BCM students share gospel in Panama City Beach  By David Dawson [email protected] PANAMA CITY BEACH — Isaac Depew, a sophomore at East Tennessee State University, recently joined some of his friends on a trip to Panama City Beach for spring break.  Nothing too unusual about that, right? Think again.  This trip was vastly unlike the traditional spring break getaways that most college students envision. It was about prayer-walking, not party-going;

By Lonnie Wilkey Editor, Baptist and Reflector lwilkey@tnbaptisrg PULASKI — Race was not on Anthony Bledsoe’s mind when he became interim pastor of Solid Rock Baptist Church in Pulaski more than 10 years ago.  Never mind that he was an African American pastor taking on the responsibilities of leading a white congregation in a town known as the birthplace of the Ku Klux Klan.  “The thing that scared me was

Baptist and Reflector JACKSON — Three Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers have received two of the highest awards for service from Southern Baptist Disaster Relief. The awards were voted on and approved by SBDR’s steering committee and announced during the National Roundtable in Albuquerque, N.M. Tommy and Karen Wilson of First Baptist Church, Dresden, received the Joel Phillips Award for Outstanding Achievement. The couple has been serving together in disaster

Pastors, churches still dealing with COVID-19 stress By Lonnie Wilkey Editor, Baptist & Reflector [email protected] FRANKLIN — As the second anniversary of the introduction of COVID-19 to the world approaches, Tennessee Baptist pastors and churches are still dealing with the stresses caused by the pandemic. According to recent findings from Lifeway Research, while more folks are once again attending church, pre-pandemic attendance levels have stalled. More than eight in 10