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Statewide Edition Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Vol. 174 I No. 13; April 2, 2008

Finley church gets head start on Vacation Bible School By .Stan Cavness For Baptist and Refle_ctor

FINLEY - During the week of March 9, with snow on the ground, Finley -Baptist Church held quite possibly the first Vacation Bible School for 2008 in Tennessee.

Citing the local school sys­tems two-week spring break on the enhanced school year calen­dar as a great, time to reach out to children, the church sched­uled a full-blown VBS that began one day after the biggest snow fall to hit Dyer County in years.

- "We were blessed in that the three and one-half inch snow melt~d quickly," said Charlie Ha}Hpurton, pastor of Finley Baptist Church, a member of Dyer Baptist Association in rural West Tennessee.

FINLEY BAPTIST CHURCH, Finley, held a spring break Bible School (he week of March 9. The VBS enrolled 99. students and had an average attendance of 86 each day. The Finley congregation made some changes in its children's ministry this past year, which included moving VBS from the summer to spring. The move resulted in an increased VBS enrollment.

due to snow ... but we didn't ship decided lasLfall, to sched- · Because planning had to have to worry about that." ule Vacation Bible School dur- occur before the 2008 materials

"For the past few years it's been difficult because families are so busy during the summer months/~ Halliburton said, cit­- See ~inley, page 3

"I don't think I've ever heard of anyone having to cancel VBS

While most churches don't ing the spring break with antic- were available, the church used begin schedlflling VBS until the ipation of having more students last year's "Game Day Central" summer months, Finley leader- involved. theme for the VBS.

Ne\tV ~olu~nn to begin in April By James Porch TBC Executive Director/Treasurer

.. BRENTWOOD - Beginning i~ April, from time to time I will write messages appearing in the Baptist & Reflector entitled "A Shepherd's Walk.""

Each offering will begin, "While pass­ing througli the pastorate-.... " The title arises from my conviction the com­mon priority identity of each pastor requires a shepherd's touch, mental­ity, vigilance, and com­passion for the flock entrusted to him by the Heavenly Father.

trend ''Whatever will he, will be." I will write with the hope for t~e

birth of contentment among shepherds to be effective rather than chase sue-cess.

I will write in support of an emerging crisis to raise up a generation of authen­tic shepherds pursuing a passion to be

and become only the person the Father intends His ser­vants to be.

Gathering from over 30 years of pastoral experience, the reflections will bounce off both the back and front of the pulpit, inside and outside of

~ ·the study, and on the church field and in the home base.

These writings will inten-The focus idea for the writing lies chiseled into a headstone in a ceme­tery somewhere in North

!!~;;~~~ ..... ~t tionally neglect the ''bow-to" approach in order to focus

Carolina. A pastor's widow, a gentle, dedicated wife, mother, and Christian servant when asked immediately fol­lowing her husband's death to reflect on his ministry volunteered, ''While pass­ing thxough, he kept the faith."

Personally, those humble and simple words read by all who now visit the pas­tor's gravesite express the abiding focus and passion needed to equip God's called-out servants to finish well.

I will write with the belief the Father still calls His servants to specific min­istry over against the post-modern

on emphasis of &eeking God's will. Personally, the curreNt flood of how-to has affiicted many shepherds who by reliance on other's ways have sacrificed their opportunity to "suck it up and get the job. done" without even . the benefit of other clergy or being aca­demically overshadowed or driven by denominational culture. The previous sentence offers a hint to iny candid plus approach. Simultaneously, the views expressed hopefully will initiate dia­logue and in turn nurture conversations centering on how to help each other as we indeed pass through. 0

SBC president discusses wide variety of _issues during C·N visit By Mark Brown Carson-Newman College news office

· JEFFERSON CITY - Frank Page says he has learned a great deal in the 21 months. he has held the Southern Baptist Convention presidency. He addressed some of his lessons . during a question and answer session at a lrinch

· held March 25 in conjunction with Car­son-Newman's Spring Minis t er and Staff Conference.

Asked to articulate perceptions he has developed about the convention, Page admitted, "The perspective I have has been limited. It (the SBC) is so big­not geographically or in numbers·- but it's all over the map."

Given,the body's theological breadth, .. Page says he sees good signs. "Most (members) want to move together in a kinder, more loving way."

Receiving requests for media inter­views on a daily basis has taught him much about perceptions non-Baptists have about the denomination. 'We are known for what we are against, so I try to focus on what Baptists are for more than what we are against."

While iss1,1es like Calvinism and diversity have been a factor for many churches, Page worries that many Con­vention faithful underestimate seismic activity between those who prefer tradi­tional worship styles and those who like

contemporary services. "These are mas­sively divergent groups- some of whom do not speak to· each other," he intoned.

The pastor of South Ca:J;"olina's Tay­lors First Baptist Church, Page has described himself as an inerrantist, but one who is "just not mad about it."

His 2006 dark horse victory over two others who had the support of previous SBC leaders was a surprise both in and out of the convention.

Following his selection, he had said he wanted to diversify. leadership roles in the body among those who had not been included.

On March 25 he said he has been pleased to be able to do that. "Study my appointees," he said. "Look at the number of appointments older pastors and the number of those under 30 that are get­ting ihe chance to serve for the first time."

He emphasized the importance of reaching out to young people wl;lo have been called to kingdom service, saying that numbers entering the traditional

· pastorate are thinning at an alarming rate. He said that he had studied anum­ber of states only to see a disturbing trend.

"I have ,not looked at Tennessee's fig­ures, but Missouri has 2,000 (SBC) churches and only 231 of them have pas­tors that are under 40. And I think that is indicative of the convention." - See SBC, page 2

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Union dean placed on SBC-committee Baptist Press

INDIANAPOLIS SBC President Frank Page has

' named the members of the Res-olutions Committee who will serve here during the June lO­ll Soutkern Baptist Convention annu'al meeting.

Page, pasto:r: of First Baptist Church in Taylors, S.C., appoint­ed Dan~~ll Orman ef Florida: as committee chairman. Orman is pastor of First Baptist Ch,urch in Stuart.

The lO~member committee includes Greg Thornbury, dean of Union Universjty's school 0f Christian studies and member of Englewood Baptjst Church in Jackson. Thornbury also served on last year's committee and SBC bylaws require that the committee have two people w~o served the previous year.

The naming of the Resolu­tions Committee in late March is in keeping with . an am.end­ment to SBC Bylaw 20 approved during the 2002 SBC annual meeting in St. bouis, which also entailed various changes .to the resolution submission proce­dure. The changes include the f~owing: ·

!i Proposed resolutions may I

be submitted as early as April 15 but no ~ater · than 15 days prior to the SBC annual meet- -ing, giving. the Resolutions Com­mittee a two-week period in which to consider sub~issions. · Resolutions may no longer be submitted' during the annual meeting.

• Proposed r~solutions must be accomparued by a letter from a church qualified to send a messenger to the SBC annual meeting certifying t~at the indi­vidual submitting the resolution is a mem.ber in good standing.

• Proposed resoll:ltiohs prefer-

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With gas "'buy-downs' Churches ease ·neighbors' pain at the .pumps

By Greg_ Warner for_ ways to become helpful and relevant again. AssoCiated Baptist Press "The · church has a problem being outwardly

focused," the pastor said. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -When it comes to The gas .!:my-down _was more a.bout ministry

ministry in Jesus' name, relieving· "oppression" and goodw~l.l tllan evangelism, he said -. the takes many forms - including the oppr-ession of same reasf!ms the church hosts a food pantry, today's gasoline prices. ~ · thrift store,_ and Mutray Hill's only fa;ll festival.

As gas prices hit 1·ecord levels acrqss the "It is an ~ urbalil . neighborhood. that is being country, a growing number of churches are spon- rebul.lt. There is a diversity of pet;>,ple, an inter­soring gas "buy-downs"-. 'paying part of the cost esting mix of people - older people who have of each gallon as a way to help their neighbors. liv:ed. liere all their lives, urban professionals,

' " For two hou:t"s here · on a rec~nt Saturday, and tons of twenty-somethings." _ Murray Hill Baptist Church did just that. The "Because of who is in our neighqorhood, th~y church co~ered 50 cents of the cost of each gallon are expecting us to shove the gospel· d. own their pumped by 175 custdme.rs at the Kangaroo throats-,~· he said.." ... Their image of church is so Express on Edgewood Avenue·._ : negative. We just wanted therri to. ·see that: the ' With gas in Ja~kso;nville selling at $3.26 a gospel is ali>!i)utlovi'ng" people. I

gallon - an all-time high - 59 cents off wasn't , . "Peopl¢ come to. our church for about six exactly a steal. Nonetheles~, 100 drivers lined 'up· · menths' before they evet let us kriow· they ·are an hour and a half before the 10 a.m. start. When here." Axtel1 con.timled: "It's very &Us.trating for the buy-down was over at noon, the church had a pastor. ·. ~. It's weeks of building relatio'nships spent $1,020, pumped about 2,000;gallons of gas with thes.e pe·ople, many of them hurt by the at $2.76 a gallon, and washed a lot of wind- chwch·earlie:.11 in their lives.· B-qt once they are on shields. · board., they ar.e activists abeut their faith."

Doug Axtell, who has been the congregation's Murray Hill Baptist got the idea for the proj-pastor for six years, said the purp0se ofthe ges- .eet from a book about serv:ant e.vangelism, which ture· was "to show the community God's love" and -emphasizes pr~ctical ministry as a low-pressure change residents' image of Murray-Hill Baptist. way to create relationships with unchurched

For a 78;.year-old congregation in a part of people. The buy-down resulted in. at least" three town that ,is being revitalized _ by an -influx of local families visiting the cht1rch for worship the younger residents, creating a second opinio~ of next day, Axtell sam-:- _ '-the church is invaluable. The pasto,r.ativfsed.~ehurches that are consid-

~Three-and-a-halfyears ago, I was confronted ering a gas bqy-down ~oget hints from other con­with the reality [that] m~st of our neighbors gregations th~t have dohe it oefore, Among those wouldn't care if our ghurch wasn't here," ~tell churches 'recently sponsoring buy-downs ·are said bluntly. --. ones inKansas, Missouri and G>hio, ;epiesenting

Since then, the congregation has 'J?een lo'oking various denominations. 0

ably should be submitted by e­mail or mailed to the Resplu­tions Committee in care .of the SBC Executive Committee. The drafts~ must be typewritten,

, titled, dated, and include com­plete contact information for the person and his or her church.

• No p~rson will be allowed to submit more than three reso­lutions per year.

• If a properly submitted res­olution is not forwarded by· the

Resolutions Committee .. to the SBC annual meeting, a two­thirds vote of messengers wouJd be· required . to' bring the pro­posed resolution to the conven­tion. floor. 0 .

World Hunger · lu~ds lielp Asians · Baptist Press

NASHVILLE - Gentra:l Asia

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is sujl~:ring througp . i~s worst winter in at least 30 years, a!ld. Southern Baptists have moved to

' . . help isolated villages wh~re peo-ple are in danger of starvation.

