CANADIAN (BP)—Pastor Bob Bynum, 77, has become somewhat of a rancher’s helper, wrestling cattle at times and helping when needed among the 20 or so ranchers who worship at Locust Grove Baptist Church.

The Smokehouse Creek Fire, the largest in Texas history, came within a mile of a church member’s ranch, Bynum told Baptist Press March 1, but none of the church’s members have reported any direct losses.

“We have about 60 families that are devastated in one way or another” in Canadian, a 1.3-square-mile community of about 2,400 people and the only incorporated community in Hemphill County. “I think we’ve lost 40 homes.”

At least two people have died in the flames. The Smokehouse Creek Fire covers more than 1 million acres, or 1,600 square miles, in Texas and Oklahoma and is 15 percent contained, the Texas A&M Forest Service reported March 1. It is only one of several fires driven by parched land and high winds in the two states.

Pastor and volunteer

Bynum was on standby at First Baptist Church of Canadian, a Southern Baptist Disaster Relief staging area, awaiting his assignment in the early stages of the response. He’s also a disaster relief chaplain for Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster and is active in the multidenominational Canadian Ministerial Alliance.

“For me personally, it’s heartbreaking,” Bynum said, “and yet exciting that I can be a part of doing something positive to put people in a better frame of mind, pray for them and minister to their physical and spiritual needs.

“It’s really exciting on that level, and yet, our heart has kind of sunk.”

Bynum and his wife were able to remain in place in their parsonage when Canadian was evacuated Feb. 28, as a rancher and volunteer firefighter who attends the church kept them updated on the flames’ path. The fire came within six miles of the church, his wife Betty said.

Texans on Mission and Southern Baptist Disaster Relief units reported responses in Texas and Oklahoma as early as Feb. 28 and 29.

Surveying damage this morning, Bynum encountered seven burned homes and lots of stubble where grass once grew. But he also saw volunteers hauling trash and delivering hay to feed cattle. Ranches the fire spared are housing cattle that fled the flames.

“It’s really good to see so many people actively involved, not just Baptists but citywide,” he said. “People comforting each other and being there for each other. I’ve seen that firsthand.”

Relief efforts continue

Bynum described Locust Grove’s members as generous and benevolent. A Locust Grove family is providing shelter to a family who lost their home in the fire, Bynum said. Betty is working with ranchers to coordinate grocery donations. Locust Grove Baptist will likely serve as a staging area to receive hay donations as recovery continues, Betty said.

In Fritch, about 90 miles southwest of Canadian, Texans on Mission Disaster Relief Director David Wells reported Feb. 29 that 100 or so homes were destroyed or damaged.

Weather conditions will remain favorable for wildfires through the weekend, according to weather reports. The Top O’ Texas Baptist Association serves 68 congregations in the Panhandle.

(DALLAS)—To lead like Jesus, we must look like Jesus—see and perceive people and situations the way Jesus sees them; smell like sheep—be close enough to the people we work with to know their needs; and serve like the Savior—submitting to the Holy Spirit and serving until it hurts, Brent Thomason, dean of the Dallas Baptist University Graduate School of Ministry, told attendees of DBU’s Nexus Ministry Leadership Conference Feb. 26.

There is a “dearth of godly leadership in church today,” Thomason said. From scandals to sexual abuse cases to narcissistic pastors, “the church is simply hurting from bad leadership and hungry for godly leadership.”

Leading with Jesus’ heart

Starting from the unexpected point of benediction, “May you always be covered by the dust of your rabbi,” David Coffey, past president of Baptist World Alliance and conference keynote speaker, said, taking his cue from Luke 4:14-30.

Ancient rabbis were followed through dirt streets. Their followers, eager to hear what the rabbis had to say, kept so close the dust stirred up by the rabbi’s sandals covered their clothes, Coffey said.

Noting Jesus is our rabbi, Coffey’s prayer was that “the dust of his teachings would fall on” and cover conference attendees. 

Coffey called on the church to face the world, because God had good news in Jesus for all the “hopeless cases” during his ministry and to all the hopeless cases still around today.

“Jesus is the cure for spiritual blindness. In a world of conspiracy theories, Jesus said, ‘I am the way,’” Coffey said.

Referring to Jesus’ quote of Isaiah 61, Coffey said the congregation listening to Jesus would have loved a verse on vengeance Jesus chose to leave out.

Instead of vengeance for Zion, Jesus spoke of Elijah saving one Gentile woman and Elisha cleansing one Gentile leper, making the crowd so angry they sought to throw Jesus off a cliff. 

“Do you really share God’s heart?” Coffey asked.

Coffey said the church should display godly courage. “If you can find a place where Jesus played it safe in Scripture,” let me know, he said. 

“If God asks you to take courage, don’t worry about the consequences. The greatest advances in the church are always carried out by a few,” Coffey said. 

Luke’s story of Jesus’ reception in Nazareth doesn’t end when he’s chased out of town, but rather “at the contrast of his reception in Capernaum and what happens when he got to where people did receive him,” Coffey said.

In his second keynote, Coffey considered the story of Lazarus’ death in John 11.

When Jesus got to Bethany, he did not run past Mary and Martha but gave each time, Coffey noted. Pastors should follow Jesus’ lead, and give God time, not running into a crisis too quickly, he added.

Models of leadership

A moderated panel discussion followed the keynote.

Panel members included: Adam Wright, DBU president; Randall Everett, past executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas and 21Wilberforce founding president; Raquel Contreras, director of Editorial Mundo Hispano (Baptist Spanish Publishing House) and past president of Baptist Union of Churches in Chile; Oscar Epps, founding pastor of Community Missionary Baptist Church in DeSoto and BGCT past president; and Gary Cook, DBU chancellor.

“If we don’t trust God in all the little things and big things, then we are just a company, [versus a ministry],” Contreras said.

DBU faculty and staff and other denominational leaders led breakout session during the conference. These sessions included crisis leadership, leading diverse generations, leadership and mentoring, leading change, and leading in transitional times.

DBU will host a Christian Leadership Summit, April 18-19, geared toward corporate leadership as well as ministry.

The Texas Panhandle is burning, and TBM: Texans on Mission is rushing volunteers and water to the scene.

