PIGEON FORGE — Pastor Rich Murray of Mountain View Baptist Church in Johnson City is bivocational and proud of it. “If it worked for (the Apostle) Paul, why wouldn’t it work for me?” he asked. Murray observed that Paul modeled what it meant to be bivocational. “There is nothing more biblical,” he affirmed. “I believe that to be anything else would be a demotion for me because I’m called to
My wife and daughter gave me a record player for Christmas a couple of years ago. I have it in my garage and recently I was listening to “Tones,” the 1986 debut album by ridiculously talented Austin guitar player Eric Johnson, and the thought hit me: there is a theological connection between Eric Johnson, my record collection, God and us. I currently have 191 albums in my record collection. Most
LINDEN — Change is inevitable in all areas of life and includes changes for individuals, businesses and even denominational organizations and churches, says seminary president Jeff Iorg. Iorg, president of Gateway Seminary in Ontario, Calif., and author of Leading Major Change in Your Organization, speaks from experience. “Even healthy organizations need major seasons of change,” he observed. Iorg made his observations via a Zoom meeting during the Tennessee Baptist Mission
COVINGTON — Pastors are not “supermen,” but individuals who struggle with anxiety, depression and other mental health challenges that often lead to ministerial burnout and occasionally suicide. “I found out this job’s hard for everybody,” Cliff Marion told a room full of pastors and other church ministers gathered for the first-ever Pastors Mental Health Forum. “I know that’s the way the people in this room are feeling and that ultimately
A decision regarding two requests from Southern Baptist messengers that would require SBC entities to release financial information similar to what is found on the IRS Form 990 was postponed until June. During today’s (Feb. 19) meeting in Nashville, the Committee on Convention Finances and Stewardship Development of the SBC Executive Committee board of trustees voted to delay addressing the two motions that came from the floor of the 2023
BUTLER — In upper East Tennessee, pastor Don Winters of Sugar Grove Baptist Church in Butler is lovingly referred to by some family and friends as the “crazy preacher who swam the ice mile” or “the Watauga Lake lunatic.” Winters takes it in stride but he has the last laugh. On Jan. 23, Winters became the oldest man in the world to swim an “ice mile” at the age of
KNOXVILLE — Dana Fachman, pastor of Meridian Baptist Church in Knoxville retired Dec. 24, 2023, after 35 years of service to the church and the community. Before that, he served at Leawood Baptist church in Memphis for 10-and-a-half years, for a total ministry tenure 45 years. Fachman began his ministry at the age of 23 and only served in two churches which he says, “created stability” for his family.
Though many debate the origin of Valentine’s Day, here in the U.S. its observance is synonymous with love and romance. In the coming week, tangible expressions of love and celebrations of relationships will be commonplace. These demonstrable acts will warm hearts and brighten days as we verbalize our concern for and commitments to others. Some will emphasize it more than others, but the nature of this holiday exposes our abiding
PIGEON FORGE — For more than 35 years Joy Clay-Corby has been a fixture as a ministry assistant with the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board (formerly Executive Board of the Tennessee Baptist Convention). Clay-Corby has seen a lot of history over her three-and-a-half decades. She has served under four executive directors — Tom Madden, D.L. Lowrie, James Porch and Randy C. Davis. When she joined the staff in 1988, she worked
BELLS — Chris Garner had everything mapped out in his mind: He was going to move to West Tennessee to plant a church that would be part of the BlueOval Initiative. Turns out, he was only half right. Yes, God opened the door for Garner and his family to move to West Tennessee, but church planting wasn’t part of the equation. Instead, Garner was called as senior pastor at Holly
PIGEON FORGE — Pastor Rich Murray of Mountain View Baptist Church in Johnson City is bivocational and proud of it. “If it worked for (the
My wife and daughter gave me a record player for Christmas a couple of years ago. I have it in my garage and recently I
LINDEN — Change is inevitable in all areas of life and includes changes for individuals, businesses and even denominational organizations and churches, says seminary president
COVINGTON — Pastors are not “supermen,” but individuals who struggle with anxiety, depression and other mental health challenges that often lead to ministerial burnout and
A decision regarding two requests from Southern Baptist messengers that would require SBC entities to release financial information similar to what is found on the
BUTLER — In upper East Tennessee, pastor Don Winters of Sugar Grove Baptist Church in Butler is lovingly referred to by some family and friends
KNOXVILLE — Dana Fachman, pastor of Meridian Baptist Church in Knoxville retired Dec. 24, 2023, after 35 years of service to the church and the
Though many debate the origin of Valentine’s Day, here in the U.S. its observance is synonymous with love and romance. In the coming week, tangible
PIGEON FORGE — For more than 35 years Joy Clay-Corby has been a fixture as a ministry assistant with the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board (formerly
BELLS — Chris Garner had everything mapped out in his mind: He was going to move to West Tennessee to plant a church that would