John Whitten is lead pastor of the gathering, the contemporary-style congregation at Pioneer Drive Baptist Church in Abilene. From deep in the heart of one Texan, he shares his background and thoughts on ministry. To suggest a Baptist General Convention of Texas-affiliated minister to be featured in this column, or to apply to be featured, click here. 

Background

• How long have you served in your current place of ministry?

I started attending Pioneer Drive when I was a college freshman at Hardin-Simmons University. I came on staff as a youth intern 13 years ago and have worked in a variety of capacities at the church, including as college minister. This is my first church to serve in ministry.

• Where did you grow up?

Spring, Texas

• How did you come to faith in Christ?

I grew up in a Baptist pastor’s home, which meant even when I was visiting my grandparents, I had to go to church with them! When I was 8 years old, I attended Vacation Bible School at First Baptist Church in Georgetown, Texas, and accepted Christ. I was baptized later by my dad at Wildewood Baptist Church in Spring.

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

I have a business management degree from Hardin-Simmons University, along with a master of divinity degree from Logsdon Seminary at Hardin-Simmons. I currently am pursuing my doctorate of ministry degree from Baylor’s Truett Theological Seminary.

Ministry/church

• Why do you feel called into ministry?

I sense that the gifts God has given me can serve the needs of the local church. I believe the local church is the hope of the world, and she needs thoughtful, compassionate, Jesus-centered leaders. I’m definitely not perfect at living up to those qualities—but I do try.

• What is your favorite aspect of ministry? Why?

By far, it is hearing stories of God breaking down walls in people’s hearts, in our community, in churches and in families. We serve a boundary-breaking God, and I love seeing walls come down so people can experience authentic friendship with God and others. Whenever I sense a frustration in ministry, it means it’s time for me to invite someone to lunch and hear what God is doing in their life.

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

I think congregations could change dramatically over the next 20 years. Many congregations hopefully will be getting more diverse, which I love!

Additionally, the time church members will give the church could decline, along with the frequency of church attendance. I will say I am hopeful about the future. We have college students here at Pioneer Drive who give a tremendous amount of their time—Sunday morning for worship and Bible study, a leadership development time on Sunday evening, a large weekly outreach on Sunday night, and a small group throughout the week. So, I don’t buy all of the stuff out there that says younger generations won’t commit to the church. I believe people, including younger generations, want to be a part of a church with a compelling New Testament vision. They won’t make much time or energy for institutional maintenance.

• What qualities do you look for in a congregation?

This is easy for me to answer. It’s the people. 1 Thessalonians 2:8 has always stood out to me as an example of what the church ought to be. It says,“ Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.”

There is a lot of solid preaching out there, and a lot of places have good music and have fruitful ministries. However, a place where people are vulnerable and share their lives in authentic, life-giving ways is not always the norm. It doesn’t get better than the Good News of God’s love revealed in Jesus Christ and sharing that love with others.

About Baptists

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

As the polarization continues and our society becomes increasingly divisive, I think we will have to work really hard at building bridges instead of walls. We continue to live rather segregated lives, and I think we will have to work really hard to not be a niche church or denomination that only caters to certain demographics. 

I think many would say they are pessimistic about the future of denominational life and specifically Baptist life with declining giving and participation. I’m not one of those. I certainly believe we are living in challenging and changing times—and I think as Baptists, we will have to resist the temptation to become too negative about things. I think these times will force us to focus on what we can do really well. I believe the church—and denominations—can be at their greatest with their backs against the wall and dependent on the work of the Holy Spirit.

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

I think we have to streamline much of what we do and partner with others who might be able to do some of what we do better than how we do it. Additionally, we have to get better at dialoguing with difference and appreciating differing perspectives. We need each other, and the world will know our Savior based on our unity together. We need to hold our convictions humbly in love, while respecting those who may see very important issues different than we do.

About John

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

Just before I wrote this, I had been on the phone with one of my mentors, and I also had talked to someone I mentored. My mentors are my spiritual heroes! They remind me I’m not alone when the days seem dark, give me a kick in the rear when I need to be reminded of why I do what I do, are a shoulder to cry on, and are a huge fan when I’m rejoicing. I would not know what to do at all in ministry if it weren’t for those mentors of mine who coached me early on and encourage me today.

• What is the impact of ministry on your marriage and family?

I’m thankful to serve in a church where our family can be a part of the church. There are not crazy expectations on my spouse or children. It is their church and a place where they are encouraged and allowed to use their gifts to serve. Our church does a good job of encouraging us to take care of our families. So, I am glad when my son is excited about going to church!

• What else would you like for our readers to know about you?

One of my foundational verses for ministry is 1 Corinthians 2:4. It says, “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power.”

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

“To take something for granted is to begin to lose it!”

I never will forget when I first heard that statement. I was 19 years old, and Wallace Roark, my professor at Howard Payne University, said it to our entire class.

Danny ReevesHe went on to defend his premise, and the more I listened the more I knew he was right. If we take any part of our lives, any person in our lives, any situation in our lives for granted, then we are in the beginning stages of losing something or someone.

Let me offer some examples, and I will begin with a simple one—the simple wooden, picket fence that may surround your back yard. Do you see it in your mind? It’s a nice fence—new, precise, clean, neat. It won’t need attention for years. So, you forget about it. The truth is you take it for granted. So, you don’t see in its second winter several nails begin to loosen in the pickets. You don’t notice in its third summer the Texas sun has begun to warp the untreated boards. You’re not aware of the wood ants that eat away out by the shed. You see, you take it for granted, and you begin to lose it. Soon, that fence will be gone.

Consider another example. This one is quite a bit more serious. This time it is your church. This congregation has been a part of your life as long as you can remember. The building has dominated the corner of 15th and Main your entire life. The church is strong, dynamic, financially stable and gospel strong. So, you don’t really get involved or take on any responsibility. (After all, you’re not really needed with all the people down there!) The truth is you take it for granted. So, you don’t notice an entire generation of leaders has passed on to be with the Lord. You don’t see the pastor and staff struggling to carry the load themselves in the absence of involvement. You’re not aware of baptism numbers that decline year after year. You see, you take it for granted, and you begin to lose it. Soon, that church will be gone.

