How do you feel about protesters?

What if a protester was your son or daughter?

What about counter-protesters?

Do you know any protesters personally? I do. And it makes a difference.

We need to listen to protesters, because each one is a human being created by God. We don’t necessarily need to listen to agree. We do need to listen to love and to learn.

Perhaps the easiest way to listen to protesters is to engage them individually.

Protesting war

It was March 5, 2003. A Wednesday afternoon.

I was in my office in the Baptist Student Union across the street from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque when I heard unusual sounds, looked out the window and saw officers in riot gear. Some had dogs.

Then, I saw the line of anti-war protesters across the street, marching between buildings toward University Boulevard. They reached the sidewalk where police were lining the street, turned south and marched to the intersection of Central and University, where they stopped and demonstrated.

It wasn’t a huge group of protesters, but it was enough that police felt the need to wear riot gear and have German shepherds.

Protesters later moved east to the intersection of Central and Cornell. When some of them entered the intersection that night, police responded with tear gas and arrests. It made national news.

I grew up after the Vietnam War. My childhood and youth were filled with stories of anti-war demonstrations. However many people were in photographs and newsreels of the protesting crowds, the people always were known by one name—protesters.

When I stepped outside the BSU that afternoon to take in the protest, I also knew the crowd by one name—protesters.

I walked back into the BSU abuzz with adrenaline. A little while later, one of the protesters walked through the same front door. His name is Jesse.

Jesse was one of our best and brightest students. He had a strong missions upbringing and a burning compassion for people enduring poverty. He was and is a justice-seeker. While I was surprised a BSU student was among the protesters that afternoon, I wasn’t surprised it was him.

Protesting racial injustice

Fast forward to the end of May 2020, when protests erupted all over the United States and spread around the world over the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers. Once again, we saw crowds of people protesting. As with past protests, many painted them with a single and disparaging broad brush.

It’s easy to dismiss a crowd we don’t know. It’s harder to dismiss a person we do know.

I don’t know in what protests my friend Pastor Joseph Parker may have marched during those early days of protest in 2020, but I know he shared a video you must see. He opens the video saying:

“No stealing, no looting, no violence, no destruction is condoned, but here we are again having to directly protest nonviolently, because Black folk in America are sick and tired, in the words of Fannie Lou Hamer, of being sick and tired of racism and inequities. I wonder, do you hear us now? Do you see our wounds? The cry throughout the land is for us to have justice.”

Pastor Parker, like Jesse, is one of our best and brightest. His father was a pastor who participated in the Civil Rights Movement in Alabama alongside Martin Luther King Jr. Pastor Parker has been and is a justice-seeker.

For me—if not for you—Jesse and Pastor Parker personalize protesters. They taught me to listen.

Protesters are people

We may not agree with protesters’ proclaimed positions or aims. We may not condone all or any of their actions. But we must not disregard them. We must remember the crowd—however large or small—is a group of individuals, each one created by God. In fact, many of them may be our sisters and brothers in Christ.

Rather than painting a crowd of protesters with a single broad brush—coloring and dismissing the whole as unpatriotic, criminal, disreputable, ungrateful—we should refrain from rushing to judgment about every person in the crowd.

Protesters are not a monolithic group any more than you are a monolithic group that chafes when others paint you with a broad brush in disparaging terms because you’re a Texan, a Baptist, a Christian or otherwise. Just as we want others to hear us and know us for who we are, most—if not all—protesters want the same.

If we believe in Christ’s redeeming and reconciling work, then we know we are called to get involved in it, even if that involvement takes us to uncomfortable places, places that don’t seem safe, prudent or respectable.

How many opportunities to love people the way Jesus loves us don’t happen because we are more concerned about our safety, prudence and respectability? How many have I missed?

Today, as people protest the war in Gaza, we paint with a broad brush again. We label “antisemitic” all those protesting U.S. support of Israel. Some of the protesters unashamedly are antisemitic, but the label may not fit every protester. Even if it did, you and I—as ambassadors of Christ—ought to find a way to listen to the protesters.

Listening to protesters

Why might a college student protest an imminent war predicated on shaky evidence? Why might Black people, during weeks of protests, call to be treated with dignity? As obvious as it may seem to us now, why might so many be protesting the current war between Israel and Hamas?

To know and maybe start to understand, we have to listen … and not just to the protesters. We also need to listen to God’s Spirit. What is God saying to us in this time? What is God saying to us as we listen to a young adult call out for justice—even, and maybe especially, if we disagree with how “justice” is defined and with how it’s said and done? We will have to listen to find out.

To listen, we have to be there.

Eric Black is the executive director, publisher and editor of the Baptist Standard. He can be reached at [email protected]. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author.

Two men. One from West Texas who began life as a teacher. The other a man of many talents, just an everyday man loving his wife and family, working hard to make ends meet.

The teacher-turned-preacher

The teacher felt God’s call to leave the classroom and enter the pulpit. He had coal-black hair and a slender frame. He had a lovely wife and two very young, sweet daughters. He came from a working-class family where his dad, I believe, had worked the oil fields.

This young pastor entered our pulpit at Rainbow Baptist Church. It was amazing. He was not polished. He dressed somewhat awkwardly. Sometimes, he would have a little spit ball hanging on the side of his lip. He could, at times, contort the English language in trying to make a point. His name was Brother Bruce Wells.

I know this sounds condescending, but it is not. I just want you to have a flavor of the man who became our pastor in this little church.

The church was small, having gone through a very hard separation from the previous pastor. How small? Over half of the sanctuary was empty each Sunday. No paid music minister. No paid staff. When the pianist was sick, this young, slender preacher with the coal-black hair would sit at the piano to play the hymns himself using two fingers just trying to sound out the melody.

He and his family moved into the parsonage. There were no expectations other than the hope somehow the church would survive. But then it hit.

This young pastor preached God’s word without flinching, without reservation. No one noticed any of the awkwardness, because he was a man of prayer who seasoned every syllable with prayer cover, counting on God to take what was said and use it to save souls, soften hearts and change lives.

The church began really to take off when the pastor focused on the need for us to pray individually and collectively.

As the prayer meetings grew, so did attendance on Sundays. Before long, that little church was packed. It got so full that we, as the youth, would sit on the floor during services to leave room for adults to squeeze in.

Ultimately, the decision was made to expand the sanctuary. This is when the other man with many talents got involved.

The everyday man

His name was Jay Wright. Jay had known the Lord but never had the fire burning within him that God brought through this young pastor preaching and praying God’s word.

Jay took on the whole project himself with the help of other church men. Within no time, that sanctuary was expanded. More people came. God was saving souls.

It was then my friend Weldon and I surrendered to preach. Brother Bruce mentored us. We both preached our first services in the new sanctuary Brother Jay built.

How awesome was it? No one wanted to miss a Sunday. People planned their trips around church. At the invitation at the end of each service, people came forward and knelt at the altar, confessing their sins, seeking the Lord, selling out to his love.

