Tennessee Baptist and Reflector

Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835

GOD IS UP TO SOMETHING NEW

By Jay Hardwick
President, Tennessee Baptist Convention

Happy New Year, Tennessee Baptists! I am grateful for what God is doing in our state and for the opportunities we have to serve Him and advance the gospel together in 2024!

The new year is often a time to think new beginnings, new habits, new goals, and new opportunities. People all around the globe celebrate the flipping of the calendar as a proverbial sign of the old that is passed and the new that is to come. As we look ahead to 2024, I want us to consider a question together — “What new thing is God doing and how He is calling me to follow Him in it?”

At the encouragement of a mentor a few years ago, I started receiving the “Verse of the Day” notification from YouVersion as a means of beginning each day in the Word and in prayer. I receive it each day at 4 a.m. and it is the first thing I see and read when I wake up. The goal is to spend those first moments of the morning reflecting on the verse and applying it to my day and life through prayer. It’s been a wonderful, life-giving habit — I highly encourage you to give it a try!

On Jan. 8, the “Verse of the Day” came from Isaiah 43:18-19: “Do not remember the past events, pay no attention to things of old. Look, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.”  [Read more…]

NICK SABAN IS NOT THE MISSION

By Randy C. Davis
President and executive director, Tennessee Baptist Mission Board

It was a day to remember, May 6, 2013. It was the day I met, “The GOAT.” 

True, not everyone would agree that he’s the greatest of all time, but what is irrefutable is what Nick Saban accomplished during his years at the University of Alabama. Being from Alabama and being a lifelong Crimson Tide fan, it was an honor for my brother and I to meet him in 2013 at a banquet to which we were invited. 

Rob and I arrived early and were positioned to meet Coach Saban when he also arrived about 30 minutes before the event. We greeted one another, took photographs, and then he asked where we were from. We explained Tennessee and Arkansas, respectively, but that we grew up on the Alabama Gulf Coast. With great enthusiasm, he immediately talked about recruiting Julio Jones and other great players from the coast. “Fertile ground” he called it. The conversation lasted about 20 minutes. 

If you approach Bryant Denny Stadium on Alabama’s campus, you will pass the statues of former Bama coaches Wallace Wade, Frank Thomas, Paul “Bear” Bryant, Gene Stallings and Nick Saban. The common denominator with these five coaches is that they’ve each won at least one NCAA Football National Championship. The Crimson Tide have had other great coaches, but statues are reserved for national champions.   [Read more…]

DON’T FORGET TO PRAY FOR YOUTH PASTORS

By David Dawson
Communications specialist, TBMB

Before I ask the question that I am about to ask, please know that it does not come from a place of judgment. I simply want you to take a moment to think about your answer.  

My question is this: When was the last time you prayed specifically for the student pastor / youth leader at your church? 

The reason I ask is because I think we sometimes forget about student pastors. Maybe it’s because they often aren’t as visible as the senior pastor, the worship leader or even, in some cases, the minister of education. But trust me, they need our prayers. 

I am completely convinced that the role of youth leader is more difficult in our current culture than ever before. They are dealing with questions from their students that none of their predecessors ever had to think about. Heavy stuff. Dark stuff.    Deep stuff. [Read more…]

DOOLEY NOTED: WHAT GOD DESIRES MOST

By Adam B. Dooley
Pastor, Englewood Baptist Church, Jackson

I know it isn’t part of our culture anymore, but many are old enough to remember the full-service gas station in small towns across our nation. With service that is foreign to our modern experience, attendants would not only put gas in your car, but also wash your windows, check your tires, and add water to your radiator while you remained comfortably seated behind the wheel. 

