Baptist & Reflector

Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835

A GOOD IDEA

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

Lonnie-WilkeyLast week at least two more police officers were shot and killed — this time in San Diego.

The list of police officers being killed is growing at an alarming rate. Police officers have been cast in a negative light by some political leaders and media. That must stop.

Police officers put their lives on the line every time they step out the door. They tell their families goodbye each day without knowing if they will see them again.

Police officers are some of the most underpaid, underappreciated public servants in our country. They are under constant scrutiny. They have to make split second, life-altering decisions. Some times they make mistakes. Some times there are “bad apples” which give all police officers a bad name or reputation. I daresay those “bad apples” are in the minority compared to the thousands of police officers who truly try to protect the pubic. [Read more…]

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SERVING A DIVIDED COMMUNITY

By David Evans
TBC Evangelism Specialist

David Evans

David Evans

As you are aware, our nation is struggling with a great divide. Those that stand in the middle of the divide are our men and women police officers.  They wake every morning to fears that most of us cannot comprehend. They face the unknown everyday to protect and serve their communities. Lately they have been compensated with news of fallen officers. They are not paid enough and are not encouraged enough. [Read more…]

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BUILDING A BRIDGE FROM HIGH SCHOOL TO COLLEGE

Morgan Owen
BCM Specialist, TBC

Morgan Owen

Morgan Owen

The phone call was one that, as a campus minister, you love to receive. Reed Tallman from Immanuel Baptist Church, Elizabethton, contacted me in July 2015 to pass along contact information on a student coming to the University of Tennessee at Martin.  The importance of the call was vital for Tallman because the student from his youth ministry, Roger Clark, lived more than 400 miles away from Martin. Tallman knew that this transition to college would be a huge step for Clark and he wanted to do all he could to build a bridge from the high school campus to the college campus for Roger. [Read more…]

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WHAT TO DO WHEN CHURCH MEMBERS GET CROSSWAYS

By Johnnie Godwin
Contributing Columnist, B&R

Johnnie Godwin

Johnnie Godwin

When I grew up in West Texas, everyone knew what it meant for two people to get “crossways” with each other. They were at odds and headed in different directions. However, dictionaries tend to focus on the literal meanings of crossways [also means “crosswise”]. Very literally, “crossways” means to cut across something that is going in another direction. But when people are crossways or crosswise with each other, they’re out of sorts with each other; they’re at odds; they disagree with each other. And that causes conflict. If God wants anything for His church, He wants it to be unified, cohesive, of one mind, and growing to maturity in its head (Ephesians 4:11-16).

Experiences of seeing churches get crossways. Since I’ve attended most church services where I belong for the last 79 years, I’ve enjoyed seeing a lot of unity and growth and love in Christ. But I’ve also seen a lot of church members get crossways with each other. When church members get crossways, it always negatively affects the relationships and joy in a church. It’s time to meet, greet, repent, and get right with God and each other. [Read more…]

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BAPTIST COLLEGIATE MINISTRIES — BEST DONE TOGETHER

By Bill Choate
Collegiate Ministries Director, TBC

Bill Choate

Bill Choate

In the next few weeks, many of our fine young adults will leave home to go off to college. Moving off to live and learn on a university campus is an important step in growing toward adulthood. Tennessee Baptists continue to invest much in providing Baptist Collegiate Ministry on our campuses. BCM is a ministry of our churches — ministry done with, by, and for local Baptist churches. BCM is one of those things we do best together.

Why do Tennessee Baptists use Cooperative Program and Golden Offering for Tennessee Missions funds to provide collegiate ministers and BCM centers across Tennessee? [Read more…]

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INTRODUCE THE B&R TO SOMEONE ELSE

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

Lonnie-Wilkey

Lonnie Wilkey

Just recently I received an e-mail from a long-time friend and colleague in denominational journalism. He wrote, after browsing through some various state papers online, “I was thoroughly impressed with the B&R’s content and display. Everything there has visual appeal web-wise, even if just a headline, and is easily accessible and, then, quite a number of the stories are great reports.”

