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Category Archives: Snapshots of life
Ukrainian relief efforts spotlight ‘better together’ mantra
War, destruction, human suffering — it can be too much to take some days. At the same time, moments of crisis also provide an opportunity to shine the light of Christ brightly amid the harrowing darkness suffocating so many around the world.
Matthew 5:14–16 tells us, “You are the light of the world. … let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Have you noticed all the faith-based ministries that sprang into action the minute Ukrainians found themselves displaced?
The consistent call for prayers and pleas for financial assistance also showcase the enormous support pouring in from around the world.
Opportunities for support are available through our churches, associations, state conventions, national ministries and global partners.
Courage and compassion
And how about the courage and compassion shown by Baptist leaders in Ukraine and the surrounding nations who are committed to caring for those whose lives are forever changed.
What I didn’t understand until recently was the depth of distrust and dislike between Ukrainians and some of its neighbors, especially those in Romania.
Yet, people in Romania are among those pushing through the exhaustion, day after day, to provide the “guests” passing through with food, clothing and a safe place to sleep.
While some Ukrainians have stayed in Romania, most of the refugees are on their way to other places, explained Daniel Fodorean, academic dean at the Baptist Theological Institute of Bucharest.
The seminary and churches are housing the guests, and many people are making rooms available at their homes, he said.
An app-based network for Romanian Baptist church leaders also dings nonstop with needs, which are covered within minutes by someone on the app, Fodorean shared as he and I talked March 22 in Alabama.
Fodorean was in the U.S. for a previously scheduled meeting related to his work with the Romanian-American Mission and took some time to provide a glimpse of the efforts in his country.
“It’s not natural to help Ukrainians because they were mean to Romanians (during past conflicts), but we see the need,” he shared. “We need to show mercy. God said to love one another.”
Efforts also are strong in Moldova, Poland and within Ukraine. Many pastors and ministry leaders are choosing to remain with those surrounded by gunfire and attacks, Fodorean said.
“Love is important and center,” he said. “The most important thing is the kingdom of God.”
On the front lines
Elijah Brown, general secretary and CEO of Baptist World Alliance, shared similar reflections of the work taking place among Baptists on the front lines.
During a March 17 presentation in Birmingham, he described a variety of ministry efforts organized by Baptist churches in the region.
“In the first six days of this war, 600 (of the 2,100) Baptist churches (in Ukraine) provided basic food and humanitarian relief, helping 45,000 people who had been displaced by war,” he said. “But they can’t do it alone.”
Brown asks Baptists to pray for the people of Ukraine. To write out prayers that will be shared with Baptist leaders on the ground in Ukraine, visit baptistworld.org/shareaprayer.
Our brothers and sisters in Christ are standing strong and demonstrating His love boldly. They need our prayers and to know they are not forgotten.
We hope our continued coverage through The Alabama Baptist and The Baptist Paper helps keep those serving in and around Ukraine in the forefront of your mind not only as they focus on mere survival in the moment but also as they attempt to pick up the pieces once the war is over.
Southern Baptist efforts
The communications team from the International Mission Board has been a tremendous help as we pull together coverage day after day.
IMB officials also confirmed Southern Baptists’ efforts through Send Relief include working with local Baptist partners in Ukraine and other nations in Eastern Europe.
We applaud Southern Baptist leaders for choosing to partner with area Baptists in the work.
“These relief efforts include providing food, shelter, transportation, clothing, medical supplies and trauma care to families displaced from Ukraine, as well as Ukrainians internally displaced in the country,” the IMB reports. “And 100 percent of the gifts to [the] Ukraine Crisis Fund are being used to help Ukrainian refugees.”
Options for donating to relief efforts for Ukraine can be found through numerous channels, including the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions at alsbom.org/ukraine.
Teams of Alabama Baptists are beginning to organize for trips to Romania and other Eastern European countries in April and May. To read more about the current and upcoming efforts in Romania, check out this article in The Alabama Baptist.
What will you develop, remove, sharpen, repair, learn or polish?
