Working to advance international religious freedom and combat persecution not only reflects American values, but also advances the nation’s interests, international human rights lawyer H. Knox Thames said.

When people are “free to pursue truth as their conscience leads,” societies are more stable and less subject to violent extremism, said Thames, who served two decades in the U.S. government as a State Department envoy for religious minorities.

Thames is the author of Ending Persecution: Charting the Path to Global Religious Freedom, due for release in September by the University of Notre Dame Press.

Given sinful human nature and the realities of “a fallen world,” Thames—a senior fellow at Pepperdine University and senior visiting expert at the United States Institute of Peace—acknowledged religious persecution is “a challenge that will never go away.”

However, he added, ending persecution “is achievable at the individual level” and in specific circumstances.

Practice ‘consequential diplomacy’

As a career diplomat, Thames believes the United States should practice “consequential diplomacy”—making sure oppressors know they will suffer penalties if they persist in religious repression and persecution, while at the same time remaining engaged in sustained dialogue with them.

However, because of competing interests such as national security, international trade and complicated multinational relationships, human rights in general and religious freedom in particular “often slide down the priority list,” he observed.

That lack of consistency and clarity damages the United States’ credibility when it seeks to shame adversaries for offenses but fails to hold allies accountable to the same standards.

“If we say human rights matter, they need to matter,” he said. “Friends don’t let friends commit human rights abuses.”

Thames identified “illiberal democracies”—such as India—as one of the “most pernicious sources of persecution,” because majority rule can become tyranny unless the rights of minorities are protected.

In fact, if a politician runs on a platform promoting intolerance of minority groups, he can argue oppressive actions simply reflect the will of his constituents, he noted.

Bringing about change in an illiberal democracy is difficult, because it involves changing the culture, he observed.

“Ironically, it’s easier in some respects to deal with a dictator, where you can focus on changing the mind of one guy—and it’s almost always a guy,” he said.

Thames pointed to Hungary as an example of “unadulterated Christian nationalism,” where national leaders have intertwined the Christian religion with their political agenda and used religion to advance their own goals.

He offered hope American Christians will view Hungary as “a cautionary tale” about equating Christian identity with a narrow political ideology.

Principles for progress

Thames presented a blueprint for progress in international religious freedom based on four principles:

• Consistency. Rather than favoring any religion over another, advocates must protect the religious freedom of all faiths and the rights of those who profess no faith. Furthermore, issues of religious persecution and repression must be raised with “friends and foes alike,” he said.
• Coalitions. The United States has a unique responsibility because of its size and influence, but it cannot and should not “go it alone” in advocating for international religious freedom. Furthermore, the coalitions should transcend conservative and liberal divisions. “International religious freedom cannot be viewed as an issue of the right or the left. It must be protected from the poison of partisanship,” he said. “It’s too important. Millions of lives are on the line.”
• Callouts. Annual reports on international religious freedom that spotlight chief offenders and point to specific problems have value. “I’ve seen examples of situations where shining sunlight on oppression was the first step to seeing conditions change,” he said.
• Consequences. Offenders need to know they will be held accountable. Sanctions that target abusers can be effective, but only if they are applied consistently. Too often, important trade partners or energy-supplying nations have been cited for abuses but granted sanction waivers. “Waivers are the ultimate get-out-of-jail-free card,” he said. “Without real consequences, callouts are a sellout. They are a half punch—a swing and a miss.”

Thames finds hope in what he sees as “a growing movement that supports religious freedom for all,” but he said the movement needs to expand and grow stronger.

At the same time, he noted the generation of elected officials in the U.S. Congress who passed the International Religious Freedom Act mostly have retired or not been reelected.

The United States needs to “value its values” enough to elect leaders who see the benefits of infusing human rights into foreign policy and who recognize the importance of standing for the religious freedom of all people, he asserted.

American Christians and others concerned about international freedom of religion and belief must not allow politicians to politicize persecution, Thames insisted. They should not permit debates about domestic religious liberty issues to taint a unified approach to international human rights and freedom of conscience.

“A bad day in America for religious freedom is better than a good day for religious freedom in a lot of places around the world,” he said.

NASHVILLE (BP)—An Aug. 2 statement from the executive committee of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission affirms the group’s support for Brent Leatherwood as president and leader of the Southern Baptist Convention entity, saying its work is more important now than ever.

“In light of ongoing questions surrounding the recent events at the ERLC, the executive board of the trustees wishes to affirm our support for Brent Leatherwood as president and his leadership of the organization. Our goal is to do everything within our power to set up the ERLC and its staff for success,” the statement said.

The committee members are interim Chairman Tony Beam, Amy Pettway, Nathan Lugbill and Anthony Cox.

Former Chairman Kevin Smith resigned following a confusing series of events announcing Leatherwood’s removal July 22 before a statement from the other committee members announced Smith acted outside of governing documents and Leatherwood had not been removed was released in the early morning hours of July 23.

