After storms rolled across Texas, Oklahoma and other parts of the country in recent days, Texans on Mission disaster relief teams responded.

The devastating tornado that hit Sulphur, Okla., has attracted much media attention, and Texans on Mission—formerly Texas Baptist Men—is deploying two chainsaw teams, a temporary roof team, man lift and heavy machinery, said Wendell Romans, state chainsaw coordinator.

A Collin County team will leave Texas Sunday and begin work Monday. A Denton team will deploy, as well. Romans expects the work to take about two weeks. Texans on Mission is also sending a temporary roof team from Georgetown.

“My guess is this is only the tip of the iceberg, and more teams from Texas will be needed,” Romans said.

Texans on Mission chainsaw volunteers already completed five jobs in the Pittsburg area, and they served in Fort Worth, where lightning split a tree on church property.

David Wells, state disaster relief director, said: “We’re always ready to serve because we know God will provide” through our network of support.

“We have the tools we need, the fuel required and a cloud of angels who are praying for protection and guidance for us. That helps us have an impact for Christ everywhere we go,” Wells said.

Meanwhile, multiple Texans on Mission teams are responding in their local areas.

“On Friday, 10 tornadoes hit Texas as part of a wave of storms that swept across the state,” said Mickey Lenamon, executive director/CEO of Texans on Mission. “Within hours, Texans on Mission volunteers had visited the site of every one of them. Thankfully, most of them hit sparsely populated land.”

Four disaster relief teams are deployed in Southeast Texas because of recent flooding in Kirbyville and a tornado in Port Arthur. Texans on Mission already logged more than 700 volunteer work hours, and more crews are heading to Port Arthur this week.

Lenamon sent a thank you note to supporters of Texans on Mission disaster relief.

“This kind of quick response is possible because of your prayer and financial support,” he wrote. “You are there with every team who responds, whether they are serving in Texas or around the world.”

Covenant Fellowship in Huntsville seeks to engage ex-offenders in ministry to the incarcerated population—for the mutual benefit of both.

“Men on the inside are more likely to listen to guys who have worn the same white uniforms and walked in the same state-issued shoes they wear,” said Scotty McKinley, pastor of discipleship and missions at Covenant Fellowship.

Since Covenant Fellowship launched in 2008, the church has ministered to individuals inside Texas Department of Criminal Justice facilities—both inmates and correctional officers—through multiple avenues.

Involving ex-offenders in ministry to currently incarcerated men benefits those who have reentered the free world and those who are preparing to do so, Eddie Harmon said.

‘Not just a Sunday thing’

Harmon, lead elder at Covenant Fellowship, became involved in prison ministry 14 years ago when he accompanied Pastor David Valentine inside a correctional unit.

“I had never been inside a prison before,” Harmon said, but added he soon realized, “This is where I’m supposed to be.”

Within the course of a few weeks, he saw how God was changing inmates’ lives in dramatic ways.

“They ‘get’ Jesus more than those in the outside world do. They understand he can do for them what they can’t do for themselves,” Harmon said. “It’s not just a Sunday thing for them.”

Harmon became a certified volunteer chaplain assistant with the TDCJ. He serves at least one day a week—often more—in the John M. Wynne Unit.

‘No playing games with them’

He considers preparing inmates for life in the outside world as a key part of his ministry, along with staying in close touch with men after their release.

“I stay in contact with guys all over the state,” he said.

For those who live within driving distance of the Wynne Unit, Harmon seeks to involve them in ministry to current inmates. He recognizes they have an instant rapport and built-in credibility with the men inside prison.

“I’m just an old, retired white man who lived a pretty good life. I don’t have much to offer them,” Harmon said.

Incarcerated offenders are more likely to listen to the Christian testimony of someone who has been in prison and who successfully transitioned to life in the free world, he said. Some of the ex-offenders served lengthy sentences at the Wynne Unit, and men on the inside knew them—before and after God changed their lives.

“There’s no playing games with them. They can’t hide anything. They’ve seen it all,” Harmon said. “It helps guys on the inside realize there’s life after prison.”

Returning to prison as a volunteer also benefits the ex-offenders, he added.

“It helps them stay strong,” Harmon said. “They realize it’s such a privilege getting out, and now they can do some good, helping people inside.”

Celebrate Recovery—inside and out

Recognizing many offenders and ex-offenders have a history of alcohol and drug abuse, Covenant Fellowship seeks to provide recovery groups—both for men inside prison and for anyone in the community.

McKinley oversees both a Celebrate Recovery 12-step group at his church and a Celebrate Recovery Inside group in the Wynne Unit. He recognizes the value of the program from firsthand experience.

“A decade ago, I realized I had a problem with alcohol I could not fix myself and needed help,” McKinley said. “Celebrate Recovery was life-changing for me.”

Saddleback Church in Southern California launched Celebrate Recovery in 1991 as a Christ-centered program for people dealing with addictive, compulsive and dysfunctional behaviors.

The Celebrate Recovery Inside group at the Wynne Unit grew out of McKinley’s encounter with an inmate. Like Harmon, McKinley was accompanying Valentine on visit to the Wynne Unit.

An inmate spotted the Celebrate Recovery logo on McKinley’s shirt and asked if a group was starting at the unit. McKinley asked him to pray about it and agreed to do the same.

The next time McKinley saw the inmate, the man asked how soon a group would start. McKinley said he would need to talk to the chaplain to see if it could be scheduled.

