pastors Archives - Baptist & Reflector

THREE REASONS PASTORS AVOID COUNSELING

March 22, 2021

By Ben Mandrell
President and CEO of Lifeway Christian Resources

“Too fast!” my wife, Lynley, screamed as I drove down a steep hill caked in snow. The vehicle picked up speed like a roller coaster on first fall.

“I grew up driving in this!” I snapped, more than slightly annoyed that she doubted my driving. Moments later all six Mandrells were sledding sideways, out of control and bracing for impact.

By the grace of God, the SUV stopped just short of a concrete embankment. We were safe, but we were stuck. With a frazzled family and spinning tires, I looked for a friendly passerby — someone to pull us out of this mess.

Looking back on that moment makes me think about pastors who are feeling emotionally stuck. Sadness, depression, bitterness, unresolved anger — all these emotions can cause a spiritual leader to fantasize of running fast from ministry and working in a less draining environment.

In a recent Lifeway Research survey among pastors, we heard painful responses such as, “ I feel the weight of the ministry of this church lays totally on me” and “There is a tremendous sense of loneliness.” [Read more…]

U.S. PROTESTANT PASTORS SEE GENDER CHANGE AS IMMORAL

March 19, 2021

By Aaron Earls
LifeWay Christian Resources

NASHVILLE — As legislatures in Washington, D.C. and across the country discuss issues surrounding individuals who identify as a gender different from their biological sex, a clear majority of U.S. Protestant pastors see such gender fluidity as morally wrong.

In a study from Nashville-based Lifeway Research, around 3 in 4 Protestant pastors say identifying as a gender different from one’s biological birth gender is morally wrong. Similar numbers say the same about attempts to physically change genders.

“American culture increasingly views morality differently than historic Christianity,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research. “When pastors articulate Christian teaching, it often sounds very different from the cultural narrative because it rejects a basis for morality centered on the individual.” [Read more…]

PRAYER GROUP HELPS PASTORS’ WIVES CONNECT

March 1, 2021

By David Dawson
Baptist and Reflector
ddawson@tnbaptist.org

Melody Cain (left) and Jeanne Davis, seen here together before the COVID-19 pandemic, helped start the Ministers’ Wives Prayer Group on Facebook last spring. Davis is the wife of Tennessee Baptist Mission Board president and executive director Randy C. Davis, and Cain is the wife of First Baptist Church, Seymour, pastor Corey Cain.

FRANKLIN — Jeanne Davis was determined to bring pastors’ wives together. Even if they had to stay apart.

Fortunately, the internet made that possible.

Davis, the wife of Tennessee Baptist Mission Board president and executive director Randy C. Davis, teamed up last spring with Melody Cain, the wife of First Baptist Church, Seymour, pastor Corey Cain, and several others to create the TBC Ministers’ Wives prayer group.

The group, which meets weekly on Facebook, has experienced continual growth since it was formed last April. It currently has about 375 members.

Davis said the group is exactly what she’d hoped it would be: a place where pastors’ wives have an outlet to discuss their situations, to encourage each another and, most certainly, to pray for each other. [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.” [Read more…]

CHALLENGING DAYS BUT ALSO DAYS OF GREAT OPPORTUNITY

January 25, 2021

By Randy C. Davis
TBMB President & Executive Director

I loved being a pastor. It was my joy and honor to spend 34 years as a pastor in a local church, so obviously I have a special place in my heart for the men who faithfully labor behind the pulpit serving God and His people.

Between those years and the time I’ve spent as president of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, a pastoral mindset is second nature to me. Daily I make decisions by putting myself in the shoes of the pastors who lead our churches. Those shoes fit me best. God shaped my heart into a shepherd’s mold. [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…]

SHOULDERING THE LOAD

January 25, 2021

Pastors, church leaders dealing with tough decisions, high stress levels during pandemic

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

FRANKLIN — Though a large number of Christians may feel their pastors and ministers have easy jobs (after all they only have to work on Sunday and Wednesdays, right?), research findings indicate the opposite is true.

In 2015 LifeWay Research revealed some of the stress pastors face:

84 percent say they’re on call 24 hours a day.
80 percent expect conflict in their church.
54 percent find the role of pastor frequently overwhelming.
53 percent are often concerned about their family’s financial security.
48 percent often feel the demands of ministry are more than they can handle.
21 percent say their church has unrealistic expectations of them.

And, that was five years before a pandemic that has turned the world upside down.

“Pastors and their families have been under increased stress since the beginning of the pandemic — as have all families,” observed Steve Holt, church services director of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board. [Read more…]

PASTORS MORE HESITANT TO PREACH ON RACE

January 12, 2021

By Aaron Earls
Writer, LifeWay Christian Resources.

NASHVILLE — Pastors seem more reluctant to address issues of race in their congregations today than four years ago.

According to a LifeWay Research study, 74 percent of pastors agree their congregation would welcome a sermon on racial reconciliation, with 32 percent strongly agreeing. In 2016, however, 90 percent of pastors believed their congregation would be open to a sermon on the topic, with 57 percent strongly agreeing.

Today, 17 percent of pastors say their church would not want to hear about racial reconciliation, up from 7 percent in 2016.

“While most pastors’ teaching is not limited to things their congregation wants to hear, it is helpful to know the reaction pastors anticipate from their congregation,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of LifeWay Research. “Instead of a majority strongly agreeing, now only a third of pastors have no hesitation that their congregation would welcome a sermon on racial reconciliation.” [Read more…]

CARING FOR THE LORD’S SHEPHERDS

November 9, 2020

By Randy C. Davis
President & executive director, TBMB

An effective shepherd loves, leads and cares for the flock that God entrusted to him.

But who cares for the shepherd?

I love and appreciate pastors and have a genuine concern for their care. My deep appreciation for pastors is birthed out of three-and-a-half decades of walking in their shoes. I’ve been there, done that and was blessed with a lot more than a t-shirt.

But my burden for the mental, emotional, spiritual and physical concern of pastors has profoundly increased over the past three-to-four years as we’ve heard about so many pastors who have lost their ministries or taken their own lives. Seeing this, and intimately knowing the trenches in which pastors labor, is the genesis of concern we at the TBMB have for their overall health. Concern fueled action and I’m pleased to announce the launch of Shepherd Care. [Read more…]

PRAY FOR YOUR PASTORS

October 22, 2020

By Ray Van Neste
Dean and professor of Biblical studies for the School of Theology and Missions at Union University, Jackson.

One key way to be involved in the advance of the Kingdom of God is to pray for pastors. This is always the case, but it is even more significant at this time. As the last six months or so have disrupted life for all of us, they have created a host of challenges for pastors.

How do you continue to provide worship and preaching when you cannot meet together? How do you do that with a limited budget for technology or in places where internet connection is spotty or unavailable? How do you help people stay in contact? How do you care for shut-ins or the sick when you are not allowed to visit them or fear your visit might bring them harm? Then, how and when do you restart services, Sunday School, nursery and other functions? With what restrictions, procedures or requirements?

There have been a host of articles just in the recent few months on the rise of pastoral depression and burnout. As I have interacted with pastors across Tennessee, across the country and in South Africa and other countries, the common thread has been frustration and often very deep discouragement. [Read more…]

Pastors, church leaders dealing with tough decisions, high stress levels during pandemic

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