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FBC Waskom helps Nome church come home after Harvey 2

JULY 2018

Dripping Springs church primed to reach sprawling Austin 7

Chaplains pay their dues to earn trust 15

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Crossover evangelistic outreach reports 4,229 professions

SOUTHERN BAPTISTS ELECT J.D. GREEAR AND PRIORITIZE PERSONAL EVANGELISM By Tammi Reed Ledbetter Associate Editor

At the end of the Crossover Harvest America crusade Greg Laurie invited attendees to respond to his invitation to give their life to Christ. More than 2,300 people made decisions at the end of the night and received a new Bible. PHOTO BY MATT MILLER

By Tammi Reed Ledbetter Associate Editor

Seminary students, local church members and volunteers from evangelist Greg Laurie’s Harvest America Crusade joined forces to share the gospel across Dallas-Fort Worth June 4-10, celebrating 4,229 professions of faith, the largest number ever recorded for the annual Crossover evangelistic outreach. DALLAS/FORT WORTH

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DALLAS While resolutions recognizing the giftedness of women and the need to protect them from abuse kept Southern Baptists in the headlines June 12-13, the messengers and guests at the annual meeting in Dallas also elected a new president, celebrated 47 newly appointed missionaries, adopted a call to prioritize personal evangelism and heard recommendations for effective disciple-making. In panel discussions and responses to questions from the floor, Southern Baptist Convention entity leaders confirmed that sexual harassment and abuse will not be tolerated. The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission will con-

Newly elected SBC President J.D. Greear, right, embraces SBC parliamentarian Barry McCarty and holds up the gavel passed down to him by outgoing President Steve Gaines. PHOTO BY KATHLEEN MURRAY

duct a study with LifeWay Research on the extent of abuse in churches. (See separate article on issues related to women on page eight.)

J.D. Greear, pastor of The Summit Church in RaleighDurham, N.C., received 68.62 See SBC DALLAS, 9

L A R G E S T F I N A N C I A L G I F T I N S C H O O L’ S H I S T O R Y

Anonymous donor gives $5 million to Criswell College By Rob Collingsworth Criswell College DALLAS Criswell College president Barry Creamer announced June 18 the receipt of a $5 million commitment that will serve as the lead gift for the college’s firstever residence hall, tentatively set to break ground in the spring of 2019. “This is the most significant thing to happen since Dr. Criswell announced his vision to start this school almost 50 years ago,” Creamer said. “It’s a complete game-changer not only financially, but in what it means for us going forward.”

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FBC WASKOM HELPS NOME CHURCH COME HOME AFTER HARVEY By Kay Adkins TEXAN Correspondent WASKOM Invite volunteers from your church to help a struggling congregation in Nome, and they might assume they were heading to Alaska. As it turned out, the members of First Baptist Church of Waskom discovered the town of Nome, Texas, one of the places hit hard by Hurricane Harvey last year. Volunteers traveled nearly four hours south last March to begin rebuilding and renovating First Missionary Baptist Church of Nome, which had been severely damaged by flooding. Since August 2017, the Nome congregation had been meeting off site. The Waskom missions team chair, Rose McLane, told the TEXAN, “It is our understanding that our efforts during the week of March 21 were just enough to bring this congregation back to their home church for Easter Sunday, and it was standing room only.” Early this year the FBC Waskom missions team met to discuss opportunities to serve regionally, with a focus on Hurricane Harvey relief efforts. But

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Since his installment as president in 2014, Creamer says he has been intentional to cultivate an environment that is conducive for traditional students. One of his top priorities for creating that atmosphere has been establishing on-campus housing options. “We have prayed for several years that God would send the right person to Criswell, then move in their heart to provide a lead gift for our first residence hall,” Creamer said. “And he did exactly that with this brand-new friend.” The anonymous donor had no previous ties to Criswell and had never made a financial gift of any kind to the college. “There’s no doubt it was a work of God from beginning to end,” said Michael Clayton, vice president for advancement at Criswell. The $5 million commitment is the largest financial gift to the college in its almost 50-year history. According to Kevin Stilley, vice president for business administration and CBO, it also follows on the heels of one of the college’s most fiscally successful periods. “Over the last three years we

by the time the missions team met to plan, many immediate needs had been resolved. The hurricane, which rivaled Hurricane Katrina with an estimated $125 billion in damage, left much destruction that still needed attention. So FBC Waskom reached out to the SBTC to explore the Adopt-A-Church program and how they could help. Tony Wolfe, SBTC director of pastor/church relations, guided the Waskom missions team to consider adopting the Nome church. Other SBTC churches had helped with immediate needs last fall, including Inglewood Baptist in Grand Prairie and Faith Memorial Baptist in Jacksonville. “None of us knew Texas had a city by the name of Nome,” McLane said. They began to research, and Pastor Ivy Shelton reached out to John Coleman, pastor at Frist Missionary Baptist in Nome, to begin the conversation. Then the missions team met with Coleman on a conference call. According to McClane, Coleman shared that his congregation had been meeting off site, and “they just needed some

have paid off all institutional debt, invested significant funds in the improvement of facilities and infrastructure, and increased our endowments by more than 30 percent,” Stilley said. “This gift continues the trend of increasing assets for the campus.” One advantage of this gift, he said, is the ongoing financial benefit it provides to the college. “Because the dorm will be paid for up front, the proceeds from the leases will funnel back into the college so we can continue providing stronger programming for our students rather than being forced to pay off debt from construction,” he said. According to Clayton, a number of individuals have indicated their willingness to donate toward construction of the residence hall once a lead gift is secured. “This will be a catalyst and motivating factor to others who have been waiting for someone else to take the lead,” he said. “It’s a message that God’s hand of favor is on the school.” Criswell alum Gary Ledbetter said that the gift has the potential to take the college to a whole new level of effective ministry. “I couldn’t be more thrilled to think that Criswell’s campus development plan is going forward,” Ledbetter said. “It’s the answer to many prayers, including my own.”

Students from FBC Waskom volunteered to give up their Disciple Now weekend to help First Missionary Baptist Church of Nome recover from damage following Hurricane Harvey. The newly restored auditorium was ready for worshippers by Easter.

help to ‘come home.’” The team prayed and discussed the opportunity, then voted to adopt the Nome congregation. Since their first trip in March, FBC Waskom has sent two additional weekend teams to speed the progress on the renovations. One of the teams included 16 Waskom youth. Jacob Speight, Waskom’s finance chairman, said, “These guys were supposed to have a Disciple Now weekend in Waskom where we live. When we went to them and asked if they would like to help this church

out, they said ‘definitely.’ They gave up their D-Now weekend to go and help work on this church.” The students painted, made sheetrock repairs, removed debris from damaged rooms and helped wire the stage for audio and video. Thus far, Wascom volunteers from ages 5 to 60 have participated in the recovery work. The church now has use of a classroom, the fellowship hall, a finance office and fully functioning main bathrooms. McClane estimated that after three or four more weekend

“... it allows us to attract students who traditionally wouldn’t consider Criswell, because residential housing is such a high priority for both students and parents.” —RUSSELL MARRIOTT, VICE PRESIDENT FOR ENROLLMENT AND STUDENT AFFAIRS

Since its founding in 1970, Criswell has primarily been a commuter college. Although partnerships have been established with Dallas Theological Seminary and neighboring apartment complexes to provide local housing options, only about 10 percent of the student body currently takes advantage of these. Russell Marriott, vice president for enrollment and student affairs, said he is excited about the impact this gift will have on current and future students. “This gives us the ability to recruit an entirely new demographic of students and help fill out some of our newer programs, such as the B.S. in Education and the B.A. in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics,” he said. “But more importantly it allows us to attract students who traditionally wouldn’t consider Criswell, because residential housing is such a high priority for both students and parents.” One of the challenges the

school has faced in the past, he said, is parents who wanted to send their student to Criswell, but had reservations about the lack of housing options on campus. “Criswell has an urban campus, and we get to take advantage of all the benefits that come with that,” Marriott said. “We have rigorous academic programs, a stellar faculty, and a learning environment nestled in the middle of one of the nation’s most vibrant cities. But the one downside has been the absence of residential dorms on our campus. “We’re just excited that the Lord has provided in such a way to eliminate a significant barrier for students who want to take advantage of all we have to offer.” Although the donor will remain anonymous throughout construction, the college has committed to naming the residence hall in their honor. “We’re beyond grateful for this gift, and we want to bend

trips the renovations should be complete. “Pastor Coleman would like to hold a dedication service when we are done,” McClane said, “and we will make every effort to attend. We’ve met a few of the members of First Missionary Baptist and the smiles on their faces are ‘thank you’ enough.” “Many thanks to the SBTC for giving us the opportunity to work alongside First Missionary Baptist of Nome and Pastor Coleman,” Shelton added. “It has been an incredible blessing to our people.”

over backwards to accommodate our donor,” Creamer said. “We look forward to the time when we can publicly acknowledge their God-honoring display of generosity.” Clayton, who has been at the helm of the school’s capital campaign since he arrived at Criswell two years ago, said the significance is about much more than on-campus housing. “This gift goes far beyond the ability to build a residence hall, which communicates a lot to the community and provides us an opportunity to reach students we previously weren’t able to,” he said. “It says to people that, while Criswell has a great past, it has an even greater future.” According to Creamer, his prayer has been that the Lord would provide a gift that would not only be transformational for the college, but also for the donor. “The Lord answered that prayer on a scale beyond anything I could have ever expected,” he said. “We’re excited to see how God will use this gift as Criswell College continues in its mission of equipping men and women to know and love Scripture and go to the ends of the earth, in every vocation, with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

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“One thing the church will never have to apologize to Jesus for is sharing the gospel too much,” stated Shane Pruitt, Southern Baptists of Texas Convention evangelism director who helped coordinate the 13 launch sites at local churches. “We can’t be selfish with the gospel because it is meant to be shared on a daily basis.” After six days of door-to-door evangelism, 175 students and faculty from Southern Baptist seminaries made 19,464 contacts, initiated 3,180 gospel conversations and reported 340 spiritual commitments as part of this year’s Crossover evangelistic outreach prior to the annual meeting of Southern Baptists. Local SBC churches throughout DFW hosted the groups after students spent their mornings taking an evangelism class at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Thousands of volunteers hit the streets June 9 with gospel conversations from launch sites around the Dallas/ Fort Worth area. They saw 675 people profess faith in Christ and invited thousands of people to the crusade led by Laurie on June 10 where another 2,339 people were saved. With live streaming of the event, over 100,000 unique viewers watched online and 875 people made professions of faith. An inability to speak Spanish fluently didn’t stop three students from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary from leading a non-English-speaking Hispanic woman to the Lord while visiting Grand Prairie neighborhoods. “We had an English tract and gave her a Spanish language version of the same tract and walked her through it,” explained Brian Steward who was joined by Abby Miller and Misti Short. That’s when the group turned to the 1Cross app developed by the SBTC to provide 3-minute gospel testimonies in over 60 languages. “We let her watch the video and then she repeated it at the end so we knew for sure she understood the gospel and we got to lead her to Christ.” Over in Fort Worth, Rebekah Goodman of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary was walking through a neighborhood with another student, headed to an apartment complex. “We took a wrong turn and walked across to a place we weren’t supposed to be.”