Jay Wright had back surgery around that time. He was to be bed-bound in his home for several weeks. Jay was madly in love with the Lord, his word and worship on Sundays. He could not fathom missing one moment. We all prayed for Jay that next Sunday, knowing he would be missing—against his will.

It was then the front doors of the church opened. Two men walked in carrying a stretcher with Jay Wright on it. They came to the front row of the church and laid him on the front pew. On his back, unable to sit up, Jay Wright joined us for worship. He would not miss.

And God continued to move. For weeks, we would see the same exercise carried out. Sunday services would start. Brother Bruce would get up to preach. Men would walk in carrying Jay, laying him on the front pew to listen on his back, worshipping, praising and learning of the goodness of God.

Revival. This is what God does. Not what Brother Bruce did. Not what Jay Wright did. What God did there in the little congregation called Rainbow Baptist Church, God still can do today in the church I pastor and the one you attend wherever you live.

Let’s pray for that revival. Our nation needs it now more than ever before. Our very existence depends on it.

Johnny Teague is the senior pastor of Church at the Cross in West Houston and the author of several books. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author.

“Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice” (Psalm 55:17)

Christians serve an active Creator who answers the prayers of his sheep. Of importance is the realization that God’s plan endures. While believers are called to proclaim their anxieties, desires, praises and pleas to the Lord, God determines the best course of action in every situation.

Those in Christ remain in awe at the power of prayer, as Christians continue to be transformed by the Lord and find the solitude and comfort he supplies through such actions as prayer.

Reformers’ prayer life

Scottish Reformer John Knox lived a faithful prayer life, one which should encourage everyone today. Known in history for his ongoing feud with Mary, Queen of Scots, Knox, a former student of Calvin, lived by his supplications to the Lord—a concept that made Mary tremble.

Brian G. Najapfour, in The Collected Prayers of John Knox, shares an account: “On one occasion, he [Knox] prayed, “Give me Scotland or I die; and the queen said: I fear the prayer of John Knox more than the combined armies [of Europe]” (p. 1).

A commonality encompassed the prayers of the early Reformers. Throughout Europe, the Reformers faced imprisonment and death. Prayers provided guidance, encouragement and hope.

Najapfour adds: “Troubles, then, should not become an excuse for not praying, but rather an encouragement to pray. … For Knox, therefore, what matters most is our obedience to God, which is expressed when we pray to him” (p. xlix).

Puritan John Bunyan defined prayer: “Prayer is a sincere, sensible, affectionate pouring out of the heart or soul to God, through Christ, in the strength and assistance of the Holy Spirit, for such things as God has promised, or according to his word, for the good of the church, with submission in faith to the will of God” (Prayer, p. 13).

The focus of prayer is on God, submitting to his majesty while praising him in thankfulness and marveling at his grace and righteousness.

It is important to focus prayers on the Lord, his will and his church. While mankind undoubtedly needs personal prayers in times of uncertainty, trouble, illness and struggle, prayers also should focus on the salvation and redemption of souls.

Christ’s role in prayer

Comforting to the soul is knowing prayers are through Christ and aided by the Holy Spirit. Often neglected is the reality the Holy Spirit guides our lives and prayers (John 14:16-17). Like Bunyan, J.C. Ryle, placed an emphasis on Christ’s role in prayers:

By themselves, our prayers are poor and weak. But in Jesus’ hand, they are mighty and powerful. He is our high priest and our elder brother. … Once they [prayers] are in the hand of our Lord Jesus, they have value and can achieve great things. … Jesus’ door is always open to every single person who calls on him for mercy and grace. Helping believers is his particular role, and their prayers are his delight (Do You Pray, p. 24).

The love of Christ is enduring and always provides hope in a fallen world. Everyone faces trials and tribulations.

Charles Spurgeon taught: “Ah sinner, when you cry to God, you give him an opportunity to do that which he loves most to do! He delights to forgive” (The Power of Prayer, p. 23). “True prayer is the trading of the heart with God” (The Power of Prayer, p. 25).

Prayers lifted to the Lord always supply the confidence needed to bear such dark days. Illness, depression and all of life’s troubles are no obstacles for the Lord.

While afflictions are difficult to comprehend, the Lord will see his sheep through these days, providing consolation in a manner only believers know so personally. The tranquility of knowing you are not alone encourages those in Christ to cry out even more to God in praise and thanksgiving.

Posture in prayer

Though prayer does not need to be complicated, we should handle it with care and perform it with reverence.

Supplications can be short or long, but always should be personal, pleading your need for guidance in this fallen world.

As believers, we have no excuse; we have great examples in the Lord, figures in Scripture and faithful servants in history who paved the way for us, sharing their struggles and lessons in prayer.

May we not forget the Lord’s words:

“And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore, do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask him” (Matthew 6:5-8).

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David T. Crum holds a Ph.D. in historical theology and is an assistant professor of history at Truett-McConnell University. His research interests include the history of warfare and Christianity. He and his family attend Christ the King Church in Easton, Maine.

This is Part 3 in a series written by Ellis Orozco regarding Christian civic engagement. Part 1 is available here. Part 2 is here.

*******

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Jesus to his disciples, Matthew 28:18).

My New Testament 101 seminary professor was a rising star among New Testament scholars. The first day of class, he told us ours was a survey course and would not be scholarly, because none of us had spent enough time with the text. “The text” he referenced was the New Testament Scriptures.

I was a little offended.

I was in my second year of seminary studies. I was raised in the church and rarely had missed a single day of Sunday school. After God called me away from engineering to ministry, I started a rigorous routine of daily Bible reading and, by the time I sat in his classroom, had read the New Testament from Matthew to Revelation several times. I felt I was pretty familiar with “the text.”

I was wrong.

After a few days of lectures, I was painfully aware I had not spent enough time with “the text.” He was referencing stories, teachings and nuances in the New Testament that at times I was vaguely familiar with and other times I had no clue what he was talking about. By the end of the first week of classes I was crying, “I haven’t spent enough time with the text!”

The Christian dilemma

“Thus says the LORD, ‘Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,’ declares the LORD” (Jeremiah 9:23-24).

In developing a biblical-theological approach to political engagement, most Christians agree the Bible should be our roadmap and the Holy Spirit our guide. However, a growing number of Christians don’t seem to spend much time with either.

According to a 2021 research project conducted by Barna in partnership with the American Bible Society, just over one-third of U.S. adults (34 percent) read the Bible once a week or more, while half (50 percent) read the Bible less than twice a year.

The report also states only 9 percent of Americans read the Bible daily, while 25 percent read it weekly, and 38 percent never read it at all.

Other Barna research has found the average American struggles to name the four Gospels, more than two or three of Jesus’ disciples, or more than five of the Ten Commandments.

“No wonder people break the Ten Commandments all the time,” pollster George Barna said. “They don’t know what they are.”