The start of a new year always brings the opportunity to begin again, turn over a new leaf and release what’s behind us to stay behind us.
And if you’re like me, the freshness of it all provides the exact confidence and energy needed to give it a try.
Does it mean we’ll accomplish all we might dream up for the coming year? Not at all.
Is it possible something significant will derail us along the way? Likely.
But God calls us to continue growing deeper in our relationship with Him and to seek to become more and more like Jesus every day.
So with the primary goal for our new year already outlined for us, we technically can remove the pressure because if we give our primary energy to the main goal, then everything else we need to develop, remove, sharpen, repair, learn or polish will surface.
Focus on Jesus
We’ll have an opportunity, or maybe multiple opportunities, we could have never dreamed up for ourselves — and in some cases never wanted to experience. Either way, if we keep our focus on Jesus, we’ll find our way through as we tackle some with sparkling competence and others more diligently one difficult step at a time.
As you settle into this new year, what are the areas you already know need a little smoothing out?
Do you have a plan in place for how to get started? What resources will you need?
Will you need to find more space in your day (specific time set aside), your mind (expanded mental capacity) or physical location (less clutter)? If so, what are your first steps to find that extra space?
How have others made a difference in your life through the years? Be sure to let them know.
Also, reach out to your church staff and let them know you appreciate all they do for members and ministry efforts as well as the community at large.
The past two years required a good bit of adapting for those serving in ministry, and a kind word goes a long way toward them maintaining the strength needed going forward.
If by chance you aren’t able to genuinely share appreciation, then it’s also important to share those concerns as well.
Consider writing out what upset you this past year. Then, summarize the points and prioritize them to use as your guide for explaining your concerns.
Tribute to Rash family patriarch — hard worker, deep thinker
Known for his kindness and quiet demeanor, Cecil Rash was a dedicated family man with an impeccable work ethic and calm presence.
That’s the way we wrapped the biography section of my father-in-law’s obituary in late January.
During the graveside service, we also shared about his longtime and ever-growing relationship with Christ and years of faithful service to his church — First Baptist Church, Cairo, Georgia, for the past 25-plus years and Sheridan Hills Baptist Church, Hollywood, Florida, for more than 20 years prior to that.
Cecil and Sue Rash’s commitment to Christ and involvement in church for their entire married life rubbed off on their three children — and eventually served as a model for me too.
Sheridan Hills Baptist Church is where I met Jason during my two-year missions term serving the Caribbean through the International Mission Board.
When I met Jason in the mid-1990s, his parents had already made the move to south Georgia, but Jason always had stories to share. So when I did meet them, I felt as if I had always known them.
‘A great dad’
In telling me about his dad during those early days, Jason always described him simply as a great dad.
And in delivering the eulogy for his dad a few days ago, Jason said, “I wish you could see the exclamation points I put on my paper after this sentence: He was a GREAT dad.”
A somewhat generic term in many cases, but Jason’s emotional emphasis of “great” for his dad revealed layers and layers of reasons and experiences — something we all deeply understood without needing extra words.
And while his presence is piercingly absent in the family home, Cecil also will be missed by many in the city of Cairo. He loved Cairo — which happened to be where he spent his formative years prior to college, as well as where he retired — and worked hard to keep it moving forward.
The 85-year-old, single-screen Zebulon theater in town was one of Cecil’s favorite projects, so it only seemed fitting that the marquee pay tribute to him the same day immediate family gathered at the graveside.
Surrounded and supported
And just like all of you have most likely experienced at some point in your journey, the church family stepped in to do what it does best during times of grief — provided prayer, food, phone calls, notes, flowers, plants and listening ears.
COVID-19 restrictions prevented visits from friends like we were used to in the past, but our combined church families from four states surrounded and embraced the family.
The Rash family’s current pastor and former pastor in Cairo, both dear friends, also ministered to the family consistently — and continue to do so — even while balancing so many other needs in their church families.
