Posted: 11/18/05

Teens illustrate what they need spiritually

By Miranda Bradley

AUSTIN–A roomful of parents and youth Bible study leaders waited to hear Bryan Hall of Woodlawn Baptist Church in Austin teach on how to encourage a teen's spirituality. They didn't realize their lesson would come primarily from the teens themselves.

The seminar, held in conjunction with the Baptist General Convention of Texas annual meeting, opened with an exercise where each person was asked to list what they would like their teens to take with them to college.

Hall then opened the door to awaiting teens, luggage in tow.

“Let's hear what they had to say,” Hall said.

Seventeen-year-old Alicia Sherrill held up a bottle of water representing purity.

“Help me understand the value of this,” she said. “Teach me to always strive to have this with me.”

Each teen shared simple items that had a deeper meaning.

“I hold in my hands a court order,” 16-year-old Liz Andrasi said. “This is to ensure that I am a witness to others. It is important for parents to share their experiences with us. It's very cool when my parents tell me who they are praying for so that I will know how important it is.”

Later Andrasi held up a small tree, which symbolized a strong root system.

“We need to have strong roots so we can search out and know what we believe for ourselves,” she said.

Included among the items was a gift box, to show the enjoyment of giving and a gavel for respect for authority.

“The bottom line,” Hall concluded, “is it has to be in our lives for our kids to learn it. It can't just be a Sunday or Wednesday night thing. God has to be part of who we are every day. That is when our kids will grab hold of it. They'll want to do it too because it's authentic.”

Posted: 11/18/05

BGCT mission and heritage
'not for sale,' Wade insists

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

AUSTIN–Texas Baptists are a “blood-bought people” who must not be turned away from their divinely appointed mission, Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Director Charles Wade emphasized during the state convention's annual meeting.

Reflecting on an offer from an equity group that mistakenly contacted Wade to inquire about brokering a sale of the BGCT, he said the convention already has been bought and paid for by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

The BGCT is “not for sale. Not to people who want to buy us for money. Not to those who want to turn us away from our mission, nor to those who would have us pursue some lesser cause,” he said. “We have a passion to see people reconciled to God, to touch and reach people in Jesus' name, and we're not for sale.”

Using the acronym B-A-P-T-I-S-T, Wade outlined a seven-fold challenge to Baptists in Texas.

Begin new churches.

At least 11 million Texans claim no church, and the state's population has grown by 4 million in the last 10 years and likely will grow by another 2 million within the next five years, he noted.

Wade challenged Texas Baptists to start 1,500 churches in the state by the end of 2010.

“We must start more churches in the next five years than we ever have because there are more Texans than there have ever been before,” he said.

Affirm the children.

“How we treat children in our homes, churches, communities and state matters to Jesus,” Wade said. “I believe God is calling Texas Baptists to love and care for all the children of Texas.”

Some of the poorest children in the nation live in Texas, he noted. He challenged Texas Baptists to strengthen families, pray for teachers, provide ministries to benefit children and help elected representatives understand the needs of children.

Wade paused to pay tribute to Phil Strickland, longtime director of the BGCT Christian Life Commission, as “an example to all of us” in serving as a tireless advocate for children in need. Strickland, who has been battling cancer and has been hospitalized twice in recent months for pneumonia, was unable to attend the annual meeting.

“By working together, we can affirm the worth of every child,” he said. “And we can work earnestly and without ceasing to see that every child in Texas has a safe place to sleep, food enough to eat, quality education, medicine when they are sick–and know that Jesus loves them.”

Pray for God's peace.

Wade urged Texas Baptists to pray for peace in families, churches, communities and nations, and he challenged them to work for justice.

“Praying for the salvation of souls, the unity of the church, justice in the land, harmony among the diverse communities and peace in the world is especially our work,” he said.

Transform lives and communities.

Wade challenged every Texas Baptist congregation to be “a Jesus kind of church” that brings about transformation and reconciliation.

“Transformational churches expect change to happen in people's lives,” he said. “Transformational churches bring life and hope to the communities they serve.”

Inspire courageous servant leaders.

“Servant leaders lead people to achieve great goals that bless the church and their community, rather than goals designed to bring reward and recognition to the leader,” he said.

Share in giving.

In order to achieve other goals, Texas Baptists must work together and pool resources through the Cooperative Program unified giving plan, Wade insisted.

