Negotiation is a part of life. Sooner or later, we have to buy a car. We have to mediate those dreaded final moments of a job interview where we negotiate salary. And now, with the magic of Craigslist, we can haggle like we are in a Moroccan market from the comfort of our own couches.

Garrett VickreyWe prepare for negotiations like we are fortifying ourselves for battle. The expectation is we always are going up against a ruthless negotiator. We assume our opponent—whether on Craigslist or in a job interview—is a pitiless negotiator and a potential shark. We expect Donald Trump. But is that often the case?

Community life

Negotiation is a part of life in community. Congregational decision-making demands a certain amount of give and take. Pastors must find healthy ways of sharing their vision to influence people. Influence carries a negative connotation, implying manipulation. But there are healthy ways to exert influence without burning those ever-so-important relational bridges.

The problem is when we bring this aggressive style into congregational life, we also bring damage and fallout. Congregational life is far different from Craigslist—most of the time! In churches, we have to continue to cultivate community with each other after the deal is done.

Civility is essential in cultivating community. If we go into congregational dialogue like Donald Trump negotiating a building proposal in Manhattan, we will pay for the fallout later.

We cannot afford the residue of resentment that emerges from crushing each other in congregational dialogue. A win-at-all-costs attitude is a losing attitude for the church.

Other options

Are there other ways to use the influence we have been given to shape a vision for congregational life that resembles the beloved community Jesus’ Spirit enlivens today? How can we be more faithful in negotiating the intricacies of congregational life? I am no expert in the art of the congregational deal, but we can learn from experts.

Chris Voss is a former FBI international hostage negotiator who recently wrote Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on It. In an interview, he offers negotiation advice he learned negotiating kidnappings and the Washington, D.C., sniper case. 

We can take three secrets from this hostage negotiator to use in congregational life—“No.” Repeat. How.

• Start at “no.”

“No” can propel people forward, as opposed to getting to yes. “No” is comfortable. “No” feels like we are not giving anything up. Congregational budget discussions can become contentious quickly.

Is there a way to lead with “no”? Instead of starting out saying, “Let’s add $10,000 to the children’s ministry budget for next year,” start with a question that invites a reflective “no.” Such as, “Have we given up on growing our children’s ministry?”

• Repeat what people say.

This is tactical empathy in action. Voss suggests the last three words someone says creates space for intimate and honest interaction. They feel they are being heard, and it gets more information out on the table.

Repeating the words of your dialogue partner is not a patronizing ploy but a method of active listening. Time provides an opportunity for a thoughtful response rather than a reactionary retort.

• Finally, how is more important than “yes.”

Agreeing in principle is not as important as agreeing how. How many congregational decision-making processes have been knocked off course because people are upset about the process? Often, that’s just a way of saying we are against the outcome. But there’s something to be said of getting to the how of a deal.

Barometer of health

Negotiation is not always negative. Congregational dialogue is a critical part of Baptist church life. Civility in these dialogues is a barometer of congregational health.

No one denies we are living through a period of intense polemics in our politics. Election season is here, bringing with it politicians and pundits trading jabs. Their rhetoric is subtly shaping our conversational imagination. Have we given up on our ability to shape national discourse?

Our best chance of healing the national discourse is first healing our local conversations. By working on how we negotiate our own congregational dialogue, we can begin to shape a new conversation that is more civil than what we see on CNN.

Garrett Vickrey is senior pastor of Woodland Baptist Church in San Antonio.

A simple yet profound maxim, “All truth is God’s truth,” contributes weight to the wealth of knowledge with which God has graced us. But Christians should keep in mind an equally instructive maxim, “Belief is not equal to truth.” This provocative notion doesn’t receive as much airplay, perhaps because it suggests we’re wrong about some of the things we believe.

Consider this: When one person looks at the biblical data to arrive confidently at a set of beliefs, dogmas, principles, opinions, etc., another may examine the same data only to conclude something believably different.

The “correctness” of our beliefs is subject, then, to degrees of tension, adjustment or outright change. Due to life and circumstance, internal conflict over beliefs is inevitable. Heads, hearts, hands—our thinking, feeling, doing—will be challenged frequently, even bowled over at times, and usually by folks different from us.

Conflict is beneficial  

This “conflictedness” pits what we believe against something partially or wholly at odds with our usual system-heavy comfort zone. Ideas can be mutually exclusive, however, so the Law of Noncontradiction must begin its work. And since it can’t be broken, part of our beliefs may prove false.

So, the question becomes: Will our false beliefs be exposed, and will we replace them with a better set? Tough question, but answering yes benefits all.

At times, we’ll forsake certain beliefs—those earlier considered reliable. Still, we must assume some set of initial beliefs, and the confidence we place in them shouldn’t be thought superior to the data on which they presumably rest.

