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HBU APOLOGETICS CONFERENCE 7 NOVEMBER 2016 LIFEWAY PASTORAL COMPENSATION STUDY 19 TEEN GENDER TRANSITIONS HARMFUL, PE...

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HBU APOLOGETICS CONFERENCE 7

NOVEMBER 2016

LIFEWAY PASTORAL COMPENSATION STUDY 19

TEEN GENDER TRANSITIONS HARMFUL, PEDIATRICIANS SAY 21

ANNUAL MEETING 10-11

Newsjournal of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention N MORE NEWS AT TEXANONLINE.NET

LONDON:

S P E C I A L R E P O R T: PA S T O R A L M I N I S T R Y • PA G E S 1 2 - 1 6

EPICENTER OF GLOBAL INFLUENCE

PHOTO BY KEITH COLLIER

By Keith Collier Managing Editor LONDON

Perched on a hill overlooking the historic southeastern London borough of Greenwich, the Royal Observatory represents, as some have claimed, the center of the modern world. Chosen in 1884 by delegates from 25 nations as the location of the prime meridian, or Longitude 0°, Greenwich has served as the standard for mapping and world time zones ever since. Today, this thriving part of London holds great promise for impacting the world.

TEXAS PASTORS DISCUSS THE DISCIPLINE OF SERMON PLANNING & PREPARATION By Keith Collier | Managing Editor

With so many ministry demands vying for pastors’ attentions each week, sermon preparation can prove daunting. For this reason, careful planning helps pastors maximize their ministry and strengthen their week-to-week preaching. The TEXAN interviewed five pastors of varying church sizes across the state to understand their approaches to sermon preparation. While each one has found certain methods and habits that work for him, they all agree that preaching is one of their primary ministry responsibilities and requires intentionality to be most effective.

See SERMON PREP, 12

See LONDON, 2

SBTC DR volunteers aid Hurricane Matthew victims in North and South Carolina 5SBTC DR chansaw crews remove a fallen tree from a Betty’s Tots day care in Walterboro, S.C., which was blown down during Hurricane Matthew.

By Jane Rodgers | TEXAN Correspondent WALTERBORO, SOUTH CAROLINA

Lee and Norma Nichols breathed a sigh of relief the morning of Oct. 8. They thought they had escaped the onslaught of Hurricane Matthew relatively unscathed. They still had electrical power. Lee Nichols even relaxed in the couple’s living room, looking up at calm trees through skylights. Then the trees began swaying ominously. See SBTC DR, 3

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COVER FEATURE

S O U T H E R N

B A P T I S T

LONDON

(Top) IMB church planter, Chad Rigney, walks the streets of Greenwich. (Bottom-left) A view of Greenwich park, with the National Maritime Museum in the foreground and London’s financial district in the distance. (Bottom-right) The local Baptist association has given Rigney a church building, formerly Devonshire Drive Baptist Church. PHOTOS BY KEITH COLLIER

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Home to the University of Greenwich and located just across the Thames River from Canary Warf, London’s bustling financial district, the borough’s 270,000 residents are largely young professionals and students. Grounded in a secular worldview and seeming success, most of them feel no need for religion, much less the gospel. However, International Mission Board church planter Chad Rigney and his wife, Lynsi, have seen God open a door for ministry to these millennials and are praying for the gospel to transform this community. When the Rigneys arrived in London in 2013, they settled into the northwestern London borough of Harrow and began visiting churches in the area to determine where God was at work. Although initially saddened by the number of gospel-less and dying churches, they eventually launched a “missional community”—a group of believers who grow together in their faith, serve one another and seek opportunities to bring the gospel to their neighborhoods. The group has met in their home for the past two years, focusing on a three-part rhythm of discipleship—up, in and out. Chad Rigney explains: “Up—meaning we need to have times when we’re worshipping God and we’re learning in the Scriptures. In—we need to do family and take care of one another well. This means hanging out and having dinners together. And then, out—we need to have a mission that we’re doing together focused outward.” For example, they organized a Christmas party for their first outwardly focused event and invited non-religious friends. One of those who came remarked how great the party was and asked how the group knew each other, which opened the door for a spiritual conversation. Interaction with his missional community has helped Rigney understand the culture around him, both religious and non-religious. “It’s been a really good learning experience,” Rigney says. “As missionaries and working with nationals—they’re British and we’re the only Americans— it’s been a good three years of learning the culture and learning the difference between the States and here. … Even the worldview of Christians here (is a little different). “I’ve had to remove a lot of my Christian vernacular, even among Christians. It’s been a longer journey than I thought it would be.” A SENDING CHURCH IN TEXAS Rigney attended Criswell College and served as a youth minister for a number of years before sensing a call to missions. Connection Community Church (C3) in Rowlett, Texas, embraced his desire to reach London with the gospel and served as the sending church. Over the past few years, C3 has provided financial and prayer support in addition to sending missions teams to help the Rigneys work in this global city. Teams often conduct surveys in neighborhoods, transitioning to spiritual questions at the end in order to open gospel conversations. This past summer, a team also met practical needs in Harrow, receiving permission from the local coun-

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cil to beautify a park, which created a platform for the missional community to be involved in community development. C3 Missions Pastor Mike Julian said the church is excited about the Rigneys’ focus on missional communities and church planting. “Really, the overall goal is to plant multiple churches through missional community,” Julian said. “I know Chad’s heart is not necessarily to be the front man for the next 10 years. His heart is to build a missional community and have a local come in and

pastor that, and then go grow another missional community and have a local come in and pastor that. It’s been exciting, working with Chad, because I know he’s not in it for selfish gain. He’s in it for kingdom ministry.” Julian hopes to mobilize church members and college students to serve alongside the Rigneys for more than a week in London. MOVING TO GREENWICH Earlier this summer, God opened new doors for church planting in the

city and provided the Rigneys with a London church planter’s dream—a permanent building. While visiting with a local Baptist association about their work in the city, Chad was told that a Baptist church in Greenwich had recently closed its doors and disbanded. The leadership at the association shared his vision for church planting and offered him the building, which he accepted in October. As his family moves to Greenwich to start this new work, Rigney said he’s confident the missional community in Harrow will be in good hands, as one of the men in the group will take the lead. Rigney plans to start new missional communities in Greenwich, which dovetails into the IMB city strategy for London— one of five newly announced megacities that are being piloted as part of the mission board’s new Global Cities Initiative (see related story on this page). In Greenwich, the Rigneys want to do their part in seeing London transformed by the gospel through planting churches. As a result, they hope this transformation will spread globally as university students and business professionals move back to their homelands as witnesses for Christ. “We’re not here for us,” Chad says. “We’re going to exist for people who aren’t in our community yet, who aren’t Christians yet.”

IMB’s Global Cities Initiative London has been dubbed by some as the world’s capital city, based on its influential role as a global financial center as well as a leading international city for business, the arts, education, tourism and ethnic diversity. More than 300 languages are spoken in London, and 37 percent of the city’s population was born outside the U.K., one-fourth of which have moved to London in the last five years. Forbes magazine ranked London as the “most influential city in the world,” but the city that once served as fertile ground for great Christian preaching and churches has grown fallow over the last 50 years. In 1963, 3.2 percent of London’s population claimed to have no affiliation with religion. In 2015, that number had risen to a staggering 44.7 percent. The Anglican Church alone saw a 33 percent drop during this span. “There’s no lack of church buildings in London, but the average congregation is fewer than 20 people,” IMB senior city manager James Roberts told the TEXAN. Roberts is part of the leadership team in London strategizing a comprehensive missions approach to reach this city of 8.6 million. More than 50 non-indigenous communities, each with 10,000 people or more, have been identified in London, making it truly a global city.

Recognizing global migration patterns from rural to urban settings, IMB has named London—along with Dubai, Shanghai, Kuala Lumpur, and a major city in South Asia (unnamed for security purposes)—as focal points in its GCI pilot. Cities were selected based on their potential for global influence as well as the vast numbers of unengaged, unreached people group represented in these cities. The goal is that as members of these people groups are transformed by the gospel while living in these major cities, they will return to their homelands as indigenous missionaries. In London, this plan involves using the city’s more than 280 underground tube stops as targets for missional communities. The team’s “God-sized vision” includes having a missional community at every stop, and they are in the initial stages of mapping the areas and conducting demographic research to aid in future evangelism and discipleship. “We want to engage people groups; we want to see London reached,” Roberts said, adding that their strategy includes the “goal of starting new groups, doing evangelism, and training leaders, with the hope of starting new churches.” IMB President David Platt’s vision of “limitless missionaries” requires “multiple pathways” for engaging lostness all over the world. In addition to career missionaries, IMB is look-

ing for Christian students, business professionals and retirees willing to move overseas to aid mission teams in one of the five GCI cities. These life stages, combined with numerous opportunities for education and employment, serve as platforms for missions engagement either short-term or long-term. “Our hope for (students and business professionals) who come with GCI is not only will they help engage with us in what we’re doing in the city, but they will start ministry in their areas of influence,” Roberts said. “London is also a place where retirees can come and engage. Retirees are incredible because they have resources, time and a ton of wisdom. They’ve been walking with God longer than most of us, and they have a different perspective. We can release them into the city and engage them in all different kinds of ways.” IMB also wants partner churches in the United States that will select a city and mobilize its members who might be interested in connecting with a team. The board even has access consultants in each city that can help business professionals discover potential job openings. In each of these megacities, abundant opportunities for gospel engagement exist. For more information and to find out how you or your church can partner with IMB through the Global Cities Initiative, visit imb.org/gci.

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CHURCH ATTENDANCE IN LONDON RISING, BRITISH THEOLOGIAN SAYS By Jane Rodgers TEXAN Correspondent Cambridge, UK

“What’s good in the UK is that Christians have now got used to being in a minority and aren’t angry about it,” said Peter Williams, warden of Tyndale House, Britain’s premier theological library. Despite pervasive secularism throughout the United Kingdom, Williams told the TEXAN that modern British evangelicals are “quite determined” and “have a substantial understanding of what they are up against.” “Those who are evangelical in the UK have been subject to secular propaganda for a long time. This has allowed some of them to build up substantial immunity. We have also seen the tragic effects of secularism within our culture.” “I have had secular education down my throat the whole time, and most of the other Christians in the UK that I know have,” Williams added, laughing. “I think most of us have got an immunity to it.” Williams acknowledged hostility to the church is the product of both genuine and intentional misunderstanding. “There is plenty of hostility to Christian exclusivity—the claims of salvation through Christ alone, the claims of human sinfulness, and the claim above all that we are not free to do anything simply because we want to,” Williams said. “Historically, the Christians were thought of as the good guys,” Williams mused. “And now you have the reversal, where the Christians are [seen as] the people who wreck the

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environment, are less likely to pect people called for American Christians get angry with those who are be vegetarian, judge people. outside the to guard against anger, noting persecuting them.” “Genuinely, people believe church, peo- that in a climate of secularMeanwhile, about Christian[today] that Christianity is not ple who have ism, the church should expect ity across the pond, Williams good for society. This is all tied not been “opposition.” He also said that said, “It’s hard to say whether up in the narrative of the way transformed American and English Chris- the evangelical church is gainyou tell the past, the [so-called] by the Holy tians need each other. ing or losing ground in the UK. terrible things Christianity did. Spirit, to live “Paul and Silas were sing- The promising statistic is that The idea that Christians were by the Chris- ing hymns of praise that church attendance in London anti-science, conducted the Peter Williams tian ethics. they had opposition. It is an is at 8 percent whereas it is at 5 witch hunts, etc.” That is a fun- incredible privilege for the percent in the rest of England.” There is a need to reframe damental mistake because we church in America to suffer This growth is not just the the narrative with truth, know that without the power some opposition. It doesn’t result of immigration, he addWilliams added, noting that of the Holy Spirit, we couldn’t mean that we welcome oppo- ed. “There are also strong witonly two witches in Europe do it. So why would we expect sition or persecution. We are nesses within our financial were convicted in church people who haven’t been trans- told to pray against it. We can districts. London has a habit of courts and that many Chris- formed to do that?” be grieved by it, but I think attracting talent from round tians contributed notably to What the church must em- there is an element of anger the entire country, and this scientific advances. phasize instead is the changing in the way that Christians in means that there is often good Tyndale House, adjacent work of God’s grace, he said: America perceive that they strategic leadership in the to Cambridge University, is “We’ve got to be really clear are being treated. churches here.” home to 20 scholars Williams attends in residence and their an independent Bapfamilies; 30 others entist church and sees gaged in research at the cooperation among “IT’S HARD TO SAY WHETHER THE EVANGELICAL CHURCH IS GAINING library live off site. The conservative, evanOR LOSING GROUND IN THE UK. THE PROMISING STATISTIC IS students, representgelical UK believers, ing six continents, are regardless of denomiTHAT CHURCH ATTENDANCE IN LONDON IS AT 8 PERCENT mostly pursuing doctornation. al or post-doctoral work “The Church of WHEREAS IT IS AT 5 PERCENT IN THE REST OF ENGLAND.” at Cambridge and other England is a single de— PETER WILLIAMS, WARDEN OF TYNDALE HOUSE, BRITAIN’S PREMIER THEOLOGICAL LIBRARY universities. nomination but con“Tyndale House has tains many different played a central role in strands,” he said. “The reviving the intellectuaffinity between an al leadership of British evangelical Baptist evangelicalism,” Williams said. that we are not expecting peo“To some extent, [anger] is church and an evangelical The library was founded in ple to improve their lives prior justifiable because [American Anglican church is far bigger 1944 by British evangelicals to coming into contact with the Christians] look at America as than between a liberal Anglirealizing the need to “engage Christian message. a thing that was founded in can church and an evangelical with the mind” in light of what Williams rejects the notion a very beautiful way—set up Anglican one. Often evangeliWilliams called the “writhing that the church is persecuted with a good Constitution—and cals of different denominations skepticism” that characterized in the West. [now] they see that beautiful have good relationships. Our English church and society in “I am more happy with the thing that they loved being church sometimes collaborates the late-19th and early-20th word opposition, which again, spoiled. That produces the re- with a nearby evangelical Ancenturies. we’ve got to realize, is selec- action of anger, understand- glican church, and the leaders Still, the greatest threat to tive,” Williams said. “There are able grief and so on, but I think have great mutual respect.” Christianity may come from the parts where there isn’t opposi- that if we were counseling an If London is the harbinger of church itself, Williams proposed. tion, where there is acceptance, Iranian Christian or someone the spiritual direction of the UK, “There is a real danger that where there are open doors.” in a situation where they are 8 percent looks good. Meanpeople in the church, people Recognizing similar trends really, really being persecuted, while, British Christians remain who are followers of Jesus, ex- in the United States, Williams we would not counsel them to a determined minority.

“ferocious,” a large oak tree in the couple’s backyard was uprooted, falling into the side street of their corner lot. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 City crews chopped up part of the tree but left large chunks “The winds started going and in the street, posing a potential the backside [of the storm] hit danger to drivers until a fourus. The trees were really wav- man SBTC chainsaw team from ing,” Nichols recalled. Atlanta, Texas, arrived to take Norma Nichols, a native of care of the problem. the region, had ridden out hur“The tree was within three ricanes before. The couple, re- feet of a power line,” SBTC DR tired IMB missionaries who white hat Jim Howard said. “We served in Asia—mainly in South threw a line on it and pulled it Korea—for more than 40 years, out. We are trained for this.” had elected to stay in their “They finished the job,” Norhome. Their residence is located ma Nichols said. only a mile west of Interstate 95, “We are most grateful to the on the edge of the area of rec- folks from Texas,” Lee Nichols ommended evacuation. added. “I am almost certain the eye Such appreciation is evident of the storm went right over throughout the region, Howard where we were,” Norma Nichols noted. “Everywhere we go, peosaid. When the winds turned ple stop us and thank us.”

“Our first job was to remove a tree off a day care center so they could get back open and help folks around the community by taking care of their children,” Rick Grandmaison, chainsaw unit director, said. In another instance, the chainsaw team needed help from the local police to assist one 96-year-old resident. A policewoman had been checking on the elderly lady, Howard said. The officer had helped the lady fill out the work order for the removal of a large limb that had fallen on her home. The officer had to be called to the home to assist the victim to the door to meet the chainsaw team. “[The lady] couldn’t hear us banging on her door,” Howard said. “She was disappointed that we had to cut the limb,” he added with a slight chuckle. “Her

cats enjoyed climbing up and down it, but the officer told her that it had to go.” To date, more than 10 chainsaw jobs have been completed and even more spiritual contacts made, Grandmaison added. “We are trying to help these people as much as we can.” A shower unit and feeding team from Flint, Texas, was also deployed to Walterboro to offer assistance, with SBTC DR volunteers being housed at Walterboro First Baptist Church. SBTC DR teams have also established feeding, laundry and shower operations in North Carolina, said Scottie Stice, SBTC director of disaster relief. An SBTC feeding team of 15 has deployed to Whiteville, North Carolina, in support of a Missouri feeding unit. Meals will be distributed to the affect-

ed communities. An SBTC laundry unit was also sent to Whiteville, Stice said. Volunteers are housed at Western Prong Baptist Church. Noting that many North Carolina rural communities are “underwater,” while others have fared better, Stice added that the Whiteville crew is “cut off by floodwaters” from Lumberton, where four SBTC volunteers are manning a laundry unit in support of the North Carolina National Guard. The work in Lumberton marks the first time SBTC DR personnel have deployed in direct support of a National Guard unit, Stice said, requesting prayer for victims and DR volunteers in the Carolinas. For information on how to give or volunteer, visit sbtexas.com/dr and click on “How to Help.”