“You will know your church has caught the vision when they begin to see the Cooperative Program not as an expense to be borne, but as an engine by which your church can connect with thousands of other churches and become part of a great train delivering boxcar loads of eternal blessing to thousands upon thousands of people every day of the year,” he said.

Touch the world.

Wade encouraged Texas Baptist churches to see ministry in their communities as the starting place, not the finish line.

“Every church can have at least one ministry in its local community and one ministry somewhere else in the world,” he said. “You can go local, and you can go global. And you can double that every two years.”

Posted: 11/18/05

Young pastors learn from elders

By Mark Wingfield

AUSTIN–If you're ever tempted to quit, call a friend first and talk it through.

That was one of several pieces of advice from a panel of seasoned pastors to younger pastors and church staff members during a seminar at the Baptist General Convention of Texas annual meeting.

While the challenges of ministry are greater than when these pastors began their careers several decades ago, the rewards remain great as well, Pete Freeman, Charles Johnson and Ken Hall told the young ministers.

Freeman is pastor of First Baptist Church of The Woodlands; Johnson is pastor of Trinity Baptist Church in San Antonio; Hall is president of Buckner Baptist Benevolences and a former Texas pastor.

The greatest threat to the integrity of the church today is not theological but practical, the trio of pastors agreed. That practical challenge is embodied in leading churches to become outwardly focused, missional and not consumer-driven, they explained.

“Leading my church to be a global church with a local address is the hardest thing I've ever done,” Freeman confessed. He lamented that most church-growth models today are “consumer-driven.”

The church is not to be changed by culture but instead to challenge culture, Freeman added. “We are to impact culture.”

The missional church movement advocated by the Baptist General Convention of Texas holds more promise for the future of the church than the youth revival movement of the 1950s, he said, noting he had been a part of that earlier movement.

The changes for which a younger generation advocated 50 years ago were more internally focused, revolving around counting more people in churches and the numbers of people attending revival meetings, he said. The missional church model instead seeks to grow the kingdom of God without regard for whether that benefits an individual church.

This runs counter to the consumer-driven mentality, which says, “God loves the world, but he loves me a little bit more,” Johnson added.

Ministers and churches also must beware of thinking they can achieve ultimate spiritual growth, Hall warned. “We get to a level of spiritual growth, and we think we've arrived.”

Although the path of church ministry may have grown more difficult, the church at large is becoming more globally focused and is advancing, Hall said.

“A lot of your members think about the good old days, and they weren't that good.” For example, he said, “At the height of growth in Southern Baptist churches, we had the Civil Rights Movement. … Those weren't the good old days,” because the church too often wasn't focused outwardly.

The test for churches and pastors today should be service, Hall said. “If it's not about service to others, it's not about Christianity.”

Preaching this message may not be easy, Hall warned. “Our people, while they will espouse change … to engage culture, they're not there.”

Posted: 11/18/05

Missions Foundation honors
four for missions contributions

By Haley Wright

AUSTIN–The Texas Baptist Missions Foundation honored four individuals for their missions contributions during a banquet held in conjunction with the Baptist General Convention of Texas annual meeting.

Shirley and Paul Piper Jr. received the Adventurer Award for Leadership in Missions. The award honors an individual or church who has advanced missions through significant missions activities, outstanding financial support or leadership in ministry opportunities.

The Pipers have provided no-interest and low-interest loans for new churches, helped build a hospital in Paraguay and Mexico, purchased a tool trailer for Texas Baptist Men Retiree Builders and provided funding for apartment ministries in Amarillo, Dallas, El Paso, Austin, Houston, Lubbock, Arlington and San Antonio.

San Antonio Baptist Association staff member Camille Simmons received the Innovator Award for Creativity in Missions.

The Innovator Award is bestowed upon a church or individual who developed a model for missions that others can adopt.

Charles Price, director of missions for the San Antonio Baptist Association, called her a woman with “creative solutions for kingdom advancement.”

She was honored for her work in missions that are aimed at meeting real human needs.

Joy Fenner received the Pioneer Award for Service in Missions, given to a person who is committed, creative and cooperative.

Under her leadership, Woman's Missionary of Texas enlarged its ministry with language churches by not only providing curriculum in seven languages for the week of prayer for Texas missions, but also by developing the Language Advisory Council and the African-American Advisory Council.

