As an immigrant and a follower of Jesus, I have lived with a quiet tension for most of my life—the feeling of not fully belonging here or there.

Many immigrants know this space well. We straddle cultures, languages, and expectations. Yet in Christ, we find a deeper citizenship, a truer belonging no nation can grant and no policy can take away.

It is from that place of belonging in Christ I write today—with grief, with conviction, and with mustard-seed hope.

Our country is in a moment of deep moral confusion, especially around immigration, human dignity, and the treatment of vulnerable families. We are seeing policies that result in prolonged detention, family separation, the erosion of due process, and the loss of life in plain daylight, in American streets, under government custody.

These are not merely political issues. They are deeply spiritual ones. They force us to ask not only what kind of nation we are becoming, but what kind of church we have been.

The truth is uncomfortable: This administration has had strong support from the evangelical community. Many believers cast their votes believing they were defending faith, family, or freedom.

Yet policies are the fruit of leadership, and leadership is influenced by those who place leaders in power. Whether we like it or not, what is done in our name reflects, in part, our witness.

This is not about partisan loyalty. It is about spiritual integrity.

Scripture calls to remember

Scripture calls God’s people to be people of truth. When truth is distorted, when suffering is minimized, when entire groups of people are described in ways that strip them of dignity, the church cannot afford silence.

Our words matter. Our sermons matter. Our budgets matter. And yes, our votes matter. Discipleship does not end at the church doors or the ballot box.

Throughout Scripture, God commands his people to remember: “You shall not oppress a sojourner … for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt” (Exodus 23:9).

Israel’s story begins with Abraham leaving his homeland, trusting God in a foreign land. Isaac and Jacob followed that same path of dependence and displacement. The defining act of God’s deliverance—the Exodus—freed a people who had been enslaved for 400 years, longer than the United States has existed.

Remembering was meant to shape how God’s people treated the foreigner, the poor, and the vulnerable. Memory was a guardrail against cruelty.

The prophets carried this message forward with boldness. They confronted kings. They saw through religious performance. They reminded God’s people that worship divorced from justice is an offense to God.

“Let justice roll down like waters,” Amos declared. Isaiah rebuked a nation that fasted and prayed while neglecting the oppressed. Micah summarized God’s desire simply: “to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.”

The church in America must hear those prophetic voices again, not as ancient history, but as present truth.

Allegiance to Christ

At the center of our faith stands Jesus Christ—the ultimate Deliverer.

Shortly after his birth, he became a refugee, carried by his parents into Egypt to escape state violence. The Son of God entered the world not through privilege, but through displacement.

Throughout his ministry, he consistently moved toward the vulnerable: the poor, the outcast, the sick, the foreigner, and the sinner. He warned against religious leaders who burdened others while protecting their own comfort, and he confronted systems that crushed those without power.

Our allegiance, then, must be to his Lordship above all else. Not to party, platform, or personality, but to the crucified and risen Christ, whose kingdom is marked by truth, mercy, and justice.

If we claim his name, we cannot ignore those he draws near to. And we cannot allow political identity to divide the body he gave his life to redeem. Dear church, we belong to Christ before we belong to any tribe. Let us not be divided where he has made us one.

Calling the church to remember

It is time for the church to be the church, to hold leaders accountable not with anger, but with moral clarity, to speak not as an arm of any political movement, but as the body of Christ.

This does not mean demonizing those who voted differently or assuming bad motives. It does mean looking honestly in the mirror and lamenting where we have lacked courage, clarity, or compassion.

Lament is not weakness. It is a deeply biblical act. It is how God’s people return to alignment with his heart.

We can be both pastoral and prophetic. We can tell the truth about harm while still extending grace. We can acknowledge fear and complexity without excusing injustice. We can call our congregations to deeper discipleship that includes how we think about immigrants, refugees, and those at the margins.

For immigrants in our pews, these issues are not theoretical. They are personal. They shape whether parents sleep peacefully at night, whether children fear coming home from school, and whether families trust the systems around them. The church should be the one place where they do not feel invisible, disposable, or suspect.

Calling our nation to remember

And to our nation, we offer this gentle but urgent reminder: You, too, were once sojourners. The American story is one of migration, refuge, and new beginnings. Forgetting that history makes it easier to close our hearts. Remembering it can open them again.

Our ultimate hope is not in any administration, platform, or election cycle. Our hope is in Christ, whose kingdom is marked by truth, justice, mercy, and love. But that hope does not lead to withdrawal. It leads to faithful presence in our communities and in the ballot box.

May the church in this moment choose courage over comfort, truth over tribe, and Christ over every lesser allegiance.

It is time to remember.
It is time to repent where needed.
And it is time to be the church.

Diego Silva is the director of economic strengthening at Buckner International. A native of Brazil, he lives in Georgetown with his wife and two boys. He writes about faith, community development and global mission. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author.

I am about to make millions of dollars with the weight loss program I have discovered.

Move over, Ozempic, Wegovy, Zepbound. Stand down, Weightwatchers, Jenny Craig, and Noom. Throw out the Mediterranean diet, the cabbage diet, and the DASH diet.

What I am about to share with you will put my name on the Walk of Fame.

My boyhood weight

I have always struggled with my weight. When I was in elementary school in the old Alamo building in Glen Rose, I acquired a nickname: Tiggy Piggy.

I was the heaviest kid in class. I ate four sandwiches per sitting for snacks. I ate several helpings at every meal. I bought powdered donuts in between. I drank soda after soda. I was always famished. I wore husky jeans from Montgomery Wards department store.

It wasn’t until I hit the summer before my ninth-grade year that I began to shed the pounds. I started running three miles every morning and three miles every night.

To motivate me and make me look good while I ran, my parents bought me a red jogging suit with white pin stripes. I looked like the red flash on Farm Road 200 in our farming community called Rainbow.

I wore that warm-up suit every morning and every evening. I assume we washed it in between, but I don’t remember.

So, is this the weight loss program you’re talking about, Johnny? Nope. Just giving you some history.

My adult weight

I worked out every day, so I could play quarterback on our football team. I continued through college, then to semi-professional football. I had every reason to stay trim and fit. Then, my football days ran out.

