For more than a century, Hispanic Baptists have been a transformative force in the spiritual and social fabric of Texas, leaving a lasting legacy. Their unwavering commitment to evangelism, education and service has impacted lives across the state profoundly—from the rural border towns to the bustling streets of urban centers.

Through tireless dedication, Hispanic Baptists not only have built thriving congregations, but also have propelled significantly the mission of organizations like the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas and the Baptist General Convention of Texas. Their influence continues to resonate, shaping communities with the enduring light of the gospel.

At the heart of this legacy is a deep commitment to holistic ministry, grounded in the conviction that “faith without works is dead” (James 2:17, NKJV).

This vision arises from the Great Commission and the Great Commandment given by our Lord Jesus. It is evident how Hispanic Baptists continually have addressed both the spiritual and physical needs of their communities, embodying a mission that remains as essential today as ever.

Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas

Founded in 1910, the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas—or Convención—has been instrumental in uniting and supporting Hispanic congregations across the state.

What began as a resource for Spanish-speaking churches has grown into a robust network of more than 1,100 congregations, each deeply committed to spreading the gospel and meeting the needs of their communities.

Convención’s mission has expanded to encompass church planting, leadership development and social outreach, empowering churches to serve as agents of transformation in their local contexts.

The reach of these churches extends far beyond the pulpit, addressing not only spiritual hunger, but also critical social and economic issues. From providing food and shelter to promoting education and health care, Hispanic Baptists have lived out the words of Philippians 2:4—“Let each of you look not only to his own interests but also to the interests of others.”

These churches’ holistic approach to ministry, fostered by Convención, has empowered them to shine the light of Christ, especially in the most challenging times.

Partnership with Texas Baptists

The partnership between Convención and Texas Baptists has played a vital role in expanding the influence and reach of Hispanic Baptist churches.

Together, they have equipped congregations to meet the diverse needs of their communities—whether through after-school programs and health services or responding to natural disasters, addressing economic hardships or navigating immigration crises.

Leadership development is a cornerstone of this collaboration. This commitment to nurturing leadership ensures Hispanic Baptist churches remain vibrant and effective for generations to come, sustaining the vital work of ministry across the state.

Many Hispanic Baptist pastors are bivocational, balancing the demands of secular employment with the call to shepherd their churches. Texas Baptists en Español provides critical training and resources to these leaders, enabling them to thrive in their dual roles.

Park Cities en Español, Dallas

Park Cities en Español—a Spanish-language ministry of Park Cities Baptist Church in Dallas—stands as a powerful model of holistic ministry.

A commitment to holistic ministry, as reflected in 1 Peter 4:10—“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace”—has enabled the church to meet both the spiritual and material needs of its community during a time of crisis.

Located near neighborhoods such as Vickery Meadow and Bachman Lake, where economic hardship and immigrant communities face daily struggles, Park Cities en Español has embraced these areas as mission fields.

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, Park Cities en Español responded swiftly by launching online services, distributing food and providing resources to families affected by job loss and isolation.

A key part of this outreach has been the church’s partnership with the Buckner Family Hope Center in Bachman Lake. Through initiatives like parenting and spiritual development classes, this collaboration resulted in the formation of a satellite worship service, now celebrating its first anniversary.

Additionally, the establishment of the Herrera Center in Vickery Meadow, where Park Cities en Español has hosted another satellite service for the past two years, has expanded the church’s reach further, providing vital resources and spiritual support to the community.

These partnerships not only address immediate needs, but also empower families with the tools and resources they need to build a brighter future. The work of Park Cities en Español embodies the message of Matthew 5:16—“Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Iglesia Bautista Emanuel, McAllen

Iglesia Bautista Emanuel in McAllen, led by Pastor Edson Lara, serves as another powerful example of faith in action. Pastor Lara’s work embodies the call to action found in James 2:17—“Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”

Situated in a community heavily populated by migrant workers and their families, the church addresses the deep-rooted issues of poverty and job insecurity many face daily. Pastor Lara’s ministry goes far beyond traditional church services to provide food distribution, medical assistance and educational support to those in need.

By actively engaging with the physical and spiritual needs of his community, Pastor Lara has created a church that serves as both a refuge and a resource. The impact of Iglesia Bautista Emanuel is felt throughout the region, as the church remains a constant presence in the lives of the families it serves, offering them hope and tangible support.

A lasting legacy

The enduring commitment of Hispanic Baptists in Texas to faith and service has left an indelible mark on the state, bringing hope to the forgotten, comfort to the suffering and the light of the gospel to those in need.

Their faithfulness to God and their communities has been a testament to his goodness, and their legacy of faith and service undoubtedly will continue to shape the future of Texas for generations to come, all for the glory of Jesus Christ.

Dr. Rolando D. Aguirre is chair of the board of the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas and associate pastor of teaching and Spanish language ministries at Park Cities Baptist Church in Dallas.

Por más de un siglo, los Bautistas Hispanos han sido una fuerza transformadora en el tejido espiritual y social de Texas, dejando un legado perdurable. Su compromiso inquebrantable con la evangelización, la educación y el servicio ha impactado profundamente las vidas en todo el estado, desde las zonas rurales de los pueblos fronterizos hasta las bulliciosas calles de los centros urbanos.

A través de una dedicación incansable, los Bautistas Hispanos no solo han edificado congregaciones prósperas, sino que también han impulsado significativamente la misión de organizaciones como la Convención Bautista Hispana de Texas y la Convención Bautista General de Texas. Por eso, su influencia sigue resonando y moldeando comunidades con la luz perdurable del evangelio.

En el corazón de este legado está un compromiso profundo con el ministerio integral, basado en la convicción de que “la fe sin obras es muerta” (Santiago 2:17, RVR).

Esta visión surge de la Gran Comisión y el Gran Mandamiento dado por nuestro Señor Jesús. Es evidente cómo los Bautistas Hispanos han atendido constantemente tanto las necesidades espirituales como físicas de sus comunidades, encarnando una misión que sigue siendo tan esencial hoy como siempre.

Convención Bautista Hispana de Texas

Fundada en 1910, la Convención Bautista Hispana de Texas—también conocida como la Convención—ha sido fundamental en la unión y el apoyo a las congregaciones hispanas en todo el estado.

Lo que comenzó como un recurso para las iglesias de habla hispana se ha expandido a una sólida red de más de 1,100 congregaciones, cada una profundamente comprometida con la difusión del evangelio y con atender las necesidades de sus comunidades.

La misión de la Convención se ha ampliado para abarcar la multiplicación de iglesias, el desarrollo de liderazgo y el alcance social, empoderando a las iglesias a ser agentes de transformación en sus contextos locales.

El alcance de estas iglesias va mucho más allá del púlpito, abordando no solo el hambre espiritual, sino también temas sociales y económicos críticos. Desde la provisión de alimentos y refugio hasta la promoción de la educación y la salud, los Bautistas Hispanos han vivido las palabras de Filipenses 2:4: “no mirando cada uno por lo suyo propio, sino cada cual también por lo de los otros”.

El enfoque integral de estas iglesias, fomentado por la Convención, les ha permitido brillar con la luz de Cristo, especialmente en los momentos más difíciles.

Alianza con los Bautistas de Texas

La alianza entre la Convención y los Bautistas de Texas ha desempeñado un papel vital en la expansión de la influencia y el alcance de las iglesias bautistas hispanas.

Juntos, han capacitado a las congregaciones para satisfacer las diversas necesidades de sus comunidades, ya sea mediante programas extracurriculares, servicios de salud, respuestas a desastres naturales, enfrentando dificultades económicas o navegando crisis migratorias.

