By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector
lwilkey@tnbaptist.org
DYER — Gibson County Baptist pastor Bryan Morris is spearheading an effort to begin a Tennessee chapter of the 
Conservative Baptist Network (CBN).
Plans for the CBN were announced in February of 2020. According to a news release from the organization, CBN “is the product of a grassroots movement that developed organically in the hearts and minds of devoted Southern Baptists who have become concerned about the current direction and perceived future of the convention.”
The news release also noted that a number of Southern Baptists “are concerned about the apparent emphasis on social justice, Critical Race Theory, Intersectionality and the redefining of biblical gender roles.”
The CBN is a network of pastors and others who want to see a return to the belief “that the gospel is enough,” said Morris, pastor of New Hope Baptist Church in Dyer.
“Nothing has to be added to the gospel or taken from it,” he added.
“We want to promote that the gospel is sufficient and that it is enough.”
Morris noted that nearly 100 pastors in the state have expressed an interest in a Tennessee chapter. His desire is to see a state chapter with regional chapters in West, Middle and East Tennessee, he said, adding that there are 120 Tennesseans who have joined the national CBN.
Morris stressed that the CBN is not designed to be a new convention. The national CBN website states plainly that CBN “is not a new denomination, a blog or social media page existing solely to air grievances, a competitor with other like-minded ministries or a group exclusive to one soteriological view or another.”
Instead of starting a new convention, CBN is more interested in calling for the SBC to “return to the Baptist Faith and Message 2000,” he added.
Morris observed that some SBC leaders are not listening to grassroots Southern Baptists. “I don’t think the average pastor (pastor of churches with 100 members or less) are being represented in the convention,” he observed.
The Gibson County pastor has worked with leaders of the national organization to begin laying the foundation for a Tennessee chapter. He hopes the chapter will be in place prior to the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention which will be held June 15-16 in Nashville. Specific details of the chapter are still in the planning stage, Morris said.
When established, Tennessee will become the fifth chapter. Others are located in Georgia, Louisiana, California and the Northeast.
“Our involvement in the SBC and the Tennessee Baptist Convention will not change,” he pledged.
For more information on the Tennessee chapter, contact Morris at bryan_morris@ymail.com or 901-860-3252. B&R
