Baptist & Reflector

Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835

‘MK’ FROM ITALY FINDS NICHE AT UNION

By Sarah Goff
Union University news office

Emma Worthy, a freshman at Union, grew up in Italy, where her parents are IMB missionaries. — Photo by Kristi Woody

JACKSON — Like so many seniors, Union University freshman Emma Worthy’s last year of high school looked very different because of the COVID-19 pandemic. What makes her story different is she was separated from her family by hundreds of miles and a few countries.

Worthy’s parents are International Mission Board missionaries in Tuscany, Italy. She was born in Fort Worth, Texas, but her family moved overseas when she was 18 months old. She grew up in Italy and considers Naples her home.

Emma and her older sister, Micah, were studying at Black Forest Academy, an international Christian boarding school in Germany, when lockdowns due to the coronavirus started to take place in early March. The school shut down and tried to get all the students back to their families.

“We tried to get home, but we couldn’t because Italy had already locked down,” Worthy said. “It was really, really bad. My family didn’t leave the house for 63 days.”  [Read more…]

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UNION MOURNS LOSS OF FORMER FIRST LADY JOYCE BAREFOOT

Union University news office

Joyce Lynn Barefoot was the wife of Union’s 14th president, Hyran Barefoot.

JACKSON — Former Union University First Lady, Joyce Lynn Barefoot, wife of Union’s 14th president Hyran Barefoot, died Jan. 23 at Maplewood Nursing Home in Jackson at age 93.

“Joyce Barefoot was a Union treasure,” Union President Samuel W. “Dub” Oliver said. “Her graciousness and encouragement were hallmarks of her faithful life. Her service to Union University and, more specifically, the people of Union cannot truly be measured this side of heaven. Even still, we give thanks to God for all of the lives she impacted in Jackson, Tennessee and around the globe by her hospitality and friendship.” 

Mrs. Barefoot graduated from Ouachita Parish High School in Monroe, Louisiana, and continued her education at Louisiana Tech University. She earned her degree in elementary education in 1948 and immediately began teaching in the Ouachita Parish Schools. [Read more…]

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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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UNION TRUSTEES APPROVE NEW DEGREE IN CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP, WELCOME NEWCOMER

Union University News Office

Union President Samuel W. “Dub” Oliver (left) visits with new trustee Chuck Baker prior to the Union Board of Trustees meeting Dec. 4.
-Photo: Kristi Woody

JACKSON — Union University trustees approved a new bachelor’s degree in Christian leadership, received an annual audit report and welcomed a new trustee during their Dec. 4 meeting on the university campus.

The meeting was the first for new trustee Chuck Baker, of Hixson. Baker recently retired as vice president of advancement at Bryan College in Dayton, Tennessee. He previously served as vice president of Unum Corp., a Chattanooga-based insurance company, and as president of Bethel Bible Village in Hixson. [Read more…]

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PASTOR EXPLORES RISE OF BAPTIST AMERICA

By Sarah Goff
Union University news office

Eric and Candace Smith

JACKSON — At Union University, Eric and Candace Smith were preparing for their life in ministry. Eric and Candance met as sophomores while Eric was studying theology and Candace was studying nursing. They both graduated in the spring of 2008.

Today, Eric is the senior pastor of Sharon Baptist Church in Savannah. The Smiths have served at the church since 2013. Candace is a stay-at-home mother to their three children who are 9, 7 and 5 years old. Eric earned his master of divinity and doctor of philosophy from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky.

“We wouldn’t be where we are today if it wasn’t for Union University,” Candace said.

Eric not only has a heart for serving and leading his church, but a passion for writing, as well. His new book, Oliver Hart and the Rise of Baptist America, was published by Oxford University Press in August 2020. He is also the author of Order and Ardor: The Revival Spirituality of Oliver Hart and the Regular Baptists of Eighteenth-Century South Carolina published by the University of South Carolina Press in 2018. [Read more…]

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UNION AWARDS DOCKERY 2020 DODD AWARD

Union University news office

Former Union University president David S. Dockery was awarded Union’s M.E. Dodd Denominational Service Award. — Photo by Adam Covington

JACKSON — Union University has presented former university president David S. Dockery with its M.E. Dodd Denominational Service Award.