El desarrollo de liderazgo es un pilar fundamental de esta colaboración. Este compromiso con la formación de liderazgo asegura que las iglesias bautistas hispanas sigan siendo vibrantes y eficaces para las futuras generaciones, sosteniendo el trabajo vital del ministerio en todo el estado.

Muchos pastores bautistas hispanos son bivocacionales, equilibrando las demandas del empleo secular con el llamado a pastorear sus iglesias. Bautistas de Texas en Español proporciona capacitación y recursos cruciales a estos líderes, permitiéndoles prosperar en sus roles duales.

Park Cities en Español, Dallas

Park Cities en Español, el ministerio en español de Park Cities Baptist Church en Dallas, es un modelo poderoso de un ministerio holístico.

Este tipo de compromiso como el que se refleja en 1 Pedro 4:10 donde dice: “cada uno según el don que ha recibido, minístrelo a los otros, como buenos administradores de la multiforme gracia de Dios”—ha permitido a la iglesia satisfacer tanto las necesidades espirituales como materiales de su comunidad en tiempos de crisis.

Ubicada cerca de vecindarios como Vickery Meadow y Bachman Lake, donde la dificultad económica y las comunidades de inmigrantes enfrentan luchas diarias, Park Cities en Español ha abrazado estas áreas como campos de misión.

Cuando la pandemia de COVID-19 golpeó, Park Cities en Español respondió rápidamente lanzando servicios en línea, distribuyendo alimentos y proporcionando recursos a las familias afectadas por la pérdida de empleo y el aislamiento.

Una parte clave de este alcance ha sido la alianza de la iglesia con el Buckner Family Hope Center en Bachman Lake. A través de iniciativas como clases de desarrollo espiritual y parental, esta colaboración resultó en la formación de un servicio de adoración satélite, que ahora celebra su primer aniversario.

Además, el establecimiento del Centro Herrera en Vickery Meadow, donde Park Cities en Español ha albergado otro servicio satélite durante los últimos dos años, ha ampliado aún más el alcance de la iglesia, proporcionando recursos vitales y apoyo espiritual a la comunidad.

Estas alianzas no solo abordan las necesidades inmediatas, sino que también empoderan a las familias con las herramientas y recursos que necesitan para construir un futuro mejor. El trabajo de Park Cities en Español encarna el mensaje de Mateo 5:16—“Así alumbre vuestra luz delante de los hombres, para que vean vuestras buenas obras, y glorifiquen a vuestro Padre que está en los cielos”.

Iglesia Bautista Emanuel, McAllen

La Iglesia Bautista Emanuel en McAllen, dirigida por el pastor Edson Lara, es otro poderoso ejemplo de la fe en acción. El trabajo del pastor Lara encarna el llamado a la acción que se encuentra en Santiago 2:17: “la fe, si no tiene obras, es muerta en sí misma.”

Situada en una comunidad compuesta en gran parte por trabajadores migrantes y sus familias, la iglesia aborda los problemas profundamente arraigados de la pobreza y la inseguridad laboral que muchos enfrentan diariamente. El ministerio del pastor Lara va más allá de los servicios tradicionales de la iglesia para proporcionar distribución de alimentos, asistencia médica y apoyo educativo a los necesitados.

Al involucrarse activamente con las necesidades físicas y espirituales de su comunidad, el pastor Lara ha creado una iglesia que sirve tanto como un refugio como un recurso. El impacto de la Iglesia Bautista Emanuel se siente en toda la región, ya que la iglesia sigue siendo una presencia constante en las vidas de las familias a las que sirve, ofreciéndoles esperanza y apoyo tangible.

Un legado duradero

El compromiso perdurable de los Bautistas Hispanos en Texas con la fe y el servicio ha dejado una marca imborrable en el estado, llevando esperanza a los olvidados, consuelo a los que sufren y la luz del evangelio a los necesitados.

Su fidelidad a Dios y a sus comunidades ha sido un testimonio de su bondad, y su legado de fe y servicio sin duda continuará moldeando el futuro de Texas durante generaciones, todo para la gloria de Jesucristo.

El Dr. Rolando D. Aguirre es presidente de la junta directiva de la Convención Bautista Hispana de Texas y pastor asociado de los ministerios de enseñanza y de idioma español en la Iglesia Bautista Park Cities en Dallas.

We are awash in challenges—political, environmental, medical, financial, cultural, social and more. Some of us tend to see the size, complexity and pervasiveness of the challenges and be overwhelmed by it all, without stopping to realize we don’t meet these challenges alone.

Through the foresight of our forebears, Baptists have an array of organizations not only at the ready, but also bringing their resources and expertise to bear even now on multiple challenges at once. Baptists are active on multiple fronts, and we shouldn’t lose sight of that.

So, let this be an encouragement. Yes, we are in challenging times. We are surrounded by difficulties and dangers, yet to be preachy: “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted [many places in the world], but not abandoned; [maybe even] struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9).

Why are we not overcome? Because of the power of Christ in us.

This is not to make light of the real and serious issues facing not only Baptists, but all Christians and their neighbors. However, it is to remind us we are not helpless or hopeless. And not because Baptists are so great, but because Jesus Christ is. We absolutely must not lose sight of that.

What Baptists are doing

Baptists are responding to Hurricane Helene, providing disaster relief through Texans on Mission and other Baptist disaster relief agencies. These same agencies are preparing to respond to Hurricane Milton. And they’re asking for help.

Baptists are advocating for God-honoring public policy through the Texas Baptists’ Christian Life Commission and similar agencies. Among other policy initiatives, the CLC is asking for our help encouraging Texas state senators to pass legislation to install air conditioning in Texas prisons, where inmates and employees endure unhealthy conditions caused by extreme heat.

Baptists are providing in-person aid to war-torn areas such as Ukraine, Gaza and Lebanon, even as war rages around them. And they’re also asking for our help.

Baptists are working toward better prevention of sexual abuse and better responses when abuse occurs. The work of the Texas Baptists’ Sexual Abuse Task Force is a good step in that direction. One of the task force’s recommendations—a user-friendly web resource—is already up and running in English and Spanish. We need to do our part, also.

Baptist schools, Baptist hospitals, Baptist human welfare organizations and Baptist mission agencies are in full swing right now. And so are tens of thousands of Baptist churches, large and small. They all are giving witness and testimony—in word and deed—of Jesus Christ’s work to redeem and restore all of creation.

We shouldn’t lose sight of all Baptists are doing right now to meet the real and serious challenges of our time.

More than that, we shouldn’t lose sight of why Baptists are doing all of this.

Who Baptists are

The following commitments, spelled out by Bill Pinson and Doris Tinker, are central to Baptist identity—who Baptists are and why Baptists do what good we do:

• the Lordship of Jesus Christ,
• the Bible as the sole written authority for faith and practice, and
• the priesthood of each and every believer in Christ.

Arising from these are Baptists’ commitment to evangelism, missions, Christian education, ministry and social concern.

Notice what comes first on the list—the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Before and above all else, Baptists are who we are and do what good we do because Jesus is Lord. Or at least that’s how it should be.

I will be the first to admit, though, it’s easy to shift the center … ever so slightly … at first. It’s easy to center our identity on things we do or on our name, our legacy or our influence, instead of on Jesus, especially if Jesus is still in the picture.

When Jesus is off-center, our claims to allegiance are really claims of affiliation. That is a significant category error.

We must guard against this subtle shift of identity, a shift that reveals we are shaped more by the world’s values than by Jesus’ lordship.

What Baptist means

One way we might guard against this shift is to keep in front of us the basic meaning of “Baptist.”

At the risk of being obnoxiously obvious, Baptist comes from baptize. Without getting into mode of baptism, the core of baptism is to identify with Jesus in his death, burial and resurrection through being put under water.

