I join the Haitian Christian Leaders Association in their objection to the false claims against the Haitian community in Springfield, Ohio.

I do this for at least three reasons:

1. Scripture commands us not to bear false witness against others.
2. Scripture instructs us to care for immigrants.
3. Jesus tells us to do to others what we want done to us.

The group of Haitian Christian leaders issued a public statement on Sept. 12 in response to claims vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance promoted on X (formerly Twitter) that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were eating people’s pets.

The claims resulted in threats of violence against public facilities in Springfield, forcing temporary closures and at least one church to wonder if it was safe to meet on Sunday. The threats have been enough in just one week to lead some Haitian Springfield residents to consider relocating.

The handful of claims quickly became scads of memes, which quickly became millions of shares on social media. The memes turned into punchlines, and not just about Haitians. One Christian media outlet used the claims to disparage another ethnicity altogether.

These false claims against Haitian immigrants are despicable. Promoting them is despicable. Threats of violence in response to these claims are despicable. Using these claims to disparage others is despicable, and calling it “satire” doesn’t excuse it.

Christians are not to be party to such slander and hate.

Do not bear false witness

The American Standard Bible, long considered one of the most—if not the most—literal English translations, renders the ninth commandment as: “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor” (Exodus 20:16), or “Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbor” (Deuteronomy 5:20).

Whatever the English translation or location—Exodus or Deuteronomy—we know what the commandment means: Don’t lie about other people. And not just other people. Don’t lie about your neighbor.

We don’t need scholars to break down the passage for us to know what the command prohibits … unless, that is, we want to make sure our particular lies about others are exempt.

In this instance, Vance and others have maintained, to a certain extent, the validity—the truth—of the claims about Haitian immigrants. If that’s the case, that the claims are true—which they aren’t—then Vance and others might not be guilty of bearing false witness. But they might be guilty of something else.

Love the foreigner living among you

Returning to Deuteronomy, Scripture instructs God’s people to “love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (10:19 KJV). Other versions substitute “alien,” “foreigner” or “sojourner” for “stranger.”

Leviticus 19:34 makes it even plainer: “The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the LORD your God” (NIV).

I could cite instruction after instruction throughout Scripture about how we are to treat “the foreigner residing among us.” None of them tell us to lie about immigrants, harass them or threaten them. Though I could cite many passages, I will cite just one more.

At the end of Ezekiel, the prophet relates a vision of Israel restored after its exile. It’s a long vision, nine chapters worth of Ezekiel’s prophetic writing.

When the man in the vision tells Ezekiel how the land of Israel will be divided up, the man says: “You shall divide it by lot for an inheritance among yourselves and among the aliens who stay in your midst … and they shall be to you as the native-born among the sons of Israel; they shall be allotted an inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel” (Ezekiel 47:22 NASB).

We can get bogged down in interpretation—what exactly is going on, what precisely is meant by this passage and maybe when this is supposed to happen—and miss the overarching message.

The message is this: God makes provision through us for “the foreigner residing among you.”

Some still will quibble, saying what the Bible says about caring for foreigners applies only to God-fearing people who aren’t Israelites, or those instructions don’t apply to our situation in the 21st-century United States. How we love to strain out gnats (Matthew 23:24).

Do to others as you want done to you

We might skirt the law against lying. We might skirt the many instructions to care for “foreigners.” But we can’t skirt Jesus’ instruction to do to others as we want them to do to us.

“In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12 NASB).

I hardly think those spreading false claims about Haitian immigrants want to have horrid lies spread about them. I seriously doubt they want to be under threat of violent death by those they are lying about.

But, I guess here again one can argue Jesus’ instruction only applies to people who follow him.

Explaining his Christian faith to the Faith & Freedom Coalition Prayer Breakfast on July 18, Vance said: “I think grace, the way that I understand it, is something that happens over a lifetime, and in ways big and small, if you practice your faith, if you pray, if you think about what it requires of you, then God makes you a little bit better each and every single day, and that to me has been the greatest lesson and the greatest blessing of my faith.”

May J.D. Vance—and all of us—be at least a little bit more like Jesus each and every single day.

For the Christian label to mean anything, it must mean that we who claim it are those who are practicing our faith—or as Jesus said it, learning to obey everything he commanded (Matthew 28:20).

During these days of tribalism in which many identify themselves as God’s people, we do well to pay attention to the kind of God our God is and what God expects. And if we’re going to call ourselves a “Christian nation,” then we are duty-bound to live by Christ’s name.

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

As I reflect back on the many years I was a pastor and then an associational director of missions, I want to encourage “young” pastors.

At my age, “young” is relative. A young pastor could be 50 years old and starting pastoral ministry. Whatever your age, I hope this advice will encourage you.

Calling

Being a pastor is very important.

I remember when I started out, I had a scrapbook I wrote in, and I remember sharing it with my grandmother, and I remember her reaction when I had written in it: “I would rather answer God’s call to be a pastor than to be the president of the United States.”

That calling is the highest calling.

I never remember ever thinking I was somebody. I didn’t deserve it. I certainly didn’t earn it, but it was there.

Love

As far as how I saw my role, first of all, was that I was to love the people.

There were times when I got upset, but I never doubted people will overlook some mistakes if they know you love them and you are serving the Lord by serving them. Love covers a multitude of sins.

I really have felt so blessed through the years that the Lord gave me that feeling of commitment and love to really be a minister and to care for the people. Part of my sense of calling is to try to minister to them and pray with them.

Family

Yet, there were times when, looking back, I was more committed to doing those things than I was spending the balance of time with family. In every family, there are times like that.

Try to keep a balance between your ministry to the church and your ministry to your family.

There will always be church people who think you owe it all to them. At the same time, you just have to love them and go on the best you can.

Leadership

I never tried to be a ramrod. In my favorite ordination sermon, I always tried to point out the difference between being a shepherd and being a trail boss on a cattle drive. Jesus called himself the Great Shepherd. To me, that is a real distinction.

Peter talks a lot about being a shepherd and ministering to people and guarding them.

Treat people the way Jesus treats us—loving us, caring for us, showing respect.

Love again

Three words that stand out as far as our relationship with Jesus are grace, mercy and love. If we as pastors don’t show those attitudes, something is missing.

Grace is getting what we didn’t deserve. Mercy is not getting what we did deserve. Love covers it all. If you don’t have love, mercy and grace, something is missing badly.

I don’t care where you are, there’s always going to be someone who is hurting, and a minister who chooses not to be there is missing something.

Preaching

If God hasn’t called you to preach, then do what you need to do. But if he has, that’s where you’re going to find your fulfillment.

Preaching is a crucial part of your ministry. It needs to be biblical. We’re there representing the Lord. We need to be telling his message, not some pet peeve or using the platform for your agenda. As the prophet said, “Thus sayeth the Lord.”

Did God really say this? Is this really what he wants us to know? What is his message to us, and how are we to respond?

Somewhere in the message, you need to be telling the good news. People need to know there’s hope and that Jesus saves.

