Author: Russell Lightner

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.

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.

Changing the world together

In 2012, while driving down the road, the Lord placed a vision on my heart to create a tool that would help people share the gospel across language barriers. That vision became a reality in 2013 when the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention launched the 1Cross app. It was the result of vision, extensive research, hard work, and much prayer.

Over the years, the Lord has used that simple app in incredible ways. When someone uses it to share the gospel and lead a person to Jesus, their information is sent to us. Through 1Cross, we have seen people around the world give their lives to Christ. While I was in a meeting this week, I received a text that someone in India had just crossed the line of faith and made Jesus Lord. I cannot describe the joy I feel when I receive messages like that. Each time, I think back to that ride in my truck when the Lord first placed this vision on my heart.

"It’s the faithful giving of churches that allows the SBTC to create tools for them to use to fulfill the Great Commission."

Nathan Lorick Tweet

The reality is, we would never receive those kinds of texts declaring a new follower of Jesus if it wasn’t for the generosity of SBTC churches giving through the Cooperative Program and Reach Texas. It’s the faithful giving of churches that allows the SBTC to create tools for them to use to fulfill the Great Commission. I want to thank you for your continued generosity and faithfulness. 

God is doing remarkable things through the churches in our network. I could fill every page of this issue with stories of how He is working through the SBTC and its churches to lead the way. I believe God has uniquely equipped our network to lead in many areas, and I remain committed to mobilizing churches to multiply disciple-making movements in Texas and around the world. 

Thank you for giving through the Cooperative Program and the Reach Texas State Missions Offering. Your investment is helping advance the gospel. 

I love you, and I am grateful and humbled to serve you.

One year later, we remember

On July 4, 2025, Texans were doing what Texans do. It was a Friday, and many were readying for a long holiday weekend. Major roadways were congested with travelers. Some kids were gearing up for baseball and softball tournaments, while others were attending or getting ready to head out to summer camp. 

But what seemed like an ordinary day for many was life-changing for others. Massive rainfall in Central Texas caused the Guadalupe River to swell—rising 26 feet in less than an hour, according to published reports—and overflow its banks. The ensuing flood was catastrophic, claiming 139 lives and causing more than $1 billion in damage as entire homes and businesses were washed away.

Southern Baptists of Texas Disaster Relief volunteers began deploying that day, rushing to affected areas in Kerr County, San Saba, San Angelo, and Leander. They set up feeding units and mobile shower/laundry facilities to minister to first responders. They scraped mud out of the homes of those who were fortunate enough to still have a standing structure. Chaplains prayed for and cried with survivors.

While this isn’t unusual, it’s still remarkable. Disaster responses require detailed coordination applied to some of the most chaotic scenarios anyone could ever face. They require ample resources, which, as Southern Baptists, reminds us of the power and practicality of our giving through the Cooperative Program. And responses like this, quite obviously, need people—those willing to give their time, their labor, and their hearts to those in crisis.

"Even in the midst of tragedy, brothers and sisters in Christ who live and work and worship in all the areas where flooding took so much have a testimony—God is present and He is at work."

Jayson Larson Tweet

But that’s only part of the story. Churches in the impacted areas must juggle the tasks of recovery while reaching out to minister to their communities. I’ve heard story after story following disasters like this where people get up early, go to their regular job, and then come home only to face countless more hours of work tarping roofs, mudding out floors, and tearing out sheetrock. Then when their home is done, they move on to help their neighbors and fellow church members. It’s exhausting.

Through all of that, God was—and still is—at work. That’s why we’re using a portion of this issue of the Texan to not only look back and acknowledge what these churches and communities went through, but to celebrate what God continues to do through circumstances nobody would ever choose to experience.

It’s estimated that somewhere in the range of 20 million Texans do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Of those, many would probably say they don’t believe God exists, or they could not imagine Him taking an active role in the lives of human beings. 

That’s why telling these stories one year later is so important. Even in the midst of tragedy, brothers and sisters in Christ who live and work and worship in all the areas where flooding took so much have a testimony—God is present and He is at work. 

God has turned a devastating loss into a testimony for His glory

Editor’s note: Lloyd Parnell, seen above in an older photo with his son, Chris, is a deacon and member of Cross City Church in Euless. He recently shared part of his testimony with the Texan’s Gary Ledbetter. 

