coronavirus

PASTORAL MINISTRY AND MENTAL HEALTH

By Cody Glen Barnhart Director of music and media, First Baptist Church, Alcoa  Recently, Seacoast Church announced that former Southern Baptist pastor Darrin Patrick passed away from what “appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.” The news sent shockwaves through social media. Patrick’s passing is a devastating blow. We seem to have lost another one of our brothers to the crisis of mental health. Patrick’s death serves as a somber

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TBMB CONFERENCE CENTERS PLAN ‘SOFT REOPENING’

Baptist and Reflector FRANKLIN — As COVID-19 began to spread in March, the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board officially closed its two conference centers — Carson Springs in Newport and Linden Valley in Linden — on March18. Mark Proctor, associate administrator of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, called the action a “hard close” because “everything was taken off the books at that point.” Beginning June 23, the hard close ends and

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ARE YOU PROTECTING THE PRIVACY OF YOUR VIRTUAL MEETINGS?

By Chris Turner [email protected] The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic has forced a significant amount of life change and possibly no part of our lives have changed more than the way we “do business.” Globally, organizations have shifted in-person meetings to virtual meetings. Churches are certainly included with worship services, staff meetings and small group meetings all adapting to some form of “video conferencing.” The use of technology has been a useful

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STILL A FUTURE FOR VOCATIONAL EVANGELISTS

Tennessee Baptist evangelists optimistic despite COVID-19 challenges By Lonnie Wilkey [email protected] FRANKLIN — COVID-19 has affected every vocation imaginable, but one group that has flown under the radar is vocational evangelists. For most vocational evangelists, spring through fall is the busiest times for conducting revivals and other evangelistic events. “Certainly this virus has put a stop to all revivals and other events (special Sundays, conferences, etc.) that involve evangelists,” observed

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CHURCH SENDS TEAM ON VIRTUAL MISSION TRIP

By Shawn Hendricks Contributing Writer, Baptist and Reflector HENDERSONVILLE — For members of First Baptist Church of Hendersonville, the news that their church led 30 people on a mission trip last week to New York City in the middle of the COVID-19 crisis could have seemed a little shocking. “That’s right. They traveled right into the hotbed of the COVID-19 virus,” Bruce Raley, executive pastor of the Nashville area church,

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OLIVER SENDS PERSONALIZED VIDEO TO ALL 595 UNION GRADUATES

Union University news office JACKSON — Spring graduates from Union University received a special message on Saturday on what was supposed to be their graduation day – a personalized video greeting from Union President Samuel W. “Dub” Oliver. Oliver recorded videos, typically between one and two minutes in length, for each of Union’s 595 graduates. The videos were sent to each student by email and text message May 16, the

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REGATHERING WILL BE NEW EXPERIENCE FOR ALL

By Bruce Chesser President, Tennessee Baptist Convention  Most of us are trying to determine the best course of action in reengaging in on campus worship. Notice I did not say “reopening.” We haven’t been closed.  Almost all of us have continued to lead our people in Sunday worship, Wednesday night Bible studies, and we have engaged many of our small groups in some new thing called Zoom. Zoom, zoom, zoom. 

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CARSON-NEWMAN LIGHTS CAMPUS IN HONOR OF 2020 GRADUATING CLASS

Carson-Newman News Office JEFFERSON CITY — Had the spring semester progressed normally, Carson-Newman University’s senior class would have walked the graduation stage on May 1. Instead, the University offered a commemorative lighting of the campus’ central building, Henderson Humanities Building, in seniors’ honor. A video showcasing the building’s lighting and highlights from the Class of 2020’s junior and senior years featured words of reassurance from Psalm 119:105: “Thy Word is

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15 IMPORTANT WORSHIP ‘HELPS’ FOR CHURCHES

By Scott C. Shepherd Tennessee Baptist Mission Board music and worship specialist In the coming weeks and months, churches across Tennessee will make the decision to gather again for worship. These services — though COVID-19 restrictions have been reduced — will not be a return to “worship as usual.”  Here are 15 worship related helps for churches to consider as they prepare to regather. Maintain social distancing in worship. Restrictions

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