When someone denies the forcefulness of facts adverse to their long-cherished system of thinking, they tend to ignore, blunt or accommodate the data to their system—typically without basis—rather than adapt their system to the data. “Ain’t gonna change my mind, no matter what!”

Three illustrations

To illustrate, events as significant as history’s beginning, midpoint and end are all subject to the advice offered here, hopefully as an antidote to the prevalent “God won’t let me be wrong!” mentality.

• Creation theories abound, relying on a young or old earth/universe for their respective validity. So, what’s its age?

• From the perspective of salvation, the cross is the centerpiece of all history. So, did Christ die only for the elect or for all people without exception?

• And when the end arrives, will Jesus come back before, in the middle or after the tribulation? Is there a literal 1,000-year millennial reign of Christ to come, or are we living in the millennium now?

For each of these doctrines, the answers are divisive. Somebody certainly is wide of the mark, which proves belief isn’t equal to truth.

Two kinds of data

Christians who interact with unbelievers should begin with data, not theories, systems or their deception-prone hearts. Whether the data is biblical or selected carefully from the world around us, we start with plausible assumptions based on what the data seem to say. Otherwise, the next step—evaluating everything reality throws our way—can’t be taken.

The biblical data? No problem, but meaningful interpretation is demanding. For the Christian, accepting its veracity shouldn’t be an issue. Data external to the Bible? Also subject to interpretive evaluation and given by God for a host of truth-functioning reasons. The deliverances of right reason and the basic reliability of the senses must be acknowledged.

Caution, though. While one Christian approach to God’s nature leads to belief in open theism, an atheistic approach to the origin of the universe yields, also mistakenly, a naturalistic big-bang. Christians, then, can be as patently wrong as unbelievers. How so? Because the degree to which sin hinders the mind’s facility to arrive at truth can be as detrimental to a believer’s ability to interpret Scripture as to an unbeliever’s ability to interpret the natural world. Especially when the whole “I’m so gifted by God” hubris kicks in.

Strong wills, weaker minds  

No one’s asking Christians to suspend judgment about the finality of things. Just be astute and use care, realizing people’s wills generally are stronger than their intellects. Ultimately, they’ll believe whatever they wish. No insult here, just a tried-and-true fact.

Hence, when our beliefs are linked to our work and self-perception, and someone happens to oppose our truth claims, wisdom isn’t always what we’re after. Instead, we seek to vindicate our treasured beliefs, clinging fast to long-standing theories, even if contradicted. Only too human, this hardly furthers everyday wisdom, just as admitting egregious error proves next to impossible for authorities enjoying high visibility. “I wouldn’t be here except that I’m right!”

A word to the wise

But here’s a frightening biblical proviso that comes with the territory. Jesus’ warning is true: “… on the day of judgment, people will give account for every careless word they speak” (Matthew 12:36). Then there’s the admonition of James: “… teachers … will be judged with greater strictness” (James 3:1).

Truth be told, these words taken together are downright scary. No exceptions to the rule, it seems. Everything we say, feel and do is being stored up for judgment. Possessing Christ’s righteousness is our only hope, yet here we are, many of us, whiling away our lives with little concern for chasing hard after truth.

Bottom line: I, for one, am glad we’ll never get to say, “I told you so!” in heaven. Nevertheless, all truth is God’s truth, and the “truths” we own personally aren’t always 100 percent right. We’ll all be shown wrong at some level, in this life or the next. Guaranteed. And that’s as it should be.

Hal Ostrander is online professor of religion and philosophy at Wayland Baptist University.

Jorge Zayasbazan has been senior pastor of Baptist Temple Church in San Antonio seven years. The congregation is part of a family of churches and nonprofits that share a campus to meet the spiritual, physical, emotional and educational needs of their community.

Background

• Where else have you served in ministry, and what were your positions there?

Grace Chapel/First Baptist Church, Waukegan, Ill. — pastor

North Central Cooperative Baptist Fellowship — coordinator

Lighthouse Church, Antioch, Ill. — pastor

Victory Baptist Church, New Orleans, La. — pastor

• Where did you grow up?

I was born in La Habana, Cuba, but grew up in Miami, Fla.

• How did you come to faith in Christ?

I started attending an inner-city Southern Baptist church shortly after my father’s death when I was 17. The loving example of this mixed-race congregation led me to Jesus.

• Where were you educated, and what degrees did you receive?

I have a bachelor of science degree from the University of New York and a master of divinity degree from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. I did some post-graduate work at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary.

Ministry/Church

• Why do you feel called into ministry?

I want to bring God’s light into spiritually dark places and bring the good news to areas of need.

• What one aspect of congregational life gives you the greatest joy?

Watching Christians minister to one another.

• How has your ministry or your perspective on ministry changed?

I wanted to get as far away from the inner city as possible, but God put a love for the city in my heart and used the circumstances of my life as preparation.

• How do you expect congregational life to change in the next 10 to 20 years?

