DALLAS—Speakers at a Fellowship Southwest conference challenged participants to think about the intersection between faith and justice.

Attitudes and structures keep justice and compassion outside the central focus of the American church, the speakers agreed.

 But the keys to moving to the center the basic mandates of Christianity to care for the “Quartet of the Vulnerable”—widows, orphans, sojourners and the poor—are proximity and cooperation.

In a world where people learn differences are a threat, it’s difficult to live in solidarity, said Cláudio Carvalhaes, professor at Union Theological Seminary. Particularly in the West, individualism replaces care and compassion.

This fractured and individualistic society creates a tendency to push one’s pain onto people who are more vulnerable—such as immigrants—blaming them for problems they have not created.

Instead, people must live by compassion and “be with the immigrants,” no matter what the world says, he continued. He urged attendees to view immigrants as gifts and to “love our neighbors.” He also questioned whether “we really want to be a Christian,” if there is an option not to care “for the least of these” as Jesus did.

Compassion fuels justice, Carvalhaes stated. All bear the image of God, immigrants included. It’s important to learn the root causes of migration and to be close to migrants, because the more one knows the stories of migrants, the less fearful one becomes of them.

Only together can we engage the issue of immigration, Carvalhaes insisted. “I’m here for you, and we are here for the people who are suffering.”

Rise anew

Justin Jones, Tennessee State Representative for District 52, offered an alternative vision for the South—where it doesn’t rise again, but instead can rise anew, better than it’s ever been before.

To change this country, “we have to change the South,” Jones asserted.

The youngest Black member of the Tennessee legislature described his experience in the Tennessee House, where Republican statesmen expelled him and the other young Black Democrat who spoke out following a shooting that killed six people at the Covenant School in Nashville in 2023, but not the white woman who was with them.

They were reseated by their districts, but as a punishment for his “antics,” Jones was stripped of his committee and assigned to an agricultural committee, though he represented an inner-city district.

Not to be deterred from doing his job, he faced his fear of being a young Black man in rural Tennessee to visit with the farmers he was tasked with considering.

He described being greeted by MAGA hats, American flags and Fox News in the background, but he also found something he didn’t expect to be there—appreciation.

The farmers told Jones he was the only politician who’d ever visited them to find out what their needs were. And if he needed them to back him up at the statehouse, they told him they would be there—with manure to dump on the steps, if necessary.

He told them to hold off on the manure. But he said, “loving our neighbors isn’t just a word, it’s an action.”

People can come together to end centuries old systems, but “resurrection requires proximity.”

Jesus had to be at the tomb to raise Lazarus, Jones said, so he could say: “Move the stone.”

“But if the stone’s removed, there’ll be a smell,” the people warned Jesus.

Parts of resurrection may be unpleasant, but Christians must still “show up” and unbind them, Jones insisted. These “dry bones” can live again.

Barriers to racial justice

Sandra María Van Opstal, executive director of Chasing Justice, discussed barriers to racial justice, the first being distorted and dysfunctional narratives. The stories we tell ourselves, songs and the way we interpret Scripture shape our beliefs, she said. And the stories we tell ourselves shape what we believe about others.

White supremacy and American exceptionalism are two distorted narratives that have become internalized, then externalized in policy and systems until they became “the air we breathe,” she explained.

Likewise, discriminatory policies “affect the way we live with each other.” Christians vote according to their own needs, instead of in light of God’s commandment to care for “the quartet of the vulnerable.”

Furthermore, discipleship problems form barriers to racial justice. Van Opstal said Christians might push the other barriers off onto somebody else, but they can’t blame anyone else for this barrier.

She pointed squarely at Donald McGavran—the father of the church growth movement in the 1970s and 1980s—and his “homogenous unit principal,” or the missiological idea that church planting efforts are more successful when they focus on people of common characteristics.

“It’s our fault” discipleship is a barrier to racial justice, Van Opstal insisted.

McGavran’s idea is why “we have youth ministries, and children’s ministries, and motorcycle ministries,” because it’s easier to get people in the door when they have common traits, Van Opstal continued.

“The problem is, that’s not the way of Jesus. So structurally and systemically, we taught people to be and practice biases. We invited them to always elect to be with people just like them,” she said.

“They said people are more likely to become Christians if they don’t have to cross racial, linguistic or class barriers. Let’s make it easy for them to say ‘yes’ to Jesus. … When that’s the opposite of what we see in Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians,” where Christians came together to the table, regardless of class or where they came from.

“The reason Christians were called Christians is because they didn’t know what else to call them. They didn’t look alike. They didn’t practice the same expressions of faith. They didn’t come from the same places,” she said.

So Christians must “interrogate the stories we believe” and reorient toward Christ. Christians must change how they view people and how they “name them.” People are not criminals, aliens, poor—they are “our neighbors,” she insisted.

Other conference speakers included Mariah Humphries, Mvskoke Nation citizen and executive director for The Center for Formation, Justice and Peace; Cassandra Gould, senior strategist at the Faith in Action National Network; and Jeremy Everett, executive director of the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty.

Crossing lines to work together is essential in addressing hunger and poverty, advocate Jeremy Everett of Baylor University told participants at the Fellowship Southwest Compassion & Justice Conference, Sept. 21 in Dallas.

Everett, founding director of the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty, recounted an event where multiple parties showed up across sectors to meet a need.

The days leading up to COVID-19’s widespread arrival in the United States were fraught with concern of an impending crisis the USDA saw coming among the food-insecure population, Everett said.

Weeks before the pandemic hit in its full intensity, Everett was in Washington, D.C., on an unrelated matter, when he received an unexpected call from the head of the U.S. Department of Agriculture requesting his immediate presence at the Whitten Building.

A call from the USDA secretary is not an everyday occurrence, even for the director of an organization dedicated to cultivating “scalable solutions to end hunger,” Everett stated.

While he assumed he’d done something terribly wrong to be called in, Everett found out it was even worse than that.

Everett recalled being warned the coming pandemic would be much worse than anyone knew, a shutdown of an unknown duration was likely, and people facing food insecurity would be severely impacted.

The lead up

In the summer of 2019, the Baylor Collaborative—then known as the Texas Hunger Initiative—had piloted a 10-week food-distribution program called “Meals to You,” using selected rural counties in Texas as “the test kitchen.” The program was designed to meet the unique food distribution needs of rural communities.