The Christian dilemma in America is a biblical-theological framework for political engagement is completely dependent on a biblical worldview even most Christians could not articulate, because they simply haven’t spent enough time with “the text.”

Rampant biblical illiteracy has produced an American Christianity that boasts of her strength and her wealth and her political power but does not know the Lord. This dilemma is vitally important for understanding the next Christian principle for political engagement (See Part 2 for principle No. 1).

2. Christians should always strive for consistency.

“You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules’” (Jesus on the Pharisees, Matthew 15:7-9).

Too many Christians are inconsistent in the application of biblical principles. We pick and choose which Bible verses we prioritize, and any verses that challenge our predetermined ideology either are ignored or gutted of their original meaning.

This minimization of passages that mitigate against our politics is accomplished in one of several ways. Sometimes, they are spiritualized in a way that rids them of their obvious and original purpose.

Other times, they are ripped from their context and squeezed into a meaning foreign to the gospel but congruent with our political ideology. Most often, they simply are ignored and relegated to the ash heap of Old Testament Scriptures we no longer consider relevant.

Scripture passages that speak to the way we are to treat foreigners, care for the poor, accept the marginalized and love the enemy largely are ignored or diminished through crafty rationalizations.

For instance, most Christians believe God created every human life in his image (Genesis 1:26) and that he fashions each life in the womb (Jeremiah 1:5). God knows us before we ever are known.

I believe the Bible teaches that perspective on life. Therefore, I unashamedly am pro-life and have advocated in favor of legislation and programs that help prevent unwanted pregnancies and support at-risk pregnant women. I care about the life of the mother, as well as the life of the baby.

I’ve witnessed a fundamental inconsistency in many of my pro-life friends. They are adamantly against abortion, yet seem mostly unconcerned about other important pro-life issues—such as poverty, criminal justice, addiction, racism, gun violence (especially against children) and environmental care.

These serious issues have the potential to destroy lives just as surely as abortion.

Inconsistent pro-life stance

Critics will say Christians seem to think life begins at conception and ends at birth. I do not believe this is true of most Christians, but I can understand how some would get that impression.

For instance, the Global Humanitarian Aid Act proposes the allocation of additional funds to support humanitarian efforts in areas affected by conflict, natural disasters and extreme poverty.

The Environmental Justice and Climate Resilience Act addresses the disproportionate impact of climate change on vulnerable communities and aims to protect vulnerable populations from the adverse effects of climate change.

The Global Poverty Reduction Act allocates funds toward poverty reduction programs in developing countries, focusing on providing access to education, healthcare, clean water and basic infrastructure to marginalized communities worldwide.

The Safe Migration and Refugee Protection Act recognizes the global refugee crisis and seeks to establish comprehensive guidelines for the safe migration and protection of refugees.

Each of these are pro-life legislation that can be defended forcefully with both Old and New Testament teachings. Yet many self-proclaimed pro-life congressional leaders have voted against them or sought to diminish their funding greatly.

Sadder still, I suspect many pro-life Christians would be against some of these legislative bills, because they are backed by “woke liberals.”

I have only one bit of advice for those Christians who feel this way: Don’t read the Sermon on the Mount. It will ruin your day.

We must strive to be consistent with our moral outrage, lest we become the hypocrites Jesus routinely excoriated.

Ellis Orozco served as a pastor 30 years. He is the founder and CEO of Karooso Ministries and the public theologian in residence at Stark College & Seminary, where this article first appeared. Republished by permission.

Zoom in on the photo accompanying this article, the one up by the headline. Go ahead. I’ll wait.

…

What do you see?

Do you see a sea of people? Lots of color? A bunch of teenagers? Large screens? Some kind of event?

Look again. Look closer. Is there anything else you see?

Do you see a mission field? Its founder does. You should, too.

The fields are ripe

Dean Kamen is a scientist and an evangelist who sees the world as his mission field. Kamen founded FIRST Robotics 35 years ago. FIRST stands for For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology. Though FIRST spread to 50 countries within 25 years, Kamen wants to see FIRST in every country of the world—to “just plant a seed.”

Kamen knew from what happened in the United States and those 49 other countries how robotics spreads organically. He believed if he planted the seed of robotics with just one team in each of the remaining countries of the world, each country would develop its own programs with multiple robot teams and district competitions.

Christians and students of the Bible should hear Jesus likening God’s kingdom to a seed, a powerful little thing that grows exponentially, fills the garden and produces much fruit. But as far as I know, Kamen isn’t talking about God’s kingdom.

Referring to a handful of countries where he had planted the seed of robotics, “it sort of worked,” Kamen told the crowd of tens of thousands gathered for the FIRST Robotics World Championship in Houston on April 20.

Sending them out

To fulfill his mission, Kamen gave the crowd two homework assignments.

He exhorted them to help a robotics team somewhere else in the world that needs help getting to FIRST Global—a more recent annual event Kamen envisions functioning like the Olympics. The goal of this assignment is to “help accelerate the growth of a global network of FIRST.”

“The whole point of FIRST Global is to start in every country what we are doing here, so you need to help them each grow,” Kamen said, believing FIRST Robotics will become the “universal, dominant global sport” in the lifetime of his teenage disciples.

To introduce the second homework assignment, Kamen sounded like so many pastors in the United States when he said, “We took a little bit of a hit in our growth during COVID” but since then have rebounded to about 4,000 FIRST Robotics Competition teams. Kamen wants more.

To achieve his vision of doubling the count, Kamen wants each current team to start a new team, saying he, the staff and the board of FIRST Robotics have their hands full with their own current work to grow FIRST themselves.

Christians and students of the Bible should hear Luke telling of the first deacons being tapped for service, or Jesus sending out the 12 and the 70.

Bringing in the sheaves

In past years, Kamen’s homework assignments included bringing the press, getting FIRST on TV, “get your political leaders, and you’ve done that.” Now, he wants them to bring in another 4,000 teams by January 2025.

He spurred the crowd by saying they have a vested interest in—a reason for—growing FIRST Robotics, “unless you’re not thinking FIRST is useful.”

“So, I’m asking every team here, and I don’t think it’s a big ask … every one of you … figure out how you can bring me at least one more new FIRST Robotics team. I want to have 8,000 teams next year, and I want them all to be brought in by you,” Kamen said.

He then called on teams to mentor—Christians use the verb “disciple”—the teams they start to get them up to speed by January for the 2025 season.

The altar call

Consider the evangelism and mission in Kamen’s closing remarks:

“To be clear, everybody, FIRST needs to grow, and it needs to grow at a much higher rate than a typical company would grow. The world is in desperate need of people that know how to solve problems, that know how to communicate, cooperate, respect each other.

“Things that are so powerfully part of the culture of FIRST need to be much louder in the world. And the 4,000 schools that we have are fantastic, but we need 40,000 or 400,000.

