Baptist & Reflector

Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835

TOP 10 MOST-READ STORIES OF 2020

Baptist and Reflector Staff

FRANKLIN — The Baptist and Reflector website, launched in 2016, is the digital counterpart to the print edition.

The site inlcudes stories, information and photos that are published in the print edition of the B&R, and is also the home for breaking news that pertains to Tennessee Baptists.

This past year, the B&R website experienced its biggest year to date (see below for a look at the increases in numbers).

The chart below recaps the most-read stories from 2020 based on website views.

Spotted on the list are feature stories, hard-news stories and opinion columns. Interestingly, some of the stories were published before the start of 2020, but still received a high amount of views this year. [Read more…]

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COVID-19 LEADS TO CHRISTMAS CHANGES ACROSS THE NATION

By Aaron Earls
LifeWay Research

NASHVILLE — Almost all Americans celebrate Christmas, but most say COVID-19 will cause some changes to their usual holiday habits.

A new study from Nashville-based LifeWay Research found 93 percent of American adults say they celebrate Christmas. That number is essentially unchanged from a decade ago when 91 percent said the same in a 2010 LifeWay Research survey. [Read more…]

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MENTAL HEALTH OF YOUTH IS A GROWING CONCERN

By Shane Pruitt
Next Gen Evangelism Director, NAMB

According to a recent Barna study, half of 18-year-olds in the U.S. report anxiety and fear of failure, and about 40 percent say they often feel sad or depressed. Thirty-four percent of young people say they feel lonely and isolated from others.

The church in America is undoubtedly doing a better job of addressing the ever-growing anxiety of younger generations, but we still have a long way to go. We used to largely ignore it or spiritualize it away. Often, the only response to mental and emotional health was to tell the person struggling to read the Bible and pray more (among other disciplines). [Read more…]

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MANY PASTORS SEEING NEGATIVE ECONOMIC TRENDS IN 2020

By Aaron Earls
LifeWay News Office

-LifeWay Research

NASHVILLE — After a few years of economic optimism, pastors say the 2020 economy is hurting their congregation.

According to a new survey from Nashville-based LifeWay Research, almost half of U.S. Protestant pastors (48 percent) say the current economy is negatively impacting their church, including 5 percent who say the impact is very negative.

Around 1 in 6 (15 percent) believe the economy has had a positive effect, including 4 percent saying it is having a very positive impact. More than a third of pastors (35 percent) say there’s been no impact. [Read more…]

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MOST CHURCHES CAUTIOUSLY HOLDING SERVICES AGAIN

By Aaron Earls
LifeWay News Office

click to enlarge

NASHVILLE — Churches are gathering again, but services and programs remain drastically different from the beginning of the year.

At the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, according to previous surveys from Nashville-based LifeWay Research, Protestant churches across the U.S. stopped gathering in-person in a matter of weeks.

The latest LifeWay Research survey of Protestant pastors found congregations have slowly and cautiously started to meet again.

“While more and more churches have resumed in-person worship services, it has not always been a straight path back,” said Scott McConnell, executive director LifeWay Research. “Some have had difficulty resuming or had to stop meeting again as things got worse in their area.” [Read more…]

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SOUTHERN BAPTISTS SEE HISTORIC DROP IN MEMBERSHIP

By Aaron Earls
LifeWay Christian Resources

click image for full chart

NASHVILLE — A growing number of Southern Baptist churches are home to a shrinking number of Southern Baptists.

Total membership in the Southern Baptist Convention fell almost 2 percent to 14,525,579 from 2018 to 2019, according to the Annual Church Profile compiled by LifeWay Christian Resources in cooperation with Baptist state conventions. The decline of 287,655 members is the largest single year drop in more than 100 years.

The number of churches grew slightly to 47,530, an increase of 74 from 2018. However, the number of church-type missions fell by 477 to bring the overall number of SBC congregations down to 51,138 in 2019. Multisite congregations reported an additional 505 campuses where local church ministry takes place. [Read more…]

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SURVEY: MOST CHURCHES PREPARED FOR ACTIVE SHOOTER

Church security remains at the forefront; many congregations divided over armed attendees

Trainees Chris Graves, left, and Bryan Hetherington, right, participate in a security training session at Fellowship of the Parks campus in Haslet, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

By Aaron Earls
LifeWay News Office 

NASHVILLE — In the aftermath of several high-profile church shootings, most Protestant pastors say their congregations have taken some precautions to protect those in attendance.

Since 2000, 19 fatal shootings have taken place at Christian churches, while gunmen have also taken lives at other religious sites like Jewish synagogues, a Sikh temple and an Amish school.

Around 4 in 5 Protestant pastors (80 percent) say their church has some type of security measure in place when they gather for worship, according to a survey from Nashville-based LifeWay Research. [Read more…]

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MARRIAGE: ONE OF LIFE’S GREATEST JOYS

By Todd Brady
Vice President for University Ministries, Union University

Cars and pick-up trucks lined the driveway on a Saturday night.  It was obvious that a bunch of men had descended on the home.  We all were coming together for one purpose.  There would soon be a wedding.

Inside, men gathered around the island in the kitchen.  Since it was a few weeks before Christmas, we ate Christmas cake and sipped on egg nog, boiled custard and apple cider.  After all the small talk we could handle, we moved into the living room where a circle of chairs lined the room.  There was no front and back of the room.  There was no table with a head and foot.  We were all in this together, and we all wanted the best for the young man who was about to walk into marriage. [Read more…]

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PASTORS LESS OPTIMISTIC ABOUT ECONOMY’S IMPACT

By Aaron Earls
LifeWay News Office

NASHVILLE — As retail stores hope the holiday shopping season gives their bottom line a lift, American Protestant pastors are less sure the economy is helping their congregations this year.

Around two in five pastors of Protestant churches in the United States (41 percent) say the economy is having no impact on their church, according to a new survey from Nashville-based LifeWay Research.

The rest are nearly split on whether the effect is positive (30 percent) or negative (26 percent).

“Fundamentally, the U.S. economy is in a similar place that it was a year ago,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of LifeWay Research. “Yet pastors are less optimistic about this outside influence on their church than they were in 2018.” [Read more…]

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ARE WEDNESDAY CHURCH SERVICES STILL RELEVANT?

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

Baptist Press recently ran an article from LifeWay Research on whether or not Protestant churches still hold Wednesday night services.

And, they do. In fact, the number is a lot higher than I imagined — nine out of 10 Protestant pastors say their church has some type of service on Wednesday nights, according to the survey. Only 10 percent have no regular events on Wednesday.

Given the fact that some churches no longer have Sunday night services, I am a bit surprised (pleasantly) by the large number of churches that open their doors on Wednesday night. [Read more…]

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