She was instrumental in the creation of WorldTouch, the endowment of Texas WMU, and she worked with national WMU to pioneer the national and state endowment partnerships called Touch Tomorrow Today.

Posted: 11/18/05

CYBER COLUMN:
God is at work

By Jeanie Miley

Stepping onto the elevator in the hospital, I pushed the button to the emergency room and leaned against the wall while the elevator carried me down to the basement. I had no idea what was facing me on that warm fall morning, but a phone call had turned my world upside down. I was amazed at how calm I was.

Life has a way of walloping you suddenly, now and then. And at other times, things that have been brewing for a long time suddenly make you realize you’ve arrived at the place you’ve been traveling to for a very long time. As far as I can tell, no one makes it out of here without encounters with scary times and hard times.

Later, looking back on the terrors of our family’s recent crisis, I gave thanks over and over for the people who have modeled faith for me in the past. I gave thanks for those who have taught me the ways of practicing the presence of Christ, and I was overwhelmed with gratitude for the Scriptures I had memorized in the easy times that came to my mind in the hard times to instruct me and comfort me.

“I’m frightened, frayed and fatigued around the edges,” I told my friends when they inquired about how I was doing, managing our crisis. “But, at the center, I’m really calm.”

Through the shakiest times in my life, my bedrock Scripture eventually bubbles up into my conscious mind to remind me that “God is at work in all things, attempting to bring about good.” Even when I’m thrown off-center or thrown to the mat, my basic, intentional orientation in life, practiced when times aren’t so tough, does finally come back to me to stabilize me. Even when I’m on a rollercoaster, being thrown between hope and despair, the reminder of the reality of God’s sovereign and abiding love does finally reach me.

Admittedly, sometimes the hardships and shocks of life are so shattering and shocking that it takes some time to remember that the Source of life is constantly at work, and that is why we need each other as reminders of God’s faithful, loving presence.

Now that I’m past the latest rollercoaster ride, I know that I must deepen that learned discipline of practicing the presence of Christ. I must become even more conscious of the ways and means God has of meeting us in the ordinary moments of everyday life. I must return again and again to the practice of opening my mind and heart to God. I must ask God to increase my sensitivity to the gentle movements of his Spirit so that I will not miss the guidance and direction of God in the midst of my life. Even more, I want to sharpen my hearing so that I can detect the still, small voice of God in the details of my life.

God is at work in all things, bringing order out of chaos and discernment in the midst of confusion.

God is at work in all things, extending mercy and grace, in spite of the difficulties of the moment.

God is at work in all things, asking us to surrender to his intentions, and the places where we are resisting most, we may be blocking God’s tender mercies toward us.

God is at work in all things, when things turn out like we want them to, but most especially, when they don’t.

God is at work in all things, even when I cannot see it or believe it.

God is at work in all things, and his work is always love.

Jeanie Miley is an author and columnist and a retreat and workshop leader. She is married to Martus Miley, pastor of River Oaks Baptist Church in Houston, and they have three adult daughters. Got feedback? Write her at Writer2530@aol.com.

Posted: 11/18/05

Around the State

Twelve East Texas Baptist University students have been inducted into Alpha Chi, a cross-disciplinary national honor society. They are Matthew Arnett of Midland, Erin Beck of Crosby, David Mark Clark of Longview, Taylor Johnson of Marshall, Leslie Nelson of Sulphur Springs, David Rogenmoser of Boyce, La., Katy Romero of Hemphill, Tony Romero of Hemphill, Marid Spellings of Lufkin, Jenny Wheeler of Longview, Amanda Whitehead of Palestine and Wendy Whitehead of Kirbyville.

Bonnie Hinkle has been named faculty member of the year at Dallas Baptist University. She has taught at the school seven years and is an associate professor of education and director of the master of education in school counseling program. She is a member of Hampton Road Church in DeSoto.

Howard Payne University recognized seven outstanding alumni and two recently retired faculty members during the school's Alumni Awards banquet. Honored as distinguished alumni were Dalton Bigbee and Jana Bloom. Daniel Peterson was honored as an outstanding young graduate. Twila Miller Smith was named coming home queen, and Al Langford was named grand marshal. Steve and Sophia Faulkner received the medal of service. Recently retired faculty members Donal and Marjorie Bird also received the medal of service.

