Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835
August 29, 2018
Baptist Press ATLANTA — Agreements to “assume the best in one another” and that a “gospel-above-all culture needs to prevail” in the Southern Baptist Convention were among the outcomes when SBC President J.D. Greear met Aug. 20 with 15 executive directors of Baptist state conventions, including Randy C. Davis of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board. […]
August 28, 2018
By Mike Ebert Baptist Press ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Johnny Hunt, longtime pastor of First Baptist Church Woodstock, Ga., and past president of the Southern Baptist Convention, will join the North American Mission Board as senior vice president of evangelism and leadership. Hunt and NAMB announced the news Sunday (Aug. 26).
August 28, 2018
By Carol Pipes Baptist Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. — LifeWay Christian Resources President and CEO Thom S. Rainer announced today (Aug. 27) his plans to retire in the coming year.
August 28, 2018
By Grace Thornton Baptist Press GREENVILLE, S.C. — In 37 years as a pastor, Rudy Gray sat at the bedside of many terminally ill church members. He stood at gravesides with many grieving families. He sought to speak comforting words — at least he hopes they were comforting. But one thing he is sure of […]
August 27, 2018
By David Roach Baptist Press CLARKSVILLE — Like many retirees, you can find James Shepherd, 84, fishing in his boat several days each week. But he’s set apart from many other retirees by what he’s fishing for. When he and a friend bought a pontoon boat four years ago, he sensed the Lord saying, “Why […]
August 23, 2018
Baptist Press DALLAS — A federal judge in Oklahoma issued a final judgment July 17 in favor of the Southern Baptist Convention’s health and financial benefits entity, as well as ministries it serves, GuideStone reported Aug. 8. The ruling brought to an end GuideStone’s challenge of a 2011 rule issued by the Department of Health […]
August 21, 2018
Baptist Press ALPHARETTA, Ga. — The North American Mission Board is launching an evangelism and leadership group that will promote evangelism among Southern Baptist churches, provide evangelistic resources and equip pastors to help their congregations be more evangelistically active. Jim Law, who currently serves as executive pastor at First Baptist Church Woodstock, Ga., will serve […]
August 17, 2018
By Aaron Wilson Baptist Press HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. — “What does it mean to be a man?” asked James MacDonald to more than 2,900 men at this year’s Main Event conference presented by LifeWay Christian Resources. “There’s a ton of confusion on that point,” said MacDonald, senior pastor of Harvest Bible Chapel in Chicago, as he […]
August 13, 2018
By Tom Strode and Roy Hayhurst Baptist Press DALLAS — GuideStone Financial Resources has secured a conclusive victory in its lengthy, legal battle against the Obama-era abortion/contraception mandate.
August 13, 2018
Baptist Press WASHINGTON, D.C. — A little-noticed provision of last year’s Republican tax legislation which taxes employee parking at nonprofit organizations “will be a problem” for churches and other Christian ministries, one of the Southern Baptist Convention’s attorneys says. The only question is how many churches and ministries will be affected. “Until the regulations come […]
August 9, 2018
Baptist and Reflector ROANOKE, Va. — Charles Fuller, a Virginia pastor who chaired the SBC’s Peace Committee, died July 28 in Roanoke, Va. He was 86. Formed in 1985 in response to a motion at the SBC annual meeting, the Peace Committee was charged to “seek to determine the sources” of controversy amid the convention’s […]
August 7, 2018
Baptist Press CLEVELAND, Tenn. — Jordan Easley, who chaired the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee’s 22-member Young Leaders Advisory Council, has accepted the call of First Baptist Church in Cleveland as senior pastor. Easley also was a member of the Evangelism Task Force appointed by former SBC President Steve Gaines and is a trustee of […]