The trend is toward megachurches with satellites. I can see a multi-congregational model emerging as a part of the satellite movement—where the megachurch partners with a church in a less-affluent area to extend their ministry.

• What qualities do you look for in a congregation?

A passion for soul-winning, a focus on the local community, a welcoming atmosphere and a desire to become more like Jesus.

• Name the three most significant challenges and/or influences facing your congregation.

Maximizing the use of our facilities, inconsistent attendance on Sundays, growing attendance in a community of renters.

About Baptists

• What are the key issues facing Baptists—denominationally and/or congregationally?

Denominationally, we are facing competition from parachurch groups that offer fee-based services and an American Christianity that is disinterested in doctrinal distinctives. Efficiency and relevance are the needs of the day.

About Jorge

• What did you learn on the job you wish you learned in seminary?

A model of benevolence ministry that helped people move out of poverty and closer to the abundant life Jesus promised.

Read other “Deep in the Hearts of Texans” columns about …

Bob Roberts 

Dante Wright

Brent McDougal

Darin Wood

Kyndall Rae Rothaus

Joseph Parker

George Mason

Howie Batson

Lillian Hinds

If you’re too happy, read the comments sections of religion websites. That’ll bring you down a notch or two.

Marv KnoxOf course, comments sections aren’t what researchers call “statistically valid.” They only represent people who care to read about religion. (Ironically, that includes a lot of people who haul around truckloads of animosity toward God and God-followers.) And, beyond that, they reflect people who care enough—and take enough time—to respond to the articles. So, they tend to attract extremists.

But still. Mostly depressing.

As you might imagine, I do this for a living. Part of my job is keeping up with trends and current thinking about faith and all things “religion.” So, when a survey comes out or a conference focuses on a cutting-edge issue, I’m drawn to the coverage like an ant to a picnic. Then, unfortunately, I’m drawn to the comments like a moth to a flame.

The comments tend to be nasty. That goes for both sides—the people of faith and the people of anti-faith. I read what they write with ambivalence. The comments almost always hurt my heart and wound my soul. Yet I learn from them, even the most vicious ones. As a Christian who cares about unbelievers, I need to know what they think.

Renewed interest

Although I’ve traveled in this sloggy section of the cyberworld a long time, I’ve viewed what happens there with renewed interest the last year or so. Our church has been trying to live up to our new mission statement: “Inviting diverse and disconnected people to passionately follow Jesus together.”

We’ve been thinking deeply about what “diverse and disconnected” means.

We know it has an internal meaning for our church. We live in the middle of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and reflect all kinds of racial, ethnic and religious backgrounds, education, jobs, political viewpoints, you name it. And we’re busy, distracted, stressed and every other way pulled toward disconnection.

But “diverse and disconnected” has an external meaning. For example, I played a new game over burgers with the seventh-grader I mentor. He attends a middle school a long stone’s throw from our church. He said, “I’ve got one for ya: I’ll tell you the names of my friends, and you guess where they come from.” This went on about 15 minutes. He’d say a name I couldn’t pronounce, and I’d guess a country. The answers—almost all of which I missed—included Korea, Peru, Singapore, India, Mexico and all over Latin America, and more. These kids go to school 100 yards from our church; their families come from 200 countries.

Diverse and disconnected, indeed.

Leaving the church …

That same day, I read stories on the latest survey conducted jointly by the Public Religion Research Institute and Religion News Service on why Americans are leaving religion (“they just ‘stop believing’”) and why they’re unlikely to come back. I didn’t need to read the comments sections to feel dispirited.

Now, my community may be more diverse than yours; it’s one of the most cosmopolitan in the country. But our towns and cities are growing more diverse—if not racially and ethnically (and for most of us, they are)—then according to ideology and core beliefs.

How to do it

How do we invite our neighbors to follow Jesus with us?

• Out-arguing them isn’t going to work.

We live in a pluralistic world. Most people think beliefs are relative. “You believe what you want, and I’ll believe what I want.” Many churches are teaching apologetics, but that’s more for insurance—to educate Christians so they aren’t persuaded to follow other faiths.

• Beating them over the head with the Bible is useless.

Other faiths follow their own scriptures. People of no faith see the Bible as a book of moral teachings, at best. We need Scripture imbedded in our own hearts and minds to guide our lives, but we can’t expect many people to change because we shout, “The Bible says, ….”

• Entertaining them won’t cut it.

Some Christians go all in for big shows. Hot praise bands. Special events. Unusual spectacles. Maybe that will get some folks through the door. But if that’s the reason they show up, they’ll leave when they hear about a bigger, better show.

• Shaming them will only make things worse.

Shaming runs people away. The reason so many people think they hate God is because they’re sure people who wave God’s banner hate them. Here’s an interesting observation: More people hate God than hate Jesus. With “God,” they get all the bloodshed and judgment of the Old Testament. With “Christ,” they get the complicated/often-misunderstood teachings of the epistles. With “Jesus,” they get the divine-human sacrificial, redemptive Savior of the Gospels. Which leads us to …

• The only answer is love.

