Author: Russell Lightner

A question for us all to consider

I love traveling. There is something about meeting new people and experiencing new cultures that I get excited about. Often, when I travel for work, there is not much time to get out and explore different cities. However, I was able to get away and visit a couple of new places this summer.

One morning my wife and I decided to go visit a museum. This one was fascinating, as it held some of the oldest archives I have ever seen. As we walked through the exhibits, my wife made a statement that stuck with me. She said, “I wonder what kinds of things our generation will be known for in a hundred years?” For some reason that question lingered in my mind.

The more I thought about it, the more I began to think about our network of churches. I began to wonder what future generations will remember our generation for as it pertains to gospel advancement across Texas. Currently, there are almost 31 million people who call Texas home. Our best estimates point to at least 19 million of them being lost. This is today, in our generation.

When I think about the challenge of that reality, I feel a huge sense of responsibility while simultaneously feeling blessed the Lord has placed us here. Think about it: there have never been more people in our state and we have never had more tools for advancing the gospel.

As I continued to ponder that question, I began to hope we would be known in future generations for the following intentional kingdom-advancing things:

First, I hope we will always be known as a network of churches that stands firm on the inerrant and infallible Word of God. One of our core values is that we are biblically based. We want future generations to know we believe the Word of God and unashamedly stand for its truths.
Second, I pray we are always known as a network of churches that is serious about seeing people come to Christ and making disciples. The need is urgent and Jesus is the answer.
Third, I hope we are known for being a network that helps strengthen churches and encourage pastors. I am praying God continues to bless the SBTC to walk closely with churches and pastors so they know they are not alone.
Fourth, I hope we will be known as a network of churches that did everything it could to plant as many new churches in our state as possible. God is bringing the world here and we must plant new churches across Texas. This is a unique time, and we have an unparalleled opportunity.

This is not an exhaustive list of what I pray future generations know about the SBTC. They are just a few things that will create massive kingdom impact as we continue moving forward together.

I am so grateful my wife asked that question. It once again refreshed my heart to seek these things together through this incredible network of churches known as the SBTC. I love you and am honored to serve you.

East Texas church uses any means necessary to reach its community for Christ

A squirrel was loose in the building at First Baptist Church in Timpson, so the pastor sent out a notice that he needed a trap to catch it. By the end of the day, a squirrel trap was set and a man he had been praying for was a new brother in Christ.

W. Dee Daniel, the pastor, had led a woman to Jesus last year, and when he asked if she would like to be baptized and join the church, she said she wanted to wait for her husband. Daniel told her he would be praying for her husband’s salvation.

It turns out her husband is a squirrel hunter—the man who showed up to set a trap in response to the pastor’s plea. Before he left, the pastor asked if he’d thought about his spiritual condition. When the man said he had, Daniel asked about his salvation experience.

“I’ve never been saved,” the man replied.

The two sat down to talk, and the pastor asked the man what was keeping him from accepting Christ as Savior.

“I guess I just didn’t know how,” he said.

Daniel led the man to the Lord, and the next week the couple’s teenage son went forward during the invitation and was saved, too. Their daughter followed two weeks later. Earlier this summer, the family of four was baptized in a church member’s swimming pool along with 13 other people.

“From what I can tell by looking back, it’s probably double any other baptismal service they’ve had at the church in the 100-plus years the church has existed,” Daniel said. After the hourlong service, the church family had a picnic and played games to celebrate the baptisms.

Finding momentum

First Baptist Timpson had dwindled to around 65 people on Sunday mornings when Daniel arrived as pastor eight years ago. Most of the congregation was over the age of 65, he said, and the church was in need of revitalization.

“COVID kind of knocked the legs out from under the progress we’d made,” Daniel said.

Timpson is a rural East Texas town of about 1,000 people, and the church is well-known in the area, the pastor said. During his tenure, they’ve tried to focus on reaching younger families, knowing that’s necessary for survival.

Debra Smith, Timpson’s mayor, is a longtime member of First Baptist, having married there in 1977.

“It’s like everything else [in] a community. You have ups and downs and growth spells and spells where it seems like things are slowing down, but we have definitely been in a very upbeat, positive swing at the church,” Smith said.

