How sad and tragic that so many lives were lost in the mass shooting in Orlando. And it’s sad that many may have been lost to eternity. It stops us in our tracks and we begin to look for answers.

René MacielThe world we live in today is dangerous and dark. In the daily news we hear of tragedy, horror, death and sadness—a world out of control, a world full of hopelessness and hate.

It doesn’t seem that long ago when I would watch Andy Griffith in the little town of Mayberry. The show portrayed hope and goodness, kindness and caring for our neighbors. It helped us see the good in people and gave us a sense of comfort.

Today, many communities struggle with a variety of issues that have us feeling uncomfortable—poverty, crime, corruption with our government officials, racism, addictions, depression and acts of hate, to name a few. These are acts and problems that divide people and destroy lives, atrocities of terror that make us feel unsafe and looking for answers.

As I listened to one political analyst talk about how one candidate is dividing our country, I thought about how our country already is divided—separated from truth and hope, separated from justice and mercy, separated from the answer to our sin.

One day as a boy, my dad brought home an album by Andre Crouch, an African-American gospel singer. One of the famous songs he sang has been stuck in my head all these years. It was a live recording, and he spoke these words before he sang the song: “There is power in the name of Jesus. There is healing in the name of Jesus. There is salvation in the name of Jesus. The Bible says that demons tremble at the sound of that name Jesus. Jesus is the answer for the world today, above there’s no other. Jesus is the way.”

I can think of no other answer that we need for our world today than Jesus. How can we as Texas Baptists influence this dangerous world? How can we bring hope? How can we make a difference? I think we can; I think we have the answer.

We can be agents of goodness and kindness; we can love and show mercy; we can care and serve others. We can bring hope and light to this dark world. We have the answer. We have Jesus, and we are called to go into the world and preach the good and hopeful news of Jesus.

My prayer is that we will be more than just a convention. Continue to pray how we can share Christ to Texas and the world.

Jesus is the answer for the world today.

René Maciel is president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas and president of Baptist University of the Américas in San Antonio.

“Not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:25)

René MacielI had a chance to meet one last time with the Baptist General Convention of Texas annual meeting committee in the planning session for our convention in November.

You will be glad to know this committee is a wonderful and diverse group of people who love our convention. It was a great meeting. We finalized the schedule and talked about the importance of worshipping together and the great need of meeting together.

I want to encourage you to attend this meeting, Nov. 13-15, but let me also challenge you to spread the word about this meeting. Make sure your church messengers are there, and be sure to invite others from your circle of influence to come be a guest and be a part of the convention this year, as we highlight our 27 Texas Baptist institutions. The theme this year is “Celebrating Service.”

It is so easy for us to just sit back and hear about the great work going on throughout our convention, but the Scripture says “to not neglect, to not forsake, do not give up on meeting together.” We sometimes get lazy in our faith, and we begin to neglect praying or reading God’s word, or just meeting together.

When I attend the convention, it is a great time to network, to hear some great preaching, to catch up on all the things our convention is doing, and most importantly, to be encouraged in my faith. When I am around other followers, I always come away challenged and stronger in my walk. That is the intention—not to fight, not to talk other ministries down, not to tear down, but to build up and to encourage. The annual meeting should be a time to encourage one another, a time to build each other up.

Let’s meet in Waco Nov. 13-15 so we can encourage one another. But let’s also meet with the understanding that the day is drawing closer, what a wonderful day that will be—a day like Pentecost, when all the disciples and believers were all together in one place.

Mark your calendars and make plans to attend our annual meeting this year in Waco. You will be encouraged, you will be strengthened, you will be informed, you will be challenged, you will celebrate and most importantly, we will be “together.”

See you there!

René Maciel is president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas and president of Baptist University of the Américas in San Antonio

Since I grew up a preacher’s kid, I know the stress pastors’ children go through. I read where 45 percent of preachers’ kids end up in counseling for the rest of their lives, and 40 percent of those kids will not attend church because of how the church treated their family. It is not surprising, although disheartening, to see so many sons and daughters of pastors struggling in their relationship with the Lord.