Now, imagine businesses like these still existed, and one day while driving you notice that your oil light begins to blink. After you pull into the closest station, they quickly top off your gas tank, wash your windows, and put air in one tire. Soon, you drive away thankful for the tremendous service, but you quickly notice that the oil light is still flashing. Though the assistance you received was not unimportant, you realize the workers provided everything except the one thing you needed most.  [Read more…]

FIRST PERSON: REMEMBERING GOD’S FAITHFULNESS AND GOODNESS AS A SPECIAL NEEDS PARENT

By Lauren C. Grim
Creative Services Manager, The Baptist Paper

EDITOR’S NOTE — Mason Grim has been on many people’s prayer lists since the day he was born in the fall of 2018. His mother, Lauren Grim, who designs the pages you read in The Baptist Paper, shared his birth story in the Jan. 14, 2021, issue of The Alabama Baptist. To read the beginning of Mason’s story, visit tbponline.org/Grim. Sanctity of Life Sunday is Jan. 21. 

Mason is all smiles at the 2023 annual NICU reunion at Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women in Memphis, Tennessee, where he spent the first 139 days of his life. — Photo by Lauren C. Grim / The Baptist Paper

I vividly remember one of the NICU doctors telling me back in 2018 that even though Mason was born a micropreemie, he believed we should see him close the gap of developmental delay by the age of 3 with the help of therapy.

I held onto what that doctor told me for a long time. However, when Mason was nearing 3 years old, my husband, Myles, and I started noticing some things that were a little different from what his peers were doing.

Challenges at home

Mason was nonverbal. He didn’t respond to his name. He didn’t make eye contact. He made repetitive movements. He didn’t necessarily play with other children but would play near them. He didn’t eat solid foods. He had impulsive, inattentive behavior and would get extremely upset about minor things.

Mason’s needs were starting to be greater than we could control at home, so we started looking for outside help.

At the recommendation from his occupational therapist at school, we started looking into programs that could be beneficial. We soon learned we needed some sort of diagnosis for insurance to cover any type of therapy or program.

In January 2023 Mason was diagnosed with autism. While my initial reaction was absolute shock and denial, all of the signs were there.

Lauren C. Grim

The next few months were spent learning everything we could about autism. We were naive and didn’t know anything about it. I contacted every type of therapy facility and provider I could find within a 30-mile radius of our house. Myles and I grieved the childhood we dreamed our son would have. We were flooded with anxiety and fears of what Mason’s life would be like.

But one particular Scripture passage came to mind in the midst of it all. “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness” (Lam. 3:22–23).

The only way we’ve been able to keep trudging along this path is to take it one day at a time.

Becoming a special needs parent was never part of my thought process, and I always assumed parents with a special needs child must have endless faith and patience.

Now, as we have come to understand more about the dynamics, I realize all of us are only able to do it by the grace of God. We have good days and plenty of bad days, but all it takes is one look at my little Mason and I’m reminded that God is good.

I have a page of notes in my phone filled with Mason’s milestones, “inchstones” and wins — things he has said or done that I don’t want to ever forget. This past year I have added more to that list than I ever have. I never thought I would thank the Lord for my child eating a chicken nugget!

Mason has come so far in his five years of life. The NICU alarms of his oxygen and heart rate dropping will always be ingrained in my mind. From starting out at 1 lb. 14 oz. to being a physically healthy child today is a blessing in itself.

I have never had a conversation with Mason. He has never been able to tell me how his day at school went or if he’s feeling sick. My prayer is that one day he will. His big sister, Alana, understands him best. We say she speaks “Mason.”

God provides

One way we have seen God provide for our family is through Alana. She is two years older and is his biggest fan and cheerleader. Mason’s psychologist told us Alana would be his main teacher and mentor. And boy was she right.

Alana has a nurturing personality who thinks of others first. God knew our sweet daughter would provide balance in our family.

As Sanctity of Human Life Sunday approaches, it will forever hold a different meaning in our household. It is a reminder that every life has value, even an autistic child’s. Mason is a living, walking testimony of God’s faithfulness and goodness. Those who have walked this journey with us still call him “Miraculous Mason” or our miracle baby, and he truly is. B&R

EVEN A SAD DAY CAN HAVE A HAPPY ENDING

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist & Reflector

Danny Sinquefield, right, Harvest Field One Team Leader for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, stands with deacon David Prine following the final church service at Calvary Baptist Church, Brownsville.

