Tennessee Baptist and Reflector

Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835

DAD PONDERS QUESTION, ‘IS CHRISTMAS DONE?’

By Todd Brady
Vice President For University Ministries, Union University, Jackson

Todd Brady

Todd Brady

Although 2015 Christmas celebrations are getting smaller and smaller in our rear view mirrors, a recent question by my toddler several weeks ago continues to linger in my head. On the first Friday in December, we gathered with friends for one of the holiday’s first Christmas parties. We enjoyed the tasty food and the great conversation. A unique twist on our Christmas ornament gift exchange had us all cracking up. It was a lot of fun.

As our family began gathering our things and heading out the door to go back home, 3-year-old Miller grabbed my pants leg and asked “Is Christmas done?” [Read more…]

REMINISCENCES OF A DECEASED FRIEND

By Chris Turner
Director of Communications, Tennessee Baptist Convention

Chris Turner

Chris Turner

An old and influential friend died Jan. 13 and the best way I know to honor my friend is to reminisce about the good times.

My friend actually isn’t a person, it is – or was – the communications department of the International Mission board made up of extremely gifted people who became my friends. At one time, many of these friends, before I knew them as friends, bordered on being my idols. I read their stories, I gazed endlessly at their photos and let their videos wash over me. I wanted to be like them.

The writers who produced copy for The Commission magazine were rock stars to me. I knew them by name and could give you a rundown of their story packages from around the world like reciting stats from the back of a Ryne Sandberg baseball card. I still can 20 years later. People like Erich Bridges, Mike Creswell, Don Martin, Craig Bird, Mark Kelly, Marty Croll, Mary Jane Welch and Anita Bowden took me places I had to find in an atlas. And then there was Mary Speidel. [Read more…]

NEWSPAPERS MOST EFFECTIVE IN PRINT, ONLINE

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

Lonnie Wilkey

Lonnie Wilkey

As a person who has spent the better part of his career and adult life in the production of newspapers, it is sad whenever I hear that a print publication has “bit the dust.”

Such was the case last week  as I held the last print copy of the The Christian Index in my hand. The Christian Index has been in existence for 193 years, making it older than the Baptist and Reflector which celebrated its 180th anniversary last year.

The Christian Index has long laid claim to the fact that it is the oldest continuously published religious periodical in the nation. [Read more…]

DO YOU SUFFER FROM SPIRITUAL INERTIA?

By Randy C. Davis
TBC Executive Director

Randy C. Davis

Randy C. Davis

Winston Churchill could see the dark clouds gathering above Germany and drifting across Europe. It was the early 1930s and the future British Prime Minister repeatedly sounded the alarm at the growing German military might under the direction of Adolph Hitler. Churchill was often shouted down and ridiculed for what many considered much ado about nothing. The “British Bulldog” recognized his countrymen were overcome with a “political inertia” that endangered Great Britain’s future. “Spiritual inertia” endangers Christians, and especially pastors and ministry leaders if they don’t remain vigilant. The word inertia means, “lack of movement or continuous movement in a particular direction unless affected by something that alters that direction.” Another way we might define inertia is, “stuck in a rut.” [Read more…]

GOD’S SPECIAL TOOLS

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

Before it Hits the PressIn 1981 I had been out of college for one year and was employed in the development office of Baptist College at Charleston (now Charleston Southern University) in South Carolina. I mostly edited their alumni publication but assisted with pamphlets and brochures and the dreaded “other duties as assigned.”

One of those duties included being asked to assist the former Southern Baptist Education Commission (which was disbanded in the late 1990s) with their annual meeting that was being held in Charleston.

I was assigned to assist Juanita Wilkinson who was the administrative assistant to the late Arthur L. Walker Jr., executive director of the Education Commission. I just helped her with some of the logistics since the meeting was held on the Baptist College campus. Little did I know that we would form a lifelong friendship. [Read more…]

PRAYING FOR AN ISLAMIC SAUL

By David Evans
TBC Evangelism Specialist

David Evans

David Evans

We should be praying for the Islamic Saul to rise among their ranks.

Over the past few years there have been so many terrorist attacks, public bombings, and mass shootings. At the center of the majority of these events are groups like ISIS, ISIL, and Al Qaeda. Terrorist groups. Groups that have one reason for existence — world domination through fear, power, and death. As we watch media commentaries on such events we hear of many different solutions to the problems of terrorism. While the church listens to such solutions, the church has its own solution: prayer and sacrifice. With every organization considered the church is the only one that is tasked with the job of prayer and to be sacrificial. The church cannot afford to sit idly around waiting for another organization to save the day. The church must take the issue to our Eternal Father, pray specifically for a solution, and be ready to be sacrificial. [Read more…]

FIVE REFLECTIONS IN 2015 ABOUT OUR CONVENTION

By Ronnie Floyd
President, Southern Baptist Convention

Ronnie Floyd

Ronnie Floyd

In my final article in 2015 to our Southern Baptist family, I want to share five reflections.

(1) We are a cross-generational convention. One of our unique strengths is that we are a cross-generational convention of churches. I was so encouraged to see more younger pastors and leaders at our annual meeting last June in Columbus, Ohio. I am convinced the more we focus on reaching our nation and world with the gospel of Jesus Christ, the more we will continue to be a cross-generational convention. The more cross-generational our churches are, the stronger our churches will be internally and externally. [Read more…]

WHEN IT LOOKS BLEAK, REMEMBER WHO WINS

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

Lonnie Wilkey

Lonnie Wilkey

In 2015, the issue of same-sex marriage took center stage. I doubt any of us will forget June 26, the day that the United States Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage is protected under the Constitution and is now legal in all 50 states.

Christians prayed for a different outcome but I think many of us felt that the Supreme Court ultimately would make the wrong call and redefine marriage as it has been known since the beginning of time. After all, it already was legal in several states.

The same-sex marriage snowball had been rolling down a mountain unhindered for many years, so the avalanche was not surprising when it happened. Disappointing, yes? The Supreme Court ruling just confirmed what we, as Christians, have known for years —- our nation has drifted away, not only from God, but morals in general. [Read more…]

DO YOU NEED A MULLIGAN IN 2016?

By Randy C. Davis
TBC Executive Director

Randy C. Davis

Randy C. Davis

If you’ve ever played golf you are familiar with a golfer’s best friend: the mulligan. A mulligan is an extra stroke allowed after a poor shot, not counted on the scorecard. Usually all the players have agreed before the round that a mulligan is allowed. No, a mulligan is not professionally acceptable, but it has kept many an amateur from blowing an otherwise decent round with a single wayward shot. How about you? Could you use a life mulligan? I know many people who feel their 2015 ended on a low note and that “failure” is carrying over to start the new year. If that’s you, take a mulligan and start fresh. Here are three key ideas to keep in mind as you “tee it back up” in 2016. [Read more…]

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

By Roc Collins
President, Tennessee Baptist Convention

151224christmas1Christmas is here!! In just a few days we will celebrate Christmas. It is one of my favorite times. Surely the songwriter had it right when he penned, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year!” What makes it so wonderful? Some will say it is the gifts and decorations, the shopping and parties, the food and fun, among other things that make Christmas enjoyable. Yes, Christmas can be enjoyable because of these things but they are not what makes Christmas wonderful. Christmas is wonderful because of Christ! You know you can’t spell Christmas without Christ so you surely can’t celebrate and understand Christmas without knowing Christ. [Read more…]

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