In Afgliahist~'s Sheberghan district, Winters usually are rel- , atively · 'mild and ·short. Snow . -falls for brief periods and then

SBC president discusses wide ...

melts. This year, however, he'avy · sriows fell for·more tha:n a week an<t temp~ratures then. dropped te -11 ?egrees Fahrenheit .for the - foHowing- ·week, teaving roads and communities snow­bound. Over the next two weeks, daytime temperatures rarely rose· above freezing.

- Continued from page 1 , If something is not done to

' reverse the trend, the SBC leade.r predicts .that "huge num­bers of churches will have to g.o

• bi-yocational."

He also spoke ·of churghes whose membership roles are

shrinking while the members themselves are aging, warning, ~'In Tennessee, churches are dying; in S'outh. Carolina, theyre aying; everywhere, they 'are dyi.ng!"

Ip. an effort to understand the importa·nce demographics play

JOE BILL~ ~LP._AJI.,)~1 .[t;!."t~i~ff; pf.~sjdep:f:,ol fi~R~on-Newman Col­lege in Jef{~r.s~lr ~1Jf:an~:.;:a~~~:{f:£~1h':j!_rfhlj ;~>fi3cutiv~ director of the Tennes~~e,tf1af?.(~s~ ~qnyr'!tu:~!P· ~ ~~.TiJ~ ~~;~ Pre~f(fient Frank Page following chapel service· at the coflege on March 25.

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in his own congregation, Rage relat~d that ~e-a~ked t4e c1nir-cn-­treasurer to study who gives to special mission needs. 'i'ne results staggered him, he s"aid.

. ' . "Guess where the mmiley for

The -human death toll has risen to 483, a~d afleast 147,0.00 head of livestock have rued.

In nearby Tajikistan, wi:nter crops·tike•wheat fraze and yield­ed no produce at· all.

"Many_ ·villages have . no resources to deal with this cri• sis," said Francis Horton, Cen­tral and South Asia ar~a direc­tor for Baptist Global Response,

in.'ternat:lonal missions comes from, for home missions, for· coi­l~ges?" he queried, ad_ding, "Over 90% of.special missions giv1ng come from people who are 65 and older. I'm telling you, for younger generations . . . well, those" people just haven't caught the vision."

Page's lun.ea d.ialog was pre­ceded oy. a morning chapel an:d. a ~idmorning sessie:n' with.. con­ference attendees. C-N religie:a division dean DaVid Crutchley said he was impressed by the SBC leader on SE;Jveral levels.

· a Southern Bapti§t internation­al relief arrd development organ­izatign.·· "Iii inany places people are· stArVing." ·

"I was ii1;1pressed with the humility; p0ise,-and irenia spirit he shared with students and with 0\:11' conference guests," the pref~..ssor said. · ('I found myseif r:esomating with his tra.nsparency and obvi-. . ous servant heart." 0

A. tot~l of $11'7,636 has been allocated from. the ·SoutherN Baptist World Hunger Fund ~o clear roads, purchase flour, ppw­dered milk, rice, beans, oil, olan­K.ets, and ·winter clothing for more than 19,500 families in hath countrie;S. ('The World Food

\ . P:rogram and other organiza-tions had tons of food ready to tt'tlck into the worst areas, but no way te -get there," Horton said. 0

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Churches should fly flags properly, says Columbia chaplain By Lonnie Wilkey Baptist and Reflector

COLUMBIA - Christians, of all people, should be proud of the American flag and what it stands for, says Bob Adair, a retired Navy chaplain.

Yet churcb.es are among the worse culprits in not flying the flag properly, Adair observed. · "As I have traveled around the state I have seen a lot of ratty flags flying outside churches," said Adair, now pas­tor of Highland Park Baptist Church, Columbia, and a chap­lain for the local American Legion Post.

He also noted many church­es do not fly the American flag in accordance with the United 'States Flag Codes.

In addition to flags not being torn or worn, the flag should have a spotlight if it is flown 24 hours a day. If not, it snould be brought in at sun­down each day.

There are other nuances ..that churches often overlook ¥~hen flying the flag. If the Christian flag is flown, the two should never be on ·the same pole, Adair stressed. The · American flag should be on the right of the Christian flag, he said.

As a rule of thumb, Adair said outside flags should be chang~d at least quarterly and definitely every six months, unless it is an expensive, all­weather flag. I~ the flag is~torn, it needs to be replaced and dis­posed of properly, the chaplain added.

When disposing an Ameri­can flag, Adair urged people to

take the old flags to a local American Legion Post or National Guard unit where people are trained to properly dispose the flag.

Adair noted that inside the church a "fringe" flag is to be used and it, too, should be on a separate pole, on the right side of the speaker standing at the pulpit or in front of the church.

When asked about his pas­sion for the flag, Adair attrib­uted it to his military service which helped him under­stand the significance of the flag.

'We are a country of Christ­ian idea,.s and Christian princi­ples.

"The- flag stands for those who have , fought, died, and bled for our country," he stressed.

·Adair encouraged church leaders to look up the United States Flag Code on the Inter­net or at the library to ,ensure they are giving the flag the respect•it de·serves .

''When· you honor the flag c.ode, you honor not just the flag but what it represents," he stressed.

He encouraged churches to set the example in their com­munity when displaying the flag.

Adair and other Tennessee Baptist chaplains are serious in their concern for making sure flags are properly dis­played and maintained.

Adair, w h0 is vice president of the Tennessee Baptist chap­lains organization, noted that the state chaplains voted at their meeting last summer to

begin a fund to purchase new flags and poles for the two Tennessee Bap­tist conference centers - Carson Springs in Newport and Linden Valley in Linden.

The Columbia pastor and chaplain is hopeful that funds will be .raised in order to present the flags and · poles to the conference centers this ~

summer. Anyone interested in

donating to this effort can send a contribution to «Flag Fund," c/o High­land Park Baptist Church, Columbia, TN 38401.0

BOB ADAIR, pastor of Highland Park Baptist Church, Columbia, and a chaplain for the local American Legion f?ost, believes strongly in the Amer­ican flag and all that it represents. He is an advocate of churches knowing how to properly fly the American flag, both inside and outside its facilities.

THESE FLAGS displayed at First Baptist Church, Columbia~ are. done properly, according to chaplain Bob Adair of the local American Legion Post and pastor of a sister church in the city. Adair encourages churches to adhere to the United States Flag Code when displaying the American flag. Notice the American flag is on the right side of the building on· a separate pole from the Christian flag. Both have spotlights.

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Finley Baptist Church gets head start on yacation Bible ••• - Continued from page 1 ing numerous camps, baseball tournaments, a s~ortened sum­mer break due to the new enhanced school year, etc.

''Vacation Bible School seemed to be squeezed in and our attendance suffered. It was time to come . up with a new plah," the pastor related.

Last summer Halliburten watched students involved in the Baptist Collegiate Ministry at Dyersburg State Community College lead VBS all across the Dyer Baptist Association during the sununer through the Ten-

. nessee, Baptist Convention Col­legiate Ministry summer mis­Slons program.

Four students lived at the DSCC BCM for 10 weeks and helped about a dozen local

• churches with Youth Camps and VBS all summer.

"It was then that we realized that those students had so much excitement about the way they led VBS. and I wanted to bring some new excitement into oUI· children's ministry,'' Hal-

liburton continued: Last year the Finley Baptist

Church re-workeq their basic children's ministry format with a renovation to the chil­dren's department, adding a new .audio/visual projection system to give children's lead­ers more options· for teaching ehildren.

"There is so much .more good curriculum out there today, and we decided it was time to put more emphasis on our children's ministry. In our discussion lead­ing up to the changes we real­ized that if our church was going to compete for children who are so busy with all the worldly distractions, we were going to have to implement some of the t_echnology and offer them Jesus and make it exciting at the same time," Halliburton continued.

The Finley Baptist Church began "God's Team" on Wednes­day nights in the fall.

A new group of high-energy young \vorkers and a curricu­lum th-at keeps the children

moving . . . singing and playing and learning about Jesus and . God's world in a classroom envi­ronment that is exciting makes them want to come back and bring their friend's.

Not only did more children get involved on Wednesday nights with th~ changes, but children began to bring their " . friends from school and word began to spread about "God's Team." The number quickly began to grow.

"Sometimes we get in a rut and continue to do things the same old way . . . just because we've been doing them that way for years," Halliburton said. "It was obvious to us we had to make some changes ... and it has worked."

Halliburton approached Stan Cavness, BCM director at Dyersburg State Conununity College and asked if the BCM could supply some energetic stu­dents to help with VBS during spring break. Cavness quickly agreed and the planning process began last summer.

Three students who . are involved in the BCM at DSGC are members of Finley Baptist Church and had applied to be involved in summer missions during the summer of 2008. The summer missionaries were familiar with last year's "Game Day Central" curriculum, so that same curriculum was recycled for the Spring Break VBS.

The BCM at DSCC has 10 students who will be serving as summer missionaries this sum­mer:

Five students volunteered through the BCM to work in the spring VBS at Finley. The stu­dents met with Cavness, who served as VBS director for the spring VBS, and went through a training process. Cavness and Halliburton then met with a group of Finley Baptist Church volunteers for additional train­mg.

The spring break VBS at Fin­ley Baptist Church resulted in 99 enrolled and an average attendance for the week of 86.

On the final night, parents and families were invited for VBS Family Night Picnic and Com­mencement and the church had a full house.

''We made a number of con­tacts with families who were not attending church anywhere and picked up quite a list of prospects. We are following up on those prospects and are see­ing some of those children in Sunday School . . . and they are bringing their parents with them," Halliburton said.

While no professions of faith were recorded the week of VBS, Halliburton reports at least two children who indicated they had questions during "the week and he is now continuing to meet with them and their par­ents and sharing the gospel message.

"'t's the same old gospel mes­sage we've all been sharing for years ... but we might not have gotten some of those children to participate had we not changed our presentation and gotten out of that rut," he said . .-,

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- . 'Tips oHered for churches.searching lOr a neW pastor words from the Word

By Johnnie C. Godwin

Suppose you're on the pas­tor-search commit~ee of a church and have only one . of two choices. One of the two men is just 30 years old and doesn't have a seminary degree but speaks well, shows good biblical knowledge, and seems to have great potential. The other choice is a 60-year­old seminary graduate who has a doctorate, years of expe­rience in the ministry, speaks with knowledge and authority

. but obviously is moving toward retirement age. Which would you choose? In this case, it's either-or; so please ch~ose between the two.

The search criteria If you're still on the pastor­

search committee, you've prob­ably _ already answered the question I posed. I suppose the criteria · for your committee requires you to search for someone older or someone younger than the two options given you. If so, you just excluded Jesus and the Apostle Paul from consideration as pastor of your church. Not to mention other criteria consid­erations you have that might have disquali~ed those two. Perhaps.

text, I'll offer a bit of study and counsel that could be helpful to those searching for a new pas­tor.

