Baptist & Reflector

Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835

TENNESCENE JAN. 11-24

ASSOCIATIONS

A team of nine people from the Duck River Baptist Association, based in Tullahoma, and William Carey Baptist Association, based in Fayetteville, served in Taiwan Nov. 25 – Dec. 3. The Tennessee Baptists spoke to 41 classes in two schools and distributed 550 copies of the Gospel of John to students and the Bible to 41 teachers. Team members also distributed 225 New Testaments to tourists from the communist mainland and served in high school where they had spiritual discussions with students, reported Mark Puckett, director of missions, Duck River Association. 

Ocoee Outreach of CrossNet Baptist Network (formerly Bradley Baptist Association), based in Cleveland, saw 110 people make professions of faith during the summer of 2016. A total of 1,400 volunteers from 33 churches in 12 states served, leading 74 home repair projects, block parties, programs, day camps, Backyard Bible Clubs, and sports camps. [Read more…]

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MISSIONS A WAY OF LIFE FOR FOOTBALL PLAYER

By Bill Sorrell
Contributing Writer, Baptist and Reflector

Jeffery Johnson

Jeffery Johnson

McKENZIE — A Cuban Christian gave Jeffery Johnson the shirt off his back.

While on a missions trip to Cuba last March, Johnson met Eduardo, a married man in his mid-30s with two children.

“We had a bond. We got to spend so much time together. At a going-away party I wanted to give him something,” said Johnson, a center on Bethel University’s football team. [Read more…]

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FORMER SBC LEADER PAUL POWELL DIES

Baptist Press

Paul Powell

Paul Powell

TYLER, Texas — Paul Powell, former president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Annuity Board, died Dec. 28 following a stroke earlier in the month. He was 83.

In addition to leading the Annuity Board (later renamed GuideStone Financial Resources) from 1990-97, Powell pastored Green Acres Baptist Church in Tyler, Texas, 17 years. He became dean of Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary in 2001.

GuideStone President O.S. Hawkins, Powell’s immediate successor, called him “a strong advocate for our participants throughout his tenure.”

“He guided the Annuity Board with integrity and skill,” Hawkins said in a statement.

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TBC CP GIFTS AHEAD OF NEW BUDGET

Baptist and Reflector

cplogoBRENTWOOD — Tennessee Baptist Convention churches gave $3,234,452 through the Cooperative Program in December.

For the year-to-date, Tennessee Baptists have given a total of $6,158,716 to fund missions and ministries in Tennessee and around the world.

After two months of the 2016-17 budget year, Cooperative Program gifts are up $8,571 or 0.1 percent over the same time frame last year. [Read more…]

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WHO DO AMERICANS LOOK TO?

Baptist Press

170110conversationNASHVILLE — America has its problems and needs to talk. But according to a new study, few Americans agree on who can best lead a conversation about the nation’s woes.

Less than a quarter (23 percent) would turn to the office of the U.S. president. About one in 10 would turn to the nation’s preachers (11 percent) or to college professors (10 percent), a survey by LifeWay Research shows.

“Almost no one would ask a musician or pro athlete,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of LifeWay Research, “even though they often try to start public conversations. [Read more…]

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TOP WEBSITE STORIES IN 2016

Baptist and Reflector

170110web-storiesBRENTWOOD — Interest in the Baptist and Reflector website (baptistandreflector.org) gained momentum in 2016.

During the past year the website had 147,536 visitor sessions with 84,450 visitors and 270,605 page views.

“One of the significant things  to  note about the stories listed is that many of them were breaking news stories where we were able to utilize the paper’s online version to quickly get news out to Tennessee Baptists,” said Chris Turner, director of communications for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board.

“This proved especially important in the case of the Gatlinburg fires where we were reporting news from Gatlinburg in real time.” [Read more…]

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NAME CHANGE, FIRES TOP STORIES IN 2016

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

View from back of Roaring Fork Baptist Church in Gatlinburg. The church and vehicle were destroyed by wildfires which swept through Sevier County on Nov. 28.

View from back of Roaring Fork Baptist Church in Gatlinburg. The church and vehicle were destroyed by wildfires which swept through Sevier County on Nov. 28.

BRENTWOOD — There was no shortage of news in the Tennessee Baptist Convention in 2016.

The story that garnered the most national attention occurred Nov. 28 when fires swept across Sevier County, primarily in Gatlinburg, leaving 14 people dead, injuring at least 160 others, and damaging or destroying 2,400 structures including three Tennessee Baptist churches in Gatlinburg — Roaring Fork Baptist Church, Banner Baptist Church, and First Baptist Church.

After the fires, hundreds of Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief (TBDR) volunteers provided assistance. Volunteers have done everything from providing hot meals and sack lunches to clearing charred trees off property and some demolition to sifting through ashes and debris in hopes of finding a family heirloom or simply an item with only sentimental value. [Read more…]

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2016: HATMAKER, SBC ELECTION, WILDFIRES AMONG BP’S MOST-READ STORIES

By Shawn Hendricks
Baptist Press

170103bp-newsNASHVILLE (BP) — It was a year of unexpected election outcomes, race-related violence, ongoing global terrorism and natural disasters. It also was another year of controversial comments and consequences.

In 2016, the most-read Baptist Press story was one about a popular author and speaker who sparked a firestorm for statements she made in an interview about gay marriage.

This year’s list of stories, compiled by the web-traffic tracker Google Analytics, also includes coverage of a tragic highway crash that took the lives of a young missionary family of five, wildfires that devastated Gatlinburg this fall and stories related to this year’s Southern Baptist Convention presidential election. [Read more…]

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TENNESSEE MINISTERS CALL FOR COOPERATION IN OPEN LETTER

By David Roach
Baptist Press

Micah Fries, Nathan Finn, Jon Akin

Micah Fries, Nathan Finn, Jon Akin

NASHVILLE — Controversy surrounding ethicist Russell Moore’s past comments on President-elect Donald Trump has led three Tennessee Baptists — all under the age of 40 — to issue an open letter calling “conservative resurgence generation and their protégés” to “be the statesmen we need them to be in this season of denominational tension.”

Jonathan Akin, Nathan Finn, and Micah Fries wrote in a Dec. 21 open letter provided to Baptist Press, “Now isn’t the time for acrimonious debates over secondary and tertiary doctrinal matters,” such as the extent of the atonement, church polity, methodology, and the appropriate means of cultural engagement.

They directed their comments especially toward Southern Baptists who led the conservative resurgence of the 1980s and 1990s as well as those mentored by that generation, noting, “Our real enemy is the Prince of Darkness.” The resurgence attempted to make biblical inerrancy a bedrock commitment of Southern Baptist Convention entities. [Read more…]

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DR VOLUNTEERS SHOW CHRIST’S LOVE

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

161230-gatlinburg-drGATLINBURG — One month after a devastating fire swept through the Smoky Mountains, Gatlinburg residents are still picking up the pieces, literally.

Hundreds of Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers have provided assistance since relief efforts began. Volunteers have done everything from providing hot meals and sack lunches to clearing charred trees off property and some demolition to sifting through ashes and debris in hopes of finding a family heirloom or simply an item with only sentimental value. [Read more…]

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