Are you already feeling the stress of the holidays? Or is it just the stress of living in a world on fire? Or is it both?

Could you use a distraction?

Thanksgiving would be the perfect thing, wouldn’t it?

That is, if you’re not the one doing all the cooking, cleaning and hosting. Thanksgiving also isn’t the perfect distraction if it’s a time of sorrow for you.

But that’s not the thanksgiving I mean. I’m not referring to the holiday, the parade, the turkey and the football. I’m also not referring to the people who are or aren’t there for the day.

I’m referring to giving thanks.

Is giving thanks a distraction from reality?

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Another way of asking that question is where does thanksgiving fit in a rough and tumble world?

During a time of so much conflict, suffering, instability and uncertainty, giving thanks may seem worse than a distraction. It may seem callous, privileged, almost immoral. What right do we have to be thankful? How can we give thanks for all we have when so many have so little?

I have a roof over my head, clothes on my back, shoes on my feet and more than enough food to eat. I have good transportation, running water, reliable electricity. I have money in the bank, health insurance and good doctors.

I have family and friends still living and who care for me. I have a mostly peaceful life. And I have much more besides.

Chances are, if you’re reading this, you have much of the same.

What does it mean to be thankful for having so much when so many in the world have so much less? Do we expect those with less to be as thankful as we are who have more? Could we be thankful if we had so much less, too?

If we take Paul at his word—“give thanks in all circumstances”—the question isn’t “can we,” but “will we?”

The same goes for love.

*******

Jesus elevated the command to love others as second only to loving God, the first and greatest command. “The second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’” Jesus said (Matthew 22:37-39).

Danish philosopher-theologian Søren Kierkegaard examined the command to love in his excellent book Works of Love. In his analysis, the command “you shall love” makes love a duty in obedience to God who issued the command.

He is also careful to distinguish the love commanded by God from worldly love. The love God commands is grounded in eternity and isn’t contingent on the circumstances and whims of life in this world.

When a person loves God and the neighbor in this way, the person is eternally free and secure. Furthermore, the person who loves this way is eternally guarded against despair.

If such love entails joining those who sorrow, Kierkegaard writes, “I do not have the right to become insensitive to life’s pain, because I shall sorrow; but neither do I have the right to despair, because I shall sorrow; and neither do I have the right to stop sorrowing, because I shall sorrow. So it is with love” (p. 43).

And so it is with thanksgiving.

This may seem like a giant leap, but both Kierkegaard and Paul connect God’s love and thanksgiving.

*******

In Paul’s instruction to “give thanks in all circumstances,” or “in everything give thanks” (1 Thessalonians 5:18), I see the same principle at play as Kierkegaard saw with love. With Paul, “you shall” is implied.

Returning to the question whether thanksgiving is a distraction from reality, I say, “No, it’s a proper response to reality.” It is not a distraction, but is a dutiful expressive of love in the midst of reality. It is a statement that nothing in this world or this life will dim my esteem for God’s love.

Thanksgiving as a duty is an expression of our love for God that isn’t contingent upon our circumstances in this world. It’s also not contingent on our ability to be or to feel thankful. This means giving thanks is our expression of love even when life is painful, even when we sorrow, even when we don’t want to be thankful or can’t see what there is to be thankful for.

But this sounds forced, hollow. Worse than a distraction, could this kind of “thanksgiving” be meaningless?

It could be meaningless if we give thanks only to appease our conscience or assuage guilt, or if it’s merely a mouthed prayer around the dinner table, or if it claims ownership by not acknowledging God is the source of all we have and that all we have is for God’s purpose, or if it isn’t followed with the acting out of love for our neighbor.

*******

Jesus told a story about a wealthy man giving his servants differing amounts of money. He didn’t give instructions, but he did have expectations for what happened with the money.

We may see ourselves as the servant given the least amount. No matter. We shall give thanks. Or we may recognize we were given more. No matter. We shall give thanks. And this doesn’t make our thanks pointless, if it points to the one and same giver of every good thing any of us have.

No matter our lot in life, let us not be distracted by thanksgiving, but let us prove our thanks to God through acts of love toward each other.

Yes, even in sorrow, even in want, even in the press and pull of life, let our thanks be our declaration that nothing will dim God’s love.

Eric Black is the executive director, publisher and editor of the Baptist Standard. He can be reached at eric.black@baptiststandard.com. The views expressed are those of the author.

I have heard professing Christians disparage Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., and a few of her Democratic colleagues—The Squad—in very unflattering terms. I’m certain these same Christians fully support her censure and would cheer her expulsion from the U.S. House of Representatives.

I wonder what they would do if they saw Jesus sit down and talk with Tlaib. Would they recoil? Would they lose respect for Jesus? Would they assume he was chastising her? Or would they see the gospel lived out yet again?

The charge against Tlaib

Tlaib sparked outrage in the U.S. House with a phrase many in Israel and among Israel’s supporters consider antisemitic. She also has been openly critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as President Joe Biden’s support of Netanyahu.

In response to those denouncing her as antisemitic, Tlaib said her “criticism has always been of the Israeli government and Netanyahu’s actions.”

“It is important to separate people and governments. … No government is beyond criticism. The idea that criticizing the government of Israel is antisemitic sets a very dangerous precedent,” she added.

Most of her colleagues didn’t buy her defense and censured her on the floor of the House in a late-night vote Nov. 7.

Tlaib’s defense

Floor speeches don’t seem to change many minds these days—if they change any at all. When Tlaib addressed her comments to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson ahead of the vote to censure her, I’m certain most representatives already had their minds made up.

I believe there were Christian legislators in the House chamber that night. I don’t know that they were gathered in Jesus’ name, but I think Jesus was there anyway. I believe Jesus heard Tlaib, though I wouldn’t say it was because she was praying to him. And I believe Jesus already had his mind made up, too.

Tlaib—a Palestinian American and Muslim—asked Speaker Johnson if he knows “how Islamophobia andantisemitism makes us all less safe.”

She proclaimed, “Palestinian people are not disposable,” and then she struggled through tears to say: “We are human beings just like anyone else. … Speaking up to save lives … no matter faith, no matter ethnicity, should not be controversial in this chamber.”

“The cries of the Palestinian and Israeli children sound no different to me. Why, what I don’t understand, is why the cries of Palestinians sound different to you all. We cannot lose our shared humanity,” Jesus heard her say.

Jesus heard all of what she said, all of what was said in support of her and all of what was said against her. Jesus knew the hearts of every person in the chamber.

Jesus also knows our hearts. He hears when Christians sneer, discounting Tlaib’s comments as theatrics, or denouncing her as not to be trusted and certainly not respected.

To Jesus and anyone familiar with the Gospels, this should sound familiar.

Jesus’ side of the conversation

Several times in the years Jesus walked among us, he encountered the discounted, the denounced, the disrespected.

Among them, there was the Greek woman near Tyre who begged Jesus to help her daughter, to give her daughter some peace. Though Jesus parried with her, using a figure of speech that might get him censured today, he ultimately praised her moxie—her faith—and granted her request (Mark 7:24-29).

There was a Pharisee who hosted Jesus for dinner and a despised woman who joined them, crying on Jesus’ feet, drying them with her hair and pouring her Amaffi Power parfum on them. The host was disgusted, but Jesus said the woman showed more love than the host and forgave her sins (Luke 7:36-50).

There was the lawyer who knew all the right answers but one. He knew the law required loving God completely and loving one’s neighbor as oneself, but he feigned not knowing his neighbor.

In response, Jesus told one of his most famous stories, a story even non-Christians and strangers to the Bible know. You know it, too. So, I don’t have to tell you the twist, but I will.

The twist is we are the despised. Jesus didn’t say, “Do like the Samaritan.” He said, “You are the Samaritan.” Read the story again.