“This is devastating. Our volunteers live all over Texas, and those in the Panhandle quickly responded,” said David Wells, Texans on Mission Disaster Relief Director. “They were in Fritch Tuesday night as the city evacuated and about 100 homes were damaged or destroyed.”

Texans on Mission volunteers beyond the Panhandle are now heading to the scene. A mobile Command Center and staff are en route, as well as two shower/laundry units and assessors.

“This is the first wave,” Wells said. “The Command Center provides a communications hub for our volunteers so we can put them in the best position to serve. The assessors are in the field gathering specific information for our volunteer teams, and the shower/laundry units will serve Texas Task Force 1 and others over a multi-day deployment.”

Baptist association affected

“It is now  Day Three in what is called the Smokehouse Creek Fire, the second largest  fire in Texas History,” Les Griffin, Caprook Plains Baptist Association director of missions, wrote in an email to his association.

“As of Thursday morning, [reports] are saying it is still only 3 percent contained. … Towns such as Stinnett, Canadian, Fritch, Borger and yes to western Oklahoma have been ravaged,” Griffin added.

By Thursday afternoon, Associated Press reported the Smokehouse Creek Fire had grown to the largest in Texas history, having merged with another fire and covering nearly 1,700 square miles.

More help on the way

Additional Texans on Mission units are on standby and expected to be deployed soon – fire/flood recovery, feeding, chaplain, heavy equipment, chainsaw, asset protection, electronic support, box and others.

Thursday morning, pallets of bottled water left Texans on Mission’s Dallas headquarters headed to the Panhandle.

Mickey Lenamon, executive director/CEO, asked Texans to pray for the people living and suffering through this disaster. And he asked people to also pray for TBM volunteers.

“This is a dangerous situation,” Lenamon said. “The days ahead will require long hours of service in a sensitive situation. People have lost everything they own. They’re looking for help. But they’re also looking for hope for the days ahead.”

“Please pray that Texans on Mission volunteers can provide the practical help people need and can point people to Christ, who brings hope and healing. Whether you are on a team serving or are praying from your home, each of us has a role when Texans on Mission responds after a disaster” said Lenamon.

To support Texans on Mission’s response financially, visit tbmtx.org/panhandle.

With additional reporting by Baptist Standard News Writer Calli Keener.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article has been edited for length. You can read the complete article at The Texas Tribune.

Texas regulators recently authorized a company to operate ponds to store and recycle millions of gallons of oilfield wastewater laced with toxic chemicals next to a Baptist camp in the Permian Basin.

The Richards Recycling Facility will store, treat and recycle produced water, a byproduct of oil and gas drilling, after obtaining a state permit on Jan. 30. Staff and board members at the Circle 6 Baptist Camp worry the facility will jeopardize their well water and expose campers to hazardous air pollution.

“I would be very alarmed if I was working at that Baptist Center,” said Dominic DiGiulio, a geoscientist who retired after a 25-year career at the Environmental Protection Agency and now consults for nongovernmental organizations. “It’s a kind of chemical stew that’s going into these ponds.”

The company says the facility is necessary as drillers seek to reuse the wastewater instead of injecting it underground.

Researchers have found produced water in the Permian Basin contains radionuclides, volatile organic compounds like benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene and xylene—also referred to as BETX—and extremely high salt content. The open ponds of produced water would be just 500 feet from the camp.

These chemicals can cause headaches after brief exposure, and more prolonged exposure has been linked to neurological damage and cancer.

DiGiulio explained that these VOCs will vaporize into gas.

“And then these VOCs … are going to be moving downwind,” he said.

Failure to notify

While produced water ponds have been linked to groundwater contamination in Texas, Pennsylvania and California, regulations in Texas lag behind other states. Facilities automatically receive air quality permits from Texas regulators if they fit certain criteria, though neighbors often complain about harmful air pollutants once pits are operating.

State rules require companies to notify the Railroad Commission before beginning construction on stationary recycling facilities. Martin Water didn’t notify the Commission when construction began.

The Railroad Commission still issued Martin Water’s operating permit, even as the agency prepares to adopt stricter rules for oil and gas waste facilities for the first time in decades. The draft rules include setbacks that would require commercial recycling facilities to be at least 1,000 feet from residences.

Martin Water, based in Midland, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Railroad Commission spokesperson Patty Ramon said the permit application fulfilled the agency’s requirements for groundwater protection and protecting the public from hydrogen sulfide exposure, but she did not address the company’s failure to notify the Commission when construction began on the facility, as required in State Rule 4.289.

Lawyers for Circle 6 Baptist Camp declined to comment.

Circle 6 challenges decision

Most produced water in Texas is injected back underground in disposal wells. But since these wells have been linked to earthquakes, the Railroad Commission has restricted where oil and gas companies can inject produced water. The race is on to recycle more of it.

Martin Water Midstream is one of a growing cohort of companies that transport, store and recycle produced water. In 2022, the company broke ground at Richards Ranch next to Circle 6 Baptist Camp in Martin County.

The recycling facility will receive produced water via pipeline, treat it for reuse and then return it to drillers. The pits were dug and lined in 2022, but Martin Water has not yet transported produced water to the facility.

At a July 2023 hearing before an administrative law judge, Martin Water Midstream CEO Stephen Johnson testified they began construction in April or May 2022, because that’s when contractors who could do the work were available. He acknowledged they were “taking a risk” in building without an operating permit.

By the summer, Circle 6 Camp Executive Director Brian Colbath was well aware of the construction next door, which stirred up dust that blew over the camp. Colbath, his wife and their four children live full time at Circle 6.

The camp hosts conferences and retreats year-round and welcomes hundreds of youth campers during the summer. Circle 6 has served Baptist churches in the Permian Basin for seven decades and moved to its current location in 1959.

“This summer, we received multiple complaints from our groups and churches about the dirt pollution coming through camp,” Colbath wrote in an email to a representative of Martin Water in summer 2022, according to testimony at a later hearing.

“I appreciate the efforts to recycle water and save the environment but not sure why it has come at the cost of the kids and the senior adults that use our facilities,” he continued.