On Wednesday nights, First Baptist offers a meal followed by Bible studies for children, students, and adults. For a low-to-moderate income community, “it’s a helpful thing to get their kids fed and churched,” Smith said.

About 50 children and students attend on Wednesday nights, the pastor said, compared to a sprinkling of children in years past. On Sundays, total attendance has doubled, averaging 120 to 130. “A lot of our growth has come in younger families,” Daniel said.

“They [younger families] need to feel a personal connection, and by discipling them relationally, it allows them to feel a part of something bigger than them.”

—W. Dee Daniel Tweet

It’s about relationships

One of the greatest breakdowns churches experience in passing faith from one generation to the next comes from a lack of relational discipleship, the pastor said.

“What I mean by that is more than programs, more than meeting times, but true discipleship of following Christ, which leads to more than Sunday morning or Wednesday [engagement],” Daniel said. “I think that’s one of the things we see in reaching these younger families. They haven’t been used to that. They haven’t seen it.”

Relational discipleship helps people connect with specific church members, not just to the church as a whole, the pastor said. Younger generations value such belonging, he added.

“They want to feel like what they’re doing is making a difference. The older generation financially was strong. They would put a lot of money into programs. But for the younger generation, it’s more than money,” Daniel said.

“They need to feel a personal connection, and by discipling them relationally, it allows them to feel a part of something bigger than them.”

Such relational discipleship needs to extend to involving children in ways that could keep them involved during the post-high school years when they typically stray from church, Daniel said.

“If we connect them, they have the stronger connection while they’re in church and while they’re younger so when they graduate or go to college, they still have a strong connection that draws them back,” he said. “They’re not gone for 10 to 12 years.”

One way First Baptist involves younger people is through a food bank ministry that began at the church and has since grown to its own community nonprofit housed across the parking lot from the main building.

“We generally give boxes to about 120 families on the third Friday each month, and I don’t know what I’d do without the volunteers from the church coming and helping get the boxes out,” Smith said. “Our church is very involved in the community.”

First Baptist also sends mission teams to Belize, giving church members an opportunity to be personally invested in taking the gospel to the ends of the earth.

“If you don’t have young families with kids coming to your church, your church is going to be on a decline,” Smith said. “ … If we’re getting older and not having that kind of fruit, having children, eventually the pews will get emptier and emptier.”

5 minutes with Donald Schmidt

Donald Schmidt is the senior pastor of Lakeland Baptist Church in Lewisville, where he has served since 2014. He holds a Master of Divinity and Ph.D. in New Testament Studies from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. The author of the book Prophetic Patterns in the Passion of Jesus: Typological Uses of Davidic Psalms by John and Luke, Schmidt also serves on the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention Executive Board. He has been married to Melody for almost 12 years, and they have three children—Titus, Truett, and Kinsley.

What is something you’re grateful to God for about your church?

I’m grateful our church engages our community monthly in some type of evangelistic outreach. Over the past seven years, God has empowered us to share the gospel with thousands of people through door-to-door evangelism, apartment block parties, local mission trips, and city partnerships, among various outreaches. Encouragingly, we’ve seen our corporate evangelism lead to personal evangelism in the lives of many of our members. At Lakeland, I’m so thankful our people not only believe in praying missionally and giving missionally, but also living missionally.

What do you appreciate most about your current ministry team?

God has privileged me to work with a stellar team of men and women who love Jesus supremely and who are very gifted at what they do. They are such a joy to serve with and advance the gospel alongside. One quality I truly appreciate about our staff is that they do not erect barriers or walls around their ministries. Instead, they willingly and joyfully cross over into each other’s ministries to do whatever is needed to help accomplish the greater mission of the church—to make disciples who make disciples.

What’s one lesson you’ve learned to this point of your ministry you know you’ll never forget?