“It’s really not unreasonable to believe that if we do things right, as you people go through your college and career, the impact of the network of FIRST could have a material effect, not just on your life and your career, but on the whole progress of this human experiment we’re in.

“You people really can be an example to the rest of the world, and if we can include thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions of kids in the current generation—your generation—and they can become part of the FIRST community, you will literally change the future.”

“So, please … do the homework. … Get to work!”

Keep in mind, tens of thousands of people, mostly youth, sat through and listened to most of Kamen’s more-than-20-minute appeal—what Christians might call a sermon.

Dean Kamen sees our youth as a mission field. Do you?

Making an impact

The FIRST Impact Award is FIRST Robotics’ most prestigious award. “It honors the team that best represents a model for other teams to emulate and best embodies the mission of FIRST … to [transform] the culture in ways that will inspire greater levels of respect and honor for science and technology, as well as encouraging more of today’s youth to become science and technology leaders.”

Christians are supposed to have an impact in this world, too. To have an impact, we have to be there—where the people are. FIRST Robotics is just one of those places.

We have a mission, too—to make disciples of Jesus from all people, a mission that “will literally change the future” in ways no amount of robotics, science and technology can or will.

Kamen’s mission and values are being absorbed by hundreds of thousands of young people and adults around the world, starting in elementary school with First Lego League. If we want God’s mission and values to impact all these people, we have to be there. We have to be where they are.

We can do this by forming teams. CPR Team 3663 is an example of Christians engaged in FIRST Robotics. We can serve as mentors, coaches or other volunteers for a team in our area. We can engage as individuals or groups, as churches, associations or institutions. And we should. Not to take over FIRST Robotics. To be the salt and light of Jesus within that community.

Maybe robotics isn’t your thing. Maybe you don’t want to get mixed up with FIRST. Fine. What is your thing? What will you get involved in for Christ’s sake? My hunch is it’s a ripe mission field, too—if you can see it.

Eric Black is the executive director, publisher and editor of the Baptist Standard. He can be reached at [email protected]. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author.

(RNS)—In a House Committee on Education and the Workforce hearing April 17 on antisemitism on campus, U.S. Rep. Rick Allen (R-Ga.), used a passage from the Book of Genesis to intimidate the president of Columbia University.

Allen insisted American universities teach their students about “what will happen under the wrath of God” if they do not support Israel.

Allen grossly misappropriated the 12th chapter of Genesis, in which God tells Abraham, who will be the father of the Israelites, “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse.”

At one point, Allen asked the Egyptian-born President Nemat Shafik, “Do you want Columbia University to be cursed by God?”

His question not only implied divine judgment against Columbia, but it also overstepped his legislative role.

Undoubtedly, antisemitism is a horrific prejudice that has led to appalling atrocities. It must be condemned, not only at universities, but wherever it is found. I commend the House committee for its efforts to address this issue. However, I strongly condemn the use of the Bible as a tool for shaping U.S. policy or for suppressing civil political debate in academic settings.

Misuse of Genesis

When political Christians like Allen claim divine approval for their ideologies or views, they engage in what can be described as spiritual terrorism, using biblical texts to instill fear among non-Christians. This fundamentally contradicts our Christian faith.

Growing up in the West Bank, I often saw evangelical leaders deploying the ancient words of Genesis in support of the modern state of Israel. This conflation created serious confusion for me as a Christian Palestinian.

Though an expression of love for the Jewish people, their quotation of Genesis approved of a secular state that imposed oppressive military law on my family and severely restricted my access to churches in Jerusalem and other holy sites.

Israel unjustly prevented my wife, born in Gaza, from legally residing in the West Bank and hindered my wife and me from pursuing our desire to launch a ministry in Bethlehem.

Many theologians and Christian scholars have addressed the misuse of Genesis 12:3. In Christian readings, the blessings promised to Abraham are fulfilled through Christ’s sacrifice, as the Apostle Paul teaches in his Letter to the Galatians. Jesus, the one and true seed of Abraham, embodies the ultimate realization of these blessings.

To enjoy the Abrahamic blessings, we abide in Christ’s redemptive work, rather than blindly support geopolitical strategies.

Abrahamic faiths

The harsh reality of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank did not deter me from pursuing my God-given dream. Guided by a vision to share the gospel, I founded Levant Ministries, dedicated to sharing God’s love throughout the Middle East.

On April 12, near Alexandria, the birthplace of Dr. Shafik, I addressed more than 6,000 evangelical Christians from some 300-plus churches across Egypt and other Arab countries at a prayer conference led by my dear friend Pastor Sameh Maurice.

In my address, I highlighted the plight of Christians in Gaza, including members of my wife’s family who are still sheltering at two churches in Gaza. I also consoled Palestinian families mourning the immense loss of more than 34,000 lives, predominantly women and children.

Similarly, I extended my prayers for the innocent Jewish victims of the Oct. 7 attacks, emphasizing the overwhelming majority of people in the Middle East are not antisemitic. On the contrary, we seek to live in peace with our Jewish and Muslim neighbors, striving to ensure justice for all.

Far reach of God’s promise

As a Christian leader serving across the Middle East, I am guided principally by the example of the Jewish Messiah, who consistently challenged misguided theological frameworks and denounced spiritual terrorism throughout his ministry.

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus condemned the idea of violent retaliation for disbelief, even among his own disciples, during an incident where the Samaritans denied him entry into their territories—possibly motivated by antisemitic sentiments.

When his disciples James and John suggested a deadly punishment—calling down fire from heaven to consume the Samaritans—Jesus sharply rebuked them. He firmly dismissed any notion of divine justice.

This response underscores Jesus’ approach to overcoming prejudice and animosity through reconciliation, rather than through vengeance and violence. As followers of Christ, we must adopt this attitude of grace.

It’s important to recognize God’s promise to Abraham extended far beyond a mere strip of land. Manipulating Scripture to advance political agendas under the guise of divine wrath is a betrayal of our biblical core values.

By embodying the grace Jesus showed to all, including his adversaries, we honor our commitment to God in a world plagued by animosity and strife. This is our sacred calling as followers of Christ—a solemn responsibility we must fulfill as we live out our faith in a broken and divided world.

Fares Abraham, a Palestinian American born in Bethlehem, is the CEO of Levant Ministries and an adjunct professor at the Liberty University School of Business. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author.

Bethlehem Baptist Church has served as a foundation stone in the Mansfield community for more than 150 years. The church membership has found itself in the midst of many shifts in the cultural landscape of the country.

Bethlehem is one of the few churches in the North Texas region that survived the brief period of Reconstruction that took place after the Civil War and the era of Jim Crow that ravished the social climate of the southern states for the recently manumitted enslaved people and the generations that followed.

It was the Bethlehem Baptist Church referred to in the epic account Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin. He was the man who changed his complexion to mimic that of a Black man. He chronicled his experiences from the perspective of a Black man living in the segregated South during that period.

