E. E. Folk, Editor
Baptist and ReflectorAfter a number of consolidations with other Baptist publications in Tennessee such as the Baptist Reflector, the paper became the Baptist and Reflector in 1889.
Folk, who led the paper from 1889 until his death in 1917, was instrumental in establishing an editors’ fellowship, the Southern Baptist Press Association, in 1895 (now the Association of State Baptist Publications).
A courageous opponent of lynching, Folk wrote, “No paper in the South has spoken out more frequently or strongly in condemnation of lynching than have we.” And he sensed the importance of helping those struck by natural disasters, inviting an East Tennessee pastor after a deluge claimed some 20 lives along with homes, livestock and crops “to give our readers an account of the flood and whether the local Baptists will need assistance in any way.”
_______________________ A letter sent to Baptist editors and leaders in various states in 1915 from the editor of the Illinois Baptist:
"Dear Brother: I am investigating a question of facts. What per cent of Baptist churches in your state receive or would receive alien immersions as valid? Please answer briefly according to your best judgment and information, on return postal sent therewith.
Your brother, W.P. Throgmorton"Tennessee, E. E. Folk, Editor of Baptist and Reflector: 'It is impossible, of course, to get exact figures. My estimation, however, is that not more than one or at most two per cent of the Baptist churches in Tennessee would receive alien immersion as valid. I know of very few pastors in the state who would favor it.'
_______________________ Tennessee prohibition leaders quickly embraced the Anti-Saloon League. Tennessee Methodists attended the 1896 convention of the League. In 1899 the Tennessee Local Option League adopted the name of the Anti-Saloon League. E. E. Folk, editor of the Baptist and Reflector, was its first president. By 1901 approximately sixty league chapters with 5,000 members were in Tennessee; in 1902 the Anti-Saloon Journal was published. That same year the Knoxville Journal and Tribune declared that the Anti-Saloon League had become a power in Tennessee politics. [From Tennessee Encyclopedia]
_______________________ Essays [Scanned and formatted by Jim Duvall.]
Why Baptist and Not Campbellite
By Edgar E. Folk, D. D., 1900
Editor, Baptist and Reflector
Nashville, Tennessee
Presbyterians and Immersion
Baptist and Reflector
E. E. Folk, D.D., Editor, 1910
Baptists in Europe
Baptist and Reflector
E. E. Folk, D.D., Editor, 1911
Baptist History Homepage