Yes, Baptists believe the original word baptizo is properly understood to mean being completely submerged in water—dunked, you might say. That’s why some called us “Dunkers” in our early days.

Hmm. Southern Dunker Convention. Dunker General Convention of Texas. Cooperative Dunker Fellowship. Dunker Standard. It’s for the best we went with “Baptist.” Otherwise, people would confuse us with donuts.

Anyway. See how easy it is to lose focus?

To be Baptist is to have Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection at the center of who we are. It is to submit ourselves to Jesus’ lordship to the degree that we identify—even with our very name—with his death, burial and resurrection.

It’s easy to lose sight of that when “Baptist” appears in such large lighted letters on the side of an office tower or in prominent font on the cover of a slick marketing piece—which is not a dig but a caution.

Baptists have reason to celebrate. We are making a positive difference in the world in multiple places and ways. But what is to be celebrated isn’t a what at all, but a who, and he is Jesus—our identity, our reason for being, our very life. We shouldn’t lose sight of that.

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.

CAUTION: For anyone who has had an abortion, for whatever reason, knows someone who has had an abortion or has been harmed sexually, this opinion article may be difficult to read or consider.

Abortion is not a single issue. It is a multifold issue, and we need to address it that way—at every level.

Abortion is a key issue in the current national and state elections. As with so much in politics, abortion is reduced to rhetoric—a soundbite, a talking point, a policy matter—so much so, we may be lulled into thinking we solve abortion with the simple casting of a ballot.

Oh, no. We’re not going to get off that easy. Abortion is not that simple, whatever one’s stance on it may be, whatever a court may say, whatever legislation is passed. It is a multifold issue, and we need to address it that way.

We can begin almost anywhere in addressing abortion. I’m going to begin with the woman or girl sitting next to us at church who’s had an abortion, and we know nothing about it.

It’s likely she hears one of three messages: “You’re a baby killer,” “Your body, your choice” or silence. None of those help her.

It’s likely, being in church, she wants to hear, needs to hear: “We love you. Life is hard, and we are going to live it with you.” And she needs more than our talk. She needs us to walk our talk—including on social media.

Since we don’t know she’s had an abortion, we don’t know any of the circumstances surrounding the abortion. And that’s where I will start.

I use “start” intentionally, because I’m not going to wrap it all up with a bow at the end. I’m not going to do all the work for you by telling you everything you should think and do. You wouldn’t want me to, anyway. But, true to form for me, I will ask a lot of questions.

What are the circumstances?

We don’t know if she had an abortion willingly or under duress, as an active choice or a passive choice.

If willingly, why? Yes, why matters. At least, if we care about a person—a whole person—why matters.

If under duress, did someone force her to get an abortion? If so, who? Boyfriend, husband, parents, pimp or other employer—each is its own set of issues. Is she still with that person? What is that relationship like? Is she safe? Do we care? If we care, how will she ever know? If we care, what will we do about it?

Or maybe it wasn’t a person. Maybe it was finances or health.

If finances: What did she need financially to choose something other than abortion? Are we living our own lives in this world in such a way that our desire for her to give birth is affordable for her? That question is a truckload of issues all by itself.

As a counter, someone might ask: “Why is her being able to afford a baby my responsibility? No one made sure I could afford to have my baby.” Maybe no one did, but the older I get, the more I realize how much of what we have is through the help of other people—past and present—and that we have more responsibility for others’ lives than we often want to take on.

If health: Was the pregnancy ectopic, or was her and/or the baby’s life otherwise at serious risk? Assuming such a situation and that only one life could be saved, which life was more moral to save? I realize that’s the stuff of college ethics classes, but I also know real people who really have wrestled with this question, because it was a live issue, not an academic exercise for them.

Or what if she has a severe health condition—physical or mental—that requires medication to keep her alive that also would endanger or kill the developing baby? Again, whose life was more moral to save? Here again, this is not merely an academic exercise. I know at least one person who wrestled with this choice.

Or did she need more information? What did she know beforehand about abortion, adoption or otherwise? Did she know or feel she had other options? Are you and I to be demonized, too, for what we don’t know?

These are only some of the circumstances that may have affected her having an abortion.

After the questions, then what?

We know abortion is a multifold issue. When we get past the rhetoric, it becomes an all-encompassing and perhaps overwhelming issue. And we know intuitively it requires something from all of us. It’s no wonder we protest so passionately for or against abortion restrictions. What if we gave more of that time and energy to the woman or girl sitting next to us at church—or to another woman or girl who needs it?

Thankfully, there are people and organizations doing just that. They do care for women and girls like her. They are walking their talk about the sacredness of all human life. They often go by the name “Pregnancy Center.”

I said at the beginning I wasn’t going to tell you everything you should think and do, but I will argue there are some things we do need to think and do.

We need to think all life is sacred to such a degree that our thinking about the sacredness of human life affects everything we do related to human life.

For example, we need to train men and boys not to rape women and girls, or otherwise pressure them to have sex. What we have done is train boys with “locker room talk,” pornography, machismo and male entitlement. Maybe you and I haven’t done any of that, but we don’t have to look too far to find who has and who is doing it. What are we doing about it?

After training men and boys to objectify women and girls for their own desires, we blame the women and girls for getting pregnant, and we demonize them if they abort the pregnancy. Again, we don’t have to look too far to find who’s blaming and demonizing the women and girls—or to see who is rewarded for objectifying them. What are we going to do about it?

Remember, the woman or girl sitting next to us at church needs more than our talk and our vote.

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 Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board approved recommendations of the Sexual Abuse Task Force by voting for the board’s chair and vice chair to appoint members of an implementation task force.

I applaud the work of the Sexual Abuse Task Force and the recommendations they made.

Following their report to the September 2024 meeting of the Executive Board, the board voted to create an implementation task force to ensure the recommendations are enacted.

I applaud the creation of an implementation task force.

And I call all Texas Baptists to facilitate the implementation of the Sexual Abuse Task Force’s 11 recommendations.

Task force composition

The task force was formed during the May 2023 Executive Board meeting.

Board Chair Bobby Contreras and Texas Baptists Associate Executive Director Craig Christina appointed the members of the task force, three of whom were to be current board members, three of whom were to be pastors not currently serving on the board and three of whom were to be counselors not currently serving on the board.

The task force deserves our thanks. Members of the task force are:

Executive Board members

• Janice Bloom, task force chair and attorney in Dallas.
• Suzie Liner, licensed physician in Lubbock.
• Chad Edgington, pastor of First Baptist Church in Olney and a licensed and practicing attorney.

Pastors not on the board:

• Elmo Johnson, pastor of Rose of Sharon Missionary Baptist Church in Houston.
• Dwight McKissic, senior pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington.
• Ariel Martinez, senior pastor of Del Sol Church in El Paso.

Licensed professional counselors:

• Olga Harris, LPC, who was at the time of appointment with Olga Harris Counseling but is now the director of counseling services for Texas Baptists.
• Cynthia Jones, LPC and supervisor for Embrace Counseling Service.
• Todd Linder, LPC and executive director of Creekbend Center for Counseling in Midlothian.

Thank you to each of these nine individuals for the extra time they gave to developing recommendations, for considering a very unpleasant topic, and for bringing their experience and expertise to bear.

Let’s honor their work by implementing their recommendations.

A first step was accomplished right after the task force gave its report to the Executive Board on Sept. 24.

Steve Bezner, pastor of Houston Northwest Church, made a motion to create an implementation task force, and the board approved the motion. New Board Chair Heath Kirkwood and new Vice Chair Suzie Liner will appoint its members. I celebrate Bezner’s motion and the board’s vote.

Texas Baptists should be lining up already to implement the recommendations.