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OPINION

S O U T H E R N

WHAT WILL PEOPLE SAY AT MY FUNERAL? Gary Ledbetter Editor

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think about funerals differently today than I did 30 years ago. It never occurred to me at that time to wonder what my kids and grandkids and pastors might say over my coffin. Today, that day is easier to imagine. As I attended a recent funeral for a prominent and godly man I noticed who talked about him, what they said, and what they did not talk about. If we want our friends and families to praise us for significant things, we must think about whether those things will be true in our lives. In observing some encouraging memorial services, I’ve noticed some trends. No one talks about the politics or even the celebrity of

the deceased, unless that’s all there is. If there are funerals where someone says with wonder, “This guy had 200,000 Twitter followers,” I’ve not attended them. In fact, I’ve been surprised to find how intimate the funerals of some prominent men can be. Even when hundreds attend, the emphasis is not on the public accomplishments of the deceased. No one testifies about how many arguments the deceased won. Clever zingers and unassailable logic are rarely on the list of things for which the godly departed are praised. Even if we don’t spend most of our time thinking about these things, we may spend more time on them than we do on more impactful things. Family members talk about your marriage. They say, “Mom and Dad had a great

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love story for as long as I remember,” or “Grandpa treated Grammy like a queen.” Children do grow out of the stage of shrieking “gross!” every time Mom and Dad hold hands. They apparently come to expect that parents and grandparents will care deeply for one another and show it. Children fall back on what they’ve seen in their parents’ marriage as they face the inevitable challenges of their own. The people who watched us while they were learning to walk are still watching. Are we still aware that we are teaching? Kids and grandkids talk about your priestliness. At a recent funeral, the eldest son related that his dad, while on his deathbed, had asked him during a late night vigil if the son was sure that he was sure that he would go to heaven. This story was not told to show that Dad was getting forgetful in the last days, but it was told as an example of the deceased’s sincere love for his family. Other stories tell of the faithfulness of a mom who prayed for the salvation of her kids, or for their sanctification for decades after. Is there a time when you stopped feeling a responsibility for the spiritual lives of your family? I’ve observed that kids

THE PEOPLE WHO WATCHED US WHILE THEY WERE LEARNING TO WALK ARE STILL WATCHING. ARE WE STILL AWARE THAT WE ARE TEACHING? and grandkids appreciate it when we still watch over them; they expect it and might later tell proudly that we did it. Your family will talk about your spiritual disciplines. I remember a great story a son told about his dad who, knowing that he would die even within the next day or two, was sitting up in bed memorizing Scripture. Another mom witnessed to nurses and doctors and technicians as they came through during her last days, and her kids remembered that. A parent’s Bible seems more precious on these occasions when the Bible is worn out and marked up—the well-used tool of a faithful disciple. Your pastor will talk about your faithfulness to your congregation. I admire the testimonies of pastors and Sunday School class members who relate how the deceased loved her church. Deacons who served for 40 years or a teacher who impacted hundreds of students who passed through on the way to being pastors or dea-

cons or teachers themselves are highly praised during uplifting memorial services. Sometimes, a younger pastor will talk about how the deceased prayed for him, encouraged him or otherwise uplifted him after the time when the departed was unable to serve in a prominent role at church. Those who are loving spouses, devoted parents and true disciples already have a legacy, even if we do not think yet about what those who remain will say—what will be true— about us when this life is over. It’s really not about the dead person, though. I’m convinced that we will care little for our reputations once we are gone. It is about our stewardship of our days and our people. I really desire to use my time with the people God has given me in powerful ways. The testimony of, and about, those who have gone before is that habitually, faithfully, loving God and loving people is the way to impact those who know you and love you best.

Preach about the church to the church Keith Collier

Managing Editor

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any would say the conservative evangelical church has entered a golden age of expository preaching. A genuine commitment to the inerrancy of Scripture has led to a genuine commitment to expositional preaching. But despite this trend, what if a blind spot—a byproduct of 20thcentury evangelicalism—exists in our preaching? Put plainly, an overemphasized Christian individualism may be eroding our churches and our preaching. What I mean is that we have focused on the Christian life as an individual pursuit of God and devalued the role of the local church in the life of the believer. The Christian life runs on twin engines—both our individual relationship with the Lord and our congregational relationship with

other local believers in a covenant community, a local church. Certainly, we must emphasize the individual nature of the Christian life, but that’s often where we stop. The congregational nature of the Christian life appears to be an optional add-on or at least a minor aspect of Christian discipleship. That’s why we hear the common refrains, “You don’t have to go to church to be a Christian.” or, “I love Jesus, but I’m just not that into the church.” Because the church is Jesus’ bride, that’s like telling me, “Keith, I really like you, but I can’t stand your wife.” Our relationship won’t be the same. Our preaching has inherited this imbalanced Christian individualism, resulting in weakened local churches. Today’s preaching largely aims at the individual Christian and neglects a congregationally shaped view of the Christian life. Ironically, this misses the whole objective of expository preaching. The Bible is a congregationally shaped book. It is writ-

Jim Richards, Executive Director

Southern Baptist TEXAN VOLUME

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Gary K. Ledbetter, Editor Keith Collier, Managing Editor Tammi Ledbetter, Special Assignments Editor Gayla Sullivan, Circulation Manager Russell Lightner, Layout/Graphic Artist Lauren Reynnells, Intern

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ten about God’s people, to God’s people, for God’s people. The Old Testament is written to the people of God—Israel. The New Testament is written to the people of God—local churches. Even the New Testament letters written to individuals (1 & 2 Timothy, Titus) are written to pastors of local churches, instructing them on how to lead God’s people. Expositional preaching exposes God’s Word to his people and helps them live out the truths found in the Bible. Because the Bible is congregationally shaped, our preaching must be congregationally shaped; it must be ecclesiological. In fact, if your preaching is not ecclesiological, you’re not truly doing exposition. Again, I’m not advocating a push of the pendulum to the opposite side and neglecting the individual aspect of the Christian life. We must maintain a balance between the two. So what’s the remedy? Ecclesiological exposition, or what Mark Dever describes as preaching

Correspondents: JC Davies Michael Foust Bonnie Pritchett Erin Roach Jane Rodgers

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about the church to the church. While modern expositional preaching tends to be sermons to a group of individuals, ecclesiological exposition helps Christians grow in their individual walks with the Lord while also helping them relate to one another and fulfill Christ’s mission in the local church. After all, God’s vehicle for complete Christian maturity is not just quiet times; it’s the local church (Eph. 4:1-16). Congregationally conscious preaching creates a compelling community of believers who disciple one another, exhibit genuine love and care for one another, and display the glory of God to a watching world. Like bifocals enable someone to view close up as well as far away, ecclesiological exposition keeps both the individual and congregational in focus. When we read the Bible, we will surely find applications for individuals, but we must also view the Scriptures through a corporate lens, asking, “What does this passage mean for our life together as a church?”

On a practical level, such a paradigm shift in preaching affects the explanation, illustration, and application of the text of Scripture, as the sermon explains the corporate implications of the text, illustrates the text by highlighting its expressions in local bodies of believers, and applies the text to the congregation as a whole. As a result, a culture of discipleship and Christlike affection develops as church members see how they relate to one another, and the corporate witness of the church is broadcast to the surrounding community. Pastor, as you prepare this week’s sermon, continue to examine what the text means for each individual Christian in the room, but don’t forget to also consider how that individual might understand and live out that passage in the context of your church. Consider what ways your congregation is, or should be, obeying the commands of Scripture as a corporate body.

The Southern Baptist Texan is the official newspaper of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, P.O. Box 1988, Grapevine, Texas 76099-1988. Toll-free 877-953-7282, Phone 817-552-2500, FAX 817-552-2520. Email: [email protected]

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NOVEMBER 2016

TOTAL DEPENDENCE ON GOD Jim Richards Executive Director

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resident Nathan Lino in his TEXAN column lists five reasons to be at the annual meeting of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. I will not enumerate them again but simply will voice a hearty “amen.”

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We enjoy worship, fellowship, hear ministry testimonies and make ministry decisions. Perhaps the least exciting and smallest part of the entire time together is consideration of the budget. The 2017 Cooperative Program budget will be presented to the messengers for approval. The messengers have the final say in how the funds are directed. One of the most remarkable aspects of Baptist life is how we fund our work. Churches put the

greater need ahead of their personal interests to invest in a collaborative ministry. The SBTC is made of a diverse constituency. Membership of the churches is heavily weighted toward smaller congregations, with about 80 percent of SBTC churches averaging less than 200 in attendance. Sadly, the majority of all SBC churches are plateaued or declining. As the population of Texas is largely on I-35 and eastward, so are the majority of churches. Leadership in churches is changing rapidly from my generation to a younger age group. Ethnically, about one-fourth of the churches are non-Anglo. Some churches are traditional in worship style, while many are considered “contemporary.” We are a different assortment! Two factors enable us to work together: doctrinal accountability and the Cooperative

Program. The Baptist Faith and Message 2000 sets the parameters for fellowship in the SBTC. Churches affirm the framework of the BF&M 2000 as our basis of ministry together. This statement enables us to have a lot of latitude in our individual congregations but provides a safeguard against departure from our agreed-upon boundaries when working as a convention. The Cooperative Program is the second factor unique to Southern Baptists. While there is no connectionalism in Baptist life, we voluntarily cooperate to accomplish the massive task of kingdom advance by pooling our financial resources. The SBTC sends 55 percent on to the Southern Baptist Convention for national and international work. No other state convention participates at a higher percentage. The budget presented to the messengers represents our col-

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lective work. With such a divergent group of churches having competing philosophies, it is the amazing grace of God that we are able to accomplish the work of kingdom advance. The SBTC staff seeks to serve the churches with a Christ-like spirit. We are aware that the SBTC exists at the pleasure of the churches. The lion’s share of the budget approved at the annual meeting will go to missions and evangelism. This is true in Texas and beyond. There may be some things some of us prefer more than others in the line items, but virtually all of us agree that the main emphasis must be on kingdom advance. If you have questions about the Cooperative Program or how your investment is being used, your SBTC staff stands ready to give testimony of the lives changed through your giving.

All are welcome to SBTC Annual Meeting Nathan Lino

SBTC President Pastor, Northeast Houston Baptist Church

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t is not too late to join us for our annual meeting in Austin Nov. 14-15. While all voting is limited to “messengers” from SBTC churches, this is a public gathering and any and all friends are welcome, regardless of denomination, without pre-registering. For that matter, unbelievers are welcome. Let me remind you of some high points of our gathering: 1The gathering of pastors and leaders from our 2,500 local churches in Texas will lead to the praise and glory of Jesus Christ. Pastors old and young

leading churches that are inner city, urban, suburban, rural, and house churches, ranging in size from 20 to multiple thousands, is “other worldly” and can only be explained by the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are secure enough through unity in primary doctrines, the gospel and mission that we are free to celebrate and enjoy vast methodological differences. 2The Holy Spirit is going to speak to us from the pages of Scripture. I’m so excited about the preaching plan this year: The subject is the Holy Spirit. We have made sure the preachers are all very good preachers. The six sermons will be verse by verse through Romans 8. The stage is set for us to hear

from the Lord. (Bonus: All the preachers in attendance will leave with a six-part series on the Holy Spirit through Romans 8!) 3You will receive deep, soul-level encouragement and renewal. We have intentionally designed times to address difficult ministry issues common to all pastors that often leave us hurt and discouraged. For example, during the Monday night session and again during the Tuesday President’s lunch, we will address issues like loneliness, resentment, when our families hate the church, and the burden of unrealistic expectations. 4We have a plan to bless and encourage the Christian

community of Austin, Texas. The Tuesday night session will be a non-denominational worship gathering with three key pieces. Jeremy Camp will lead the singing to draw Christ’s disciples from all over the city. Then Austin’s prayer network will lead us in a time of prayer. If you aren’t aware of it yet, the Holy Spirit has prompted a unique prayer movement in their city. Anywhere from 2001,000 Christians from a variety of denominations gather regularly to pray for their city. Kie Bowman, one of our key SBTC leaders, is also a major player in the prayer network. Finally, Greg Matte, pastor of FBC Houston will preach. The event has the potential to draw many

believers from all over the city for encouragement in kingdom work. We want the kingdom of light to be greater and the kingdom of darkness smaller as a result of the SBTC annual meeting coming to town. 5The essential administrative business of our annual meeting has been boiled down to a minimum and streamlined in its presentation. I believe that what will emerge from the reports and presentations is a picture of a convention of churches in which the Lord is clearly present and working. I pray the Lord blesses our annual meeting. The table has been set for something special to happen. I look forward to seeing you there.

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BRIEFS Saddleback Church baptizes 45,000TH person

California-based Saddleback Church reached a new milestone in its 36 years of ministry with its 45,000th baptism in October, and the church’s pastor, Rick Warren, took the 45,000th person baptized out to lunch. Warren personally baptized 600 of them during the historic weekend. Saddleback has 16 campuses. “Baptisms are an amazing moment in the life of the church,” Warren said. “They are a public sign of new life in the believer, of new beginnings for all those involved, and they encourage everyone watching to renew their own commitment to Christ. We are grateful that God has graciously allowed us to be a part of more than 45,000 people taking this amazing step and we pray that we’ll get to be a part of many, many more in the coming months and years.” —Christian Post

N.C. restroom bill doesn’t deter SBC from holding convention there Amid controversy over North Carolina’s controversial transgender restroom law, Southern Baptist Convention leaders say they’re committed to holding the SBC annual meeting in Charlotte in 2023— and they add they’re glad to support the state for its moral stand on gender and sexuality. The SBC’s vote to schedule its 2023 annual meeting in Charlotte came at the

convention’s St. Louis annual meeting this summer. Contracts between the SBC and Charlotte were expected to be finalized in late September or early October. SBC President Steve Gaines said that “while other organizations such as the NCAA, NBA and NFL are seeking to punish North Carolinians for their state government’s bold and appropriate stand on gender and sexuality, Southern Baptists have voted and are resolute about holding our annual meeting there in 2023.” In response to the law, some organizations have cancelled events in North Carolina. Among groups to cancel plans in the Tar Heel State are the NCAA, the Atlantic Coast Conference, the NBA and various businesses and recording artists. “If more state politicians would follow North Carolina’s lead in this,” Gaines, pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova, Tenn., said of HB 2, “we could stop the unprecedented bullying and intolerance that is seeking to erode our religious liberties in America. Now is the time for all Bible-believing Christians to lovingly, firmly stand up for righteousness and common sense.” —bpnews.net

CP ends fiscal year 4.95% over budget projection The Southern Baptist Convention ended its fiscal year $9.23 million over its 2015–2016 budgeted goal and $6.57 million over the previous year’s CP Allocation Budget gifts. The SBC received $195,730,508.04 in Cooperative Program Allocation gifts for the year, an amount that is $6,570,276.63, or 3.47 percent, more than it received during the last fiscal year, and is $9,230,508.04,

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or 4.95 percent, more than its budgeted goal of $186.5 million. In designated giving, the fiscal year’s total of $204,671,725.92 is 4.95 percent above the previous year’s $195,013,412.58. —bpnews.net

Report to Obama, Congress says ‘religious liberty’ equals ‘discrimination’ Southern Baptist entity head Russell Moore and other religious representatives have called for President Obama and congressional leaders to repudiate a contention by the country’s top civil rights panel that religious liberty is used as a pretense for discrimination. The letter from a diverse coalition of religious leaders took issue with assertions made by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (USCCR) and its chairman in an early September report. In the report, the panel said religious groups “use the pretext of religious doctrines to discriminate.” In a statement included in the report, USCCR Chairman Martin Castro said, “The phrases ‘religious liberty’ and ‘religious freedom’ will stand for nothing except hypocrisy so long as they remain code words for discrimination, intolerance, racism, sexism, homophobia, Islamophobia, Christian supremacy or any form of intolerance.” Moore, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), and his fellow signers urged Obama and the other recipients of their letter “to renounce publicly the claim that ‘religious freedom’ and ‘religious liberty’ are ‘code words’ or a ‘pretext’ for various forms of discrimination.” The USCCR, established in 1957 as a nonpartisan entity, consists of four members appointed by the president and four by Congress. The president names the chairman and vice chairman of the panel. —bpnews.net

Missionary to Russia loses anti-evangelism appeal An Independent Baptist missionary convicted under Russia’s new anti-evangelism law and compelled to end his ministry there has lost his first court appeal in Oryol, Russia,

2016 Annie Armstrong giving 2nd highest ever Southern Baptists gave $58,860,553 to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30,

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Donald and Ruth Ossewaarde

but has vowed to continue legally fighting for the cause of religious freedom. An appeals court judge Sept. 30 upheld the conviction of Donald Ossewaarde on charges of conducting missionary activities in violation of the new law that prohibits evangelizing outside church walls and without a government permit. Ossewaarde had been charged Aug. 14 under Article 5.26, Part 5 of the new religion law for holding religious services in his home, advertising services on bulletin boards in nearby neighborhoods, and failing to give authorities written notification when he began his religious activities. He was fined 40,000 rubles, about $600, and advised by a court appointed attorney that anything might happen to his family while in Russia. —bpnews.net

Saeed Abedini files for divorce from Naghmeh Formerly imprisoned pastor Saeed Abedini has filed for divorce from his wife Naghmeh nearly 10 months after she sought legal separation from him, the two revealed on Facebook. “My heart is deeply saddened to be sharing the news that Naghmeh and I will be divorcing,” Saeed Abedini wrote. “She has been my wife of 12 years and she will always be the wonderful mother to our amazing children. While we have experienced struggles, she, along with my children, will forever be my heroes, both for what they had to deal with during my imprisonment in Iran and for how they never gave up fighting for my freedom.” Naghmeh Abedini wrote: “It is with a heavy and broken heart that I inform all of you who have prayed and wept with our family the last few years that Saeed has rejected counseling for anger and abuse and has filed for a divorce. There will be a time to share more fully, but for now, we appreciate your prayers.” Saeed Abedini, an American

the second highest total in the offering’s history, the North American Mission Board announced Oct. 12. The record is $59,463,281, set in 2007. “This is extraordinary in a year when so many of our churches gave above and beyond in response to the special call from our International Mission Board,” NAMB President Kevin Ezell wrote in a thank-you column

citizen of Iranian descent, was released in January from an Iranian prison where he had been held three and a half years as punishment for his Christian faith and evangelism. Naghmeh Abedini had advocated and campaigned extensively for his release, speaking at churches and other venues, meeting with President Obama, leading international days of prayers and fasting, among other initiatives. However, she filed for legal separation from the pastor Jan. 26, the day he returned to Boise, Idaho, after the U.S. government negotiated his release from Iran as part of a nuclear disarmament deal. The two are parents to 10-year-old Rebekka and 8-year-old Jacob. —bpnews.net

The movie ‘Storks’ has gay characters?

