Do you notice church signs? You know, the types of marquees out front that often have pithy sayings. Sometimes they accidentally mean things someone had no intention of saying. But often, they communicate profound meaning with minimal words. That’s the case with the marquee at a small church in a county seat town near here. The sign reads: “Need direction? Let prayer guide you through 2023.” Prayer seems to be
Baptist Press posted an article on Feb. 1 with a headline that made my heart ache. It read, “Public trust in pastors falls to record low” (see article in full at baptistandreflector.org). According to the latest Gallup survey, about one in three (34 percent) rate the honesty and ethical standards of clergy as high or very high. That percentage is a two point drop from last year’s historic low of
I was determined to watch the released video of the Tyre Nichols murder. For more than three hours, I watched Memphis’ WMC-TV5 livestream news coverage of the brutal, frenzied, depraved, animalistic, tortured beating of Nichols by five Memphis police officers. The violence was non-stop. It was horrific. It was demonic. He was 60 yards from home. Nichols called for his momma. Those were his final words. Thank God his mother
According to the latest reports, more than 12 percent of Tennessee Baptist churches are without a pastor. That is about 400 churches. Among the pastors we do have, the average age is increasing dramatically because fewer and fewer young men are entering the ministry, and men who are ready to retire must be pressed back into service. Our rural churches are particularly hard hit. Many of the people of God
Two weeks ago I traveled to southeastern Kentucky to provide news coverage of rebuilding efforts from flooding which hit that region last summer. See articles and photos in this issue. I was in Newport, so I plugged in the address in my phone’s GPS and off I went. For this particular destination, my GPS took me up through Tazewell, into Harrogate and across the state line into Kentucky. Normally, when
There is a difference between being anti-abortion and being pro-life. Being pro-life is more, so much more. Amy Hood definitely understood that. As her own nest of biological children began to empty, she encouraged her pastor husband Pat to consider adopting a little girl from China. And in miraculous fashion, God turned Pat’s heart toward agreement with Amy’s vision, and that precious little one became a part of their family.
According to the dictionary, the term New Year’s resolutions is defined as “making goals for the New Year.” We aren’t certain when this custom started, but this practice was recorded by early Babylonians more than 4,000 years ago. These people believed that whatever that person did on the first day of the year had an important impact on their life for the next 12 months. As 2023 begins, Tennessee Baptist
Tennessee is the home I’ve returned to after 18 years away. My life as a Baptist missionary has taken me across four continents and through many cultures. I left Tennessee from the parking lot of my small Baptist church with no expectations of ever returning. I left a young man, but returned as a family. During my travels, God gave to me a beautiful wife and two wonderful boys. For
It may be that the best thing you can do for your kids is to sit the whole family down and have dinner together. Research is showing that there is a significant number of kids who never actually sit down with their family to enjoy a meal together, and it may be that parents are the ones who are contributing to a society that is more overweight, more anxious and
Asking questions is a major part of what I do as a Baptist newspaper writer/editor. I spend a lot of time asking questions in order to seek answers. The key is knowing what questions to ask and when to ask them. Last week, millions of people were watching the NFL Monday Night Football game when Buffalo Bills defensive player Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field after making a tackle on
Do you notice church signs? You know, the types of marquees out front that often have pithy sayings. Sometimes they accidentally mean things someone had
Baptist Press posted an article on Feb. 1 with a headline that made my heart ache. It read, “Public trust in pastors falls to record
I was determined to watch the released video of the Tyre Nichols murder. For more than three hours, I watched Memphis’ WMC-TV5 livestream news coverage
According to the latest reports, more than 12 percent of Tennessee Baptist churches are without a pastor. That is about 400 churches. Among the pastors
Two weeks ago I traveled to southeastern Kentucky to provide news coverage of rebuilding efforts from flooding which hit that region last summer. See articles
There is a difference between being anti-abortion and being pro-life. Being pro-life is more, so much more. Amy Hood definitely understood that. As her own
According to the dictionary, the term New Year’s resolutions is defined as “making goals for the New Year.” We aren’t certain when this custom started,
Tennessee is the home I’ve returned to after 18 years away. My life as a Baptist missionary has taken me across four continents and through
It may be that the best thing you can do for your kids is to sit the whole family down and have dinner together. Research
Asking questions is a major part of what I do as a Baptist newspaper writer/editor. I spend a lot of time asking questions in order