Weekly Updates

As Paul feels the urgency of the gospel task, he asks his readers to stop competing and comparing their preferred spiritual leader and focus on Christ (3:21-23).

Being the pastor of a local church is very rewarding, but it is very challenging too. The physical, spiritual, emotional and intellectual energy required is beyond what anyone might imagine. 

Baptists have historically been champions of religious liberty. In fact, Baptists have long advocated for the religious freedom of all people, not just Baptists, and not just Christians.

The only way for Texas Baptists to be one people with one mission is for the same Holy Spirit who was at work in the book of Acts to be at work in our midst.

I invite you to pray that everything that happens before, during and after the Texas Baptists Annual Meeting will bring glory to God and will advance his mission of redeeming the world to himself. 

We find one of the earliest expressions of cooperative giving in the early church. As the apostle Paul advances his missionary journeys, he encourages churches to give for the relief of the church in Jerusalem, which was experiencing material poverty and suffering.

My hope is that as we pray, share information, receive feedback and implement plans, we would move closer to this “harmony of feeling” so that we can experience “concert of action.”

The nature of the challenges we face is often a matter of perspective. Someone’s perceived scarcity might be another’s abundance and vice versa. Our perspective may change when we learn about the difficulties others face.

Wherever Christ’s rule is established, there his kingdom is, including churches, communities, universities, Christian ministries, the public square, businesses, hospitals and wherever we serve the least of these.

This is back-to-school week for many. We are praying for students, teachers, administrators and all those who work in education.

The churches that make up this convention are diverse in multiple ways, including geography, size, worship styles, culture, ethnicity, age and language.

This week is staff week at the Texas Baptists Rambler offices in Dallas. Our staff gathered to worship, hear ministry updates, interact with each other, be encouraged in the work we are doing together and be reminded of our mission. In a very real way, we are living out our “future-thinking” value.

As the summer draws to a close, we are grateful for the many events that have ministered to children and students this summer. Churches have held VBS, summer camps and mission trips, which provide for gospel proclamation, disciple-making and spiritual decisions by young people.

As I reflect on the third Texas Baptists descriptor, namely historically-rooted, and on the early church’s description in Acts 2, I’m reminded that our faith is rooted around the table of Christ, where he commands us to “remember him.”

This week, I address the “gospel-centered” aspect. In a very real way, the reason we exist as a convention is the gospel. Sharing the gospel is the mission that unites us.

Being biblically-faithful means that we believe in the sacredness of the Scriptures, we allow them to lead us to Christ, and we rely on the Holy Spirit to give us understanding.

Baptists have been known as “people of the book.” It is no coincidence that in every version of The Baptist Faith and Message, the article on the Scriptures is first.

Summer ministry continues! Several churches are doing outreach events around the FIFA World Cup excitement.