What does the Bible say? Interestingly, the word "pas­

tor'' appears only one time in . all the New Testament and only eight times in ~he Old Tes­tament in Jeremiah (KJV). The Geneva Bible was the first one to use "pastor" instead of "shepherd"' in Ephesians 4:11. The KJV and others followed suit. "Bishop," "overseer," and "elder" appear elsewhere as ·synonyms for "pastor" along with words for minister and servant. All earthly pastors are undershepherds to feed, tend, and lead the sheep to the Eter­nal Shepherd.

The· original Hebrew and Greek words for pastor and shepherd literally me~ feeder. Jesus identified and exempli­fied the Model Pastor in John 10. We might say Jesus is the Chief Pastor (I Peter 5:4) and the Great Pastor (Hebrews 13:20). When I read Psalm 23, I love to translate, "The Lord is my Pastor; I shall not want." ~hough Jesus is the Shep­herd, Revelation 7:17 speaks of Jesus as the Lamb who feeds and waters all His sheep in heaven - see also Hebrews 13:20). .

The pastor's ·priority is to love the Lord and feed the sheep. The resurrected Jesus repeatedly asked Peter, "Do you love me?" E~ch time, Peter replied yes. Each time, Jesus commanded, "Feed my sheep"

- including the lambs (John 21:15-17). Paul told the Eph­esian elders, "Feed the church of God" (Acts 20:28). Peter told the elders, "Feed the flock of God (I Peter 5:2). Above all, a pastor is·to feed the sheep with God's Word. A pastor feeds, waters, tends, oversees, pro­tects, and delivers the flock safely- even at the risk of his own life. . " " · · . .

Of coil:r:se, any; ·searching church ·wottid be familiar with - - . -the requ}rf?ments. of an over­seer given in I Timothy 3:1-7

. and Titus 1:5-9. But above all, a church needs to pray and . search for a pastor whose call­ing, preparation, commitment, and record in .earlier churches shows he loves the Lord. How? By evidences that he feeds, nurtures, and unifies the flock of God.

Who selects the pastor? Well, across denominational

lines, that is an interesting. question. But we Baptists have a ·polity (or policy) that . we believe is biblical. As the New Testament unfolded, a- congre­gational process evolved ·with pastoral criteria to search for and select a pastor (elder, bish-op [overseer]). ·

Typically, a church sets UJ? and follows guidelines under­lined with prayer .in selecting its own pastor-search commit­tee. Sometimes the pastor­search committee becomes the pastor-selector committee with only a rubber stamping coming -later from the entire church. Not good. The challenge of_ call-I'm not an expert or know­

it-all on the subject of search­ing for a new pastor. On th~ other hand, I've dealt with a lot of pastor-search committees and churches from both sides of the pulpit. I empathize, sym-

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Dr. Dennis Deese, who has served as a pastor for 23 years, has announced his call as a vocational evangelist. He pastored in Tennessee for nearly 15 years. In addition, he served as the Tennessee Baptist Pas­tors Conference Vice-President (2000) and President {2001 ).

. ..... (.

"It is my privilege to recommend Evangelist Dennis Deesf} . . He rzghtly ' divides the Word and 'he does it with passion and integrity. Dr. Deese luis

served as a successful pastor for alm~t 25 years. He will bring that kind of ~xperience and wisdom to every revival or crusade. Evangelist Dennis Deese will be a blessing to any pastor who invites him."

Rick Coram, Evangelist Jacksonville, Florida

"Evangelist Dennis Deese has preachedfor me. on several ocjtas.ions and he will be.·.a<tremelidous blessin:g t~ :rV,ur church. Brother 1)-eflnis preach-,._ es God's Wor4 with authorit-y, wins souls passionately, and bq,thes the work of God in prayer."

Dr. Herb Reavis, Jr., Senior Pastor North Jacksonville Baptist Church Jacksonville, Florida _

•

•

Dr. Dennis D.eese, Evangelist

P. 0. Box 695 Jonesborough, TN

37659-0695

Office: ( 423) 895-2847

Email: drdeese@ gmail.com www.dennisdeese.com

ing a new pastor belongs to all the church as much as to its search committee.-

Of course, the pastor-search committee will eventually select a pastoral candidate; and the church will ev~ntually elect the one who becomes the new pastor. ·However, at the sel:lrching stage, only the Holy Spifit knows the one He -has already chosen to appoint as the new pastor of a church (see Acts 20:28). The church's divine mandate is to match the Holy Spirit's choice for their new pastor. The divine appointee has a reciprocal divine mandate to discover in the u~folding drama of God's call for his life and ministry. A match is a marriage made in heaven. A mismatch is less than divine and may be a dis- ­asterr

Prayer helps avoid poor ljecision-makif!-g Often over my last half cen­

tury-plus of ministry, people have come to know and appre~ ciate my saying that Phyllis is my better two-tp.irds. So_ they've often asked me t;n_is que~tion: "How did you get Phyllis?" I honestly answer, "I prayed her down." My .diary, as a teenager surr~ndered to preach, records the honesty and accuracy of that answer. I say that not to brag ·but to commend prayer both for choosing a mate and choosing a pastor.

Prayer is . one of the strongest guides in searching for a match between church

and pastor. It is also dne of the best preventives of a church­pastor marriage that shouldn't take place.

A friend of mine told me about the divorce his sister was going through. I offered sympathy. He " replied with a J:iod but said, "It's one of those . divorces made in heaven." I was shocked b~cause .... I had never heard of such a thing; and.I'm not saying now that I agree with the statement. However, in the church pastor context, there are times when a joining should never have occurred between the two. The divine appo1ntment didn't take place. In such a, case, ~church and pastor made a mistake in getting toget~er, and a prayer-.. ful separation may be in order.

So far, so good So far, I've suggested three

foundational essentials , in 9earching for a pastor: (1) be sure your pastoral-search cri­teria are broad enough to include the pastor the Holy .Spirit may have appointed for your_ church; (2) be sure your understanding of the pastoral role matches that of the Bible; and (3) be sure to include prayer that will pr.ay down God's divinely appointed pas­tor and to avoid a mismatch.

Now that the foundation is s~t, next time I want to offer some practical suggestions beyond r:esumes, videos, refer­ences, and "sugar stick" ser-

. mons. 0 - Copyright 2008 by ·Johnnie C. Godwin. E-mail: johnniegodwin @comcast.net.

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• • Pae.e. 5 I B&R I April 2, 2008 -------------------- editorial I opan1on

Helping Union -University is the right thing to do

By Lonnie Wilkey, editor

On Sunday, April 6, churches across the Tennessee Baptist ·Convention have been asked to participate in a -Day of Prayer_ and Giving for Union Universi­ty.

As most people are aware, Union University suffered extensive damage Feb. 5 when a tornado hit the campus. Sev­eral dormitories were destroyed and. other buildings received major damage. Yet, miraculous­ly, no one was killed. Out of the 50-plus students who were sent to the hospital, 9nly two remain and they are beginning to recover physically (see story on page 11). ·

Two days after the tornado hit the Union campus, Ten­nessee Baptist Convention

· leaders, led by James Porch, ·- ~ "executive director;--Tern McCoy,

TBC president; Mickey Basham, presid,ent, TBC Execu­tive Board, and others went to Jackson and saw the damage for themselves.

In late February the Admin­istrative Committee of the TBC Executive Board, acting on behalf of the full board, approved a Day of Prayer and Giving for Union University to be held this coming Sunday.

In early March, McCay issued a challenge through a letter sent to every Tennessee Baptist church. In the letter,

McCoy challenged pastors to "pray about and seriously con­sider challenging your church to give over and above Coopera­tive Program gifts to help Union in its rebuilding efforts."

McCoy reiterated that state­merit after another visit to the campus on Marqh 25.

"During that dark night that the tornado struck this. campus, Union was set back but not shut down," McCoy noted.

"Union was delayed but not derailed. Union will make a total and complete recovery."

McCoy stressed that Union will recover because of God's provision and because of the prayer and financial sup­port from Tennessee Baptists.

"Every loss of this magni­tude has great expense that is not covered under insurance," McCoy said.

"Does Union have insur­ance? ·Yes, they have excellent insurance. But there are always expenses above and beyond

• what insurance _will cover. That's where we come in as Tennessee Baptists."

The paper has received queries about why insurance does not fully cover Union's losses. In an article published in last week's issue, J erry Tid­well, senior vice president for church relations at Union, said the need for additional funds is "not all builaing related, but is all 'tornado' related." He explained that because about · 800 students were. displaced by the 'storm and needed housing, students were given refunds that caused the university to

"lose several million dollars." In addition, the damages sus­tained on campus caused Union to cancel several revenue-pro­ducing events, such as Cen­trifuge camps.

Tennessee Baptists can rest assured that Union leadership had insurance and was pre­pared for most emergen~ies. It is I?-ard sometimes to plan for

the "extreme" and that was what Union.. experienced on Feb. 5.

Some Baptists may be won­dering ifw~ are doing too much for Union. I am reminded that churches and Tenness~e Bap­tists also lost all they had. I understand that and Tennessee Baptists have helped meet some of those needs through disaster relief funds and volun­teers. We should continue to seek ways to-helpthese church­es and individuals as we can.

I have also heard that Union is receiving money from other s'Ources. Union, indeed, has

- received a great deal of finan­cial help from Baptists (and · others) from all across the nation. That is well and good.

That makes it only more nat­ural that Tennessee Baptists "step up to the plate" and make a difference in the lives of one of our institutions.

Union is a member "of the Tennessee Baptist family,"

• funded through the Coopera-tive Program giving of Ten­nessee Baptist churches. It would be hard for us to ever do too much.

Is it too much to pray.? Is it too much to give over o~r nor­mal tithes and offerings to help a family member in dire need? · How can we do too much

when we serve a God who gave us His all, His best?

Many churches have already responded and given generously to Union, as has-all of the TBC enti­ties including the Execu­tive Board.

Keep in mind that what churches collect on April 6 in addition to their normal offer­ings will do more than just help meet some financial obligations. Most importantly, the gift will remind a valued member of the TBC family that Tennessee Bap­tists care.

TBC Executive Director . James Por'ch has encouraged

Tennessee Baptists to give over above Cooperative Program gifts to help meet the needs at Union. 'We have the opportuni­ty to stand in partnership with Union as they rebuild and move forward into an even greater future ," Porch observed in last week's issue.

Continue to pray for Union and its faculty, staff, and stu­dents. Pray particularly for President David Dockery as he leads our West Tennessee university m the commg months.

Why should we help Union University in this tim~ of need?

It is the right thing to do. 0

God does ·not need our tithe: a ste,yardship testimony

gt.~est

'"'Jum.nist

By William Maxwell

After 3 7 years of gainful employment, and 21 years of denominational service, I have come to at least one'irreversible conclusion: God does not need our tithe ... but, we have a des­perate need to give a tithe on our income. Our need comes not only from being obedient to the biblical admonishing to tithe, but from the discipline that tithing brings to our life.