Tiggy Piggy began to reemerge. When I saw the double chin return, I started jogging again. The weight dropped accordingly, but I still loved to eat.

The weight fluctuated over time. Every time it got up, I hit the streets, but one day, I noticed my hips began to hurt.

I went to the doctor. He said, “Johnny, if you don’t stop jogging, we are going to have to replace your hips in a few years.”

Well, that stopped my jogging. My weight ballooned. So, I began to ride my bike. Even as I type this, I ride 20 miles per day.

So, is this the weight loss program you’re talking about, Johnny? Nope. Just bringing you up to date.

The secret to weight

“Quit wasting my time, Johnny. Tell me, what is this great weight loss program for $35?”

Are you ready for it? This is magical, what I am about to share with you. You won’t believe it. The thing is so very easy. I even recommend it to my friends, and they have seen the results.

Now, mind you, you won’t lose all the weight in a matter of weeks. But for the one-time cost of about $35, you can be on your way to health and the weight you desire.

“OK, man, give it to me!”

Buy a bathroom scale at Walmart for about $35. You can get one for more, but I have never found a need for a more expensive one.

With that scale, weigh every morning when you get up. Then, weigh each night before you go to bed. Do this every day. That’s it. That’s all it takes.

“Are you serious?”

Yep.

When you weigh every day, morning and night, you are mindful of your weight. You want to see it go down. So, you eat less. You measure what you eat. You work out, or you walk more, and you say “no” to the snacks during the day.

I know this sounds silly, but try it. I promise it works.

A biblical lesson

There’s a biblical lesson here.

If we read God’s word each morning, if we take an inventory of how good God is and what he desires in us, we will find our behavior changes each day.

The weight of sin will be reduced. The health of holiness will start to appear.

Imagine with me your car without a speedometer. There are speed limits, but without knowing your speed, you will soon lose your license because of all the traffic citations.

You can’t drive by how fast you feel you are driving. You need to know what you are doing and measure that against what is required.

Read the Bible and pray daily. You will see how you are doing, and you will see what is required. Before you know it, you will even start to see God working with you to reach goals for your life. I promise.

Johnny Teague is the senior pastor of Church at the Cross in West Houston and the author of several books, including his newest The Lost Diary of Mary Magdalene. His website is johnnyteague.com. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author.

Whatever followers of Jesus may think about the most pressing issues of our day, we ought to be able to lament our current state of affairs.

I know that’s a vague statement, but I want to start where we ought to be able to agree. I’ll be more specific soon enough.

I do believe our current state of affairs is lamentable. That may be where some of us start to disagree, at least in so far as which specific state or states I find lamentable. You and I may not find the same thing(s) lamentable. So, let me go back to where I think we can agree.

The world is broken. Christians agree on that. A broken world is lamentable. Again, we can agree. Brokenness is a result of sin. Sin and its resulting brokenness hurt and harm all of creation. It complicates life in compounding ways. It even kills—body, mind, and spirit. I believe we’re still in agreement.

Brokenness requires a response. Jesus responded by giving himself for us. Jesus broke sin’s power and set restoration in motion, so brokenness will be no more. I lament that it took that, and I rejoice that he did it.

…

Sorry, I had to stop for a moment to be still with what I just wrote, to hold lament in one hand and rejoicing in the other. To sit in awe of Jesus.

…

We want to skip lament, or better yet, ignore it. We want to go straight to rejoicing. But we must not skip lament. You see, our lament is our agreement with God that this world is not as God created it to be. Our lament witnesses to our hope in the reality of wholeness. No, we must not skip lament.

Lament is a proper response to brokenness, but only a first response. There is more we as Christians are to do in response.

A specific example

Yes, brokenness requires a response. We, not just Jesus, must respond to brokenness, and we who follow Jesus must respond as he commanded and in his character.

Too often, our responses either come out of brokenness or generate more brokenness. We’ve seen and experienced this to be true. I lament our contribution(s) to brokenness by how we respond to brokenness.

I will give a specific example. Here is where we are likely to disagree, perhaps mightily, on some, many, or all points.

U.S. immigration policy is broken. Why and how is it broken? Since decades of debate, opinion, and ink have been poured out in failed attempts to answer those two questions, I’m not going to try here. I’ll just say the system is broken.

U.S. immigration enforcement is broken. It has been and is spotty, overwhelmed, and confused all at the same time. This is a natural outgrowth of broken policy. Sadly, U.S. immigration enforcement is broken to the point of violence. This is lamentable, and I don’t say that flippantly.

Lament, don’t condemn

We have good reason, too many reasons, to lament. Here is one.

I see yet another video of federal immigration officers shooting and killing a U.S. citizen, and I lament. Why? Because it didn’t have to come to that. We can argue about how exactly it came to that, but none of our arguments, none of our facts, none of our being right (or wrong) makes it OK that a human being was shot to death.

God didn’t create people to be shot to death. Every time, it’s to be lamented. Every time.

Millions, and maybe billions, of people saw the same video, and if our social media feeds are any indication, most skipped lament and jumped straight to condemnation. We are primed for condemnation. This is lamentable.

Whether out of lament or condemnation—often both—countless people have called for U.S. immigration enforcement to be brought to heel. Since the shooting of Alex Pretti by federal immigration officers, the call has grown to include a host of Republican officials voicing their criticisms, however qualified.

Right here, we can break into that mighty disagreement with each other. We can call each other names, impugn each other’s motives, question each other’s understanding of Scripture, and even doubt each other’s salvation. We’ve seen and experienced all of this, this perfect example of brokenness, this lamentable condition between fellow Christians.

But we must not give in to brokenness, to the sin that so easily entangles us. Instead, we must see past the surface and all its details. We must see into where things are broken, including in us, and we must grieve that so much in us and in our world is not as God intended. We must lament the pervasiveness of sin and sin’s effects.

And we must not stop there.

And then …

For lament to be legitimate, for its hope to be realized, we must move to redemption, restoration, reconciliation. Christians are duty-bound to do so.

I’m certain many will want me to spell out how followers of Jesus are to move into redeeming, restoring, reconciling. I won’t. The list is too long. The details are too many. And we will be tempted to argue over whatever is said or not said.

I can hear some asking, “What does redemption, restoration, reconciliation look like?”

