Month: November 2015

GO TELL Crusade in Pampa sees 800 commitments to Christ

PAMPA—More than 800 commitments were made to Christ during the Rick Gage GO TELL Crusade in Pampa, Texas.

In a town of 18,000 people located about 75 miles east of Amarillo, there were greater than 10,000 attending the four-night crusade Sept. 13-16 at Pampa High School Football Stadium, which was sponsored by community churches.

GO TELL youth evangelist Steve Paysen spoke at a pre-crusade youth rally, where more than 60 young people came forward for salvation or rededicating their lives to Christ. According to the crusade’s Facebook page administrator, Ed Sattesahn, an additional 150 asked to be prayed for that God would use them to reach their friends for Christ.

On the first night of the crusade, Sattesahn recalled, “The home field stands were almost filled. The message by Rick Gage was great, and over 200 people came forward and made a decision for Christ.”

Crusade attendee Jan Cory said, “I am 63 and have been involved in church my entire life. The Rick Gage Crusade was the most meaningful event in which I have been involved. The crusade was bathed in prayer months before the crusade began. God showed up in a big way in Pampa, Texas. The Holy Spirit touched lives, and over 800 decisions were made for Christ. 

“As the crusade began, I felt a nudge to invite a friend who is a believer. She came and brought five young ladies with her. All of them made decisions for Jesus. What a joy to see these—as well as many, many others—say yes to the One who loves us completely,” she said.

Following the crusade, Byron Williamson, pastor of First Baptist Church of Pampa, said, “Between last Sunday and this Sunday, we will baptize 25 with more still being followed up plus four new families are joining the church that had no church home.”

Williamson noted that the Rick Gage GO TELL Crusade team’s emphasis on follow-up “was better than I’ve ever seen at similar mass evangelism efforts.”

Dallas Stringer, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Pampa, said they baptized 14 after the crusade and have six more planned.

Church planting strengthened with new endowment

HOUSTON—A long-term commitment to church planting in Texas will be strengthened by a new endowment approved Nov. 11 by the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention Executive Board, anticipating double the number of new plants to 100 churches per year. More immediately, a $1 million grant will fund Reach Houston church planting and revitalization efforts by former IMB missionaries who are voluntarily returning to the States and qualify to serve in those roles.

SBTC Board Chairman David Fleming noted that many of the returning missionaries worked with people groups that exist in Houston. “These are talented, skilled and very trainable individuals, and it’s important for us as a convention to provide opportunities for them,” Fleming said.

SBTC Board members accepted a plan to move away from annually funding the Southern Baptists of Texas Foundation (SBTF) through grants and endowment contributions. By allowing SBTF incremental access to the endowment corpus, staff and operations can be expanded, growing the foundation past the necessity of convention funding.

SBTF Executive Director Bart McDonald explained the compelling motivation of the change is “to shift from being a consumer of resources from the convention to a provider of resources to the convention,” He said SBTF will have “operational independence with functional dependence” as SBTC’s Executive Board continues to elect SBTF board members.

Approval of that plan allowed the board to shift the allocation of convention reserves in excess of six-months of operation costs, freeing up use of reserve funds for the church planting endowment.

New requests from 35 churches seeking affiliation with the SBTC were approved as the convention continues to grow. The number of affiliated churches stands at 2,544 with five removed, three of which had disbanded, one merged with another church and one disaffiliated.

Chief Financial Officer Joe Davis reported that Cooperative Program receipts are $400,000 ahead of 2014 receipts with a net operating income of $1,164,000 through October.

Contributions from SBTC churches to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American Missions amounted to $2,734,287 for reporting year that ended in September, $179,336 less than the previous year. With four months reported for giving through the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions, receipts are significantly higher at $1,019,287 as compared to $533,171 for the same period last year. Giving through the Reach Texas Offering for state missions was slightly higher than last year at $72,397 for the first month of reporting.

Anticipated year-end reserves in excess of the six months goal allowed the board to approve funds for the $1 million grant to Reach Houston church planting and revitalization efforts by former IMB missionaries; a vehicle to be used in connection with the ministry in El Paso; revitalization conferences, labs and resources; and two Disaster Relief trailers for a bunk house and a laundry unit.