“There’s a slot open on Thursdays,” said the inmate, who worked as a clerk in the chaplain’s office.

Celebrate Recovery Inside began at the Wynne Unit in 2016. Up to 60 inmates can participate at one time. Currently, a group of 20 is working through the Celebrate Recovery curriculum each Wednesday.

“We try as much as possible to model what a [Celebrate Recovery] group looks like on the outside,” McKinley said.

Need for a supportive community

Incarcerated men learn the steps toward recovery, and they discover the value of being part of a supportive small group, he noted.

The biggest barriers standing between ex-offenders and successful reentry into the free world are the lack of jobs, housing, transportation and community. Celebrate Recovery addresses that latter need, McKinley said.

“When men get out, they not only tend to go back to the same geographical area, but also tend to pick up their old friends,” he said. As a result, they often find themselves getting “back into the same stuff” that led to their previous arrest and imprisonment.

Once inmates have a release date, McKinley seeks to connect them in advance with a “family of believers” who can provide the supportive community they need.

“If they don’t already have a church home, we try to find them a church that has a Celebrate Recovery group” who will welcome them, he said.

As much as possible, McKinley seeks to encourage ex-offenders not only to be ministered to by a supportive church family—or at least a supportive Celebrate Recovery group within a larger congregation—but also to minister to men inside prison.

“Current inmates listen to guys who have been where they are now,” he said. “It’s an encouragement to them to say, ‘If they can do it, so can I.’”

DALLAS—Baptists’ emphasis on “the personal” may be the greatest gift they offer in the 21st century, ethicist Russell Moore, editor-in-chief of Christianity Today, told a group at Dallas Baptist University.

Moore—a lifelong Baptist who now worships in a nondenominational church—delivered the April 22 Baptist Distinctives Lecture, sponsored by DBU’s Center for Baptist History and Heritage.

“I am convinced that the Baptist distinctives that endure and that are most resilient are also the ones that are most needed right now,” said Moore, former president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission.

Various denominations have contributed particular emphases to the broader body of Christ, and Baptists’ greatest contribution may be their commitment to “the nature of the personal,” he said.

Baptists’ emphasis on voluntary faith, believers’ baptism, religious liberty for all people and other distinctives “boil down to the central concern that God does not bring people into the kingdom nation by nation, family by family, village by village or tribe by tribe, but one by one.”

In an individualistic culture, the tendency often is to “over-correct into a kind of collectivism,” Moore observed.

‘My name is Legion’

“In reality, the Baptist emphasis on the personal is a corrective to individualism and is actually necessary for genuine community,” he said.

Moore pointed to Jesus’ encounter with a demoniac among the tombs, as recorded in Mark 5.  Jesus asked, “What is your name?”

The demoniac responded, “My name is Legion, for we are many.”

That reply was “similar to the response of the entire world right now,” Moore observed. While isolated in many respects, people feel crowded and deprived of individual personhood.

He cited a tech specialist who has noted social media drives people into a “hive” mindset all the time. Users constantly are seeking to identify their online “tribe” and attempting to identify what they need to say to remain a part of the tribe.

“Ironically, all that connection all of the time leads to disconnection and loneliness,” Moore said.

He recalled a conversation with pastors who were speculating about why so many left the ministry in 2021 and even those who remained felt “broken” in many ways.

One of the ministers observed many people persevered through 2020, thinking things would return to “normal” after the COVID-19 pandemic ended and the election cycle was over, only to discover the old “normal” was gone.

‘Ripe for authoritarian movements’

In what passes for “normal” now, many people are trapped in a “middle-school” mentality of feeling unsure about their identity while being hyper-sensitive to what others think about them, Moore observed.

“The world is like that right now, and that means we are ripe for disintegration, for authoritarian movements, for personality cults, for every kind of attempt to fill that void,” he said.

To offer deliverance to an unclean and untouchable demoniac, Jesus had to “break with the community,” Moore said.

“Community is an important aspect of what it means to be human, and an important aspect of what it is God has put together in the church,” he said. “Community on its own, though, ultimately breaks down.”

Baptists’ emphasis on the “personal calling by name” as part of the gospel invitation helps create a healthier community, Moore observed. He lamented the loss of public altar calls.

“There was something about the altar call that spoke to every person in the congregation, even if no one responded, that said: ‘Remember you are a sinner. Remember that you—not just we, but you—are redeemed. And remember that all of your neighbors—no matter how hostile you believe them to be, no matter how far gone you believe them to be—could, in an instant, be your brother and sister in Christ. You do not give up on them,’” he said.

“It was a way of merging the individual and the community together.”

Religious liberty respects personhood

Baptists’ historic emphasis on religious liberty for all grows out of a healthy respect for individual personhood and the voluntary response of each person to the gospel, he observed.

“Religious liberty is not simply an ancillary and self-protecting idea for Baptists,” Moore said. “Religious liberty comes out of that emphasis upon the personal—upon the word Jesus has given to us, ‘You must be born again.’”

The gospel depends on an individual response to God’s call, and Christian identity is not dependent on national identity, he noted.

“The gospel cannot be applied to people like a state-issued driver’s license,” Moore said. “The state cannot regenerate a person. The state cannot make a person a Christian. The state can only make a person a pretend Christian.”