“There was no meeting of the executive committee with a vote taken or any permission given for the actions taken by then-chair Kevin Smith. None of us, as executive committee members, were aware that Kevin was planning to drive to Nashville to meet with Brent on July 22,” said the statement.

Conversations followed SBC annual meeting

In a statement to Baptist Press Aug. 2, Smith confirmed there were conversations—both group and individual ones—that had taken place since the SBC annual meeting in Indianapolis.

 “I believed I had the consensus of the executive committee based on conversations since Indy, as a group and one-on-ones,” Smith said.

A motion from Texas messenger Michael Borghese requesting Brent Leatherwood’s resignation was ruled out of order, as was a motion from Tennessee messenger Kenny Cody to reallocate the ERLC’s Cooperative Program allocation to the International Mission Board. A motion made by Florida messenger Tom Ascol to abolish the ERLC failed after a floor vote.

Smith takes responsibility for not having official records of the conversations. “That’s on me,” he said. “The consensus I believed I had had no official form,” he said.

Smith said, “The EC are fine trustees, and I was happy to serve with them.”

The existing committee members say they did not have “interactions or discussions with the ERLC staff about the press release sent on July 22. We did not know about it until it was published.”

The group says they are “taking seriously the good faith questions raised by those outside the organization.”

The statement says the leadership group is focusing on two tasks:

• “First, we are committed to operating transparently knowing that all we do is visible to our God, before whom we ultimately must give an account.”
• “Second, we want to make sure that every vital decision concerning the present and future success of the ERLC should be made by the full board of trustees.

In addition to the committee’s quote, an ERLC spokesperson said in written comments, “The staff at the ERLC serves Southern Baptist churches under our president Brent Leatherwood and fulfills our ministry assignment as our board directs us.”

The full ERLC trustee board is set to meet Sept. 10-11. The release says they will “provide more information at that time.”

The leader of a Protestant church in China’s Gyizhou Province received a five-year prison sentence July 24 for charges of fraud and inciting subversion.

Elder Zhang Chunlei of Guiyang Ren’ai (Love) Reformed Church was detained more than three years ago, after he went to a police station to inquire about 10 members of his congregation.

The Christians had been rounded up in a police raid at a site where they were holding a Bible study retreat.

Zhang Chunlei formally was arrested May 1, 2021, on suspicion of fraud. Later, authorities added an additional charge of “inciting subversion of state power.”

“The charge of ‘inciting subversion of state power’ is a catch-all crime that the Chinese government uses to suppress dissidents, implement religious persecution, and arbitrarily apply to anyone,” according to China Aid, a human rights organization based in Midland.

Zhang has been detained since his arrest and was denied release on medical grounds after his family learned he had been diagnosed with a liver ailment. Last August, he was hospitalized due to gall bladder inflammation.

He was sentenced to three and a half years on the charge of “inciting subversion of state power” and two years on the fraud charge.

Factoring in time already served, the two sentences were combined into a single five-year prison sentence, scheduled to end March 16, 2026.

In addition, the court ordered him to pay 14,400 yuan (about $2,000 U.S.) related to the fraud charge, plus an additional fine of 5,000 yuan ($700 U.S.).

The court also ordered the confiscation of “criminal tools” including two phones, four external hard drives, seven USB drives, two card readers, two memory cards, church study notebooks and church financial statements.

Zhang will appeal the sentence.

Members of his church gathered at the court on the day of Zhang’s sentencing, but public security officials barred their entry. Only his wife, Yang Aiquing, was allowed to enter the courtroom.

“The charges against Elder Zhang Chunlei are completely unfounded. He should not have spent the past three years in detention on them, and he certainly should not have been sentenced to any more time in prison,” said Mervyn Thomas, founding president of Christian Solidarity Worldwide.

“We call for his immediate and unconditional release and for reparations to be made to Elder Zhang and his family for the years of injustice they have been subjected to already.”

First Baptist Church in Waxahachie has a long history of robust mission action, but it’s been a while since the youth have participated in a mission trip.

NextGen Director Whitley Shaw said she knew the church’s youth needed to take on a more intentional mission project, but she thought, “We weren’t quite ready to go off anywhere.”

Last fall, Buckner International President and CEO Albert Reyes spoke at the church, piquing her interest in the many ways Bucker serves people.

Shaw said she reached out to Buckner not long after Reyes spoke at the Waxahachie church to schedule a tour of the Buckner campus and learn more.

She learned about the Healthy Housing remote build projects on the tour and “immediately thought that was something our church could do, because of the talent we have in our church and the way our kids are excited to serve.”

Idea leads to action

But, it was Chet Haynes, worship pastor, who first mentioned Buckner as an avenue to a “mission trip.”

At his suggestion, Shaw connected with Chris Cato, missions director for Buckner International—to begin to plan for a remote build project—and with Laina Wells, volunteer engagement coordinator for Buckner Children and Family Services to discuss the other pieces of the service week.

Wells “gave the go-ahead” to plan for a group from First Baptist Waxahachie to hold a backyard Bible club the next summer for the kids who are served through Family Pathways and Foster Care—as a part of the “mission trip” idea beginning to take shape, Shaw explained.