Connection Church in Spearfish, S.D.—a four-year-old plant that has baptized 51 people, planted two churches, developed ministry among students at Black Hills University, and is in the top five Cooperative Program-giving churches in the Dakotas Baptist Convention—received a grant to fund the church’s missions and ministries in Spearfish and Sturgis.

Grants were also approved to fund costs related to the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention, including SBTC reception and exhibit space and assistance in sponsoring the Pastors’ Conference at which two pastors of SBTC-affiliated churches are serving as officers. Other grants address information technology, additional support staff expenses and line item overages.

Board members re-elected David Fleming of Houston as chairman and Kie Bowman of Austin as vice-chairman. Robert Welch of Brownsboro was elected secretary.

The board welcomed new members including Kelvin Foley of Plano, Bill Gardner of Henderson, Damon Halliday of Hurst, David Lamascus of Uvalde, John Powell of Hamlin, J. C. Rico of El Paso, Bernie Ritzert of Dallas, Eric Shin of Houston, Lucas Vaughn of Euless, and Bill Vernon of Moody. Newly elected SBTC officers President Nathan Lino of Humble and Juan Sanchez of Austin serve by virtue of their positions.

Illegal Immigration Panel: Pastors discuss tension between compassion, rule of law

HOUSTON—Few topics are as polarizing in America, even among Christians, as the subject of illegal immigration. But Christians, of all people, should be offering solutions that “embrace the tension” between loving compassion and the rule of law, said one pastor during a Criswell College-sponsored panel discussion on the issue at the annual meeting of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, Nov. 10.

The diverse panel included Andrew Hebert, pastor of Taylor Memorial Baptist Church in Hobbs, N.M.; Felix Cornier, pastor of El Companerismo Biblico El Camino in Lewisville and SBTC Field Ministry Strategist; Roland Johnson, pastor of Primera Iglesia Bautista in Keller; and David Fleming, pastor of Champion Forest Baptist Church in Houston.

Despite a diversity of views on the matter, the pastors agreed on two significant points: the U.S. immigration system is broken and Scripture must guide any resolution.

Forum moderator Barry Creamer, president of Criswell College, asked the panelists what they want believers to understand about illegal immigration.

The subject pits two diametrically opposed ideologies against each other—deportation or amnesty for all—with neither side willing to break ranks, Fleming said. That has left the nation floundering with no reform and a growing illegal population. By “embracing the tension” between love and compassion and justice and the rule of law believers can find common ground for reconciliation.

Hebert said such a dialogue could begin as believers submit their views about immigration and those in the country illegally to the authority of Scripture. That, combined with personal relationships with undocumented immigrants, will give Christians a better understanding of who and what is at stake in the debate.

“The world has come to our doorstep,” Johnson said, noting the number of undocumented immigrants ranges from 11-30 million. “What an opportunity to share the good news of the gospel.”

Cornier simply asked that pastors not forget their calling as ministers. It is not their job to act as politicians or police. Instead their role affords them unique access into the lives of those living in the shadows.

But what should a pastor do when he discovers a church member is in the U.S. illegally, Creamer asked?

No one on the panel would report the person to the authorities, but Fleming and Cornier acknowledged the difficult situation a pastor is placed in with such a revelation.

Cornier said while ministering to the needs of the individual is paramount, he also encourages them to be truthful and Christlike.

“What they do with that information is up to them,” he said.

Hebert used to take a “hard right” political view on immigration and did so without being able to put a name or face to the issue. But once he took his current pastorate he came to know and befriend undocumented immigrants.

“And they joined my church. And I baptized their children. And I began to shepherd them,” Hebert said.

Citing the story of the Good Samaritan, Hebert said if someone confides they are in the country illegally, “You show them the love of Jesus Christ. We’re not the police. I feel no compelling responsibility to report them.”

Fleming agreed to a point. He said, “We would, and have done, whatever we can to meet the immediate needs and to love that person to Christ and be a community and a faith family for them.”

But, he added, knowing an individual is actively breaking the law puts Christians, particularly pastors, in a different situation. The same Scripture that teaches the lesson of the Good Samaritan also teaches, in Romans 13, submission to governmental authorities.