The new animated movie Storks (PG), which was widely applauded for some of its positive themes, included a rapid sequence at the movie’s end that included gay and lesbian couples. Adam Holz of Focus on the Family’s Plugged In department said Christian families who know about the controversy will reach different conclusions as to whether they should watch the film. “The scene in question here is very, very short. It may be a quarter of a second or less,” Holz said. “It’s truly a blinkand-you’ll-miss-it moment. If viewers aren’t paying close attention, they may very well miss it entirely.” In the scene in question, different couples are seen receiving their babies from storks. One of the couples is gay, and another couple is lesbian. “By including those images, the filmmakers are promoting a worldview and an understanding of family that’s consistent with mainstream secular values with regard to sexuality and marriage, but one that’s at odds with a biblical understanding of those important subjects,” Holz said. “I suspect that will be enough for many Christian families to take a pass on this film.” —Christian Examiner

to Southern Baptists. “We are humbled by how God has moved once again through Southern Baptists and excited about what this means for our missionaries who serve throughout the United States and Canada.” Ezell thanked several state conventions that experienced an increase in giving, including the SBTC. —bpnews.net

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HOUSTON APOLOGETICS DAY EQUIPS CHRISTIANS TO DEFEND THEIR FAITH

Craig Evans, HBU professor of Christian origins, addresses the reliability of the New Testament manuscript during the inaugural Houston Apologetics Day at Champion Forest Baptist Church, Oct. 8. PHOTO BY BONNIE PRITCHETT

By Bonnie Pritchett TEXAN Correspondent HOUSTON What would inspire 400 people to ignore the first flush of fall weather and highstakes football games to spend a Saturday holed up in a church auditorium listening to a series of speakers address a subject they already understand and believe—Jesus lived, died, and rose again according to the Scriptures? But, as participants in the Houston Apologetics Day admitted, believing the gospel does not make communicating that truth to a skeptical culture easy. Houston Baptist University’s (HBU) inaugural Houston Apologetics Day drew a racially and generationally diverse crowd to Champion Forest Baptist Church Oct. 8. The day-long lecture series featured Christian apologists from the university and church in a first-time partnership for the event. Participants, ranging in age from intermediate school students to retirees, said the conference encouraged them to study more and fear less. “Partnering with Champion Forest was a great experience, and we are always on the lookout for ways to serve the local

church,” said Jeffrey Green, HBU graduate school dean. “We’ll see what next year brings; I’m certainly encouraged by the success this year.” Sponsored by the HBU School of Christian Thought, the conference featured the school’s internationally renowned Christian apologists offering critical perspective and evidence on a variety of issues. Sessions included “Conversational Apologetics” by Mary Jo Sharp, assistant professor of apologetics; “Unanswered: Lasting Truth for Trending Questions” by Jeremiah Johnston, associate professor of early Christianity; “The Reliability of the New Testament” by Craig Evans, professor of Christian origins; and “The Resurrection of Christ” by William Lane Craig, research professor of philosophy. Representing the host church on the speakers’ list were Champion Forest pastor David Fleming and Sunday School teacher and Houston attorney Mark Lanier. Fleming’s session answered the question, “Who is Jesus?” while Lanier’s answered, “What really happened at Jericho?” Champion Forest member James Price, 56, couldn’t wait to get to the Houston confer-

HBU apologetics professor Mary Jo Sharp speaks on the conversational nature of apologetics at the school’s inaugural Houston Apologetics Day at Champion Forest Baptist Church, Oct. 8. PHOTO BY BONNIE PRITCHETT

ence. When he began sharing his faith with a Muslim friend 15 years ago, he felt ill-equipped for the task. But after years of faithful testimony, Price said he had the honor and privilege recently of seeing his friend and the man’s son trust Christ and get baptized. “So when that started [15 years ago], I knew I needed to work on it,” Price said. “I wanted to become better at presenting the gospel to whoever I meet.” Mike Woltemath, 63, agreed. And both men said they must be more intentional about sharing their faith and working through the “fear of telling others.” Price and Woltemath noted Sharp’s admonition for Christians to know why they believe and how to carefully listen, question and respond to skeptics or people of other faiths. That, Price said, will help him be more deliberate and skillful in his conversations. Mature Christians were not the only ones paying attention to how a conversation should be tempered. Jalen Ontoy, 15, a sophomore at Westside Baptist Academy, said he sometimes snaps at people who disagree with him. Sharp’s lesson reminded him

the method of conversation is just as critical as the content. He wants to take what he learned back to his peers, too many of whom are quick to believe and repeat popular memes without assessing their truth claims. “Kids today lack critical thinking skills,” said Jez Ontoy, Jalen’s father. “Truth claims can be tested.” Jalen said many teens are afraid of what people will think of them so they don’t push back against challenges to the gospel. But learning how to test arguments against the veracity of the Old and New Testaments and the reality of the historical Jesus and his resurrection will help Jalen and his peers stay engaged when confronted with alternative truth claims. Even educators well-versed in apologetics gleaned new insight at the conference. “It’s always good to hear these guys,” said Brad Finkbeiner, who teaches apologetics to high school seniors at Providence Classical School. Finkbeiner brought his eighth-grade son, Bradley, specifically to hear Craig’s presentation. The senior Finkbeiner said he’ll reiterate to his students Lanier’s message emphasizing

the importance of primary over secondary sources when seeking reliable evidence to undergird any argument. But it was Evan’s presentation on the reliability of the New Testament that especially got the attention of Finkbeiner and fellow educator Sean Diskard, who teaches biblical hermeneutics at Providence. Diskard’s course includes a primer on the reliability of the modern Bible, demonstrating how the original texts, or autographs, were transmitted from the first century writers to contemporary readers. Evans, HBU dean of the School of Christian Thought, said archeological evidence combined with extant second- through fourth-century manuscripts provide strong evidence that the original New Testament writings remained in circulation or careful preservation for more than 200 years. With that new information about the reliable transmission of the original scriptures Diskard said he owes his students an apology. “I need to go back and tell them I was wrong. It’s even more reliable!” he said.

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FORMER IMB MISSIONARY RECEIVES NATIONAL AWARD FOR SURGICAL SERVICE By JC Davies TEXAN Correspondent WASHINGTON, D.C. Long-time medical missionary and Fort Worth resident, Dr. Rebekah Naylor, was honored recently by the nation’s surgical community for her career of service to people lacking adequate medical care overseas, as well as in Texas. Naylor was presented by the American College of Surgeons with the Pfizer Surgical Humanitarian Award Oct. 18 in Washington, D.C., at a reception hosted by the Board of Governors at the Clinical Congress 2016. The annual award is given to surgeons who dedicate their careers to providing surgical care to underserved populations. “I am very humbled by this recognition by the American College of Surgeons, a professional secular organization,”

Naylor said. “I am so amazed that I would be considered for the award recognizing a career in missionary service. I feel that God has so blessed me in this, and I want to be a good steward of the opportunity to give witness before them of my faith in Jesus Christ.” Naylor completed her surgical training at Southwestern Medical Center and Parkland Hospital in Dallas in 1973, and went on to begin her medical career serving with the International Mission Board at the Bangalore Baptist Hospital in Karnataka, India. During more than three decades of serving in India, Naylor expanded patient care at the Bangalore Baptist Hospital, set up training programs for physicians, and established a nursing school there. In addition to her medical service, Naylor also

dedicated much of her time to growing the local church in the state of Karnataka, where she was involved in establishing 900 churches. “In its earlier years, I tried to lead the hospital setting standards of professional excellence and bold witness for Jesus, leading to many churches. I pray that the hospital will continue to be a place of physical healing and a place of spiritual healing as people hear about Jesus and choose to follow him,” Naylor said. Naylor returned to Texas in 2002, where she taught at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas until retiring in 2010. The following year, she led the founding of Mercy Clinic in south Fort Worth, which treats the underserved and uninsured. Today, Naylor serves as the global health care con-

Rebekah Naylor, speaking with fellow physician Stanley Macaden during a return visit to Bangalore Baptist Hospital in India, worked there 35 years through Southern Baptists’ International Mission Board. PHOTO PROVIDED

sultant for Baptist Global Response and continues to travel

to India, where she remains involved in the ministry there.

BUYING PROPERTY?

Churches Have Negotiating Power By Jeff Steed Southern Baptists of Texas Foundation

Is your church in the market to buy property? A church may be acquiring land for a new building, acquiring land and/ or houses around the church to expand its campus, or acquiring property for other ministry purposes. Churches have negotiating power at the bargaining table when working with sellers. When the seller is willing to receive a discounted price on the property, the difference in

the qualified appraisal value and the sales price can be a charitable income tax deduction. If the seller has a capital gain on the property (qualified appraisal value is greater than the cost basis), then the seller can also bypass some of the capital gains tax. The bottom line is a church can offer some tax benefits to a seller to help at least partially offset a discount on the asking price. The seller receives the sales price from the church plus the tax benefits and the church saves money by

paying less for the property. For example, a seller is asking $250,000 for a piece of property. A church offers $175,000 and can provide a charitable deduction for the difference in a qualified appraisal obtained by the seller and the actual sales price. A sales contract is signed by both parties that includes wording referencing this pricing difference for the sake of helping to document the charitable income tax deduction. If the seller does not already have a qualified appraisal

on the property, he/she obtains the appraisal. The appraisal value provided by the appraiser is $275,000. The difference in the appraisal value ($275,000) and the sales prices ($175,000) is considered a charitable income tax deduction to the seller. If the amount of $275,000 is greater than the seller’s cost basis, he/she can also bypass some of the capital gains tax for an additional benefit. For a charitable bargain sale, it is crucial to have the proper wording in the sales contract

for the charitable income tax deduction. There is also followup paperwork that needs to be provided to the seller. For help with these steps, please contact Jeff Steed at the Southern Baptists of Texas Foundation, [email protected]. Churches have negotiating power when buying property that can save them money and help them to be better stewards with God’s resources. Those savings could be used for other ministry efforts to advance the kingdom!

ENDING THE YEAR WELL Get a head start on your year-end tax planning.

SELLING SECURITIES, REAL ESTATE OR A BUSINESS THIS YEAR?

Consider planning strategies to avoid capital gains tax

OWN AN IRA AND/OR 401(K)?

Maximize your deductible contributions

EXPECT TO BE IN A LOWER TAX BRACKET AND CAN CONTROL INCOME?

Shift income to this year

EXTRA MEDICAL EXPENSES?

Establish a health savings account (HSA)

HERE ARE SOME WAYS YOU CAN SHIFT TAX DOLLARS TO CHARITABLE DOLLARS AND SUPPORT MINISTRY. IRA Charitable Rollover

Donor Advised Fund (DAF)

Outright Gift of an Asset

Zero-Tax Gift and Sale

M AY WE HELP?

HAVE INVESTMENT LOSERS?

EXPECT TO BE IN A HIGHER TAX BRACKET?

AGE 70½ OR OLDER?

Sell to offset winners Lower your capital gains tax

Talk to your CPA or advisor to find solutions to manage taxes

Check on your IRA required minimum distribution

HAVE PROPERTY TAXES, MEDICAL BILLS? Accelerate deductible expenses

If you would like further information on these end-of-year planning strategies, please contact us. We can help you create a plan that meets your needs and goals. Contact Jeffrey Steed • 877-953-7282 • [email protected]

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8 MISTAKES WE MAKE ON SHORT-TERM MISSION TRIPS Shane Pruitt SBTC Director of Missions

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he number of Christians in the United States who participate in short-term mission trips—those lasting a year or less—has risen exponentially over the last 50 years, growing grown from 540 in 1965 to more than 1.5 million annually, with an estimated $2 billion per year spent on the effort, according to Missiology Journal. Sadly, in recent years, there has been some negative light shed upon short-term mission trips. Many questions have arisen, such as, Are the trips truly advancing the mission of God? Are the teams that go on these trips more of a help or a hindrance to the missionary who is living there? Are we really being good stewards of our resources? Would it more helpful to send the money directly to the missionary and the ministry instead of paying for plane tickets? These are all great questions and worthy of our consideration. However, all of these thoughts shouldn’t discourage missions but rather make us better in our missions efforts. The act of going is important. Jesus left his home to be among the people and to bring them a message of hope, love and life. Plus, Jesus has commanded us all to “go” in the Great Commission. However, we’re not perfect; we’re going to make mistakes. And, here are at least eight mistakes we make on short-term mission trips:

1 Believing you’re the Savior: We must remember that we are not the hope of the world— Jesus is. What countries, cities and people need is Jesus, not me and my passport. At the very best, I can make a temporary impact; however, the gospel will make an eternal impact. Give them Jesus. 2 Treating missionaries like travel agents: Now, don’t get me wrong. Often, missionaries are the best people to help plan the details of the trip and travel. However, we must realize that is not their primary reason for being there. They’re calling is to minister to the community, share the gospel and make disciples … not to be your on-call travel agent. 3 Going with our own agendas: Sometimes teams go on a mission trip with their own agendas, looking for the missionaries, cities and local ministries to meet their demands. What missionaries, ministries and communities need are long-term partners who will encourage, energize and invest in continuing the kingdom work that has already begun there. Be a help, not a hindrance. Remember, if you make a mess and then leave, they are the ones that have to stay and clean it up. 4 Operating as though they are on your turf: Once, while on a mission trip, one of our team members said, “Wow. There are a lot of foreigners here!” Wait! What? Seriously? Yes, there are a few foreigners here. It’s us! Remember, you’re on their land, their streets and

impact on you from a mission trip is that it made you more thankful for your stuff back at home, then you’ve completely missed the point of missions. You must search your heart and intentions. Our motivation for missions cannot be to have a great experience, or to take photos of hurting people. You are part of something much larger than yourself. You’re a part of the story of God and fulfilling the Great Commandment and the Great Commission—love God, love people, make disciples. 8 Not asking before clicking: Pictures can be a great— they help you remember what God has taught you, they remind you of the relationships that were made, and they tell a story to others who were not there for the glory of God. Just be sure to ask first and be wise. Don’t turn your camera into a weapon. How would you feel if strangers were taking pictures of you, your children and your home? So, yes mistakes are often made, but God is sovereign and his grace is sufficient. However, we can be aware of the mistakes, learn from them and make the changes necessary for healthy kingdom expansion. We have an incredible opportunity to go in wisdom and with excellence because our king deserves our best.

BE SURE TO RESPECT THEIR CULTURE, CONTEXT AND HISTORY. ONCE AGAIN, CULTURES NEED THE GOSPEL, NOT A WESTERN MINDSET OR EVEN THE “AMERICAN CHURCH.” PEOPLE WILL SING AND “DO CHURCH” DIFFERENTLY THAN WHAT YOU’RE USED TO. PRAISE GOD FOR THAT. THERE IS A LOT WE CAN LEARN FROM PEOPLE IN DIFFERENT CONTEXTS.

in their homes. Be sure to respect their culture, context and history. Once again, cultures need the gospel, not a Western mindset or even the “American Church.” People will sing and do church differently than what you’re used to. Praise God for that. There is a lot we can learn from people in different contexts. 5 Doing things for people that they can do for themselves: We must ask ourselves, “Why are we flying halfway across the world and paying thousands of dollars just to paint a wall all by ourselves?” Are we doing jobs for people that they can do for themselves? Last time I checked, people in developing countries can hold babies, build fences and hand out beans. So why are you doing it for them? If painting a wall or handing out food is really a need in a place, then invite people in those villages to do it with you. Or, if our teams are going to do these projects alone, then we must make sure that we’re doing them with gospel intentionality! For example, sometimes, handing out food opens the door for gospel conversations

in closed countries. Likewise, painting or light construction can accomplish needed work that would be impossible for one or two missionaries to accomplish on their own, so it serves a critical need. Empowering people with the gospel for change, not enabling people for the same, should always be our driving force. 6 Impressing people, instead of empowering them: It’s so easy to impress people with a certain skill set that the Lord has blessed you with. It feels really good to go somewhere for a week or two, and show people how much you know. However, what if you spent that time teaching people to continue doing the same things once you left? Now, that would be true long-term community impact. For example, if you have a dental hygienist, instead of them cleaning teeth the whole time, have them utilize their time teaching others in-country how to clean teeth properly. The work done in those few days will have more long-term impact than simply one person performing a handful of cleanings. 7 Participating in poverty tourism: If the biggest lasting

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. – Matthew 28:19

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SBTC ANNUAL MEETING

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OFFICER NOMINEES ANNOUNCED All three Southern Baptists of Texas Convention officers— President Nathan Lino, Vice President Dante Wright, and Secretary Juan Sanchez—will be renominated for a second Nathan Lino term at the upcoming SBTC Annual Meeting at Great Hills Baptist Church in Austin, Nov. 14-15. Officers can serve two consecutive one-year terms, and each officer is completing his first term. Juan Sanchez Josh Smith, pastor of MacArthur Blvd Baptist Church in Irving, will nominate Nathan Lino, pastor of Northeast Houston Baptist Church (NEHBC) in Humble, for SBTC president. Born in South Africa, Lino’s family immigrated to the Houston area when he was 11. He planted NEHBC in 2002 and has served previously as first vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention from 2012-2013 HOUSTON

as well as SBTC first vice president from 2006-2008. Ms. Jerry Jones, director of Christian education at Sweet Home Baptist Church, plans to nominate her Dante Wright pastor, Dante Wright, pastor of Sweet Home Baptist Church in Round Rock, for vice president. Wright has served two years as SBTC secretary from 2013-2015. Wright spent 10 years as a football coach before surrendering to ministry and coming to pastor Sweet Home Baptist Church. Ben Wright, pastor of Cedar Pointe Baptist Church in Cedar Park, will nominate Juan Sanchez, pastor of High Pointe Baptist Church in Austin, as secretary. Sanchez has served as pastor of High Pointe since 2005 and also serves on the faculty of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary as assistant professor of Christian theology. Election of officers will take place during the Tuesday afternoon session, Nov. 15.