My son Christopher was phenomenal. I mean, everything you would want from a son. He was a basketball player. I thought he was going to get a scholarship. Football, track—Chris did it all. Great looking kid. He was popular, had good grades, and went to church. He would take the books of the Bible and memorize them all the way through Revelation. And then he learned to do it backwards. 

As he moved on, I thought, “Man, this guy’s going to be phenomenal. He’s going to be a lawyer.” He wanted to be an athletic trainer. But his last year in high school, something happened to him and he was different. He would be late to class, wouldn’t do his homework right, let his car go down.

I said, “Hey, Chris, what’s going on?” But he never would say much. He wanted to go to Dallas Baptist University, so I put him through the first semester. He was good at soccer and traveled with the team playing, but he failed. I said, “That’s not like you. Man, that’s thousands we wasted.”

He decided to move to Austin after this first semester at DBU. At this point he did everything he did not do while he was growing up. He became a bartender down on Sixth Street. I mean, that’s a horrible place down there. And I’ve been there and seen it. There’s shootings, there’s drugs. Things went downhill from there so that 10 years later he’s on the street, using alcohol and drugs, and had developed all kinds of mental issues. As it turned out, he would come back and we took him in for a while—big mistake. After fixing sheet rock for a couple of months after he would put holes in the walls when he’d have a fit or something, I said, “Chris, we love you, but you got to go, man.”

He was on the street again—Houston, Austin, Fort Worth. He slept in the park and stole stuff to get by. We’d get him in a rehab center and he’d walk out. The last time he was in Austin he fell asleep on the state Capitol steps, probably drunk, and it was summer. The metal edge of the steps gave him third-degree burns on his legs and back so that he had to have surgery to save his life. We brought him home again for recovery, but he began doing the same old stuff and I had to send him out again. He was on the street in Fort Worth until he earned enough money to move to California. We never saw him again. 

Chris was living on the beach out there for a year and a half. A minister worked with him a little bit, but we finally got a call from some city official asking us if we had a son named Chris. I said I did. He was dead. It was Pasadena, I think. We had to go through getting him transported back here. We had this funeral at Cross City Church [in Euless], where I serve as a deacon.

Vicky and I went through such emotional issues with this, but we had the church come around and see us through. We still have people praying for us. I would say what I learned from all that’s happened is to depend on the Lord. He’s the one that gets you through all this stuff.

Chris Parnell is seen getting baptized as an adult. SUBMITTED PHOTO

"Vicky and I went through such emotional issues with this, but we had the church come around and see us through."

Lloyd Parnell Tweet

But to back up to 2015: A pastor, Ben Hayes, had taken Chris in while he was in Houston. For a while, Chris had a job and we were encouraged, but it didn’t work out. But Pastor Hayes would invite him over to his home to watch football, and he talked with him about his relationship with Christ. The pastor sent us a picture of Chris getting baptized. That photo is something that’s given us hope and encouragement since Chris died back in 2020. 

I thought I had professed Christ when I was a teenager. I grew up in church and was ordained as a deacon, but I was not actually saved. A few years later, as I was coming back from East Texas, I realized I wasn’t saved and I was praying, “Lord, I want you to change me. I’m a church member, haven’t missed a Sunday through five years in junior high and high school. I still have my Sunday school pin [for perfect attendance], but I’m miserable.” Inside, I said, “I’ve got to get this Jesus thing all settled up.”

In a pickup truck, I invited Christ in my life and completely changed. I was about 25 and went back, told the church, and the pastor said, “What? You just accepted Christ?”

When I accepted Christ, I just started sharing the gospel. I was a counselor at a Billy Graham event over at the old Cowboys stadium. I mean, I just did all kinds of things as God opened doors. But in December of 2020, after Christopher died in April, I began a ministry of telling our story everywhere that I have an opportunity. There’s two stories that I share: his and mine. That could be at the grocery store, the gas station, it could be on vacation or in church. 

Since December 2020, I’ve shared the gospel 405 times to 728 people. About 290 of them have made professions of faith. I just keep that as an encouragement to me.