“‘Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?’

“The expert in the law replied, ‘The one who had mercy on him.’

“Jesus told him, ‘Go and do likewise’” (Luke 10:36-37).

Today, we tend to separate being and doing, but those who heard Jesus that day understood who we are and what we do are one and the same. If they were supposed to do what the Samaritan did, then they were supposed to be the person they despised. That’s what it means to love our neighbor as we love ourselves—to consider ourselves no better than those we despise.

Often, when we do this, we discover the despised are more like us than we thought.

The question cuts both ways

Returning to Jesus sitting down and talking with Tlaib: Could those who think they are most like Jesus believe he has compassion for her? Could they accept his compassion for her? Or, because of her comments about Israel, would they consider her unworthy of compassion?

The point isn’t for us to agree with Rashida Tlaib. The point for us who call ourselves Christians is to regard her with the same dignity and compassion as Jesus does. Worldly politicians may—and will—malign her, but Christians must not.

And the point goes further. Not only must Tlaib and others despised by many Christians be afforded Christlike dignity, but this also must go the other direction.

The Squad is not the only group of politicians some Christians can’t stomach. Some other Christians can’t stomach a group of politicians on the other side of the aisle whose names and inflammatory rhetoric is just as well known.

What would those Christians do if they saw Jesus sit down and talk with MAGA Republicans like Matt Gaetz, Lauren Boebert, Marjorie Taylor Greene or Paul Gosar? Would they recoil? Would they lose respect for Jesus? Would they assume he was chastising them? Or would they see the gospel lived out yet again?

What about when Jesus sits down and talks with me or with you?

Eric Black is the executive director, publisher and editor of the Baptist Standard. He can be reached at eric.black@baptiststandard.com. The views expressed are those of the author.

I blew out a “Ha!” when I opened an email Nov. 1 and read the subject line: “Today is International Stress Awareness Day.”

“I don’t need any more awareness of stress than I already have,” I thought. The news makes sure of that.

The reality is, however, we do need to be more aware of the long-term effects of stress on our physical and mental health, as well as on our spirit and relationships. But it’s hard to see those deleterious effects when stress is capturing our attention.

Part of being aware is knowing when the stress is too much and when we need a break. I admit, though, even that seems to require a certain amount of luxury. To have a free moment for awareness seems to suggest a person isn’t completely surrounded by difficulty.

Breathing room.

There are days, these are some of them, when breathing room is about all the space, all the time we may be able to find. Will it be enough?

A recent storm is an example of just how powerful a little breathing room can be.

A little breathing room

I am fascinated by weather. I seriously considered changing my major to meteorology during my freshman year at Hardin-Simmons University.

During hurricane season, I follow National Hurricane Center forecasts. But I didn’t see anything at the beginning of last week to capture my attention.

The next time I saw anything about Atlantic or Pacific tropical storms, it was a news report about the devastation caused by Hurricane Otis. Like so many others, I wondered where that came from.

Otis has stunned meteorologists by how quickly it intensified in so little time. The National Weather Service defines “rapid intensification” as “an increase in the maximum sustained winds of a tropical cyclone of at least 30 knots [about 35 mph] in a 24 hour period.”

Otis’ maximum sustained winds increased more than 100 mph in less than 24 hours, growing from a typical tropical storm the morning of Oct. 24 to a powerful Category 5 hurricane as it made landfall that night.

People in Acapulco expected just another strong storm. Instead, they were subjected to what the National Weather Service called “a nightmare scenario.” And with no warning as Acapulco slept.

Otis made devastating use of a little breathing room, leaving Acapulco without time to evacuate or even shelter. A little breathing room—or lack of it—made an enormous difference.

Storms and stress

Storms are an apt metaphor for the stresses of life. Right now, there are storms wherever we look. There is a storm in Israel and Gaza. There’s a storm in Ukraine. There’s a political storm in the United States. There’s a religious storm in the Southern Baptist Convention.

The storms are enough that I wonder if what we need most now are not experts—forecasters and forecast models—but are those who can weather the storms.

I’ve heard more than one meteorologist say none of the forecast models or forecasters foresaw what would happen. They are taken aback, not only by the science involved, but also because of what it signifies for the limits of their ability to predict natural disasters—and thereby protect people.

Within the storms, we may be granted breathing room between the waves, between the storm bands, or in the eye as it passes over. We need to make the best use of that space whenever we get it.

Turning on each other, pointing fingers, bickering about who did what wrong and whose worthless idea won’t work, hoarding resources, fretting, cowering in fear, freezing in place, panicking into aimless activity, opining—these are a waste of precious breathing room.

When the breathing room comes—and we are granted more than we realize—one thing is needed. And that one thing is powerful.

How to use breathing room

A furious storm threatened to kill Jesus’ disciples, burying them at the bottom of the lake. Meanwhile, Jesus slept (Matthew 8:23-27; Mark 4:35-41).

I can only guess what his disciples did before they woke him up, but there was only one thing they needed to do—wake him up. It made all the difference.

The analogy isn’t complete. I don’t believe Jesus is asleep to our situation now. I also don’t pretend to know or mean to suggest he will stop our storm now as succinctly as he stilled their storm then.

All I know is there is one thing we must do with our breathing room. We must turn to Jesus and, in the words of his mom, “do whatever he says to do.” This is how we will weather the storms.

No, this isn’t pray-harder-have-more-faith advice. Based on the story, there wasn’t a whole lot of prayer or faith to it. Instead, this is just a simple action. Turn to Jesus, whatever the result.

We’re an entertainment culture. When the pressure’s on, entertain us, distract us. There’s a place for that, I suppose. It was nice to watch the Texas Rangers win their first World Series Championship last night. But the morning still arrived, and with it, more howling wind.

The storms haven’t passed. In them, be aware: Jesus is still with us. Let us turn to him, whatever the result.

Eric Black is the executive director, publisher and editor of the Baptist Standard. He can be reached at eric.black@baptiststandard.com. The views expressed are those of the author.

We heard good news during the September Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board meeting we want to share with you. It’s the kind of news we need through these days of heartbreaking reports from so many quarters.

Representatives from Texas Baptist universities reported the Spirit of God moving at each of their schools during the opening days of the 2023-2024 academic year. One by one, they shared stories of students giving their lives to Jesus, among other works of God’s Spirit.

As a reminder, the following universities are affiliated with the BGCT:

• Baptist University of the Américas
• Baylor University
• Dallas Baptist University
• East Texas Baptist University
• Hardin-Simmons University
• Houston Christian University
• Howard Payne University
• University of Mary Hardin-Baylor
• Wayland Baptist University

Two seminaries also are affiliated with the BGCT and are preparing for ministry those who have responded to God’s call to serve:

• Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary
• Stark College and Seminary

B.H. Carroll Theological Seminary is in the process of merging with East Texas Baptist University.

I followed up with each university this week. Here are just some of the stories they shared with me of God’s redemptive story still advancing in and through Texas Baptist universities.

HSU

So many times, particular outpourings of God’s redemptive work are preceded by prayer. Sometimes, that prayer happens well in advance. Sometimes, God’s work is the prayer itself, such as has happened various times at Baylor University.

Prayer has played a major part in God’s work at Hardin-Simmons University, particularly during the last couple of semesters. The HSU Baptist Student Ministry organized ANDY24—a 24-hour prayer event from 8 p.m. Mar. 29 to 8 p.m. Mar. 30 on the Anderson Hall lawn.

“Every one of our one-hour prayer sessions was full of HSU students, faculty, staff and even one alumnus who drove an hour to pray,” reported Manny Silva, HSU BSM director.

HSU Volleyball engaged in 25 days of prayer leading up to the start of the 2023-2024 school year, covering the entire campus—all staff, faculty, students, administration—health and safety, and trustees, parents and alumni.

