Month: August 2026

5 minutes: Q&A with Scott Briley

Scott Briley serves as director of facilities and missions coordinator at Glen Meadows Baptist Church in San Angelo. He helped lead his church’s response last year after historic flooding swept through their city. Scott and his wife, Kassi, have three adult children and one granddaughter.

Describe your church’s involvement with DR during last summer’s July 4 flooding?

At the time of the flood, we were in the process of setting up our disaster relief trailer with a quick response feeding unit, or QRU, with SBTC DR. I had been tasked with helping get the trailer ready, gathering volunteers, and preparing our church to serve. The crisis allowed us to deploy at home. We were able to use our trailer, serve our own community, and still be near all our normal resources as we worked through the process. We learned where our gaps were and

made sure we’re equipped for the future.

What is one thing you learned from the crisis that you won’t forget?

We received a picture from a little girl who had been helped by the meals we prepared. We never met her face-to-face because the Red Cross picked up the food and delivered it to families staying in hotels. That picture reminded me that even when you cannot see the people you are serving, God is still using the work to bring comfort and hope.

What are some ways Glen Meadows served the community during the aftermath of July 4?

Glen Meadows served by preparing meals for flood victims. The Red Cross picked those meals up from us and delivered them to people who had been displaced and were staying in hotels. We also sent out crews to help with cleanup, including moving damaged items to the curb. The church itself was not damaged or flooded, but we did have members affected, including staff members. Some people lost a great deal, and we have continued helping some families financially through benevolence.

How did your church work with Southern Baptist DR teams, including SBTC DR teams?

Glen Meadows worked directly with SBTC DR, including the QRU cooking team. We also helped house the volunteers who came to serve. Several church members opened their homes. We do have an SBTC QRU, and this was a meaningful first opportunity for us to use it in our own community while learning from other experienced DR volunteers.

How does the church continue to be involved in rebuilding efforts one year later?

One year later, Glen Meadows continues to help through benevolence as needs come to the church. There were more requests in the immediate aftermath, but the people who lost everything are still going through the recovery process. Those families are still dealing with the long-term effects of the flood, and we have been able to provide financial help in some situations.

How did this historic disaster change the church?

The flood created a greater awareness in our church of disaster relief and the opportunity we have to serve. With the disaster relief trailer parked out front and volunteers in yellow shirts attending worship, people started asking questions. It created a buzz in the church and helped our congregation see that God was moving and that Glen Meadows had a part to play. It also encouraged more people to consider serving. For many, it helped them see that disaster relief is not just an idea or a program somewhere else. It is a practical way to love people in the name of Jesus.

Want to get involved in serving people in crisis through Southern Baptists of Texas Convention Disaster Relief?

Visit sbtexas.com/dr to learn more.

Small group participation linked to higher discipleship scores, Lifeway Research finds

BRENTWOOD, Tenn.—Regular small group participants are likely to be among the most mature disciples in a church, but they still need encouragement in some areas.

According to the latest analysis of Lifeway Research’s State of Discipleship study, U.S. Protestant churchgoers who regularly attend a small group Bible study, such as Sunday school, have the highest discipleship scores.

Those who attend a small group five times or more each month (74.1) and those who attend three to four times (72.4) have higher scores in the discipleship assessment than those who attend once or twice (67.2) and churchgoers who do not participate in small groups at all (60.4).

Across eight signposts that highlight characteristics consistently present in the lives of believers progressing in their spiritual maturity, those who participate in a small group five times or more a month have the highest scores in four signposts and among the highest in two others.

“The value of small groups is seen in higher levels of evangelism, service, giving, disciplines and relationships among those who regularly participate in small groups of adults from church compared to those who don’t,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research. “Americans like to do things themselves, but that isn’t the biblical pattern for following Christ.”

Ken Braddy, director of Sunday school at Lifeway, said those participating in small groups are in environments where the key behaviors of spiritual growth are practiced consistently. “The reason is not simply that people are attending another church event,” he said. “Small groups create the conditions where discipleship flourishes.”

Areas of strength for small group participants

If someone attends small group frequently, they’re also likely to attend worship services and serve in their congregations. Churchgoers who participate in small groups at least five times in a month say they’re at worship services 9.1 times in a typical month, more than any other group. They are also among the most likely to have regular responsibilities in their congregation (48%) and to serve their community with a ministry outside of their church (41%).