And now, the final example. This one is the most critical of all—your personal relationship with God. You begin following Jesus when you’re just a child. Your parents have you in church every time the doors are open. You fall in love with Jesus, and as a teen and young adult you are dynamic, on-fire, winsome and Spirit-filled. This faithful disciple is going to go the distance, so you sit back and put it on cruise control. The truth is you take it for granted. So, you don’t see that you really no longer read God’s word. You’re not really vigilant in guarding your heart and mind against un-Godly input you allow into your life. You’re not aware that sin and disobedience have become your norm. You see, you take it for granted, and you begin to lose it.  Soon, that devoted walk with God will be gone.

Texas Baptist family, the principle is true for every area of life—our fence, our car, our health, our church, our convention or our relationship with the Lord. So, be vigilant. Be concerned. Don’t take anything for granted, or you will begin to lose it!

Danny Reeves is president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas and pastor of First Baptist Church in Corsicana.

Glorieta facts should be revealed

The specific facts of the Glorieta case have not yet come out for court examination, due to procedural problems with the case.

Like many things that happen in church and the denomination, we can ignore/accept what was done without question; or we can look at it and ask if it was indeed truly and legally fair—and not unconscionable.

I think Kirk Tompkins wants a court to look at the facts of the complete situation, and then everyone will be at peace with that attempt to get justice.

It is sad, but yet a fact, that homeowners who got anything for their homes are silenced by legal agreements and cannot speak. I have never been comfortable with agreements like that among Christian brothers and sisters, but that is the reality now.

My sincere hope is that Baptists will get to the bottom of what happened at Glorieta and why it happened—the promises made and the trust involved with homeowners and LifeWay.  

This should never happen again. We must learn from it and learn to be far more transparent and trustworthy in our dealings with one another. Arrogance and ensnaring one another legally should be put far, far away from us—especially considering elderly and retired ministers and missionaries were victims.

Lastly, I do think this matter should have been handled peacefully by Baptists and not by courts.

R.A. King

Dallas

So, how would you rate 2016?

Marv Knox

Your answer might depend upon how you look at it.

From our family’s perspective, last year was terrific. Our older daughter, Lindsay, and her husband, Aaron, adopted a long-anticipated baby boy, Abram, to join his big brother, Ezra. Our younger daughter, Molly, earned her Ph.D., and she and her husband, David, announced they will deliver another baby girl to join her big sister, Eleanor, in the spring. Joanna underwent apparently successful surgery for a disease that haunted her almost a quarter-century. Everybody’s jobs went well. And we all still not only love each other; we even like each other.

We’d take years like 2016 over and over and over. I hope you and your family can say the same thing.

Oh, yeah …

But then there was everything else.

Our nation endured a presidential election cycle unprecedented in sheer nastiness and vulgarity. If anything, the contest for the White House skulked only a notch below the general behavior of Congress. We watched in horror as cell-phone cameras and cable TV teamed up to deliver police brutality and racial violence into our homes. We saw people die.

We witnessed America turning upon America. “The greater good” seemed like an outmoded concept from bygone generations. We experienced the birth of the post-truth era, when facts didn’t matter as long as people wanted to believe something. We even stood by as our longstanding enemy interfered in our presidential election.

And speaking of overseas, that’s where things weren’t much better. Western Europe fractured just as badly as the United States. ISIS continued to exert its will in the Middle East and export terror around the globe. Russia reminded us of the bad ol’ Soviet Union. Myriad nations systematically violated the rights of their own citizens. And a feckless North Korean dictator with the world’s worst haircut threatened nuclear annihilation.

Thank God, 2016 is over.

But next …

So now we stand in the first week of 2017. We have no idea if this new year will be better or worse than the one that preceded it. With so much melancholy, evil and hatred building up a full head of steam, we can imagine even darker days ahead.

And yet we get up and go to work. We kiss our loved ones and wave to our neighbors. We look forward to births and first steps and kindergarten and graduations and weddings and anniversaries. We learn new praise choruses and dance to new tunes. We laugh, even—maybe especially—at the politicians who infuriate us while they take themselves too seriously. We eat too many good meals and work out, but maybe not enough.

Still, we can’t help but peer into 2017 with at least a smidge of dread. What’s a faithful person to do?

Divine help

The Apostle Paul offered excellent counsel: “The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:26-28).

You can’t help but love two things about Paul’s advice.

First, let God—through the Holy Spirit—do the heavy lifting.

Instinctively, we know we should pray, but we realize we don’t even know how. We can let the Spirit help us pray—even pray for us. That awkward groan that catches in your throat and brings tears to your eyes? Amplified by the Spirit, it’s the beautiful prayer of a passionate saint. We don’t have to be eloquent; we only have to care and trust.

Second, we realize we’re not in this alone, and the outcome is not ours alone.

In the midst of our sorrow and fear and uncertainty, God is with us. God is working to bring good out of even the worst situations. Current events extract very little imagination, because they’re often worse than our nightmares. Yet God never leaves us. God is here, working to redeem grace out of horror, beauty out of devastation, love out of hate.

The Spirit harvests our tears and translates our groans into the ears of a loving, redeeming God who is greater than any dictator or storm or fire or economic collapse or disease or sorrow. Of course, those are dreadful, and we live with their consequences. But Paul reminds us there is more to life than what we see on TV or read online or even hear across our kitchen table.

Walk in hope

So, we walk in hope. And day by day, we follow faithful advice and lean into a promise: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:4-7).

Follow Marv on Twitter: @marvknoxbs

It’s just past New Year, and the Texas Legislature may be hamstringing mental health professionals, and in turn, Texans when the legislative session convenes this spring.

John WhittenAs a Texas Baptist pastor, I understand the value of mental health care and know the challenge of finding good mental health care for members of our congregation and community. I frequently hear success stories in our congregation and around our community of the impact of our mental health professionals.

Spouses reach common understandings. Children process complex emotions. People who are depressed begin to see glimmers of hope. The grieving experience comfort. Individuals with addictions move toward recovery. And those with suicidal thoughts safely process their hurts and discover love and purpose for their life.

Mental health care professionals are on the front line of our Christian pro-life ethic, which desires all humans to flourish fully to their God-given potential. Mental health care is essential for the well-being of our state.

Significant threats

Unfortunately, Texas continues to rank at the bottom for mental health care services. And without many Texans’ awareness, the Texas Legislature could deal Texans a huge setback when it comes to mental health care. Current agendas would lead to a decrease in quality and access for Texan’s mental health.