In the short term, it looks like a lot of work from a lot of people for a long time. It looks like missteps and great leaps, failures and successes, going backward and forward, giving and receiving. It looks like wondering if things can or will get better and being glad when it does get better.

In the long term, it looks like so many ways of wholeness. Vague? Yes. But no less true.

The most concrete suggestion I can make, the best place I know to start on redeeming, restoring, reconciling is to submit ourselves to Jesus, to his teaching, and to the Holy Spirit’s guidance. They will lead us to what to do and where.

They will also show us, when Jesus took in the state of the world, he lamented.

Eric Black is the executive director, publisher and editor of the Baptist Standard. He can be reached at eric.black@baptiststandard.com. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author.

Racism still a serious problem in America

From 1619 to 2026, white racism has been one of America’s worst transgressions.

President Donald Trump should tell our nation how he worked out the issue of race in his life. How did he come to the conclusion the white race is inherently superior to the races of color?

Why do Trump and his Republican Party want America to be white again? A loving Creator God (Jesus) would neither create one particular race superior nor inferior to the other races.

President Trump should be a president for all our people, not just wealthy white people. His words and actions (policies) show Trump’s anti-Afro-American mindset.

He puts down the many outstanding contributions Blacks made over the years in building a better America. He sees no value in teaching Black history in our schools.

If we are going to be a great nation, we the people, must never elect a racist president again.

Paul L. Whiteley Sr.
Louisville, Ky.

Many people today think church is about loud music, the lights, or the atmosphere. Some churches use strobe lights, fog machines, big productions, and even drones to draw people in. But the church was never meant to be a show. It is not entertainment. It is not a performance.

Church is a place where people learn to follow Jesus. It is a place where we grow into more of Christ’s likeness. It is a place for discipleship.

And discipleship—learning, growing, and being shaped by God—is needed for every person, at every age, in every season of life once they have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior.

Discipleship is a long journey (Colossians 1:3-6)

According to Barna Group: “The most preferred term [for discipleship is] ‘becoming more Christ-like.’”

“A disciple is one who responds in faith and obedience to the gracious call to follow Jesus Christ. Being a disciple is a lifelong process of dying to self while allowing Jesus to come alive in us,” the Barna report adds.

These definitions beautifully support the heart of discipleship. It is not optional, seasonal, or limited to certain personalities or ages. It is every Christian’s lifelong journey of becoming more like Jesus.

Discipleship is for every age and stage (Hebrews 5:14)

Discipleship is not just for pastors or teachers. It is not only for new believers or for people who seem “super spiritual.” Discipleship is for all of us. We all need training, transformation, and a life that honors Jesus in everyday living.

Children need simple truths, stories, and conversations that help them understand who God is.

Teenagers need guidance, honesty, and safe adults who will walk with them through questions and pressures.

Adults need teaching that challenges them, encourages them, and helps them apply God’s word to everyday life.

Older believers need continued growth and opportunities to share their wisdom and faithfulness.

We may experience discipleship in unusual ways and at various levels, but we all need it. No one ever “arrives.” As long as we are alive, God is still shaping us.

Discipleship begins with a willing heart (Matthew 16:24)

Jesus said, “Anyone who wants to serve me must follow me” (John 12:26).

Following Jesus is not a one-time decision. It is a daily choice. It is daily choosing to listen, to learn, and to obey.

For some people, this desire begins early. Children often have soft, open hearts. They ask questions. They believe easily. They are eager to learn.

Teenagers face pressures, temptations, and big emotions. They need honest and relational discipleship rooted in truth.

Adults often get busy. Responsibilities grow. Faith can become routine if we are not careful. Discipleship helps us stay grounded and spiritually awake.

Older believers still have room to grow. They also have much to give. Their stories and steady faith can strengthen the entire church.

Discipleship is not a program, but a lifestyle (Ephesians 5:15-16)

Many churches focus on programs, events, and activities. These things can be helpful, but they are not the heart of discipleship. True discipleship is not a class you take once. It is not a workbook you finish. It is not a six-week program.

Discipleship is a lifestyle. It is a way of living that keeps Jesus at the center. It touches every part of our spiritual life and helps us grow in many different areas.

Depending on our age, season, or spiritual maturity, discipleship may include learning about: God the Father’s character, love, holiness, and plan; Jesus Christ’s life, teachings, sacrifice, resurrection, and example; and the Holy Spirit’s guidance, comfort, conviction, and power.

We also learn about: prayer, talking with God honestly and regularly; Bible study, understanding Scripture and applying it to daily life; obedience, learning to trust and follow God; stewardship, or using our time, talents, and resources for God’s glory; witnessing, sharing our faith with gentleness and courage; and abundant life, or discovering the joy, peace, and purpose Jesus offers.

Discipleship is not narrow or rigid. It is rich and full of opportunities to gain experience.

A child may learn through stories and simple truths.

A teenager may learn through questions and honest conversations.

Adults may learn through Bible study, mentoring, or serving.

Older believers may learn through reflection, wisdom, and continued obedience.

God meets each of us where we are and teaches us in ways that fit our season of life.

Some of the most powerful discipleship moments happen quietly, over coffee, in a living room, during a walk, or in a simple conversation after church.

Discipleship grows in relationships, not in performances.

The church’s role in discipleship (Psalm 92:13)

The church has a responsibility to help people grow. But this does not mean the church must entertain people or keep up with trends. The church’s calling is much deeper.

A healthy church teaches God’s word clearly, creates space for questions and growth, encourages believers to use their gifts, provides opportunities to serve, and values spiritual maturity over performance.

A church focused on discipleship may not have concert-style music or excessive technology, though these may have their proper place. But a discipleship-focused church will have something far more powerful—the presence of God and the steady work of the Holy Spirit.

People grow in churches where truth abides, where love resides, and spiritual maturity is valued.

Aaron Earls with Lifeway Research believes church leaders should take a careful look into the state of discipleship in their congregation and make discipleship a priority.

God works with our personality (Psalm 139:13-14)

One of the beautiful things about discipleship is God does not erase our personality. He does not make us all the same. Instead, he works with who we are as we refine our character.