I began working for my dad in his weekly newspaper-print­ing shop the same year I started first grade. After four years of what I affectionately called indentured servitude, he began to give me a paycheck when I was about 10 years old. (I never really did buy the response about me sitting down at the dinner table every night as com­pensation.) However, with the

start of the paycheck also came . the expectation at our house that the first 10 percent of that income went to the church and that most of the rest went into savings. Thus, began my life-

·long practice of tithing. I must confess, though, that

for many of those years I saw the tithe much like the payment of taxes. As a taxpayer, I enjoy the things that my taxes pay for - good · roads, schools, police and fit:e protection, national defense - but I tend to view those as things I am paying for; therefore, when someone does­n't spend my tax money the way I like, I become upset and start demanding accoUntability. And I did the same with my tithe. I enjoyed the things that my tithe helped provide - the church facilities, the ministerial staff, the youth program, the mission ac~ities - but I also wanted to view that as things I was pay­ing for. In short, I wanted to maintain control of what I had supposedly given to God.

But God began to deal with me on my attitude about tithing. One Sunday at our

church in Jackson, Miss., the pastor, Frank Pollard, made a statement that really changed my view on giving. He said, "God is more concerned about ·the 99 percent of our income that we keep than the 10 per­cent we give."

His premise was that God owns it all and that we are only the managers of what He has given. T:hat is what the word stewardship is all about. It comes from steward, usually a slave, that owned nothing of his own but managed the house­hold for his master.

Tithing is a spiritual disci­pline, the same as daily prayer and Bible reading, as weekly worship attendance, as any number of other disciplines that we practice that help us grow in our relationship to Christ. Tithing, though, is that disci­pline that can really force us to identify the priorities in our life.

When I began to comprehend in my life that everything I had, my job, my home, my family, were not mine but God's, my attitude on giving bega~ to change. I no longer saw my tithe

as paying the bills, but a real part of my worship to God. Not only did my attitude on tithing change, but I began to take joy in giving to building campaigns, building funds, and special offerings.

The discipline that tithing brought to my life also impacted the 90 percent of my income that I kept. Purchasing deci­sions moved from being based on what I wanted to what I thought God wanted me to have. Envy (coveting) for the things of others was replaced by satisfac-

. tion with what I had. Financial security for my family has come not from having to have great income but from the discipline of stewardship.

God's Word is always consis­tent and directed towards God's great l9ve for us. His command to tithe .is not about raising money for the church; it is about showing us a better way of liv­ing this earthly life as we pre­pare for eternity. 0- Maxwell, a member of Crievewood Baptist Church, Nashville, is administra­tive director of the Tennessee Baptist Convention.

f1Ues1' (oJu:r.n11~s~

_By Frank Page

1 0-year strategy As we approach the South­

ern Baptist Convention meet­ing in IIJ.dianapolis in June, many people are wondering what this convention will bring forth, who will be elected, and what will be decided.

One item of extreme impor­tance that will be brought forth is the presentation by our North American Mission Board

. regarding a 10-year evangelis­tic strategy.

From the moment of my elec­tion in 2006, I have encouraged

• and worked with our NAMB evangelism division as well as their new president to present to this convention this . multi­faceted, flexible plan which helps focus Southern Baptists in a joint emphasis on evangel­ism and soul-winning for years to come.

Bobby Welch, the past presi­dent, has crossed the nation many times calling for soul­winning to be at the heart of who Southern Baptists are. This 10-year strategy helps show us not only what to do, but how to do it. It takes into consideration the differences in our state conventions, associa­tions, and churches across this continent. It will contain multi­ple tools which individuals and churches may use to reach their area for Christ. It points us in a common direction.

Pray for this great endeavor. While many things may well happen at the annual ~eeting, I am praying that this particu­lar emphasis will be the singu­lar item that impacts our world for Christ.

Wouldn't it be wonderful to see our baptism numbers turn around?

The reasons for decline are many and varied. Part of the reason is because of the soci­ety's increasing negativity toward the church.

Part of the reason is our own lethargy, laziness, and waste of energy in fighting the wrong battles and the wrong people. Turning the situation around cannot happen easily nor even quickly.

However, I am convinced that God does want the situa­tion to turn around! I am also convinced that this ' 10-year emphasis may well be God's way of getting our attention focused back on winning this continent for Christ. Pray earnestly and diligently about this plan for our future. 0 -Page, pastor of First Baptist Church, Taylors, S.C., is presi­dent of the Southern Baptist Convention.

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Missions Maners - J

-~-

m ifill ••

Messengers

Baptist Collegiate Summer~Missions gives students the opportunity ro serve CHrist around the world. This year 80 students will be serving through the Baptist Collegiate Ministry Summer Missions program also known as Light Messengers.

Summer missionaries serve right here ih Tennessee with ministries such as Christian Women's

' ' Job Corps and Smoky Mountain Resort Ministries, and in the United States with North American Mission Board missionarie·s such as John and Mindy Jamisori' at: the 'Friendship Baptist .Center m Des

\

Moines, Iowa. ·. · ' · . '

Students also serve overseas with International Mission Board field personnel in locations such as Peru, Ireland~ Nicaragu·a, and locations in East and South Asia. These summer missionaries reach-out to others by participating in various ministry ' venues including sports, construction, fri~ndship and servant eva_ngelism, teaching English, ministr.y to fhe deaf, and youth and children's· ministry. · · ~

For information about the Te~ne~see Baptist Convention BCM Missions program, visit www.lightmessengers.o·rg or contact: · ~ I ~ ' ~ ,

]?ill Ch.oate ............... -........ .' ............. . :(615) 371-2057 Collegiate Ministries coordinator bchoate@tnbaptist.org

'

Stacy Murphree .............................. .. . 615) 371-2056 Collegiate Missions and Ministries specialist ~murphree@tnbaptist.org

For. information about summer missions travel teams contact:

Bruce Edwards .. ........ ~ ............. .. ....... (615) 371-2094 Youth Ministry specialist bedwards@tnbaptist.org

Kent Shingleton .............. .. .. ... ... ....... (615) 371-2077 Youth Evangelism sp~cialist kshingleron@tnbaptist.org

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!'Building healthy .churches empowered by the presence of God."

e tor sen

By Stacy Murphre~

s h

\

For many, things su'ch as youth camp and youth mission trips are already an exciting ·part of the summer for teenagers in T.&C ch.urches.

However, several churches across the state have begun a new tradition of planning a sp.ecial summer mission trip just for high s.chool seniors.

Paul Gunn, youth minister at First Baptist Church, Mount Juliet, provided a senior mission trip last year by taking a group of his high school seniors to Galapagos Islands, just off the coast of Ecuador. They are already planni.ng another senior mission trip this summer: -

Providing a missions experieflce spedflOilly for high school seniors benefits them in several ways. One advantage is that it helps students have an end to their high school career and begin to focus on college and other future life experiences. ·

"For graduatiag seniors, it brings closure to the high school years and sets the pace for broader life," said Gunn.

Missions give any age group the opportunity to grow and learn and see how ministry can be just a part of daily life. High school seniors are at an age where important life decisions are made such as attending college or what career path to choose. Having a positive1 challenging missions experience at this point in their life is a worthwhile opportunity pro~i4~d by churches.

Callie Palmer reads to elementary school students while on a recent senior· high school mission trip to Galapagos Islands. . ·

r

•

. Daniel Shedd, member of First Baptist· Church, Mt juliet, recently participated in a summer mission trip for high school seniors to the Galapagos Islands. He helped plant an indigenous tree as part of a school project with a student.

"Most S<i:niors have _a career and education path of some-sort in mind. With this experience they are challenged to ~e career and education in personal ministry and not selfish pursuits," added Gunn.

There are also benefits for the youth leader. Typically this· will be a much smaller group than providing a missions exp5rience for t.he total youth group including middle and high school students. Providing a mission tr.ip for graduating seniors gives the Y<?Uth leader unique and intentional time to

spend with thesBf>ecific S~~J~ents before they begin college. .

Gunn noted how on trip~ like these that he is able to -go through a specific booK ~r Bible ·study that relat€5 dlr;ect}r. ~oJthes~ stu:den~s and")s relevant to theit: Ji;v:es. ~'My:giij i~ ~01}telp .. stlidepl;s piepare f0r college," he said: ··.' .;: "' ;. "" '

Beginning a tradition of a senior mission trip gives youn,getr youth something to work towards and look forward to, especially if it is a unique

...... location or somewhere overseas that will be a new experience for them. Gunn encourages youth leaders to provide opportunities that will stretch anq challenge these high school seniors.

"Cross cultural interaction opens up people's miQ.ds to many ministry possibilities," he added.

For any church considering· offering a missions experience for graduating seniors, Gunn noted, «launch out and ·do it." Providing life-changing m.issions experiences at such an important time often leaves youth with the desire to continue doing more and with the undersraading that missions can be a part of daily life as a college student and ?ldult.

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• Survey your mission ream early to assess

their skills, abilities, ·and interests. Use that

information to design the mission experience.

•

• Make-spiritual preparation foundationaL for : • ' .

the experience: Develop an outline of;· ·

By Bill Choate

-. Many chur€:hes have grown accusmmed to

' developing mission experiences for adults and

· youth. Also involving college students in missions

could benefit die students, the church, and the

kingdom. College students- are ready to go,

prepared to contribute in ~eaningful ways, and

o.pen ·to God's calling. ·

However, working with college students to

develop mission trips is somewhat different· from

work:i~g wi,~h othex. ·gr:oU:ps. College· students are .,_ . ·

bey:oming a~'ults ~and: should be . i.{Ivf>lved in. ·au '

planning and prepar:~don for f!le .. triP. They m~y _..

not be fully equiprreJto .lead· me• uip unassisted~; --·- .

but they are ready for muoh .o£ the. ~~-~ponsibility. ~. · . :--. ~ . ·-- tr, . .

W0rk with them t0 develop the mission strategy,

consider type of ~s~_9n experieace anq location, · . . ~~

and· set the dat~ ~t~he trip . .

; .. :-- Timing is es~ntial. College.students may be " 1: " ';:.. •

£lexible, blit their- sQh<:>ol schedules are not. Plan ,, <' ~ _., ' ~

...,/ .... ... • !I • ~

early, consulti.n.g·. t:h,e .online ata4emic~ calendar "~': • .. ;;p ~ '!:' .....

provided by each~ of the school$ ·ili~t your .st1:1dents - ._,.,. .~ - -

attend. Look for· breaks in semesters, between

Christmas and Ne;v Years, or . just a~er final

exams. Students neeq at least six. nwnths to make ~

preparation that gets sttJdents ready

personally and ready co share their faith with

others.