Bethlehem is also the birthplace of the movement to desegregate public schools in the South months after the May 17, 1954, Supreme Court ruling in the infamous Brown v. Board of Education that “separate but equal education” was unconstitutional.

While it took almost 10 years for the schools in Mansfield to desegregate, Bethlehem and its members played an essential role in bringing about that change through the efforts of then Deacon Chairman T.M. Moody.

It was not a hard decision for the church to facilitate conversations of racial equality and citizen’s rights that emerged after the brutal murders of Atatiana Jefferson, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. Ironically, the Floyd murder took place the same month, some 66 years following Deacon Moody’s valiant effort to desegregate the Mansfield schools.

Tumult and response

2020 was a tumultuous year. It was the year of COVID-19, mandatory closings of businesses and sports venues, mask mandates and death from a disease that plunged the world into a pandemic.

This also was the year when there were mass demonstrations around the world featuring clashes with police and local law enforcement. While many were peaceful, some were violent and deadly.

A group of local high school students wanted their voices heard. The students demanded they conduct a demonstration unsupervised by adults through the City of Mansfield. The blessing of the modern-day, 21st-century Mansfield was “things had started to change.”

Mansfield in 2020 was a far cry from Mansfield in 1956, when there was an unsuccessful attempt to desegregate the schools. I am happy to report the city leadership and local law enforcement were sensitive to the events of the day, and they were seeking to find a way to work with our youth, as opposed to doing otherwise.

It was during this time our police chief reached out to the Bethlehem team. We, in turn, invited our mayor to the table along with educators and a trusted area youth pastor. We worked together with the students of our local independent school district to conduct a peaceful demonstration.

The thought at the time was we would use the resources provided by Baylor University’s Soundings Project, along with donations from local churches and private donors, to facilitate a safety net around our students as they marched.

The support of the local community, local law enforcement and city leaders helped to conduct an incident-free event that involved more than 2,500 people.

The day culminated in front of Mansfield City Hall with an old-fashioned worship service led by a renowned national gospel recording artist, along with students from the march. Many of the participants in the march joined what became an all-out worship and praise service there.

The Soundings funding helped to cover the cost of bus transportation, water and first aid items. It was a hot summer day, but the teamwork and sincere hearts of the teens and all involved made it a day that will not be forgotten soon.

Bridging the gap

In the months that followed, students were encouraged to partner with local volunteers from the church to conduct two Zoom webcasts. With the help of the Mansfield police chief, the school district police chief, the constable and other experts in law enforcement, the Bethlehem team facilitated substantive dialogue between groups of students and the public at large.

The law enforcement professionals fielded questions from the students regarding various topics, such as the meaning of the phrase “the thin blue line” and curious questions about arrest tactics. Common ground was achieved on many of the topics broached by both groups.

I believe our students and the general public learned our local police officials already had implemented many of the changes sought throughout the country. The public also learned our local police have stellar numbers regarding the lack of racial profiling complaints against our officers.

The steps taken by the Bethlehem Baptist Church, local officials and the public now are codified in state law, Senate Bill 30.

Senate Bill 30, also known as the Community Safety Education Act, requires school districts and charter schools to provide instruction to students in grades 9 through 12 on proper interactions with peace officers during traffic stops and other interactions with law enforcement officers.

Thank God for the Soundings Project funding that helped the Bethlehem Baptist Church and the Mansfield community to be at the forefront of this legislation.

Michael Evans Sr. is senior pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Mansfield and mayor of Mansfield. Bethlehem Baptist Church participated in Baylor University’s Soundings Project. Soundings is part of Lilly Endowment Inc.’s Called to Lives of Meaning and Purpose Initiative. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author.

This is Part 2 in a series written by Ellis Orozco regarding Christian civic engagement. Part 1 is available here.

*******

“But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns” (Mark 8:33, NIV). 

Despite their belief in democracy, the founding fathers accepted and endorsed limits on voting.

The U.S. Constitution originally left it to states to determine who would be qualified to vote in elections. For decades, state legislatures generally restricted voting to white males who owned property. Some states also employed religious tests to ensure only Christian men could vote.

Almost 200 years of protests, political debate and judicial litigation brought voting rights to non-property owners, non-Christians, non-whites, non-English speakers, females and, in 1971, citizens as young as 18. The reasoning for the latter was if they could fight and die in Vietnam, they should be able to vote.

Along the way, numerous obstacles were devised to keep the newly approved voters away from the polls. Literacy tests, poll taxes, English-language requirements and more were aimed at suppressing the vote among people of color, immigrants, low-income populations and women. All eventually were ruled unconstitutional.

The Christian responsibility to vote

The point is your right to vote has been a long, hard-fought struggle and should be approached with a sober commitment to responsible participation.

As a Christian, that responsibility includes approaching the privilege with the spirit of Christ and from a Christ-centered perspective. Jesus is our foundation, the Bible is our roadmap, and the Holy Spirit is our guide.

I never would tell you who to vote for. Nor would I tell you which political party to support. As of November 2022, there were at least 53 distinct ballot-qualified political parties in the United States, and none of them have cornered the market on Christian values or ideals.

The Christian framework for voting & political engagement

What I will offer are three Christian-based principles that should guide your vote and serve as a framework for political engagement. I will examine the first in this article and the other two in the next and (hopefully) final installment in this series.

1. Christians should place a high value on truth-telling.

Christians profess to be a people of the truth. It is core to our faith. We proclaim to have good news that is true. We are devoted to the one who said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32, emphasis mine).

In contrast, we understand God hates lies. The New Testament word for “devil” means “slanderer, false-accuser, or liar.” Jesus called the devil “ a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). When you peddle in lies and half-truths, you align yourself against Jesus.

We always should demand clear truth-telling from ourselves, as well as all our leaders.

There is a danger in becoming so enamored with one candidate that you begin to love the candidate more than the truth. We all are guilty of hearing what we want to hear and ignoring that which might contradict our preconceived notions or damage our political persuasions.

When you agree with certain politicians on so many issues, you might be tempted to excuse them when they are less than truthful.

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6, emphasis mine).

Jesus’ path to God was not tied to the Mosaic law or sacrificial system centered in Jerusalem. It was through his own personhood. That personhood—the Way—was life-giving, because it was grounded in truth.

When you choose your favorite political candidate over the truth, you have chosen him or her over Jesus. The Bible calls this idolatry.

Part of the problem is we have elevated winning above everything else. Winning becomes more important than the truth.

Gaining the world, losing your soul

Jesus said, “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” (Mark 8:36).

The occasion for that statement was his disciples’ rejection of the idea of a suffering Messiah. They didn’t want a Messiah whose earthly end was execution at the hands of the Roman Empire. They wanted a Messiah who conquered the Roman Empire. They wanted a Messiah who was a “winner.”

