Opinion Column Archives - Baptist & Reflector

FOUR REASONS WHY COUNTING IS IMPORTANT

June 14, 2019

By Roc Collins
Director of Strategic Objectives, TBMB

I recently overheard someone cynically remark, “It seems like everybody is way too focused on numbers in church.” I understood what he was saying, but I would argue that focusing on numbers is a godly pursuit.

Before I deepen the chasm of cynicism even further, please hear me out. Every number represents a person so valuable to God that He’d be willing to send His only Son to die in their place. That’s value! As it’s been said: We count people because people count. [Read more…]

REASONS FOR OPTIMISM ABOUT THE SBC’S FUTURE

June 12, 2019

By Randy C. Davis
TBMB President & Executive Director

President George W. Bush once stood in front of a group of people trying to make sense of the world that seemed to be coming undone around them. “One thing is for certain,” he said. “We did not ask for these challenges, but we will meet them. I say that with certainty because this nation has strong foundations and won’t be shaken. In this hour of our country’s history we stand in the need of prayer.”

That comment was made at the first post-9/11 National Prayer Breakfast and prior to the beginning of the longest war, the war on terrorism, in our nation’s history. I was at that prayer breakfast. I saw the resolute courage in our president’s eyes; I heard it in the tone of his voice. [Read more…]

ACTEENS: INFLUENCING, CHANGING LIVES OF GIRLS

June 12, 2019

By Vickie Anderson
Tennessee WMU Executive Director

Tennessee WMU executive director Vickie Anderson, right, during her days as an Acteen.

My entry point into missions was the Acteens organization at Immanuel Baptist Church in Lebanon in 1980 as an eighth grader. During the next five years, the world of missionaries, ministry, service and missions opened up for me and a passion was ignited that still burns brightly today. Some of the things our group did that stand out in my memory are: [Read more…]

PRAYER SUPERSEDES POLITICS

June 5, 2019

I was skimming over some Twitter feeds on Tuesday (June 4) and one caught my attention. I clicked on it and was taken to an article in The Washington Times entitled “Pastor says he ‘hurt’ congregation by praying for Trump on unscheduled visit”.

I re-read the headline and then read the article to make sure I understood what was being said. [Read more…]

GRADUATION GIFTS THAT KEEP ON GIVING

June 5, 2019

By Carolyn Tomlin
Contributing writer, B&R

Across our state, high schools and colleges are planning graduation ceremonies. As the band plays “Pomp and Circumstance,” graduates will march down the aisle and take their place in a group of other young people. Those who have been together for years will soon go separate ways.

In honoring these students, do you often wonder what gift you can give that will be one of lasting value? Or, perhaps graduation is over and your thoughts linger as to how you can stay in touch. What present can you bestow that shows how much you care? If you’re a parent, a relative, or simply a friend, there are ways to show your love in intangible ways. Long after the ribbon and fancy paper are gone, the graduate will cherish these gifts. [Read more…]

CRYING IN BASEBALL — TRUE MASCULINITY

June 3, 2019

By Todd E. Brady
Vice president for university ministries at Union University, Jackson

In the movie, A League of their Own, after making a bad throw, Evelyn (Bitty Shram) is yelled at by her coach and begins crying. Coach Jimmy Duggan (Tom Hanks), the brash and loud coach of the all-ladies baseball team, the Rockford Peaches screams “There’s no crying in baseball!”

The umpire steps in and tells Hanks, “Perhaps you chastise her too vehemently. A good rule of thumb—treat each of these girls as you would treat your mother.” Some might resist such kindness and say that there is no crying in baseball, but at least there should be compassion. Albert Almora Jr. of the Chicago Cubs showed us recently what compassion looks like. [Read more…]

GOD, WHY DO I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS?

June 3, 2019

By Haley Wherry
MSC Missionary (NAMB); Evangelism Catalyst, Holston Baptist Association

For some reason, many Christians are afraid of questions. Yes, many people have a fear of being asked a question about Christianity that they don’t know the answer to, but that’s not the type of questions I’m talking about.

I’m talking about the questions that we, as Christians, have about our faith, God, the Bible, etc. We seem to fear that if we have questions, our faith must not be strong, or that we are doubting God and/or His Word.

There are fun questions like: Did Adam and Eve have belly buttons? Or what color are the streets in heaven? While those are fun to discuss, they don’t have much significance in our daily walk with Christ. It’s the more serious questions that cross our mind that we are afraid of asking. [Read more…]

WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF CP WENT ON VACATION?

May 31, 2019

By Matt Tullos
Stewardship development specialist, Tennessee Baptist Mission Board

It’s that time again when the sun bids us to flee from the status quo and frolic with the family in favorite locations. Whether you are a one-week mountain man or a four-day beach bum, we all need a week to unwind, recalibrate and reconnect with family.

If you’re like me, you begin to wonder who’s minding the store in your absence. We go on vacation, but the work continues on in our absence thanks to faithful coworkers who keep pushing the ball down the field. And chances are pretty good that when we get back, we’ll do the same for somebody else. [Read more…]

TWO TRAINS APPROACHING HEAD-ON COLLISION

May 29, 2019

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

Two trains from opposite directions are moving toward each other at breakneck speed. A collision is inevitable.

Train one is religious freedom. Train two is the Equality Act, H.R.5.

The United States House of Representatives passed the Equality Act, H.R.5. on May 17 by a margin of 236-173. See story on page 1. This would eliminate the use of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to the classifications protected in the federal civil rights law. The likelihood of this bill passing the Republican-controlled Senate in the near future is not likely. The key words, however, are “near future.” [Read more…]

CHANGE HAPPENS BUT THE MISSION REMAINS

May 28, 2019

By Randy C. Davis
TBMB President & Executive Director

LifeWay Building

The March 20 headline splashed across Christianity Today, The Tennessean and National Public Radio was one few in Southern Baptist life thought they’d ever read. There were variations, but in effect they all communicated the same thing: “LifeWay Christian Resources, the largest Christian retail chain in America, plans to close all 170 stores this year and shift its offerings entirely online.”

It was a sad day that revealed the lifelong emotional attachment many Southern Baptists have had with the bookstore. Frankly, generations of us have never known a world without a Baptist Book Store or a Lifeway Christian Store. Many expressed their anger with statements about how the bookstore was more than just books. It was the people who worked there — who ministered there — who made the stores what they were. [Read more…]

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