Baptist & Reflector

Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835

1-5-1 STILL EFFECTIVE, SAY SPECIALISTS

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

151-Reaching-TNBRENTWOOD — Since the 1-5-1 Harvest Plants strategy was introduced about three years ago, Tennessee Baptists have seen an increase in both church starts and baptisms.

1-5-1 was the brainchild of Bobby Welch, former associate executive director of the Tennessee Baptist Convention who retired last summer. 1-5-1 Harvest Plants are off-campus efforts (outside the four walls of the church) geared toward people who don’t know Christ as their Savior for the purpose of sharing the gospel, discipling people, and starting churches. [Read more…]

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DR TEAMS CONTINUE WORK AMID FLINT WATER CRISIS

By Connie Davis Bushey
News Editor, Baptist and Reflector

dr-disaster-relief-logoMOUNT JULIET — Nineteen Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers will be serving in Flint, Mich., Feb. 21-28, responding to the city’s water crisis, reported Wes Jones, Tennessee Baptist DR specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Convention.

The volunteers will be installing water filters in homes and providing encouragement and prayer, he added. The project is being coordinated by the Southern Baptist North American Mission Board and the Flint-area emergency management office. [Read more…]

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EZELL URGES UNION STUDENTS TO ORDER LIVES AROUND OBEDIENCE TO CHRIST

By Nathan Handley
Union University News Office

160216ezell-chapelJACKSON — Kevin Ezell, president of the North American Mission Board, encouraged Union University students to be obedient in their mission as Christians at a chapel service Feb. 10 in the G. M. Savage Memorial Chapel.

“The Bible tells us very clearly that, as believers we’re to be on mission,” Ezell said. “That means as a teacher, as an engineer, whatever it is — you can be on mission.”

Ezell, a 1985 graduate of Union, said North America needs more people on mission. He said the Southeast is full of churches, but there is great need in other regions. He said Americans tend to take things for granted and assume that the way things are where they live is the way things are everywhere. [Read more…]

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BACKPACKS AID TENNESSEE CHILDREN

Baptist Press

160215backpacksALPHARETTA, Ga. — Since 2001, Appalachian Regional Ministries, a ministry of the North American Mission Board, has collected and distributed more than 140,000 Christmas backpacks and boxes filled with toys, clothing, school supplies, food, and hygiene items and a Bible.

As the ministry has expanded over the years, backpacks were distributed in the 2015 outreach to more than 46,000 children affected by poverty in Appalachia as well as the Mississippi Delta and beyond.

NAMB’s Appalachian ministry has seen more than 4,000 decisions for Christ over the years as a result of the yearly initiative. [Read more…]

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LMCO ENGENDERS SACRIFICE, CREATIVITY

By Connie Davis Bushey
News Editor, Baptist and Reflector

Quilters of West Hills Baptist Church, Lebanon, pause in front of the quilt they made to be auctioned for the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions. From left are, first row, Kaitlyn Rodriguez, April Everett, Olivia Kelly, and Kyra Guess; middle row, Linda Nixon, Carol Pharris, Donna Lowery, and Cindy Gibbs; and back row, Deanna Rogers and Jenifer Goode.

Quilters of West Hills Baptist Church, Lebanon, pause in front of the quilt they made to be auctioned for the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions. From left are, first row, Kaitlyn Rodriguez, April Everett, Olivia Kelly, and Kyra Guess; middle row, Linda Nixon, Carol Pharris, Donna Lowery, and Cindy Gibbs; and back row, Deanna Rogers and Jenifer Goode.

BRENTWOOD — Giving by Tennessee Baptists to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions is up from last year about 5 percent — from $6 million to about $6.3 million as of Jan. 31.

Early reports are that giving has been both sacrificial and creative.

Some Tennessee Baptists intentionally sought to increase LMCO gifts this year due to the financial situation of the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention that receives the offering.

In August 2015, the IMB announced the need to reduce personnel and offered a voluntary retirement incentive to missionary and stateside workers. [Read more…]

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COOKEVILLE PASTOR UNDERSTANDS ADDICTIONS

By Connie Davis Bushey
News Editor, Baptist and Reflector

Jimmie Simpson

Jimmie Simpson

COOKEVILLE — Jimmie Simpson can relate to folks who have addictions or life controlling issues. For about 15 years, he struggled with alcoholism.

People might understand his drinking and taking drugs. When he was 2 years old his father would give him alcohol to drink. When he was 15 years old, he began drinking steadily.

After high school Simpson enlisted in the U.S. Navy and he quickly found that drinking and taking drugs were accepted. [Read more…]

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TBC CP GIVING STILL STRONG

Baptist and Reflector

cplogoBRENTWOOD — Tennessee Baptist Convention churches gave $2,809,717 through the Cooperative Program in January.

After three months of the 2015-16 fiscal year, Tennessee Baptists have given $8,959,862.

The total is $312,199 or 3.6 percent more than what was given after the first quarter of the last fiscal year.

The amount also is 397,362 or 4.64 percent ahead of budget needs. [Read more…]

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STATE WMU SUPPORTS SBC EFFORT

Compiled by B&R

Vickie Anderson

Vickie Anderson

BRENTWOOD — This Valentine’s Day, the Woman’s Missionary Union Foundation hopes to spread love and warmth to Syrian refugees living in Jordan. The Foundation is asking people to donate $25, which supplies a blanket to a refugee family. They are also encouraging people to donate blankets in their communities to help meet local needs.

“We want to do everything we can to meet the physical and spiritual needs of refugees in Jordan, but we also can’t forget about those in our backyard,” explains David George, president of the WMU Foundation, based in Birmingham, Ala.

“There have been many cold nights in Birmingham this winter and we want to make sure no family is without warmth.” [Read more…]

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PORN USE INCREASING AMONG TEENS

Tennessee Baptist youth ministers offer pointers on how to combat problem

By Chris Turner
Director of Communications, TBC

160210infographicBRENTWOOD — The number of searches for Internet pornography exponentially increases every second. If the rapidly changing online “porn ticker” represented increasing stock value, there would be thousands — possibly millions — of overnight millionaires. Instead, the ticker reveals an insatiable appetite for sexually explicit content, and a high percentage of those searching are teenagers.

There have been nearly 2.5 billion searches for pornography since the beginning of 2015, according to CovenantEyes, a company that specializes in Internet accountability and filtering software. The real-time counter can be found at covenanteyes.com/pornstats. The counter is part of the organization’s report titled, “Pornography Statistics: 250+ Facts, Quotes and Statistics About Pornography Use (2015 Edition).” The full report is available for free download from the site. [Read more…]

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CHARLES COUEY, BLIND ADVOCATE, DIES

Baptist and Reflector

Charles Couey

Charles Couey

NASHVILLE — Charles Couey, who was a Tennessee Baptist evangelist and a founder of the Tennessee Baptist Fellowship of the Blind, died Jan. 31 after an accident at his Nashville home.

Couey, though blind, had studied at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Extension Center in Nashville and at the Louisville, Ky., campus. He also worked for the State of Tennessee and the Tennessee School for the Blind in Nashville where he was a former student. [Read more…]

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