Baptist & Reflector

Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835

EVEN PASTORS CAN STRUGGLE WITH WHAT TO SAY TO GRIEVING FAMILIES

By Grace Thornton
Baptist Press

GREENVILLE, S.C. — In 37 years as a pastor, Rudy Gray sat at the bedside of many terminally ill church members. He stood at gravesides with many grieving families. He sought to speak comforting words — at least he hopes they were comforting.

But one thing he is sure of — he wasn’t fully ready to deal with bereavement in his early years of ministry.

“I think that’s one of the things most pastors aren’t thoroughly prepared for when they launch out into the ministry,” said Gray, now editor of South Carolina Baptists’ publication the Baptist Courier. [Read more…]

Facebooktwittermail

BELLEVUE MEMBERS CANVAS COMMUNITY FOR JESUS

Bellevue Communications Office

Steve Gaines, the senior pastor at Bellevue Baptist Church and former president of the Tennessee Baptist Convention, is currently leading his church through a month-long emphasis on “Building Relationships and Sharing Jesus.”
— Photo by Morris Abernathy

CORDOVA — On Sunday, Aug. 12, more than 1,300 members of Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova, left the church building and went door-to-door in a five-mile radius around their church.

Offering a simple gift bag and prayer, Bellevue members were able to invite the community to church, but more importantly they were able to invite them to Jesus. [Read more…]

Facebooktwittermail

BOAT CAPTAIN FISHES FOR MEN, CATCHES 43

By David Roach
Baptist Press

James Shepherd, or Pastor Shep as he is known throughout Clarksville, stands beside his fishing boat which proclaims, ‘Get In The Boat Bible study.’

CLARKSVILLE — Like many retirees, you can find James Shepherd, 84, fishing in his boat several days each week. But he’s set apart from many other retirees by what he’s fishing for.

When he and a friend bought a pontoon boat four years ago, he sensed the Lord saying, “Why don’t you fish for men off this?” So Shepherd made signs that said, “Get in the boat — Bible study” and “Worship on the water.” Then he launched a ministry of taking people for rides on the Cumberland River and sharing the gospel with them. [Read more…]

Facebooktwittermail

HAMPTON RETURNS ‘HOME’ TO PLANT CHURCH

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

Pastor Cal Hampton, center, is joined by two of his leaders at Second Mile Church in Clarksville — Shan Smith, left, and Mike Rainey. The church had its first service on South Riverside Drive on March 25 with 137 people in attendance. In a few months, attendance is approaching 200 each week.

CLARKSVILLE — Cal Hampton has come full circle.

He moved with his family to Clarksville at the age of 5 and was reared there. He stayed in the military town and attended Austin Peay State University. While at Austin Peay, he worked in a restaurant not far from the Austin Peay campus.

After being called into the ministry, Hampton left Clarksville and a successful hotel business when he was 37 years old to attend Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. After graduation, he was called as pastor of Green River Baptist Church in Waynesboro, where he served for nearly 20 years. [Read more…]

Facebooktwittermail

ONCE ON THE VERGE OF CLOSING, RIVER ROCK IS NOW ROLLING

By David Dawson
Baptist and Reflector
ddawson@tnbaptist.org

Photo: River Rock Facebook page

MURFREESBORO — It’s been quite a journey for River Rock Baptist Church in Murfreesboro: In the past decade, the church has gone from survival to revival.

Under the leadership of pastor Don Herron — along with the help of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board’s revitalization team and abundant praying — the church has recovered from its darkest days and is now once again making an impact in its community.

Sandi Kirkwood, a member at River Rock, believes the transformation can be attributed to one simple concept — love. [Read more…]

Facebooktwittermail

TENURE ENDS, LOVE REMAINS

The King’s Academy’s Walter Grubb retires after 31 years with TBC entity

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

Walter Grubb stands in front of the Anderson Building on the campus of The King’s Academy (Harrison-Chilhowee Baptist Academy) in Seymour. Grubb retired July 31 after 31 years of ministry with the institution, including the last 24 as president/headmaster.