Unjust laws notwithstanding, Fleming said he wants to help the individual “make this right.”

But making it right is part of what is wrong with the immigration system, the pastors contended.

Their concerns included: efforts to rectify a person’s illegal status while remaining in the country with their U.S.-born children is virtually impossible; 40 percent of the undocumented immigrants are here with expired visas; employers and government tax coffers benefit from the labor of illegal immigrants whose status is often exploited by employers.

Each pastor emphasized the need for believers to treat all people, even those in the country illegally, with compassion. Despite their immigration status they have needs the church can and should meet, most notably an introduction to the gospel.

The pastors said racism cannot be tolerated in any discussion of immigration. They acknowledged it is a aggravating factor in some people’s opposition to reforming the system.

Cornier concluded, “It’s such a touchy subject, and all the wrong people are talking about it. We need to get the right people to talk about it.”

SBTC annual meeting features launch of Reach Houston initiative, historic Baptist worship gathering

HOUSTON—Two of the core values of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention (SBTC)—being kingdom-focused and missionally driven—took center stage at the convention’s annual meeting at Champion Forest Baptist Church in Houston, Nov 10-11. Messengers were challenged to join the Reach Houston church planting and church revitalization initiative, approved a motion to forward 2016 budget surplus directly to the Cooperative Program, and joined together with the Baptist Missionary Association of Texas (BMAT) for a historic worship gathering.

Reach Houston

The SBTC officially launched its Reach Houston initiative, which is a plan to increase church planting and revitalization in the Greater Houston area. Experts say Houston is the most ethnically diverse megacity in the United States, surpassing even New York City, and should eclipse Chicago as the third-largest city in the country by 2020.

In a video presentation on the new initiative, Houston pastors voiced their support of the initiative. Admitting that Houston already has many churches, Champion Forest Baptist Church Pastor David Fleming said, “We could start a new church every week running 2,000 in attendance and still not keep up with the growth that is happening right here in Houston.”

SBTC Executive Director Jim Richards believes a strategic focus on the city is needed, so a search is currently underway for a Reach Houston coordinator to live in the city and direct church planting and revitalization efforts. Former SBTC missions director Terry Coy was presented as interim coordinator as the search continues.

During its meeting following the annual meeting, the convention’s executive board formally approved a recommendation to set aside $1 million to facilitate returning IMB missionaries as church planters or church revitalizers for the convention’s Reach Houston initiative.

Joint Worship Service with BMAT

SBTC President Jimmy Pritchard welcomed representatives from the Baptist Missionary Association of Texas to a historic joint worship service on the closing night of the annual meeting. The gathering exemplified the annual meeting theme of  “Walking in Unity,” drawn from Ephesians 4.

In addition to sharing in the support of two institutions, Pritchard told messengers from both groups, “We share a mutual commitment that the Bible is the inerrant and infallible Word of God, hold to the truth that marriage is defined in the Bible as one man and one woman mutually committed in relationship till death parts them, are together on the right of the unborn for life, and are both confessional fellowships.”

He reminded those gathered that “SBTC and BMAT together with the Lord Jesus Christ can be really strong in this difficult day in which we live, sharing the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit.”

BMAT was founded in 1899 by 45 churches that left the Baptist General Convention of Texas over a perception that the board structure might override the autonomy of local churches. Five years ago BMAT and SBTC approved a working ministry relationship based on their shared affirmation of a high view of Scripture and basic Baptist distinctives.

Read more about this historic gathering here.

Panel Discussion

A panel discussion consisting of SBC agency heads, an attorney, and several Texas pastors explored the relationship between churches and the state as the cultural landscape continues to change and move away from Christian values.

Allowing for the natural conflict between Christians and the world, the panelists agreed civil disobedience could be necessary at times, but they differed on when to initiate intentional pushback to ungodly encroachments.

If the cultural or legal mandate is in direct contradiction with Scripture then, yes, Christians should stand in opposition to it, GuideStone Financial Resources President O.S. Hawkins said, adding they must be willing to deal with the consequences of their actions.

“This is an issue that ought to be nuanced,” Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary President Jason Allen added. “We don’t want to gin ourselves up to be makeshift anarchists or insurrectionists where we kind of shoot from the hip.”