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There they encountered a homeless man named Josephus and began explaining the gospel to him. “He had never heard it before and he accepted Christ,” Goodman said. “It was really a cool moment and we weren’t even supposed to be going that way.” Brian Post and Justin Wine of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary met a man named Javier while visiting a Fort Worth neighborhood. “He said he was fine with speaking English, but I wasn’t sure it was most comfortable for him so we changed over to Spanish,” Post said. The man said he believed in God, but when asked about Jesus Christ, he admitted he did not. “We talked about what it is to ask Jesus to come into your heart and make that decision for eternity,” Post recalled. “At first he didn’t make a decision, but said he understood and we prayed.” After more discussion, Post and Wine made sure Javier understood everything Christ had done for him. “‘He said, ‘I am just so thankful for what Jesus did for me,’” Post said. “We prayed again and being able to hear from him was the most important part,” he added, describing Javier’s testimony of faith in Christ. “I had never led someone to Christ before and he was excited, too, asking, ‘What now?’” The students gave the man a Bible and located a nearby Hispanic congregation to follow up. When Southwestern Seminary student Esther Constante knocked on the door of a single mother in Fort Worth, the woman told her she was too busy to buy whatever the visitors were selling. Having explained that she had just come out of a difficult relationship, Constante told her, “You know what? You’re not going to be alone anymore because today we are here to tell you that you are not alone.” The woman began crying and told the students she had asked God to send her a sign because she needed someone to walk with her, feeling alone and tired. After Constante shared the gospel, the woman said, “I want to receive Christ in my life right now,” and prayed to profess her newfound faith. Constante recalled the woman saying, “‘I just want to hug you all. Thank you for coming to my door. I needed a sign

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5 New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary students talk with a man in Grand Prairie while visiting neighborhoods as part of the Crossover evangelistic outreach effort preceding the annual meeting of Southern Baptists in Dallas. PHOTO BY TAMMI LEDBETTER 6 Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary students pray with a group of men they met while going door-to-door to share the gospel. SWBTS PHOTO

and God sent the Bible to my door.’” After giving the woman a Bible and connecting her with a local Southern Baptist church, the students told her to start reading the Gospel of John. She responded by saying she’d start reading that night and would be at church on Sunday. “You could see her face change completely,” Constante said. “It was very encouraging.” Launch churches affiliated with SBTC included First Baptist Euless, First Baptist Irving, First Baptist Keller, Tate Springs Baptist in Arlington, Prestonwood Baptist in Plano, First Baptist Dallas, First Baptist Church of Farmersville and North Richland Hills Baptist. “I’m not here to talk to you about religion,” Southern Baptist Evangelist Greg Laurie told the crowd of an estimated 35,000 people gathered at AT&T Stadium in Arlington on June 10. “I’m here to talk to you about a relationship with God that you can experience,” he said. “Christ can fill that big hole that is in your heart right now. We all need him. We all need a Savior. There’s so much stuff to distract us and emptiness to make us feel alone. Yet, Jesus, who created us, also gives us purpose. Jesus loves

us all no matter what we do or say or have done before so much.” “People might say crusades are over but all you have to do is look around,” Prestonwood Baptist Pastor Jack Graham of Plano said of the thousands who gathered on a Sunday night. “It works because it brings people together in a time when we have so much dissonance and division. “I believe in invitational evangelism,” Graham said. “We invite many to come to know and follow Christ in our churches. And in a great environment like AT&T Stadium, a crusade can bring churches together and allow a great evangelist to proclaim the gospel and invite people to Christ in an effective way.” “This was a great opportunity for people to hear, ‘God loves you,’” said attendee Brian Cole, minister of communications and worship at Hillcrest Baptist Church in Cedar Hill. Pruitt said Crossover provided a firsthand opportunity to see that the greatest forces in the world are God and his church unleashed in unity to advance his kingdom. “We got to see the church mobilized to reach thousands.”

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WHAT I SAW AT THE 2018 SBC Gary Ledbetter Editor

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’ve attended nearly every SBC annual meeting since 1982 and the experience of it coming to your home county is very different than travelling hundreds of miles to attend. On the positive side, the convention gives local ministry a boost and gives Southern Baptists a little notice in the media. This year’s meeting was unusually interesting because of several issues the messengers discussed and considered both during our business sessions and in hallway conversations. Even before the last-minute announcement that Vice President Pence would speak, attendance by non-Baptist media was higher than it has been in years. Our business was on public display well before we convened in Dallas. Here are some thoughts on some of the more prominent issues that we considered.

The presidential election This has been the biggest issue for many years of our history. It was not this year. Although this race was a true campaign and both candidates really wanted to win, the distinctions between them were minor compared to the races of the 1980s. Both men are inerrantists, practice missions and evangelism, and have demonstrated an ability to lead. Ken Hemphill and J.D. Greear were gracious and dignified in their comments about each other, though some of their partisans struggled with this. It was an important election but the outcome was neither the end of the SBC nor the assurance of our future. Crossover Dallas - This was a big deal. Hundreds of Dallas-Ft. Worth Southern Baptists went door to door in hot weather to share the gospel with their neighbors. Our seminaries provided 175 students and professors to help with this effort during the week before the convention—Southwest-

ern Seminary provided 100 of those. These volunteers knocked on nearly 20,000 doors and recorded 340 professions of faith. Saturday events and an enormous rally Sunday night added strength to this earlier effort and brought the total professions to 4,229, the largest number recorded during the history of Crossover efforts. Lives, families, businesses and communities were blessed because the SBC came to Dallas and God used our people to preach the gospel across the region. This is puzzling, maybe boring, to outsiders looking on but it should never be to us, and it certainly is not to the people whose lives God transformed. The SBC #metoo moment The issue of respect for women was intermingled in nearly everything we did. It was mentioned in sermons and reports, was a frequent question of SBC leaders, spawned a leftist rally outside the convention hall, and was the subject of panel discussions and resolutions. Clearly, the churches of

Seven steps when seeking God’s will Chuck Lawless Guest Columnist

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’ve been there. Perhaps you’re there today. You’re seeking God’s will about some decision, and you simply don’t have clarity. Maybe these steps will help you as you press forward.

Scriptures (like giving thanks and avoiding sexual immorality—1 Thess. 4:3, 5:18). Why should God show us any more details when we’re not faithful to what he has revealed to us?

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Yesterday is gone, and God already has tomorrow in his hands. Leave tomorrow there – and be faithful today.

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Keep talking to God about your confusion. He already knows it, but it does us good to confess it to him. Somehow, simply talking to God has a way of helping us think through our options. Proclaim your trust in him even as you express your questioning.

Deal with any unrepentant sin issues. I’m not sure we understand how much our ongoing sin hinders our following God faithfully. It blocks our prayers and hampers our Be faithfully in the fellowship. It robs us of joy Word of God. I know this and risks the judgment of God. Ask the Lord to help first step might sound too basic, Moreover, it makes it difficult to you delight in him— but that’s the point: you’re not hear God clearly. and leave the next steps in going to determine what God Be faithful to your last his hands (Psa. 37:4). When we wants if you don’t put yourself point of clarity. I trust know him, the unknown is not in a position to hear from him. you are where you are today nearly as troublesome. After Neglecting the Word won’t because you followed God to all, nothing is unknown to him. bring clarity. that place and that work. If so, What steps have been most Follow what you do trust that God has you there helpful to you? know to do. The prob- until he gives you clarity in Chuck Lawless is dean and vice-president lem with most of us is not that some other direction. of graduate studies and ministry centers we can’t figure out God’s will; Serve God in the pres- at Southeastern Seminary in Wake Forest, it’s that we don’t obey him in ent tense. This point, of NC, where he also serves as professor of the things that are clear in the course, connects with #4 above. evangelism and missions.

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Jim Richards, Executive Director Gary K. Ledbetter, Editor Tammi Ledbetter, Associate Editor Gayla Sullivan, Circulation Manager Russell Lightner, Layout and design

Correspondents: Bonnie Pritchett Jane Rodgers Kay Adkins Erin Roach Karen L. Willoughby

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our convention have struggled to teach both biblical complementarianism (the doctrine that men and women are equal before God but assigned different roles in church and marriage) and equal respect. As often happens, a cultural moment is helping us examine our own hearts. But I would add that this is not a moment wherein our churches or their cooperative ministries are reconsidering our convictions about women pastors. Our new president made clear during his press conference that this was no part of the agenda, for his part. Al Mohler of Southern Seminary also drove home this point during his report. Abandoning complementarianism is a completely different discussion, and one we’re not having. Mike Pence - In a surprising dust up, a significant number of messengers favored disinviting Vice President Pence the day before he was to speak to the convention. Reasons varied from the company he keeps to sensitivity toward minorities to the disruption the visit would cause for our Wednesday morning session. Mr. Pence did speak but I doubt any national political figure will speak to us live again for a while—if for no other reason than its significant impact on our program. While many who opposed honoring the invitation said this pushback was not personal, it did appear to largely be just that. It’s one thing to say, “Let’s not do this in the future”; it’s another thing to be churlish and disrespectful after the matter is decided. The firing of Paige Patterson - This was probably the most uncomfortable aspect of our convention discussions. It was

present from the first introduction of business until the last session of the convention. Multiple motions were introduced calling for some members of the SWBTS trustee board to be removed from service. The Committee on Order of Business scheduled debate on a motion to remove the board’s Executive Committee for Wednesday afternoon. The motivation for the motion was the committee’s May 30 termination of Patterson and revocation of all titles and benefits granted by the full board on May 23, following a marathon 13-hour meeting. It was a tense but clarifying conversation that ended with an overwhelming vote against the motion. This action completed the general discussion of the Patterson firing. Though many things about this event are grievous, the seminary’s response to the accusations against Paige Patterson, and the convention’s response, is behind us. Many have said silly things about our Dallas meeting. No, J.D. Greear is not going to remake the denomination (no one does that during a two-year presidency). Neither did convention messengers do anything to signal that they wanted to resign from the culture war, as one outlier suggested. We came out of Dallas committed to missions and still committed to biblical doctrine--including doctrine related to sexual morality, order in our churches and a biblical understanding of gender. Our convention has challenges, big challenges in our future, but those who were committed to our common mission going into that week came out of the week with some reasons to be encouraged.

Letter to the Editor, Have we just elected another Russell Moore type to be our president of the SBC, pastor J.D. Greear? Do we see socialist driven agendas coming into our denomination? Will we become like the other socialist type denominations that stray away from the pure truth of God’s Word? Are we seeing 2 Thessalonians 2:3 coming true for our denomination, falling away from truth? Luke 18:8b, “Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” Pastor John Fisher First Baptist Church of Point Comfort, Texas

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FIVE TAKEAWAYS FROM THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION 1

Jim Richards Executive Director

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irst I would like to express my appreciation to Southern Baptists for joining us in the greatest outreach effort in the history of the SBC. More people professed Jesus as their personal Savior during Crossover than ever before. We give God all the glory! There were numerous meaningful events preceding and following the SBC that did not get as much attention. These gatherings benefited the churches. Thank you to the SBTC staff and churches who contributed to make these ministry activities a blessed experience. Every year churches have the opportunity to make decisions at the Southern Baptist Convention that literally will impact millions of people. This year was no different. Major actions were taken that could help shape a better day for the SBC. I am hopeful for a renewal of cooperation among the 47,000 churches. In my optimism I found five takeaways that encouraged me.

We are undeterred from our missionary focus - The Southern Baptist Convention remains a group of churches that finds commonality in getting the gospel to those who need Jesus. This was evident from the Evangelism Task Force and the Discipleship Study Group reports. The IMB commissioning service pointed us to the unreached. The Great Commission remains great among Southern Baptists. Decorum prevailed - Tough topics were discussed with generally positive decorum. Although there were tense moments, from the person in the seat to the president’s moderating a Christ-like attitude prevailed for the most part. Messengers exhibited the desire for fairness in deliberations. People were allowed to share their concerns before the body. Opinions expressed in resolutions brought clarity to issues - Southern Baptists’ renounced racism, affirmed human dignity, addressed abuse and called for holiness. There was much more but there is no doubt about Southern Baptists’ commitment to a biblical inerrancy that calls for a biblical sufficiency to instruct believers to walk in the Spirit.

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YOUNGER LEADERS ARE PARTICIPATING IN THE LIFE OF THE CONVENTION IN THE GREATEST NUMBERS I HAVE EVER OBSERVED.

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The future is now – A generational shift was evident not just by the election of J.D. Greear but by the number of attendees who were of the rising generation. For years there has been handwringing about the absence of younger leaders. This year started a new trajectory for the SBC. Younger leaders are participating in the life of the convention in the greatest numbers I have ever observed. God’s people worked and witnessed – this was evidenced by the staff and volunteers of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. From the record attendance at the SBTC reception to the partnership with the ERLC for the Global Hunger Relief run, every effort was made to be a good host to the thousands who came to Texas. The SBTC was allowed to host the prayer room for the

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convention. Many SBC organizations expended energy to accommodate their fellow Southern Baptists. Numerous service people in the convention center were touched by the gospel. Our witness as Southern Baptists was strengthened, not diminished. As we go back to our churches we can be confident the entities will carry on the work of the convention under the watchful eye of Southern Baptists. Participation through the Cooperative Program is vital for the excelling of ministry expansion through the SBC. Join me in praying for God’s favor to be upon us as a convention to see the furtherance of the gospel. As God’s Spirit leads us through his Word, we can believe that our best days are still ahead. Let’s stay together and keep moving forward with the gospel!

