Baptist & Reflector

Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835

‘WE SERVE CHURCHES’ — IT ISN’T JUST A SLOGAN

By Randy C. Davis
TBMB President & Executive Director

You shared your concerns.

We carefully listened.

And now I want to prayerfully respond on behalf of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board.

Several of us from the TBMB have recently engaged with over 500 Tennessee Baptists during nearly two dozen listening sessions across our state. We initiated these sessions with the sole purpose of learning from you and using what we heard to shape how we as a mission board serve your churches.  For us, “We serve churches” is more than just a mission statement that hangs on a wall. It is our mission. [Read more…]

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THE FALL OF THE BERLIN WALL, THIRTY YEARS LATER

By Mike Creswell and Joanna Pinneo
IMB communications

Editor’s note: Thirty years ago, on November 9, 1989, East Germans were allowed to travel to the West, and the Berlin Wall was subsequently dismantled. To commemorate this world-changing event, we’re republishing an excerpt from the Foreign Mission Board’s (now IMB’s) The Commission magazine. The following excerpt was printed in January 1990, two months after East Germans were allowed to travel to the West. We hope this article will inspire you to continue praying for the people of Europe and the peoples of the world who are still behind walls that bar them from hearing the gospel.

Soldiers stand on the Berlin Wall in front of Brandenburg Gate in November 1989 and watch the crowds below. That month, East Germans were allowed to travel to the West for the first time in 28 years. Today, only remnants of the Berlin Wall still stand as a reminder of the past. — IMB photo by Joanna Pinneo

When the Berlin Wall went up in 1961, a barrier 103 miles long and 13 feet high enclosed West Berlin. It cut off some people from jobs, churches, families and friends. Several Baptist churches in West Berlin lost hundreds of members, some half their membership. In East Germany the wall was considered a necessary way to staunch the loss of its people who went West and didn’t return. At least 77 people died trying to cross the barrier.

The middle of West Berlin became one big pedestrian mall in the days after the Berlin Wall opened last November. Hundreds of thousands of East Berliners visited former homes, friends and family, [and] looked and shopped in stores they had only heard about before. At least for a time, there were no barriers of age, background or ideology. Everyone, from old West Berliners to young East Berliners, celebrated just being together. [Read more…]

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BIG BOOST FOR BIG EMORY

Location change has led to new ministry opportunities

Editor’s Note: Baptist associations are the emphasis on the Southern Baptist Convention calendar Oct. 20-26. Tennessee Baptists have 65 associations across the state. Here is a look at Big Emory Baptist Association based in Harriman.

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

Director of missions Randy Roper stands in Big Emory Baptist Association’s Great Commission Center which has enhanced the association’s ministry to churches.

HARRIMAN — Three years ago, Big Emory Baptist Association moved from the site it had occupied since 1969 to a new location on South Roane Street, not far from Interstate 40.

It has proven to be a huge boost for the association’s ministries and the association is still growing into its space, said Randy Roper, director of missions for Big Emory Baptist Association since 2015.

The association bought three former storefront buildings adjacent to each other and divided their project into three phases. Phase one consisted of the office facilities. The building now in use was completely gutted and remodeled, Roper said. The association moved into the new offices in 2016. [Read more…]

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THE ABCs OF GEN Z

TBMB leads seminars on how to reach this easily-distracted demographic

By David Dawson
Baptist and Reflector
ddawson@tnbaptist.org

SHELBYVILLE — “Does anyone know what a slo-fie is?” asked Donna Blaydes as she glanced around the classroom filled with adults.

After a few moments of mostly blank stares and silence, Blaydes explained that the term, which is only about three weeks old, refers to slow-motion “selfies” that can be recorded with the latest version of iPhones.

The response to Blaydes’ question perfectly illustrated the point that she was making: Technology is moving so rapidly that it can be challenging for parents and grandparents to keep up. [Read more…]

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EVANGELISTIC ENERGY

Steve Gaines, pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis and immediate past president of the SBC, concluded the Sept. 30 training time during the Who’s Your One Tour? stop at Christ Place Church in Flowery Branch, Ga. Gaines shared a message about how Bellevue has used a multi-faceted approach to share the gospel in their community.
— NAMB photo

NAMB tour helps believers learn to share gospel

By Brandon Elrod
Baptist Press

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. —  Mark Hoover, pastor of First Baptist Church in Hayti, Mo., is looking for a new “one.”

After witnessing long distance to his brother, Dusty, who lives in their home state of Mississippi, Hoover saw him come to Christ. Inspired by what God had done in his life, Dusty drove several hours to Hayti where Hoover baptized him on Baptism Sunday (Sept. 8).