Pastors should take particular care to guard their pulpits, said Steve Washburn, pastor of First Baptist Church in Pflugerville. With few constitutional limits pastors can preach about all manner of people and issues, including politics. But politicians cross a line when they presume to speak about the morals of God.

Read the full story related to this panel discussion here.

Resolutions

Messengers passed eight resolutions during the meeting. Resolutions addressed the Texas legislature’s Pastor Protection Bill and defunding of Planned Parenthood as well as personal holiness, sexual purity in marriage, love for all people, the dignity of human life and the sufficiency of Scripture. Resolutions were also approved to express appreciation to outgoing SBTC president Jimmy Pritchard and to Champion Forest Baptist Church for hosting the meeting.

Read a full story on the resolutions here.

Budget

Messengers approved a 2016 budget of $27,743,629, which is less than a 1 percent increase from 2015. This budget is funded by $27,391,629 in Cooperative Program gifts and $352,000 from partnerships with the North American Mission Board and LifeWay Christian Resources.

As part of the budget proposal, messengers approved a recommendation from the convention’s executive board to send 100 percent of all 2016 Cooperative Program receipts that exceed the budget to the Southern Baptist Convention Cooperative Program.

The convention continues to send 55 percent of its budget for SBC Cooperative Program ministries—the highest percentage of any Baptist state convention—while designating 45 percent for Cooperative Program ministries in Texas.

Election of Officers

Nathan Lino, pastor of Northeast Baptist Church in Humble was elected convention president. Dante Wright, pastor of Sweet Home Baptist Church in Round Rock, was elected vice president. Juan Sanchez, pastor of High Pointe Baptist Church in Austin, was elected recording secretary. All nominees ran unopposed.

Attendance

Final attendance numbers included 775 registered messengers from 263 churches and 945 registered guests for a total of 1,720 registered in attendance from 303 churches.

2016 Annual Meeting

The 2016 Bible Conference and Annual Meeting of the SBTC will take place on Nov. 13-15 at Great Hills Baptist Church in Austin. Messengers approved Gregg Matte, pastor of Houston’s First Baptist Church, to deliver the 2016 convention sermon, with, Cody Whitfill, pastor of River Valley Christian Fellowship in Bastrop, as the alternate.

Joint worship with Baptist Missionary Association of Texas emphasizes common mission to reach state for Christ

HOUSTON—Southern Baptists of Texas Convention President Jimmy Pritchard welcomed representatives from the Baptist Missionary Association of Texas to a historic joint worship service Nov. 10 on the closing night of the annual meeting of SBTC at Champion Forest Baptist Church.

In addition to sharing in the support of two institutions, Pritchard told messengers from both groups, “We share a mutual commitment that the Bible is the inerrant and infallible Word of God, hold to the truth that marriage is defined in the Bible as one man and one woman mutually committed in relationship till death parts them, are together on the right of the unborn for life, and are both confessional fellowships.”

He reminded those gathered that “a cord of three strings is not easily broken,” and added, “SBTC and BMAT together with the Lord Jesus Christ can be really strong in this difficult day in which we live, sharing the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit.”

BMAT was founded in 1899 by 45 churches that left the Baptist General Convention of Texas over a perception that the board structure might override the autonomy of local churches. Five years ago BMAT and SBTC approved a working ministry relationship based on their shared affirmation of a high view of Scripture and basic Baptist distinctives.

Farmersville pastor Bart Barber, in a video presentation, traced the historical context for the reunion 116 years later “Having learned we can live without one another for a century, we are learning we can actually live with each other today. God is making friendships between our two groups of Baptists,” he stated, adding, “God loves to beat swords into plowshares, tilling the ground of the gospel today and beyond.”

Messengers from both conventions heard reports from the two entities they both support—Texas Baptist Home for Children and Jacksonville College.

“We cherish our relationship with both of you,” shared TBH President Eddie Marsh. He told of 32 children placed in permanent homes through adoption during the past year and 34 children professing faith in Christ.

“You have partnered together to love these children. It delights my heart when I hear representatives from both groups refer to this ministry as ‘our children’s home.’ Thank you for loving my kids.”

