Baptist & Reflector

Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835

REVITALIZATION: GETTING IN SHAPE TO GET IN SHAPE

By Phil Young
Director of Missions, Knox County Association of Baptists

I decided it was time to get in shape physically. I will spare you the details, but basically, I knew that it was time to take the next step in my physical health.

Oh, I could easily justify keeping things the way they were. After all, I wasn’t overweight and my regular choice of foods was fairly healthy (except for the hot glazed Krispy Kreme donuts). And in comparison, I appeared to be in as good of shape as most of my peers.

However, I knew deep down that my health could be better. I had reached the point where the conviction about what could be was overriding the justification of status quo. [Read more…]

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PASTOR DUO TEAMS UP TO REVITALIZE HISTORIC CHURCH

By Jessica Tate
Grainger Today

Nick Wright, right, pastor, and Brad Bales, executive pastor, of Mouth of Richland Baptist Church, teamed up earlier this year to help revitalize the 230-year-old congregation.

BLAINE — Mouth of Richland Baptist Church in Blaine celebrated its 230th anniversary with a homecoming celebration on Oct. 28.

The church opened in 1788, eight years before the establishment of the state of Tennessee and Grainger County in 1796. It was the first Baptist church in Grainger County and possibly the 18th oldest church in the state. It is now one of few churches in the area with two full-time pastors. [Read more…]

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CHURCH REVITALIZATION: MORE THAN A HEAD COUNT

Pleasant View Baptist in Clarksville revitalized by missions involvement, baptisms, ministries

By Lonnie Wilkey
lwilkey@tnbaptist.org

Pastor Jerry Jeter stands outside Pleasant View Baptist Church in Clarksville.

CLARKSVILLE — Church revitalization is one of the Five Objectives adopted by Tennessee Baptist messengers at their annual meeting at Brentwood Baptist Church in Brentwood in 2014. [Read more…]

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FROM CALIFORNIA TO TENNESSEE VIA TEXAS

Non-typical Southern Baptist pastor leads church to impact community

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

Pastor Donnie De La Cruz leads a Bible study between skateboarding sessions at Dumplin Baptist Church in New Market.

NEW MARKET — Donnie De La Cruz would be the first person to tell you that he’s not your typical, everyday Baptist preacher in East Tennessee. And, most people who know him would agree wholeheartedly.

But, those who know him well would also say he’s totally sold out on telling lost people about the love of Jesus Christ and leading Dumplin Baptist Church in New Market to reach its community for Christ.

What makes De La Cruz different from most of his colleagues in Jefferson County Baptist Association? [Read more…]

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TEN THINGS WE DON’T WANT TO SAY ABOUT THE CP

By Matt Tullos
Stewardship Development Specialist, TBMB

In the Go Fund Me era, it’s easy to minimize the Cooperative Program. We get so caught up in the daily grind of ministry and we forget all the things that make the Cooperative Program shine so brightly in a dark world. It begs the question, “What would your church, Tennessee, and the world look like without CP?” Here are a few uncomfortable realities.

Without the Cooperative Program, we would be saying: [Read more…]

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BARRON RETURNS TO LEAD BLENDED CONGREGATION

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

Lisa and Ridley Barron

FRANKLIN — In early 2004, life was going great for Ridley Barron, former youth minister at Forest Hills Baptist Church in Nashville. Four years earlier he moved to Douglas, Ga., to plant a new church in the southeast portion of the state, and the church was taking root.

On Good Friday of 2004, Barron’s world was rocked forever. A tragic car accident took the life of his wife Sarah Ellen. His 17-month-old son survived the accident but died following a hospital-induced medication error, leaving Barron with two young children. [Read more…]

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THE IMAGE OF THE POTTER’S WHEEL

By Phil Young
Director of Missions, Knox County Association of Baptists

I have always been fascinated by the image of a potter’s wheel. Something about the way a master potter takes a lump of clay and molds it into a beautiful and useful vessel appeals to me. I think it may be that each piece of pottery is unique.  Because it is not “mass-produced” on a machine, no two pieces are the same.  Each piece is carefully shaped into what the potter desires it to be.  [Read more…]

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ONCE ON THE VERGE OF CLOSING, RIVER ROCK IS NOW ROLLING

By David Dawson
Baptist and Reflector
ddawson@tnbaptist.org

Photo: River Rock Facebook page

MURFREESBORO — It’s been quite a journey for River Rock Baptist Church in Murfreesboro: In the past decade, the church has gone from survival to revival.

Under the leadership of pastor Don Herron — along with the help of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board’s revitalization team and abundant praying — the church has recovered from its darkest days and is now once again making an impact in its community.

Sandi Kirkwood, a member at River Rock, believes the transformation can be attributed to one simple concept — love. [Read more…]

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