News Archives - Baptist & Reflector

DR TEAMS CALLED TO ACTION AFTER ‘SALLY’

September 23, 2020

Baptist and Reflector

FRANKLIN — Tennessee Baptist Mission Board disaster relief teams are being called on to assist in the recovery efforts from Hurricane Sally.

TBMB disaster relief specialist Wes Jones sent out an e-mail on Sept. 19 that alerted DR leaders that Florida has requested chain saw, tarping and flood recovery teams.

Jones asked that DR leaders from those teams contact either him (wjones@tnbaptist.org) or DR assistant Elizabeth Holmes (eholmes@tnbaptist.org) for more information. [Read more…]

SBC EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE ADOPTS CP BUDGET CUT BY FIVE PERCENT DURING COVID

September 23, 2020

By Diana Chandler
Baptist Press

NASHVILLE — Decreased giving during the COVID-19 pandemic led the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee to adopt a Cooperative Program Allocation Budget Tuesday (Sept. 22) that is 5 percent less than the committee projected last February.

During a special called meeting, the Executive Committee adopted a $186,875,000 CP allocation budget for the 2020-2021 fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1, after originally proposing a budget of $197,700,000.

Approval of the CP allocation budget would have been considered by messengers at the 2020 SBC Annual Meeting, but its adoption became the EC’s responsibility when the annual meeting was canceled because of the pandemic. It was the first time in 75 years – since 1945, when the annual meeting was also canceled – the EC had the responsibility.

Amid the economic slowdown resulting from the pandemic, CP giving was down 2.92 percent in the third quarter of the current fiscal year, and 1.14 percent below budget as of August 31 for the entire year. [Read more…]

PIERSON: EFFECTIVE PRAYER REQUIRES INTIMACY WITH GOD

September 23, 2020

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

FLINTVILLE — Perhaps no one knows better than Don Pierson how desperately the United States needs to be intimately connected with God through prayer during this point in the nation’s history.

In a nation filled with fear over COVID-19, increasing racial turmoil and divide and a country divided by politics, God is the only answer, said Don Pierson, pastor of Stewart’s Chapel Baptist Church, Flintville.

Prior to accepting the pastorate at Stewart’s Chapel, Pierson served as a Southern Baptist missionary in Belize, a director of missions for William Carey Baptist Association and for about 12 years as the prayer specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board. [Read more…]

TENNESCENE: SEP. 23

September 22, 2020

LEADERS

Wes Jones

Wes Jones, disaster relief specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, celebrated his fifth anniversary in September. Jones and his wife, Pam, are former Southern Baptist missionaries to Costa Rica, Belize and Guatemala. He also served as a director of missions in Iowa where he was heavily involved in disaster relief work. Since coming to Tennessee, TBC DR teams have responded to 78 disasters, which accounts for 32 percent of the total 247 responses made since TBDR was formed in 1978.

Trinity Baptist Church, Jonesborough, recently called Chris McDonald as minister of music. He has a bachelor of church music degree from Carson-Newman University, Jefferson City, and a master of church music degree from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Ky. He and his wife, Hope, have two children. The church also called Amy Herington as children’s ministry coordinator. She has a bachelor of arts in biblical studies from Moody Bible Institute. She and her husband, James, have three children. [Read more…]

MOUNTAINS & MAJESTY

September 22, 2020

Worship and friendship are the bedrock of pastors’ hiking trip on Appalachian Trail

Adam Cutshaw, pastor of Encounter Life Church, Manchester, looks out over the mountains during a recent hiking trip on the Appalachian Trail. Cutshaw was one of 11 pastors who journeyed together on a three-day trip, which represented the first in a series of outdoor adventures organized as part of a new ministry hosted by the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board conference centers. Kevin Perrigan, camp manager at Carson Springs Baptist Conference Center and an avid hiker, served as the leader for the recent trip. He said there are plans for four “outings” each year. Those interested in attending any of the upcoming trips can contact Perrigan at kperrigan@tnbaptist.org.

By David Dawson
Baptist and Reflector
ddawson@tnbaptist.org

FRANKLIN — With the overwhelming stress of the past few months beginning to take a toll, pastor David Simmerman decided he would heed the advice of a friend. [Read more…]

TENNESSEE DR VOLUNTEERS RESPOND TO HURRICANE LAURA

September 21, 2020

Editor’s note: The story was updated on Sept. 21.

By Lonnie Wilkey
lwilkey@tnbaptist.org

Disaster Relief volunteers work on house where a tree had fallen during Hurricane Laura.

WINNFIELD, La. — Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers are in action, ministering in the aftermath of Hurricane Laura.

Volunteers began arriving over Labor Day weekend, with the first team stationed at First Baptist Church, Winnfield, La.

On Sept. 19, the Tennessee Baptist DR operations moved to Philadelphia Baptist Church Horseshoe Drive, Alexandria, La. The DR operation in this area included teams from Weakley County Baptist Association and Brainerd Hills Baptist Church, Chattanooga.