UMHB

In a single Sept. 6 chapel service at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, 27 students indicated they started “a relationship with Jesus that morning,” reported Jason Palmer, UMHB dean of spiritual life and university chaplain.

Also, a UMHB men’s golf team member active in the UMHB33 men’s ministry led another teammate to Christ.

“As students embrace biblical literacy and biblical community on campus and through our local churches, the Lord is arresting their hearts with his love and calling them into faithful obedience,” Palmer stated.

HCU

Houston Christian University—formerly Houston Baptist University—holds an annual Ignite Spiritual Renewal Week during the fall semester. This October, 76 students gave their lives to Christ for the first time, and 297 students committed to “surrendering total control of their lives to Jesus,” reported Scott Bertrand, HCU assistant provost and dean of spiritual life.

Additionally, 52 students expressed interest in learning more about believing in and following Jesus, and 67 students wanted to be connected to discipleship and a Christian community or local church.

BUA

Gabriel Cortés, Baptist University of the Américas chief of staff, shared the following stories.

A struggling student from Colombia “decided to follow Christ” over the summer “and got baptized at a local church. She’s now fully engaged in their media ministry and seeking to grow spiritually.”

A student from Central America who previously said he didn’t believe in God has started “to ask questions about the Bible and asking for prayer.”

An international group of 10 students worked with Iglesia Bautista El Jordan in Monterrey, Mexico, during fall break. On their first day, “17 people from the community made decisions for Christ.”

BUA “chapel attendance went from around 70 in the spring to 120 this fall,” further evidence of spiritual sensitivity among students.

Wayland

At Wayland Baptist University, 12 incoming freshmen football players accepted Christ during a chapel service. Seven more students accepted Christ at a Sunday morning worship service during freshman orientation.

“Other students, Wayland staff or local ministers” have followed up with these students to connect them to discipleship, reported Donnie Brown, Wayland director of spiritual life.

Trinity, one of those students, “came to Wayland to play on the golf team” and was led to Christ after taking “the required Old Testament class” her freshman year, Brown explained.

“Through conversations with [Jacob] West—[adjunct professor of Old Testament and pastor of First Baptist Church in Plainview]—and other Christian students she met at Wayland, Trinity began to think about what it means to have a relationship with Christ,” he added.

“During the summer while she was at home, Trinity began reading her Bible and trying to follow Christ. Upon her return to Wayland this fall, she continued conversations with the girls who had been praying for her, and about a month into the school year prayed to receive Christ.

“She began attending First Baptist, and a couple of weeks ago came forward at the end of the service to share her news with Pastor Jacob and to ask if he would baptize her.”

ETBU

Campuswide, “the most recognizable activity of the Lord” this semester at East Texas Baptist University “has been a fresh movement of the Holy Spirit in our chapel services” focusing on the fruit of the Spirit, noted Scott Stevens, ETBU dean of spiritual life.

“There has been a palpable sense of [God’s] presence in many of these services, and that has resulted in deep worship and rapt attention to the biblical messages of our speakers,” Stevens added.

“I believe one of the contributing factors to what we have experienced is a team of committed intercessors—our Chapel Prayer Team—who receive updates on upcoming services and have been diligent in prayer for the Holy Spirit to move in our chapel services. In his faithfulness, God has been answering these prayers,” Stevens wrote.

Stevens also shared the story of a new freshman from Southeast Asia. Her roommates regularly shared their Christian faith with her and invited her to attend church with them. Aug. 31, one of the roommates led her to Christ. Oct. 1, she was baptized “with a huge group of friends and family celebrating with her.” She now tells everyone she is saved.

DBU

Preaching during the first fall chapel service at Dallas Baptist University, Jason Paredes, pastor of Fielder Church in Arlington, “called for students to be undignified in their worship, praise and lives for Christ,” reported Jay Harley, DBU vice president of student affairs. During the response time, more than 100 students came forward for prayer.

Additionally, “two international students gave their lives to Christ at the 2023 BSM fall retreat,” Harley noted.

DBU students participate in several ministries throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. DBU Chapel Worship leads worship at many churches. They also led worship during the North Dallas Fields of Faith event at The Star in Frisco, where several hundred teenagers gave their lives to Christ.

HPU

“Howard Payne University has had 28 decisions this semester,” some of which may have been “first-time professions of faith,” reported Kyle Mize, HPU assistant vice president for communications.

Two athletes were baptized this semester at Coggin Avenue Baptist Church in Brownwood, and during HPU’s Fields of Faith event Oct. 9, eight students made faith-related decisions, Mize added.

BSM

Texas Baptists’ Baptist Student Ministry missionaries serve on 130 college and university campuses across Texas. Many of those serving raise at least part of their financial support.

Texas BSMs reported 572 salvations during the 2022-2023 school year and 310 calls to ministry.

Though a report of the 2023 fall semester was not ready at the time of writing, Texas BSM staff did report the following salvations this semester: 16 each at University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and Sam Houston State University, 13 at University of Texas at Arlington, five at Texas A&M, and nine at University of Texas Permian Basin and Midland College.

Bailey, a UTA student, came to Christ last August, “was discipled and served as a Go Now summer missionary,” and this August, “led Angel to Christ. Now, Bailey is studying the Bible and teaching Angel to share the gospel, as well,” reported Bill Noe, associate director of Texas Baptists’ Center for Collegiate Ministry.

Jason Palmer at UMHB reported Daniel McAfee, the director of the UMHB BSM, has been discipling a student who gave her life to Christ “through the combined experiences of UMHB chapel and the Texas BSM Abide Conference.” She’s also been baptized and joined a local church.

San Marcos Baptist Academy

The Spirit of God is also at work at San Marcos Baptist Academy, a co-educational boarding and day school providing education for preschool through 12th grade. SMA also has a longstanding international program for sixth through 12th-grade students.

Ten students decided to follow Christ this semester during a prayer service for campus ministers Clint and Monica Followell after their son Brandon was killed in a vehicle accident. Clint shared the gospel as students surrounded the family, and 10 of the students gave their lives to Christ.

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The stories above are only some of what is known of God’s work within students at Texas Baptist schools. My own story of coming to know and follow Jesus while a student at Hardin-Simmons University tells me the numbers don’t tell us all of what God’s Spirit is doing. So, consider them the tip of the iceberg.

I encourage you to choose at least one of the Texas Baptist schools listed above and to pray for them. You can contact the person who oversees spiritual life at each school to learn how. That’s one reason the list of schools at the beginning of the editorial is linked to their respective homepages.

I also encourage you to support a BSM ministry at a college or university near you. They always are looking for volunteers. You can also support them financially by visiting the Texas Baptists BSM Giving Fuel page here. To support a specific BSM staff member, select the campus at the bottom of the page, then select the specific staff member from the list on the following page.

Amid all the bad news, it’s easy to wonder if God is up to anything good. The stories above are just a sampling of how much good God is up to. Young adults still are giving their lives to Jesus.

During such troublesome days as these, let us not lose heart, and let us not forget God’s redemptive story is still advancing.

Eric Black is the executive director, publisher and editor of the Baptist Standard. He can be reached at eric.black@baptiststandard.com. The views expressed are those of the author.

The juxtaposition of a few headlines this week provides a jarring picture of the drastic difference between how some American Christians are making news and the situation among our brothers and sisters elsewhere in the world.

While some Christians in the United States contemplate the luxury of a multimillion-dollar lawsuit, Christians elsewhere would simply like to survive the day.

What does this situation reveal about American Christians? Do we want to see it? Probably not. More importantly, will it make any difference? It needs to.

Let’s look at three news stories published in the Baptist Standard this week.

