Have you ever found yourself in the middle of a week, thinking: “This is one of those weeks I’m always going to remember”?

Marv Knox

Our family just lived through a week like that. True to the messy irregularities of life, it didn’t exactly fit a calendar week. It began on Monday and ended on Sunday. But it happened across seven consecutive days. A week we’ll always remember.

Monday, March 20, began with celebration and, to be honest, pain. On that day, I completed six weeks of radiation treatment, thank the Lord, Madame Curie and a host of scientists and physicians.

My saga began more than a year ago, when I felt a small, hard lump under my right temple. Fast forward to late last fall, when what we thought was a benign fibrous mass turned out to be an acinic cell carcinoma—a malignant tumor. After surgery to remove the tumor and surgery to repair nerve damage to my eye, the time came for radiation.

Surgeries vs. radiation

Who knew surgeries are like waltzes through birthday parties compared to lying still while an X-ray machine blasts the side of your head? Since the effects of radiation accumulate, everything feels great for about three weeks. Then comes the dry mouth. And the “sunburn.” And the hair loss. And the throat and mouth sores. And the fatigue. And the abiding taste of metal.

I hope and pray my radiation treatments whipped any little cancer cells as mercilessly as they whipped my face, neck and head. My doctors think so, and they don’t expect this cancer to come back.

Here’s something I learned: Rich blessings glimmer within the dark, damnable cloud of cancer. Lying under radiation for 30 days, I counted blessings I had taken for granted—the love of family, the prayers of friends. And I encountered blessings I never considered—the grace of molecular science, the sweet presence of God you can’t recognize until you realize you’re completely powerless.

Also, I’ve got to name names: Doctors Bob Steckler, Jim Merritt and James Petrikas. Radiation techs Jessica, Leslie, Katie, P-Nut and Vince. Dr. Petrikas’ nurse, Katie. Skilled and kind. Absolutely compassionate. They could teach ministry students how to express care.

So, I finished radiation Monday and feel a smidge stronger every day.

Along comes Rosemary

And I felt much better, at least in another way, the very next day. Around the time I drove to my last radiation treatment, our younger daughter, Molly, went into labor. Not much later—easy for me to say; I wasn’t great with child—Baby Rosemary arrived not long after midnight Tuesday morning.

In addition to her mama, she joined her daddy, David, and big sister, Eleanor, to complete the wing of our family who live in Nashville. Rosie’s new grandmothers, Joanna and Ruth, drove out to welcome her to the family and to take care of Eleanor during her hospital stay. Jo and I give thanks for those darling granddaughters, and for their cousins, Ezra and Abram.

Jim goes to heaven

Joanna returned home Thursday evening, ready to sleep in her own bed and get back to work. But work had to wait when she received a call not long after midnight Friday. Her dad, Jim Jarchow, fell for the third time in about a week, and his outlook wasn’t optimistic. The flu and then the falls compounded ongoing degradation of his 90-year-old body.

Over the weekend, his nearby family—daughters Julia, Janis and Joanna; grandson, Greg, and his family, Penny, Peyton and Parker; and I—all had opportunities to say our goodbyes and prayers for peaceful passage.

The Lord answered those prayers early Sunday, when Jim went home to heaven. And if I’ve been right in an ongoing debate he and I conducted across the years, he knew exactly who greeted him with a hug and a kiss on the other side: The love of his life, Margie, of course.

Aaron steps up

A few hours later, the final family episode of the week took place down in Buda, where Hays Hills Baptist Church elected Aaron—our other son-in-law, husband to our older daughter, Lindsay, and daddy to Ezra and Abram—as their lead pastor after almost six years as children’s pastor.

Words can’t begin to describe how proud I am of that young man. Of his faithfulness to Jesus and love for the church, as well as his love for our daughter and their sons, who they’re raising in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Of his growing maturity and wisdom.

Life lessons

OK, so this isn’t a real editorial. If I still were writing my old “Down Home” column, this would be it. I don’t have any big points to make, except what I hope is obvious in my life and in yours:

• God is present in all of life—birth and death, pain and healing, long trips and new ventures. Despite the circumstances, God provides peace that surpasses all understanding and guards our hearts and minds against the ravages of evil.

• Cherish both life’s highs and lows. In fact, respect and revel in the lows, because that’s often when the chaos quietens enough to hear the “still, small voice” of God, right by your ear. Even the one swollen from radiation. Or the other one, hovering over the final breaths of a faithful husband, father and grandfather.

• Don’t take any moments for granted. You never know what the next will bring, and you’re not likely to experience another just like this one.

Follow Marv on Twitter: @marvknoxbs

Wesley Shotwell has been pastor of Ash Creek Baptist Church in Azle 19 years. From deep in the heart of one Texan, he shares his background and thoughts on church and ministry. To suggest a Baptist General Convention of Texas-affiliated minister to be featured in this column, or to apply to be featured yourself, click here.

Background

• Where else have you served in ministry, and what were your positions there?

In college, I served as the minister of youth and music at Oglesby Baptist Church in Oglesby and then as the minister to college students at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Waco.

My first full-time pastorate was Excell Baptist Church in Clarksville, Tenn., from 1987 to 1991. Then I was pastor of Hickory Hollow Baptist Church in Nashville, Tenn., from 1991 to 1997.

In January 1998, I began as pastor of Ash Creek Baptist Church.

• Where did you grow up?

Dallas until age 14, then Franklin, Tenn., during high school.

• How did you come to faith in Christ?

My parents were very faithful believers and influenced my life and my decision to follow Christ. Having grown up in church, the religious education I received, as well as the influence of many adults, made me aware of the work of the Holy Spirit convicting me of sin and convincing me of the need of a Savior. At the age of 11, I made that decision public on Easter Sunday 1973 and was baptized by my father the next Sunday.

• Where were you educated, and what degrees did you receive?

Bachelor of arts in speech communication, Baylor University, 1984

Master of divinity, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1987

Doctor of ministry, Vanderbilt University Divinity School, 1990

Ministry/church

• Why do you feel called into ministry?

Ministry gives me the opportunity to devote full time to activity with eternal significance. Every Christian should be engaging in spiritual activity for the well-being of others, but in ministry, we can devote more of ourselves in serving God and serving others. As a teenager, I knew I had certain gifts that would be useful in ministry and felt the Holy Spirit urging me to use those gifts in ministry.

• What is your favorite aspect of ministry? Why?

Funerals. That may sound strange and even morbid, but the crux of the gospel is the hope we have in the fact Christ has defeated death. It is at the funeral when you have the opportunity to remind people of why we have faith. People of faith can grieve, but we do not grieve like people with no hope. Funerals are the purest moment of ministry for me; a time when the message we convey can truly show God’s grace. Also, funerals give us an opportunity to leave a positive impression of the gospel on people who do not yet believe and who may never be in church except for this moment. Funerals can show unbelievers there really is hope in Christ.