With the ponds already constructed, Martin Water submitted an application for an operating permit to the Railroad Commission on July 20, 2022. According to agency records, a Railroad Commission inspector visited the site the previous day and found it to be in compliance. The agency spokesperson did not respond to questions about what prompted this inspection.

Colbath and other camp staff and board members wrote letters to the Railroad Commission to formally protest the application and retained lawyers. The letters acknowledged the importance of local oil and gas drilling but questioned why the facility was located so close to a kids’ camp.

“We have so many concerns with this recycling facility dealing with ‘non-hazardous’ produced water,” Colbath wrote. “That sounds like an oxymoron considering all the information in the material safety data sheets we have pulled up.”

These data sheets list occupation safety and health concerns for chemicals and products.

The Railroad Commission granted Circle 6 standing to protest the application and scheduled the hearing for July 2023.

Safety of produced water pits debated

Circle 6 and Martin Water each presented their case during the hearing in Austin on July 24 and 25, before Railroad Commission Administrative Law Judge Alissa Zachary.

Circle 6’s lawyers argued the pit design would not adequately prevent contamination of the underlying Ogallala Aquifer, and residents and campers could be exposed to air pollution, including hydrogen sulfide gas, which can be fatal.

While other chemicals are present in produced water, the Railroad Commission has a specific rule requiring safeguards, including training, signage and detection equipment at facilities where people could be exposed to hydrogen sulfide gas.

Circle 6 lawyers called West Texas A&M University environmental scientist and oil and gas remediation expert William Rogers as a witness.

“In my 40-some years, this is probably the worst siting that I’ve ever seen, as far as being [in] close proximity to a camp, proximity to the groundwater, the potential risk and the unknowns,” Rogers testified. “I, quite frankly, was shocked at seeing the proximity of the camp to the facility.”

Martin Water said it will not accept produced water at the facility with detectable amounts of hydrogen sulfide. But Rogers countered that bacteria in the ponds would generate hydrogen sulfide gas. He said under the right conditions—cold temperatures, low winds—that gas could travel to the camp.

“I have heard testimony there will be absolutely no hydrogen sulfide. That’s virtually impossible,” Rogers said.

Martin Water’s attorneys argued its precautions, including having employees wear hydrogen sulfide monitors, were sufficient.

Circle 6 Baptist Camp relies on water wells that tap into the Ogallala Aquifer, which is the largest in the nation. The Ogallala provides more water for Texas users, including farmers, towns and cities—than any other aquifer in the state, according to the Texas Water Development Board.

Martin Water testified its double liner system would be sufficient to prevent contamination of the groundwater, and they will drill several monitoring wells.

Circle 6’s lawyers argued building the pits on top of porous soil with no natural barrier between the lined pits and the groundwater could lead to contamination.

Wastewater gets go-ahead

Zachary ultimately recommended the agency issue the permit, stating the agency does not have jurisdiction over air quality and the design was “sufficient” to prevent water pollution.

Circle 6’s lawyers expressed disappointment. They wrote that agency staff “take Martin Water’s word” on disputed aspects of the application and have not conducted any independent investigation.

After Zachary’s ruling, the final decision rested with the agency’s three commissioners at the Railroad Commission open meeting on Jan. 30.

Martin County Commissioner Koy Blocker traveled some 300 miles to Austin to speak at the meeting. Blocker, who is also a volunteer firefighter, said the permit is based on the assumption all rules will be followed.

“However, our fire department, our ambulances and our sheriff’s department are called out on a regular basis, because someone did not follow procedure or proper safety protocols,” he warned.

Blocker also said the facility’s air pollution and odors could drive Circle 6 out of business. “I do not believe that it is prudent practice to allow the new facilities to cause existing businesses or camps to go out of business as a result of the air quality,” he said.

Days earlier, an 11-year-old camper submitted a letter to the Railroad Commission, writing that Circle 6 “is a very important place” he hopes “will be there for many years to come.”

After Blocker’s comments, the three commissioners approved the permit without qualifications.

Before the vote, Commissioner Jim Wright, an oil and gas waste disposal businessman himself, added what he called “a public request” that Martin Water move the proposed pits as far as possible from the camp, “in the interest of being a good neighbor.” Commissioner Wayne Christian echoed that request.

Virginia Palacios, executive director of Commission Shift, a nonprofit focused on reforming the Railroad Commission, said in a public comment shortly after that she was “concerned” by Wright’s comments.

“You can do more as commissioners to go back in these cases and require specific things of these companies,” she said. “You’re not taking advantage of your opportunity to do that, especially when it comes to children’s health.”

Wright’s spokesperson did not respond to questions about the commissioner’s remarks.

Waste pit rules under review

While the Martin Water facility moves forward, a larger debate is unfolding in Texas about the future of oil and gas waste facilities. The Railroad Commission is reviewing and updating its waste pit rules for the first time in decades. After informal public comments last year, the draft is now going through review before a formal comment period this year. The final version of the rule changes is expected later this year.

Palacios said the Railroad Commission’s proposed rule changes include some improvements. Reserve pits, which drillers use to store waste at the well pad, will have to be registered for the first time. And under the current draft rules for commercial recycling, which includes the Martin Water site, facilities would have to be more than 1,000 feet from permanent residences.

Circle 6’s lawyers argued if this rule were on the books today, the Martin Water permit would not be approved. They say this shows the location of the ponds is “completely unacceptable.”

In addition, the proposed rule changes for Texas only include setbacks from residential dwellings for recycling facilities—not landfills or pits used to store produced water.

Air pollution generated by produced water pits remains beyond the scope of the Railroad Commission rules. Most waste ponds qualify for a “permit by rule” from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, which enforces air pollution laws in Texas.

The company must fulfill certain requirements and register the site with the TCEQ, but as long as those criteria are met, the TCEQ has no additional role in permitting. Under this system, any problems with air emissions are only investigated once the facility is already operating.

A TCEQ spokesperson recommended individuals impacted by air pollution from waste pits file a complaint with the agency.

Palacios said this split jurisdiction between the two agencies stymies effective regulation of waste pits.

“If there are any problems with air quality and public health, that gets punted to the TCEQ,” Palacios said.

The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans—and engages with them—about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues. This story was published by The Texas Tribune in partnership with Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, independent news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. This article has been edited for length and is republished by permission.

