Making space for Christ this Christmas Season

I pray that in the midst of a busy, and perhaps hectic, Christmas season, you find time and make space for Christ’s presence. When the Messiah came to earth, the world was too busy and too distracted to notice. In fact, there was “no room available” for him!

Monica and I love the Christmas season. We enjoy decorating our house, attending special Christmas events, spending time with family, receiving Christmas cards, giving gifts and cooking special treats and meals. My desire is that in the midst of it all, Jesus finds room in my heart and in my home.

If you have not done so yet, I encourage you to download the Texas Baptists Advent guide that our staff has written for you. Each day provides an opportunity to reflect on the meaning of Christ’s coming. May it align our hearts and minds with his presence.

This past weekend, Monica and I were blessed to celebrate some special occasions. Both of them held nostalgic significance for us as well as an affirmation of God’s faithfulness.

On Friday, we attended the Doctor of Ministry graduation of a pastor we have known since he was a child, when I pastored in Fort Worth. We’ve had the privilege of watching him mature in the Lord, answer his call to ministry, prepare himself theologically and serve on pastoral staff in local churches. It is rewarding to see his commitment and the Lord’s faithfulness.

Sunday, I had the privilege of preaching at Primera Iglesia Bautista in Ingleside, where the pastor is celebrating 30 years of service. He was a member of a church in Corpus Christi, where I served as minister of education and youth when he answered God’s call on his life to vocational ministry. Praise God for those who answer the call and remain faithful! God is good!

This will be my last update of the year. Looking forward to connecting with you again in January.

As we move closer to Christmas, I keep remembering all of the great things that took place at our annual meeting in Abilene. The great times of corporate worship, the excellent preaching, the reports of what God is doing and the wonderful fellowship are great memories.

I am excited about the future. We are rolling out GC2 Strong in 2026. We continue to serve more churches with our indemnity program. We will review our constitution and bylaws and study our Cooperative Program trends so that we can plan for the future.

Most importantly, we will focus on prayer and ask for a GC2 awakening. We are encouraging churches to launch a prayer initiative using the Bless App to lead congregants to pray for their neighbors by name. Imagine if every person in Texas was prayed for by name in 2026!

We will also have a prayer task force and will provide resources for congregational-focused prayer from Easter Sunday to Pentecost Sunday.

Let’s pray so that when God decides to show up, he will find room in our hearts, in our homes, in our churches, in our neighborhoods and beyond.

Have a Merry Christmas and a blessed start of your 2026!