By Jay Barbier Youth Specialist, Tennessee Baptist Mission Board The Great Commission has given followers of Jesus an adventure to live by. Jesus commanded His disciples to make disciples as they go! The question many are facing today is how can we do this now? We need to take a serious look at how we can manage to do the work of the Lord in the coming days as we
By Matt Tullos TBMB Special Assistant to the Executive Director 2020 will be remembered as the Year of the Pandemic. A new normal swept across our country as leaders grappled with circumstances that previously were only portrayed in doomsday novels and disaster movies. We’ve seen the best and worst of humanity. Mass graves, food lines, and market crashes flood our news feeds. The death tolls and statistics overwhelm us each
By Lonnie Wilkey Editor, Baptist and Reflector [email protected] “We’ve never done it that way before.” If Southern Baptists had a national motto, it would be that simple sentence. I have attended a Baptist church all of my life — and that now spans 62 years. I have heard that Baptist motto all of my life, and sadly, I have used it myself more than once. And, my guess is that
By Randy C. Davis TBMB President & Executive Director Children have a way of getting to the heart of the matter, don’t they? Their questions come at you unfiltered and often at the most unexpected times. That’s the way my daughters were and that is the way my grandchildren are. Their forthright insight can often catch adults unprepared.
By Charles Fowler B&R Guest Columnist President, Carson-Newman University When my heart is anxious, my circumstances troubling, and the way forward seems uncertain, the Psalms are a wonderful source for encouragement and instruction. While Psalm 50:15 is not talking directly and specifically about COVID-19, I believe that it provides some principles that do help us interpret these difficult days and respond faithfully. Psalm 50:15 – “and call upon me in the
By Donna Gaines Guest Columnist We have all added words to our vocabulary recently. Words like: quarantine, masks, hand sanitizer, social distancing, COVID-19 and “safer at home” mandates. These are all words and concepts that only three months ago, none of us were using. That was before we became part of a worldwide pandemic. As ministers’ wives, much of the time we are called upon to minister to people in
By Kenneth E. Ware B&R Guest Columnist Pastor, New Sholar Avenue Baptist Church, Chattanooga Amid such difficult and tumultuous times today, if we are not careful, we may tend to complain and grumble about our present circumstances. Tornado threats, power outages, loss of employment, damaged houses, demolishment of cherished possessions, loss of loved ones, lack of food, canceled church services until further notice, social distancing and shelter in place ordinances
By Todd Brady Vice President for University Ministries, Union University The last month and a half has been surreal. COVID-19 has meant that nothing has been the same. Everything has changed. No normal routine. No getting out. No going to the movie. No baseball. No graduation ceremonies. Don’t get close. Don’t go to school. Don’t go to church. Don’t touch your face. All the focus seems to be on what
By Roger “Sing” Oldham Pastor Engagement Specialist, TBMB In two short months, we have watched rising numbers of confirmed Coronavirus cases and deaths, rapidly escalating unemployment, and diminishing confidence that our economy will rebound in the near term. Our world has gone into lockdown mode. Friends and family have lost their jobs. Children have lost the routine of school, along with the breakfast and lunch provided during each school day.
By Chris Turner Director of Communications, TBMB Wake up, workout, coffee with quiet time, breakfast and then off to work. Home, supper, then whatever between supper and bedtime. Sleep. Wake up and do it all again tomorrow. It doesn’t sound all that exceptional, but welcome to my life. I would guess my days are not unlike most everybody else’s. Don’t get me wrong, I like my life. Heck, I love
By Jay Barbier Youth Specialist, Tennessee Baptist Mission Board The Great Commission has given followers of Jesus an adventure to live by. Jesus commanded His
By Matt Tullos TBMB Special Assistant to the Executive Director 2020 will be remembered as the Year of the Pandemic. A new normal swept across
By Lonnie Wilkey Editor, Baptist and Reflector [email protected] “We’ve never done it that way before.” If Southern Baptists had a national motto, it would be
By Randy C. Davis TBMB President & Executive Director Children have a way of getting to the heart of the matter, don’t they? Their questions
By Charles Fowler B&R Guest Columnist President, Carson-Newman University When my heart is anxious, my circumstances troubling, and the way forward seems uncertain, the Psalms
By Donna Gaines Guest Columnist We have all added words to our vocabulary recently. Words like: quarantine, masks, hand sanitizer, social distancing, COVID-19 and “safer
By Kenneth E. Ware B&R Guest Columnist Pastor, New Sholar Avenue Baptist Church, Chattanooga Amid such difficult and tumultuous times today, if we are not
By Todd Brady Vice President for University Ministries, Union University The last month and a half has been surreal. COVID-19 has meant that nothing has
By Roger “Sing” Oldham Pastor Engagement Specialist, TBMB In two short months, we have watched rising numbers of confirmed Coronavirus cases and deaths, rapidly escalating
By Chris Turner Director of Communications, TBMB Wake up, workout, coffee with quiet time, breakfast and then off to work. Home, supper, then whatever between