When I came to Lakeland 10 years ago, I knew God desired our church to be a praying church, but I really didn’t know what it looked like to lead the church to prioritize prayer. As the late Paul Powell [quoting Oswald Chambers] once said, “Prayer does not fit us for greater works; prayer is the greater work.” Through steps we’ve taken to grow in the ministry of prayer, I’ve learned that when we pray, we experience God’s power, presence, and blessings upon our worship, our ministry, and our missional efforts that we would not experience otherwise. It’s imperative, therefore, that lead pastors devote themselves to the ministry of corporate prayer.

What’s one thing you’d like to see God do specifically at Lakeland this year?

One of our church’s most impactful ministries is Lakeland Christian Academy, our church’s private Christian school. We’d love to see God connect many of the unchurched families who are a part of our school with our church this year.

How can other SBTC churches be praying for you?

Pray that God will keep our staff close and clean in our walk that we might finish our races well for Jesus, and pray that God will
keep our church committed to doing whatever it takes to reach
our neighbors and the nations with the gospel.

Un conjunto único de habilidades ayuda a iglesia de Fort Worth a servir a la comunidad y a guiar a otras iglesias a hacer lo mismo

David Escalona, pastor de la Iglesia Bautista Fe (IBF), tiene una convicción fundamental con el potencial de impactar tanto a su congregación como a los miembros de su comunidad:

“Cuando servimos, nuestros corazones se ablandan”.

A veces eso se traduce en pintar, reparar y remodelar casas. En otras ocasiones, puede ser una oportunidad de trabajar junto a iglesias hermanas para suplir necesidades. Cualquiera sea el caso, los miembros de la IBF buscan la forma de alcanzar a las familias para Cristo y darle gloria.

Se trata de un ministerio para transformar hogares––pero también corazones.

“Somos una iglesia donde todos son aceptados y bienvenidos para ser transformados por Dios”, dijo Escalona, “porque Dios no nos deja como nos encuentra”.

La filosofía del ministerio de la IBF nació de algo práctico: Escalona simplemente reconoció que había muchos miembros de su iglesia que eran hábiles en la construcción. ¿Por qué no poner esos talentos y esa experiencia al servicio del Reino? Así, el pastor comenzó a guiar a su gente a trabajar juntos para ayudar a las viudas, madres solteras, ancianos y enfermos en su comunidad que no tienen los recursos para tener la construcción y las reparaciones hechas.

No se imaginaban que su ministerio se ampliaría para incluir la ayuda a otras congregaciones que no tenían recursos ni la mano de obra.

«Hay otras iglesias más pequeñas que la nuestra que lo necesitan, y nosotros hemos dado un paso adelante para servirles», dijo Escalona.

Servir más allá de las paredes de la iglesia

Este ministerio ha tenido un impacto en la iglesia que Escalona y sus miembros nunca imaginaron. No sólo ha ayudado a la IBF a satisfacer necesidades en Fort Worth y más allá, sino que ha inspirado a otras iglesias a empezar a hacer lo mismo para llevar a otros a Cristo. Uno de estos casos ocurrió el año pasado cuando una iglesia hispana del oeste de Texas llamó preguntando por ayuda.

A petición de la iglesia, el grupo de hombres de la IBF ayudó a reparar las casas de dos familias. Durante su visita, Escalona dedicó tiempo a animar a la iglesia para que vieran que ellos también podían utilizar incluso los dones, talentos y recursos más sencillos que Dios les había dado a sus miembros para ser de impacto en su comunidad.

Un mes después, la iglesia del oeste de Texas invitó a la IBF a trabajar con ellos en un proyecto de servicio. La IBF no pudo asistir debido a un viaje misionero programado con anterioridad, pero una vez que el viaje terminó, Escalona volvió a comunicarse con la iglesia del oeste de Texas para ver si todavía necesitaban ayuda.

“No”, el pastor de la iglesia respondió, ya que habían dado un paso adelante en la fe y habían hecho el trabajo ellos mismos, reclutando a hombres de la iglesia y a otros que no asistían para ayudar a restaurar la casa de una familia no creyente. Unos meses más tarde, la iglesia del oeste de Texas informó de que algunas de las personas con las que se habían puesto en contacto en el proyecto, tanto los trabajadores como la familia a la que se había servido habían llegado a la fe en Cristo o habían empezado a asistir a la iglesia.