As the only two-year, faith-based Christian college in Texas, Jacksonville College reported 74 graduates last May, the highest number on record. This fall’s enrollment of 640 students marks another milestone.

“We’re seeing a real movement of God these last two months,” stated Jacksonville College President Mike Smith, describing the 100 students who professed faith in Christ as the beginning of revival on campus.

Smith said, “For a long time Jacksonville College was viewed as a place where BMA churches would send their young people. Now our students are from all walks of life, and most are not from a Christian background,” he reported. With 56 students from 24 different countries, Smith added, “Many never owned a Bible or heard about Jesus,” providing a mission field on the campus.

Criswell College President Barry Creamer described the kind of student the Dallas-based school is recruiting—those who are committed to lifelong service to Jesus Christ in full-time ministry or other vocations and “radically committed to laying down their whole lives for Jesus.”

In terms of curriculum, Creamer said the school requires 42 hours in biblical theology and ministry for every undergraduate degree. The school offers bachelor’s degrees in biblical studies, church planting and revitalization, ministry, psychology, the combination of philosophy, politics and economics, as well as education. In each of those degree plans, he said, “Our desire is for our students to leave Criswell College with the same kind of education you would expect your own preacher to have.”

While tuition and fees for students amount to $8,230 per year, Creamer said the actual cost to the school is $23,500, making it necessary to raise twice as much for each student’s needs. “We give thanks to God for you for the substantial support we receive from the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention when you give to Criswell College.”

Wes Pratt, pastor of the BMAT-affiliated Northside Baptist Church in Conroe, delivered the evening’s message from Psalm 66, and the worship team of the SBTC-affiliated West Conroe Baptist Church led music along with the choir from Jacksonville College.

“As a BMA pastor who has a lot of Southern Baptist friends, I am glad we are on the same team for Jesus Christ,” Pratt said. “If there is anything that we can get excited about it is that we serve an awesome God.”

He alluded to Barber’s recollection of a fight that broke out a century ago between feuding editors from each Baptist camp who were riding on a train bound for the annual meeting of Southern Baptists in Hot Springs, Ark., prompting one of the men to fire his pistol. The contrasting harmony of the two Baptist groups meeting in Houston led Pratt to praise their shared evangelistic mission of reaching Texas for Christ. He drew laughter from the crowd when he said, “If we can’t get together on that then shoot me, okay?”

He combined SBTC’s theme of “Walking in Unity” with the BMAT meeting theme of “In All Judea, In All Texas” to express his prayer for unity. “I thought about how we could mold those together and pray we would unite together as Baptists to reach Texas for Christ, run our race well during our watch, and that we would finish exhausted for Christ in a good way.”

Pratt spoke of the Psalmist’s description of the awesome power and work of God and expressed gratitude for believers who in earlier days fulfilled the Great Commission by sharing that message with Baptists who gathered for worship.

“That my friend is worth shouting about, singing about, and being unified about,” he said. “We have an awesome privilege to be a part of this work together for Texas.”

Resolutions address same-sex marriage, religious liberty, Planned Parenthood

HOUSTON—Messengers to the 2015 annual meeting of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention passed a resolution, Nov. 10, thanking government officials for adopting a law protecting pastors from being forced to perform same-sex marriages. They also approved resolutions on personal holiness, sexual sin, the dignity of human life and the sufficiency of Scripture.

These were among the eight resolutions adopted with little discussion during the meeting held at Champion Forest Baptist Church in Houston.

In June, the Texas legislature passed and Gov. Greg Abbott signed the Pastor Protection Bill, a religious liberty law that prevents ministers from being forced to officiate a same-sex marriage ceremony and also gives them legal protection in case they are sued.

The related resolution passed by messengers says the new law guards pastors who refuse “to conduct marriages that violate God’s plan and biblical outline for the sacred institution of marriage.”

“We, the messengers to the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention … hereby express our appreciation and thanks to the Texas executive and legislative branches for their leadership and commitment to protecting pastors and churches,” the resolution reads.

That same resolution also acknowledges government officials for de-funding Planned Parenthood, which provides abortions and became the subject of investigations following exposé videos released this summer outing them for the illegal sale of baby body parts.