“Meals to You” involved shipping a week’s worth of food directly to the homes of children who participated in meal programs. It had proven to have equal impact on food insecurity, if not greater, than the USDA model of feeding children, which until then had been “the gold standard.”

The USDA secretary and undersecretary wanted to know: “Is there any way that you can scale up the ‘Meals to You’ program nationwide?”

The department estimated 25,000 families would need “Meals to You” provisions, Everett explained. Without discussing the question of scalability with his staff, Everett committed to scaling the program nationwide.

Shortly after he left the Whitten Building the estimate grew to 50,000 families. By the time he was on a plane back to Waco, 150,000 was the number.

The implementation

By the time of kickoff the following week, the Baylor Collaborative and McLane Global had 270,000 children signed up to receive meals “because their parents didn’t know how in the world they were going to provide food for their kids during a shutdown,” Everett recalled.

“Kids were so remote in Alaska, they required seaplanes and boats and barges to be able to get food boxes to children where they were living,” he continued.

Mules were used to deliver food boxes into the Grand Canyon. The United States Postal Service and United Parcel Service drivers dropped off food boxes elsewhere.

 “What was remarkable about this endeavor was the USDA brought their best to bear,” Everett said.

Congress’ bipartisan support made sure they had the resources they needed to provide food for the hungry, he continued. The private sector of the food industry stepped up with Pepsi-Co, Chartwells and other major food companies’ social enterprises arms providing and packaging the food.

UPS Go Brown—without being asked, because they’d recognized the increased shipments into some areas—played a major role in the distribution of boxes, with some delivery drivers relocating “during a pandemic to get food boxes out to the kids, because they knew they needed it.”

Everett asserted “all these groups brought their best to bear.” And it showed collaboration is possible and critical.

“The only way that we can solve for these big social issues is working together,” he said. And this case demonstrated “it is still possible to get bipartisan agreement on critical intervention.”

The Baylor Collaborative team works with the three-prong approach of research, practice and policy. The research continued to demonstrate the efficacy of the program when practiced over several years. In fact, the more rural and remote the child, the more beneficial the “Meals to You” program proved to be.

So, the Baylor Collaborative was able to go back to Congress, show their research, and earn bipartisan legislation to make “Meals to You” a permanent solution available to food insecure children in rural areas.

The work isn’t finished

Everett urged attendees to seek out opportunities to serve the hungry and the poor by proximity to the problem, because Jesus embodied a preference for the poor and identified the poor as members of his family.

“Sometimes we treat the poor like they just need to be better at financial management,” but disability and structural racism, the two biggest predictors of poverty, aren’t issues of poor financial training, he suggested.

Hunger and poverty are on the rise globally after many pre-pandemic years of improvement, but widespread food insecurity is a litmus test for the health and wellbeing of the world, a nation or a community.

When society turns a blind eye to children dying of hunger around the world in areas of conflict and crisis, or here in the states where governors turn down funding to expand child nutrition for their own political gain, “hunger becomes a litmus test for our souls,” Everett asserted.

“What has spiritually gone awry to justify child starvation or to act passively, offering our thoughts and prayers, as if we have no agency to improve these conditions?”

NASHVILLE (RNS)—Court-ordered mediation between a former Southern Baptist Convention president and lawyers for the nation’s largest Protestant denomination failed last week, meaning the dispute between the two parties likely is headed to a trial in November.

Johnny Hunt, a former Georgia megachurch pastor and denominational official who served as SBC president from 2008 to 2010, sued the denomination in 2023, alleging defamation.

Hunt was named in the Guidepost report on abuse in the SBC for allegedly sexually assaulting another pastor’s wife. He initially denied the incident and has since said it was consensual.

Lawyers for Hunt have claimed the former SBC president’s misconduct was a private matter and the SBC ruined his reputation by making it public.

On Sept. 19, the two sides met for a court-ordered mediation, which ended in an impasse, according to a report filed Sept. 24 with the U.S. District Court of the Middle District of Tennessee.

The lawsuit has cost the SBC’s Executive Committee about $3 million in legal fees so far. Those legal fees, along with about $9 million in fees related to the Guidepost report, led the Executive Committee to put its Nashville, Tenn., office building on the market.

Last week, current SBC President Clint Pressley tweeted that no settlement had been reached. The possibility of a settlement was raised during a recent Executive Committee meeting.

“Despite what you may be hearing, there is no settlement with Dr. Johnny Hunt,” Pressley tweeted on Thursday, the same day as the mediation.

The trial for the lawsuit is set to begin Nov. 12 in Nashville. Hunt’s lawyer recently petitioned the court to block the SBC from calling several witnesses, including Kevin Ezell, the president of the denomination’s North American Mission Board, at the trial.

After stepping down as pastor of First Baptist Church in Woodstock, Ga., Hunt served as a vice president at NAMB before resigning following the release of the Guidepost report in 2022.

No details of the settlement discussions were made public. However, earlier this year, lawyers for Hunt claimed more than $75 million worth of damages.

Those damages, according to court documents filed in the case, include a loss of $610,000 in annual income and benefits, a loss of $360,000 a year in book sales, a loss of $350,000 in speaking fees and an additional $80,000 in other lost income, for a total of $1.4 million a year. The lawyers also claim that Hunt intended to work for 11 years—or until he was 80—when the Guidepost report was published—for a total alleged loss of $15.4 million.  No supporting documents were included to substantiate those claimed losses.

The court filing also claims at least $30 million in reputational harm and at least $30 million in emotional distress

EDITOR’S NOTE: After the article originally was posted on Sept. 25, Religion News Service updated it to include the last three paragraphs with details of the settlement claim filed by Hunt’s lawyers.  This article was edited early morning on Sept. 26 to include those paragraphs. 

Howard Payne University won a successful appeal from the Department of Education’s review committee, clarifying ownership and scoring a victory for the Baptist General Convention of Texas and related or affiliated educational institutions.

On July 1, the Department of Education updated Title IV federal regulations regarding program participant agreements with institutions that receive federal loans, Pell Grants and Federal Work Study funds.

The regulation requires the program participation agreement—which must be renewed every 10 years—to be signed by an authorized representative of the institution.

For “a proprietary or nonprofit institution,” the revised regulation also requires the agreement to be signed by “an authorized representative of an entity with direct or indirect ownership of the institution if that entity has power to exercise control over the institution.”

