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.

As editor of a Baptist news publication, I find myself processing the news more than the average person. The news over the last couple of weeks has been jarring to process, disorienting, even.

A question that came to my mind as I tried: “How are Christians supposed to carry the gospel in a world like this?”

Spoiler: The answer is in the question. When we know the gospel, we know the answer.

Let me explain.

Military actions

After reporting many times over several years on the insecurity of Christians in parts of Nigeria, we received news just before Christmas that remaining students kidnapped in Nigeria were reunited with their families. Good news, indeed, right before Christmas.

Then, on Christmas Day, the U.S. military struck Islamic militants in far northwest Nigeria. Despite U.S. threats in the preceding weeks about conducting such action, the timing was a surprise—if not shocking.

Many in the U.S. either paid little attention to the Christmas strike in Nigeria or quickly forgot about it. The U.S. military action in Venezuela during the early morning of Jan. 3, removing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, almost ensures Nigeria is overshadowed.

These are serious events that deserve serious attention. In addition to the geopolitical concerns involved, each event directly affects our Christian brothers and sisters in Nigeria, Venezuela, and beyond, including among Texas Baptists.

Such news is challenging enough to process, but wait. There’s more.

AI ‘love’

Like most people, I need a break from such serious news. So, I decided to listen to a podcast while running errands. I landed on an episode of The Daily by the New York Times released Dec. 31 as a follow up to a previous episode.

The title: “She Fell in Love with ChatGPT: An Update.” It was available without a subscription at the time but may require a subscription now.

The story is about a woman who lived in Texas and then moved to Europe, without her husband, to pursue further education. She became lonely and created a ChatGPT bot named Leo to be her companion. And then she became attached to Leo. Very attached.

She told her husband about her ChatGPT “boyfriend.” Her husband wasn’t concerned. At some point, and I don’t remember the order, they divorced, she dumped Leo, and she ended up in a new relationship with another man, a real human man.

As bizarre and troubling as the story is to me, I was equally troubled by the hosts’ commentary on the present status of the woman’s relationships. The hosts said they were very happy for her, seemingly without irony and maybe without really meaning it.

I listened to this story while also still trying to process back-to-back U.S. military interventions in Nigeria and Venezuela.

How are Christians supposed to carry the gospel in a world like this?

The gospel in a world like this

For Christians to carry the gospel in a world like this, we must know what the gospel is. We also must know who we are. And we must be rooted in that knowing.

We must know what the gospel is: the good news available to all in and through the body, the blood, the teaching, the living, the rising from the dead, the eternal reigning of Jesus Christ. We must know this gospel, ratified in this world, is for this world.

We must stay in prayer, confessing and repenting of our own wrongdoing, and seeking God’s guidance. We must stay in Scripture, committing it to memory, getting it into our bones as a firm foundation, allowing it and God’s Spirit to clothe us in Christ’s character.

We must carve out space for this praying and meditating on Scripture. That space won’t be given to us.

A metaphor: I’ve had my feet pulled out from under me by a strong current on the beach while simultaneously having my head slammed into the sand by a crashing wave. At a minimum, that’s disorienting. This world can hit you like that.

In that kind of world—and we live in that kind of world—Christians must keep their wits about them. Often, that requires staying connected to other Christians whose feet aren’t being pulled out from under them, whose heads aren’t being pounded in the sand.

For Christians to carry the gospel in a world like this, we must find our co-laborers in Christ, and we must work together. We must listen for the Spirit sending us to do our part. And in Christ’s Spirit we must do our part, doing no more or less than what the Spirit sends us to do.

Carrying the gospel

This year is starting with disorienting news. It confronts us locally, nationally, and globally. The gospel, good news in all circumstances everywhere, reorients the disoriented.

To carry the gospel in a world like this, we must do more than pray and meditate. We must do more than gather with other Christians. The gospel is a claim on the whole of our lives. We must carry the gospel wherever we go as living witnesses of it.

Why? Because the gospel is for this world, not just to carry us in this world.

And also because the hard news just keeps coming before we can fully process the last reports.

Many in our country are still reeling from Jan. 6. Its fifth anniversary occurred this week. We need to carry the gospel there.

Yesterday, ICE agents shot and killed Renee Nicole Macklin Good in her vehicle on a Minneapolis, Minn., street. The protests were immediate. The details are being debated. We need to carry the gospel there.

Also yesterday, news broke of Philip Yancey’s disclosure of an eight-year extramarital affair leading to his full retirement. The gospel is needed there, yes, even for one who carried the gospel for so many of us.