He takes our strengths, gifts, and even weaknesses and shapes them for his glory. He smooths the rough edges. He deepens our love, patience, humility, and faith. He uses our story to help others.

Discipleship is not about becoming perfect. It is about becoming more like Jesus, step by step, day by day.

A final invitation

Church is not about strobe lights, fog machines, big productions, or even drones. It is about Jesus. It is about learning to follow him and becoming more like him.

Discipleship is the path that helps us get there. Every believer, young or old, has a place on this journey. And every believer has something to offer along the way.

Let’s keep learning, training, growing, and living a Christ-centered life.

Patti Greene is a graduate of Baylor University and Dallas Baptist University, a member of a Texas Baptist church in Houston, and the author of several books. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author.

Are you prepared for protesters to come to your church? Am I? I don’t want it to happen, but “want” is a different question.

There are different ways to be prepared and one that matters most. Amid the tension of our time and the prevalence of protest, we would do well to prepare in various ways for protesters to come to church. And we should do it before they arrive.

But whatever we do, we should prepare to communicate the gospel through both our words and actions. The gospel is the good news we are all looking for. It’s the good news we need.

Opinions about Sunday

Anti-ICE protesters interrupted a Sunday morning worship service in Minneapolis, Minn., Jan. 18. I doubt this is news to you. Social and traditional media have been flooded with the story, its repercussions, and people’s opinions.

You’ve probably already formed your opinion about the situation and those involved. You may have formed your opinion weeks before Jan. 18. Whether you support ICE or the protesters, or some mixture of the two, I’m not likely to change your opinion here, nor will I try.

I also am not making any judgement about Cities Church, the worshippers, the protesters, or the protest itself. Nor am I seeking to excuse or justify any of them, nor assess the truth of anything they said.

Rather, my aim is to challenge us to keep one thing primary—communicating the gospel through our words andactions should we find or put ourselves amid protest.

The gospel above opinions

Before going further, I know I am expected to say something about the rightness or wrongness of what happened inside Cities Church Sunday morning. Those who know me know I don’t have a simple one-or-the-other response to this.

To get into the weeds of who or what was right or wrong is to be distracted from the most important thing Christians need to focus on in a situation like this.

The most important thing Christians need to do amid protest is communicate the good news about Jesus through our words and actions.

From a purely legal standpoint, three great freedoms collided inside the sanctuary of Cities Church on Jan. 18. The First Amendment guarantees (1) the free exercise of religion, (2) the freedom of speech, and (3) the freedom to peaceably assemble. From a legal standpoint, this is a fascinating case, and the law is already responding.

But Sunday’s incident wasn’t a purely legal event. It was a moral and religious event with moral and religious implications. Again, I won’t get into the weeds of those implications. My focus here is on our need to be ready to communicate the gospel through our words and actions in whatever situation arises.

Prepare by practicing the gospel

As wonderful as the gospel is, it is an uncomfortable thing. The gospel is both the comfort of salvation in Jesus Christ and the discomfort of turning the other cheek. It is both the comfort of grace and the discomfort of denying ourselves. These are just two among many uncomfortable truths of the gospel.

The uncomfortable parts of the gospel don’t come easy to us. They require practice. Yes, the Holy Spirit lives in us and empowers us to speak and live out the gospel. And we still have to train the vocabulary and behavior of the gospel into ourselves.

What comes easy is clenching our jaw, pointing our finger, judging each other. It’s easier to belittle and berate one another, to question the other person’s commitment to the gospel. We don’t have to practice that. We do have to practice Christlikeness.

To prepare for protest, we must engage in the Christian life. The Christian life isn’t just gathering to sing hymns and spiritual songs, read Scripture, and hear a sermon. It is also engaging in active spiritual formation—discipleship—together, helping each other become more and more Christlike.

To learn the gospel, we need to study the Gospels. We need to study Jesus’ teachings and commands, meditate on them, and practice them. We need to study and practice how he interacted with all the different people he encountered. Some were protesters. Some were protested. Jesus offered good news to them all. He still does. It’s our duty to communicate it.

Practical considerations

The gospel’s primacy does not mean there’s nothing else churches need to do. There are practical ways churches should prepare themselves for protest. These ways should be consistent with the gospel.

Churches need to figure out how they will respond to protests on, around, or inside their facilities before those protests ever happen.

Protests can easily escalate. What begins as a peaceful, though disruptive, protest can take a violent turn quickly and without warning. For this reason and others, churches need a safety and security plan, and they need to develop it and practice it before it’s needed.

Some things have changed since 2018 when we published guidance for church safety and security teams. One thing hasn’t. Churches need to make sure their safety and security measures are on the right side of the law before those measures are implemented.

Should a situation arise calling for the deployment of these measures, churches also need to be prepared to respond to questions about how their measures square with the church’s proclamation of the gospel. Don’t wait until something happens to try to figure that out.

Likewise, churches should assume something will happen at some point involving their ministry or facilities that will draw media attention. Churches need to prepare for that also before it happens.

All the while, churches need to engage their participants in actively becoming more and more like Christ.

For all situations, the most important thing churches need to do is be ready to communicate the gospel of Jesus Christ through our words and our actions. To be ready, we need to practice now.

Eric Black is the executive director, publisher and editor of the Baptist Standard. He can be reached at eric.black@baptiststandard.com. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author.

In the wake of continued abuse allegations, amended and implemented national policies, and the renewed attention brought by the death of abuse survivor and former Lifeway vice president Jennifer Lyell last year, an opportunity exists to love, protect, and show Christ to the world.

John 13:34-35 shares Christ’s commandment: “Love one another. As I have loved you, you must love one another. By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples.”

The Christian faith’s call to love one another requires courage, compassion, and sacrificial love to each other and the vulnerable.

As C.S. Lewis wrote in Mere Christianity, “Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point.”

In a world often fractured by violence, neglect, and despair, the example of Christians who protect and serve, and churches that pour out compassion on those in need, resonates as Christ’s light and hope.

Scriptural expectations

Our character and actions are outlined in Scripture. We are called to act courageously, defend the vulnerable, and uphold justice.

Proverbs 31:8-9 commands: “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.”

