Baptist & Reflector

Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835

IT’S TIME TO GET IN THE GAME

By Randy C. Davis
President & executive director, Tennessee Baptist Mission Board

Randy Davis

Are you ready to serve if you get the call?

Frank Reich was. And he delivered.

Reich was the backup quarterback for the 1993 Buffalo Bills. The Bills were a perennial NFL powerhouse in the 1990s and were a favorite to return to the Super Bowl. However, those possibilities greatly diminished when All-Pro quarterback Jim Kelly went down with a knee injury heading into the playoffs. All eyes turned to Reich, who was the next man up and called upon to lead the team against the Houston Oilers and their superstar quarterback, Warren Moon.

The game’s opening quarter indicated it would be close, with Houston taking a 7-3 lead, but in the second quarter, the Oilers exploded for 21 points and took a 28-3 halftime lead. They added another touchdown to begin the second half, extending the lead to 35-3. Bills fans streamed from their seats and left the stadium.

[Read more…]

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PRAYER FOR THE LOST BEGINS WITH THE SPIRIT

By Nancy Duggin
Prayer Catalyst • TBMB

Nancy Duggin

Editor’s Note: This column is Part 2 of a three-part series on prayer. Part 1. “Believers Should Answer Call to Intercede for Lost,” appeared in the Sept. 10, 2025, issue and can be found here. 

Statistically, millions of our Tennessee friends, family and neighbors have no relationships with Jesus Christ. There is no shortage of opportunity to intercede on their behalf, but where to begin? Begin by asking the Holy Spirit to increase our passion for the spiritually lost and guide us in how we should pray and engage them in purposeful ways.

In Ephesians 1:17-19, Paul prayed the following for believers, “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. [Read more…]

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MAKE PLANS TO BE IN JACKSON

By Randy C. Davis
President & executive director, Tennessee Baptist Mission Board

Randy Davis

Summit, the gathering of Tennessee Baptists, is just five weeks away!

I love this time of gathering with friends from across the state, and I’d love to see you there. Here are five reasons why you should come.

Tennessee Homecoming. Unbelievably, we celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Sunday night Tennessee Homecoming, which was added to Summit activities in 2016. It has proven to be a wonderful time of worship and fellowship to kick off our time together. [Read more…]

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THE BODY OF CHRIST ON THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL

By Zoë Watkins
Communications specialist

Zoë Watkins

On a whim, I decided to join a backpacking trip with Tennessee Baptist Mission Board’s Off the Grid ministry. I’d backpacked in Tennessee a couple of times before and liked the challenge of tackling an extensive three-day trek on the Appalachian Trail while getting to meet a few ministers’ wives and build connections along the way.

I didn’t expect to find the Body of Christ so clearly represented in the woods.

Around mile 10 on the second day, our fearless leader Emily Terrell offered to carry another woman’s backpack in addition to her own. [Read more…]

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DOOLEY NOTED: PREACHING THE HARD VERSES

By Adam Dooley
Pastor • Englewood Baptist Church • Jackson

Dooley

I have preached a lot of sermons over the years. From the very beginning, I settled on an expository method with the goal of preaching through every book, chapter, and verse of the Bible. In my view, doing so keeps a pastor accountable to say what God says about all matters, rather than simply choosing the easiest, most popular subjects to share. I am not suggesting that this is the only way to preach, but I do believe it is the best way to preach.

The Bible accurately predicted a time, which I believe has come, when most would not endure sound doctrine but would accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their sinful desires, wanting to have their ears tickled (2 Timothy 4:3). Apart from the robust accountability of walking through the Bible consecutively, pastors may unknowingly fall into the trap of preaching for likes and reposts on social media rather than standing as prophets to the people assigned to them. Admittedly, I do not trust the whims of my disposition or my need for approval as an accurate measuring stick of biblical fidelity.

