Baptist & Reflector

Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835

DYER TEAM RESPONDS TO MMC NEED

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

Glynn Reynolds of New Bethlehem Baptist Church, Dyer, repairs a brick wall on the mission home at the Missions Mobilization Center in Mount Juliet. — Photos by Lonnie Wilkey

MOUNT JULIET — When an unknown driver ran off the road earlier this year and crashed into the side of the mission house on the property of the Missions Mobilization Center (no one was hurt), Mark LeMay didn’t have to look far to find a repair team.

LeMay, properties management specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, called John Coleman, pastor of New Bethlehem Baptist Church in Dyer.

“I contacted John because he led the group that bricked the MMC mission house when the house was remodeled several years ago,” LeMay said. “John graciously agreed to put a team together to do the work,” he added. While there, the team also constructed brick columns for a new security gate to the MMC. [Read more…]

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UNION LAUNCHES CALL TO MINISTRY NETWORK

Union University News Office

JACKSON — Union University has joined with three other Southern Baptist schools to launch the Call to Ministry Network.

The network seeks to identify and encourage people in Baptist churches who have sensed a call to ministry service.

The Call to Ministry Network is a partnership between Union; Anderson (S.C.) University; California Baptist University, Riverside, Calif.; and Oklahoma Baptist University, Shawnee, Okla. It was launched during the Southern Baptist Pastors Conference held in conjunction with the SBC annual meeting in June in Dallas.

For more information, visit www.calltoministry.com.

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CARSON-NEWMAN’S FISHING TEAM REELS IN TOP-20 FINISH

By Kristen Early
Carson-Newman News Office

Carson-Newman University students Hunter Sales, left, and Tristan Stalsworth launch onto Lake Tenkiller in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, during the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series National Championship.
— Photo courtesy of Ronnie Moore/B.A.S.S.

JEFFERSON CITY — Taking on a competitive and grueling environment, Carson-Newman University’s fishing team, the Eagle Anglers, secured a 17th-place finish in the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series National Championship.

Hunter Sales, of Blaine, and Tristan Stalsworth, of Jefferson City, launched onto Lake Tenkiller in Tahlequah, Okla., for a contest against 136 teams.

Only the top 12 teams made the cut to compete in the final weigh-in on the third day of the event. [Read more…]

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RED BANK SHARES STORY OF ANOTHER CHAMPION

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

Josh Lancaster, second from right, executive pastor of Red Bank Baptist Church, and Red Bank pastor Sam Greer, right, recognize the Ledbetter family during the recent Night of Champions.

CHATTANOOGA — Former University of Tennessee football legend Joshua Dobbs was not the only champion on center stage during the recent Night of Champions event sponsored by Red Bank Baptist Church.

Joining Dobbs in the spotlight was Grayson Ledbetter, a 6-year-old with Alexander Disease, an extremely rare progressive disease that will eventually cause the person to lose the ability to walk, talk and even eat before the disease takes his or her life.

“Grayson is a champion as he fights for his life,” observed Josh Lancaster, executive pastor at Red Bank Baptist Church. Grayson is the grandson of Red Bank member Tim and Robin Ledbetter who are involved in leadership for the children’s ministry at the church. [Read more…]

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PEACE COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN DIES

Chairman Charles Fuller delivered the SBC Peace Committee’s 1987 report alongside his boyhood friend, SBC President Adrian Rogers.
-SBHLA photo

Baptist and Reflector

ROANOKE, Va. — Charles Fuller, a Virginia pastor who chaired the SBC’s Peace Committee, died July 28 in Roanoke, Va. He was 86.

Formed in 1985 in response to a motion at the SBC annual meeting, the Peace Committee was charged to “seek to determine the sources” of controversy amid the convention’s Conservative Resurgence and “make findings and recommendations.” [Read more…]

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MORE TO LIFE THAN PLAYING FOOTBALL

UT football great tells high schoolers about ‘Team Jesus’

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

Sam McElroy, left, of Bellevue Baptist Church, Cordova, interviews Joshua Dobbs, former University of Tennessee football star, during a Night of Champions event at Red Bank Baptist Church, Chattanooga.