The Secretary of Education considers an entity has power to exercise institutional control “if the entity has at least 50 percent control over the institution through direct or indirect ownership, by voting rights, by its right to appoint board members to the institution or any other entity, whether by itself or in combination with other entities or natural persons with which it is affiliated or related, or pursuant to a proxy or voting or similar agreement.”

Like other institutions affiliated with Texas Baptists, a majority of Howard Payne University’s board of trustees is elected by messengers to the BGCT annual meeting.

However, the BGCT does not exercise control over the institution or its governing board. Howard Payne’s restated articles of incorporation identify it as a Texas nonprofit corporation with “no members.”

HPU sought clarification and appealed

HPU President Cory Hines said the university contacted legal counsel and the Department of Education, and it also participated in a webinar with other universities regarding the change in regulations.

In each instance, the university was told the revised regulations would require the BGCT to sign the program participation agreement—even though it does not reflect a Baptist understanding regarding institutional autonomy and would make the convention potentially liable for any defaulted loans.

The university contacted the BGCT and its general counsel John Litzler to determine next steps to take.

“We contacted our PPA renewal representative, Regina Krob, directly and asked for clarification on this rule,” Hines said. “She directed us to file an appeal with the DOE review committee if we did not believe the regulations were accurate.”

Howard Payne submitted its bylaws, articles of incorporation and secretary of state filings, along with a letter from Litzler, to the review committee.

The committee met Aug. 5 and issued a ruling agreeing with the position held by HPU and the BGCT.

“It has been determined the Restated Articles of Incorporation for Howard Payne University (a Texas nonprofit corporation) ‘has no members,’” the ruling stated. “Therefore, the Level 1 ownership is ‘Howard Payne University” (Texas nonprofit corporation); it has no members, therefore there is only one level of ownership: Howard Payne University.”

Set an ‘important precedent’ for other institutions

Stephen Stookey, director of theological education for Texas Baptists, praised Hines and Litzler for their work in helping to establish what he called “an important precedent” with the Department of Education that will benefit all educational institutions related to Texas Baptists.

“Recent Title IV updates, presumably designed to address fiscal responsibility at for-profit institutions through strict definition of institutional ownership, had the unintended consequence of jeopardizing access to federal financial aid programs at HPU and similar Baptist-affiliated universities,” Stookey said.

“The exemption gained by HPU recognizes the university’s collaboration with Texas Baptists per Baptist understandings of institutional autonomy and ensures access to federal student aid programs and funds.”

Howard Payne was the first Texas Baptist institution to encounter the new Title IV regulations as part of its once-every-10-years reaffirmation of the program participation agreement, but it won’t be the last.

“HPU’s exemption sets an important precedent for institutions related to but not controlled/owned by a denominational partner that appoints 50 percent or more of the institution’s board,” Stookey said.

Texas Baptists partner with 10 universities, most of which also have graduate ministry programs.

“Texas Baptists’ partnerships with these institutions allow the convention to appoint members to the respective boards while neither owning nor controlling these academic institutions,” he said.

“Texas Baptists value the work of our partner universities and their respective efforts to provide quality Christ-centered education. HPU’s exemption ensures students will have access to critical funds allowing academic and vocational preparation to faithfully pursue God’s call to Great Commandment and Great Commission service.”

Jann Aldredge-Clanton, chaplain and early advocate for women in ministry, died Sept. 20 in Dallas of ovarian cancer. She was 78. She was born May 3, 1946, in Abilene and grew up in Minden, La., where her father, Henry Truman Aldredge, was pastor of First Baptist Church and her mother, Eva, pushed the bounds of what it meant to be a preacher’s wife in the 1950s. After graduating from high school as valedictorian, she studied at Louisiana Tech University, where she met her future husband, David. After they married in 1968 and moved to the Dallas-Fort Worth area, she earned a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in English literature from Texas Christian University and taught several years at Dallas Baptist University. Feeling called to the ministry, she began working toward a Master of Divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. She went on to become a chaplain—first at Hillcrest Hospital in Waco and then for 17 years at Baylor Medical Center in Dallas. Until her retirement in 2009, she counseled and supported cancer patients, particularly women who were living with the same illness that ultimately took her life. She wrote extensively about feminist theology and composed hymns reflecting gender-inclusive language. She was the author of 11 books, six songbooks, a children’s musical and a children’s songbook. She was working on a collection of hymns with collaborator Larry Schultz the week before her death. She is survived by her husband David; son Chad; son Brett and his wife Beth Lousteau; grandsons Lyle, Emmett and Paul; and a sister, Anne Morton. A memorial service is scheduled at 1 p.m., Oct. 5 at Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas. Memorial gifts may be made to Equity for Women in the Church.

Baptist ministries in Lebanon that receive Texas Baptist Hunger Offering funds are offering aid to displaced civilians caught in the crossfire between Israel and Hezbollah.

“For several years now, citizens of Lebanon have endured one crisis after the next, but this past week has been particularly challenging,” a Sept. 23 email newsletter from the Thimar-LSESD ministries stated.

The Lebanese Society for Educational and Social Development rebranded last year as Thimar-LSESD, selecting the name because “Thimar” is the Arabic word for “fruits.”

“A series of attacks have now left thousands injured, hundreds dead, and a troubled nation on the edge of total collapse. As fighting continues with Hezbollah launching projectiles into Israel, we wait to see what the coming hours will bring.”

In fact, the day the email was distributed was the deadliest day in Lebanon in nearly 20 years, as Israeli strikes killed about 500 people.

Prior to the military strikes, Israel issued warnings, urging civilians to evacuate residential areas where it asserted Hezbollah is storing weapons and munition.

“As the messages arrived, parents rushed to pick up their children from school just as classes for the new school year got underway,” the email newsletter stated.

School prepares to house displaced people

Beirut Baptist School—located in a largely non-Christian area—“began preparing its campus to host people displaced by fighting, just as it did during the last full-scale war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006,” the email reported.

While requesting prayer from supporters of its ministry, Thimar-LSESD reported it is prepared to respond to needs.

“At our offices on the outskirts of Beirut, we have food boxes ready to distribute to people displaced by fighting,” the email newsletter stated.

“Meanwhile, our aid and development ministry, Middle East Revive and Thrive, has been providing humanitarian support to people affected by the conflict for nearly a year. In addition, we have set up a Lebanon Emergency Fund to meet additional needs as they arise.”