• How has your ministry or your perspective on ministry changed?

My perspective on success has changed. Like most ministers, I suppose, we search for some sort of objective measurement by which to define ministerial success. In business, success can be measured by units sold, profits gained or rising stock prices.

Ministry must be measured by a different standard, although as a young minister I fell into the trap of objectively measuring how successful I was by answering objective questions: How many people did I baptize? How many people came to Sunday school or worship? How much money did we collect? Do they like me? Did they like my sermon today?

While those questions are not irrelevant, the older I get, I realize success in ministry is deeper. It is not about whether they like my sermon or me. It is about people forming a community of faith that is faithful to the gospel.

When a 9-year-old boy came to me with excitement in his eyes to tell me he had told his friend about Jesus, I counted that a success. When a ministry of our church works to make someone’s home livable, or a Sunday school class provides food for the hungry people in our community, or the RAs and GAs get excited about a missions project, it is a success. When the church is able to deal with conflict in a mature, Christ-like manner and compromise with each other and still love one another in unity if not in uniformity, that is a success.

Those kinds of things are not the things we report on the Annual Church Profile, but I think they are more important. Even though we cannot put an objective number on those things, they are the things that remind me of what a healthy community of faith is about.

• What qualities do you look for in a congregation?

1. Do they love one another? This is the most important one.

2. Can they deal with conflict in ways that are healthy and lead to solutions to problems that are better because of healthy conflict resolution? Do the people who disagree with a decision of the church still live in unity with the rest of the church?

3. Is there mature lay leadership who can make wise decisions?

4. Is there a heart for missions, evangelism, prayer, worship, ministry to the poor and oppressed, and a thirst for justice in the world?

5. Does the church reflect the demographics of the community in which it is located?

• Name the three most significant challenges and/or influences facing your congregation.

1. Competition on Sunday for the attention of people. Children’s sporting events and other extra-curricular activities take families away from church attendance too often. Also, those who are more affluent are tempted to invest time and money in recreational activities that reduce their investment in church.

2. The challenge of reaching the millennial generation. It is very difficult to reach people in their 20s and early 30s. They are spiritual, and many of them grew up in church, but now they have no interest in church or organized religion.

3. Giving to the church by the next generation. Although they do not have the resources of older adults yet, many younger adults have not developed the spiritual discipline of tithing. In the decade to come, this could be a real challenge.

About Wesley

• Who were/are your mentors, and how did/do they influence you?

My Dad, Larry Shotwell. He was by far the most significant influence in ministry. I watched his leadership style and skills in ministry and learned from him how to lead people. He taught me about Sunday school and administration.

My Uncle, Bob Edd Shotwell. I listened to Bob Edd and my Dad talk and debate about church work when we were together as a family for holidays and other family get-togethers. He was a mentor to many, many people in Texas, and I learned much from him.

Larry Nixon. Larry was my pastor when I was in college. He trained a group of ministerial students in the church by meeting with us once a week to talk about ministry, preaching, pastoral care and other things. He allowed us to preach from time to time to give us experience.

• What did you learn on the job you wish you learned in seminary?

1. Leadership skills.

2. Church administration. How do you lead a church to put together a budget? What is the role of deacons, committees, staff, etc.

3. Conflict resolution.

• Who is your favorite Bible character (other than Jesus)? Why?

Jeremiah. I identify with him often. Ministry is frustrating sometimes, and you wonder why you are doing it when things are not going as well as you think they should. Jeremiah faced incredible frustration and was very honest with God about how he felt. But he continued to be faithful, even though from his standpoint, he was a failure. Now we think of him as one of the greatest of the prophets.

To read other “Deep in the Hearts of Texans” columns, click here.

Jesus loves you. We say this phrase to one another so often, we easily forget the power of this declaration. The truth of this good news, of this gospel, must never be so familiar to us we lose our sense of awe and gratitude at the amazing grace of such love.

Zac Harrel

We must return again and again to the well of God’s love, for it is what our desperately thirsty hearts need.

In Mark’s account of the baptism of Jesus—and in the other Gospel accounts as well—we see the Father proclaim from heaven over Jesus, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well-pleased.” One of the amazing things about the gospel is when we place our faith in Jesus, our sins not only are forgiven; we are declared to be in Christ so that when the Father looks to us, he sees the obedience, holiness and righteousness of his Son. By our faith in Jesus, by giving our lives to Christ, we are adopted into the family of God. We are made sons and daughters of the King.

What this means for us is that in Jesus when the Father looks at us, he makes this same proclamation over our lives. “You are my son. You are my daughter. With you I am well-pleased.”

This love …

This love, this pleasure the Father takes in his children should sustain us through the peaks and valleys of our lives. No matter what we walk through, we can continue to come back to this declaration of love and acceptance over and over again.

Sometimes our lives don’t seem to match up with what we know of who God is and the promises he makes to his people, and in our moments of doubt and anxiety, we continually can point our hearts back to this truth. Jesus loves us, and in him our heavenly Father is pleased with us. In moments of despair, we look to Jesus. The Cross and the Resurrection remind us of his love, and our identity in him reminds us of the Father’s pleasure with his children.

God’s love for us is proclaimed over us in Christ in this declaration from heaven at the baptismal waters of Jordan. This love is ours in Jesus, because of the love of Jesus for us who are lost and hurting.

Love made clear

Jesus’ love is made clear in his sacrifice on our behalf at Calvary. “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you” (John 15:13-14). The Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 8:39 that nothing in this world can separate us from this love.

Jesus loves us. This must never become dull to us, because it is a world-changing, life-transforming truth.

I am convinced one of the hardest things for us to do is just let God love us. We can’t limit or qualify this love. He loves us, period, full stop. Rest in this love, rejoice in this love and walk in this love through every season this life throws at you.

The other part of the baptismal declaration also is ours in Christ. The Father is pleased with us. In some ways, it is easier for us to proclaim God’s love than it is for us to proclaim God’s pleasure with us. But in Jesus, God is pleased with us. He accepts us. The gospel declares us holy and righteous in Christ.

God’s pleasure

Now, the process of making us completely holy won’t be complete this side of glory, but we already are walking and living in God’s pleasure.

Shame, guilt and our past try to break us. The truth of God’s pleasure in his children reminds us shame, guilt and our past have no ultimate power over us. Our Father is pleased with us, and there is nothing shame, guilt or our past can do to change this.