High praise from someone I respect — someone who has read and written for a number of state papers across the decades. [Read more…]

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TENNESSEE’S MINISTRY TRAINING GROUND

By Randy C. Davis
TBC Executive Director

Randy C. Davis

Randy C. Davis

Here’s a quiz. Ready? What does a country girl from McMinnville, an agnostic from Mt. Juliet, a Division I basketball player from Memphis, and a Jewish young man from Georgia have in common?

Hint: The same thing as several Muslims from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Yemen, and quite a few Buddhists from Korea, Japan, and China. They were all brought to Jesus as Lord and Savior through the Great Commission work of your Tennessee Baptist Collegiate Ministries (BCM). [Read more…]

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“IN EVERYTHING GIVE THANKS …”

By Ken R. Speakman
Member, Tulip Grove Baptist Church, Old Hickory

Ken Speakman

Ken Speakman

I Thessalonians 5:18 reminds us to “in everything give thanks.” To give thanks when you don’t feel like it is not hypocrisy; it’s obedience. Does this mean even when my flight is cancelled, my vacation has been interrupted, or some difficulty comes my way? Yes it does. God often has something else, or something better for you.

In January 2010, I was the guest speaker at the Michigan Gideon Mid-Winter Conference in East Lansing. It was a weekend conference and I was scheduled to leave very early on Sunday morning.

On my return flight to Nashville, bad weather caused me to miss my connecting flight in Detroit. “Lord, why is this happening to me,” I asked? “You know how I want to get home!” I would now spend Sunday in the Detroit airport.  As I stood at the counter and saw my plane still at the gate but without me on it, I thought, “I don’t like this Lord; it’s not fair!” [Read more…]

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ALL LIVES MATTER, REGARDLESS OF COLOR

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

Lonnie-Wilkey

Lonnie Wilkey

One thing I have learned after working on newspapers for 30-plus years is that you have to be flexible. Quite frankly, this column was not planned, but the events of Thursday, July 7, caused me to completely change the plans that had been made for this issue. We had to delay the printed publication of some stories (some have appeared or will appear on the website at baptistandreflector.org).

Five Dallas police officers and seven others were wounded last week after they were ambushed while trying to protect people who were protesting police brutality under the umbrella of “Black Lives Matter.” Those marching were protesting the deaths of two black males (one in Minnesota and one in Louisiana) who were killed recently by police officers.  Details are just beginning to surface about the attack that was apparently the plan of a single sniper.

Let me be perfectly clear. Black lives do matter. But so do white (Anglo) lives, Hispanic lives, etc., name the nationality. Unfortunately, when some leaders seemingly tout one race over another, it gives the impression (whether intended or not) that some lives do not matter. They all matter.

What’s more, the lives of police officers and public servants matter. Some national leaders and media have cast police officers in a negative light. They have become villains. And, now police officers are paying the price with their lives. [Read more…]

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REASONS PEOPLE GIVE FOR NOT ATTENDING CHURCH

By Bill Wilson
Director, Center For Healthy Churches, Clemmons, NC

Bill Wilson

Bill Wilson

The photo below is of a perfect attendance pin for Sunday School. Many of you have never seen one. There was a day when it was a regular feature in churches all across America. If a person attended Sunday School every Sunday in a year, he or she was awarded a pin, or was awarded an attachment that hung below the original pin to denote another year of perfect attendance. People took great pride in amassing multi-year pins that honored their spiritual fortitude and persistence.

Gradually, the expectation that weekly attendance at church was a given has eroded and been replaced with a hope that people will attend church “regularly.” The definition of what constitutes “regular attendance” has been redefined downward as competition for  weekends has increased. Some churches are coming to realize that very active and loyal people are attending church much less frequently than before. As a result, average weekly attendance is in serious decline for many. [Read more…]

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