She said it was exciting to partner with Buckner. Collaborating and bouncing ideas off Cato, Wells and others encouraged her confidence to follow where God was leading.

“God has really ordained every step of this,” Shaw said, “opening doors.”

“Even when we started talking about the backyard Bible clubs,” she continued, the Buckner response was: “Nobody’s ever done something exactly like this. Can you tell me more what your idea is?”

In addition to the remote build on the First Baptist Waxahachie campus and backyard Bible clubs for the Family Pathways kids, the mission week also included a day for both the build team and the Bible club team to work together at Buckner. They processed shoe donations for Shoes for Orphan Souls and spent a day serving locally in Waxahachie.

While there’s not a “Buckner mission week package,” Buckner is in First Baptist Waxahachie’s “backyard,” Shaw noted. So, partnering with them in several areas of ministry offered the church’s NextGen ministry the mission stay-cation Shaw hoped to achieve.

Trust God’s plan

While fewer kids than the church had hoped to serve participated in backyard Bible clubs, Buckner and the church team still found the partnership meaningful.

Wells commented, while things didn’t always work out the way they were planned, “The lesson in this is also that God will still meet the one and leave the 99.” The kids who were there were supposed to be there and got what they needed, she said.

“To be honest,” she said in an email, “as staff were dropping in, I feel like we were more blessed than the kids because the intentionality and presence was SO FELT. Jesus was truly in the room and working through each and every one of them.”

She explained their central theme was “leaving room for God to do what He wanted despite our plans, trusting that it’s enough, and we do believe the impact was made.”

Shaw said 25 youth and 20 adults served in at least one aspect of the mission trip during the week. Adults who didn’t help with Bible clubs or building prepared and served meals.

Some of the skilled builders who helped oversee the youth on the construction team and teach them building skills, which most did not have going into the project, are active Texans on Mission volunteers.

Texans on Mission loaned the church a shower truck for the youth, who stayed on the church campus all week, to supplement single locker room shower stalls, increasing the kids’ knowledge of this valuable ministry, too.

Passing on skills and missions-mindedness

“It’s really cool, too” Shaw said, “because some of our, essentially, master builders who’ve come and helped—they could’ve knocked it out in two days and been done, but it’s really cool to see our adults teaching and showing, and the kids did it.”

The church raised $17,000 of the funds for the $45,000 estimated cost of the build from a cake auction in the spring, which paid for the framing materials, food, transportation to Buckner in Dallas and a fun Friday activity for the kids.

The adult builders who participated had most of the tools needed, so that cut down on estimated build costs, as well.

The rest came from the church mission budget, approved by the mission team.

Steve Garrett, whose professional background is in project management, served as project manager for the build. He and his wife, Amy, also helped oversee students, staying on campus as sponsors all week.

Garrett explained despite coming to understand the full scope of the remote build project as they went, the project worked well for First Baptist Waxahachie, “because we were able to build a part of the home here and involve the kids.

“But then also go down to the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas and finish building the home with a group of adult volunteers, and then actually meet the family [who is receiving the home].”

Blessed in the blessing

Those additional volunteer groups would go to the Valley the week following the remote build youth mission week to reassemble the home and rough-in plumbing and electric under the supervision of contractors in the Valley.

Then the next week, contractors in the Valley will complete the installation of plumbing and electrical and get everything ready for the last volunteer group to come finish out the build, Garrett explained.

Excluding planning, First Baptist Waxahachie will have worked on the project for four weeks. That includes the week before the remote build—when the builder heavy weights came to cut materials to specifications and set up for youth and supervisors to assemble—the NextGen mission week and the two weeks in the Valley when adult volunteers will work to complete the build.

“It was pretty evident that the enemy did not want this week to go over,” Shaw mentioned, with thing after thing going wrong. But, the “kids have been amazing, just their attitudes and encouragement to one another have been great.”

“We’ve only cried a few times,” she said, “all happy tears.”

Calli Keener is a member of First Baptist Church in Waxahachie.

Haynes Searcy carried a burden of pain and shame from childhood, a secret so dark it led him down troubled paths, even while serving in ministry.

“I held onto things I was ashamed of,” he acknowledged.

Haynes’ journey with STCH Ministries began at a crucial point in his life when he needed refuge. The trauma he had carried for years was overwhelming.

He knew about STCH Ministries and its Pastor Care ministry through his church. Trusting them, he reached out for help.

“When I reached the point where I knew I needed help, I reached out to STCH Ministries, and they connected me with an awesome counselor,” Haynes said. “It was important for me to meet with someone who wasn’t in my area, because I didn’t want to talk to someone I previously knew, and STCH Ministries was able to do that. It was good.”

Dealing with a childhood secret

Haynes held a secret from his childhood that impacted him deeply.

“I was abused by a family member when I was 7 or 8 years old,” he said. “I never said anything to anyone, because I loved that family member. I was also introduced to pornography and other unhealthy things, thinking they were normal.”