Loving acts of self-sacrifice, compassion, understanding and uncommon-yet-everyday kindness are the hope for turning people toward Jesus. When they experience through us the love we’ve found in Jesus, they can’t argue with it, demean it, ignore it.

So, every day and week-in and week-out, we must figure out how to help the diverse and disconnected people all around us know without a doubt they are loved by Jesus because they receive that love from us.

Follow Marv on Twitter: @marvknoxbs

About two years ago, I found myself facing an important choice: I was leaving my denomination and needed to decide where to settle. The decision was hard, but ultimately, I became a Baptist.

Jake RaabeThis was the result of much questioning and discussion with many people from different churches, and by no means do I believe I made the “best” choice. Rather, looking at what various expressions of Christianity valued and emphasized, I found the Baptist denomination to be the best fit for me and my ministry.

I want to share the biggest factors in my decision for several reasons. First, more often than not, people remain in the denomination where they grew up. As someone who consciously weighed options and made a decision, I want to share my perspective on what makes Baptist life special. These are parts of our unique identity that, if I am any indication, make a positive witness to the church and world and should be upheld and proclaimed.

I’m a Baptist, and here’s why:

Soul competency is both inspiring and challenging.

The idea that all individuals are equally capable of knowing and following God was deeply appealing to me, as it seemed to represent one of the core truths of the New Testament.

The respect Baptists have for individual believers as made in the image of God and indwelled by the Holy Spirit creates a uniquely level environment in Baptist churches. No person has final authority over me because of education, title, status, experience, class or any other reason. At the same time, I cannot place myself over anyone for any of these reasons. I found the idea of soul competency to be a source of both encouragement and humility when I joined a Baptist church.

Free-church order preserves individual voices.

This one gave me trepidation during my denominational search. How can any organization function with no hierarchy or leadership? With a deep respect for the competency of every individual to read Scripture and to listen to the Holy Spirit.

As a prospective minister, I found the idea that I wouldn’t be subjugated to any order higher than my congregation very attractive. No boards designating what doctrine is taught, no overseers telling ministers where to serve; simply individual voices in individual churches seeking after God’s leading. What I at first thought to be an inefficient system of church polity turned out to be a system that encourages free thought and dialogue between all believers.

The Baptist commitment to education provides opportunities for many.

From children’s programs to universities and colleges, few groups parallel Baptists in terms of commitment and achievement. Baptist contributions to both public and religious education are among their greatest gifts to the world.

My final decision to become a Baptist was largely a result of desiring access to the multiple great Baptist seminaries and financial assistance programs in Texas. From Baylor to Brown, Baptists support education better than any—even if, as one of my professors once joked, we mostly establish schools so we can be suspicious of them.

The Baptist commitment to religious liberty is a contribution to global human rights.

If there’s one thing that makes me proud to call myself a Baptist, it’s the contribution made to the world by the historic Baptist commitment to religious liberty. The idea that a nation can function without a state religion was possibly the most remarkable aspect of the founding of America and was a massive positive influence on the modern world, much of which has adopted the same model. For that, you can thank the Baptists, largely.

The world today would be a very different place without the brave witness of early Baptists and the hard work they’ve put into preserving it since then.Becoming a Baptist meant for me becoming a part of this proud and continuing tradition of championing religious freedom for all.

I share what brought me into the denomination to encourage my fellow Baptists. In a time where demographic changes have many worried, we don’t need sweeping changes in our theology or practice. What we need, rather, is reaffirm and hold fast to our distinctives.

Baptists have much to offer both the church as a whole and the world. If we remember where we came from, we will continue to reach a world in desperate need of what we have to offer.

In my short time in the denomination, I’ve seen all of these distinctives challenged from within. Baptists don’t need to change what they’re doing to accommodate to a changing world; rather, what Baptists need is a renewed interest in their foundational identity.

After all, it worked on me.

Jake Raabe is a student at Baylor University’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary in Waco, Texas.

One of the phrases you often hear in conversation with people who do not attend church is, “I like Jesus but not the church.”

Zac HarrelI understand the sentiment. There is no arguing the fact many feel hurt, alienated and abandoned by the church. This should come as no surprise. Our churches are filled with imperfect, messed-up sinners.

When people complain to me about the church being a bunch of hypocrites, my reply is always, “You’re right; we are.” No church is perfect, and no church ever will be. There is no need to search for the perfect church. It doesn’t exist.

This does not mean we should leave the church. In fact, this means the exact opposite.

The church is not perfect, and neither are we. The body of Christ is for those who are hurt, those who are struggling and those who are broken.

You need the church, brothers and sisters in Christ, to come alongside you and to help you find healing in the grace of God. The church needs you, too. The church needs those who have walked through “the valley of the shadow of death” to walk hand-in-hand with others experiencing suffering and pain. You need the church, and the church needs you.