In the Old Testament, figures such as Boaz (Ruth 2) exemplified this protective role. Boaz went out of his way to ensure Ruth’s safety in the fields, instructing his workers not to harm her, and providing for her needs.

Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:25: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” This sacrificial love extends beyond marriage, calling men to be selfless protectors and advocates for women and to reflect Christ’s selfless devotion in every sphere of life.

As C.S. Lewis reminds us: “Love is not affectionate feeling, but a steady wish for the loved person’s ultimate good as far as it can be obtained.”

Micah 6:8 further encourages: “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” This verse underlines the call for justice and mercy woven through Christian responsibility.

Responsibility as Christ-followers

To embody Christ’s love is to embrace a love marked by sacrifice, humility, and unwavering dedication—a love that protects, uplifts, and seeks the highest good for others.

In 1 Corinthians 16:13-14, Paul urges: “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love.” This charge ties strength to tenderness, courage to compassion, and vigilance to actively care for those around us.

Jesus declared in John 15:13: “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” In protecting, loving, and serving others, Christians are called to mirror the sacrificial heart of Christ—offering emotional support, dignity, and enduring kindness to all, especially the most vulnerable.

Our call then and now

Across the centuries, countless Christians have distinguished themselves by standing up against injustice and protecting the vulnerable.

William Wilberforce, for example, used his political influence to abolish the British slave trade, driven by his deep Christian conviction regarding the dignity of all people. Dietrich Bonhoeffer stood against the evil of Nazi tyranny, risking—and ultimately sacrificing—his life to shield the oppressed.

The 21st century presents unique challenges, as vulnerable people around the world continue to face violence, discrimination, and exploitation.

Almost half of all women and 2 in 5 men experience sexual abuse, physical abuse, or stalking in their lifetime. Christians are called not only to reject such injustices, but to actively oppose them.

Romans 12:21 exhorts: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” This involves speaking out against abuse, supporting survivors, and working to create communities where all people are safe, valued, and empowered.

While people of faith struggle to change the current environment or leave the church because of it, pervasive abuse of members continues.

Despite recent efforts of the Southern Baptist Convention for an abuse database, a database has not been produced due to lack of funding and priority.

In practical terms, this may mean individual churches are responsible for their ministers’ in-depth background checks, participation in accountability groups, congregational transparency and awareness, or advocating for policies that protect all participants.

It also means modeling respect in families and friendships, teaching children by example, and listening to the voices and experiences of the abused.

Practical steps for individuals and churches

• Education and awareness: Promote biblical character, accountability (Matthew 18:15-17), and courage (Joshua 1:9). Take time to learn about the challenges facing the abused in your community. Host Bible-based studies to foster understanding and compassion. Begin or grow programs for those who suffer from abuse or addiction. Awareness and open dialogue can help those who suffer by breaking the silence and debilitating guilt.

• Advocacy and policy: Support initiatives and policies that protect vulnerable people from violence and exploitation. Write to local representatives or join faith-based advocacy groups.

• Mentorship and discipleship: Mentors trained in discipleship, especially in sensitive topics, can guide younger people in character and responsibility, modeling what it means to honor, protect, and care for the vulnerable.

• Prayer and spiritual support: Lift up in prayer those who are marginalized or suffering, and seek wisdom in how to respond as a community.

• Counseling: Enlist counselors to provide free services to aid in mental health issues while providing safe environments to share stories of assault and provide resources for healing.

• Relationship classes: Tackle the difficult topics of biblical behavior, bystander and awareness training, abuse, pornography, teen mothers’ groups, and broken family relationships.

Renewed commitment

The call for Christians to protect others reflects the heart of Christ, who defends the oppressed and heals the broken. When people rise to protect and honor the vulnerable and churches pour themselves out for the least among us, the gospel becomes tangible. Communities are transformed. Churches help restore hope and dignity.

Seeking God’s will in a new era, what innovative and global-reaching initiatives will Christians organize in his name?

In these acts of courage and compassion, the church fulfills its highest calling: to bear witness to the love of Christ in a hurting world.

We have a great opportunity before us to serve and provide the hope of Christ in stronger, more compassionate ways. May this generation rise up with renewed commitment to the vulnerable, so our communities might become havens of safety, dignity, and hope for all.

Lord and Savior, please open our minds to the broken and hurting of this world. Give us strength and courage to be humble, obedient, and compassionate. Let us be a Proverbs 31:8-9 people. Guide our service in your name, Amen.

*******

Candice Sharp Fulton has held positions as a pre-teen group teacher and college group teacher/director. She is currently a doctoral student studying sexual harassment reporting on university campuses through Texas Woman’s University’s Education, Leadership, and Organization program. She is also a university professor, and member of First Baptist Church in Wichita Falls. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author.

Sources:

Hopkins, R. (2024, June 10). Some churches call clergy sexual misconduct an “affair.” survivors are fighting to make it against the law. Christianity Today. https://www.christianitytoday.com/2024/06/clergy-sex-abuse-consent-law-crime/

National Network to End Domestic Violence. (2025, May 20). Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Fact Sheet . National Network to End Domestic Violence. https://nnedv.org/wp-content/documents/DVSA%20Fact%20Sheet%20-%20May%202025%20-%20FINAL.pdf

Shellnut, K. (2024, September 25). Why does southern baptist abuse reform keep hitting hurdles?. Christianity Today. https://www.christianitytoday.com/2024/06/southern-baptists-vote-abuse-reform-database-funding-delay/

Shellnutt, K. (2019, May 21). 1 in 10 young Protestants have left a church over abuse. Christianity Today. https://www.christianitytoday.com/2019/05/lifeway-protestant-abuse-survey-young-christians-leave-chur/

Smietana, B. (2025a, February 19). Southern Baptists Abandon Abuse Database. Baptist Standard. https://baptiststandard.com/news/baptists/abuse-database-not-a-present-focus-for-sbc-leaders/

Smietana, B. (2025b, February 18). Southern Baptist leaders remain undaunted as legal bills from Abuse Investigation Mount. Religion News Service. https://religionnews.com/2025/02/18/southern-baptist-leaders-remain-undaunted-as-legal-bills-from-abuse-investigation-mount/

For generations, Baptists have affirmed religious freedom as a sacred gift from God—not a privilege granted by governments. That conviction calls Baptists today to pay close attention to the suffering of Christians in Myanmar (Burma), where faith itself has become a target of state-sponsored violence.