As we work on all that comes following the death of a family member, I am reminded of the various gifts and skill sets each family member brings and am encouraged to watch us work together as a team.
Cecil would undoubtedly love the group effort taking place. And while he likely wouldn’t actually say much out loud, he would be proud of Sue and his children and grandchildren. He would think they were all pretty great themselves.
—Jennifer Davis Rash
Commencement address to Judson College’s 2020 graduates
Jennifer Davis Rash
Graduates, the nugget I want to leave with you today is the importance of holding on to the capability to learn.
As the Class of 2020, you are being touted as the class above all classes because of what you experienced during your final semester. You know, that little pandemic thing.
You’ve proven you’ve got what it takes.
You learned in only a few months what most of us had the luxury of a few decades to learn — how to adapt and still flourish when life doesn’t work out like we planned.
But with this praise comes a great deal of pressure and responsibility, which can be managed with success if you maintain a spirit of teachability.
The ability to continue learning at every step of your journey will always serve you well.
Some days, good enough truly is good enough, but most days should be about excellence, no matter how insignificant the tasks of the day may seem.
Part of being excellent is owning up to mistakes.
Mistakes are part of the journey so being mature enough to own yours will lighten the load for everyone involved, including yourself.
It’s also important to learn from them — yours and others.
One mistake we all make at some point is to believe the world revolves around us.
And while today is rightfully all about each of you — most days are not.
In fact, the more we focus on helping others instead of ourselves, the more at peace we will be.
Being a graduate of a religious institution of higher learning means you know a bit about the Bible, so you already know Scripture teaches our greatest commandment is to love the Lord with all our heart, mind, soul and strength.
And the second greatest is to love our neighbor as ourselves.
As you leave the college nest and prepare to tackle the world, clinch tightly to those commandments.
And recognize that to achieve both, you must also love yourself.
Scripture is clear that each one of us is created in the image of our Father, the almighty God, so humbly loving ourselves reflects our love for Him and teaches us how to love others.
You only have one life to live here on earth, and you’ve started well.
I urge you to commit today to also finish well — with confidence in who you are and assurance of Whose you are.
The fact is, we need you.
We need your light. We need your kindness. We need your smarts. We need your energy. And we need your teachability.
A few ABCs for the road …
A — Always be honest but be kind in the process, and always give people the benefit of the doubt as your first response.
B — Be forgiving and able to let go of past hurts.
C — Calm the chaos around you by giving more than you take and being part of the solution.
Congratulations, Class of 2020. You are beautiful. You are valued. You are loved. You are strong.
And remember, we need you — the very best version of you God has in store.
Editor’s Note — Commencement address delivered by Jennifer Davis Rash at Judson College in Marion, Alabama, on June 27, 2020.
Use global halting of events as opportunity to rest in Him
Photo by Jennifer Davis Rash
By the time we realized March Madness for the year 2020 would not describe basketball brackets, rivalries and surreal roundball moments, the normal activities of life as we know it had practically shut down.
COVID-19 became a household term, and our homes, offices, schools, churches and devices might just be the cleanest they’ve ever been.
Online screenings and drive-thru testing centers emerged seemingly overnight.
Many conferences, classes and church services were canceled, rescheduled or moved online.
Airlines and hotels removed all rescheduling and cancellation fees. They even made it super easy to go online and click through the necessary items in a matter of seconds.
Making assessments
Leaders at all levels assessed, reassessed and worked hard to make the best decisions they could for the people for which they were responsible, as well as for the businesses and organizations they lead.
And when Alabama’s first confirmed case of COVID-19 was announced this morning (March 13), the assessments narrowed to an even more laser-focused stance.
While our team at TAB Media is working to stay up on all the latest reports and announcements, we also are performing appropriate assessments related to our staff and office as well.
Crisis management plan
Past experiences of unforeseen difficult events, such as the Snowpocalypse winter storm of 2014, the April 2011 tornado devastation in Alabama, the H1N1 flu pandemic of 2009 and other experiences through the years, provided opportunities to develop crisis management plans we still use today.
