Our Heritage of Faith

Father’s Day was a good day for me. Our extended family attended church together. Our grandson attended VBS at FBC Plano, and during the Sunday worship service, the kids shared their songs with motions and all! We concluded the day by sharing a wonderful meal together.

The occasion provided an opportunity for me to reflect on the importance of passing on the legacy of faith to the next generation so that the next generation can do the same. My wife and I are both pastors’ kids. To see our children lead their children in the way of Christ brings great joy.

When the Passover was instituted as a festival for the people of God, the purpose was to commemorate. Pausing every year to remember the Lord and his salvation allowed each generation to build their faith on the legacy passed on to them by those who came before.

Texas Baptists begin the month of June with what we have called “Legacy Day.” On that day, we recognize Texas Baptists leaders who have made a lifetime contribution to Kingdom work. The event is held at Independence Baptist Church. This first Sunday of June was no exception.

Established in 1839, Independence Baptist Church is the oldest continuously running Baptist church in Texas and is located within walking distance of the original Baylor campus. The church building hosts a Texas Baptist history museum and a small historical cemetery.

Dylan Price pastors this great congregation and is the manager of the museum. Alan Lefever, director of the Texas Baptist Historical Collection, guided the tour of Old Baylor and shared the history of the church as it relates to the history of Baptist work in Texas.

Stephen Stookey, director of Theological Education & Institutional Engagement at Texas Baptists, and a Baptist historian in his own right, delivered the sermon that morning. Using 1 Peter 5:1-5, he spoke about legacy leadership, “which emerges from a stance of humility and sacrificial service.”

The honorees this year were two leaders who have impacted Texas Baptists' work in a significant way: Gary Cook, the former president and current chancellor of Dallas Baptist University, and Charles Wade, who served as executive director for the Baptist General Convention of Texas. You can read more about it here.

The location of the event and the leaders who are recognized help us to commemorate what God has done in the past. As we connect to our history and legacy, we renew our commitment to pass on to the next generation what we have received from the previous ones.

Last week, the Southern Baptist Convention held its annual meeting in Dallas. Two historical features were highlighted during the meeting: the 100th anniversary of the Cooperative Program and the 100th anniversary of The Baptist Faith and Message.

My commentary on these two significant events will need to wait for another occasion. What I want to highlight for now is that God has been at work among his people for a long time. The Passover, Texas Baptists Legacy Day and 100th anniversaries, among other things, are reminders that we are connected to a rich heritage of faith. We did not get here on our own!

Texas Baptists cherish our 140 years of history as a state convention. “Historically-rooted” is one of our seven values.

May we confidently build on that legacy. May we strive to understand our history and heritage. May our understanding strengthen, if not shape, our convictions. May we commit to passing on the legacy of faith to the next generation through our church, through our Texas Baptists ministries and through the work of our Texas Baptists educational and child care institutions.