coronavirus Archives - Baptist & Reflector

ROOTED IN GALLATIN, VIRTUAL CHURCH PLANT NOW REACHING THE WORLD

February 25, 2021

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector
lwilkey@tnbaptist.org

GALLATIN — A year ago, a virtual church plant was unheard of in Tennessee Baptist life.

Now, thanks to Hispana Iglesia Bautista Gallatin, the concept is “a new tool in the toolbox,” according to William Burton, church planting specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board.

Hispana Iglesia Bautista was birthed in September last year after Burton had preached earlier in the summer at Iglesia Bautista Hispana de Hendersonville and challenged church members not to let the pandemic keep them from doing what God called them to do. [Read more…]

WHAT’S KEEPING YOU AWAKE AT NIGHT?

February 23, 2021

Editor’s note: This is the first of a two-part series by TBMB Executive Director Randy C. Davis. Part Two will appear in the March 10 issue of the Baptist and Reflector.

By Randy C. Davis
TBMB President & Executive Director

One of our Tennessee Baptist pastors recently asked what were things that kept me awake at night and what were five things that got me going in the morning. I’m glad he asked. It’s been a great opportunity to evaluate if my personal and ministry goals align with what I hope the Lord wants to accomplish through me.

So here they are — the five things that keep me up at night:

Spiritual lostness

I have had a burden for the eternal destiny of friends, family and people in general since I came to faith in Christ. The day Granny Davis died, I read in her Bible a note written in 1956: “I am standing in the gap for my dear children so that one day they will be a circle unbroken, together in heaven forever.”

She was a powerful prayer warrior, praying by name for the salvation of every family member.

Randy C. Davis

The vast number of spiritually lost Tennesseans hit me in 2010 shortly after I became TBMB Executive Director. I’ve lost sleep over it. Simultaneously I’ve realized the seismic decline in the number of people being saved, baptized and discipled by Tennessee and Southern Baptist Churches, more than 30 percent over the past four decades. Meanwhile, the population of Tennessee has nearly doubled since 1955 when we last saw our highest number of people come to Christ. My mantra? “Any way you slice it, Tennessee is a mission field.”

COVID-19

The COVID-19 death count in Tennessee will surpass 12,000 by the time you read this column. We’ve all lost friends and family who occupied our pews and filled our pulpits. The numbers are decreasing as more people are vaccinated, yet my concern is for family, friends and our churches trying to respond to the pandemic-induced needs in their communities. Friends, stay vigilant. We are not out of the woods.

A near empty pipeline

Most Tennessee Baptist pastors and ministry leaders are older than 50. I know and interact regularly with many incredible younger ministry leaders, but we need more. There is a shortage.

I was recently the guest lecturer in a seminary class and asked the question, “How many of you believe you were called by God to ministry?”

Shockingly, only one-fourth of the class identified as being called. Other responses were, “I’m just checking out career options,” and “I’m not sure; just felt I should further my education.”

This situation is critical. Churches are desperately seeking pastors and associates. From where will the next generation of God-called leaders come? The pipeline is drying up.

Missed opportunities

I do not fear making mistakes; I fear missed opportunities. We must be aware of opportunities the Lord puts in our paths.

Karen King is a sweet lady in Sevier County who for years has been the financial director for the school system. There is no shortage of challenges balancing the system’s budget. But Karen sees every problem and challenge as a God-given opportunity.

If it has been a difficult day, she smiles and says, “Today I had a lot of opportunities.” We never want to be so tied to the routine that we miss opportunities when God is doing “a new thing” (Isaiah 43:18-19).

Displeasing God

I genuinely desire to please two people in this life: Jesus and my wife Jeanne – in that order.

Pastor Steven Lawson said, “If you please God, it does not matter whom you displease. And if you displease Him, it does not matter whom you please.”

My personal mission statement is, “I desire to live my life in such complete obedience to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ that when I die, I still have the love and respect of my wife and children because I was found faithful to Christ.”

If you become so concerned with pleasing everyone at the expense of being obedient to Christ, then you will please no one. You’ll also find yourself void of peace, joy and a meaningful life, and you’ll say “yes” to everything that comes your way.

No priorities, no order. No order, no peace or purpose. Jesus said, “Seek first the Kingdom of God” (Matthew 6:33). As the great old hymn admonishes, “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way, to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey.”

That’s the five biggest things that keep me up at night. How about you? What’s keeping you up at night?

Now, I can’t wait to share the five things that get me going in the morning. Those are the things that make the journey exciting and the challenges worth it.