Escalona dijo que la IBF tiene un grupo de mujeres que también están activas en alcanzar a otros a través del servicio. Los miembros del grupo de mujeres aprendieron a preparar gorros de invierno para llevarlos a los centros oncológicos donde se trata a los pacientes. Mientras están allí, comparten literatura espiritual, esperanza y oran por ellos.

“Es mi oración que Dios continúe dándome la sabiduría para dirigir la iglesia y seguir abriendo puertas para impactar al mundo.”

—David Escalona Tweet

La IBF también utiliza las fiestas en la cuadra para llegar a la comunidad, organizando eventos cada tres meses en distintos lugares de la ciudad. Las fiestas incluyen juegos y actividades para niños y adultos, pero su principal objetivo es compartir el Evangelio con los asistentes. Las fiestas de la cuadra han ayudado mucho a la IBF a conocer gente, invitarla a la iglesia y llevarla a Cristo.

Salir de las paredes de la iglesia se convirtió en parte de la identidad central de la IBF desde el principio. La iglesia comenzó en marzo de 2019 con alrededor de 10 a 12 personas, pero no mucho después, se encontró incapaz de reunirse en su edificio debido a COVID-19. Fue entonces cuando Escalona guió en oración a la IBF a reunirse en diferentes parques de la ciudad.

En poco tiempo, el número de asistentes se duplicó. Ahora, entre 60 y 80 personas acuden cada semana, y la iglesia ya está orando para que Dios les proporcione un lugar más grande donde reunirse, ya que su espacio actual se ha quedado pequeño.

“Es mi oración que Dios continúe dándome la sabiduría para dirigir la iglesia y seguir abriendo puertas para impactar al mundo”, dijo Escalona, “recordando que, si somos el cuerpo de Cristo, debemos ir más allá de las cuatro paredes de nuestra iglesia”.

Unique skill set helps Fort Worth church serve community, lead other churches to do the same

David Escalona, pastor of Iglesia Bautista Fe, has a core conviction that has the potential to impact his congregation as much as it does the members of his community:

“When we serve, our hearts are softened.”

Sometimes that looks like painting, repairing, and remodeling homes. On other occasions, it may be an opportunity to work alongside sister churches to meet needs. Regardless, IBF members look for any ways they can to reach families for Christ and bring Him glory.

Call it a ministry of transformation—of homes, but also of hearts.

“We are a church where everyone is accepted and welcomed to be transformed by God,” Escalona said, “because God does not leave us as He finds us.”

IBF’s ministry philosophy was born out of practicality—Escalona simply recognized there were many members of his church who were skilled in construction. Why not put those talents and experience to use for the kingdom? So, the pastor began leading his people to work together to help widows, single mothers, the elderly, and the sick in their community who do not have the resources to have construction and repairs done.

Little did they know their ministry would expand to include helping other congregations that also didn’t have the resources or manpower.

“There are other churches that are smaller than us that are in need, and we have stepped up to serve them,” Escalona said.

Serving beyond the church walls

The ministry has impacted the church in ways Escalona and his members never imagined. Not only has it helped IBF meet needs in Fort Worth and beyond, but it has inspired other churches to start doing the same to point others to Christ. One instance happened last year when a Hispanic church in West Texas called asking for help.

At the West Texas church’s request, the IBF men’s group helped repair the homes of two families. During their visit, Escalona took time to encourage the church that it, too, could use even the most simple gifts, talents, and resources God had given its members to impact their community.

A month later, the West Texas church invited IBF to work alongside its members on a service project. IBF was unable to attend because of a previously scheduled mission trip, but once that trip was over, Escalona reached back out to the West Texas church to see if it still needed help.

No, the pastor of the church replied, they had already stepped out in faith and done the work themselves—recruiting both men from the church and a few others who did not attend church to help restore the home of a non-believing family. A few months later, the West Texas church reported that some of those they made contact with on the project, both the workers and the family that was served, had come to faith in Christ or started attending church.

Escalona said IBF has a women’s group that is also active in reaching others through service. Members of the women’s group learned to make winter hats to take to cancer centers where patients are being treated. While there, they share spiritual literature, hope, and offer prayer for those they visit.