The Texas Legislature’s Sunset Commission is looking to dissolve the boards of the state’s licensed professional counselors and its licensed marriage and family therapists, as well as social workers, and turn them over to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.

This state agency—TDLR—is not equipped to handle the oversight of this many licensed professionals. This change negatively would affect the quality of mental health care in the state. As it stands right now, marriage and family therapists are trained through thousands of hours of coursework and internships. Only a professional board has the knowledge and experience to establish a reasonable, appropriate and rigorous licensing standard and to enforce ethical standards that protect the public. We do not need to change this.

More bureaucracy

Additionally, works are in process that would require licensed marriage and family therapists to be under the supervision of a licensed medical physician. It is widely understood other mental health professionals—licensed professional counselors—would be next. What this would mean is that a person seeking mental health first would be required to see a physician for a referral to see a mental health care provider. The patient then would continue to see a physician for periodic updates on progress.

Many physicians are not set up to deal with an influx of patients this policy would bring. Physicians are tremendous at practicing medicine but are not trained like family therapists and counselors in mental health and therapy.

Also, this would drive up health care costs as Texans would be forced to add another step to get mental health care. This provides an unnecessary profit point off the backs of hard-working Texans for their mental health care.

What you can do

Here is what you can do to ensure the mental health care of Texans is not further impeded:

First, call your state legislator and members of the State Sunset Commission and let them hear your voice. Let them know you are for mental health care for the state and do not want to see the independent boards of counselors and therapists transferred to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Instead, the Sunset Commission should accept the proposal of mental health professionals to improve the functioning of their boards by creating the Texas Department of Mental Health Professionals, whereby mental health professionals can regulate themselves in the most cost efficient and responsible manner. (To contact members of the Sunset Commission, click here.)

Second, let them know you support the rights of family therapists to continue to diagnose their clients for billing purposes. Failure to do so would decrease Texans’ access to health care and drive up their costs.

Will 2017 find the Texas Legislature supportive of mental health care? I sure hope so.

John Whitten is lead pastor for the gathering at Pioneer Drive Baptist Church in Abilene.

Jeff Warren has been senior pastor of Park Cities Baptist Church in Dallas the past six years. From deep in the heart of one Texan, he shares his background and thoughts on ministry. To suggest a Baptist General Convention of Texas-affiliated minister to be featured in this column, or to apply to be featured, click here.

Background

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

First Baptist Church, Charlotte, N.C.—intern and associate youth minister

Fairview Baptist Church, Grand Prairie—student minister

Park Cities Baptist, Dallas—student minister, young adult pastor, men’s minister, then minister of adults, then associate pastor of evangelism

First Baptist Church, McKinney—senior pastor

• Where did you grow up?

Charlotte, N.C.

• How did you come to faith in Christ?

I grew up in a Christian home and came to Christ at the age of 9. My parents were most instrumental in leading me to Christ. As I was asking questions about what to do and expressing my desire to be saved, my dad took me to my grandfather’s house, and they sat down and shared the gospel with me.

My grandfather was Dr. C.C. Warren, former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, and I think my dad wanted him to be part of this defining moment. I received Christ in my grandfather’s house and was baptized soon after that. I was then discipled through my involvement in our youth ministry, Young Life and through the Cru in college.

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

I received a bachelor of fine arts in communication arts from East Carolina University, with a major in illustration and a minor in graphic design.

I then received a master of divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a doctorate in ministry with an emphasis in apologetics from Southwestern Seminary.

Ministry/church

• Why do you feel called into ministry?

I received a call to ministry over time, but it came explicitly in my junior year of college. I sensed God calling me to give my life to vocational ministry as I was considering next steps following college. I wanted my life to count for all things eternal and to advance the gospel through ministry in the local church. I decided to give my life to that endeavor and let ministry be my full-time vocation.

• What is your favorite aspect of ministry? Why?

My favorite aspect of ministry is always seeing someone come to faith in Christ. These days, I love preaching the word of God, but I would not enjoy this role as much without the relationships and the team with whom I serve. I enjoy leading a diverse team toward common goals, motivated by the gospel and Christ’s love for us.

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

My greatest joy is seeing someone come to Christ. I love seeing new believers baptized into the family of God. I love seeing the church, fully alive, pursuing her fullest redemptive potential collectively together, in all of our diversity.

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

The great challenge of the church in Dallas today is cultural Christianity that breeds a consumer-driven approach to church. At Park Cities Baptist Church, we seek “to rescue one another from cultural Christianity to follow Jesus every day.” Cultural Christianity is the greatest challenge to spiritual growth and mission. Pastors today must preach the gospel to the church. Too many in this generation have grown up believing Jesus came to make good people better. And we’re the good people he’s making better. This leads to pride, bigotry and a judgmental spirit.

The gospel has become a “moralistic therapeutic deism,” in the words of sociologists/authors Christian Smith and Melinda Lundquist Denton. We have come to believe that the gospel is a “work harder, get better” behavior-modification project, instead of an all-out rescue of sinners who bring nothing to the table except their sin that has made the Cross necessary. We’re left with a religion that bears the name of Jesus but has no power to change a life. The gospel is not “work harder, get better” but believe more deeply what Christ has already accomplished on our behalf.

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

My ministry has changed through the years as I have become a pastor of larger congregations. Called to serve others and to communicate God’s word is paired with the need to lead well and to build a high-performance team of ministers around me. This is a far cry from doing youth ministry in my first years of ministry.

Ministry has changed dramatically over the past 20 years, because culture has shifted so dramatically—even over the past five years. Everything is in flux, which is why the constant, unchanging gospel is so powerful to change lives.

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

I see it changing dramatically. For one, we’re seeing a shift in attendance in our churches as never before in my lifetime. Therefore, members are less devoted to congregational life. People are less likely to join a church in our day, and when they do, they attend less frequently than in years past.

More affluence will lead to even more options/diversions on the weekends, while online spirituality will increase and an individualistic approach to spirituality will increase as well.

The breakdown of the family will create layers of challenges for children, who will find it hard consistently to be devoted to church life, and many will continue to find spiritual growth and opportunities outside of the local church.

Leaders must guide their churches to adapt to these changes in our culture as we seek to increase the necessary influence of the local church.

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

It would be a robust, multiplying, disciple-making movement. We are doing this at Park Cities with a movement we call “Go Training.” It is a simple, reproducible form of disciple-making in which we equip every believer to become a disciple-maker.