It’s easy for some to get sidetracked, and I think we’re seeing a lot of that in our day today with the political stuff. There are people who have missed what it means to be a follower of Jesus, and they’ve tried to make it a political issue, rather than understanding we’re here to represent the Lord, and that we’re to represent him well.

The Lord is the one who matters. It’s about his glory and his honor.

Endurance

The thing that helped me as much as anything was when the church gave me a sabbatical. There were some people who understood it and promoted it; otherwise, I don’t think it would have happened.

A sabbatical can provide relief before burnout starts.

A sabbatical says to a pastor, “We’re a hundred percent in favor of blessing you, so in turn you bless us, and to giving you the opportunity to grow and to learn yourself.”

You need to have a network with other pastors who can listen and pray for you. You have to be careful, though. There has to be trust developed. If you’re not careful, you can share too much, and you wind up with people you thought were close gossiping about you.

You can’t just unload everything. You need to have a good listener who is willing to come alongside and share the load a little bit.

Don’t be too trusting, but don’t be too cautious either.

Calling again

Whatever your age, stay with it, and be faithful to the end.

Editor Eric Black recorded this interview with his father-in-law Glenn Ward on Aug. 25. Glenn died on Aug. 31. He stayed faithful to the end.

Glenn Ward was a pastor for 45 years—37 years at Acton Baptist Church outside Granbury—and director of missions for Paluxy Baptist Association in Granbury for 11 years. This interview was edited for length.

Si las más de 3,300 congregaciones hispanas de la Convención Bautista del Sur tuvieran su propia convención estatal, serían la cuarta convención más grande del país, detrás de las convenciones de Texas (Baptist Convention of Texas), Carolina del Norte y Georgia.

Puede que le sorprenda, como a mí, descubrir que este importante grupo no tiene representación en el Comité Ejecutivo de la SBC, ni en su personal, y no cuenta con recursos en el presupuesto de la SBC.

La Red Nacional Bautista Hispana viene a cubrir la urgente necesidad de liderazgo hispano a nivel nacional.

Un campo de misión en constante crecimiento

El crecimiento de la población estadounidense está impulsado por la comunidad hispana.

Según la investigación de Pew Research, entre 2010 y 2022, los hispanos representaron el 53 porcentaje del aumento de la población. Sin embargo, entre 2022 y 2023, «la población hispana representó algo menos del 71 porcentaje del crecimiento global de la población de Estados Unidos», según la Oficina del Censo estadounidense.

En 2023, los hispanos constituían casi el 20 porcentaje de la población, lo que los convertía en el segundo grupo más numeroso de los Estados Unidos.

Ver a esta comunidad como una vez Jesús vio a las multitudes y sintió compasión por ellas es declarar de acuerdo «La cosecha es abundante, pero los trabajadores son pocos» (Mateo 9:37).

Las iglesias hispanas en la SBC, aunque crecientes, también son pocas.

Desde 2011, la SBC tuvo una ganancia neta de 111 congregaciones hispanas, mientras que las congregaciones anglosajonas sufrieron una pérdida neta de 1,337 congregaciones.

No obstante, Bruno Molina, director ejecutivo de la Red Nacional Bautista Hispana señala que: «Aunque los hispanos representamos alrededor del 20 porcentaje de la población de la nación, sólo constituimos el 7 porciento de las iglesias de la Convención Bautista del Sur. Aunque un buen número de las iglesias de la SBC son iglesias hispanas, hay un déficit del 13 porcentaje en la representación hispana.»

Las congregaciones hispanas están a la vanguardia para alcanzar y ministrar a casi una quinta parte de la población del país.

Nunca en la historia de nuestra nación tan pocas congregaciones hispanas han tenido una oportunidad tan grande de ministerio.

En yuxtaposición a esta perspectiva evangelizadora histórica a la que se enfrentan las iglesias hispanas de la SBC, está el flagrante vacío de liderazgo hispano y de recursos a su disposición a nivel nacional.

Representación hispana en la SBC

No hay representación hispana en el Comité Ejecutivo de la SBC, el órgano de gobierno de la denominación compuesto por 86 representantes.

No hay representación hispana en el personal del Comité Ejecutivo de la convención. Esto significa que no hay hispanos en los equipos de la oficina del presidente, comunicaciones, finanzas, promoción y relaciones, o instalaciones.

Contrasta esto con el contexto más rico que vemos en el trabajo bautista aquí en Texas.

Texas Baptists (Convención Bautista General de Texas) tiene 48 empleados hispanos. Texas Baptists en Español, el departamento de la convención centrado en las iglesias y líderes hispanos, cuenta con tres empleados dedicados a sus esfuerzos. Cabe destacar que hay 14 directores hispanos en la Junta Ejecutiva de Texas Baptists.

SBTC en Español, la oficina correspondiente de la Convención Bautista del Sur de Texas, cuenta con cinco miembros del personal comprometidos con el servicio a sus iglesias hispanas.

La Convención Bautista Hispana de Texas tiene cuatro empleados dedicados a servir a las casi 1,100 iglesias bautistas hispanas del estado.

Las congregaciones hispanas de la SBC tampoco cuenta con recursos en el presupuesto anual.

En 2023, alegando «limitaciones presupuestarias actuales», la SBC suprimió el puesto de director ejecutivo de relaciones y movilización hispanas, el único hispano en el personal de la Comité Ejecutivo de la SBC.

En un presupuesto de SBC de 1,067 billones de dólares—lo que supone un aumento de 235.000 dólares respecto al presupuesto anterior—no hay financiación para los líderes de relaciones étnicas. No hay financiación para las reuniones anuales de los grupos étnicos. Y no hay fondos para contratar trabajadores que se relacionen con las iglesias hispanas, ni siquiera a tiempo parcial.

Entra la Red Nacional Bautista Hispana.

La Red Nacional Bautista Hispana

La Red Nacional Bautista Hispana se formó para llenar el vacío de liderazgo y representación a nivel nacional de las iglesias bautistas hispanas.

Las semillas de la red fueron plantadas por los esfuerzos del Dr. Daniel Sánchez (Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) y el Dr. Bobby Sena (Midwestern Baptist Theologoical Seminary).

Su visión era crear un esfuerzo nacional formal y cohesivo que sirviera a las iglesias hispanas en la SBC. Durante varios años, reunieron a los líderes hispanos de varias convenciones estatales y organizaciones para compartir ideas sobre su trabajo y explorar el futuro de sus ministerios.

En diciembre de 2022, los líderes se organizaron formalmente y crearon la Red Nacional Bautista Hispana. La RNBH busca «llenar el vacío» del liderazgo nacional de la SBC cumpliendo su misión de conectarse en misión, contribuir y compartir recursos, y celebrar lo que Dios está haciendo entre los bautistas hispanos.

Además, la RNBH se enfocará en facilitar la comunicación y colaboración entre los pastores y líderes bautistas hispanos y las entidades de la SBC.

Texas se beneficia de tener dos convenciones estatales bautistas y la Convención Bautista Hispana más antigua y grande del país. Algunas convenciones bautistas estatales no cuentan con un solo hispano en su personal para todo el estado.

