These past few weeks have been difficult for me. I was really beginning to realize how insignificant my efforts could feel at times. I was discouraged. I think it might have just been the stress of the week, or maybe the loud music blaring from inside the bars, but after outreach one night, I just felt so depleted.

Stacie AguilarWe only do outreach two nights a week. So, the rest of the week is a lot less in-your-face, but for that reason, outreach days are altogether the best and worst days of my week. I keep being reminded of the sheer size of the sex industry. It can be daunting when you think about it. There are literally thousands of women and so-called ladyboys selling themselves in the bars each night, and I can only meet one or two at a time. Even if I do meet any ladyboys, it’s unlikely my first conversation will lead them straight to Christ or get them out of the bars.

I remember meeting a man around our third week living here who told us flat-out we weren’t going to make a dent in the sex trade. He just felt that there was no way we were going to stop this billion-dollar industry. He may have been right. I don’t know. 

Regardless, I started to realize that wasn’t what God called me here to do. My job here is not to abolish prostitution or sexual exploitation. There already are organizations working toward that goal. My job is simply to love the person in front of me. 

One of the encouragers who came to be with us for spring break was a woman with an incredible testimony. One of our boys was so drawn to her, he just wanted to care for her the whole time. She helped us paint the cafe one morning. Right after, our boy offered to wash the paint off her hands, because he didn’t want her to do it herself.For that reason, we go to dark places, to love those that no one else loves. If nothing else, I want to show I really do care for these individuals. I truly do want to be their friends, to give them a chance to talk to someone about things other than sex.  I like to hear about their families, where they grew up, their dreams, what they studied or would like to study in university. I realize that most, if not all, of these people are wearing masks. But when I get to hear a little bit about them, I realize that even if they haven’t shared much, it might be more than most people know about them. That part makes me happy. I may not be able to bring prostitution to an end, but I can offer a new beginning to some, and to me that’s all I ask for. 

At the same time, seeing God’s children stuck in such darkness takes everything out of me each time. It can be hard sometimes—most times, really. But I’m thankful for the family that I have here to encourage me and uplift my spirit. 

God brought me the encouragement I needed recently when a team from the States came for spring break, just to encourage us. They helped us paint the café, sang worship songs with us and prayed over each of us individually. They reassured me: No matter how small my actions feel, they are never insignificant. Jesus himself was made small when he entered this world as an infant so he might save us all. 

Stacie Aguilar, a recent graduate of the University of Texas at El Paso, is serving with an anti-trafficking ministry in Thailand through Go Now Missions.

Around 5 p.m. is my absolute favorite time of day. That’s when we’ve just finished teaching our English-as-a-Second-Language class for young adults, and I head outside to play with the kids who are crowding around the porch, waiting for class to end. 

Morgan Martin and a Haitian friend.I catch my breath as I gaze at the beauty of the mountains that surround me. The air is cool, which in Haiti is a big deal. Haitian kiddos are playing football, singing songs and tossing Frisbees, and I join the action. 

My Creole only takes me so far. I know names and faces and can ask how they are doing: “Como ou ye?” But beyond that, my communication is limited to big smiles, tickles, giggles and laughter. 

Everyone is outside. We are one community, living together as one body. Older sisters and brothers tightly grasp their phones as they halfway engage in the setting and halfway listen to their favorite rap song. Little sisters fight and throw rocks. There’s always someone who is not wearing pants. 

Out of nowhere, I feel a “bonk” on my head. I look up to catch the gaze of Dave, who looks equally worried and embarrassed to have hit the Blanc in the head with a Frisbee. In a moment of whimsy, I decide to really play up the moment. Haitian students studying English.Dropping to the ground in complete melodrama, I play dead. Laughter erupts from around me, and I hear feet flooding towards my pretend-limp body. I smile and stand back up and toss the disk back. 

It’s in that moment I realize the gospel knows no bounds. The gospel doesn’t need me to know fluent Creole for me to share God’s unending love with his people. Sure, as I study the language and engage with the people of Haiti, I will learn more Creole. But the point is not what I can do, but what Almighty God already is doing. He is living inside of me, and his love is overflowing. My God is more powerful than language barriers.