The Texas Baptist Hunger Offering provides funds that help enable Thimar-LSESD to provide food assistance to at-risk families, along with feminine hygiene products and heating fuel for the winter. The offering also enables Middle East Revive and Thrive to supply hygiene kits that churches distribute to refugees and other displaced people.

NASHVILLE (BP)—The Baptist Faith and Message soon could be more difficult to amend. That’s a good thing, said the Southern Baptist Convention messenger whose motion this summer in Indianapolis helped initiate the change.

“We have enough division in our denomination without the instability of our foundational confessional document,” said Chelsea McReynolds, the pastor’s wife and women’s ministry leader at Chandler (Okla.) Southern Baptist Church.

“If it is too easy to amend, our core doctrines could shift based on temporary trends or majority whims. Such fluidity could cause confusion among church members and undermine the theological foundations built by our forefathers.”

SBC messengers in Dallas next June will receive a recommendation from the convention’s Executive Committee to give the first of two required approvals to stiffen requirements for amending the Baptist Faith and Message, Southern Baptists’ confession of faith.

The Executive Committee voted Sept. 17 to recommend that messengers amend the SBC Constitution to require two-thirds votes at two consecutive SBC annual meetings to amend the Baptist Faith and Message—the same requirement that exists for amending the SBC constitution.

Triggered by two actions at 2024 SBC

Two actions at the 2024 SBC annual meeting in Indianapolis spurred the Executive Committee to consider Baptist Faith and Message amendments.

One was McReynolds’ motion that the convention require a two-thirds majority for all Baptist Faith and Message alterations. The other was a recommendation from the convention’s ad hoc Cooperation Group that “edits or amendments to The Baptist Faith & Message follow the same process as amendments to the Constitution (two-thirds vote, two consecutive years).”

Southern Baptists began discussing the process for Baptist Faith and Message amendments following a 2023 edit to the confession of faith that some viewed as hasty.

Last year, messenger Jared Cornutt, pastor of North Shelby Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., moved that the terms “elder” and “overseer” be listed as synonyms for pastor in Article 6.

The Committee on Order of Business believed the motion’s wording required that they schedule it for debate during that meeting. They did, and messengers voted to amend the Baptist Faith and Message as Cornutt suggested during the meeting’s final session on Wednesday afternoon.

Quick action could create complications

The quick amendment to a foundational document led many, including Cornutt, to raise questions.

“Amending our confession from the floor on a Wednesday afternoon, when our messengers are experiencing ‘delegate fatigue syndrome’ (credit to parliamentarian Al Gage), is like doing surgery on the dining room table with a pocketknife and a flashlight,” Cornutt wrote in a BP column.

“You might get the bullet out (or in this case, the benign tumor), but you’re taking a lot of risks along the way. And why take those risks when you have a team of experienced surgeons and a sterile operating room next door?”

Al Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, said the amendment helped clarify what Southern Baptists believe about the office of pastor, but he thought sudden changes to the Baptist Faith and Message could have a negative impact on SBC entities.

The entities include Baptist Faith and Message language in some employees’ contracts, he said, and need time to change legal and business documents.

A quick change could have “charter implications” as “SBC entities are fully accountable to the Baptist Faith and Message,” Mohler said.

Yet tightening the requirements for Baptist Faith and Message amendments is not just a matter of denominational polity, McReynolds said. It also affects local churches.

“Local church constitutions also utilize the BF&M to communicate their beliefs and as part of their governing documents,” she said. “Every change to the BF&M essentially requires each of our churches to personally accept or deny the change.

“There is already an issue in which edition of the BF&M one most closely aligns with. It is not unifying to further complicate the document over a foundationally insignificant change.”

The proposal for Baptist Faith and Message amendments will come before messengers during the Executive Committee report at the SBC annual meeting in Dallas, June 10-11, 2025.

WASHINGTON (BP)—China has tightened its control of religion, creating such crimes as genocide, mass arrests and enforced disappearances, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom said in a Sept. 23 fact sheet, days after China released long-imprisoned American Protestant pastor David Lin.

“Sinicization, or the complete subordination of religious groups to the CCP’s (Chinese Communist Party’s) political agenda and Marxist vision for religion, has become the core driving principle of the government’s management of religious affairs,” the commission said in its fact sheet.

“Through regulations and state-controlled religious organizations, authorities incorporate CCP ideology into every facet of religious life for Buddhists, Catholic and Protestant Christians, Muslims, and Taoists.

“Enforcement of such sinicization policies has consistently resulted in systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom and related human rights, including genocide, crimes against humanity, mass incarceration, enforced disappearances, and the destruction of cultural and religious heritage.”

Lin, who had worked as a house church pastor in Beijing, had been imprisoned since 2006 on charges of contract fraud based on his efforts to raise money to build a church, the commission said in 2019.

Originally sentenced to life in prison, he was due for release in 2030 after commutation and a reduction in his sentence. The 68-year-old has returned to the United States and reunited with his family, U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a Sept. 16 press briefing.

USCIRF Chair Stephen Schneck
commended the U.S. government for securing Lin’s release, in a post on X, emphasizing Lin was “simply living out his religious beliefs and supporting house church communities.”

Continued advocacy needed for religious prisoners

Commissioner Maureen Ferguson encouraged continued advocacy for the religious prisoners who remain in China, mentioning Protestant house church leaders, underground Catholics, Muslim Uyghurs, Tibetan Buddhists, Falun Gong practitioners and many others, and linking to a list of 521 prisoners.

Bob Fu, founder and president of Midland-based China Aid, who also advocated for Lin’s release, also said Lin’s freedom in no way signifies a relaxation in China’s sinicization.

“China continues to imprison many Christians who are discriminated against simply for practicing their faith. These individuals are denied the freedom to choose their beliefs and endure constant surveillance, raids, arrests, and other coercive measures,” Fu wrote Sept. 24 at ChinaAid.org.

“The authorities’ actions are politically motivated, but for the persecuted, it is a matter of their faith.”

Miller named at least two Americans—Mark Swidan and Kai Li—who remain unjustly imprisoned in China on false charges unrelated to religion. But perhaps 200 to 300 Americans remain imprisoned there, Fu wrote.

‘All-encompassing scope of sinicization’

In its report, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom pointed to several February amendments to the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Religious Affairs Regulations as an example of China’s “all-encompassing scope of sinicization on religious life.”