Donde existen estos vacíos estatales, la RNBH está ayudando a establecer compañerismos estatales hispanos para aumentar la colaboración de las congregaciones bautistas hispanas en la diseminación del evangelio, el discipulado y las donaciones del Programa Cooperativo.

La RNBH consta de varios equipos que sirven a la comunidad bautista hispana para cumplir el Gran Mandamiento y la Gran Comisión.

La Red ya tiene varios de estos equipos formados, incluyendo oración, evangelismo, discipulado, líderes emergentes, ministerio de mujeres, revitalización de iglesias, educación, finanzas, líderes estatales y plantación de iglesias.

Los equipos futuros incluyen movilización misionera, red de apoyo a pastores, ministerio infantil, ministerio masculino y ministerio de adoración.

¡Juntos podemos!

Insto a la SBC a reconocer la subrepresentación de los hispanos y a tomar medidas concretas para abordarla, dando representación hispana en el Comité Ejecutivo y su personal, y dotando adecuadamente de recursos el trabajo de los diversos grupos étnicos.

Mientras tanto, la RNBH seguirá adelante para equipar y servir a las congregaciones y líderes hispanos, a la vez que llega a comunidades más amplias.

Junto con las convenciones estatales, los seminarios de la SBC y las entidades relacionadas, la RNBH aprovechará las oportunidades de crecimiento y empoderará a las iglesias bautistas hispanas para compartir el evangelio, hacer discípulos y facilitar el florecimiento de la comunidad hispana.

¡Juntos podemos!

Jesse Rincones es presidente de la junta directiva de la Red Nacional Bautista Hispana, director ejecutivo de la Convención Bautista Hispana de Texas y miembro de la junta directiva de Baptist Standard.

If the more than 3,300 Hispanic congregations in the Southern Baptist Convention were their own state convention, they would be the fourth largest convention in the country, behind the Baptist General Convention of Texas and Baptist conventions in North Carolina and Georgia.

You might be surprised—as I was—to find out this important constituency has no representation on the SBC Executive Committee or its staff and no resourcing in the SBC budget.

Enter the National Hispanic Baptist Network to fill the urgent need for Hispanic leadership at the national level.

An ever-growing mission field

The growth of the U.S. population is driven by the Hispanic community.

According to Pew research, from 2010 to 2022, Hispanics accounted for 53 percent of the population increase. However, between 2022 and 2023, “the Hispanic population accounted for just under 71 percent of the overall growth of the United States population,” according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

By 2023, Hispanics comprised almost 20 percent of the population, making them the second largest group in the United States.

To see this community as Jesus once saw the crowds and felt compassion for them, is to declare in agreement: “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few” (Matthew 9:37).

The Hispanic churches in the SBC, though growing, are also few.

Since 2011, the SBC had a net gain of 111 Hispanic congregations, while Anglo congregations suffered a net loss of 1,337 congregations.

Nevertheless, Bruno Molina, executive director of the National Hispanic Baptist Network notes: “Although Hispanics make up about 20 percent of the nation’s population, we only make up 7 percent of the churches of the Southern Baptist Convention. Although a good number of SBC church plants are Hispanic churches, there is a 13 percent deficit in Hispanic representation.”

Hispanic congregations are at the forefront of reaching and ministering to almost one-fifth of the country’s population.

Never in our nation’s history, have so few Hispanic congregations had so great a ministry opportunity.

Juxtaposed to this historical evangelistic prospect facing Hispanic churches in the SBC is the glaring void of Hispanic leadership and resources available to them at the national level.

Hispanic representation in the SBC

There is no Hispanic representation on the SBC Executive Committee, the denominations governing body composed of 86 representatives.

There is no Hispanic representation on the SBC Executive Committee staff. This means no Hispanics are in the president’s office, communications, finance, advancement and relations, or facilities teams.

Contrast that with the richer context we see in Baptist work here in Texas.

Texas Baptists (BGCT) has 48 Hispanic employees. Texas Baptists en Español, the convention’s department focusing on Hispanic churches and leaders, has three staff dedicated to their efforts. Notably, there are 14 Hispanic directors on the Texas Baptists’ Executive Board.

SBTC en Español, the corresponding office of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, has five staff members committed to serving their Hispanic churches.

Convención Bautista Hispana de Texas—the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas—has four employees dedicated to serve the almost 1,100 Hispanic Baptist churches in the state.

The Hispanic constituency of the SBC is also absent from resourcing in the annual budget.

In 2023, citing “current budget constraints,” the SBC cut the position of the executive director of Hispanic relations and mobilization, the only Hispanic on the SBC Executive Committee staff.

In an SBC budget of $1.067 billion—which is a $235,000 increase from the previous budget—there is no funding for ethnic relations leaders. There is no funding for annual meeting gatherings of the ethnic groups. And there is no funding for contract workers to relate to the Hispanic churches even on a part-time basis.

Enter the Red Nacional Bautista Hispana.

The National Hispanic Baptist Network

The National Hispanic Baptist Network was formed to fill the leadership and representation void at the national level for Hispanic Baptist churches.

The seeds for the network were planted by the efforts of Daniel Sanchez (Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) and Bobby Sena (Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary).

Their vision was to create a formal and cohesive national effort that would serve Hispanic churches in the SBC. For several years, they gathered the Hispanic leadership of various state conventions and organizations to share insights about their work and explore the future of their ministries.

In December 2022, the leaders formally organized and created the National Hispanic Baptist Network. NHBN seeks to “fill the gap” of national SBC leadership by fulfilling its mission to connect on mission, to contribute and share resources, and to celebrate what God is doing among Hispanic Baptists.

Additionally, the NHBN will focus on facilitating communication and collaboration among Hispanic Baptist pastors and leaders and the entities of the SBC.

Texas benefits from having two Baptist state conventions and the oldest and largest Hispanic Baptist Convention in the country. Some state Baptist conventions don’t have a single Hispanic on staff for the entire state.

Where these state voids exist, the NHBN is helping establish Hispanic state fellowships to increase Hispanic Baptist congregations’ collaboration in gospel dissemination, discipleship and Cooperative Program giving.

The NHBN consists of several teams that serve the Hispanic Baptist community to fulfill the Great Commandment and the Great Commission.

The Network already has several of these teams formed, including prayer, evangelism, discipleship, emerging leaders, women’s ministry, church revitalization, education, finance, state leaders and church planting. Future teams include missions mobilization, pastors’ support network, children’s ministry, men’s ministry and worship ministry.

¡Juntos podemos!

I urge the SBC to acknowledge the underrepresentation of Hispanics and take concrete steps to address it by providing Hispanic representation on the Executive Committee and its staff, and adequately resourcing the various ethnic groups’ work.

Meanwhile, the NHBN will move forward to equip and serve Hispanic congregations and leaders, while reaching out to broader communities.

Together with state conventions, SBC seminaries and related entities, the NHBN will embrace opportunities for growth and will empower Hispanic Baptist churches to share the gospel, make disciples and facilitate the flourishing of the Hispanic community.