Christians in the news

At the end of September and as reported by Forum 18 on Oct. 13, Russian forces seized another Baptist church in Ukraine. Oct. 7, Hamas slaughtered more than 1,300 people in Israel and took as many as 250 hostages. Israel responded swiftly with deadly force, killing about 3,000 people in Gaza.

Also at the end of September, “Adam Greenway, former president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, sent a demand letter threatening a $5 million lawsuit,” Baptist Press reported Oct. 17.

In case you haven’t seen that news, here’s a brief explainer. Greenway resigned under duress as president of Southwestern Seminary in Sept. 2022. A seminary trustee task force reported in April 2023 they “found evidence of ‘imprudent’ and ‘unwise’ financial decisions,” some “contrary to institutional policies.”

A subsequent financial overview of the seminary found 20 years of deteriorating financial health. That report accused Greenway of “improper stewardship … without deference to financial controls and seminary financial policies” during his three-year tenure, describing expenditures deemed problematic.

Greenway’s attorney asserts these reports “cast Greenway in a negative light,” humiliated him “and harmed his job prospects.” As a result, Greenway is threatening to sue Southwestern Seminary for $5 million.

Assuming a lawsuit is legitimate here, perhaps $5 million is a reasonable sum to seek. I don’t know. I do know in the middle of publishing the terror fellow Baptists are facing in Ukraine and Gaza right now, the news of a former Baptist seminary president in the United States threatening a $5 million lawsuit gives me whiplash.

What a stark contrast reveals

The contrasting headlines are a stark example of the disparity between where American Christianity is and the daily hardships our brothers and sisters experience elsewhere. Our troubles involve multimillion-dollar arguments between individuals. Their troubles involve the life and death of whole communities.

Some might see the difference as proof America is a much better place than the rest of the world. At least here, we have the freedom to take each other to court, whereas Christians in so many other places rarely have the freedom not to be dragged into court or worse. Yes, there is much to appreciate about living in the United States.

At the same time, remaining faithful to Christ through harsh persecution is a much nobler witness than building a case for why $5 million should or should not be awarded the plaintiff.

Looking closer

A natural question to ask is if Greenway should sue or threaten to sue his former employer. We shouldn’t ask this question in judgment of him, but to bring to the surface what we expect serving Jesus to be like—including our own service.

I don’t know enough of the facts to determine if Greenway should sue, and it’s likely you don’t either.

However, Paul seems to be pretty clear that to be wronged and defrauded is better for a Christian than to “have lawsuits with one another,” which he described as “already a defeat for you” (1 Corinthians 6:7-8).

Which is more offensive, that I question Greenway’s lawsuit or that we’re expected to suck up being wronged and defrauded?

Our brothers and sisters in so many places around the world face more than humiliation and harmed job prospects—the purported cause of Greenway’s lawsuit. Many of them face beatings, rape, kidnapping, imprisonment, torture, starvation or death just for being Christian. Talk about being wronged and defrauded.

Setting Paul aside, is $5 million justified? Here again, I don’t know enough of the facts to determine if the amount is valid, but I do wonder what exactly that $5 million is meant to cover.

Meanwhile, hundreds of Christians in Gaza would like a clean glass of water, some food and to see another day. Thousands of Christians in Ukraine have similar priorities.

This is to say nothing of Christians in Myanmar, Manipur, Sudan, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and many other places around the world who face near constant and often horrific persecution.

Looking in the mirror

I don’t mean to suggest Greenway isn’t aware of the difference between his situation and that of our brothers and sisters elsewhere. I believe he is well aware and cares deeply for the persecuted church.

I do mean to suggest American Christians have become so accustomed to our affluence and prominence that we tend to see no indictment of ourselves in the fact we even have the luxury of contemplating a $5 million lawsuit between Christian leaders while the rest of the world burns.

We might even argue the comparison between them and the situation of Christians in Ukraine and Gaza is apples to oranges.

But this is no false equivalence. We all profess the same Lord, of whose body we all are part. As such, our stories are bound up together, however different they may be. But through those differences, we too often make ourselves strangers to each other, working against our shared life in Jesus.

This week’s news gives us an opportunity to see our estrangement and begin to repair it—if we will hold these disparate stories side by side and accept what they reveal about us.

Eric Black is the executive director, publisher and editor of the Baptist Standard. He can be reached at eric.black@baptiststandard.com. The views expressed are those of the author.

About 900 Christians live in Gaza, yet they are missing from headlines and news reports about the war between Hamas and Israel. Gazan Christians are glossed over simply as Palestinians, who themselves often are reduced to no more than Hamas. Most Palestinians, however, are caught in the crossfire of someone else’s war and are suffering the consequences.

We need to learn to look beyond the headlines. We need to look for who is missing from the reports and what’s not being said. Many times, our own brothers and sisters in Christ will be found in that void.

About Gaza

The Gaza Strip is a small place. At just 25 miles long and between 3.7 and 7.5 miles wide, Gaza would fit between Dallas and Fort Worth with more than 10 miles to spare.

At almost 141 square miles in size, Gaza is comparable to Brownsville’s 145 square miles. However, more than 2 million people live in Gaza, while Brownsville’s population is not quite 188,000. This means Gaza’s average population density is more than 14,000 people per square mile, compared to Brownsville’s 1,295.

Gazans are hemmed between the Mediterranean Sea on the west, Egypt—who doesn’t want them—on the south, and Israel everywhere else. There is nowhere for them to flee Israel’s reprisals following Hamas’ surprise attack Oct. 7.

This means Christians in Gaza also have few places to flee. While Christian tour groups in Israel are seeking safety and a quick exit from the country during its war with Hamas, Christians in Gaza do not have this option.

Gaza’s border is heavily controlled by Israel, with a fence and sections of concrete wall running the length of the land border—complete with underground sensors—and Israeli gunships patrolling the coastline. Two official exits are available—the military checkpoints Erez on the northern border and Rafah on the southern border of Gaza, both of which now are closed.

To leave Gaza through either point, Gazans must obtain a temporary military permit that takes a long time to receive and typically is granted to Gazan Christians only on Christian holidays. In the case of the Rafah crossing—which Israel has struck at least twice in the last few days—Gazans must obtain both Israeli and Egyptian military permits.

About Gaza’s people

Gaza is also an impoverished place. The Christian Mission to Gaza website reports:

• Children age 14 and younger make up 45 percent of Gaza’s population, compared to less than 18 percent of the U.S. population.
• “Only 3 percent live past 65.”
• “Less than 10 percent of the water is fit to drink, with seawater, sewage, and chemicals contaminating Gaza’s overloaded aquifer.”
• Before the war, electricity was “available for only about four hours a day.”
• “Three out of 10 people live below the $1.90-a-day poverty line.”
• “Eighty percent depend on charity for food.”

According to an email from Pastor Hanna (John) Massad, founder of Christian Mission to Gaza and former pastor of Gaza Baptist Church, the majority of Gaza’s 2 million people do not belong to Hamas or the Palestine Liberation Organization, but “are people who want to raise and support their families.”

As the war progresses, as the prospect for full-scale destruction looms, and as hospitals in Gaza fill to overflowing with the injured, many wonder if the above description of Gaza and its people will become a historical footnote.

Will we care at all, or will we continue to ignore the full story about Gaza in favor of headlines like Foreign Policy’s “A Guide to Palestinian and other Anti-Israel Factions?” Such headlines leave us thinking all Palestinians are Islamist militants, when in reality the majority are not and want nothing to do with Hamas.

Such headlines also tell us nothing of our Palestinian brothers and sisters in Christ.

About Gazan Christians

Gazan Christians trace their roots “to the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:9-11),” Massad stated. Among the 14 ethnic groups named in Luke’s account of that day, Arabs were among them, Massad reminds us.

Today, there are three Christian churches in the Gaza Strip, only one of which is evangelical—Gaza Baptist Church. There also is an Orthodox and a Catholic church. Massad reported Gaza Baptist Church’s building sustained damage when Israeli munitions struck nearby.

