Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835
Lonnie Wilkey, Editor, Baptist and Reflector
I have a confession to make after more than 45 years. I actually went “trick or treating” on Halloween.
Didn’t seem so bad back then, but listen to some folks today and I am almost convinced that I committed a major sin because I celebrated a pagan holiday associated with “evil.” [Read more…]
By Carolyn Tomlin
While watching a group of children in a Bible drill from Woodland Baptist Church in Haywood County, I was amazed at how fast they could locate the books of the Old and New Testaments as well as specific verses. Once found, they could recite from memory the reference. [Read more…]
By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector
I am extremely proud to be a Tennessean today.
I held my breath on Saturday, Oct. 28, to see what would happen at planned white supremacist rallies that were scheduled to be held in Shelbyville and Murfreesboro.
By most accounts, nothing really happened. Tennesseans let it be made known that racism is unacceptable in our state. The Shelbyville rally was so uneventful that the rally in Murfreesboro was canceled. [Read more…]
By Ray Van Neste
On Oct. 31, 1517, Martin Luther posted 95 theses for academic debate on the church door in Wittenberg, Germany. While posting topics for debate in this way was a very common act at the time, this time it reverberated throughout Europe and launched the Protestant Reformation. This month we mark the 500th anniversary of this event that changed the world and continues to shape our lives today. [Read more…]
By Randy C. Davis
TBMB President & Executive Director
As Christians, we are called to be salt and light, and in that calling there is no room for racism of any kind.
I have a reason for making such a stark statement. This Saturday (Oct. 28), White Supremacy groups will be in Shelbyville and Murfreesboro propagating an agenda rooted in hatred and spread through fear mongering. [Read more…]
By Michael Koontz
Pastor, Pine Ridge Baptist Church, Harriman
Pastor Michael Koontz, left, and his wife, Janet, recently welcomed former University of Tennessee and NBA player Steve Hamer to the IGNITE basketball camp at Pine Ridge Baptist Church, Harriman.
Our church recently hosted an IGNITE basketball camp. The journey of this camp is truly a God thing. Back in the winter I approached our youth director Justin Fritts and spoke with him about taking the youth on an out-of-state missions trip to work a Bible-based sports camp. As a few weeks passed, it became clear that this was not going to work out for us. But then, Justin came up with an alternative plan. [Read more…]
By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector
Larry Robertson, pastor of Hilldale Baptist Church in Clarksville and a former Tennessee Baptist Convention president, has been a good friend since he served on the staff of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board (then Executive Board) as director of evangelism more than 15 years ago.
He is an excellent pastor and is well respected across the state and the Southern Baptist Convention and he is a frequent columnist for the paper. See his must read column below.
He currently serves as a trustee of the North American Mission Board. Our paths crossed last week in, of all places, Montreal, Canada. Larry was in Montreal for a meeting of NAMB trustees while David Dawson, TBMB communications specialist, and I were there for a NAMB briefing for Baptist state paper editors and staff. The briefing included reports from NAMB leaders and concluded with a tour and celebration of Baptist work in Canada. [Read more…]
By Randy C. Davis
TBMB President & Executive Director
It’s time.
I’m ready for Tennessee to beat ’Bama.
Wow. I can practically hear a resounding, “AMEN!” from across the state. And I hate to say it, but it’s been a while since the Vols beat the Tide and that’s a streak I know Vol fans would love to see come to an end.
However, I’m ready for Tennessee Baptists to beat ’Bama Baptists in something more important than football: Cooperative Program giving. A couple of years ago, Bob Terry, editor of the Alabama Baptist newspaper, wrote a column touting the incredible and generous Cooperative Program Giving of Alabama Baptist churches. They are the leaders in the SBC in missions support. Tennessee isn’t far behind. [Read more…]
By Joe Sorah
Compassion Ministries Specialist, TBMB
As I reflect upon my childhood, I can remember being very concerned with the problem of hunger in our world. I grew up in a pastor’s home. We used to receive appeals for funds to feed hungry children. The letters would come with pictures of children on little cards from far off countries. Those pictures really bothered me. I couldn’t stand the thought of children going hungry.
My mother would collect her change through the year, deposit the money in a rice bowl, and take it to church on World Hunger Sunday. It was a big deal to my family and me. My family could not bear the thought of hungry people while we had food on our table. [Read more…]
By Larry Robertson
Pastor, Hilldale Baptist Church, Clarksville
CLARKSVILLE —“It all started when he hit me back!” That’s what the little boy told his mother when he got in trouble for fighting with his brother. Isn’t it interesting how easily we can excuse our own behavior by blaming others?
Larry Robertson
Unless your name is Rip Van Winkle and you just woke up from a long nap under a tree, you know that our nation is in desperate turmoil. Civility has been dismissed as passé, and angry rhetoric has been normalized. Our blessed nation should be ashamed, but it’s not.
“It all started when he hit me back!” Of course! It’s always the other guy’s fault, right? [Read more…]
