News

LONGTIME IMB LEADER CLYDE MEADOR DIES AT 79

Longtime International Mission Board leader Clyde D. Meador died April 26, 2024. He was 79. Meador worked closely with four IMB presidents as a top advisor and executive vice president, and as the mission organization’s interim president from August 2010 to March 2011 and again briefly in 2018 before the election of current president Paul Chitwood. “I thank God for the life and friendship of Clyde Meador,” Chitwood said. “I

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SNAPSHOTS IN TIME: Native Son: T. B. Maston

Thomas Buford Maston was born Nov. 26, 1897, and grew up in New Market, Tenn.  He graduated from Carson-Newman College in 1920 and later received an honorary doctorate in 1958.   Maston received his master’s and Ph.D. in religious education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary where he later taught for 41 years.  He later received a master of arts degree from Texas Christian University and a Ph.D. in philosophy from

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TBMB COMMUNICATIONS TEAM EARNS BCA AWARDS

FRANKLIN  — The communications team of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board captured seven awards in the 60th annual Wilmer C. Fields Awards Competition held during the Baptist Communicators Association’s awards banquet April 24 in Richmond. In the design division, Trish Dubes, senior graphic designer, won first place for the TBMB benefits brochure in the Print Collateral — Brochure category and second place for the Mobile Dental Clinic in the Substantial

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UNION TRUSTEES MARK OLIVER’S 10TH ANNIVERSARY

JACKSON — Union University trustees during their April 5 meeting celebrated the 10-year anniversary of Union president Samuel W. “Dub” Oliver, granted tenure and promotions to several professors, approved a $94.8 million budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year and voted to discontinue a few low-enrollment programs.  At an April 4 dinner in the Carl Grant Events Center, trustee and student leaders spoke about Oliver and what he has meant to

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PRESSNELL RETIRES AS HARVEST FIELD 6 TEAM LEADER

TAZEWELL — Tazewell and Claiborne County native Randy Pressnell will retire as Harvest Field 6 team leader for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board on May 2. Pressnell has served in the harvest field role for the past four years. When he joined the TBMB staff he also served as bivocational ministries specialist for eight months before assuming the harvest field assignment full time. Pressnell surrendered to the ministry in 1975

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FBC FOCUSING ON INTENTIONAL CHURCH PLANTING

SHELBYVILLE — Beginning this year, First Baptist Church, Shelbyville, is launching an effort to start five ethnic churches in Bedford County over the next 15 years. For a number of years, First Baptist has owned a building adjacent to the church that they rented to a Hispanic grocery store, said pastor Jeff Rasnick. Rasnick, who has been on staff at the church for 14 years, including the last 10 as

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MINISTRY ASSISTANTS: PROVIDING EXCELLENCE ON A DAILY BASIS

Editor’s note: Administrative Professionals Day is being observed on April 24. Take time to thank your church secretary/ministry assistant in a tangible way on this day. Their contributions are invaluable to our churches. SEVIERVILLE — Church secretaries/ministry assistants make invaluable contributions “behind the scenes,” affirmed Julia Binford, president of the Tennessee Baptist Secretaries Association. TBSA, which meets every other year, met April 8-10 at First Baptist Church in Sevierville with

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TENNESCENE: APR. 17

CHURCHES Meridian Baptist Church on 6513 Chapman Highway in Knoxville will be celebrating its 150th anniversary on Sunday, April 28, with a special service. Former pastors will be recognized and leading special events starting at 9:30 a.m. with worship at 10:45 a.m., followed by a pot luck lunch afterward. A special history room has been created in the library and pictures decorate our hallways of times gone by. The theme

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SEVIERVILLE PASTOR DAN SPENCER TO BE NOMINATED FOR SBC PRESIDENT

SEYMOUR — Dan Spencer, senior pastor of First Baptist Church, Sevierville, has become the sixth nominee for the presidency of the Southern Baptist Convention at the 2024 SBC annual meeting in Indianapolis. Chris Kendall, senior pastor of Oak City Baptist Church, Seymour, informed the Baptist and Reflector on April 11 of his intention to nominate Spencer, who has been the pastor at First Baptist since 2011. Kendall said he is

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MASTERS WEEKEND BRINGS THE CROWDS, BUT MINISTRY NEEDS CONTINUE THROUGH THE YEAR

AUGUSTA — With its manicured greens, blooming azaleas and a spectator menu featuring prices from yesteryear, the scene at Augusta National Golf Club in the first full week of April is, indeed, a tradition unlike any other. The subject of faith can also be raised. Scottie Scheffler, the top-ranked golfer in the world who earned his first green jacket in 2022, recently talked about how the sport doesn’t define him;

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TENNESCENE: APR. 17

CHURCHES Meridian Baptist Church on 6513 Chapman Highway in Knoxville will be celebrating its 150th anniversary on Sunday, April 28, with a special service. Former

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