Morgan Martin, a student at the University of Texas in Austin, is serving with We Care Haiti as a semester missionary through Go Now Missions.

In the midst of the urban crisis and social upheaval of the 1960s, an interventionist who is now considered a giant among North American Protestants began to write, speak and consult with local churches and denominations.

George BullardFrom the foundation of urban planning and ministerial training, Lyle E. Schaller focused his ministry on transforming the North American Church. He was an acclaimed church consultant and author or co-author of 94 books. He died March 18 at age 91 in Oklahoma City.

The people his ministry impacted number in the millions. The ministers who called him a mentor or coach are measured in the hundreds of thousands. The congregations impacted are in the tens of thousands. The denominations impacted are likely all of them.

No one in Christian ministry could ignore the power of his words. They may or may not agree, but they could not say no one had told them what was happening.

I began reading Lyle’s books in college in the late 1960s. I began taking training from him in 1978. He was still actively recommending me to churches as recently as three years ago at 88 years of age. 

He transformed the North American church

My friend and mentor for almost 40 years transformed the North American church in at least seven ways.

First, he urged the church to talk about the future. He was always pushing congregations and denominations to talk not only about heritage and the tyranny of the present urgencies, but to also to understand the future was coming at them fast and they needed to respond. Urgent issues would often pale in comparison to what was coming.

Second, he brought an urban bias to his writing and speaking. Lyle could easily identify with smaller-membership churches and rural or small-town churches. But what he really focused on were larger urban churches and both the challenges and opportunities they faced. He was part of God’s empowerment of what Peter Drucker called the large pastoral church.

Taught us to think strategically

Third, he taught us to think and act strategically. The generation who led the church following World War II learned well how to do program planning and take tactical actions. But strategic planning and adaptive change were not characteristic of the church. The urban crisis and social upheaval of the 1960s put many parts of the church on its heels. In the midst of this, Lyle was the prophetic voice on thinking and acting strategically.

Fourth, he modeled what it meant to be an interventionist. Lyle’s approach was not indirect. He was direct and often confrontational; yet smiling as he confronted. I once saw him ask a church how much land they would need when they relocated—20 acres or 50 acres. The church was shocked. They had not talked about relocation, but they were now. When they did relocate a decade or so later, they bought more than 50 acres.

Fifth, he showed us we need to learn continually. Just about the time many of us thought we had caught up with what Lyle was saying, he had turned another corner and learned a whole new set of things that caused us to say “Wow!” He once told me he no longer believed what he had said in some of his earlier books. He was past that now and understood things more deeply.

Sixth, as an innovator, he taught us to reconceptualize or redefine what we were doing. Good enough was never good enough for Lyle. We always needed to be continually innovating and even rethinking how we were doing ministry in our context. He taught us that when we stand still, the world keeps moving forward, and we start falling behind.

Not afraid to be a contrarian

Seventh, he was not afraid to speak as a contrarian. Almost everyone liked Lyle. He was extremely successful. He moved into a zone where he had a bully pulpit from which to speak to the church. From his position, he was not afraid to be a contrarian. He would tell the North American church the truth they needed to hear, whether or not they wanted to hear it. This did not diminish his fame. It only increased it.

I always felt my relationship with Lyle was special. I sponsored him to speak and consult with congregations and denominations numerous times. I entertained him in my home for meals and fellowship. But I was one of many who knew Lyle this closely. Numerous people reading this post have deep and meaningful memories of Lyle.

I invite you go to the Facebook group Lyle E. Schaller—Thanksgiving for a Life Well Lived. Ask to join this group, and then post your memories of Lyle.

George Bullard is President of the Columbia Partnership, general secretary of the North American Baptist Fellowship of the Baptist World Alliance and senior editor of TCP Books. Contact him at GBullard@TheColumbiaPartnership.org or (803) 622-0923. His column is distributed by Baptist News Global.

Dos hermanos en Cristo. Two ordinary men extraordinarily used by God. God called Robert to Christian ministry. He called Archímedes to ministry as a Christian.

