African-American Baptists urged to be ready for spiritual warfare

Howard E. Anderson, pastor of Singing Hills Baptist Church in Dallas, challenges the Culp Banquet audience to be armed and ready to stand against the devil’s schemes.

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FORT WORTH—A Dallas pastor called on African-American Texas Baptists to be armed and ready for spiritual warfare.

culp banquet singers425Women from the choir at First Missionary Baptist Church in Fort Worth perform during the 22nd Annual Culp Banquet. (PHOTOS/Texas Baptist Communications)Howard E. Anderson, pastor of Singing Hills Baptist Church in Dallas, addressed the annual James W. Culp Banquet, held in conjunction with the African-American Fellowship and Evangelism Conference in Fort Worth.

“When you have an invisible enemy, you don’t have time to get ready. You have to already be ready,” he said. “When we put on the whole armor, we are ready for wherever he is.”

In spite of Satan’s temptations and inevitable struggles, Christians have access to a power capable of handling all situations, Anderson said. He encouraged African-American Texas Baptists to turn to the Holy Spirit, the Bible and the blood of Christ to fight against the devil’s schemes.

“I want you to get out where the strongholds are,” he said. “I want you to go and make disciples. I want you to baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.”

The choir from First Missionary Baptist Church in Fort Worth performed at the banquet, named in honor of the longtime coordinator of black church development for the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

Eighty African-American churches related to the BGCT when Culp, who attended the banquet with his family, started work with the state convention. When he retired 18 years later in 2001, the number had grown to more than 700.

“We’re further than we’ve ever been, and we’re going further than we are tonight,” Oscar Epps, president of the African-American Fellowship, told participants at the banquet. “But we cannot do it by ourselves. …Together, we can do more than any of us can do alone.”


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