Seeing Heaven on Earth Joshua Crutchfield SBTC First Vice President

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he Vegas performer David Copperfield recently went through every magician’s worst nightmare—secrets to his magic trick had to be revealed. Copperfield was sued by a volunteer from the crowd who claims that he was injured during the performance. As a result, Copperfield’s producer had to show the courtroom the play-by-play as to how this trick is

performed. With every detail, the mystique of the magician dissipated along with the smokescreen and the awe of the crowd. Once the magic is explained, the wonder disappears. It seems today that much of the church can be explained and as a result there is little wonderment for its existence. We find that most churches exist because of shared lifestyles and interests. People gather with others who are most like themselves. This is true of ethnicity, education, profession and just about anything else that functions as an identifier. So, when the world sees the local church, the world sees some-

thing they can explain in terms much like their communities’ social clubs and affiliations. The church looks more like a natural phenomenon that is easily explained away than a supernatural movement that can only be explained because of God. The church is heaven’s outpost on earth and a demonstration of God’s supernatural work. I love preaching about heaven. But I hardly preach about heaven in the way that you might expect. I do not preach about the place that you go to when you die, but what has erupted on earth because of the supernatural work of God. When Jesus walked the earth, He proclaimed that the kingdom of heaven had come and commissioned his disciples to say the same (Matt. 10:7). The King had come with power and authority and began to overthrow the dominion of darkness with every blind eye opened, every deaf ear unplugged, every dance of the lame and every song of the mute. Jesus came and gave us glimpse of heaven as he gave us a glimpse of himself. Where Jesus is, heaven is also there. But upon his departure, Jesus poured heaven out upon his people and filled them with the Holy Spirit. By the presence and work of the Holy Spirit the church comes together as a diversely unified body with one hope, one Lord, one baptism and one God (Eph 4:4–6). This is not a programmatic organization, but an enigmatic organism that cannot be explained except that God has brought and is bringing all peoples together as a manifestation of heaven on earth. People who want to know what

heaven is like should be able to join you for worship on Sunday with your church family and find out. For the month of July our state convention encourages our churches to demonstrate the supernatural and look like heaven. Of course, their desire is that we would always demonstrate the supernatural, but for this month more emphasis is given on reflecting heaven on earth. Pastors are invited to share pulpits with those who might not share their ethnicity, or choirs in congregations whose culture might not be the same. While the churches that make up our convention are diverse in just about every kind of category, they are unified together through a shared Savior who has provided the same Spirit for every gospel-centered, God-glorifying assembly. Consider how you and your church family can reveal the supernatural work of God in your community. When our congregations begin to see that Jesus is the common denominator who brings all peoples together, then the world will begin to see the supernatural—heaven on earth. Those outside the faith community will see the extraordinary because there is nothing ordinary about a church filled with peoples from every culture, every background, and from every walk of life, coming together as a family for the purpose of loving God by loving one another. A church who comes together like this does not do so with smoke, mirrors or lights, but by the supernatural, awe-inspiring power of God who reveals heaven on earth through a people who look and live like heaven.

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Gallup: Pro-life identity is on the rise The percentage of Americans who call themselves pro-life has increased slightly in recent years, according to a new Gallup survey. The poll found that 48 percent of Americans now call themselves prolife, an uptick from the 44 percent who answered the same way in

2015 and the 46 percent from last year. Meanwhile, 48 percent call themselves pro-choice. Last year, 49 percent labeled themselves prochoice, and in 2015 it was 50 percent. Further, the survey found that 53 percent say abortion should be legal in only a few (35 percent) or no (18 percent) circumstances. That conflicts with current law, which allows abortion in all stages of pregnancy for any reason. Forty-three percent

BRIEFS GuideStone to launch lower-cost Secure Health plan Churches and pastors looking for budget-minded health care coverage as well as protection for their employees and their families have another option to consider with enrollment to begin July 1. “We hear daily from pastors and other church leaders who feel the tension between wanting to do right by their employees while also being responsible to their budget,” said O.S. Hawkins, president of GuideStone, which is marking its 100th anniversary in 2018. “With Secure Health we wanted an option that provided lower-cost coverage and protection for church employees as well as their families.” Under the new Secure Health plan, eligible participants still have access to the nationwide Blue Cross Blue Shield network. Primary care visits and Teladoc consultations are available at no out-of-pocket charge. Some care—such as out-of-network service—is not covered. Before enrolling in the plan, participants are encouraged to review their health coverage needs to see if GuideStone’s Secure Health is the appropriate coverage choice. Monthly costs for the plan are pre-tax and offer significant savings compared to comprehensive PPO plans. Ministers and churches can visit GuideStone.org/ SecureHealthInfo to sign up to receive emails to learn more about the plan. —Baptist Press

Churches must abandon 600MHz wireless sound systems Churches that haven’t updated their wireless sound system may have trouble being heard on any given Sunday, as the federal government is phasing out the 600MHz frequencies many congregations use.

The Federal Communications Commission will complete the transition of the 617-652 MHz and 663-698 MHz spectrum bands from wireless microphones and television broadcasts by July 13, 2020, but the transition began in 2017. The frequencies are being transitioned to wireless communicators such as cellphone companies to meet industry demand, and will become unavailable for use by wireless mic systems by the 2020 deadline or earlier, according to the FCC. Violators could face fines or additional criminal penalties, the FCC reported. Churches that haven’t updated their wireless sound systems in recent years are more vulnerable to sound system failure, said LifeWay Christian Resources’ Mike Harland. “Where it would impact churches is if they have wireless equipment that may be a few years old, and not be aware that it falls into those categories that have been discontinued and not available,” said Harland, director of LifeWay Worship. “If they’re not aware of that, they could actually walk out on Sunday and nothing work, and they may not know why.” Frequency information should be recorded on a mic’s receiver or within the mic’s battery compartment, Harland said. “If they’ve bought something recently, this is very likely not an issue,” he said, “but if it’s something they’ve had a number of years, they would want to check that ahead of time.” Many systems can be reconfigured to a legal operating frequency, according to industry insider Worship Facilities.com. —Baptist Press

Jockey wins Triple Crown, thanks ‘Lord and Savior Jesus Christ’ Jockey Mike Smith led Justify to a rare Triple Crown victory in June and gave God the glory during a nationally televised interview. “First and foremost, I thank my Lord and Savior Jesus

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say abortion should be legal in all (29 percent) or most (14 percent) circumstances. A plurality of adults—48 percent— say abortion is “morally wrong.” Forty-three percent say it is morally acceptable. The survey was conducted May 1-10 and based on interviews with 1,024 adults. —Gallup.com

Christ for blessings on this wonderful day,” he said seconds after winning the Belmont Stakes. “We’re also blessed we made it back safe. This horse made a tremendous race. He’s so gifted. He’s sent from heaven.” The Triple Crown involves wins in the Belmont, Preakness Stakes and Kentucky Derby. Justify became the 13th horse to win all three races but only the second since 1978. Smith—who at 52 became the oldest jockey to win the Triple Crown—also thanked Jesus during a televised interview following his Kentucky Derby win. “I just couldn’t keep it inside of me,” Smith told CBN News. “I truly give God all the glory and I had to say it. Without Him I wouldn’t have all the success I do.”

this is what we’d expect in a biblical worldview—indeed it’s what creationists have been saying all along, although their timeframe of 100,000– 200,000 years is inflated, due to evolutionary assumptions.” Thaler and other researchers believe a catastrophic event in the last 200,000 years wiped out most life on Earth, forcing life to start over. Ham says the event was the flood. —Answers in Genesis

Court’s wedding cake ruling will impact religious freedom ‘for years to come’

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Pro-evolutionary scientists reach anti-evolutionary conclusion in DNA survey

New research that found 90 percent of animal life came into being in the past 200,000 years affirms what Scripture says about creation and the flood, says Answers in Genesis founder and CEO Ken Ham. The study, published in the journal Human Evolution, examined the “DNA barcodes” from 100,000 species around the world. Phys.org – a website that affirms the evolutionary model—called the findings “startling” and said it overturned “more than one settled idea about how evolution unfolds.” “This conclusion is very surprising, and I fought against it as hard as I could,” researcher David Thaler of the University of Basel in Switzerland told AFP. But the results weren’t surprising to Ham. “In an evolutionary worldview, which assumes an ancient age for many of the species we have today, the results of this study are shocking,” he wrote on his blog. “Evolution doesn’t expect the vast majority of our species to have arrived at the same time, nor does it expect species to have these clear genetic boundaries. But

Religious liberty advocates say the Supreme Court’s decision in the muchdiscussed “wedding cake case” will have a positive impact on the judicial system for a long time. “This case will affect a number of cases for years to come,” said Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) senior counsel Kristen Waggoner, who defended in front of the Supreme Court the baker at the center of the controversy. The justices, in their 7-2 decision, ruled that the state of Colorado violated the First Amendment’s guarantee of religious freedom when it told baker Jack Phillips to design a wedding cake for a samesex couple. Specifically, the justices said the state showed hostility toward religion. “The Civil Rights Commission’s treatment of his case has some elements of a clear and impermissible hostility toward the sincere religious beliefs that motivated his objection,” Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in the majority opinion. “… The Commission’s hostility was inconsistent with the First Amendment’s guarantee that our laws be applied in a manner that is neutral toward religion.” Waggoner’s belief about the case’s impact was seen two days after the ruling, when ADF announced it would appeal a ruling to the Arizona Supreme Court that is similar to the wedding cake case. In the Arizona case, a Phoenix art studio was told by the city that it must design artwork

for a same-sex couple. ADF quoted the Supreme Court ruling. “The Supreme Court reaffirmed that ‘religious and philosophical objections to gay marriage are protected views and in some instances protected forms of expression.’ Phoenix’s position contradicts this principle and violates our clients’ artistic and religious freedom. We intend to appeal the court’s decision,” said ADF attorney Jonathan Scruggs. —ADFMedia.org, ChristianHeadlines.com

Employees quit after American Bible Society enforces biblical beliefs Several American Bible Society employees quit in May after the nonprofit organization said it will require all workers to adhere to a document that affirms traditional biblical beliefs. The two-page document includes such statements as, “I believe in and worship one God eternally existent in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,” and, “I believe the Bible is inspired by God, an open invitation to all people, and, for me, provides authoritative guidance for my faith and conduct.” Some employees opposed the document’s stance on marriage. It reads, “I will seek to refrain from sexual activity outside of the marriage covenant prescribed and exemplified in the Bible: ‘a man will leave his father and mother and unite with his wife, and the two will become one,’ symbolizing the relationship between Christ and His Church (Matthew 19:5; Ephesians 5:31).” The American Bible Society was founded two centuries ago and has about 200 employees. At least nine quit, Religion News Service reported. ABS is headquartered in Philadelphia. —Religion News Service

National CP 3.59 ahead of projections Year-to-date contributions to Southern Baptist Convention national and international missions and ministries received by the SBC Executive Committee were 3.59 percent above the year-to-date budgeted projection and 1.54 percent above contributions received during the same time frame last year at the end of May. Designated giving was 5.19 percent above receipts of May last year. —Baptist Press

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DRIPPING SPRINGS CHURCH PRIMED TO REACH SPRAWLING AUSTIN By Erin Roach TEXAN Correspondent DRIPPING SPRINGS First Baptist Church in Dripping Springs was about 20 miles from Austin when it was founded in 1875 in a community of about 200 people. But Austin’s vast growth has reached Dripping Springs and the church is positioned to reach the 35,000 living there now. Matthew Nance, pastor of First Baptist Dripping Springs, told the TEXAN that Dripping Springs’ population is projected to double in the next eight years. To address that growth, First Baptist is working to become a multigenerational congregation with emphases on ministry to Hispanic immigrants, and on meeting practical needs in the community. First Baptist Dripping Springs affiliated with the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention this year, and one of the reasons, Nance explained,

is the SBTC’s strong level of cooperation with churches across the nation. “I am thrilled that the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, in my understanding, leads the Southern Baptist Convention in the percentage of money that is passed on from the state level to the national level,” Nance, a former Southern Baptist missionary, said. To support that effort, First Baptist Dripping Springs plans to increase its Cooperative Program giving by half a percentage-point each budget year until it reaches 10 percent. The church now gives 8 percent of its undesignated receipts through CP. Nance was a church planter in Texas from 1981-90 before serving with the IMB nearly 20 years in East Asia. He then pastored in Georgia and Oklahoma before returning to Texas last year as pastor of First Baptist Dripping Springs. When Nance was a church planter, there was only one

state convention, he noted, and they paid part of his salary each month. “I went to all of their meetings, so I felt a heart connection with them,” he said. In 1999, the IMB asked Nance to represent them at the SBTC annual meeting in addition to the old convention. “I went to the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention expecting not to feel comfortable there because I wasn’t a part of that in the past. To my surprise, I heard ‘Cooperative Program,’ ‘Southern Baptist missions.’ … All of the things that I felt convicted about were being represented,” Nance said. When Nance arrived in Dripping Springs, the church was still recovering from losing its building to a fire 10 years ago. The congregation almost disbanded back then, he said, after most of the people left for other churches. “There were about 40 people that stuck with it in a local gym, and they rebuilt the church

building, and it’s a beautiful facility that’s paid for,” Nance said. “We have an average worship attendance of 170. We’re growing.” First Baptist Dripping Springs has many young families with elementary-age children as well as many senior adults, he said, “so our current challenge is to become truly multigenerational.” They’ve started a new ministry for people ages 45-60 and have about four new families in that group. Next they’re launching something for 18- to 30-year-olds, he said. Meanwhile, ministry to Hispanics is flourishing. “The Hispanics who are in town are primarily very new to the United States, so even the children don’t have much English,” Nance said. “So in addition to the Hispanic worship service, we have English as a Second Language classes for the children and the adults.” The church also has Mission Drippin’, through which the

congregation addresses practical needs in the community such as building wheelchair ramps or sprucing up the trails at a local equestrian therapy center for children. “We do have a lot of retired people who are very active. They love to have things to do,” Nance said. “Most mornings when I show up at the church office at 8:30 there’s already a group there saying, ‘Pastor, what are we going to do today?’ Today what they’re doing is we bought a new shuttle van for our youth program, and it didn’t have a place to park, so they’re building a carport for the shuttle.” Something else Nance appreciates about the SBTC is its focus on reaching the major cities in the state such as Austin, he said. “I’m familiar with Reach Austin and hope to be a part of that in some way.” To find out more about Reach Austin, visit sbtexas.com/ reachcities.