Lord, it’s a new year. We want to celebrate, and yet, the news takes us the other direction. Remind us that the gospel lives in us, that you live in us. May we ground ourselves in you amid the deep troubles of these days so to carry the gospel for this world in this world.

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.

EDITOR’S NOTE: A contrasting viewpoint can be read here.

While cases are still pending for full review before the U.S. Supreme Court, results from the shadow docket and recent court decisions can lead one to assume a continued drift toward authoritarian government and a weakening of the separation of church and state will impact the country for years to come.

The temptation might be to blame the members of the Supreme Court, but the symptoms are more far-reaching than a majority of justices and a handful of decisions. Rather, it is an over-arching partisan political culture that has captivated American politics, leading partisans to seek the vanquishing of their political foes through any means necessary.

While there certainly is a growing illiberalism on the left, today’s particular strain on democracy and muddying of church-state separation stems from the right, mainly from some of the candidates heavily supported by conservative evangelicals.

As Kristin Kobes Du Mez pointed out in her book, Jesus and John Wayne, among Christians in America, denominationalism has given way to the charismatic Christian culture warriors of the day, notably those who can sell the most merchandise and accumulate the most accolades from other conservative Christians.

What results is a Christianity less dedicated to the guardrails of denominations and more so to the top-of-mind bestseller or most listened to podcaster or online influencer known more for their political-speak-mixed-with-religious-terminology than for a deeply rooted theological commitment.

Politicized religious right

The politicalization of the religious right has occurred over many decades, beginning with the Moral Majority in the 1980s, morphing into the Christian Coalition of the 1990s and the Family Research Council of the 2000s.

Today, the religious right has infiltrated the Republican Party so successfully that conservative political identity and white evangelical identity practically are seen as the same thing.

Today, when we perceive threats posed toward the separation of church and state, it is not simply one denomination or faith seeking the dissolution of the wall of separation, but the cultivated political viewpoint of those in power that then influences theological understanding.

This viewpoint has been hammered home by charismatic religious personalities, cable news, online influencers and provocateurs, creating a cultural Christianity more closely tied to politics than faith.

With politics camouflaged in religious terminology, the traditional advocacy for religious freedom for all and separation of church and state has yielded to a politics of power that capitalizes on populist sentiments, which seeks power over piety.

Contrary to history

Evangelicals have not always been this way. At the founding of the country, prominent religious leaders countered the Puritan approach of mixing church and state. Evangelicals, including Baptists, led the charge to champion religious liberty for all.

The Baptist Faith and Message states: “Church and state should be separate. The state owes to every church protection and full freedom in the pursuit of its spiritual ends. In providing for such freedom no ecclesiastical group or denomination should be favored by the state more than others. … The church should not resort to the civil power to carry on its work.”

However, according to a recent Pew Research poll, 56 percent of U.S. evangelicals strongly support compulsory school prayer in which the teacher prays “in Jesus’ name.” This is compared to only 26 percent of Catholics who strongly believe the same thing.

Likewise, 48 percent of U.S. evangelicals strongly favor declaring the United States a Christian nation, compared to 20 percent of Catholics.

The long-held discriminatory anti-Catholicism in the United States promulgated by evangelicals, and notably Baptists, supposedly couched in a fear Catholics would join church and state under the authority of the pope, has been turned on its head. It is evangelical Protestants now, more than Catholics, who desire a combining of church and state under politically conservative, evangelical leadership and control.

Politics, not religion

The continued politicization of the religious right has culminated in the last two Republican presidents appointing Supreme Court justices who appear to be more sympathetic to authoritarianism. This is not a result of theology, but of politics—a politics driven by conservative evangelicals.

As Paul Miller argues in The Religion of American Greatness: “The divine mission of God’s chosen people is not to spread political liberty, national sovereignty, or capitalism; it is to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Over the past few decades, however, evangelicals of the religious right have prioritized Christian power, resulting in a strain of illiberalism that hampers both individual freedom and religious liberty in a pluralistic society. This is not the result of ecclesiastical organization, but rather of political priority.

Christian responsibility

Americans of all denominations and religious identities must cut through the erroneous algorithms to present truth boldly concerning the proper relationship between religion, politics and power, while recognizing the inevitable criticism that will come as a result.

After all, this is not purely a denominational issue, but an entire political worldview that has spread through consistent, narrowing messaging for the past 40 years.

Now is not the time to point the blame at a particular denomination or faith, but to find the like-minded individuals who desire to reassert true religious liberty, freedom of conscience, and separation of church and state. And we must do so humbly, confidently and in the spirit of love.