Sometimes, doubt and despair overwhelm our hearts. Sometimes, life puts us through seasons when we wonder about the love and goodness of God. In those moments, our hearts must return to the love of Jesus for us, revealed most clearly in his cross and in his resurrection. They must return to the truth that our identity is in him; we are sons and daughters of the King, who are loved and with whom our Father is well-pleased.

Zac Harrel is pastor of First Baptist Church in Gustine, Texas

Concern for the well-being of resident aliens always has been front and center of the Christian faith, and that should be no surprise given Christianity’s Jewish roots.

Centuries before Jesus reminded his followers to welcome strangers as they welcome him (Matthew 25:35), “undocumented immigrants” were on one of the most oft-repeated lists in the Hebrew Scriptures: Three groups of people Yahweh constantly singled out for special care were, in fact, orphans, widows and resident aliens.

Of all people, Jews had a unique reason to treat such people with special kindness. “You shall not oppress or wrong a resident alien, for you were once aliens in the land of Egypt,” as God says in Exodus. Yahweh simply is reminding the Chosen People of their own salvation history, a history that included a stay of more than 400 years in someone else’s country.

Our ancestors in the faith always worried about people who had no “clout,” individuals who couldn’t defend themselves when push came to shove. Widows—women without a man to support them, as was the custom of the day—clearly fit this category, as did orphans.

Same boat

Resident aliens were in the same boat. They were foreigners, inhabitants in a strange land. Then, as now in many countries, all three easily could be taken advantage of.

The late Scripture scholar Hans Walter Wolff frequently reminded us the Israelite monarchy was a unique institution in the ancient world. Monarchical governments normally came into existence to protect the interests of the wealthy and influential. Jewish kings, on the contrary, were put in power to protect the rights of the poor and downtrodden.

During the biblical period, it was presumed everyone had a go’el—often translated as “redeemer”—a person who would “get you out of hock” when problems arose. Usually this was a close relative—a father, brother or son. Or in some situations, a distant relative, as was the case with Boaz in the book of Ruth. The king was expected to fulfill this role for orphans, widows and resident aliens. He personally was supposed to step in and defend their rights. His door was to be open to them 24/7.

As any serious reader of Scripture knows, it didn’t take long for many of King David’s successors to put their go’el obligation on a back burner. Imitating the behavior of their neighboring pagan kings, they became notorious for being more concerned for their own needs than for the needs of their people. They, not the helpless, benefited from their power. It was left to Yahweh’s prophets to force the issue.

We find a classic case of such a king-prophet confrontation in I Kings 21. Influenced and aided by his pagan queen, Jezebel, King Ahab not only steals his neighbor Naboth’s vineyard, but the conniving couple eventually has him stoned to death. Except for the prophet Elijah, no one seems to make a public issue of the atrocity. The narrative of his stinging encounter with Ahab in the stolen vineyard is one of Scripture’s most powerful passages.

Righting the wrongs

The biblical problem for those who would persecute an undocumented immigrant no longer is just a case of looking over their shoulder, fearing an encounter with a government entity. Now they have to worry about God righting the wrong they’ve inflicted on these powerless individuals.

One of the last of the scriptural prophets—Malachi—couldn’t be clearer: “I (Yahweh) will be swift to bear witness … against those who oppress the hired workers in their wages, the widow and the orphan, against those who thrust aside the alien, and do not fear me, says Yahweh of hosts” (Malachi 3:5).

This carries a special obligation for those who later would claim to be “other Christs,” those who have chosen to carry on the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. Perhaps many of us don’t understand that obligation because we don’t understand the meaning of what Jesus says when he “purifies” the Jerusalem temple in Mark 11:15-17.

In referring to the temple as a “den of thieves,” Jesus is in fact harking back to Jeremiah 7, a passage in which the prophet accuses people of replacing concern for the helpless with liturgical worship.

The temple cleansing completely dovetails with Jesus’ constant concern that his followers be committed to care for others, especially those with no clout.

Imitating Jesus

As I mentioned at the top of this article, Matthew 25:31-46 presents us with Jesus’ well-known Last Judgment narrative. In each instance, he warns his disciples they will be judged only on what they did to assist the helpless around them … including the strangers they encounter.

Scholars of early Christianity tell us showing hospitality to strangers was one of the practices most frequently employed by first- and second-century disciples of the risen Jesus as they sought to imitate the Savior in their daily lives.

They didn’t have far to go to find occasions when that could be accomplished. Although I can’t remember the author or the publication, I recall once reading an article in my doctoral program with a title that summed up the original Christian message: “Saved by Practicing Faith, Hope, Love and Hospitality.”

The writer of the letter to the Hebrews also reminded his readers what was at stake: “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.”

We presently live in an environment in which—for political reasons—fear of undocumented immigrants is stressed frequently. Although coming into contact with strangers always provokes some anxiety in our hearts, Jesus assures us when we encounter such individuals, we really are encountering Jesus.

It’s possible that worrying about the consequences of coming face-to-face with resident aliens has stopped many of us from experiencing the risen Jesus in our daily lives, something our ancestors in the faith believed was an essential element of that faith—no matter in what country they lived or from what country the aliens came.

As other Christs, they assumed an obligation to be their go’el. We believers can do no less today.

Roger Vermalen Karban, a Catholic priest in the Diocese of Belleville, Ill., is a Scripture scholar and widely published writer. Religion News Service published his column.

When our grandson was 10 months old, he underwent a medical emergency. His immune system was compromised, and his body was under assault from an infection.

Bill Wilson

He needed immediate treatment, and the diagnosis called for him to receive intravenous immunoglobulin. This is a concentrated dose of antibodies, extracted from blood plasma, which helped his body fight off the illness. Within 48 hours, his high fever and other symptoms responded to the treatment, and he came through that traumatic experience in good health.

In talking with the doctors and nurses during his hospital stay, I learned one dose of immunoglobulin is derived from the blood of more than 1,000 donors. This collection of antibodies from the donated blood provides what the patient’s body cannot—defense against infection.

Hope and healing

As we marveled at the efficiency of the treatment, the knowledge of the medical professionals and the healing touch of God’s providential love, I came away struck by how congregations provide much of the same hope and healing for one another.

Despite our illusions, none of us is capable of living the life God has called us to alone. We all need someone, some group, some community to help us fulfill God’s dream for our lives. We may be extraordinarily gifted, wealthy, wise, self-sufficient and independent, but in the end, that is not enough. There will be a day, if there has not been already, when you will come to a point where you cannot stand alone.

Our grandson benefited from hundreds of people donating their blood so others could be blessed by their healthy blood. The extraction of antibodies that fight infection enabled him to overcome serious illness and to be restored to health. Could it be that one of the most important things your congregation does for you is to enable you to fight off spiritual diseases and infections you could not defeat alone? A genuine and caring community will keep you healthier than you will be alone.

