Baptist & Reflector

Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835

MISS. TORNADO DAMAGES WILLIAM CAREY UNIVERSITY

By David Roach
Baptist Press

Most of the vehicles and buildings on William Carey University’s Hattiesburg, Miss., campus were damaged by a Jan. 21 tornado. -William Carey University photo.

Most of the vehicles and buildings on William Carey University’s Hattiesburg, Miss., campus were damaged by a Jan. 21 tornado.
-William Carey University photo.

HATTIESBURG, Miss. (BP) — An EF3 tornado that ripped through southern Mississippi Jan. 21 in the wee hours of the morning damaged nearly all of the 30 buildings on William Carey University’s Hattiesburg campus and left seven students injured.

William Carey is affiliated with the Mississippi Baptist Convention and has campuses in Hattiesburg and Biloxi.

“The outpouring of support from not only here in Hattiesburg but also around the state and out of state has just been tremendous,” university spokeswoman Mia Overton told Baptist Press, adding, “Although the William Carey University campus is closed, the university is open and we are doing everything we can to continue operations.” [Read more…]

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TENNESSEE PASTOR RESIGNS AS IMB TRUSTEE

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

160114imb-officeMORRISTOWN — A Tennessee Baptist pastor has resigned as a trustee of the Southern Baptist Convention’s International Mission Board in response to an action taken by IMB leadership last summer. He had another year to serve on his present term.

Dean Haun, pastor of First Baptist Church, Morristown, told the Baptist and Reflector his resignation was in response to the IMB’s May 2016 decision to sign an amicus brief in support of a mosque to be built in New Jersey.  [Read more…]

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REPORT: ABORTION RATE HITS ALL-TIME LOW

By Tom Strode
Baptist Press

pregnant-woman-holding-sonogramWASHINGTON (BP) — The abortion rate in the United States declined to an all-time low, while the number of lethal procedures dropped below a million for the first time since 1975, according to a new report.

The Guttmacher Institute reported Tuesday (Jan. 17) the rate fell to 14.6 abortions per 1,000 women 15 to 44 years old in 2014, which is a decline of 14 percent since its most recent survey in 2011. In its census of all known abortion providers in the country, Guttmacher found abortions totaled 958,700 in 2013 and 926,190 in 2014. [Read more…]

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CONCERT TO BENEFIT PAUL CLARK

Baptist and Reflector

Paul Clark

Paul Clark

BRENTWOOD — The Tennessee Men’s Chorale and the Tennessee Ladies Chorus will hold a benefit concert for Paul Clark on Friday, Jan. 20, at 7 p.m. at First Baptist Church, Jackson.

Clark is the former worship and music specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board (formerly Executive Board). He suffered a stroke in 2015 following The Summit held at Brentwood Baptist Church, Brentwood, and was unable to return to work. [Read more…]

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ASSOCIATION PROVIDES TAX FILING SERVICE

By Connie Davis Bushey
News Editor, Baptist and Reflector

tax-form-1040-calculatorCLEVELAND — For the seventh year about 10 volunteers of the CrossNet Baptist Network (formerly Bradley Baptist Association) will help about 200 citizens here file their annual income tax with the Internal Revenue Service.

The service — the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance — is free which saves the people coming to use the service the filing fee charged by a company to file taxes. It is offered out of the CrossNet Network office in Cleveland.

While there, the Baptist volunteers also help the tax filers spiritually. [Read more…]

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STATES BOOST CP GIVING

Baptist Press

Jeremy Westbrook, outgoing president of the State Convention of Baptists in Ohio and pastor of Living Hope Church in Marysville, delivers his address during the SBCO’s Nov. 2 annual meeting in Vandalia.

Jeremy Westbrook, outgoing president of the State Convention of Baptists in Ohio and pastor of Living Hope Church in Marysville, delivers his address during the SBCO’s Nov. 2 annual meeting in Vandalia.

NASHVILLE — Ohio Baptists approved the largest increase in the portion of Cooperative Program receipts sent beyond the state next year, moving from the current 59.75/40.25 ratio to a 50/50 split.

“Supporting missions from Ohio to the ends of the earth is the heartbeat of Ohio Southern Baptists,” said Ohio Executive Director Jack Kwok in praising the decision.

The State Convention of Baptists in Ohio (SCBO) joins four other conventions that forward half or more to the Southern Baptist Convention, without a “shared ministry” calculation, including the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention (55/45), Florida (51/49), Iowa (50/50) and Nevada (50/50). [Read more…]

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SANCTITY OF HUMAN LIFE: A YEAR-ROUND CONCERN

Southern Baptist churches will observe Sanctity of Human Life Sunday Jan. 22

By Connie Davis Bushey
News Editor, Baptist and Reflector

pregnant-woman-holding-sonogramBRENTWOOD — Baptists and Christians are still uncomfortable talking about sex, sexual issues, and abortion but that should change to protect unborn babies and to be involved in ministry and missions in today’s world, said three Tennessee Baptist women who are directors of pregnancy crisis centers.

For instance, many of their clients are also active church members. The center directors wish the girls and women who come to them as well as their families would have received more education and more help from their churches. Guilt and shame over a pregnancy if unmarried is proper up to a point, they pointed out.

Sexual issues and abortions are real concerns for people, the long-time directors said. This is confirmed by statistics though abortions are down some the past several years.  [Read more…]

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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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