Consider the words of Pope Leo XIV in May 2025: “It is never a question of capturing others by force, by religious propaganda or by means of power. Instead, it is always and only a question of loving as Jesus did.”

Or, as the Baptist Faith and Message exhorts: “Act in the spirit of love without compromising [one’s] loyalty to Christ and His truth.”

To combat the waning commitment to church and state separation, we must seek to find common agreement, regardless of our religious affiliation.

With an ecumenical spirit, we must seek renewed commitment to a proper relationship between church and state, coupled with supporting a healthy political sphere that champions the First Amendment, thus securing the blessings of liberty for our current society and the generations to come.

Jack Goodyear is a professor of political science and a member of a Texas Baptist church. The views expressed are those of the author.

EDITOR’S NOTE: A contrasting viewpoint can be read here.

Many of my Baptist friends have asked me how it has developed that Catholics make up a strong majority on the U.S. Supreme Court.

My explanation: First, in recent decades, there was an individual who rose to the forefront of the religious legal battles with the objective of changing the composition of the U.S. Supreme Court. His name was Leonard Leo, a prominent Catholic lawyer and political activist.

Leo was a leader in groups named the Heritage Foundation and the Federalist Society. He campaigned to get several Catholics on the U.S. Supreme Court: Clarence Thomas, John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.

Second, there was the role of Donald Trump. Leo and many social conservatives supported him for U.S. president. Leo was able to convince the president to turn to the Federalist Society for advice about judicial nominations.

Trump, a transactional decision-maker operated on the premise, “You help me do what I want, and I will help you do what you want.”

Many people agreed to support Trump, since he said he would oppose abortions and the so-called “homosexual agenda.”

Implications

There are many significant implications for a U.S. Supreme Court that favors Catholics.

First, there is the issue of the separation of church and state and private school funding. The U.S. Constitution states there shall be no establishment of religion, and there shall exist the free exercise of religion.

Under the Supreme Court of recent decades, there has been a breach of the wall of separation. The Supreme Court has upheld a variety of uses of public funds to support private schools, including private religious schools.

Second, there is the issue of presidential power. In the 2024 case Trump v. United States, the Supreme Court held a sitting president cannot be prosecuted for any action done as “official” presidential business.

Catholic vs. congregational

Numerous individuals have asked me how the composition of the Court, with a strong majority of Catholics, could have shifted so much power to the presidency and away from the other two branches of government. Following is my personal view.

The basic structure of many non-Catholic churches is what commonly is called “congregational,” where stress is placed upon the autonomy of each local congregation.

Each church uses some form of democratic voting in the selection of pastors. Each uses individuals who assist in the administration and practices of the congregation.

Most Southern Baptist churches maintain membership in a large association of churches known as the Southern Baptist Convention. The organization is the largest Protestant religious group in the United States.

The SBC helps the larger fellowship develop and use religious and educational materials based upon commonly held beliefs and practices. It also assists local churches in mission outreach and service.

The Catholic structure contrasts with the congregational structure. A priest for a local congregation is chosen primarily through the actions of a local or area bishop. The process is not diffused. It is hierarchical in structure. It is a pyramid of power. In the Catholic Church, there is the local priest, the area bishop, an archbishop, a cardinal and the pope in Vatican City.

The local pastor is not selected by popular vote of the congregation. The pastor usually is selected by a bishop and ultimately approved by the pope.

Church authority demands conformity. At all levels, the leaders are required to wear attire that symbolically represents certain religious elements. In any setting, enforced clothing conformity is an outward sign of institutionalized authoritarianism. That contrasts with many non-Catholic churches, which do not require specific clothing for worship leaders.

There also is a great deal of conformity in prayers led by religious leaders in the Catholic Church.

Shift in viewpoint

For most of American history, most members of the Supreme Court did not come from religious hierarchical structures of decision-making. Most did not view the U.S. president as possessing all power, and especially not the right to do anything and then justify it as “official business.”

They did not believe in a “unitary” theory of leadership based upon a pyramid of power. They believed in a system of checks and balances and a working relationship between three branches of government.

The majority of those who wrote the Trump v. United States decision grew up with a mindset that reflected a belief in hierarchical exercises of power. They leaned in the direction of authoritarianism in religion, which I believe flowed into their decision in the Trump case.

The Catholic justices belong to a very formal religious institution headquartered in a small religio-political state led by a single powerful leader—the pope. The pope exercises executive, legislative and judicial power. There is no separation of powers in the Catholic Church.

The current Court

The current majority of six Catholics on the U.S. Supreme Court admit they took an oath to defend the U.S. Constitution. They have decided some major cases that have shifted a great deal of power away from the U.S. Congress to the U.S. president and shifted some power from the judicial branch to the presidency.