Richard RayPastors all struggle to keep their homes together while their children are attacked by Satan to disrupt the ministry. So often, the struggles a pastor and his family face become overbearing and cause them to ask, “Is it worth it?” Some sources say 50 percent of ministers do not last five years, and 80 percent of ministry spouses feel their mate is overworked. This especially is true for bivocational and small-church pastors, whose time is divided between church, family and occupation.

So, how can a pastor sway this pendulum the other way?

First, learn the art of time management, which means a pastor must listen to the Creator of time. When a pastor follows the will of the Lord, the Lord will provide time for his family. When a pastor attempts to allot time for his family and his calling, the time gets away from him. A pastor must allow the Lord to manage time, and he will be amazed how this will draw his family closer together.

Second, listen to your children. So often, pastors’ kids believe their parents are not paying attention to them. Mom and Dad are so focused on their call to the ministry or their ministry and occupation that they forget they also are called to be there for their family. Take time to listen to your children with the same heart of compassion as you do with those whom you do not know. Children can sense if you are genuinely listening to them. A pastor told me his father was a terrific pastor but a terrible dad. Make sure you listen to your children. It makes a difference.

Third, compliment your children. Pastors are great at publicly and privately complimenting others in the church and those who serve in ministry. But at home, they often forget they have a family who have sacrificed equally for the ministry—and in some cases, much more. So often, the accolades a pastor shares are more for others than for their family, leaving the children seeking emotional satisfaction elsewhere.

Fourth, love your children unconditionally. I have been guilty of reminding my children of their sins, but with others, I forgive and forget. Pastors often tend to show more grace toward strangers than they do their own family. The same unconditional love you show toward others must be the same unconditional love you show to your family. Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Pastors have the responsibility to shepherd their church; however, they also have the responsibility to raise up their family in the Lord.

Registration for the 30th annual Bivocational/Small Church Banquet and Conference is now open. Click here to register and to view the complete conference schedule. Free on-campus housing is available. If you would like any additional promotional material, please contact us.

We are here to serve you as you serve the Lord. Remember, the Lord has called you to serve, but he has not called you to serve alone. Visit our website for more information on how the Bivocational/Small Church Association can minister and serve you. For more information, contact me at tririversdom@gmail.com.

Richard Ray is executive director of the Bivocational/Small Church Association and director of missions for Tri-Rivers Baptist Area.

But pity anyone who falls down and has no one to help them get up. … Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves (Ecclesiastes 4:10b, 12a).

René MacielWe’ve all been there. We are winning in life, things are exciting, and everyone wants to be a part of our parade. Then, without warning and seemingly in an instant, a dark, savage storm shatters us.

We’ve all been there. And it hurts.

Economists usually see emerging financial trends and warn businesses how to react. Meteorologists watch incoming fronts and winds swirling in far-off oceans to forecast weather coming our way. But sometimes, with deadly results, the models don’t hold.

We’ve all been there. Sometimes, we just don’t see things changing. We don’t understand how things can happen so fast. Life changes instantly and drastically. We are caught off guard. We fall. We bleed. We suffer.

Currently, the people—all the people—who make up Baylor University are living in a nightmare of a storm. Thousands of individuals—first and foremost the victims of sexual abuse, but also anyone who has invested life and prayer into the school—have, to some degree, fallen and need help getting up.

They all, to some degree, feel abandoned and lonely. And it hurts.

The Hebrew word the New International Version translates “pity” is an interjection that translates literally as “woe” or “alas.” In fact, translations overwhelmingly use the term “woe,” while only a handful opt for “pity.” But we too easily read “woe” as a judgment, as in “tough for you that you are abandoned in trouble.”

Rather, our God and our faith call us to active concern, to have pity and take pity on the storm-tossed. When I fall, I can do little more on my own than worry and fret about the situation. On my own, I can’t seem to recover. I need others to support me, to cry with me, to pray with and for me.