Massad reported during an Oct. 11 interview many Christians in the Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City have lost their homes and are seeking refuge in the area because, as noted above, there is nowhere else for them to find refuge.

Gazan Christians caught in the vise

Massad describes Gaza as being like a prison. It is more so with the initiation of war. Al Jazeera reported Oct. 9 Israel is cutting off electricity, fuel, food and water to Gaza. An additional report by Al Jazeera the morning of Oct. 11 said Israel also is cutting off medical supplies. If anyone needed a picture of the sieges described in the Bible, this is it.

Gazan Christians are caught between Israel’s and Hamas’ rockets and within the vise grip of Israel’s “complete siege” of Gaza. They did not create the war, they do not want any part of Hamas, and yet they cannot leave or do anything about the situation. We need to see and understand this.

We need to see and understand our Gazan brothers’ and sisters’ plight the way Christ sees it.

As Massad said during his interview: “When you meet with the Lord Jesus, he put love in your heart, and he put the spirit of forgiveness, love for everyone … because all of us, all of us as human beings created in the image of God regardless of our ethnicity, our background, we can see God in each other.”

We need to have the Spirit of Christ, not the spirit of the Crusaders, Massad said. The Crusaders were “motivated by violence, hatred and revenge,” but the Spirit of Christ is “motivated by love. This is what we want, and this is what motivates our hearts,” he said.

In that Spirit, Massad called us to pray. “The family we belong to as the body of Christ, we need to pray for brothers and sisters on both sides [Israel and Gaza]. … We belong to a wonderful family, and Jesus is the head,” he said.

We don’t always know how to pray, but “the Holy Spirit which lives inside of us … takes the agony deep inside of every one of us and lifts it before the throne of God our heavenly Father, who will respond “according to our needs and his will,” Massad said.

In that same Spirit—the Spirit of Christ—and regardless of theology or political position, I join with Pastor Massad in calling us to pray for all involved—Israel and Gaza. And to do that, we need to know what’s happening to all involved.

To learn more and to stay updated on Palestinian Christians, you can visit Christian Mission to Gaza or Salam in the Holy Land or order Hanna Massad’s book Pastor from Gaza.

Eric Black is the executive director, publisher and editor of the Baptist Standard. He can be reached at eric.black@baptiststandard.com. The views expressed are those of the author.

If you’re having trouble staffing a music ministry, you’re not crazy, and you’re not alone. Staffing a church’s music ministry is more difficult than most people realize. And it’s getting harder all the time.

But why? More importantly, what should churches do in response?

The first question has a set of overlapping answers that complicate an already difficult situation. The second requires churches to ask another and fundamental question, “What is the purpose of music in church?”

A reason why

I’m not an expert on music ministry staffing, but I can tell you what I’ve experienced and what I’m hearing from others. Of all the reasons music ministry is hard to staff, the three described below seem to be the most common.

I stay in regular contact with churches looking for people to lead their music and who place classified ads in the Baptist Standard. I’ve heard their frustration and disappointment. More than that, I’ve experienced it firsthand.

I’m old enough to remember—just 30 years ago—when ministry students would drive as many as two hours one way to serve a local church. They were glad to have a place to serve, and they were committed to it.

Within about 15 years—when I was a pastor of a small, rural church south of Fort Worth and looking for a pianist and a song leader—trying to find music ministry staff felt hopeless. That feeling has spread to more and more churches since that time.

We looked everywhere for months and months. I queried all my contacts at churches, seminaries and beyond, not yet appreciating how much things had changed.

When I told a minister in Dallas what we could pay a pianist, he laughed and said: “Good luck. I can’t get a musician for less than that just to drive across town, let alone drive all the way out there.”

One reason staffing a music ministry is so difficult at present—especially for small and rural churches—is the cost. Small and rural church compensation has not been able to keep pace with the rising cost of education and living. So, musicians aren’t looking for work among small and rural churches. And, no, knowing that doesn’t boost those churches’ morale.

Other reasons why

When I was looking for a pianist, I talked with the professional pianist living in our town who taught piano at the community college. She sounded as defeated as I felt when she told me: “People just aren’t learning to play piano anymore. Keyboard, maybe, but not piano.”

Fewer people are learning to play and lead traditional music. Instead, people are learning to play contemporary or modern music. Many small and rural churches, however, still prefer traditional music.

The difference in music styles is another reason staffing a church’s music ministry is so difficult. The difference between traditional and contemporary or modern worship music is not just the congregation’s preference—how people feel about it. It’s also a difference in skillset.

Traditional and contemporary or modern music are different enough in significant ways that few musicians can transition between the two. Those who can aren’t looking for work.

There’s that phrase again—“looking for work.”

There is a significant difference between leading people in singing and leading people in worship. A church needs someone called to lead people in worship, not a musician who just needs a job. No offense to musicians who need jobs.

A person may be a good or great musician, may be able to get others to sing along, and be a Christian to boot. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that person is called or gifted to lead people to worship God.

And that brings us back to the question: “What is the purpose of music in church?” This is really where we disagree. Style of music is merely an easy target of the disagreement.

The fundamental question

When I was looking for a pianist and a song leader, before we spent any time looking for people to fill positions, I wish I had insisted that our church first answer the important question, “What is the purpose of music in church?”

If music in church is just to make people feel good—which often seems to be the case—then all we need to do is figure out what we need to provide the kind of music that scratches the itch.

But we’re talking about music in church, which means we’re talking about worship—and not the kind that happens Friday nights and Sunday afternoons in the fall. We’re talking about when Christians gather to worship God. Does music in church have anything to do with that?

Yes, music in church has everything to do with worshipping God—not our preferences and feelings. What then does a church really need to worship God? First, a church needs to understand what worshipping God means.

The idealist in me believes when a congregation understands what it means to worship God, it will be able to see much more clearly what it needs for worship music. What that church needs may be right in front of it, or it may require a fundamental shift in the congregation.

Which leads to the next important question a church needs to ask: “Now that we understand what worshipping God means, will we follow God’s lead—without grumbling—even if it means we don’t have anyone to play that beautiful piano we spent so much money on?”

Eric Black is the executive director, publisher and editor of the Baptist Standard. He can be reached at eric.black@baptiststandard.com. The views expressed are those of the author.

Como comunidad fronteriza, El Paso siempre ha sido hogar de “migrantes entre nosotros”. Vivimos y respiramos el mismo aire, usamos la misma agua, caminamos por las mismas calles. Podemos adorar al mismo Dios si recordamos que también somos migrantes que atravesamos este lugar llamado Tierra.

El escritor de Hebreos nos recordó: “Porque no tenemos aquí ciudad permanente, sino que esperamos la ciudad venidera. Por lo tanto, a través de Jesús, ofrezcamos continuamente a Dios un sacrificio de alabanza, fruto de labios que profesan abiertamente su nombre. Y no os olvidéis de hacer el bien y de compartir con los demás, porque con tales sacrificios se agrada Dios” (Hebreos 13:14-16).

No importa cuánto queramos llamar a nuestras ciudades nuestro hogar, en el esquema más amplio de las cosas, este no es nuestro hogar; Somos extraños tratando de encajar.

En un día cualquiera a lo largo del Río Grande, nunca sabes qué posibilidades tienes disponibles para convertirte en una luz en un lugar oscuro.

La visión de Dios sobre los migrantes

Los migrantes que llegan a El Paso tienen muchas opciones que tomar mientras navegan por su cuenta por el centro de El Paso, llegan a una de la mucha organización no gubernamental que ayudan a los migrantes o son procesados por la Patrulla Fronteriza y de Aduanas de los Estados Unidos.