CHATTANOOGA — Joshua Dobbs’ career at the University of Tennessee speaks for itself. Perhaps that’s why he’s more comfortable talking about Jesus than himself.

Dobbs holds four school records for a quarterback and is high on the list of other significant football records. During his UT career (2013-16), he was 23-12 as a starter with a perfect 3-0 record in bowl games. He is tied for fifth for most wins by a Tennessee quarterback.

Add to the fact that he had a 4.0 grade point average while majoring in aerospace engineering and he’s a member of the National Football League’s Pittsburgh Steelers, it’s little wonder that he’s well respected across the state. [Read more…]

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TENNESCENE: AUG. 8-21

DEATHS

Longtime Tennessee Baptist pastor George Gilbert died June 16. Gilbert was a minister in the Knoxville area for nearly 60 years. Churches he served as pastor included Ridgeview, Gayland Heights, Central (Alcoa), Hollywood Hills, Galilee, Northwest and Middlebrook Pike. In addition to serving as a pastor, he was a lifelong educator. Gilbert served in the U.S. Army during the Korean conflict but never saw combat. He was preceded in death by his wife Joyce in 2017. Gilbert is survived by two sons, Greg and Dale Gilbert, five grandchildren and five great grandchildren.

Ann White, a ministry assistant with the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board (formerly Executive Board of the Tennessee Baptist Convention) for 23 years from 1972-95, died July 28. She was 86. White was a member of Belmont Heights Baptist Church. She is survived by her husband, Jerry E. White; four children; nine grandchildren, including Tiffany Pyron, a current member of the TBMB staff, and one great grandchild. [Read more…]

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TBC CP GIFTS ABOVE BUDGET

Baptist and Reflector

FRANKLIN — Tennessee Baptist Convention churches gave $2,766,596 through the Cooperative Program in July.

For the year-to-date, Tennessee Baptists have given $26,029,445. The amount is $504,905 or 2 percent over the amount given at the same time last year. After nine months of the current fiscal year, the gifts are $154,445 or 0.60 percent above budget needs. [Read more…]

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BCM IMPACT STRETCHES BEYOND CAMPUS

By David Dawson
Baptist and Reflector
ddawson@tnbaptist.org

click to enlarge

FRANKLIN — Bill Choate, the collegiate ministry specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, is a big-picture kind of guy, especially in regard to his view of the Baptist Collegiate Ministries.

Choate believes BCM is about so much more than simply being a place for college-aged Christians to socialize. He believes — and has seen — that the ministry is having a major impact for Christ in ways that stretch well beyond the confines of a college campus.

“Tennessee BCM is training leaders for the Kingdom,” said Choate. “And that’s what is so exciting to me. The multiplying impact of transforming our culture for Christ comes from discipling and training up young Christian leaders.” [Read more…]

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BCM – REACHING THE NEXT GENERATION

BCM mobilizes believers, trains leaders, influences campuses

By Bill Choate
bchoate@tnbaptist.org

(Left to right): Hattie Zhang, Hannah Lee, Tori Qualls and Ashley Rivera get together for a selfie during a Baptist Collegiate Ministry event. The four students, all Vanderbilt graduates, are among the roughly 5,000 students in Tennessee who are impacted by BCM each year.

I looked across Mark Whitt’s desk at MTSU Baptist Collegiate Ministry office and asked, “What are the blue cards?” Mark, BCM Campus Minister, said all 750 were contact information cards from new students coming to MTSU.

They were gathered by Mark and student leaders over a summer of on-campus student orientation events.

Of the approximately 4,500 new students on campus at MTSU this fall, BCM already has touched and gathered contact information from 750. School hasn’t even started! [Read more…]

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