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2016 PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTMENTS REGISTRATION Beaux Hinote (CHAIR) Dagne Balcha Bill Gernenz Al Magness Mario Moreno

Central Baptist Church, Luling High Pointe Baptist Church, Austin First Baptist Church, Blanco Anderson Mill Baptist Church, Austin Oak Meadow Baptist Church, Austin

RESOLUTIONS Evan Lenow (CHAIR) Matt Beasley Scott Harper Averri LeMalle Giancarlo Montemayor Coleman Philley John Powell Karen Yarnell

Birchman Baptist Church, Fort Worth Ridgecrest Baptist Church, Greenville Northeast Houston Baptist Church, Humble Champion Forest Baptist Church, Houston High Pointe Baptist Church, Austin First Baptist Church, Merkel Northeast Houston Baptist Church, Humble Birchman Baptist Church, Fort Worth

TELLERS Steve Cochran (CHAIR) Brandon Bales Edward Beltran Guillermo Cardona Joshua Collins Michael Delaney Al Manigsaca Mark Markham James Martinez Saul Ramirez Dennis Spire George Ward

CrossWalk Church, Round Rock Northeast Houston Baptist Church, Humble Genesis Baptist Church, San Antonio Trinity Bible Church, San Antonio The Crossing Community Church of Bulverde First Baptist Church of Weir Austin Filipino Christian Fellowship, Austin Grace Fellowship Church of Lago Vista First Baptist Church, Brownsville Piedra Viva, Austin Calvary Baptist Church, San Marcos Pleasant Hill Baptist Church, Austin

PARLIAMENTARIANS Barry McCarty Terry Wright

First Baptist Church, Euless First Baptist Church, Vidor

COMMITTEE ON COMMITTEES 2016-2017 Chairman: Richard Piles, Emory Baptist Church, Emory Term Expiring 2019 Marcus Allen Faith Family Baptist Church, Kingwood Sonny Hathaway LaBelle Baptist Church, Beaumont James Jordan Northeast Houston Baptist Church, Humble

SBC President Steve Gaines to speak at SBTC Bible Conference By Keith Collier Managing Editor AUSTIN SBC President Steve Gaines, pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church near Memphis, Tenn., will be the final speaker of the 2016 SBTC Bible Conference, which runs Sunday evening, Nov. 13 through Monday afternoon, Nov. 14. The theme for this year’s conference will be “The Holy Spirit,” with the theme verse Zechariah 4:6—“Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts.” The conference, which is free to the public, will be held at Great Hills Baptist Church in Austin and precedes the SBTC Annual Meeting, which begins Monday evening and concludes Tuesday night, Nov. 15.

“Steve Gaines is such a Spiritfilled and powerful preacher, a modernday prophet who speaks the truth in love,” said Bible Conference president Steve Gaines Danny Forshee, pastor of Great Hills Baptist Church in Austin, which is hosting the Bible Conference and Annual Meeting, Nov. 13-15. “I am convinced that every person who comes and listens will hear a message from the heart of God through his faithful messenger. He will tell us and show us what a Holy Spirit empowered preacher of the cross looks like.

I’m very excited about him closing out our Bible Conference.” Other speakers at the Bible Conference include: Rhys Stenner, pastor of New Hope Baptist Church in Fayetteville, Ga.; Matt Carter, pastor of The Austin Stone Community Church in Austin; Dante Wright, pastor of Sweet Home Baptist Church in Round Rock, Texas; Juan Sanchez, pastor of High

Pointe Baptist Church in Austin; and Steven Smith, preaching professor and vice president for student services at Southwestern Seminary. For more information on the Bible Conference, including schedule, the Sunday evening Spanish session and purchasing tickets for the Ministry Café, visit sbtexas.com/bc16.

CONVENCIóN DE LOS BAUTISTAS DEL SUR DE TEXAS

NOVIEMBRE 13• 6PM Bible Conference Breakout Sessions Ted Elmore - The Holy Spirit and Revival/Awakenings Jim Henry - The Holy Spirit’s Comfort for Pastors Terry Hurt - Spirit-led Worship Matt Queen - The Spirit-filled Witness Juan Sanchez - Pneumatology (study of the Holy Spirit) Steven Smith - Spirit-filled Preaching Daniel VanCleave - Spirit-led Student Ministry Robert Welch Jr. - The Holy Spirit’s Role in Church Growth

HIGH POINTE BAPTIST CHURCH 12030 DESSAU RD. AUSTIN, TX 78754

Para más información, comuníquese con Juani Shelton: 817-552-2500 [email protected]

SBTEXAS.COM/AM16 Hecho posible por el Programa Cooperativo. Para más información y recursos disponibles del Programa Cooperativo visítenos en whatiscp.com

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PASTOR GEORGE HARRIS TO RECEIVE PAUL PRESSLER AWARD By Lauren Reynnells TEXAN Correspondent AUSTIN Former Southern Baptists of Texas Convention president, George Harris, will receive the Paul Pressler Distinguished Service award during the convention’s annual meeting, Nov. 15. Paul Pressler, a former Texas Court of Appeals judge, demonstrated godly leadership during the Southern Baptist Convention’s Conservative Resurgence at the end of the 20th century.

The Paul Pressler Distinguished Service award is presented each year to a leader in ministry who demonstrates such service in working for the Lord. George Harris served in several ministry positions during his career, most notably as the

pastor at Castle Hills First Baptist Church in San Antonio from 1975 to 2002. Harris’ pastoral career also included his 28-year appearance on “Truth For Today,” a ministry broadcast that airs over television stations nationwide. Harris’ pastoral presence not only influenced America, but the globe as well. He has been the keynote speaker in the European Baptist Convention and taken part in preaching engagements around the world. He founded Theological

Insights for the Presentation of Scripture (T.I.P.S.), which aids bi-vocational pastors, preachers and laypersons in studying and teaching God’s Word. Harris’ pulpit approach comes from Nehemiah 8:8, “they read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people understood what was being read.” Throughout his ministry, the main focus of his sermons is making the Word of God clear. Harris received his bachelor’s from Ouachita Baptist Univer-

sity in Arkadelphia, Ark., his Master of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, and his Doctor of Ministry from Luther Rice Seminary in Jacksonville, Fla. He influenced the lives of countless students pursuing ministry as a professor of preaching at Criswell College in Dallas and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Harris has been married to his wife, Lynda, for 58 years and has four children and 10 grandchildren.

Annual Meeting sermons to walk through Romans 8 By Keith Collier Managing Editor AUSTIN In planning for this year’s annual meeting, Southern Baptists of Texas Convention President Nathan Lino wanted the sermons preached during the event to not only be inspiring but also instructive. Since the meeting’s theme is “The Holy Spirit,” Lino chose for the six messages to work sequentially, systematically through Romans 8, and he enlisted David Allen, dean of

the Southwestern Seminary’s School of Preaching, to analyze the chapter in Greek and then break it up into six sections. These sections will be preached expositionally in order throughout the two-day meeing, Nov. 14-15, at Great Hills Baptist Church in Austin. Lino noted that not only will these sermons be timely and encouraging, but they will also give pastors the foundation for a six-part series on the Holy Spirit through Romans 8. “I’m fired up about the Ro-

mans 8 preaching relay team after our preparation meeting with David Allen,” Lino told the TEXAN. “I was excited about it conceptually before, but now that the six preachers have met and I saw their insights and enthusiasm, I think it will be a significant time in the life of our convention. You will not want to miss it.” On Monday evening, Southwestern Seminary preaching professor Steven Smith will deliver a biblical exposition on Romans 8:1-8. Later that evening,

Lino, pastor of Northeast Houston Baptist Church, will preach from Romans 8:9-11 in his president’s address. On Tuesday morning, Chris Osborne, pastor of Central Baptist Church in College Station will deliver a biblical exposition from Romans 8:12-17, and SBTC Executive Director Jim Richards will preach from Romans 8:18-27. That afternoon, SBTC Vice President Dante Wright, who pastors Sweet Home Baptist Church in Round Rock, will focus his sermon on Romans 8:28-30.

Read Steven Smith and Nathan Lino’s article on the Romans 8 sermon series and how the individual sermons fit together at texanonline.net/Romans8.

During the final session of the annual meeting Tuesday evening, Gregg Matte, pastor of Houston’s First Baptist Church, will deliver the convention sermon as he preaches expositionally from Romans 8:31-39.

CITYWIDE WORSHIP GATHERING TO CONCLUDE ANNUAL MEETING IN AUSTIN By Keith Collier

sult of the SBTC annual meeting coming to town,” Lino said. The prayer emphasis will be led by Kie Bowman, pastor of Hyde Park Baptist Church in Austin, and the Austin Prayer Network. Jeremy Camp will perform a free concert following the evening session.

Managing Editor AUSTIN This year’s Southern Baptists of Texas Convention annual meeting in Austin will conclude Tuesday night, Nov. 15, with a citywide prayer and worship gathering designed to refresh and renew church leaders and members. The free event, starting at 6:40 p.m. at Great Hills Baptist Church, will feature a prayer emphasis, musical worship led by Christian recording artist Jeremy Camp and a message by Gregg Matte, pastor of Houston’s First Baptist Church. SBTC President Nathan Lino said the event is open to all Aus-

Jeremy Camp

tin-area evangelical churches and “has the potential to draw many believers from all over the city for encouragement in kingdom work.” “We want the kingdom of light to be greater and the kingdom of darkness smaller as a re-

PANEL DISCUSSIONS Two panel discussions during the annual meeting, Nov. 14-15, will address the challenges of pastoral ministry and growing concerns surrounding religious liberty in America. On Monday, following the evening session, a late night panel discussion moderated by FBC

Georgetown pastor Kevin Ueckert will focus on “Real Talk: The Struggle to Stay Encouraged in Life and Ministry.” Panelists will include pastors David Fleming of Champion Forest Baptist Church in Houston, Matt Carter of The Austin Stone Community Church in Austin, and John Powell of Northeast Houston Baptist Church in Humble. During the Tuesday morning session, there will be a special panel on religious liberty with pastors and denominational leaders discussing ways individuals and churches can engage the

culture on this vital issue. Phillip Bethancourt, executive vice president for the SBC Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, will moderate the panel. Joining him will be Jeff Iorg, president of Gateway Seminary; Erik Stanley, senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom; and Kie Bowman, pastor of Hyde Park Baptist Church in Austin. For more information on the 2016 SBTC Bible Conference and Annual Meeting, visit sbtexas.com/am16.

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“Though I think retreats for planning messages is a very good approach, I’ve found it CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 helpful for me to plan in my offices at church and home where I have all the tools at my disposal,” LONG-RANGE PLANNING Mathews said. “However, I recRather than attempting to ommend that the preacher goes come up with a new sermon to the place that works best for topic the week before preach- him. I will spend much time praying it, most of the pastors inter- ing as I seek God’s direction for viewed plan their sermon series message topics. I will take a week out several months in advance. at a time to do nothing but plan Gregg Matte, pastor of Hous- series and individual messages.” ton’s First Baptist Church, typiMathews typically sets aside cally begins working on his fall one week in September, Octosermon series in the spring. He ber and November to prepare typically preaches exposition- for the following year. If he’s ally through books of the Bible, only able to plan part of the so he outlines the book and year’s sermon schedule, he adds sequence of messages in the a week in January or February spring and shares it with the to finish planning. worship and creative teams in Josh Smith, pastor of MacArhis church so they can begin thur Blvd. Baptist Church in their own preparations. Irving, takes two weeks every After the series is organized, summer for what he calls “study Matte continues to study for the leave,” which is separate from series during his annual summer vacation and designed for “longsabbatical and then meets with term sermon preparation.” a creative team every couple of “Normally during that time months to brainstorm titles, illus- I am doing background study trations and videos for upcoming and not study for individual sermons. Additionally, he sets messages,” Smith said. “I only aside one Thursday per month write individual messages week to get away and pray and think to week. I have never found it about the upcoming month’s helpful to get too far ahead in worth of sermons, which allows sermon preparation. The freshhim to “work on the ministry, not ness of the message in my own in the ministry” and gives him a heart is significant for me.” “bird’s-eye view” of where he’s Similarly, Jared Wellman, going with his sermons over the pastor of Mission Dorado Bapnext several weeks. tist Church in Odessa, sets aside With this roadmap in place, he a week two times a year to plan simply has to work through the out the next six months of serpassage and prepare the sermon mon series. during the week of the message. “I usually bring in a speaker “What I like to say is that I try who preaches for me that weekto go to the grocery store and fill end. This relieves me of the the pantry, and then every week sermon preparation time that I’m cooking a fresh meal instead week and provides me with a of every week running to the time of refreshment and engrocery story trying to get all the couragement. I intentionally stuff to put in the pantry to cook have the pastor in my home for that same day,” Matte said. dinner and ask him questions Similarly, Tony Mathews, about the ministry and about pastor of North Garland Baptist sermon preparation. Fellowship in Garland, plans his “Most of the time I already series out eight months to a year have the series listed and my in advance.

PREACHING POINTS BALANCING MINISTRY DEMANDS “Because I am full-time, it affords me the opportunity to schedule both study time and other pastoral duties. Another factor that has been a blessing to me is that I have a staff and leadership teams to assist with the ministry load. For bi-vocational pastors and pastors with limited staff and volunteers, the balancing act can become a bit more challenging. I would recommend to those pastors to plan your messages way ahead of time. This will allow for more time to spend filling the other demands of ministry.”

Tony Mathews NORTH GARLAND BAPTIST FELLOWSHIP, GARLAND

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‘retreat weeks’ in my office tend to be a time of branding the series with a title and graphic that reflect the overall message of the book, sorting out the series on the calendar, and working through the books in order to plan out the texts I will preach each week.” Chris Osborne, pastor of Central Baptist Church in College Station, has a less formal approach to long-range planning. He preaches expositionally, verse-by-verse through books of the Bible, but he does not plan out the series months in advance. Prior to preaching through a book of the Bible, especially longer books, Osborne uses commentaries to get an overview and general breakdown of the chapters in order to “look at the forest before I step into the trees.” Then, once he begins preaching through the book, he is week-to-week in the text, picking up where he left off the week before until he completes the book. For longer books, this may take many years. For example, Osborne said some former church members who attended during their time at nearby Texas A&M University joke with him that he was preaching in the Gospel of Matthew when they started college and was still in the book when they graduated four years later. Osborne has preached through more than 30 books of the Bible during his 30 years of ministry at Central Baptist, and he has always tried to alternate sermon series between Old and New Testament and short and long books.

PREACHING POINTS FINDING YOUR RHYTHM “Everybody has their own rhythm, and we shouldn’t feel guilt or shame by what somebody else does that we don’t do, and we shouldn’t feel pride by what we do that somebody else doesn’t do. We should learn from one another to find what works best for us personally. That’s the key because if you just try to emulate somebody else, you’re trying to wear Saul’s armor. You just need to find your five stones and slingshot and let it rip.”

Gregg Matte HOUSTON’S FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH

bers of his church. Each volunteer will read a number of good commentaries on an assigned chapter of the Bible and sends Matte “gleanings of the best stuff.” “That does two things,” Matte said. “One, it maximizes my study. I don’t have to read five different things and then figure it all out. I can glean from it, and if I want more information, I can go look for it because I have the commentaries and can look at it myself. “Two, it puts together folks in our church that are good theological minds. They’re giving me some really good stuff. It makes them feel involved, and I’m equipping the saints to do the work of the ministry even with my sermon preparation. So I take that and read that, but WEEKLY PREPARATION they’re not giving me my mesAs for preparation during sage. They’re just giving me the the week, the pastors said they historical aspects and commenmaintain a structured sched- tary aspects of it.” ule with intentionally planned Smith guards his mornings time to work on the sermon. as well, typically working on Osborne said he follows the his sermon Monday through model he learned from W.A. Thursday. Criswell. He built a “man cave” “I guard my morning study in his back yard, which is basi- time and make sure my staff cally a library where he works guards that time for me, and on his sermons every morning then I try to delegate as much as from 6 a.m. to lunch. Monday possible,” Smith said. “I have set through Thursday, he studies aside time on my calendar evthe text and researches sources. ery week for counseling. When Then on Friday and Saturday, he those are full, I schedule people works on illustrations and ap- for the following week. I really plications before practicing the try to stay out of as many adsermon by preaching it out loud. ministrative decisions as I can.” “I’m coming up with the conWith each of these pastors, tent Monday through most of they realize their schedules Thursday morning, and then sometimes have to change due about half of Thursday morn- to circumstances like funerals ing, Friday and Saturday, I’m or emergencies, but when this figuring out how to stick it into happens, they attempt to gain their lives.” that time back in their schedule Matte also devotes his morn- in the afternoons. ings to sermon preparation but begins working on the sermon THE PROCESS Tuesday morning and finishes Regarding the specific steps by Thursday. each pastor takes in the prepa“I heard this from Jerry ration of a sermon, their apVines: ‘Give your mornings to proaches vary slightly, but a God, give your afternoons to the few major steps are consistent. church, and give your evenings Each pastor said he always to your family.’ And that’s what begins sermon prep with I try to operate on,” Matte said. prayer and then reads through Matte maximizes his time by the passage carefully, noting using a volunteer research team insights and questions along made up of five to seven mem- the way.

