By Baptist and Reflector Maston Thomas Buford Maston was born Nov. 26, 1897, and grew up in New Market, Tenn.  He graduated from Carson-Newman College in 1920 and later received an honorary doctorate in 1958.   Maston received his master’s and Ph.D. in religious education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary where he later taught for 41 years.  He later received a master of arts degree from Texas Christian University and a Ph.D. in philosophy from Yale.    Referred to as the “conscience of Southern Baptists,” Maston became a pioneer in the field of Christia ..read more

By Nick Wilson Pastor, Lakeview Baptist Church, Tiptonville Wilson Having Phillip and Ellen Wright come and join Lakeview Baptist Church has been one of the most encouraging and humbling experiences of my life.  When Phillip and I first met, I had no idea what was on his heart, and he didn’t know that I had been fervently praying for God to send men to our church who would come willing to serve. I would have never imagined that the Lord would send someone from so far away.  Phillip mentioned that the drive from their home is an hour and a half, but I want to make special note tha ..read more

By Phillip Wright Member, Lakeview Baptist Church, Tiptonville Wright Casting Crowns, one of my favorite singing groups, has a song with this title, “Crazy People.” The song mentions several people in Scripture that did some crazy things for Jesus.  First, there was Noah who built an ark when there was not a cloud in the sky. Then there was David who picked a fight, as a boy, with a giant. Daniel turned a lion’s den into a petting zoo. The three Hebrew boys had a prayer meeting in a fiery furnace. In all these circumstances people thought they were crazy.  I want to add one more ..read more

By Baptist and Reflector FRANKLIN  — The communications team of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board captured seven awards in the 60th annual Wilmer C. Fields Awards Competition held during the Baptist Communications Association’s awards banquet April 24 in Richmond. In the design division, Trish Dubes, senior graphic designer, won first place for the TBMB benefits brochure in the Print Collateral — Brochure category and second place for the Mobile Dental Clinic in the Substantial Projects — Special Display category. In the feature writing division, Chris Turner, director of communications ..read more

By Jay Hardwick President, Tennessee Baptist Convention Hardwick I remember hearing the late Michael Catt, long-time pastor of Sherwood Baptist in Albany, Ga., say many times, “Whoever wants the next generation the most will get them.” That quote has resonated with me for years and especially now. Who comes to mind when you hear or think, “next generation?” Maybe it’s one of the named generations — Gen X, Y, Z, Alpha, and so on. Maybe you think about the kids and students in your own church and community. Maybe you think about your own children and grandchildren. With those faces and stori ..read more

By Tim Ellsworth Union University news office Jeff Perkins, right, chairman of Union University’s board of trustees, presents a model swing to Dub and Susie Oliver during an April 4 dinner. Trustees will place 10 swings across the Union campus by the end of the summer in honor of the Olivers and their 10 years of service to Union. — Photo by Karley Hathcock JACKSON — Union University trustees during their April 5 meeting celebrated the 10-year anniversary of Union president Samuel W. “Dub” Oliver, granted tenure and promotions to several professors, approved a $94.8 million budget for the ..read more

CHURCHES Meridian Baptist Church on 6513 Chapman Highway in Knoxville will be celebrating its 150th anniversary on Sunday, April 28, with a special service. Former pastors will be recognized and leading special events starting at 9:30 a.m. with worship at 10:45 a.m., followed by a pot luck lunch afterward. A special history room has been created in the library and pictures decorate our hallways of times gone by. The theme of the celebration is “Celebrating the Past, Embracing the Future.” Meridian Baptist started with 27 charter members on April 12, 1874 in a one-room log cabin school house. T ..read more

By Rich Lloyd Pastor, First Baptist Church, Newport Focal Passage: Genesis 37:5-8; 18-28  Giving gifts for the most part is just such fun and important. So important, that gift giving is actually one of the Love Languages.  During our early years of marriage, I loved to buy my wife clothes. I knew her sizes. I would walk from one end of the mall to the other looking for just the right things. It was fun and joyful. The real joy was watching her receive those gifts. Most of the time, it would be something she would never have picked out and maybe not even liked. But she would wear t ..read more

By Lonnie Wilkey Editor, Baptist & Reflector Pressnell TAZEWELL — Tazewell and Claiborne County native Randy Pressnell will retire as Harvest Field 6 team leader for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board on May 2. Pressnell has served in the harvest field role for the past four years. When he joined the TBMB staff he also served as bivocational ministries specialist for eight months before assuming the harvest field assignment full time. Pressnell surrendered to the ministry in 1975 and has served as a pastor in the state for most of that time. His vocational pastorates include Haynes Fl ..read more

By Darrell Nimmo Retired Tennessee pastor Focal Passage: Colossians 1:9-14; 21-29  There are a lot of discussion these days on how to go about fulfilling the Great Commission. If we break it down, we find it has two parts. One, we are to make disciples. In other words, we are to help others find salvation through Jesus Christ. Secondly, after making disciples, we are to teach them everything Jesus commands us to do.   The first part we are vigorous to engage in. Not surprising, that’s the part that determines our eternal destiny.  But the second part is equally important. No ..read more