The recommendations

The following is the exact wording of the 11 recommendations, provided by Janice Bloom, chair of the Sexual Abuse Task Force. I am including the text of the recommendations as presented, so you can see and consider what the Executive Board was presented and what the implementation task force will shepherd to enactment.

Recommendations for programs and resources

We recommend that Texas Baptists Administration create an awareness program that includes:

• Developing or directing the development of resources to help churches implement a comprehensive church safety team.
• Encouraging churches to engage in annual training about sexual abuse and related issues.
• Dedicating a Sunday in conjunction with National Child Abuse Awareness Month (April) to include availability of materials and sermon outlines to help pastors highlight this issue.
• Developing or directing the development of a list of attorneys and counselors with knowledge of this issue who are willing to be referrals in each Texas Baptists sector.

Recommendations for the convention

• Develop a model policy for dealing with sex offenders who desire to attend church.
• Include a speaker at [the BGCT] 2025 annual meeting to address the importance of this topic and what the church needs to know.
• Amend the bylaws to provide a disciplinary measure for members of the Executive Board, including removal from office by the board with rights of due process and appeal to any disciplined member [in the event of misconduct by an officer or director].

Recommendations for the Executive Board

Because the following recommendations have to do with policies, once developed and drafted in detail, they will be presented to the appropriate committee for discussion and approval, and [if] approved, for [Executive Board] vote. These are as follows:

• A [written] code of conduct for [Texas Baptists] staff, Executive Board members, volunteers, affiliates and vendors.
• Review Texas Baptists’ policy manual and recommend additional abuse prevention and response policies.
• Evaluate whether additional policies/guidance are necessary for the Emergency Response Council to add consistency of response.
• Assess the need for additional job responsibilities to formalize the year-round proactive approach.

How not to implement

Many of the recommendations call for preliminary or next-step kind of work: developing, encouraging, dedicating, amending, writing, reviewing, evaluating and assessing. This language may tempt some to think the task force didn’t accomplish anything, but that is to make a category error.

The category error is this: It’s not the task force’s job to fix the problem of sexual abuse. That’s our job—all of us. The task force’s job was to create a framework of actionable items. Now, we need to get to it.

Some will assert the recommendations are too little too late. It’s OK to agree such things needed to be done years ago and to grieve they weren’t done sooner. But the recommendations have been made now. Let’s not let regret paralyze progress. Rather, let’s facilitate their success.

Some will think they’ve done all they need to do when the preliminary work is done. They would be wrong. To think we’ve done all that’s required by writing policy pages for a notebook is to think we’ve been baptized simply by wearing the white robe. No, we’ve got to get all wet.

Thus, the need for an implementation task force to ensure the recommendations are enacted.

And if you’re paying attention, you know the implementation task force is just another step on the way. The needed work won’t be done until we regularly and consistently are screening staff and volunteers, training them and enforcing good policy.

So, let’s get to it. Let’s implement the 11 recommendations above.

Implementation underway

Many churches and ministries already are conducting background checks on all staff and all volunteers working with vulnerable populations. All churches need to do this initial step.

Many churches and ministries already have policies in place governing who can work with vulnerable populations, when and under what circumstances. All churches need to have such policies. MinistrySafe offers help writing good policy.

Every church and ministry must enforce their policies—consistently.

Many churches and ministries offer abuse prevention training. Training is a critical component to abuse prevention—and not just sexual abuse, but also physical, verbal, emotional, mental and spiritual abuse.

No abuse should be tolerated within the body of Christ. No one—minor or adult—should be abused in any way within the body of Christ.

Training helps us recognize abuse as early as possible. Think of it this way: If you don’t want a preacher in the pulpit who hasn’t had at least a little theological training, then you don’t want people working with your kids who don’t know danger when they see it.

I applaud what so many are doing already to prevent abuse and to respond well when it happens. It’s time for all of us to do our part. Let’s implement all the Sexual Abuse Task Force’s recommendations.

Resources

Our 2018 series on child sexual abuse and the church, written by Licensed Professional Counselor Scott Floyd, offers some guidance.

A new English and Spanish version of Texas Baptists’ Sexual Abuse Response webpage is scheduled to launch Sept. 30. A Chinese-language version is expected to be available at a later date.

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.

CORRECTION: The seventh paragraph was corrected (Sept. 27, 2024) to add Craig Christina, who also appointed Sexual Abuse Task Force members.

I join the Haitian Christian Leaders Association in their objection to the false claims against the Haitian community in Springfield, Ohio.

I do this for at least three reasons:

1. Scripture commands us not to bear false witness against others.
2. Scripture instructs us to care for immigrants.
3. Jesus tells us to do to others what we want done to us.

The group of Haitian Christian leaders issued a public statement on Sept. 12 in response to claims vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance promoted on X (formerly Twitter) that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were eating people’s pets.

The claims resulted in threats of violence against public facilities in Springfield, forcing temporary closures and at least one church to wonder if it was safe to meet on Sunday. The threats have been enough in just one week to lead some Haitian Springfield residents to consider relocating.

The handful of claims quickly became scads of memes, which quickly became millions of shares on social media. The memes turned into punchlines, and not just about Haitians. One Christian media outlet used the claims to disparage another ethnicity altogether.

These false claims against Haitian immigrants are despicable. Promoting them is despicable. Threats of violence in response to these claims are despicable. Using these claims to disparage others is despicable, and calling it “satire” doesn’t excuse it.

Christians are not to be party to such slander and hate.

Do not bear false witness

The American Standard Bible, long considered one of the most—if not the most—literal English translations, renders the ninth commandment as: “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor” (Exodus 20:16), or “Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbor” (Deuteronomy 5:20).

Whatever the English translation or location—Exodus or Deuteronomy—we know what the commandment means: Don’t lie about other people. And not just other people. Don’t lie about your neighbor.

We don’t need scholars to break down the passage for us to know what the command prohibits … unless, that is, we want to make sure our particular lies about others are exempt.

In this instance, Vance and others have maintained, to a certain extent, the validity—the truth—of the claims about Haitian immigrants. If that’s the case, that the claims are true—which they aren’t—then Vance and others might not be guilty of bearing false witness. But they might be guilty of something else.

Love the foreigner living among you

Returning to Deuteronomy, Scripture instructs God’s people to “love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (10:19 KJV). Other versions substitute “alien,” “foreigner” or “sojourner” for “stranger.”

Leviticus 19:34 makes it even plainer: “The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the LORD your God” (NIV).

I could cite instruction after instruction throughout Scripture about how we are to treat “the foreigner residing among us.” None of them tell us to lie about immigrants, harass them or threaten them. Though I could cite many passages, I will cite just one more.

At the end of Ezekiel, the prophet relates a vision of Israel restored after its exile. It’s a long vision, nine chapters worth of Ezekiel’s prophetic writing.

When the man in the vision tells Ezekiel how the land of Israel will be divided up, the man says: “You shall divide it by lot for an inheritance among yourselves and among the aliens who stay in your midst … and they shall be to you as the native-born among the sons of Israel; they shall be allotted an inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel” (Ezekiel 47:22 NASB).

We can get bogged down in interpretation—what exactly is going on, what precisely is meant by this passage and maybe when this is supposed to happen—and miss the overarching message.

The message is this: God makes provision through us for “the foreigner residing among you.”

Some still will quibble, saying what the Bible says about caring for foreigners applies only to God-fearing people who aren’t Israelites, or those instructions don’t apply to our situation in the 21st-century United States. How we love to strain out gnats (Matthew 23:24).

Do to others as you want done to you

We might skirt the law against lying. We might skirt the many instructions to care for “foreigners.” But we can’t skirt Jesus’ instruction to do to others as we want them to do to us.

“In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12 NASB).

I hardly think those spreading false claims about Haitian immigrants want to have horrid lies spread about them. I seriously doubt they want to be under threat of violent death by those they are lying about.

