TENNESSEE DR TEAMS NEEDED IN TEXAS, IOWA

MOUNT JULIET — Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief teams have been asked to respond in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl in Texas and to extreme flooding which occurred in Iowa in late June. Hurricane Beryl made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane near Matagorda around 4:30 a.m. July 8, about 95 miles southwest of Houston, according […]
SBC 2024 RECAP: EVENTFUL DAYS IN INDY

Editor’s note: Full articles on the various items included in this wrap up — along with additional articles on other SBC topics — can be found at baptistandreflector.org and in the B&R print issue. INDIANAPOLIS — In a runoff with Sevierville pastor Dan Spencer, North Carolina pastor Clint Pressley was elected president of the Southern […]
SBC 2024: BARBER ENCOURAGERS MESSENGERS IN FINAL ADDRESS AS PRESIDENT

INDIANAPOLIS — While reflecting on his past two years as Southern Baptist Convention president, Bart Barber urged messengers to look past disagreements and struggles in their churches and to “bear one another’s weakness.” He delivered his final president’s address June 11 during the SBC annual meeting in Indianapolis. While praising the successes of Southern Baptists […]
TRAVEL SPORTS CREATE CRITICAL CHOICES FOR FAMILIES

BRENTWOOD — Growing up, Aaron Bryant may have dreamed of playing in the NFL, but his family would’ve never dreamed of skipping church. Bryant was part of the Tennessee Titans when they made the Super Bowl in 1999. Despite playing multiple sports in high school, he says he rarely missed church services because of it. […]
SBC 2024: DURING NAMB REPORT, EZELL CELEBRATES LARGE BAPTISM INCREASES ACROSS U.S.

INDIANAPOLIS — Baptisms were up more than 26 percent across the Southern Baptist Convention’s churches in 2023, said Kevin Ezell, president of the North American Mission Board. “We’re seeing big numbers, but each individual decision is eternally important, and God honors each and every one,” Ezell said during his report to the SBC annual meeting […]
PAUL PRESSLER, CONSERVATIVE RESURGENCE STRATEGIST, DIES AT 94

HOUSTON — Paul Pressler, the Texas judge whose grassroots strategy redirected the Southern Baptist Convention, died June 7, 2024, in Houston, Texas, three days after his 94th birthday and less than six months after the settlement of a lawsuit alleging decades-long sexual assault by Pressler against multiple victims. For decades in the SBC, Pressler was venerated […]
SBC 2024: GROUP, TASK FORCES SHARE REPORTS WITH MESSENGERS

INDIANAPOLIS — SBC messengers at the 2024 annual meeting approved the reports of three groups that were formed at last year’s annual meeting in New Orleans. Here’s a closer look at what transpired:
SBC 2024: CONVENTION SERMON: INSERRA SAYS ‘CLOUD OF WITNESSES’ SHOULD SPUR SOUTHERN BAPTISTS TO GOSPEL ENDURANCE

INDIANAPOLIS — Dean Inserra said “football nerds” like him watch with great interest every February as football players showcase what they can do at the NFL Combine, which takes place in Indianapolis just down the street from where Southern Baptists held this year’s annual meeting. “One of the events during the Combine that fans pay […]
SBC 2024: PRESSLEY FIELDS QUESTIONS AT FIRST PRESS CONFERENCE AS PRESIDENT

INDIANAPOLIS — In his routine, succinct style of responding to inquiries, Clint Pressley completed his first press conference as Southern Baptist Convention president in roughly 10 minutes. Media representatives from across the nation gathered to ask questions and hear from Pressley following the conclusion of the SBC Annual Meeting on June 12.
SBC 2024: SERVICE CELEBRATES 83 NEW IMB MISSIONARIES

INDIANAPOLIS — Newly appointed missionaries looked around the Indiana Convention Center’s hall at the urging of Paul Chitwood, International Mission Board president. He gestured from the stage to more than 13,000 messengers and guests sent by local churches to the Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting in Indianapolis. “Beside you and behind you are row upon […]