Since the Burmese military overthrew the country’s democratically elected government on Feb. 1, 2021, repression has escalated into open war. The military—known as the Tatmadaw—has not only crushed political dissent, but also has systematically targeted faith communities, particularly Christians, as a means of control and intimidation.

From the earliest days of the coup, the Tatmadaw demonstrated its willingness to use violence against civilians, firing on unarmed protesters in the streets of Yangon. By the end of 2021, it had launched a full-scale assault on communities across the countryside. Historically, Burma’s ethnic and religious minorities have borne the greatest cost under military rule.

Today, Christians are experiencing a similar pattern of targeted repression.

As the military attempts to legitimize its rule through sham elections, violence against churches and Christian communities has intensified. These elections are not free or fair. Instead, fear, displacement, and religious repression are used to compel participation and silence dissent—especially in ethnic minority regions where Christianity is deeply woven into community life.

Targeting religion

On Sept. 17, 2025, Burmese military fighter jets bombed and destroyed Saint Theresa’s Catholic Church in Karenni State, under the Loikaw Diocese. Sources on the ground confirmed the attack to the Burma Research Institute. The church had long served as a place of worship, refuge and hope for the community. Within moments, it was reduced to rubble.

This was not an accident of war. The church was targeted because it was Christian.

In Chin State, where nearly the entire population is Christian, persecution has taken a different but equally devastating form.

On Aug. 3, 2025, military forces in Hakha, the state capital, arrested approximately 40 Chin youth after they attended a combined youth service at Hakha Baptist Church. The Tatmadaw knew the young people had been worshiping.

Martial law remains in effect, including a 6 p.m.-to-6 a.m. curfew, effectively shutting down evening and weekday church activities. As the military presses forward with its so-called elections, fear has become a constant companion for Christian youth simply seeking to worship God.

This violence is not limited to Christians alone. Over the past year, the military and pro-junta militias burned 400 homes and two mosques in a Muslim village in Sagaing Region.

In Chin State, the army bombed three churches, killing six civilians, including a pastor.

Even Buddhist communities have not been spared. Dozens were killed and more than 50 injured when the junta bombed a Buddhist festival in northwestern Burma.

This is violence without restraint, driven by a regime desperate to cling to power.

Moral obligation

For people of faith, this moment demands moral clarity. Scripture reminds us, when one part of the body suffers, all suffer together.

Religious freedom is not a political luxury; it is a core expression of human dignity. When Christians are arrested for worship, when churches are bombed, and when fear replaces fellowship, the global church cannot remain silent.

The crisis also reaches our own communities. Members of the Burma diaspora—Christians and Muslims living in the United States—now face renewed danger as Temporary Protected Status has expired. Returning them to Burma during this period of violence, especially amid fraudulent elections, would place them directly back into harm’s way.

Leaders of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom have warned that religious minorities from Chin, Karen, and Kachin states face egregious persecution if forced to return. Extending Temporary Protected Status would provide life-saving protection and signal continued U.S. concern for religious freedom.

Faith communities have raised their voices. Churches and community organizations—Baptist, Catholic, evangelical, and others—have urged the U.S. secretary of state to recognize the Tatmadaw’s actions against Christians as crimes against humanity and war crimes. Encouraging responses have followed, but faithful witness requires persistence.

The sham elections underway in Burma do not represent peace or progress. They represent a deepening of persecution. For Christians in Burma, following Christ now carries extraordinary risk.

Baptists have long stood for religious liberty for all people. That heritage calls us to pray, to speak, and to act in solidarity with those who suffer for their faith. Silence in the face of such suffering is not neutrality. It is abandonment.

*******

Zo Tum Hmung is president and CEO of Burma Research Institute. Rev. Dr. Robin D. Stoops is board chair. Burma Research Institute “conducts research, education, and advocacy, primarily on freedom of religion or belief, human rights, and protection and assistance of refugees and internally displaced people in Burma.” The views expressed in this opinion article are those of Burma Research Institute.

Sources:

1. S. Department of State, Background Briefing on the Military Coup in Burma (Feb. 2021), https://www.state.gov; Human Rights Watch, “Myanmar: Military Coup Shatters Democratic Transition,” Feb. 2021, https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/02/01/myanmar-military-coup-shatters-democratic-transition
2. Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), Daily Briefings on Post-Coup Violence, 2021–2024, https://aappb.org
3. Amnesty International, “Myanmar: Crimes Against Humanity Continue After Coup,” 2022, https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/02/myanmar-crimes-against-humanity/
4. S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), Annual Report 2025: Burma Chapter, 2025, https://www.uscirf.gov/countries/burma
5. USCIRF, “Religious Freedom as a Lifeline for Burma’s Persecuted People of Faith,” Press Statement, 2024, https://www.uscirf.gov/news-room/releases-statements/religious-freedom-lifeline-burmas-persecuted-people-faith
6. Burma Research Institute, Field Reports on Attacks Against Religious Sites in Karenni and Chin States, 2024–2025, https://burmari.org
7. Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO), Restrictions on Religious Assembly in Chin State Under Martial Law, 2024–2025, https://www.chinhumanrights.org
8. Amnesty International, “Myanmar: Scorched-Earth Military Campaign Targets Civilians and Places of Worship,” 2024, https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2024/
9. Human Rights Watch, “Myanmar Junta Airstrikes Kill Civilians Across Religious and Ethnic Lines,” 2024–2025, https://www.hrw.org
10. USCIRF, Letter to the Biden Administration on Temporary Protected Status for Burma, 2024, https://www.uscirf.gov/news-room/press-releases
11. S. Department of State, Determination on Atrocities in Burma, March 2022, https://www.state.gov/determination-on-atrocities-in-burma/
12. Interfaith Coalition Letter to the U.S. Secretary of State on Burma, March 7, 2025 (on file with authors; summary referenced in USCIRF and partner statements)

The Baptist Standard has been around a long time. Long enough to know things don’t stay the same. Not even the Baptist Standard.

Here’s a look at the Baptist Standard in 2026. Some things are new. Some things are not going to change.