“Prayer is the most indispensable resource at my disposal because it draws on the power and favor of God,” Wellman said. “Preparing a sermon without praying is like snorkeling without a snorkel.” As Smith reads the text multiple times and prays through the text, he said he “thinks about the intent of the author, context, the emotion of the text, the call of the text.” “Before any specific study I simply try to get as much out of the text as I can. I then do the exegetical work. Normally I outline the text and then consult commentaries.” Mathews follows a similar process, studying the text to determine its meaning and theological emphases. “After interpreting the text, I go through the process of contemporizing the text. This involves taking what was discovered regarding the ‘them,’ ‘there,’ and ‘then’ and applying it to the ‘here,’ ‘us,’ and ‘now.’” These pastors then outline the text and work on illustrations and applications. Both Osborne and Matte noted that when preaching expositionally through books of the Bible, the text of Scripture itself provides the outline for the sermon. “If you’re doing textual preaching, if you’re really honestly staying in the text and not jumping all over the Bible,” Osborne said, “you have your notes and your outline right there in the text.” Osborne and Matte prefer to use illustrations from personal experiences or observations from everyday life and current events. “I’m always cultivating illustrations; everywhere I go I’m thinking about that,” Matte said. Osborne, who regularly reads news sites online and occasionally uses examples from the lives of church members if they give permission, said, “If they remember the illustration but not the point, then I’ve probably failed with the illustration.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 13

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ers, which allows him to understand how the message might be heard and what questions might be raised.

In terms of application, Mathews said he tries “to narrow down the goal of the message, which asks and answers the question, ‘What do I want my hearers to do?’” Once all the study is complete and the pieces of the sermon are developed, some pastors create an outline to preach from while others write out a manuscript. “I prefer manuscripting my sermons because it helps me with the flow of thought as well as how it might be delivered (and I also have aspirations to publish the sermons for our church library), but I never read the manuscript in the pulpit,” Wellman said. “If I preach with my manuscript, I preach from notes I’ve jotted in the left margins that summarize the major ideas. I wait until Saturday to jot down these notes, but I prefer not to preach from them and instead to go to the pulpit noteless.” Wellman also benefits from discussing his sermon with oth-

MANAGING TIME & DISTRACTIONS Of course, sermon preparation can be derailed buy any number of distractions, including ministry responsibilities, emails, text messages, social media and lack of motivation. For the pastors interviewed, a regular schedule helps eliminate many of these distractions. “Sermon preparation is a creative art,” Matte said. “You can’t just decide that you’re going to do this and force the square peg in a round hole. At the same time, you have to be disciplined to get after it even when you don’t feel like it.” Matte intentionally removes distractions during his study time, preparing his sermons at a desk separate from his computer and leaving his phone off or giving it to his secretary. Likewise, his laptop has Bible software but does not have an email program. “You just have to get that place away where you’re get-

ting more than just regurgitated commentaries into your message; you’re getting a word from God,” Matte said. “I can’t be watching emails come in while I’m in my Bible program.” ADDITIONAL ADVICE When asked for any additional advice for planning and preparing sermons, pastors drew from their wealth of experience. “Plan ahead,” Mathews said. “This will ease the stress and demands of one’s ministry load.” Wellman noted that when he seems to hit a wall, he takes a break from sermon preparation. “If I am stuck on something, I’ll intentionally leave my office to run an errand, or close up my sermon preparation altogether,” Wellman said. “Sometimes even walking to the bathroom will allow me to grasp an issue I couldn’t quite figure out while sitting at my computer. On several occasions I was immediately able to figure it out before I even pulled out of the church parking lot.” Osborne offered a reminder about the personal joy of discovery in sermon preparation. “I’ve been pastoring since 1977, and I’ve always been a

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PREACHING POINTS SERMON APPLICATION “I approach application through the people that come into my office and the people I meet with. From that, I pretty much know what my church is struggling with. So I try to put it inside what they’re struggling with. That’s why I think it’s important to do pastoral counseling, so you have a feel for your people. If you don’t do that, you don’t really know what they’re struggling with and it’s a generic thing.”

Chris Osborne CENTRAL BAPTIST CHURCH, COLLEGE STATION

textual preacher. I can honestly say that I have never come to a Sunday in the pulpit when I didn’t know something new that I didn’t know before I started the text,” Osborne said. “That’s what keeps me fresh and excited. There’s always

something I didn’t know was in the text, but after studying it I’ve found something and can’t wait to share it with my congregation. That, for me, is the genius of textual preaching.” Access preaching resources by searching “preaching” at sbtexas.com/onlinetraining.

Stop forcing 3 points on every biblical text, prof urges pastors By Michael Foust FORT WORTH Anyone who has attended church for more than a few years knows the basic outline of a typical Sunday morning sermon: An introduction, a few points and a conclusion. This is so common, in fact, that some churches hand out fill-in-the-blank sheets so that attendees can easily remember the outline, with the three to four points serving as the core. Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary preaching professor Steven W. Smith isn’t opposed to such a structure in a sermon, but he does believe it is far too common in today’s preaching—and often does not fit the text. In Smith’s book Recapturing The Voice Of God: Shaping Sermons Like Scripture, he explains how a sermon’s structure should be radically different depending on the genre of the text. Sure, he says, a three-point sermon might work for some books of the Bible, but not all of them. “In well-meaning expository preaching, we use the same outline on every type of genre in Scripture,” Smith told the TEXAN, explaining his concern. “What we’re inadvertently teaching people is that the Bible is flat and monochromatic. But you can have as many sermon structures as there are Scriptures. That’s not because we want to be creative; it’s just be-

cause we want to be faithful.” Smith argues for text-driven or genre-sensitive preaching, where the Steven W. Smith genre of the text determines the sermon structure. There are at least nine genres of Scripture, according to the Smith, and all of them fit into three categories:

u Story (genres: Old Testa-

ment narrative, law, Gospels/ Acts, parables). u Poem (genres: Psalms, prophecy, wisdom literature). u Letter (genres: epistles, Revelation). The book devotes one chapter to each genre. Genres, Smith said, speak to “God’s creativity.” “Sometimes we need someone to get up in our face, like Paul in Galatians 3, and other times we need to cry out to God and complain, like Psalm 13,” he said. Smith developed his view of sermon structure over the past decade as he prepared sermons and saw that the traditional sermon outline was “not really stapled to the text.” “The problem is that it can be forced,” he said. For example, although the epistles lend themselves “to multiple points,” other genres may not. “The main genre of Scripture is narrative, and there aren’t

any points there,” he said. “If we want to represent Scripture well, we have to honor the genre. So working off our definition of text-driven preaching – which is interpreting and communicating a biblical text and a sermon that represents the substance, structure and spirit of the text— we have to figure out how we can have sermon templates that faithfully get at the text.” In the book, Smith asserts that “there are aspects of the meaning” of the text that “will never be understood clearly without wrestling with the genre.” “Therefore, to preach the Word of God in the voice of God we must first listen carefully to hear the voice ourselves,” he writes. Smith asks in the book: “Is it the pastor’s responsibility to explain Scripture to his congregation?” To do that, he says, the genre must be explained and must form the basis of the sermon. “At some point in recent times evangelical preachers decided they are not preachers as much as communicators,” Smith wrote, arguing that such a concept is wrong. “We are indeed communicators, but we are more than communicators. We are standing before the people answering the question, What did God say?” This does not mean, though, that the preacher is merely reading the text. “Peaching is more than representing a Scripture, but it’s not less than that, either,” Smith told the TEXAN.

Text-driven preaching, he added, makes sermon preparation easier—and more natural. “I think it’s one of the most liberating things I’ve experienced,” he said. “It’s much more natural, because you’re deferring to the text. I never have to come up with another sermon outline.” It also makes preaching exciting, he said.

“When I started preaching, the most fearful thing was I didn’t know how to structure a sermon,” Smith said. “Now, the most fearful thing is that I do know how to structure a sermon. … To me, the thrill of this is that for the rest of my life, I have the joy and the anticipation so that when I discover things in the Word of God, it’s fresh and it’s real, and it’s not flat and three points.”

PREACHING POINTS AVOIDING DISTRACTIONS “Distractions are probably the most difficult dynamic of sermon preparation. I work Monday through Thursday in my office, and about half of that time is devoted to Sunday morning sermon preparation. I also preach on Sunday nights and teach on Wednesday nights. This strangulates a lot of my time for pastoral ministry, so I have to be extremely disciplined each week. I have a weekly schedule I have developed that lists out how I want my days to look. I abide by this schedule religiously. I schedule everything from personal prayer time to even posting on our church’s Facebook page. Of course the schedule can be altered— and most weeks it is—but I would not be able to complete my tasks apart from having this schedule. My days would run me, rather than the other way around.”

Jared Wellman MISSION DORADO BAPTIST CHURCH, ODESSA

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LONG-RANGE SERMON PLANNING LESSENS ANXIETY, INCREASES FREEDOM By Mark Kelly TEXAN Correspondent GRAPEVINE

It’s the nightmare that jolts a pastor wide awake at 3 a.m. You’re sitting on the platform. The final strains of the special music are fading. Anxiety gives way to panic as you step into the pulpit and lay your closed Bible in front of you. You speak the words you’ve always dreaded: “I don’t have a word from God today.” What makes that dream sequence so frightening is that, for many pastors, it could so easily become a reality. Far too many preachers suffer from what seminary professor Wayne McDill calls “the Saturday night panics.” A constant stream of emergencies compounds the pressure of too-many ministry demands. A disgruntled church member’s revolt deepens your frustration and discouragement. You’re working an outside job to make ends meet, and your family’s needs always seem to come last. Finding time to prepare this week’s sermon is hard enough. Who has time to plan sermons for the year ahead? “The pastor’s No. 1 stress factor is lack of time,” says Mark Tolbert, professor of preaching and pastoral ministry at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. “Some might say I don’t have enough time as it is. How could I possibly take more time to plan my preaching when I’m out of time already? It’s the old illustration that the workman doesn’t waste time when he stops to sharpen his axe. You’re going to be more effective in a lot of ways if you plan your preaching.” Sermon preparation is like gassing up your car for tomorrow’s cross-country drive. But sermon planning is the road map that shows where you are going and how to get there. Long-range sermon planning isn’t unrealistic, once a person knows how to plan and understands preaching as “leading your people through discipleship from the pulpit,” says Jim Shaddix, a preaching professor at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C. “The great benefit of planning for the preacher is that it avoids getting to Saturday night or Sunday morning, not knowing what you’re going to preach and therefore dishonoring the weightiness of God speaking to his people—not to mention wasting people’s time,” Shaddix says. “The starting point is knowing what your

congregation needs to hear from God in order to be moved along in Christlikeness and spiritual maturity.” BENEFITS FOR BOTH SHEPHERD AND FLOCK “Know well the condition of your flocks, and give attention to your herds.” (Proverbs 27:23) Better than any visiting preacher, a pastor knows his congregation and is able to give them the messages they need, Tolbert says. In addition to relieving Saturday night’s panic, he cites two other important benefits of long-term sermon planning: u “It allows your mind and spirit to marinate on where you are going. If you are planning several weeks ahead, thoughts will come to you as you are driving, talking with your children, or visiting with somebody at work. That will inform a sermon, maybe not next Sunday, but two or three weeks from now.” u “It helps your congregation by modeling for them how to approach the study of God’s Word. I don’t know of any pastor who would recommend that the best way to study your Bible is to flip it open, put your finger down on the page and start reading random verses. But that’s almost what we’re doing if we just preach isolated Scriptures. A planned series of sermons models how we approach serious Bible study— with a plan and a strategy.” A congregation’s music leader also benefits greatly from long-range sermon planning, says Mike Harland, director of LifeWay Worship. A music leader who knows where the preacher is heading can plan for music that resonates much more deeply with the proclaimed word. “What is happening on Sunday is not two people doing two things; it’s two people doing one thing,” Harland says. “One thing is happening in corporate worship, and it’s a discipling process.” If two people are going to work together to disciple a congregation, it requires much more than a preacher giving the music leader a heads up about next Sunday’s text and title, Harland adds. “I’d rather have a pastor’s heart than his text,” Harland says. “It’s about more than getting power words so I can do a concordance search of the hymnal. From a vision standpoint, what is your sense of what God is saying to you? What are the spiritual disciplines you are trying to address? What are the key ideas or theological points you will emphasize?”

That kind of partnership requires more time and a deeper relationship than a weekly staff meeting provides, Harland adds. A constant flow of open communication allows rapport and trust to be built over time. A pastor might give the music leader a copy of a book he is reading, and in return the musician can share copies of the music he is listening to. “It takes time to get there,” Harland observes. “It requires real maturity and openness between you.” A STRATEGY FOR SERMON PLANNING Long-range sermon planning is easier if a pastor doesn’t start with a blank sheet of paper. Mark Tolbert suggests a pastor sit down at least twice a year to plan specifically where he is going for the next few months and to think more generally about the year ahead. He outlines a four-part strategy: u Plan a book study. These sermons should be completed in no more than 12 weeks. Plan to preach on one Old Testament book for every two or three New Testament books covered. u Preach for six weeks on a spiritual discipline, such as prayer, evangelism, Bible study, or Christian growth. u Schedule a doctrine study on a topic like the role of the Holy Spirit or the person of Christ. u Be sure to include a fourweek evangelistic series.

A six-step planning process Stephen Rummage, pastor of Bell Shoals Baptist Church in Brandon, Fla., suggests a six-step process for long-range sermon planning: 1 Schedule a planning retreat. 2 Gather the materials you will need to create your plan. 3 Review your preaching from previous years. 4 Determine major series for the coming year’s preaching. 5 Create a preaching calendar. 6 Review and modify your plan occasionally in the course of the year. Rummage expands on these in detail in his article, “The Mechanics Of Sermon Planning,” located at preaching.com/sermon-illustrations/11545848.

David Daniels, a Fort Worth pastor and contributor to PreachingToday.com, outlines three levels of planning: u An annual “look ahead” in September. Identify immovable dates like Mother’s Day and Easter. Look at notes you’ve jotted down about possible series or topics and see whether any of the immovable dates work within a particular series. u Gather the worship planning team at least once a quarter. Discuss how upcoming series are going to “land” visually. Decide how each one will be presented and publicized. u Each week, debrief the previous Sunday with the worship team and look intensely at the upcoming Sunday. Depending on available time or season of the year, look several Sundays ahead and begin to nail down particular elements of worship services.

All pastors wrestle with the time crunch, and even some full-time pastors say they don’t have time to plan, Daniels notes. But the consequences of not planning are far worse than the cost of taking regular time to strategize. “We live in a busy, chaotic world, and it never feels like there’s enough time to get everything done,” Daniels says. “But it’s a little bit like the maintenance on your car. You can take your car in for regular oil changes and have a car that hits 150,000 or 200,000 miles, or you can avoid taking the time out and it will cost you in the long run. You will end up in a bad place. “Taking a day or two out of my year to plan ahead gives me tremendous freedom the rest of the year because I already know where I’m going.”

Listeners have role in sermon preparation By Tammi Reed Ledbetter Special Assignments Edtior DALLAS Preachers are not the only ones who need to prepare for an upcoming sermon. Church members have an important role as well. “I wish they knew how critical it is that they show up for the sermon prepared to hear what their preacher has to say,” shared Jeffrey Campbell, assistant professor of preaching at Criswell College, during a podcast interview with the school’s president, Barry Creamer. “If you’ve prayed about receiving that word, prayed for your pastor through the week while he’s prepared, and he gets up there and reads the text, shares what’s gone on in his life because of that word, and tells you about the meaning in the text, you can get something

out of every sermon,” Campbell said. Creamer admitted how easy it is to become a critic of the sermon. “I know how to sit and listen to a sermon and just detail what’s wrong with it. No sermon is perfect,” he said. “You probably need to look at your own heart before you look at your preacher’s preaching. You need to come in, sit down, listen and count on hearing something from God.” “Most people don’t know how emotionally draining it is to preach a sermon,” Campbell added. “You preach once or twice on Sunday and you’re wiped out. You lay your soul out there, and you want people to get it.”

A kind word following a sermon can go a long way to encourage the preacher. “Give good honest feedback,” he suggested. “If the guy fumbled, let him know in a loving way.” If the pastor has built a relationship with the member, he can handle constructive criticism, he added. “I guarantee he wants to preach better and communicate better,” Campbell said. “They want to share the Word in a way that is creative and engaging so that people will understand it.” The Oct. 31 interview with Campbell is available at barrycreamer.com or by subscribing to the podcast for “Coffee with Creamer.”