He pointed to the threat of Christian nationalism in a variety of contexts, including Vladimir Putin’s use of the Russian Orthodox Church, as well as Christian nationalist movements emerging throughout Europe and in the United States.

Christian nationalism is “not Christian orthodoxy taken to an extreme,” he asserted. “It’s instead what Christians at one time would have called ‘modernism.’ It is the idea that one can make a Christian simply by changing external circumstances, rather than having that person approach God through the mediation of the shed blood of Jesus Christ.”

Authoritarian leaders “have realized that the best way to coopt the power of personal authority is to say, ‘If you don’t obey me, you’re disobeying God,’” Moore said.

“Once you have taken a Christian understanding of reality and hollow it out, you end up with something that can be tossed aside altogether.”

‘Community needs the personal’

At their best, Baptists understand the gospel comes “conscience-to-conscience” and demands a response at the personal level, he insisted.

“Community needs the personal. You cannot refuse to see the trees for the forest,” Moore said.

Real community—where every person is viewed as a valuable contributor who is given genuine responsibility—breaks down tribalism, he asserted.

Baptists have an important message “for a 21st century that is plagued by a sense of belonging to everyone and thus belonging to no one,” he said.

“The Baptist movement has a great deal to contribute if we can remember who we are,” Moore said.

Baylor University conveyed to the Baptist General Convention of Texas the deed for a parcel of land set to house the new 12,000-square-foot Baptist Student Ministry building in an April 18 ceremony in Waco.

The property, more than an acre in size, is located at the intersection of Daughtrey Avenue and 4th Street, adjacent to the university campus.

During the ceremony, hosted in the university’s Hurd Welcome Center, Baylor President Linda Livingstone and BGCT Executive Director Julio Guarneri signed and exchanged documents to finalize the transfer of the future Baylor BSM site.

“What a significant milestone we reached,” Guarneri said. “This action demonstrates the administration’s and the university’s commitment to fostering the spiritual life of students on the Baylor campus and to a continued strong partnership between our two entities.

“We are very grateful for this gift and believe it is an investment in the kingdom of God and in eternity. We are committed to being good stewards of this trust.”

Initial $3 million goal met

In accordance with a 2023 agreement between the related institutions, Baylor agreed to convey the land to Texas Baptists once an initial fundraising threshold of $3 million was met.

Jerry Carlisle, president of Texas Baptists’ Missions Foundation, notified President Livingstone in March the campaign milestone had been achieved. Upon notification, officials worked to finalize the transfer, which culminated in handshakes and smiles at the signing.

 “Today begins an exciting chapter in the long relationship between Baylor University and the Baptist General Convention of Texas as Baylor officially conveys a parcel of land to the BGCT for construction of a new Baptist Student Ministries Building,” Livingstone said.

 “The BSM center will provide another sacred space on our campus for Baylor students to grow spiritually, know God and make him known globally. It is an honor to join Dr. Julio Guarneri for this special ceremony that upholds Baylor’s Christian mission and distinct place in higher education and further strengthens Baylor’s historic ties to Texas Baptists.”

God moving on the Baylor campus

Mark Jones, director of the Center for Collegiate Ministry with Texas Baptists, attended the signing and spoke of the Baylor BSM’s emergence and the movement of God taking place on the university campus.

“Five years ago, Baylor and Texas Baptists reaffirmed the place of Baptist Student Ministry as having priority status as a student organization at Baylor,” Jones said. “BSM leadership, working with Baylor leaders as well as numerous pastors and volunteers from local churches, has seen a historic movement of God among Baylor students.”

Jones pointed to initiatives like FM72, a four-day prayer and worship experience on campus, and Pathway, a freshman-focused discipleship initiative, as examples of God’s movement.

“The momentum of this movement of God is having an immediate impact on the experience these students have at Baylor as well as a generational impact that will be seen for years to come,” he said.

“A new building for the Baptist Student Ministry will be a vital place for training, worship and leadership collaboration.”

Seeking to raise additional $6 million

The Missions Foundation, the group tasked with coordinating the fundraising effort for the expanding campus ministry, set the total cost of the capital campaign at $7 million. An additional $2 million also is being sought to provide an operating and maintenance endowment for the expanding campus ministry.

Carlisle attended the signing, along with TBMF vice presidents Steve Massey and Eric Wyatt. He expressed appreciation to Livingstone, Baylor University and the donors who helped realize the deed conveyance.

“The Missions Foundation is profoundly grateful for the generous donors who want to see a permanent platform for Texas Baptists to share the gospel on Baylor’s campus,” Carlisle said.

“We look forward to gathering the remaining $4 million in gifts for the construction of the building, as well as $2 million to endow the operation of the building.”

Will Bowden, director of the Baylor BSM, was also present for the ceremonial transfer. In January, Bowden gathered students and leaders to pray over the property and share the vision for the new facility.

The Baylor BSM is one of 137 campus ministries coordinated by Texas Baptists.

Additional information about the Baylor BSM, including renderings of the new facility, is available here. To make a gift to support the campaign, contact Texas Baptists’ Missions Foundation at [email protected] or (214) 828-5343.

The 21st century church needs apostolic leaders for chaordic times that blend elements of chaos and order, Randel Everett told participants at the 2024 Christian Leadership Summit at Dallas Baptist University.

“We are immigrants in a brand-new world,” said Everett, a former executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas who recently retired as founding president of the 21Wilberforce human rights organization.