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HIGH REGARD FOR WOMEN WOVEN THROUGHOUT SBC MEETING By Jane Rodgers TEXAN Correspondent DALLAS One hundred years after women were first seated as messengers at the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Hot Springs, Ark., dialogue on women’s roles, dignity and worth infused the 2018 SBC meeting in Dallas. Substantive discussions of abuse and the #MeToo movement informed speeches and panels, while a #ChurchToo rally outside the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center aimed to raise awareness. The emphasis was precipitated by recent events including the termination of Paige Patterson as Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary president emeritus in light of allegations including the mishandling of a sexual abuse complaint while he was employed at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. SBC President-elect J.D. Greear spoke on women’s issues following his election, affirming that churches must be safe places for women to report abuse and that governmental authorities must be notified.

Resolutions and motions Two SBC resolutions addressed the dignity and protection of women. Resolution 1, on the “dignity and worth of women,” recognized the “significant role in ministry, evangelism, and disciple-making” of women in Scripture and acknowledged their historical contributions to SBC missions and churches, calling for the encouragement of women’s “diverse gifts, callings and contributions” in “biblically appropriate ways.” Resolution 2, decrying “abuse” and affirming the church’s responsibilities to properly address it, passed with the following italicized changes: “We deplore, apologize, and ask forgiveness for failures to protect the abused, failures that have occurred in evangelical churches and ministries, including such failures within our own denomination.” Joy Aull, the Alabama messenger who proposed the added language, said her work with victims convinced her the SBC must “validate their experiences by asking forgiveness.” Jason Duesing, chairman of the Committee on Resolutions, told reporters the resolutions were crafted in response to the committee’s receiving numerous proposed resolutions on both topics. The committee also wanted to acknowledge the centennial an-

niversary of women as convention messengers, thus prompting the first resolution, Duesing explained, adding that the committee was not surprised by the request to add words of apology to the resolution on abuse. Additionally from the convention floor, two motions on protecting churches from sexual predators were referred to the Executive Committee, as was a motion asking the EC to study biblical authority for a woman to serve as SBC president. From the seminaries All six SBC seminary presidents discussed female students and faculty, specifically focusing on issues of sexual abuse and misconduct, during their reports. Jeffrey Bingham, interim president of Southwestern, announced to applause that his “priority is to create a safe environment and a campus culture that protects and cares for the victims of abuse,” adding, “At Southwestern we denounce all forms of abuse, all behavior that enables abuse, all behavior that fails to protect the abused and all behavior that fails to protect those that are vulnerable to abuse.” Bingham said he had instructed faculty and staff to complete a course in sexual harassment by July 31 and that the seminary was consulting with third-party agencies to develop proactive responses. All of the presidents of the other five seminaries issued statements deploring abuse and pledging safety on campus. Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary President Danny Akin affirmed his institution’s commitment to a “complementarian understanding of gender roles” in church and family. New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary President Chuck Kelley said women do not serve as preaching professors at NOBTS, though both the associate dean of undergraduate studies and associate dean of graduate studies are women. Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Albert Mohler Jr. said every professor in the school of theology must be qualified to be a pastor of a Southern Baptist church. “That means that every faculty member in the school of theology and every faculty position is going to be filled by a man,” he said. “And we say that without an apology. “But at the same time, we have other schools and other programs in which there are many women who are on the faculty and wonderfully serving.” Mohler said he thinks that distinction is “really impor-

Jen Wilkin encouraged women to be fearless in their advocacy on behalf of others during this year’s Women Leadership Breakfast June 13. PHOTO BY MARC IRA HOOKS

tant,” and he added that “there is not a man in this room who is not indebted to women who have taught him.” #MeToo and the SBC During the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission report, ERLC President Russell Moore announced an upcoming women’s summit and the entity’s partnership with LifeWay Research to conduct a study on the extent of abuse in churches. In the exhibit hall, an SBC Voices podcast discussion on sexual abuse featured a panel including LifeWay author Beth Moore, Russell Moore and Matt Carter, pastor of Austin Stone church, for a conversation concerning child abuse and women’s issues. Carter said he now more carefully prepares sermons, with victims in mind: “One of the last things we want to do is open up new wounds for these women who have been traumatized.” Beth Moore emphasized the benefits of assisting victims: “In every bit of this being exposed, God is doing something wonderful for the church,” because as women receive help, this spreads to their “spheres of influence” and makes the whole church “healthier.” She also noted that since assault and abuse involve misuses of power, proper power must be used “immediately for the victim and her safety,” stressing the importance of reporting incidents to authorities and providing female advocates to assist in counseling. Moore later cautioned against confusing sexual “immorality” with “criminality,” adding that “both require repentance to be restored, but one calls the police.” All three panelists expressed the need for firm policies and third-party assistance in handling abuse incidents.

“It starts with your staff,” Carter said, confirming volunteers and staff underwent a weeklong training recently and that the church consulted with the organization MinistrySafe this spring, an indirect reference to the well-publicized resignation of a Stone pastor accused of mishandling a sexual assault case at a prior church. Carter also said his staff created videos chronicling stories of victims to create a “safe environment” empowering women to seek help. Calling for a balance of grace and justice, Russell Moore cautioned against abusers using “grace as something to hide behind,” and added that “repentance and restoration never entitle someone to any particular type of leadership.” The ERLC also sponsored a panel discussion on “Gospel Sexuality in a #MeToo Culture” featuring Russell Moore, author and speaker Trillia Newbell, LifeWay author Jamie Ivey, MinistrySafe founder and attorney Kimberly Norris, and James Merritt, former SBC president and current pastor of Cross Pointe Church in Sugarloaf, Ga. Newbell recounted an experience which she, as an 18-year-old college coed, was molested on a band trip by an older male student. The university took appropriate steps; the man was convicted and jailed, yet the experience affected Newbell for years. “It is time for this whole subject matter to come out of the closet in evangelical contexts. Stop putting on the happy evangelical face,” Norris stated. Moore echoed remarks he made earlier in the podcast, “Abuse is not a public relations issue to be managed,” adding that Jesus “exposes sin in order to redirect and to heal it.” “God has given us an opportunity to stand up and say wrong is wrong and we will

no longer be silent and [will] do what Jesus wants us to do.,” Merritt said. “If a woman doesn’t feel her voice will be heard in the church, she is less apt to say what has happened to her,” Ivey added, affirming the need for women in leadership positions in church. Outside the convention center, some 50-60 participants rallied at lunchtime June 12 to raise awareness of abuse. “We’re just here to come alongside the church, encourage them to get involved, to lift up women the way Jesus did,” rally speaker Carolyn Deevers told reporters. Deevers said she was abused by her former husband, a pastor in another denomination. Another rally speaker, Mary DeMuth, an abuse survivor who attends a large local SBC church, told the TEXAN she had not experienced abuse in her own church and that we “must be careful about judging all SBC churches,” but that the issue must be taken “seriously.” When assured the subject was being addressed inside the SBC, she called the news “encouraging.” At the SEBTS-sponsored women’s leadership breakfast featuring author Jen Wilkin, who spoke on the “terrifying and exhilarating” experience of being a woman in ministry. “It must never be about you moving into a new space. It is always about the woman who is sitting in the pew who doesn’t know she needs advocacy,” Wilkin said before speaking on heroic women of Scripture. SBC Dallas 2018 in many ways became the unofficial “convention of the woman,” a century after women gained the right to vote in the convention, an achievement which occurred two years before the 19th amendment granted women the right to vote in the United States.

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SBC RESOLUTIONS AFFIRM WOMEN, DENOUNCE ABUSE By Tom Strode Baptist Press DALLAS Messengers to the 2018 Southern Baptist Convention affirmed the dignity and worth of women, denounced all forms of abuse and called for sexual purity among Christian leaders in adopting 16 resolutions June 12. Passage of the resolutions on women, abuse and pastoral purity by nearly unanimous votes late in the afternoon session came after months of disclosures of sexual abuse and misconduct by male leaders had rocked Southern Baptist and other evangelical churches and institutions. The resolution on women recognized May 15 as the 100th anniversary of female messengers to the SBC meeting and honored “the immeasurable contribution of women to our cooperative mission of Great Commission work.” It also affirmed women’s gifts “in their distinctive God-assigned roles” and urged Southern Baptists “to encourage, cultivate, and celebrate the diverse gifts,

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percent of the vote for president with North Greenville University administrator Ken Hemphill receiving 31.19 percent. Greear pledged to keep the gospel above all as the basis of the unity and focus of Southern Baptists. The gospel message shared by participants in the pre-convention Crossover evangelistic outreach was received by 4,229 people, the largest number of professions of faith reported since the effort was begun in 1989. That same opportunity will be extended to the uttermost parts of the world, reminded International Mission Board President David Platt at the June 12 Sending Celebration. “Tonight we have the opportunity to remember

callings, and contributions of women in biblically appropriate ways.” The measure on abuse renounced “all abusive behavior as unquestionably sinful” and called for decisive action to report abuse allegations to law enforcement authorities. It also offered compassion to abuse victims, “being careful to remind the abused that such injustice is undeserved and not a result of personal guilt or fault.” In the resolution on clergy purity, messengers repudiated actions that undermine the New Testament standard of holiness for Christian leaders and urged churches “to exercise appropriate redemptive church discipline” when needed. Messengers also continued to address racial reconciliation by adopting a resolution renewing the SBC’s “public repudiation of racism in all its forms,” including “the curse of Ham” teaching that God determined the descendants of this son of Noah would have dark skin and live in subordination. In a measure on immigration, messengers again requested reform—as

they had in 2011—that secures the borders and proves a pathway to legal status “with appropriate restitutionary measures.” The resolution also calls for “maintaining the priority of family unity.” Messengers also approved resolutions that: u Affirmed the “full dignity of every human being.” u Called for “caution and wisdom in our media and social media” communications. u Encouraged government authorities to establish policies that would curtail gun violence while functioning according to the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment. u Urged pastors and churches to be informed about the dangers of opioids and to minister to people impacted by opioid abuse. u Pledged to pray for Arab Christians in the Middle East and around the world. u Mourned the February death of evangelist Billy Graham, a Southern

Baptist, and celebrated his life and ministry. u Thanked God on the 100th anniversary of GuideStone Financial Resources. u Voiced gratitude to God on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. u Offered thanks to God for 50 years of ministry through Southern Baptist Disaster Relief. u Expressed gratitude to God, as well as Southern Baptists in the Dallas area and all others who helped with this year’s meeting. Messengers also passed a multi-subject resolution that reaffirmed commitment to the trustworthiness of the Bible and “unswerving belief” in the one true God, continued to call for Southern Baptists to welcome refugees into their churches and homes, and urged church members to pray about adopting or fostering children.

