News Archives - Baptist & Reflector

NEW TENNESSEE LAW WOULD PROTECT CHRISTIAN ADOPTION AGENCIES

January 15, 2020

By Lonnie Wilkey
lwilkey@tnbaptist.org

NASHVILLE — Tennessee state senators approved legislation on Jan. 14 that would prohibit the state from forcing Christian adoption agencies or other religious-based adoption agencies to place children in homes that would “violate the agency’s written religious or moral convictions or policies.”

Senate Bill 1304 passed the Senate by a margin of 20-6. Sen. Steve Dickerson of Nashville was the only Republican voting against the bill, joining the chamber’s five Democrats, according to an article in The Tennessean.

The bill will now go to Gov. Bill Lee for his signature, having passed the house last year by a 67-32 margin. [Read more…]

FLOYD URGES ‘FULL CONTINGENT OF MESSENGERS’ AT SBC 2020

January 15, 2020

By Diana Chandler
Baptist Press

Orange County Convention Center

ORLANDO — Each church should send the maximum number of messengers allowed to the 2020 Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting in Orlando in June, SBC Executive Committee president Ronnie Floyd told Baptist Press on Jan. 14.

“I want to encourage every Southern Baptist church to send messengers to our 2020 Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting in Orlando, Fla., on June 9-10,” Floyd said in advance of the opening of online registration Feb. 1 at sbcannualmeeting.net.

“I am calling upon our pastors and church leaders from our churches to do all they can to bring their full contingent of messengers to Orlando,” Floyd said. “This will be a historic convention that casts a big vision for our future together. [Read more…]

FOSTER FAMILY PLAYS CRITICAL ROLE IN YOUTH MINISTER’S JOURNEY TO CHRIST

January 14, 2020

BP EDITOR’S NOTE: Sanctity of Human Life Sunday is Jan. 19 in the Southern Baptist Convention.

By Tobin Perry
Baptist Press

Shaq Hardy preaches during a youth gathering at Brainerd Baptist Church in Chattanooga, Tenn. Abandoned by his mother not long after birth, Hardy often leans on his experience in foster care to minister to hurting kids. — Photo courtesy of Shaq Hardy

CHATTANOOGA — Much of Shaq Hardy’s childhood is a blur. For the first 10 years of his life, he moved from foster home to foster home, never able to put down roots.

Hardy longed for a sense of home, a place where he belonged.

But what Hardy does remember during that frantic decade in foster care is where he learned John 3:16 and how much Jesus loved him. Although he wouldn’t come to faith in Christ until five years after he left his last foster home, this last family introduced him to Jesus. For the last several years he was in foster care, the family took him to church just about every week and even involved him in Awana. That’s where he learned John 3:16.

“It was them having me in church that made me realize that the only thing that would last is Jesus,” Hardy said. “I didn’t know what that meant, but I knew I needed to find Jesus.” [Read more…]

RADIO B&R EP. 37: TBMB JANUARY UPDATE WITH RANDY C. DAVIS

January 13, 2020

Randy Davis talks about some of the big things that happened in 2019, including the “I Stand for Life” initiative.

FULL TRANSCRIPT:

Chris Turner: Hello and welcome in to this edition of Radio B&R. I’m your host, Chris Turner, director of communications here at the Tennessee Baptist mission board. And today we’re talking with Randy Davis, our executive director for the Tennessee Baptist mission board. Randy, welcome in. Thank you Chris. Well, we wanted to take just a few minutes before we get too far into 2020 and we wanted to take a look back at 2019 because it really was a milestone year in many ways. And Randy, you’ve been talking about this in our staff meeting and some other places and just some of the big things that have happened in 2019 possibly one of the biggest things that happened was the I Stand for Life initiative. [Read more…]

BAPTIST WORK IN VIETNAM HITS CLOSE TO HOME FOR OKLAHOMA PASTOR

January 13, 2020

By Catherine Finch
IMB writer

Sam James (left) and French McLemore (right) take a photo together during James’s visit to McLemore’s church, First Baptist Church Ponca City, Oklahoma. James and McLemore met as a result of a trip McLemore took to Vietnam in 2013 and the evidences of James’s work he witnessed there. — IMB photo

As French McLemore rode through the streets of Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, the last thing he expected to see was a sign for a Baptist church.

Born in Ho Chi Minh City, or Saigon as it was once known, McLemore and his family lived there until two days before the fall of Saigon in 1975. McLemore’s Vietnamese mother met his father, a full-blooded Cherokee Indian, while his father served in Vietnam as a civilian contractor.

Today McLemore is the associate pastor of First Baptist Church, Ponca City, Oklahoma. Not forgetting his heritage and initial homeland and sensing God’s direction to invest in the work taking place overseas, McLemore and his mother, along with a team from his church, visited Saigon in 2013. It was their first visit since McLemore and his mother left in 1975.

“I was taken back by the flood of memories as I stepped out of the airport and breathed in the fresh air,” said McLemore. “I can only describe it as everything I remember from my childhood.”