But, I guess here again one can argue Jesus’ instruction only applies to people who follow him.

Explaining his Christian faith to the Faith & Freedom Coalition Prayer Breakfast on July 18, Vance said: “I think grace, the way that I understand it, is something that happens over a lifetime, and in ways big and small, if you practice your faith, if you pray, if you think about what it requires of you, then God makes you a little bit better each and every single day, and that to me has been the greatest lesson and the greatest blessing of my faith.”

May J.D. Vance—and all of us—be at least a little bit more like Jesus each and every single day.

For the Christian label to mean anything, it must mean that we who claim it are those who are practicing our faith—or as Jesus said it, learning to obey everything he commanded (Matthew 28:20).

During these days of tribalism in which many identify themselves as God’s people, we do well to pay attention to the kind of God our God is and what God expects. And if we’re going to call ourselves a “Christian nation,” then we are duty-bound to live by Christ’s name.

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

As I reflect back on the many years I was a pastor and then an associational director of missions, I want to encourage “young” pastors.

At my age, “young” is relative. A young pastor could be 50 years old and starting pastoral ministry. Whatever your age, I hope this advice will encourage you.

Calling

Being a pastor is very important.

I remember when I started out, I had a scrapbook I wrote in, and I remember sharing it with my grandmother, and I remember her reaction when I had written in it: “I would rather answer God’s call to be a pastor than to be the president of the United States.”

That calling is the highest calling.

I never remember ever thinking I was somebody. I didn’t deserve it. I certainly didn’t earn it, but it was there.

Love

As far as how I saw my role, first of all, was that I was to love the people.

There were times when I got upset, but I never doubted people will overlook some mistakes if they know you love them and you are serving the Lord by serving them. Love covers a multitude of sins.

I really have felt so blessed through the years that the Lord gave me that feeling of commitment and love to really be a minister and to care for the people. Part of my sense of calling is to try to minister to them and pray with them.

Family

Yet, there were times when, looking back, I was more committed to doing those things than I was spending the balance of time with family. In every family, there are times like that.

Try to keep a balance between your ministry to the church and your ministry to your family.

There will always be church people who think you owe it all to them. At the same time, you just have to love them and go on the best you can.

Leadership

I never tried to be a ramrod. In my favorite ordination sermon, I always tried to point out the difference between being a shepherd and being a trail boss on a cattle drive. Jesus called himself the Great Shepherd. To me, that is a real distinction.

Peter talks a lot about being a shepherd and ministering to people and guarding them.

Treat people the way Jesus treats us—loving us, caring for us, showing respect.

Love again

Three words that stand out as far as our relationship with Jesus are grace, mercy and love. If we as pastors don’t show those attitudes, something is missing.

Grace is getting what we didn’t deserve. Mercy is not getting what we did deserve. Love covers it all. If you don’t have love, mercy and grace, something is missing badly.

I don’t care where you are, there’s always going to be someone who is hurting, and a minister who chooses not to be there is missing something.

Preaching

If God hasn’t called you to preach, then do what you need to do. But if he has, that’s where you’re going to find your fulfillment.

Preaching is a crucial part of your ministry. It needs to be biblical. We’re there representing the Lord. We need to be telling his message, not some pet peeve or using the platform for your agenda. As the prophet said, “Thus sayeth the Lord.”

Did God really say this? Is this really what he wants us to know? What is his message to us, and how are we to respond?

Somewhere in the message, you need to be telling the good news. People need to know there’s hope and that Jesus saves.

It’s easy for some to get sidetracked, and I think we’re seeing a lot of that in our day today with the political stuff. There are people who have missed what it means to be a follower of Jesus, and they’ve tried to make it a political issue, rather than understanding we’re here to represent the Lord, and that we’re to represent him well.

The Lord is the one who matters. It’s about his glory and his honor.

Endurance

The thing that helped me as much as anything was when the church gave me a sabbatical. There were some people who understood it and promoted it; otherwise, I don’t think it would have happened.

A sabbatical can provide relief before burnout starts.

A sabbatical says to a pastor, “We’re a hundred percent in favor of blessing you, so in turn you bless us, and to giving you the opportunity to grow and to learn yourself.”

You need to have a network with other pastors who can listen and pray for you. You have to be careful, though. There has to be trust developed. If you’re not careful, you can share too much, and you wind up with people you thought were close gossiping about you.

You can’t just unload everything. You need to have a good listener who is willing to come alongside and share the load a little bit.

Don’t be too trusting, but don’t be too cautious either.

Calling again

Whatever your age, stay with it, and be faithful to the end.

Editor Eric Black recorded this interview with his father-in-law Glenn Ward on Aug. 25. Glenn died on Aug. 31. He stayed faithful to the end.

Glenn Ward was a pastor for 45 years—37 years at Acton Baptist Church outside Granbury—and director of missions for Paluxy Baptist Association in Granbury for 11 years. This interview was edited for length.

Si las más de 3,300 congregaciones hispanas de la Convención Bautista del Sur tuvieran su propia convención estatal, serían la cuarta convención más grande del país, detrás de las convenciones de Texas (Baptist Convention of Texas), Carolina del Norte y Georgia.

Puede que le sorprenda, como a mí, descubrir que este importante grupo no tiene representación en el Comité Ejecutivo de la SBC, ni en su personal, y no cuenta con recursos en el presupuesto de la SBC.

La Red Nacional Bautista Hispana viene a cubrir la urgente necesidad de liderazgo hispano a nivel nacional.

Un campo de misión en constante crecimiento

El crecimiento de la población estadounidense está impulsado por la comunidad hispana.

Según la investigación de Pew Research, entre 2010 y 2022, los hispanos representaron el 53 porcentaje del aumento de la población. Sin embargo, entre 2022 y 2023, «la población hispana representó algo menos del 71 porcentaje del crecimiento global de la población de Estados Unidos», según la Oficina del Censo estadounidense.

En 2023, los hispanos constituían casi el 20 porcentaje de la población, lo que los convertía en el segundo grupo más numeroso de los Estados Unidos.

Ver a esta comunidad como una vez Jesús vio a las multitudes y sintió compasión por ellas es declarar de acuerdo «La cosecha es abundante, pero los trabajadores son pocos» (Mateo 9:37).

Las iglesias hispanas en la SBC, aunque crecientes, también son pocas.

Desde 2011, la SBC tuvo una ganancia neta de 111 congregaciones hispanas, mientras que las congregaciones anglosajonas sufrieron una pérdida neta de 1,337 congregaciones.

No obstante, Bruno Molina, director ejecutivo de la Red Nacional Bautista Hispana señala que: «Aunque los hispanos representamos alrededor del 20 porcentaje de la población de la nación, sólo constituimos el 7 porciento de las iglesias de la Convención Bautista del Sur. Aunque un buen número de las iglesias de la SBC son iglesias hispanas, hay un déficit del 13 porcentaje en la representación hispana.»

Las congregaciones hispanas están a la vanguardia para alcanzar y ministrar a casi una quinta parte de la población del país.

Nunca en la historia de nuestra nación tan pocas congregaciones hispanas han tenido una oportunidad tan grande de ministerio.

En yuxtaposición a esta perspectiva evangelizadora histórica a la que se enfrentan las iglesias hispanas de la SBC, está el flagrante vacío de liderazgo hispano y de recursos a su disposición a nivel nacional.

Representación hispana en la SBC

No hay representación hispana en el Comité Ejecutivo de la SBC, el órgano de gobierno de la denominación compuesto por 86 representantes.

No hay representación hispana en el personal del Comité Ejecutivo de la convención. Esto significa que no hay hispanos en los equipos de la oficina del presidente, comunicaciones, finanzas, promoción y relaciones, o instalaciones.