the reason we came together in the first place,” he said. “We exist to combine the efforts of our churches for the spread of the gospel in the world.” Sixteen of the new missionaries have ties to Texas and all are going to regions where security concerns prevent them from being identified by name. The groups they plan to engage include people groups from North Africa and the Middle East, Central Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. Over half of the Cooperative Program Allocation Budget of $194 million approved by messengers will go to the IMB, and another 22.79 percent to the North American Mission Board. The convention’s six seminaries receive 22.16 percent, with 1.65 percent earmarked for the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission and 2.99 percent for the SBC Operating Budget to fund the

annual meetings costs and work of the Executive Committee. Of the 20 new motions offered by messengers, only one was scheduled for debate and was soundly defeated— a call to remove all executive committee members of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary’s trustee board. (See related article on page 11.) Messengers voted to amend the Committee on Nominations report to grant ERLC trustee Trevor Atwood a second term after the committee recommended Richard Bott to replace him. All nominees represent churches that are giving 10 percent to CP or are moving toward that amount. Of those elected for first terms on boards and committees, 7.6 percent are African American, 2.5 percent are Asian and 2.5 percent are Latino. Governor Gregg Abbott and Vice President Mike Pence were among the guests invited to bring greetings, both commending the compassionate ministry of Southern Baptists following the mass shooting in Sutherland Springs and the widespread flooding of Hurricane Harvey. Messengers and guests also heard from Frank and Sherrie Pomeroy of First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, personal finance author Dave Ramsey, Dallas Cowboys chaplain Jonathan Evans and apologist Ravi Zacharias. Messengers rejected an attempt to amend the agenda to replace Pence’s address with a time of prayer. Several motions designed to end the practice of inviting elected officials to speak at the annual meeting were referred to the Executive Committee for consideration. Other motions referred to the EC call for creating a separate entity for evangelism, strengthening trustee training, publicizing the percentage of giving of the churches of candidates for office, making church revitalization a program assignment, adding a children’s min-

istry Sunday to the SBC calendar and articulating the relationships between the Old Testament and the gospel by a committee appointed by the president. Three motions referred ask the EC to study remote participation in the annual meeting, the process and standards of the Committee on Nominations and the biblical authority for a woman serving as SBC president. Three motions were automatically referred to the appropriate committee, including a call for the ERLC to study expanded resources to help churches protect themselves from sexual predators, a request for a task force to help churches protect themselves from sexual predators and a request that SWBTS trustees reconsider its decision regarding Paige Patterson. Five motions were ruled out of order, including calls for the resignation of SWBTS executive committee trustees, that messengers be engaged in pro-life issues, that elected officials not be a part of the annual meeting program, that Pence format his address in a particular manner and that a focus be placed on the John 3:16 gospel. Other officers elected to serve in the coming year include First Vice President A. B. Vines of California and Second Vice President Felix Cabrera of Oklahoma. Recording Secretary John Yeats and Registration Secretary Don Currence, both from Missouri, were reelected without opposition. The Dallas meeting drew 9,637 messengers, according to an unofficial reporting, representing an increase of 92 percent from the 5,015 registered last year in Phoenix and the highest total since 2010. Additional guests brought the number present to an estimated 15,000 people. Stephen Rummage of Florida was elected as the 2019 convention preacher in Birmingham with Josh Smith of Georgia serving as alternate.

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JUAN SANCHEZ ADDRESSES PASTORS’ CONF. Juan Sanchez, pastor of Austin’s High Pointe Baptist Church and president of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, issued a Texas welcome, opening the conference Sunday night by preaching on 2 Timothy 4:9-22. PHOTO BY KATHLEEN MURRAY

Needs, concerns and confidence characterize Paul’s parting advice to Timothy By Jane Rodgers TEXAN Correspondent DALLAS Juan Sanchez, pastor of Austin’s High Pointe Baptist Church and president of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, issued a Texas welcome and delivered the

opening sermon of the 2018 Pastors’ Conference, speaking on 2 Timothy 4:9-22, calling the final lessons of the apostle Paul especially applicable to pastors. “Paul is writing his last letter and he has come to the end of his life and his ministry,” Sanchez said, referencing 2 Timothy 4:7-8, read earlier by conference president H.B. Charles, Jr. Sanchez reminded the audience that the conference theme, “Fulfill Your Ministry,” was also the heart of Paul’s parting advice to Timothy.

Paul “exposes” needs, concerns, and confidence at the end of his life, Sanchez proclaimed, calling the apostle’s message appropriate for pastors in all stages of ministry. “What will our ministry look like when it is fulfilled… when we come to the end of our ministry?” Sanchez asked the crowd, urging them to consider their needs, concerns and source of confidence. Sanchez mentioned several needs outlined by Paul in the passage, including physical needs such as the apostle’s desire for a cloak. Sometimes we forget God has made us “whole persons”: body, spirit and soul, Sanchez continued, emphasizing the need for care of the physical self. Paul’s other need was for “deeply-rooted gospel friend-

ships,” Sanchez said, noting the apostle’s urging of Timothy to “come soon” and specific mention of both faithful and faithless friends. He highlighted Paul’s response of forgiveness to those who turned against him: “May it not be charged against them,” reminiscent of the prayer of Stephen in Acts 7. “We need to have thick skins and soft hearts,” Sanchez proclaimed, recommending forgiveness and grace toward critics and emphasizing the restoration of the relationship between John Mark and Paul. “At the end of your life and ministry, who will you call on to be by your side?” Sanchez asked, admitting his prior failure at developing deep friendships and noting his current commitment to accountability “brothers.” “We are not meant to be isolated. It is tragic if we are isolated. Connect,” Sanchez urged. “Look for others you can encourage,” he said, recommending networking among pastor friends.

Graham exhorts 2018 Pastors’ Conf. attendees to finish well By Jane Rodgers TEXAN Correspondent DALLAS Jack Graham, pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church, began the final Monday morning sermon of the 2018 Southern Baptist Convention Pastors’ Conference by recalling his first opportunity to preach at the conference in Dallas in 1985, a time Graham called a “tipping point” in the SBC with the Conservative Resurgence. Graham said he believed this year would mark “another tipping point” in SBC life and that he “expected God to move in a great way” to “energize and fill us with his Spirit to motivate us as churches to fulfill the Great Commission.” Affirming the conference theme of fulfilling your ministry, Graham said this should be “the goal and holy ambition of all of us.” He next displayed a Dallas Morning News edition with the headline “Cheers for hope in Christ,” referencing the June 10 Harvest America event at AT&T Stadium. “We haven’t

seen a lot of winning from the Cowboys lately but we had some big wins last night as thousands of people came to faith in Jesus Christ,” Graham exclaimed to applause. Turning to his sermon topic of finishing well, from 1 Corinthians 15:58, Graham noted that June 10 also marked his 29th anniversary at Prestonwood, adding that he had been in ministry for 48 years and preached his first sermon at age 16. Graham recalled that when his childhood friends wanted to be policemen or firemen, he always wanted to be a preacher. As for going the distance in ministry, Graham advised, “You just keep showing up,” adding, “it’s not how you start but how you finish.” Describing a recent conversation with retired and terminally ill SWBTS professor William Tolar, 90, Graham said Tolar confirmed the importance of reliance on Christ, as Tolar had since childhood when he was challenged by a teacher to read “the world’s bestseller,” the Bible.

“Paul’s heartbeat was for the continuation of the gospel ministry,” Sanchez said, likening Paul to a general directing the spread of the gospel even from prison. “As pastors, we should be thinking how we can prepare others” for gospel ministry, Sanchez added. Paul always remained a student of God’s Word, Sanchez said, reminding listeners to study Scripture: “We never finish our theological training and education.” As Paul warned Timothy of opposition, Sanchez cautioned his audience to expect the same from within and outside the church. “Ministry is not easy,” he said, encouraging pastors to faithfully preach the Word and leave a “gospel legacy.” Paul’s “ultimate confidence rested in the Lord Jesus Christ,” Sanchez continued, cautioning against placing “confidence in ourselves,” or in numbers, buildings or locations. He closed by encouraging pastors to not become discouraged but to remember the “eternal plan of God.”

Missouri Baptists send additional funding for Harvey recovery

Affirming this conference’s theme to “Fulfill Your Ministry,” Jack Graham, pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas, displayed a Dallas Morning News edition with the headline “Cheers for hope in Christ,” regarding the June 10 Harvest America event at AT&T Stadium. PHOTO BY ADAM COVINGTON

From 1 Corinthians 15:58, Graham appealed for unity, lamenting that “often the church is divided; we are stumbling over our own teammates.” Essential to keeping momentum in ministry is to “stay balanced” or to “strengthen the core,” Graham continued, urging the audience to avoid “running after every fad, new trend, hip or cool thing to do” but rather “stay focused on Jesus.” To pastors facing inevitable criticism, he said, “You have one thing to do: to obey God.” He also advocated hard work, “toil to the point of exhaustion,” remarking that “some people in ministry quit a long time ago,” yet pastors are to be “always abounding” or “always excelling” because the “stakes are too high not to work hard.” He added with a laugh, “I’ve been tired since 1979,” and urged listeners to excellence. Graham admitted to being surprised by how quickly his

life had passed, proclaiming, “It’s a blur,” but affirming his plan never to “retire from the work of the Lord” although admitting at some point he would no longer be the lead pastor of Prestonwood. “Keep overdoing it. Keep excelling,” he counseled, reminding all of “shining lights no longer in the race” who did not finish well. “We ought to run a little bit scared in the fear of the Lord,” Graham said. “If not for the grace of God, we would all be out of the race.” Essential to continuing “steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord,” is to remember that Christ is coming and that “every faithful shepherd” is promised the “shepherd’s crown,” he added. Regarding legacy, Graham advised listeners to “live a legacy,” adding that ultimately, “our legacy is not what we leave but where we go,” heaven.

DALLAS The Missouri Baptist Convention has contributed another $60,000 for the continued recovery of victims of Hurricane Harvey. Missouri Baptist Convention Executive Director John Yeats delivered the check to Southern Baptists of Texas Convention Executive Director Jim Richards while attending the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Dallas, June 12. “Missouri Baptists are generous people because first, our Lord is generous with His grace toward us,” Yeats said. “Even before Hurricane Harvey blew ashore, Missouri Baptists were checking on our Texas Baptist friends and began sending offerings through our convention offices to help the victims. MBC sent an earlier check for $275,000 for victim relief through the processes developed and managed through SBTC. “Missouri Baptists under the leadership of Dr. John Yeats continues to help Texas rebound,” Richards said. “We are eternally grateful for their generosity.” He added that state conventions across the nation sent “literally millions of dollars to aid in the work of relief and rebuild,” citing the more than $2.6 million given.

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SBC MESSENGERS REFUSE CALL TO REMOVE SWBTS EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE TRUSTEES By Tammi Reed Ledbetter Associate Editor DALLAS As Southern Baptist messengers considered a motion June 13 to dismiss the executive committee of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary’s board, trustee Bart Barber of Farmersville, Texas, asked them to “not rob the trustees throughout our convention of their spine” as they “keep our entities accountable to you.” The motion submitted by Thomas Hatley of Rogers, Ark., was soundly defeated by messengers in a show of ballots. In light of the committee’s May 30 decision to fire Patterson a week after the full board had named him president emeritus, Hatley said, “I fear the loss of our organizational integrity.” The former SWBTS president’s tenure was cut short after trustees dealt with concerns regarding the counsel he gave years ago to a woman in an abusive situation. “My motion is not seeking a reversal of anything, but declaring that this set of leaders is not a good option for the future of the school.” He outlined seven concerns he had with the committee’s action, including lack of proper investigation, neglect of founding documents, abandonment of established procedures, failure to properly call the last meeting, disrespect of the binding vote of

the full board, failure to allow the accused an opportunity for a response and possible violations of the law. Hatley drew applause when he added, “Social media and secular press should never find us critical of one another. We should settle our issues biblically.” Messenger Ronnie Floyd of Springdale, Ark., countered, expressing concern that “removing duly elected trustees would destroy our own system of governance” and could cause concern and hesitation by all Southern Baptist trustees when faced with “troubling decisions.” SWBTS trustee Wayne Dickard of Easley, S.C., favored removal of the committee, saying, “If we can be overruled by the executive committee why serve?” Barber gained a point of personal privilege as one of the trustees subject to removal, disclosing much of the basis for his decision-making process. As background he referenced a board review last fall of the seminary’s financial condition led by the chairman of the business administration subcommittee. “Shortly after the review began, Dr. Patterson began to question the legitimacy of that trustee’s eligibility to serve as a trustee and made efforts to have him removed,” Barber said.