New reporters

Ken Camp retired Dec. 31, 2025, after decades in Texas Baptist communications and journalism, a couple of those with the Baptist Standard, where he was named managing editor in December 2003.

In the months preceding Ken’s retirement, Kendall Lyons joined our team as our newest reporter. He started July 1 in an unexpected baptism by fire, of sorts, as Ken, Calli Keener, and I left for Australia just a couple of days later to cover the Baptist World Alliance 2025 World Congress.

Kendall covered the horrific flooding in the Texas Hill Country while we were away. The earliest reports were coming in as we landed in Los Angeles on our way to Australia. Kendall also helped Ken and I cover the Baugh grant controversyat Baylor University that hit the news soon after we arrived in Australia.

Just before 2025 ended, Faith Pratt became our newest reporter. Her official start date was Jan. 5 of this year. Like Kendall but with a different metaphor, Faith’s first week was a jump into a fast-moving river.

Faith is a recent graduate of East Texas Baptist University and started appearing in Baptist Standard bylines last week.

We are grateful for Kendall and Faith and for how they will grow and develop in 2026. We think you will be, too.

New features

Around the State has been a weekly column in the Baptist Standard for years. It carries press releases from educational, human care, and other institutions related to the Baptist General Convention of Texas. It also has included minister and church anniversaries.

Last week, we began testing a short video version, or reel, of Around the State presented by Kendall, who has a background in broadcast TV news. Keep an eye out for these segments on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, and give us your feedback.

You may have noticed I mentioned Around the State “has included minister and church anniversaries.” We now publish those anniversaries, along with other things churches are celebrating, in a new feature titled Celebrating Churches.

Celebrating Churches features BGCT-affiliated churches and highlights the good things God is doing in and through them, things like baptisms, evangelism and missions, events for children, youth, and adults, musical productions, new construction, debt retirement, and more.

BGCT-affiliated churches are invited to send items they would like included in Celebrating Churches to Kendall Lyons at kendall.lyons@baptiststandard.com.

Like with Around the State, we are also testing Celebrating Churches reels on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. Heather Davis, our digital communications manager, is the presenter.

Since Celebrating Churches is a new feature, we also would like your feedback on it.

Our Equip column isn’t brand new, but it is new enough you may not have seen it. You will find resources for all aspects of church life in Equip. A favorite is how to be prepared for the media if, or when, the media shows up at your church.

Same foundation

The Baptist Standard started as a privately owned print newspaper in 1888, originally named The Baptist News. The name was changed to Baptist Standard in 1892. We remained a print newspaper until the early 2000s, when we began publishing the print content online also.

In 2012, finances dictated we discontinue the print newspaper, though we continued reporting and publishing news in the same traditional format online right up to today. Today, we no longer have any print publication. We are completely digital.

While our news may look or feel a little different in 2026, while we are delivering news through different platforms, the key things are unchanged.

We are still and will continue to be a gospel-centered, fact-based source of news by, for, and about Baptists. Most of our content will focus on Texas Baptists. The rest of our news, opinion, and resources, though by, for, and about other Christians, will be of significance to Texas Baptists.

Our core commitments are unchanged. We are committed to the redeeming and reconciling work of Jesus Christ, to historic Baptist principles, and to responsible journalism. We don’t fulfill our commitments perfectly, but they are our foundation, our guardrails, and our North Star. When we miss the mark on these core commitments, let me know.

New era

In some ways, it’s a new era for the Baptist Standard. But not in every way. And that’s important.

None of us know all of what 2026 holds in store, but we can know how we’re going to step into that unknown and who’s going to be with us before, during, and after it.

My hope is the Baptist Standard, rooted in our core commitments and filled with the hope of God’s good provision in our past and present, will be a faithful companion and maybe a guide in some of the unknown ahead. And I hope we will step into that adventure together.

Eric Black is the executive director, publisher and editor of the Baptist Standard. He can be reached at eric.black@baptiststandard.com. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author.

RE: Voices: The light through Christmas depression

Ruth Cook asked an interesting question about depression that carries implications for how Christians respond to a highly psychologized culture.

She pondered, “I wonder if people in Jesus’s day experienced depression?”

The first pages of the Bible answer that question in Genesis 3, when Adam and Eve hid from God after their sin, isolated themselves, and withdrew from life. The first case of depression [was] six millennia before Freud claimed conquest of the psyche like Sir Edmund planting a flag on Everest.

So, yes, people in every age are depressed because of sin.

“How can you say people doing the Lord’s work are sinning?”

I’m not.

But have we considered sin can dress itself in the crisp suit of an over-busy pastor as easily as the torn jeans of a drunk in a gutter, that it wears the frazzled wings of an overworked Christmas play as easily as the skimpy skirt of a Tik-Tok video?

One of the mystiques of modern psychology is it alone possesses knowledge to unravel emotional complexities too sophisticated for the scribblings of prophets. Yet, depression is as old as an apple in a garden.

If our first response to the couple sitting at opposite ends of the couch is always, “You need to be in counseling,” aren’t we saying by default the Bible has no wisdom?

Perhaps it’s time to shoo the skit team off the stage and bring the bread and cup back to the center of the church, where Paul suggests in 1 Corinthians there is a real spiritual feeding on Jesus at the table.

Perhaps it’s time to pull the plug on the Sunday morning monologue about raising kids and return to the fervent preaching of John or Genesis.

Aren’t words of life more life-giving than Prozac?

Ben Mullen
The Colony, Texas

Cleaning out the garage over the holidays, I had time to think about “stuff,” and the new year, and also stuff in so many years past. My path through the garage was a walk of shame, as I cannot avoid really seeing how much I have stored away.

I saved things in categories: things for grown kids who have no space, holiday décor, tools, cleaning and painting supplies, golf equipment, gardening pots, yard care supplies, out of season clothes, and donations.

If an item didn’t fit into a category, it went out to the donation center or in the trash.

We can only store so much before we must let some things go.

I think life is like that, and this new year is like that, too. If we are going to experience new ministries, people, and places, some things need to be sorted and altered while we keep what is important and use it for its highest purpose.

I don’t mean we get rid of people, treasures, tradition, but that we clear a path for new growth.