Together we can. ¡Juntos podemos!

Jesse Rincones is board chair of the National Hispanic Baptist Network, executive director of Convención Bautista Hispana de Texas, and a member of the Baptist Standard board.

Losing a loved one is really hard, even in the best of circumstances. And how often is a loved one’s dying accompanied by the best of circumstances?

As I write, we have brought my father-in-law home from the hospital, where he was for a little more than two weeks dealing with the effects of prolonged chemotherapy. After battling pancreatic cancer since 2021, with about a year reprieve, he has begun hospice. So, not entirely the best of circumstances.

There are bright spots, however. One of those are the heart-to-heart conversations we’ve been able to have over the last couple of weeks. Another is his committed faith in Jesus. And still another are the visits and kind words from friends and family old and new.

A particular bright spot is the gift he and my mother-in-law gave us—their family—by taking care of their affairs years ago. If you follow their example, you will give a great and important end-of-life gift to your loved ones.

Don’t wait

I have firsthand experience with those who have not put all their affairs in order and with those who have. Between my own experience and countless others, I can tell you getting your affairs in order as early as possible is one of the most important things you can do for yourself and for your loved ones.

Getting your affairs in order is not something to be put off, done another day. Another day may not come, and if it does, you may be incapacitated, unable to process the weighty decisions involved in handling your affairs.

It’s also not something only “old people” need to worry about. Cancer can strike and kill at any age. So can heart failure, liver failure, kidney failure, COVID, other infections. I’ve known more people than I care to count who died from one of these causes before they reached 40 years old.

Do the unpleasant work now to give a great gift later. Those who wait frequently end up compounding their loved one’s stress and sense of overwhelm, as well as their own.

Things to do

The following list is not exhaustive, nor does it constitute legal advice. I’m not an attorney, and even if I was, I’m not your attorney. It’s also not likely I’m your next of kin. So, all of what follows is something you need to discuss with your loved ones and your attorney.

Write a will

What do you want to happen with the material things that matter most to you? Who do you want to decide what happens with them? A will answers these questions in a way that makes the disposition of those things easier and the fulfilling of your wishes much more likely. Learn about probating a will in Texas here.

Do you have a will? You should. If you don’t, the government is more than happy to impose its will on what you leave behind.

If you have a will, is it up to date?

If you don’t have a will, Texas Baptist Missions Foundation has a will-writing tool that may be a good fit for you. You also may want to consult an attorney for other options.

Advanced directives

What do you want to happen to you? To your body? What do you not want to happen?

Yes, you do need to think about those questions ahead of time, make decisions about them and put your decisions in writing—preferably not on the back of a napkin.

Also, who has power of attorney—medical or otherwise—in the event significant decisions need to be made about your care?

Waiting until you’re in the middle of trauma is not the time to begin to think about the use of heroic measures and life support. Waiting until the moment a decision must be made is not the time to wonder who has authority to make decisions for you if you can’t make them for yourself.

If possible, do you want to die at home? Make as many plans and arrangements as you can as far ahead as you can for that possibility.

After death

After you die, do you want your body to be buried and how, cremated, donated to science?

There are related questions you need to think about, such as if you want a marker and where you want your remains to be.

This is the time to think about these things.

You also need to make sure your wishes are in writing and clearly communicated to your loved ones. Your loved ones shouldn’t have to make all those decisions. Remember, they will be preoccupied with grieving your death. Give them the gift of having as many decisions already made as possible.

You also need to think about your funeral or memorial service. What songs do you want? Do you want any live music? Who do you want to participate in your funeral? What Scripture is important to you? Where do you want your service to be?

While it’s true specific answers may change over time, some won’t. Also, having these questions answered ahead of time accomplishes two things: It makes your wishes more likely to be fulfilled, and it takes a tremendous load off your loved ones when they likely already are overwhelmed.

Include your loved ones

Talking with your loved ones about these things as you work through them can lead to rich and life-giving conversations you can’t have otherwise. You also may make better decisions about each of them by including your loved ones in the process.

And it may give them the peace of mind and assurance that important things already are taken care of.

One more thing

I realize you’d rather think about other things right now. Me, too. But there’s one more thing you need to think about.

Where are you with Jesus?

What do you believe about Jesus, and how does that impact your life—now and after death?

What do your loved ones know about where you are with Jesus?

If you don’t have any other conversation, at least have this one.

My father-in-law has not been shy about his faith in Jesus, which is giving him peace through these days.

Thankfully, my father-in-law and mother-in-law have had all these conversations and more with us. We’ve talked about these things together for years. And it is proving to be a great gift to us. You can and should do the same for your loved ones.

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.

My mother-in-law was a public elementary school teacher when my wife was a young girl.

Every year, she bought school supplies and snacks for children in her class whose parents couldn’t afford to buy these things. She never made an issue of it.

Her husband—my father-in-law—was the pastor of a smallish country church. They had three daughters of their own, and there were times when they themselves didn’t have enough money to buy meat.

Even so, my mother-in-law gave what she had to care for and teach her students—whoever they were, wherever they came from. It was her calling.

My mother-in-law was and is a Christian—and not in name only. She was a follower of Jesus during all the years she taught in public school, and the way she cared for and taught her students was directly related to Jesus’ love for her and her love for him.

She was nowhere near the only Christian serving in our public schools. Still today—though you might not know it, the way some lambast our public schools—dedicated followers of Jesus serve in all areas of public education. They see it as their calling. We need to support these brothers and sisters of ours.

The 2024-2025 academic year is underway. It’s not too late to encourage and support the teachers pouring themselves into our children. Nor is it too early.

Appreciating teachers

When my wife and I were self-supporting collegiate missionaries, we were blessed to get to spend our days with our son throughout his infancy and toddlerhood. We got to witness and experience all his development during those short years. So did the college students in our ministry.

When it was time for him to start school, the hardest part for me was giving him to someone else for the bulk of his waking hours. I really had a hard time with that … until I saw how much his teachers cared for him.

Many of his teachers in the early years were Christians, as were our daughters’ teachers. They took teaching seriously, and they cared about their students. We appreciated them and supported them as much as we could on my small, country-church salary. This amounted mostly to us giving them encouragement, time and holiday snacks.

You might be amazed at how far a word of encouragement, a snack or an hour of your time can go with a teacher. Don’t assume someone else is giving that support and encouragement. Assume no one else is. And that doing so is your responsibility.

I still volunteer at a local public elementary school on a regular basis to encourage teachers and help them care for their students. Not everyone can do this—frankly, not everyone should do this—but more people who can should.

Supporting teachers

When I was a pastor, I made volunteering at our local public school part of my—and by extension, the church’s—ministry. My ministry context made it possible for me to give an entire school day either once a week or every other week.

I functioned as a teacher’s aide in the elementary classrooms. It didn’t take me more than the first day to be in awe of teachers. At the end of that first day, I was exhausted. I mean, plumb worn out.

I said to more than one person, “I was worn out after just one day, and teachers do this day after day for an entire school year.”