Don’t abandon

It is understandable to be frustrated with the church as you have experienced her, but we must not abandon the local church. We need the tangible, local body of Christ in our lives to help us be who God has called us to be. The church needs men and women committed to the life of the church, even through the mess of our common life together.

There has been real damage done by many churches. You may have experienced that damage. There is no excuse for the misdeeds of the church, but the misdeed of one church do not mean there is no church for you. Find a church where you can be open and honest about your pain. Find a church where you can experience the peace of the gospel. Above all, find a church.

There is power in the church gathered together for worship. Joy and restoration come through the corporate disciplines of singing, praying, hearing the word of God proclaimed and through the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Our faith family mourns when we mourn and rejoices when we rejoice. We need the fellowship of the body of Christ, and we need the habits and practices of the church.

Plant your life

No church is perfect, and no church will meet all our requirements or preferences. The church we see on television or the sermon we listen to on podcast seems appealing because we have some kind of fantasy of this church out there just for us and for our situation. There is a church out there for you, for your family, for your situation. Most likely, it is not on television, but just down the block.

Plant your life in a local church. Join a local church and be a part of the life of that church, even if the music is not your style, even if they don’t have every program you wish they had, even if there are not as many young adults or too many young adults. Preferences cannot be our ultimate guide to the church we should join.

What gifts do you have? What needs does the church have? Where do you live? These are questions we should be thinking about when it comes to local churches.

God has placed you in the community where you live for a purpose, and he has given you a local church in that community for a purpose. Commit your life to your local church, because you need the church.

Being a part of a church is not easy, but it is essential. We cannot love Jesus and not love his church.

Find a church where you can plant your life and be faithful.

Find a church where you can be you.

Find a church because she needs you.

Zac Harrel is pastor of First Baptist Church in Gustine, Texas.

We have become a society of “us vs. them.”

Meredith StoneEvery day, lines are drawn to separate us from them. Sometimes, others draw these lines. And sometimes, we take out the pens and do the drawing ourselves. These lines of separation are based on race, gender, socio-economic status, politics, views on social rights, the ways we live and love, and the things we believe.

When we watch video of yet another shooting of a black person, and when people struggling for their lives are compared to a brand of candy—a society of “us vs. them” is difficult to deny.

On the “us” side of things, we often talk about loving whoever our “them” is. After all, Jesus did say we should love our enemies. White people may say they love black people. Middle-class Americans whose way of life is not threatened may say they love Syrian refugees.

We love “them.”

But when we refer to people who look, think, act or believe differently than us as “them,” are we really showing love? Is not the act of drawing a line between groups of people opposite to love?

Erasing lines

How can we become a society that erases the lines between “us” and “them” and consequently sees our commonality as divine image-bearers while also respecting the distinctions that form our identities?

In Luke 7:1-10, a Roman centurion sends two groups of friends to Jesus so Jesus might heal the centurion’s “highly valued” servant. The first group of friends, Jewish elders, declare the centurion is worthy of this miracle. The second group of friends tells Jesus the centurion considers himself unworthy. Without ever meeting the centurion, Jesus commends his faith, and the servant is healed.

If first century Rome was a society of “us vs. them,” then Jesus and the centurion would have been the epitome of what an “us vs. them” dichotomy looks like. The wealthy, elite Roman centurion represented the political empire that had conquered Jesus’ land and continued to oppress Jesus’ people—Jews. And Jesus was a conquered, homeless Jewish itinerant prophet.

In the story, Jesus certainly demonstrates how to shatter the lines between “us” and “them.” Jesus declares the faith of this centurion—his religious, socio-economic and political opposite—is greater than Jesus has found among his own people (verse 9).

But, frankly, Jesus is divine. Jesus is supposed to be awesome.

More like us

The human Roman centurion, on the other hand, is a lot more like us. If you’re a white person, or you live in the United States, or you do not suffer from food insecurity, or you exist in a position of power or privilege in any way, then you—and I—are much more like the centurion, and we can learn from his example.

In describing the centurion’s worthiness of Jesus healing his servant, the Jewish elders tell Jesus the centurion “loves our nation and has built our synagogue” (verse 5). They tell Jesus the centurion loves Jews, one of Rome’s conquered enemies. But more than simply loving “them,” the centurion also helped build the Jewish synagogue.

The centurion had put down his sword and picked up a hammer and nails to build a place where “their” God could be worshipped, even though “their” God was different from his god, the emperor. He respected Jewish identity and worked for their welfare.

But the centurion’s second group of friends tells Jesus the centurion does not consider himself worthy for Jesus to come under his roof (verse 6). For a centurion—a person of great social status and wealth—to say he was unworthy for a homeless, conquered, itinerant Jewish prophet to enter his home was utterly revolutionary.