Como ciudadanos de El Paso, también tenemos muchas decisiones que tomar. Podemos ignorar la crisis migratoria o encontrar una manera de contribuir a un sistema de inmigración que no creamos.

Para el seguidor de Cristo, navegamos nuestro camino en el mundo a través de un lente. Podemos ver la inmigración como una forma de amar al extraño entre nosotros.

Dios le dijo a Moisés cómo debía ser tratado un migrante: “Cuando un extranjero resida entre vosotros en vuestra tierra, no lo maltratéis. El extranjero que reside entre vosotros debe ser tratado como si fuera vuestro nativo. Ámalos como a ti mismo, porque extranjeros fuisteis en Egipto. Yo soy el Señor vuestro Dios” (Levítico 19:33-34).

Sé que ya no estamos bajo la Ley sino bajo la gracia. Pero ¿cómo elimina la ley de la gracia el amor por las personas? Todo lo que Dios hizo fue recordarle a Moisés el trato que recibieron como inmigrantes en una tierra extranjera.

Ministrando con el pueblo de Dios

¿Cuál es nuestra parte en todo esto? ¿Cómo podemos ver la inmensidad de un flujo aparentemente interminable de migrantes y no sentir una sensación de impotencia? ¿Cómo colocamos nuestra pieza del rompecabezas para asegurarnos de que la imagen comience a enfocarse? ¿Por dónde comenzamos?

Creo que el lugar para comenzar es reconocer: “No hay manera de que pueda hacer todo esto”, porque de todos modos no estás obligado a hacerlo todo.

Existen lugares a los que puedes unirte que están ministrando a los migrantes entre nosotros.

La Asociación Bautista de El Paso tiene un centro de procesamiento, el Centro de Migrantes de El Paso, ubicado dentro de una de nuestras iglesias comunitarias.

El Centro de Migrantes de El Paso atiende aproximadamente a 60 migrantes por semana los Lunes y Martes. Tienen un tiempo de respuesta de 24 a 36 horas para ayudar a los migrantes a llegar al destino de su elección y conectarlos con sus familias patrocinadoras.

Una vez que hayan llegado al Centro de Migrantes de El Paso, los migrantes reciben toda la ayuda humanitaria posible. Pueden usar una regadera y secarse con una toalla limpia, comer una comida caliente, descansar en una cama que los espera con sábanas limpias. También reciben ropa limpia, un par de zapatos nuevos o en buen estado, acceso gratuito a Wi-Fi; para que puedan comunicarse con sus seres queridos.

La mejor oferta para los migrantes que vienen al Centro de Migrantes de El Paso es recibir una bendición espiritual. Se ora por los migrantes, se cuida de ellos y se les invita a participar en un tiempo de adoración.

Durante el servicio, se les dice sobre el amor que Jesús tiene por ellos, cómo los ha llevado hasta este lugar y cómo pueden pedirle a Jesús que sea su Señor y Salvador.

Más de 3,500 migrantes han puesto sus vidas en la confianza en Jesús a través del ministerio del Centro de Migrantes de El Paso.

El gozo del Señor Jesús llena la habitación cuando amamos a los migrantes entre nosotros. Al atender sus necesidades humanitarias, recordamos La Paz que sólo Jesús puede dar.

Dios nos manda amar

Dios nos dio diez mandamientos para vivir en armonía con él y entre nosotros. Los primeros cuatro mandamientos se centran en Dios. Los últimos seis se centran en nuestra relación mutua.

Para que amemos a los demás, debemos amar a Dios primero. Cuando nuestro amor por los demás está impregnado del amor que tenemos por nuestro Creador, ya no vemos migrantes, sino personas necesitadas del amor de Dios.

A Jesús se le hizo una pregunta sencilla: “Maestro, ¿cuál es el mandamiento mayor en la ley” (Mateo 22:36)? No creo que la pregunta fuera sincera, pero se creía que no tenía respuesta. Deben haber olvidado a quién le preguntaban.

Jesús tenía la respuesta perfecta. “‘Ama al Señor tu Dios con todo tu corazón, con toda tu alma y con toda tu mente’. Este es el primer y más grande mandamiento. Y el segundo es parecido: “Ama a tu prójimo como a ti mismo” (Mateo 37-39).

Nadie es inútil según Jesús. El migrante entre nosotros no es diferente.

La próxima vez que vea la cobertura mediática de la crisis fronteriza entre Estados Unidos y México, recuerde que tampoco es nuestro hogar. Somos extranjeros esperando nuestro hogar eterno.

¿Me gustaría que las cosas fueran diferentes? Me gustaría decir “sí,” pero para aquellos que no tienen a quién acudir, no estoy tan seguro. Al vivir en la comunidad de El Paso, hago lo que fui llamado a hacer: ser un hacedor de historia, un hacedor de diferencias y una persona de paz para quienes buscan la paz. Espero que tú estes también.

Larry Floyd es el director ejecutivo de la Asociación Bautista de El Paso y miembro de la junta directiva de Baptist Standard. Las opiniones expresadas son las del autor.

As a border community, El Paso always has been home to “migrants among us.” We live and breathe the same air, use the same water, walk on the same streets. We can worship the same God if we will remember we also are migrants making our way through this place called Earth.

The writer of Hebrews reminded us: “For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come. Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased” (Hebrews 13-14-16).

No matter how much we want to call our cities our home, in the bigger scheme of things, we aren’t home; we are strangers trying to fit in.

On any given day along the Rio Grande, you never know what possibilities are available for you to become a light in a dark place.

God’s view of migrants

For migrants arriving in El Paso, they have many choices to make as they navigate the downtown El Paso area on their own, arrive at one of the many NGOs helping the migrants, or are processed by the United States Customs and Border Patrol.

As citizens of El Paso, we also have many choices to make. We can ignore the migrant crisis or find a way to contribute to an immigration system we didn’t create.

For the Christ-follower, we have a lens through which we navigate our way in the world. We can see immigration as a way to love the stranger among us.

God told Moses how a migrant should be treated: “When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. 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” (Leviticus 19:33-34).

I know we no longer are under the Law but are under grace. But how does the law of grace eliminate the love for people? All God did was remind Moses of the treatment they received as migrants in a foreign land.

Ministering with God’s people

What is our part in all this? How can we possibly see the vastness of a seemingly endless flow of migrants and not feel a sense of helplessness? How do we place our puzzle piece to ensure the picture starts to come into focus? Where do we begin?

The place to start, I believe, is from a point of acknowledging, “There is no way I can do all of this,” because you aren’t required to do it all anyway.

There already are places you can join that are ministering to the migrants in our midst. The El Paso Baptist Association has a processing center—The El Paso Migrant Center—housed inside one of our community churches.

The El Paso Migrant Center ministers to approximately 60 migrants per week on Mondays and Tuesdays. They have a 24- to 36-hour turnaround helping migrants reach the destination of their choice and connecting them to their sponsor families.

Once arriving at the El Paso Migrant Center, migrants receive all the humanitarian help possible. They can take a hot shower and dry off with a clean towel, eat a hot meal, rest on a bed waiting for them with clean sheets. They also are given a fresh set of clothing, a new or gently used pair of shoes, and free access to the Wi-Fi so they can contact loved ones.

The best offer to the migrants coming to the El Paso Migrant Center is to receive a spiritual blessing. Migrants are prayed for, cared for and invited to participate in a time of worship.

During the worship, they are told about the love Jesus has for them, how he has caried them so far to this place, and how they can ask Jesus to be their own personal Lord.

More than 3,500 migrants have placed their lives into the trust and care of Jesus through the ministry of the El Paso Migrant Center.

Happiness and joy fill the room when we love the migrants among us. As we minister to their humanitarian needs, we never must forget to offer the peace only Jesus can give.