However, McLemore’s childhood memories of Saigon did not include Grace Baptist Church. Founded in 1962 while IMB worker Sam James served in Saigon, the church has prevailed against the test of time, war and countless trials.

McLemore was surprised to see the Baptist church. He merely assumed the church was a “remnant of a bygone era.” When he returned from his trip, he immediately searched for the church online and soon discovered Grace Baptist Church wasn’t a piece of the past preserved, but a living, thriving testimony to God’s goodness in times of trial.

ONE SINGLE SURVIVOR

Sam James shares with the congregation of First Baptist Ponca City, Oklahoma, Nov. 17 2019. James visited the church to share with the congregation at the request of the associate pastor, French McLemore. Both men have ties to Vietnam that began in the 1960s and continue to this day. — IMB photo

Sam James also had to leave Saigon during the Vietnam War. After living in the country for 17 years, James reluctantly left because of the Communist control over the city. During the Communist reign, all of the Baptist churches in Vietnam were shut down or disbanded.

All but one.

By God’s grace, Grace Baptist Church of Saigon remained open throughout what James calls the “dark times” and celebrated its 60-year anniversary this year. Before the fall of Saigon in 1975, Grace Baptist shared a space with a church of a different denomination. Thanks to a Lottie Moon Christmas Offering® grant of $50,000, the church members were able to secure property and a building for the church and establish their independence, financially and congregationally.

James explained in a podcast interview, “Back In 1970 when people gave to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering they had no idea that some of that offering would be used to buy the land and the building for Grace Baptist Church and then what would happen as a result of that church being in that place that has impacted the whole country for the Lord. They had no way of knowing that and yet they gave. I just praise the Lord for that.”

A LONG-AWAITED MEETING

When McLemore searched for Grace Baptist Church online back in 2013, he inevitably discovered the role James played in the church’s history and in Baptist work in Vietnam. After reading James’s book, “Servant on the Edge of History”, McLemore knew he had to meet James.

Since his initial trip back to Vietnam in 2013, McLemore’s church has sent teams to Vietnam four times. McLemore has formed a friendship with the Vietnamese pastor of Grace Baptist Church. The same age as the pastor of Grace Baptist Church, McLemore marveled at the different paths the Lord had for each of their lives.

McLemore’s church is sending another team to Vietnam in 2020. He asked James to come speak in November to kick off the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and to cast the vision for their 2020 trip.

“Sam did an incredible job in sharing about the work of the International Mission Board and the work that is going on all over the world,” said McLemore. “I cannot say enough about Sam’s passion and humility to serve our Lord and to make Him known to all people groups. I am truly blessed to have met him and am thankful for his faithfulness.”

The work of one IMB missionary has left an impact reaching beyond the city limits of Saigon, inspiring the friendship of a Baptist church in Oklahoma and a Baptist church in Saigon. The continued work points to God’s blessings when His followers faithfully go. B&R

NEW YEAR CAN BE A NEW START FOR BIBLE READING

January 10, 2020

Baptist Press

NASHVILLE — With the unfolding of a new year comes opportunities for new commitments, resolutions and goals.

For many, these goals include dedications to Bible reading and thus, specific Bible reading plans.

But choosing a Bible reading plan can be intimidating and some wonder, why even bother being specific about the way in which the Bible is read? Are Bible reading plans even being followed?

YouVersion, a popular Bible reading app, reported that in 2019 1.1 billion Bible plan days were completed in the app. This is a reported increase of 25 percent, in comparison to 2018. [Read more…]

TENNESCENE: WEEKS OF JAN. 8-21

January 9, 2020

LEADERS

Joe Shannon

Joe Shannon, director of missions for JST Baptist Association resigned recently to accept the pastorate of Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in the association, effective Dec. 1. He served with the association for 14 years as an administrative assistant and assistant director of missions before becoming the DOM.

William Taylor recently celebrated his 25th anniversary as pastor of Midway Baptist Church, Johnson City.

Union University journalism professor Ted Kluck has recently published A Hard Thing on a Beautiful Day, a series of essays on life, family, sports, pop culture and the church. The book is available for purchase at Amazon.com. [Read more…]

IRAN ATTACKS ‘A SOBER MOMENT’ FOR AMERICA

January 9, 2020

Baptist Press

WASHINGTON — Evangelicals may differ about the best response to Iran’s Jan. 8 missile attack against military bases in Iraq housing U.S. troops, but they seem united in acknowledging the gravity of the situation and calling for prayer.

America confronts “a sober moment in history as we face possible armed conflict against Iran,” said Douglas Carver, former chief of chaplains for the U.S. Army, noting that a military response “has always been America’s last resort.”

