Randy C. Davis Archives - Baptist & Reflector

THE HEAVY HAND OF GOD’S JUDGMENT

February 11, 2019

By Randy C. Davis
TBMB President & Executive Director

It is a heavy blow when God determines to bring to light that which is hidden in the shadows. Sometimes the Body of Christ must bear the weight of His judgment when He does.

Such a blow was delivered yesterday morning in an article that appeared in the Houston Chronicle. The headline was, “Abuse of Faith.” The extremely thorough story reported 20 years of sexual abuse in Southern Baptist churches that affected at least 700 victims. Far and away the majority of the victims were children or youth; and far and away the perpetrators were ministers. Just in the past decade, at least 250 people who worked for or volunteered in a Southern Baptist church have been charged with sex crimes. [Read more…]

SERVING THE GROWING NUMBER OF BIVO HEROES

February 6, 2019

By Randy C. Davis
TBMB President & Executive Director

Here’s a riddle for you.

What do a banker, a contractor, an elementary teacher, a chemist, an engineering professor and a farmer all have in common?

Answer: They are all faithful pastors.

Unbelievably, approximately 60 percent of the pastors in Tennessee are bivocational. Let that sink in a moment. The majority of the churches connected to the Tennessee Baptist Convention have pastors who have a vocation apart from their ministries as a church’s pastor. And, if you include churches that have fulltime pastors but whose wives have secular jobs in order to make ends meet, the number jumps to probably 75 percent. [Read more…]

DAVIS KICKS OFF FIRST MONTHLY UPDATE ON RADIO B&R

February 4, 2019

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

FRANKLIN — In an effort to keep Tennessee Baptists better informed, Randy C. Davis, president and executive director of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, will do a monthly podcast on Radio B&R.

It will be a monthly “retrospective” of what is happening not only in the TBMB but with churches across Tennessee, said Chris Turner, director of communications for the TBMB and host of Radio B&R. [Read more…]

LOVING TENNESSEE’S UNBORN CHILDREN

January 22, 2019

By Randy C. Davis
TBMB President & Executive Director

The most gut-wrenching and soul-devastating site in the world is seeing women militantly demanding the right to kill their unborn babies.

I was reminded of this last week when I saw a photo of women vociferously protesting for the right to “keep abortion legal.” How I pray to God that in my lifetime I’d see the end of the systematic killing of the precious babies God knits together in the wombs of their mothers. Unfortunately, the systematic killing of unborn children is a global epidemic of unimaginable proportion.

According to research done by the Guttmacher Institute, an organization founded 50 years ago and heavily supported by Planned Parenthood, more than 55 million unborn lives per year – 55 million per year – are terminated as a result of “induced abortion” as the report describes it. [Read more…]

DON’T JUST STAND THERE, PRAY SOMETHING!

January 8, 2019

By Randy C. Davis
TBMB President & Executive Director

There have been some excellent Bible teachers over the last 100 years. Without reservation, I count the late Dr. Ron Dunn as one of them. He was filled with the Holy Spirit and anointed to teach like few men I have ever known. Every message articulated careful biblical exposition, clear illustrations and practical applications. He kept it real, relevant and preached with a compelling word from the Lord.

I was visiting Dr. Dunn and his wife, Kay, at their home in Dallas in early 1991. He gave me a signed copy of his then latest book, “Don’t Just Stand There Pray Something: The Incredible Power of Intercessory Prayer.” I will always remember that visit with the Dunns, and the title of the book has forever been etched on my mind. [Read more…]

REMEMBERING THE LORD OUR GOD IN 2018

December 23, 2018

By Randy C. Davis
TBMB President & Executive Director

You may be overrun with Christmas activities and see a busy 2019 blowing in like a thunderstorm racing across a Kansas prairie. Last minute gifts, parties, travel to be with loved ones, and on it goes. We get to this point of the year and it seems we try to squeeze about six months of activity through the funnel of a couple weeks. We seldom slow down or stop long enough to remember. [Read more…]

HOW WILL YOU RESPOND TO LOTTIE’S CHALLENGE?

December 4, 2018

By Randy C. Davis
TBMB President & Executive Director

Time passes, transitions happen, and generations come and go, but I pray we as Southern Baptists never lose the missionary spirit of Charlotte Digges “Lottie” Moon.

Lottie Moon stood no taller than 4 feet 6 inches tall, but she cast a shadow that’s stretched for more than 100 years. Lottie left for China in the early 1880’s and gave 39 years and her life – literally – to the Chinese people as a teacher and evangelist. Among her monumental Kingdom contributions was the foundation she laid for support of international missions among Southern Baptists through a special offering. [Read more…]

A CLARION CALL AND NOT JUST A THEME

November 6, 2018

By Randy C. Davis
TBMB President & Executive Director

In 1873, a young Dwight L. Moody stood in the vestry of a Baptist church in Dublin, Ireland, talking with Henry Varley, an influential British revivalist preacher. During the course of that conversation, Varley uttered words that rocketed through Moody’s soul and altered the course of Moody’s future ministry.

“Moody,” he said, “The world has yet to see what God will do with a man fully consecrated to him.”

Moody said he left that meeting with the words written on his soul. He saw them written on the planks of the ship that returned him to America and on the cobblestone streets of Chicago. On a return trip to England, Moody told Varley, “Under the power of those words I have come back to England, and I felt that I must not let more time pass until I let you know how God had used your words to my inmost soul.” [Read more…]

TWO SIMPLE BUT POWERFUL WORDS: THANK YOU

October 10, 2018

By Randy C. Davis
TBMB President & Executive Director

It’s just two words but they are incredibly powerful when flowing from a heart genuinely filled with gratitude. They can be delivered a number of ways; a text, an e-mail, or better yet, a handwritten note. Think what it means if you receive a call and the person on the other end simply says, “I wanted to call and just say thank you.”

And then there is the ultimate. Someone who gives you a hug or a handshake, looks you in the eyes and sincerely says, “thanks” for something you’ve done.

You know the Bible instructs us to “Devote [our]selves to prayer, being watchful and thankful” (Colossians 4:2). Simple. Straightforward. Impactful: “Thank You.” [Read more…]

DEPRESSION: IT’S TIME TO OPENLY TALK ABOUT IT

September 12, 2018

By Randy C. Davis
TBMB President & Executive Director

We have a problem and we can’t ignore it any longer.

It’s time we were honest with ourselves and with each other. To pretend we don’t face a serious issue would be a life-threatening mistake. I’m talking about depression among pastors and ministers (and everyone else). Depression is a reality, and I can’t bear the thought of losing one more pastor, one more person, to depression that ends in suicide. [Read more…]

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