Through Sept. 17, Tennessee DR volunteers responding to Hurricane Laura had compiled more than 3,000 work hours, and completed more than 60 chain saw jobs.

There have been 267 professions of faith during the response efforts from all DR teams (Tennessee and others), noted Wes Jones, disaster relief specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board.

“That’s the number that is most important to us,” Jones said.

Though Winnfield is 125 miles north of where Laura came ashore in Lake Charles, it was still a Category 2 hurricane when it hit the area, said Gary Brooks, a DR volunteer from Knox County Baptist Association and a member of Glenwood Baptist Church, Powell.

Brooks, who is serving as the team’s “Blue Cap” told the Baptist and Reflector on Sept. 9 that the team has been working in Dodson, about 10 miles from Winnfield. “This place is absolutely torn up,” he said. “If you drive down any street, every second or third house has a tree in the middle of it.” [Read more…]

UNION UNIVERSITY BANQUET ENCOURAGES WEST TENNESSEE PASTORS TO ‘STAND FAST’

September 18, 2020

Union University new office

Ray Van Neste, dean of Union’s School of Theology and Missions, spoke as part of the West Tennessee Pastors and Wives Appreciation Banquet at Union on Sept. 8.

JACKSON — The labor of pastors as they seek to lead their congregations in a time of pandemic is not in vain, Ray Van Neste told a group of pastors and their wives at Union University on Sept. 8.

Van Neste, dean of Union’s School of Theology and Missions, spoke as part of the West Tennessee Pastors and Wives Appreciation Banquet that drew more than 100 people.

“Your faithful, steady service is accomplishing far more than you could ever imagine,” Van Neste said. “God often does not show us all he is doing. But we must believe. We walk by faith and not by sight. There is coming a day when you will see, and it will be worth it all. Brothers, stand fast. There is a resurrection.”

Van Neste said he wanted to encourage pastors because of feedback he has received over the past several months. Often pastors are discouraged in trying to figure out how to minister to their people during a pandemic, with some church members believing their pastors are too cautious and others thinking they weren’t being careful enough. [Read more…]

CARSON-NEWMAN PRESIDENT SHARES HOW MISSION WILL DIRECT THE UNIVERSITY’S FUTURE

September 17, 2020

Carson-Newman news office

Carson-Newman University president Charles A. Fowler speaks during this year’s Convocation ceremony at C-N.

JEFFERSON CITY — Carson-Newman University President Charles A. Fowler shared with students, faculty and staff how the University’s mission must become the prevalent navigational influence on the school’s future and determine the assessment of effectiveness as an institution.

The address came during this year’s Convocation ceremony, held at Burke-Tarr Stadium to allow for social distancing due to the pandemic. The annual ceremony celebrates the senior class and serves as a faith-filled marker to begin the academic year.

Fowler emphasized the role of the University’s mission in delivering a Christ-centered education to students, stating: “It’s why we exist.” [Read more…]

TBMB DIRECTORS TO RECOMMEND $35 MILLION CP BUDGET

September 16, 2020

By Lonnie Wilkey
lwilkey@tnbaptist.org

FRANKLIN — The board of directors of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board approved a recommendation for a $35 million Cooperative Program budget for 2020-21.

The board met in person for the first time since COVID-19, but also provided a virtual option that the majority of the directors chose to take. The in-person meeting was held Sept. 15 at Thompson Station Church, Thompson’s Station.

The $35 million goal, which includes $800,000 allocated to Cooperative Program administration and promotion, is the same as the current 2019-20 budget. The allocation to the SBC increased from 47.37 percent to 47.5 percent of Cooperative Program receipts. [Read more…]

PRO-LIFE ADVOCATE JOHNSON URGES BELIEVERS TO ‘WORK TO SAVE EACH AND EVERY ONE’

September 16, 2020

By Sarah Goff
Union University news office

Abby Johnson is a pro-life advocate who authored the book, “Unplanned.”

JACKSON — The Union University Auxiliary hosted “An Evening with Abby Johnson” in the G.M. Savage Memorial Chapel on Tuesday, Sept. 1. Johnson is a pro-life advocate and author of the award-winning book, “Unplanned,” which has been adapted into a movie of the same title.

“Unplanned” chronicles both Johnson’s experiences during her eight-year career at Planned Parenthood and her dramatic exit in 2009 after assisting with an ultrasound-guided abortion and witnessing a 13-week baby fight for and lose its life.

Johnson recounted the story of how she got involved in Planned Parenthood during college because she believed the lie told to her by a woman with the organization that Planned Parenthood was the only place where low-income women could go to receive health care. She told Johnson that without access to safe and legal abortion, women would be forced to get “back alley abortions” and would die from these unsafe procedures. [Read more…]

Worship and friendship are the bedrock of pastors’ hiking trip on Appalachian Trail

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