“We thank the governing bodies of Texas for ceasing public funding of Planned Parenthood, an organization that fails to recognize the dignity of all human life,” the resolution reads.

Messengers also approved resolutions:

  • affirming Scripture as sufficient for the “totality of the Christian life.”
  • referencing the Ashley Madison scandal and pledging “sexual purity in our marriages as an expression of God’s design for human sexuality.”
  • calling on “all Christians to unconditionally love all human beings.”
  • urging churches to promote adoption and to support pregnancy resource centers.
  • supporting a renewed commitment to live out “God’s holiness in our culture.”
  • expressing appreciation for outgoing SBTC President Jimmy Pritchard.
  • thanking Champion Forest Baptist Church for hosting the meeting.

A resolution “On the Sufficiency of the Word of God for the Entire Christian Life” notes that “God establishes the standards by which all forms of human wisdom and knowledge and all aspects of human culture and activity must be judged.”

“We encourage every Christian voter and every Christian public servant to make their decisions with regard to the legislation, execution and judgment of laws based upon and under the authority of the Word of God, and therefore with the highest regard for religious liberty,” the resolution reads.

It further says: “The totality of the Christian life, corporately and individually, in the family, in the church and in the broader society, must be based upon, focused upon and have as its goal obedience to and proclamation of the Word of God.”

Messengers dealt with the Ashley Madison controversy in a resolution “On Biblical Roles and Purity in Marriage.”

The resolution notes the “recent scandal involving the Ashley Madison website has made the church more aware of the prevalence of sexual sin in our churches and our culture.

“We will demonstrate sexual purity in our marriages as an expression of God’s design for human sexuality whereby the only proper context for sexual expression is between one man and one woman within the covenant of marriage,” it reads. “… We affirm that God offers his love and forgiveness through Jesus Christ to those who recognize their sin and are willing to repent and obey his word; as a result, any broken relationship can be restored. (1 Corinthians 6:11, Romans 5:8).”

In a resolution “On the Affirmation of Love for All,” messengers called on “all Christians to unconditionally love all human beings, who are made in the image of their Creator, regardless of age, gender, nationality, sexual orientation, race, economic status, work profession, religious beliefs, political beliefs or other personal differences or distinctions.”

“We agree that genuine love is owed to all and that giving such love does not mean we accept or agree with actions counter to biblical teachings, rather such love extends the grace and mercy our Father in heaven has extended toward us,” the resolution reads. “ … We will fully embrace and actively fulfill our Lord Jesus’ teaching to love all people and to seek to be known by our love for one another, regardless of the personal costs of doing so (John 13:34-35).”

Messengers touched again on the Planned Parenthood and abortion issues in a resolution “On the Dignity of Human Life from Conception to Natural Death.” It notes that “society has become more aware of the brutal nature of abortion through the undercover Planned Parenthood videos.”

“Many women regret their decision to abort, and Christians are bound by love to lead others to treat these women and their unborn babies with dignity,” the resolution reads. “We should also walk alongside women, men and families that are facing unwanted pregnancies and provide the necessary support to assist them to understand all of the difficult emotions, questions, decisions and choices they face as they develop positive plans for their futures, whether they choose adoption or parenting (Psalm 82:4).”

The resolution calls for involvement in adoption ministries and “pregnancy resource centers and other ministries which help alleviate some of the burden on the women, men and families confronting unwanted pregnancies.”

Messengers also passed a resolution “On Personal Holiness” that notes Christians “are commanded to daily spend time alone with God in prayer and immersed in his Word, confessing and forsaking our sins, seeking his will to the neglect of our own, in order to grow in holiness.

“We are committed to living out God’s holiness in our culture, resulting in renewed zeal to share the gospel of Jesus with lost people for the purpose of winning them to faith in Christ and discipling them in such a way that they will in turn win others to Christ,” the resolution reads.

Young encourages pastors to renew their strength, fly like eagles

HOUSTON—“The Bible you and I preach is for you and me,” Ed Young told ministers at the President’s Luncheon of the annual meeting of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention Nov. 10, encouraging them with the opportunity to “mount up with wings and fly like eagles.”

“Those profound words we give out the first day of every week are for you and for me,” he insisted. “We can fly.”

