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HOW NEAR ARE YOU WILLING TO GO?

January 10, 2017

By Randy C. Davis
TBMB Executive Director

Randy C. Davis

Randy C. Davis

Maybe you’ve been there, on a missions trip standing in the middle of the urban sprawl of one of the world’s great cities, cities like Buenos Aires, Guatemala City, Sao Paulo, London, Krakow, Rome, or Istanbul. There are people everywhere, bouncing off each other like pinballs. You may have even felt — like I have — very small and wondering what kind of a difference you could possibly make in such an ocean of spiritual lostness.

But we go anyway, don’t we? We have a Great Commission calling, and we know that despite the seemingly overwhelming odds, God calls us to wade into those concrete jungles to serve people and to preach the gospel. And we go knowing that He faithfully brings in the harvest.

You know what? I get a similar overwhelmed feeling when I walk through the heart of Memphis and Knoxville; Nashville and Chattanooga. The hearts of those cities are bustling with people spiritually drifting in an ocean of spiritual lostness. We are no less called to reach the spiritually lost in these Tennessee cities than we are the spiritually lost in the world’s cities.  [Read more…]

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Filed Under: Opinion Column Tagged With: missions

A NEW DAY IN OBEYING THE GREAT COMMISSION

December 26, 2016

By Johnnie Godwin
Contributing Columnist, B&R

Johnnie Godwin

Johnnie Godwin

I believe in the Cooperative Program established in 1925. It is our best single-shot, laser beam approach in reaching the world for Christ. I say this at a time when most of our Southern Baptists are largely ignorant of their Baptist history and heritage and the history of missiology. They know little about the Cooperative Program and are tending to retreat to the old societal system. In that system, the “wheel” that hollered the loudest or squeaked the loudest got the most grease. James L. Sullivan was president of the Baptist Sunday School Board (now LifeWay Christian Resources) He wrote a book titled Baptist Polity — As I See It. That grand book could correct our fragmentation in missions today if we would read it and learn from it and grow by it.  [Read more…]

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Filed Under: Opinion Column Tagged With: Cooperative Program, missions

CHRISTMAS — A REMINDER OF WHY WE HAVE HOPE

December 23, 2016

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

Lonnie Wilkey

Lonnie Wilkey

I was reading a novel recently and saw these words: “Where there is life, there is hope.”

That sounds good and it works — for fiction. But in real life, hope is available only through Jesus Christ.

We live in a fallen, sin-filled world. Turn on the news every day and you will be depressed within the first five minutes, if not sooner. Just last week in Nashville, there was at least one homicide a day for three days in a row. During my recent recovery from knee surgery I had to spend a few days at home doing nothing but resting and staying off my knee. In between reading and napping, I watched television reruns of shows such as “Dateline” and others that show investigations of people who have been murdered in a variety of ways. Talk about depravity and a fallen world. Those shows are supposedly based on real events. [Read more…]

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Filed Under: Opinion Column

HAVE YOU MISSED CHRISTMAS THIS YEAR?

December 22, 2016

By Chris Turner
Director of Communications, TBC

Centuries ago, an angel appeared to shepherds outside the city of Jerusalem to announce that a Savior was born. Sadly, untold millions of people have missed Christmas over the centuries because they failed to connect with that baby born that day — Jesus Christ. — Photo by Matt Jones, International Mission Board

Centuries ago, an angel appeared to shepherds outside the city of Jerusalem to announce that a Savior was born. Sadly, untold millions of people have missed Christmas over the centuries because they failed to connect with that baby born that day — Jesus Christ. — Photo by Matt Jones, International Mission Board

Dust particles diffuse the saturated orange of a sinking sun and smooth the warm tones evenly across the horizon. The limestone walls of Jerusalem absorb the light and the city practically glows, like it is on fire. In a sense, it is. Jerusalem’s Old City has been a battleground for thousands of years. Lingering hostility between Jews and Muslims still smolders within, waiting to flare with the slightest gust of cultural friction. The peace for which the psalmist tells us to pray (Psalm 122:6) is noticeably absent.

However, just across the way, atop the Mount of Olives, stands a devout Jewish businessman, eyes closed, arms outstretched, olive skin glistening as he faces the city and the sun. His expression is strained and his lips move rapidly as he silently pours out his heart on behalf of his beloved city.  [Read more…]

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Filed Under: Opinion Column

GOD’S CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS

December 21, 2016

By Carolyn Tomlin
Contributing Columnist, B&R

Carolyn Tomlin

Carolyn Tomlin

Remember when your family made the traditional trip to the meadows and woods in search of that perfect Christmas tree? Or, you cut armloads of holly, pine, and cedar to bring the scent of winter holidays into your home? Perhaps you recall home made ornaments that held a special place on the cedar tree. This holiday season recapture the joys of making family memories while using greenery and seed pods from nature for decorations. Don’t stop with tree decorations — carry the designs to door wreaths, table centerpieces, and mailbox garlands. 

