Baptist & Reflector

Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835

VBS: A MOST EFFECTIVE EVANGELISM

25 percent of baptisms in Tennessee and nationally result from Vacation Bible School

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

160310VBS-BKCBRENTWOOD — Vacation Bible School has been around for decades, but it is still one of the most effective evangelism tools in the Southern Baptist Convention, according to two Tennessee Baptist Convention specialists.

“In Tennessee Baptist life we know that approximately 25 percent of our professions of faith come either through VBS or Backyard Kids Clubs,” said Steve Pearson, TBC evangelism specialist. [Read more…]

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STEVE GAINES TO BE SBC PRESIDENT NOMINEE

By David Roach
Baptist Press

Steve Gaines

Steve Gaines

ST. LOUIS (BP) — Tennessee pastor Steve Gaines will be nominated for president of the Southern Baptist Convention, Georgia pastor Johnny Hunt announced today (March 9).

“When Steve Gaines shared his prayer journey he and [his wife] Donna had travelled, I was touched by his clear call to allow himself to be nominated,” Hunt, pastor of First Baptist Church in Woodstock, Ga., wrote in a news release stating his intention to nominate Gaines during the SBC annual meeting June 14-15 in St. Louis.

“Steve struggled with this nomination as he has always believed this office should seek the man,” Hunt continued. “With such a passionate desire for spiritual revival in our churches and nation, and knowing him to be a man of deep intense prayer, it brings joy to my heart to nominate Dr. Gaines.” [Read more…]

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TENNESCENE MAR. 9-22

LEADERS

Billy Hoffman

Billy Hoffman

Billy Hoffman, director of development, Southern Baptist International Mission Board, based in Richmond, for 13 years, has been named stewardship development specialist, Tennessee Baptist Convention, effective March 1. Prior to that he was director of annual giving and planned giving, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas. Hoffman also served in the U.S. Army, where he was a captain, and has been a church planter and pastor.

Nancy Paul

Nancy Paul

Nancy Paul, pianist for North Cleveland Baptist Church, Cleveland, retired recently. She had served as pianist of the church for 57 years. She was honored on Feb. 28 by the congregation. “Simply put, Nancy Paul is a treasure and a legacy,” said Jay McCluskey, pastor. “What a rich heritage that multiple generations of our church family received through the musical blessing of this gifted woman.”

Don Pickrell, Southern Baptist Mission Service Corps missionary and member, Rechoboth Baptist Church, Soddy Daisy, led a missions team of 17 people who were mostly from Rechoboth Baptist to Guatemala during December. They worked with AMG International’s schools there. [Read more…]

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TBC CP GIVING ON THE RISE

Baptist and Reflector

cplogoBRENTWOOD — Tennessee Baptist Convention churches gave $3,004,385 through the Cooperative Program in February.

For the year-to-date, Tennessee Baptists have given $11,964,247.

After the first quarter of the fiscal year, the amount is $834,602 or 7.5 percent above what was given during the same time frame last year, and is $547,580 or 4.8 percent above budget needs. [Read more…]

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NEARLY 1,000 MISSIONARIES RETURN HOME

IMB ‘reset’ will allow missions agency to have balanced budget for 2016-17

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

IMB staff members Phil Nelson, left, and Terry Sharp, second from right, visit with Tennessee trustees David Miller, second from left, and Phil Mitchell during the IMB trustee meeting held at the International Learning Center near Richmond late last month. Both Nelson and Sharp have strong Tennessee ties. Sharp formerly served on the staff of the Tennessee Baptist Convention and still lives in Hendersonville while Nelson formerly served as missions pastor at First Baptist Church, Concord, in Knoxville.

IMB staff members Phil Nelson, left, and Terry Sharp, second from right, visit with Tennessee trustees David Miller, second from left, and Phil Mitchell during the IMB trustee meeting held at the International Learning Center near Richmond late last month. Both Nelson and Sharp have strong Tennessee ties. Sharp formerly served on the staff of the Tennessee Baptist Convention and still lives in Hendersonville while Nelson formerly served as missions pastor at First Baptist Church, Concord, in Knoxville.

RICHMOND — Trustees of the Southern Baptist International Mission Board were told Feb. 24 that 988 missionaries are leaving the missions field along with 149 stateside staff members.