“It is my prayer that God will continue to give the wisdom to lead the church and continue to open doors to impact the world.”

—David Escalona Tweet

IBF also uses block parties to do community outreach, hosting events every three months at locations around the city. The parties include games and activities for children and adults, but the main purpose of the events is to share the gospel with those who attend. Block parties have been very helpful in helping IBF meet people, invite them to church, and lead them to Christ.

Getting outside the walls of the church became part of IBF’s core identity early on. The church started in March 2019 with about 10 to 12 people, but not long after, it found itself unable to meet in its building due to COVID-19. That’s when Escalona prayerfully led IBF to meet in parks around the city.

Before long, the number of those attending doubled. Now, about 60 to 80 people come each week, and the church is already praying God will provide a larger place to meet as it outgrows its current space.

“It is my prayer that God will continue to give the wisdom to lead the church and continue to open doors to impact the world,” Escalona said, “remembering that if we are the body of Christ, [we must move out beyond our church’s] four walls.”

Prayer: a great time-saver

The first thing I do when I get up in the morning is get a cup of coffee in my hand and the Word of God in my soul. I pray over many requests in my prayer journal and several missionary pictures. I also keep a journal of my life.

I remember two distinct challenges from a couple of seminary professors at Southwestern Seminary. Roy Fish said, “Every great man of God kept a journal.” Bruce Leafblad challenged our class to spend one hour a day in prayer to God.

Sad to say, but at the time I was praying like five minutes a day. To spend an hour a day with God in prayer was the best decision I ever made to help me grow in my relationship with the Lord. Praise God for the privilege of close communion and intimacy with Him. Through prayer, God speaks to my heart, gets my focus off me and on Him, and off my problems and on His sufficiency.

The 27th life principle in Charles Stanley’s series of messages, “30 Life Principles,” is entitled “Prayer—Our Time Saver.” In his typical way, Stanley preached a powerful message on how we must spend time alone with God, talking to Him and listening to what He says to us in His Word. He said he hears people say, “I just do not have time. Where has the day gone?”

We all have problems with time management. James 4:14 reminds us time is fleeting and our days are numbered. “Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.” God has given us all a segment of time, but we do not know how long it will last.

"We will never regret the times we spend with God in prayer and Bible intake. It is our lifeline in a crazy and troubled world."

Danny Forshee Tweet

I think of President Donald Trump’s near-death experience during the assassination attempt on July 13 in Butler, Pa. It was not his time. Trump admits it was a miracle from the Lord that he was not killed. However, for Corey Comperatore, it was his time. He lost his life as he shielded his daughter from the bullets. From what I have read about him, he was a good and godly man who was ready to meet God in eternity.

The best way to spend our time on earth is prayer. Oswald Chambers famously said, “Prayer does not equip us for greater works; prayer is the greater work.” There are many things we can do after we pray, but there is nothing we can do of eternal significance until we have prayed.

Stanley was right: When we spend time with God in prayer, He empowers us to get so much more done. When you are so busy and feel you do not have time to pray, that is when you need to pray the most. We will never regret the times we spend with God in prayer and Bible intake. It is our lifeline in a crazy and troubled world.

I am looking forward to the prayer meeting we will have on Nov. 11 at Sagemont Church as we meet for our Southern Baptists of Texas Convention Annual Meeting. It is truly amazing how God blesses us when we pray and ask for His favor upon us. Make plans to join us for a great time of fellowship and encouragement.

SBTC She Stands conference lands in Africa to encourage, equip women for ministry

When Laura Taylor met Chao Tsuma at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, neither expected that their fast friendship would lead to significant ministry opportunities on another continent.

This summer, Taylor—women’s associate at the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention—joined Tsuma in Kenya to lead a women’s leadership conference in Naivasha and a She Stands conference in Malindi, a community that is 90% Muslim.

Tsuma first experienced She Stands when she volunteered at a conference held at First Baptist Mansfield in 2021. She Stands conferences, held regionally throughout the year, aim to encourage and train women in their lives and ministries.

Tsuma felt an immediate connection with Taylor.