Kathy HillmanJosé Archímedes Rocha’s story reads like a novel. He was born in Managua, Nicaragua. As a child, he almost drowned, but God had other plans. Losing his father early in life, he spent his boyhood working hard to take care of his mother. Education was not an option, but he had a thirst for knowledge and educated himself as best he could.

Archímedes married his love, Paublina, and moved to Siuna to work for a Canadian gold-mining company. The young man became an expert in machinery, and his boss, Alan Drebert, offered him a job in the United States. In 1962, he arrived in Waco with plans for his wife and children to follow.

In Texas, Archímedes worked hard but knew no one and spoke little English. A family asked him to attend church with them. Everyone there spoke Spanish, and the service would be in his language. He went. At Primera Iglesia Bautista de Waco, Archímedes found friends and a family away from family. But most of all, he found a Savior. 

Archímedes Rocha arriving for church. (Photo courtesy of the Rocha family)In Nicaragua, Archímedes and his family attended church, but they didn’t know Jesus. When Paublina and the children arrived in Waco, she didn’t want to visit Primera, but Archímedes insisted. So she went and found a Savior, too, as later did their two daughters and two sons. 

Church wasn’t the only major adjustment. The family needed to learn English. The children recall their father taking them to the grocery store and requiring they look up foods in a Spanish-English dictionary and remember the names. He and Paublina insisted they study and be educated. Indeed, all four attended Baylor University and earned at least one college degree.

Throughout his life, Archímedes brought people to Primera and loved them into God’s kingdom through his ready smile, gentle kindness and quiet perseverance. He knew how hunger and poverty felt and enjoyed sharing meals around the family table. He lived thinking of others first and believing he could make things better.

Archímedes, Paublina and the grown-up Rocha children remained faithful to God and to their church. His memorial service paid tribute to a Christian brother who poured his life into the next generation and into those around him.

Non-Christians also felt Robert Cortes’ aura of peace and faith. His bright smile drew many to him. Roberto’s life began in Monterrey, Mexico. He grew up in a Christian home, attended school, became a successful accountant and married. But God’s call changed everything. Robert Cortes during his time serving as chaplain at Hermann Hospital in Houston. (Photo courtesy of the Cortes family)In 1956, Robert and his wife, Cary, emigrated to the United States so he could prepare for ministry. They both studied at Tennessee Temple College. In Chattanooga, he also served as an associate pastor. 

Upon graduation, the Cortes family moved to Texas, where Robert became the full-time minister of Primera Iglesia Bautista de Belton, which ordained him. Seeking additional study, he earned an master’s degree in religion at Baylor. He served as pastor of Hispanic congregations in Odem, Edroy and Refugio, and he worked with Elmin Howell to involve his churches in Texas Baptists’ River Ministry.

In 1969, God called Robert and the Cortes family back to Monterrey to be missionaries and to pastor Primera Iglesia Bautista and Iglesia Bautista Berea. Robert Cortes in later life. (Photo courtesy of the Cortes family)He planted churches throughout Mexico and for almost a decade also taught elementary school. He further extended God’s reach through an international radio ministry that continued 35 years. For eight years, he wrote “Lo que la Biblia enseña” or “What the Bible teaches” for El Norte, a newspaper widely read in Mexico and Spain.

God uprooted Pastor Cortes again in 1978. The Southern Baptist Home Mission Board through Rice Temple Baptist Church asked him to begin a chaplaincy program for international patients at Texas Medical Center in Houston. He served as senior chaplain at M.D. Anderson, Hermann and Methodist hospitals. In retirement, Chaplain Cortes’ witness continued as he turned every conversation naturally to Christ. When he died, his two sons and daughter streamed the memorial service to his churches in Mexico at their request.

Archímedes Rocha and Robert Cortes Sr. lived the difference, leaving legacies of faith and faithfulness. Dos hermanos en Cristo who personified Matthew 5:16, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” 

May we also live the difference, hermanos y hermanas en Cristo—brothers and sisters in Christ.

Kathy Hillman is president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. She also is director of Baptist collections, library advancement and the Keston Center for Religion, Politics and Society at Baylor University.