Not only are small group attendees active participants at church, but they also seek to make their faith a priority outside the church walls. More than others, those who attend five times a month or more say they’ve made decisions to obey or follow God, with an awareness that choosing His way might be costly to them (13.8 times in a typical month).

Those who participate in church small groups at least five times each month have the highest scores in building relationships (80.5), engaging the Bible (79.4), serving God and others (78.6) and sharing Christ (69.7). And, along with those who attend three to four times a month, those who attend at least five times each month have the highest scores in seeking God (81.9) and obeying God and denying self (79.1).

“In a healthy group, people study and discuss Scripture together, receive encouragement and accountability, pray for one another, serve alongside one another and build meaningful relationships,” Braddy said. “These experiences move discipleship from information to transformation. In short, worship services inspire discipleship, but small groups personalize it.”

Additionally, those who more frequently attend church small groups are the most likely to engage every day in numerous other Christian habits such as studying the Bible themselves (31%) and listening to or reading teaching about the Bible (38%).

In the past six months, they have most frequently shared with someone how to become a Christian (11.1 times), invited an unchurched person to a church service or program (7.6 times), fed the hungry (8.5 times), visited the sick (5.7 times) and visited those in prison (3.6 times).

The most frequent small group attendees are the most likely churchgoers to have participated in a mission trip both in the U.S. (44%) and internationally (33%). They are also the most likely to have been discipled one-on-one by a more spiritually mature Christian (63%) and to have done that type of individual spiritual mentorship themselves (54%).

“Groups provide a smaller community where believers can practice obedience, apply biblical truth, receive accountability and experience genuine care,” Braddy said. “Healthy groups should do more than discuss biblical truths; they should give members opportunities to practice them.”

By contrast, those who say they never participate in a small group attend worship services 3.9 times per month on average. They are also the least likely to have invited someone to church in the past six months (1.4 times compared to 7.6 times for those who attend five times or more). And they are the least likely to have regular responsibilities at their church (16%).

Those who never attend have the lowest scores in obeying God and denying self (69.4), serving God and others (66.4), engaging the Bible (59.8) and sharing Christ (41.1, the lowest score for any attendance group across the signposts).

Compared to their fellow churchgoers, those who don’t participate in small groups are the least likely to say they regularly ask God to help them love all people (72%), follow their pastor’s teaching from the Bible (74%), adjust other priorities to keep God first (58%) and seek justice for those who need it (60%).

One of the most significant impacts of not being in a small group is seen in relationships. Compared to those in groups five or more times a month, those not in groups report significantly lower involvement in biblical community. They are far less likely to have developed significant relationships with people at their church (65% vs. 82%), have several Christian friends who keep them accountable (55% vs. 78%), or believe they need other believers to help them grow in their walk with God (64% vs. 72%). Half as many spend time with other believers to help them grow in their faith (37% vs. 76%) or build friendships with non-Christians for the purpose of sharing Christ with them (30% vs. 66%).

“Not everyone is looking for relationships or has the people skills to easily form relationships, but healthy small groups should welcome and include those people as well,” McConnell said.

“Many people who are in small groups may not realize how essential relationships with other believers are to their spiritual walk. Jesus wants believers to follow Him together, encouraging and helping each other along the journey.”

Other attitudes and activities across the discipleship signposts, however, suggest those who are frequent small group participants could still use some help in their Christian journey.

Areas small group participants need encouragement

In general, the more someone attends small group Bible studies at their church, the higher they score on the discipleship assessment. Two signposts, however, are the exception: exercising faith and living unashamed. In those two, there is no correlation between attendance and scores.

In exercising faith, those who attend five times a month or more (63.4) and those who attend once or twice (67.0) have the lowest scores, while those who attend three to four times (73.2) and those who never attend (74.8) have the highest.

Similarly, in living unashamed, those attending at least five times (55.5) and those attending once or twice (57.7) have lower scores than those never attending (61.3), and those attending three to four times (64.2) have the highest scores.