“Laura’s vibrant personality and genuine ability to make everyone feel seen and valued left a lasting impression on me,” Tsuma said. “She invited me into the ministry work, emphasizing that it was the Lord’s work and required collective effort.”

Upon the recommendation of Terri Stovall, Southwestern’s dean of women and Tsuma’s mentor, Chao applied for and was accepted to serve as an SBTC women’s ministry intern under Taylor’s direction in 2023. Her role would be threefold: to help amplify the vision for women in the region, to encourage leadership development among women, and to support Taylor and the SBTC women’s ministry through prayer.

Those duties would include helping Taylor expand the scope of SBTC women’s ministry materials into larger conference formats. On one occasion, Tsuma helped Taylor expand written materials used for a pastor-wife conference into a leadership conference.

In August 2023, the SBTC offered a leadership conference in Arlington for some 40 women’s ministry leaders from the Dallas-Fort Worth area. This past March, 50 women attended a similar leadership summit in Beaumont.

Guests at the Beaumont conference included four women from Nairobi, Kenya—part of Chao’s network of friends—who flew in to attend.

“One is a doctor; two are in economic development,” Taylor said of the Kenyans. “They are successful, professional women who came to the states to experience this conference.”

As plans were being made for two more leadership summits the next year, one in the Metroplex and one in the Houston area, an intriguing question arose: Why not also in Kenya?

“Chao and her Christian friends and network in Kenya have been praying for years for this kind of opportunity. The fact that the SBTC gets to be involved is phenomenal.”

—Laura Taylor Tweet

Why not Kenya?

Encouraged by the attendance of the four Kenyan women, and with the assurance that there were many Christian women in Kenya hungry for similar instruction, Taylor and Tsuma ramped up their efforts. Tsuma returned to Kenya early this summer to lay the groundwork.

“We worked on both ends,” Taylor said. She and her husband, Wade, pastor of First Baptist Alvarado, left for Kenya at the end of July with a small team from Texas.

Two women’s conferences were held in early August: a leadership summit in Naivasha, and She Stands Kenya in Malindi. Topics included developing a personal walk with the Lord, loving others, and leading other women—all scripturally based.

“In my culture, titles are highly regarded. A woman who leads … is highly regarded. She is a woman of influence. … She has a big platform to influence other women. This is the woman we target,” Tsuma said. “If [that woman] stands in Christ, others will follow. … As she grows, she helps other women. Our vision is to equip this woman with biblical principles for daily living.

“We focus on four pillars for her growth: her relationship and growth in Christ, her relationship with others in her home, her economic growth, and her impact on her community.”

Early response in Kenya has been overwhelmingly positive, Tsuma said.

In addition to the conferences, Taylor, Tsuma, and a crew of Texas and Kenyan helpers attended local worship services, engaged in outreaches including providing potable water to villages, and met with the president of the Kenya Baptist Convention.

Besides the two women’s events, Wade Taylor and Tsuma’s husband, James, taught a pastors’ conference, and Wade—an SBTC Disaster Relief chaplain—also offered basic chaplaincy training.
A planned outreach to school girls on the trip was disrupted due to massive flooding in Kenya.

“People are displaced and distressed because of the flooding,” Laura Taylor said of the need for indigenous chaplains to minister in disasters.

Now that the vision has expanded to Kenya, Tsuma and Taylor hope this is just the beginning of women’s ministry training for that country.

“Chao and her Christian friends and network in Kenya have been praying for years for this kind of opportunity,” Taylor said. “The fact that the SBTC gets to be involved is phenomenal.”

For more information on She Stands conferences in Texas and beyond, click the image or email ltaylor@sbtexas.com.

The 3 Cs of casting a compelling vision

Does your ministry vision rob you of sleep? Quicken your pulse? Change your community and world? Why is vision so important for a pastor and a church?

Vision determines your direction and prioritizes your limited time and resources. Let’s explore what can make a vision so compelling that it will inspire and mobilize your church members.

It must be a CONVICTION

Your vision will only burn as bright as you do. When this passion comes from deep within you, people will sense it and follow it. A vision is something you not only see in your mind, but also burns in your heart.

