JACKSON — Lostness in the world is the greatest problem Christians face, Victor Hou told a Union University audience Feb. 1 as part of the annual W.D. Powell Missions Lecture. “Despite wars, despite human trafficking, despite homelessness, crime, lots of other things, lostness is the only problem that will stay with us for eternity,” said Hou, who serves as associate vice president for global advance at the International Mission Board.

CHATTANOOGA — When the membership of Chamberlain Memorial Baptist Church in Chattanooga began to decline, the 30 or so remaining members contacted White Oak Baptist Church and pastor Tony Wilson eight years ago about a possible merger between the two congregations. Wilson was well acquainted with Chamberlain Memorial, having served as their youth minister nearly 30 years earlier. “I loved the people there and God worked in a sweet way,”

PIGEON FORGE  — Pastor Rich Murray of Mountain View Baptist Church in Johnson City is  bivocational and proud of it. “If it worked for (the Apostle) Paul, why wouldn’t it work for me?” he asked. Murray observed that Paul modeled what it meant to be bivocational. “There is nothing more biblical,” he affirmed. “I believe that to be anything else would be a demotion for me because I’m called to

LINDEN — Change is inevitable in all areas of life and includes changes for individuals, businesses and even denominational organizations and churches, says seminary president Jeff Iorg. Iorg, president of Gateway Seminary in Ontario, Calif., and author of Leading Major Change in Your Organization, speaks from experience. “Even healthy organizations need major seasons of change,” he observed. Iorg made his observations via a Zoom meeting during the Tennessee Baptist Mission