As crises emerge along the way, we always try to dust off our existing plans and put those into play while also adapting as needed to the current situation and accounting for new techonology and resources available to us.
Learning from each experience makes us better and more prepared for the next event sure to come our way. Having a crisis management and communications plan prevents panic and uncertainty because team members trust the leadership and are informed early, consistently and with clarity about what to expect and how to prepare.
Even a basic plan such as knowing who is in charge during a crisis and naming one person to handle all outgoing and incoming communications gives an advantage in focusing quickly on determining priorities.
Opportunity to shine for Jesus
As we find our way through the COVID-19 pandemic, I’m confident history will report amazing stories of people of faith shining for Jesus.
Volunteers trained in medical missions and Southern Baptist Disaster Relief will undoubtedly be on the front lines.
Believers with a chaplain’s heart will work to calm the masses, and people of prayer will unite across the globe to call on God to lead us through this journey.
And I believe the best of each of us will surface as we come together.
Take this opportunity to calm your heart and mind and sling some Jesus all around.
—Jennifer Davis Rash
Interesting exercise to draw a line down the middle of your story
Stepping into this new year and new decade brought a significant milestone for me personally.
I’ve now spent half my life serving Alabama Baptists through The Alabama Baptist/TAB Media — and I can’t think of anywhere else I would have rather been.
I joined the TAB team on Jan. 1, 1996, at 24 years old, and on Jan. 1, 2020, I celebrated 24 years with TAB.
Countless people have poured into me through the years, and many continue investing in my growth, something I truly treasure as a big believer in mentoring and cross training.
A quick look back over the years shows clearly how God was working all along the way.
What I thought was a short-term position while completing my studies at Beeson Divinity School at Samford University quickly became home and the obvious place where God had called me to serve.
‘If God called me …’
While I had no idea how the calling would work itself out nor what all would appear along the path, I trusted that if God called me to do it, He would guide me step by step —
and He has been faithful.
He has provided continuous opportunities to learn and grow, and He has put many amazing mentors and co-workers in my life to teach me along the way.
The deep friendships formed through the years fill my heart and make me even more grateful to be part of the broader Alabama Baptist family.
But how did I get here?
Drawing a line down the middle of your story can be an interesting exercise. For me, there are two sets of 24 years.
Early years
In the first set, you will find my growing up years on a farm in Phil Campbell, Alabama — a rural community in the northwest corner of the state.
During those years I thought the norm for all children was to grow up in a safe, loving environment with plenty of food and parents who taught life skills and a strong work ethic.
Experiencing life outside those early years has taught me many people didn’t have that opportunity and what a privileged upbringing I had.
Also in my first set of 24 years, you will find two years spent studying at Northwest Community College and another two years spent studying at the University of Alabama.
And while I grew up in church and part of a large extended family of believers, it wasn’t until my sophomore year of college that I truly gave my heart and life to Christ.
It also was during college that I surrendered to a call to full-time Christian service, which led to a search for what that meant.
After college graduation, I spent two years serving with the International Mission Board as an editorial assistant with Caribbean Christian Publications focused on the English-speaking Caribbean.
God provided intense opportunities for me to grow spiritually, professionally and relationally during those two years. When the term ended, I found my 24-year-old self at TAB with no idea where that would lead.
Reflecting on my current mid-point marker and these past 24 years at TAB helped me realize just how many strides have been made by a variety of different team members who were under the direction of Bob Terry for most of those years. What a gift to get to tag along for the ride.
Second half
Since 1996, the TAB team has moved from focusing on one product — a weekly newspaper — to becoming a full media group with multiple daily deadlines in 2020.
The first webpage came along in 2000 and a fully functioning website in 2004. TAB found its way onto social media platforms in 2007–2008 and then launched the digital version of the print publication in 2010.
Augmented Reality was added to the mix in 2015 and lasted for a few years, along with several attempts at live streaming and video newscasting.
A robust new multilevel website was developed in 2016 along with the debut of a new logo and rebranding effort.