Will Mancini once said, “An opinion is something you’ll argue about; a conviction is something you’ll die for.” People will not be more dedicated than you are to the vision. The outcome is a willingness to sacrifice. This sacrifice can be seen in time, energy, and financial resources. If this is not something you are willing to personally risk your reputation and resources on, it’s not worth pursuing. It’s merely an idea, not a vision.

Does your vision inspire you to the point of personal commitment? Southern Baptist pastors may use different vision statements, but they should all be variations of the Great Commission and Great Commandment.

"Vision serves as a ministry road map, giving both direction and efficiency."

Mark Dance Tweet

It must be COURAGEOUS

You will draw courage from the convictions from which a compelling vision is born—especially when others try to steal your dream, or worse, ignore it.

My last church relocated to a 50-acre campus next to a university with 13,000 students while repurposing our former downtown five-acre campus into a regional ministry center. Most of our members immediately embraced that vision. Some only understood it after it had become a reality. The toughest ones were those who never saw the vision and either ignored or opposed it. Those are the ones I asked Jesus to give me extra courage and patience for.

1 Chronicles 28:20 says, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Don’t be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He won’t leave you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the Lord’s house is finished.”

It must be CLEAR

Vision serves as a ministry road map, giving both direction and efficiency. I don’t know how many times I have started driving in the general direction of my destination before consulting a GPS. In ministry, it is best to get good ministry directions before you lead people somewhere new.

People can’t follow a vision they can’t clearly see. “Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18). Vance Havner once said, “If there is a mist in the pulpit, there is a fog in the pew.”

I have learned so much over the years about vision from Thom Rainer, Eric Geiger, and Mancini when I served with them at Lifeway. Much of what I write about here I learned from them, as well as from field testing these ideas for 30 years as a lead pastor.

My prayer is that you and your church will benefit from the collective experience of those of us who came before you so you can cast a compelling vision and fulfill it for the glory of God and the advancement of the gospel.

The top two priorities of every pastor

Sheep will let you lead them if you first love and feed them. This lesson is crucial for task-oriented pastors like me. This was Peter’s blind spot also, which is why his post-resurrection restoration was such a pivotal moment in his life and ministry.

In Jesus’ third and last interaction with His disciples after the resurrection, they grilled out for breakfast. Then Jesus took Peter on a life-changing walk on the beach (John 21:15-17):

Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?”

“Yes, Lord,” he said to Him, “You know that I love You.”

“Feed My lambs,” He told him.

A second time He asked him, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?”

“Yes, Lord,” he said to Him, “You know that I love You.”

“Shepherd My sheep,” He told him.

He asked him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?”

Peter was grieved that He asked him the third time, “Do you love Me?” He said, “Lord, You know everything! You know that I love You.”

“Feed My sheep,” Jesus said.

Peter was like most action-biased leaders I know: “Charge!”

Jesus leveraged Peter’s latest failure not only to restore him, but to also reset his ministry trajectory with these two simple directives.

"If you try to lead or feed them without loving them first, you may get bit—or worse—ignored."

Mark Dance Tweet

‘Feed My lambs’

Hungry sheep are never happy sheep, so make sure their souls are full from your preaching.

Soon after his restoration, Peter and his friends would face the challenge of prioritizing their prayer and preaching ministry (Acts 6:4). Immediate ministry demands distracted them from their preparations, which led to the spiritual and numerical stagnation of Christianity’s first church in Jerusalem.

The most effective way to prioritize preaching is to consistently start preparing your sermons early in the week. Unless you are preaching on Sunday nights, this ideally could begin on Sunday afternoon (after your nap). If you balk at studying on the sabbath, you should relax and enjoy the sabbath on another day, because Sunday is probably the worst time to rest for a pastor.

‘Shepherd my sheep’

Good preaching won’t make up for bad pastoring. How we treat people offstage is more important than how you teach them onstage. Yes, even those members who are resisting all of your initiatives. Most church conflict is the result of slow, relational erosion, not any one issue.

“We cared so much for you that we were pleased to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us (1 Thessalonians 2:8).

That doesn’t sound very professional, does it? Almost sappy in fact. It took a while to learn that my sheep needed me to be personal more than they needed me to be professional. Pastor, your people are longing to be genuinely loved by you.