BELTON—Students quarrel. Feelings get hurt. Relationships break. It happens every day on every college campus—even a Christian one.

Almost 150 years ago at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, Anne Luther, the president’s wife, devised a plan to help end the festering feuds and help heal broken relationships among the all-woman student body. Thus began a since-forgotten tradition she called “Forgiving Day.”

The idea came to Luther just before Thanksgiving in 1878. Determined to promote peace before their holiday feast, she and student Elli Moore Townsend tasked faculty and staff to mediate between squab­bling students to get them to bury their differences and start anew.

They believed one couldn’t truly be thankful during Thanksgiving without first reconciling their grievances, said Beth Norvell, associate direc­tor of museum and alumni engagement.

Then, on Thanksgiving Day, as a symbol of recon­ciliation, each girl had to present a “token of forgive­ness” in the form of a hug, handshake, note or word of kindness to any other students with whom she had a grievance. They did this with Luther as witness.

Many girls saw this tradition as challenging and uncomfortable, but as one student said, “We would do anything for Mrs. Luther.”

Perhaps the Forgiving Day idea formed from Luther’s own grievances from a life filled with ups and downs. But even in bad times, the lessons she learned are a testament of a woman of great faith and forgive­ness, which Norvell believes contributed to Luther putting so much stock in teaching the virtues of forgiveness to her students.

One such instance happened after the death of Luther’s first child—the first of four who died during her lifetime. According to her memoirs, she went into a heavy depression.

 “She gave the Lord a timeline and said, ‘Lord, I will lean into this, and I will trust you even though I don’t feel like it,’” Norvell recounted from the memoir.

Luther gave God a specific amount of time to heal her grief and by the end of that time, her heart was still broken, and she was devastated.

“Soon after, however, Anne’s heart was flooded with peace and joy, and she never gave the Lord a timeline on healing after that,” Norvell said. “It was pivotal for her.”

Forgiveness and Thanksgiving

Norvell saw the season before Thanksgiving last year as an opportune time to create an exhibit at UMHB to share the history of the tradition with students.

When Danielle Kenne spotted Elli Moore Townsend’s letter in the display, she was intrigued.

 “I was very curious as to what the story behind the forgotten tradition was and was touched by its contents,” said Kenne, a senior health science pre-occupational therapy major. “I love UMHB history and traditions. So, I was su­per excited to learn about an old tradition I’d never heard of before. It’s such a touching tradition.”

Forgiving others is essential, she said, and learning about the forgotten day caused her to think about Thanksgiving in a new light.

 “I love the concept of intentionally forgiving people right before Thanksgiving, so you can be thankful with a grateful and unburdened heart,” Kenne said. “I never really considered how forgiving others could affect my ability to be truly thankful, and it made me want to spend time in prayer about forgiveness before Thanksgiving.”

Like most everyone, Kenne said she sometimes struggles with forgiveness but tries to remind herself that we are supposed to forgive because the Lord first forgave us.

“I’ve slowly learned that forgiving others is neces­sary for my own heart, so that I can be in a steadfast relationship with the Lord.”

Every day is a good day to practice forgiveness

She said she would love to see the old tra­dition revived at UMHB one day: “It’s often forgotten by most college students, especially with the chaos of the end of the semester.”

For the Christian, UMHB Chaplain Jason Palmer describes forgiveness as “a response to the love Jesus demonstrated in which he will­ingly set aside his right to prioritize justice for the wrongs we had done and, instead, decided to relentlessly pursue relationship with us.”

Anne Luther’s Forgiving Day tradition contin­ued off and on for years but slowly faded into obscuri­ty after students began going home for Thanksgiving.

But, as Palmer points out, “Every day is a good day to practice forgiveness.”

“Focusing on forgiveness helps us keep our perspective fixed on things of eternal significance while setting condi­tions for the mending of hearts—both ours and those of others. Colossians 3:13 is a favorite verse of mine regarding forgiveness because I’m reminded that the Lord has already set the example that he is asking me to follow.”

KERRVILLE—Communities along the path of the April 8 total solar eclipse are gearing up for the influx of eclipse chasers expected to descend upon the area. But will churches along the path be ready?

Robert Wheat, director of missions for Hill Country Baptist Association, said the annular eclipse of October 2023 offered area churches and local officials a trial run. They distributed eclipse-watching glasses to visitors and offered their facilities as staging areas for first responders.

While the crowds were not as great as some anticipated last October, the upcoming total eclipse is a different matter. Hotels in communities along the path of the total eclipse already are booked to capacity.

“A total eclipse is much more spectacular. A total eclipse is unbelievable,” explained Jeff Stone, an eclipse enthusiast and former NASA employee who attends Trinity Baptist Kerrville, known locally as “the eclipse guy.”

Stone traveled to Mexico for nearly seven minutes of totality in 1991 and to Missouri in 2017 for a bit over two minutes of totality.

He and his wife built their house where they did to be in the path of totality—the path where the moon’s disk completely blocks the sun—for this eclipse. They will be hosting eclipse chasing friends from as far away as Sweden on April 8.

“During totality, which here in Kerrville is going to be 4 minutes and 26 seconds at my house, the sky is going to be so dark, like night,” Stone said.

“You’ll be able to see stars. Granted, you won’t see all the stars that you normally do, but you’ll be able to see the bright stars. And, in the case of this one… you’ll also be able to see all the naked-eye planets, and I think that is going to be crazy cool.”

Stone described experiencing totality as having a visceral effect, referencing the darkness at Jesus’s crucifixion, when the people were shaken to their soul by the darkness in the daytime. He believes totality in an eclipse has the same effect.

In 2017, the last total eclipse that could be seen in the United States gave around 150 million Americans in the path of totality that visceral, awe-inspiring experience.

Crowds coming to Texas

If even 1 percent of that number was as enthusiastic about the experience as Stone and his fellow eclipse chasers have been by totality, then 1.5 million visitors could be heading to the path of totality in April.

An article from Forbes estimates anywhere from 270,000 to 1 million eclipse-chasing visitors will make the trip to join the 13 million Texans who live in the path of totality.

Hotel and campground bookings bear this estimate out, with Booking.com showing no available reservations in any of the towns in Texas along the path of totality attempted. Texas State Parks campgrounds along the path have been booked up for months.