People are willing to give less and less time to the programming of the local church—even on Sundays. So, our core ecclesiology must return to a small group of believers, gathered around God’s word, seeking to be accountable to one another in order to follow Jesus every day. It’s a return to what I believe Jesus envisioned the local church to be.

Another ministry would be a clear mentoring, leadership pipeline for younger leaders to become the leaders of our churches in the near future.

• What qualities do you look for in a congregation?

The first is grace. In a gospel-centered congregation, grace will abound. It’s tangible. Grace will be the message, the motivation behind obedience, and grace will be clear in every word and action of its members. Grace will lead to inclusion, which will lead to diversity, and diversity—in a gospel-centered church—will lead to celebration.

I also look for clear preaching of the gospel in every sermon, regardless of the text.

I look for love expressed to every newcomer, every member and to every person within reach of the membership on a daily basis. A church should seek not to be the best church in the city but the best church for the city.

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

1. Affluence and wealth are almost always accompanied by pride. Indeed, Jesus told us this would be the case. Our great challenge is faithfully to leverage our God-given resources for kingdom purposes outside of our congregation. We have an extremely generous congregation, and one of our driving values is overflowing generosity. As an affluent, educated and privileged people, we must continue to recognize all we have is from God, and we must leverage all he has given us for the sake of others. We must empower and release our people into the world, to bring the gospel into the marketplace, to our neighbors, our friends and into every domain of culture.

2. It is a great challenge to break through a prevailing, consumer-driven approach to church in North Dallas, which influences the way many view their church involvement. The outsourcing of the spiritual development of children to the ministries of the church is a challenge as well. I am seeing more young couples discipling their children in the home, but we must continue to teach and push the primary disciple-making of children and youth to parents in the home. The church simply comes alongside parents, bringing encouragement and help for the parents to do what they have been equipped by God to do.

We are doing this through a comprehensive pathway of faith development we call “Flight Plan 252,” based on Luke 2:52 in which Jesus “grew in wisdom and in stature, in favor with God and man.”

3. Texans have heard, “Keep Austin Weird.” Our slogan could very well be, “Keep Dallas Pretentious.” North Dallas in particular can be a challenging place to find real honesty, self-disclosure, authenticity and brokenness. The Bible teaches us pride is insidious and most often undetected and yet, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).

The “PCBC en Espanol” portion of our congregation has taught us much about humility and inclusion. Our involvement in racial reconciliation across Dallas also has brought us face-to-face with ourselves and our need to welcome one another in our sin and brokenness. Ministries like “Marriage Core,” our addiction and recovery small groups, YoungLives, GriefShare and felt-needs small groups are teaching us to become more honest about our struggles and more inclusive as we express our needs to one another.  

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

I wish more laypeople knew how much I love them. I seek to always express my love to our people, but in a large church, I don’t get to do that on a personal level with all of our members. The love of a pastor for his people is unique and wonderful. 1 Peter 5:2 says we are to “shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly.” This expresses my heart for our people.

It’s possible for a pastor to “use” the congregation for his purposes—ultimately for his own ego or “vision”—without truly loving his congregation. The pastor first must love his people. You cannot lead a people you do not love. I wish my people knew, even more, how much I love them. I say this because in a large congregation, some will feel slighted by the pastor who has so many responsibilities and perhaps interpret his inability personally to care for so many needs as a lack of love. I suppose I wish my people knew how much I want to spend time with each one of them. That’s why I’m a pastor; I love our people.

When I kick into moments of self-pity, or when I am struggling with criticism or expectations, I wish my congregation knew how difficult the role of a pastor is. But I understand others are not in my role, and we never truly can understand the work or experience of others. So, I cannot expect them to understand fully. Instead, I must continue to run to the Lord for ultimate affirmation and identity.

About Baptists

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

The key issue facing Baptists is an increasing irrelevance among the next generation. There is a growing (mis)perception among the lost—developed over time—that Baptists are a group that is out of touch and irrelevant in their lives. Baptists have become identified as a more legalistic, judgmental (thus unloving) group to those who are not “church people.”

In an increasingly secular culture, the trend will continue to be that Christians are seen as out-of-touch and even unloving, as we stand for truth. Truth will sound more and more like hate for those who hate to hear the truth.

We must continue to change—not our message, but our methods—or we will die. Many have come to “worship” a fossilized form of church or style or preference that is no longer effective in reaching others. If we make our forms of the past “core,” and if we are unwilling to change to reach the next generation, we will not survive another 20 years. Culture is shifting too fast.

We must “grow younger” by raising up leaders and empowering these young leaders to guide changes necessary to reach their generation. Pastors like me must disciple young leaders and release them into decision-making, leadership roles within our churches.

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

I would state core commonalities of theology and practice and then align all ministries to evangelism and disciple-making. I see this has been done by our current leaders, and I know that the role of leadership in denominations these days is daunting. It’s why we must all pray for David Hardage and other leaders in our state convention.

One of the primary strategies must be church-planting. New churches are the way to reach the next generation of believers. I would narrow our efforts to what matters most—very difficult decisions in existing denominations and associations—making disciples through the birth of new churches.

I would make our convention gatherings a raucous celebration of new believers and new churches. Pastors of these new churches would be the “rock stars,” and I would target our younger pastors and ministers for our gatherings, while those of us who are older pass the baton to the next generation of leaders.

About Jeff

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

My mentors have been my parents, my youth pastor from years ago, those who discipled me in college, and pastors/leaders I’ve served with through the years.

In recent days, I receive mentoring through a monthly group of pastors with whom I meet. It is a great encouragement and challenge to be with these pastors as we talk about the real challenges of everyday ministry in the local church. I also have a best friend in ministry—over the past 30 years—with whom meet with monthly.

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

I have learned leadership is much more difficult than anyone can imagine because self-leadership is so difficult.

I have learned my identity in Christ is my constant strength as a pastor. And that’s a good thing. The work of a pastor is never-ending, and your work is on public display constantly. I don’t think I learned enough about self-discipleship and leadership in seminary. I’ve learned so much of that from other leaders and from sources outside of seminary.

I had a great foundation coming out of seminary, but it has been through the daily work of leadership that one learns to be a leader, and it is through preaching weekly that one learns how to improve and become a better preacher.

• What is the impact of ministry on your marriage and family?