“Most of the signposts include a good mixture of questions on beliefs, desires and actions. The living unashamed and exercising faith signposts focus on one’s dependence and identification with Christ and only ask at a summary level about actions such as telling others you are a Christian, doubting God or needing God’s help,” McConnell said.

“It is likely these two signposts don’t improve with each higher frequency of small group involvement because frequent group attendees may evaluate themselves more critically, and those who don’t attend groups may generalize they do these things decently.”

Churchgoers who attend small groups at their church five times a month or more are among the least likely to say they want to learn and be reminded of truths in the Bible (83%).

Additionally, when asked about life after death, those who attend small group the least are closer to the historic orthodox Christian belief than those who attend the most. Those who attend five times a month or more are more likely than those who never attend to say they will go to heaven because they have tried to be a good person and live a good life (17% vs. 11%). The most frequent attenders are less likely than the least frequent attenders to say they will go to heaven because they have confessed their sins and accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior (63% vs. 70%).

“Frequent participation in a small group is a helpful contributor to discipleship and should be encouraged,” McConnell said. “However, a perfect attendance record does not indicate a perfect disciple. Pastors and small group leaders must assume there are always attendees who need to surrender to Jesus Christ for salvation or to bring an area of their life in line with Jesus’ teaching.”

Braddy says certain aspects of discipleship require more intentional cultivation, and groups can build accountability into their practices to help members move from learning about their faith to exercising it.

“A healthy small group ministry is not measured primarily by how many groups it has or how many people attend them,” he said. “It is measured by whether those groups are producing disciples who increasingly look like Jesus and help others do the same.”

EQUIP 2026: Hundreds of church leaders strengthened as they receive tools and training at annual conference

COLLEYVILLE—Pastors and church leaders from across Texas converged on CrossCreek Church on Aug. 1 for the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention’s annual Equip Conference. The event was led by more than 70 speakers and 200 breakout sessions covering nearly every ministry area relevant to the local church.

For the first time, Equip included multiple keynote sessions—one led by Robby Gallaty, senior pastor of Long Hollow Church in Hendersonville, Tenn., another by Shane Pruitt, national next gen director for the North American Mission Board, and a third led by José Pacheco, pastor of Hispanic ministries at Hillcrest Baptist Church in Cedar Hill.

Gallaty: ‘Discipleship … is the course of your life’

Gallaty, who has authored several books on disciple-making, titled his keynote, “A strategy to change the world,” rooted in Jesus’ Great Commission found in Matthew 28. Gallaty highlighted three progressions in the text that continue to impact the church’s call to make disciples: the posture of the disciples, the providence of God, and a plan of action.

Gallaty noted that upon seeing the resurrected Jesus, the passage shows some people worshipped Him but others assumed a posture of doubt despite all they had witnessed during His ministry. That doubt, Gallaty said, was likely due to uncertainty about the mission ahead and a failure of focus.

“Faith focuses on God,” Gallaty said. “Doubts and fears put the focus on self.”

Focusing on Jesus will empower church leaders to pour into His followers in a way they could never do in their own strength. That focus begins with a personal commitment to Christ before it can be applied corporately.

“You can’t expect from others what you’re not emulating yourself,” he said. “I really believe the disconnect we’re seeing today in churches comes from people and leaders who are not doing what they’re instructing their people to do.”

Jesus’ Great Commission lays out a clear plan of action: to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them His ways. Gallaty said that mission will be fulfilled as the church continues to grasp the reality that discipleship is a lifelong endeavor that reaches far beyond baptism.

“Discipleship is not a Bible study you complete. It’s not a seminar you sign up for. It’s not a degree you receive. It’s not a program you go through. It’s not a home group. It’s not a weekend event,” he said. “Discipleship is not a class you take. It’s the course of your life. … Baptism in your church should never be the finish line. It’s the starting line.”

Pruitt: ‘Equip young people to obey the king’

Pruitt’s keynote was drawn from Acts 5, when members of the Sanhedrin accuse Jesus’ disciples of continuing to teach in His name in defiance of their orders. The response of His disciples in the passage—“We must obey God rather than people”—forms the foundation for four things next gen leaders in the church can teach today. Church leaders, Pruitt said, must teach Gen Alpha—those born between 2010 to 2024—to obey the king, preach the gospel boldly, understand that truth cannot be stopped, and understand the mission.