The Hill Country of Texas is one of the best locations in the country for eclipse chasers to go for a shot at experiencing totality. The Old Farmer’s Almanac suggests a greater risk of cloudy skies in locations further north and east along the path on April 8.

Junction and Brady offer the best chance of clear skies, but the duration of totality there will be over a minute less than in Kerrville, which also has a good chance of clear skies, according to an Eclipsophile post on the April eclipse.

‘Blowing my mind to think about it’

The pull of totality should not be compared to the pull of the annular eclipse in October, Stone noted. The annulus is impressive in its own right, but not like having enough darkness to drop temperatures as much as 10 degrees.

To have skies dark enough to see stars in daytime hours during totality, “is still blowing my mind to even think about it” Stone said.

With so many extra people in the area, mobility will be an issue. Wheat said Hill Country churches are encouraging their senior members to plan ahead.

First responders in the Hill Country worry about the impact traffic may have on patrol capabilities. Churches and members have offered locations around town as staging areas to decentralize CERT (Community Emergency Response Team), where they can access outlying areas more quickly if called.

The concern topping the list for “the eclipse guy?” Restrooms.

The City of Kerrville already has reserved all the portable restrooms available anywhere around, but Stone thinks the lack of public facilities for that many extra people will turn out to be the story of the 2024 eclipse.

And it could offer churches an opportunity to extend hospitality to visitors by making their facilities available.

Eclipse chasers are coming to Texas. Churches in the path of totality might want to think beyond Easter to welcoming these guests and strategize with local officials on how to help visitors in the name of Jesus, Stone noted.

Resurrection Sunday the week before will focus us on God’s power, even over the natural world and death. And the total solar eclipse will offer Texas Baptists in its path a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be a light to thousands of people chasing the dark.

While it may be too late to organize an “Eclipse at the Crosses” watch party like the one Coryell Community Church in Gatesville has planned, it is not too late to do something.

So, enjoy the eclipse, Stone said. Because, as he did at the crucifixion, “God is going to show us his power again.”

Neighbors in North Killeen recognize Pastor Les Williams of New Sunset Community Church not so much for the sermons he preaches as for the sermons he lives out in humble service to their community.

Williams recently received the Killeen Star Award for community service—particularly the block parties, special events and other charitable work his church provides.

The city awards the Killeen Star Award to citizens who go “above and beyond in their volunteering and caring for the community,” he explained.

“Now, the award has my name on it, because I guess they give it to individuals. But ultimately, it’s an award for the church,” Williams said. “I was given the award because of all the things the church is doing. I couldn’t possibly do it all by myself.”

Killeen Councilwoman Jessica Gonzalez, who presented the award to Williams, said she believes his service has impacted the community significantly.

“Consistency is key,” Gonzalez said, praising Williams and his church members for their willingness to “to show up and be present no matter what is going on.”

“He isn’t just a pastor that is up there preaching on Sunday. He is actually doing the good work for his community,” she said.

Williams became pastor of New Sunset Community Church—a Texas Baptist congregation in North Killeen—in August 2021.

Since then, Williams has led the church to host 17 block parties for their neighbors. Staffed by the church’s members and volunteers from surrounding churches, the block parties offer food, giveaways, face-painting and a variety of fun activities for children and youth. Attendance at these events ranges from 100 to 500 people.

Williams and his wife Melissa have been married eight-and-a-half years, and they have twin 5-year-old boys. He is the parent co-chair of the School Health Advisory Council for the Killeen Independent School District and serves on the board of Bell Baptist Association.

 “Where the church sits in Killeen, there is high crime, high poverty, low education and broken homes,” Williams said, describing the predominantly Hispanic and Black neighborhood in north Killeen.

 “We use the land that our church sits on to throw these block parties, to meet the neighborhood.”

The church also hosts other events throughout the year to help the community.

“Every July, we do a back-to-school shoe giveaway,” Williams said. “There’s an organization in the area called First Blessing. We utilize them to help us give away shoes. We gave away 115 pairs of shoes last July.

“At our August block party, we give away backpacks with school supplies inside. This year, we gave away around 60 backpacks.”

The 4-1-1 on ‘The Four-One’

At the community outreach events, the church invites guests to Sunday and Wednesday worship services and to programs for children and youth. The church offers breakfast on Sundays and dinner on Wednesday nights.

New Sunset also provides transportation to help people get to doctors’ appointment and run errands.

The church’s stated mission is to “make disciples that make disciples so that the Four-One is noticeably better.”

“Killeen has five ZIP codes,” Williams explained. “The Four-One—the 76541 ZIP code—is the roughest part of Killeen. Over the last 13 to 14 years, there has been a mass exodus of businesses, churches and organizations that were in downtown Killeen move out of downtown Killeen.”

“We are for the Four-One. We do all these events to make disciples of Jesus. Because we believe when that happens, we will see people’s lives and communities become noticeably better, because they are following Jesus.”

New life for New Sunset

Williams noted it hasn’t always been easy for the church to thrive.

“The church has been around since 1956, but it’s always kind of been a struggling church and small,” Williams said. “When I became pastor in 2021, the church had officially voted to go through revitalization. The church didn’t have enough money in the bank to pay the bills every month, and somehow the bills got paid.”

At the end of 2021, the average church attendance of New Sunset Community Church was 42 people. In 2022, the average grew to 68. Currently, the average is 72. On Sundays and Wednesdays, the average of students in kindergarten through high school who attend is 35.

“We no longer use the word revitalization, because people are giving,” Williams said. “We have five other churches or organizations that give. So, we have more than enough money in the bank now to pay all our monthly bills and be able to actually do ministry.

He pointed to noticeable behavioral changes in the students. “You guys are so welcoming” is the No. 1 thing his congregation hears, he said.

“We’re seeing people actually return to church and read their Bibles,” Williams said. “They want to know Jesus. They’re asking questions and joining discipleship groups. That has been a spiritual growth.”

 “The church went from being an almost-dead church, to a very-much-alive church in the last 28 months.”

Emily Hughitt, a student at Howard Payne University, is serving as an intern with the Baptist Standard this semester.