Rapid advances in technology and massive global migration create extraordinary opportunities and challenges for the global church, he observed.

The current context demands apostolic leaders in the church—those who believe they are sent out into the world by God with the message of hope in Christ, he asserted.

Everett contrasted the crowd in Jerusalem to whom Peter preached in Acts 2—Jews who shared a common religious background and understanding of Scripture—and those whom Paul addressed in Acts 17 on Mars Hill—Athenians who represented a wide variety of philosophies.

“We live in Athens, not in Jerusalem,” he said.

Many people today do not share a Christian worldview, but they are spiritually hungry and craving meaningful relationships in a world where they often feel isolated, he observed.

Rather than presenting logical proofs in linear fashion, non-Christians from varied backgrounds in a chaordic age respond better to narratives—personal stories, Everett noted.

Recognize citizenship in God’s kingdom

Apostolic leaders in the current context need to engage with society and seek to be positive influences in their communities and countries, he said.

However, they should recognize they are sojourners whose primary identity is as citizens of God’s kingdom, he added.

“Our ultimate authority is in Christ. Our ultimate instructions are in God’s word,” Everett said. “We should never forget our first loyalty is to Jesus Christ.”

Church leaders today need a Christian worldview that is historically grounded and global in its scope, he said. Christians in the West can learn deep lessons from fellow believers in other parts of the world who live under oppression and persecution, he asserted.

“The Bible makes sense to them because the Bible was written by persecuted people for persecuted people,” said Everett, senior fellow for religious liberty with DBU’s Institute for Global Engagement. “We should listen, and we should learn. … We are part of a global family.”

Furthermore, apostolic leaders in the 21st century need to be willing to take risks and “travel light,” so they are free and nimble to respond to rapidly changing circumstances, he said.

“We need leaders who persevere,” Everett said. “We need leaders who are single-minded—whose eyes are fixed on Jesus.”

‘Enact righteousness and justice’

Christian leaders have a responsibility to lead with righteousness and justice, said Raymond Harris, an architect and entrepreneur who has used his profits to invest in the lives of others who are committed to justice and promote sustainable community development in Africa and Asia.

“I believe righteousness and justice are sisters in the Scripture,” said Harris, senior fellow of entrepreneurship in DBU’s Institute for Global Engagement. “When righteousness prevails, there is human flourishing around leaders.”

Scripture provides examples of righteousness among “the least,” such as a widow who gave all she had to the temple treasury and a woman who demonstrated “righteous extravagant generosity” when she anointed Jesus, he noted.

Leaders not only should think about how their decisions benefit the poor and vulnerable, but also how they can learn from the poor what truly matters in God’s economy, he said.

“We can learn a lot about righteousness from the most unlikely people,” Harris said. “Those who are poor in society and low in society have a lot to teach us about leadership. You see, in God’s upside-down economy, he uses the least and the poor to demonstrate true eternal righteousness.”

Practice the Golden Rule

Leading by principles of righteousness and justice—particularly in the marketplace—means allowing the Golden Rule to govern decision-making and business deals, Harris said.

“Think of the contract negotiations you might go through someday and do it from the other side of the table,” he said. “What’s really best for the other guy? And can you live with that?”

All interpersonal dealings in the marketplace “should be marked by God’s righteous love,” he said. “And this can be demonstrated very simply by gratitude and generosity.”

Righteousness is a gift God bestows on those who submit to Christ’s lordship and allow their lives to be guided by the Holy Spirit, he explained.

“Our works on Earth develop our righteousness but do not provide our righteousness,” he said.

Harris explored the relationship between “doing and becoming” in regards to righteousness and justice.

“The more we do good works, the more we develop a character of righteousness,” he said. “Righteousness is truly a gift of God that we are to work to integrate into our daily lives by walking closely with the Holy Spirit. … Right actions develop fruit, which develop right character, and right character motivates us to perform right deeds.”

Leaders have a responsibility to empower others to pursue righteousness and justice, he asserted.

“We are to enact righteousness and justice. We are to enact righteousness so that those around us can flourish, and we are to enact justice to take care of those who cannot take care of themselves, so they, too, can experience abundant life,” he said.

“Building your leadership around righteousness and justice will provide a light to those who are in darkness, for those who need to be rescued and for those who need to be uplifted.”

Stories have power to foster empathy

In a world of “selfies” and a narcissistic preoccupation with self on social media, leaders have a responsibility to inculcate empathy both in themselves and in those who follow them, said Mary Nelson, director of the Ph.D. program in leadership studies at DBU’s Gary Cook School of Leadership.

“Leaders need empathy,” Nelson said, noting how compassion fatigue and psychic numbing can contribute to a sense of hopelessness.

Jesus modeled “the power of the story,” and leaders have a responsibility to be open to learning from stories, she said.

“How can we lead diverse populations if we don’t take time to learn their stories?” she asked. “As leaders, we can’t afford to be numb.”

Studies demonstrate employees prosper when they work with empathetic leaders who are person-focused and sensitive to different cultures, she said.

“Reading can broaden our awareness of the world beyond our phones and beyond ourselves and deepen our empathy,” said Nelson, a professor of English.

Literature can “expand the scope of our empathy” by introducing readers to people, cultures and experiences beyond their own lives, she observed.

Fiction offers the opportunity to “delve into the unfamiliar,” and it “humanizes experiences” that may be personally unfamiliar to the reader, she noted.