Contrasta esto con el contexto más rico que vemos en el trabajo bautista aquí en Texas.

Texas Baptists (Convención Bautista General de Texas) tiene 48 empleados hispanos. Texas Baptists en Español, el departamento de la convención centrado en las iglesias y líderes hispanos, cuenta con tres empleados dedicados a sus esfuerzos. Cabe destacar que hay 14 directores hispanos en la Junta Ejecutiva de Texas Baptists.

SBTC en Español, la oficina correspondiente de la Convención Bautista del Sur de Texas, cuenta con cinco miembros del personal comprometidos con el servicio a sus iglesias hispanas.

La Convención Bautista Hispana de Texas tiene cuatro empleados dedicados a servir a las casi 1,100 iglesias bautistas hispanas del estado.

Las congregaciones hispanas de la SBC tampoco cuenta con recursos en el presupuesto anual.

En 2023, alegando «limitaciones presupuestarias actuales», la SBC suprimió el puesto de director ejecutivo de relaciones y movilización hispanas, el único hispano en el personal de la Comité Ejecutivo de la SBC.

En un presupuesto de SBC de 1,067 billones de dólares—lo que supone un aumento de 235.000 dólares respecto al presupuesto anterior—no hay financiación para los líderes de relaciones étnicas. No hay financiación para las reuniones anuales de los grupos étnicos. Y no hay fondos para contratar trabajadores que se relacionen con las iglesias hispanas, ni siquiera a tiempo parcial.

Entra la Red Nacional Bautista Hispana.

La Red Nacional Bautista Hispana

La Red Nacional Bautista Hispana se formó para llenar el vacío de liderazgo y representación a nivel nacional de las iglesias bautistas hispanas.

Las semillas de la red fueron plantadas por los esfuerzos del Dr. Daniel Sánchez (Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) y el Dr. Bobby Sena (Midwestern Baptist Theologoical Seminary).

Su visión era crear un esfuerzo nacional formal y cohesivo que sirviera a las iglesias hispanas en la SBC. Durante varios años, reunieron a los líderes hispanos de varias convenciones estatales y organizaciones para compartir ideas sobre su trabajo y explorar el futuro de sus ministerios.

En diciembre de 2022, los líderes se organizaron formalmente y crearon la Red Nacional Bautista Hispana. La RNBH busca «llenar el vacío» del liderazgo nacional de la SBC cumpliendo su misión de conectarse en misión, contribuir y compartir recursos, y celebrar lo que Dios está haciendo entre los bautistas hispanos.

Además, la RNBH se enfocará en facilitar la comunicación y colaboración entre los pastores y líderes bautistas hispanos y las entidades de la SBC.

Texas se beneficia de tener dos convenciones estatales bautistas y la Convención Bautista Hispana más antigua y grande del país. Algunas convenciones bautistas estatales no cuentan con un solo hispano en su personal para todo el estado.

Donde existen estos vacíos estatales, la RNBH está ayudando a establecer compañerismos estatales hispanos para aumentar la colaboración de las congregaciones bautistas hispanas en la diseminación del evangelio, el discipulado y las donaciones del Programa Cooperativo.

La RNBH consta de varios equipos que sirven a la comunidad bautista hispana para cumplir el Gran Mandamiento y la Gran Comisión.

La Red ya tiene varios de estos equipos formados, incluyendo oración, evangelismo, discipulado, líderes emergentes, ministerio de mujeres, revitalización de iglesias, educación, finanzas, líderes estatales y plantación de iglesias.

Los equipos futuros incluyen movilización misionera, red de apoyo a pastores, ministerio infantil, ministerio masculino y ministerio de adoración.

¡Juntos podemos!

Insto a la SBC a reconocer la subrepresentación de los hispanos y a tomar medidas concretas para abordarla, dando representación hispana en el Comité Ejecutivo y su personal, y dotando adecuadamente de recursos el trabajo de los diversos grupos étnicos.

Mientras tanto, la RNBH seguirá adelante para equipar y servir a las congregaciones y líderes hispanos, a la vez que llega a comunidades más amplias.

Junto con las convenciones estatales, los seminarios de la SBC y las entidades relacionadas, la RNBH aprovechará las oportunidades de crecimiento y empoderará a las iglesias bautistas hispanas para compartir el evangelio, hacer discípulos y facilitar el florecimiento de la comunidad hispana.

¡Juntos podemos!

Jesse Rincones es presidente de la junta directiva de la Red Nacional Bautista Hispana, director ejecutivo de la Convención Bautista Hispana de Texas y miembro de la junta directiva de Baptist Standard.

If the more than 3,300 Hispanic congregations in the Southern Baptist Convention were their own state convention, they would be the fourth largest convention in the country, behind the Baptist General Convention of Texas and Baptist conventions in North Carolina and Georgia.

You might be surprised—as I was—to find out this important constituency has no representation on the SBC Executive Committee or its staff and no resourcing in the SBC budget.

Enter the National Hispanic Baptist Network to fill the urgent need for Hispanic leadership at the national level.

An ever-growing mission field

The growth of the U.S. population is driven by the Hispanic community.

According to Pew research, from 2010 to 2022, Hispanics accounted for 53 percent of the population increase. However, between 2022 and 2023, “the Hispanic population accounted for just under 71 percent of the overall growth of the United States population,” according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

By 2023, Hispanics comprised almost 20 percent of the population, making them the second largest group in the United States.

To see this community as Jesus once saw the crowds and felt compassion for them, is to declare in agreement: “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few” (Matthew 9:37).

The Hispanic churches in the SBC, though growing, are also few.

Since 2011, the SBC had a net gain of 111 Hispanic congregations, while Anglo congregations suffered a net loss of 1,337 congregations.

Nevertheless, Bruno Molina, executive director of the National Hispanic Baptist Network notes: “Although Hispanics make up about 20 percent of the nation’s population, we only make up 7 percent of the churches of the Southern Baptist Convention. Although a good number of SBC church plants are Hispanic churches, there is a 13 percent deficit in Hispanic representation.”

Hispanic congregations are at the forefront of reaching and ministering to almost one-fifth of the country’s population.

Never in our nation’s history, have so few Hispanic congregations had so great a ministry opportunity.

Juxtaposed to this historical evangelistic prospect facing Hispanic churches in the SBC is the glaring void of Hispanic leadership and resources available to them at the national level.

Hispanic representation in the SBC

There is no Hispanic representation on the SBC Executive Committee, the denominations governing body composed of 86 representatives.

There is no Hispanic representation on the SBC Executive Committee staff. This means no Hispanics are in the president’s office, communications, finance, advancement and relations, or facilities teams.

Contrast that with the richer context we see in Baptist work here in Texas.

Texas Baptists (BGCT) has 48 Hispanic employees. Texas Baptists en Español, the convention’s department focusing on Hispanic churches and leaders, has three staff dedicated to their efforts. Notably, there are 14 Hispanic directors on the Texas Baptists’ Executive Board.

SBTC en Español, the corresponding office of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, has five staff members committed to serving their Hispanic churches.

Convención Bautista Hispana de Texas—the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas—has four employees dedicated to serve the almost 1,100 Hispanic Baptist churches in the state.

The Hispanic constituency of the SBC is also absent from resourcing in the annual budget.

In 2023, citing “current budget constraints,” the SBC cut the position of the executive director of Hispanic relations and mobilization, the only Hispanic on the SBC Executive Committee staff.

In an SBC budget of $1.067 billion—which is a $235,000 increase from the previous budget—there is no funding for ethnic relations leaders. There is no funding for annual meeting gatherings of the ethnic groups. And there is no funding for contract workers to relate to the Hispanic churches even on a part-time basis.

Enter the Red Nacional Bautista Hispana.