The Dodd Award is the highest denominational service award Union gives. It is named for the man who was a 1904 Union graduate, served as president of the SBC and who was the father of today’s Cooperative Program, the method by which Southern Baptists pool their resources to fund their mission and ministry efforts.

The award, voted on by Union trustees, is given to a leader within the SBC who displays excellence and leadership in Southern Baptist life, as well as friendship and commitment to Union University. 

Past recipients include such leaders as Tennessee Baptist Mission Board president and executive director Randy C. Davis, as well as Jimmy Draper, Adrian Rogers, R. Albert Mohler Jr., Steve Gaines, Paul Chitwood and others. 

Dockery was Union’s president from 1996-2014 and now serves as distinguished professor of theology at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, where he also edits the Southwestern Journal of Theology and is theologian in residence at the B.H. Carroll Center for Baptist Heritage and Mission. [Read more…]

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UNION TRUSTEES KEEP STRATEGIC PLAN IN PLACE

Union University

JACKSON — Union University trustees extended the university’s strategic plan during their Sept. 11 meeting on the Union campus.

“Our trustees provide consistently strong leadership, and they have continued to do so in the midst of a global pandemic that has disrupted so many lives, plans and activities,” said Union president Samuel W. “Dub” Oliver said. 

Originally adopted by trustees in 2015, Union’s “United in Spirit. Grounded in Truth.” plan emphasizes seven strategic themes that have guided the work of the university over the past five years. [Read more…]

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UNION UNIVERSITY BANQUET ENCOURAGES WEST TENNESSEE PASTORS TO ‘STAND FAST’

Union University new office

Ray Van Neste, dean of Union’s School of Theology and Missions, spoke as part of the West Tennessee Pastors and Wives Appreciation Banquet at Union on Sept. 8.

JACKSON — The labor of pastors as they seek to lead their congregations in a time of pandemic is not in vain, Ray Van Neste told a group of pastors and their wives at Union University on Sept. 8.

Van Neste, dean of Union’s School of Theology and Missions, spoke as part of the West Tennessee Pastors and Wives Appreciation Banquet that drew more than 100 people.

“Your faithful, steady service is accomplishing far more than you could ever imagine,” Van Neste said. “God often does not show us all he is doing. But we must believe. We walk by faith and not by sight. There is coming a day when you will see, and it will be worth it all. Brothers, stand fast. There is a resurrection.”

Van Neste said he wanted to encourage pastors because of feedback he has received over the past several months. Often pastors are discouraged in trying to figure out how to minister to their people during a pandemic, with some church members believing their pastors are too cautious and others thinking they weren’t being careful enough.  [Read more…]

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PRO-LIFE ADVOCATE JOHNSON URGES BELIEVERS TO ‘WORK TO SAVE EACH AND EVERY ONE’

By Sarah Goff
Union University news office

Abby Johnson is a pro-life advocate who authored the book, “Unplanned.”

JACKSON — The Union University Auxiliary hosted “An Evening with Abby Johnson” in the G.M. Savage Memorial Chapel on Tuesday, Sept. 1. Johnson is a pro-life advocate and author of the award-winning book, “Unplanned,” which has been adapted into a movie of the same title.

“Unplanned” chronicles both Johnson’s experiences during her eight-year career at Planned Parenthood and her dramatic exit in 2009 after assisting with an ultrasound-guided abortion and witnessing a 13-week baby fight for and lose its life. 

Johnson recounted the story of how she got involved in Planned Parenthood during college because she believed the lie told to her by a woman with the organization that Planned Parenthood was the only place where low-income women could go to receive health care. She told Johnson that without access to safe and legal abortion, women would be forced to get “back alley abortions” and would die from these unsafe procedures.  [Read more…]

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STANDING FOR GOD’S TRUTH CAN’T BE AN OPTION

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

In today’s world, anyone who stands boldly on the Word of God will be ridiculed and criticized.

Yet, it’s really not an option to not stand firmly on God’s Word. As Christians, we really don’t have a choice if we have truly given our lives over to God.

Acts 16:13 (HCSB) reminds us, “Be alert, stand firm in the faith, be brave and strong.”

James 4:17 (HCSB) says the same thing, but even stronger, “So, for the person who knows to do good and doesn’t do it, it’s a sin.” [Read more…]

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