Baptist & Reflector

Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835

THE KEY TO REACHING INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

By Stefani Varner
Church Initiatives Team, International Mission Board

students-international-ethnicDuring my senior year of college, I was invited to join more than 500 Chinese students and their families to celebrate Chinese New Year. I spent several hours eating authentic food, watching talent shows and videos from celebrations around the world, and learning about various customs and traditions.

The time came for the door prize drawing, and suddenly, I heard my name called. I realized that most of the students in the room were cheering for me and encouraging me to go on stage to claim my prize. I had won a gift certificate for a Peking duck at the local Chinese restaurant.  [Read more…]

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THE SHAKINESS OF ‘THE SHACK’

By Todd Brady
Vice President for University Ministries, Union University

Todd Brady

Todd Brady

Based on the wildly popular best-selling book, The Shack, the movie by the same title hits theaters March 3.  While all that glitters is not gold, The Shack proves that all that is spiritual is not trustworthy.

Pastor Eugene Peterson outrageously claimed that the book “has the potential to do for our generation what John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress did for his.”  Wynonna Judd said that the “story has blown the door wide open to my soul.” [Read more…]

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WHY DAVID PLATT’S APOLOGY IS SO IMPORTANT

By Chris Turner
Director of Communications, TBMB

David Platt

David Platt

“I’m sorry.”

Two words that carry profound meaning and trigger acts of reconciliation. They admit a wrong, communicate humility, express a desire for forgiveness, and move people toward a unified future.

And that’s precisely why David Platt, president of the International Mission Board, needed to say he was sorry to Southern Baptists for the amicus brief the IMB offered last summer in support of the building of a New Jersey mosque. [Read more…]

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ONE OF GOD’S HUMBLE SERVANTS STEPS DOWN

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

Phyllis Bates, who has served as executive assistant to four executive directors of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, retired Feb. 28 after 43-and-a-half years on the staff of the TBMB. She stands outside the Phyllis S. Bates Executive Leadership Suite which was named in her honor on her 40th anniversary with the staff. — Photo by Corinne Williams

Phyllis Bates, who has served as executive assistant to four executive directors of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, retired Feb. 28 after 43-and-a-half years on the staff of the TBMB. She stands outside the Phyllis S. Bates Executive Leadership Suite which was named in her honor on her 40th anniversary with the staff.
— Photo by Corinne Williams

Talk about the best-laid plans of mice and men going awry (to paraphrase poet Robert Burns).

Phyllis Bates, a 43-plus year member of the staff of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board (formerly Executive Board) retired on Feb. 28. My plan was to write an extensive feature story and a column.

My feature story idea disappeared quickly after a short interview with Phyllis. It would be easier pulling a tooth from a grizzly bear than it is getting Phyllis to talk about herself.  [Read more…]

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INTENTIONAL ACTS OF COURAGE

By Randy C. Davis
TBMB Executive Director

bridge-wooden-dangerousYou’ve probably never heard of Thomas Hart Benton.

Benton was a U.S. senator from Missouri who served with distinction for 30 years, but whose political career crashed to an inglorious end in 1851 because of his opposition to the westward expansion of slavery. Benton, a Democrat and representative of a slave state, stood in staunch opposition to his party, the majority of the constituents in his state, and the powerful John C. Calhoun, a South Carolina senator whose influence and political views eventually led to South Carolina’s secession from the Union.  [Read more…]

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CHOOSING YOUR NEIGHBOR

By Terry Sharp
International Mission Board

Terry Sharp

Terry Sharp

From time to time I receive a postcard boasting the headline, “Choose Your Neighbor!” It’s from a local realtor sending listings of houses for sale in my neighborhood. The idea is for me to tell my circle of friends and acquaintances about the available houses, thus allowing me to choose my neighbor.

Through many years of moving around the country and overseas, my family has been blessed with incredible neighbors. There was one family in particular that we really enjoyed. Our daughters were nearly the same age, and they were in and out of each other’s houses all the time. We also struck up a wonderful friendship with their parents, celebrating the holidays together and cooking out on the weekends. [Read more…]

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WHAT TO DO WHEN LIFE BECOMES ‘TOO MUCH!’

By Johnnie Godwin
Contributing Columnist, B&R

silhouette-man-sitting-sunsetAt breakfast recently, wife Phyllis and I were talking about technology. Another new tech gadget was advertised on TV. Phyllis is not anti-tech, but she declares I dragged her “kicking and screaming into technology.” Let me explain. Phyllis has been a professionally published writer for over 45 years. She never wanted to become a writer, but I “bootlegged” her into it when I became a LifeWay editor in 1970 and another editor needed a Vacation Bible School writer. Phyllis was well-qualified with a diploma of theology from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.

“It’s Too Much.” When Phyllis became a professional writer in the 1970s, we used manual typewriters, though I owned an IBM Selectric at home. No problem. Now it’s 2017, and Phyllis says she’s completing her writing career with a final assignment she recently completed. But what about her tech journey? I bought my first PC in 1984. Ever since then, I have brought Phyllis through every tech invention to the present. So at breakfast, the mention of yet another tech gadget caused her to exclaim, “It’s too much!” And I said, “I totally agree with you. I won’t buy it!” Peace at home! [Read more…]

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DIRECTORS OF MISSIONS: VITAL SERVANTS

By Nathan A. Finn
Dean, School Of Theology & Missions, Union University

Nathan Finn

Nathan Finn

As Baptists, we believe that “ground zero” for the Great Commission’s advance is the local church. Ministries, kingdom-minded institutions, and even denominations come and go over time, but the local church will endure until Jesus returns. As such, we argue that being the pastor of a local church is the most strategic ministry role in the kingdom. But it’s not the only strategic role. Aside from local church pastors, I’m increasingly convinced that directors of missions (DOMs) are the most strategic kingdom servants in Baptist life.  [Read more…]

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REMEMBER THIS: IT’S NEVER WRONG TO PRAY

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

PrayHands-portraitChalk up another victory for political correctness.

A school system in Tennessee has to go to the time and expense of providing training to employees on the constitutional law concerning “the application of the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses in public schools” (see story here).

All of this is happening because a Tennessee Baptist youth pastor dared to do what’s right — pray for an injured high school football player. [Read more…]

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WHY PLATT’S APOLOGY IS IMPORTANT

By Chris Turner
Director of Communications, TBMB

“I’m sorry.”

Two words that carry profound meaning and trigger acts of reconciliation. They admit a wrong, communicate humility, express a desire for forgiveness and move people toward a unified future.

David Platt

David Platt

And that’s precisely why David Platt, president of the International Mission Board, needed to say he was sorry to Southern Baptists for the amicus brief the IMB offered last summer in support of the building of a New Jersey mosque.

Platt’s apology was delivered to state convention executives, state paper editors and a number of other denominational leaders recently gathered in California for meetings. The reaction to a story written by Baptist and Reflector Editor Lonnie Wilkey titled, “Platt Apologizes to Southern Baptists,” has been interesting. One friend of mine categorically stated, “Platt has nothing for which he needs to apologize.” [Read more…]

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