More than predicted

I have seen, on many occasions, individual believers overcome overwhelming odds and unlikely scenarios to become something more than anyone predicted. Much of the credit for their success is due to the community that infused them with hope, encouragement and accountability.

The Apostle Paul’s letters describe a Spirit-filled culture in the early church that used teaching, imitation, encouragement, correction, inspiration and unity to turn a rag-tag collection of misfits into the most powerful organization our world has ever known. They were unified in their love for God and their love for one another.

You may not get an IV bag with antibodies attached, but you get something very similar from being in a healthy congregation. Somehow, you get stronger and healthier and become more of the person God intended you to be when you are immersed in that community. Regular involvement in acts of worship, discipleship, mission, volunteering your time and energy, study and devotion all build up your spiritual, emotional, social and potentially physical well-being.

Spiritual immunity

Of course, the reverse is true, as well. As you live out your life as a Christ-follower in the midst of a community of faith, you share your own health and vitality with others. 1 Corinthians 12 describes a community that benefits from the gifts, talents and abilities of everyone, not just the most overtly talented. A kind of spiritual immunity builds within us as we all journey together into the future Christ has for us.

Together, we become healthier than we could ever be alone. We are able to fight off disabling infections, overcome spiritual diseases and achieve a level of spiritual health that is indicative of the work of the Holy Spirit among us.

Does this describe your congregation? If so, give thanks to God every day for the gift of a people who make you better just because you show up and soak up their community. Be grateful for a chance to inject spiritual health into the lives of others.

If this does not describe your congregation, what would it take to bring health to that situation?

Most likely, the same principles that produce health in our body will produce health in the Body of Christ—better nourishment, more exercise, regular check-ups, fewer toxins and more vitamins.

Remember, better health in your community of faith starts with you, not those around you. As you devote yourself to a spiritual lifestyle that aligns with God’s design for you, you will have an impact on others. The Bible’s promise that the fruit of the Spirit grow and increase within us and impact others will become your story.

God bless you as your spiritual health benefits from the lives of those around you and as your life increasingly becomes a blessing to others. 

Bill Wilson is the director of the Center for Healthy Churches.

Last week, I participated in a mission trip here in Houston. Although I have “missionary” in my intern title, I hadn’t been a part of a short-term mission experience since the beginning of college. Honestly, past experiences left me with some residual inadequacy and identity issues.

As the time approached for me to lead a couple of the college students during spring break, I carried some anxiety, but also a strong desire not to bring my “mission trip baggage” along for the week.  After talking to a counselor, I felt better prepared to handle whatever was thrown my way because of the truth of Romans 5:3-5. It says: “We also rejoice in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

Jakora Frazier (left) learned God could refine her while at the same time using her in missions service.In addition to trying to work through old experiences, I was wary of doing ministry with my fiancé, who worked closely with the church directing the mission trip. How was I supposed to act as he led the group? After communicating my concerns to my husband-to-be, I sat before the Lord, writing down copious amounts of Scriptures that reminded me of who God is, aligning my heart and mind with God’s will and his desires for my life.

I actively engaged with God through prayer and Bible reading, communicated with those around me rather than hiding my feelings, and had faith that God would bring me through the week. And God did—just not the way I expected. He not only chose to sustain me throughout the week, but also to refine me.

Jakora Frazier poses with a couple of kids who helped write a rap song to tell a Bible story.All of the junk in my heart—selfishness, fear, pride, anger, insecurities and so forth—did not just silently dissipate. It was as if all of my foolishness wanted to make one last public debut before this particular process of sanctification was complete. So, here I am in the middle of this mission trip, in the middle of trying to be a good campus missionary, in the middle of trying to be a good fiancée, and I cannot seem to bury all this foolishness.

I was so confused, because I gave everything to the Lord, and I still saw my sin both glaring and affecting others. I felt like Paul in Romans 7, wracking my brain as to why I could not just get it together. I humbly confessed to others and repented to God for my sinfulness.

In the process, I learned some things:

• My fiancé is a saint. If I ever needed confirmation he will die to self for the sake of loving me, even—especially—when I don’t deserve it, it was this past week. And he only illuminated the mystery of Christ and the church—that Christ would die for an undeserving, unfaithful bride is a beautiful enigma. Glory to God!
• The Lord is sovereign in how he chooses to refine us. I didn’t want my fiancé or my students or anyone else to have to deal with—or have any knowledge of—my mess in this purifying process, but what if all of it was more than just about me and my sanctification? Is it possible that God wanted his strength to be made perfect in my weakness, so others would see him glorified in my struggle? Is it possible that my fiancé could be bold in loving me, and that my students could see how God can work through his children even when he decides to work in his children?
• God doesn’t need us to set aside our weaknesses so he can use us. He can choose to refine us as we serve him. Proof: The mission experience itself was great. Somehow, by God’s grace and mercy, my service wasn’t negatively affected by this inner turmoil the way I feared it would. It’s not because I hid it well. It’s because God can handle using me and sanctifying me simultaneously—because he is God. Yes, be present, yes, be faithful, but ultimately, trust God’s goodness, grace and timing with the process of sanctification.
• God is faithful. Because of this mission experience, I got to see this even more clearly than before. He is the hope that never disappoints. And for this I rejoice.

“May the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who called you is faithful, and he will do it” (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).

Jakora Frazier is serving as a campus missionary intern at Houston Baptist University.

Pain is the acute sense of self.

Marv KnoxI didn’t make that up. It’s a line from one of the Top 5 all-time greatest TV shows, M*A*S*H. If I remember correctly, a medic—not Hawkeye, or B.J., or Maj. Houlihan or Col. Potter—provided that succinct and accurate definition. He spoke it in a classic episode shot from the perspective of a young infantryman injured in combat and delivered to the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital via helicopter.

“Pain is the acute sense of self.” When you’re in pain, you can’t think of anything or anyone but yourself. Simple. Brilliant.

That definition has been on my mind lately. That’s because (a) Joanna and I have been watching M*A*S*H reruns during dinner, and (b) I’ve undergone several medical procedures and thought entirely too much about the right the side of my face and neck.

Like a magnet

Pain is like a magnet, drawing your attention to where it hurts. When you focus on pain, you can’t help but focus on yourself—your body, your spirit, your soul. Or whatever it is about you that hurts.

What I love about this definition—in addition to its accuracy and simplicity—is the fact it implies a key prescription for alleviating pain: Focus on other people and things.

Laughter may be the best medicine, but empathy and compassion do their part to induce healing.

You can see the inverse of this in people who, we might say, have too much time on their hands. Free from other responsibilities, they can chew up huge chunks of the clock thinking about themselves, their families and their concerns. With nothing to attract their attention, worry takes over. Pretty soon, they’re in agony.