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TIMELY SERMONS GARNER WIDE APPEAL

By Rob Collingsworth TEXAN Correspondent

Ever since they were translated into a medium that could be distributed en masse, carefully crafted messages have been going “viral”—a term used to describe information that gains popularity and circulates rapidly. At the forefront of these messages are timeless sermons, which not only impact their immediate audiences but also pay spiritual dividends for decades and even centuries. Charles Haddon Spurgeon, pastor of the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London and known as the “Prince of Preachers,” preached to as many as 10,000 parishioners each week. His legacy has endured for more than 150 years due to the wealth of sermons preserved by faithful transcriptionists: 63 volumes constituting over 3,500 individual sermons. During his ministry in the mid- to late-19th century, Spurgeon’s sermons were circulated weekly in the Penny Pulpit, and the demand was so great that publishers often struggled to keep up. His is the first example of a preacher going “viral,” but Spurgeon is remembered more for the quality and immensity of his sermon library, along with his vibrant ministry at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, than for any one particular sermon. David Allen, a longtime pastor who now serves as the dean of the School of Preaching at Southwestern Seminary, is a trained homiletician who regularly teaches advanced classes to students who will go on to

preach on a weekly basis for most of their lives. Allen points to Jonathan Edwards’ famous “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”—often studied by high school English students—as a prime example of a particular sermon that has stood the test of time. “Today, his sermon is studied primarily for two reasons: its historical impact, and Edwards’ current popularity in the evangelical world,” Allen said. “Outside of this, I wonder whether Edwards’ sermon, if preached today, would still go down in history. I doubt it. “The sermons that have lasted through history, and there aren’t many of them, have done so because in one way or another they made a significant impact in their own contex.” It comes as no surprise that context is a significant factor when evaluating the legacy of any particular sermon. When Southern Baptists faced a crossroads in the late 20th century, a handful of sermons paved the way for a group of conservatives to reclaim the direction of the denomination. As 45,000 messengers assembled in Dallas in 1985 for what would become a historic meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention, First Baptist Church of Dallas pastor W.A. Criswell addressed the Pastors’ Conference on a Monday night with a sermon titled “Whether We Live or Die,” outlining the stakes of the controversy. Criswell considered it the most important sermon he ever preached. As Baptist historian Jerry Sutton put it, Criswell felt

his address “set forth the two directions and the implications of those directions in the Southern Baptist Convention.” The sermon went on to have a life of its own, impacting not just those gathered but also those who would listen to it on tape or on the radio for years to come, and it is featured as one of the classic sermons at the Criswell Sermon Library online at wacriswell.com. Jerry Vines has garnered an international audience through his preaching ministry but will perhaps best be known for his address to the 1987 Pastors’ Conference in St. Louis where he preached “A Baptist and His Bible,” yet another sermon addressing the controversy between conservatives and moderates. Vines outlined a historical understanding of how Southern Baptists have viewed Scriptures throughout the years, and the audience responded enthusiastically. According to Allen, Vines’s sermon that year “may have been the most important single sermon preached at the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting during the (Conservative) Resurgence.” In his book Southern Baptist Identity: An Evangelical Denomination Faces the Future, David Dockery lists “A Baptist and His Bible” as one of the watershed sermons for the conservative movement in the late 20th century. One of the first viral sermons on YouTube began making waves across the internet just over 10 years ago. Paul Washer, a Southwestern Seminary grad-

uate and former missionary to Peru, was addressing more than 5,000 students at an evangelism conference in Alabama. With the metered pace of Mister Rogers, Washer opened his sermon with a warning: “I will tell you things that make you so angry with me, and I’ll tell you things that you will deny.” A few minutes into the sermon, he railed against those who “judge themselves by themselves” and are deceived into believing they are saved but are not. As the crowd of teenagers broke into thunderous applause, Washer quietly extended a finger to the audience and said, “I don’t know why you’re clapping. I’m talking about you.” The sermon, variously titled “Shocking Sermon” or “Shocking Message,” has been viewed more than 4 million times on YouTube. By comparison, Criswell’s “Whether We Live or Die” has just shy of 5,000 views. Blake Stiles and his wife Connie run SBC Tapes, which they founded in 1997 to record and distribute the sermons of the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual Pastor’s Conference. While sales are not the only indicator of a sermon’s popularity, having spent the last 20 years taping and selling Southern Baptist sermons has given Stieles insight into what sermons hold the most appeal and what audiences various preachers and sermons best connect with. According to Stieles, the appeal of a sermon has much to do with the relationship between the preacher and the listener.

“Having done this business for 25 years, we’ve seen many preaching styles,” he said. “Adrian Rogers’ style of telling stories and offering practical applications seemed to stir the hearts of the congregation best. Ed Stetzer, a very practical, statistically driven preacher, seems to reach the more intellectual person. The younger preachers like David Platt and J.D. Greear always reach the youngest generation best.” Unsurprisingly, Stieles said, the best-selling sermon at the 2016 SBC was that of president Ronnie Floyd. There is no one indicator that makes a sermon go viral or last the test of time; a combination of factors goes into it. Spurgeon had a massive pulpit and a means by which to keep his sermons preserved through mass transcription, while Edwards had a significant impact on the culture and historical setting in which he lived. Criswell and Vines appealed to a specific controversy, while Washer’s shocking sermon made its way onto YouTube at just the right time. “Who are the preachers of this generation whose sermons will be remembered 50-100 years from now? I couldn’t tell you because I don’t have a clue,” Allen said. “Great preachers are not always remembered. Great preaching is not always remembered either, oftentimes because such preaching is done by someone whom the world has never known and never will know as a great preacher. But heaven will know … and that’s all that matters.”

Evangelistic appeals should spring up in every sermon text By Tammi Reed Ledbetter Special Assignments Editor AUSTIN Evangelistic preaching involves more than tacking an invitation onto the end of a sermon. Danny Forshee, pastor of Great Hills Baptist Church in Austin, recalled the advice of 19th century British preacher Charles Spurgeon to take the text and make a path to Christ. “When the cross is always on my mind in preaching, it’s easy to make that segue to directly appeal to man’s need, God’s provision and man’s response,” Forshee told the TEXAN. He recommends including an evangelistic appeal multiple times throughout a message, encouraging those who are listening to give their lives to Christ. “Some of the texts lend themselves more easily to making an evangelistic appeal,” Forshee conceded, but added that the “scarlet

thread of redemption that runs throughout the Bible from Genesis to Revelation” provides opportunities to point people to Danny Forshee salvation. In a recent sermon series on the life of Joseph, Forshee drew parallels to Christ. “There are some beautiful moments in there that just lend themselves to shout the gospel.” He offered practical ways to preach for a response at preachingsource.com, an online resource of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary that focuses on equipping preaching in text-driven preaching. Prayer must be a part of sermon preparation as the preacher asks God to save the lost through his preaching. “Prepare your message with lost people in

your mind and on your heart,” Forshee added. “I have found that the Holy Spirit is powerfully present in the presentaSteve Gaines tion of the message if he is also deeply involved in the preparation of the message,” he reminded. Forshee also recommends sharing personal stories of witnessing to lost people and leading them to Christ. “It will inspire and motivate (church members).” Preachers should expect there will be a response to the gospel in their messages, he added. “Billy Graham would extend the invitation with these words of anticipation, ‘As you come forward, we will have people at the front to help you.’” Forshee told the TEXAN he is careful to avoid any form of

manipulation. “It’s very gracebased. How can we help and minister to you?” he asks. Southern Baptist Convention President Steve Gaines believes every preacher should follow Jesus’ example by preaching evangelistically. “A preacher should open his Bible and preach for a verdict—the conversion of men, women, boys and girls,” he shared on the same online preaching resource. “Jesus’ primary purpose was not to heal the sick, feed the multitudes or clothe the naked,” Gaines wrote. “His priority was preaching the good news of the kingdom of God.” Currently serving as pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova, Tenn., Gaines said he has preached evangelistically since 1977. “I can attest to the fact that more people are saved at a church that preaches the gospel and offers an evangelistic invita-

tion than at a church that does not. If people come to church and are not given the opportunity to hear the gospel and be saved, a reprehensible tragedy has occurred.” Gaines also underscored the need for evangelistic sermons to be bathed in prayer. “A preacher who rarely talks with God has no business trying to talk for God.” After explaining, illustrating and applying a biblical text that shares the truth of the gospel, Gaines said a preacher should conclude “by lovingly and articulately inviting his hearers to repent of sin, believe in Christ and receive him as Savior.” Genuine evangelistic preaching is needed in churches, the Southern Baptist Convention and the nation, Gaines added. “If a preacher should be able to do anything, he ought to be able to preach. If he preaches, he ought to preach evangelistically.”

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LEGACY OF SOLID PREACHING STEADIES CHURCH By Erin Roach TEXAN Correspondent IRVING A history of strong biblical preaching has strengthened MacArthur Blvd Baptist Church in Irving as a succession of pastors have emphasized God’s Word and the congregation now expects to be challenged rather than entertained. Longtime church member Shirley Laughlin noted that in uncertain times, such as during the Iran hostage crisis, for example, the church needed strong preaching as an anchor. “There was so much Josh Smith fear and anxiety, and yet we knew the strengthening power and presence of God in the life of our church,” Laughlin recounted about the early 1980s. “In the midst of turmoil and rebellion in the John Meador world, there was peace in the church.” From Ron Dunn to John Meador to David Allen to Josh Smith, MacArthur Blvd has seen God faithfully provide men to rightly divide his Word through the years. When a frustrated Dunn was ready to give up the pulpit, a friend asked him to preach a revival in Colorado, and it changed his life. The Holy Spirit gripped him, Laughlin said, and when he re-

turned to MacArthur Blvd, the church changed too. “When God does a new work in the life of the man behind the pulpit, it impacts the entire church,” Laughlin told the TEXAN. Nelson McKinney, another longtime member, said Dunn came back and told the church they would no longer go through the motions. They were going to do whatever it took for God to find favor with them. Dunn led the congregation to start a 24hour prayer chapel, David Allen and 200 people signed up to pray around the clock for specific needs. As many as 15 groups of church members spontaneously began praying in homes around the same time. “Nobody wanted to Ron Dunn miss church because God was moving in our midst when we came together as a congregation,” Laughlin said. “It was a miraculous unfolding of the power of God, and it was through the strong presentation and focus on the Word of God—not on the power or eloquence of men but on seeing through the Holy Spirit the reality of what the Christian life is in a new way.” As a result of the praying and the biblical preaching, many became con-

victed that either they were not really “He would tell stories that would go saved or they had not totally committed along so strongly with the Scripture that themselves, “that being a Christian was you could remember what he was preachmore than just coming on Sunday and ing about,” King said, “things that just reWednesday,” she said. “People’s spiritual ally hit us where we were at the time.” lives deepened and broadened and beJosh Smith was called as pastor in came real.” 2006, continuing the legacy of expoMany souls were saved in that period, sitional preaching. King marvels at McKinney said, and the church grew the way he is preaching through the phenomenally. Psalms, helping her Even after Dunn understand the book left MacArthur Blvd in new ways even afto start an evangeter she has studied it listic ministry, he most of her life. continued to disciple Preachers who church members dig deep into the such as Mary Lou Word to bring out King through his the meaning and aptapes, CDs and DVDs, plication “don’t just she said. “He could leave you with good take one verse and feelings,” King said. take it almost word “They leave you with for word apart and a hunger of wanting —SHIRLEY LAUGHLIN, CHURCH make you see it like to know God better MEMBER, MACARTHUR BLVD you’d just never seen and deeper because BAPTIST CHURCH IN IRVING it before.” of having gone into Following Dunn, the Word.” John Meador pasMacArthur Blvd tored the congregamembers, once they tion from 1992-1999, leading them to started seeing the good that comes from relocate to Valley Ranch. His com- strong preaching, wanted to make sure mitment to faithfully preaching God’s they sought men for the pulpit who Word was a great blessing during “could preach and not scratch ears and those years. not entertain,” McKinney said. God later sent David Allen, now dean “There has to be not just a bright mind of the school of preaching at Southwest- but a godly mind that says, ‘I’m looking ern Baptist Theological Seminary, to deep for what God says,’” McKinney pastor MacArthur Blvd. said.

“WHEN GOD DOES A NEW WORK IN THE LIFE OF THE MAN BEHIND THE PULPIT, IT IMPACTS THE ENTIRE CHURCH.”

New SWBTS website a ‘one-stop shop’ for sermon prep By Michael Foust TEXAN Correspondent

With a goal of equipping pastors with more tools for sermon preparation, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary’s School of Preaching has launched a website, PreachingSource. com, that faculty members hope becomes a weekly go-to for pastors and

“... NO MATTER WHAT SOMEONE IS LOOKING FOR, THEY CAN FIND SOMETHING ABOUT THEIR AREA OF INTEREST—WHETHER IT BE THEOLOGY OF PREACHING, HOW TO DO A SERMON INTRODUCTION, HOW TO DO A CONCLUSION, OR HOW TO DO ILLUSTRATIONS. THERE WILL BE ARTICLES ON THAT, PODCASTS ON THAT.” —DAVID ALLEN, DEAN OF THE SCHOOL OF PREACHING, SWBTS

anyone else who preaches or teaches from the Bible. The website went live in September, giving visitors access to everything from sermon illustrations to preaching workshop videos to detailed information about books of the Bible. David Allen, dean of the School of Preaching, is editor-in-chief, while Steven W. Smith is general editor. The other six members in the School of Preaching are contributors. “We have tried to design it to be a one-stop shop for preaching,” Allen told the TEXAN, “so that no matter what someone is looking for, they can find something about their area of interest— whether it be theology of preaching, how to do a sermon introduction, how to do a conclusion, or how to do illustrations. There will be articles on that, podcasts on that.” The website includes nine primary resources: u Sermon illustrations – a collection of some of the best ones from faculty members. u Sermon “structures” – a semantic layout and analysis of a biblical passage. u Sermon starters – video tutorials of a specific book. u Sermon videos – a lengthy collection of videos from chapel. u Journal articles – articles from the Southwestern Journal of Theology.

u A preaching blog – new articles are posted about three times a week.

u Preaching interviews – weekly

conversations on relevant issues in preaching, hosted by faculty member Barry McCarty. u Expository preaching workshops – audio from the SWBTS workshops dating back to 2005. u Genre videos – videos explaining the different genres and how sermons will vary depending on the book of the Bible. The sermon structures section, Allen said, could be the one of the most beneficial resources for pastors. “For each paragraph [in the book of the Bible] we’ve given basic information about that paragraph, as well as the semantic structure of that text—what is the main point and what are the secondary points, for sermon outlining? It’s one of the most important parts of this website,” he said.

A structure for the first six chapters of Hebrews is on the website, and structures for Titus, Jonah, 1-3 John, Jude, Philemon and Haggai are scheduled to be finished by year’s end. The structure for the rest of Hebrews also will be posted. Eventually, PreachingSource.com will include structures for all 66 books of the Bible. The website also includes links to more than 300 preaching resources on the internet, with links arranged by topic. PreachingSource.com is designed to help pastors employ “text-driven preaching,” which the website defines as “interpretation and communication of a biblical text in a sermon that re-presents the substance, structure, and the spirit of the text.” Allen called text-driven preaching “expository preaching as it was designed to be done.” “We are all about expository preaching; we are just defining it in a more refined way,” he said. “Text-driven preaching is expository preaching as it was designed to be done. The reason we’re using the phrase ‘text-driven preaching’ is because the term ‘expository preaching’ has become so elastic in recent years that anything and everything goes under it—a lot of which is not truly exposition. So we’re trying to go back to what genuine exposition is supposed to be and staying true to the substance, structure and spirit of the text.”

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MEET AN SBTC CHURCH PLANTER Name: Johnathan Sublet Wife: Tricia Name of Church: Crossover Community Church City: Freeport Website: crossoverfreeport.com When did you plant the church? I moved to Freeport, Texas, to begin the process of planting Crossover Community Church in the spring of 2012. I personally spent three years building relationships and serving those in the community in any aspect possible. Over that time, I developed a core team that supported me and served with me. We held our launch service on Feb. 8, 2015.

CHURCH POSITIONS PASTOR u Midway BC of Big Spring is seeking a FT pastor. Parsonage available. Please send resume to Search Committee, Midway Baptist Church, 6200 S Service Rd, Big Spring, TX 79720 or email [email protected]. u Retama Park BC is seeking a FT pastor. Church is affiliated with the SBTC. Conservative, loving, growing church with various family-oriented ministries. Parsonage included. Receiving resumes through January 30, 2017. Send resumes to Pastor Search Committee, c/o Darrell Nordeen, 4703 Franklin Adams, Kingsville, TX 78363. Email: Darrell. [email protected]. u FBC of Big Wells is accepting resumes for a FT pastor. Please research the area prior to sending your resume. Compensation package includes a newly renovated parsonage. Please submit resume to [email protected]. u Evangelistic and growing church is seeking a FT senior pastor. Seminary degree preferred. Calvary Baptist Church, 900 E 23rd Avenue, Pampa, TX 79065. Resumes may be sent to [email protected]. u The pastor search committee of Cornerstone FBC of Williston, ND is seeking resumes for a FT pastor. This position is done in coordination of the revitalization ministry of the SBTC. Interested candidates should contact Kenneth Priest, director of convention strategies, SBTC; [email protected]. u FBC in Waskom is accepting resumes for the position of FT pastor. Interested candidates should email their resumes to randolphm1957@ gmail.com or by mail to First Baptist Church, Pastor Search Committee, 185 Colquitt St, Waskom, TX 75692. u Keys Valley BC is seeking a FT pastor. Interested candidates should submit a cover letter and resume (including testimony and doctrinal beliefs) to [email protected] or Keys Valley Baptist Church, Pastor Search Committee, 4393 W US Hwy 190, Belton, TX 76513. u Shadycrest BC of Pearland is looking for a FT lead pastor. Please send resumes to [email protected] or mail them to Pastor Search Committee, Shadycrest Baptist Church, 3017 Yost Blvd, Pearland, TX 77581. u Hilltop BC in Frankston is seeking a FT pastor for a very small, growing church. We are located in the country, near beautiful Lake Palestine. Please submit resumes to Search Committee, Hilltop Baptist Church, 11269 CR 4117, Frankston, TX 75763 or email [email protected]. u Lake Limestone BC is seeking a FT pastor. Experience is required. The church is affiliated with the SBTC. This is a rural church with an average worship attendance of

Why did you choose your city/ neighborhood to plant? I grew up in the South Oak Cliff area of Dallas. When I moved to Southern Brazoria County, I noticed how the Freeport/Clute areas were often overlooked and contained a lot of the area’s marginalized community. As I looked around, I saw myself and the area I grew up in. I knew the story of how God could use the love and sacrifices of everyday people to help others take their next step in life. I knew how in the process you could ultimately meet their greatest need—to be known and loved by God through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ.

What’s your church’s greatest need? We need more mission-minded people who are willing to come re-neighbor our community and live as missionaries on their streets. We need people to look for careers locally and partner with us in being a part of God’s redemptive plan. We need more staff to help lead the movement that God is creating. We need trained, mission-minded people who are willing to raise support as a missionary would and work among the marginalized in our community. We need some people willing to be peacemakers by moving toward the conflict as Christ did.

How can people pray for you, your family, and/or your church? Pray for me as I continue to decide where to best invest my time especially during this newlywed season.