This is an opportunity to live out this Scripture, “Two are better than one.” We can help them up, stand by them, and most importantly, we can pray for them through the darkness. They need us, and we need them.

It is so difficult to take on life by yourself. It is lonely. We are overpowered by darkness, and it seems like everyone who was with us is now against us. We need others to come along and be with us, hold us and be our strength through the troubles.

I can think of no greater thing we can do as Texas Baptists than to pray for the specific people who make up our beloved institution of Baylor University during this storm.

And those prayers need to be the kind Jesus prayed.

Repeatedly, the gospels tell us Jesus looked at hurting people with “compassion”—including in one of my favorite verses: “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36).

“Compassion” can be understood as he “churned with emotion and empathy.”

We’ve all fallen and felt abandoned. And it hurts.

We all can join others in their pain and sustain them through community.

And that helps.

Two are better than one.

René Maciel is president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas and president of Baptist University of the Américas in San Antonio.

I was blessed to hear the testimonies of graduating seniors at the Baptist University of the Américas graduation dinner. Many have wonderful stories of where they have come from and how far they have come. The stories brought those in the audience—parents, friends, faculty, staff and a president—to tears.

Rene Maciel Speakers voiced a persistent theme: “I wanted to quit. I can’t do this!” Over and over, they expressed a feeling of being overwhelmed with the reading, the projects, the papers and the tests. They were ready to stop. But they didn’t.

Does this sound familiar? I am not just talking about college classes. I am talking about life. Sometimes we just feel overwhelmed with all that is on our plate, or the pressures of life start to squeeze us from all sides. Those pressures add up, and we start to trust and lean on our own abilities to solve those issues. Then we struggle and lose sight of the mission, the task and the life to which God has called us. We lose sight of him, and then we truly struggle with our brokenness and sin.

Then God surrounds us with family and friends and other encouragers and reminds us, even through our distance and struggle, to lay those struggles aside. He says to lay aside those feelings of inadequacy, of doubts and fears, of giants in the land. He reminds us to press on for the prize, to run the race.

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith (Hebrews 12:1-2, NASB).

It is not a sprint. It is a journey, run with endurance. It is a race God has set before you. Run, try hard, don’t give up, keep going. And most of all, fix your gaze, fix your sight, fix your eyes on Jesus. Like Peter, when we take our eyes off the Savior, the winds get high, and the waters start to roll.

I am proud of my seniors and so grateful to hear how God brought them through the storm. When your life gets full, remember to fix your eyes on the One who is the Creator and the Source of your faith.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in his wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of his glory and grace.

Looking forward to seeing you at the BGCT Annual Meeting in Waco, Nov. 13-15.

René Maciel is president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas and president of Baptist University of the Américas in San Antonio.

Ministers, have you ever had a moment when you just did not know where to turn? A situation arises and you do not know what to do. A question is asked that you do not have an answer to. Or maybe time has hold of you, and you find yourself unprepared.

Richard RayWhat I have described is a weekly occurrence in the life of a bivocational/small-church pastor. What this pastor needs is an advocate, mentor and friend who will assist him at a moment’s notice.

I cannot tell you the number of times time has gotten away from me, and I found myself ill-prepared for the situation or question that comes my way. Time will become our enemy when our energy is consumed on researching solutions or finding answers to questions. They take away our time in prayer, sermon preparation and participating in the ministry. Our families also suffer from mismanagement of time.

Serving as a pastor for 20 years and now serving as the executive director of the Texas Baptist Bivocational/Small Church Association, I understand from the pastor’s perspective how important it is to have an advocate who will serve alongside the pastor. Every pastor needs the help of another who will provide assistance in his time of need. Simply put, every pastor needs help.

First Chronicles 12:22 states, “Day after day, men came to help David, until he had a great army, like the army of God.” I am writing to remind you that you do not serve alone, nor were you called to serve alone. As men came to David day after day in his time of need, you also have an advocate who is willing to help you in your time of need.