Those amendments, among other regulations, require religions to “practice the core values of socialism,” to interpret religious teachings in line with “traditional Chinese culture” and China’s contemporary requirements for “development and progress,” and require religious schools to cultivate “patriotic religious talents” and interpret religious doctrine in line with CCP thought and policies.

Even the architectural style of churches and other houses of worship is controlled. They are required to “reflect Chinese characteristics and style in terms of architecture, sculptures, paintings, and decorations.”

Grassroots government members have the authority to report to government authorities and religious affairs bureaus transgressions including “illegal religious organizations, illegal preachers, illegal religious activities, or the use of religion to interfere in grassroots public affairs.”

Protestants, Catholics and remaining officially recognized religions—Buddhists, Muslims and Taoists—must register with the government and submit to intrusive supervision, USCIRF wrote.

In “Five-Year Sinicization Work Plans” effective through 2027, the five religious groups are guided in patriotism, loyalty to the CCP and China’s political system, and conformity of religious doctrines, sermons, rituals and architectural styles of houses of worship in line with the CCP’s ideological requirements, USCIRF said.

“Sinicization entrenches the CCP’s control and its vision for the modern Chinese state into every aspect of religious life by forcing groups from the five officially recognized religions to conform their beliefs, activities, expression, attire, leadership, language, houses of worship and more to CCP ideology,” USCIRF wrote.

“The government creates policies and regulatory measures to sinicize religion and authorizes state-controlled religious organizations to oversee their implementation.”

While exact numbers are difficult, USCIRF said, the U.S. government estimated in 2021 that 5 percent of China’s 1.4 billion people was Christian. Buddhist comprised the largest chunk at 18 percent, followed by 2 percent Muslim and a mix of adherents of Taoism, Falun Gong, folk religious practices and the nonreligious.

China is included in the State Department’s 2023 List of Countries of Particular Concern, indicating China engaged in or tolerated “particularly severe violations of religious freedom” under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.

East Texas Baptist University hosted its 14th annual Great East Texas Hymn Sing on Sept. 20. The event brought together hundreds of participants—including students, faculty, staff, alumni, community members, and churches from across East Texas and neighboring states—for an afternoon of worship, fellowship and a shared celebration of Christian faith. Several ETBU alumni, faculty and staff led portions of the worship service, including David Berryhill and Sara Burt. The event was accompanied by piano and organ performances by university organist Cathey DeRousse and assistant professor of music Jonathan Kaan. The ETBU Hilltop Singers, led by director of choral activities and associate professor of music Pat Antinone, also contributed to the celebration.

Howard Payne University will receive a $3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education over the next five years as a part of the Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions program. This grant, the largest in university history, will be used to assist Hispanic and under-served students through a variety of programs. The DHSI program is an initiative focused on creating environments that support students and families of Hispanic backgrounds, built on four pillars: bridge, success, connection and completion. The HPU program, named “Centro de Exito” or Center for Student Success, will impact all areas of the HPU campus, including enrollment, academics, career services and more. Funds from the grant will be used to support the new Center for Student Success at HPU, which includes academic coaching, peer tutoring, learning assistance services, academic testing, academic advising and mentoring. Programs will be targeted to support Hispanic and under-served students through the center, with emphasis on first and second-year experiences. Additionally, HPU will develop a Summer Bridge Program to assist incoming students with tools to succeed before they begin college. Career service programs will be developed for undergraduate and graduate students. Funds also will be used for faculty and staff professional development, software updates and campus renovations. HPU was named a Hispanic Serving Institution by the U.S. Department of Education in 2022.

Houston Christian University enrolled a record 4,276 students for the fall 2024 semester, the highest total enrollment in the university’s history. According to census data, the total included 701 freshmen and 186 transfer students, the largest transfer class in the last six years. James Steen, vice president of enrollment management and marketing, noted that not only did HCU experience the largest number of on-campus undergraduates, HCU’s Pampell Global Campus enrolled a record 1,234 online students for the fall semester. “Much of this growth was due in part to our donor-funded Grace Hopper Scholarship that fills gaps in student tuition for engineering majors and a remarkable 43 percent increase in our veteran population, as well as a significant increase in new incoming transfers year over year,” Steen said. The positive enrollment figures reflect the impact of new and expanded enrollment strategies and plans for new facilities, programs and infrastructure to support growth goals in alignment with HCU’s Institutional Strategic Plan 2030.

Baylor University again has attained elite Honor Roll status as one of the best colleges in the nation to work for, according to the Great Colleges to Work For program. Based on faculty and staff responses to a related annual survey, Baylor was recognized in eight categories, including its first-ever recognition in the Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging category. The category is reserved for organizations that are demonstrating an institutionalized commitment to belonging, as reported through the experiences of faculty and staff. Baylor has been on the Honor Roll 13 times in the last 15 years, receiving top recognition from one of the largest and most respected workplace recognition programs in the country. The results are based on a survey of 216 colleges and universities. Baylor is among only 42 institutions that earned Honor Roll status, the program’s highest award for recognition in the most categories. Baylor is included in the large university category with 10,000 or more students. Survey results are based on a two-part assessment process: an institution questionnaire that captures employment data and workplace policies, and a survey administered to faculty, administrators and professional support staff. The primary factor in deciding whether an institution received recognition was the employee feedback.

Wayland Baptist University student Annalicia Hernandez of Lockney worked four jobs during the summer to support her education and help others. A sophomore majoring in middle school mathematics education, Hernandez took on diverse roles. She managed The Beach House, a snow cone shop in Lockney. She also worked with Wayland’s Student Success team. She served as a children’s worker at Plainview First Assembly, where she initially volunteered and later was offered a paid position. She continues to be employed by the church, working with children, organizing activities and camps with a nurturing Christian environment. As a volunteer, she participated in a mission trip to Alaska with a group from Wayland in June. She helped conduct a sports camp for children, exemplifying her dedication to service and community outreach. In August, she volunteered with Koinonia, the university’s new student orientation program. When Wayland needed to open a residence hall early for Summer Bridge program participants, she took on the role of resident assistant, supporting and guiding new freshmen.

