From B&R, news reports SEVIERVILLE — Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief units are preparing to provide further assistance for the situation in Sevierville, where wildfires have burned more than 3,300 acres during the past several days.  Last week, Tennessee Baptist DR sent a shower unit to assist the fire fighters who came off the line from fighting the fire, said Wes Jones, disaster relief specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board.

Matt Ward, pastor of FBC Wartburg, returns home after 11 months in Kuwait By Lonnie Wilkey Editor, Baptist and Reflector [email protected] WARTBURG — When First Baptist Church, Wartburg, called Matt Ward as pastor three years ago, members knew what they were getting — a major in the United States Army who has been a chaplain in the Tennessee National Guard since 2011. The church also knew they were getting a

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