“Do this.” By “do this,” I mean corral and herd as many as a couple dozen cats—I mean children—for about seven hours a day five days a week.

I mean maintain discipline and order in the classroom while responding to a myriad of behavioral and personality issues.

I mean teach subject matter in a way that every child in the classroom—regardless of learning ability or style—can learn it to the satisfaction of the TEKS, the STAAR, the TEA, the SBOE and whatever other acronyms there are in the Texas educational firmament.

I mean deal with difficult parents, guardians, coworkers, administrators and others in a professional and productive way. Thankfully, not all of those people are difficult.

I mean hold the knowledge of trauma, tragedy and trials going on in their students’ home lives, sometimes while holding their own ongoing trauma, tragedy and trials.

I mean doing all of this while being criticized regularly and while continuing to provide the same level of care for the students in their classrooms.

Oh, and more recently, doing all of this while also rehearsing active shooter drills.

If you aren’t convinced yet that teachers need our encouragement and support, you might not be paying attention.

Encouraging teachers

Teaching always has been a challenging profession. If you ask veteran teachers today, though, they are likely to tell you it’s become far more than challenging. Many veteran teachers have left the profession or plan to leave as soon as possible. Young teachers are watching this.

If we want first- and second-year teachers to become 20-year veterans, we Christians must encourage and support them now—especially when so many, still, are our sisters and brothers in Christ.

We can encourage and support them in small ways and large. We can write them notes, take them snacks, buy supplies for their classrooms, champion them during school board meetings and, in Texas, advocate for them before and during the 2025 legislative session.

I’ve focused on public school teachers, but private and homeschool teachers also need encouragement and support as they teach and care for students.

Teaching—public or private—always has been and still is a high calling. It’s not too late to encourage and support the teachers pouring themselves into our children. Nor is it too early.

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.

We lost a tree yesterday, and I can’t help feeling like it’s a metaphor.

I don’t like losing a tree. I don’t hug trees, but I do like them a lot. I love trees for their shade, their fruit, their color. I love the sound of their leaves when the wind blows through them. I’m grateful for the oxygen they provide.

My parents planted two cherry trees when I was a teenager. They produced the best cherries I’ve ever eaten, and a lot of them.

I went to college out of state, got married. The trees grew taller, eventually too tall to harvest their top halves. The birds ate the cherries dad couldn’t reach. Then the graft on one of the trees gave out. Mom and dad couldn’t keep up with them and said it was time for the trees to go.

My brother-in-law and I cut down the trees under protest, and I hated every minute of it. I haven’t had as good a cherry since.

I remember as a kid climbing into a large tree with a book. It was in a city park. I chose a branch large enough I wasn’t likely to roll off either side and high enough I didn’t want to test that theory. And I sat reading my book. It’s one of my favorite memories.

I climbed plenty of trees as a kid—the higher the better. Somehow, though I was shorter, climbing trees was easier then than it is now. Perhaps because I was lighter and more agile then. And less afraid—read: mindful—of getting hurt, really hurt.

As a kid, I also wasn’t concerned with cleaning up leaves in the fall and flowers out of the gutters and sap off the cars parked underneath in the spring. I didn’t give any thought to their roots tearing up the foundation or water lines, or their branches damaging the roof or falling on a neighbor’s house or a car parked in the street.

Losing a tree

The tree we had removed yesterday wasn’t well when we moved into this house. We had it repaired, more than once. What we didn’t know is the damage was already too far along. We didn’t know, because we couldn’t see it. The damage was inside.

The signs were there for those with eyes to see, for those who know what they’re looking for. I knew there was a problem from some of the bark coming off of branches high in the tree. I hoped it wasn’t a pervasive problem. I was wrong. Vertical cracks that appeared in the lower trunks last week made that obvious.

This was too big a tree to put off what I didn’t want. So, I called tree removal services. The one we chose on Monday could be here Tuesday. That was yesterday.

Yesterday, we also moved our oldest into his freshmen dorm room and took our youngest to her first day in high school. We let go of more than a tree yesterday.

A metaphor eventually breaks down … just like a tree.

Our son going to college and our daughter starting high school isn’t a loss the way cutting down a tree is. It is a significant change, however—like taking a huge tree out of the landscape.

There is joy in our children growing up and going on to next stages. One reason for that joy is they are trees my wife and I have raised and under whose shade others will sit.

Even so, for a time, our home will look and feel different.

A metaphor

A tree, a big one, seems like it’s been there forever and will be there always.

But a tree, no matter how big or old, is always changing—just like us.

A tree needs regular care—just like us. And in a harsh environment, that tree—and we—need even more attentive care.

Would anyone disagree that we live in a harsh environment?

There are cracks in the wood. Maybe we “repaired” them. Maybe we spent good money repairing them, and maybe the damage was already too far along.

Inside, the rot was taking hold, growing, softening the wood, killing the tree. But rot doesn’t stay hidden forever.

The successive years of drought and hot summers, the two deep freezes over the last few years, the freak May storm this year—all worked together to hasten our tree’s demise. The only reason our tree stayed standing during the May storm was because of the bracing we had installed a few years ago. Internally, the tree was going, going, gone.

I can’t help feeling like that’s a metaphor.

Have we not faced successive years of stress—environmental, biological, societal, cultural, political, governmental, educational, ecclesiastical?

All of this has been obvious. We’ve all had eyes to see it. And whatever immediate damage was done, we cleaned it up and thought we could move on.

But the rot is inside.

Thankfully, the metaphor eventually breaks down.

Caring for trees

Every tree eventually will fall. But we’re not entirely like trees. Thankfully.

Despite the Fall, we don’t have to stay fallen. We can be restored, and not temporarily, but permanently.

Our Restorer can clean the rot from inside us—the malnourishment and malformation of our spirits, minds and wills. And we each have some rot. The Lord knows what it is. We might, too.

We must allow our Restorer to deal with the rot, lest we break apart and take others with us in the fall.

It will take more than temporary bracing. And it likely will take more than one quick treatment. It will take deep cleaning, vigilance and constant care.

*******

After the tree was down, we pulled off a piece of rot from the center of the trunk. It was squishy like a thin sponge. I showed it to my son between trips to his dorm and told him to squeeze it between his fingers.

“I don’t like that,” he said with disgust.

No, son. It’s not good. Pay attention to what’s inside. We don’t want to lose any more good trees. And you are a good tree.

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.

What would Christians do if all we had left was evangelism?

It’s possible we would argue and fight less.

I phrase the question with “had left,” because we have far more than evangelism. But let’s continue with the thought experiment.

What if we didn’t have all the accoutrements of Christianity as we know it in the United States?

No churches

What if we didn’t have church buildings?

I can hear it now: “Where would we meet?”

There are Christians in the world today who meet under trees, in homes, apartments, movie theaters, parks, coffee shops and bars. We were fine up until that last one. I would circle back to my first question and the following sentence about arguing and fighting less, but I’m going to move on.

What if we didn’t have church staff? I just felt a bunch of people get nervous.

What if we didn’t have pastors and other ministry staff? What if we didn’t have preaching, Bible studies, music ministry or any of the other organized ministries of the church?

