News

TENN. BAPTIST DR: CHAIN SAW AND HEAVY EQUIPMENT CALLOUT

Tornados and straightline winds have hit northwestern Arkansas, western Kentucky and northeast Oklahoma in recent days, and Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief leaders are asking for trained chain saw teams to respond.  Wes Jones, disaster relief specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, said heavy equipment would be useful, and noted that volunteers must be current in their training to operate equipment, along with required safety gear.

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LIFEWAY TO CONTINUE SUPPORTING MUSIC MINISTRY THROUGH LIFEWAYWORSHIP.COM

BRENTWOOD — After meeting with church music leaders, Lifeway Christian Resources announced its commitment to continue operating lifewayworship.com. Lifeway President and CEO Ben Mandrell said he and the leadership team appreciated the feedback they received over the last several months. “We’ve held listening sessions with over 200 church leaders from across the country since last fall,” Mandrell said. “Worship leaders told us this is their curriculum for discipling the people

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MEMBERSHIP DECLINE SLOWS; BAPTISMS, ATTENDANCE GROW

BRENTWOOD — The recent slide in total memberships among congregations affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention slowed in 2023, while baptisms, worship service attendance and small group participation all grew. The Annual Church Profile (ACP) compiled by Lifeway Christian Resources in cooperation with Baptist state conventions details the annual numerical changes for the Southern Baptist Convention. Membership declined for the 17th straight year, dropping below 13 million for the first

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TBMB’S MAXWELL TO CHAIR NEWLY-NAMED REGISTRATION COMMITTEE

FARMERSVILLE, Texas —SBC president Bart Barber announced Friday, May 31, that William Maxwell, administrative director for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board (TBMB), will chair the Registration Committee for the 2024 SBC annual meeting in Indianapolis next month. Maxwell, a member of Brentwood Baptist Church in Brentwood, Tenn., has served with the TBMB for more than 30 years. The registration committee is called “to supervise the registration of messengers, to oversee

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BHET GRANTS HELP PROVIDE FREE HEALTH CARE IN SULLIVAN COUNTY

KINGSPORT — Members of First Baptist Church, Kingsport, had a vision in 2005 of reaching out to their community, especially in ways to provide avenues of medical care for Sullivan County residents who could not afford it. As a result, Providence Medical Clinic of Kingsport opened in 2010 to provide not only physical care to area residents, but spiritual support as well. The clinic offers free health care to uninsured

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PASTORS FEEL HEALTH INSURANCE PINCH, NEED ‘OUTSIDE THE BOX’ SOLUTIONS

NASHVILLE — If SBC messengers ask a question following this year’s GuideStone Financial Resources report in Indianapolis, health insurance is likely to be the topic. Since 2019, messengers to the SBC Annual Meeting have twice asked GuideStone chief executives questions. Both times the inquiries focused on the rising costs of health insurance. In response to a messenger question last year in New Orleans, GuideStone president Hance Dilbeck noted the difficulty

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TENN. BAPTIST DR TEAMS HAVE BUSY WORKLOAD IN MAURY CO.

SPRING HILL — With chain saws buzzing and tractors rumbling,  Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers spent the week of May 20-25 checking off a long series of job requests in Maury County. Trees were downed and many roads were closed throughout Spring Hill and the surrounding areas after deadly storms swept through the area — and other parts of Tennessee — on May 8-9, leaving many homeowners with extensive damage

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AS ANNUAL MEETING APPROACHES, ‘PASTOR’ AMENDMENT OPINIONS ABOUND

INDIANAPOLIS — Messengers to the 2024 SBC Annual Meeting are being asked to weigh in a second time on whether to add to the SBC Constitution an amendment regarding churches that employ women in pastoral roles. The amendment’s proponents have often cited a June 2023 report, which listed 99 Southern Baptist churches with female pastors and a total of 149 female pastors from a sample size of 3,847 “randomized” churches.

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SBC PASTORS CONFERENCE INCLUDES THREE TENNESSEANS

INDIANAPOLIS — Three Tennessee Baptist pastors are scheduled to speak during the 2024 Pastors Conference in Indianapolis June 9-10 preceding the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention. The theme for the event is “Faithful: Pursuing Your Mission,” based on Revelation 17:14. Tennessee pastors speaking at the event include Adam Dooley, Englewood Baptist Church, Jackson; Steve Gaines, Bellevue Baptist Church, Cordova and former SBC president; and Bartholomew Orr, Brown Missionary

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TENNESCENE: MAY 29

LEADERS The board of directors of Nashville Baptist Association has recommended Bob Bickford as the next executive director. The association will have a special called meeting on June 2 at Grace Baptist Church, Nashville, to vote on Bickford. He has served as the chairman of the church revitalization team of the St. Louis Metro Baptist Association. He led in the development of the Resound Network, a collaborative network of associations

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TENNESCENE: MAY 29

LEADERS The board of directors of Nashville Baptist Association has recommended Bob Bickford as the next executive director. The association will have a special called

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