Charles Reid has received the distinguished alumnus award from Houston Baptist University. Reid currently is the house Mozart tenor at the national theater in Mannheim, Germany. Cathy Neben received the university's meritorious service alumnus award for her work as a volunteer.

Twenty-eight students graduated Nov. 5 from the Baylor University Law School. Professor Gerald Powell was selected by students to deliver the commencement address.

The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor Alumni Association conferred honorary membership to Floyce Moon, 93, for her service to the school.

Celeste Louder of Hereford was crowned Miss Wayland Baptist University 2006. She was sponsored by the school's Baptist Student Ministries.

Rachel Shapard, a part-time chaplain with Advanced Home Health and Hospice in Lubbuck, has received endorsement from the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.

Retiring

James Weir, as minister of senior adults at Lamar Church in Arlington, Nov. 8. Weir served the church in that capacity since 1996. He previously served as the church's pastor at its founding in 1983. Weir also was pastor of the church's sponsor church, North Side Church in Arlington, beginning in 1966. His other pastorates include First Church in Jacksboro and South Park Church in Grand Prairie. He was in the ministry 56 years.

Death

Agnes Smiley, 93, Nov. 9 in Longview. She was elementary director and director of preschool education at First Church in Longview 26 years. During that time, she began the church's weekday education programs. She also saw a need for Christian education for handicapped children and their parents and started a program that has grown over the last 30 years to serve 70 people. She also led many conferences and workshops across the nation, and she wrote numerous articles for children's education publications. After retiring as preschool director in 1977, she continued serving the church as wedding consultant and church hostess. She was preceded in death by her husband, Lloyd, in 1995. She is survived by her daughter, Becky Pierce; three grandsons; and three great-grandchildren.

Events

The Sammy Glass Family will be in concert at First Church in Devers Dec. 3 at 7 p.m. For more information, call (936) 549-7653. Harry McDaniel is pastor.

Grammy and Dove award-winning Christian artist Steve Green will perform a Christmas concert with choir and orchestra of The Heights Church in Richardson Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. Gary Singleton is pastor.

First Church in Austin will present Angels over Austin, a walking tour guided by angels as participants seek the Christ Child. Encountered along the way are wise men, a talking star, Roman officials, a tax collector, camels and others. The 20-minute experience is free. Angels over Austin will be held Dec. 10 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and Dec. 11 from 9:30 a.m. until noon. The journeys on Sunday will be followed by the annual Christmas music from 11 a.m. until noon. The choir and orchestra will perform the Christmas section of Handel's Messiah. For more information, call (512) 476-2625. Roger Paynter is pastor.

Ordained

Shane Berry, Troy Burnett, Harold Harbour and Chris Sageser as deacons at First Church in Cotton Center.

Gerald West, Perry Seaman, Mike Fontenot, Jim Crenshaw and Josh Ardoin as deacons at First Church in China.

Steve Gilley, Gary Wimbish and Ron Arnold as deacons at First Church in Milford.

J

Posted: 11/18/05

Time to 'show up, pay up & speak up,' Bell insists

By Craig Bird

AUSTIN–It's time for African-Americans “to show up, pay up and speak up” in the life of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, Michael Bell told the 2005 meeting of the Texas Baptist African-American Fellowship at Austin's Rosewood Avenue Baptist Church.

Speaking on the eve of his election as the Texas convention's first African-American president, Bell closed the fellowship rally by challenging participants to “walk through the door that has finally opened” because “a lot of people–of all races–have worked too long and too hard for make this day happen.”

Bell, pastor of Greater St. Stephen First Baptist Church in Fort Worth, spoke after Marvin Griffin, a patriarch of African-American Baptist pastors in Texas, brought the crowd to its feet numerous times.

Griffin, pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Austin for 36 years, preached from Mark 1:15, where Jesus announced “The kingdom of God is at hand.”

Whatever “we do or don't do, the kingdom comes because God brings the kingdom,” Griffin pointed out. “He wants our cooperation, but he will bring it in when he wants to bring it in. There have been times in the BGCT when we've had difficulties and doctrinal confrontations, but that hasn't prevented the kingdom of God from coming. And even during the times Satan hinders us, God is at work because the kingdom is coming. … Cheer up, little flock, because it is the Father's pleasure to give you the kingdom.”