The centurion went beyond loving “them.” He respected and worked for the wholeness of a people who were in a position of less power and privilege. He even relinquished his own power to someone who his society would have deemed unworthy.

The centurion demonstrated how the lines between “us” and “them” can begin to be broken down.

WWCD

So, to co-opt and adjust a common maxim, what would the centurion do (WWCD) if he were living in the United States today?

• He wouldn’t wield the sword—justifying killing—but instead would pick up constructive tools to work for the wholeness of black communities.

• He wouldn’t compare people to candy, but instead would join in efforts to find homes, health and security for Syrian refugees.

• He wouldn’t only love “them,” but also would work to deconstruct the lines our society builds between groups of people created in the image of God.

May we all have the courage to do the same.

Meredith Stone is director of ministry guidance and instructor of Christian ministry and Scripture at Hardin-Simmons University’s Logsdon School of Theology. She is a member of the Baptist Standard board of directors.

America: Greater than ever

Most people of my generation think they said, “under God” when they said the pledge. President Eisenhower wanted it and congress approved it in 1954. The Soviet Union and China became a real threat to us. Sen. Joseph McCarrthy became senator in 1947 and died in office in 1957. He believed there were Communists in our schools, universities and government. A radical group called the John Birch Society was formed in 1958. They were going to get everybody to trust God and find those communists. It reminds me of the Southern Baptist Convention trying to get rid of us liberals.

Donald Trump reminds me of Germany in the 1930s. Adolph Hitler was trying to make Germany great again and convinced the people he could do it. You know the rest of the story. We must not have “one nation under one God” in our pledge of allegiance. 

We have to get rid of terrorism, and we will. We must not have a world war over it. In 1969, about 40 Army, Navy and Air Force chaplains with top-secret clearance met in Sandia Base, Albuquerque, N.M., for one week. We saw the devastation of two bombs to end World War II. We saw the capabilities of the United States, Soviet Union and China if nuclear war should start.

Can you imagine what could happen now?

Let us not be like Hitler to make America great again. Today, it is greater than it ever has been.

Jack R. Milligan

Highland Village

“They’ll tell anything on you down in town.”

Bill LeonardSo the serpent-handling woman says as she sits on her Appalachian front porch, killing flies and defending her church’s approach to the sixteenth chapter of Mark’s Gospel. Whether in cheap novels, academic treatises, or documentary exposes, serpent-handlers have been analyzed, critiqued and caricatured for their belief that the sacraments are alive and can kill you. Nonetheless the Appalachian woman is right: They’ll tell anything on you down in town, on Twitter, or “Morning Joe,” especially in an election year. Most mornings bring new denunciations or scurrilous accusations from candidate and surrogate alike.

Read the full column at Baptist News Global.

Bill Leonard is the James and Marilyn Dunn Professor of Baptist Studies and professor of church history at the Wake Forest University School of Divinity.     

Lillian Hinds has been pastor of Meadow Oaks Baptist Church in Temple eight years. She shares her background and thoughts on ministry with the Baptist Standard’s “Deep in the Hearts of Texans.” To suggest a Baptist General Convention of Texas-affiliated minister to be featured in this column or to apply to be featured, click here.

Background

• Where else have you served in ministry, and what were your positions there?

This is my first and only church since graduating from seminary. While I was a student at Truett Seminary, I worked as music minister at Bruceville Baptist Church in Bruceville and as music minister and Bible teacher at First Baptist Church in Evant.

• Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Houston and in Springfield, Mo.

• How did you come to faith in Christ?

My father pastored a Baptist church in Houston, and I was saved at the age of 11 at a revival.

• Where were you educated, and what degrees did you receive?

Bachelor of arts in psychology—University of Texas at Tyler

Master of science in psychology—University of Texas at Tyler

Master of divinity—George W. Truett Theological Seminary at Baylor University

Ministry/church

• Why do you feel called into ministry?

I felt God’s urging to serve him while I was a teenager, and again as a young adult. Then I heard God’s voice calling me to preach.

• What is your favorite aspect of ministry? Why?

Preaching is my very favorite thing in the world; next would be baptizing. As the old song says, “I love to tell the story,” and preaching is sharing the story of God’s love brought to us through Jesus. It is exhilarating!

Baptism is such a perfect picture of Christ’s death and resurrection and how we follow him there.

• What one aspect of congregational life gives you the greatest joy?

Eating meals together is a joyful time in our congregation. It reminds us that Jesus comes to us in the routine things of our lives and that he comes to us when we are together. He has called us to serve, so when we serve each other at mealtime, make sure everyone has enough, help those with small children or who cannot serve themselves, and clean up afterward, I believe we see and live what Jesus has for us to do in this world. We sense the sweet Holy Spirit while we participate in these fellowship meals.

• How has your ministry or your perspective on ministry changed?

