By Tim Ellsworth Contributing writer, B&R KNOXVILLE — Speakers at the 2019 Tennessee Baptist Pastors Conference held Nov. 18 at First Baptist Concord addressed the theme “Run with Endurance” as they encouraged pastors to persevere in their ministries, even in times of difficulty and struggle.  The theme came from Hebrews 12:1-2. Scott Parkinson, lead pastor of Stevens Street Baptist Church in Cookeville and president of this year’s conference, said he

Thanksgiving will be observed today in home all across Tennessee and our nation.  For some, the main emphasis will be food and football, mixed with a little bit of family. Christians, however, should always keep God at the forefront of all we do, including our holiday celebrations. This is especially true on Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. For Christians, every day should be “Thanksgiving.”  God has given us so many blessings;

By David Dawson [email protected] KNOXVILLE — Considering the negative numbers and troubling trends that are prevalent in today’s church culture, the challenge of “winning Tennessee for Christ” seems incredibly daunting, perhaps even impossible.  Hollie Miller sees it differently.  Preaching the convention sermon at the 145th annual meeting of Tennessee Baptists, Miller, a retired pastor and former TBC president, said he is confident that Tennessee Baptists can reach their No. 1

By Lonnie Wilkey [email protected] KNOXVILLE — Tennessee Baptists overwhelmingly adopted a resolution denouncing Critical Race Theory (CRT) and intersectionality during their 145th annual meeting Nov. 19-20 in Knoxville. Messengers to the Tennessee Baptist Convention acted on the resolution during the final session on Nov. 20. The resolution defined CRT as “a secular worldview used by some in social sciences to analyze marginalized populations by categorizing differences among peoples, especially race

Baptist and Reflector KNOXVILLE — Hendersonville pastor Bruce Chesser has been elected president of the Tennessee Baptist Convention. Chesser was elected without opposition Nov. 19 during the afternoon session of the 145th annual meeting of the TBC. He was nominated by Bruce Raley, executive pastor of First Baptist Church, Hendersonville. A former pastor in Arkansas, Alabama and Texas, Chesser has served as pastor of First Baptist, Hendersonville for the past

By Lonnie Wilkey [email protected] KNOXVILLE — Tennessee Baptists attending the All Nations Worship Celebration received a glimpse of what heaven will look like. About 700 people representing 60 ethnic groups gathered at Black Oak Heights Baptist Church in Knoxville Nov. 17 for a night of worship. It was the third All Nations Worship Celebration held in conjunction with the opening night of Summit, but the first one held in Knoxville,

FBC Cleveland hosts ‘multi-generational’ service-day ministry By David Dawson [email protected] CLEVELAND — Jordan Easley, senior pastor at First Baptist Church, Cleveland, has developed a radical, visionary, outside-the-box evangelism strategy at his church.  It’s called — the Great Commission.  “Revolutionary, right?” said Easley. Although Easley was being tongue-in-cheek about the newness of the concept, he is completely serious when it comes to making sure that the Great Commission — found in

Pattersons step down from Copper Basin crisis center after three decades By Lonnie Wilkey [email protected] DUCKTOWN — For years, Al and Margaret Patterson have been the couple families in the Copper Basin region of Tennessee turned to when they had nowhere else to go. The Pattersons, in turn, would point those families to their one, true hope — Jesus. For more than a hundred years the Copper Basin (located in