Opinion Column Archives - Baptist & Reflector

GOD WORKING THROUGH SBC MISSIONARIES

December 10, 2019

By Paul Chitwood
President, International Mission Board

Paul Chitwood

Looking back on my first full year as your IMB president, the words that come to mind are: “Thank you.”

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for saving souls across the globe daily amid hardship and persecution, and for upholding Your servants as they go forth to share Your gospel.

Thank you, Southern Baptist family, for placing your confidence in me to lead our missionary force. It is an incredible privilege to lead the choice servants of God whom you have sent out.

This year has been marked by many victories but also by massive cyclones in Sub-Saharan Africa, political and humanitarian crises in the Americas, and large-magnitude earthquakes in Southeast Asia. [Read more…]

STAYING FOCUSED ON OUR PASSIONATE PRIORITY

December 10, 2019

By Randy C. Davis
TBMB President & Executive Director

Randy C. Davis

There are two distinctives that bind Southern Baptists together. The first is our shared biblical belief system. Unfortunately, the Bible can be mishandled in many ways and our Southern Baptist forefathers recognized that, so in 1925, they took the providential step to clearly define what Southern Baptists believe about the Bible.

That document is known as the Baptist Faith and Message (BF&M) and became our “statement of the historic Baptist conception of the nature and foundation of confessions of faith in our religious and denominational life.” The BF&M was updated in 2000 and reaffirms what we believe theologically and why we believe it.

The second distinctive that binds Southern Baptists together is our Great Commission calling to missions, and specifically our historic commitment to rally around international missions. We have always been, and we must always be, a “going” people. [Read more…]

CHRISTIAN, ARE YOU READY FOR YOUR CRISIS?

December 4, 2019

By Chris Turner
Director of communications, Tennessee Baptist Mission Board
cturner@tnbaptist.org

There are two types of organizations in our world: Those who have had a crisis and those whose crisis hasn’t yet hit.

For years I’ve been leading crisis communications and media relations workshops for all types of organizations and I usually open those training sessions with that statement. The response is usually an uncomfortable laugh, especially since I don’t smile when I say it. I have been a reporter and organizational communicator for about 30 years and I’ve unfortunately seen – and experienced – the truth of that statement from both sides.

In my role as director of communications for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, I often counsel ministers, mostly pastors, how to communicate during a crisis in which they and their churches find themselves. Unfortunately, the frequency of such sessions has increased in the past 18 months. [Read more…]

SUMMIT IS SO MUCH MORE THAN A MEETING

November 26, 2019

By Randy C. Davis
TBMB President & Executive Director

Randy C. Davis

My No. 1 desire is to see the spiritually lost people of Tennessee won to saving faith in Jesus Christ, and it is weeks like last week that give me hope that together as Tennessee Baptists, we might see that happen.

Summit, our annual gathering of Tennessee Baptists, is so much more than just a meeting. It has become a rich time of worship, challenge, fellowship, focus, business and celebrating what God is doing across Tennessee to bring people to salvation through Tennessee Baptists and their churches.

Personally, I need it. I need the concentrated reminder of God’s faithfulness, and I need to see each of you, together, focused on the work our Savior has given us to do. I draw encouragement and energy from seeing co-laborers I love gathered with focus, excellence and unity, working cooperatively for the advancement of the gospel. [Read more…]

THE ROMAN ROAD AND A TESTIMONY

November 19, 2019

By Lonnie Wilkey

As one might expect, evangelism was a popular topic during this week’s Summit held at First Baptist Concord in Knoxville. The theme for the 145th annual meeting of the Tennessee Baptist Convention was Win TN By All Means.

Several excellent videos focusing on evangelism were featured throughout the sessions.

During the Tuesday night session on Nov. 19, Randy C. Davis, president and executive director of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, recognized the top churches in total baptisms and baptisms based on average attendance in 2018. [Read more…]

A BLESSED YEAR SERVING TENNESSEE BAPTISTS

November 18, 2019

By David Green
President, Tennessee Baptist Convention

Tennessee Baptists are amazing people. I already knew that through years of serving in various Tennessee Baptist Convention committees, boards and institutions. However, after traveling literally thousands of miles from one end of the state to the other this year as president of the TBC, I can say I love Tennessee Baptists more than ever.

Serving as president has allowed me to be in most of our associations, meet with all of our ministry partners, participate in many special events, visit most of our harvest fields and Baptist Collegiate Ministries, and work closely with our TBMB staff, board of directors, and committees.

I’ve been invited to preach in numerous churches and in chapel at both Carson-Newman and Union Universities. Through all those experiences I’ve heard how God is using you to reach your communities with the gospel, and I’ve gotten to celebrate with you the precious souls won by your churches. I’ve enjoyed celebrating salvations, baptisms and discipleship with pastors, churches and directors of missions across the state. [Read more…]

FIVE THINGS THAT HAPPEN WHEN WE WORSHIP

November 15, 2019

By Matt Tullos
Stewardship Development Specialist, TBMB

You and I came to the celebration late, but we are invited to stay for eternity and as we worship, God begins to teach us new concepts, new subtleties, new songs. What is God teaching you as you worship? Here are a few things He’s been teaching me.

(1) When we worship, life becomes a festival rather than a contest. Not a show. Never a show. The greatest worship occurs when we turn the tables. The congregation is performing for God. We aren’t the audience. The pastor, the soloists, choir (or the band) are not the centerpiece of authentic worship. Jesus becomes the focus and our desire is to hear His applause. [Read more…]

CHRISTIANS SHOULDN’T BE INTIMIDATED BY OTHER VOICES

November 14, 2019

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

In 2015, Tennessee legislators passed a state law that authorized local school boards across the state to put policies in place allowing students to be excused during the school day to attend a class in “religious moral instruction.”

The freedom to have release time for biblical or moral instruction actually has occurred for more than a century and possibly longer. It was contested in 1952 and the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Bible Release Time (Zorach versus Clauson, 343 U.S. 306). [Read more…]

‘WE SERVE CHURCHES’ — IT ISN’T JUST A SLOGAN

November 13, 2019

By Randy C. Davis
TBMB President & Executive Director

You shared your concerns.

We carefully listened.

And now I want to prayerfully respond on behalf of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board.

Several of us from the TBMB have recently engaged with over 500 Tennessee Baptists during nearly two dozen listening sessions across our state. We initiated these sessions with the sole purpose of learning from you and using what we heard to shape how we as a mission board serve your churches. For us, “We serve churches” is more than just a mission statement that hangs on a wall. It is our mission. [Read more…]

REMEMBER YOUR PASTOR

October 29, 2019

By Carolyn Tomlin
Contributing writer, Baptist and Reflector

Jerry Welch, pastor of Hillcrest Baptist Church, Jackson, says parents should set an example for honoring their pastor. He notes that the late Adrian Rogers, former pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church, Cordova, once said, “The family goes home from church and has ‘roast’ pastor for lunch. Kids need to see their parents show respect.” Welch adds, “Raise your children in the church. Respect the leaders God has chosen.”

The history of appreciating those God ordained goes back to Bible times. The apostle Paul wrote that the church elders were worthy of a double honor, especially preaching and teaching (I Timothy 5:17). In I Thessalonians 5:12-13, he stated that those who God has chosen to work among you should be held in the highest regard for their work and that you should love them. [Read more…]

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