Baptist and Reflector

RIDGELY – Tennessee Baptist pastor Larry Byassee and his wife, Shirley, were killed Oct. 26 in an automobile accident on State Highway 78 near Ridgely, according to news reports.

Byassee, 71, was pastor of Wynnburg Baptist Church in Lake County. He had just preached his last sermon at the church. He and his wife were in the process of moving to Hermitage to be near their daughter and son-in-law Michelle and Jeremy Lyell.

According to news accounts, Lyell was driving a 2008 Chevrolet Equinox when an oncoming car moved into their lane, striking them head on. The Byassees were passengers in the car. [Read more…]

Daughter, Mom support Amendment 1 after making wrong decision

Editor’s Note: Because of the importance of Amendment 1 to the State Constitution on Nov. 4, churches are encouraged to make copies of this story and provide to members who do not receive the Baptist and Reflector. It is important to remember that while Amendment 1 does not eliminate abortion in Tennessee or take away the woman’s right to choose, it can provide a means to reestablish some common sense restrictions on abortion such as informed consent, a waiting period, and inspection of abortion facilities.

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

HERMITAGE — A few weeks ago Tiffany Loxley and her mother Karen Brown did not know much about Amendment 1 which is on the state ballot.

But after listening to sermons and reading about Amendment 1, they are now strong advocates of the amendment, which if passed on Nov. 4, can restore some common sense restrictions on abortion that already are in place in states surrounding Tennessee.

Loxley and Brown support the amendment because they have experienced firsthand the devastating consequences of choosing to have an abortion. Fourteen years ago, at the age of 20 and in college, Tiffany Loxley learned she was pregnant. [Read more…]

By Academy communications

SEYMOUR — The King’s Academy President and Headmaster Walter Grubb announced Tuesday the largest contribution to date to the academy’s Celebrating Our Past — TOGETHER — Building Our Future capital campaign. Tom Shen, a 1973 academy graduate who resides in California, made the gift of stocks that sold for $251,028.95. The King’s Academy is a part of Harrison-Chilhowee Baptist Academy which is affiliated with the Tennessee Baptist Convention.

The alumnus requested the funds be used in the construction of new science classrooms and laboratories in memory of his father, Jin-Tai Shen. Grubb said that Jin-Tai Shen’s name will appear in both English and Chinese on the building. [Read more…]

By Charlie Wetherington
TBCH Coordinator of Communications

BRENTWOOD — Greg McCoy, pastor of First Baptist Church, Portland, has been elected to be the seventh president/treasurer of the Tennessee Baptist Children’s Homes in its 124-year history.

McCoy, 51, was the unanimous recommendation of the TBCH’s presidential search advisory committee. The committee’s recommendation was presented to a called meeting of the full board of trustees on Sept. 16 which unanimously approved the selection.

McCoy will begin his 14-month tenure as president/treasurer elect on Nov. 1 of this year. Millsaps will continue to serve as president/treasurer of TBCH through Dec. 31, 2015, at which time he will retire and McCoy will assume the full responsibilities of leading the ministry to children and families in crisis. [Read more…]

By Connie Davis Bushey
News Editor, Baptist and Reflector

BRENTWOOD — Randy Harness started helping around the Briceville Friendship Center in Briceville after June Strunk, then director, met him one day as he walked past. They visited and she learned he was unemployed.

Strunk invited Harness to come back to obtain food and, if he wanted, to help her in the food pantry. He began working in the pantry and as they worked they “had the opportunity to talk,” said Strunk. She learned he had been in prison.

Harness was a Jehovah’s Witness but that didn’t keep Strunk from sharing her faith with him and trying her best to answer his questions. Years went by and other Baptists also got to know Harness at the Friendship Center. [Read more…]

By Chris Turner
Director of Communications, TBC

MEMPHIS — Lindy May stood on a busy street in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and felt utterly alone.

Horns blared as thousands of people shuttled by on bicycles and motor scooters and others hurried by on sidewalks and past storefronts. The rhythmic chaos resembled the movements within an ant colony.

Yet May felt alone, overwhelmed because she knew the semi-ornate storefront just across the street was nothing more than a facade around a doorway to a living hell. The banner hanging outside promoted Pepsi-Cola, but the real commodity inside was women — many of them still girls — enslaved and tangled in the snare of sex trafficking. Their bondage wasn’t just physical, it was spiritual, and May could sense it. [Read more…]