Hello, Texas Baptists. I have had the privilege of preaching at two wonderful churches recently. I was blessed to worship with Christian Family Baptist Church in San Antonio. Then I worshipped with First Baptist Church of Carrollton. Both are strong churches, and I feel fortunate to have spent time with them.

David HardageI also was honored with the invitation to be Pastor of the Day for the Texas Senate. The Christian Life Commission organized that opportunity, and I was beyond grateful to participate. My prayers are with our Austin family during this legislative session.

Your Texas Baptist staff toured our future home at Rambler Park. I feel the excitement as we approach our move this fall. We covet your prayers as we continue in this transition. The Lord is leading us into a new chapter. We look forward to what is ahead.

I returned from South Padre Island after getting a glimpse into what our Baptist Student Ministry is doing during Beach Reach. The Lord is active in the ministry going on through Beach Reach. Please keep these students in your prayers as they finish out their Spring Break.

If you are ever in the Dallas area, please stop by our offices! My door is always open. 

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

Most American evangelicals don’t believe science and religion are at war.

Among evangelicals who participated in a nationwide survey, almost 70 percent said they “do not view religion and science as being in conflict,” reported Elaine Howard Ecklund, director of the Religion and Public Life Program at Rice University.

Editor Marv KnoxShe spoke to 200 scientists, pastors and related professionals during a conference sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s Dialogue on Science, Ethics and Religion.  Religion News Service covered her speech. 

Ecklund’s research reveals a strong majority of U.S. Christians who avowedly believe the Bible don’t think it contradicts scientific discoveries. 

Among evangelicals:

• 48 percent think science and religion are complementary.

• 21 percent see science and religion as independent from each other.

• 30 percent believe science and religion conflict.

An even larger group than the combined complementary/independent subsets—84 percent—believe “modern science is going good in the world.” Evangelicals particularly join the vast majority of other Americans in affirming science’s contributions to technology and medicine.

Ecklund’s research is good news for people of faith who believe Christians should engage culture constructively rather than hide from culture or fight it at every turn. She provides valuable support for evangelistic, caring Christians who believe loving God with both one’s heart and one’s mind not only is possible, but it happens over and over.

The role of religion is to explain the Who and Why of Creation. The task of science is to explain How.

Her latest findings echo previous research that showed most scientists likewise see no conflict between their vocation and faith: 76 percent of scientists surveyed among a cross-section of the population identify with a religious tradition.

This may sound like news, because we often hear from Christians who take such a narrow view of the Bible they feel compelled to denigrate and undermine science and scientific discovery. They grab the microphone at school textbook debates and step in front of the camera at public hearings.

But this “news” really is old. Augustine of Hippo, a Christian theologian who lived in the fourth and fifth centuries, said, “All truth is God’s truth,” as the RNS article reported. It also cited astrophysicist Debora Haarsma: The truth revealed in the cosmos is “a scientific description of the universe God created.”

That points toward gentle wisdom handed down by pastors and science teachers across the generations. Properly understood, religion and science cannot conflict. The role of religion is to explain the Who and Why of Creation. The task of science is to explain How.

This year’s spring break marked my third time to be involved in Beach Reach, but little did I know how different this year would be and what it would mean for me.

Kim GarnerAs campus intern, this is the first time I have been in charge of planning and leading a full mission trip on my own—and without my director there. We had so many struggles finding drivers, getting payments together and having people drop out. It was such a stressful week, and I worried about everything.

I found myself slowly losing passion for a ministry that was so special to me. I prayed that I could prepare myself for what was about to happen at South Padre Island. 

When we arrived, I saw the many different things a leader has to take care of, and I really learned to appreciate what my director does for every trip. But the first night out on the vans was awesome. I spent a few hours on the vans and had some awesome conversations. I continued on to a popular club where I had some great conversations and provided leadership for the students as they ministered.

We had some amazing times throughout the week, and I was able to help my students process the things that they were seeing and experiencing. I heard their stories and celebrated with them as we saw salvations and recommitments on our van.

There was such joy in my students as they shared great conversations and such hurt as they discussed the times they were rejected. I learned that praying specific prayers over the people we met led to amazing results. I also learned the greatest joy from this trip was seeing the passion and joy in my students. It was so rewarding to hear their stories and see how God worked through them. I saw the results of the training we had done. 