Next gen ministries serve “on the front lines” and have an overwhelmingly critical role to play in claiming the world for Christ, Pruitt said. He cited a recent survey that revealed 77% of all Christians surrendered to Christ before the age of 18. Ninety-five percent of all Christians make the decision to follow Jesus before age 30, underscoring the importance of ministries reaching college-aged people and young adults in their 20s.

Reaching them does not require new strategies or ancient truths repacked in attractive ways. While admitting he is a fan of innovation and creativity in the local church, Pruitt said the power of next gen ministry is found in “sticking to what’s always been true,” namely, the Word of God.

“You have the greatest next gen leader there is living inside of you—the Spirit of the living God,” Pruitt said. “He’s been reaching people for a long time. And here’s the good news, friends. The same gospel that has worked for 2,000 years to reach young people still works today. Share the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Pacheco: Grasping deep spirituality

Pacheco, who has extensive pastoral experience in church leadership and in training leaders and teachers, led off a full day of training for Hispanic churches during Equip en Español.

In a culture that continues to attempt to redefine basical biblical truths, Pacheco spoke about the importance of having cultural intelligence during his keynote session. That intelligence, he said, will help followers of Jesus navigate the ever-changing cultural landscape while remaining grounded in God’s truth.

“Superficiality is the curse of our age,” Pacheco said, quoting Richard Foster’s 1978 book, Celebration of Discipline. “The doctrine of instant satisfaction is a primary spiritual problem. The desperate need today is not for a greater number of intelligent people, or gifted people, but for deep people.”

Equip en Español breakout session topics included discipleship, evangelism, prayer, and women’s and men’s ministry.

Don’t waste what God gives freely

I don’t know about you, but when I look back over certain moments in my life and ministry, there are times I wish I had a bit more wisdom. The beautiful thing about wisdom is that God’s Word tells us it is both available to us and abundantly given.

Proverbs, primarily written by Solomon, is full of wisdom that can be applied to every part of our lives. Even though each chapter has godly principles that can help us, I want to look at the first three verses of Proverbs 16.

God is in control

“The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord” (Proverbs 16:1).

I enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in September 2007 and preached my first sermon that December. My job as an airman had absolutely nothing to do with ministry. There was no doubt in my mind God had called me to preach, so I felt the job I should have been working had to be connected to the calling. When the opportunity arose, I applied to become a chaplain assistant. It all made sense—I could work for God and complete my active duty commitment. God was, without a doubt, going to open that door for me.

He didn’t.

I was devastated. In my heart, that was what was best. However, it was not what God wanted. I learned that if we truly want God to be in control over our lives, we have to be as content with the doors He opens as the ones He closes.

"We need God if we are to lead lives that reflect His glory and lead His church with grace."

Caleb Turner Tweet

Conviction without correction leads to corruption

“All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirit” (Proverbs 16:2).

Too often we have seen men who for most of their lives were held in high regard as spiritual leaders but did not end well. At some point, the conviction from the Holy Spirit is consistently ignored and what is wrong seemingly becomes right. When men of God know better but do not do better, destruction follows.

In 1 Samuel 15, God is very specific about how King Saul should destroy the Amalekites. Yet, Saul chooses to keep some of what God commanded to kill. Why? Because he desired what God commanded him to destroy. The worst part is Saul attempts to lie to himself and Samuel about his disobedience. He claims in v.13, “I have performed the commandment of the Lord.” To which Samuel replies, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?” In other words, your sin is too loud to hide.

Conviction without correction leads to corruption. I pray that when our sin nature rears its ugly head, we heed the voice of God and obey His command.

When you are committed, He is the catalyst

“Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established” (Proverbs 16:3).

We need God if we are to lead lives that reflect His glory and lead His church with grace. Moses knew this all too well. He told God in Exodus 33:15, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here.” What good is a plan without His presence?

It’s not just about achieving your desired outcome. It’s about input. This does not mean if you give your plans to God everything you want will happen. On the other hand, it does mean that if you give your work to Him, God will align your work with His will. This allows us to work and trust God with the results.

Wisdom is available. Let us not waste what God gives freely.