In 2018, the TAB News radio show and podcast hit the airwaves, and in 2019 a visually impaired cartridge and new glossy magazine were added.
Granted, technology advancements allowed for much of the expansion to take place, but it also took vision, courage and training to make the moves.
With the various new elements in the picture, it could be easy to let the print product slide away, but the focus on the newspaper continues to be an important part of the team’s work.
We plan to continually polish the 177-year-old weekly newspaper currently entrusted to our care. It has won more than 250 national awards in less than 25 years, and we are determined to keep it among the best available.
We also are excited to introduce a trickle of new glossy magazines being produced by TAB for special events and specific emphases.
Coming to the airwaves will be more podcasts available on the TAB Media channel as well as more growth in the audio digest version of TAB for the visually impaired.
Going forward
And our online presence through social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube), web resources and the digital version of the paper will no doubt continue to adapt to that constantly changing realm.
What changes will we see in the next 24 years? I’m not sure, but I’m confident we are ready to figure it out step by step.
—Jennifer Davis Rash
What will history write about our version of the 20s?
We are at the front end of a pristine new 20s. Whether we refer to our new decade as the “twenties” or the “twenty-twenties,” we have been handed the opportunity to blaze a new, yet healthier, path by learning from the past.
What will history write about the 2020s one day? What statement will we make? How will we be branded?
We truly can shake off the past, let go of whatever is holding us back and make this our decade. Why not make it our goal to see and live with the clarity of 20/20 vision in the decade of the 2020s?
Read the full My Rashionale piece here.
—Jennifer Davis Rash
Few moments without mobile devices might be our new ‘apple a day’ remedy
When I sorted through the mail a few weeks ago and discovered a four-color Christmas catalog for toys — Amazon’s Ultimate Wish List — my mind jumped immediately to my childhood when we received the annual Sears Christmas Wish Book.
Everyone received the Wish Book back in the day. It’s how we made our list for what toys and gifts we wanted for Christmas — that and the commercials on Saturday morning of course. The Wish Book had all the latest toys displayed in four color.
The Sears Wish Book is no longer printed but even if it were I can’t imagine it would have the same impact as it did then — with no internet and no mobile devices with which to compete.
While it seems ironic that in this high-tech, digital age an online sales company mails out print catalogs, it does make sense as a way to stand out. Children and their parents are bombarded with digital screens in every part of life now so the promotions and ads all kind of run together sometimes.
‘Strength overdone becomes weakness’
Multimedia offers countless positive aspects and we at TAB are excited about ways we will continue growing our digital presence. But the saying “strength overdone becomes weakness” applies in the area of multimedia as much as any other.
Too many hours a day looking at a screen, especially without proper body alignment and rest breaks, will cause physical issues that come with any type of overuse situation. And emotionally and mentally the scars from overuse will no doubt run deep.
A few moments talking in person rather than texting and silencing the nonstop dings around us might just be our new “apple a day” remedy for the negative side effects of too much screen time built up over years of use.
—Jennifer Davis Rash
Truly absorbing and retaining what someone says takes work; it’s much more involved than hearing them talk
My granddad used to grab my hands and hold them still when he needed a break from my nonstop chatter.
He would joke with me that I wouldn’t be able to speak if he handcuffed me — and that’s not far from the truth.
Recently I kept a tight grip on my hands during a video shoot to not only stay within the time restrictions but also to slow down my pace.
The more free my hands, the faster I talk and the more animated I become. It’s as if I need to draw the story for you in the air as it rolls out of my mouth.
And I do talk really fast especially when I’m excited about what I’m sharing.
Active listening takes concentration and intentionality. It requires focus, processing what is being said for understanding and the ability to respond appropriately. And if you are able to actually remember what was said, then you know you succeeded.
To listen for understanding of what is being said and not merely being polite by letting the other person talk may be more rare than we realize.
Try it out this week. You’ll know when you are only hearing the other person rather than truly listening and you’ll start noticing when it happens to you.
—Jennifer Davis Rash
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