Griffin underlined the future and present realities of the kingdom by saying, “The kingdom of God is coming,” while the crowd chanted back, “The kingdom of God is here” four times to end his message.

Bell repeatedly challenged the crowd to be full partners in the work of the convention, including supporting the Cooperative Program unified budget.

“You know what you do when someone in your church puts $5 in the offering plate but causes $5,000 worth of trouble, don't you?” he asked. “You give him $5 back and tell him to sit down and shut up. We are at the table now, but if we want to be heard we need to pay our way.”

He praised the ethnic diversity of the BGCT. “God didn't make everybody short, black and bald,” he said, rubbing his hand over his head. “And he didn't make just roses, he made daffodils and bluebonnets. He wants to use all of us to win the lost and love people into wholeness.

“It's time for us, as African-Americans, to make room for something big in our lives because God has already set some stuff up. He is looking for people who will cooperate with him in reaching the lost and hugging Texas to us. He is looking for people who are willing to be disturbed or being inconvenienced to do what he calls them to do.

“The door is open. There is no need to keep wasting time looking for the keys. It's open. Let's walk through and be part of what God has for the Baptist General Convention–all of the Baptist General Convention of Texas–to do.”

Posted: 11/18/05

BWA leader brings more than
fraternal greetings to BGCT

By Craig Bird

AUSTIN–Denton Lotz, general secretary of the Baptist World Alliance, presented Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Director Charles Wade with a framed membership certificate signifying the recent acceptance of the BGCT as a full member in the 100-year-old Baptist fellowship.

Lotz noted when the BWA was founded 100 years ago, “85 percent of the world's Christians lived in Europe and the United States, but now 60 percent of Christians live in the southern hemisphere. There are 400 million believers in Africa, 550 million in Latin America and 360 million in Asia.

“The church has moved south–and I don't mean south to Texas but south of the equator,” he said during the BGCT annual meeting. “God didn't call just the NATO countries when he gave us the Great Commission. He gave it to Christians everywhere.”

Lotz pledged that BWA will continue its work supporting Baptist churches around the world as they preach the gospel, will help the needy through Baptist World Aid, and work to promote and protect human rights and religious freedom.

“We want religious freedom for everyone, everywhere,” he said. “We want Hindus and Buddhists and Muslims to be free to worship–but we demand the same freedom for Christians.

“We will continue to tell countries like Saudi Arabia and Yemen that since you take advantage of your freedom to build mosques in the United States and Europe, then you need to grant us the freedom build churches and freely share our faith in your countries.”

Denton Lotz, general secretary of the Baptist World Alliance, presents to BGCT Executive Director Charles Wade a framed membership certificate marking Texas Baptists' acceptance into the worldwide fellowship.

Posted: 11/18/05

Opportunity knocks during CityReach

By Miranda Bradley

AUSTIN–Opportunity knocked this week for Eva Agueera, a five-year Austin resident. When she answered the door, Robert Flores stood with a Bible in hand. After a brief conversation in her apartment doorway, Agueera accepted Christ as her Savior.

Agueera's was the first home visited by Flores, a member of the Iglesia Bautista Principe De Paz evangelism team. The team of 20 meets three times a week for training so they can make the most of their door-to-door ministry.

Leady Santos, 16, said she always is eager to share Jesus with others.

“Sometimes they will be skeptical because I'm so young. But, I'm doing this for God, even if they don't open the door.”

Pastor Nestor Menjivar said he has a different goal for his team than most.

“We are not doing this to grow our church,” he said. “We're trying to get the word of God out there, to plant a seed.”

Menjivar's ultimate goal is to seek out possibilities for new churches in homes or apartment complexes.

Much of the community around the church does not have transportation to and from church. That was the case for Agueera, who had not attended church services since she moved from Mexico. Without a car, she was unable to take part in worship services she loved so much. That, Menjivar said, drives the motivation for satellite churches.

“Evangelism is different these days,” he said. “You have to keep a kingdom view, or you will become discouraged.”

Dozens of people have converted to Christianity as a result of the evangelism teams' ministry. Some of them do not attend Iglesia Bautista Principe De Paz. But Menjivar does not complain.

“And that's OK with me,” he said. “We're just planting the seeds for a ministry that will come later. Maybe the harvest is not for us to reap.”

Flores has only been involved in the ministry two months, but he said his greatest thrill is when a person accepts Christ as Savior.

