A strong foundation is the key to any structure. It doesn’t matter if it’s a $20,000 house or a million-dollar mansion. If the foundation is shaky, the house will likely fall amid the howling winds and storms that enter our life.

The Bible speaks clearly about the need for a strong foundation. We all know the parable about the wise man who built his house on the rock (Matthew 7:24-27). When the rain and the winds came, the house built on the rock withstood the pounding. 

The foolish man, however, built his house on the sand. When the winds and the rain came, the foolish man’s house collapsed with a great crash.

In June of this year, Southern Baptist editors held a dinner meeting and the guest speaker was Bill Elliff of Arkansas, a longtime pastor, revivalist, consultant and author. He didn’t speak to us that night based on his skills as a writer. Instead, he challenged the editors and writers to enhance our prayer lives. He gave us all a copy of his new book, Simply Prayer. I normally don’t endorse or recommend books but this is a must read for anyone who feels his or her prayer life is not what it needs to be.

And, of course, God knows I need all the help and prodding I can get, so guess who was the guest speaker at the recent Focus Week (staff retreat) of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board? Again, it was Bill Elliff and he spent two full days talking to the staff about prayer. He also talked about the need for revival and spiritual awakening, not only in Tennessee but across our nation and the world. [Read more…]

Randy C. Davis

It’s been said that complacency is the enemy of progress. Interestingly, complacency is often a byproduct of success. That sounds counterintuitive, but think about it. When things are cruising along and we experience win after win, we can slip into cruise control. If we don’t stay alert and engaged, we can fall asleep at the wheel. 

This became a realization for me years ago. I had Dr. Harry Piland evaluate First Baptist Church, Morristown, when I was pastor there in the 1990s. Dr. Piland was consulting at the time and offered a significant amount of insight. His evaluation was short and to the point, and it has stayed with me for decades. 

“Randy, I’ve got good news and bad news,” he said. “The good news is your people are satisfied. The bad news is your people are satisfied.”

We are nearing the 150th anniversary of the first Tennessee Baptist Convention. The stated dream of forming the Tennessee Baptist Convention in Murfreesboro is found in a resolution adopted on the first day of Tennessee Baptists gathering 148 years ago and it reads: “We are assembled in convention in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, for the purpose of carrying out the intentions of these bodies we represent by establishing a more perfect union among Baptists of Tennessee, by eliciting, combining and directing the energies of the denomination throughout the state … for accomplishing objectives.” [Read more…]

Darlene Bell

What does the Baptist Association do? The roll of the association is to train and educate our church leaders so that they are better prepared to minister to their members and communities. That is the short answer, but we do so much more. Twenty-three years ago, a lot of churches did not know why the association exists or what we do. “What does the association do? This was the question I had to deal with. It was very challenging because I did not really know. I decided that if I was going to serve here, I needed to have the answer to this question. As time passed and with more experience, it became very clear why the association was so important and why it exists.  [Read more…]

Randy C. Davis

I was recently on a swing through southeast Tennessee visiting with pastors and churches when I met a young man named Daniel as I walked out of a Hampton Inn in Athens. One of the first things I noticed about Daniel was the logo on his shirt: “United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission.” Obviously, a telltale sign that I’d engaged in conversation a pretty intelligent fella.  

I learned Daniel was originally from Cookeville, attended Tennessee Tech and was a Christ follower. He was very involved in the TTU Baptist Collegiate Ministry and expressed appreciation for the impact campus minister Ben Maddox had on his life.   

I had a smile on my face and an excitement in my heart as I climbed in my truck. Daniel didn’t know that Ben wasn’t the only person who had an impact on his life. Thousands of other Tennessee Baptists did too. [Read more…]

The United States House of Representatives passed a bill in July which garnered bipartisan support entitled the “Respect of Marriage Act.” The U.S. Senate is trying to pass the bill but has not yet garnered enough Republican support.

 The bill’s title sounds great, right? After all, isn’t it time that Americans respected the God-given institution of marriage?

 Therein lies the deception of the bill. It has nothing to do with the biblical concept of marriage. In fact, it does the opposite. 

According to Alliance Defending Freedom, the bill “will enshrine same-sex marriage into federal law and jeopardize the religious freedom of millions of Americans who follow the biblical definition of marriage as being between one man and one woman.” [Read more…]