By Bruce Chesser
President, Tennessee Baptist Convention

In the Jan. 8 issue of the Baptist and Reflector, I noted the importance of Sunday School and how it can be a vital evangelism and discipleship tool within your church.

Imagine if you told some foreign enemy that there were over 40,000 small gatherings across Tennessee (that’s a rough estimate of how many Sunday School classes we have in our 3,200 churches) and that they could have control of those groups. 

I would suggest to you that in short order that enemy would take over Tennessee and move on from there. Why are we allowing this great tool for reaching and discipling the people of Tennessee to lay dormant? It is there. Let’s use it! [Read more…]

By Scott Shepherd
Worship and music specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board

I’ve been in worship ministry long enough to hear nearly every excuse:

• “If God wanted me to sing, He would have given me a better voice.”
• “I can’t carry a tune in a bucket!”
• “The worship leader and choir sound so good! Why mess them up?”
• “I’m tone deaf!”

I’ll be the first to admit that some have more aesthetically pleasing voices than others. Worship leaders across America can “out sing” me any day!

But that doesn’t matter. Worship is not a competition. If worship services were “American Idol” or “The Voice,” most of us would have been voted off long ago. There isn’t an imaginary dividing line separating singers from non-singers in worship. Worshipers sing. Period. 

Why? Because the option not to sing isn’t offered to us in Scripture. There are at least 50 commands in the Bible for us to sing, and singing is referenced hundreds of times. And there are never any stipulations. We won’t read, “Come, let us sing and shout,” as long as you have the most magnificent voice. Or, “sing to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs,” as long as the person to whom you’re singing isn’t a better vocalist than you. Or, “Sing a new song,” as long as you aren’t “tone deaf.” 

Let’s be honest. Your tone-deaf voice singing praise to Jesus is infinitely more beautiful than your silence. 

One of my favorite singers at my former church (we’ll call her Suzie) was not a “good” singer. She sang the right notes only occasionally, when — quite by accident — the melody intersected her own unique vocal path. And, yet, I loved to hear Suzie sing gustily to Jesus! Her singing encouraged others to sing — even if they weren’t “the best” either. 

Be like Suzie. Sing — even if you’re “tone deaf.” B&R — Shepherd is music and worship specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board.

By Bruce Chesser
President, Tennessee Baptist Convention

We hear much these days, rightly so, about discipleship. It is our commission that the Lord gave to us.  We are to go into all the world and “make disciples.” But let me remind you that discipleship is not just for adults. It is a mistake to view it that way. As a matter of fact, the process of discipleship begins very early. It should encompass preschool, children, and students as well as adults.

I personally believe that one of the greatest tools that we must use in order to begin the process of making disciples is through our Sunday School/Connect Group/Life Groups (whatever you happen to call them in your church).  For the purpose of this article, I will just use the name “Sunday School” since I think most of us understand what I am talking about. [Read more…]

By Lonnie Wilkey
lwilkey@tnbaptist.org

As December wound to a close, I received word that my great uncle, Blake Wilkey, had died at the age of 98. He was my grandfather’s (Pop) last remaining brother. I remembered “Uncle Blake,” having visited him many times as a child, but I had not really kept in touch with him other than updates from my Uncle Bill (Pop’s son) and Aunt Lynn, who maintained a close relationship over the years.

Still, I felt like I should attend his funeral, so on New Year’s Day, my wife Joyce and I made the approximately four-hour trip to Robbinsville, N.C., located in Graham County, which borders Monroe County in southeast Tennessee near Tellico Plains.

Upon arriving to the funeral home, I visited with his wife and two children but didn’t really know very many others who were in attendance. The standing joke with the Wilkey family is that you can tell a Wilkey man “by his ears” so I saw several folks whom I assumed were distant cousins. In fact, I later discovered that the two pastors who conducted the funeral were relatives. [Read more…]