He then shared that board chairman Kevin Ueckert had asked the president to receive his input before making any public reply to the questions raised in social media related to how he would counsel women in abusive situations. “Dr. Patterson disregarded this request from the chairman of the board and issued a press release without the chairman’s Jeffrey Bingham, center, interim president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, is prayed over by fellow Southern Baptist seminary presidents Jeff Iorg, left, of Gateway input,” Barber said, Seminary, Danny Akin of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and Jason Allen characterizing the Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary after his report to messengers at the SBC reply as damaging annual meeting in Dallas. PHOTO BY VAN PAYNE to the reputations of the the board, seminary and Patterson. May 22-23 meeting, questionHe added, “We all have to The Texas trustee also ing the legal validity of the serve as people under accountclaimed that Patterson “re- board’s decision. “What is your ability. Baptists don’t have popes fused to attend meeting af- seminary to do with a president and I’m accountable to you,” he ter meeting of the executive emeritus who is working to un- said. “We’re there to keep our committee as we attempted to dermine the legitimacy and va- entity accountable to you.” work through these problems lidity of the seminary’s board of Barber drew widespread apdespite formal requests that trustees?” plause throughout the hall afhe do so and as I continued to Describing himself as “an ter closing by saying, “We have say, ‘Let’s wait to hear from old-time Baptist congregation- that charge and if you rob the the president.’ But he refused alist,” Barber said, “It is a part of trustees of their spine you rob to meet with us and refused our polity that our entity heads the messengers of their voice.” to give us his side of the story don’t get to remove trustees, Southwestern Seminary’s or any of the facts,” Barber said that entity heads have to an- board will consider another of the timeframe leading up to swer to their boards both when motion referred to them by the called board meeting. they want to and when they the convention that asks the He shared that trustees re- don’t want to, and that semi- full board to review the recent ceived an email from Patter- nary employees have to abide deliberations of the executive son’s attorney days after the by board decisions.” committee.

Texans honored at luncheons of minister’s wives, seminaries Compiled from Baptist Press DALLAS Dalia Gonzales of Hurst was honored with the 2018 Willie Turner Dawson Award during the Ministers’ Wives Luncheon at the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting in Dallas. Gonzales is the first Hispanic minister’s wife to receive the award, which recognizes a minister’s wife for making a distinct denominational contribution beyond the local church and for her Christian character and service to others. Kathy Litton, director of planter spouse care for the North American Mission Board, in presenting the annual award, called Gonzales “a true multiplier in the kingdom of God” who has contributed greatly to Hispanic Southern Baptist women across Texas and beyond. This is noteworthy, said Litton, because 17 percent of the current U.S. population is Hispanic, and the Hispanic population is expected to triple in the next 30 years.

Gonzales has supported her husband, Mike, in his various roles in the pastorate, on the foreign mission field, as a GuideStone Financial Services representative, as a director of missions and now as director of Hispanic ministries for the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. She assisted in laying a solid foundation for the growth of the SBTC Hispanic women’s conference for the last 13 years. She has traveled extensively with the convention, contributing to equipping conferences and ministry leader training events, such as the pastor and wife retreat, church planters’ retreat and EQUIP workshops. After serving 22 years in early childhood education in Texas, Gonzales and her husband served as missionaries to Spain for 15 years with the International Mission Board. Gonzales said she accepted the award on behalf of all the ministers’ wives who work daily alongside their husbands to do the “good works, which God

prepared beforehand” (Ephesians 2:10). The Gonzaleses have one daughter, who serves with her husband in Spain as IMB missionaries, and two granddaughters. New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary honored Nathan Cothen of Beaumont and David Fleming of Houston during the June 13 luncheon. Cothen, a 1990 Ph.D. graduate, pastors Calvary Baptist Church in Beaumont. He led his congregation during his 19-year tenure to expand worship services to eight services in four venues in two cities. In presenting the award, Kelley praised Cothen for his long-term service. “There are just certain things you cannot do in ministry without the ingredient of time. Nathan has done that in Beaumont, Texas,” Kelley said. Kelley praised Cothen as “one of the best students” he ever had but added that he was prouder “to say you are an excellent pastor.” David Fleming, pastor of Champion Forest Baptist

Church in Houston, previously served as co-pastor with Bobby Welch at First Baptist Church in Daytona Beach, Fla. He also has served as president of Florida Baptists’ pastors’ conference and as an NOBTS adjunct professor at the seminary’s Orlando extension center. Kelley noted that under Fleming’s leadership Champion Forest Baptist Church embraced multi-ethic, multi-racial diversity in a “a wonderful, wonderful story.” Fleming earned the Ph.D. in evangelism and church growth from NOBTS. Juan Sanchez received the 2018 Alumnus of the Year Award during Southern Baptist Theological Seminary’s June 13 Alumni and Friends Luncheon. In presenting the award, SBTS President Albert Mohler said, “As a pastor, as a Baptist statesman, as one who has a missionary vision, a gospel heart, and biblical clarity, Juan Sanchez is exactly what we want Southern Seminary to be about.” Sanchez, a Master of Divinity (1999), Master of Theol-

ogy (2002), and Doctor of Philosophy (2015) graduate from Southern Seminary, is senior pastor of High Pointe Baptist Church in Austin and current president of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. Sanchez is also a council member of The Gospel Coalition, co-founder and president of Coalición por el Evangelio, and assistant professor of Christian theology at Southern Seminary. Terri Stovall, who serves as dean of women’s programs at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, was awarded this year’s Distinguished Alumnus Award at the seminary’s June 13 luncheon. She is a three-time graduate of the seminary, receiving the Master of Arts in Religious Education (1992); Ph.D. (2001); and Master of Divinity (2012). SWBTS Interim President Jeffrey Bingham called Stovall “a faithful scholar” who is “instrumental in women-to-women training, both in the church and in the Southwestern student body, of which one-quarter are female.”

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TASK FORCE RECOMMENDATIONS ON EVANGELISM ADOPTED Compiled from Baptist Press DALLAS Messengers adopted an eight-pronged approach recommended by an Evangelism Task Force Steve Gaines appointed in 2017 in his final term as SBC president. Before the vote, the task force concurrently submitted to messengers a 12-point Evangelism Articles of Affirmation and Denial, based on and supported by Scripture. Southern Baptist churches are autonomous and are not obligated to put the recommendations in action; but are encouraged to embrace the report as a ready and viable church resource. The task force called on all Southern Baptists to “renew with great urgency the priority of evangelizing the next generations,” and to adapt the recommended methodology to individual environments “without changing our theology.”

EVANGELISM ARTICLES OF AFFIRMATION AND DENIAL ARTICLE I - WE AFFIRM that evangelism is in part “soulwinning,” as the New Testament employs the words “winning” and “persuading” with regards to imploring unbelievers in the power of the Holy Spirit to believe in Jesus Christ for their salvation (cf., 1 Cor 9:19-22; 2 Cor 5:11, 20). WE DENY that evangelism should be employed through means of manipulation, coercion, deceitfulness, or intimidation. ARTICLE II - WE AFFIRM that the Scriptures teach that gospel conversations should seek to include both clear presentations of the “good news” of salvation and genuine invitations for all people to receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord (cf., Matt 19:16-30; Mark 10:1722; Acts 1:8; 2:26-39; Rev 22:17). WE DENY that gospel conversations are merely general talk about spiritual things and that an evangelistic invitation may only be extended by a singular methodological approach. ARTICLE III - WE AFFIRM that the heart of the gospel is the death, burial, and resurrection of the God-man, Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of sins (cf., 1 Cor 15:3-4). WE DENY that the gospel is a humanly-conceived invention or myth divorced from supernatural activity and actual historical reality. ARTICLE IV - WE AFFIRM

that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone; that it is wrought by the Holy Spirit as people repent of their sins, believe in Jesus Christ, and receive Him by confessing Him as Lord and Savior (cf., John 1:12; 14:6; 16:8-11; Acts 2:37-38; 4:12; Rom 10:9-10; Eph 1:13; 2:8; Titus 3:4-7). WE DENY that salvation can be achieved in and through a person’s own power, initiative, or self-actualization. ARTICLE V - WE AFFIRM that evangelism is a spiritual discipline that every believer bears the responsibility to practice in order to be found faithful to our Lord’s commands (cf., Ezek 3:16-21; 33:1-11; Acts 18:56; 20:17-27). WE DENY that evangelism is a spiritual gift that the Holy Spirit has endowed to some, but not all, believers, thereby excusing certain Christians from personal evangelistic responsibility. ARTICLE VI - WE AFFIRM that our Lord’s Great Commission is a biblical mandate to be carried out by all true churches and faithful Christians until Jesus comes again (cf., Matt 28:1820; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:47-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8). WE DENY that the Great Commission was restricted only to the apostles and therefore is not binding upon believers today. ARTICLE VII - WE AFFIRM that the Great Commission mandate is for believers to share the gospel verbally with all unbelievers so that they might repent of their sins, trust Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, be baptized (immersed) as witnesses to the truth of the gospel, and learn to obey all of Christ’s commands (Matt 28:18-20). WE DENY that the gospel is primarily concerned with social justice, political engagement, or secular aims resulting in the call to personal repentance and faith being minimized or ignored. ARTICLE VIII - WE AFFIRM that the gospel has societal ramifications, leading believers to engage in the biblical causes of justice and reconciliation (Luke 4:18). WE DENY that the gospel only addresses personal spirituality and individual behavior. ARTICLE IX - WE AFFIRM that evangelism and discipleship are interdependent and together constitute the whole

of the biblical disciple-making process (Matt 28:18-20). WE DENY theological and philosophical lines of argumentation or ministry strategies that seek to separate evangelism and discipleship. ARTICLE X - WE AFFIRM that evangelism is a way of life to be learned and practiced, as God has gifted all believers with His indwelling Holy Spirit to enable them to witness boldly by His power (cf., Acts 1:8; 4:8; 4:31). WE DENY that evangelism is merely a human activity or a church program. ARTICLE XI - WE AFFIRM that a sinner’s prayer is a biblically appropriate and practically effective method by which lost people can personally receive God’s gracious offer of the gospel in repentance and faith (cf., Luke 18:13-14; John 1:12; Rom 10:9-13). WE DENY that people are saved merely by mouthing the words of a specific prayer. ARTICLE XII - WE AFFIRM that God gifts certain individuals to function as evangelists as a gift to the church in order to lead in the harvest and to equip believers for greater effectiveness in personal witnessing and corporate outreach in order to build up the body of Christ (cf., Acts 8:12; 21:8; Eph 4:11). WE DENY that the ministry of the New Testament evangelist ceased at the conclusion of the apostolic age and therefore is not a valid expression of God’s calling and gifting today. EVANGELISM RECOMMENDATIONS 1. To the churches—The Evangelism Task Force recommends that every Southern Baptist church: A. Set aside one day per month as a special day of prayer for lost people and for the evangelistic effectiveness of our churches. B. Select a witness training method and conduct annual witness training events. C. Adopt a goal for baptisms that will challenge the church to increase its baptisms through leading people to faith in Christ and baptizing those converts. D. Submit their Annual Church Profile report as one significant way of understanding our effectiveness in carrying out the first two aspects of the Great Commission. (We recognize the limitations of simply reporting numeric baptisms.)

Members of the Southern Baptist Convention’s evangelism task force met for the first time Dec. 5, 2017, on the campus of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. FILE PHOTO FROM SWBTS

2. To the pastors—The Evangelism Task Force recommends that pastors: A. Model personal evangelism for their congregations. B. Present public gospel invitations of various kinds, calling unbelievers to repent and believe. C. Renew extending to followers of Christ God’s call to the pastorate, to missions, to evangelism, and to all other vocational ministries. 3. To the seminaries—The Evangelism Task Force recommends that each Southern Baptist seminary: A. Conduct annual witness training events for employees and students. B. Consider enhancing curricular requirements in evangelism. C. Involve students and faculty indirect efforts to reach the lost through mission trips, local mission partnerships, and their local churches. 4. To the Directors of Missions/Associational Mission Strategists—The Evangelism Task Force recommends that you identify, celebrate, and use as training models churches and pastors who demonstrate evangelistic effectiveness resulting in baptized believers. We ask that you invite Baptist colleges, seminaries, state conventions, and churches who have effective evangelism ministries to assist churches that desire to increase evangelistic effectiveness. 5. To the State Convention Executive Directors—The Evangelism Task Force recommends that you prioritize evangelism in your staffing, training, and ministry as you equip the churches in your state(s). In addition, we ask that all your ministry efforts be infused with the consciousness of the

lostness of humanity and the incomparable news of the love of Christ. 6. To the North American Mission Board—The Evangelism Task Force recommends that senior level leadership be employed and tasked with involving churches, associations, and state conventions in outreach to the lost, as well as providing evangelism resources and training events on a consistent basis, in order to help re-establish evangelism as a denominational priority. 7. To the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention—Recognizing that churches may choose their own date for a Baptism Day emphasis, the Evangelism Task Force recommends that a Sunday be set on the denominational calendar as “Baptism Day,” when all our churches are invited to work especially hard to lead people to Christ in the weeks prior to the selected date and to focus on a significant baptismal service in which the meaning of baptism is articulated in preaching and teaching. 8. To all Southern Baptists— Recognizing the challenge of evangelizing the younger generations, the Evangelism Task Force recommends that: A. All parents, church leaders, pastors, and denominational entities renew with great urgency the priority of evangelizing the next generations, adapting our methodology without changing our theology. B. God-called evangelists be utilized as a wonderful asset in evangelistic endeavors of various kinds, since while all Christians are called to be personal evangelists, God has always given some individuals unique giftings with respect to evangelism.

