Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835
March 14, 2022
By Kevin Ezell President, North American Mission Board Southern Baptists work together for one primary reason: to fulfill the Great Commission. For decades now, we have cooperated in that shared, sacred effort to reach the nations with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Our society has seemingly been coming apart at the seams over the last […]
March 12, 2022
By David Dawson Communications Specialist, Tennessee Baptist Mission Board Over the past few weeks, I have spent a fair amount of time thinking about motives, both good and bad, after having recently seen examples of each. In both cases, I found myself rejoicing. Let me start by sharing a quick story that exemplifies the essence […]
March 7, 2022
By Clay Hallmark President, Tennessee Baptist Convention There is an interesting story found in II Kings 3:9-24, which can help each of us understand something important about the kind of faith God blesses. In this story, the Kings of Judah, Israel, and Edom set out to fight the Moabites who had become a threat to […]
March 4, 2022
By Randy C. Davis President and executive director, Tennessee Baptist Mission Board How badly are we willing to fight for the next generation? A couple of weeks ago in a retreat I attended we discussed the topic of reaching students with the gospel. Someone offered a powerful and passionate statement that summarized what’s at stake: […]
March 1, 2022
By Matt Tullos Special assistant to the executive director, Tennessee Baptist Mission Board It’s been heartbreaking to watch the conflict in Ukraine. Our hearts break as we’ve watched the suffering caused by a delusional despot wreaking havoc on innocent civilians. Those citizens include many believers and churches. Amid the senseless shelling, the blasts, the refugee […]
February 25, 2022
By Johnnie C. Godwin Contributing columnist, B&R In one person’s life and career, he was an author, a publisher, and a speaker. But he got downsized at age 55. His wife thought that was tragic and the end of his career. But the “downsizee” thought just the opposite. After a generation of contacts, he continued […]
February 24, 2022
By Matt Tullos Special assistant to the executive director, Tennessee Baptist Mission Board Everybody loves a good comeback story and game-changing plays. If you enjoy sports, you can certainly remember an alley-oop, a trick play, an interception, a home run or a steal that changed the momentum of a particular game. We call them game-changers. […]
February 23, 2022
By Jon Hawkins Training and volunteer coordinator, Tennessee Baptist Mission Board As the training and volunteer coordinator for Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, I meet every new employee as part of our onboarding process. On March 19, 2021, I met Roger Britton, TBMB’s new bivocational ministries specialist, for the first time. Within the first five minutes […]
February 21, 2022
By Lonnie Wilkey Editor, Baptist and Reflector lwilkey@tnbaptist.org As I approach my 34th year with the Baptist and Reflector, I can’t even begin to count how many sermons and messages I have listened to in more than three decades. A good number of those messages were preached during the State Evangelism Conference which at one […]
February 8, 2022
By Ryan Keaton Emerging generations specialist, Tennessee Baptist Mission Board Your church has a reputation. Whether your reputation is perceived or reality, a young adult has an assumption of what they will experience before they ever attend. Your online presence often precedes your church’s influence, but the relationship with your community matters, as well. Is […]
February 4, 2022
By Randy C. Davis President and executive director, Tennessee Baptist Mission Board I couldn’t believe what I saw when I made my way down the hill and into Waverly following the flooding last August. I’ve witnessed the aftermath of several natural disasters, but the news reports didn’t capture the magnitude of the devastation that leveled […]
January 31, 2022
By Clay Hallmark President, Tennessee Baptist Convention A friend of mine in Alabama once taught me a great principle that I have found to be true both in life and in ministry. The principle is this: “Start small … grow strong!” There is nothing wrong with a small or humble start. Wilbur and Orville Wright’s […]