These early experiences led to addictions that followed him into adulthood and his marriage.

“My wife didn’t live a life like mine and had no clue,” Haynes said. “I was able to hide it all, thinking I had given it to the Lord until one Thanksgiving morning.”

That Thanksgiving, everything came crashing down. The trauma Haynes had suppressed resurfaced.

“I began reliving some things from my past,” he recalled. “My counselor later said this moment was God telling me that it was time to deal with it. I had been preaching God’s word on Sundays, but I had unforgiveness and hate in my heart. It was time to practice what I preached.”

While in counseling, Haynes was asked to write his story.

“There were things from my childhood I had forgotten about that only came out as I began to think back and tell my story,” he said. “It was hard.”

His wife, a constant support, helped him even when he did not feel he deserved it. During this time, Haynes stepped down from his role as a youth pastor to focus on healing.

“My church was very gracious and understood I needed a break while I went through counseling,” he said.

The process of healing brought significant changes to Haynes’ life.

“I can forgive those who have passed on, which is hard to do,” he said. “I’ve shared my story with other men, and there are pastors like me who feel there’s no place to go. STCH Ministries cares for the people who come to them. If you’re on the fence about getting help, just make the call.”

Able to share his story with others

Haynes emphasized the importance of seeking help, especially for pastors.

“It’s OK to take a break if you need to get help through counseling,” he encouraged. “It’s OK to stop and breathe while you receive help. On this side of things, I’m able to breathe and help other men with their addictions.”

Haynes—who serves on the staff of E320 Church in Victoria—sees God’s plan in his experiences as he reflects on his journey.

“I know what I experienced in childhood and the healing process is all a part of God’s plan,” he said. “I’m thankful I can share my story and minister to other men who have been through the same hurt. It helps them and me.”

Many men have approached Haynes, thanking him for sharing his story.

“There aren’t very many men who will be vocal about trauma from childhood,” he said. “But when I’ve shared my story, many men have come up to me afterward and said: ‘Thank you for sharing your story. The same thing has happened to me.’”

Haynes expressed his appreciation for the support he received from STCH Ministries and gratitude to its donors.

“I’m so grateful for the people who support STCH Ministries, because it helps pastors like me get through struggles,” he said. “Many pastors, families and individuals need a refuge, a place to go for help. We find that in STCH Ministries because of the continued support.”

Haynes’ story is a testament to the power of healing and God’s work through STCH Ministries.

“There’s a lot of freedom in recovery,” he said. “I’m still recovering, but I’m able to share my story, and that is everything.”

For more information on STCH Ministries Pastor Care and Family Counseling, click here.

Steven Craig Storie, longtime director of media services at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and his wife Ann Nichols Storie died July 23 from injuries sustained in a head-on collision. He was 68, and she was 65. He was born Dec. 15, 1955, in Blackwell, Okla., to Bobby Gene Storie and Wilma Jean Hoover Storie. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in electronics from Oklahoma State University. She was born Jan. 21, 1959, in Daingerfield to Joseph Bruce Nichols and Ernestine Crutchfield Nichols. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing from Texas Christian University. The Stories were married on Aug. 8, 1981. Steve worked in media services at Southwestern Baptist Seminary for 31 years. He was instrumental in the transportation, installation and operation of audio and other technical equipment at annual meetings of the Southern Baptist Convention, and he served in a similar capacity at Baptist General Convention of Texas annual meetings. He was a volunteer with Texas Baptist Men disaster relief and worked with media at Acton Baptist Church in Granbury. He also served six years as a volunteer firefighter for the Godley Fire Department and drove a school bus. Ann worked 18 years as a neonatal intensive care unit nurse at Harris Hospital in Fort Worth before moving to school nursing, where she continued to love and care for children. They are survived by a son, Jonathan Nichols Storie and his wife, Jacquelyn Heather Storie; a son, Michael Storie and his wife, Becky Storie, and two granddaughters, Lauren Elizabeth and Ashlyn Elise Storie. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested memorial gifts to the youth ministry of Acton Baptist Church in Granbury.

David Cook to Tusculum University in Greeneville, Tenn., as provost and vice president of academic affairs, from Dallas Baptist University where he was dean of global studies and pre-professional programs and associate professor of leadership.

Christian Garcia to First Baptist Church in Brady as bivocational pastor, starting Aug. 18.

Scott Stevens to the Texas Baptist Missions Foundation as vice president, from East Texas Baptist University where he was dean of spiritual life and associate professor of Christian ministry.

Baptist World Aid, the relief and development ministry of the Baptist World Alliance, in collaboration with Hungarian Baptist Aid launched the BWA International Humanitarian Action and Development Intensive Course July 5-7 in Lagos, Nigeria.

The course was offered immediately prior to the BWA annual gathering and attracted 69 participants representing 19 countries. Twenty-eight percent were women, and 15 people were from French-speaking nations.

Delegates included Baptist leaders involved in humanitarian assistance, social service and/or development work in their respective conventions and unions.