And speaking of that, it is a joy to be on this journey with you.

LONG DAYS FOR LEADERS

February 17, 2021

Pastors express ‘decision fatigue’ and ‘ministerial frustration’ as COVID-19 pandemic lingers

By Diana Chandler
Baptist Press

Members listen to Pastor Richard Bray’s sermon via an FM transmitter while sitting in their cars in the parking lot of Rock Hill Baptist Church in Lexington, Tenn., in April 2020.

LEXINGTON — For the second time since the COVID-19 pandemic began, Rock Hill Baptist Church in rural west Tennessee was resuming onsite worship. Then, Pastor Richard Bray was exposed to the virus and the church had to transition once again to remote worship while Bray waited weeks for his test results.

Bray became a one-man worship service team – preaching, leading music with his guitar, recording the service on his phone, handling the sound equipment, broadcasting the service via an FM transmitter to worshipers who listened in their cars in the parking lot, and uploading videos to YouTube, Facebook and the church website after service ended. That was his routine from mid-July to mid-September.

“I think I was tired, just physically and mentally,” Bray said months later. “Tired of dealing with all the issues, the stress of COVID, the stress of trying to do the right thing, the stress of the church members who see things differently than you do. It does take its toll.”

Joe Wright addresses the struggles of many pastors as executive director of the Bivocational and Small Church Leadership Network designed to serve about 83 percent of Southern Baptist churches. [Read more…]

CHURCHES TURNING TO ‘ONLINE PASTORS’ TO FOSTER COMMUNITY DURING PANDEMIC

February 15, 2021

By Scott Barkley
Baptist Press

A volunteer at Long Hollow Baptist Church talks with others over Zoom during its prayer service Jan. 19. Church leaders say technology has played a key role during the revival the church has experienced over the last month, allowing many to take part from long distances as well as become part of Long Hollow’s discipleship process afterwards.

HENDERSONVILLE — Since Long Hollow Baptist Church began experiencing what pastor Robby Gallaty calls “a genuine move of God” last month, roughly 300 people have traveled to its Tennessee campus from all over the country to be baptized.

One group came forward – some scheduled, others spontaneously – at the church’s first Tuesday prayer service on Jan. 19, which lasted more than two hours. Twenty-two more were signed up for baptism for a Sunday in late January, the first time Long Hollow will have worshiped in person in a month.

The path for many didn’t originate in north Tennessee. Like an overwhelming number of churches, Long Hollow has increased its online capabilities over the last year due to COVID-19. During its current revival, baptismal candidates have included brothers – one in Montana, the other in North Carolina; a woman who drove from Tampa, Fla.; a man from Memphis; and a couple who traveled 100 miles from Kentucky. One man who lived down the street from Gallaty when the two were children started watching online and drove to Hendersonville from New Orleans to be baptized. In another instance, a former Satan worshiper brought his friend, who soon joined that label of “former” Satan worshipper. All became familiar with Long Hollow initially through a screen.

“It’s a new day for technology and we’re trying to figure out how to use it for God’s glory,” Gallaty said. [Read more…]

PANDEMIC DIVISION CAUSING PASTORS TO LEAVE MINISTRY, PASTORAL MENTOR SAYS

February 11, 2021

By Diana Chandler
Baptist Press

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Brian Croft jokes that masks are the new “color of the carpet argument” in churches, with similarly poor outcomes. Pastors are resigning from the stress “kind of in a way I’ve never really seen.”

The founder of Practical Shepherding transitioned from fulltime pastoring to lead the shepherding outreach fulltime in January, pulled by a need for coaching and counseling that has steadily increased among pastors over the past decade.

Then came COVID-19.

“I know of pastors who are quitting just over the stress of this issue and what it’s causing in their churches, and I know churches splitting over whether you should wear a mask or not,” Croft said. “COVID has impacted every pastor to some degree. Usually it has brought more challenges and more difficulty.”

Pastors are pulled by conflicting views among congregants over whether to mask or not to mask, whether to meet in person or virtually, or whether social distancing is even necessary. A divisive political year has compounded the issues, Croft said. [Read more…]

STARTED ON FAITH, SUSTAINED BY FAITH

February 11, 2021

Two-year-old church plant baptizes 45 people during pandemic

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector
lwilkey@tnbaptist.org

Joel Kirk, pastor of Realife Church in Bristol, delivers his message.

BRISTOL — Pastor Joel Kirk has a simple formula for planting a church: “It’s impossible to please God without faith.”