The pastor of Second Baptist Church in Houston directed believers to heed the instruction of Isaiah 40:31 to wait on the Lord every day. “We wait until God shows up with the answers, the direction and the insight” for that day.

After waiting, strength will be renewed, he said. “We need our passion to come back.”

Young said, “As I wait on the Lord what happens to me over and over again is I’m adjusting my priorities in detail, but my general priorities do not change.”

Discernment becomes the critical characteristic leaders must develop in order to maintain the priorities God gives for ministry. “Prioritize the big things, and you’ll be able to run and not get tired,” Young explained.

“The tough thing is the second part—we walk and do not faint—that’s the little things.” Young said most ministers are pretty good at discerning the big things but fail in the little things.

“It’s the mundane things that we do that nobody sees and nobody knows—stay faithful to the little things,” he reminded “The first of them is waiting on the Lord.”

Love, not hatred or indifference, key to winning lost to Christ, Estep says

HOUSTON—Mark Estep, senior pastor of Spring Baptist Church of Spring, Texas, delivered the convention sermon during the 2015 annual meeting of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, Tuesday, Nov. 10. Preaching from Luke 7, Estep discussed the unifying power of love, urging attendees to see people the way Jesus sees them and to love them the way he loves them.

Estep cited a recent study that found 37 percent of non-church goers say they do not attend because the “people there don’t really care.” Estep challenged the 772 messengers who had registered for the meeting at that point and 700 guests to change the way they interact with people so that Christians may indeed be known by their love and so that through that love, many will come to know the saving love of Jesus Christ.

“It is guesstimated that there are 183 million lost people in the United States of America, and I guess the follow up question would be this: Who cares?” Estep said. “Jesus does. he cares, but do we care? Does it matter to us? We get stuck inside the walls of the church, and we fail to really see. We fail to really engage.”

True love, Estep said, sees people and responds to suffering.

“Let us show the truth by our actions,” Estep said. “We’ve gotta quit just giving lip service, folks.”

Ignorance and indifference, he said, do not put love into action. Rather, they keep church members in their pews and keep churches from growing and reaching people.

“It keeps us ordinary instead of extraordinary,” Estep said. “Doctors don’t care about their patients, teachers don’t care about their students, politicians don’t care about the country. But the saddest thing is, Christians don’t care about the lost.”

True love not only sees people and responds to suffering, he said. True love responds to needs. It doesn’t just form committees or talk about it.

“Jesus sets the example of involvement,” Estep said.

And that involvement, he continued, must look loving, not hateful. No one gets argued into becoming a Christian or name-called into being saved, he explained.

“People don’t respond to hatred, they respond to the love of Christ,” Estep said.

Crutchfield honored with Denominational Service Award

HOUSTON—As this year’s recipient of the Paul Pressler Award for Distinguished Denominational Service, Joshua Crutchfield expressed gratitude for a state convention that is “standing fast on the inerrant Word of God, proclaiming the gospel, reaching out to the lost and planting churches that are involved in missions.”

Crutchfield is the pastor of First Baptist Church of Trenton, having previously served Parkview Baptist Church in San Saba.

He received a Bachelor of Arts in biblical studies with a minor in preaching as well as a master of divinity from Criswell College, and he is currently pursuing a Ph.D. at Dallas Theological Seminary.

Crutchfield serves on the long-range committee for Criswell College and is vice president of the alumni association. He served on the most recent search committee seeking a president for the college and was a member of the Committee on Nominations for the Southern Baptist Convention last year. Additionally, he serves on the Executive Board of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention.

Pressler met Crutchfield when he served as an intern at SBTC in 2004 and 2005 and continued to observe his ministry, concluding, “Joshua Crutchfield is successful in his home as a husband and father, as a pastor, a student, and as a man of God.”

Recalling the words of Luke 17:10, Crutchfield said in receiving the award, “When you have done all the work that was commanded, you should say this, ‘We are but good-for-nothing slaves; we’ve only done our duty.’”

SBTC Executive Board Chairman David Fleming praised the fellowship across the generations, saying, “I am reminded we have heroes in the faith— young and old. Thank you for making that a part of the DNA of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention.”