The goal of the Humanitarian Action Course is to build a network of empowered and trained resource persons from BWA member conventions to respond to disasters and implement transformative community development projects in their communities.

The course was conceived as a response to the myriad and long-running man-made conflicts around the world; the documented disproportional impact of the climate crisis on already vulnerable communities; the unprecedented numbers of displaced persons; and the increasing emphasis on the importance of localization within the humanitarian aid and development sector.

Thirteen million BWA Baptists—25 percent of all Baptists—experience significant levels of vulnerability. The course was designed and scheduled for July 2024 to address this current reality.

The church has a history of engaging in compassionate ministry and is uniquely positioned to address the vulnerability within their respective communities. Though current circumstances are challenging, course organizers see them as an opportunity for the church to demonstrate love for God and the community.

“It is important for our churches to see themselves as agents of development and transformational change, and not simply a distribution site for emergency resources,” BWAid Director Marsha Scipio said.

Global impact

Course participants learned climate crises disproportionately impact the most vulnerable, there is an increasing number of displaced persons because of violent conflict, and structural economic challenges contribute to poverty. These factors impact Baptist communities across the globe.

The annual BWA vulnerability index combines four factors to assess levels of vulnerability— hunger, livelihood, violent conflict and religious freedom challenges.

The index demonstrates out of the top 10 countries with the most vulnerable Baptists, nine are on the continent of Africa, with the Central African Republic leading the way. Five leaders from the Baptist conventions in the Central African Republic participated in the course.

Furthermore, Central African Republic President Faustin-Archange Touadéra attended the BWA annual gathering, holding meetings with BWA President Tomás Mackey and General Secretary Elijah Brown to discuss how BWA may partner with the Central African Republic to address these issues.

Course content

The three-day intensive course covered topics ranging from the theology of humanitarian assistance to supporting refugees and internally displaced persons amid complex humanitarian crises.

Participants also were introduced to international accountability and compliance standards, United Nations sustainable development goals and best practices, and tools for project implementation.

Pivotal to the substantive course content, participants were divided intentionally into working groups around tables to promote networking and shared learning experiences.

Faculty from African countries provided instruction on climate awareness, environmental sustainability practices particularly in agriculture, mental wellness for humanitarian aid workers, and finance options for churches to develop and sustain social service ministries.

Polisi Kivava from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Canadian Baptist Ministries, Dickinson Maldonado with Buckner International in Kenya, Samuel Reeves from the Liberia Baptist Missionary & Educational Convention and Mojisola Opebiyi with Bowen Microfinance Bank in Nigeria were among the instructors.

In addition to the 10 hours of class time, students had to complete reading assignments, develop and pitch a project proposal to a panel of faculty evaluators, and submit a written assignment.

Responses to the course

“This Humanitarian Action Course is about joining our African brothers and sisters and, together, approaching humanitarian aid on one hand according to the calling of God and the other hand to do it with expertise,” Bela Szilágyi, course faculty and president of Hungarian Baptist Aid, said.

Adeoye Gbenga Adigun, a course participant from Nigeria, echoed this sentiment at the conclusion of the course, “This course improved my knowledge, and it also enabled me to understand that we can do humanitarian work without losing our faith.”

“The course was a masterclass in participatory learning, engaging group activities and insightful presentations,” Amy Badger with the Ghana Baptist Convention said. “From our team interactions, we observed that the contexts of the challenges our countries faced were very similar.

“For instance, mining activities at the copper belt of Zambia, illegal gold mining in Ghana and oil spillage in the open seas in the Niger Delta regions of Nigeria variously cause water and environmental pollution, which contributes to drought, flooding, etc., and is a demonstration of the social injustice that exists when we talk about the consequences of the climate crisis,” she continued.

“I really appreciate my teammates for their collaborative efforts and for giving me the opportunity to be heard and to speak at the table of men,” Badger added.

Organizers hoped this type of peer learning would inspire coordinated actions to bring sustainable change to communities.

“The course has given me the opportunity to connect with colleagues and industry experts, potentially leading to new collaborations and opportunities. It has also increased my confidence in my abilities, allowing me to take on new challenges and responsibilities,” Charlotte Nkoom, of Ghana, said.

Continuing education

Instructors came from the Baptist Forum for Aid and Development, a global network of Baptist aid and development ministries and agencies, including Baptist World Aid Australia, the Baptist General Association of Virginia, Buckner International, Canadian Baptist Ministries and Hungarian Baptist Aid, the latter providing significant support.

Forum members American Baptist International Ministries, BMS World Mission, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, Hungarian Baptist Aid and Texans on Mission were among course sponsors.

Students earned three continuing education units and a certificate in humanitarian action from Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary. These continuing education units may be used toward the completion of a certificate in ministry from Truett Seminary.

“BWA partners with Baylor University and Truett Seminary to provide practical training for Baptists ministering on the frontlines of disaster and development. This collaboration impacts persons in more than a dozen countries to raise a generation of change agents entering into the wounds of humanity with the healing hope of Jesus Christ,” BWA General Secretary Elijah Brown said.

