News

FORMER TBF PRESIDENT DIES

Baptist and Reflector KNOXVILLE — Earl Wilson, retired president and executive director of the Tennessee Baptist Foundation, Franklin, died Nov. 7 in Knoxville. He was 89. Wilson’s ministry with Tennessee Baptists spanned more than 60 years. He was pastor of several churches in the state — Pleasant View Baptist, Clinton; Black Oak Heights Baptist, Knoxville; Marbledale Baptist Church, Knoxville; and City View Baptist, Knoxville. He also served as pastor of

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LIFEWAY RESEARCH: BILLY GRAHAM HAS A FAR-REACHING LEGACY

By Bob Smietana Lifeway NASHVILLE — In the fall of 1949, a little-known Baptist preacher launched a series of revival meetings at a “canvas cathedral” at the corner of Washington Boulevard and Hill Street in Los Angeles. The meetings were supposed to last three weeks. Instead they continued for eight weeks, drawing more than 300,000 people and making Billy Graham a household name. Nearly 70 years later, the 99-year-old Rev.

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UNION UNIVERSITY TO OPEN R.G. LEE HOME NOV. 11

By Nathan Handley Union News Office JACKSON — A piece of Southern Baptist history has been moved to the campus of Union University. On Nov. 11, the university will open the newly renovated birthplace of R.G. Lee, which was moved to Union’s Jackson campus from Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis. “R.G. Lee was a leading statesman among Southern Baptists and other evangelicals during the middle years of the 20th century,”

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AAEO GIFTS SET RECORD

Baptist and Reflector ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Kevin Ezell announced Oct. 19 to the North American Mission Board staff that the 2017 Annie Armstrong Easter Offering totaled an all-time high: $59,648,377. The offering for North American missions beat the previous 2007 high by $185,096. “We are grateful for every dime we get from Southern Baptists,” said Ezell, NAMB president. “We are thankful for churches, pastors, and denominational leaders who encourage their

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B&R RELAUNCHES TWITTER ACCOUNT

Baptist and Reflector FRANKLIN — The Baptist and Reflector has been telling the stories of Tennessee Baptists since 1835, and the staff is continually looking for new and better ways to disseminate those stories, said B&R editor Lonnie Wilkey. In recent days, we have re-launched our Twitter account — with the new handle @TNBaptistNews — with hopes that it will become a continual source of news and information for our

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SOUTHERN BAPTIST CHAPLAINS RESPOND TO TX COMMUNITY

by Josie Bingham Baptist Press SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, Texas (BP) — “It’s a pretty somber place,” Scottie Stice said of the community left behind after Sunday’s horrific mass shooting at a Southern Baptist church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. Stice, disaster relief director for the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention (SBTC), reported teams of Southern Baptist chaplains and other DR volunteers are ministering however they can among those devastated by the “senseless”

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SUICIDE: THE MOST DEMANDING OF DEATHS

By Lonnie Wilkey Editor, Baptist and Reflector OLD HICKORY — Though it occurred more than 30 years ago, Gerald Bontrager vividly remembers the first suicide he encountered as a church planter in Mentor, Ohio. A 15-year-old boy in the church took his own life. “It was baptism by fire,” Bontrager recalled, noting that he was 28 years old and in his first pastorate. “It was really difficult but God gave

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SUICIDE REMAINS A TABOO TOPIC

By Bob Smietana Lifeway Research NASHVILLE — Suicide remains a taboo subject in many Protestant churches, despite the best efforts of pastors, according to a new study from LifeWay Research. Eight in 10 Protestant senior pastors believe their church is equipped to intervene with someone who is threatening suicide. Yet few people turn to the church for help before taking their own lives, according to their churchgoing friends and family.

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TENNESCENE NOV. 8-21

LEADERS Stan Wafler has been elected as the associational missionary (director of missions) for Beech River Baptist Church, based in Lexington. He and his wife Pam served for 15 years as career missionaries with the International Mission Board. Wafler has served in youth leadership roles in churches in Tennessee and as a pastor in Mississippi. He is a graduate of Union University, Jackson, and New Orleans (La.) Baptist Theological Seminary

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BANNER BAPTIST GIVES BACK

by David Dawson Baptist & Reflector GATLINBURG — Pastor Pete Lamon and the members of Banner Baptist Church have come full circle. Last year at this time, they were receiving assistance. This year, they are helping provide it. Banner Baptist, located just outside the Gatlinburg city limits, is one of several churches that suffered substantial damage during the wildfires that swept through the area in November of 2016. Banner Baptist

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FORMER TBF PRESIDENT DIES

Baptist and Reflector KNOXVILLE — Earl Wilson, retired president and executive director of the Tennessee Baptist Foundation, Franklin, died Nov. 7 in Knoxville. He was

Read More »

AAEO GIFTS SET RECORD

Baptist and Reflector ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Kevin Ezell announced Oct. 19 to the North American Mission Board staff that the 2017 Annie Armstrong Easter Offering

Read More »

TENNESCENE NOV. 8-21

LEADERS Stan Wafler has been elected as the associational missionary (director of missions) for Beech River Baptist Church, based in Lexington. He and his wife

Read More »