A city pastor in a country church. After feeling called to preach and being in my early years of preparation, I was led to pastor a country church. I was a city boy and had never spent much time on a farm. That became evident as I got oriented to pastoring a country church. There were no signs to tell what time church started. On the first Sunday, toward evening
One of my favorite Christmas songs is “Go Tell It on the Mountain.” It’s an upbeat, simple song that proclaims a timeless truth: “Go, tell it on the mountain over the hills and everywhere. Go, tell it on the mountain that Jesus Christ is born.” In today’s world, it is more imperative than ever before that we keep proclaiming the news of the birth of Jesus Christ and what that
Week in and week out, the same group of unconverted people come to our worship services — and we practically ignore them. We’d never treat first-time visitors like this, and if we ever heard that they felt ignored, we’d certainly respond quickly to go out of our way to make them feel at home. But this group? We basically ignore them. If you haven’t realized already, I’m talking about the
There are many programs that address the needs of others in Baptist organizations across the country, including mission efforts to building churches, starting new churches, the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and many more. All are considered actions to follow Jesus’s call to reach others worldwide. While all are missionary programs to expand God’s desire to reach people worldwide, here is a priority that is equal to all of the above
When the Tennessee Baptist family gathered at Bellevue, we had a lot to celebrate and a lot for which to praise the Lord. I am thankful for all of our messengers and guests who traveled from throughout the state to attend the Summit. We enjoyed some great music, times of worship, focused prayer, exciting challenges for our future, and we heard the truth of God’s Word. One of the highlights
When I refer to Carroll Owen as an “old and dear friend,” it’s not just a phrase or words to be taken lightly. Carroll Owen has been a friend and mentor to me since 1988. And, it would be hard to deny that he is old. Carroll celebrated his 100th birthday in November. Ironically, my path crossed with Carroll the year he retired from the Executive Board of the Tennessee
There were a million adventures awaiting my family when we moved to England in 2009. The first was to attend church at All Souls Church in London, the church theologian John Stott led for decades. We settled into our balcony seats and I said to my wife, “I wonder if we are going to hear any semblance of the gospel preached in John Stott’s church.” All Souls is a Church
It is hard to believe we are just a little more than a month away from Christmas. You’d think it was tomorrow the way stores flipped their Halloween displays from skeletons and zombies to Santa and Frosty. But let’s not forget about Thanksgiving. Yes, I love Thanksgiving for all the obvious reasons — family, food and football — but I also love it because it is an opportunity to hit
My wife and I recently attended a church service with our daughter in South Carolina. The service was held before the Nov. 8 election and the pastor was lamenting the sad state of affairs in our country and exhorting members to exercise their right to vote. He quoted a phrase he had heard someone say, “Our politicians have hit rock bottom and started digging.” It drew a chuckle from the
The economy was struggling, inflation was climbing and the unemployment rate was soaring. In fact, unemployment in Scott County was running at more than 20 percent. And that’s when I got a call from Doug White, pastor of First Baptist Church, Oneida, and a former chairman of the TBMB board of directors. “Brother Randy,” he said. “I just wanted you to know that we’ve decided to raise our Cooperative Program
A city pastor in a country church. After feeling called to preach and being in my early years of preparation, I was led to pastor
One of my favorite Christmas songs is “Go Tell It on the Mountain.” It’s an upbeat, simple song that proclaims a timeless truth: “Go, tell
Week in and week out, the same group of unconverted people come to our worship services — and we practically ignore them. We’d never treat
There are many programs that address the needs of others in Baptist organizations across the country, including mission efforts to building churches, starting new churches,
When the Tennessee Baptist family gathered at Bellevue, we had a lot to celebrate and a lot for which to praise the Lord. I am
When I refer to Carroll Owen as an “old and dear friend,” it’s not just a phrase or words to be taken lightly. Carroll Owen
There were a million adventures awaiting my family when we moved to England in 2009. The first was to attend church at All Souls Church
It is hard to believe we are just a little more than a month away from Christmas. You’d think it was tomorrow the way stores
My wife and I recently attended a church service with our daughter in South Carolina. The service was held before the Nov. 8 election and
The economy was struggling, inflation was climbing and the unemployment rate was soaring. In fact, unemployment in Scott County was running at more than 20