“I really believe fiction helps you to read the world better,” she said. “It helps you to be more sensitive to the world around you.

“Let’s never forget that we are called to ‘weep with those who weep.’ We must seek ways to penetrate compassion fatigue. The hurting world needs love, and it needs Christ so much.

“So, I would encourage you to allow fiction to awaken the empathy within and see people and worlds you have yet to explore.”

DALLAS—God uses Christian leaders who learn to boast in their weakness and in God’s strength, a Fort Worth pastor told participants at the Christian Leadership Summit.

In 2 Corinthians 12, the Apostle Paul wrote about how an unnamed “thorn in the flesh” taught him to boast in anything that spotlighted God’s power in his life and ministry, Dale Braswell told a breakout session during the April 18-19 summit at Dallas Baptist University.

As pastor at Wedgwood Baptist Church in Fort Worth—a congregation still impacted by a mass shooting that occurred 17 years before Braswell arrived—he noted “brokenness and weakness are cousins.”

Brokenness generally occurs as something “done to you” that ultimately “has a resolution,” while weakness tends to be innate and lasting, he noted. However, he observed, the two are closely related.

“Brokenness can give greater insight into our weakness,” he said.

Braswell, who earned his doctorate in leadership studies at DBU, pointed to “abiding in Christ” as a foundational truth for leaders who recognize their own weakness. Those leaders understand their fruitfulness depends entirely on being rooted in Christ, he observed.

Christian leaders who acknowledge their weakness learn to practice spiritual disciplines as ways to stay connected to Christ, particularly as they are inundated by the “noise and busyness” of work, he noted.

“Spend more time on fewer things,” Braswell suggested, noting effective Christian leaders learn to “make space” for time with God.

‘Rely on other people’

Effective leaders who recognize their weakness and limitations know they need help and willingly accept it, Braswell added.

“Rely on other people,” he urged.

Leaders who risk appearing vulnerable to those whom they lead earn their trust, he noted.

Good leaders who honestly assess their weaknesses also learn to listen to others, Braswell said.

“Wisdom is all around us,” he said.

Effective leaders who boast in their weakness learn to wait, no matter how hard that may be, Braswell observed. Scripture clearly teaches God works on behalf of those who wait on him, he noted.

“Use that waiting time to pray,” he advised.

Be a ‘servant first’

A leader who knows his weaknesses and has a submissive heart toward God is a “servant first,” Braswell said.

Christian leaders who find their identity and calling in Christ serve others, learning to value the needs and interests of others above their own, he said. Servant leaders willingly share responsibility and authority with others, empowering them to develop and grow, he continued.

Servant leaders are not viewed as a threat by their peers or considered unapproachable by their followers, Braswell noted.

“Instead, they are perceived as a source of encouragement, care and support,” he said.

PLAINVIEW—Karen Bullock explored Baptist beginnings, heritage and challenges, calling for renewed housekeeping, as the Baptist historian addressed the William Pinson Lecture Series audience April 10 at Wayland Baptist University.

Using Psalm 48:13-14 as her backdrop, Bullock presented This Old House at 415: Letters from the Family—approaching 415 years of Baptist history through the context of a house.

“Baptists were not always a sprawling, flourishing family. In our early days, we were immigrants,” she said as she spoke of the “time of great upheaval” and “much suffering” that led to the beginning of the Baptist faith.

“They were bound by law to accept their monarch’s changing doctrines about God, salvation, baptism and ultimate authority,” Bullock said. “They had no choices. They were arrested, fined and even put to death for questioning. 

“Religious freedom? There was none. Baptists emerged in this volatile, chaotic time, knowing both the hope and the cost of following Christ. … They founded the first Baptist church, based upon believer’s baptism, in 1609 and wrote letters—our family letters—to explain their actions.”

“Baptists could not worship together except in attic-garret-rooms,” she continued. “The family left records, letters, to tell us what happened. … These relatives in our family story knew that in order to find life they had to lose it; that the call of Christ to follow him meant obedience, even though faithfulness guaranteed neither safety nor mortal life itself.”

Bullock described the “Baptist house” as a hexagon, identifying six clusters of beliefs—authority of Scripture alone, believer’s baptism, the priesthood of all believers, the separation of church and state, local church autonomy, and support for missions, evangelism and social Christianity.

Six clusters of belief

“The authority of Scripture identifier stands in contradistinction to creeds, dogmas, culture, reason, traditions or science,” she said. “This tenet includes the trinitarian Godhead, the person and work of Christ—virgin-born, sinless life, death, burial and resurrection, and bodily second coming—and salvation by grace through faith alone.”

Bullock said the second cluster, believer’s baptism, derives from the authority of Scripture and has two aspects—meaning and mode.

“Baptism takes place following repentance and confession of faith in Jesus Christ. It is a sign of obedience to Christ. It symbolizes Christ’s Lordship over our lives. It is a true identifier, as opposed to infant baptism,” she said. “Baptism is a picture of salvation—death, burial and resurrection.”

Addressing the third cluster, the priesthood of all believers, Bullock said this doctrine “does not support human self-sufficiency, independence from Scripture or moral ability apart from Christ.” She added that it does mean “no human priest is needed to intercede for us in matters of personal faith or for forgiveness of sin.”

Bullock focused on the “God-given right of all creatures to respond to their Creator without coercion” as she turned to the fourth identifier—separation of church and state.

