By Tom Strode Baptist Press NASHVILLE — Bill Lee’s decision to run for governor of Tennessee and his work in that office cannot be explained without understanding the impact of his faith, the state’s highest office-holder told Christian leaders Dec. 3 at a Southern Baptist-sponsored event in Nashville. “[T]he way that faith plays out most in my life is that I believe that we are called to serve people,” said

By Lonnie Wilkey Baptist and Reflector HARRIMAN — When Taylor Phelps came to the pastorate of Caney Ford Baptist Church in the Midtown community of Roane County in 2014, the church had about 22 members, he recalled. Phelps said it did not take long for him to discover that Caney Ford was known in the Midtown community as the “family chapel or family church.”  And, for some people in the

By Tim Ellsworth Contributing writer, B&R KNOXVILLE — Speakers at the 2019 Tennessee Baptist Pastors Conference held Nov. 18 at First Baptist Concord addressed the theme “Run with Endurance” as they encouraged pastors to persevere in their ministries, even in times of difficulty and struggle.  The theme came from Hebrews 12:1-2. Scott Parkinson, lead pastor of Stevens Street Baptist Church in Cookeville and president of this year’s conference, said he

Thanksgiving will be observed today in home all across Tennessee and our nation.  For some, the main emphasis will be food and football, mixed with a little bit of family. Christians, however, should always keep God at the forefront of all we do, including our holiday celebrations. This is especially true on Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. For Christians, every day should be “Thanksgiving.”  God has given us so many blessings;

By David Dawson [email protected] KNOXVILLE — Considering the negative numbers and troubling trends that are prevalent in today’s church culture, the challenge of “winning Tennessee for Christ” seems incredibly daunting, perhaps even impossible.  Hollie Miller sees it differently.  Preaching the convention sermon at the 145th annual meeting of Tennessee Baptists, Miller, a retired pastor and former TBC president, said he is confident that Tennessee Baptists can reach their No. 1

By Lonnie Wilkey [email protected] KNOXVILLE — Tennessee Baptists overwhelmingly adopted a resolution denouncing Critical Race Theory (CRT) and intersectionality during their 145th annual meeting Nov. 19-20 in Knoxville. Messengers to the Tennessee Baptist Convention acted on the resolution during the final session on Nov. 20. The resolution defined CRT as “a secular worldview used by some in social sciences to analyze marginalized populations by categorizing differences among peoples, especially race