Texas Baptists urged to make disciples and embrace unity

GALVESTON—Texas Baptists at the opening worship service of their annual meeting in Galveston heard calls to make disciples and embrace unity.

Jason Bryant, western heritage consultant with the Baptist General Convention of Texas, spoke on the importance of teaching members of Texas Baptists congregations how to be disciple-makers.

“We do a poor job in our churches getting people into their fishing boots,” Bryant said. “Jesus said, ‘Come follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people. It’s not just pastors who have the responsibility to fish for people. It’s not just deacons. Every believer in Jesus Christ has the responsibility to fish for people.”

Similarly, Jesus said to “go and make disciples,” or “put on your walking boots” and walk alongside people in their spiritual journeys. Bryant encouraged churches to use the model Jesus used—personal interaction over the course of years.

Walking alongside a new believer one-on-one is an essential part of discipleship, he said.

“You can’t make a new disciple in a few weeks in a new believers class,” he said. “Jesus, over three years, poured into and invested in those 12. We call ourselves people of the book. We need to get back to making disciples the way the book made disciples.”

Bring a culture of true unity

Incumbent Second Vice President Jordan Villanueva encouraged Texas Baptists to unite in the gospel.

He spoke about the story of the council of Jerusalem in Acts 15, in which a faction in the church pushed for Gentile converts to be circumcised and keep the law of Moses. Paul and Barnabas traveled to Jerusalem to present this debate to the apostles and elders.

The council talked past each other rather than listening to understand. Peter stood up and addressed the assembly, saying God makes no distinction between the Gentile and Jewish believers, “having cleansed their hearts by faith.”

“One thing we can take away from this council is that true unity doesn’t negate the fact that there’s going to be tough conversations,” Villanueva said. “Often, we think to have true unity, we can’t talk about the tough issues at hand. But Peter proves that doesn’t work. By just talking past the issues, we do not reach true shalom.”

Villanueva encouraged listeners to stand in contrast to the broader culture of division in the world today.

“We need to be influencing the world,” he said. “We need to bring a culture of true unity, true shalom, true peace. That doesn’t mean we stop talking about the difficult issues, the things that make us nervous and sweat a little bit.

“We engage in those conversations in spiritual humility, humbly coming before each other, listening so that we will understand and bringing the good news of the gospel to these many conversations that need to take place.

“There’s opportunity in unity. There’s opportunity to show the world what it looks like to be a part of the kingdom of God.”