Fort Worth pastor calls Texas Baptists to find motivation in giving God glory

AMARILLO—Texas Baptists should find hope and motivation in the glory of God, James Hassell told the Baptist General Convention of Texas annual meeting.

Hassell, pastor of preaching and pastoral care at Agape Baptist Church in Fort Worth, preached the BGCT convention sermon, based on Colossians 3:12-17.

The glory of God should be Texas Baptists’ highest motivation, Fort Worth pastor James Hassell told the Baptist General Convention of Texas annual meeting in Amarillo. (PHOTO/Eric Guel)

Many people today subscribe to a philosophy best expressed by the late Steve Jobs, Hassell said. In a 2005 commencement speech at Stanford University, the co-founder of Apple Computers said: "You have to trust in something—your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life."

This "trust-your-gut philosophy" is not enough, Hassell said. Rather than living on karma and relying on destiny, individuals should realize Jesus wants to transform Christians' instincts and intuitions to align with his will by the power of the Holy Spirit.

"There has to be then something more to what drives our hope and what motivates us in life than what we consider to be our destiny," Hassell said.

"I would submit to you in light of the text in Colossians, the glory of God must be the highest motivating factor of our lives."

Hassell recalled the legacy of hope in Christ and motivation of the Baptist forefathers who established the first Baptist churches, association and institutions in Texas in the 1800s. He pointed to notable figures in Baptist history such as George W. Truett, J.B. Gambrell, J.M. Dawson, B.H. Carroll, R.C. Buckner and R.E.B. Baylor.

"In fact, it was Dr. Truett whose hope in the Lord fortified even this convention at crucial times in our history," he said. "Dr. Truett said, 'A church that is not missionary is not worth the ground on which it stands.' It's that missional, outward-looking, sustaining hope in the head of the church that motivates us.

"The hope of the Lord Jesus Christ has sustained this convention and the hope of Christ will change and continue to sustain this convention," he continued. "But I will submit to you that our motivation to give glory to God will sustain us, not because of our denominationalism, not because of the way we do things the way that they've always been done, not just because of the fact that we're a free convention.

"No, the hope of Christ motivates us because the Lord has placed in our hearts that truth that every believer in Christ—man, woman, black, Hispanic, Anglo—all have the privilege and responsibility to be a priest to our neighbors."