The work of the pastor can be difficult at best sometimes, and it is hard not to let it impact the family, but I have always sought to put my family before my ministry. This comes with some very difficult decisions many will not understand. We have been able to do that. My wife and my children always have known they come first, but they have also come to understand the challenging seasons of a pastor’s work.

We have always sought to protect our children from the scrutiny of some in a congregation and have never wanted them to feel they had to be “perfect” or singled out in any way. My family has been loved well by the local church through the years. But clearly, the life of a pastor’s family is very different than others in the church.

I’ve come to believe the role of the pastor’s wife is more difficult than the role of the pastor in many ways. My wife and I have always sought to live out our faith in our home, in our daily lives, and before our children. We have not “forced” church or the activities of the church on our children but have guided them to be involved from an early age. It was expected that they would be involved in the daily/weekly rhythm of the church as believers, as any other members of the church. They have loved being in the pastor’s family.

Now, as young adults, our children all love the Lord, love his church, and are serving in and through the local church.

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

Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline—helped me follow Jesus every day by practicing grace-driven disciplines of discipleship.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship—called me to a higher devotion to daily self-denial and obedience.

Phillip Yancey, What’s So Amazing About Grace?—helped me more clearly define grace and its appropriation in my life during a personal grace awakening.

Alan Hirsch, Forgotten Ways—challenged me toward a new way of guiding the church toward a missional shift several years ago.

More recently, David’s Lomas, The Truest Thing About You—a reminder of God’s grace and my core identity as a pastor and follower of Jesus.

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

2 Corinthians 5:21—“He made him who knew no sin to become sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.” This verse, more than any other, has changed my life as I’ve come to understand the last part of the verse beyond my salvation. I not only have been forgiven of my sin through Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross; I now have become the righteousness of God in him. I am totally forgiven, fully loved, completely accepted by him. That’s “the truest thing” about me, and it is out of this identity that I live, serve him, minister and preach this message of grace.

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

As I’ve gotten older, Job has become one of my favorite persons in the Bible—not so much because of what he did, but how he responded to what God did in his life. His story gets to the heart of worship. He learned to worship God, not because of all God had done for him, but simply because God is God. This is true worship; anything less is idolatry. Job had everything stripped away from him, and he responded to God in worship. In the end, he could say, “My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you” (Job 42:5).

He didn’t get all of his answers; he got something better. He got God. And he found that was enough.

• Name something about you that would surprise your church.

I love all kinds of music (I suppose they know I don’t have a bias, which can be such a focus in a multigenerational church), but it may surprise some that my go-to “study jam” is classical (primarily Baroque) music; piano and cello is my favorite. I tend to be more progressive in all forms and styles of ministry in order to reach the next generation, but I love all kinds of music—symphony, new folk, techno, orchestral, rap and new worship music. Music, in all its expressions is given by God and is to be given back to him as worship.

• If you could get one “do over” in ministry, what would it be, and why?

I would be less concerned about what others think. The pastor, particularly in a large, cross-generational church will receive criticism from all angles. I’ve had meetings with people who’ve expressed a certain preference or opinion and then in my next appointment the person would passionately express the exact opposite position. It can be maddening for a pastor and staff.

Everyone has his/her own perspective, and when it’s combined with spiritual passion, it can become very challenging, even if the person is wrong. A pastor must rise above it all, with grace, by seeking the Spirit’s direction daily, pursuing godly wisdom from spiritually mature leaders, and by leading courageously to do what God is saying to do.

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

I’m not big on New Year’s resolutions. Mine never seem to be fulfilled, and I’m guessing I’m not alone there. But as I thought about the incarnation of Jesus this Christmas season, I decided to make one resolution for 2017.

Zac HarrelThe reason we celebrate Christmas is because it represents the incarnation of Jesus Christ, the Son of God made flesh. Jesus entered into the brokenness of our world, of our lives, in a manger in Bethlehem. There are times when we wonder if God is there, if he is good or if he loves us. The incarnation gives us the answer.

Ever-present Jesus

Jesus came for us. God is not “out there” somewhere. God is near. God is present. He is present every moment and through every struggle. The good news of Christmas, the news that gives us great joy, is the news of the incarnation. This is the good news of the ever-present Jesus.

Jesus didn’t shy away from the brokenness of this world. He dove right in. He does not shy away from our own personal brokenness. He is there. He is present. As his church, he calls us to be present, too. Thinking through Christmas this year, I realized I needed to be more obedient to the Great Commandment and the Great Commission, and for me, that means I need to follow the example of Jesus where he has placed me. I need to be more present.

As I look into and across this New Year, I want to be more present to my family, to my church, to my community.

Distraction cloaked as “community”

There is a lot of hurt, a lot of pain and a lot of suffering all around us. We easily gloss over the hurt and pain of our lives in our social media world. We have learned, or rather been formed, to be connected always and yet never to be truly present. Distraction is with us at all times, and this distraction cloaks itself as community in the form of social media and other connecting apps and websites.

Next time you go out to eat or shop, notice how many of us are consumed with our phones. I was at my daughter’s dance recital, and as I was videoing her performance I realized I was only seeing her through my screen. In a real way, we have traded the beauty and glory of the real world, of real presence for our phones. We have traded real community for online “community.”

My phone consumes me. I want to be present to my family. I want to put my phone down and play with my daughter and listen to my wife. I want to be present to my church, to their needs and hurts. I want to be present to the work of God in me and through me.

If I am honest, my spiritual life suffers the most from my addiction to my phone. Prayer is harder because I need to check Twitter or Facebook or because someone emailed me or I need to answer that text. How often am I just present, simply there, quietly before God?

Are you (fully) present?

I don’t want to burden your conscience unnecessarily, but let me ask you this question: Are you present? I’m not asking if you are there for your family, for your church, in your relationship with Christ. I’m not asking if you show up. I am asking if you are fully there, fully present in the moment.

Let me challenge you and myself:

Turn off the phone.

Play with your kids.

Have dinner without the interruption of a text or call.

Don’t experience life behind a screen. See the beauty of God all around you and be present in the moment. I have a feeling if, like the disciples, we asked Jesus to teach us to pray, his first response to us in 2017 may be, “First, turn off your phone.”

To be the spouse and parent we need to be, we must be present. To minister to the brokenness of our neighborhood and community, we must be present. To love God as we are called to do, we must be present.