AUSTIN (RNS)—Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued a volunteer-run network of Catholic migrant shelters based in El Paso, aiming to revoke the organization’s nonprofit registration.

The lawsuit comes after Annunciation House moved to delay handing over documents about its clients to the attorney general.

Paxton’s office said it had demanded Annunciation House records because of the organization’s “potential efforts to facilitate illegal immigration.”

“The Office of the Attorney General (“OAG”) reviewed significant public record information strongly suggesting Annunciation House is engaged in legal violations such as facilitating illegal entry to the United States, alien harboring, human smuggling, and operating a stash house,” the office wrote in a Feb. 20 press release.

If Paxton is successful, Annunciation House—which was founded in 1976—could be required to cease sheltering migrants entering Texas. The lawsuit “seeks to revoke Annunciation House’s authorization to do business in Texas and asks the court to appoint a receiver to liquidate their assets,” Paxton’s office wrote.

On its website, Annunciation House says it has hosted more than 500,000 migrants fleeing death squads, civil wars, human rights abuses and poverty.

“The Attorney General’s illegal, immoral and anti-faith position to shut down Annunciation House is unfounded,” Annunciation House said in its own press release. Paxton’s office “has stated that it considers it a crime for a Catholic organization to provide shelter to refugees,” the organization said.

According to reporting from the Texas Tribune, the attorney general’s administrative subpoena sent to Annunciation House demanded it turn over records from January 2022 onward. Those records included identifying information about Annunciation House’s clients, referrals the nonprofit had made to legal services and their applications for federal funding for organizations that address hunger and homelessness.

One day to submit records

Annunciation House said the attorney general told the nonprofit on Feb. 7 it had one day to turn over records. After the state denied Annunciation House an extension, the organization responded by requesting that a U.S. district court rule on what documents it was required to turn over, and that it receive a restraining order granting more time to comply with Paxton’s demands.

The statement from Paxton’s office described the attempt to shut down Annunciation House as a “consequence” of the organization’s legal actions and delays.

Paxton’s legal action appears to be part of a broader Republican push to make immigration a key 2024 election campaign issue. In December 2022, four House Republicans, including two from Texas, sent a letter to Catholic Charities USA, a network of diocesan charity organizations, accusing it of “fueling” illegal immigration and violating federal law by providing necessities to migrants.

That same month, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Catholic, called on Paxton to investigate El Paso nonprofits because they “may have assisted with illegal border crossings near El Paso.”

Since then, Texas has escalated its anti-migrant actions. In January, its National Guard got into a standoff with federal agents in Eagle Pass after guard members and state troopers blocked the agents’ access to the U.S. border. The same month, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered Texas to remove concertina wire from along the river erected to stop migrants from crossing.

Adam Pardue, pastor of Highland Baptist Church in Lubbock, will be nominated for second vice president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

Pastor Jason Burden of First Baptist Church in Nederland, a past president of the BGCT, will nominate Pardue at Texas Baptists’ annual meeting Nov. 10-12 in Waco.

Pardue served as associate pastor at First Baptist in Nederland alongside Burden before accepting the pastorate of Highland Baptist in March 2012.

“He has an awesome family. His character is unimpeachable. And he is a person of good cheer and vision who will be of great service to our state convention,” Burden said.

Burden characterized Pardue as “a product of BGCT investment” in higher education.

After completing his undergraduate degree in music from Lamar University, Pardue earned a master’s degree in Christian ministry from Wayland Baptist University and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Hardin-Simmons University’s Logsdon Seminary.

He also earned a Master of Divinity degree from B.H. Carroll Seminary, which is slated to merge with East Texas Baptist University.

Burden also characterized Pardue as “a great contributor to Texas Baptists” through his involvement as a church health coach, helping other congregations work through the Pave church revitalization strategy.

“I want to see church health emphasized,” Pardue said, noting his desire to see Texas Baptists help churches that have plateaued or suffered decline. “I have a heart for it.”

Wants to ‘have a voice’ in the process

Given events at the national level in Baptist life, he sees this as a key time for Texas Baptists to discern their direction moving forward.

“I would like to have a voice in shaping that direction and to be a part of that process,” he said.

Having chaired the BGCT Committee to Nominate Executive Board Members and the Committee on the Annual Meeting, Pardue said, he even enjoys Texas Baptist committee work.

“I love Texas Baptists. Serving on convention committees, you’re dealing with people who have the same love you do and who believe in the work that is going on,” he said.  “I love to be around other Christian brothers and sisters.”

In addition to his BGCT service, Pardue also has served on the board of Lubbock Area Baptist Association.

Ten years before he became senior pastor at Highland Baptist Church in Lubbock, he served four years as youth pastor at that same congregation.

Pardue served in staff roles at other Texas Baptist churches—minister of music and youth at Fellowship Baptist Church in Bridge City and at Proctor Baptist Church in Port Arthur, youth pastor at First Baptist Church in Port Neches and associate pastor at First Baptist in Nederland.

He and his wife Angie have been married 26 years. They have two daughters, Avery Ashford and Abbey Pardue, both Christian ministry majors at Hardin-Simmons University, and a son-in-law, Blake Ashford.

DALLAS—Rather than focusing on the size of obstacles, Texas Baptists should trust in God who is capable of overcoming any obstacle, Executive Director Julio Guarneri told the Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board.

“Stay focused on God’s mission,” Guarneri said in his first report to the board as executive director.

He recounted the story of the 12 Israelites who scouted out the Promised Land, as recorded in Numbers 13 and 14. The majority acknowledged the land was fertile, but they chose to emphasize the giants who inhabited it.

“There will always be some among us who choose to focus on the giants in the land—who will be intimidated by the size of the obstacles,” Guarneri said. “We don’t have to be blind to the challenges that we face. We don’t have to ignore the giants in the land. But neither do we have to let them intimidate us.”

When the people of Israel heard about the giants who occupied the Promised Land, many embraced a distorted memory of past glory days and longed to be back in Egypt—forgetting the bondage they endured there.

“God doesn’t call us to go back to the past. The only reason God’s people should look back at the past is to remember that God is faithful, and he is able to bring us through hard times,” Guarneri said.

Two Israelite scouts brought a positive minority report, choosing to trust in God, who already had demonstrated his faithfulness.

