Baptist & Reflector

Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835

ERLC ‘UNITY’ STATEMENT PRAISED BY GAINES, GRAHAM

By David Roach
Baptist Press

ERLC President Russell Moore (right) -- pictured here at a 2015 press conference with then-SBC Resolutions Committee chairman Steve Gaines -- was commended by Gaines following release of a March 20 extended statement, "Seeking Unity in the Southern Baptist Convention." -BP file photo by Bill Bangham

ERLC President Russell Moore (right) — pictured here at a 2015 press conference with then-SBC Resolutions Committee chairman Steve Gaines — was commended by Gaines following release of a March 20 extended statement, “Seeking Unity in the Southern Baptist Convention.”
-BP file photo by Bill Bangham

NASHVILLE (BP) — An extended statement by Russell Moore and the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission executive committee, “Seeking Unity in the Southern Baptist Convention,” has drawn praise from SBC President Steve Gaines and former SBC President Jack Graham among others.

Meanwhile, Christian worldview analyst John Stonestreet said in a radio interview that controversy surrounding Moore, the ERLC’s president, gives Southern Baptists an opportunity to “model what it looks like to have deeply held differences … on political issues” yet “keep the main things the main things and move forward in a way that improves the reputation of the Gospel.” [Read more…]

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RALLY: TALK ABOUT JESUS AT EVERY OPPORTUNITY

By Nathan Handley
Union University

Steve Gaines speaks March 5 at the second annual West Tennessee Evangelism Rally in Union University’s G.M. Savage Memorial Chapel. -Photo by Kristi Woody

Steve Gaines speaks March 5 at the second annual West Tennessee Evangelism Rally in Union University’s G.M. Savage Memorial Chapel.
-Photo by Kristi Woody

JACKSON — Steve Gaines, pastor at Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova and president of the Southern Baptist Convention, said evangelism should be the priority of every Christian.

“Heaven and hell are looming in the balance, and that’s a lot more important than anything else,” Gaines said March 5 at the West Tennessee Evangelism Rally at Union University.

Gaines was the featured preacher at the rally, sponsored by Union and the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board. He spoke to pastors and church members from churches across the West Tennessee area. [Read more…]

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MOORE, ERLC TRUSTEES ISSUE ‘SEEKING UNITY’ STATEMENT

By Art Toalston
Baptist Press

Russell Moore -BP file photo.

Russell Moore
-BP file photo.

NASHVILLE (BP) — An extended statement, “Seeking Unity in the Southern Baptist Convention,” has been issued by Russell Moore and the executive committee of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission.

Moore, in a 1,691-word portion of the March 20 statement, clarified criticism he had leveled at Christians who supported Donald Trump for president in the November 2016 election.

The ERLC executive committee, in a 536-word portion of the statement, affirmed Moore’s ongoing leadership as president of the SBC entity. [Read more…]

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TENNESSEE PASTORS SPOTLIGHTED IN UNION EVENT

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

Steve Gaines

Steve Gaines

JACKSON — Four Tennessee Baptist pastors were front and center during the Festival of Preaching held March 8 at Union University.

The festival was held prior to Union’s REF500 Conference on the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. The Festival of Preaching focused on the five central themes of the reformation. 

“Preaching played such a role in the Protestant Reformation,” said Ray Van Neste, director of the Ryan Center for Biblical Studies at Union University, which hosted both the Festival of Preaching and REF500. [Read more…]

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NGU TAPS FORMER UU PROFESSOR

Gene Fant

Gene Fant

North Greenville News Office

TIGERVILLE, S.C. — Gene Fant was elected the eighth president of North Greenville University here on Feb. 23.

Fant, 53, has a long record of leadership in Christian higher education, most recently at Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, Fla., where he served as provost and chief academic officer.