Allow the Bivocational/Small Church Association the opportunity to assist you in the ministry by providing solutions to situations and answers to questions so that time does not become your enemy. You are part of a great army—the army of God.

Registration for the 30th annual Bivocational/Small Church Banquet and Conference is now open. Click here to register and to view the complete conference schedule. Free on-campus housing is available. If you would like any additional promotional material, please contact us.

We are here to serve you as you serve the Lord. Remember, the Lord has called you to serve, but he has not called you to serve alone. Visit our website for more information on how the Bivocational/Small Church Association can minister and serve you. For more information, contact me at tririversdom@gmail.com.

Richard Ray is executive director of the Bivocational/Small Church Association and director of missions for Tri-Rivers Baptist Area.

What a blessing to be the commencement speaker at East Texas Baptist University. The new president, Blair Blackburn, invited me to address the university’s graduates this year, and it was a wonderful experience and a beautiful ceremony.

René MacielETBU, located in Marshall, is one of our nine Texas Baptist higher education institutions. It is a magnificent campus and an excellent choice for students who are considering a college degree within a Christian environment. It is one of the 27 Texas Baptist institutions that will be highlighted this year at our Baptist General Convention of Texas annual meeting in Waco, Nov. 13-15. Please make plans to attend the annual meeting and stop by their information booth.

Here are my thoughts and the challenge I shared with those graduates, and it could very easily be a challenge for many of us:

“Why do we take so many selfies or pictures of ourselves?” A recent survey calculated the average Millennial could take up to about 26,000 selfies in his or her lifetime.

The start of the selfie trend is difficult to pinpoint, although The Guardian estimated they emerged in 2010, when the iPhone 4 was released with a front-facing camera. Now, people across the world take more than 1 million selfies each day.

Let me give you a definition. “A selfie is a photograph that one takes of oneself with a digital camera or a front-facing smartphone, tablet or webcam, especially for posting on a social-networking or photo-sharing website.”

Maybe we take these photos because we are searching for ourselves. We want others to take notice. Can you see me? Whatever the reason, it has become a popular phenomenon in our culture, maybe even an epidemic of a search for self.

According to God’s word, we were created in his image, in his likeness: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27).

We were meant to be the image of God, and the fall created in us a self-awareness or a self-image problem: “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden” (Genesis 3:7-8).

So they realized they had changed and there was an identity problem. We still search and look for ourselves. We look for that original image God created, and God’s intentions have not changed for us. His plan was to fashion a people who would reflect his glory.

The biggest challenge for college graduates is not finding a job but finding themselves. Maybe all of us search and add things to our lives, trying to find fulfillment. It is so easy to get distracted and to lose ourselves. We were made to be like God, so we all have a longing to find our original selves, that God image, his likeness.

The next time you take a selfie, take a long look at the picture. You look like your Father—your heavenly Father.

René Maciel is president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas and president of Baptist University of the Américas in San Antonio.

This year is moving along so fast. It seems like only yesterday that 2016 was beginning. Now it’s May! Where did those four months go?

René MacielI have been extremely busy at work, attending convention meetings, teaching at my church, training for running events and trying to take care of my big yard. One addition to my calendar is preaching at different churches throughout our convention, which I thoroughly enjoy much more than taking care of my yard. I guess the year is moving fast because I am moving fast.

I thank God he made me a high-energy person, always on the go. I like being busy, but I also realize I really do take life and all God has given me for granted at times. There are also times God has to slow us down—to take some time, to enjoy the moments, to stop and smell the roses. And when we finally do take those moments to focus and be still and be quiet, then we understand he is watching over our every step, like a mother cares for us.

The Apostle Paul gave us a wonderful picture of a mother who cares for her children. It’s an example of how we are to care for others, with tenderness and compassion. It’s a picture of God’s care for us. He wrote these words: “Instead, we were like young children among you. Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, so we cared for you” (1 Thessalonians 2:7-8).