The National Hispanic Baptist Network

The National Hispanic Baptist Network was formed to fill the leadership and representation void at the national level for Hispanic Baptist churches.

The seeds for the network were planted by the efforts of Daniel Sanchez (Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) and Bobby Sena (Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary).

Their vision was to create a formal and cohesive national effort that would serve Hispanic churches in the SBC. For several years, they gathered the Hispanic leadership of various state conventions and organizations to share insights about their work and explore the future of their ministries.

In December 2022, the leaders formally organized and created the National Hispanic Baptist Network. NHBN seeks to “fill the gap” of national SBC leadership by fulfilling its mission to connect on mission, to contribute and share resources, and to celebrate what God is doing among Hispanic Baptists.

Additionally, the NHBN will focus on facilitating communication and collaboration among Hispanic Baptist pastors and leaders and the entities of the SBC.

Texas benefits from having two Baptist state conventions and the oldest and largest Hispanic Baptist Convention in the country. Some state Baptist conventions don’t have a single Hispanic on staff for the entire state.

Where these state voids exist, the NHBN is helping establish Hispanic state fellowships to increase Hispanic Baptist congregations’ collaboration in gospel dissemination, discipleship and Cooperative Program giving.

The NHBN consists of several teams that serve the Hispanic Baptist community to fulfill the Great Commandment and the Great Commission.

The Network already has several of these teams formed, including prayer, evangelism, discipleship, emerging leaders, women’s ministry, church revitalization, education, finance, state leaders and church planting. Future teams include missions mobilization, pastors’ support network, children’s ministry, men’s ministry and worship ministry.

¡Juntos podemos!

I urge the SBC to acknowledge the underrepresentation of Hispanics and take concrete steps to address it by providing Hispanic representation on the Executive Committee and its staff, and adequately resourcing the various ethnic groups’ work.

Meanwhile, the NHBN will move forward to equip and serve Hispanic congregations and leaders, while reaching out to broader communities.

Together with state conventions, SBC seminaries and related entities, the NHBN will embrace opportunities for growth and will empower Hispanic Baptist churches to share the gospel, make disciples and facilitate the flourishing of the Hispanic community.

Together we can. ¡Juntos podemos!

Jesse Rincones is board chair of the National Hispanic Baptist Network, executive director of Convención Bautista Hispana de Texas, and a member of the Baptist Standard board.

Losing a loved one is really hard, even in the best of circumstances. And how often is a loved one’s dying accompanied by the best of circumstances?

As I write, we have brought my father-in-law home from the hospital, where he was for a little more than two weeks dealing with the effects of prolonged chemotherapy. After battling pancreatic cancer since 2021, with about a year reprieve, he has begun hospice. So, not entirely the best of circumstances.

There are bright spots, however. One of those are the heart-to-heart conversations we’ve been able to have over the last couple of weeks. Another is his committed faith in Jesus. And still another are the visits and kind words from friends and family old and new.

A particular bright spot is the gift he and my mother-in-law gave us—their family—by taking care of their affairs years ago. If you follow their example, you will give a great and important end-of-life gift to your loved ones.

Don’t wait

I have firsthand experience with those who have not put all their affairs in order and with those who have. Between my own experience and countless others, I can tell you getting your affairs in order as early as possible is one of the most important things you can do for yourself and for your loved ones.

Getting your affairs in order is not something to be put off, done another day. Another day may not come, and if it does, you may be incapacitated, unable to process the weighty decisions involved in handling your affairs.

It’s also not something only “old people” need to worry about. Cancer can strike and kill at any age. So can heart failure, liver failure, kidney failure, COVID, other infections. I’ve known more people than I care to count who died from one of these causes before they reached 40 years old.

Do the unpleasant work now to give a great gift later. Those who wait frequently end up compounding their loved one’s stress and sense of overwhelm, as well as their own.

Things to do

The following list is not exhaustive, nor does it constitute legal advice. I’m not an attorney, and even if I was, I’m not your attorney. It’s also not likely I’m your next of kin. So, all of what follows is something you need to discuss with your loved ones and your attorney.

Write a will

What do you want to happen with the material things that matter most to you? Who do you want to decide what happens with them? A will answers these questions in a way that makes the disposition of those things easier and the fulfilling of your wishes much more likely. Learn about probating a will in Texas here.

Do you have a will? You should. If you don’t, the government is more than happy to impose its will on what you leave behind.

If you have a will, is it up to date?

If you don’t have a will, Texas Baptist Missions Foundation has a will-writing tool that may be a good fit for you. You also may want to consult an attorney for other options.

Advanced directives

What do you want to happen to you? To your body? What do you not want to happen?

Yes, you do need to think about those questions ahead of time, make decisions about them and put your decisions in writing—preferably not on the back of a napkin.

Also, who has power of attorney—medical or otherwise—in the event significant decisions need to be made about your care?

Waiting until you’re in the middle of trauma is not the time to begin to think about the use of heroic measures and life support. Waiting until the moment a decision must be made is not the time to wonder who has authority to make decisions for you if you can’t make them for yourself.

If possible, do you want to die at home? Make as many plans and arrangements as you can as far ahead as you can for that possibility.

After death

After you die, do you want your body to be buried and how, cremated, donated to science?

There are related questions you need to think about, such as if you want a marker and where you want your remains to be.

This is the time to think about these things.

You also need to make sure your wishes are in writing and clearly communicated to your loved ones. Your loved ones shouldn’t have to make all those decisions. Remember, they will be preoccupied with grieving your death. Give them the gift of having as many decisions already made as possible.

You also need to think about your funeral or memorial service. What songs do you want? Do you want any live music? Who do you want to participate in your funeral? What Scripture is important to you? Where do you want your service to be?

While it’s true specific answers may change over time, some won’t. Also, having these questions answered ahead of time accomplishes two things: It makes your wishes more likely to be fulfilled, and it takes a tremendous load off your loved ones when they likely already are overwhelmed.

Include your loved ones

Talking with your loved ones about these things as you work through them can lead to rich and life-giving conversations you can’t have otherwise. You also may make better decisions about each of them by including your loved ones in the process.

And it may give them the peace of mind and assurance that important things already are taken care of.

One more thing

I realize you’d rather think about other things right now. Me, too. But there’s one more thing you need to think about.

Where are you with Jesus?

What do you believe about Jesus, and how does that impact your life—now and after death?

What do your loved ones know about where you are with Jesus?

If you don’t have any other conversation, at least have this one.

My father-in-law has not been shy about his faith in Jesus, which is giving him peace through these days.

Thankfully, my father-in-law and mother-in-law have had all these conversations and more with us. We’ve talked about these things together for years. And it is proving to be a great gift to us. You can and should do the same for your loved ones.

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.

My mother-in-law was a public elementary school teacher when my wife was a young girl.

Every year, she bought school supplies and snacks for children in her class whose parents couldn’t afford to buy these things. She never made an issue of it.

Her husband—my father-in-law—was the pastor of a smallish country church. They had three daughters of their own, and there were times when they themselves didn’t have enough money to buy meat.

Even so, my mother-in-law gave what she had to care for and teach her students—whoever they were, wherever they came from. It was her calling.

My mother-in-law was and is a Christian—and not in name only. She was a follower of Jesus during all the years she taught in public school, and the way she cared for and taught her students was directly related to Jesus’ love for her and her love for him.

She was nowhere near the only Christian serving in our public schools. Still today—though you might not know it, the way some lambast our public schools—dedicated followers of Jesus serve in all areas of public education. They see it as their calling. We need to support these brothers and sisters of ours.

The 2024-2025 academic year is underway. It’s not too late to encourage and support the teachers pouring themselves into our children. Nor is it too early.

