The great English evangelist, Leonard Ravenhill, who went home to be with the Lord in 1994, has this challenging epitaph on his headstone: “Are the things you are living for worth Christ dying for?” As Tennessee Baptists, these are some of the questions we have spent the past 12 months answering with our Acts 2:17 Initiative vision team. We have diligently evaluated the things we are living for. Throughout this
Editor’s Note: With the focus on Israel, following the bombing attack by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, I am yielding my space to Jeff Iorg who has written an excellent and concise summary of how Christians should respond to this situation in the Middle East. Continue to pray for Israel and for those who will be ministering in the country. Tennessee Baptists, along with Southern Baptists across the country, are
I recently had the opportunity to preach during the 80th anniversary of my home church, Shiloh Baptist Church, in Saraland Ala. That church and its people had a significant impact in my life and ministerial calling. It’s been years since I’ve been back, but it is a sweet homecoming every time I return. Such sweet memories. Jeanne and I were married at Shiloh. My brother, Rob, and I were ordained
I’ve been a Southern Baptist church member for 54 years and I was on the cradle roll six years before that. I know all about Mission Friends, RAs, and even the WMU and GAs (I went to GA camp in college as a lifeguard and I attended WMU meetings as a preschooler with my grandmother.) I know children’s choir, Celebrate Life, committees, Wednesday night Baptist business meetings and prayer meetings,
With Halloween just around the corner, horror movies and costumes are already beginning to surface on various entertainment outlets and in our community. Though people ask in different ways, a common question I receive this time of year is, “Are ghosts real?” Answering this question requires a careful delineation between the spirit world revealed in Scripture and the false glamorization of Hollywood myths. The fictional portrayal of zombies, trapped souls,
October is generally recognized as Pastor Appreciation Month by many churches in the Tennessee Baptist Convention as well as the larger Southern Baptist Convention family where churches select a Sunday in the month to honor their pastors and, oftentimes, other staff ministers. You may read the headline and automatically assume I am opposed to churches paying tribute to their ministers. Nothing could be further from the truth. Pastors and staff
Tennessee Baptists started becoming Tennessee Baptists nearly two decades before Tennessee became Tennessee. Tidence Lane, the first Baptist pastor to journey over the Appalachian Mountains and into East Tennessee, settled his family and invested his life near what is now Whitesburg, just east of Morristown. He planted Bent Creek Church in the 1780s in a pasture on the bank of the spring that originates Bent Creek. It was on land
Members of the Southern Baptist Executive Committee met last week in Nashville. I feel bad for the EC members who have joined the board in the last two years. They walked into the middle of a stirred up hornet’s nest that they did not stir up. The situation with the Executive Committee continues to be a mess. We summarize most of what took place on page 2. For those interested,
Pastors and ministers are the field officers who stand in the trenches with their congregations at the front lines of a spiritual battlefield, and they need all the support they can get. For nearly a year, a group of pastors, ministers and laypeople have been surveying Tennessee Baptists, compiling data, reading every comment, meeting to sift information and to collaborate in an effort to understand what God has said through
It seems impossible to overstate the importance of prayer. Throughout the Bible we read time and time again of the miraculous impact wrought from calling out to God. Because of prayer the Red Sea parted, water burst forth from a rock, manna fell from heaven, the sun stood still for three days, fire descended from heaven, the sick found healing, prison doors opened, and the dead experienced resurrection. Furthermore, you
The great English evangelist, Leonard Ravenhill, who went home to be with the Lord in 1994, has this challenging epitaph on his headstone: “Are the
Editor’s Note: With the focus on Israel, following the bombing attack by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, I am yielding my space to Jeff Iorg
I recently had the opportunity to preach during the 80th anniversary of my home church, Shiloh Baptist Church, in Saraland Ala. That church and its
I’ve been a Southern Baptist church member for 54 years and I was on the cradle roll six years before that. I know all about
With Halloween just around the corner, horror movies and costumes are already beginning to surface on various entertainment outlets and in our community. Though people
October is generally recognized as Pastor Appreciation Month by many churches in the Tennessee Baptist Convention as well as the larger Southern Baptist Convention family
Tennessee Baptists started becoming Tennessee Baptists nearly two decades before Tennessee became Tennessee. Tidence Lane, the first Baptist pastor to journey over the Appalachian Mountains
Members of the Southern Baptist Executive Committee met last week in Nashville. I feel bad for the EC members who have joined the board in
Pastors and ministers are the field officers who stand in the trenches with their congregations at the front lines of a spiritual battlefield, and they
It seems impossible to overstate the importance of prayer. Throughout the Bible we read time and time again of the miraculous impact wrought from calling