Last August IMB President David Platt announced that for financial reasons, the IMB needed to cut 600-800 missionary/staff positions. Over recent years the IMB consistently spent more money than it received — a combined $210 million more since 2010, leading to the critical need to balance the organization’s budget.

Missionaries and staff age 50 and above, with at least five years of employment, were given a Voluntary Retirement Incentive (VRI). Those not meeting that criteria were given the opportunity to retire through a Hand Raising Opportunity (HRO). [Read more…]

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IMB’S PLATT LOOKS FORWARD AFTER ‘RESET’

Baptist Press

IMB President David Platt casts vision for the future of IMB and responds to questions and comments submitted live via Twitter during a livestream event Thursday, March 3. -Photo by Chris Carter/IMB

IMB President David Platt casts vision for the future of IMB and responds to questions and comments submitted live via Twitter during a livestream event Thursday, March 3.
-Photo by Chris Carter/IMB

RICHMOND, Va. (BP) — Following an “organizational reset” that saw more than 1,100 International Mission Board personnel transition away from the board, President David Platt told a March 3 live stream audience he is ready to focus on the future.

“I really want to shift the conversation from talking about numbers and finances to talking about how this army of brothers and sisters going out specifically from Southern Baptist churches across North America can make the Gospel known among the nations,” Platt told an online audience that included viewers on more than 1,000 electronic devices. [Read more…]

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J.D. GREEAR TO BE SBC PRESIDENT NOMINEE

Baptist Press

J.D. Greear

J.D. Greear

ST. LOUIS (BP) — North Carolina pastor J.D. Greear will be nominated for president of the Southern Baptist Convention, Florida pastor Jimmy Scroggins announced today (March 2).

Greear, 42, “is leading his generation to live out a passion for the SBC, missions and the local church,” Scroggins, pastor of Family Church in West Palm Beach, Fla., wrote in a news release stating his intention to nominate Greear during the SBC annual meeting June 14-15 in St. Louis. [Read more…]

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PLATT ANNOUNCES LIVE STREAMED Q&A

Baptist Press

160302plattRICHMOND, Va. (BP) — International Mission Board President David Platt will host a one-hour live streamed video session on the entity’s future at 11 a.m. Eastern Time March 3, answering questions and responding to comments submitted via Twitter under #IMBLive.

Platt has expressed a desire to move the conversation beyond discussion of the 983 missionaries and 149 stateside staff members leaving IMB through a Voluntary Retirement Incentive (VRI) and a Hand Raising Opportunity (HRI) collectively aimed at balancing the entity’s budget.

Registration is available free online to the public here. [Read more…]

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SHARING GOD IN SWEDEN TOUGH: MOENCH

By Charles Braddix
IMB Writer

Stockholm, Sweden

Stockholm, Sweden

STOCKHOLM, Sweden — What’s the most embarrassing thing you can talk about in your city? Discussions that include God, said a Scandinavian pastor.

The pastor in Denmark told this to sociologist Phil Zuckerman, who spent 14 months interviewing nearly 150 Scandinavians, according to The New York Times.

This can pose a dilemma for Christian workers trying to evangelize and plant churches in countries like Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The key, however, is not leaving God out of spiritual discussions, but knowing how to have an appropriate spiritual conversation with Scandinavians, said International Mission Board strategy leader David Moench, a Tennessean and member of Brentwood Baptist Church, Brentwood. [Read more…]

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BEING FIT MORE THAN DIET AND EXERCISE

Carson Springs camp manager offers tips on being physically and spiritually fit

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

Despite the snow, Kevin Perrigan gets his running in during a recent meeting at Linden Valley Baptist Conference Center in Linden.

Despite the snow, Kevin Perrigan gets his running in during a recent meeting at Linden Valley Baptist Conference Center in Linden.

BRENTWOOD — Being fit involves more than eating healthy and exercising, says Kevin Perrigan.

In the world’s eyes, fitness is more about maintaining a certain body shape or weight, observed Perrigan, manager of Carson Springs Baptist Conference Center in Newport.

From the Christian perspective, the reason to be totally fit is to “fulfill God’s purpose for your life,” said Perrigan who teaches a course entitled “Balance Fit” at First Baptist Church, Dandridge, where he is a member. [Read more…]

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