Appreciating teachers

When my wife and I were self-supporting collegiate missionaries, we were blessed to get to spend our days with our son throughout his infancy and toddlerhood. We got to witness and experience all his development during those short years. So did the college students in our ministry.

When it was time for him to start school, the hardest part for me was giving him to someone else for the bulk of his waking hours. I really had a hard time with that … until I saw how much his teachers cared for him.

Many of his teachers in the early years were Christians, as were our daughters’ teachers. They took teaching seriously, and they cared about their students. We appreciated them and supported them as much as we could on my small, country-church salary. This amounted mostly to us giving them encouragement, time and holiday snacks.

You might be amazed at how far a word of encouragement, a snack or an hour of your time can go with a teacher. Don’t assume someone else is giving that support and encouragement. Assume no one else is. And that doing so is your responsibility.

I still volunteer at a local public elementary school on a regular basis to encourage teachers and help them care for their students. Not everyone can do this—frankly, not everyone should do this—but more people who can should.

Supporting teachers

When I was a pastor, I made volunteering at our local public school part of my—and by extension, the church’s—ministry. My ministry context made it possible for me to give an entire school day either once a week or every other week.

I functioned as a teacher’s aide in the elementary classrooms. It didn’t take me more than the first day to be in awe of teachers. At the end of that first day, I was exhausted. I mean, plumb worn out.

I said to more than one person, “I was worn out after just one day, and teachers do this day after day for an entire school year.”

“Do this.” By “do this,” I mean corral and herd as many as a couple dozen cats—I mean children—for about seven hours a day five days a week.

I mean maintain discipline and order in the classroom while responding to a myriad of behavioral and personality issues.

I mean teach subject matter in a way that every child in the classroom—regardless of learning ability or style—can learn it to the satisfaction of the TEKS, the STAAR, the TEA, the SBOE and whatever other acronyms there are in the Texas educational firmament.

I mean deal with difficult parents, guardians, coworkers, administrators and others in a professional and productive way. Thankfully, not all of those people are difficult.

I mean hold the knowledge of trauma, tragedy and trials going on in their students’ home lives, sometimes while holding their own ongoing trauma, tragedy and trials.

I mean doing all of this while being criticized regularly and while continuing to provide the same level of care for the students in their classrooms.

Oh, and more recently, doing all of this while also rehearsing active shooter drills.

If you aren’t convinced yet that teachers need our encouragement and support, you might not be paying attention.

Encouraging teachers

Teaching always has been a challenging profession. If you ask veteran teachers today, though, they are likely to tell you it’s become far more than challenging. Many veteran teachers have left the profession or plan to leave as soon as possible. Young teachers are watching this.

If we want first- and second-year teachers to become 20-year veterans, we Christians must encourage and support them now—especially when so many, still, are our sisters and brothers in Christ.

We can encourage and support them in small ways and large. We can write them notes, take them snacks, buy supplies for their classrooms, champion them during school board meetings and, in Texas, advocate for them before and during the 2025 legislative session.

I’ve focused on public school teachers, but private and homeschool teachers also need encouragement and support as they teach and care for students.

Teaching—public or private—always has been and still is a high calling. It’s not too late to encourage and support the teachers pouring themselves into our children. Nor is it too early.

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.

We lost a tree yesterday, and I can’t help feeling like it’s a metaphor.

I don’t like losing a tree. I don’t hug trees, but I do like them a lot. I love trees for their shade, their fruit, their color. I love the sound of their leaves when the wind blows through them. I’m grateful for the oxygen they provide.

My parents planted two cherry trees when I was a teenager. They produced the best cherries I’ve ever eaten, and a lot of them.

I went to college out of state, got married. The trees grew taller, eventually too tall to harvest their top halves. The birds ate the cherries dad couldn’t reach. Then the graft on one of the trees gave out. Mom and dad couldn’t keep up with them and said it was time for the trees to go.

My brother-in-law and I cut down the trees under protest, and I hated every minute of it. I haven’t had as good a cherry since.

I remember as a kid climbing into a large tree with a book. It was in a city park. I chose a branch large enough I wasn’t likely to roll off either side and high enough I didn’t want to test that theory. And I sat reading my book. It’s one of my favorite memories.

I climbed plenty of trees as a kid—the higher the better. Somehow, though I was shorter, climbing trees was easier then than it is now. Perhaps because I was lighter and more agile then. And less afraid—read: mindful—of getting hurt, really hurt.

As a kid, I also wasn’t concerned with cleaning up leaves in the fall and flowers out of the gutters and sap off the cars parked underneath in the spring. I didn’t give any thought to their roots tearing up the foundation or water lines, or their branches damaging the roof or falling on a neighbor’s house or a car parked in the street.

Losing a tree

The tree we had removed yesterday wasn’t well when we moved into this house. We had it repaired, more than once. What we didn’t know is the damage was already too far along. We didn’t know, because we couldn’t see it. The damage was inside.

The signs were there for those with eyes to see, for those who know what they’re looking for. I knew there was a problem from some of the bark coming off of branches high in the tree. I hoped it wasn’t a pervasive problem. I was wrong. Vertical cracks that appeared in the lower trunks last week made that obvious.

This was too big a tree to put off what I didn’t want. So, I called tree removal services. The one we chose on Monday could be here Tuesday. That was yesterday.

Yesterday, we also moved our oldest into his freshmen dorm room and took our youngest to her first day in high school. We let go of more than a tree yesterday.

A metaphor eventually breaks down … just like a tree.

Our son going to college and our daughter starting high school isn’t a loss the way cutting down a tree is. It is a significant change, however—like taking a huge tree out of the landscape.

There is joy in our children growing up and going on to next stages. One reason for that joy is they are trees my wife and I have raised and under whose shade others will sit.

Even so, for a time, our home will look and feel different.

A metaphor

A tree, a big one, seems like it’s been there forever and will be there always.

But a tree, no matter how big or old, is always changing—just like us.

A tree needs regular care—just like us. And in a harsh environment, that tree—and we—need even more attentive care.

Would anyone disagree that we live in a harsh environment?

There are cracks in the wood. Maybe we “repaired” them. Maybe we spent good money repairing them, and maybe the damage was already too far along.

Inside, the rot was taking hold, growing, softening the wood, killing the tree. But rot doesn’t stay hidden forever.

The successive years of drought and hot summers, the two deep freezes over the last few years, the freak May storm this year—all worked together to hasten our tree’s demise. The only reason our tree stayed standing during the May storm was because of the bracing we had installed a few years ago. Internally, the tree was going, going, gone.

I can’t help feeling like that’s a metaphor.

Have we not faced successive years of stress—environmental, biological, societal, cultural, political, governmental, educational, ecclesiastical?

All of this has been obvious. We’ve all had eyes to see it. And whatever immediate damage was done, we cleaned it up and thought we could move on.

But the rot is inside.

Thankfully, the metaphor eventually breaks down.

Caring for trees

Every tree eventually will fall. But we’re not entirely like trees. Thankfully.

Despite the Fall, we don’t have to stay fallen. We can be restored, and not temporarily, but permanently.

Our Restorer can clean the rot from inside us—the malnourishment and malformation of our spirits, minds and wills. And we each have some rot. The Lord knows what it is. We might, too.

We must allow our Restorer to deal with the rot, lest we break apart and take others with us in the fall.

It will take more than temporary bracing. And it likely will take more than one quick treatment. It will take deep cleaning, vigilance and constant care.

*******

After the tree was down, we pulled off a piece of rot from the center of the trunk. It was squishy like a thin sponge. I showed it to my son between trips to his dorm and told him to squeeze it between his fingers.

“I don’t like that,” he said with disgust.

No, son. It’s not good. Pay attention to what’s inside. We don’t want to lose any more good trees. And you are a good tree.

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.