I believe gradual relationship erosion sneaks up on a lot of pastors, which is why so many are surprised when their sheep dig in their hooves in response to their vision and initiatives. Perhaps they are not so much opposed to advancing the gospel as they are opposed being pushed or shoved.

If you try to lead or feed them without loving them first, you may get bit—or worse—ignored.

God has given me a new focus and a new mission

Igave my life to Christ 24 years ago. That Sunday I gave my heart to Christ, I was in Dorm 4 at the Bossier Parish Penal Farm in a little town called Plain Dealing, La., serving a three-year sentence. I was literally broken. I was at the point where I was like, “Look, I can’t do this no more.” I told my mom, “I can’t do three years.” She said, “Baby, you have no choice.” But when she said that … I was done. I wasn’t raised to do crime. I took my last step with the world and I took my first step with God, and I’ve never looked back. I got saved and from that moment on I started doing Bible study in prison and stayed close to the Lord, got out, and got right into the church and got baptized. I was 29 years old then.

After getting out of prison, my whole life changed—my wardrobe, everything. I worked as an electrician in Bossier City/Shreveport for about 33 years and got to a point where the Lord started blessing me in the trade. I also started a ministry called A Way of Escape Ministries, from 1 Corinthians 10:13. God gives a person a way of escape through Jesus Christ. Christ was my way of escape from the world and from repeating the negativity and the toxicity in my life. I was preaching on two radio stations in that area, sometimes preaching for local churches, and my wife, Patricia, and I spoke on building a strong marriage. All this while raising eight kids.

I was tired—we were tired—every day trying to work and take care of the ministry. My wife was working night and day, taking two or three shifts in local nursing homes. I was just working night and day, sometimes doing videos online, because we’re on Facebook. I’d work on the videos and fall asleep while I was doing that. I’m sitting at work eight, 10 hours a day doing electrical work.

“My heart’s desire is that those who don’t know God will know the God I know and serve.”

—André Blaze Tweet

Well, God sometimes just speaks out of nowhere—this is the highlight of my testimony. He spoke to my wife one day back in Louisiana and she said to me, “We got to go.” And I was like, “Go where?” She said, “We need to go to Texas. God said go to Texas—God is saying we need to move.” And I said, “Well, I need to go in prayer.” So after 90 days in prayer, we picked up everything. We started for Greenville but ended up finding a house for us in Sherman instead.

I’m building my business here, but it’s not been crazy busy yet. I have some good contacts, and many of the people of my church [First Baptist Sherman] have given me work. I couldn’t have dreamed of this. I can’t tell you [all that] God has done in the year we’ve been here. It’s been a blessing. It’s been a journey. Sherman is great for us. Our family and children are happy. God has allowed me to make enough on the jobs I get so that our needs are met. My wife works, but she just works regular hours. She’s not tired. I’m not tired, and He has blessed us. He’s just so good.

I’ve been changed, refreshed in my relationship with God—the same God who told Abraham to get up and leave the Ur of the Chaldeans, leave what you are familiar with and go to a land that I will show you. That’s the challenge, to really see where your faith is. It’s one thing to teach truth and to teach faith, but it’s another thing to live it. The Word of God is more than just ink on paper. This move has strengthened my faith. I’m refocused. I’m better than I was.

It’s changed my children’s lives. We tell them, “We’re not here to make money, but we make money. You’re not here just to go to school, but you do go to school. We are here on assignment. We are here because of God’s kingdom.”

Now I own a radio station, a gospel station, and it’s called Blaze. God blessed me with that. We’re on 24 hours a day, seven days a week. I’ve got some contemporary Christian music on there, and then my messages. And then we’ve got messages with our children, Bible studies for the entire family. In other words, God has really blessed. I’m also continuing my prison ministry, preaching a few times a month in different facilities.

My heart’s desire is that those who don’t know God will know the God I know and serve. To those who know Him, I’d say be refreshed and know that God is good. Don’t become complacent with God, but know that He is going to take you higher and ask bigger things of you. Give Him what He wants and enjoy the ride.