“To persecute another for religious belief cuts across the biblical teaching that true faith is personal and voluntary,” she said.

Speaking to local church autonomy, the fifth cluster, Bullock said, “This belief derives from the Scriptural teaching that the Holy Spirit resides in each believer’s life, giving spiritual gifts for the church, empowering, transforming, revealing truth to believers—individually and corporately—and desiring the unity of the church.”

Bullock said “salvation has both individual and corporate dimensions” as she addressed the sixth identifier of missions, evangelism and social Christianity.

“We cannot support evangelism while ignoring hurting people. Neither can physical, emotional, educational, medical or human needs be addressed holistically without the gospel message,” she said. “Three essential elements are at work in this cluster: evangelism, church planting and discipleship, and social justice ministries.”

The bones are still solid

Bullock addressed concerns, noting, “Standing on the curb across from the Baptist home, one can mark the changes the years have brought—not all of them positive.”

 She said as time has evolved “specialized groups of Baptists have emphasized one or more of our clusters of beliefs. They have added rooms, erected sheds, cleared tent spaces in the back lawns, added upper stories, pushed walls out to the sides, and from some perspectives, caused this old house to be all but unrecognizable.”

She also said not all spaces in the Baptist house are characterized as wholesome.

“Some have been, and still are shady, unethical, even immoral, and can hardly be said to align with Christian biblical values today or the six clusters for which Baptists have historically stood,” she said. “Ugly graffiti has been sprayed on our house’s walls—letters we wish were not there.”

Addressing challenges, Bullock said, “During the demolition phase, walls come down and foundations are laid bare. The negligence of the occupants, over time, is exposed. The stability of the foundation is assessed. The debris may then be cleared away, and the renovation may take place.”

This demolition has taken place and is continuing, she said.

“What the process has revealed is that … the six cluster-sided-foundation and bones of this old house at 415 Baptist Way are still solid,” she said. 

“This large, worldwide family that lives here still agrees on and adheres to the six clusters upon which it has stood for more than four centuries….  Diversity? Yes, indeed. Historically focused on the gospel? Yes. Growing and taking steps forward? Yes. Perfect? No. We still fall short of God’s glory and purposes.”

“Could we allow God to do some serious and thorough spring cleaning? Could we, as a family, bow in humility, and be willing for his reconstruction, renovation, and reformation?” she asked. “It would not require burning down, giving up, or abandoning the Baptist house, or what we believe historically to be right—this six-sided foundation.”

Concluding, Bullock said: “May we determine afresh to demolish self-centeredness, pride and power schemes. … May we expose once again the beautiful beams of this old house to support, in even greater measure, true discipleship, missions, justice and untainted gospel witness. May we dust the chandeliers so that the light from within our house may shine to the world.

“Letters from this old house beckon us from its very foundations,” Bullock said as she quoted Psalm 127:1—“Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.”

The annual William Pinson Lecture Series rotates among nine educational institutions affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas and is designed to bring awareness of Baptist heritage and distinctiveness. 

Bullock served as distinguished professor of Christian heritage and director of the Ph.D. program at B.H. Carrol Theological Seminary from 2007 until her retirement in 2023.

CHICAGO (RNS)—Frederick D. Haynes III, who succeeded Jesse Jackson as president of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, has resigned suddenly from leading the Chicago-based civil rights organization.

“After continual prayer and deliberation, I have decided to step down from the position of Chief Executive Officer and President of Rainbow Push Coalition (RPC), effective immediately,” Haynes said in a statement issued April 16 on Rainbow PUSH letterhead.

Haynes, the pastor of Friendship-West Baptist Church in Dallas for four decades, could not be reached immediately for additional comment.

In a video statement, he called his work succeeding Jackson a “signal honor” but said it was time for him to continue his work in a different way.

“I felt it necessary, in light of the huge challenges faced by our community, in light of the challenges faced by this nation and world during this consequential year, to move in a different direction,” he said in the video statement posted on Instagram.

“I will continue the fight for justice. I will continue to be a prophetic witness. I will just do it in another lane while continuing to honor the work of Rainbow PUSH and Rev. Jackson.”

The Associated Press reported Jackson said Rainbow PUSH had accepted the resignation of Haynes and said they would continue as “partners in the fight for peace, civil rights and economic justice.”

He said his son, Yusef Jackson, would continue in his role as the chief operating officer of Rainbow PUSH.

In July, when the transfer of leadership was announced, the elder Jackson said he would continue to be part of its work.

“I am looking forward to this next chapter where I will continue to focus on economic justice, mentorship, and teaching ministers how to fight for social justice,” he said in a statement at the time. “I will still be very involved in the organization and am proud that we have chosen Rev. Dr. Haynes as my successor.”

Haynes, who is triply aligned with the National Baptist Convention U.S.A. Inc., Progressive National Baptist Convention Inc. and American Baptist Churches USA, told Religion News Service in a July interview he was comfortable adding the additional role.

“I don’t know that it will be that much of a new juggle, because I’ve been blessed to pastor Friendship-West for 40 years, and we have built a solid infrastructure,” he said at the time. “I have a great staff, a wonderful church, quite supportive. And the work I’ll be doing at Rainbow Push is, in reality, a larger platform of work I’ve always been doing.”

‘Helped stabilize Rainbow PUSH’

Al Sharpton, president of the National Action Network, lauded Haynes’ work in a statement posted on social media and said he appreciated his colleague’s contributions to Rainbow PUSH.