So far, that formula has produced miracle after miracle for Realife Church in Bristol, a congregation that will not be three years old until the Sunday after Easter this year.

Kirk recalled that on Palm Sunday in 2018 he and his wife, Angela, met with about 20 people at a coffee shop in Bristol and he laid out a vision for a church that didn’t even have a name yet. [Read more…]

THIS TIME, IT’S COMING TO YOU

February 9, 2021

Churches invited to host watch parties for YEC this year

By David Dawson
Baptist and Reflector
ddawson@tnbaptist.org

Long Hollow Baptist Church pastor Robby Gallaty tapes a segment for the 2021 Youth Evangelism Conference. Gallaty is the featured speaker for this year’s conference, which will be streamed to churches across the state.

FRANKLIN — For more than two years, Tennessee Baptist Mission Board youth specialist Jay Barbier has been thinking about the possibility of restructuring the annual Youth Evangelism Conference.

The COVID-19 pandemic opened the door for those changes to be made.

The conference, which has been a popular event for more than 50 years, will have a much different look and feel this year. Instead of being hosted at a central location, the conference will be streamed to churches all across Tennessee on the night of March 13.

Churches are invited to hold “YEC watch parties” on their church campus. Churches can register for the event at yectn.org, and can view the stream, for free, through the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board. Churches can also hold breakout sessions on campus. [Read more…]

WITH COVID, A CUP OF SOUP IS A HUGE GIFT

February 4, 2021

By Bruce Chesser
President, Tennessee Baptist Convention
Senior pastor, First Baptist Church, Hendersonville

On Nov. 20, 2020, I was conducting a wedding rehearsal in southern Kentucky. The plans for the wedding had changed significantly. It had gone from a large celebration of several hundred family and friends to a very small gathering of just family.

We wanted to be as responsible as possible and follow all of the proper protocols. But we still needed to rehearse what would happen the next day during the ceremony.

After the rehearsal had concluded I began to feel a little strange. On the drive home my wife mentioned that the skunk odor that had just invaded our truck was a very putrid smell. I said, “you smell a skunk right now?” She looked at me kind of sideways and said, “yes, it’s awful. Can’t you smell it?” My honest answer to the question was, “uh-oh. No, I cannot.”

That began our journey into the world of COVID-19 which would last 24 days. By the next morning I was running a fever of about 101 which would last for the next 12 days. Taste and smell were gone. I felt like I had the flu. [Read more…]

NO PAUSE FOR THE PANDEMIC

January 27, 2021

FBC McMinnville sees surge in baptisms despite COVID

By David Dawson
Baptist and Reflector
ddawson@tnbaptist.org

Jeff Owens, pastor of First Baptist Church, McMinnville, left, baptizies Morgan West, a 19-year-old college student. West came to the church through FBC’s new college/career ministry called “The Bridge.”

McMINNVILLE — Although the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a tidal wave of cancelations and postponements over the past 10 months, the virus certainly hasn’t canceled the evangelism efforts at First Baptist Church, McMinnville.

It has only reshaped them.

When the virus first took hold last spring, the church staff at FBC began examining some of its outreach strategies — and began moving in a new direction with several of its ministries.

Those efforts, coupled with the church’s ability to adapt and adjust, led to a surge in baptisms in 2020. [Read more…]

MINISTERING THROUGH THEIR MISERY

January 25, 2021

Based on recent numbers compiled by the TBMB, more than 800 pastors and staff members have battled COVID-19 since last spring. Some have recovered quickly. Others have endured extended struggles. Some have passed away.

Here are just a few of the stories — straight from pastors themselves — about how the virus affected their personal lives and their ministry.

Baptist and Reflector

FRANKLIN — In recent weeks, the Baptist and Reflector has contacted many pastors and church leaders who have battled COVID-19. Here is what they had to say about their experience with the virus in their own words.

Rick Elsey
Pastor
West End Baptist Church, Columbia

Rick Elsey

I had the virus through the month of November into early December.

My symptoms were rough. I had a horrible cough, overwhelming fatigue, and fever for 10 days. I then developed pneumonia, which required me to stay in ICU stepdown for six days at Maury Regional Hospital in Columbia.

My wife also caught the virus, but not as severe. [Read more…]

Pastors express ‘decision fatigue’ and ‘ministerial frustration’ as COVID-19 pandemic lingers

Two-year-old church plant baptizes 45 people during pandemic

Churches invited to host watch parties for YEC this year

FBC McMinnville sees surge in baptisms despite COVID

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