Kyle Streun: ‘The church is the hope of the world’

Kyle Streun has been pastor of First Baptist Church in Denver City since June of last year. 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?

Pastor of First Baptist Church in Hereford, August 2005-June 2016

Pastor of family ministries at First Baptist Church in Crockett, May 2004-August 2005

Pastor of First Baptist Church in Olton, December 1995-May 2004

• Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Hereford, and my home church was Temple Baptist Church, so I left my hometown after almost 11 years, which I thought I never would do, to come to Denver City.

• How did you come to faith in Christ?

At a revival at Temple Baptist Church in Hereford as an 8-year-old boy, I had the “hell” scared out of me. Jim “Red” Bozeman was my boyhood pastor and such a dear help to our family as my mother raised four children as a single parent. It wasn’t ’til later that I understood the grace and love of God.

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

I went to play baseball at Howard Payne University right out of high school but transferred closer to home at Wayland Baptist University (in Plainview) after only one semester and received a bachelor of arts degree in mathematics. I also have a master of divinity degree from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City and have done work toward a doctor of ministry degree at both Denver Seminary and Truett Seminary.

Ministry/church

• Why do you feel called into ministry?

The local church had a huge impact on my life growing up in a single-parent family, and God called me from a very young age to make my life count for eternity. I still feel very strongly about being a part of his plans for his glory and his kingdom and feel the church is the hope of the world.

• What is your favorite aspect of ministry? Why?

I love building relationships with people and have found the best way to do that is to be involved in mission projects where you can be the hands and feet of Jesus and share his love while getting to know people more intimately than Sundays and Wednesdays allow. When you are working, loving and sweating together, you really come to appreciate and value one another and fulfill the Great Command and Great Commission in authentic, practical ways.

You also have to extend a great deal of grace to one another as you do life together, and I’m convinced that we are most appealing to the lost world as a church when grace is most apparent in our lives.

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

Seeing children and young people come to know Christ and be involved in ministry to their peers at school and in the community.

I’ve always had the philosophy that children are not just the church of tomorrow, but the church of today. They are so pliable and teachable with the great truths of the Scripture and the gospel, and the growth that often occurs in people is rewarding and fulfilling.

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

The mindset that the church is more for insiders than for outsiders. When we lose our outward focus and the reality that church is the only organization that exists, at least in part, for people who are not currently members, then the church begins to die. Established churches can easily lose focus on fulfilling the Great Commission and can be content to do church in a way that satisfies their personal preferences.

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

I think early on in ministry I wanted to “make something happen” and always was looking for the next trend in ministry to try to follow or hot program to try to implement. I’ve tried to simplify my outlook and focus all of what we do as a church on keeping the Great Commandment to love God and people and staying focused on the Great Commission of making disciples.

I also realize more than ever that if anything of eternal value happens in the church, it’s not because I made it happen but because God, in his great grace, did something for us that we could not do for ourselves.

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

In the 20-plus years I’ve been a pastor, ministry has changed dramatically because of the rapid nature of information exchange, access to constant communication and social media. I have no idea what societal and cultural influences will change the next 10 to 20 years, but I do know the “higher tech” we get, the “higher touch” we need to be.

True fulfillment and value in life will still come from personal, authentic relationships and not technology. We can and should use technology to demonstrate the love, concern and care of Christ to an increasingly more distant and detached society living in a fantasy world of social media.

I also think there will be increasing challenges in church finances with the absence of the war generation and indebtedness of the following generations in the church. I know God has and always will finance what he wants done, but I also think it may take some different approaches to maintain and expand ministry in established churches.

• What qualities do you look for in a congregation?

Three words are at the forefront of what I look for in a congregation—“biblical,” “missional” and “relational.”

I’ve found I get myself in trouble when I stray too far from what God has called us to do and to be in the Bible. When the church does the “one another”s of the Scripture, then the church is on course with being what God designed her to be. Churches have to have the right biblical foundation to know what we believe and why, and how to live for Christ in the present and be the presence of Christ to a lost world.

The church also has to courageously and energetically implement what they know from the Bible in a relational way. People may visit a church for a while for the preaching, music and various programs, but people almost always stay and get connected because of the people they connect with and establish relationships with.

About Baptists

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

Our great challenge is figuring out how to minister to a fast-changing, increasingly secular world that has less respect for the authority of Scripture or the Judeo/Christian moral ethic than ever before and is difficult for established churches and denominations to reach.

However, I’m still convinced because of the power of God, we as his people can still reach people.

About Kyle

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

I have been blessed with great mentors.

Jim Bozeman, my boyhood pastor, taught me how to love and pastor people by example. I can’t remember a single sermon he preached, but I do remember how he loved.

Randall Stotts, a youth minister at First Baptist Church in Hereford and my friend and pastor in Blue Springs, Mo., continues to challenge me how to seek the Lord, pray and how to stay focused on reaching people far from God.

Dr. Hulett Gloer taught me the Scripture at Midwestern Seminary and again at Truett.

Bill Wright taught me how to be myself and get men involved in church and ministry.

Bobby Broyles helped me get involved in Baptist life and cooperate with other churches.

Mitch Wilson encourages me to stay focused on the Great Command and Great Commission.

• What is the impact of ministry on your family?

I am so grateful for my wife, Jennifer (formerly Sherman). There never has been a moment in our 25-plus years of marriage when I thought ministry was too tough on my family to continue. We have served some great churches together. She’s a rock, the foundation behind the scenes that keeps me sane. She’s sensible and steady when I tend to be a little more up and down. God called her to ministry as well, and she knew the direction we were headed when we married, which has been invaluable. Every move we’ve made, or not made, in ministry, she’s been able to discern the Lord’s leading often better than I. I praise God for such a great pastor’s wife, partner in ministry, mother and friend.

All three of our children love the Lord and are involved in ministry largely because of the steadiness and faithfulness of their mother. She amazes me.

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

I love Frederick Buechner, Calvin Miller and Max Lucado for their ability to turn a phrase and use words to tell stories and warm the heart.

I love John Grisham novels for their suspense and character/plot development.

Andy Stanley has much practical advice for leading, and I have several of his books, but The Best Question Ever? and Seven Practices of Effective Ministry have influenced my preaching, decision-making and leadership.

Too Busy Not to Pray by Bill Hybels is a practical guide for understanding and practicing prayer.

The Art of Pastoring: Ministry Without All the Answers by David Hansen was an early influence on my pastoral ministry.

Biblical Preaching by Haddon Robinson impacted my preaching by helping me focus on the main objective of the text and sermon.

The Purpose Driven Church by Rick Warren has given me great direction for the church for clarifying why the church exists and helping me stay on task.

So many books, so many authors, so much influence.

• What is your favorite Scripture verse or passage?

The verse that warms my heart as much as any other is 2 Corinthians 5:21: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” I am still amazed at the love of God and the sacrifice of his only Son made for my sake.

Jesus in my place is the essence of the gospel and what continues to motivate me in life and ministry.

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