They know their national loyalty is to the United States, not to the pope in Vatican City. However, their mindset is more accepting of extremely strong leadership in the American presidency than previous Supreme Courts.

We never should forget the mindset factor in the selection of judges, executives, legislators and even marriage partners. Catholic lobbying has given us a pro-authoritarian body.

Other religious groups also could have organized to shape the composition of the U.S. Supreme Court. It is called “politics” and “lobbying.” Leonard Leo, an ardent Catholic, is a master of the process.

The people of the United States have a future ahead of them that will be shaped by a man most Americans never heard of. As the English playwright William Shakespeare wrote in The Tempest, “What’s past is prologue.”

Leon Blevins is a retired professor of government and former Baptist pastor. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author.

We don’t really want a perfect Christmas. We think we do. We think we want everything just so—all the decorations, the music, the weather, the travel, the food, the presents, the time with family and friends. But we don’t. Not if we stop and think about it.

Decorating for Christmas this year made me stop and think about it.

Imperfect lighting

I thought we were doing good. I thought we were ahead of the game. We got all of our Christmas decorations out and up on Black Friday. All of it.

And then, half a string of lights is out in the front yard, which I only saw after dark. Then, a string of soft white lights on our pre-lit Christmas tree went brilliant white and then out.

These should be simple fixes, but I know it will become like giving a mouse a cookie, and I don’t have the time or energy for that. After all, I need the time it would take to remove the strings of lights and replace them with new ones to write this editorial about the problems I’m having with Christmas lights.

Do you see the problem? Of course, you do. We often see other people’s problems better than we see our own.

The problem isn’t the lights. I mean, they are a problem, but of such minor significance. Prioritization is the greater problem.

*******

I wrote the preceding paragraphs a couple of weeks ago, thinking I would get a head start on a Christmas editorial. Two weeks later, I can report: I tried fixing the outside lights … without success. I didn’t bother with the lights on the tree.

I thought the lights being out was a problem, though one from which I could make an editorial. Now, I see they’re not a problem at all. Not after they got me thinking more deeply about Christmas.

Imperfect Christmas

Allowing the lights in our front yard and on our Christmas tree to be less than perfect enabled me to consider the fact so little was perfect about Jesus’ birth. From our perspective, anyway.

I mean, Mary wasn’t married, but she was going to be. Yet, she was pregnant … with someone else’s baby. Joseph was going to do what only made sense to him—call off the wedding. But he was going to do it quietly. He wasn’t going to make a stink of it.

Late in pregnancy, Mary had to travel under less-than-ideal conditions—compulsion by a foreign power and days on a dusty road, all while ready to deliver at seemingly any moment.

Joseph and Mary got where they were going only to find no room available. Whatever the actual accommodations were, they weren’t what guests were supposed to be given.

Jesus was born there and put in a manger. Not exactly a Sealy, Beautyrest or Tempur-Pedic.

I could list the other less-than-perfect details of the story, but by now you probably get the point without me needing to. The first Christmas—Jesus’ birth and the circumstances surrounding it—was not perfect. And that’s part of Christmas’ significance.

The significance of Christmas is Jesus was born into a less-than-perfect world under less-than-perfect circumstances to save less-than-perfect people—including you and me. An airbrushed, Photoshopped Christmas won’t do for that. Why? Because a perfect world is make-believe. At least, for now.

We think we want a perfect Christmas, but we really don’t. The imperfect one we have is the one that connects with all the imperfect places in our lives, as is true of the rest of Jesus’ life.

Perfect Savior

Jesus’ birth wasn’t the only less-than-perfect part of his life. Herod tried to kill him when he was a toddler. His family had to flee to Egypt to avoid that. When they moved back, they settled in Nazareth of all places. Nothing good came from Nazareth, so they said. Sometime later, Joseph disappeared.

As an adult, the devil harassed Jesus in the wilderness. His mom outed him to a wedding party. He didn’t have anywhere to call home. People seemed to want him only for his miracles. His closest friends didn’t understand him. The authorities stayed after him.

And the end? The end was a full-on dumpster fire. What part of being betrayed, arrested, beaten, mocked, “tried” by a kangaroo court, beaten and mocked some more, stripped and crucified in front of God and everybody amounts to our idea of a perfect day?

The only thing perfect about any of it is Jesus did all of it perfectly—from beginning to end.

*******

I’d like all the lights to be shining in my front yard and on our Christmas tree. But these literally and figuratively are tiny problems.