Recently, while walking verse-by-verse through 1 Corinthians, I found myself wrestling with texts that, frankly, I would have never chosen to preach if my only concern was what people wanted to hear. Yet, in moments such as these, the preacher must decide if he sincerely believes that all Scripture is profitable for doctrine (2 Timothy 3:16-17) and whether he is firmly committed to preach the word in season and out season (2 Timothy 4:2). [Read more…]

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HEROES SOMETIMES WEAR YELLOW HATS

By Chris Turner
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

Chris Turner

It was shaping up to be a bad one. The National Weather Service tracked a developing storm that eventually became Hurricane Helene. It marched across the Caribbean, gaining momentum, and crashed into Florida as a Category 4 with 140 mph winds.

Earlier that day, Sept. 26, 2024, Wes Jones, disaster relief specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, put Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief (TBDR) teams on alert. Jones anticipated heavy rains from the Cumberland Plateau through East Tennessee. He never anticipated how quickly the situation would escalate or how dangerous it would become. No one did. But why would they? Hurricanes don’t normally hit Appalachia.

But this one did, and it hit hard on Sept. 27, dumping 25 to 30 inches of rain over a 48-hour period, resulting in more than 250 dead, many missing, and thousands displaced because of damaged or destroyed homes. Churches, schools, businesses, and at least 100 bridges – gone. The landscape forever altered, and the trauma forever seared into the minds of those who experienced it. [Read more…]

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HELENE’S WRATH BUT GOD’S GRACE

By Randy C. Davis
President & executive director, Tennessee Baptist Mission Board

Randy Davis

East Tennesseans will remember Sept. 27, 2024, for generations to come. I know I will never forget it.

I knew torrential rain from Hurricane Helene was falling in the mountains along the Tennessee-North Carolina border, but I didn’t know how dangerous things had become until I received a phone call from Rich Lloyd, longtime pastor of First Baptist Church, Newport. There was urgency and heartbreak in his voice. The city was flooding because of the dam breach at the headwaters of the Pigeon River. Cocke County Mayor Rob Mathis called it a “catastrophic failure.”

My phone figuratively blew up over the next 24 hours as similar reports came in from Mountain City, Elizabethton, Unicoi, Erwin, Limestone, Greeneville and so many other places. One shocked pastor after another shared horror, heartbreak and hopelessness. [Read more…]

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REFLECTING ON A HELENE RESPONSE

By Jay Hardwick
TBC president

Hardwick

Who can forget the shock and sadness we felt as images, videos and stories began circulating about Hurricane Helene’s devastating destruction? Thousands of lives and dozens of communities in East Tennessee were forever impacted by the storm’s power and volume.

Yet on the heels of devastation came stories and scenes of mobilization, collaboration and generosity led by Tennessee Baptists and Baptists from surrounding states. I saw the devastation myself, and I also saw Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief (TBDR) volunteers on the ground within hours, meeting needs and serving people. They brought the hope of Jesus to lives and communities in desperate need of hope.

A few observations come to mind as I reflect on what I’ve seen from Tennessee Baptists: [Read more…]

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WHY CHURCHES MUST PREPARE FOR DISASTER

By Travis Tyler
Pastor, Grace Baptist, Elizabethton

J. Travis Tyler

As Hurricane Helene flooded Carter County, displacing over 1,000 families, I watched the waters rise just one-tenth of a mile from Grace Baptist Church, fearing we would lose everything. By God’s mercy, the waters stopped short.

That day, people arrived at our doors. Neighbors’ homes were underwater, families had nowhere to turn, and they sought help. Our church could not stand by — we had to act. [Read more…]

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DOOLEY NOTED: OUR WORST BURDENS LEADING TO OUR GREATEST BLESSINGS

By Adam Dooley
Pastor • Englewood Baptist Church • Jackson

Dooley

If you live outside of Jackson, Tennessee, you are likely unfamiliar with the name Ann Marie Kelley. Those of us who call this community home, however, recognize her as a bit of a local hero.

Diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkins lymphoma in 2021, her initial prognosis was bleak. Yet, with the innovation and progress of modern medicine as His means, God supernaturally healed Ann Marie’s body of all cancer, giving her a new lease on life.

In the years following those dark days, Ann Marie has worked tirelessly to bless others who face the devastation of similar diagnoses. She decided to deliver smoothies to chemotherapy patients monthly, realizing how difficult it is to eat while enduring these treatments. Next, she organized daily transportation for patients unable to drive themselves to and from doctor appointments. [Read more…]

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