL OF ROE V. WADE

June 24, 2022

Editor’s note: Additional information on the historic Roe v. Wade decision will be printed as it becomes available.

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

FRANKLIN — Tennessee Baptist leaders have expressed their excitement over the Supreme Court’s landmark decision on June 24 to overturn the 1973 Supreme Court ruling of Roe. v. Wade, which legalized abortion in the United States.

By a 5-4 margin, the Supreme Court effectively ended recognition of a constitutional right to abortion. The ruling now gives each state the power to ban, limit or allow abortions. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts did not join the majority ruling, instead wrote a concurring opinion that he would not have overturned Wade but would have only upheld Mississippi’s law banning abortions after 15 weeks.

The high court overruled the 1973 decision that struck down all state abortion bans and legalized the procedure throughout the country. The justices also invalidated the 1992 Planned Parenthood v. Casey opinion that affirmed Roe.

The 6-3 opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization — a case regarding Mississippi’s prohibition of the abortion of preborn children whose gestational age is more than 15 weeks — returns policy decisions on the issue to the states and marks a long-sought-for victory for the pro-life movement. [Read more…]

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PASSION FOR ‘PLANTING’ STILL BURNS WITHIN TIEBOUT

June 24, 2022

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

Steve and Melissa Tiebout recently served as program participants in a retreat for church planters sponsored by the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board.

NEWPORT — When Steve Tiebout became the founding pastor of The River Church, a new plant in Cookeville more than 20 years ago, he never envisioned the church growing to an average attendance of 1,200 to 1,400 people in three worship services.

In his mind, the church would always stay between 200 and 300 people and when that was exceeded, the church would send out members to start another church.

“I really thought we could stay between 200 and 300 people by planting churches every two years, but it seemed like the more churches we planted, the more God sent people to us. We could not outgive God,” Tiebout said.

In 20 years the church has birthed or “adopted” 16 congregations that are still operating, Tiebout said, noting that in some instances, the church came alongside a pastor who had felt called to start a church, but did not have a sponsoring or “mother” church.  [Read more…]

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ONE MAN’S PERSPECTIVE ON THE SBC

June 23, 2022

By Randy C. Davis
President and executive director, Tennessee Baptist Mission Board

General Sherman

I crossed an item off my bucket list. I’ve always heard about the General Sherman tree in Sequoia National Park, and last week I laid eyes on it. It is spectacular; way more spectacular in person than in any picture I’ve ever seen. 

To stand beneath its 285-foot height and wonder at its 35-foot width is inspiring. General Sherman stands with nobility and strength and has been standing in a forest with other giants for an estimated 2,000 years. 

The journey from the annual Southern Baptist Convention meeting, through California’s Central Valley, and up to Sequoia National Park offered time to reflect on all that was seen and heard during the days messengers gathered in Anaheim. [Read more…]

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SBC COVERAGE: CREDENTIALS COMMITTEE WITHDRAWS RECOMMENDATION

June 22, 2022

By Timothy Cockes
Baptist Press

Rick Warren, pastor and founder of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., addresses messengers at the 2022 SBC Annual Meeting in Anaheim, Calif. — Photo by Adam Covington / Baptist Press

ANAHEIM, Calif. — After much discussion, the Southern Baptist Convention’s Credentials Committee chose to withdraw its recommendation related to Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif.

A decision on whether or not to disfellowship Saddleback for ordaining three female staff   members as pastors in May 2021 will be delayed until a later date.

The original motion, submitted by Shadd Tibbs of Louisiana during the 2021 SBC annual meeting in Nashville, will remain with the Credentials Committee until it is prepared to present another recommendation.

In its recommendation June 14, the committee declined to call for Saddleback to be disfellowshiped “until clarity is provided regarding the use of the title ‘pastor’ for staff positions with different responsibility and authority than that of the lead pastor.” [Read more…]

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SBC RECAP: MESSENGERS ADOPT SATF REPORT, ELECT BARBER

June 21, 2022

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

Randy C. Davis, president and executive director of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, far right, prays with Willie McLaurin, his wife, Antonia, and daughters SiChanna and Sierra during the dessert fellowship sponsored by the TBMB prior to the start of the SBC annual meeting on June 14. McLaurin formerly served on the TBMB staff and is the interim CEO of the SBC Executive Committee. — Photo by Van Payne / The Baptist Paper

ANAHEIM, Cailf. — Southern Baptists overwhelmingly approved the report of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Sexual Abuse Task Force during the SBC’s annual meeting June 14-15 at the Anaheim Convention Center.

The California meeting drew 8,133 messengers, including 544 from Tennessee. Tennessee ranked third in number of messengers, trailing California (1,079) and Texas (791). The attendance was down from the 15,726 messengers who attended last year’s annual meeting in Nashville.

Task Force chair Bruce Frank didn’t mince words with messengers, calling it a “Kairos moment” for the convention. After a lot of talk, actions were about to speak loudest. [Read more…]

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