Much more, I’d like all that is wrong in this world—and there are monstrous wrongs in this world—to be made right already. No amount of airbrushing and Photoshopping will make that happen, though. The sooner we let go of that lie, the better.

What will make that happen is the Savior born to us who will return to us to make all things perfect.

Let us not ignore or pretend away the imperfections. Instead, let us allow them to point our attention to Jesus. That is the Christmas we want. That is the Christmas we need.

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.

The word “trek” means a long, arduous journey. Our lives are a journey. Mine is. Yours is.

At Christmas, we ought to focus a little on the journey. There should be a time of thanksgiving for sure.

Memories likely flood our minds during this miraculous, sacred, holy season.

I have memories of a tin-foil Christmas tree beautifully decorated with a light wand changing its color from red to blue to green to yellow, easily seen through the picture window of a living room on a hilltop in Rainbow.

I also have memories of my little brother and me waking up in the early morning hours to see our presents strategically placed beneath said tree.

A parent’s trek

Our parents’ trek: We had no idea the sacrifices our parents made to buy those gifts, the sleep they lost placing them under the tree, the fretful days to keep a roof over our heads, clothes on our backs, food on our table, without ever whimpering a word of it to two little boys.

My trek now: This Christmas, me and Lori come before the Lord for another reason on top of the infinite reasons before. This Christmas, we became grandparents for the first time.

We even got to choose our grandparent names. She’s Grammy. I am Pop. Will the grandchild hold to our choices? Time will tell.

Today, he is wrapped beautifully in swaddling cloth and held in a baby bed bought for him months ago. What will he be when he grows up? What will life be like when he gets older? We trust in the Lord, who knows all things before they occur.

His mother’s trek: Kate spent nine months in the waiting stages to give birth. She had no idea what the little boy would look like—our grandson, her and Matt’s son. Would he have dark hair or blond? Would he have blue eyes or green? Would he be healthy or have some struggle?

She felt him move inside. At times, he was still. We wondered if he was OK.

Kate’s body changed over these months. Things were harder for her. Mobility was not easy. Her husband put her shoes and socks on for her. Her ankles swelled. She would get out of breath. Hormones went awry at times.

Then, the pain of childbirth. In the throes of all that, a woman might wonder if this is worth it? Some might promise never to do this again, never to take this arduous journey.

But then, a son is born, a child is given. There is peace. The pain ebbs. The first stage of the trek is over. A new one begins.

A personal trek

This year, as over the last many years in a row, I made the trek to Santa’s Wonderland near College Station. This was my first to make by myself.

At first, it was Lori, little Brittany, littler Kate and me. Then, the girls became adults, and it was Lori and me only. This year, I went by myself. Lori was at Kate’s bedside waiting for the baby to be born.

We don’t go for the Santa part. We go to see the lights. We go to eat the food. We make the trip and spend the money to step into the joy of the season.

But more, we go for the pinnacle of Santa’s Wonderland. At the end of the hayride through the lights, we come to the manger with Joseph, Mary, wise men, an angel and the baby boy.

This year, I walked to the manger positioned there with the life-like characters. I gazed upon the scene. Every character looked with wonder at the baby in the manger.

Mary looked amazed. She had a baby without ever knowing a man physically. Joseph looked in awe to be part of heaven’s intent to love, protect and raise the Father’s Son as his own. The wise men stared at the newborn King.

But the angel really caught my eye this year. The angel looked down into the manger at the baby. Only the angel had a clue of who the child really was. He was and is Jesus, the King of all heaven, who created that angel, who fellowshipped with that angel in glory along with the host of all the other angels.

His trek

I saw the marvel in the eyes of this angel. The angel alone knew the trek this baby took. Jesus—fully God’s Son, fully God and fully man—traveled through time, space and matter to take on flesh, to be an infant.

The angel had an idea but did not realize in full the arduous journey God’s Son would make through that flesh and bone to grow, touch, teach and to have his hands nailed to wood, back whipped by iron and leather, spear piercing the tiny side one day fully mature, thorns to pierce that sweet little head.

The end of the trek would be filled with pain unimaginable. The baby adored in the manger soon would be hated and scorned.

The angel may have wondered, “Is this pain worth it?”

Yet, here you and I are wrapped in the swaddling cloth of his love. His trek of poverty, isolation, adoration and hatred, joy and immense pain was worth it. Those who receive him are born again.

God looks at the children Jesus’ pain brought. I can imagine the Father saying, and Jesus agreeing: “The trek was worth it, indeed. It is good, very good.”

Would he do it again? In a heartbeat.

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.