Plenty of churches have only a pastor, no other staff. Plenty of those pastors are bivocational—often earning their income outside the church. There also are churches who have a pastor only part of the time, sharing that pastor with other churches.

If we didn’t have church buildings, where would we invite people to come to hear the gospel? If we didn’t have paid ministers, who would communicate the gospel? Would we even still gather, and what would we do when we’re together?

These seem like silly questions.

No education

What if the only book Christians published and owned was the Bible? Because if all we had left was evangelism, we’d need at least the Gospels, wouldn’t we?

Imagine not having any Christian living or devotional books, no Bible commentaries or theology books, no Christian fiction. And no discipleship curriculum.

There are Christians in the world today whose only book is the Bible. There also are Christians in the world who don’t even have a Bible.

What if there were no Christian media? No Christian news outlets, music, radio, TV channels, movies, social media. Would it be possible to communicate the gospel at all in our world if we didn’t have these things?

What if we didn’t have Christian schools—private or homeschool, primary, secondary, college or seminary? I just felt a different bunch of people get nervous.

Just as there are Christians who only have the Bible, if they have the Bible at all, there are Christians who don’t have any kind of Christian media or education.

If we don’t have any of these things, how do we disciple new Christians? Without these things, how do we go about spiritual formation? How do we prepare Christian children, youth and young people to be Christians out in the world?

These seem like ridiculous questions.

No broader concerns

So many Christians in the world don’t have what we have in the United States. It doesn’t make them lesser Christians.

What if we didn’t have Christian hospitals, children’s homes, adoption agencies or other human welfare organizations? Or Christian advocacy organizations? Or Christian camps?

What if we didn’t have mission sending agencies? Or conventions, associations, meetings, constitutions, bylaws, budgets …?

It’s getting hard to take this thought experiment seriously.

Even so, what if all Christians really had left was evangelism? What would we do?

What if all Christians ever had was evangelism? Where would we be now?

Core of Christianity

The fact is, Christianity started with evangelism—Jesus communicating God’s good news directly to us by becoming human, living among us, dying for our sin and rising from the dead to give us eternal life. And Christianity grew out of evangelism. Every Christian organization has—or had—evangelism at its core, however far removed from evangelism it became.

Evangelism—while not all Christians are to be about—is central to being a Christian, and yet, so few Christians evangelize. Most of us leave evangelism to the “professionals.” What if we didn’t because it’s all we had?

Remember a baptism in your church. How did you and your church respond to it? If it’s been a while, what do you feel when you hear about baptisms in other churches?

My educated guess is you and your church celebrated that baptism. I’m also certain, if it’s been a while since a baptism happened in your church, you feel a longing to celebrate one.

If we just look at a single Sunday morning worship service, we know there is disagreement in the room over the song selection, style of music, announcements, the sermon, the people on the platform—any number of things.

But a baptism. The sleepy wake up. The bored brighten. People smile. There are cheers, applause, “amens,” “yeahs” and sometimes whooping or whistling.

Why? Well, for Baptists anyway, baptism signifies a person giving their life to Jesus. Baptism signifies the power of the gospel, the success of evangelism. What if that’s all we had left?

Challenge

Christians in the United States have so much more than evangelism, and all that other stuff has put us at a remove from the one thing we celebrate without much disagreement—people giving their lives to Jesus.

All that other has become the necessary business of Christianity for us. Honestly, I’m not sure how to make disciples—followers of Jesus—of all people without much of all that other, nor am I sure how to love God with all I have and my neighbor as myself without at least some of that other.

I’m not advocating for getting rid of all of it, but I am advocating for keeping all of it in perspective. We’re going to disagree about a lot of things related to all that other stuff. We have disagreed about a lot of things related to all that other stuff, and the world has witnessed our disagreement.

In light of that, it’s not such a silly question to ask, “What if all we had was evangelism?”

What would we do? How would we be different?

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 things happened last Friday that share something in common, despite the differences in detail.

As you’re likely well-aware, thanks to social media, the Paris Olympics opened with an extremely controversial scene Friday night.

The scene has appeared enough on social media and in the news that it’s not necessary to describe it in detail here. It’s enough to know the arrangement of the drag show performers looked similar to Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci’s “Last Supper” and more so like “Feast of the Gods” by Dutch artist Jan van Bijlert.

Whether the scene was a parody of the Last Supper or an homage to Greek gods, we can be sure it wasn’t merely a drag show.

You also may be aware former president and current candidate Donald Trump told Christians on Friday they won’t have to vote again in four years if they vote for him in 2024.

Complaining that “my beautiful Christians” don’t vote enough, he told them to “get out and vote, just this time. You won’t have to do it anymore. … In four years, you don’t have to vote again. We’ll have it fixed so good, you’re not gonna have to vote.” It’s not certain if he was being honest or facetious.

Clearly, the details of each situation are markedly different. Even so, they share something in common. They both tempt Christians to imitate the world instead of Jesus.

Common denominator

Those who designed the Olympics’ opening ceremony are aware of Christianity, da Vinci’s “Last Supper” and the Catholic Church’s estimation of religious iconography. Philippe Katerine, the blue man in the center of the scene, told CNN he “was brought up as a Christian.” Despite their objections, they had to know what they were doing and how it could—would—offend.

Though we may not know precisely what Trump meant by “we’ll have it fixed so good, you’re not gonna have to vote,” Trump had to know what he was doing and how his words would be received by supporters and opponents.

The two situations are not alike in the details. In fact, Trump blasted the Olympics’ opening ceremony as a “disgrace.” One thing they have in common is the awareness of the actors. In a world as interconnected and sophisticated as ours, I can’t believe they acted innocently, without knowing the effects of their words and actions.

But they have something else in common we ought to give closer attention. Both tempt Christians to imitate the world instead of Jesus.

Pagan temptation

The Olympics are a pagan event, however secular the Games have become. What can we expect from a pagan event? Certainly not special reverence for Jesus.

When we think Jesus is being mocked, rushing to his defense—as if he needs it—is to forget the humiliation and mockery he took on himself. When the people hurled insults and spit at him, Jesus returned none of it.

Christians confronted with pagan displays may criticize them, but we do well not to lash out against them, remembering our forebears in the early church had no power to lash out at the pagans surrounding them. Instead, they imitated Jesus’ love and kindness to the degree they drew pagans to Jesus.

Our forebears’ Christ-imitating love—even in the midst of persecution—was world-changing.

Jesus doesn’t need us to climb the water tower to defend his honor. Even if the controversial scene was intended to mock Jesus, like a slur against your sister spray painted on the town water tower, lashing out at those involved doesn’t honor Jesus or his name.

We must resist imitating the world’s reaction to offense.

Political temptation

We also must resist imitating the world’s hope in politics.

Rhetoric like Trump’s comments quoted above is like a siren song to Christians to place too much hope in the world’s politicians and their promises. This isn’t a temptation unique to Trump supporters.

It seems reasonable to put at least some hope in politicians, though. What’s the point in voting for them if we don’t have some hope in them? And I do vote and will as often as the law allows.