I am making the resolution to be present in 2017. Will you make it with me?

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

A new year often elicits feelings of hope and renewal. Unfortunately, for far too many people of faith around the world, the prospects are grim.

Here are five questions whose answers will have a significant impact on international religious freedom in 2017:

First, will the new U.S. administration embrace a robust engagement of international religious freedom?

One indication will be whether President-elect Donald Trump quickly nominates an ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom. This office at the State Department has a proven track record of positively pursuing change, as has been well demonstrated by the current ambassador.

However, over the 18 years of the office’s existence, it has taken an average of 353 days for a president to nominate an ambassador. We have issued an open letter—and ask you to sign it with us—asking President-elect Trump to retain or nominate an individual for this position within his first 100 days in office.

Second, will minority religious groups in the Middle East survive?

2016 ended with mixed messages. On one hand, the United Nations dedicated $85 million in reconstruction for Nineveh Christians. Conversely, there are disturbing reports that some Kurdish officials are denying access to education and health care to force displaced Christians to return “home” prematurely, even when “home” remains decimated. This year will be a crucial test for the long-term survival and rehabilitation of Christian, Yezidi and other communities forced to the edge of extinction.

Third, will Fulani militants in central Nigeria be recognized as one of the most lethal terrorist threats in the world, or will their threat continue to be minimized by a narrative of traditional “farmer-herdsmen” conflict?

In the shadow of Boko Haram, Fulani militancy has grown in central Nigeria since 2014. Highly asymmetric attacks primarily have impacted Christian minority communities and left dozens of villages burned to the ground, innocent infants slaughtered by machete, and the breadbasket of Nigeria imperiled. A rapidly developing famine is spreading across northeastern Nigeria. Burgeoning Fulani militant attacks across central Nigeria threaten to further fracture Christian communities and destabilize the most populist and largest economy in Africa.

Fourth, will percolating religious freedom crises in Asia rise to international prominence?

For the past several years, the Islamic State and Boko Haram have dominated headlines. Less reported on but no less serious are numerous challenges across Asia, including the genocide of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, constitutional tightening against religious minorities in Nepal, and increasingly severe oppression by a Chinese government quietly incarcerating large numbers of Christians and human rights advocates.

Fifth, how will an International Religious Freedom Congressional Scorecard impact Congressional commitment?

On Feb. 15, we will publish a scorecard grading each member on the degree to which he/she votes to support international religious freedom. This tool should help elevate the prioritization of international religious freedom among congressional leadership in 2017 and beyond.

Take Action

1. Sign the open letter to President-elect Trump, urging him to retain or nominate an ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom in his first 100 days. Post the meme and the link—bit.ly/PresTrumpLetter—to challenge others to join you in this effort.

2. Friend us on Facebook (21st Century Wilberforce Initiative) or follow us on Twitter (@21wilberforce) to access exclusive content and stay current on how to effect change.

Elijah Brown is executive vice president of the 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative.

Editor’s Note: Hal Ostrander says the churches of which he’s been a member through the years seemingly ministered only to society’s well-off and advantaged. At the Lord’s doing, his understanding of the issue has changed. With his daughter, Alison, leading the way, their family is learning week-to-week how wide of the mark such a confined ministry misses the heart of true religion (James 1:27). So, they address themselves to Hal’s generation, Baby Boomers.

Having watched Baby Boomers delight in and promote their own respectability at church for too long, the time is here them to move beyond all this lack-of-true-religion and to embrace, love and serve all those so unlike themselves.

To be sure, the ’hood surrounding our church isn’t pretty to look at, is made up of disadvantaged peoples of all stripes, isn’t at all what most Christians would consider safe, and definitely isn’t a place of refuge for the typical suburban dweller. But young people are serving there by the droves, Millennials and Gen-Xers with a heart for the disenfranchised and marginalized.

Watching them work in the community comes close to being an epiphany. To see how unencumbered their worship is on Sundays is convicting and inspiring. Our desire is to follow their lead with the same informed zeal and to match their same lack of self-consciousness about what outsiders say or think about them.

Millennials and Gen-Xers recognize the forgotten have worth and dignity. Believers and unbelievers alike are made in the Creator’s image. The outward brokenness of urban settings and among the homeless poignantly models our own inward brokenness before the Lord saved us. So, how can we continually pass by the broken, needy and lost? Insert yourself here as the priest and Levite who avoided the left-for-dead man on the road to Jericho (Luke 10:30-37).

Learning by asking

Boomers must ask hard questions. Are we willing to move ahead personally with the gospel by:

• Living sacrificially as Christ and Paul did?
• Dying to self to serve the least of these?
• Giving up certain creature comforts longer than temporarily?
• Pursuing those different from us the way Christ pursued us?
• Realizing neighbors are dying spiritually and haven’t heard the good news?
• Considering how much longer we’ll watch and do nothing?
• Treating people as we would have them treat us?

If not, there’s a problem somewhere. To illustrate, years ago a wealthy banker, a Christian in name, shoved a young destitute street kid to the hard pavement when all he’d asked for was a bit of spare change. How’s that going to play on Judgment Day, along with our own less drastic actions?

Yes, Christ’s invisible church will advance despite the visible church’s wrong-headed ways, means and concerns to which history can attest. But to play a dynamic role side-by-side with all God is doing through Millennials/Gen-Xers is the issue. God is calling Christians to the hard places. Are you in or out? The question must be faced.

Learning by doing

Can a heart for reaching the marginalized be learned from younger Christians? Yes, and practical steps can be taken, but they must flow from a deep-rooted desire within. Moreover, recognizing our own unworthiness and need for repentance will strengthen this desire until, hopefully, helping truly needy individuals with whom we haven’t dealt previously becomes foundational to who we are.

Here are some steps to take for God to use you. Christianity 101. Will you pass the course?

• Pray you’ll desire Christ above all else, asking God for opportunities to talk to neighbors, co-workers, and the down-and-out in general. Pray he’ll give you boldness and Spirit-led promptings.
• Acknowledge homeless people. Make eye contact and smile. If the Spirit leads, stop and talk. Ask their name. Listen well. Carry a few $5 and $10 gift cards in your purse or wallet for these special moments.
• Reach out to neighbors. Maybe you’ve lived in the same place 10 years or more and still feel awkward and uncomfortable interacting with them. But what’s that compared to making Christ known?
• Make friends of diverse races and low-income folks. Listen when tragedy strikes their community. Mourn with them. Learn about their culture and history, how they’ve been impacted by government, businesses, other races, etc. Admit you’ll never know what a day in their shoes is like.
• Is your church moving toward diversity? If not, approach the leaders and ask why not. Maybe the Lord wants you to step up and lead the charge. If a ministry for the disadvantaged is already in place, join up.

