Editorial: Ants, Texas Baptists, Mother’s Day & world hunger

image_pdfimage_print

The other day, I listened to a podcast that focused on the intelligence of ants. I think it was the famous “Emergence” episode of RadioLab

A scientist pointed out that, individually, ants aren’t so smart. Think about it: They don’t possess a central nervous system. You practically need a microscope to see, much less study, their brains. They don’t even know the difference between their home and a hole in the ground. (Oh, wait. Their home is a hole in the ground.)

knox newEditor Marv KnoxBut collectively, ants possess enormous intelligence. Their intricate and extensive nests can teach engineers a thing or two. Their battle tactics reflect not only brutal will but also elegant strategy. And when they procure food, their concerted purpose, communication skills, organizational structure and logistical protocols comprise a wonder to behold.

So, all this thinking about ants caused me to contemplate Texas Baptists.

Hold on. Count to 10 before you scroll down and click the link to shoot me a fiery email.

Individually, we’re not as dumb as ants.

Collective intelligence

But as a group, we mirror their collective intelligence. This has been a Baptist principle for about 400 years. In the 1600s, British Baptists organized an association to support each other in an era of persecution. In the early 1800s, Baptists in America rallied to support missions ventures across the continent and around the world.

In the late 1800s, Texas Baptists created a convention to conduct missions, support education and strengthen churches. In the 20th century, Baptists formed the Cooperative Program unified budget to fund a host of ministries. Every year, Baptists join the Baptist World Alliance to further the Baptist movement, even in the hardest, harshest cultures on earth.


Sign up for our weekly edition and get all our headlines in your inbox on Thursdays


We can do more together than alone

All through the years, Baptists have believed we can do more together than we could dream of doing alone—just like those brilliant, persistent ants.

I’m reminding you of this so you don’t feel overwhelmed by the latest news: Texas Baptists plan to raise $1 million in one day—Mother’s Day, May 12—to combat world hunger. The one-day, $1 million anti-hunger campaign is the brainchild of Texas Baptist Executive Director David Hardage. It’s a good one.

You know millions of people across Texas and around the world suffer from the ravages of hunger. Normally, churches collect the Texas Baptist Hunger Offering—which supports more than 100 ministries—every time a month has five Sundays. It’s vital for countless people, and you can read what I recently wrote about it here. We need to keep on collecting the offering every fifth Sunday.

Mother’s Day offering goal

But we can do more on behalf of mothers who cannot feed their families. The idea is simple: Think about how much you would spend if you could take your mom to lunch on Mother’s Day, and give that amount to the Texas Baptist Hunger Offering.

Say your mother is a light eater and you both like cheap food. You’d still spend at least $10. If every one of the 2,169,966 Texas Baptists gave that amount, we would raise $21,699,660 for world hunger on Mother’s Day. Or imagine only half of us participated, and we give all the mothers (let’s say 25 percent of the remainder) a pass. We still could reach the $1 million goal if everyone contributed only $1.23. Or break it down according to the 5,434 Texas Baptist congregations. A $184.03 contribution from each of them would hit the goal, too.

For more information on the Mother’s Day hunger effort, visit this website

Bottom line: We can do this. Just practice the intelligence and willpower of ants.

 


We seek to connect God’s story and God’s people around the world. To learn more about God’s story, click here.

Send comments and feedback to Eric Black, our editor. For comments to be published, please specify “letter to the editor.” Maximum length for publication is 300 words.

More from Baptist Standard