It’s the reasonableness, though, that makes it tempting to buy the promise everything will be fixed so good you won’t have to vote again. It’s the reasonableness that blinds to how old this temptation is and how often political promises haven’t been kept. Things have never been fixed that good—except for one time, and it wasn’t by a politician.

Politics is a worldly endeavor, however many religious principles, however much religious language it incorporates. As thankful as I am that Judeo-Christian principles are part of our government, as thankful as I am for committed Christians being involved in politics and serving their communities well, neither is sufficient to warrant placing too much hope in them.

As often as we make a choice between one politician and another, between one policy and another, we must not lose sight of the proper object of our hope—Jesus. We also must make sure we’re responding to the right promises—God’s promises.

It’s easy to imitate the world instead of Jesus. It’s easy to imitate worldly ways instead of Jesus’ way. We always must guard against this temptation—especially when it’s disguised so well.

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.

One of the first things I was asked while in Lagos, Nigeria, for the 2024 Baptist World Alliance annual gathering was why the church in the United States is in decline. This was a popular question during my 10 days there.

By the end of those 10 days, I had reduced my answer to three words: apathy and acrimony.

We can debate the causes but not the fact of our apathy and acrimony. But those of us who care do debate, and too often acrimoniously.

Meanwhile, Baptists and other Christians in the Southern and Eastern Hemispheres are growing by leaps and bounds—numerically and spiritually. And they are concerned about us. They wonder when we’re going to get back to obedience, discipleship and evangelism.

African Baptists, American missionaries

Baptist World Alliance has reported numerous times over the last year that during the last 10 years, “the BWA family” has declined 2 percent in Europe and the Middle East, declined 5 percent in North America, grown 26 percent in Asia and the Pacific, grown 27 percent in Latin America, and has grown 102 percent in Africa.

I’ve heard these statistics shared in Norway, the United States and Nigeria. It’s one thing to hear them in a room full of fellow commiserators. It’s another to hear them in a room full of those who many Americans always have thought of as our spiritual children—or worse, as children.

While these statistics pertain to BWA, they are representative of what is happening in Christianity as a whole. The West—Europe and North America—is no longer driving Christianity. The Global South is the driver. We need to wake up to that.

The sharpest questions came from African Baptists, and they didn’t wait long to ask. It was typically some version of: “How is it that we are so much stronger than you? You sent missionaries to us, and now we send missionaries to you.”

It’s true. We boast in our seminaries, mission agencies, money and buildings. For all our institutions and religious freedom, all our (diminishing) money and (former) clout, we can’t hide from our brothers and sisters around the world that we are in decline.

We debate the reasons for our decline, usually pointing our finger at each other, rarely accepting any blame ourselves. Meanwhile, our brothers and sisters in the Southern and Eastern Hemispheres want to know when we’re going to get back to obedience, discipleship and evangelism.

African sacrifices, American complaints

It was not easy getting to Lagos, Nigeria. Obtaining a visa was complicated and expensive. For many, it required additional travel to one of a handful of consular offices. There also were safety concerns that had to be considered, addressed and overcome during our visit.

There was some complaining about all of this, as you might imagine. But those complications, concerns and complaints paled in comparison to what so many others in the room endured to be there, much less what they endure on a regular basis at home.

Plenty of attendees came from war-torn homelands in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East, whether the conflict is present or recent. The United States is conflicted, but we’re not in the midst of or fresh off of war. So, we didn’t have that hardship to overcome to attend.

Plenty of attendees sacrificed more than additional time and money to be there. A young pastor from northern Kenya sold two cows to pay for his travel to Lagos. I paid more in dollars, but I didn’t sacrifice near as much. But he’s not worried about the cows. He’s more interested in talking about the 300 people he baptized in one day.

Yes, I made him repeat that to make sure I heard him correctly. Then, he showed me pictures. One of the new Christians was a cattle bandit like him and is now a pastor like him, leading other people to follow Jesus instead of the old ways.

We’re both leaving behind “the old ways.” They’re giving up cattle rustling and violence against competing rustlers in favor of obedience to Christ, discipleship to him and evangelism about him. We’re giving up obedience, discipleship and evangelism.

Some would challenge: “Just giving up? Or already given up?”

African challenge, American decision

This week, the burning of First Baptist Dallas’ historic sanctuary made international news. Unsurprisingly, Pastor Robert Jeffress pledged to rebuild the building, saying it’s too important not to.

Nine days prior, I attended a worship service under the massive metal roof of the Baptist International Convention Centre north of Lagos, sitting in a plastic chair on top of bare concrete, cooled by the breeze that blew through the wall-less structure.

First Baptist Dallas counts 16,000 members, not all of whom attend worship every Sunday. For comparison, at least 25,000 people can fit easily under the metal roof of the Baptist International Convention Centre.

The day I returned, former president and present candidate Donald Trump narrowly missed assassination. The following week, President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 race for U.S. president and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the new Democrat presidential candidate.

The entire campaign has been cast in religious language—holy war language, in fact. American Christians may be lukewarm about church, but we sure aren’t apathetic about politics.

Our brothers and sisters understand the importance of our politics, but what they want to know is when we’re going to get back to obedience, discipleship and evangelism. And is it really contingent on who gets elected?

Remember who’s asking. Those who’ve found their way to obedience, discipleship and evangelism through far greater challenges than we face.

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.

I returned July 13 from 10 days attending and reporting on the 2024 Baptist World Alliance annual meeting in Lagos, Nigeria.

It is a supreme irony to return from 10 days in Nigeria to the United States just hours before an assassination attempt here.

It is a supreme irony to spend 10 days studying peace and peacemaking in Nigeria—a country to which the U.S. State Department advises against travel—and return to lethal violence at home.

Some ironies are happy. This is not one of them.

I’m still trying to gather my thoughts four days later.

Like so many, I want to point the finger. I want to pronounce condemnations. This is what we do when we’re angry, frightened or worried.

To be sure, political violence is properly condemned. Our political differences must not be worked out through violent actions. For one, it is to go down the cyclical and escalating path of retribution.

We must denounce the attempt on Donald Trump’s life—no matter our opinion of him and his politics. And I do.

But simply denouncing political violence doesn’t go far enough. We must denounce violence. Period.

Violence begins far ahead of physical actions.

Speech before action

Violent speech precedes violent action.

By speech, I don’t mean only the words that come out of our mouths. I also mean the words on the page or screen.

By violent speech, I mean words that dehumanize or act against a person. Such words can be violent by definition, or they can be benign words used violently. Even once-innocent words can be weaponized to dehumanize or act against a person.

The effects of violent speech are well-studied. Simply consider the centuries of chattel slavery or the rise and rule of Hitler—two examples among many.

Violent speech gives permission for violent action. It gives cover, blessing, justification, rationalization and excuse for doing violence.

We are masters of dehumanization.

We must denounce violent speech.

But we must not stop there.

Thoughts before speech

Violent thoughts precede violent speech.