“Building upon 100 years of commitment to empower Baptist conventions, unions and churches to provide holistic gospel-witness in their communities through aid, relief and community development, we celebrate this achievement with our participants,” Scipio stated.

“We know there is much more work to be done toward transformational development that will reverse the exceeding high poverty rates and vulnerability in the countries and communities in which many of the course participants serve. Nevertheless, we are humbled and grateful to God for the privilege to plant seeds we believe will flourish.

“We are challenged and invigorated by the opportunity to learn and grow with our partners in Africa and look forward to further collaborative efforts that will transform communities.”

Mickey Ruth Fulwiler Burleson, an avid conservationist and supporter of Texas Baptists’ River Ministry who assisted women in the Mexican village of La Caldera by helping market their handmade quilts to buyers in Texas, died July 13. She was 87. She was born to parents Mary Elizabeth “Beth” Sparger and Jarrett “Law” Fulwiler in Belton on March 31, 1937. At an early age, she contracted polio, which paralyzed her right arm. After an extended stay at Providence Hospital in Waco and a lengthy recovery that involved daily exercise, she recovered the use of her right arm. As a person who believed deeply in truth, equity and justice, she valued learning and believed in growth and change through education and advocacy. She earned her undergraduate degree from Baylor University and a Master of Arts degree from the University of Iowa. After completing graduate school, she and Bob Burleson married. Theirs would become a partnership in exploring many of the Earth’s natural places and in caring for the Earth, its creatures and inhabitants. Together, and later with their daughters Clair and Lea, they hiked, backpacked, camped, rafted, canoed and kayaked, bringing others along with them and working to preserve and protect special places as they did. Their efforts were important in securing federal protection of the Rio Grande area, the declaration of the Guadalupe Mountains area as a national park, and the creation of the Big Bend Ranch State Park. They also cared for the Earth’s people, working wholeheartedly along with many other volunteers in River Ministry, a Christian mission to assist people in villages along the Texas-Mexico border. They helped bring dental and medical care to them, assisted with community building projects and fostered an income-producing quilting project—the La Caldera quilts. In the process, they made friendships that lasted a lifetime. She was in awe of God and of God’s creation, and she saw herself as a protective steward of the Earth. She and her husband devoted their lives to protecting and recovering Texas’ native blackland prairies and conserving Texas wildlife. Together, they restored multiple acres of agricultural fields to their original Blackland Prairie state. She served as the chair of the board of trustees of the Nature Conservancy of Texas and on numerous other boards, including the Texas Land Conservancy and Texas Audubon Society, and participated in the Texas Archeological Society and its annual meetings. She was appointed as a commissioner to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission by Gov. Ann Richards, serving a six-year term. In 2017, she was honored as a Conservation Award Hero by the Travis Audubon Society. In 2023, she and her daughters granted a conservation easement of the Burlesons’ restored Blackland Prairie home in Bell County, in partnership with the Native Prairies Association of Texas and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission. She was preceded in death by her husband of 47 years, Robert Clair “Bob” Burleson Jr., and by her sister, Susan Elaine (Fulwiler) Foster. She is survived by daughter, Clair Elizabeth Burleson and her husband, James Michael “Mike” Thompson; daughter, Lea Margaret Burleson Buffington and her husband, Thomas Blake Buffington Jr.; grandchildren, Thomas Garrett and Zoe Elizabeth Buffington; and sister, Claudia Clark. Memorials may be made to some of the causes near to her heart and important to her faith, including Heifer International, Doctors Without Borders, the Native Prairies Association of Texas and the Texas Nature Conservancy.

Stark College & Seminary will launch a new Bachelor of Arts in Ministry Counseling Track. This program is designed to meet the growing demand among prospective and current students for a Christian counseling-focused education within the Bachelor of Arts in Ministry degree. Much like a pre-med bachelor’s degree offers students the opportunity to gauge interest in medicine and ensures prerequisite courses are taken before medical school, Stark’s new counseling track will serve as a preparatory path for students interested in pursuing a Master of Arts in Counseling or LPC certification. The 24-credit hour track includes specialized courses such as foundations of counseling ministry, pastoral counseling, marriage and family counseling, and counseling children and adolescents. For more information about Stark and the Bachelor of Arts in Ministry Counseling Track, please visit stark.edu or contact@stark.edu.

Hardin-Simmons University’s newest residence, Prichard Hall, was dedicated on July 30. Located at the corner of Ambler and Simmons Aves., the building contains 42 student living suites, totaling 164 beds. Each suite has two full bathrooms and four bedrooms that share a small living room. Each student in residence will have a private bedroom in the unit with a twin bed, study desk, dresser and walk-in closet. Construction began in May 2022 with a groundbreaking ceremony, and finishing touches are currently taking place to allow students to move in mid-August for the start of the 2024 fall semester. To read more about the building and view floorplans, click here.