“As someone who has been a student and mentee of Rev. Jesse Jackson since I was 12 years old, words cannot express my gratitude to Rev. Haynes for sharing his time away from his mammoth ministry and youth church responsibilities,” Sharpton said.

“He has helped stabilize Rainbow PUSH as Rev. Jackson’s health became more challenging. As Rev. Haynes returns to his full-time work in his unparalleled … social justice ministry, which is needed more than ever in a crucial election year, I look forward to working shoulder-to-shoulder with him to preserve the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rev. Jesse Louis Jackson.”

The coalition’s history dates to 1966, when Martin Luther King Jr. appointed Jackson to direct the Southern Christian Leadership Conference’s Operation Breadbasket in Chicago, boycotting white businesses that did not employ Black Americans.

In 1971, Jackson founded PUSH (which first stood for People United to Save Humanity and later, People United to Serve Humanity), according to the coalition’s website.

In 1996, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition formed from the merger of PUSH with the National Rainbow Coalition, creating a civil rights organization with an aim for economic and educational equality.

Pastor Felix Treviño knew the metric stating a healthy church should have one baptism per year for every 15 people in average worship attendance, but First Baptist Church of Mathis simply was not seeing God move in that way.

Treviño became pastor of First Baptist in Mathis last August. When he arrived, the church was running about 30 in attendance and was not reaching its changing community of about 5,000 effectively.

Despite being a 25-minute drive from his home in Calallen, he took on the challenge of leading the struggling congregation, because he sensed the people there were open to change.

“They wanted to rebuild and give back to the community,” he said. “It was predominantly an Anglo church originally, but they are in a mostly Hispanic area, and they wanted a younger, bivocational pastor with more of a missional mindset. Being a church planter, that transitioned well for me.”

Treviño signed up to attend a Pave church revivalization workshop offered by Texas Baptists’ Center for Church Health. In February, he joined a cohort to work through Pave principles of church revitalization with other pastors in similar situations.

Within a month, the church began to see results.

Highlighting baptism

“When we left the cohort, [director of Church Health and Growth] Jonathan Smith said: ‘Don’t microwave the brisket. You can’t rush this process, but there were things you can do already,’” Treviño recalled. “We had one woman who wanted to be baptized. So, we implemented the plan for baptism that Jonathan had shared with us.”

Smith’s baptism plan included three phases: show a video of the woman answering three questions about her salvation the week before her baptism, baptize her the following week, and then show a celebratory video of her baptism one week later.

Treviño modified the plan to fit his congregation and made sure the woman being baptized was comfortable with it.

“She’s a new member of the church,” Treviño said. “And since then, our church has been really ecstatic about seeing growth happen.”

Treviño said no one in the church could remember when the baptismal waters at the church in Mathis had been stirred. A 2017 Facebook post from the church was the last instance of a baptism they could find, meaning it had been at least 2,429 days since their last baptism.

‘Alive and active again’

The new baptism sparked a flame across their small community.

“Using the baptism allowed us to promote that the church was alive and active again,” said Treviño. “We shared the video on Facebook and with local community groups. The area Baptist association shared as well, and that helped people to get excited about what God was doing.”

The church already is planning the next such celebration. Treviño’s sermon on obedience to God stirred something within a man who had been attending for about a year and was seeking truth.

“One man came up and said he wanted to surrender to Christ and be baptized as well. There’s impact already,” Treviño said. “He had been searching for a while and had grown a lot in the past few months. Seeing that really pushed him to make that commitment.”

While that first baptism was a catalyst, Treviño said, additional growth has occurred as he’s implemented many familiar church planting techniques in addition to the baptism emphasis since his arrival.

He contacted community leaders, including the Mathis Economic Development group, and expressed the church’s interest in getting involved. The congregation participated in a local parade and a Trunk or Treat event that attracted around 2,000 community members. They connected with the local school district to deliver Bibles and met with area business leaders. Already, church attendance has grown to about 60.

“We went big on social media and utilized that free resource to reach the younger generation. We have a basketball court in our parking lot, and we share that with a youth team in our neighborhood. So, we’re starting to connect with the community and meet the physical and spiritual needs of people here,” Treviño said.

Committed to church growth

As a bivocational pastor, Treviño works full-time as a firefighter for the local refinery. He’s also a firearms instructor who regularly holds church security trainings.

He and his wife Sara also operate one of the largest outdoor markets in South Texas, attracting more than 100 vendors and food trucks every other month.

Still, they are committed to seeing the church in Mathis grow, as nearly the entire family serves in some capacity. Son Ryan, a senior who will attend Wayland Baptist University in the fall, leads worship and plays guitar. The Treviños also have a sophomore son, Zach; an eighth-grade daughter, Skylar; and a niece living with them who is a high school senior.

“We’re excited about the process, and we haven’t even started scratching the surface of what we want to do,” Treviño said.

“The most beneficial thing about Pave is the structured process. For someone bivocational like me, I need that structure and the accountability of my cohort group.”

GATESVILLE—Coryell Community Church welcomed around 600 guests to its Gatesville campus for an Eclipse at the Crosses watch party on April 8, to anticipate and experience together the awe of totality. 

Lead Pastor Eric Moffett said most “were from out of town, out of state, and even out of country.” 

