By David Dawson Communications Specialist, Tennessee Baptist Mission Board Over the past few weeks, I have spent a fair amount of time thinking about motives, both good and bad, after having recently seen examples of each. In both cases, I found myself rejoicing. Let me start by sharing a quick story that exemplifies the essence of “pure” motives. A couple of weeks ago, I was assigned to write a story
By Clay Hallmark President, Tennessee Baptist Convention There is an interesting story found in II Kings 3:9-24, which can help each of us understand something important about the kind of faith God blesses. In this story, the Kings of Judah, Israel, and Edom set out to fight the Moabites who had become a threat to them. After traveling for seven days, the Kings and armies found themselves in the desert
By Randy C. Davis President and executive director, Tennessee Baptist Mission Board How badly are we willing to fight for the next generation? A couple of weeks ago in a retreat I attended we discussed the topic of reaching students with the gospel. Someone offered a powerful and passionate statement that summarized what’s at stake: “Whoever wants them the most gets them!” Let the gravity of that statement sink in
By Matt Tullos Special assistant to the executive director, Tennessee Baptist Mission Board It’s been heartbreaking to watch the conflict in Ukraine. Our hearts break as we’ve watched the suffering caused by a delusional despot wreaking havoc on innocent civilians. Those citizens include many believers and churches. Amid the senseless shelling, the blasts, the refugee crisis at their borders, the hour-by-hour toll of warfare on the people of Ukraine, we
By Johnnie C. Godwin Contributing columnist, B&R In one person’s life and career, he was an author, a publisher, and a speaker. But he got downsized at age 55. His wife thought that was tragic and the end of his career. But the “downsizee” thought just the opposite. After a generation of contacts, he continued to write, preach and teach and conduct seminars as an adjunct professor. He began to
By Matt Tullos Special assistant to the executive director, Tennessee Baptist Mission Board Everybody loves a good comeback story and game-changing plays. If you enjoy sports, you can certainly remember an alley-oop, a trick play, an interception, a home run or a steal that changed the momentum of a particular game. We call them game-changers. And we desperately need these game-changing moments in our churches. Even the most contemporary church
By Jon Hawkins Training and volunteer coordinator, Tennessee Baptist Mission Board As the training and volunteer coordinator for Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, I meet every new employee as part of our onboarding process. On March 19, 2021, I met Roger Britton, TBMB’s new bivocational ministries specialist, for the first time. Within the first five minutes of our meeting, Roger very quickly shared his love for bivocational ministers. His words pierced
By Lonnie Wilkey Editor, Baptist and Reflector [email protected] As I approach my 34th year with the Baptist and Reflector, I can’t even begin to count how many sermons and messages I have listened to in more than three decades. A good number of those messages were preached during the State Evangelism Conference which at one time was the highlight for pastors all over Tennessee. During the late 1980s and through
By Ryan Keaton Emerging generations specialist, Tennessee Baptist Mission Board Your church has a reputation. Whether your reputation is perceived or reality, a young adult has an assumption of what they will experience before they ever attend. Your online presence often precedes your church’s influence, but the relationship with your community matters, as well. Is your church’s reputation in your community attractive to young adults? While your perception of your
By Randy C. Davis President and executive director, Tennessee Baptist Mission Board I couldn’t believe what I saw when I made my way down the hill and into Waverly following the flooding last August. I’ve witnessed the aftermath of several natural disasters, but the news reports didn’t capture the magnitude of the devastation that leveled that city. You might have felt the same if you have driven through Dresden, or
By David Dawson Communications Specialist, Tennessee Baptist Mission Board Over the past few weeks, I have spent a fair amount of time thinking about motives,
By Clay Hallmark President, Tennessee Baptist Convention There is an interesting story found in II Kings 3:9-24, which can help each of us understand something
By Randy C. Davis President and executive director, Tennessee Baptist Mission Board How badly are we willing to fight for the next generation? A couple
By Matt Tullos Special assistant to the executive director, Tennessee Baptist Mission Board It’s been heartbreaking to watch the conflict in Ukraine. Our hearts break
By Johnnie C. Godwin Contributing columnist, B&R In one person’s life and career, he was an author, a publisher, and a speaker. But he got
By Matt Tullos Special assistant to the executive director, Tennessee Baptist Mission Board Everybody loves a good comeback story and game-changing plays. If you enjoy
By Jon Hawkins Training and volunteer coordinator, Tennessee Baptist Mission Board As the training and volunteer coordinator for Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, I meet every
By Lonnie Wilkey Editor, Baptist and Reflector [email protected] As I approach my 34th year with the Baptist and Reflector, I can’t even begin to count
By Ryan Keaton Emerging generations specialist, Tennessee Baptist Mission Board Your church has a reputation. Whether your reputation is perceived or reality, a young adult
By Randy C. Davis President and executive director, Tennessee Baptist Mission Board I couldn’t believe what I saw when I made my way down the