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KIE BOWMAN CALLS FOR NEW LIFE IN DRY BONES By Erin Roach Baptist Press DALLAS Kie Bowman, pastor of Hyde Park Baptist Church in Austin, preached the convention sermon from Ezekiel 37, calling on Southern Baptists to ask God to breathe life into families, churches and the Southern Baptist Convention at the annual meeting in Dallas June 13. During his message, Bowman noted that “Ezekiel was a priest. That means he had spent his entire life ministering around the things of God in the temple of God,” “But in 597 B.C.,” he explained, Ezekiel “was captured as a prisoner of war and taken to a pagan culture, and 10 years later he got word that the temple had been destroyed. That means that everything he’d ever prayed about, everything he’d ever hoped for, everything he’d ever worked for was evaporated in the winds of war.” God led Ezekiel, in a vision, to “the ultimate example of his shattered hopes and the desecration and the devastation of

Kie Bowman, pastor of Hyde Park Baptist Church in Austin, preached the convention sermon from Ezekiel 37, calling on Southern Baptists to ask God to breathe life into families, churches and the Southern Baptist Convention at the annual meeting in Dallas June 13. PHOTO BY ETHAN LOVELESS

his national dreams—an army of skeletons,” Bowman said. “... This once great army was lying scattered on the desert floor.” The message God gave Ezekiel 2,600 years ago was one of hope and life, he said, and it applies to believers today. “This message is still a message of hope and life to your situation because our God is a God of life and a God of resurrection, and anything that

looks dead to you may be the next God raises back to life,” Bowman said. God wants bones to live again in the 21st century, so he calls believers to speak life, he said. Some messengers may be struggling in their marriages or with their children or in their ministries, Bowman said. “Some of you may be just struggling with where we are as a convention. We’ve heard

some sobering reports. Yes, we believe in the Good News. Yes, we’re optimistic, but it’s going to be an uphill battle and we all know it. “… It may feel like to you that there are a lot of dry bones around your life, but here’s your good news: God specializes in raising the dead, and nothing is impossible with God,” Bowman said. “Anything God has ever done before he can do again, and anything God’s ever done anywhere he can do here, and anything God’s ever done with anyone, he can do with you.” In Ezekiel 37, God gave the prophet some strange advice, Bowman said: Preach to the ones who will not and cannot hear. “God’s solution to the biggest problem imaginable, a valley of dry bones, was pretty simple: Declare the Word of the Lord to a culture that will not hear or cannot hear, and just keep declaring the mighty works of our sovereign God who says, ‘I will give you life.’” God also calls his people to spiritual life, Bowman said. “It occurred to me this isn’t a pas-

sage about dry bones at all. This is a passage of Scripture about our God’s amazing ability to raise the dead. And he does it by his Word when it is anointed by his Spirit.” The message from God to his people today, Bowman said, is, “I’ll put my Spirit into defeated, dry, dead circumstances and situations and families and churches and denominations and people, and I will make you live again.” “You and I have a choice to make today. We can live in our own strength and we will have the same spiritual impact as the prayer lives of a robot,” Bowman said, “or we can invite the Holy Spirit of God to breathe life into all of our dead places.” Believers never grow spiritually by accident, he said, so if they want an Ezekiel 37 moment in their families, churches and ministries they must be intentional. In closing, he called the convention to a time of prayer, urging messengers to come forward and ask God to “breathe life on our churches, on our families, on our ministries, on our convention.”

Supernatural God can lift Southern Baptists By David Dawson Baptist Press DALLAS Amid the perplexing and potentially divisive issues facing the denomination, Southern Baptist Convention President Steve Gaines said the formula for unity and restoration is surprisingly uncomplicated. “Stop talking about how big your problems are, and start talking about how big your God is,” Gaines said in his presidential address June 12 at the SBC’s annual meeting in Dallas. Believing and trusting in the supernatural abilities of God is the key to overcoming all obstacles that Southern Baptists are facing, said Gaines, pastor of the Memphis-area Bellevue Baptist Church. “What is going to be the solution to our decline? What can God do with us? First of all, you have to believe in a bigger God than you believe in right now,” Gaines said. “You need to believe in the God of the Bible and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Gaines delivered a message on four supernatural characteristics of God—His promises, protection, power and pro-

visions—that can bring harmony and, more importantly, help the SBC fulfill its gospel mission. “God’s supernatural power is greater than any problem that Southern Baptists have,” he said. “God’s supernatural power is greater than any problem you have in your church.” He opened his message by citing both biblical and personal examples of instances in which God showed His supernatural promises being fulfilled. First, Gaines referenced the story of the apostle Paul in which he, while being held as a prisoner, became shipwrecked on the island of Malta—and God provided for all his needs. Paul was able to use the miracles to point the other passengers toward God. “Encouragement is putting courage back into people,” Gaines said. “Discouragement is when the devil, or the world, or sin, pulls courage out of you. Paul encouraged the sailors” who had experienced the shipwreck. Gaines then shared a story of how God’s supernatural powers appeared in how own life, when his son Grant was

restored to health after doctors had feared that, at age 2, he might have leukemia. Grant now serves as pastor of a growing church. “I can assure you that every promise of God comes true,” Gaines said. “If you have a need, God has a promise.” Gaines also spoke of the protective powers of God in referencing Paul’s ability to literally shake off a snakebite. The same type of protection is given to Christians today who believe in God’s abilities, he said, noting that this is true for each facet of everyday life—the guarding of marriages, the protection of children and the safeguarding of financial needs and challenges. “God can protect you completely and absolutely in every way when you pray it through, when you seek to live under an open heaven and when you steadfastly obey the living God,” Gaines said. “He will be your shield until it is time to take you heaven. No human is stronger than almighty God.” God’s supernatural power is as much on display today as it was in biblical times, Gaines

SBC President Steve Gaines harmonized with this his daugther Bethany Gaines Golding before addressing messengers. PHOTO BY MARC IRA HOOKS

said. “Our God can still move mountains,” he said. “Our God can still say, ‘Hush, be still’ to raging seas. Our God can still heal the sick and raise the dead. He can save you if you are lost.” God’s healing power can include deliverance from all types of sexual immorality and other moral crises, Gaines said. “God is still alive, God is still sovereign,” he said. “He is the same yesterday, today and forever. If you will exercise faith, God will exercise power.”

Gaines—who said many Christians are more focused on their resources than their true source of joy and comfort— closed his message by challenging messengers to spread the hope and joy of the gospel into their everyday lives. “I believe one of the greatest things we could walk out of here with in a few days is to tell the world that God is still on his throne,” Gaines said. “I believe there is a supernatural God. And I thank God that the hero of our Bible is not dead.”

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CHAPLAINS PAY THEIR DUES TO EARN TRUST By Josie Rabbitt Bingham Baptist Press FORT BENNING, Ga. When Chaplain (CPT) Robert Boyles was in U.S. Army Ranger School training, he met four strangers he later would baptize. But when the weather turned 15 degrees that night, Boyles was simply another Ranger in training, stomping his feet in his Army boots to keep warm. Boyles and the others were in the mountain phase of an arduous 61 days in training at Fort Benning’s Ranger Brigade. They’d already endured a 12-mile road march carrying 35-pound rucksacks and weapons as well as intense military instruction, challenging patrols and a grueling physical training (PT) test together. During their cold circuit in the mountains, Boyles and a few men talked. Unbeknownst to many soldiers, Boyles was a chaplain in training -- sliding on his belly in the mud under a fence of barbed wire with the other trainees and running toward whirring helicopters in the middle of the night with his unit. Being a chaplain meant Boyles would be there at the end, earning his Ranger tab and graduating with the elite. Why? Because chaplaincy is all about being present. “Chaplains pay their dues,” says Chaplain (Major) Philip Kramer, senior chaplain in the Airborne and Ranger Training Brigades at Fort Benning. “The cloth we wear is the same cloth our fellow soldiers wear. It is earned with blood, sweat and tears, and paid in the form of hard work for the purpose of ministering.” It’s why Chaplain (CPT) Robert Davis, an Airborne and Ranger Training Brigade chaplain, continuously jumps with young airborne trainees off 250-foot towers formerly built for the 1939 New York World’s Fair. “We want to be constantly available to our constituents, which means doing what they are doing in order to earn the respect to reach them,” Davis says.

Currently 37 chaplains and 38 religious affairs specialists are serving the religious and pastoral needs of thousands of soldiers, families and authorized civilian personnel at the military base. They are the Fort Benning Unit Ministry Team under the watchful eye of Chaplain (COL) Robert Hart, a Southern Baptist who heads the Maneuver Center of Excellence (MCoE)/Garrison Chaplain, Religious Support Office. They are in charge of 25 weekend services and 40 weekday programs in 15 facilities. “In the Army, many soldiers have spiritual experiences,” Boyles says. “Knowing a chaplain means knowing someone they can talk to.” In sleeting weather during Ranger training, for example, Boyles’ presence and proximity to his troops allowed him to reach them on another level and even pray with them upon request. After graduating, Boyles remains a chaplain at the Airborne and Ranger Training Brigade. Boyles’ support comes from the MCoE in its role of providing safety, support and services to all military and civilian organizations as well as comprehensive religious support. It is also a trusted advisory team to the commander and staff on matters pertaining to religious support, morals, pastoral care and morale issues. Chaplain (COL) Bob Hart’s philosophy entails three steps: People first, professional care and be purpose-driven. u “People first” is about being with soldiers when they train, deploy and have problems they need someone to hear. Chaplains putting people first are compassionate and provide kind and understanding leadership to those far from home. u “Professional care” is about providing confidentiality to those in the Army. This requires integrity and respect from the chaplains. u “Purpose-driven” is about focusing on the Great Commission and about being fruitful.

SBTC board nominations due The Committee on Nominations is receiving nomination forms to fill upcoming vacancies on the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention Executive Board and committees. Nomination forms can be completed online or downloaded at sbtexas.com/nominations. The deadline to receive nomination forms is August 1, 2018. The vacancies to be filled are as follows: Executive Board – 13 vacancies (6 eligible for renomination). Note: The composition of the Executive Board is based on certain considerations: 1) one-fourth of the membership must be laypersons, 2) one-fourth of the

membership, at the time of election, must be a member of a church of 400 or less in resident membership and 3) at least five representatives from each quadrant of the state. Texas Ethics and Religious Liberty Committee – 4 vacancies; Credentials Committee – 1 vacancy; Committee on Order of Business – 3 vacancies. Also: Criswell College Board – 2 vacancies (all eligible for renomination); Jacksonville College – 1 vacancy (eligible for renomination); Texas Baptist Home for Children – 1 vacancy (eligible for renomination); Southern Baptists of Texas Foundation – 4 vacancies (2 eligible for renomination).

“There’s a lot of additional things easy to get wrapped up in, like status,” Kramer says. “But those things produce foliage, not fruit. We have to focus as chaplains on the fruit and on producing that fruit as part of the Great Commission. It’s a challenge, but we must have a greater commitment to what truly matters in life and live out that commitment.” Going on 28 years of service, Shane Chapman, the 194th Brigade Command Sergeant Major (CSM), meets basic trainees at the starting lines of their military careers. “I saw the worst of what humans can do to each other,” Chapman says about his first deployment at age 20 to Somalia. “I tell the basic trainees that glory and war do not go together. We are patriots and we fight for our country because we believe in it, not because we want the glory. If that’s what they’re fighting for, they won’t find it in a war zone.” During the course of eight deployments, Chapman realized many find God on deployment. “We have about 60,000 soldiers a year pass through Fort Benning,” he says. “My goal is to produce aspiring

professionals to the force by developing disciplined, competent, professional, well-trained soldiers who are accountable for their actions. It’s hard work but I care because I love the troops and I know our chaplains do too.” The chaplaincy is there for soldiers when their “innocent view of the world is lost,” Chapman says. “We must rely on something greater than ourselves to get through it,” says Chaplain Jay Burke, currently serving the 2-58th infantry regiment at Fort Benning. “We can’t lose the sacredness of life. We are here to remind them there is a reason and purpose. Our commitments to the soldiers are not only about honoring the nation but also about connecting dots of moral absolutes not determined by man. “It’s tough but, as chaplains, we get on our knees and pray and then live with the soldiers,” Burke says. “We search for leaders among them to train up. We give our best and encourage personal relationships with Christ beyond theory and tradition. “We all need Jesus. Chaplains are here to remind everyone amidst the noise of what is important.”