And Jesus asked them, “What good is it to ‘win’ against the Romans, if it means ‘losing’ the integrity of the divine mission?”

What good is it for you to post a hard-hitting zinger that destroys your political opponent, if in the process, you perpetuate a lie? It might feel good in the moment and even give you a temporary “win,” but ultimately, you are chipping away at the heart of the gospel message.

When you jettison the truth in order to win, you might win the election, but you lost your soul. In our zeal to support our candidate of choice we can fall into the trap of spreading and perpetuating lies.

Fact-checking

For instance, I consistently get emails and Facebook notices from Christian friends who forward or re-post outright lies.

It usually takes no more than three mouse clicks to confirm the post to be a complete fabrication—a poorly photoshopped lie. My question: Why didn’t the Christian fact-check it before he or she posted it?

Christians are supposed to be lovers of the truth. Make the search for the truth more important than taking your political opponent down a few notches or winning an election.

There are several good tools for spotting the lies. Snopes, Factcheck and Politifact are great places to start. FotoForensics is a website that can determine if a picture has been photoshopped or AI generated.

Put your political emotions aside and take a moment to search for the truth. Do not be a party to perpetuating lies. Your Christian witness is severely damaged when you consistently perpetuate lies and support those who lie.

Don’t sacrifice the truth for your political ideology. Nothing short of the Christian witness is at stake.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Media Bias/Fact Check is another fact-checking website with a high reliability rating.

Ellis Orozco served as a pastor 30 years. He is the founder and CEO of Karooso Ministries and the public theologian in residence at Stark College & Seminary, where this article first appeared. Republished by permission.

Superman is not your pastor. Even if he was, he’d still disappoint you.

For one, kryptonite; he’s not invincible. For another, he can’t attend to your distress call when he’s attending to someone else’s. Even Superman can’t be everywhere and all powerful all the time.

The same goes for Superwoman.

Why, then, do we expect pastors to be superheroes?

From growing up around pastors, to marrying a pastor’s daughter, to being a pastor myself, to relating to hundreds of pastors in my present role, I’ve spent a lot of time around pastors. Every one of them was and is a human being. Not one of them was or is a superhero.

Even so, most of them carry or feel enormous pressure in the pastorate. Much of that pressure comes from superhuman expectations.

Superhuman expectations are a killer—literally. They can lead to depression, anxiety, high blood pressure, heart attacks or strokes. They can wear pastors down, making them vulnerable to poor decision making and even moral failures. They can drive a pastor out of ministry and a pastor’s family out of the church.

It’s long past time we adjust our expectations of pastors.

Superhuman expectations

I’ve experienced firsthand the expectation pastors somehow are superhuman. Pastors are expected to be physically, mentally, emotionally, financially and spiritually strong and healthy—all at the same time and all the time.

How do I know these things are expected? Because I’ve experienced firsthand the shock, disappointment or discomfort when a layperson saw some of a pastor’s limits.

Pastors are expected to have everything figured out, to know all the answers, always to make the right decisions, always to lead toward growth, never to need help.

How do I know these things are expected? Because I’ve experienced firsthand church members’ anxiety and diminished trust when the pastor didn’t have all the answers. I’ve heard many times pastors blamed when a church didn’t grow. I know what happens when a pastor doesn’t see eye-to-eye with the rest of the congregation, or vice versa.

I don’t know where or when this problem started. But I do know pastors and laypeople share the responsibility for it. Together, we have created a cultural expectation that the pastor is always strong, always healthy, always closer to God, always somehow “better.”

We’ve justified our expectations of pastors with the admonition those “who teach will be judged more strictly” (James 3:1), ignoring the next words: “We all stumble in many things” (James 3:2, emphasis mine).

Holding pastors to superhuman expectations often doesn’t end well—for the pastor, the pastor’s family, the church and sometimes the wider community.

Part of what makes expectations superhuman is we don’t support pastors sufficiently enough to reach that high bar. It’s long past time we adopt realistic expectations of pastors and provide the necessary support to meet those expectations.

Matching support to expectations

Yes, we should maintain high expectations for pastors. Pastors are spiritual leaders, after all. We also should hold pastors to high moral standards. And we must recognize, for pastors to reach those high standards and expectations, sufficient support is required.

If we are going to have high expectations for pastors, then we should provide pastors equally high support. Some of that support must come structurally from the church, some personally from church members and some from pastors themselves.

Pastors can support themselves by not believing the lie they are supposed to be superheroes. Sometimes, that lie whispers inside a pastor’s own head. Sometimes, it’s a parental expectation that’s hard to outgrow. Sometimes, it’s voiced by the church a pastor serves. Wherever it comes from, it’s a lie.

Pastors must listen to the truth they know—they are human beings like everyone else. Churches must acknowledge that truth about pastors, too.

As humans, pastors experience stresses and pressures associated with their own lives as well as the lives of those in their churches. We need to resource pastors with the time and space to face these stresses and pressures.

For example, when a pastor is grieving the death or decline of the pastor’s own family member, support looks like providing time away, covering the cost of counseling, and church members maintaining unity and putting out fires for a while instead of expecting the pastor to extinguish them all.

Support also looks like pastors giving themselves permission to take time away to breathe and decompress.

Shared burden

Churches can provide the needed support by making sure pastors are adequately compensated. A church without the financial means to provide a full-time salary with health and retirement benefits should adjust its expectations for a pastor’s availability and consider a bivocational arrangement—understanding there are unique pressures that come with that option.

Pastors should receive a sabbatical—an extended time away on a periodic basis for rest, recuperation and preparation for further ministry. A church that thinks it can’t afford to give or allow a pastor to take a sabbatical needs to think seriously about whether it cares about its pastor and whether it cares about its own vitality.

Churches also need to insist pastors engage in regular maintenance through life-giving pastoral peer groups, regular—as in weekly—downtime, ongoing counseling that allows pastors to debrief and decompress with an uninvolved third party, and continuing education. And churches need to resource pastors to engage in this regular maintenance.

These are just some of the ways we can combine our resources to support pastors to meet realistic expectations for their ministries.

Ministry is challenging on the best days. It can be grueling and even devouring on days that aren’t even the worst. Ministry takes a special person to be a pastor under these circumstances. Not a superhero. A person called by God to be a pastor.

God hasn’t called Superman or Superwoman, yet. God has called and continues to call regular people like you and me. And regular people need all the support they can get.

Eric Black is the executive director, publisher and editor of the Baptist Standard. He can be reached at [email protected]. The views expressed are those of the author.

First Baptist Church of Amarillo is privileged to join 11 other Texas churches in Baylor University’s Soundings Project to explore within each congregation a new ministry model.

In First Baptist Amarillo, that model is something not tried previously, with a view to strengthening the body of First Amarillo, perhaps meeting a human need in a new way while sharing the gospel.