My perspective has changed with regard to the role of the pastor. I didn’t start pastoring until I was 55 years old. Before that time, I held jobs that were heavily dependent on my leadership skills. As a pastor, I’ve had to learn—and appreciate!—what it means to work with and listen to others in decision-making and leadership. The Holy Spirit seems to be more interested in our openness to his leading than in our “getting it right” or our imagined successes. Rather than the CEO model, I have tried to embrace the role of shepherd to this group of sheep that in actuality belong to Jesus, the Shepherd of us all.

About Baptists

• What would you change about the Baptist denomination—state, nation or local?

It is difficult to change a belief that you have held closely for many years. Those beliefs are comfortable to live with, and none of us enjoys challenging them.

But when God calls a woman to ministry and we as Baptists deny that call, what are those women supposed to do? Ignore God and submit to culture? When Peter and the apostles were given strict orders never again to teach in Jesus’ name, they responded, “We must obey God rather than any human authority” (Acts 5:29).

My prayer is that Baptists would open their hearts to the word of God and realize God has called women in the past—Huldah, Lydia, Phoebe, Priscilla, Junia—and that he continues to call them today.

About Lillian

• Who were/are your mentors, and how did/do they influence you?

Jerry Thorpe preached a youth revival at my church when I was a teenager. As a PK—preacher’s kid—he cared about other PKs. We became friends, and he encouraged me through some very dark times in my life. We remain friends today.

It is difficult to pick out one or even a few of the professors at Truett Seminary. I came to Truett with a rigid and hard way of reading the Bible. My faith was uncomfortable and pretty miserable. Gradually and lovingly, those men and women of God opened the word of God to me. They gave me new ways to read the Bible, helped me explore my faith and encouraged me to grow in the Lord. They never turned aside when I asked the hard questions and prayed with me during those struggles. They continue to encourage me today in ministry.

Marcy Mynatt joined my congregation five years ago. She is a minister with many years of experience who was transplanted from South Carolina to Texas. She is humble, wise, hard-working and a lot of fun! She has taught me so much, and when I start to get off track, she thumps me on the head and reminds me what we’re all doing here. Marcy is not only a mentor in ministry, but a dear friend as well. I can’t imagine doing this without her.

• Name some of your favorite books (other than the Bible) or authors, and explain why.

The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom—I read this book as a teenager, and seeds of faith were planted in my heart. Corrie’s faith was challenged at the most basic level in Ravensbruck concentration camp. After the war, she was challenged yet again to forgive, to love her enemies and to preach the good news of Jesus around the world. This story continues to challenge me today to forgive, to love enemies and to keep my focus on the good news of Jesus, first and always.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee—This is one of the best fiction books I’ve read. The themes of innocence, hate and prejudice are running throughout the story. It reminds me that none of us is immune to hatred and none of us is exempt from fighting it.

Surprised by Hope by N.T. Wright—Reading this felt like a step backward toward the fundamentals of our faith. I realized we have added a great deal of culture to our practice and have ignored significant biblical passages. As a result I try to partition what I do—and what our church does—that is culture and comfortable and what is gospel and necessary. This book spurned me to read other books by Wright.

Transforming Grace by Jerry Bridges—I initially read this book because Uncle Jerry sent me a copy. Then I discovered that while I believed in salvation by grace, I was trying to live the Christian life by my own efforts and merits. Grace became a new theme for my life and for my preaching.

• What is your favorite Bible verse or passage? Why?

“For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

I learned this passage as a child—in the King James. It always has been a glorious reminder of the sovereignty of God, his love and his ability to keep me, no matter what, because of his great love!  

• Who is your favorite Bible character (other than Jesus)? Why?

While still in seminary, I preached a sermon on Hagar, Sarah’s slave, and she continues to go with me in my ministry. In the eyes of the world, she was at the bottom of the heap—a woman, a slave, a Gentile. From a human perspective, her life was pointless and hopeless. But God sought her, loved her, actually made promises to Hagar. She had a hope and a future, not because of her circumstances or even how the people of God treated her, but because of the Lord God and his purposes. She was a wonderful example of Galatians 3:28, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” 

Read other “Deep in the Hearts of Texans” columns about …

• Bob Roberts 

• Dante Wright

• Brent McDougal

• Darin Wood

• Kyndall Rae Rothaus

• Joseph Parker

• George Mason

• Howie Batson

Cystic fibrosis kills everyone it afflicts, so I was intrigued about the decline of CF in the French region of Brittany. One of my children has this disease, so I’m very interested in a cure. I wondered how we could apply the French methods in America to decrease the disease here, too.

Dan SmithI had no way of knowing the horror I was about to uncover.

Cystic fibrosis affects many organs in the body, but the patient’s life expectancy is shortened most due to damage caused to the lungs. The average life span of a CF sufferer is around 40 years, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation reports

Unfortunately, the cases of CF in Brittany aren’t dropping by accident.