Closing thoughts

Maybe the recent move toward social justice is God’s way of reawakening his people. Perhaps God is using the passion of Millennials/Gen-Xers to see justice wrought for the homeless, urban neighborhoods, human trafficking victims, etc., and to reignite the hearts of Baby Boomers in churches across America. Maybe God’s mercy and grace are persuading us to serve the kingdom in this way.

The Lord is calling you, whatever your season of life, walk in faithful obedience to reach the lost. We’ve been commanded: “‘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 22: 37-39).

There’s no greater joy. Ever felt it?

Hal Ostrander is online professor of religion and philosophy at Wayland Baptist University. Alison Ostrander is an intern of mercy ministry at her church.

Moore ‘devoted disciple of Jesus Christ’

Recently many Southern Baptists have been strongly criticizing Dr. Russell Moore, director of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. Russell was one of my master of divinity students at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary two decades ago, in my Christian ethics classes.

I soon discovered him not only to be bright and intelligent, but more importantly, he was a devoted disciple of Jesus Christ. He did not agree with everything I taught then, and I do not agree with all he proposes now. But isn’t that true of almost every one of us? What I did find then was a young man totally dedicated to the gospel, very devout, and a sincere Christian.

I urge Southern Baptists to remember: Few of us believe alike on all issues, especially ethical ones. But the key is our submission to the Lordship of Christ and our commitment to follow the will of God as best we understand it. There is no doubt in my mind that Russell Moore does that. You probably will not agree with him on every issue, but I guarantee you he will be pointing you in the right direction most of the time.

In my estimation, he is the best ethical voice the SBC has had in many years.

Joe E. Trull

Denton

Moore ‘not in line’

In response to a Russell Moore controversy, Jake Raabe states, “I’ve written before about the history of our denomination, which started as a persecuted group of dissenters from the Church of England.”

Some of us do not hold we are a Protestant denomination, but one that began with Jesus Christ and his disciples.

This separates us further from Moore, who is violently mainstream siding with the world on many points. Call the man what he is—not main stream—not in line with most who support our causes!

Joel Blaylock

Allen

‘The courage to speak out’

Your reprinted editorial “The ‘downward death spiral’ of hypocrisy” is timely and prophetic. It is rather amazing that the people who loudly claim to believe every word of the Bible is true, “even to the ‘genuine leather’ on the cover,” engage in such hypocrisy and disrespect for the truth.

When Jesus walked the earth more than 2,000 years ago, he was able to reach the “sinners” of the day, but the right-wing religious people rebelled against his message and finally orchestrated his crucifixion.

Your editorial mentioned Robert Jeffress, but there were several prominent right-wing figures who endorsed Trump but tried to deny it. What do they expect to gain from a Trump presidency? I think they visualize taking their filthy lucre to the bank by wheelbarrow loads when the Republicans destroy the First Amendment’s provision for separation of church and state and allow them to divert tax dollars to religious schools.

Their followers were likely impressed with the “pro-life” argument. If so, they were tricked big time. Millions of Americans will die prematurely when Trump and his supporters wreck regulations about safety, health and the environment and toady to the merchants of death in the gun lobby.

What about “overturning abortion”? To paraphrase one of the silly sayings of the NRA, “When abortions are outlawed, only outlaws will perform abortions.” Poor women will be driven to back-alley butchers, while rich women and victims of billionaire sexual predators will travel to countries where abortion is legal.

Thank God for people such as Marv Knox and Russell Moore who have the courage to speak out.

Carl Hess

Ozark, Ala.

Get rid of ‘baggage’

Good for the Baptist General Convention of Texas regarding Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas and First Baptist Church in Austin. 

I have just about worn this “rebuttal” out, but I always ask: “What was the first thing Legion did after his encounter with Jesus and was saved? He went home got cleaned up and dressed.” 

We all come to Christ with “baggage,” but God expects us to get rid of it.

F.A. Taylor

Kempner

The week before Christmas, I received a small package from minister-friends in eastern North Carolina. It contained a sage-looking, plastic action figure pictured above. The enclosed card read: “A gift for you from two wise men in the East. Maybe you can be the third! Warmest wishes and Christmas blessings to you.”

Bill LeonardBut theological trifles, like all theology, can have multiple readings. Our daughter-theologian, Stephanie Leonard, took one look and inquired, “Who sent us the wind-up Jesus?” Here endeth the lesson, at least for me, as turbulent 2016 shuts down and 2017 begins.

A wind-up Jesus?! That impertinent image captures my continuing concern that the Jesus I claim is merely a cut-and-paste Christ of my own creation, more in my image than that of the Galilean peasant who stalks the first century underclasses with grace while re-forming orthodoxy so blatantly that its protectors see Golgotha as their only recourse. Is my spirituality predicated on my own rather sullied answers to the old question, “What would Jesus do”?

Sadly, wind-up saviors punctuate much of Christian history. A wind-up Jesus sanctified the Inquisition to deal with heresy; justified anti-Semitic pogroms against the “Christ killer” Jews; validated chattel slavery; and got Mary Dyer hanged for preaching Quakerism in Puritan Boston. A wind-up Christology is the bane of liberal and conservative alike.

“Negation of Jesus”

In Brother to a Dragonfly, the curmudgeonly prophet (Aren’t all prophets curmudgeonly?) Will Campbell describes his “conversion” from a left-of-center wind-up to a radical Jesus, confessing that during his first 20 years as a minister, he unknowingly had succumbed to “a ministry of liberal sophistication” that became “an attempted negation of Jesus, of human engineering, of riding the coattails of Caesar, of paying in his (Caesar’s) ballpark, by his rules and with his ball, of looking to government to make and verify and authenticate our morality, of worshipping at the shrine of enlightenment and academia, of making an idol of the Supreme Court, a theology of law and order and of denying not only the faith I professed to hold but my history and my people ….”