“If the Lord is with us, it doesn’t matter how many giants are in the land,” Guarneri said.

“Our task as Texas Baptists is to occupy the land. What that means is that we are called to saturate our state with the gospel.”

‘Status quo won’t cut it’

Since 2020, the Texas population has grown by 9 million—an average of more than 400,000 new residents each year, he noted.

“How many churches will it take to reach that many people? How many pastors and leaders need to be equipped and prepared to lead those churches?” he asked.

“The bottom line is that the status quo won’t cut it. … Business as usual won’t get the Great Commission accomplished.”

Guarneri noted items on his “wish list” for Texas Baptists:

• Renewed sense of harmony.
• Robust dedication to prayer.
• Rekindled participation in evangelism.
• Reaffirmed commitment to church health.
• Rallying of kingdom partnerships.

Determining the ‘path forward’ for GC2

In his first months as executive director, Guarneri said he is focusing on emphasizing prayer, encouraging pastors, affirming presidents of institutions and organizations related to Texas Baptists, and identifying strategic partnerships to advance God’s kingdom.

He noted 62 churches in 17 states beyond Texas identify as GC2 congregations—an emphasis launched by David Hardage, Guarneri’s predecessor as executive director.

“I believe we are at a point now where we need to define more what GC2 means,” Guarneri said. “We need to talk about how those churches relate to Texas Baptists. How do we start them well? What are the opportunities that GC2 affords us to be able to network together to be on mission—not just in Texas but beyond Texas?”

Guarneri announced his intention to present at the May Executive Board meeting a suggested “path forward” for GC2. He noted some had asked if Texas Baptists—through the GC2 movement—are seeking to become a national convention.

“In some ways, we already are. We already have churches outside of Texas. We have 71 missionaries in 17 countries. We do conferences in Texas, and people come from other states and Canada to attend. So, our footprint is larger than our state,” he said.

However, he added, Texas Baptists are not in competition with the Southern Baptist Convention.

“We just want to take on our role in God’s redemptive plan,” he said.

Moving forward, Guarneri voiced his desire to:

• Engage in “strategic conversations that lead to strategic collaborations.”
• “Assess, refine and relaunch GC2.”
• “Determine a leadership strategy” to ensure a “pipeline” of pastors and leaders for the future.
• “Mobilize churches to be about the Great Commission.”

‘We exist to serve our churches’

Later during the board meeting, Guarneri was asked about the potential impact if the SBC votes to approve a constitutional amendment to exclude any church with a woman on staff who carries the title “pastor.”

Guarneri reiterated the BGCT affirms the autonomy of local churches and does not make whom they call as staff and leaders a test of fellowship.

“We exist to serve our churches. We don’t exist to serve the Southern Baptist Convention,” he said.

Some Texas Baptist churches point to the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message, which limits the office of pastor to men, as their statement of faith. Others affirm the 1963 Baptist Faith and Message, which does not include that limit.

At the 1999 BGCT annual meeting in El Paso, messengers affirmed the unamended 1963 Baptist Faith and Message as the “unifying statement of our common faith and practice.”

The BGCT relates to all Texas Baptist churches that share its mission and broadly affirm Baptist principles, without imposing one version of the Baptist Faith and Message or another on local churches, Guarneri said.

He noted state convention executive directors, who met recently in Scottsdale, Ariz., generally voiced concern about the amendment to be considered at the SBC annual meeting and what impact it will have if adopted.

“We’re not trying to leave,” he emphasized. “But if we’re cut out, we’ll figure out how to move forward.”

Board conducts business

In its business session, the BGCT Executive Board voted to allocate $450,000 from the JK Wadley Endowment Fund earnings, with $150,000 dedicated to Baptist Student Ministries campus missionaries and $150,000 to BSM building maintenance, $50,000 for a cross-cultural mobilizer, $50,000 for western heritage ministries and $25,000 to MinistrySafe child protection.

The Executive Board also filled vacancies on various committees and boards, electing:

• Steve Mullen from First Baptist Church in Burleson to the Baptist University of the Américas board of trustees.
• Jeff Scott from Pioneer Drive Baptist Church in Abilene and Darin Wood from First Baptist Church in Midland to the Committee to Nominate Executive Board Directors.
• Scott Currey from First Baptist Church in Gruver and Shawn Shannon from Tallowood Baptist Church in Houston to the Committee to Nominate Boards of Affiliated Ministries.
• Jeff Warren from Park Cities Baptist Church in Dallas and Raymond Sanchez from First Baptist Church in Weslaco to the BGCT Executive Board.

WACO—Racism permeates human history, but racial justice finds its roots in biblical truth, a national evangelical leader told a conference at Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary.

The teaching in Genesis that “every single individual carries the dignity of God’s image” not only is a foundational ethical principle, but also offered a prophetic challenge to a culture that believed only the king bore the divine image, said Walter Kim, president of the National Association of Evangelicals.

“By democratizing the image of God, by removing it from the power structure of the king and the royal propaganda of the king, this is not just a bland theological proposition. This was a revolutionary statement—a prophetic challenge to society,” he said. “It is a rebalancing of what I would call image inequality.”

Kim offered the closing keynote address at a conference on Racism in the World Church. Truett Seminary sponsored the Feb. 15-17 event, supported financially by the John and Eula Mae Baugh Foundation.

Racism—the failure to recognize the inherent dignity of each person as made in God’s image—is not just a personal failing, but also a systemic problem, he asserted.

‘A matter of cultures and systems’

“It’s not just a matter of individual image inequality. It’s a matter of cultures and systems,” Kim said. “There’s a concentration of power and imbalance of image in our personal dynamics, but also in the ways we organize culture.”

The story of the tower of Babel in Genesis is both an indictment of human pride and of cultural imperialism as seen in ancient Babylon, he asserted.

“It is the habitual sinful expressions of individuals when they get the upper hand and of dominant cultures to set the terms of what it means to be normal,” Kim said.

Because racism is rooted in human depravity and deeply entrenched in society, Christians who seek to counter racism must commit to “long obedience in the same direction,” he said, borrowing a phrase from Eugene Peterson.