All across the United States, the evangelism team at the North American Mission Board (NAMB) has heard similar stories during the Who’s Your One? tour of how the movement has led to life change.

Those stories can serve as a hopeful sign for Southern Baptist churches that are working to reverse a decades-long decline. [Read more…]

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VICTORY FORMATION

C-N football program sees 10 players make professions

By David Dawson
Baptist and Reflector
ddawson@tnbaptist.org

Carson-Newman volunteer kickers and punters coach Alan Duncan and team chaplain Marty Blakely baptized 10 players from the Carson-Newman football team in Mossy Creek following football camp.

JEFFERSON CITY —  Big decisions are often made at football camp. Who is going to be the starting tailback? What scheme is the new defensive coordinator going to install?  Is the kick returner going to be used at wide receiver?

Important choices, for sure. Choices that can ultimately determine a team’s success.

And yet, those types of decisions aren’t nearly as significant as the decisions that were made at Carson-Newman’s football camp this summer. These were life-changing — and eternity-altering — decisions. [Read more…]

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SPORTS OFFER OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE GOSPEL WITH KIDS

By Ashley Perham
Baptist & Reflector intern

Jon Visser provides instruction to children attending a sports camp hosted earlier this summer by Shiloh Baptist Church, Nashville, at Donelson Christian Academy. — Photo by Tara Workman

NASHVILLE — As a boy, Jon Visser had dreamed of playing professional baseball. 

He got his opportunity in the early 2000s in the Texas-Louisiana League, now called the Central League. But while he was traveling through Texas, God gave him a different dream.

“While I was traveling around on the busses, I was thinking, ‘How can I serve God with my talents and how can I best do it?’ and that’s where Elevation Sports kind of (started),” said Visser, a member of First Baptist Church, Fairview. [Read more…]

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UNWAVERING COMMITMENT TO COOPERATIVE PROGRAM ENABLES TENNESSEE BAPTISTS TO REACH MONUMENTAL PLATEAU

By David Dawson
Baptist and Reflector
ddawson@tnbaptist.org

Celebrating a milestone moment
Tennessee Baptists recently reached a major plateau, surpassing the $500-million mark in all-time giving to the SBC for Cooperative Program allocated useage. In the photo to the right, Randy C. Davis, president and executive director of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, presents a check to Augie Boto of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.
– Photo by Royce DeGrie

FRANKLIN — The oversized check was just a prop. The significance of the moment, however, was very real.

During a recent ceremony at the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board’s Church Support Center in Franklin, TBMB president and executive director Randy C. Davis presented a Goliath-sized check to Augie Boto of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.

The amount was for $500,000,000, which represents the recent plateau that was reached by Tennessee Baptists in the category of Cooperative Program Allocation gifts to the SBC. Davis said the milestone speaks volumes about Tennessee Baptists’ commitment to sharing the gospel. [Read more…]

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BOWDEN TALKS FAITH, FOOTBALL AT STUDENT EVENT

By Timothy Cockes
Baptist Press intern 

Former college football coach Tommy Bowden, center, stands with Clay Hallmark, left, pastor of First Baptist Church, and Bryant Hollingsworth, head football coach at Lexington High School.

LEXINGTON — Tommy Bowden, former college football coach at Clemson University, recently spoke to hundreds of Tennessee high school football students about the importance of making good decisions in life.

Bowden said he wanted to emphasize for the more than 700 players, representing more than five counties and 12 schools, the importance of having the right priorities in life by putting God first. The event was held at First Baptist Church, Lexington, on July 18. [Read more…]

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FROM CROSSFIRE TO THE CROSS: REDEMPTION IN MEMPHIS

By Ashley Perham
Baptist & Reflector intern

Ronnie Johnson, pastor of Miracle of Redemption Church, Memphis, shares his story during a recent interview with the Baptist and Reflector.

MEMPHIS — Ronnie Johnson, pastor of Miracle of Redemption Church, Memphis, has been shot four times and stabbed seven times. In his leg, he carries the scars of a 12-gauge shotgun wound the size of a softball.

“Of course I shot other folks too,” said Johnson.

Johnson was part of the gang Gangster Disciples until June 1, 1995, when he got “sick and tired of being sick and tired.”

During his time in the gang, Johnson saw two friends die in his arms. In and out of prison, he eventually started selling drugs and became his own best customer. He was addicted to heroin, cocaine and alcohol. [Read more…]

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