In spite of all of our busyness, God cares for us and watches over us. Even when we take life for granted and our lives are moving fast, he holds me and comforts me and reminds me I am his child. For me, he has shown his care and reminded me of his love by the incredible mother he gave me. She has shown me how to care for others, how to nurture and watch over them, how to hold them and feed them, how to listen and speak to them, and, most importantly, how to teach them about God’s great love.

I can think of no greater way God has cared for me than with the mother he has given me. It was my mom who first took me to church. She was the one who brought the church into my life, and therefore opened my life to God and his care. Even as she is about to turn 92, she still wants to cook my favorite meal and cake when I go see her. She still is caring and still a constant reminder that even in my fast-paced life, God cares for me.

I love you, Mom. Thank you for your example of God’s care for me.

René Maciel is president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas and president of Baptist University of the Américas in San Antonio.

Kathleen and I had a great time at Blue Ridge Baptist Church near Marlin as the congregation celebrated its annual May Day. This annual singing has been going on since 1887. Thanks to Pastor Darin Davis for the invitation.

David HardageI also had a great time preaching at First Baptist Church in Denton. Pastor Jeff Williams was a gracious host. I enjoyed attending the groundbreaking ceremony for an adult conference center at Latham Springs Camp and the fund-raising banquet at the University of North Texas Baptist Student Ministry. 

I also had the privilege of attending Congreso, where more than 300 professions of faith in Jesus were made in just one night alone. Thanks to Joshua del Riscio for his great leadership and to our Great Commission Team, led by Delvin Atchison, and to everyone who had a part in this time of evangelism and discipleship.

Our 2016 Texas Baptist Golf Classic was a great success. We had 262 golfers show up on a beautiful day to play at the Dallas Athletic Club. This tournament would not be possible without the help of all our sponsors. Funds raised will go to our Texas Baptist Counseling Services. Special thanks to our sponsors:

• Title: BCFS

• Platinum: Baptist Credit Union

• Gold: HighGround Advisors

• Silver: Dallas Baptist University, East Texas Baptist University, Truett Theological Seminary, Bruner Auto Family, Austin Baptist Association and Saville, Dodgen and Company

Thanks also to all our hole sponsors and to everyone who played! 

In recent days, spring floods affected a number of communities in Southeast Texas. Texas Baptist Disaster Recovery will be looking to assist with long-term recovery efforts in the area. You can support the work by donating to Texas Baptist Disaster Recovery at our website.

Faith > Fear is the newest Connect 360 Bible study from BaptistWay Press. This study explores the causes and consequences of fear and suggests remedies for defeating fear through faith in God and his word.

We are in the process of recruiting cohort No. 2 for Leadership Texas Baptists. The first cohort has been a great success for both us and the participants. The link to participate is now live and can be found on its website. Please share this with your networks, and let me know if you have a good candidate. The focus this time is 21- to 35-year-olds to strengthen up-and-coming leaders. 

Every June, Texas Baptists honor two individuals who have left a legacy and are continuing to leave one through their everyday lives. This year, we are pleased to present Sam W. Prestidge Jr., founder of Singing Men of Texas, and Tillie Burgin, founder of Mission Arlington, with Texas Baptist Legacy Awards. These outstanding individuals will be honored Sunday, June 5, at Independence Baptist Church near Brenham at 10 a.m., with a lunch to follow.  If you wish to attend the ceremony and lunch, contact Becky Brown at (214) 828-5301.

David Hardage is executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board.

To those serving on the small-church mission field, I invite you and your church to attend two wonderful events on the campus of Dallas Baptist University July 15-16.

Richard RayOn July 15, we invite pastor and their congregations to a banquet honoring Texas Baptist small churches and those called to serve on the small-church mission field. The evening begins at 6 p.m. with a catered meal, followed by the gospel sounds of The Hubbards.

Our keynote speaker will be author Terry Caffey, who will share his story of the brutal Texas murders that destroyed his family and restored his faith, while shocking the nation. His story will encourage you and your church, while strengthening your faith in Christ. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13) will take on a completely new meaning in your life.