Before we communicate dehumanization, we wordsmith it. We ruminate, meditate and conjugate our displeasure, dislike, disdain for the other.

Before we say it, we think it. We label it—the other—so we can manipulate it in our minds.

We imagine ourselves better and the other worse. We consider ourselves righteous and the other as the sinner. We visualize ourselves as heroes and saints and the other as the enemy.

From here, it’s a small step to deciding what should happen to the worse, the sinner, the enemy. From deciding, it’s not such a large step to saying and doing.

Violent thoughts are the hidden seed of violent speech.

We must denounce violent thoughts.

But we must not stop there.

Heart before all

Violent thoughts grow unseen in the fertile soil of a violent heart.

This is the most troublesome of all. Who among us has not felt the rush of violence from within? The boil of anger, the lash of fear, the bite of hatred, the clench of disgust?

It comes unbidden.

It seems uncontrollable.

It is the most personal.

Here is where we need to focus our denunciation—while not neglecting the proper denunciation of violent thought, speech and action.

Long before we act, communicate or think it, violence is cultivated in our heart. It is the nature with which we are born and the nurture in which we steep. It is both our own will desiring to exert itself and a response to the brokenness and injustice around us.

We can alter our behavior. We can clean up our words. We can learn to think differently. But what can we do about our heart?

As a letter writer prayed, “Lord, have mercy.”

If we are to be free of political violence, our own hearts are where we must go. We must denounce all violence in our hearts.

But we must not stop there. We also must not contribute to violence anywhere.

In place of violence

It is not enough to dive into the depths of our hearts to condemn all violence there. Violence must be uprooted, discarded and replaced with something else—something that doesn’t come naturally to us and that we can’t do for ourselves.

That something else—I hesitate to say it, because I did not discover it on my own—that something else is not a thing at all. It is the very Spirit of God.

It is the very Spirit of God in whose presence violence has no point.

It is the very Spirit of God in whose presence there is peace.

Our world needs more than denunciations of violence. Our world needs peace.

It matters not that our world is thoroughly broken and not apt to know peace. It needs it still.

Ours, dear Christian, is not only to denounce violence. Ours is to be living witnesses of God’s peace in our hearts, our thoughts, our words and our actions.

This is no easy task and requires at least one thing more. To be such witnesses, we must submit to the Lordship of Christ, who “made himself nothing,” took violence upon himself and became “obedient to death” (Philippians 2:6-8).

Lord, help us. Lord, help me.

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.

I come from a Baptist family with a rich history of Baptist churches in Burma (Myanmar). This is where I belong to the Baptist family, and this is who God called me to serve for his kingdom in San Antonio.

I arrived in Texas in 2008 and immediately connected with the Baptist church in Boerne. When I heard refugees from Burma were gathering at the First Baptist Church in San Antonio, the first thing that came to my mind was, “What can I do for my people?”

I got excited for their bright future in the United States. Then, I placed my name at First Baptist Church in San Antonio, where many Burmese refugees worshiped.

At first, I did not understand what “ministry” meant. I learned from my experience we are representatives of Jesus Christ, serving people with a loving and caring heart and strengthening them by meeting their physical and spiritual needs.

Leading in intercultural ministry

Mark Heavener, director of Texas Baptists’ Intercultural Ministries, was the first person I met from the Baptist General Convention of Texas. He loves the Lord and serves many people with a gracious heart.

Mark has helped the Burmese ethnic churches in San Antonio since Burmese refugees arrived in Texas. Through him, I learned more about the BGCT. With his support, I went to Hardin-Simmons University’s Logsdon Seminary, and because of him, I gradually became a part of the intercultural family of the BGCT.

God has used Mark tremendously, and he has become a wonderful, supportive person for international ministries, as well.

The last three years, God called me to serve as a member of Texas Baptists’ Intercultural Ministries’ Advisory Council. With honor and excitement, I accepted the call to serve as a council member. I also received it as a blessing. It strengthened my friendship with other pastors and leaders in intercultural ministries.

Through Texas Baptists’ Intercultural Ministries, I received terrific opportunities to attend and participate in Baptist World Alliance annual meetings in Birmingham, Ala., and Stavanger, Norway. It was such a blessing for me to see many Baptist Christian leaders from around the world.

I got to see the beauty of the world God created, as well as the great work God has used Baptist leaders around the world to do.

Strength from fellow Baptists

Adoniram and Anne Judson were the first American Baptist missionaries in Burma and were my spiritual pioneers. They inspired me to become a humble servant for Christ. I have no doubt their lives and legacy will live in our hearts forever.

It has been more than 200 years since the spiritual seeds they sowed in Burma began sprouting, growing and spreading across the country of Burma. Now, many of the fruits are returning to America.

The Baptist faith has remained unchanged in our First Baptist Church of San Antonio international/Asian ministries a decade after our senior international pastors passed down the Baptist faith and beliefs by which we maintain friendships and relationships with the BGCT.

I am grateful for First Baptist Church of San Antonio’s rich history of helping refugees here in Texas from Asia, Southeast Asia and Africa. In this way, First Baptist San Antonio could be an inspiration to other churches in the BGCT.

Being a part of the BGCT, we gain more knowledge of how the Baptist churches in Texas stand firm on the Baptist faith, as Jesus has taught. Texas Baptists’ International Ministries organized our intercultural pastors to attend the BGCT annual meeting every year. The messages and information we received from the convention were tremendously supportive.

In the BGCT, we have made new friends and been inspired by other intercultural church leaders. We also have the opportunity to share about Texas Baptist universities with young people who want to pursue a degree in ministry.

We also benefitted from the BGCT with financial support while we were in three years of self-supportive church planning, financial support for our children’s Vacation Bible School, and Baptist camps where we can go for youth and women’s retreats every year.

Strength to fellow Baptists

God has brought refugees from around the world—not accidentally, but purposefully—to fulfill his commandment to “love your neighbor as you love yourself.”

Just as we have been blessed by Texas Baptists’ Intercultural Ministries, the BGCT also will be blessed by ministering among international people and with multicultural churches in Texas.

God’s kingdom is very much like where we are now. We are a family in Christ, loving and caring for each other, praying for one another, and practically living as a good example to spread the good news to those who have not accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior.

Chosen for ministry

Isaiah 55:8 says, “‘My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways,’ declares the LORD.”

I did not understand what God’s plan would be for me. I was born and raised in Burma and did not know much about the outside world. I did not know much about the people, culture, religion, politics and even what freedom means to me.

However, I have hope and faith in God, who shows me how to walk by and with his will.

In his timing, God brought me to the United States and made me see the world and a new spiritual family I never had seen before. Looking back on the past, what God did in my life is a clear picture now. It makes sense that everything God did was designed purposely and uniquely to serve his kingdom in this new world.

Although I didn’t deserve it, God chose me to be a part of this ministry journey. Even though we come from different cultures, speak different languages and come from different places, we are the same in one Spirit. Under the power of the Lord, we are connected as one in the body of Christ.

Tera Kouba is minister of international/Asian ministries at First Baptist Church in San Antonio. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author.