• Com,municate dearly and effectively with

those wllom you anticipate being involved,

providiFlg lots of useful information early in

the process. Include i_nformation that gives

schedules, . anticipated mission work, living

.arrangements, fundraising information,

necessary shots, and more.

• Be ·understanding of the· complex lives of

college students. You rriay not see them as

often as you like. Don't count them out.

Mai~tain' lots of communication by e-mail or ' web messenger:

, • If you consider doing manual labor such as

construction, con'sider taking. a skilled,

professional church member along to teach

and supervise. '

, • Plan orientation for the trip that is useful

and effective, but respects the time restraints

of college students. Do not expect college

S'tudents · to attend n_ume-rous orientation

meetings,

One of the most intimidating aspects of

plannii!g any mission trip is that of finding just

the ri~gh.t , location.. That local 'coo.r.din.ating

plans, adjust personal schedules,. raise funds, a..Rd · · missionary is u~ually essential for an effective

obtain any necessary pas~ports or -vaccinations. · -

Here are some other pointers m planning a . '

mission trip for college students:

• Create a student ~eadership mission team

that takes on essential responsibilities for fhe

trip - travel .arra.rige.ment, housing, ministry, ·

worship, fundraising, etc. '·

• Choose an experience that is challenging.

Students typically respond to an oppor_tunity

that challenges them spiritually, physically, .

·Hnancialtly, and culturally. . ... ~

, mission effort. Southern Baptists are fortu~ate to

be able to rely on. 1MB (therask.org) and NAMB

(answ:evth.ecill.net) as resources for college mission

opportunities.

Near most Tennessee Baptist churches is a local

Baptist -Collegiate Ministry (tnbcm.org). BCM

leaders are able and willing-to assist your church in

either developing a mission opportunity for your

students or ·partnering with your church on a

mission trip. Call on them to help make this

important experience available to the college-age

adults in· your· church.

1 l H l · i Comilg Upl -

April 4.-G .......................... WMU Get Togethe~ and Connection 2008 April 12 ...... Church Planting- Is It For Me? Baptist Center, Brenrwood

Gatlinburg Convenriqn Center, Gatlinburg April 12 .............. : .......................... Conver-sational English Workshop

April 4 ......................... .-.. Creating a Connection (or ¥inisters Wives .

Gadin.burg Convention Center, Gatlinburg

Aptil 6 ....................... Day of Prayer and Giving for Union Universiey

• Statewide Response to Feb. 5 Storms

April 8 ...... Family Connection: Fathers and God Image E>evelopmem

<;arson-Newman CoUege, Jefferson City

April 11 ........ Xtreme Bible Challenge - Grand Division Competition

(West Tenfiessee), Englewood Baptist Church, Jackson

April 11 ....... .Xueme Bible Challenge - Grand Division Competition

(East Tennessee), Holston Baptist Church, Strawberry Plains

Germantown Baptist Church, Germantown ·

April 13 ................................................. Couperative Program Sunday - "111 .... _

April 14 .... ~:-~:f·~ ······, .. Pow~r U.fYour $uqday School Conference

• ~ - First Baptist Church, Waverly . -

April 14-16 ...... Tennessee Baptist Convention Secretaries Association ~ - -

" (TBCSA) ~nference, First Baptist Church, GoodlensviUe

April 18-19 .......... , ........................................... DraJ 'Ia tic Ans Festival •

Crievewood Baptist Church, Nashville

April 19 ................ : ......................•. Conversational English Workshop

- Germantown Baptist Church, Germantown .... -....:_ -::.-

For more information! please visit Www.tnbaptiSt.Org.

~ ~ Jl-~,..,.!l'o~f:: -----·-----

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t I ~

• . By Bruce Edwards

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Each sumllle(, under the guidance and selection of the Collegiate Ministry of the Tennessee Baptist Convention, two teams of college students are selected

. to serve for 10 weeks in TBC churches, associations, and ministries. A team consists of five members. These selected college students nave been carefully interviewed, screened and trained to do their 10 weeks Qf summer missions. All tearn members are active on their college campuses in ministry, and they are creative, enthusiastic, and ready to work with your church, association, or ministry group.

•r cu1110 a;a They can do fust about anything you need to help

you reach your community! They are trained in Children'~ Mipistry, Youth Ministry, Vacation Bible School (hifeWay Outrigger theme.) They can even coadu~t a full churc~-wide worship experience (for a more complete listing of p0ssible ministries, check out th~ 2008 Travel Team · request form located at www. myouthministry.com.

Team members are skille.d. in music, drama, interpretative movement, recreation, and evangelism. ,Each team has sorrteone who can preach and someone who .can lead i.t:t ~usic and worship. These missiolil$l:ies view the summer of 2008 as an opportunity to express and share their faith, their witness, and their testimony.

111$1JCISTit Churches are a5ked to house and feed the team . . .

while they are with them. Each of the team members rGceives a small stipend. We do a5k each church to e:ith€r give the team a love offering or an honorarium to help supplement their expenses and summer salary.

This. ministry to . TBC churches is only made possible because of r;he faithful giving of _Tennessee Baptist ~hurches to the Golden Offering for Tennessee Missions (GOTM). ·

Ill I Go to www.tnyouthministry.com and' click on

Travel Teanl.s. All of the information and the 2008 request form 911 ~e found ther~. .

. Requests are due no later than April 7. Decisions about team ministry assignments will be made on April 9. Churches will be notified if they received a team for this summer.

.. Contact Bruce Edwards, Youth Ministry specialist,

bedwards@tnbaptist.org, (615) 371-2094 or toll free 1-800-558-2090, ext. 2094.

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Page 8 I B&R I April 2, 2008 -------------- -----,------

$270,000 gift to · aid Union students Union ~niversity news office

JACKSON - Scholarship Am~rica has made a $270,000 donation to Union University to help students with financial needs following the Feb. 5 torna-

. Foundation for Education.

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nonprofit scholarship and edu-cational ·support organization based in Minne.apolis.

In recent days, other organi­zations also 'have come forward with support for Union's clisas­ter relief efforts.

. . do that did $40 million in dam­age to the campus.

"The last month has b'een a trying time for our university, but we are blessed by help we've received. from so many around. the country," Dockery said. "The aid from Scholarship America and Lumina will help hundreds of our students continue their educatia!l; ·and for that w_e are deeply grateful.'~

Union, will administer the scholarship piogr~m, which is available for staden-ts who meet eligibility requirements for fed­eral :!;>ell Grants. Students -inay receive up to $1,500 in ~ss~s­tance. -

H.B . . London, head of Jfo~us <;>n .· the. Family's pastoral min­istries, encouraged listeners during a March 14 broadcjtst to

' .

Barb Weber; Scholarship America's assistant Vice- presi-

' ' dent for scholarship m-anage~

ment s~rvjc~s, presented the check to Union President David S. Dockery March/18. The funds for the donation were provided by a grant from the Lumina

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-Master Breakout Sessions taught by noted ·teacher~ speaker, and author1 Or. T.W. Hunt - aseeing the Unseen. 11

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' ~ 8t&Bkout ~-Jay Jolmsfon, Andy HartiSon, Frank Turek, Elaine Hel1l1s,

JamesXinneblew, Gfenna Heidt. Audrey Plitt. Tlacy Jaggers, & Aladc H1rrison.

Exciting Career iri Christian Retail

Management LifeWay Christian Stores is the oldest and fastest growing company in the Christian Retail Industry. We have grow·n t_o _ more than 135 locations across

' . the United States and are seeking career oriented individ­uals to join our Management · Training Program.

Previous retail management or · comparable business-manage­ment experience is desired. Active Southern Baptist mem­bers~ip and willingness to relo­cate is required.

.-If you have a heart for ministry

, and a desire to serve, please visit our website at www.life­way.jobs to apply.

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Keynote Speakers Or. Prank Page Or. Mat:k Eslep Dr. Jimmy Draper Or. Hayes Wick~

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Register onlinff? today ...

WWW. PRAYEROONFERENCE. ORG • •

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--. - ·\ ~ -join FOTF's efforts in·· helpintf:r.: - lri · addition, Tennessee Bap­Union. tist Convention churches will

"Please pray about how you observe a Day afPrayer and Giv­cim help restore the Union cam- ing for Union University. on Sun­pus, so ¥Oung melil and women day, April 6'. Churches have been can continu~ pur~uing . their encouraged to collect a special educations at this fine Christian affer·ing for Union that ~ay. 0 institution," London said.

The lighthouse Christian ~each · Retreat And Conference Center

·or.ange Beach,_Aiabama. Directly on the Gulf of Mexico. Ideal for church beach retreats.

F~om 10 to 84 people. $~0 per night per person donation._ A ministry of

Romar Beach Baptist Church Call Don @ (251) 7.52-2366.

Panama City Beach, -Florida

Enjoy white sand and emerald waters. ·from our beautiful homes! Four bdrm/3 bath (sleeps 1 0) oeean view gated community with guest cabana (sleeps 2) or 2 bdrm/2 bath cot­tage (sleeps 6) 3/1 o mile from beach. Christian owned and managed. For more information visit www.vacationhomes.com/ .

MINISTRY - PASTOR -Ralston Baptist Church, Martin, Tenn., seeking bivocational pas­tor of small church with loving congregation. Send resume befor~ May 1 to Ralston Baptist Church, P. 0. Box 832, Martin·, TN 38237. ·. ............. • • • • Lincoln Park Baptist Church is now ac~epting applications for pastor of this inner city church. Resume, . pe.rsonal statements, and refere·mces should be mailed c/o Pastor Search Committee, 830-Chicamauga Ave. , Knoxville, TN 37917. Visit our website at www.UncolnParkChurch.org for information about our church and to apply online. . . .. . ••••••••••••

25170 & www.vacationhomes·. Hunter First Baptist, in Eli:zabeth-com/25189 or call (615) 330:. - ton, Tel'm., is receiving resumes 1946 or (865) 850-1134·. tor the position of senior pastor. L__-------~----'1 Sub!Jllt by mail to HFBC, Pastor

r-1· __ .:_· tr-"-·,n-!.\.~.-~-.~--n-,RR-rf<-'f[p-----,-,/ · ~- Search. 693 HWy 91 , Eliza­. ~1.!/r:l~~UirU/.51.!::1 . bethton, TN 37643. For infor­

mation about tMe church or to sl!lbmit onlin~. visit http://www.­h u nte rfi rst. com/pasto rsearch.­html or/ e-mail pastorsea~ch@­honterfirstcom.

MINISTRY - _DOM J

Seeking full-time director of mis-sions. Pastoral and missions experience desired. ReceivinQ resumes t~roug,h · . April 30. tawrence County Baptist Asso­ciation Attn: DOM Search Com-· mittee, 2427 Hwy.- 43 S0uth,

· Leoma, TN 38468.