A nationwide survey shows 60 percent of Americans are disengaged from their work. Eighty-five percent experience stress because of their work. The false dichotomy is: “Church is what we do on Sunday. Work is what we do Monday through Friday.”

For First Amarillo, the Soundings Project has become Bridges, the broad mission of which is to deepen and enrich the lives of Christians by equipping them to discern and live out their callings, with a focus on learning and living out the bridge between worship on Sunday and work on Monday.

Building Bridges

Bridges has been four years in development with a team led by First Amarillo Minister of Education Robby Barrett. The team includes other staff members and lay members devoted to developing curriculum to help participants discern and live out their callings in the workplace.

Initially, the focus was on younger adults as affinity group members in groups of four to six, who joined with an affinity group leader—an older adult. Over a period of seven weeks, they became acquainted with one another and journeyed through a Redeemer City-To-City six-week Bible study titled The Calling of Faith & Work.

Affinity group members have included schoolteachers and medical professionals, a hairdresser, investment advisor, banker, IT professional, insurance agent and human resources director. Some affinity group leaders are retired. Others continue in their work, all with 20 years or more in the workplace.

Affinity group leaders prepared by completing six weeks of training, working through the Bible study chapter-by-chapter and discussing ways of engaging affinity group members in meaningful conversation about integrating worship on Sunday with work on Monday.

Each group decided where and when to meet. Generally, meetings were kept to one hour weekly. Affinity group members were expected to prepare on their own time for the meeting each week to enhance the substance of discussion.

First Amarillo offered Bridges in 2022 and 2023, with plans for a fall-2024 offering.

In preparation for the 2024 session, the First Amarillo Bridges team is exploring the use of smart phone text and tablets as well as television cable channels to spread the word about the Bridges opportunity. One affinity group member has asked about the possibility of bringing the Bridges curriculum into the workplace as an on-site study.

Bridges curriculum

Questions posed by the Bridges curriculum include:

• In what ways are you discouraged, discontent or disengaged at work?
• Do you feel like an exile at work? If so, what makes you feel this way?
• How does the gospel address and redeem your attitude and circumstances?
• When you see brokenness or a hopeless situation at work, how do you typically respond?
• How do we glorify God with our work, and what impact does that glory bring to our lives and work environments?
• What particular decisions do you need to make in the coming week that require increasing wisdom and the guiding discernment of the Spirit?
• How does the possibility that your work today could last into all eternity change your perspective on the value of your work?

Additional course curricula include Tim Keller’s Every Good Endeavor and Greg Laurie’s Tell Someone, as well as the NIV Faith & Work Bible.

The Faith & Work Bible is referenced continually in The Calling of Faith & Work and incorporates on-point, personal testimonies and real-life modern-day stories appended to the Scripture to help the reader think about ways Scripture can be applied in the reader’s own workplace.

Greg Laurie’s Tell Someone lays out in practical format how each follower of Jesus can share the good news, including the venue of the workplace.

Responses to Bridges

Post-course surveys among the 50-plus affinity group members in the 2022 and 2023 classes have shown a high degree of satisfaction and utility for the Bridges experience. Those numbers are understood best in the light of testimonies from affinity group members.

“I admire this course of study, and I value the time that I invested. First, the course materials are extremely high quality. It is clear that this course was developed by professionals who really know how to design and deliver organizational training,” one affinity group member wrote.

“Second, the focus of the course was on a subject that I had never considered before. Did you ever notice that in Genesis 1, God was performing work?

“Finally, and most importantly for me, in the course I met some of my church brothers and sisters that I had never met before. … I was grateful for the opportunity to participate in this course, and I highly recommend this course to anybody who loves working and who wants to know more about the biblical topic of work,” the group member continued.

Another participant explained: “The Bridges Bible study helped me develop a biblical perspective on the work I do. In addition, the Bridges Bible study helped me see my coworkers in a different light, as we are all created in the image of God.”

The Bridges team has learned interest in this subject crosses generational lines and is not limited to an older generation mentoring a younger generation.

One affinity group member during the first session became an affinity group leader in the second session. Some affinity group members in the second session were nearing 60 years of age, having had many years already in the workplace, but wanting the fresh experience of understanding what the Bible says about living out their calling as Christians in the workplace.

In an exit survey following the first offering of Bridges, two-thirds said they are very likely or somewhat likely to participate again in Bridges.

The Bridges team sees a bright future for this experience to help participants find contentment and satisfaction in the workplace, to see their coworkers as God sees them and to watch for opportunities to share Christ among work colleagues.

Bill Brian is an attorney in Amarillo and a member of First Baptist Church in Amarillo. First Baptist Amarillo participated in Baylor University’s Soundings Project. Soundings is part of Lilly Endowment Inc.’s Called to Lives of Meaning and Purpose Initiative. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author.

This is Part I in a series written by Ellis Orozco regarding Christian civic engagement.

This is a national election year that promises to be unlike any other in modern presidential history. A little more than 155 million people voted in the 2020 presidential election. That was an historical high. This year’s presidential election promises to beat that number.

More Americans engaging in the political life of our country is a good thing.

However, the increased engagement also has brought a growing polarization that threatens to tear the fabric of our national political life. It seems to have created a much more toxic political discourse.

We live in an anger-filled, 24-hours-a-day, 365-days-a-year election cycle that for many has become nothing more than background noise. For others it has created a paralyzing anxiety, fostering the temptation to walk away from it all.

The question for many Christians is: How do we engage in the brawl without becoming brawlers? How do we participate in the national conversation without descending into lunacy? How do we vote from a biblical, Christ-centered worldview?

Jesus and politics

Jesus was in the Jerusalem temple one day when he was confronted by a group of elite politicians, each with their own agenda (Matthew 22:15-22). They were attempting to destroy Jesus, politically. They wanted to chip away at the hold Jesus had over the general population—the 80 percent of the people who had been abused and silenced for decades.

To that end, they asked Jesus a trick question. Should we pay taxes to Caesar? If he answered “yes,” he would lose credibility with his followers. If he answered “no,” they could charge him with treason. Jesus’ response is interesting.

He showed them a coin and asked, “Whose image is on this coin?”

They answered, “Caesar’s, of course.”

Jesus threw the coin back at them and said, “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God” (Matthew 22:21).

Modern interpreters have over-spiritualized Jesus’ question. On the day he asked it, the question actually was quite enigmatic and may have initiated a heated debate that would cause modern-day political discourse to blush.

What belongs to God? The answer, in Jesus’ day, depended on your political perspective.

The Sadducees would have said the Temple and the sacrificial system belongs to God.

The Pharisees would have been divided, some saying it was the throne of David that belongs to God, and others saying it was the Mosaic Law.

The Zealots would have screamed with one voice it was the Promised Land that belongs to God.

A few Essenes, had they happened to wander into Jerusalem that day, might have said it was the community of true Israelites that belongs to God.

Jesus’ answer was designed brilliantly to elicit such a debate. In the end, his central thesis most likely was missed in the brawl that almost surely ensued.

