Baptist & Reflector

Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835

SWBTS TO PROVIDE FULL RIDE FOR MISSIONARIES

By Ashley Allen / SWBTS

SWBTS building. (Photo from Baptist Press)

FORT WORTH — Calling it a “historic new initiative,” Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary President Adam W. Greenway announced in a video released on Aug. 11 that beginning with the fall 2022 semester, the Fort Worth institution will provide a full tuition scholarship to all International Mission Board missionaries enrolled in the seminary’s master’s degrees and doctoral programs.

“Our mission is to penetrate the darkness of lostness around the globe with the light of the Gospel, and we are committed to lowering financial barriers to that service while providing the very best theological education to prepare you to live your calling for more faithful service,” Greenway said. “We believe that those of you who have given your lives to serving on the frontlines around the world are worthy of this type of investment on our part so that you may, indeed, fulfill your calling.”

Joined in the video by IMB President Paul H. Chitwood, Greenway also announced students who are current IMB applicants who have yet to receive appointments will have 100 percent of their tuition covered for a 36-hour Master of Theological Studies degree, which meets the mission board’s theological education requirements for missionary appointment. [Read more…]

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LIFEWAY PROVIDES HELP FOR CHURCHES AFFECTED BY NATURAL DISASTERS

By Aaron Earls / Writer, Lifeway Christian Resources

NASHVILLE — Natural disasters impact homes, schools and businesses, but they also damage church buildings and parsonages. During these times of recovery, Lifeway Christian Resources has established multiple ways to walk beside pastors and congregations.

As churches in Kentucky look to emerge from the recent deadly flooding in their state, Lifeway is aiming to help those impacted.

Since 2008, Lifeway has established a disaster assistance program that helps churches recover resources lost during natural disasters. “When disaster strikes, we want pastors and churches to know we’re here for them and want to come alongside them in their time of need,” said Ben Mandrell, president and CEO of Lifeway. “Replacing some of the resources they’ve lost is a tangible way for Lifeway to show we care about them and their ministries.” [Read more…]

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PASTORS’ BIGGEST CHALLENGE? STRESS

By Marissa Parsons
Writer, Lifeway Christian Resources

NASHVILLE — In the current fast-paced, high-pressure American culture, pastors are stressed, and they know that needs to change.

According to a recent release in Lifeway Research’s 2022 Greatest Needs of Pastors study, of all the mental challenges U.S. Protestant pastors face, stress stands out above the rest. Distractions and discouragement are also significant factors for pastors when it comes to mental challenges in ministry.

In this study, Lifeway Research interviewed 200 U.S. Protestant pastors who identified 44 issues they face in their roles and then surveyed 1,000 additional pastors to determine the greatest needs U.S. Protestant pastors face today. 

The nearly four dozen needs were divided into seven categories: ministry difficulties, spiritual needs, mental challenges, personal life, self-care, people dynamics and areas of skill development. Of these seven categories, 6 percent of pastors say mental challenges are currently the most challenging area for them or the area that requires the most attention. 

This study identified six specific mental challenges in ministry: depression, discouragement, distraction, loneliness or lack of friendship, lack of contentment and stress.

Most pastors point to stress as a mental challenge they are facing in ministry (63 percent). 

Nearly half of pastors say discouragement (48 percent) and distraction (48 percent) are ministry mental challenges, while less than one-third of pastors point to loneliness or lack of friendship (28 percent), depression (18 percent) or lack of contentment (17 percent). Another 14 percent aren’t sure or say none of these are mental challenges for them.

For more on pastor stress — and pastor care — see related story compiled by the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board staff HERE.

Age is a factor

The youngest pastors (ages 18-44) are most likely to say they deal with stress in ministry (78 percent), while the oldest pastors (ages 65 and older) are the least likely (47 percent). 

Furthermore, pastors of the smallest churches (with worship service attendance of fewer than 50), are less likely than pastors of churches of any other size to say they face stress in their pastoral ministry (52 percent).

Age similarly affects a pastor’s likelihood of saying they face discouragement in ministry, with pastors over the age of 65 being least likely to say they struggle with this issue (35 percent). Pastors with doctoral degrees (30 percent) are also less likely than pastors with any other educational background to say they face discouragement.

Younger pastors are also more likely to say they face distractions and loneliness in ministry. Pastors ages 18 to 44 (54 percent) and 45 to 54 (51 percent ) are more likely to say distractions are challenging for them compared to pastors over 65 (39 percent).

