Tag: Randy C. Davis

WHAT GETS YOU GOING IN THE MORNING?

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This is Part II of a two-part series by TBMB leader Randy C. Davis. Part I, “What’s Keeping You Awake at Night?” can be found here.

By Randy C. Davis
TBMB President & Executive Director

One of our Tennessee Baptist pastors recently asked what were things that kept me awake at night and what were things that got me going in the morning. I’m glad he asked. It’s been a great opportunity to evaluate if my personal and ministry goals align with what I hope the Lord wants to accomplish through me.

So here are five things that get me up in the morning, or put another way, here’s what cranks my tractor:   

1.  Serving Tennessee Baptists.

We are a multi-dimensional group of people with a wide variety of hopes, hurts, opinions, traditions, expectations and drives, but we enjoy a sweet unity as a network of churches. Continue reading “WHAT GETS YOU GOING IN THE MORNING?” →

WHAT’S KEEPING YOU AWAKE AT NIGHT?

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This is the first of a two-part series by TBMB Executive Director Randy C. Davis. Part Two appears here.

By Randy C. Davis
TBMB President & Executive Director

One of our Tennessee Baptist pastors recently asked what were things that kept me awake at night and what were five things that got me going in the morning. I’m glad he asked. It’s been a great opportunity to evaluate if my personal and ministry goals align with what I hope the Lord wants to accomplish through me.

So here they are — the five things that keep me up at night:

Spiritual lostness

I have had a burden for the eternal destiny of friends, family and people in general since I came to faith in Christ. The day Granny Davis died, I read in her Bible a note written in 1956: “I am standing in the gap for my dear children so that one day they will be a circle unbroken, together in heaven forever.” Continue reading “WHAT’S KEEPING YOU AWAKE AT NIGHT?” →

Are We ‘Lost in Distraction’ or ‘Now for Missions!’

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It only takes a spark to start a controversy.

It was just one article, but its publishing in 1896 ignited a flashfire reaction across the Southern Baptist Convention. Sides formed. People postured. Proverbial lines were drawn in the sand. Rhetorical flames fueled by passionate conviction rose higher and higher and threatened to gut any good work Southern Baptists had accomplished.

But a voice of reason can extinguish the flames with a much-needed biblical perspective. Continue reading “Are We ‘Lost in Distraction’ or ‘Now for Missions!’” →

Challenging Days but Also Days of Great Opportunity

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I loved being a pastor. It was my joy and honor to spend 34 years as a pastor in a local church, so obviously I have a special place in my heart for the men who faithfully labor behind the pulpit serving God and His people.

Between those years and the time I’ve spent as president of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, a pastoral mindset is second nature to me. Daily I make decisions by putting myself in the shoes of the pastors who lead our churches. Those shoes fit me best. God shaped my heart into a shepherd’s mold.  Continue reading “Challenging Days but Also Days of Great Opportunity” →

A Word of Hope in a World of Hurt

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Racial tensions were high, extremely high. Riots flared and spread across the nation like wildfire. Hundreds of protestors were killed. Lynching was all too common and scarred our society.

But it got worse.

Politics and political parties were in upheaval, and in less than five years a president, a presidential candidate and a globally recognized American civil rights leader were all assassinated.

But it got worse.

Cities burned in protest of a war costing tens of thousands of military lives, and the Pentagon, the epicenter of the U.S. military, was assaulted by over 50,000 protesters as they breached the gates. Continue reading “A Word of Hope in a World of Hurt” →

When God Makes Much of Little

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There are times when the peculiar will cause you to pause and think.

For instance, during the first of November, the TBMB received an anonymous donation of two pennies in an envelope addressed to no one in particular, and with no specific gift designation. The envelope had no name or return address, just an Etowah postmark and inside the giver’s two cents.

It seems someone went to a lot of trouble to give only a couple of copper coins. Who would do that? More curiously, why? Someone offering their metaphorical “two cents worth” regarding something we’d done as a mission board? Was someone making a condescending reference toward the widow’s mites placed in the temple offering box (Luke 21:1-4)? Maybe they were actually contributing all they could? Continue reading “When God Makes Much of Little” →

Missions, Lottie Moon and Leadership

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On Sept. 15, 1887, a diminutive woman named Charlotte Digges Moon, known to Southern Baptists as “Lottie,” sat at a rough hewn table in a modest hut in China and penned a letter that would forever transform the Southern Baptist Convention.

In that letter, Lottie called for prayer and financial resources that would ensure the advancement of the gospel. At the time, the Foreign Mission Board (now International Mission Board) had a limited number of global missionaries, but Lottie was thinking bigger — much bigger. She envisioned a day when Southern Baptists would present the gospel to the uttermost parts of the world, but she also knew it would take significant financial resources to do so. With prayer and generosity in mind, she wrote: Continue reading “Missions, Lottie Moon and Leadership” →

Caring for the Lord’s Shepherds

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An effective shepherd loves, leads and cares for the flock that God entrusted to him.

But who cares for the shepherd?

I love and appreciate pastors and have a genuine concern for their care. My deep appreciation for pastors is birthed out of three-and-a-half decades of walking in their shoes. I’ve been there, done that and was blessed with a lot more than a t-shirt. Continue reading “Caring for the Lord’s Shepherds” →

How Much More Can You Stand?

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One of the greatest and constant needs of the church since its birth at Pentecost is God-called, Spirit-filled, well-equipped leaders. Are you like me, some days just wondering: How much more can we stand?

Some days it seems our entire culture is wondering the same. How much more can we collectively stand?

Even a half-hearted glance at the news is overwhelming. Culture wars and racial conflict like we’ve not seen in 50 years; political upheaval; riots, lawlessness and constant protests paralyzing many of our nation’s cities; and a lack of social decorum and mutual respect in society but especially within our government. Continue reading “How Much More Can You Stand?” →

We Did It Together! Now Let’s Aim Even Higher

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Posterity will probably remember 2020 as the “Year of COVID-19.” The negative global impact of the coronavirus pandemic has certainly left its mark on Tennessee, the United States and the rest of the world.

However, I will remember 2020 as the year Tennessee Baptists set a record for generously giving through the Golden Offering for Tennessee Missions. We broke the previous giving record last week, and as of this writing, total giving for this year was $1,922,235 with five days remaining in the GOTM year (Sept.-Aug). Everything added to the total in these last few days only extends that historical threshold. Continue reading “We Did It Together! Now Let’s Aim Even Higher” →