Pray for Crossover. We are in a crucial season. The doors to our community have been opened wide for us in many ways.

We simply need people to help make disciples that make disciples. We have more opportunities than we can simply take advantage of in crazy, amazing ways. We are trying to be wise stewards of those opportunities.

70. Parsonage is included. Submit resume to lakelimestone@wildblue. net or Lake Limestone Baptist Church, 17905 Sterling Robertson Dam Road, Thornton, TX 76687. u Trinity BC in Vidor is currently seeking a FT or bi-vocational pastor. Please submit resume to [email protected] or mail to Trinity Baptist Church of Vidor, Attn: Pastor Search Committee, 2850 Hwy 12, Vidor, TX 77662. u St Joe BC near DeLeon is seeking a bi-vocational pastor. The church is a long-time established rural church. Send resume to [email protected] or PO Box 201 DeLeon, TX 76444. u Sylvester BC is seeking a bi-vocational pastor. Parsonage available. Send resume to PO Box 8, Sylvester, TX 79560 or [email protected].

resume to mariebelle-lopez@hotmail. com or call pastor Mike Due at 409344-1530. u East Mountain BC in Gilmer is seeking a FT minister of discipleship and education to serve in a newly created unique position in a growing rural church with a regional mindset in the middle of everywhere. Experience and seminary education is helpful. Salary is $50,000-$60,000. Send resume to Dr. Timothy W. Smith at drtim@eastmountainbaptist. org. Church website: www. eastmountainbaptist.org. u FBC Cameron is seeking a student and worship minister. The chosen candidate will join our new pastor to fulfill God’s mission in Cameron, TX by reaching lost and unchurched families. Contact pastor Dusty Smith at [email protected].

based activities on Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings. You will also work with the pastor, staff, and volunteers in planning church-wide

events and programs, including VBS. To submit your resume, email [email protected]. For further discussion call (512) 442-3717.

MUSIC u North Richland Hills BC is seeking a FT worship pastor. Graduate degree in music and multiple years of FT ministry preferred. The candidate should be strong vocally and capable in other music areas. The church is conservative theologically and forward-moving in its methodology. Send resumes to [email protected]. u FBC Uvalde is seeking a FT associate pastor to lead blended-style worship. This position also includes some pastoral and administrative responsibilities. Visit our website at fbcuvalde.com. u Bellview BC in Midland, a Southern Baptist Church, is seeking a music minister. A bachelor’s degree in music is required. Send resumes to [email protected] or Bellview Baptist Church, Attn: Music Minister Search Committee, 1701 N Big Spring Street, Midland, TX 79701. u FBC Timpson is seeking a bivocational music director to lead the church in a blended worship service, choir and direct all aspects of music program. Please send contact information to FirstBCTimpson@yahoo. com or mail to First Baptist Church, PO Box 488, Timpson, TX 75975. COMBINATION u Hillcrest BC in Jasper is seeking a FT associate pastor/youth minister/ missions minister. Send resumes to Bro. David Nugent, Hillcrest Baptist Church, 3196 US Hwy 190 W, Jasper, TX 75951 or email to rhondahsm02@ yahoo.com. For questions or information, call Bro. David Nugent at 409-384-3371. u Joy BC in Gladewater is seeking a FT associate pastor to families and students with various administration duties. See website for qualifications and job description at www. jbclibertycity.com. Please submit resumes to [email protected]. u Trinity BC in Port Arthur is seeking a FT bilingual (English-Spanish) music and youth director. Please send

YOUTH u College BC in Big Spring is seeking a FT youth minister. Email resumes to [email protected]. u FBC Borger seeks FT pastor to families with students, responsible for partnering with families in seeing students 7th-12th grades come to Christ, grow in conformity to the image of Christ, and form a biblical worldview. Must minister to both students and their families. Send resume to [email protected]. u New Harmony BC in Tyler is seeking a FT youth minister with education and experience in theology and counseling. Bilingual is a plus, but is not required. Send resume to New Harmony Baptist Church, 10251 FM 724, Tyler, TX 75704, fax to 903-5932500 or email to [email protected]. For questions or information, call our office at 903-593-5811. u FBC of Gholson seeks a PT youth minister to evaluate and direct a comprehensive ministry with youth and families. For more information or to submit your resume please email [email protected] or call/text James Stevens at 254-709-7273. u Luella FBC is looking for a PT youth minister. Must be at least 21 years old with some experience, a member of a Southern Baptist Church, and be able to pass a background check and drug test. Ordained minister preferred but will consider a student working toward ordination. Salary based upon experience. Send resume to Anna Atchley Garza, Luella First Baptist Church, 3162 State Hwy 11, Sherman, TX 75090 or [email protected]. CHILDREN u Harmony BC in Arlington is seeking a PT or bi-vocational children’s director for preschool thru 6th grade. Some experience required. Send resume to pastor Brian Grey at brian@ hbcarlington.com. u Pleasant Hill BC in Austin is seeking a PT children’s director to lead bible-

Pray for our family. My wife and I are considering adoption. We are trying to read and gather resources for the process.

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FORMER HBU PRESIDENT DOUG HODO REMEMBERED AS FRIEND OF SBTC By Keith Collier Managing Editor BOERNE, Texas Former Houston Baptist University President Edward D. (Doug) Hodo Sr. passed away Oct. 10 after a brief battle with cancer. He was 81. Hodo served as HBU president from 1987 until his retirement in 2006, when he was named president emeritus. Southern Baptists of Texas Convention Executive Director Jim Richards considered Hodo as a “true friend to the SBTC.”

“Doug Hodo was the consummate Christian gentleman,” Richards said after hearing of Hodo’s passing. “He was courageous in his convictions while being kind to all. His leaderDoug Hodo ship enabled Houston Baptist University to establish a ministry relationship with the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. We will all miss his gracious presence until we see him again at Jesus’ feet.”

Born Nov 11, 1934 in Armory, Miss., Hodo served in the U.S. Army from 1954 to 1956 and went on to graduate from the University of Mississippi in 1958 with a bachelor’s in business administration. He continued his studies at the school, earning both a Master of Education in personnel guidance and a Master of Science in banking and finance in 1965 and a Doctor of Philosophy in economics and finance in 1968. He taught economics at Nicholls State University and Middle Tennessee State University before becoming dean of the

College of Business at the University of Texas at San Antonio from 1972 to 1987. Hodo was a faithful church member, serving as a deacon and a Bible study teacher for 60 years at Castle Hills Baptist Church in San Antonio, Second Baptist Church in Houston, and First Baptist Church in Boerne. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Sadie Branch Hodo; his children, Allison Hodo Clements of Floresville, Texas, Edward Douglas (Doug) Hodo Jr. of Boerne, and Patrick Gunter Hodo of Boerne; and 10 grandchildren.

2016 study of pastor salaries, benefits available By Martin King LifeWay Christian Resources NASHVILLE Compensation for full-time Southern Baptist church staff members has exceeded the cost-of-living increase over the past two years. However, health insurance coverage continues to decline, according to the 2016 SBC Church Compensation Study. The biennial study is a joint project of state Baptist conventions, GuideStone Financial Resources and LifeWay Christian Resources. Compensation and congregational data is collected anonymously from ministers and office/custodial personnel of Southern Baptist churches and church-type missions.

Compensation increasing Compensation (salary plus housing) increased 3.4 percent for full-time senior Southern Baptist pastors over the last two years, 4.3 percent for full-time staff ministers and 2 percent for fulltime office personnel. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the same two-year period increased only 1.1 percent. Factors correlating with compensation for senior pastors include education level, weekly church attendance and tenure at their current church, as

well as total years of experience. Those with a bachelor’s degree earn an average of $4,040 more than otherwise equivalently qualified pastors without a college degree. Master’s and doctorate degrees correspond with incremental compensation increases of $2,171 and $11,151, respectively. Seminary graduates have an additional increase in average compensation of $4,706. Scott McConnell, executive director of LifeWay Research, pointed out that despite increases in compensation, fair wages take into account wages at comparable churches, increased experience and education, and cost of living. “While inflation has been lower this last year, it is still true that the dollars churches paid last year don’t buy as much,” McConnell said. “Without a raise, you are actually paying less.” Benefits declining Overall, the value of the entire pay package (salary, retirement, housing and other benefits including insurance) for senior pastors (0.9 percent) has not kept pace with inflation, even though the pay package for full-time staff ministers (2.5 percent) and office personnel (1.5 percent) has exceeded inflation. Only half of churches participating in the survey provide health insurance

coverage for senior pastors, down from 60 percent two years ago and 64 percent in 2012. “While recognizing these trends, and the impact of Obamacare, GuideStone continues to advocate for churches to support all staff members with this important benefit,” said Scott Charbonneau, GuideStone’s managing director of insurance plans. “Further, GuideStone has reduced the access point for its insurance plans down to a minimum group size of only two employees with multiple plans available, including a low-cost value plan.” One-fourth of churches pay for medical insurance for the senior pastor and his family, 15 percent provide for the pastor and his wife, and 10 percent provide only for the pastor. Although a larger weekly attendance correlates with churches providing senior pastors with health insurance, onefourth of churches with 250 or more average attendees do not provide health insurance. Conversely, nearly one-third of churches (31 percent) with less than 50 in weekly attendance do provide their pastor with medical coverage. Some churches also provide additional insurance benefits to senior pastors including life and/or accidental insurance (29 percent), disability (26 percent), dental (24 percent) and vision (10 percent), although each is a few percentage points less than reported in 2014. A number of factors also impacts the amount of vacation senior pastors receive. Larger churches tend to give pastors more vacation, with otherwise equivalently qualified pastors averaging one additional day for every 448 attendees. Pastors with a bachelor’s, master’s or doctorate degree add an average of one, two or four vacation days, respectively, over those with some college or an associate degree. Seminary graduates, on average, also receive one additional vacation day. The 2016 online survey was open from December 2015 through May

2016. Data from more than 8,000 fulltime Southern Baptist respondents is available at www.LifeWay.com/CompensationSurvey. The survey also obtained compensation data for bi-vocational pastors and part-time custodial and office personnel. This data is standardized by the median number of hours worked to allow churches to more easily compare their part-time employees with these averages. GuideStone provides many resources for churches seeking to establish, restructure or evaluate pay and benefit packages for ministers and other staff. The free resources can be found at guidestone.org/CompensationPlanning. Methodology: Southern Baptist state conventions invited each church’s staff to respond to the survey; 14,076 completed surveys are available including 8,164 full-time staff analyzed for this article. For the purpose of this article, senior pastor responses were weighted to account for lower response rate among smaller churches and to match the distribution of the size of Southern Baptist churches. When using the online tool, national totals may be somewhat higher than these weighted totals. Viewing the results by church-size categories within the online tool minimizes this impact. When running customized reports online, errors can be minimized by selecting criteria that allow for larger numbers of participants.

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INTERIM PASTORS MINISTRY CONNECTS RETIRED AMERICAN PASTORS WITH BRITISH CHURCHES By Michael Foust TEXAN Correspondent STOW-ON-THE-WOLD, England

At 77 years old, Jim Booth may be retired from the fulltime pastorate, but he’s not retired from ministry. And he’s certainly not retired from the pulpit. In March, Booth returned to the United States following a six-month voluntary assignment in the United Kingdom, where he served as interim pastor of Stow-on-the-Wold Baptist Church, a small congregation in a historic village about 90 miles west-northwest of London. He is among 36 Americans who have served in the U.K. as part of a partnership between American Interim Pastors Ministries, Inc., and the Baptist Union of Great Britain that assists British Baptist churches that need help and often cannot afford a fulltime pastor. “I am in excellent health, and I wanted to do something for the Lord,” Booth told the TEXAN. “I

don’t want to sit around and do nothing for the Lord because the Lord has done so much for me.” Booth served as minister of a church in Galveston for more than 30 years, and upon retirement in 2014 he moved his membership to Sagemont Church in Houston. When he was asked if he would be interested in assisting a church in the United Kingdom for six months, Booth didn’t hesitate, for several reasons. The idea of living and preaching in such an historic setting was attractive. “I’m a student of history, and if you look at history, they have produced some of the greatest theological minds in the last 300 years,” Booth said. “One of my ancestors came over here in 1695 from England. He indentured himself for five years. I trace my roots back that far.” Booth also “wanted to see what the people were like and how they lived over there” and to preach the gospel in an area of the world that direly needs it. His church, Stow-on-the-Wold,

had about 25 people in a building that seats 200. “I went over there with the idea of getting the church built up, and of course, that’s what we want to do. But what I realized when I got there is that the people themselves at the church I was at—and this is the case at many of the churches— need to be fed and re-educated with the Scripture,” Booth said. “They were there because they love the Lord and they want to follow him, but they didn’t necessarily know how to follow him. So I just began to teach and preach the Word of God. I think it was very fruitful, and I saw some changes in their lives.” Under the partnership, Booth and other ministers and lay people who serve in the U.K. receive, for free, an airplane ticket, housing and car. They do not receive a salary and are responsible for their food. He labeled the experience “life-changing.” The church itself was built in the 1660s— less than a decade after Oliver

Cromwell died and more than 40 years before George Whitefield and John and Charles Wesley even were born. The village of Stow-on-the-Wold was the site of several battles during the English Civil War. The British people, he said, are “very kind.” “I was over there for six months, and never once did anyone speak unkindly to me,” he said. But despite the country’s rich Christian heritage, most people know very little about the gospel, Booth said. “The thing that struck me was the indifference of the people of England toward the Bible and God and the Lord Jesus Christ,” he said. “It seems to me that the majority of the people in England are agnostic. As the saying goes, ‘There may be a God, but I don’t care if there is or not.’ In that sense, they need good preaching and the gospel.” The good news, Booth said, is that the Christians in the U.K. “live in such a way that

people would know they’re a child of God.” Chuck McComb, who leads American Interim Pastors Ministries, said there are four specific qualities about American pastors and their wives that British churches enjoy: 1) Bible preaching, 2) boldness to invite people to church and other functions, 3) willingness to visit people in the home, and 4) hospitality. Booth called the U.K. a “semimission field.” “When it comes to missions and unreached people groups, I would put England near the top,” Booth said. “Many of them have never heard of Christ. So, yes, I would put England up there among the countries that need to be evangelized for the Lord Jesus. I have a great admiration for the people. They’re good people. If God wills it, I will go back again someday. They need the Word of God in a mighty, mighty way.” For more information, visit AmericanInterimPastors.com.

‘Work & leisure’ is subject of online SBTS course By David Roach TEXAN Correspondent LOUISVILLE, Ky. After 30 years in fulltime music ministry, God led Philip Griffin into a bi-vocational ministry role along with a tandem job as hospitality coordinator for a Chick-fil-a restaurant in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Through that experience, Griffin has learned firsthand how church members cope with inflexible work schedules, stand for eight hours a day on the job, deal with cranky customers and find opportunities to minister through it all. Griffin, minister of music at Sagamore Baptist Church in Fort Worth, is among dozens of laborers featured in a new online course on “work and leisure” at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Taught by professor Mark Coppenger, the course is designed to help ministers understand and appreciate the varied vocations of their parishioners. “Many ministers that come from a Christian home, that go straight to a Christian college [and] go straight to seminary [then] straight to a fulltime ministry position live in a bubble and don’t live in the real world,” Griffin says in a course video. His Chick-fil-a job has made evident to Griffin the practical difficulty of late-night choir rehearsals for working people and the spiritual strain of attempting to live in a Christ-like manner before nonbelievers in the workplace.

Coppenger first taught a course on work and leisure 35 years ago as a philosophy at Mark Coppenger professor Wheaton College in Wheaton, Ill., where it was among his favorite offerings. When an opportunity arose to bring a similar course to Southern, he “jumped at the chance.” Following a successful pilot version of the course last year, Coppenger is slated to launch an enhanced online version in 2017. “I shot ‘field videos’ [for the course] at dozens of places,” Coppenger told the TEXAN, “including the AFL-CIO headquarters in Washington, D.C.; a limestone quarry near Bedford, Ind.; the Grohmann work-art museum in Milwaukee; a furniture assembly line in Dumas, Ark.; along a walking trail in Nashville’s Radnor Lake preserve; at an elaborate kids’ playground in Owensboro, Ky.; while browsing in a four-story used-book store in Detroit; at Wrigley Field in Chicago; [and] a half-mile inside a coal mine near Pikeville, Ky., where I interviewed miners by the light of our headlamps. “I interviewed a hotel room maid in Monticello, Ark.; a used car salesman, a car-repair shop owner and a dentist in the Dallas area; SBC disaster relief volunteers in Warren, Mich.; a blacksmith in Indianapolis, Ind.; SBTS

faculty members and doctoral students about their prime spots/ times/setups for writing; [and] SBTS staffers at a retreat in Lexington, Ky., where I asked about the chores they had as kids.” The videos help students consider the so-called creation and cultural mandates of Genesis 1:2628, homemaking, evangelism in the workplace, bi-vocational ministry, the work ethics taught by other religions and whether there is a distinction between sacred and secular aspects of life. “A huge question,” Coppenger said, “is, ‘Do we work that we might gain leisure, or do we use leisure to recoup our powers for fresh work?’ I’m inclined toward the latter, including the conviction that we’ll have delightful work to do in Glory.” Another Texan featured in the course, Daniel Brackeen of Inglewood Baptist Church in Grand Prairie, helps students understand the work of a food manufacturer. Founder of Heritage Family Specialty Foods, Brackeen helped develop the formula for TCBY frozen yogurt in the late 1970s. “Every day I come to work I’m thankful, and I know [God’s work in my life] is the reason I’m here today. And I ought to give God all the credit for our business success,” Brackeen says in a course video. The aim of the course, Coppenger wrote in the catalog description, is “to prepare the students for the wise and joyful stewardship of their work and leisure in Christ, equipping

them for impactful, exemplary and sustainable service, priming them to flourish as creatures of God, and equipping

them to lead others in their own search for godly balance in life according to their various callings.”