University of Mary Hardin-Baylor had 225 students participate in this year’s Ring Ceremony, with more than 1,000 guests in attendance during Family Weekend. Seniors graduating in December or the following May are invited to participate. The official school ring was custom designed in 1995. Its intricate design incorporates many of the university’s rich traditional symbols: The Living Flame symbolizes UMHB’s enduring commitment to education. The Crusader represents the spirit of the university in its quest for excellence. The Luther Memorial arches memorialize the first building on the Belton campus. The W.W. Walton Chapel symbolizes the university’s strong Christian heritage and continued desire to reach out to the world for Christ. Students wear the ring with the school’s name facing them. Upon graduation, the ring is turned around with the name facing outward, symbolizing the graduate’s readiness to face the world. University President Randy O’Rear presented the rings, and Melanie McCarthy, class of 1998, was the alumni guest speaker. McCarthy shared her perspective on what it means to be a Mary Hardin-Baylor graduate and how special it is to be a part of the UMHB family.

The T.B. Maston Foundation is receiving scholarship applications for the 2025 to 2026 academic year, Executive Director David Morgan announced. The Maston Foundation provides a $5,000 scholarship annually to a graduate student whose study focuses on Christian ethics. Eligible candidates are Doctor of Philosophy students whose dissertations deal with ethical implications and Doctor of Ministry students whose projects include an ethical focus. By awarding scholarships to doctoral-level students, the Maston Foundation seeks to encourage ongoing leadership and scholarship in the field of Christian ethics. Maston’s former students, colleagues and friends have presented 34 scholarships in his name since 1982. Scholarship application packets include an application form, application transcripts, a CV/resumé, letters of recommendation, a dissertation/thesis abstract and an essay. Access the online application, here. The Maston Foundation perpetuates the teaching and legacy of its namesake—a renowned professor of Christian ethics and Baptist champion of racial justice in the 20th century—and challenges Baptists to live out an authentic Christlike ethic. In addition to its annual scholarship, the foundation conducts retreats—including its annual Young Maston Scholars retreat for undergraduate students.

Anniversaries

Meadowbrook Baptist Church in Robinson will celebrate 65 years on Sept. 27. Cary Killough is pastor.

The Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board voted to take initial steps to create a Texas Baptist insurance program to enable churches to secure affordable property and casualty, liability and similar insurance coverage.

At its Sept. 23-24 meeting, the board authorized the BGCT to create a corporation to make church insurance available and provide the initial capitalization of an insurance reserve, pending executive committee approval of a feasibility study and approval by messengers to Texas Baptists’ annual meeting.

Since several major insurance carriers have left the Texas market, many churches either have been unable to renew their policies or have been saddled with steep premium and deductible increases.

Texas Baptists already are conducting a feasibility study to explore the possibility of forming a captive insurance pool for partnering churches—a practice some schools and nonprofit organizations already have adopted.

The insurance pool would be administered through a new corporation under BGCT control, and it would function like a co-op.

The baseline premiums are expected to be about 30 percent less than similar insurance on the open market, said Keith Warren, chair of the board’s administrative support committee and executive pastor of North Side Baptist Church in Weatherford. The corporation is expected to be self-sustaining.

Legal requirements demand capitalization of at least 25 percent of the first year’s premiums—projected at between $1.5 million and $5 million, depending on anticipated initial participation.

The Executive Board also elected new officers for the next year—Heath Kirkwood, pastor of First Baptist Church of Lorena, as chair and Suzie Liner, a retired physician and member of First Baptist Church in Lubbock, as vice chair.

Sexual Abuse Task Force presents report

Janice Bloom, incumbent vice chair of the Executive Board and member of First Baptist Church in Garland, reported on the work of Texas Baptists’ Sexual Abuse Task Force, formed in May 2023.

The task force looked at preventative measures and best practices for how churches can respond to sexual abuse, she said. The revised section on Texas Baptists’ website devoted to sexual abuse response will go live on Monday, Sept. 30, with resources in English and Spanish.

In addition to making available a variety of training materials through MinistrySafe, the proposed 2025 BGCT budget includes funds to provide any Texas Baptist church dealing with a sexual abuse issue one hour of consultation with a MinistrySafe attorney.

Other recommendations included developing resources to help churches implement a comprehensive church safety team; develop a model policy for dealing with sex offenders who wish to attend church; develop a code of conduct for staff, board members, volunteers and others related to Texas Baptists; amend the BGCT bylaws to provide disciplinary measures for any Executive Board member who violates the code of conduct; and review the personnel policy manual to address sexual abuse prevention.

Steve Bezner, pastor of Houston Northwest Church, made a motion to create an implementation task force to ensure the recommendations from the Sexual Abuse Task Force are followed. The implementation task force will be appointed by the new chair and vice chair of the Executive Board.

Board recommends $36.7 million Texas budget

The Executive Board also voted to recommend a $36.7 million total Texas budget for 2025, an increase from the $35.29 million budget adopted for 2024. The proposed budget will be presented for approval to messengers at the BGCT annual meeting, Nov. 10-12 in Waco.

The total budget includes a $35.16 million net Texas Baptist budget, up from the $33.79 million in the 2024 budget. It depends on close to $27.8 million in Texas Cooperative Program giving from churches and an anticipated $7.36 million in investment income. It also projects about $1.5 million in additional revenue from conference and booth fees, product sales and other sources.

The board recommended undesignated receipts from affiliated churches continue to be divided 79 percent for the BGCT and 21 percent for worldwide causes.

An anticipated $1.1 million in worldwide missions initiatives and partnerships will be allocated in the same manner as the previous year: $340,000 for missions mobilization, $200,000 for River Ministry and Mexico missions, $100,000 for Texas Partnerships, $55,000 for the Baptist World Alliance, $5,000 for the North American Baptist Fellowship, $50,000 for intercultural international initiatives, $200,000 for Go Now Missions, $100,000 for GC2 initiatives, $20,000 for the Hispanic Education Task Force and $30,000 for chaplaincy.

At the recommendation of the Missions Funding Council, the board voted to increase the maximum amount of church starting funds available to any newly approved church plant from $75,000 to $125,000.

Bringing institution into alignment

In other business, the board adopted restated articles of incorporation for Valley Baptist Missions and Education Center, pending final approval by messengers to the BGCT annual meeting.

The changes bring the center into alignment with the requirements of the BGCT Constitution and Bylaws concerning affiliated institutions, stipulating it is a “no member” nonprofit corporation.

Revisions clarify the existence of Valley Baptist Missions and Education Center as a separate 501(c)(3) from the BGCT, and minimize the potential legal liability possibly incurred by the BGCT on behalf of the center.

The board voted to secure the accounting firm of Batts, Morrison, Wales and Lee to conduct the financial audit, and it approved personnel policy revisions regarding fair employment practices, time away from work and family medical leave.

