Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835
By Nathan Handley
Union University
Union University President Samuel W. “Dub” Oliver delivers his address at Union’s Fall Convocation.
JACKSON, Tenn. — Union University President Samuel W. “Dub” Oliver said in pursuing a virtuous life, the biblical concept of self-control is counter-cultural. [Read more…]
By Caleb Yarbrough
Baptist Press
Former Baptist editor and longtime Baptist communicator Trennis Henderson and his wife Pam will be traveling across the nation in their new RV writing missions stories for national Woman’s Missionary Union.
— Photo by Caleb Yarbrough
ARKADELPHIA, Ark. — The rumble of the on-board generator lent a muffled, but noticeable, undertone as Trennis and Pam Henderson gave a tour of their new home.
Outfitted with all the modern comforts and conveniences expected in a 21st century home — if not in somewhat smaller proportions —- the Hendersons’ new home is a 24-foot-long Winnebago RV.
Since Aug. 1, the couple has been taking their RV across the country, working together to share the stories of Woman’s Missionary Union’s (WMU) various ministries with a new generation of Southern Baptists. [Read more…]
After running from God for most of his young adult life, Garry Edwards accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior while surrounded by a fire on board the USS Forrestal in 1967. Edwards, pastor of Pinecrest Baptist Church in Johnson City, survived and has been preaching God’s Word ever since. He and his wife Sarah have been married for 53 years.
By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector
lwilkey@tnbaptist.org
JOHNSON CITY — When Pastor Garry Edwards of Pinecrest Baptist Church, Johnson City, read a story in the June 13 issue of the Baptist and Reflector about a faith-related movie (Summer of ’67) based on the true story of the USS Forrestal, a Navy ship that caught fire in 1967, he knew he needed to see the movie. [Read more…]
By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector
lwilkey@tnbaptist.org
Lisa and Ridley Barron
FRANKLIN — In early 2004, life was going great for Ridley Barron, former youth minister at Forest Hills Baptist Church in Nashville. Four years earlier he moved to Douglas, Ga., to plant a new church in the southeast portion of the state, and the church was taking root.
On Good Friday of 2004, Barron’s world was rocked forever. A tragic car accident took the life of his wife Sarah Ellen. His 17-month-old son survived the accident but died following a hospital-induced medication error, leaving Barron with two young children. [Read more…]
Williams Chapel Baptist Church, Springfield, will hold a homecoming celebration on Sept. 23 at 11 am. Former Southern Baptist Convention and Tennessee Baptist pastor Jim Henry of Orlando, Fla., will be the guest speaker. A covered dish lunch will follow the service.
First Baptist Church, Atwood, will hold revival services Sept. 9-12 with evangelist Phil Glisson of Memphis.
The Parkway Quilters of Parkway Baptist Church, Goodlettsville, recently made 30 children’s quilts for the Ronald McDonald House.
Charleston Baptist Church, Stanton, will hold revival services Sept. 9-12 with Jerry Drace, evangelist and pastor of Friendship Baptist Church, Friendship. Jay Whalen, minister of music at Smyrna Baptist Church, Burlison, will lead the music. Services will be held at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Sunday and on Monday-Wednesday at 7 p.m. [Read more…]
By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector
lwilkey@tnbaptist.org
CHAPEL HILL — Chapel Hill Community Baptist Church was a congregation seeking its identity and without a pastor. The Church at College Grove was a new church plant with a pastor looking for a place to meet.
The two congregations came together in a way that only God could orchestrate. [Read more…]
By David Dawson
Baptist and Reflector
ddawson@tnbaptist.org
Robert Blake, deacon at One Faith Christian Center Church, talks to a group of young men from the West Frayser community before they take the court for pick-up basketball games.
MEMPHIS — It would have been easy for Barron Martin to take the safe route. He could have moved from the Memphis area, found a comfortable job, and simply “tuned out” the violence and poverty that plagues the neighborhood where he was raised.
Instead, he chose the opposite approach. He elected to be on the frontline. [Read more…]
Baptist Press
Executive directors of Baptist state conventions pray for SBC President J.D. Greear (left) and First Vice President A.B. Vines during an Aug. 20 meeting in Atlanta.
-Photo by Todd Unzicker
ATLANTA — Agreements to “assume the best in one another” and that a “gospel-above-all culture needs to prevail” in the Southern Baptist Convention were among the outcomes when SBC President J.D. Greear met Aug. 20 with 15 executive directors of Baptist state conventions, including Randy C. Davis of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board.
“The most basic principle in airline travel is that if you want someone there for the landing, they have to be there for the takeoff,” Greear, pastor of The Summit Church in Raleigh-Durham, N.C., told Baptist Press in written comments. [Read more…]
By Mike Ebert
Baptist Press
Johnny Hunt (right) longtime pastor of First Baptist Church Woodstock, Ga., and past president of the Southern Baptist Convention, will join the North American Mission Board as senior vice president of evangelism and leadership. Hunt and NAMB President Kevin Ezell (left) announced the news Sunday (Aug. 26). Photo by Hayley Catt/NAMB
ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Johnny Hunt, longtime pastor of First Baptist Church Woodstock, Ga., and past president of the Southern Baptist Convention, will join the North American Mission Board as senior vice president of evangelism and leadership. Hunt and NAMB announced the news Sunday (Aug. 26). [Read more…]
By Carol Pipes
Baptist Press
LifeWay President and CEO Thom S. Rainer, seen here at a trustee meeting in Ridgecrest, N.C., announced his upcoming resignation.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — LifeWay Christian Resources President and CEO Thom S. Rainer announced today (Aug. 27) his plans to retire in the coming year. [Read more…]