SEYMOUR — Walter Grubb’s nearly lifelong affiliation with The King’s Academy (Harrison-Chilhowee Baptist Academy) has come to an end, but his love and passion for the school will last the rest of his life.

Grubb stepped down as president and headmaster of TKA on July 31 after serving in that role since 1994. He had been with the school since 1987 when he was named principal.

But being a native of Blount County and the son of a Baptist pastor (the late Glenn Grubb who served at Madison Avenue Baptist Church in Maryville for many years), Grubb was well acquainted with the Tennessee Baptist-affiliated high school. In fact, his dad attended the academy to complete his high school diploma after he was called to the ministry. “Not too many people get to see their dad graduate from high school,” Grubb said. [Read more…]

Facebooktwittermail

CHURCH TAKES GOSPEL TO PRISON

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

Christian, persecution, prison, BibleMOUNTAIN CITY — When Gale Hartley moved to Mountain City nearly five years ago to become pastor of Bethany Baptist Church, he discovered the church had an active prison ministry thanks to the passion of deacon Mike Long.

Long felt called by God to minister to prisoners at Northeast Correctional Complex where its minimum security annex holds approximately 300 offenders and an additional 180 at its Carter County Annex in Roan Mountain.

Long initiated the prison ministry at Bethany Baptist, Hartley said. “When I came he encouraged me to get involved. God had already dealt with my heart and called me to jail and prison ministry years ago while I pastored at East Side Baptist Church in Elizabethton before we went overseas with the International Mission Board,” he recalled. [Read more…]

Facebooktwittermail

CARSON-NEWMAN NAMES SEARCH COMMITTEE

Carson-Newman University News Office

JEFFERSON CITY — Tennessee State Representative Harry Brooks of Knoxville, chair of the board of trustees of Carson-Newman University, has announced the formation of two separate search committees as the university seeks a new president following the retirement of President J. Randall O’Brien, who will conclude his 10-year service in December.

A Presidential Search Committee will be tasked with finding the institution’s 23rd president, while an Interim Presidential Search Committee will seek leadership for the office until a new president can be named. [Read more…]

Facebooktwittermail

GUIDESTONE GAINS WIN OVER MANDATE

Baptist Press

DALLAS — A federal judge in Oklahoma issued a final judgment July 17 in favor of the Southern Baptist Convention’s health and financial benefits entity, as well as ministries it serves, GuideStone reported Aug. 8.

The ruling brought to an end GuideStone’s challenge of a 2011 rule issued by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that helped implement a controversial health-care law enacted the previous year. The regulation required employers to provide their workers with coverage for contraceptives, including those that can potentially induce abortions, or face potentially devastating fines.

GuideStone President O.S. Hawkins said the court decision means “we finally have a clear declarative judgment that says the government cannot force a church-controlled organization like GuideStone to violate its faith in the manner the previous administration attempted to do.”

Facebooktwittermail

MURFREESBORO CHURCH THINKS ‘OUTSIDE THE BOX’ WITH SOCCER PROGRAM

By David Dawson
Baptist and Reflector
ddawson@tnbaptist.org

MURFREESBORO — Like most kids of his generation, Terry Wilkerson played baseball, basketball and football. Just recently he stepped “outside his box” in a major way.

Wilkerson, pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Murfreesboro, became a soccer coach. “I never played soccer in my life,” he acknowledged. “It’s been a new experience for me,” he added.

Earlier this year, Grace Baptist launched a church-only soccer league, quite a feat for a small congregation that only had 16 kids who participated on the teams. [Read more…]

Facebooktwittermail

Address

4017 Rural Plains Circle
Franklin, TN 37064

Contact Information

Mail: Baptist & Reflector, P.O. Box 682789, Franklin, TN 37068
Physical Address: 4017 Rural Plains Circle, Franklin, TN 37064
Email: bandr@tnbaptist.org
Phone: 615-371-2003

2025 © The Baptist and Reflector. All Right Reserved.