JULY 2018

TEXAS

T E X A N O N L I N E . N E T

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A FINAL TITHE BENEFITS KINGDOM Jeffrey Steed Director of Planned Giving SBT Foundation

Generosity towards the kingdom and others is at the heart of being a follower of Jesus Christ. Specifically, obediently giving our tithes and offerings to the Lord both (1) teaches us about the joy experienced through being generous and (2) reminds us of how important giv-

CHURCH POSITIONS PASTOR u Obrien BC in Obrien is looking for a FT pastor for our conservative, traditional church. Salary 40+ plus, insurance and parsonage 3/2/2. Send resume to [email protected]. u FBC Van is prayerfully seeking a FT pastor with a heart for Christ and people. Van is a rural east Texas town with a thriving school district and community. Send resume to FBC Van, c/o Pastor Search Committee, PO Box 1050, Van, TX 75790 or [email protected]. MUSIC u Lake Athens BC in Athens is seeking a FT music minister to lead blended worship and choirs. Submit resume, references and website address of you leading music, if available, to Lake Athens Baptist Church Personnel Committee, 5151 FM 2495, Athens, TX 75752 or email to pastor@ lakeathensbaptist.com. u FBC Van Alstyne is searching for a PT (15-20 hours/week) worship pastor. Salary is negotiable. Send resume to resumes@ Fbcva.com. u Redbud BC in Lubbock is seeking a PT music minister. Go to redbudbaptist. org/2018/02/music-minister-opening/ to see full job description. Send cover letter and resume to [email protected]. COMBINATION u FBC of O’Donnell is hiring a minister of youth and discipleship. For more

ing is in the eyes of the Lord. Our tithes and offerings support the work of God through ministry efforts that often have an impact in our cities and worldwide with the gospel message of Jesus Christ. As souls are saved, there is a perpetual impact for the kingdom and God is glorified. By giving our tithes and offerings, we are investing in that impact. We are a part of the lives that are forever changed through God’s power. As Christians, we are to be faithful in being generous with our tithes and

information, please contact Taylor Wood at [email protected]. u FBC Hamlin is seeking a FT minister of music/education. Great salary, benefits and parsonage provided. Submit resumes to [email protected]. STUDENTS u Kentuckytown Baptist in Whitewright is seeking a FT youth minister. Please send resume to Kentuckytown Baptist, c/o Personnel Committee, PO Box 723, Whitewright, TX 75491 or paulcheek@ dallasbalfour.com. u FBC of Dripping Springs is seeking a PT male student minister to work cooperatively with our female student minister by teaching, mentoring, attending summer camp and mission trips. Minimum age 21, hold a valid driver’s license, drive church activity bus. Please send resume to [email protected] or mail to Corinne Geary, 203 W Hwy 290, Dripping Springs, TX 78620. u Community BC in Dublin (close to Stephenville) is seeking a PT youth director with experience to lead children on Wednesday nights and teach Sunday school. Please request an application by calling 254-445-4479. For more information, email [email protected]. CHILDREN u Harmony BC in Weatherford is seeking paid interns to serve in nursery and children’s classes on Sundays and Wednesdays. For more information please contact Lynn Crosslin at lynncrosslin@ gmail.com.

offerings to the Lord’s work. Have you thought about a final tithe and offering to benefit kingdom efforts? Have you thought about providing part of your estate to ministry through your Last Will and Testament (or “last testimony”)? Many Christians desire to reflect their values that they have while living, such as God and family, in their last testimony on this earth. Leaving part of your estate to your family and a final tithe to the kingdom can provide a legacy of impact for many years to come.

Leaving part of your estate to your family and a final tithe to the kingdom can provide a legacy of impact for many years to come.

ANNOUNCEMENTS The Fellowship at Field Store in Waller needs a reasonably priced, reliable 11-15 passenger van to replace our 1991 model that’s supported our student ministry and yearly mission trips for 10 years. If your church has one to sell or possibly donate to this valuable ministry, please contact us at 936-372-9465.

CLASSIFIEDS u Home-based ad agency for nonprofit charities. Established clients. Average annual net $67K part-time. Work from any location. Retiring. $29,900. Call 828.633-6382. u Concord Baptist Church, a vibrant and growing church in Anderson, SC is seeking an associate pastor for worship and music. This person must have the calling, gifting, training and heart to lead a large and diverse ministry of worship. We are excited about our future! For a job description and/or to submit a resume/profile please contact Jeanette James at [email protected]. Please also visit concordbaptist.com for more information about our congregation. u Messiah’s Ranch Christian Camp, near Bryan/College Station, invites you to check us out at messiahsranch.org. It is a great camp!! u Capitol Hill BC, Oklahoma City, OK, is seeking a FT associate pastor/director of music programs. Will oversee worship services, choirs, instrumentalists, media/technology, Fine Arts Academy. Send resume to Search Committee, Capitol Hill Baptist Church, 304 SW 134th St, OKC, OK 73170, or email to [email protected]. u FBC Pineville, LA seeks a minister of music with a passion for leading congregational worship, overseeing an age-graded choir ministry and a growing comprehensive music ministry. We (fbcpineville.net) have a blended service utilizing choir, praise team and an instrumental ensemble. Submit resumes to [email protected]. u The Clay-Platte Baptist Association is seeking a director of missions to lead a network of churches in reaching a growing region of north Kansas City metro. In response to current and anticipated growth, the ideal candidate will lead in church planting, vitality, strategic partnership and administrative leadership. Inquiries or resumes can be directed to [email protected].

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CHRISTIANS SHOW RESPECT FOR DECEASED BY MINISTERING TO FAMILY By Sue Sprenkle Baptist Press

Red hats draped around the casket. Every nook and cranny of the funeral home was jammed with variations of this Red Hat Society symbol. This labor of love—75 hats, to be exact—from friends and family was a natural way to honor the deceased, an active member in the club. The gesture prompted funeral attendees to sit around and tell stories, honoring the life of their friend. This sharing is an important time not only for those mourning but the church community reaching out to the grieving family. Tim Jeter, director of Jeter and Son Funeral Home in Dallas and Cedar Hill, said how Christians respond during this life-altering event is important. “A church hosting a funeral or even being a part of the process is as necessary as a church hosting a baby dedication,” Jeter said. “Christian leaders can help a grieving family by instilling in their congregation how important it is to honor the deceased and their family.” By caring for those left behind, you honor and respect the deceased. It doesn’t really matter how you do it— food, mowing a lawn or cleaning house before out-of-town relatives show up. It just matters that you consistently show this honor.

It goes much deeper than opening the church for a funeral service or preparing the funeral meal. It’s really an integral part of family units healing. Retired funeral home director Mike Hurst added that this outpouring of love is more important now than ever. “Grieving is different today than it was 10 to 30 years ago,” Hurst, who ministered 45 years in Farmersville, said. “Years ago, families were larger and closer knit, sharing more compassion. Now, families are small and spread out all over the country. There’s not always family nearby to get needed support or to look in on each other. That’s where we, as Christians, can really show Christ’s love during this time of need. “That starts before the funeral and lasts weeks and even months after,” Hurst added. Chuck Kelley, president of New Orleans Southern Baptist Seminary, watched his father do exactly what Hurst suggested. His father, like most who work in this industry, treated his job as a funeral director in Beaumont like a ministry. Kelley watched people stumble into his father’s office, barely able to walk or even put together a coherent thought. His father led the grieving through a series of tough decisions and emotions. It’s at this point that Kelley suggested fellow believers begin showing their

support. “It’s a messy time in anyone’s life. It doesn’t matter if we are celebrating because our loved one is with the Heavenly Father or if we are unsure of their afterlife, it’s a time of grieving and dealing with loss,” he said. “The best thing you can do is listen and affirm. Tell them that you are there for anything they need.” Kelley specified that future pastors trained at most seminaries are told to never answer questions that can’t be answered. The same goes for any Christian offering comfort. “Be careful saying things like, ‘God had a need for them in heaven,’” the seminary president said. “Something like that can cause a great deal of anger. We don’t understand God’s mind, so don’t pretend that we can by explaining away death. What you do is love people, affirm them and listen.” The next step is the day of the funeral. Attending the funeral or graveside not only honors the deceased but shows support to the family. Jeter, Hurst and Kelley all pointed out that this is a time when more non-believers go to church or the funeral chapel than even holidays. They want to pay their respects. They are also watching how others around them handle the grief. Jeter and Hurst encouraged pastors and Christians to share their faith. “If the deceased was a believer, the

funeral is a celebration of life. It is an opportunity for those attending to hear testimony of a life lived for Christ,” Jeter said, noting that many in attendance want to know what made this person so different. Kelley warned that if the deceased was not a Christian, don’t talk about them as if they were. “There are a lot of ways to talk about eternal life without bringing up the fact that their loved one might spend eternity in hell,” Kelley said. “What you do is talk about the living. Most people come to funerals questioning life and feel uncertain about the future. This is the time to address that uncertainty surrounding death, whether it is during the funeral service or on a one-toone basis. Ask if they are ready for this day to come.” After the funeral and graveside services, the chance to minister and to honor the deceased is not over. Hurst acknowledged that it’s really just beginning. Even devout Christians feel isolated and alone during this time. Hurst said a phone call goes a long way in showing that you care; even a note of encouragement in the weeks after lets the grieving know they are not forgotten. “God sent some to teach, preach, serve and listen,” Hurst said. “Taking care of grieving families is a privileged way to serve our Lord and Savior.”

Christian, lead the way in showing respect Dick Sisk

Guest Columnist

The song was written in 1965 by Otis Redding. Aretha Franklin had a hit with it in 1967. It was simply titled R.E.S.P.E.C.T. Both singers are asking for just a little bit of it. Respect. And I agree with both Otis and Aretha. Although the world really needs love, coming in a close second is respect. We throw the word around quite a bit, but, like love, we do more talking about it than we do expressing it. There was a time when parents taught their children what it meant to respect authorities, those older than themselves, the flag, the Bible, church and one another. Somewhere, we lost the meaning of giving and paying respect. I think we’ve reached a point in our culture where we would all do well to relearn and reteach what it means to show a little bit of respect. But especially among those who identify with Christ. It almost seems to be a lost art. Let me give you just a small illustration. Last year, after I spoke at a memorial service for a friend, we were escorted to the cemetery by seven fire trucks and emergency vehicles, all with full emergency lights, followed by a flower van, a hearse, my car, the family cars and about 20 to 30 other cars in the procession. It’s about 14 miles from the funeral chapel to

the cemetery. Growing up, I was taught a little thing called respect—which is a very big thing. Part of that teaching was the expectation that when you meet a funeral procession, you pull your vehicle over and wait for it to pass—out of respect. Down here in the South, it was always done. But in this instance, only one in about every 10 or 12 cars pulled over; the rest didn’t even slow down. Now, if I saw seven emergency vehicles with lights flashing, followed by a hearse, and 30 cars with lights on and flashers going, I would say to myself, “Hmm, must be a funeral procession. I’ll just pull over to the side until it passes, out of respect.” But it didn’t happen. I think it is a symptom of our culture. Largely, we have forgotten how to give respect to each other. As Christian people, we should be much more apt to show respect than those in the world. So the next time you see a funeral procession, pull over until the procession passes, then you can drive like the wind in order to make up those two to three minutes you used up sitting on the side of the road. In no more time than it took you to read this little opinion, you could have shown respect and been on your merry way. There are so many other situations where we could set the example in showing respect. What about the opinions, the wisdom and the wishes of those who are older than we are? Or when someone

loses a loved one, do we contact them, give them a call, show up with a casserole and a shoulder to lean on? Teach your children to show respect, especially to the authorities in their lives, whether to teachers, to law enforcement or to anyone older than themselves. Teach them to give respect to the flag, to the military, to the veteran, to the Pledge of Allegiance, to the Star-Spangled Banner. Our culture will not teach it. We must.

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Peter had something to say about this in his letter. “Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor” (1 Peter 2:17). So here’s my plea. Slow your life down. And out of respect, pull over. And teach others to do the same. R-E-S-P-E-C-T, just a little bit. Dick Sisk is pastor of Tarpley Baptist Church in Tarpley, northwest of San Antonio.

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