The board also voted to appoint Bill Arnold, retired founding president of the Texas Baptist Missions Foundation, as interim secretary of the corporation until the BGCT annual meeting, filling the vacancy created by the death of Bernie Spooner.

The board authorized executive leadership to review and adjust staff benefits, tapping unused budget funds for compensation increases.

The board filled vacancies on councils and commissions, electing:

• Felicia Omoni from African Evangelical Baptist Church in Grand Prairie to the Affinity Ministries Council.
• George Will Bearden from First Baptist Church in San Antonio; James Robert Pipkin from Calvary Baptist Church in Emporia, Va.; Rochelle Binion from Invitation Church in Sioux Falls, S.D.; and Sara Hester from First Baptist Church in Oneonta, Ala., to the Chaplaincy Endorsement Council.
• Alice Ward from Westside Baptist Church in Lewisville, Emmanuel Roldan from Primera Iglesia Bautista in Waco, Kalie Lowrie from First Baptist Church in Brownwood, Chad Chaddick from First Baptist Church in San Marcos and Darrin Moore from Truevine Missionary Baptist Church in Spring to the Christian Life Commission.
• Amy Wilkins from Valley Ranch Baptist Church in Coppell, Justin Hamby from First Baptist Church in Lubbock, Sarah Sensenig from Trinity Baptist Church in San Antonio and Todd Atkins from Salem Institutional Baptist Church in Dallas to the GC2 Press Advisory Council.
• Jose Gamez from Iglesia Bautista Alfa in Dallas, Enrique Soto from El Buen Pastor in Dallas, Pablo Juarez from First Baptist Church in Kaufman, David Reyes from Fielder Church in Arlington, Joe Rangel from Alamo Heights Baptist Church in San Antonio and Olivia Gomez from Calvary Baptist Church in McAllen to the Hispanic Education Initiative Council.
• Jill Axton from Indiana Avenue Baptist Church in Lubbock, Gene Potts from First McKinney Baptist Church in McKinney, Larry Post from Sugar Land Baptist Church in Sugar Land and Stacy Leonard from First Baptist Church in Garland to the Institutions Audit Council.
• Jim Newman from First Baptist Church in Frisco, Jason Davidson from The Heights Baptist Church in Richardson, Janice Bloom from First Baptist Church in Garland, Merritt Johnston from First Baptist Church in Brenham, Ben Raimer from First Baptist Church in Galveston, Pat Hyde from First Baptist Church in Kenedy, Sheri Price from First Baptist Church in Amarillo and David Paul from Sugar Land Baptist Church in Sugar Land to the Texas Baptist Missions Foundation Council.
• Fernando Rojas from Azle Avenue Baptist Church in Fort Worth to the Missions Funding Council.
• Dan Upchurch from Sunset Canyon Baptist Church in Dripping Springs and Van Christian from First Baptist Church in Comanche to the Theological Education Council.

Barna and Impact 360 concluded a series of Gen Z reports Sept. 12 with Leading Gen Z, a simulcast highlighting their final set of conclusions, based on more than a decade of research.

Presenters David Kinnaman, CEO of Barna, and Jonathan Morrow, director of cultural engagement and student discipleship for the Impact 360 Institute, took turns illuminating their findings, offering insights into discipleship opportunities for this generation.

Describing himself as “a geek, for Christ’s sake,” Kinnaman pointed out Gen Z is the first generation to have grown up with digital tools all around them.

He characterized that atmosphere as “digital Babylon, where access to ideas, alienation from specific ways of thinking about life and tradition, and skepticism of authority sort of define them.”

Kinnaman noted how much of a challenge “digital Babylon” presents in impacting Gen Z for Jesus. It has changed the landscape of what people immerse themselves in and the ways they think about what it means to be human and live a life of meaning, he observed.

Living in digital Babylon

“We’re living in a world, aren’t we, where the Google search bar is sort of like our best friend, our adviser, our educator, our counselor,” he said.

“It really is remarkable how these digital devices, these smartphones, social media—it’s really close to what we could invent if we were trying to invent the Holy Spirit—our ever-present help in time of trouble and lost directions. And maybe you need a good friend, right?”

But looking at what the data shows about this generation immersed in the digital world offers an opportunity to understand what the world looks like to them, Kinnaman said.

Christianity has never faced a time like this, Kinnaman suggested, with these kinds of challenges and complexities.

He also pointed to the nuances, “in terms of the persuasiveness of what it means to be Christian and how do we actually help this generation—how do we help ourselves—learn to be rooted and built-up in Christ in this current digital Babylon.”

Discussing the “inner world” of Gen Z, Kinnaman explained this generation is characterized by anxiety and ambition.

They want to accomplish great things and see the world. If they are Christians, they “want to see the church restore its credibility in the world, and they’re ambitious to do that,” he said.

“But the flip side of this is this level of anxiety and this hum … sort of like static electricity that is always in our heads about all the things we haven’t done yet and haven’t accomplished.”

Knowing Gen Z is experiencing anxiety around their ambition offers leaders who work with them an opportunity. Leaders can help them develop a good “theology of ambition” that recognizes it’s God’s work, and not one’s own, that allows people to accomplish all that God has called them to do, Kinnaman explained.

Struggling to transition to adulthood

The data Kinnaman discussed breaks survey participants into two groups, those 13 to 17 years old and those 18 to 24 years old.

Looking at the transition from teen to young adult shows an opportunity for churches to meet a need, Kinnaman noted. There is a significant gap between what teens and young adults in Gen Z reported in terms of how deeply cared for they felt—58 percent of those aged 13 to 17 compared with 34 percent of those aged 18 to 24 reported always feeling deeply cared for by those around them.

Likewise, 56 percent of teens reported always feeling “someone believes in me,” compared with only 31 percent of young adults.

Additionally, young adults were more likely than teens to report negative feelings—reporting always feeling: pressure to be successful (41 percent to 17 percent); anxiety about important decisions (38 percent to 16 percent); self-critical (38 percent to 16 percent); and afraid to fail (38 percent to 14 percent).

In light of the continuing trend to delay marriage and having children—which might help offset some of the reported negative feelings—these gaps offer churches a considerable opportunity to support Gen Z in transitioning to adulthood, Kinnaman suggested.

