Lowrie: Texas Baptists should share Jesus’ compassion for the lost

HOUSTON—Texas is home to 24 million people—and some troubling statistics about them. But despite the challenges the state faces, Texas Baptists hold the key to meeting many of the dramatic needs, David Lowrie said in his presidential address to the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

“As I think about our Texas Baptist family, it’s my conviction that Jesus wants us to see Texas through his eyes and see what he sees when he looks into the hearts and minds of people,” said Lowrie, pastor of First Baptist Church in Canyon.

Lowrie noted the word “compassion” occurs repeatedly in Scripture that records Jesus’ life and ministry. Specifically, Lowrie quoted Matthew 9:36: “When Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

Statistics demonstrate the urgency for Texas Baptists to act, he observed. One in six Texans lives in poverty; one child in 10 goes to bed hungry each night; and one in three is at risk of hunger because there is not enough food to go around at home.

Educational statistics are equally disturbing, he noted. Only 65 percent of Texas boys and girls graduate from high school, dropping to 56 percent for Hispanic children and 53 percent for African-American children.

The challenge may spark hopelessness—a sense the problems are too big to tackle, Lowrie said. But Texas Baptists have the tools they need if they rely on prayer and trust God to help them work with the kind of compassion the Savior demonstrated. Although the harvest is plentiful—nearly half of all Texans claim no church involvement—there is a solution, he asserted.

“The word ‘compassion’ means to have a feeling deep down in your gut, something that would cause you to cry and hurt and feel,” Lowrie said. “Jesus was moved by the people, but he did not use the word ‘hopeless.’ There is always hope. The hope of Texas is Jesus.”

Lowrie encouraged Texas Baptists to ask for God’s help in meeting the needs of the state, knowing that God may be calling them to do the work as well. The challenges may be too big for anyone individually, but as a collective body, there is power.

“The challenge will not simply be solved by getting on our knees but by getting off our knees and on our feet and getting to work,” Lowrie said. “If you’re waiting for someone else to step up, stop waiting. God has called us all to work together with him.”