Get busy

But when they get busy—volunteer at church, in a neighborhood school or with a local ministry; take a part-time job; serve on a board or committee—they feel much better soon. Even people who suffer from painful medical conditions acknowledge their pain abates when they spend time thinking about and, better yet, helping others.

This principle applies to churches, too.

A sacred privilege and responsibility of serving and working alongside Texas Baptist congregations is witnessing the pain many of them endure. In communities all across our state, churches suffer the ravages of time. Demographics shifted. Good jobs moved elsewhere. Schools declined. The faithful died off, and no one replaced them.

And so, churches suffer the pain of comparing what once was to what now is. Every time members pull into the parking lot, they notice crumbling pavement and empty slots. They rattle around worship centers like BBs in boxcars. They think about who’s not here anymore. They can’t figure out how to get the folks who live around their buildings interested in their church.

And they lament. The pain of absence and decline is decimating.

Reversible

Fortunately, much of their pain is reversible. Month by month, churches have faced similar situations and found joy, purpose and redemption. (I know, because we’ve told their stories in the Baptist Standard and CommonCall.)

The common denominator? They turned their attention outward. They made courageous commitments to focus on the spiritual and physical needs of people outside their walls instead of the sadness and loneliness and pain endured by dwindling numbers of members who cross their threshold week after week.

Some launched new ministries scaled to their means and ability. They opened food pantries or clothes closets, or they adopted a school or an apartment complex. They reached out to other ministries and made their facilities and maybe even their time available for the greater good. They merged with another church that struggled under similar circumstances. Some gave their facilities to another congregation, often peopled by a different racial or ethnic group, sometimes from a different denomination.

They turned their attention to others. Their pain eased. They rediscovered joy.

A version of this editorial originally appeared in CommonCall, the Baptist Standard’smagazine. CommonCall explores issues important to Christians and features inspiring stories about disciples of Jesus living out their faith. An annual subscription is only $24 and comes with two complementary subscriptions to the Baptist Standard. To subscribe to CommonCall, click here.

Follow Marv on Twitter: @marvknoxbs

An article titled “The Future of Secularism” in Evolutionary Psychological Science turned a few heads recently. The article dealt with the “secularization hypothesis,” which theorizes as society develops and scientific knowledge becomes more widespread, interest in religion declines and secularity increases.

Jake Raabe

The article claims the “secularization hypothesis” fails because it does not take into account birthrates. Religious people tend to have more children than nonreligious people, so secularity actually will decline in the next century.

This conclusion was not terribly surprising or interesting, despite a few hyperbolic claims made by scattered Christian bloggers about “the death of secularity.” Nevertheless, it got me thinking more about the idea of secularization.

There is a worldview, a narrative behind the “secularization hypothesis” that I daresay most Americans, religious and nonreligious alike, agree on. Back in the olden days, there was only religion. Then, sometime in the 18th or 19th century, science displaced religion as the primary way to understand the world. Now that society is enlightened, religion is on its inevitable way out. Look at the decline of religion in America and Europe. With a rational alternative to religion, people are leaving houses of worship in droves. Both religious and secular people alike seem to agree on this narrative, disagreeing only on if it is good or bad.

Unconscious acceptance

Despite its almost unconscious acceptance by most here in America, this way of thinking is deeply problematic for several reasons.

First, it is not clear religion actually is in decline in America, as exemplified by the work of a Baylor research group. Much was made about the rise of the “Nones” when the Pew Research Center came out with its most recent survey of American religious affiliations, but this likely was misleading, as the Baylor group found. Many who claimed to have “no religion” on the survey also gave the name of a congregation they attended regularly. It seems a significant number of “Nones” in this survey may have been evangelicals who took the maxim “Christianity is a relationship, not a religion” to heart.

Darker issue

More problematic than not reflecting reality, the “secularization hypothesis” has a darker issue at its core. Although debates continue on the state of religion in the United States and Western Europe, religion is flourishing worldwide, and secularism is declining.

Christianity isn’t declining; its population centers are shifting, with significant growth in Africa and Asia. In fact, by the year 2050, Pew estimates, an incredible 40 percent of the world’s Christians will live in Sub-Saharan Africa, with Christianity remaining the world’s largest religion. This is far from the decline so often talked about by Christians and non-Christians alike in America.

The secularization hypothesis assumes as societies develop, they become less religious, but secularism is all but unknown in places like Sub-Saharan Africa. Are we to assume these places are “less developed” because their populations are highly religious? That seems to be the implication of this idea. Sub-Saharan Africa has major cities, computers, the Internet, electricity, running water and so forth. Far from the way most Americans picture the continent of Africa, it is one of the rapidly growing economic regions on Earth. Assuming the continent is somehow “not developed” is rooted in a deep misunderstanding of what the continent actually looks like. This leads to the dangerous assumption that all countries should look like the United States.

Myth, not hypothesis

The secularization myth is every bit as prevalent in the American church as it is in general society.

I think of the popularity of the God’s Not Dead films, which present Christianity as a small, persecuted group fighting against the overwhelming powers of secularity. This simply is not the case—probably not in the United States, and certainly not worldwide. We’ve assumed this faulty worldview and consequently have become bitter and defensive when we need not be. Assuming things are dire when they really are going well sabotages our witness to the world and insults the work of the God who continues to add to our numbers daily.

The “secularization hypothesis” is being recognized continuously as the “secularization myth.” It simply doesn’t reflect reality, especially on a global scale.

It’s a great time to be the church. Let’s start acting like it.

Jake Raabe is a student at Baylor University’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary in Waco, Texas.

Many Baptists observe Substance Abuse Prevention Sunday every spring. I can get behind Substance Abuse Prevention Sunday. because I am addicted to alcohol and tobacco.

Eric Black

I know I am, not because I use either one. I know I am, because I used to use and abuse both. I used to tell those who told me I had a problem that I didn’t. I used to get tired of their concern, and I used to hide and drink by myself. I know addiction well, and I know the agony of trying to get free.

Thankfully, I know the joy of being free. It’s like being new again.

Waste of addiction

The waste of addiction is like an unending desert, rough ground, every watering hole a mirage, every promise a heartache, every thought an inward turn away from love and friendship and life and a turn down into a bottomless pit of more, more, more, when can I get more, how can I get more, where can I get more, who will I have to hide this from?

The waste of addiction is like living death.

And it never seems to go away.

And we despair, and despair turns us inward one more time. If only we could change. If only we could see things differently. If only we could … .

God desires more

God hurts to see us live this way. To all of us, addicted or not, God desires more for us:

Seek the Lord while he may be found;

    call on him while he is near.

Let the wicked forsake their ways

    and the unrighteous their thoughts.

Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them,

    and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

    neither are your ways my ways,”

declares the Lord.

“As the heavens are higher than the earth,

    so are my ways higher than your ways

    and my thoughts than your thoughts.

As the rain and the snow

    come down from heaven,

and do not return to it

    without watering the earth

and making it bud and flourish,

    so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,

so is my word that goes out from my mouth:

    It will not return to me empty,

but will accomplish what I desire

    and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

You will go out in joy

    and be led forth in peace;

the mountains and hills

    will burst into song before you,

and all the trees of the field

    will clap their hands.

Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper,

    and instead of briers the myrtle will grow.

This will be for the Lord’s renown,

    for an everlasting sign,

    that will endure forever.” (Isaiah 55:6-13)

Words in context

Maybe you’ve heard God’s thoughts are not our thoughts, and God’s ways are not our ways. Maybe you’ve heard God’s ways are higher than our ways, and God’s thoughts are higher than our thoughts. Maybe you’ve heard God’s word will not return void but will accomplish what God intends. But have you seen those words in their context?

Now you have, and the context is clear. Our thoughts and ways are a spiral down into darkness and death, and God’s thoughts and ways are toward vibrant and eternal life. How we long for vibrant life! If only we could get there.

Thankfully, God makes a way through Jesus Christ, who opens the way and shows us the way. Jesus taught us if we will give up our thoughts and ways and will follow God’s way, we will know new and vibrant and eternal life.

If we will give up our thoughts and our ways and turn to God, we will find mercy and pardon.

If we will give up our thoughts and our ways and will turn to God, we will receive God’s words of life that will be to us like:

rain and the snow

    com(ing) down from heaven,

… watering the earth

and making it bud and flourish,

    so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater.

Wouldn’t you like the parched soil of your addicted soul to soak in life-giving rain?

If we will give up our thoughts and our ways and will dive into God’s way of life, we will begin to leave addiction behind and

will go out in joy

    and be led forth in peace,

(and) the mountains and hills

    will burst into song before you,

and all the trees of the field

    will clap their hands.

Renewing exchange

Wouldn’t you like to exchange the moans of addiction for the celebration of life?

If we will give up our thoughts and our ways and will wash in God’s life-giving love, the thorn bush and brier patch of addiction will be replaced with evergreen.

Wouldn’t you like to be free of the tearing thorns of addiction and surrounded by flourishing life?

If we will give up our thoughts and our ways that take us away from life as God intended it, and if we will accept God’s thoughts and ways, God will make us new again.

If you will, you won’t be alone. Jesus will be with you, and Jesus is faithful to send other encouragers, also.

If you will give up your ways and your thoughts and will live in God’s way, following Jesus, you will leave the living death of addiction behind and will come to know joy and fullness of life.

If you will, God will make you a new creation, and God’s new creation is good and endures forever.

Eric Black is pastor of First Baptist Church in Covington, Texas, and a member of the Baptist Standard board of directors.

“Wine Into Water” is a song by T. Graham Brown, recorded in 1998 on Intersound Records.

Patrick Adair joined the staff at Central Baptist Church in Marshall three years ago and has been the congregation’s pastor for “two years and some change.” From deep in the heart of one Texan, he shares his background and thoughts on church and ministry. To suggest a Baptist General Convention of Texas-affiliated minister to be featured in this column, or to apply to be featured yourself, click here.

Background

• Where else have you served in ministry, and what were your positions there?

Youth minister at First Baptist Church in Waco from 2005 to 2011

Pastor at First Baptist Church in Matador from 2011 to 2014

• Where did you grow up?

I was born in Lufkin but consider Palestine my hometown.

• How did you come to faith in Christ?

I was raised in Denman Avenue Baptist Church in Lufkin, and I responded one Sunday at the age of 7 to the preaching of Dr. Charles Roberts. He encouraged me to speak with my dad, and later that night, my father and I prayed, and I became a follower of Christ.

• Where were you educated, and what degrees did you receive?

I received a bachelor of arts degree in religion from East Texas Baptist University and a master of divinity degree from Truett Seminary. I currently am working on a doctor of ministry degree from Truett.

Ministry/church

• Why do you feel called into ministry?

I was called to ministry at Student Week at Glorieta, N.M., the summer after my freshman year of college. I remember distinctly I was hesitant, because I felt the conviction if I committed to a life of ministry, it would be something I was committing to for life. In that moment, the Spirit reminded me this is also true of committing to follow Christ as Lord, and I made that commitment.    

• What is your favorite aspect of ministry? Why?

When seeds that were planted and watered continue to bear fruit. Third John 4 is absolutely true: “I have no greater joy than to hear of my children walking in truth.” To see youth that I taught continue to walk in faith, and to teach others the faith is a tremendous blessing.

In ministry, you often have to wait to see if you are making a difference, and sometimes I long for the kind of work you can evaluate at the end of a day and say, “There, it’s done!” But seeing the results of time and love you have invested pay off—even in youth I was convinced were not listening!—is worth the effort.

• What one aspect of congregational life gives you the greatest joy?

Each part of being a minister is a privilege, but the most joyful are baptizing new believers, dedicating babies and children, and officiating weddings. It is a tremendous privilege to be able to speak words of blessing over new life, whether new life in Christ, the promise to raise a child in the faith, or the beginning of a new family.

In a similar way, each time I can open the Bible and tell God’s story is an opportunity for the Spirit to bring new life, a new dimension of Christ-likeness, into people’s lives.  

• What one aspect of congregational life would you like to change?

I would like to see more collaboration and less isolation. We should be confident enough in the Spirit who desires us to be unified to see our fellow believers and fellow churches as partners in ministry and not as competitors. This especially is important across racial boundaries.

• How has your ministry or your perspective on ministry changed?

I think this quote from Henri Nouwen’s In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership sums it up well: “Not too many of us have a vast repertoire of skills to be proud of, but most of us still feel that, if we have anything at all to show, it is something we have to do solo. You could say that many of us feel like failed tightrope walkers who discovered that we did not have the power to draw thousands of people, that we could not make many conversions, that we did not have the talents to create beautiful liturgies, that we were not as popular with the youth, the young adults, or the elderly as we had hoped, and that we were not able to respond to the needs of our people as we had expected. But most of us still feel that, ideally, we should have been able to do it all and do it successfully.”

I still am in the process of laying down expectations for ministry that spring from a worldly definition of “success” and/or my own pride, and learning instead to measure success by being faithful to do what God has called me to do in the place he has called me, with the people he has blessed me to minister to and with.  

• How do you expect congregational life to change in the next 10 to 20 years?