Prior to Palm Beach Atlantic, Fant served at Union University in Jackson from 2002-2014, holding a variety of positions before assuming the role of the executive vice president for academic administration. [Read more…]

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712 TEENS ACCEPT CHRIST AT YEC

By Connie Davis Bushey
News Editor, Baptist and Reflector

Members of Tennessee Valley Community Church, Paris, worship at YEC 2017. From left are Dan Hassell, Haleigh Henegar, Hannah Henegar, Alayna Fuson, Michael Flowers, and Joey Craig. On the right is Shane Webb, youth director at Hamblen County Substance Abuse Coalition, Morristown, who brought a group of teens associated with the coalition. He is a member of Witt Baptist Church, Morristown. — Photo by Connie Bushey

Members of Tennessee Valley Community Church, Paris, worship at YEC 2017. From left are Dan Hassell, Haleigh Henegar, Hannah Henegar, Alayna Fuson, Michael Flowers, and Joey Craig. On the right is Shane Webb, youth director at Hamblen County Substance Abuse Coalition, Morristown, who brought a group of teens associated with the coalition. He is a member of Witt Baptist Church, Morristown.
— Photo by Connie Bushey

See also: YEC 2017 Photo Gallery

NASHVILLE — Youth Evangelism Conference 2017 drew about 7,383 participants to Municipal Auditorium here March 10-11. At least 712 teens made professions of faith during the Friday evening session.

In addition, 392 students recorded that they had been a lukewarm Christian but were ready to follow Christ as a dedicated disciple, 210 teens reported that they felt called by God to serve in missions and ministry, and 578 made other commitments.

Also, thousands accepted the “Oikos” challenge of YEC 2017. Kent Shingleton, coordinator of Youth Evangelism Conference for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, told the teens that “Oikos” (oiee-kahs), a Greek word, means extended family.  [Read more…]

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SINGLE ADULT NUMBERS ARE SOARING. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR CONGREGATIONS?

By Jeff Brumley
Baptist News Global

Research shows that the number of single Americans is increasing, while marriages remain flat. Experts say churches should respond with more ministries geared to young singles. (Photo/Tammy McGary/Creative Commons)

Research shows that the number of single Americans is increasing, while marriages remain flat. Experts say churches should respond with more ministries geared to young singles. (Photo/Tammy McGary/Creative Commons)

Churches may want to take a hard look at what they’re offering young, single adults — and then boost it.

“Many churches are built around a family model,” Roxanne Stone, editor and chief of the Barna Group, said in remarks published with a survey about romance and relationships.

“They are most comfortable ministering to families and have developed an infrastructure to support couples and children,” she said. [Read more…]

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REF500 FESTIVAL CELEBRATES PROTESTANT REFORMATION’S 500TH ANNIVERSARY

By Nathan Handley
Union University

JACKSON, Tenn. — Union University celebrated the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation with the REF500 festival March 9-11. The festival included lectures, music, theater, film, sermons, and a public reading of the entire Bible.

Ray Van Neste, professor and director of the Ryan Center for Biblical Studies at Union and organizer of the event, said the Reformation is something to be remembered, carefully thought about and celebrated. [Read more…]

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DISNEY’S ‘GAY MOMENT’ SOURS MANY CHRISTIANS

By Diana Chandler
Baptist Press

170315disneyNASHVILLE (BP) — A gay plot twist in Disney’s upcoming live-action “Beauty and the Beast” continues to stir discontent among Christians, with an online poll at Faith Driven Consumer (FDC) among the latest to voice displeasure.

The poll reports 95 percent of 6,700 consumers said they are less likely to see the film because of an intimate attraction the bumbling LeFou character expresses toward the villainous Gaston. And 94 percent of those polled said they will likely spend less money on all Disney offerings as a whole, the online forum of 41 million Americans reported March 14. [Read more…]

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PAGE & MOORE: ‘WE FULLY SUPPORT ONE ANOTHER’

By David Roach
Baptist Press

Frank S. Page, Russell Moore

Frank S. Page, Russell Moore

NASHVILLE (BP) — Despite a Washington Post article suggesting Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee President Frank S. Page could ask Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission President Russell Moore to resign amid ongoing controversy, the two SBC entity leaders reported a collegial meeting today (March 13) and said they “fully support one another.”

Earlier in the day, amid a social media flurry following the Post’s report, Page told Baptist Press he planned on “bridge-building” with Moore with no anticipation of requesting a resignation. [Read more…]

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