“Whenever you see something like that, it feels great,” he said after leading Agueera to Christ. “You know you will see them in heaven then.”

Menjivar credits ministries like the door-to-door evangelism effort for increasing the church's visibility in the area.

“People know who we are,” he said. “The difference between us and some other ministries is we are not saying they need to join our church. We're inviting them to meet Jesus Christ. That's the best gift we can possibly give them–the opportunity for salvation.”

Posted: 11/18/05

One family, one mission

By Ken Camp

Managing Editor

AUSTIN–Rallying under a banner of "One Family–One Mission," messengers to the Baptist General Convention of Texas annual meeting took decisive steps toward demonstrating the diversity of the Texas Baptist family.

Messengers elected the convention's first African-American president, approved a governance plan that mandates at least one-third non-Anglo representation on a streamlined BGCT Executive Board and heard the convention sermon preached by a Vietnamese Texas Baptist pastor.

Even the entry of a last-minute nominee for convention president–the first contested race in eight years–reflected a desire for diversity, judging by the nominating speech appeal for diverse voices to be heard and for messengers to be offered meaningful choices.

Messengers elected as president Michael Bell, pastor of Greater St. Stephen First Baptist Church in Fort Worth. He succeeds Albert Reyes, the first Hispanic BGCT president.

David Currie of San Angelo, executive director of Texas Baptists Committed, nominated Bell, urging messengers to “make history” and “send a powerful signal” about Texas Baptists through the election.

Bell won the president's race by a four-to-one margin over Rick Davis, pastor of First Baptist Church in Brownwood and former director of the BGCT Center for Strategic Evangelism.

David Montoya, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Mineral Wells, nominated Davis. Although he praised Texas Baptists Committed–a powerful moderate organization that has endorsed a slate of candidates for nearly two de-cades–for its leadership in resisting fundamentalism, Mon-toya insisted it was time for Texas Baptists to “once again have a choice” in its elected leaders.

BGCT messengers also approved changes to the state convention's constitution and bylaws that streamline governance and ensure a greater non-Anglo presence on the BGCT Executive Board.

Their actions resulted in “the most sweeping changes in BGCT governance since 1959,” said Wesley Shotwell, pastor of Ash Creek Baptist Church in Azle and chair of the BGCT Governance Committee.

The governance changes reduced the Executive Board from 230 to 90 members, with three people from each of 30 sectors across the state. Sectors are drawn according to county lines and determined by a formula that factors in resident church membership, number of churches and amount of Cooperative Program giving.

Executive Board committees will assume duties previously assigned to BGCT Administrative Committee and to coordinating boards and commissions.

Revised bylaws stipulate at least 30 percent of the board membership will be non-Anglo.

An attempt to require that women make up at least 30 percent of the Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board was withdrawn by its author due to a technicality.

But Aaron Brown of First Baptist Church in Copperas Cove urged the board to take seriously his recommendation that the nomination process pay as much attention to gender as to race and ethnicity.

Currently, Brown said, women make up only 23 percent of the Executive Board but represent at least half of the state's population.

Brown's motion could not be considered, however, because it was introduced in the Monday evening session of the annual meeting, and the standing rules of the convention require any proposed bylaws changes to be introduced in the opening session on Monday afternoon.

Cassandra Northcutt of First Baptist Church in Longview spoke to messengers as chair of the Committee to Nominate Executive Board Members.

“We work very, very hard at gender representation,” she said. “We look at this every time we meet.”

In his president's message to the convention, Reyes challenged Texas Baptists to follow New Testament examples rather than North American sensibilities when it comes to handling conflicting cultures.

He noted a conflict in the early church between Hebrew and Greek culture was settled by giving power, authority and resources to a group that was underrepresented.

“It wasn't an American model. It was a New Testament, Jesus kind of model,” he said.

Reyes urged Texas Baptists to welcome “those who have come to the table late” and recognize them as equal partners in the gospel.

In the convention sermon, Nguyen sounded some of the same themes.

“We can't let our little differences hinder our work,” he said. “We need to encourage one another, to partner together, if we are truly to be one family to accomplish one mission together.”