"' MINISTRY -..:. OTHER Christian Preschool located in . . the Nashvi.lle, Bellevue area, looking for preschool teachers. Experfence required. Degree,

r

CDA; or TECTA preferred. Call 646-5050, -ext. 29. ·

' .............. ,. . . . Brookhaven Baptist Church (www.brook_havenbapti.st.net) is seeking a full-time churcM plantlQg__ missionary for a Nehemiah Proj­ect in the Brookhaven Community· of Atlanta, Ga. Please· e-mail your resum~ to Pastm Don Presley al dpresleysr@ presleyenterprises.-com. .... ~ ...... . • • • • Open D_oor Pregnancy Center, Springfield, Robertson County, Tenn., is searching for~ dir:ector. The director strlould be able . to balance overseeing a volunteer staf( c~.unseliAg, and the

. resp_onsiJ>ility of the day-to-day oper:ation. Send resume to Open Door Pr:egnancy Center, P. Q.

. Box 11 V, Springfield, TN 37172 or e-mail Ann at wingwoo_d1 @..:· comeast.net. - · ·---

MISCELLANEOUS First~ Baptist Church, Dresden, Tenn., is building, a new sar:-~ctu­arry an(!j has solid oak pews for sale ... For information contact tlile church office between the hours of 8 a.m.-4 p.m., (731) 364-2212 .

• ••••••••••• • • • • •

Full--time bivocational pastor -FBC of Noel is seeking a (!onser­vative SBC_- pasto~. Parsonage available. Send resume to Fl rst Baptist Church, P. 0 . Box 510, Noel, MO · 64854 .-or e-mail mchgf2@ olemac. n~t. . . . . .......... -.•. . • • • • . . Cannon Community Church is .seeking a pasto~ for our small SBC church with a heart for dis­ciplesnip and··-t:.>len_cled worship .. Resumes are currently being ac­cepted at 209.Mwrfr:eesboro Rd., Woodbury, TN _37190, e-mail churchresume@ earthlink.net. ............. • • • • 'Gap Creek Baptist ·Church, a consetvative member of the Cumberland Gap Baptist Associ­ation in Claiborne County Tenn., is · aecepting applications for a .full-time pastor. Experience is preferred. GaR Cre·ek has an active membership of ov.er 300 and is growing. Send resume to Gap Creek Baptist Church, Attn: Troy Poore, P,O. B'ox 177, Arthur, TN 37707. You may send your resume by e-mail to tr.poore@­hotmqil.com or fax to (423) 869-87'77. . ............... • • • • West Tenn. SBC seeking bivo pastor. ·Rur:al area with great grewth potential. Currently at 188 membership. www. mfrbe.­org. Please send resume to Mid­dlefo~k Road Baptist Church, ,3955 Middlefork Road, Luray, TN .38352, Attn: Pastor Search Committee.

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. Page 9 I B&R I April 2, 2008 ---=:------ - - --__:_· --------- -,.. ·~·'

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·nc; Columbia, aids sister church stricken by tornado By Tammy Rosson For Baptist and Reflector

COLUMBIA - First Bap­tist Church here recently col­lected more than $8,000 to assist individuals affected by the tornados that swept through parts of Tennessee.

The money was e~rmarked to assist Sharon Baptist Church in Savannah- where

expenses while they are in tem­porary facilities.

"We were blessed to learn that the morning we drove down to present the check to Sharon Baptist Church, the church staff there had just been discussing that they need­ed an additional $6,500 to pur­chase sound equipment for their temporary facility," Tack­ett said.

"We had no idea God would - every building on campus was

destroyed - and First Baptist students who - attend Union meet their n eed in such a spe-University in J ackson. cific way," he continued. "It just

Senior Pastor Pete Tackett confirms that God is in control, even when we don't under-

presented Sharon Baptist's d h h. h , pastor, Jerry Spencer, with a stan w Y t mgs ap~n: check for $6 500 to help with In~ letter of appreciation to

' - · First Baptist Church, Spencer

I I.\IIINISTRY - MUSIC

Hickory Hills Baptist Chvrch is seeking a Baptist music director for their traditional service. This . is a part-time position. Salary is based on experience. Please send resumes to Hickory Hills Baptist Church, Attn: Music Director Committee, 2741 Non-

..; •. aville Rd., Mt. Juliet, TN 37122. . . No phone calls please.

•••••••••••• • • • • "'

Southern lllino.is S64thern Bap­tist congregation of 200 seeks dynamic, passionate follower of Jesus Christ to lead its music ministry with youth responsi­bilities. Submit resumes to infofbcj@ yahoo.com or mail to Search Committee, First Baptist Church, P 0. Box 32, Jonesboro, IL 62952.

MINISTRY - COMBO New Union Baptist C_hurch is seeking a full-time associate pastor/worship leaGier. The con­gregation currently aver;ages ~ about 350-420 in worship. Please submit resume to Search Committee, 4060 Double S Rd., ' Dayton, TN 37321.

MINISTRY - STUDENT Part-time student ministry direc­tor. Parkway Baptist Church, Smyrna, Tenn ., a 4-year-old growing congregation, is se~king a God-called person to develop a dWlamic program of ministry to high school and college stu­dents. Candidate should demon­strate ability to relate to students spiritually and socially. Education and experience in youth ministry a plus. Ordained or non-ordained candidates considered. Please send resume to info@­pbcsmyrna.org or by mail to Stu­dent Ministry Director Search Committee, P. 0. Box 2229, Smyrna, TN 37167.

West Tenn. SBC se~ing bivo youth minister. Rural area with great growth potential. Currently at 188 membership. www.mfrbc.­org. Please send resume to Mid­dlefork Road Baptist Church, 3955 Middlefork Roaq, Luray, TN 38352 Attn: Youth Committee.

said: "Thank you so much for driving over to Savannah to bring us a most generous love gift .... Your love and interest in our needs at this time have been a great encouragement to us." 0 ·

PETE. TACKETT, right, . senior pastor of First Baptist Church, Columbia, recently visited Sharon Bap­tist Church, Savannah, where he presented pastor Jerry Spencer with a check for $6,500 to assist their rebuilding efforts. They are standing in front of the church's new playgrgund equipment, the only struc­ture left standing after a tornado destroyed all five of the church's buildings in February.

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RA Wildernes$ Challenge/ . -

Tennessee RA Racecar Race ___.-. -..... . '

April 18-20, 2008 B·oxwell Scout Reservation, Lebanon

In the past few years, this Royal Ambassador event has become

a premier event in Middle Tennessee and has begun to draw

RAs from all over Tennessee.

This year's Wilderness Challenge is a very special d~ .

event ~ because of the 100 year birthday o/-f; ~oy~~ {'i :: t>

Ambassadors. It has been expanded lo a ·two~ntght:" :.,

event which will feature worship times on both •

nights. Sunday morning· will be a massive. 1 OOth

birthday Chapter Meeting.

Complete schedules· and information·-are avail­

able on the Royal Ambassador page at

www .nash vi llebaptistassociation.org.

Along with the traditional campcraft, Royal Racers, and

camping will be a State RA Racecar Race.:. This is th!3 fir~t , .. ' ': ·; _

statewide race in several years: Weigh-in for this .race· wiU qegin

Saturday, April19 at 5:00 p.m. and the race will begir:t at aBout 7:00p.m.

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Three Lad and three Crusader winners will be qualified to ~om pete in the National Rov.al Ambassador Race for • "1 • • •

World Hunger in Indianapolis on June 7. The six winners must also raise and contribute a $100 entry offering

to World Hunger to qualify for the Nationals. (This can be done by the individual or his church and/or RA group.

Each qualifier will have until the day of the National Race to contribute the entry offering.) Each winner will

receive-a trophy and if they go to Indianapolis,-they ~ill" receive a $200 travel scholarship for the trip. If any of ·,. . ~ .

the first three winners in each group (Lad and- Crusader) -cannot attend the National Race, the next place fin-

isher will take their place at the Nationals. IMPORTANT: The ru·les for the State qualifying will b.e different than - .. -..- .

the· rules for the regular Wilderness Challenge races. CARS RACING IN THE STATE RAGE MUST FOLLOW • •

THE RULES FOR THE NATIONAL RACE. Those rules are listed u.nder the heading of "National Race" at .

www. royalracers~com. If you have questions about the State Race, contact Frank Green at

fgreen @tnbaptist.org or at his office number (931) 935-8201. '

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Page 10 I B&R I April 2, 2008---------:-------=--------.-------

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::r . . - . . . --· -· --=----'-· ~ . guest <:ofu·n~(· Pioneers in the coveriont ··- exp.loriri.g ·rilaw dire~tion

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The Cooperativ~ Progr~m By Bill Oakley al~ne. The.third statement is, "I will Sundat{ s~he~oi LcS$<)(1

make your nam~ gr,eat." Actually, J :

Editor's Note:· The following·_, C\?I,ur;nh was written while Freeman was in Nalerigu, q~qa,:. West ~fric?, on a part­nership mission team of First Baptisf.Ghurch; Clarksville,

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where .he serves as pastor. ~' \ . . · . By Roger P. Fr-eeman · ..

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of Ged nnto salvation to every one that believet!J.; to the Jew firf?t,- ·and also to the Greek" (Romans r :I6).

. It is Monday in our West Africa mission trip to work with the Baptist Medical Centre (BMC) and First Bap­tist Church, N alerigu, Gha,na; I have preached here twice this morning. We·are about to go to a village to . lead a medical 'clinic and preach to the people again.

The BMe is a great miracle of God, founded upon tl)..e .dream of Dr. G,eo~ge M. Faile in 1956 and funded by the. Cooperativ~ Program. Over these 50-plus years Lottie Moon gifts have also built dozens of buildings on

this 500-acre complex from a hospital and clinic to missionary ho1.1ses, to ··a tuberculosis housing complex at the edge of the property. · Does the Lottie Moon Christipas

qffering work? Come to N alerigu and ·see. The Cooperative Program and

· Lottie Moon work wonderfully well! At the invitation after the preach-

FREEMAN ing at the -hospital clinic chapel, 35 ' adults indicated they had been saved.''

The hospital chaplain recorde.d all their names and will wor~ to follow up on these ·converts w.Jt4 a local church. In the afternoon in the bush, we preached to· over· 400 · people under a mango tree·. Dozens were saved. The local pastor was present and his ministry was· com- . mended to the people: · ·

. The real miracle of the work here is · the close, unbreakable connection between tlie Medical c 'entre . .

Focal Passage: Genesis ~2:1-8;

13:5-9, 14-16 I have always felt it would be

. exciting to be a pioneer in most any­thing. Tlie word "pioneer" means, "a person who goes before, preparing the way for others." That's. exactly ~here Abram found himself God was calling him as.a pioneer, not pri:; marily for, himself and his family, but for. the purpose of God establish­ing the nation lsrael· as His people . Yet, Abram's,ebedience to the call of God would also ~ring blessing upon himself and his ' .family. It's very interesting to note ·that our very own Christian 'heritage has some "roots" imbedded in this ·very inci­de_p.t. Let's examine this lesson by studying from the following outline.