Houston Christian University’s Center for Christianity in Business will host Advancing the Kingdom in the Workplace: A Hands-on Workshop on How to Be an Effective Influencer for God in the Workplace, a full-day executive training seminar, Sept. 28, on the HCU campus. This evangelism workshop is designed for marketplace professionals who want to learn how to share their faith in the workplace in today’s culture. Participants will see examples of how God is at work in the business world today and learn and practice time-tested principles of winning others to Christ without jeopardizing friendship and camaraderie. The workshop is led by Jerry Wiles, president emeritus of Living Water International, ambassador-at-large with the International Orality Network and mission advisor with Missio Nexus. For more information visit HCU’s Center for Christianity in Business website. RSVP deadline is Sept. 18.

Donna Hedgepath, 14th president of Wayland Baptist University, will make her Amarillo debut on Aug. 30, as one of two featured speakers at the university’s Blue and Gold Social. Hedgepath, the first woman to lead the 115-year-old institution, will share the spotlight with 1993 Wayland alumnus Kevin Carter, president and CEO of Amarillo Economic Development Corp. The gathering, sponsored by Wayland Baptist University Alumni Association, begins at 6:30 p.m. at Hoffbrau Steak & Grill House. Registration for this limited-seating event is required. The cost is $25 per person until Aug. 16. If seats still are available after Aug. 16, the price goes up to $30 per person. To register, visit the Alumni Events Page and fill out the registration form.

Thirteen members of North Side Baptist Church in Weatherford concluded on July 26 a mission trip to Brazil to work with P70, in conjunction with some additional Baptist churches from Texas and the United States. Jim Thomas, senior pastor of North Side Baptist, reported the evangelistic trip included 60 Americans and over 350 Brazilian partners in ministry in two towns over 8 days. As a result, 584 people committed their lives to Christ, with plans for follow-up through local churches. Two churches will be planted in these towns. Thomas’ team saw an additional 100 to 150 come to Christ in the school where his team worked.

Volunteers from First Baptist Churches in Hempstead and Melissa raised funds to drill a water well in Peru, then traveled to help dig it through Texans on Mission’s Water Impact ministry. The team also helped the regular drilling crew dig trenches and operate equipment. Mitch Chapman, director of Texans on Mission Water Impact, expects to drill 12 wells in Peru this year. The Texas team drilled the well in a village called Munich. Five minutes after the team hit water, women began bringing pots to capture the water. It wasn’t pure yet, but it was better than what they had been drinking. Before the well came in, the team had watched villagers draw water out of the river. The team also installed a well casing and cemented it for sustained use, where people will come to fill containers. Chapman said Texans on Mission has worked hard to create an effective and sustainable water well drilling operation in Peru that emphasizes sharing the gospel.

Anniversary

The Church at Quail Creek/San Jacinto Baptist Church in Amarillo will turn 100 years old Dec. 7. Originally named San Jacinto Baptist Church, the church was an outgrowth of First Baptist Church in Amarillo. The anniversary will be celebrated Sept. 21 to 22—at the church’s original location on Sept. 21, at 501 S. Carolina St., from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., with a church history display and food trucks. The celebration on Sept. 22 will be held at the current campus, 801 Tascosa Rd., beginning at 8:15 a.m., with breakfast for attendees. For more information about the anniversary celebration, visit www.tcqc.org/100.

Buckner Healthy Housing remote builds offer churches the opportunity to “work-from-home” to build homes and bring generational change to Rio Grande Valley families.

Buckner has been involved in providing housing in the Valley for about 15 years, explained Chris Cato, director of missions for Buckner International, building about 150 homes in that time frame.

The remote build approach to this ministry came up around eight years ago, when First Baptist Church in Lufkin dreamed up the idea of building a house in their church parking lot and transporting it to South Texas.

The congregation had become concerned with the dwindling number of people able to go to the Valley and wanted to get more people involved in missions, Cato explained.

Remote build beginnings

One of the church members was an engineer, Art Nelson. Nelson and David Sanders, a jack-of-all-trades, got together and perfected the process.

“From a Buckner side, we just kind of got out of the way,” and marveled, Cato said.

“Oh, the Lufkin boys are in town. They know what they’re doing. They do amazing stuff,” was the general sentiment at Buckner, regarding the work First Baptist in Lufkin was doing.

But during the COVID-19 pandemic, so few churches were able to go down to the Valley for mission projects, Buckner needed to find a way to keep meeting the housing needs of the people there.

So, Buckner reached out to First Baptist in Lufkin and asked them to teach Buckner how to do remote builds.

Enthusiastically, “the Lufkin boys” came up to partner with an engineer at Cottonwood Creek Church in Allen, and “we just did this massive brain dump,” Cato explained.

They worked to get the knowledge out of the engineers and builders heads into a formalized plan that could be replicated at other churches.

Cato saw the remote-build Healthy Housing project plan as God’s provision through the terrible time of the pandemic.

“God took a really terrible situation and just multiplied our ministry,” he said.

Families who receive the homes have come through Buckner’s Family Hope Center, a family-focused program that provides hope, family coaching, spiritual development, counseling, financial empowerment and other vital assistance to help family members reach their fullest God-given potential.