Carver, the North American Mission Board’s executive director of chaplaincy, called Christians to “pray for the president and his advisers as they weigh the serious risk of taking retaliatory military action, or in taking no action at all in order to deter an escalation of aggression.” [Read more…]

FORMER TBC PASTOR TO LEAD MISSISSIPPI BAPTISTS

January 9, 2020

By William H. Perkins Jr.
Editor, The Baptist Record

Former Tennessee Baptist Shawn Parker, pastor of First Baptist Church, Columbus, addresses members of the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board (MBCB) on Dec. 19 at Garaywa Camp and Conference Center in Clinton. The Board voted to call Parker as the next MBCB executive director-treasurer to succeed Jim Futral, who is retiring. — Photo by William H. Perkins Jr.

JACKSON, Miss. — Shawn Parker, pastor of First Baptist Church, Columbus, was unanimously called on Dec. 19 by the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board (MBCB) to succeed longtime Executive Director-Treasurer Jim Futral, who will formally retire at the end of February after more than 21 years of service.

“We believe he is the Lord’s man. We believe he is a relational leader who knows how to cast a vision,” said Bobby Kirk, chairman of the search committee and member of Roundaway Baptist Church, Doddsville, in his presentation to the MBCB Executive Committee earlier in the day. [Read more…]

AWAKENING IN THE LAND OF THE RISING SUN

January 8, 2020

By Bryan Pittman
Family pastor and missions strategy leader, Lee Road Baptist Church, Taylors, South Carolina

The sun shines on the moat of the Japanese Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Japan, with the Sakurada Tatsumi Yagura watchtower in the foreground and the modern skyscrapers of the Akasaka district in the background. Local Baptist leaders and IMB missionaries are seeing signs of spiritual awakening as they pray and prepare for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. — IMB photo

In Japan, statistics show that 99 percent of the population does not have a relationship with Christ. Those statistics represent people—living, breathing image-bearers of God whom Jesus Christ died to save. While the task of reaching them with the gospel seems daunting, God is stirring the church in Japan to reach the nation. Even now, churches and missionaries in Japan are praying and planning for gospel opportunities as the country opens its doors to host the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

What might happen if churches around the world committed to daily prayer for the churches, missionaries and people of Japan between now and the end of the Olympics?

With its complex nature of culture, history and former geographical isolation, Japan has been hard to reach with the gospel. Steeped in ancient traditions of Buddhism and Shintoism, religion in Japan is a cultural identity more than a personal reality. The concept of a collective identity through religious history has made for slow progress in reaching the hearts of Japanese people.

Today in Japan, however, winds of awakening are beginning to blow. Prayer strategy leaders in Japan long to see the nation transformed by the hope of Jesus, and they’ve committed to pray daily for the nation. There is excitement and enthusiasm for what they see God doing. Rather than yielding to the darkness, they are invigorated by the light of the gospel.

The signs point to a growing spiritual awakening in Japan.

Across Japan, Southern Baptists are hearing reports of God doing amazing things that offer hope of what may come:

• A church in the heart of a bustling shopping and social hub in Tokyo has been languishing. This church’s leaders wanted to know why Tokyo Baptist Church was healthy and growing. When they approached the church for answers, God opened the door for the leaders to speak of the importance of standing on the authority of Scripture and yielding to the lordship of Christ. Through ongoing discipleship efforts and prayer, this church could soon be revitalized and play a key role in reaching the city.
• A healthy church near Yokohama has been holding festivals with remarkable results. The festivals allow local residents to meet Japanese Christians and see the joy they have found in Jesus. This has prompted people to visit the church following the festivals to learn more about what they have seen and heard. The pastor of the church is praying for God to reach ten million Japanese people by 2024.
• Japanese people are choosing to listen to and believe the gospel as it is proclaimed during international sporting events, at ongoing festivals and through personal relationships. Additionally, Japanese business people are learning from Christian business leaders how faith and business can intersect.

Increasing prayer, churches working together, and more people hearing and responding to the gospel through the church’s desire to engage the lost have all been precursors to spiritual awakenings in past generations. The signs point to a growing spiritual awakening in Japan.

A spiritual awakening happened over a century ago in the small nation of Wales in the British Isles. Evangelist Evan Roberts was a catalyst to the Welsh Revival of 1904. When it became evident that God was moving among the prayers and the preaching of those who longed for revival, Roberts asked his best friend if he thought it was possible for God to save 100,000 people. Within six months, more than 100,000 people had put their faith in Christ. As news spread, this led to the larger global awakening that drew thousands more people around the world into relationship with God.

What about an awakening in our time?

Southern Baptist churches in the United States have already been in strategic prayer and planning with IMB personnel in Japan to learn how they can collaborate to be as effective as possible in reaching the nation. The statistics are not in our favor, but we can still believe that this supposed missionary graveyard will rattle to life like the dry bones in Ezekiel and that God will raise a vast army to proclaim His truth, not only across Japan, but around the world.

We could very well be on the brink of a spiritual awakening in Japan. Let us commit to being a church defined by prayer and obedience to the Great Commission with the blessed hope that an awakening will sweep across the world in our time, just as it has in the past.

NOTE: For resources to help you pray for Japan, order IMB’s prayer guide for Japan and visit the Prayer page of IMB’s Olympic ministry website. To find out how you can serve with IMB during the 2020 Olympics, visit the Serve page. B&R

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