On July 16, we invite pastors and their servant leaders to attend the 30th annual Texas Baptist Small Church Conference. You and your servant leaders will have the opportunity to be encouraged, engaged and educated in the following areas:

• “Biblical Interpretation of Both the Old and New Testament”

• “How to Reach Youth for Christ”

• “Sermon Preparation From Text to Sermon”

• “Certificate of Ministry Program”

• “Small Church/Big Worship”

• “Launching a Children’s Program in Your Church”

• “Minister’s Wife Engaged”

During the Saturday lunch, you will receive a cater meal along with entertainment by Christian humorist Lyndy Phillips, “Laugh with Lyndy.”

I encourage you to mark these dates on your calendar. You do not want to miss this special gathering of those who have been called to serve on the small-church mission field.

Registration is open. Click here to register and to view the complete conference schedule.

Free on-campus housing is available.

If you would like any additional promotional material, please contact us. We are here to serve you as you serve the Lord. Remember, the Lord has called you to serve, but he has not called you to serve alone. Visit our website for more information on how the Bivocational/Small Church Association can minister to and serve you. For more information, email me.

Richard Ray is executive director of the Bivocational/Small Church Association and director of missions for Tri-Rivers Baptist Area.

I would like to share my testimony of my “fall to grace,” as the Lord performed a miracle that brought me back from death.

Richard RayIn 1989, I was stationed at Yokota Air Base in Japan while serving in the U.S. Air Force. In August of that year, my friends and I decided we would climb Mount Fuji. It rises 12,388 feet and is the 35th most prominent mountain in the world.

Our climb started late in the evening so we could arrive at the summit before sunrise. It took us about seven hours to reach the summit, where I stood above the clouds watching the most beautiful sunrise I ever have seen. I stood there, reflecting on God’s amazing beauty.

We soon began our descent. My friends headed out in front of me, while I stayed longer to video record the amazing view. When my time came to descend from the mountaintop, little did I know a miracle was about to take place in my life.

As I started my descent, still very close to the summit, the ground moved beneath me and threw me forward, causing me to be cast over the side of the mountain. I fell several hundred feet, grasping at anything to stop my fall. As I slid, I finally came to a stop by hanging onto a large rock. Then I realized my shoulder and both legs were broken. My head also was injured, and the skin on my face and arm were scraped by lava rock. The only thing I could think of was how mad my wife was going to be. She told me not to climb this mountain, because I would fall.

An hour or so passed before other climbers were able to reach me. They created a makeshift stretcher out of their coats and took me to a mountain station at an elevation of about 10,000 feet. I knew I was going to die. Climbers wrapped my head and did what they could to make me comfortable, but I knew it was only a matter of time before I would pass away, so I began to pray.

My prayer was not for forgiveness or salvation, since I knew I was bound for heaven. My prayers were for my wife, who was expecting our third child in October of that year, that she would not be too mad at me and that she would receive the insurance money without any problems. As I prayed, I died. Those in the station covered my face and radioed down that I had passed away.

However, God had another plan. I awoke and removed the sheet from my face, and you can imagine the surprise of those in the room. Immediately, I begin to pray again for my family. After slipping in and out of consciousness several times due to the lack of blood, I realized I was not going to die.

With blood leaking through the bandages wrapped around my head, my shoulder broken along with both legs, I begin to pray again, but a different prayer. I prayed for healing, starting with my toes and then my feet, ankles and legs. I prayed for hours, knowing if I had any hope of being brought down the mountain alive, I would have to be able to walk.

As I prayed for my toes, they began to move. As I prayed for my ankles, I felt them strengthen. And as I prayed for my legs, I could feel the broken bones restored to their proper place. Then I had the strength to sit up. Everyone in that station was amazed and scared, but I was ready to go home and see my wife and children.