That dramatic realization came, Campbell recalled, in 1965 after “special deputy” Thomas Coleman murdered in cold blood Jonathan Daniels, civil rights worker, Episcopal seminarian and Campbell friend in Hayneville, Ala. In the trauma of that moment, Will was compelled to acknowledge the Alabama-born racist was not an “other,” but, like Will, a “bastard” for whom Christ died.

Easy grace won’t hold

Coleman’s racist evil lurked in many a Southern heart, and only Christ’s revolutionary grace would suffice. Such grace forced Campbell into a “process of coming to terms with one’s own history, whatever that history might be.” The easy grace of his liberal, wind-up Jesus simply would not hold.

Nor will it hold for the 81 percent of evangelicals who voted for Donald Trump, not because of the way they voted, but because they sold out their professed convictions for a mess of political pottage. This coalition of conservative Christians who vote Republican took shape in the late 20th century with groups like the Moral Majority and Religious Roundtable, and with evangelical concerns that liberal churches, secularists and the Supreme Court were undermining “Judeo-Christian” values in American spiritual and moral life. Many represented their movement as a moral arbiter of biblical non-negotiables regarding sexuality, male/female roles, marriage, divorce, child-bearing and doctrinal orthodoxy.

That moral high ground crumbled with evangelicals voting for Trump, renegotiating supposedly binding ethical standards at the drop of his red cap. Politically, that was their right. Evangelically, they caved; conforming to the same culture-compromise they condemned; defending their ethical sell-out with shabby biblical proof-texts. Trump’s callous response to “the least of these,” his blatantly exploitation of women and his shallow apology for despicable “locker room banter,” apparently produced no serious moral repercussions among certain evangelical voters.

Evangelical sellout

These evangelicals lost credibility, not because they helped elect the new president, but because they violated their own inviolable dogmas, tenets they apply unsparingly to the rest of us. By letting Trump off the gospel hook, they forfeited their claim to instruct sinful Americans on moral and spiritual matters. The great evangelical sellout is personified in Franklin Graham’s rhetorical tweet, “Do you think the Russians interfered with the outcome of the U.S. election, or was it God?” Then he answered himself: “I believe it was God.”

I confess I am by political sentiments a Democrat, Texas born and bred into one, when that was actually possible, but I’ll be damned (speaking theologically) if I’ll attribute any election in the USA as negotiated by the God who sent Jesus into the world.

When Trump goes bad in some way or another like every president from slaveholding-Washington to Syria-evading Obama, I don’t want God to have to take the blame. But I must hope that public officials, from president to police chief, do justice and love mercy—whatever God they claim or disavow.

And I’ll keep wandering toward that same Jesus who “endured the cross, despising the shame”—the Word made flesh, who will resist our tawdry manipulations even unto the end of the age.

Bill Leonard is the James and Marilyn Dunn Professor of Baptist Studies and professor of church history at the Wake Forest University School of Divinity.  

The “war on Christmas” seemed quieter, more low key this year.

Marv KnoxMaybe that’s because we’ve been distracted by real war and strife across the globe. We’ve seen ISIS-backed genocide of Christians and other religious minorities in Iraq and Syria. We’ve watched terror-perpetrated mass starvation in Africa. We’ve observed refugees streaming across borders. We’ve viewed ongoing acts of violence—from terrorist rampages in Europe, to racial violence and police shootings of innocent victims and ambushes of innocent police across America.

So, declaring an ideological war of words feels inflated. What’s a war over seasonal salutations and the color of coffee cups when hatred inspired by religion and/or race eliminates lives, threatens entire ethnicities and collapses countries?

External challenges

Or maybe a “war on Christmas” struck a false note. The nation’s president-elect won the White House with support from 81 percent of evangelical Christians. He gained that vote by campaigning, in part, to “make” businesses say, “Merry Christmas.”

So, complaining about a theological war of ideas sounds self-indulgent when your people won the presidency and some of your most prominent preachers are out buying new suits to wear to the inauguration.

On the other hand, maybe a “war on Christmas” took on a muted tone because, as with tangos, it takes two to tussle. Maybe, after all the years of fending off complaints about how they respond to Christmas, people of other faiths and no faith decided, “It’s their holiday; let them celebrate how they want.” This is hard to document, but maybe Americans who could say, “Happy holidays” with conviction but could not intone “Merry Christmas” with integrity just decided to smile and say, “Thanks for shopping.”

So, griping about a verbal war of yuletide yakking finally ended in an armistice of apathy.

Internal struggle

Finally, maybe the “war on Christmas” never was fought in battles with unbelievers. Maybe it signaled a struggle within our own souls. Like the saint who gets skittish around sexual sinners, or the devotee who dreads dealing with a drunk. It’s not because she can’t stand strumpets, or he loathes lushes. It’s because they can’t trust themselves. They’re not sure about their own transgressions, so they lash out at others’.

Of course, Christians don’t fear Christmas. But maybe we fear how we fail to fulfill its meaning. Maybe the impulse to counter “Seasons greetings” with “Merry Christmas” wells up from fear we haven’t embraced the spirit of the season with selfless abandon. Maybe we’ve been afraid we—even we—have not celebrated Christmas as befits the birth of our Savior.

This is understandable, since U.S. Christians aren’t much different from the prevailing culture. We’re just as materialistic and often as shallow. So, we can subsume ourselves in buying and giving gifts, decorating houses and lawns, taking time off from work and spending time with family—all of which are fine, but not the point of Christmas. Maybe we resist overt secularization of Christmas because we’re scared that’s how we treat it, too.

Higher stakes

Perhaps Christians sometimes fight the “war” because we make too little of Christmas. We know the story of Jesus’ birth is miraculous, splendid and glorious. But why do we celebrate Jesus’ birth differently than we celebrate others’? At birthday parties for family and friends, we don’t spend all the time talking about the day they were born. We revel in the people they have become.

With Jesus, the stakes are even higher. He is the God/Man who came to Earth “to proclaim good news to the poor … freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” He compelled us to follow him, to be his “body,” to do as he did. When we leave him a baby in a manger, we ignore the deeper—harder, more challenging—story of what Christmas means.

And, ultimately, maybe we have engaged in a superficial “war on Christmas” because we’ve forgotten the essential truth: Christmas leads to Easter, which means Jesus won the ultimate victory, and all who believe in him, follow him, celebrate him and take up his cause will share in that victory.

No matter if a shopkeeper says, “Seasons greetings.”

Follow Marv on Twitter: @marvknoxbs