While the gaps may partly reflect young adults are simply perceiving these “heartbreaking indicators of mental health and challenges” more when they leave childhood, they still need a strong support system, which churches can provide, Kinnaman noted.

Not all bad news

Kinnaman highlighted one positive post-pandemic development. Gen Z has a better understanding of mental health and broader vocabulary and willingness to talk about it. But the data around the mental health issues they face still shows Gen Z is struggling.

Four percent of teens and 11 percent of young adults reported always feeling like life isn’t worth living. Suicide isn’t new, Kinnaman pointed out, but what is new is the access (to Google) and “the alienation from the community of faith and those that can love us.”

What’s new is the increased skepticism toward authority—“the digital Babylon markers,” he continued.

“In digital Babylon, where it’s like: ‘Man, I’m feeling really lonely,’ and you’re going to pull up your phone. And you’re going to go: ‘What do I do?’—search bar—to deal with the loneliness that I’m feeling.”

These are real people dealing with real existential crises reflected in the numbers—young people who would benefit from Christians coming alongside them as they sort through the complex transitions they’re thinking about and experiencing.

That reality presents a “fields-are-white-unto-the-harvest” level of opportunity for Christians who work with Gen Z students and young adults, Kinnaman declared.

Barna and Impact 360’s reports contain many more findings about Gen Z, with suggestions for how the openness of this generation can be a catalyst in reaching them for Jesus. The researchers expressed optimism about the generation, noting quite a few characteristics of Gen Z they considered to be quite positive.

WACO—Commit to “one next move” toward building a culture of belonging for individuals impacted by disability, program director of the Baylor Collaborative on Faith and Disability Jason Le Shana challenged attendees of a faith and disability workshop at Baylor University, Sept. 17.

Le Shana pointed out society often neglects people with disabilities and “doesn’t reflect God’s heart” for individuals impacted by disability. But “we believe that the church is called to be the body of Christ in the world,” he said.

Because “when certain parts of the body are neglected, that’s not good for the body in general,” it’s important for church members to think about what gets in the way of movement—in this area of people with disabilities being invited fully into the life of the church.

Churches need to consider what it might look like for disabled people “to be embedded at that DNA, normalized cultural level of church life,” Le Shana suggested.

He defined church culture as an often unspoken or unstated pattern of shared basic assumptions that exist within the group and imperceptibly govern the way members of the group behave. Changing church culture is difficult, Le Shana conceded, but committing to one next move is a good place to start.

Joni & Friends

Daniel Moreno, ministry relations manager for Joni & Friends Texas, explained the organization advocates for the disabled community within the walls of the church because they believe disabled ministry isn’t just an option, but a command, found in Luke 14:21-23.

Joni & Friends has a vision of a world where every person with a disability finds hope, dignity, and their place in the body of Christ. In his role, Moreno works with churches in Texas, empowering them to evangelize, disciple and serve people living with disability—which Moreno suggested comprise “the largest unreached people group in the U.S.”

Moreno said social and physical boundaries exist to including disabled people in church, but these barriers are not new.

For an example of the longstanding nature of disability disenfranchisement, Moreno turned to the story of Bartimaeus in Mark 10:46-52. The followers of Jesus’ rebuke of Bartimaeus, a blind man, highlights an uncomfortable truth—“the people of God often are the biggest barrier to people impacted by disability to enter the doors of the church,” Moreno said.

But, Jesus told his followers to call Bartimaeus to him. When he was healed, Bartimaeus chose to follow Jesus—whose Messiahship he recognized—“with the very people that rebuked him.”

Moreno encouraged churches to think about where the church and its individual ministries fall within five stages of cultural change, when it comes to meeting the needs of the disabled community: unawareness, evaluation, care, friendship and contribution.

The first stage, unawareness of what disabled people and their families experience and need, is addressed by seeking information and becoming knowledgeable about disability ministry considerations.

When a church has become aware of a need to change in order to meet the needs of its disabled members, it’s at the evaluation stage and needs training in how to make the right changes for their church.

From evaluation, the church moves to the care stage, when time together—abled and disabled—is beginning to happen.

Then the church moves into the friendship stage, where individuals with disabilities are beginning to be seen as part of the fabric of the church and are missed when they aren’t there.

Finally, the church reaches the fifth stage of cultural change—contribution—where individuals impacted by disability are given the opportunity to participate in the body, serving as equal, valued members.

When people come to church, they expect to be discipled. Church is about making disciples. Moreno insisted families impacted by disability have the same right to expect church to aid in “fostering a gospel-centered heart” in them and/or their children, regardless of abilities.

People impacted by disability aren’t excluded from the Great Commission, he explained, neither in being recipients of the message, nor in participating in its fulfillment. The gospel and the Great Commission are for everyone.

How is it, then, that the church continues to exclude people with disabilities, Le Shana asked—because: “Change is hard.”

However, “it’s not all bad news,” Le Shana said, there is scholarship on how to do this. He challenged attendees to consider committing to “one next move” they could make in their churches to help build a culture of belonging.

It starts with one

Citing the book, It Starts with One, by J. Stewart Black and Hal Gregerson, Le Shana asserted the main reason change is so hard is “as humans, we tend to pursue feelings of competence and success.”

Humans don’t like to feel like failures. Change requires a willingness to live in and with incompetence until the new way of doing things is mastered, according to the book. And people are not naturally going to want to do that, Le Shana said.

Churches tend to measure success in terms of the three “Bs”—budgets, buildings and bodies. If things seem to be going well in those areas, churches can fall into a trap—thinking they’ve figured out how to do the right thing and do it well.

Then they discover there’s something wrong with the right thing.

Le Shana gave examples of a church that’s been known for its loud, spirited worship music learning the worship is painful to families in the church dealing with sensory processing challenges or a church good at quiet, contemplative liturgical-style worship struggling to welcome a visiting person prone to verbalizations and movements.

In each case, the church must decide whether to keep doing the thing well that they’ve been doing—which has become the “wrong” thing because it’s a barrier to participation—or move forward toward a new “right thing,” which at least at first, they can expect to do poorly, Le Shana continued.

To move forward “requires us to face our own collective incompetence,” so change is hard. But, organizational change literature points to a key in fostering change: the power of simple movements. Not grand strategies, but simple movements, or behaviors, is where change starts, Le Shana said.

“Don’t underestimate the power of simple actions undertaken faithfully over time” to effect change in church culture. And, he challenged, consider what movement “God might be calling you to.”