NOVEMBER 2016

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CULTURE WATCH

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TEEN GENDER TRANSITIONS HARMFUL, PEDIATRICIANS SAY By David Roach

“SOME PEOPLE WILL BE GENDER IDENTITY DYSPHORIC BECAUSE WE LIVE IN A FALLEN WORLD. THAT’S NOT A REASON FOR US THEN TO GIVE IN AND SAY [TO A BOY], ‘YEAH, IT’S OKAY. JUST GO AHEAD AND LIVE AS A GIRL,’ BECAUSE THE SCIENCE SHOWS US THAT DOESN’T REALLY HELP. NUMBER TWO, THAT’S NOT WHAT GOD INTENDED.”

Baptist Press NASHVILLE An association of pediatricians has released a research paper citing scientific evidence that permitting gender-confused adolescents to impersonate the opposite sex through surgery or hormone therapy is harmful. “The treatment of [gender dysphoria] in childhood with hormones effectively amounts to mass experimentation on, and sterilization of, youth who are cognitively incapable of providing informed consent,” the American College of Pediatricians (ACPeds) stated in an Aug. 3 document titled “Gender Dysphoria in Children.” “There is a serious ethical problem with allowing irreversible, life-changing procedures to be performed on minors who are too young to give valid consent themselves; adolescents cannot understand the magnitude of such decisions,” according to ACPeds. The document defines gender dysphoria as “a psychological condition in which children experience a marked incongruence between their experienced gender and the gender associated with their biological sex.” With its latest release, the College expanded on a 17-point summary statement released in March. The socially conservative ACPeds is distinct from the larger American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). In contrast to ACPeds’ recommendations, the AAP website lists as one therapy for gender dysphoria “potentially delaying puberty” with drugs, then employing cross-sex hormone therapy to help the patient establish characteristics of the opposite sex, “and finally [gender reassignment] surgery.” The AAP adds, “Counseling is paramount to assist the teenager with any dysphoria and to explore gender roles before altering the body.” Such recommendations have drawn pointed criticism from ACPeds, which favors “the standard approach” of “either watchful waiting or pursuit of family and individual psychotherapy.”

—MATTHEW STANFORD, CEO OF THE HOPE AND HEALING CENTER IN HOUSTON

A 2011 study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine found that 100 percent of children who received puberty suppression treatments eventually opted to undergo hormone therapy and identify as transgender. “This is cause for concern,” ACPeds stated, because multiple studies have found 80-95 percent of children with gender dysphoria effectively grow out of it and accept their biological sex by late adolescence. “A protocol of impersonation and pubertal suppression that sets into motion a single inevitable outcome (transgender identification) that requires lifelong use of toxic synthetic hormones, resulting in infertility, is neither fully reversible nor harmless,” ACPeds stated. Among the research paper’s other conclusions: u Environmental factors like family dynamics and childhood sexual abuse are the predominant cause “in the development and persistence of gender dysphoria.” In 80 percent of cases where one in a set of identical twins is “trans-identified,” the other is not, according to twin studies, ruling out the possibility that so-called gender identity is controlled chiefly by genetics. u “There are now 40 gender clinics across the United States that promote the use of pubertal suppression and cross-sex hormones in children.” Such therapy is “growing really fast” because “parents are demanding it,” according to a pediatric endocrinologist at Children’s Medical Center in Dallas. u While surveys suggest some adults with gender dysphoria “express a

sense of ‘relief’ and ‘satisfaction’” following sex reassignment surgery, such procedures do not “result in a level of health equivalent to that of the general population.” Heightened levels of depression and suicide are among the trends studies have discovered among “post-operative transgender adults.” u State bans on so-called “conversion therapy” treatment “prevent [state licensed] therapists from exploring not only a young person’s sexual attractions and identity, but also his or her gender identity. Therapists are not allowed to ask why an adolescent believes he or she is transgender; may not explore underlying mental health issues; cannot consider the symbolic nature of the gender dysphoria; and may not look at possible confounding issues such as social media use.” Psychologist and neuroscientist Matthew Stanford told Baptist Press pastors should read the ACPeds research paper. “The statement is a wonderful synopsis of” the cultural discussion about transgenderism, said Stanford, CEO of the Hope and Healing Center in Houston. Studying it will help pastors provide scientific information to parents of teens struggling with gender identity. Stanford urged pastors to find pediatricians in their communities who agree with the statement and to refer children struggling with gender identity to those doctors. “Some people will be gender identity dysphoric because we live in a fallen

world,” Stanford said. “That’s not a reason for us then to give in and say [to a boy], ‘Yeah, it’s okay. Just go ahead and live as a girl,’ because the science shows us that doesn’t really help. Number two, that’s not what God intended.” Scott Huitink, a Nashville-area pediatrician who is a member of First Baptist Church in Hendersonville, Tenn., told BP he is aware of individuals who have “crossed over” to an appearance opposite their biological sex. Huitink said he fears there may be psychological needs other “than gender identity going on.” In some instances, other issues may be “just manifesting as gender identity,” he said. Gender dysphoria is a “complex issue,” Huitink said, and many pediatricians have not studied it in depth. A fundamental principle by which he operates is to treat all patients as “made in the image of God,” regardless of whether they share his views of gender identity. In its research paper, ACPeds affirmed the instincts of all pediatricians who are hesitant about supporting gender transitions. “The College recommends an immediate cessation” of puberty suppression, cross-sex hormone therapy and sex reassignment surgeries in children and adolescents, the paper stated, “as well as an end to promoting gender ideology via school curricula and legislative policies. Health care, school curricula and legislation must remain anchored to physical reality.”

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PANHANDLE CHURCH FEEDS COMMUNITY VIA LOVE IN ACTION MINISTRY By Jane Rodgers TEXAN Correspondent PANHANDLE Teaching about the sheep and the goats, the Lord Jesus said to his disciples, “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” (Matthew 37:40) Today the “least of these” may mean single parents, seniors on fixed incomes, the unemployed, the disabled—the “widows and orphans” of the 21st century. For the past 30 years, First Baptist Church of Panhandle, Texas, has been addressing the needs of the underserved in its community with its Love in Action ministry. Love in Action started as a meal for senior adults served during the 1986 Lottie Moon week of prayer, said Josh Light, FBC Pan-

“LOVE IN ACTION HAS BEEN BLESSED WITH GOOD VOLUNTEERS, ORGANIZERS, PEOPLE QUALIFIED TO WORK WITH OUR CLIENTS. IF WE DIDN’T HAVE LOTS OF HELPERS, THERE’S NO WAY TO DO WHAT WE DO. IT IS A VALUABLE THING FOR PANHANDLE. PEOPLE ARE HUNGRY.” —SUSAN JAMES, MEMBER, FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF PANHANDLE

handle pastor. The elderly guests took home a sack of groceries. Over three decades, the ministry has grown and is overseen by an FBC Panhandle members Neil and Susan James. Some 20 volunteers pack donated groceries, distribute boxes and bags of food, and prepare a meal for clients and workers on the fourth Tuesday of each month.

“Currently, we provide food for 67 individuals and 28 households,” Neil James said. “Clients fill out applications. We partner with High Point Food Bank of Amarillo and get most of the food from them.” “Non-perishable foods—cereal, fruit juice, pasta—come to us sealed from the food bank,” Susan James added. “We pack

other items such as eggs, meat, produce, dried beans, peanut butter, jelly … like you went to the grocery store.” A canned food drive held in December at local schools provides supplies for the year. The monthly food giveaway comes with a meal prepared by volunteers. “We cook the meal with the same food we give out to the people,” Susan James said. “The pastor gives a devotional, too,” Neil James noted. For those physically unable to pick up their food, members of the ministry deliver to their homes. Even the choice of the last Tuesday of each month is deliberate. “At the end of the month people’s money is about

to run out, [especially] the older people,” Susan James explained. “But our clientele has changed, evolved over the years. Now we serve every group of people.” About half of the clients are seniors, Neil James said. Involvement in Love in Action spans generations. Susan James’s mother, now 96, worked in the ministry in its earlier days. “Love in Action has been blessed with good volunteers, organizers, people qualified to work with our clients,” Susan James said. “If we didn’t have lots of helpers, there’s no way to do what we do. It is a valuable thing for Panhandle. People are hungry.”

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NOW DEBT-FREE, GERMAN SEMINARY LOOKS TO LEAD REVIVAL IN EUROPE By Alex Sibley SWBTS BONN, Germany After the news broke, the room full of German businessmen and seminary faculty quickly began to whisper among themselves the word “miracle.” Then, as the weight of the news set in, the men began to weep. These tears of joy, quite the rarity in that part of the world, were brought about by the presentation of a small piece of paper by Southwestern President Paige Patterson. This paper, a check generously contributed by Harold and Patricia Mathena to Bibelseminar Bonn (BSB), indicated that BSB’s debt, for the first time in the institution’s history, would be cleared. “Debt-free!” exclaims Heinrich Derksen, president of BSB, which has been Southwestern Seminary’s partner institution in Europe for 11 years. “Being debt-free means to us that we are freed to do even more in our work for Christ in Germany from [our now fully paidoff residence] Haus Wittgenstein. We want to grow as a theological seminary so that even more effective kingdom workers will be used by our God to change the world for Christ in an unprecedented way.” Founded in 1993, BSB leaders purchased Haus Wittgenstein, a historic building in Germany that has since served as a beautiful place for students to meet for classes. Unfortunately, the money that BSB students could afford

to pay the institution was insufficient to cover the cost of the building. “They bought it on faith, not knowing where in the world the money would come from,” explains Southwestern president Paige Patterson. “And it had become what I would describe as a blessed albatross around their necks.” Increasing interest rates prevented BSB from making progress on clearing its debt, which hindered the institution’s ability to operate at its fullest potential. Upon the formation of the partnership between BSB and Southwestern Seminary in 2005, Patterson and his wife, Dorothy, set out to raise funds for paying off the debt, but even in light of such efforts, BSB needed a miracle. Word of BSB’s need eventually made its way to Gary Mathena, who serves as adjunct professor of worship studies at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va. Mathena was already acquainted with BSB through personal connections with its faculty, and so when Dorothy Patterson informed him of their financial situation, he began to pray. He then shared his burden for the seminary with his parents, Harold and Patricia Mathena, and as they, too, prayed about the need, God spoke to their hearts. The Mathenas wrote a check for $350,000, which covered half of BSB’s debt. Previously, a German businessman had pledged that, if the Pattersons could raise $350,000, then he would contribute the same amount, thus covering the other half of the debt. For this

reason, this check from the Mathenas signaled that BSB would become a debt-free institution. While in Germany for BSB’s graduation, Oct. 3, the Pattersons attended a meeting with German businessmen and Bonn faculty. There, Paige Patterson informed them of the Mathenas’ gracious gift. “The room … had a moment of difficulty, believing that Americans loved them that much,” Patterson says. “As it fully registered with them, they began to weep. This had to be one of the most profound moments I have ever experienced, blending together German blood and American blood in the cause of preparing for the great coming European revival.” Being debt-free means that BSB can now invest more fully in its academic programs, hire additional faculty and make improvements to their property. In addition, officially owning its own property puts BSB one step closer to gaining accreditation in Europe. “I’m personally very excited about this because it’s going to free up the school there in Bonn to move a little quicker to do some of the things that they’ve dreamed of doing and wanted to do,” says Gary Mathena. “And I’m especially

excited about the potential of maybe moving toward a school of music there at the seminary in Bonn. I’m hopeful that maybe this will speed that process along and that God will provide future resources and opportunities for the school to expand not only in training pastors and preachers and church planters, but also training those who lead the church in worship.” “We are ready,” Derksen says, “to continue to build the future of an excellent academic seminary in Germany that glorifies our God through faculty and hundreds of Bible students who take bold and passionate steps of faith into a future that will bring spiritual revival to our German families, churches, schools and our whole nation. … We see a future of opportunities to share the gospel of Jesus Christ in Germany and Europe. Yes, we are indeed hopeful to see many find eternal life in Jesus Christ and devote themselves to a life-long ministry for the glory of God!”

SWBTS trustees approve new faculty, M.A. in Philosophy, media policy by Tammi Reed Ledbetter Special Assignments Editor FORT WORTH The election of new faculty, approval of an M.A. in philosophy degree and clarification of the board’s media policy were among actions taken at the fall meeting of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary trustees Oct. 19. Seven new faculty members previously serving under appointment were elected by trustees, including Timothy Deahl as dean of the Southwestern Center for Extension Education and professor of Old Testament; Michael Crisp as assistant professor of collegiate ministry in the Jack Terry School of Church and Family Ministries; Mark Taylor as professor of conducting in the School of Church Music; Kyle Walker as assistant professor of preaching in the School of Preaching; and Hongyi Yang as assistant professor in women’s studies in the School of Theology. Elected to the faculty of the College at Southwestern are Steven James as assistant professor of systematic theology and Katie McCoy as assistant professor of theology in women’s studies.

Trustees promoted Deron Biles to professor of pastoral ministries and preaching, Evan Lenow to associate professor of ethics and Tony Maalouf to distinguished professor of world Christianity and Middle Eastern studies. In response to a motion presented by a messenger to the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention seeking clarification from all entities, the board’s executive committee stipulated that plenary sessions are open to the media. The statement noted that committee meetings “often deal with personnel issues, pastoral concerns, sensitive donor information, and other issues,” however SWBTS President Paige Patterson said members of the media may request the opportunity to observe those sessions at the discretion of the committee chairman. The board also approved a new 48hour master of arts in philosophy degree, selected recipients for the B.H. Carroll and L. R. Scarborough awards, approved December graduates and received audited financial statements for the seminary and foundation. Trustees granted permission to sell property utilized for Garrett Manor Apartments located 1.2 miles south of the campus.

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SBTC ANNUAL MEETING

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NOVEMBER 13-15

GREAT HILLS BC, AUSTIN

SUNDAY EVENING, NOV. 13

TUESDAY MORNING, NOV. 15

Bible Conference | 5:40–8:30 PM • Music | Terry Hurt, Great Hills Baptist Church; Leo Day, SWBTS; Sweet Home Baptist Church Choir; The Austin Stone Praise Team • Message | Rhys Stenner • Message | Dante Wright • Message | Matt Carter

MONDAY MORNING, NOV. 14

Bible Conference | 9:00–11:45 AM • Music | Terry Hurt, GHBC • Message | Juan Sanchez • Breakout Sessions | 10:00–10:50 AM • Message | Steven Smith MEAL: Ministry Café | Noon | $5 | Atrium Panel: Steven Smith, Jim Henry, Rhys Stenner, Danny Forshee For tickets: sbtexas.com/am16, click on “Meals/Events” tab

MONDAY AFTERNOON, NOV. 14 Bible Conference | 1:30–3:45 PM • Music | Terry Hurt, GHBC • Message | Rhys Stenner • Message | Steve Gaines

MEAL: Asian Dinner | 4:30 PM | $10 | Room C244 MEAL: Criswell College Dinner & Dialogue | 4:30 PM | $10 | Atrium “The Extent of the Atonement: A Baptist Perspective” For tickets: sbtexas.com/am16, click on “Meals/Events” tab

MONDAY EVENING, NOV. 14

Annual Meeting | 6:30–8:30 PM • Music | FBC Pflugerville • Introduction of motions • Biblical Exposition | Steven Smith (Romans 8:1-8) • President’s Message | Nathan Lino (Romans 8:9-11) Late Night Panel Discussion| immediately following evening session “Real Talk: The Struggle to Stay Encouraged in Life and Ministry”

SBTEXAS.COM/AM16

sbtexan

Great Hills Baptist Church • 10500 Jollyville Road • Austin, TX 78759

MEAL: SWBTS Alumni & Friends Breakfast | 7:00 AM | Room C247/248 Reserve complimentary tickets at swbts.edu/sbtcbreakfast. MEAL: Southern Seminary Alumni Breakfast | 7:30 AM | $10 | Room C244 For tickets: sbtexas.com/am16, click on “Meals/Events” tab

ANNUAL MEETING | 9:15–11:30 AM • • • • •

Music | High Pointe Baptist Church, Austin Last introduction of motions Biblical Exposition | Chris Osborne (Romans 8:12-17) Panel Discussion | Religious Liberty Executive Director’s Message | Jim Richards (Romans 8:18-27)

MEAL: President’s Luncheon | Noon | $10| Atrium “The Struggles of an Ordinary Pastor” Matt Carter, Josh Smith, Nicole Lino, Kevin Ueckert, Chris Osborne For tickets: sbtexas.com/am16, click on “Meals/Events” tab

TUESDAY AFTERNOON, NOV. 15

Annual Meeting | 1:20–4:25 PM • Music | The Country Church, Marion • Biblical Exposition | Dante Wright (Romans 8:28-30) • Election of officers • SBTC Executive Board • Resolutions Committee • Committee on Committees • Committee on Nominations • Southern Baptists of Texas Foundation • Recognition of officers MEAL: Advance Now Chat & Chow | 4:45 PM | $10 | Atrium “The Role of the Holy Spirit in Multiplication & Reconciliation” MEAL: African-American Fellowship Dinner | 4:45 PM | $10 | Room C247/248 For tickets: sbtexas.com/am15, click on “Meals/Events” tab

TUESDAY EVENING, NOV. 15

Annual Meeting | 6:40–8:30 PM • Music | Jeremy Camp • Prayer Emphasis | Austin Prayer Network • Convention Sermon | Gregg Matte (Romans 8:31-39) • Jeremy Camp concert to follow evening session 9Marks at 9 | 9:00 PM | Room C247/248 “The Local Church after the 2016 Elections” Panel: Nathan Lino, Paul Miller, Ben Wright and Juan Sanchez

Free childcare by registration only. Visit sbtexas.com/am16, click on “childcare” tab. QUEST I ONS? CA L L 81 7. 5 52. 25 0 0 OR EMA IL A M IN FO@ S BTE XAS .COM