Jesus’ thesis: It’s all of the above. Everything belongs to God. Including the passionate debate.

A biblical foundation for voting

Let’s begin with this basic truism: Politics is not the most important thing in life.

Can you take a deep breath and just live in that for a moment? We have survived some pretty ugly political circumstances in the past, and we will survive these days as well.

This nation, as we know it, one day will cease to exist. All nations come and go, and if you think ours is any different … you’re wrong.

Jesus, however, is eternal, and our relationship with him is the most important thing in life.

Most Christians seem to understand this truism and, therefore, are tempted to wash their hands of the nasty, political climate and walk away from it all. That would be a big mistake for two reasons.

Two reasons for political engagement

1. Political decisions impact people.

The decisions we make as a country impact the lives of people all over the Earth.

We have a mandate from Jesus to stand on the side of the weak and oppressed—to fight for the rights of the vulnerable and the voiceless; to advocate for the responsible and ethical stewardship of our collective resources; to fight against corruption, hatred, violence and racism wherever we find it.

Political action is a vital way we stay true to that mandate.

2. Jesus is Lord over all things.

The central confession of the Christian church is this: Jesus Christ is Lord.

There is evidence that when confronted with the political mandate to confess, “Caesar is Lord,” some first-century Christians chose death over capitulation.

Before his ascension into heaven, Jesus said to his disciples: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matthew 28:18).

Christians believe Jesus has power over all things and ultimately is in control. The Bible teaches us God cares deeply about his creation—all of it. And he calls us to care for it as well (Genesis 2:15).

One of the most effective ways for us to be good stewards of the Earth God gave us is to be involved in the political process.

If the Christ ethic demands we remain involved in the political process, how then should we vote? Is there a biblical-theological framework that can guide us as we prepare to vote in 2024?

That question will be the subject of my next article.

Ellis Orozco served as a pastor 30 years. He is the founder and CEO of Karooso Ministries and the public theologian in residence at Stark College & Seminary, where this article first appeared. Republished by permission.

There’s so much in this world we do not rejoice over. So much of the news, including in the Baptist Standard, is not “rejoicing with those who rejoice,” but is “mourning with those who mourn.” There is much trouble in the world, and Christians and the church are not immune or exempt from it. There is much to mourn.

While there is a time to “mourn with those who mourn,” there also is a time to “rejoice with those who rejoice.” For at least as long as it takes you to read this editorial, this will be a time to rejoice.

‘You are what you celebrate.’

“You are what you celebrate.”

If this is true—and I believe it is—then we need to know what we’re celebrating and why we’re celebrating it. We also need to make sure we’re celebrating the right things.

For followers of Jesus, the right things include when people give their lives to Jesus, when people are baptized, and when our churches are healthy and ministering to others.

What do you celebrate? What does your church celebrate?

Stories of rejoicing

Over the last few weeks, we’ve gathered stories celebrating what God is doing in and through churches throughout Texas. I wish I could say that was on purpose.

One set of stories are opinion articles published in our Voices column. The other set of stories are news features published in our Texas column.

The opinion articles are from churches participating in Baylor University’s Soundings Project, which is part of Lilly Endowment Inc.’s Called to Lives of Meaning and Purpose Initiative.

The news articles feature churches participating in Pave, a church revitalization effort of Texas Baptists’ Center for Church Health.

We haven’t published all the stories yet. So be sure to watch for them during the next couple of weeks.

Large

Bear Creek Baptist Church in Katy isn’t a story in either category—Soundings Project or Pave. Nevertheless, theirs is a story we can celebrate. Bear Creek reported “60 baptisms since the beginning of 2024,” more than half of which were of adults.

When I shared this story on my Facebook profile April 2, Ariel Martinez—lead pastor of Del Sol Church in El Paso—commented: “We too had our 60th baptism YTD over the weekend, and we’ve got 5 more lined up for this coming Sunday!”

Math isn’t my strongest subject, but I’m pretty sure that’s more than one baptism per week.

And small

It’s not just large churches in large cities experiencing spiritual and numerical growth. We also rejoice with small churches—some urban and some rural.

For example, St. Luke Baptist Church in San Antonio had a couple dozen people attending in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The church’s future looked bleak. Then, they experienced 20 weeks of baptisms after Pastor Joe Barber led them to change part of the church’s worship service. You’ll have to read Calli Keener’s article for the whole story.

I know what a shot in the arm baptisms are for a small church. When I was the pastor of First Baptist Church in Covington, we moved into our new facility and called a new youth pastor at roughly the same time. During that first year, the youth pastor and I baptized more than 40 people.

Reasons to rejoice

These stories share reasons to rejoice—such as an increase in baptisms and what can happen when churches connect to larger efforts. And there are more reasons to celebrate than that.

Change

Most of the churches featured in these stories had to change at least one thing. For example, Pave encourages churches to make baptisms central to their worship services. That usually means changing the order of the service. I did that once—changed the order of service. Ask me how that went.

But the change is more than when baptisms happen during the service. The change includes what leads up to and what follows each baptism. Again, you’ll have to read the stories.

In addition to celebrating baptisms, we should celebrate these churches’ courage to change.

Collaboration

For most of the churches in these stories, their revitalization or growth was catalyzed from outside the church. Some received a peer community and outside funding—such as the Lilly Endowment grant funds in the case of churches participating in Baylor University’s Soundings Project. Others—such as those who participate in Pave—receive training, resourcing and collaborative community.

In addition to revitalized congregations, we should celebrate the community and collaboration fostering new vibrancy and vitality in our churches.

Community

Most of the churches re-engaged their communities in one or more ways.

First Baptist Church in Rosebud, working together with their local ministerial alliance in fall 2023, provided a free Thanksgiving meal in the city park for anyone in the community. The alliance also is working together to provide school supplies for elementary students in the local school district. These efforts are a big deal in a small community.

In addition to celebrating how God changes lives when the church serves the community, we should celebrate when God’s people serve together in community.

‘Rejoice with those who rejoice’

To celebrate something is to reward it. It is to give our time, energy and attention to it. We are rewarding a lot of lesser things by giving them a lot of our best time, energy and attention, leaving us emptier and worse off for it.

With a shift in perspective and by joining with our brothers and sisters in Christ, we can give our best to what will enliven us and our churches. How the times need us to be enlivened again.

Celebrating doesn’t mean we ignore the struggles or sweep the problems under the rug. No, we still must face those things; we still must mourn with those who mourn.

Celebration is another kind of response to the troubles of this world. It is defiance of this world, in a way. It is to side with hope and the fact trouble will not always have its way.

The church—the body of Christ—is alive and well. His Spirit is living and moving and is at work in us and in this world. Let us rejoice with those who rejoice.

Eric Black is the executive director, publisher and editor of the Baptist Standard. He can be reached at [email protected]. The views expressed are those of the author.