Furthermore, pastors ages 18 to 44 (37 percent) and 45 to 54 (30 percent) are more likely than pastors over 65 (20 percent) to say loneliness and lack of friendships are a challenge for them.

“Americans have become much more aware of mental wellbeing, and young pastors have grown up in a culture with much greater transparency around these challenges than previous generations,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research. “The high number of young pastors wanting to address these mental challenges means although awareness is higher among them, many have not yet successfully embraced the boundaries, habits and preventative measures they need.” 

In half of the categories of mental challenges explored in this study, white pastors were more likely than African American pastors to say they face that challenge in ministry. 

Whereas half of white pastors (50 percent) say they face discouragement in ministry, 35 percent of African American pastors say the same. Similarly, nearly half of white pastors (49 percent) say distractions are a challenge for them, while 37 percent of African American pastors agree. 

When it comes to stress, the most cited mental challenge in this study, white pastors (64 percent) are once again more likely than African American pastors (52 percent) to say this is a ministry challenge they face. 

Greatest mental challenge

When asked to narrow it down to the area of mental challenges they most need to address today, stress, distractions and discouragement top pastors’ list. 

More pastors identify stress (31 percent) as their greatest mental challenge in ministry than any other challenge. Nearly one in 4 pastors (23 percent ) say distraction is their greatest mental challenge in ministry, and 18 percent say discouragement.

“It’s important for pastors to learn healthy ways of maintaining their mental health amidst the variety of pressures that continue to come their way,” McConnell said. “Ignoring stress is not the answer. Resilience requires investment.” 

Once again, younger pastors are more likely than the oldest pastors to say stress is the primary mental challenge they face in ministry. Whereas 37 percent of pastors ages 18 to 44 and 33 percent of pastors ages 45 to 54 say stress is their greatest mental challenge, 23 percent of pastors over the age of 65 say the same.

Pastors of large churches are more likely to identify stress as their greatest mental challenge than pastors of smaller churches. While 41 percent of pastors of churches with attendance greater than 250 say stress is their primary challenge, pastors of churches with attendance of 0-49 (22 percent) and 100-249 (31 percent) are less likely to agree. B&R — See the next edition of the Baptist and Reflector for more on “pastors dealing with stress.”

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DEATH TOLL RISES TO 35 IN EASTERN KENTUCKY FLOODING

By Tom Latek
Baptist Press

Aerial view of the flood damage in southeastern Kentucky. — Photo: Kentucky Governor’s Office

FRANKFORT, Ky. — At least 35 people have been confirmed dead due to devastating flooding that has hit the southeast part of the state, and Gov. Andy Beshear says the number will continue to grow in the coming days, as more areas become accessible.

As of 9 a.m. Monday, there are seven confirmed deaths in Breathitt County, two in Clay, 16 in Knott, two in Letcher, and three in Perry County.

The large loss of life has overwhelmed local authorities, according to the governor, forcing the State Medical Examiner’s Office to help in the disaster. “We’ve had to fly the bodies here to Frankfort, to have enough staff to perform the autopsies. We do have a refrigerated truck being used right now, because we don’t have enough morgue capacity.”

Beshear says there are more than 300 Kentucky National Guard members fulfilling a variety of roles to help residents in the disaster area.  [Read more…]

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KENTUCKY PASTORS IN FLOODED AREAS CLEANING UP, REACHING OUT, AWAITING HELP

By Mark Maynard
Kentucky Today

People in Wayland, Ky., escape floodwaters in a canoe on July 28. — Photo from the Floyd County (Ky.) Sheriff’s Department

HAZARD, Ky. — Tim Reynolds, the pastor of First Baptist Church in Hazard, said the flood waters barely lapped up onto his parking lot.

“It didn’t get in here,” he said. “I can’t explain that our town didn’t get hit like Whitesburg and some of the other areas. We have some slides and slips in the road but in Hazard it is nothing like Hindman or Whitesburg.”

For much of the affected parts of east Kentucky though, the recovery from one of the worst floods in state history will be felt for a long time. Lives have been lost, homes destroyed and dreams have vanished.