God’s plan always has involved multiple races, ethnic groups and nations, he noted. The people God delivered from Egyptian slavery was “a mixed multitude” that was not limited only to Israelites.

“They had to deal with the challenges of multi-ethnicity right from the get-go,” Kim said.

When God reversed Babel at Pentecost, it involved people representing multiple ethnic and racial groups, he noted. Paul wrote many of the epistles in the New Testament “to address cultural tensions” in churches, he added.

Five factors to keep in mind

As Christians commit to the good work of combating racism, Kim offered five elements to keep in mind:

• Transformation. Changing the human heart is a “supernatural work” of the Holy Spirit. Those who want to see hearts changed about matters of race need to “humbly depend on God.”
• Trust. Shared experiences foster relationships and build trust he said. “You cannot move forward faster than the speed of trust,” Kim said.
• Time. Changing hearts and minds is a slow process that requires persistence.
• Temperature. “Know when the system is overheating and you need to slow down or when it is cooling too much and you need to speed up. That takes extraordinary wisdom,” he said. Recognize collaborative work involves all sorts of people with a variety of gifts and dispositions.
• Trajectory. “We will put into long-term plans what we think is truly important.”

Hearts can change, and lives can be transformed, Kim said, telling the story of a former Ku Klux Klan leader and neo-Nazi who developed a relationship with a Black Holiness preacher that led to his Christian conversion.

“Tell the stories of redemption,” Kim said. “And I suspect that all of eternity will not wear out our wonder at the glorious work of redemption that we—in our small way—can be part of.”

‘A comprehensive ethic’

In a dialogue with Todd Still, dean of Truett Seminary, Kim described the “compelling apologetic” of transformative relationships that bear witness to the truthfulness of the Christian faith.

Christians can persist in the work of confronting racial injustice even when they do not see immediate results if they redefine success in terms of faithfulness, he asserted.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 offers a good model for “comprehensive discipleship” that begins with whole-hearted love for God that is expressed in love for one’s neighbor, as commanded in Leviticus 19:17-18. Discipleship has both individual and social dimensions, he asserted.

“There is no bifurcation,” Kim said. “Discipleship is never just individual. … It is a comprehensive ethic.”

WACO—White Christians can learn lessons about repentance, grace and worship from the Black church, Pastor Ralph Douglas West told a conference at Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary.

When West was growing up in Houston, his parents divorced when he was a child, and his mother had to move 14 times in 13 years.

“But there was one address that never changed, and that was the church. It represented stability,” said West, pastor of The Church Without Walls in Houston. “For a community that is constantly in flux, the Black church provides stability.”

He delivered a keynote address at a conference on Racism in the World Church. Truett Seminary sponsored the Feb. 15-17 event, supported financially by the John and Eula Mae Baugh Foundation.

West cited three New Testament stories­—two from Luke’s Gospel and one from the book of Acts—to illustrate characteristics of the Black church at its best.

Call to repentance

In Luke 13:1-5, some Jews told Jesus about an atrocity that occurred in the temple—soldiers acting on Pontius Pilate’s orders murdered a group of Galileans while they were offering their sacrifices. Jesus responded to those who brought the news by calling them to repentance.

Similarly, Black preachers call on their congregations to view any atrocity as an occasion to repent—to engage in self-examination, both at the individual and the societal level, West said.

He recounted acts of injustice that captured the attention of Black churches—the 1955 lynching of Emmett Till in Mississippi; the 1963 bombing of 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala.; the 2015 mass shooting at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, S.C.; and the 2020 killing of George Floyd by a white policeman in Minneapolis, Minn.

“Regardless of circumstances, all events can lead us to repentance,” West said.

Invitation extended to the welcome table

In Luke 14:16-24, Jesus told a parable about a man who prepared a great banquet and invited all of his friends, who declined his invitation. So, the man “enlarged the invitation list,” West said, sending his servants into the streets to invite the poor and the disabled.

When there was still room at his table, the man once more sent his servants into “the highways and hedges” and extended the invitation “to all of broken and fractured humanity.”

“Everyone is invited to the same table,” West said.

White churches may “throw people away” when they stumble, but in the Black church, “We’re not getting rid of ours,” West said.

Those who have experienced exclusion firsthand are most likely to be graciously inclusive, he noted.

“We know what grace is about. … Grace in the Black church is not theory; it is practice. There’s a little bit of everybody in the Black church,” he said. “It’s an open invitation to all of God’s children to come to the table.”

Allow nothing to rob God’s people of joy

In Acts 16:16-40, Paul and Silas were unjustly imprisoned. At midnight, when they prayed and sang praises to God, an earthquake shook the prison and the chains that bound the prisoners were loosed. A jailer was about to take his own life, but Paul intervened, and both the jailer and everyone in his house received God’s gift of salvation.

When the prison officials sent messengers to urge Paul and Silas to leave their city quietly, Paul refused. After having been falsely accused and unjustly imprisoned in a public fashion, he insisted the city officials needed to come personally to pronounce them innocent and free to go.

In similar fashion, West said, the Black church understands the power of “praising God in the face of injustice,” and it sees “no separation between personal salvation and social justice.”

The Black church recognizes the presence of Christ even in the midst of unjust circumstances, and it finds joy in knowing God loves justice, West observed.

“When Jesus is there, justice is there. When justice is there, joy is there,” he said.

Both personal salvation and social justice

In a public dialogue with Stephanie Boddie, associate professor of church and community ministries at Baylor, West expanded on the Black church’s ability to embrace both a gospel of personal salvation and social justice.

At his church, he noted, when anyone responds to a public invitation to join the church, they are expected to complete a voter registration card. Similarly, every ministry of the church is expected to be involved in at least one social justice activity.

The Black church meets urgent human needs, stands against violence, promotes education and speaks out against injustice because it cares about the whole person, West insisted.

“These things are not just social issues. They are sin. When there is injustice, that is not how God intended it to be,” he said.

The celebrative nature of worship in the Black church is not simply entertainment, emotionalism or escapism, he asserted.

Rather, it is “an authentic expression” of worshippers’ response to what God has done and is doing in their lives, he said. And it is their faith-filled expression of what they expect God to do in the future.

“It is an attitude and disposition that says, ‘I will not allow circumstances to prevent me from rejoicing,’” West said.