Editorial: Stick to your God-determined mission

We have a mission, a God-determined mission, and nothing that happens in the Texas Capitol or the U.S. capital determines or changes that mission. Federal and state laws and policies may affect how we pursue our mission, but they don’t change our mission.

Knowing one’s mission is always important. During periods of heightened political tension, chaos and concern, knowing one’s mission is even more important. Knowing one’s mission provides focus and clarity amid confusion and motivation amid discouragement.

Baptist Standard Publishing has a God-determined mission. You have a God-determined mission, too. Do you know what it is?

History of our mission

Our mission has guided us for almost 110 years—counting just our time as a nonprofit.

Baptist Standard Publishing’s mission is to connect God’s story and God’s people through news, opinion and resources to grow God’s kingdom.

This way of expressing our mission is rooted in what Baptist Standard Publishing was incorporated in 1915 to do. The wording of the original incorporation document is bland but important:

“The purpose for which this corporation is formed is the transaction of a printing or publishing business … the principal object of the Company to print and publish the BAPTIST STANDARD, a newspaper conducted by and for the benefit, and under the direction of the Baptist General Convention of Texas … for the advancement of the denominational work of the Baptist General Convention.”

The 1949 amendment to the articles of incorporation expresses the heart of our mission more clearly:

“Its sole purpose is to serve as a medium for the dissemination of information of a religious nature, and in such respects to furnish religious education to churches of the Baptist Denomination and their members … with reference to different agencies and institutions fostered by the Baptist General Convention of Texas, including schools, orphanages, churches, Sunday Schools, Baptist Training Union, Woman’s Missionary Union, Baptist Student Union, etc.”

The Standard’s board amended the purpose statement in 1963 to read: “The purpose for which this corporation is formed is … to aid and support the Baptist General Convention of Texas and to interpret events and movements that affect the welfare of the people of God.”

Responding to change

In recognition of the power of the internet and social media, the board amended the purpose statement again in 2010 to state our purpose “is the operation of a communications organization, using a variety of technologies to support, inform, and resource the Baptist General Convention of Texas, churches, and faith-based institutions that serve the broader Christian community, and individual people of faith.”

There is one obvious through line in each version of our purpose statement—the Baptist General Convention of Texas. Having been incorporated by the BGCT in 1915 as a separate nonprofit entity—the Baptist Standard was privately owned and published under that name from 1892 to 1914—Baptist Standard Publishing always has been related to the BGCT.

Another through line captured elsewhere in our incorporation documents adds to the purpose statement: “Furthermore, the Corporation is organized for the promotion, advancement and carrying out of the general purposes, and forwarding the interests, of the Baptist denomination, … and the furtherance of the missionary, educational and benevolent interests of said denomination.”

The excerpt above, taken from the 2019 amendment of the Standard’s incorporation document, differs only slightly from the 1915 wording—“The corporation” (1915) versus “Furthermore, the Corporation” (2019).

Two world wars, a flu pandemic, the Dust Bowl and Great Depression, another war, a cultural revolution amid yet another war, an energy crisis, denominational upheaval, another war, a major terrorist attack, two more wars along with the Great Recession, the internet and social media, political tumult, scores of natural disasters, another pandemic, another recession, more political tumult—through it all, our mission has been the same.

In brief: To connect God’s story and God’s people through news, opinion and resources to grow God’s kingdom.

Whatever happens, that’s what we’ll do.

Mission-driven

Whatever the economy does, whatever technology does, whatever our government does—and there are people concerned about how all three of those will affect the Baptist Standard—whatever happens, we will seek to connect God’s story and God’s people to grow God’s kingdom—even if we can’t do it through publishing news, opinion and resources.

This formulation of our mission recognizes we aren’t just a news outlet. We don’t just publish news or opinion, nor do we just publish religious—specifically, Baptist—news, opinion and resources. We publish for the purpose of connecting God’s story and God’s people to grow God’s kingdom.

I’m happy to report God has blessed and is blessing this mission.

This is the mission we keep in front of the staff and board of Baptist Standard Publishing, because we recognize we always must grow toward it; we haven’t arrived. This is the mission we thank every donor for being a part.

And when God tells us to do something different, we’ll do something different.

I used to think all the talk about mission and being mission-focused and mission-driven was just so much corporate hype, a good way to make a good living as a motivational speaker. But I’ve come to appreciate how important having, knowing and pursuing a mission is, and I encourage you to have, know and pursue your God-determined mission.

What is your God-determined mission, that thing God’s called you to do, no matter what? If you don’t know, this is the time to figure it out.

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.