Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835
By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector
BRENTWOOD – The Tennessee Baptist Convention Executive Board unanimously approved a change in its organizational structure during its March 25 meeting held at Brentwood Baptist Church here.
The Executive Board will now be structured around the Five Objectives adopted by messengers at last year’s annual meeting held during The Summit in November.
The Five Objectives are: [Read more…]
Compiled by Baptist and Reflector
LENOIR CITY — A Knoxville television station reported last week that the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has charged the director of nursing and the former administrator of Baptist Health Care Center in Lenoir City with tampering with records.
BHCC is affiliated with Tennessee Baptist Adult Homes, based in Brentwood.
The investigation stemmed from allegations of alleged abuse at the facility in early 2014, according to WBIR in Knoxville. [Read more…]
Students gather around the stage area of the Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, to make spiritual commitments as they and others worship to music. — Photo by Royce DeGrie
By Connie Davis Bushey
News Editor, Baptist and Reflector
8,017 students, leaders attend annual Youth Evangelism Conference held in Nashville
NASHVILLE — A total of 655 teens attending the YEC or Youth Evangelism Conference made professions of faith.
In addition, 140 teens made commitments to specific roles in ministry including missionary work, 149 requested baptism, and 82 were other decisions.
A total of 1,026 students made public spiritual commitments and recorded them.
The YEC — sponsored annually for the past 46 years by the Tennessee Baptist Convention — was held March 13-14 at the Municipal Auditorium in Nashville. [Read more…]
By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector
Tennessee Baptist churches baptize 23,499 new believers in 2014
BRENTWOOD — For the second year in a row, baptisms have increased in the Tennessee Baptist Convention.
As of March 26, 2,603 churches reported a total of 23,499 baptisms in 2014. Churches can continue to send in their numbers throughout the year so the number could actually increase.
It is the largest number of baptisms recorded by TBC churches since 2010 when baptisms fell from more than 23,900 in 2009 to 21,472. In 2013, TBC churches reported 21,979 baptisms. [Read more…]
Members of the Slavic Baptist Church, Franklin, which is conducting a collection project for the Ukraine, include Victor Zadoyanchuk, left, and the Tkachuk family, from left, Nataliya, Olesya, Liliya, Taras, Pavlo, and Nazar.
By Connie Davis Bushey
News Editor, Baptist and Reflector
Despite war, even Russians in Slavic Baptist Church are helping Ukrainians
FRANKLIN — Slavic Baptist Church here is a mixture of nationalities. The congregation includes people from Ukraine, Russia, Moldova, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Bulgaria. All of these countries except Bulgaria were a part of the Soviet Union and declared their independence after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1990. [Read more…]
By Baptist and Reflector
BRENTWOOD — Tennessee Baptist Convention churches gave $2,481,982 through the Cooperative Program in February.
After the first quarter of the current fiscal year, Tennessee Baptists have given $11,129,645. The amount is $470,188 or 4.1 percent below what was given at the same time last year. It is, however, only $287,022 or 2.51 percent below budget needs. [Read more…]
Gary Rickman
By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector
Churches, ministers share responsibility for preparing for life-changing events
BRENTWOOD — Gary Rickman has seen and heard the same story far too many times during his 24-year tenure with the Tennessee Baptist Convention.
A pastor (or any staff minister) has faithfully served a small Tennessee Baptist church for many years. The minister is well loved not only in the church but the community as well.
Then one day, tragedy strikes. [Read more…]
Dale Ledbetter, director of missions for Maury Baptist Association, headquartered in Columbia, cuts up a tree in the yard of a resident near Clarkrange. Middle and East Tennessee were struck by ice and snow storms in late February, causing extensive damage across the state. Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief teams worked for several weeks to clear away the damage. In some cases, electricity could not be restored to homes until the cleanup work was completed. Ledbetter was part of a five-member team from the association who assisted in the effort.
By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector
BRENTWOOD — Some things just can’t be sugarcoated — especially disaster relief work in sub-freezing temperatures.
“There’s no glamour in working outside in the cold with snow over your ankles,” acknowledged Mike Overcash, interim Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief director.
Cold weather poses an entirely different set of issues to deal with as compared to traditional disaster responses that take place from the spring through the fall during the hurricane and tornado seasons, he said.
“Typically we have to deal with the heat, not the cold.” [Read more…]
By Chris Turner
Director of Communications, TBC
Supporters, detractors opine on Bible as the official book of Tennessee
NASHVILLE — The State of Tennessee has 20 categories of state symbols, including official insects, birds, fossils, horses, rocks, songs, and even tartan. Two Tennessee lawmakers would like to add books as a category, and make the Bible Tennessee’s official book.
Representative Jerry Sexton, of Bean Station, and Senator Steve Southerland, of Morristown — both Republicans — last month introduced House Bill 0615 and Senate Bill 1108 respectively. As stated, the bill, “Designates the Holy Bible as the official state book.” The bill is scheduled to appear before sub-committees in both the House and the Senate near the end of March, and if approved by the full committee, would move to the full House and Senate for vote before the current legislative session concludes near the end of April. [Read more…]
Willie McLaurin
By Connie Davis Bushey
News Editor, Baptist and Reflector
BRENTWOOD — The Tennessee Baptist Convention is becoming more racially and ethnically diverse, says TBC staff members.
But more importantly, about half of the residents of the state — including non-Anglos — need the Lord, said Willie McLaurin and William Burton of the TBC staff.
“Especially with our emphasis on reaching people with the gospel, we should have a focus on another race of people and that is the people who are lost,” said McLaurin, who works with African-American churches across the state.
William Burton, who works with ethnics, agreed. “Our job is not immigration. Our job is salvation. That’s where we need to be focused. …
“We no longer live so much in a church developing field, we’re a missions field,” said Burton, a former missionary to Venezuela with the Southern Baptist International Mission Board. [Read more…]