They put me inside a bulldozer and drove me down to where people were waiting to take me to a helicopter to transport me back to the Air Force base. When I arrived, the men who were to transport me were in shock. At first, I did not know why, until I got into the vehicle and saw the body bag that was meant for me. I calmly said to them, “I don’t think you’ll need that.”

My “fall to grace” is not about coming back to God or the assurance of my salvation. It is about how only by the grace of God do we live at all. Romans 14:8 says: “If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.”

Use the time the Lord has granted you and live for him and him alone, for it is only by his grace we live at all.

Richard Ray is executive director of the Bivocational/Small Church Association and director of missions for Tri-Rivers Baptist Area.

We recently held our annual Norvell Slater Senior Adult Hymn Sing at Dallas Baptist University. This has been such a special worship service for many of us the last 28 years. Byron Williamson, pastor of First Baptist Church in Pampa, came up to me at the Hymn Sing to express a word of gratitude for assisting his son, Colby, who is one of our finest students at DBU. I soon realized it was I who should be thanking him. Colby serves as a student worker in my office, and his dad particularly wanted to thank me for giving him a job and taking an interest in him.

Gary CookPastor Williamson told me that in 2007, when it was announced in the Baptist Standard I had leukemia, he and his congregation prayed I would be healed. Colby would have been in the fifth grade then, and his father had no direct affiliation with DBU. Here was a wonderful Texas Baptist pastor who wanted to pray for a Texas Baptist college president who was his brother in Christ. Little did he know that the man he prayed for later would be able to help his son as a college student.

Rev. Williamson prayed for me as many others did because of the bond we all share as Baptist Christians. It is a deep bond of love for our brothers and sisters in Christ. We all are a part of the Baptist family, and in times of need, we come together to pray for each other.

My goodness, I am so grateful to Rev. Williamson and thousands of other Baptist pastors and church members who prayed for me during my hour of need. After 32 days in Baylor University Medical Center and five months of chemotherapy, I was relieved to go into remission in the spring of 2008. I always will be grateful to the members of Texas Baptist churches who prayed for me and for my healing, even though most of them did not know me personally.

If you are one of those individuals who prayed for me back in 2007 when I was at the lowest point of my life, I want to say a very special thank you to you for your prayers, care and concern. My health is good now, and hopefully, I will be able to live a lot longer and be able to serve the Lord for a number of more years.

It is so amazing to reflect on how the Lord prepares us for the future. As a student at Baylor University, I was a member of the Baylor Chamber of Commerce. We had a motto in our organization that came from the famed Christian medical missionary Albert Schweitzer, who gave his life in ministry in Africa: “I don’t know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: The only ones among you who will be truly happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.”

When I came to Dallas Baptist University as president in 1988, the first sermon I ever preached in chapel was on servanthood, and I used this quote by Schweitzer. I had been influenced to serve my fellow man as a Baylor student, and now I had an opportunity to lead others in recognizing their need to serve God by serving their fellow man.

We soon began our emphasis at DBU on servant leadership and developed our mission statement, which reads: “The purpose of Dallas Baptist University is to provide Christ-centered quality higher education in the arts, sciences and professional studies at both the undergraduate and graduate levels to traditional-age and adult students in order to produce servant leaders who have the ability to integrate faith and learning through their respective callings.”

What a privilege it has been to serve as president of Dallas Baptist University the last 28 years with a dedicated group of faculty, staff, trustees, alumni and donors. The Lord has sent to us some of the most wonderful young people and adults in the world to educate and mentor. I consider this to be a sacred trust given to us by the parents and families who have counted on us to help transform these students’ lives as Christian servant leaders.

We have more than 5,300 students studying at DBU, and only in eternity will we know how our alumni have been able to transform the lives of many others as they go into all of the world to share the gospel of Jesus Christ.

All of us at Dallas Baptist University are so pleased to be a part of the Baptist family. Our trustees, faculty and staff are committed in the years ahead to serve our Lord faithfully alongside our Baptist brothers and sisters around the world.

Gary Cook now serves as chancellor of Dallas Baptist University after leading the school as president almost three decades.