In a recent story in the Baptist and Reflector, Tim Ellsworth, a longtime friend and a talented journalist provided coverage of the last service of one of our Tennessee Baptist churches in Brownsville.

Calvary Baptist Church closed its doors after 70 years of ministry. The church began in 1953 as a church plant from Brownsville Baptist Church. At its peak, the church had nearly 200 people in attendance. 

But, as the case with many churches, people moved away and being in a rural community, there were not many folks moving into the community.

Calvary’s attendance dropped to less than 10 people and the remaining members knew the future did not look bright.

A former pastor of the church sent David Prine, one of the church’s two deacons, a copy of the Baptist and Reflector which provided details of the Tennessee Baptist Convention’s BlueOval City ministry. [Read more…]

ARE YOU READY FOR SUMMIT 2024?

By Randy C. Davis
President and executive director, Tennessee Baptist Mission Board

Randy C. Davis

Historically significant milestones are often years in the making, and we have one rising on our horizon. 

Look with me through the months ahead to November, Summit 2024. We just finished Summit 2023 so you may wonder why we’d already be looking 11 months down the road. 

Time seems to pass at a sprinter’s pace and I assure you that your Tennessee Baptist Mission Board staff and TBC Arrangements and History Committees have already been working for months toward this important gathering of Tennessee Baptists and time of celebration.   [Read more…]

GETTING IN THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT

By David Dawson
Communications specialist, TBMB

From time to time, I will run into someone who says, “I am kind of a Scrooge when it comes to Christmas. I just don’t like it all that much.”

At this point, I usually start making a few assumptions about this person. For instance, I presume that they hate puppies. And that they give out fruit and toothbrushes to the trick or treaters in their neighborhood. 

Okay, well, maybe that’s a bit much. 

I don’t actually think that non-Christmas people are evil or soul-less. But I will say, I do have a hard time understanding their point of view.  [Read more…]

DON’T LET SATAN SPOIL YOUR CHRISTMAS

By Kathy McBroom
Contributing writer, Baptist and Reflector

Editor’s Note: While this column is written by a minister’s wife, the article is applicable to anyone, man or woman, who feels stress during the Christmas season.

Ministers’ wives, does the Christmas season ever privately make you think “Oh, wow” versus “Yay?” 

So many parties, so many “bring a small gift” gatherings, the “can you bring a dessert?” We love to celebrate the Christmas season, and we should. It is the birthday of my King: let us never forget what that means. 

No doubt like me, you love and have loved the church families that God has called you to be a part of, but the expectations during the holiday season can be endless, my present church and most of those where we have served excluded.  [Read more…]

DOOLEY NOTED: THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR

By Adam B. Dooley
Pastor, Englewood Baptist Church, Jackson

As early as 1926, Neiman Marcus Company published its first annual catalogue of unusual Christmas gifts to the delight of customers. Then, in 1959, the retailer generated even more publicity by producing a list of fantasy gifts for the person who has everything. This unique holiday tradition continues even today, speculating the most elaborate gifts imaginable.  

A few years back, readers could purchase a 74-foot solar yacht for a cool $7.1 million dollars. Buyers with children were free to choose a $250,000 clubhouse for the backyard. This year, fans of Disney can secure the right to star in their own animated film for just north of $500,000.

Lavish presents like these may be entertaining, but few people actually want such extravagant gifts from the people they love. Finding the right treasures for people in our lives is not as simple as it should be, though, because what our friends want and what they need may not always coincide. Even more challenging, sometimes what our loved ones need contradicts what they want entirely! Add in the fact that our desires continually change over time, and finding the perfect Christmas gift is nearly impossible.  [Read more…]

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