The program takes 12 to 18 months and results in families ready to move forward, breaking the cycles that have kept them down. Once families have completed core classes and the family-coaching piece of Family Hope Center’s program, they receive a certificate and become eligible to apply for a Healthy Housing project.

These are not necessarily families in crisis, Cato explained. Buckner has known and worked with the families for years by the time they move to the housing side of service.

But they are families who are ready: “They have a base level of financial stability. And then they also have made the mental shift and kind of emotional shift on saying, ‘Hey, you know what, we’re going to take our family development seriously, and we’re ready to create this environment for our kids where they can reach their God-given potential.’”

The families either own the land where the homes are set up or have a pathway to ownership for the land. So, the families are prepared to steward the asset they receive.

“Owning a house is not free,” Cato pointed out. So, only families who are able to cover the costs of insurance, taxes and maintenance are eligible to receive a Healthy Housing build.

Partnering churches fund the cost of materials and provide the bulk of the labor, but families who receive homes are expected to contribute “sweat equity,” or labor, to some part of the construction at the on-site stage of the build.

Cato said Buckner and partners will complete 11 Healthy Housing homes this year. Many of the families work together on each other’s builds, and participants come together as a community, he added.

Investing in generational change

The estimated cost per build is around $45,000. But Cato said churches interested in a remote build project should not let money get in the way if they want to participate in a build project.

“For as long as I have been doing this,” Cato said, “I have never seen God not provide the resources to take care of the family.”

Buckner has helped facilitate collaboration between congregations to take a home build project from materials to foundation and completion.

When a church takes on a remote build for the first time, Buckner pairs them up with an experienced church to mentor the first-time church through the process.

Additionally, these projects are flexible and can be tailored to the capacity of partnering churches, meaning churches are free to structure the projects in the ways that work best for their calendars and congregations.

Some churches with master builders will finish the framing in a day, then take the home down to the Valley for setup. Others schedule to build one day every week for 6 weeks until the remote work is completed.

However a church decides to approach the project, the impact of giving their time and money is significant, Cato said.

One recipient family last year shared what a difference their new home would make for them: “Because we’re not saving money to purchase a house, we are able to take that money and put it into college for our kids.”

Their kids now will be the first ones in their family to go to college, Cato explained.

“That’s the type of generational change that we’re able to have,” he said. “It’s incredible. It’s just so cool.”

PARIS, France (BP)—Hunter Armstrong’s Instagram account proclaims “GOD FIRST!” The U.S. Olympic swimmer tries to be faithful to that description, whether he’s winning gold medals or not.

“That’s the first thing I want people to see and know about me,” Armstrong told Baptist Press. “As we grow, we have to make sure we have our priorities in line.

“I keep God as a priority. I can’t really live without him. I can live without swimming or being an Olympian or any of that stuff.”

Armstrong captured one gold medal in the Paris Olympics as part of the men’s 4×100-meter freestyle relay team with Caeleb Dressel, Jack Alexy and Chris Guiliano that held off Australia to win the title on Saturday.

Armstrong’s walk with the Lord has grown considerably over the past several months, he said. While he has professed to be a Christian for a long time, his faith was more peripheral than central to his life.

“I feel like in past years I’ve been sort of on the edge of it,” he said. “When I’m in competition, I’ll pray, and that will last for a little bit. Church camp, same kind of thing. But as soon as I didn’t need him anymore, it would fade.”

That began to change in the aftermath of a breakup with his girlfriend—whom Armstrong had planned to marry—and following the death of his grandfather.

“The biggest catalyst for change in life tends to be pain,” Armstrong said. “Sometimes God will put you in a position where you have no other choice than to turn to him.

“That’s been the biggest change that I’ve made this year. I promised at (world championships) that if he would help me get out of this, then I would embrace it.”

Armstrong’s gold in Paris was the second Olympic gold medal of his career. His first came in Tokyo in 2021 as part of the 4×100-meter medley relay.

Positive influence of teammates

Success in relay races is fitting for Armstrong, as he is quick to point to the influence that some of his fellow swimmers, such as Michael Andrew and Carson Foster, have had on him spiritually.

He remembers an encounter with Andrew at a swimming competition. Though the two had met, they didn’t really know each other well. Armstrong remembers being especially nervous prior to a race, and Andrew noticed Armstrong’s state of mind.

“He got out of the warmup pool, came over and said, ‘Hey, can I pray with you?’” Armstrong said.

Foster also helped sharpen Armstrong by inviting him to participate in group Bible studies for competitive swimmers.

“Truly, my goals for Paris are just to do my best and see what the results are,” Armstrong said prior to the Olympics. “I think everybody here wants a gold medal, but I’ve overcome so much this year that I’m just happy to be here.

“Obviously, I want to have a great performance for myself, my country and my teammates. But if I walk away and I don’t have a single medal or a single best time, I can still walk away knowing that I represented myself well—and God.”

Tim Ellsworth is associate vice president for university communications at Union University in Jackson, Tenn.