Panel discusses when Christian civil obedience is necessary

HOUSTON—With Christian and secular morality increasingly in conflict in the United States—in the public square and the courtroom—how should Christians respond to real and perceived infringements upon their duty to speak God’s truth into the culture? Is civil disobedience ever an option?

A representative group of Southern Baptists whose work can be or is being impacted by the moral shift addressed these questions during a panel discussion about church and state, Nov. 10 during the 18th annual Southern Baptists of Texas Convention in Houston. The panelists included Jason Allen, president of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary; Steven Goodspeed, attorney with The Church Law Group; O.S. Hawkins, president of Guidestone Financial Resources; Raymond Perry, pastor of Trinity Friendship Baptist Church in Wylie; Kris Segrest, pastor of First Baptist Church in Wylie; and Steve Washburn, pastor of First Baptist Church in Pflugerville. Gary Ledbetter, SBTC director of communications, moderated the discussion. Allowing for the natural conflict between Christians and the world, the panelists agreed disobedience was part of that paradigm. However, they differed on when to initiate intentional pushback to ungodly encroachments.

If the cultural or legal mandate is in direct contradiction with Scripture then, yes, Christians should stand in opposition to it, Hawkins said, adding they must be willing to deal with the consequences of their actions.

“This is an issue that ought to be nuanced,” said Allen. “We don’t want to gin ourselves up to be makeshift anarchists or insurrectionists where we kind of shoot from the hip,” said Allen.

Christians must distinguish whether a government action is incentivizing or dis-incentivizing an action or whether it is forbidding and permitting an action. One is merely an irritant while the other comes in direct conflict with Christian convictions. One requires submission. But when and how a Christian throws off the submissive role as it relates to the government should be given careful consideration.

Pastors should take particular care to guard their pulpits, Washburn said. With few constitutional limits pastors can preach about all manner of people and issues, including politics. But politicians cross a line when they presume to speak about the morals of God.

“Do politicians by their involvement decide what we as pastors, preachers and leaders can address and speak to?” Washburn asked. “Our response needs to be a unified and resounding, ‘No!’”

Perry said civil society does not reflect biblical morals because Christians have withdrawn from engagement in civil society. And it will take courage to take back what has been acquiesced. If Christians today do not take seriously the need to impact the culture for Christ, future generations will be lost.

“We may win the war, but we’ll lose the battle,” Perry said.

Asked how pastors can negotiate subtleties in the relationship between churches and the law, Goodspeed, an attorney, half-joked that pastors and ministry leaders should not defer too much to lawyers in determining what is Caesar’s and what is God’s. But his concern, like Perry’s, stems from a recognition of the destructive nature of “the spirit of the age.”

“One of the concerns that I have is that pastors are at risk of having the spirit of the times whispering in their ears about the selection of sermons and about the power in which they preach from the pulpit,” Goodspeed said. “And the concern out there in civil society that can begin to encroach on the pulpit in very insidious ways.”

Ledbetter asked how the panelists would have handled the Houston controversy over a pro-LGBT civil rights ordinance—a battle that put pastors and their churches at the forefront of the debate where they were subjected to the scorn of their ideological opponents.

Each affirmed the mandate to preach the whole counsel of Scripture as a prescriptive and proscriptive antidote.

“It should not be a confusing or vexing responsibility to do that,” Allen said. Civil disobedience should be “the nuclear option.”

Goodspeed believes churches still stand on solid constitutional ground and will be the last place where “civil society impedes on the pulpits.” But the farther an entity gets from its direct association with a church, faith-based entities, like Guidestone, come under increasing scrutiny. Goodspeed said, “You start to get out of the shadow of First Amendment protection.”

But Hawkins called for perspective. The early church was persecuted—beaten, imprisoned and scattered.

“I don’t see them organizing protests against the Roman government or petition drives. I see them preaching the gospel,” Hawkins said. Civil engagement is good and right, but it was not the priority of the first-century church that ignited the spread of the gospel across the world.

Perry said the attack on the church will be subtle and, therefore, more damaging. Moral decay in the society will eventually be incorporated into the church as seen in the acceptance of same-sex marriage in culture and as mandated by the court.

“I think it’s time for the church to be more proactive in what we are facing than reactive,” Perry said.