· (1) The comiq.and to explore new directiQn ~12:1-8). The com­mand in ·verse one tw"get ye <!mt" is attributed to Yehweh whose mercy controls. all that He does in this con­nection in singling out .an individ­ual who is to become the, ancestor of the Savior's line. ~

Space will not allow the inter­pretation of every verse in this sec- . tion, but verse two ~s a verse into which we ought to look. God makes four statements· to Abram in this verse.

First, He says, "I will make you into a great nation." Since.- the greatness is . of God's rp.aking, it involves true greatness in every sense. Second, God states, "I will bless you." That statement doesn't refer -to the nati0n but to Abram

Abram per-sonally i&. -to become Sible Studies for Life famous. ·Fourth, the statement ·is, Apff11 6 "You will· 'be a blessiRg." This assures Abram that if he will do his part, he will ·become ~ blessing to not go well 'With Lot, he probably others_ would blame Abram. So, the choice

The remaining ver;.ses in this s ec- was entirely up to Lot. What~ve·r he tion carefully describe Abram obey- chose w0uld be his and what was left ing God's command and leaving his would become Abram's. No wonder home country ~ith his wife, family, God chose Abram and their substance. to be the father of

It's worth noting in verse eight the natian Israel that Abram @uilt an altar betweeR through 'Yhioh Bethel aad. Hai and '1Called upon · w:0uld come our the name of the Lord." That wo1,1ld Savior Jesus b~come a regular activity in Christ. Abram's life as he .lived out God's (3) The call and commissio'n to Him. . . covenant with . . .

(2) Th~ contention in ~xplor- exp_loring new ing new direction (1'3:5-9). Both direct~on. ,'(13:14-

OAKLEY

Abr~m and Lo.t had large herds that ~_16). After Lot had se:parated from .had to be pa15tured.. Naturally, sin~e .Abram,,God ~ade a covenant prom­nomadic life demanded ample pas-. ise to Abram that is thrilling and turage, such large flocks put a heavy astounding. What he seemingly lost

--,.. ' drain on the natural resources. by not having·regard to his material

That being true,-it caused serious advantage is more than. effset by strife betWe.en Aprain's and Lot's wh~t God bes~ows upem him. herd-men. Vetpes. eight and nine evi- · . What a challenge to the faith of a dence the.; real heart of Abram and . childless old man.-. Yet, how rich a His total trust._in. Jehovah. In chap- promise. Each new word. spoken by ter 12, Abram ga,ve an excellent God to Abram 'marks some distinct demoJ;lStration of faith. In th~s pas- advance over the. preceding promise. sage, he'gives a good example ofthe . -Eabh prpmis~ : gets more monumen­type ~of works that faith produces. tal in the s.cheme of. God's cali to Abram wanted nothing more than to Abram. please God and have h~~moRy ·= .1 ) · .A1'l beTiecv~rs .in Jesus Christ are between h,ip1s:elf and Lot. included in the New Covenant that

Abram, being a wise and Godly likew;ise carries in it "exceeding man, knew that if he suggested that great and ·precious promises" (II

Lot take any of the choices .Abram Peter 1:4). - Oakley is past0r of would make for him, and thll:gs 'did Ffr.Sf B?P.1ist .Cpurch, Trimble. ·

and the local churches here. New Testa~ent Iiiinist:r'y'is always related to the local church. The loc:!il churcFt i~ Baptist headquarters. ·.

Wh~n others hate you ... . : . .... : :. , ,. ·· .. -... -, • • I • 1.. ~ '.-

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When YOl:l give and . pray you are here. This is the miracle of the Cooperative Program. The Lord is with

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. By Gene Fant Sr.

Focal.J'assage: Genesis 37:1-38:30

Joseph came upon the sceRe as a refreshing surprise. No person in the Old Testament surpassed his charac­ter and· chief among those character traits was his deep faith in God in

· the midst of tough circumstances. We know more about him than almost any character in the Old Testament with the possible exception of David.

' Jacob. must have do:ne something

·right in Fearing Joseph. Perhaps other factors made the differeJ)ce. He -was not' condemned to repeat his par­ent's failures fol' children can learn from, and improve their eharacter.

One can fuld many similarities in. -Joseph's life to Christ, Arthur W. Pink, lists 100 such likenesses, whiclY include the~ fact both were special objects of the~r father's lov.e, rejected by their brothers, falsely accused;· and agents of reCORCiliation. ' Joseph ~as hated. by his brothers (~7:1-36). Confl.ict by the presence ef fo1,1r wa:rnen in the ·

- . home resulted iD the sons of Jacob's concubines bei.n:g jealous of jeseph.

. Jacob alse sho'wed favoritism ' •

thn;mgh l.iis gift ef a celQrfu,l .coat to .· . Joseph· whe appear_ed cocky as he

.--rel~ted his -dreams of .dominance, which iacensed the brothers .

., Joseph was, howe:ver, hated with­.· ·· ey.t reas<!m.

- . . ~·\ ; . : . . .. ' -Copyright by . Hugh. K Lewis .. Lewis, poet laureate of ·

Chtistian ·Country Music i~ Teflriesseet> is avaiiable to ..

I had a childhood friend who was cocky as a' youth but fater rgse

"·to Ratienal promi:aen.ce as a Christ­·il:!'R' leader. I l~ter understood his . st.exling character made him

. , .. ... "' · ... • . . "~ ,. . . ?peak t6 .chun~h. Gffic;r ~.er~i?r .adu'lt .9r9,l.ips~ for rrfore··iofor.:.· ... : matior;i..;caH: (6f5j aa:s~oo136. ~ · .·! :_. , ._ •. ' · • ,.· ·_ · ~ •

a:~pear cocky. !he truth was, he was : · Sunday School l~s~on d1ffere~ from others. · · . . · .. , ~tt ·. a . . · I~ Jt:t .. fL_l

When Joseph was 17., he obeyed . E:Xp:~ore tne 1£111VIe

his father.~_ ·~nd . searc~ed for his · Ap.ri/6 brothers until. he· found them near · . Doth~n . tending. the ffocks. As 'he 'fhis .e:vent provides · ari i;r;J.terlude approachea from the distance, they while the stor.y of Joseph was devel­conspired to kill the "dreamer" and opmg: judah refused to :provide for prevent the fulf}l.lmeRl; o.f th_e· . his dead son's 1. wife an.d without , drea·ms, which had made·t_he.m sub- kno~ihg it had ·sex· with her think­ject to him. ing she was a prostitute. Though

Judah suggested they sel1 him desperate, Tamar was wrong to as a sla:v.e to some Miaianite entrap Judah who was even less tFaders, which they . dilf for 20_.....righteous. shekels of silyer, or ~he price ·of a ThJs stor-y reminds us· of tiie gored slave. Jt .. was not by chance recent fall .ef a politiciafi aecused of these traders breaking iaterstate laws to ~ngage were there at that a 'i')F0Stitute. I was aware of his precise time. ·The ~:r:.,t~gance., ,and ~ppalled over jokes timin;g was ·ey a.~~~f· J:iJ..is :.faU.:"'~t is more fitting to God's previaence. · .w:-eep 'over sia.)!~v'eR more appa1ling

The brothers ~ . i~ t:he· · idea o.f ;&<'>me that morality to.ok his (;Oat, tor~. . bas .. no place· in. government., ·it., dipped it in th..e. . .. : q.od patiently work~d with bleed' of a ge:~t;. . .Judflh;.Joseph's 'breth.er, and even-and deceiv~d '. . . ~ · --- - 'tual'ly : he P,leaded J'or Benjamin's J ·aceb. inte beli~v:· · · · F.~fiiT '·· ·.·life before the Egyptian vizier, who in.g "nis son. ·had tu.rned aut to be Jeseph. In addition been killed .. They _eontipuea their . to .t},liS""'we fmd Judah and Tarah ­ctuelty:.-as th~y pretendeil'"to cemJ· .'~ listed in. -th..e ·g:e~ealogy ~f Jesus fort him. He refused, saying his Christ as found-in the first chapter 'grief wortld last ferever. laten~est- . of au.r ·New _ 'iFestament. The Lord ing

1 isn't it, Jaco_@ h~iil det:eiv,:~a his~.· oh~se .to come through this line of

father with:- a goat · many years sinners, whi:ch remin,ds us salva-before'? . : tio..n is aH of g17ace!

Joseph aRd -·Jesus both went' This. chapter and taese f.oJlowing down te ~gypt! God gave Jeseph, a presen.t a cO.htrast between Judah sla¥e; favor' ameJtl;g t:he le~dets ~d .and JC!lseph although both aame he lat~r. discovere·d w:hat hi~ b:t::oth~ from the ·same family. The Lord ers intenGl~d far evi:t was·. ·u12eiil. ef · would use· both of them in ·spite of Gad- to brl.ng ·.ge-od to rilany ~.nd - tkei·i d~fferepces. - Fant is retired Jesep.h rose.tlii:in'o.J'l'linenc:e~ . : · ~: ·.: ~ aAdJives ~in ·~asf1ville and is ·available . ~

Jud-ah· ·and Tam~ ~(:38:1-30~ ..... · fe>r..,interim j!lastor:atesit . · •'· ·· -... - ~ ' ~ • • • • ~ - · • • - .. - 0 l ~. " ~~ ~ ~

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P"'•ge 11 I B&ll I April 2 , 2008------------------------- , ~ Te n.n essee

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Pr"a}ter lifts two Union . University students still -hospita_lized By Claire Yates the incisions to relieve pressure to tell the story of his recovery .---------,--·------------------.., Union University news service from swelling. with an unconquerable confi-

To Wilson and Kelley - both dence. JACKsON - David Wilson athletes at Union - the news Kelley's doctor has said his

and Matt Kelley were among concerning their legs was devas- recovery will be a marathon, not hundreds of Union University tating. Wilson, a freshman just a short race. students who experienced the chemistry major, is a soccer Both Kelley and Wilson's kid-10 seconds that it took for a tor- pl;:~.yer from Chattanooga, while neys have been affected. nado to devastate the campus. Kelley, a sophomore business Because of the amount of pres-

That night, Feb. 5, they found major from Somerville, plays sure and amount of time they themselves trapped with golf. · - were trapped, their kidneys numerous other students "Basically, when 'the doctors were not able to flush out all the beneath piles of rubble in dorms cut open my legs that night, my toxins on their own, so doctors that had taken on the look of a muscles were ready to . explode ordered dialysis for both stu­battlefield here. out of my skin," Wilson recalled. dents. Both students are now off

But it took several hours to - · Of 51 students ·sent to the dialysis. rescue Wilson and Kelley. · hospital with injuries,-only nine Wilson, who was transported

Emergency crews rushed ·spent the night. A month later, to a hospital in his hometown,

. Day of Prayer and Giving

• for Union University

Sunday, April 6

both stu;dents to Jackson-Madi- only Kelley'';:tnd Wilson remain has been told he soon will begin hurting. The doctors put in a

I

I son Cou:ri'ty Hospital only to ·hospitalized. . physical therapy to rehabilitate nerve block t~ ·help with pain-in God," Wilson said. "He ~ill h.elp me through everything I face .. " ··

---:'CO.

hear dir.e prognoses. To avoid - When entering Kelley's hos- the use of his legs. my· legs, but I inight have amputation, doctors ·cut eight · · pi tal roorh, the· hum· of medical Wilson said his legs have another one put in to help even incisions in their legs - tWo in · ·machines· fills the air: But one· returned to their normal size more." .. . each calf and two more in· each · doesn't sense any uneasiness and all incisions on his legs have Kelley is not doing as well thigh. Because of 'pressure 'on from Kelley. Quietly' lying ori his been closed. Kelley, however, has physically, but emotionally, both Wilson's and Kelley's legs while bed, he gladly greetS visitors had only two incisions closed on men say they are improving they were t r apped, doctors made with a gentle smile and begins his legs but is able to stand with each day. When talking to Kelley

· · help. • and Wilson, a·n outsider who

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"The feeling is coming back knew nothing of this tragedy in my legs," Wilson said, "but would never know the grief both my right foot is still tender and men have overcome already.