God commands us to love

God gave us 10 commands for living in harmony with him and each other. The first four commands focus on God. The last six focus on our relationship to each other.

For us to love others, we must love God first. When our love for others is steeped in the love we have for our Creator, we no longer see migrants, but we see people in need of God’s love.

Jesus was asked a simple question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law” (Matthew 22:36)? I don’t think the question was sincere but was believed to be unanswerable. They must have forgotten who they were asking.

Jesus had the perfect answer. “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’” (Matthew 37-39).

No one is without worth according to Jesus. The migrant among us is no different.

The next time you watch media coverage of the U.S.-Mexico border crisis, remember it’s not our home either. We are strangers awaiting our eternal home.

Do I wish things were different? I would like to say “yes,” but to those who have nowhere else to turn, I’m not so sure. Living in the El Paso community, I do what I was called to do, and that is to be a history maker, a difference maker and a person of peace for those seeking peace.

I hope you will be, too.

Larry Floyd is the executive director of the El Paso Baptist Association and a member of the Baptist Standard board of directors. The views expressed are those of the author.

Baptists have a long history of championing religious freedom. To ensure that freedom, we also have a history of championing the separation of church and state. See Baptist historian Carol Crawford Holcomb’s recent article clearly recounting this history.

Our historic stance is being tested.

As clearly seen in our 400-year history, Baptists do not see separation of church and state as meaning church and state will not be in dialogue. Baptists are not opposed to religion and government relating to each other and even influencing each other.

What many Baptists are opposed to is the church seeking to govern through the state and the state seeking to govern through the church. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s Sept. 19 tele-townhall with Texas pastors suggests an example of the latter.

The politics

Dave Welch—who founded the Houston Pastor Council, Texas Pastor Council and U.S. Pastor Council—hosted the call. It was not clear if the call was at the initiative of the Texas Pastor Council or Abbott’s office.

During the call, Abbott appealed to a pastors’ desire “to shape more than just any particular church … but to shape our entire community.” He called those listening “to come together and unite and achieve a better state for all families across the entire state” by advocating for “school choice.”

Abbott noted polls in support of “school choice” and said he would call a special session in October for the purpose of passing “school choice” legislation. “School choice” is a euphemism for using public funds to pay for private education through such things as education savings accounts.

He expects legislators to fall in line and claimed “votes seem to be lining up.” If they don’t line up in the upcoming special session, Abbott will call another special session for the same purpose.

And if that doesn’t work, Abbott threatened to “have everything teed up in a way where we will be giving voters in a primary a choice. They can choose someone who supports school choice, or they can support someone who is against school choice.”

“There’s an easy way to get it done and a hard way to get it done,” Abbott continued. The easy way is to approve Abbott’s agenda in this upcoming special session. The hard way is to call Abbott’s bluff and face being voted out of office.

And Abbott wants pastors to be a mouthpiece for this bully tactic.

The ask

A Sept. 19 press release from the governor’s office designated Sunday, Oct. 15, as School Choice Sunday. Clearly, this is a play at the thousands, if not millions, of people Abbott hopes will hear his message through their pastors’ mouths.

Abbott asked those listening to speak, and to encourage other pastors to speak, “on Sunday, October the 15th … to your congregations about the issue of parental rights, parental involvement and school choice.”

He urged the pastors listening to “go to the pulpit, speak from the pulpit to your congregation, and let them know how important this issue is to the fabric of the future of Texas.”

It’s one thing for a national denomination such as the Southern Baptist Convention to designate specific Sundays for specific causes and to encourage churches to teach and preach on those topics on those days. I don’t like it, but at least it’s coming from within the denomination.

It’s another thing for a state governor to try to commandeer the pulpit—however nicely—for political purposes. At a minimum, Baptists should bristle at this. Really, they should go beyond bristling and reject Abbott’s “ask”—however politely.

He claimed his “ask” is “not going to be something laden in politics where you’re supporting a candidate or a party. … You’re supporting a cause or a cause that aligns with what God expects of us.”

That last sentence of Abbott’s is a classic example of spiritual coercion. The implied message is: “If you want to be on God’s side, you’ll be on mine.” That’s also a form of spiritual abuse, even if Abbott sincerely believes—religiously speaking—God expects “school choice.”

The problem

Abbott claimed, “The fundamental principle that God created for us is to have family units … not state bureaucrats, making decisions that are best for families.”

We should not lose sight of the fact it is a state official saying that. Also, whether our government is Democrat- or Republican-controlled, it will be state bureaucrats making decisions they think are best for families.

Regardless where one stands on the issue of education funding, allowing a government official to set the agenda for even one Sunday morning is the camel’s nose under the tent—or is like giving a mouse a cookie, to borrow from Laura Numeroff.

Allowing the state to erase the distance between itself and the church is an invitation to the state to decide a whole lot more than one Sunday’s sermon topic. It’s a boundary transgression and should be rejected.

Whatever a pastor preaches on Sunday, Oct. 15—or any Sunday—ought to come from God, not from the governor.

The principle

In response to other editorials I’ve written on similar topics, more than one respondent has told me to stay out of politics. When a state governor takes politics directly to the pastors, however, don’t expect a Baptist editor to stay out of politics.

Baptists don’t need to be of one mind about “school choice”—and we aren’t—to see Abbott’s latest attempt to appropriate pastors for his purposes is an inappropriate foray of government into the church.

Abbott has said he intends to get his way one way or the other, and by going to Texas pastors, he’s essentially said he intends to use the church to do it.

If we are to continue championing religious freedom and separation of church and state, we should reject Abbott’s “ask.”

Eric Black is the executive director, publisher and editor of the Baptist Standard. He can be reached at eric.black@baptiststandard.com. The views expressed are those of the author.

What Alexander Lang thought would be a typical blog post went viral over the last two weeks. In his post, he explained why he left, not just his church, but also the pastorate. His explanation generated important discussion, including here in the Baptist Standard.

Lang left the pastorate, in part, because of the unrelenting pressure and stress of the position. Stress and pressure always have been a feature of the pastorate, but the last few years have intensified them to a breaking point for many pastors.

Intended or not, Lang put a spotlight on pastoral health. While that concern is still on our minds, I want to point to the good work some are doing to improve pastoral health and call us to expand that work.

Books can be helpful

Authors and publishers increasingly have recognized the need to address pastoral health, and several books on the topic have appeared over the last decade or so.

These include Preventing Ministry Failure by Michael Todd Wilson and Brad Hoffman (2007); Resilient Ministry: What Pastors Told Us About Surviving and Thriving by Bob Burns, Tasha Chapman and Donald Guthrie (2013); The Emotionally Healthy Leader by Peter Scazzero (2015); The Leader’s Journey by Jim Herrington, Trisha Taylor and Robert Creech (2020); and The Weary Leader’s Guide to Burnout by Sean Nemecek (2023).

Your pastor likely has been recommended at least one book on pastoral health, maybe one of the above. Your pastor probably has read at least one of these recommendations, and probably still feels stressed. Such books are helpful, but they only go so far. Their authors say as much and strongly advocate for intentional community.

Community is more helpful

In recent years, as concern over pastoral health has mounted, several efforts have been launched to address the increase in stress-related illnesses, burnout and ministry failure among pastors.

The Truett Church Network, The Whole Pastor and the Pastor Strong Initiative are examples of these efforts. The strength of each lies in the community each strives to build.

In addition to an array of educational offerings, the Truett Church Network has hosted weekend pastor retreats where ministers are able to relax, enjoy time with friends and colleagues, and learn together.

The Whole Pastor, a ministry of Bobby Contreras—pastor of Alamo Heights Baptist Church in San Antonio and chair of the Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board—seeks “to connect pastors, families, and communities to a holistic approach and view of health” that includes “spiritual, physical, mental, financial, and relational” aspects.