My hope is we learn to have a broader vision of congregational health. David Bolin, the minister of music at First Baptist Church in Waco, made a statement once that I never will forget: “Churches are like children. If your child is not growing (or is shrinking!) you know your child is not healthy. But no parent has the goal that their child should be the biggest child in town, or the biggest child they can possibly be. Growing in a healthy way means growing in all ways.”

Too many churches are fixated on size as the only marker of health. We should be focused on growing in maturity, in grace and in love as well as numerically. I hope we can learn that in our congregational life—what I hope and what I expect varies on whether I see evidence such a thing is happening!

• If you could launch any new ministry—individually, through your congregation or through another organization—what would it be? Why?

In Marshall, the population has been static for nearly 50 years. The demographics have shifted, however. The Anglo population has declined through moving out of the city limits. The African-American population has stayed relatively stable. The Hispanic population has doubled. There is very little outreach among Baptists to our Hispanic community here relative to the size of the population.

This has been a burden on the heart of Randy Babbin, our Soda Lake Baptist Association director of missions, for a while. I want to see at least one vibrant Hispanic Baptist congregation in Marshall, and all the Baptist congregations of Marshall, whatever their racial makeup, to support it.  

• What do you wish more laypeople knew about ministry or, specifically, your ministry?

It is possible there may have been pastors who were over-encouraged. But if so, I have not met any. The Apostle Paul, at the conclusion of his list of trials and troubles in 2 Corinthians 11, which included whippings, beatings and shipwrecks, adds in verse 28: “Apart from such external things, there is daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches.” That is no joke.

And even if there have been pastors who were over-encouraged, I am certain there has never been a pastor’s spouse or family who were over-encouraged. Their burden, I believe, is greater than the pastor’s.

Pray for and encourage your pastor’s family, and you will bless your pastor.

About Baptists

• What are the key issues facing Baptists—denominationally and/or congregationally?

Oh boy, here we go.

In general, we as Baptists have become committed to drawing “our circle” ever smaller. We dis-fellowship and splinter with our fellow believers, not because we abandon fundamentals of the faith, but because we interpret Scripture on ancillary issues differently.

As one example, I have been blessed to know many excellent women who were called and gifted to ministry, trained and taught in Texas Baptist institutions. But with very, very few exceptions, they have to go outside of Texas, or outside of Baptist life entirely, to use their gifts in the churches.

We are fighting a battle with one hand tied behind our backs. Orthodoxy is, in general, big enough to accommodate churches with different stances on this and other issues. What is required is a spirit of generosity among churches and leaders to validate, fellowship with and serve alongside those who practice church differently, while faithfully following the same Lord.  

• What would you change about the Baptist denomination—state, nation or local?

My wish for Baptists applies to evangelicals in general. We have bought into a false dichotomy that has made it possible for us to be easily politically manipulated, rather than insisting our political standards approach the standards of the kingdom of God.

We have one political party that has planted its flag and said: “We have a handle on righteousness. We believe in morals and strong faith.” We have another that has planted its flag and said: “We have a handle on justice. We believe in compassion for the poor, the immigrant and the outcast.”

The kingdom of God does not separate righteousness and justice. It simply cannot imagine one without the other. It cannot imagine a nation insists on personal morality without also being willing to lay down one’s own “rights” for the sake of the poorest among us. It cannot imagine a nation in which social justice exists, but there is little insistence on a personal commitment to living a life of faithful purity. You cannot find a biblical prophet willing to make that trade, in either direction.

The evangelical church has flocked mostly to the party that claims the flag of righteousness, but which has, lately, abandoned even the pretense of a commitment to personal righteousness or strong Christian faith. What is left, then, except blind party loyalty?

The church of God is made of sterner stuff than to be led around by the nose by vain and vulgar political opportunists. We have good news to share and to live out. The word of God is two-edged sword, and it cuts to the left, and it most assuredly cuts to the right.

I would have us evaluate public policy and public figures by the standards of justice and righteousness, and stop being massive hypocrites who pretend we do either. We should celebrate people with the willingness to speak prophetically from a place of moral courage.

Well, you asked!

About Patrick

• Who were/are your mentors, and how did/do they influence you?

My father and mother, Tim and Delores Adair, led me to Christ and showed me what faithful Christianity looks like in church, in the workplace and in the home. Doug Washburn was my youth minister for most of my adolescence and demonstrated a commitment to authentic faith and sharing the gospel. Dr. Bob Utley taught me the skill and joy of biblical interpretation.

I have been greatly shaped by the wonderful faculty of Truett Seminary, including Drs. Todd Still, Roger Olson, Angela Reed, Hulitt Gloer, Terry York, Ron Cook, Levi Price and Lai Ling Ngan, and others who have gone on to glory—Drs. Ruth Ann Foster, Bill Treadwell, A.J. Conyers and Frank Pollard. All of these—and others I have inadvertently left out—grew and continue grow in me a love of learning, teaching and leading for the sake of the body of Christ.

Dr. Wallace Watkins has been a wonderful friend and mentor, and the kind of pastor I aspire to be. There have been many others who have encouraged and blessed me generously in so many ways! I have been richly blessed with colleagues who are only a little older than I am, but I look up to as models of courageous and faithful ministry—Drs. Ryan Berryhill at First Baptist Church in Marshall, Taylor Sandlin at Southland Baptist Church in San Angelo, Matt Snowden at First Baptist Church in Waco, and Jennifer Garcia Bashaw at East Texas Baptist University. I want to be like them when I grow up.  

• What did you learn on the job you wish you learned in seminary?

You can do a lot of pastoral things—preach, teach, counsel, etc.—but each person in the congregation must choose whether they will see you as their pastor. For some, that will happen automatically when you stand in the pulpit. For others, it will be when you stand in their hospital room, and for others, it will be when the Spirit works on them do so.

My part in that dynamic is to keep showing up to do the work of pastor—even in my flawed and haphazard way—and be patient.

The other thing was given to me by Bill Manney, who was the Methodist minister in Matador. He told me: “If you preach less than 20 minutes, people will think you don’t know what you’re talking about. But if you preach more than 45 minutes, people will know you don’t know what you’re talking about.”

• What is the impact of ministry on your wife and children?

I prefer for people to meet my wife, Jeni, first, before they meet me. This always helps people have a much higher opinion of me, as they think, “Well he can’t be all bad if she married him.” Fortunately, my daughters, Sheridan and Meagan, take after her. I have been blessed by being a part of churches that have understood and honored that my first commitment is to be a husband and father and then a pastor. That said, I repeat that there never has been a pastor’s spouse or family who was over-encouraged.

• Name some of your favorite books (other than the Bible) or authors, and explain why.