“It’s one horror story after another. People going to sleep in their mobile homes and waking up a mile down the road; kids being swept from their mommy’s arms. It’s beyond tragic.” [Read more…]

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STATE OF THE BIBLE: YOUNGER ADULTS LOVE PRISONERS, IMMIGRANTS AS NEIGHBORS

By Diana Chandler
Baptist Press

PHILADELPHIA — Younger Christians who engage with Scripture are more apt to care for prisoners and immigrants as neighbors than are older Christians, the latest release from the 2022 State of the Bible reveals.

While older Scripture-engaged Christians, those age 77 and above, more often say it’s important to be good neighbors, the difference is likely attributable to seniors’ narrower definition of the term neighbor, the American Bible Society (ABS) said in releasing the chapter focusing on being a good neighbor.

“It’s possible that many of these seniors … are defining neighbor very specifically, if they have developed deep relationships with those who have lived near them for years,” the ABS said July 14 in releasing the fourth chapter of the report. “In the digital world of younger respondents, when people routinely interact with others on the other side of the globe, the concept of neighbor becomes more abstract.” [Read more…]

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ERLC URGES SENATE TO DEFEAT SAME-SEX MARRIAGE PROPOSAL

By Tom Strode
Baptist Press

WASHINGTON — The Southern Baptist Convention’s ethics entity called on July 26 for the U.S. Senate to oppose legislation that threatens to gain enough Republican support to codify same-sex marriage into law.

In a letter to all senators, Brent Leatherwood, acting president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), urged them to vote against the Respect for Marriage Act (H.R. 8404). The legislation would repeal the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and require federal and state recognition of same-sex marriages considered legal in the jurisdiction where they took place.

The U.S. House of Representatives approved the measure July 19 in a 267-157 vote, with 47 Republicans joining all the Democratic members in support. If enacted, the bill would essentially place into federal law the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision that legalized gay marriage, though critics warn it could go beyond that ruling to permit recognition of other types of unions. [Read more…]

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NEW LOOKS INTO DEEP SPACE BRING NEW ASSURANCES OF GOD’S PRESENCE, ASTRONOMERS SAY

By Scott Barkley
Baptist Press

NASHVILLE — Within images released by the James Webb telescope, Christians can not only get previously unseen views of the cosmos, but resounding confirmation of God’s creative design and man’s perspective in it.

David Block, emeritus professor at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, and Danny Faulkner, who taught for 26 years at the University of South Carolina-Lancaster before joining Answers in Genesis, spoke with Baptist Press about the magnitude of the Webb telescope’s findings and how those discoveries are challenging Christians and non-Christians alike.

Both astronomers joined peers in recognizing the magnitude of the recent pictures presented by NASA while also pointing to how the images impact them as believers.

“My initial response was complete awe,” said Block, who also spoke about it on South African TV. “We are seeing extraordinarily rich, technical detail. It’s a marriage of science and art.” [Read more…]

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CHURCHES ADJUST AS TALK OF RECESSION, INFLATION IMPACTS MINISTRY COSTS

By Scott Barkley
Baptist Press

NASHVILLE — The weekday preschool ministry at Englewood Baptist Church in Rocky Mount, N.C., feeds approximately 60 children a day, a number that doubles in the fall. Food costs have always been a part of such ministries, but it’s just one of several areas where inflation has commanded more attention.

Financial giving has remained on par, but the church struggles to keep up with the current costs of ministry, said Senior Pastor Chris Aiken.

For instance, Englewood has been looking for a worship pastor for more than a year. The current housing market has made it more challenging to meet candidates’ needs. Travel costs also must be considered for outreach and mission trips. As of July 11, gas in the Rocky Mount area averaged $4.15 a gallon, according to GasBuddy. [Read more…]

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SEBTS LAUNCHES MANDATORY SEXUAL ABUSE PREVENTION AND RESPONSE COURSE

By Chad Burchett
Baptist Press

WAKE FOREST, N.C. — In an effort to ensure that students are equipped to prevent and respond to abuse in their ministry contexts, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary has announced the launch of a mandatory sexual abuse prevention and response course starting August 2022.

“Sexual abuse in any form should not be tolerated. It is a sinful act against fellow image bearers and an affront to a holy God,” said SEBTS President Danny Akin. “Southeastern is committed to preventing sexual abuse and training students to respond well to survivors with proper care and advocacy.”

Undergraduate, graduate and advanced students will be required to complete the free course on sexual abuse prevention and response during their programs at Southeastern. The mandatory training course will provide an overview of practical strategies for preventing and responding to sexual abuse and will clarify biblical and theological foundations for caring well for survivors of abuse. [Read more…]

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