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They attribute their peace and calm to God in the midst of a physical and. emotional storm.

"We have so much to be tliankful for," Kelley said. ''We don't appreciate ev~rything we have until we face ·a tragedy like this."

"I've learned I have to trust

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•.

In the midst of their recovery, both men say prayer has been the foundation of their improve­ment. With long d~ys of therapy ahead, both continue to welcome prayers 'from the Union commu­nity and other believers.

"Everyone has been extreme­ly supportive [of us] through prayer," Kelley said. "I just ask that they _continue to pray for us."

Both men ack.now ledge the journey ahead toward full recov­ery will not be easy. They say they yearn to be able to go home but realize their physieal improvement ~ust come first.

Both say they will return 'to Union in the fall with plans of continuing with their pre-torna­do lives - what some would call "normal" - and returning to the soccer field for Wilson and the golf course for Kelley. 0 - Yates is a junior public relations student .at Union University. . .

"

, .

Page 12 I B&R I April 2, ~008

eaths + Elvis Donald Dorris,

· 79, of Nashville, retired pastor of Bartons Creek Baptist Church, Lebanon, died March 3. A native of East Nashville, at age 15 he began preaching to homeless people gathered near the Shelby Street bridge. Dorris served as pastor of churches in Tennessee, Alaba- · rna, and Georgia. In Middle Tennessee, he was pastor of Chandler Baptist Church, Bakers Grove :eaptist Church, and New Hope Baptist

DORRIS

Church, .all in Hermitage; Bethel Bap- · tist Church, Green brier; and Mt. Carmel Bap­tist Church, Cross Plains. He was active in associa-

tions, was a member of the Tennessee Baptist Convention Executive Board from 1979-1985, and served on the TBC Public Mfairs and Christian Life Committee. He served as a chaplain for the for.mer Jesse Holman Jones Hospital, Springfield (Northcrest· Med-. ical Center). Dorris attended Belmont College, Nashville, and earned his degree through the seminary extension of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Ky. He is survived by his wife o.f 61 years, Ellen Wester Dorris,

- Nashville; two daughters; and four grandchildren.

Leaders + Ray Maynard, director

of missions for seven years ·of th~ Lawrence County Baptist

Associ"ation, Leoma, ·· will retire effec­tive Aug. 31. He als~ was DOM of Northland Baptist Asso­c iation ,

MAYNARD Thompson, N.D., 1999-

2001; Union Baptist Associa­tion, based in Sparta, 1986-·1999; and Central Baptist . Association, McMinnville, 1976-1980. He also was pastor

.

Corr.ecti.on In the March 12 issue on

_page 12 a story was pub­lished entitled, "TBC staff meets with NOBTS stu­dents." In the accompany­ing photo, Bill Halladay was identified as being from Cookeville. Instead he is from Chattanooga. His church is Brainerd· Baptist Church there. 0

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-MEMBERS OF PARKERS Creek Baptist Chur~h, Burns, led by Nathan Wilkerson, pastor, dedicated its new Family Life Genter recently.

BOBBY KAIL, left, pastor of Crossland Avenue Baptist Church, Clarksville, was hon­ored recently )Jy Mike Bell, member, on his 25th anniver­sary as pastor. Kail received a plaque given to him by the church.

of East Niota Baptist Church, Niota; First Baptist Church, ·Tracy City; and Westside Bap­tist Church, Rapid City, S.D.; and interim pastor of First Baptist Church, Philadelphia. Maynard was a church planter for Tellico Village Baptist Church, Loudon. He partici­pated in several mission proj­ects to Venezuela, Russia, Brazil, and Mexico. He also served as a head resident of new men's dorms and assis­tant track coach at ~Carson- . Newman College, Jefferson City. Maynard also has taught R. G. Lee Courses for Union University, Jackson. A native pf Loudon, he is a graduate of Garson-Newman College; Mid­western Baptist Theological Seminary, Kansas City, Mo.; and Tr~nity Theological Semi­nary, Newburgh, Ind. . .

+ William · Fletcher Allen, retired editor of the Baptist and Reflector, will read

ALLEN

froni and sign · copies of his latest book, Plowing Wind and Time, the night of April 12 at Borders Books, 545 Cool Springs Blvd., Frank-lin. The book

is a collection of poems. Allen also wrote the B&R history, Telling the Truth in Love, 2005. For information, contact Allen at Wissler@bellsouth.­net.

+ Hi<;kory Hill Baptist Church, Lynchburg, has called James Myers of Belvidere as pastor effective March 23.

+ Pine Ridge Baptist Church, Benton, ordained Tony Duggan into the min­istry on Ma:r:ch 30.

·• Tim Gold, minister of education at Concord Baptist

.Church, Chattan<:>Oga, re­signed March 9 to take a posi­tion with a church in Pell City, Ala.

·• Mt. · Gilead Baptist Church, Bethel Springs, has called Jeff Hpllaway as min­ister of music effective March 9. He is the son of the ehurch's pastor and his wife, Mike and Judy Hollaway. Jeff

Hollaway p~evi~usly served at Peterson Lake Baptist Church, Collierville:

+ First Baptist Church, Crump; has called Terry McDonald as· pastor. He pre­viously served as the musidyouth minister of First Baptist Church, 'Bethel Springs. .

+ Caye Springs Baptist Church, Taz~well, has called Mitc.Qell Fergerson as pas­tor. He previously served the chur.ch as interim pastor.

+ Wolfenbarger Chapel Baptist Church, Tazewell, has called David. Turnmire a:? pastor. Currently a student at ·' Cle'ar Creek Baptist Bible Col­lege,· Pineville, Ky.,· he was a m.ember of New Salem :Baptist Chti.rch, New Tazewell.

+ First Baptist Church, Woodbury, has called W. D. Thomason as interim pastor.

+ Bruce Ramsey has resigned as pa~tor of Alanthus Hill Baptist Church, Tazewell.

+ Jerry Peck resigned as pastor of Bethel Baptist Church, Tazewell, effective· March 2 . . ·

·-• Meadow View Baptist

Church, Lawrenceburg, has called James L~e as associate pastor.

+ New Prospect Baptist Church, Lawrenceburg, has called Andrew Brod as church·health pastor.

+ Wilhite Baptist Church, Cookeville, called Jeff Hicks as pastor effective Feb. 10.

+ Russell Swallows has resigned as pastor of Sonlight Baptist Church, Gainesboro.

Churches_ + One Accord Communi­

~y Church; Chattan?,oga, will h(i)st a "Face 2 Face par­ent/adult seminar with aathor and speaker Josh ¥cDowell the night of April 22. McDow­ell will share how to reverse the distorte~ bel.iefs young people are adopting and how to ground them in 'both their relationship with Christ and in the Christian evidences of belief. Tickets are limited. For infqrmation, call the church at (423) 875-8377.

+ ·Crossway Baptist Church, Brighton, 1350 Old Hwy. 51 South, moved to · its

. new location at 8923 Mount Carmel Rd., Brighton, effec­tive March 22.

+ Chewalla Baptist Franklin Graham Festival Church, Chewalla, will offer will be _held April 25-27 at the a Marriage Matters Now Con- Thompson-Boling Arena on ference April 18-20 at Linden the campus of the University Valley Conference Center, Lin- of Tennessee at Knoxville . den. Steve and .Debbie Wilson Supporting and promoting the will speak. "Seven Times Fall" festival are several area Bap­will present the music. For · tist associations. Highlights information, call Ke!ly Brash- include nightly messages by er at (731) 610-6494 or Kellie Graham: . Saturday morning Fowler at (731) 610-1528. "X'treme Kidz Live, Saturday·

+ Riverdale , Baptist-- night Student Night, ·and spe- · Church, Murfreesboro: will cial ~guests Cliff Barrows and host the ~en's qua:rte.t, George Beverly Shea on Sun­Arichored, on.April 6 at 6 p.m. day. Seating is. on fll:st-come, For more information, contact first-served bas1s. For informa­(615) 895-3295 or www.- tion, contact the festival office at riverdalebaptistchurch.net. (865) 637.-6386, easttnfestival@-

Association~ + Nashville · Baptist

Association Woman's Mis­sionary 'Union will hold its B,llnual celebration the night of

. April · 24 at Dalewood Baptist Church, Nashville. The event­features missions and min­istry displays, a ministry proj­ect, dinner, a missionary speaker, installation of ·offi­cers, and mu·sic by Dalewo(i)d Baptist. For information and dinner reservations, · call the NBA office by April18 at (615) 259-3034. -

Events + The East Tennessee

bgea.org, or www.billyg:raham.-or g.

+ The Tennessee Baptist Convention Volunteer Mis­sions Team is sponsoring a Malta Prayer ·Blitz Aug .. 6-16 on the islands of Malta and Qozo. At· least 60 volunteers are needed for this the first large event of the Tennessee/ Malta Baptist Partnership. The team leader for the proj­ect is Don Pierson of the TBC staff. Orientation and train­ing for the trip will be hel~ April 19 at the Baptist Cen­ter, Brentwood. For informa-

. tion, contact Kim Margrave of the TBC staff at 1-800-558-2090 ext. 2021, (615). 371-2021, or kmargrave@­tnbaptist.org.

A DISASTER 11ELIEF team from Nashville Baptist Association served in Violet, La., preparing meals -for construction volunteers helping hurricane victims. Tf?e work was coordinated by the .North American Mission Board, through Operation NOAH. The Ten­nesseans served March 8-16. They are, from left, front row, Car­olyn Mauldin, Mary Lou Bryson, f?ecky Zorn, Bill Cannady, Ray Lincoln; back row, Tommy Smith, Don Mauldin, Michael Overcash, Mike Overcash, Jim Pridy, an·d D~rre/1 Pridy.

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