A replicable model of community

As the shared work of several ministries and organizations, the Pastor Strong Initiative offers a replicable model of pastoral community.

Pastor Strong is a collaboration of the San Antonio Baptist Association, Texas Baptists, The Whole Pastor, Baptist Health Foundation—who helped start Pastor Strong with a five-year grant—Baptist Credit Union and STCH Ministries’ Pastor Care.

Chad Schapiro, a church starting pastor and mentor to church starters, leads Pastor Strong. He lights up when he describes the ministry, saying he wants to be a Barnabas to pastors.

Pastor Strong currently focuses on senior pastors, though it is open to other ministerial staff. It also is open to pastors and ministers of churches not affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

Through regular gatherings over coffee and lunch, two retreats and two date nights a year, and the Lydia Network for pastor’s wives, Pastor Strong seeks to build supportive and encouraging relationships for pastors and their families. The ministry also provides coaching and financial assistance through partner organizations.

Though a new ministry, Doug Diehl, pastor of Crossroads Baptist Church in San Antonio, said Pastor Strong already is fostering greater participation and encouragement between pastors than has been seen in the San Antonio area in many years.

Others have noticed the benefits of Pastor Strong and have asked about its expansion into their areas. Replicating Pastor Strong is possible with collaboration and coordination of resources. In several places, these resources already exist and simply need a coordinator.

Not only pastors need community

Pastors are called to a work few outside of the pastorate understand. My father-in-law was a pastor 45 years and then served as a director of missions 11 years. When my wife was a child, a teacher at school asked what her dad did for a hobby.

“Weddings and funerals,” she responded.

The teacher clarified by asking what he did on weekends and got the same answer.

More than one family vacation or event was cut short when a church member died, and he returned home to minister to the family and prepare for the funeral—so many that we came to expect family time to be cut short.

Anecdotal? Yes. And the tip of the iceberg of a pastor’s—and pastor’s family’s—life.

Loneliness and isolation accompany this 24/7 kind of work, along with a host of other stresses and pressures. The intentional nature of the Truett Church Network, The Whole Pastor and Pastor Strong goes a long way to overcoming them.

More intentional communities can and should be created to meet this need. We also need groups like the Truett Church Network, The Pastor’s Common and Texas Baptist Women in Ministry that also provide supportive communities for women in ministry and their families.

Pastors who seem to endure the rigors of ministry well tend to be part of communities like those described above—communities of trust, friendship, encouragement and support. This means we need more of these communities in more places.

Pastors aren’t the only ones who need these communities. Pastoral health—a good all its own—translates to church health. This means creating and supporting these communities and facilitating our pastors’ participation in them is in every church’s interest.

Eric Black is the executive director, publisher and editor of the Baptist Standard. He can be reached at eric.black@baptiststandard.com. The views expressed are those of the author.

Alexander Lang’s blog post “Departure: Why I Left the Church” is all over my social media feeds and has been for days. This makes sense when so many of my friends—social media and otherwise—are pastors.

Most of those I’ve seen share or repost it agree with Lang’s assessment of pastoral stressors. I agree and encourages churches to pay attention to the real and considerable pressures our pastors are experiencing.

Paying attention means more than reading an article and agreeing with it—or not. Paying attention means taking steps to alleviate our pastor’s current stress and heading off ill effects of future stress.

Giving such attention to pastoral stress is a good investment in the health of your pastor, your pastor’s family and your church.

Why are pastors stressed?

Lang refers to a 2022 Barna study reporting that of the 42 percent of pastors thinking of quitting, 56 percent experience immense stress in the pastorate, and 43 percent are lonely and isolated.

Political divisions, negative effects on the pastor’s family, and pessimism about the future of the church rounded out the top five reasons pastors thought about quitting.

While this survey was conducted soon after the height of the COVID-19 pandemic—in which many pastors were wrung out over months and months of constant decision-making and bitter infighting among congregants—at least four of those reasons have topped informal lists for at least a decade.

Contributing to the pressure pastors feel is the expectation that they be experts in—among other things—the Bible, theology, finance and fundraising, recruitment, public speaking and public relations, counseling, building maintenance and politics—yes, in the church.

They must be energetic and engaging, not too young and not too old, well-educated and well-experienced, and able to grow any church anywhere without making anyone unhappy—except for that group we’d like to leave our church anyway.

Lang contended pastors in the Presbyterian Church USA are expected to do all such things “and do them well for $55,000 a year” (emphasis his). The expectations and pay scale aren’t much different among Baptist churches.

Such expectations and the corresponding stress predated the COVID-19 pandemic, but they were exacerbated during 2020 and 2021. Churches need to give this proper consideration, because stress is cumulative, and its effects often are delayed.

A key element of endurance

A reasonable expectation every church should have of its pastor—and every pastor should have of him- or herself—is God’s call. God’s call is key to pastoral endurance. So is reaffirming God’s call.

I don’t know if Lang ever felt called to the pastorate, but God’s call does not appear in his blog post. To make sure, I went back over the post again, and the only instance of “call” I found was toward the end when he referenced a sermon he “called ‘Change.’”

The pastorate simply is too hard for anyone to do it who isn’t called. And that call should come from God, not from one’s family, friends or neurosis.

Since it’s not always easy to discern when a call is from God, churches need to provide space and time for people to discern God’s call.

We need to do more than simply “call out the called.” While churches do need to be places where people can hear and discern God’s call for the first time, they also need to provide space and time for current pastors and ministers to be able to hear and discern God’s call reaffirmed.

But Baptists can be Calvinist about God’s call—once called, always called. We have a tendency to think of God’s call as a “one and done.” God speaks from heaven, issuing an unequivocal call—an order—on a person’s life that stands for all time and all places.

Some may never need their call reaffirmed, but Lang’s post and reports of ongoing clergy dissatisfaction suggest to me many pastors would benefit from God’s call being reaffirmed.

What God’s call provides

Being confident of God’s call doesn’t mean a pastor won’t have problems, won’t feel overwhelmed at times, and won’t want to quit. In my experience, confidence of God’s call does enable a pastor to endure through even significant stress.

When church attendance is generally in decline in a culture that only values growth, pastors need to be sure God called them to the pastorate anyway.

When lack of church member support leaves pastors feeling they’re on their own, pastors need the support of God’s call.

When pastors feel in over their heads, they need the confidence God’s call provides.

When pastors are criticized right and left and can’t win for losing, they need the assurance God called them knowing that would be the case sometimes.

When pastors wonder if they’re doing any good or feel they’re not as effective as they should be or used to be, they need to know God called them regardless of the outcome.

Pastors need the assurance, the certainty, the confidence only God’s call provides. Churches, in turn, need to provide their pastors the space and time to reaffirm God’s call—especially now as the delayed effects of 2020 and 2021’s stress begin to appear.

Provide space for reaffirmation

As I noted above, stress is cumulative, and its effects often are delayed. Lang’s stress reached the point he not only left his church, but he also left ministry—either for now or for good.

As a church, you need to decide what kind of time you will be without a pastor. Will it be a short period of time on a regular basis, planned and budgeted for, when the pastor can spend time focused on rejuvenation and reaffirmation of God’s call?

Or will it be an unplanned and indeterminate amount of time when it’s least expected and the timing is least productive? A church unwilling to afford the first is very likely to pay for the second.

Many men and women can speak from decades in ministry to the importance of God’s call. I don’t have their longevity—yet—but I have been in ministry long enough and in enough settings to know it was my certainty of God’s call that kept me going.

The stresses and pressures of ministry are not going to go away. Some of them will get and are getting worse. If our pastors are to endure them, we must afford them the gift of reaffirming God’s call.

Eric Black is the executive director, publisher and editor of the Baptist Standard. He can be reached at eric.black@baptiststandard.com. The views expressed are those of the author.