There’s a pretty significant vote going on in America. If you’ve been paying attention to the news or scrolling through social media, you know our country is in the thick of another intense political season. In my 68 years, I’ve never seen anything quite like it. Tensions are high, conversations turn heated in seconds, and people seem more divided than ever. As Christians, how do we navigate this? How do
In less than a month, Tennessee Baptists will gather in Murfreesboro for the historic 150th Tennessee Baptist Convention. When we gather, we will do what Tennessee Baptists have done 149 times before — celebrate what God has done, connect and re-connect as a family, consider important matters before us, and commit to the work God has called us to engage in together. Along with this meeting’s historic significance as we
There are similarities between the broken walls of Jerusalem and the broken communities scattered for miles along the eastern edge of our great state. Recall the state of Jerusalem in the days of Nehemiah. Gates and walls that once proudly stood around Jerusalem were broken and reduced to rubble, covered with moss and debris. The dilapidated condition of the city became the norm for a complacent people. Fortunately, God laid
I joined the staff of the Baptist and Reflector in 1988. A year later, Hurricane Hugo struck the coast of South Carolina, causing billions of dollars of damage. It is one of the worst hurricanes in the history of the state and at the time was the most costly hurricane ever in the Atlantic Ocean, according to weather.com. In November of 1989, I took my first trip to cover Tennessee
Looking at the photos is not for the faint of heart. A weeping couple in Florida embraces over the rubble that used to be their home. Traffic stalls on I-40 in North Carolina due to missing pieces of the interstate after excessive rain and mudslides. An engulfed Nolichucky Dam in East Tennessee weathers twice the amount of water that flows over Niagara Falls. Overturned vehicles, floating houses and leveled communities
A couple of weeks ago, I had the privilege of joining Randy Davis in representing Tennessee Baptists at the installation service of Jeff Iorg, our new president and CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee. In Dr. Iorg’s message during the service, he cast a vision and celebrated how Southern Baptists are a “force for good” in our cooperative work to share the gospel, send missionaries, train ministers, plant
As always, God’s timing is impeccable. It is never too early or too late. This morning (Oct. 3), I was glancing through The Link, the e-newsletter produced by Tennessee Woman’s Missionary Union, and it included an announcement that Oct. 20 is the Day of Prayer for Baptist Associations. The announcement noted that the day of prayer for associations “helps to underscore the importance of sister churches working together to reach
Ben Husser knows devastation. The vice president of the famed Cajun Navy relief organization lost his home and almost everything else in 2005 to Hurricane Katrina. When he surveyed the destruction caused by Hurricane Helene’s flooding in East Tennessee and Western North Carolina, he declared the disaster “absolutely” comparable to Katrina’s destruction. “In fact, it might be worse,” he said. A Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief (TNDR) veteran of the Katrina
We sing these words, “I love to tell the story of unseen things above.” That’s why the Gospels are so powerful. We see people like us encounter the Son of God. Glory happens. The amazing thing about the gospel is that Jesus was constantly pressing believers to work together to do miraculous wonders. Think of the paralytic who would have never gotten healed, if four friends hadn’t grabbed the corners
The second Sunday in October is generally recognized across the nation as Pastor Appreciation Week and October as Pastor Appreciation Month. I have said it several times over the past 26 years I have served as editor of the Baptist and Reflector and I will say it again. Let your pastor and other staff ministers (or the entire staff for that matter) know that you appreciate their ministry to your
There’s a pretty significant vote going on in America. If you’ve been paying attention to the news or scrolling through social media, you know our
In less than a month, Tennessee Baptists will gather in Murfreesboro for the historic 150th Tennessee Baptist Convention. When we gather, we will do what
There are similarities between the broken walls of Jerusalem and the broken communities scattered for miles along the eastern edge of our great state. Recall
I joined the staff of the Baptist and Reflector in 1988. A year later, Hurricane Hugo struck the coast of South Carolina, causing billions of
Looking at the photos is not for the faint of heart. A weeping couple in Florida embraces over the rubble that used to be their
A couple of weeks ago, I had the privilege of joining Randy Davis in representing Tennessee Baptists at the installation service of Jeff Iorg, our
As always, God’s timing is impeccable. It is never too early or too late. This morning (Oct. 3), I was glancing through The Link, the
Ben Husser knows devastation. The vice president of the famed Cajun Navy relief organization lost his home and almost everything else in 2005 to Hurricane
We sing these words, “I love to tell the story of unseen things above.” That’s why the Gospels are so powerful. We see people like
The second Sunday in October is generally recognized across the nation as Pastor Appreciation Week and October as Pastor Appreciation Month. I have said it