There are several books that I keep returning to in my preaching and teaching in order to communicate what the gospel means and how we are supposed to live it out: Richard J. Foster’s Celebration of Discipline, Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Life Together and C.S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity. N.T. Wright’s Christian Origins and the Question of God series, beginning with The New Testament and the People of God and through to the latest, Paul and the Faithfulness of God, is altogether a robust defense of the historicity of the New Testament, a powerful portrayal of the meaning of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, and an incredible example of how to present an intellectually sound Christian worldview to the watching world. A shorter work that accomplishes the same things in a very different way is G.K. Chesterton’s Orthodoxy, a wonderful book with a terrible title. It should be called The Romance of Orthodoxy, and it is a one-of-a-kind kaleidoscope of an apologetic, philosophical, worshipful defense of the faith encased in an armor of razor-sharp wit.  

• What is your favorite Bible verse or passage? Why?

Romans 8 begins with “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ” and ends with the fact that absolutely nothing “shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” In between, we discover the Spirit that raised Christ from the dead gives us life, lets us cry out “Abba, Father!” that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy of comparison with our future glory as part of new creation, and that the Spirit and the Son intercede for us. That is a whole lot of good news.

• Who is your favorite Bible character (other than Jesus)? Why?

I am going to cheat on this question and give a character from Christian history. Saint Patrick was kidnapped from Britain at 16 by Irish pirates, escaped slavery there, became a Christian and a priest, and was then called by Christ to return to the people who had once owned him and preach the gospel to them. He went to an island of bloodthirsty barbarians who literally drank wine out of the skulls of their enemies, and within a generation, the slave trade there was ended and Ireland’s main export to Europe was monks. That guy was something else.

• Name something about you that would surprise your church.

If I were not a pastor, I think I really would enjoy being a zookeeper. You can make up your own joke about the similarities and differences here.

To read other “Deep in the Hearts of Texans” columns, click here.

When Carolyn Park’s husband, Lane, a chaplain with Marketplace Ministries, developed Alzheimer’s disease, she cared for him in her Texas home. But after five years, when full-time care became overwhelming, she placed him in a memory care facility.

Denise George

At that time, she prayed, telling God she still wanted to be used by him in ministry. He answered her request. For the past six years, she has had numerous opportunities to minister to people in the facility who care for her husband.

“Our six years at the facility have become a ministry for me as I relate to residents, staff, directors and families,” she said. “For the first two to three years there, Lane dressed each morning in shirt and tie, put on his chaplain’s badge and spent each day helping where he was needed. The disease has developed to where he can’t do that anymore, but he ministered as long as he was able.”

She is a member of First Baptist Church in Plano and attends the senior adult Bible study class taught by Jerry Allen and Bill Sylvester. Her class members pray for her daily, contact her by phone each week and send her weekly emails sharing congregational prayer needs and praises that keep her in touch with the church.

“Caring for a spouse with Alzheimer’s is difficult beyond description,” Allen noted.  “Caregivers need all the support they can get from every possible source. When we pray for the sick, we also pray for their caregivers.”

Caregivers in Texas today

Lane Park is one of more than 350,000 Texans age 65 and over who are victims of Alzheimer’s disease. Experts predict in Texas by 2025, that number will exceed 490,000. In 2013, 5,293 Texans died from Alzheimer’s disease, making it the sixth leading cause of death in the state.

Most often, a caregiver must attend to the physical, emotional, mental and health care of the loved one, often without much outside help. Care giving can be a difficult, stressful and lonely job.

“Alzheimer’s can leave caregivers in isolation,” Allen noted. “We have to find ways to let them know they have not been abandoned or forgotten.  Telephone calls, notes, emails and cards can go a long way in keeping connected.” 

Many caregivers also must manage legal, medical, financial and end-of-life issues for memory-impaired loved ones. They may have little knowledge or experience handling these complicated and confusing responsibilities.

While it is important that pastors, Bible study leaders and church members pray for their caregivers, as well as visit them and show loving concern, it is equally essential they offer help and advice regarding the necessary business matters caregivers must put into place.

Ways your church can help

1. Help caregivers organize their loved one’s medical and legal information and documents for effective care giving, including:

• The patient’s list of doctors, including names, specialties, phone numbers and addresses for each.

• The patient’s list of prescriptions, including name of drug, dosage and prescribing doctor.

• A list of known allergies, including reactions to various drugs.

• A list of pharmacies, including phone number, address and business hours.

• A living will directive to physicians and family.

• Power of attorney for medical decisions if the patient is unable to make decisions.

• Information to carry out the loved one’s last wishes, including funeral or memorial service; final resting place; information for obituary; body/organ/tissue donation, etc.

2. When Alzheimer’s disease progresses and the caregiver no longer can care for the loved one at home, organize a support team of professionals to help locate an appropriate long-term care facility. Accompany the caregiver to meet with the facility’s administrators to discuss the placement needs of her loved one.

3. Encourage church members and leadership to help provide financial support for caregivers in need. On average, caregiving in the home costs caregivers $5,000 per year. Care facilities can cost up to $5,000 or more each month.

4. Let the caregiver know she or he is loved, prayed for and never alone in the decision-making that impacts the loved one and family. Be available to talk about the heavy load of important issues the caregiver will need to understand and implement.

What is Alzheimer’s disease?

Alzheimer’s is a degenerative disorder that attacks the brain’s nerve cells, resulting in loss of memory, decline in thinking and language skills, and behavioral changes.

This progressive, incurable, chronic disease causes brain cells to degenerate and die. It is the most common cause of dementia among people aged 65 or older.

Caregivers in Texas

A caregiver is a person, unpaid or paid, who helps an impaired individual with activities of daily living. The term usually addresses disabilities related to old age, disease and mental disorders.

More than 1.3 million Texans are caregivers for family members with Alzheimer’s. In 2015, they gave 1.5 billion unpaid hours in care giving, valued at more than $18.9 billion.

Helpful resources

• To locate Alzheimer’s care in Texas, compare costs/services, and receive information on choosing a facility, call (844) 335-2322.

• Contact Alzheimer’s Texas for free information, assistance and support for Alzheimer’s/dementia patients, family members and caregivers. To speak with trained staff members about care giving, call (512) 241-0420 or (800) 367-2132.

• For information on advanced care planning, legal and financial resources, click here.

• To find Alzheimer’s organizations, end-of-life resources, hospice and palliative care, support groups, legal advocacy, agencies on aging and cities in Texas offering care, click here or call (888) 971-0285.

• Contact SeniorHelp.org or call (866) 333-5183 for informative resources and local Alzheimer’s care reviews about living facilities and in-home care agencies.

Denise George is the author of 31 books and co-author of a new book, The Lost Eleven: The Forgotten Story of Black American Soldiers Brutally Massacred in World War II. She is married to Timothy George, founding dean of Beeson Divinity School at Samford University. Her website is www.denisegeorge.org.