New growth

In my garden, I have a huge, beloved rosemary plant that over time gets tangled up with weeds. It gets dry and yellowed at times. It needs pruning and deep watering to shoot up and grow toward the light.

Gardening—sorting and untangling stems and roots—we can think about how problems develop and how to facilitate a healthier living thing. Gardening teaches us cause and effect, that things happen when we are not looking.

In the garage, folding and stacking used clothing into tubs feels therapeutic. As my hands smoothed out wrinkles, I recalled how family members looked in the clothes and the memories we made wearing them.

Getting organized and ready for the new year was a time of gratitude. God will help us build on the past in the coming year, in his strength.

Wrapping Christmas ornaments in tissue, packing away dishes, wreaths, cards, and ribbon reminded me how much clutter it takes to make a cozy Christmas. The old glass ornaments are fragile, while the rest of the collectibles seem indestructible over decades.

People are like that, too. In our clearing out for the new year, we are intentional and gentle, never careless with the feelings of others. We also preserve the precious possessions of others as we are able, even if that means having a little less room for ourselves.

Cleaning the garage

I hate to take guests into the garage. Though one’s vehicle may look lovely parked there, how do you make the needed household mops and brooms look attractive? Sometimes, one has to attend to those ugly tools that do the dirty work.

If you stand up cleaning implements in a large trash can so only the handles stick up, they look fairly neat.

This reminds me, as we go into a new year with improved organization, our “old stuff” has to be handled, filed, dealt with. This might mean paperwork filed and financial and giving plans in place. For me, it means my Tupperware and Corning Ware are in stacks in the kitchen and store room, and papers in the office are secure.

This is no easy task. Many of us are drowning in objects and paper.

Our lives are full, especially if we are older and have accumulated a lifetime of things we “might need someday.” Perhaps someday has already arrived, and our junk needs to pass away while we live a life for which we could not have fully prepared.

If you are in your later years, you probably prepared as best you could for life and lived frugally. You saved things. But alas, better things have been invented than what we saved. We can start again without guilt.

Facing the new year

As I face this new year, I never expected to be so old. Cancer treatment has spared my life. All things can be new for me, if I will drop a few things: a few pounds, a few negative attitudes, the hoarded boxes in the garage, a closet full of depressing clothes.

As I drop some, I am lighter and can move better and faster with Christ as he opens the door to the race, the calling that lies ahead. Let me throw aside the hindrances that beset me and run.

Facing the unknown with God is freeing and so much better than drowning in a garage full of weights and anchors.

Ruth Cook is a longtime Texas Baptist. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author.

I pulled up to my ranch to feed the cows. There in my grazing pasture, were five buzzards gathered around something with a black pelt.

I walked over to where the animal was. The scavenger birds flew away. There on the ground, a young calf, maybe a week or two old. I don’t care how much or how little they are worth, I never want to lose a calf.

As I drew closer to inspect, the little thing raised its head ever so slightly. It was alive! But for how long? He put his head back down.

I called some friends to shoo the buzzards while I rushed to the veterinarian to get him a shot of penicillin.

You see, I have faced this once before. I had a calf as good as dead a few years back, but with one shot of Sir Alexander Fleming’s miracle drug, that calf recovered. I prayed this would be the case for this one, too.

When I got to the vet, I found they no longer give out penicillin without a prescription for some odd reason. The vet said I would need to bring in the sick calf. Bringing that calf in was going to be a chore, and time was fleeting.

So, I went to a different vet, one I had dealt with many times before. They said the same. I begged them for just one syringe worth. I promised I wouldn’t sell it or use it for myself. In mercy, they gave me the prescription and the syringe. I rushed back to the calf, following the rules of the highway of course.

The calf was still alive.

Raising a calf

Now, the last time I gave a shot to a dying calf, it jumped up and ran, much to my surprise. I did not want that to happen this time. So, I straddled the dying calf like a rodeo star and injected the penicillin syringe into his neck.

Lo and behold, this dying calf did the same thing. He threw me off, then began to run. I could not believe it.

I ran after him by foot. This 62-year-old was never fast, but he still has some game. We ran for two pastures. He went through three fences. I slid between three. He got to my neighbor’s field where he was running toward the highway, far away from his mother and his familial herd.

I ran back to my truck, hopped in, spun out, and off to the races to cut this calf off, while the buzzards shook their heads deciding to go for a more lethargic meal.

I finally caught up to the calf in my neighbor’s field just before he got to the highway. He collapsed like a wind-up toy out of juice.

I walked over to him. He was barely breathing. He put his head down to die.

I had a little medicine left in the syringe. I put what was left of the injection into his neck. He jumped back up, running this time back to my pasture. What energy! No wonder penicillin is by prescription.

I walked after him since he was headed in the right direction. He crossed into my field, then collapsed.

I got in my truck and drove back to my field, right up to his body, lying flat on the ground. He was going no further. He had used what last bit of strength he had.

When you’re down

I knew he was tired. I figured he was dehydrated. So, I got a bottle of water, held his little mouth, opened his lips, and poured some water in.

He did nothing at first, but then he realized it was water. His tongue came out to lick. He drank the whole bottle. I got another bottle. I repeated the practice. He drank it all. Then, he laid his head down to die.

I tried to get him up, but there was no stirring. I tried to pick him up, but he was a tad too heavy. I tried to drag him. He gave no resistance, but I was a long way from the herd.

Finally, I decided to call the herd to me, hoping his momma would see him and help. The cows came slowly, but together. Finally, five of the momma cows came up to me looking for food. They looked down to see the little calf, weary and sick. What happened next blew my mind.

The five mommas got on three sides of the little calf. They lowered their heads, and with their noses, they nudged the little fella up until he stood in their midst. They acted so caring and loving to this little calf. Before long, he was walking around them, looking for a spout from which to drink.

All the cows finally arrived. The last I saw of them, the whole herd walked back to the pond with the little fella walking in their midst.

I checked on the little fella this week. He is alive and well by God’s grace.

If cows can lift up the hurting, why can’t we?

“We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak” (Romans 15:1).

Johnny Teague is the senior pastor of Church at the Cross in West Houston and the author of several books, his most recent being Thomas Paine Returns with Common Sense. His website is johnnyteague.com. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author.