“We show, in this study, that the birth incidence of CF has dropped in our area following the implementation of prenatal diagnosis,” reported Virginie Scotet and six colleagues in an article in the Journal of Rare Diseases.

That answer is so clinical—so sterile. The drop occurred once humans learned how to predict if a fetus has CF. The Scotet study reports 35.8 percent of CF children were aborted on the sole basis of the prenatal diagnosis of cystic fibrosis. Not allowed to live. Killed in the womb.

Abortion-as-genetic-control doesn’t apply only to cystic fibrosis, either.

Parents “now take part in both premarital and prenatal testing, and even though every one in five pregnancies is abnormal, they can determine which embryos carry two copies of the same mutation and choose to terminate,” author Christine Kenneally notes in The Invisible History of the Human Race: How DNA and History Shape Our Identities and our Futures. This is in regards to Samaritans who can suffer from a wide array of genetic conditions.

None of us wants to pass on bad genes to our children. According to the world’s point of view, however, the answer is this: “Doctors can test a fetus early in pregnancy and terminate it if it carries the mutation,” Kenneally says of Huntington’s disease.

The sickening truth about the world’s fight against genetic disease is to terminate the fetus, just like a surgeon might cut out a cancerous tumor.

Our genetic decision

My wife, Alicia, and I were surprised to find out she was pregnant with our third child. We had decided long before to stop trying for additional children after our second child was born with CF. In the first meeting with her physician, we were encouraged to test our “fetus” for CF, since our daughter had the disease.

After explaining the risks involved, we declined.

I’m not better than anyone who has had an abortion. The sins they struggle with are not the sins I struggle with and vice versa. Ending the life of a baby is not a sin I struggle with.

The vast majority of humans would not kill their newborn babies, even if they found out immediately after birth that the child had a crippling disease. We learned our daughter had cystic fibrosis a mere 14 days after her birth. Even the most heartless human would have trouble killing a child at that age.

So, to sidestep that problem, humans kill the baby when it’s a fetus. This is the sad reality of abortion-as-genetic-control.

Making abortion irrelevant

Baptists must make abortion irrelevant.

In tackling an issue like genetic disease, we can show the world abortion is not the answer, while providing smart solutions, such as genetic testing for young couples before they begin having children and pursuing actual cures to genetic conditions.

By helping people test for their genetic conditions before they get married or have children, we allow them the opportunity to make sound decisions before a life is irreparably damaged or destroyed. Through finding cures to the various genetic diseases, we show that there is another way.

I wouldn’t have given my daughter up for the world if we had known she was going to go through the myriad of treatments and hospital visits. Instead, we work to find a cure by supporting the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and raising awareness through talking to people about CF, my writing, etc.

Alicia and I hope for a world wherein our energy is focused on fighting the disease at the molecular level, not fighting against the babies who carry it.

Dan Smith is a freelance writer living with his wife, Alicia, and their three children in Jacksonville, Fla. He can be found on Facebook and on Twitter by searching @Navychristian.

The Valley Baptist Missions Education Center began in September 1947 when it opened as Valley Baptist Academy and has grown to a 90-acre campus in Harlingen.

René MacielIt now sits in the center of a region in deep South Texas populated by 2 million people from around the world.

Founded as a private Christian school and then as a missions training center, this Texas Baptist institution has clung to the principles of predominately educating and ministering to the Hispanic community.

When it was a school, students were trained for leadership in Christian work. Students from South Texas, Mexico, Central America and South America were sent or recommended to Valley Baptist Academy by pastors and supportive laypersons interested in advancing the cause of Christ. Students at the academy also were immersed in English as a Second Language and quickly gained fluency in English. They emerged from their studies to share their faith in Christ in two languages.

Graduates of both the academy and the education center are equipped with theological studies, as well as leadership and pastoral skills training. Many graduates went on to become business professionals, pastors, attorneys, homemakers and medical professionals. Today, alumni share Christ across much of this continent.

Scores of men and women sacrificially served the academy and education center as educators, board members and staff. Most noteworthy was Howard E. Gary, who served as president 32 years. Under his outstanding leadership, the campus and educational enterprise experienced robust growth. Alongside a small number of short-term presidencies was the beloved Robert E. Smith, who served in critical times for the institution. As retired director of missions for Rio Grande Valley Baptist Association, he served as president more than seven years.

Just as John Cartwright Dunn Jr., an early Texas pioneer, implored Rufus Burleson, first president of Baylor University, to come to Texas when the region was just a wilderness, the staff and board of Valley Baptist Missions Education Center invite and implore people interested in exciting and life-changing missions opportunities and training to come to the center and to be part of a great movement of Christ in a diverse region of the state.

The center encourages an individual to come as a student of the Great Commission, as a pastor seeking enrichment and training, as a missions volunteer, or as an educator as the new leadership of Valley Baptist Missions Education Center develops opportunities of service and education certain to extend in influence for Christ around the world.

To learn more, click here. www.vbmec.org

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