As you find greenery and dried seed pods, think of numerous ways to use these as creative objects in your home.  [Read more…]

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Filed Under: Opinion Column

LOTTIE MOON — THE REBEL I WANT TO BE

December 19, 2016

By Lori McDaniel
Church Initiative Leader, International Mission Board, Richmond, Va.

Lori McDaniel

Lori McDaniel

Lottie Moon. I want to be like her, but I didn’t realize how much until I dove into her life story.

You could draw a line in the sand, mention the name Lottie Moon, and people who revere her will move to one side of the line while people whispering, “Who’s that?” will migrate to the other. I had one foot in each camp.

My current church is in the “who’s that?” category. Most people at my church, planted 15 years ago, did not grow up thoroughbred Southern Baptists. While they participate in and give to global missions, they’re not familiar with Lottie. But I grew up in a church that revered her, and I raised money for missions in my rice-bowl-shaped piggy bank to give to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. [Read more…]

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Filed Under: Opinion Column Tagged With: IMB

THE IMPORTANCE OF SHOWING UP

December 16, 2016

By Randy C. Davis
TBC Executive Director

Randy C. Davis

Randy C. Davis

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

Churches charred. Businesses gone. Homes nothing but ash heaps and rubble. Some of the most beautiful country I’ve ever seen left a blackened wasteland.

A few hours of raging fire forever changed the lives of thousands.

One of those homes on top of one of those mountains belonged to the late Dr. Clyde Martin and his precious widow, Ruth. The families of their son, Mark, and their daughter, Debbie, also had homes there. All three houses and all the cars were destroyed. The Martin family lost everything and very nearly lost their lives. Downed trees blocked their driveway but they crawled into a truck with a nearby family and raced down the mountain to safety. My wife, Jeanne, and I sat and listened as they told how God orchestrated a way out of the inferno. We wept; we prayed.  [Read more…]

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Filed Under: Opinion Column Tagged With: Disaster Relief

YEAR-END GIVING TIPS

December 14, 2016

By Chris Kelly
Exec. VP/General Counsel, Tennessee Baptist Foundation

Chris Kelly

Chris Kelly

’Tis the season — the season for celebrating our Savior, gathering with friends and family, looking for that perfect gift, and taking last-minute advantage of the charitable giving opportunities to Baptist causes within this calendar year. While I’ll admit that it is surprising that no one has ever written a Christmas song about charitable giving, it is important to consider whether you may lose some significant giving opportunities if you haven’t taken action by New Year’s Eve. These are just a few ideas to consider implementing before the big ball drops:  [Read more…]

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Filed Under: Opinion Column

SHARING CHRIST WHERE HE IS NOT KNOWN

December 13, 2016

By Billy Hoffman
Stewardship Development Specialist, TBC

Billy Hoffman

Billy Hoffman

Is God leading you and your church to share Christ where He is not known?  I ask it this way because spreading the gospel is both an individual as well as a Christian community activity. This is the third in a series of articles to assist you to discover a biblically-based process for doing that. We continue reviewing Acts 13 to discover the pattern of the call and empowerment of the first missions team from the church at Antioch. From this we see there are three things in play which led to moving the gospel into new territory — spiritual resources, human resources, and tangible resources. Until God changes the nature of the universe those three basic elements are always involved in gospel advance. The order of employing the three is also important. It’s somewhat like constructing a building — it’s important to pour the concrete after all of the underground plumbing and electrical has been installed. If you reverse the order, you’ll have problems. [Read more…]

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Filed Under: Opinion Column

SAY A SPECIAL PRAYER FOR SCHOOL BUS DRIVERS

December 12, 2016

By Erich Bridges
Freelance Writer, Richmond, Va.

school-bus-childrenMy heart aches for the six young lives lost in the crash of school bus No. 366 in Chattanooga.

I think about their families, now facing Christmas without beloved children. I think about the kids on the bus who survived. Some of them suffered critical injuries; all of them experienced the horror of seeing friends die.

And I think about the tens of thousands of school bus drivers across the United States. Their noble — and challenging — calling has been overshadowed by the actions of 24-year-old driver Johnthony Walker. [Read more…]

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Filed Under: Opinion Column

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