In other business, messengers to the annual meeting:

Approved a $49.4 million budget. Of the total, $41.3 million depends on Texas Baptist Cooperative Program giving–a 3.5 percent increase over 2005. The balance will be provided by gifts to the Mary Hill Davis Offering for Texas Missions, endowment income, allocated funds and fees. The budget proposal as approved by messengers includes a provision that the convention's strategic plan direct 2006 budget priorities.

Honored Irby Cox of Dallas for 35 years of service as BGCT recording secretary. Cox and his wife, Margaret, worked with the registration process at the annual meeting 39 years and directed it since 1970.

Referred to the 2006 Committee on Convention Arrangements a motion by Samira Izadi of Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas that in future flag processions, placement of the Christian flag should be above all others.

“As Christ is Lord of all and Lord above all, I think it would be just the right thing for the flag of Christ to be above all,” said Izadi, a native of Iran. “It would be idolatrous, as each flag represents a different entity, to place a flag above the Christian flag.”

The annual meeting drew 2,440 messengers and 844 visitors–down from the 2,937 messengers and 708 visitors who attended the 2004 convention in San Antonio. In 1997, the last time the BGCT met in Austin, the meeting attracted 6,100 messengers and 283 visitors.

Mark Wingfield and Teresa Young contributed to this article.

Posted: 11/18/05

Hispanic Baptists celebrate family & mission

By Jenny Pope

AUSTIN–Hispanic Texas Baptists gathered at Primera Iglesia Bautista of Austin to worship and celebrate the theme of this year's Baptist General Convention of Texas annual meeting, “One Family–One Mission.”

Alcides Guajardo, president of the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas, introduced BGCT President Albert Reyes, the convention's first non-Anglo president, and First Vice President Michael Bell to the crowd. Bell was elected BGCT president the next day, becoming the first African-American to hold the post.

“Reyes has done a great job in moving our convention ahead,” Bell said. “Now, together, we must all go ahead and make the difference that God has called us to make.”

After worshipping in English and Spanish, Javier Elizondo, first vice president of the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas, delivered a message that challenged “traditional Hispanic Baptists” to look for new ways to give and minister based on all three parts of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount–evangelism, teaching and healing.

“This message is important because we continue to give missionary funding as if there is just one part–evangelism,” Elizondo said.

“We at BGCT believe that (ministry) is three-pronged. We have seminaries. We have hospitals. We have Buckner children ministries and senior ministries.

“We believe in serving the whole. As leaders, we need to focus and teach our pastors that they need to think. It's more than just politics; it's being a true disciple of Christ.”

“Ultimately, tonight is an opportunity for the Hispanic Christians to come together, unite and focus on the specific needs of the Hispanic community,” said Noe Reyes, music minister of Primera Iglesia Bautista. “But most importantly, it's a time to gather as a statewide body and worship the Lord Almighty.”

Posted: 11/18/05

Work together to accomplish
mission, Nguyen urges BGCT

By Haley Wright

AUSTIN–Texas Baptists are a family of believers working together to accomplish God's mission of reconciling the world to himself, Pastor John Nguyen of Vietnamese Baptist Church in Garland told the Baptist General Convention of Texas annual meeting.

Nguyen delivered the convention sermon during the closing session of the two-day meeting.

For Texas Baptists to cooperate like family members, they must work together, Nguyen said. Partnership unifies strength, multiplies the potential for ministry and satisfies the heart of God.

“Partnership and unity produce far greater results than individual endeavors,” he said.

Together, Texas Baptists can accomplish more than they can alone, Nguyen continued. They can work like a team of horses, pulling more together than each could by themselves, he said.

Nyugen challenged Texas Baptists to encourage one another. He used a passage from Acts 9:15-30 to illustrate how Barnabas reached out to Saul, who became the Apostle Paul–early Christianity's greatest advocate.

“Because of people like Barnabas, Paul became a vital part of a new family of faith to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to the gentile world,” he said.

To accomplish one mission, Texas Baptists also must overcome differences, Nguyen concluded.

Even Paul and Barnabas had differences to overcome, he explained, but their disagreement had a multiplying effect. Though they decided to go separate ways, two missionary teams reached out to the world instead of one.

“They were still one family; they still had one mission to accomplish–just two different teams,” he said. “When we overcome our differences, we testify to the community and the world that we are one as Jesus prayed for us in John 17:20-22.

“We can't let our little differences hinder our work. We need to encourage one another, to partner together, if we are truly to be one family to accomplish one mission together.”