Visitors hailed from “New Jersey, California, Washington, Oregon and all points in between” Moffett said, adding he believes the furthest anyone traveled was probably a couple who came from Milan, Italy.

“You do not have a chance very often for the world to come to you, and we did not want to miss that” Moffett said. 

Moffett learned about the large number of totality-seeking visitors anticipated to flock to Texas for this eclipse over a year ago. He immediately recognized the opportunity it would be to have an outreach—“to do something for our community and for our visitors,” he said.

“We’re a community-focused church, and so, we understand our role to be living out the presence of the gospel right here in Gatesville,” he said. “So, we try to share our resources, our campus, everything we have with our community.” 

Moffett explained the church is situated in the perfect location to do something like host a watch party for an eclipse. The campus has a set of three crosses, one 70-foot and two 60-foot, and it overlooks the city of Gatesville.

He knew it would be a prime spot where people would have a great view of the sky and the city. Guests would have plenty of space to spread out around the campus and relax for the day.

An easy sell to share the love of Jesus

“Coryell Community Church is quick to take risks, if it means we’re going to have a chance to share the love of Jesus with somebody,” Moffett said.

So, he brought his idea to church staff and elders, noting: “It wasn’t a hard sell. Everybody was on board immediately.”

The church began planning and putting together the events of the day. And it took pretty much the whole year to pull it all together, Moffett said.

In the end, the church offered access to its playground and gaga ball pit, cornhole, volleyball, horseshoes, crafts and other activities for children and families.

The congregation brought in food trucks from Gatesville and Waco. They also provided live music and entertainment by Christian comedian Adam Bush.

While the church didn’t offer guests overnight parking, they did offer clean restroom facilities to everyone who was registered.

“It went fantastic,” Moffett said.

Once visitors decided to travel to Central Texas to view the eclipse, they looked online for related events in the target area. The church had its event registration up and running on their webpage in January. Moffett said it really started filling up in the past month.

 “A lot of them said they came to us because they were Christian, or they were looking for a family-focused environment,” Moffett said.

Building personal connections

Since people were spread out all through the campus and the aim was for a welcoming low-key environment, the church opted to have volunteers fan out to meet the guests and talk with them versus offering any sort of call to commitment.

Church leaders did offer a time together at the crosses. And right before totality, they shared the gospel from their main stage. Immediately after totality, they held a time of worship and welcomed people to join them, Moffett said.

Each guest received a handout with a map and contact information to reach out if they felt like God was stirring them and they wanted to respond.

The church already has heard from a couple of families who expressed how much they appreciated the event and the spirit they felt while they were there, including most recently, one family from the Bay Area of California, Moffett said.

Coryell Community Church has contact information for those who registered and will reach out to them by email.

Everyone volunteers spoke with was so grateful to the church for offering the event and appreciated the lengths to which the congregation went to welcome them. 

Prayerfully, Coryell Community Church expects the materials and information each family received when they arrived will develop into more contacts and opportunities for spiritual conversations, Moffett said.

And, he added, they trust the Spirit will use that connection in the coming days.

During spring break, 199 student volunteers from 10 churches completed 11 construction projects through Bounce student disaster recovery, a ministry of Texas Baptists.

Projects included hanging drywall and insulation, painting, installing flooring, demolition and other miscellaneous construction in Houston and Katy.

Residents there continue to recover from the devastating effects of Winter Storm Uri in 2021 and Hurricane Harvey in 2017.

David Scott, director of Bounce, estimated the student volunteers—known as “bouncers”—contributed 2,640 hours of labor over two work days.

Though the results largely were tangible, some transcended the temporal. During their service at multiple sites across town, students recorded 16 spiritual conversations, nine gospel presentations and one decision to follow Christ.

Cultivating a love for missions

Scott noted the importance of seeing young people grow in missions when serving others beyond the church’s walls.

“The thing for me is seeing those kids, seeing that love for missions and ministry cultivated in their lives,” Scott said. “That’s the big win.”

“We have the opportunity to create kids that are going to be missional for life,” he said. “The opportunity to be missional is all around you.”

Palmer Jones, youth minister at First Baptist Church in Stockdale, similarly described the importance of instilling a heart for missions in his students.

“We have so many hearers of the word but not doers,” he said. “I want my youth ministry to be marked by that, by doers.”

While it was initially difficult to recruit students for service over spring break, Jones noted it was just the right time for his group to serve.

“I’m convicted that serving Christ rarely comes with convenience,” he said. “Rather, it is sacrificial. If you give God just three days of your spring break, God is going to bless that.”

Jones saw his students give up their comforts to help others in need.

“I want to teach these students you are going to have to give things up to follow Christ,” he said. “Christ is worthy of that sacrifice.”

Bouncers tallied 42 acts of kindness in Houston and Katy, and additional groups will return to the city later in the year to complete more projects.

Student disaster recovery and church planting trips are scheduled for June and July. Student disaster recovery trips will visit Lake Charles, La., and Mora County, N.M. Student church planting trips will take place in Fort Worth and Seattle, Wash.

Summer trips will include mission work, Bible study time, and worship and speakers each evening. The trips are purposefully pre-packaged so student leaders can focus on their students and serving others.

On the final night of First Baptist Stockdale’s Bounce trip, before heading back home, Jones told his students the mission experience would always stand out.

“You will never forget this trip because what you have done is eternal,” Jones said. “It is kingdom work.”