Even though I ministered differently this year than before, I still had the opportunity to have great conversations and make connections with spring breakers. I feel that I learned and grew more as a leader than I ever did as a student. Beach Reach was incredible. I saw such growth and life change. It was a blessing. 

Kim Garner is serving with Go Now Missions as a campus ministry intern at Howard Payne University.

Students representing the Baptist Student Ministries at Mountain View College in Dallas and Collin College in Plano served at Mission Arlington, adopting as their theme: “Working together to make a life better.” During their time in Arlington, the two student groups came together and showed God’s love through a variety of projects and by meeting physical needs. 

Jourdan PollockOne day, student delivered bread to some mobile homes and an apartment complex near Mission Arlington. While making deliveries, the students were encouraged to ask the residents if there were any needs that they had or any prayer concerns.

Once they finished delivering bread and returned to the mission, students collected the items peoples said they needed—clothes, shoes, toys and furniture—and immediately delivered them. Students were so excited to be able to hear about needs and meet them within an hour. 

In Romans 12, the Apostle Paul describes how we all have our different functions, yet we are members of one body, and that is the body of Christ.

Through their experience working with Mission Arlington, students could see how they all have different personalities, but our focus and goal is to share Christ.

Even though we are all different, we all have a purpose. And as a member of the body of Christ, we all should have the same goal of sharing the gospel with all those around us.

Jourdan Pollock, a graduate of Midwestern State University, is serving through Go Now Missions with the Baptist Student Ministry at Mountain View College in Dallas.

I applaud the Baptist Standard for publishing the views of both sides of contemporary issues. I doubt any of the staff agree with a recent letter’s author, who takes umbrage with the Baptist General Convention of Texas statement regarding gender identification. 

That God created us male and female is timeless truth. Unambiguous. Not subject to redefinition. The author in protest cites “scientific evidences” to the contrary as the basis for asserting the reality of transsexual gender(s). 

I am not a physician. I am a man of science and a man of faith. My high school biology teacher was also a man of faith and a coach, Steve Gregg. Fifty years ago, he explained to us in private true science cannot contradict the Bible, since both have God as their author and Creator. Science that fundamentally disputes Scripture is no science. It is confusion, which is the state of so-called transsexuals. 

Gender is identifiable by the presence or absence of the Y-chromosome in the DNA. Not by psychology nor by “data.” Any assertions to the contrary are hogwash. 

By the way, “doctrine” based on Scripture that contradicts sound science is not truth but dogma. Another topic for another day.

Maurice Harding

Seadrift

Return to prayer and fasting

Excellent news coming from the Texas Woman’s University Baptist Student Ministry. 

The basic disciplines of prayer and fasting have become lost in so many of our program- and music-driven churches and ministries today. God’s presence and spiritual power will become evident in our churches when we return to prayer and fasting. 

Thank you, TWU Baptist Student Ministry, for reminding us of this all-important aspect of our discipleship.  

Tim Robinson 

Whitesboro

Science, the Bible and sex

“Gender is identifiable by the presence or absence of the Y-chromosome in the DNA. Not by psychology nor by “data.” Any assertions to the contrary are hogwash.”

I will repeat back to you the headline of this letter (above): “Science cannot contradict the Bible.” This is exactly what Maurice Harding’s statement does. Faulty pop science claims the presence or absence of the Y-chromosome determines sex (not gender, by the way). The Bible doesn’t use genetics as the sole determinant of sex; it uses the genitals. And sex follows changes to the genitals.

A woman with the complete form of Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome would be XY, female-typical external genitals, and testes in her abdomen rather than ovaries and uterus. The Bible would consider her a barren woman. Not a man, as this rule would dictate. 

Someone who is XY and born with ambiguous genitals would be considered a eunuch by the Bible. Not a man as this rule would dictate. 

Someone who is XX and born with ambiguous genitals would be considered a eunuch by the Bible. Not a woman as this rule dictates.

My karyotype is 46,XY/45,X. Some of my cells are XY; some are just X. So by this rule, I’d be part man and part woman. Yet I suppose this “science”—since it’s clearly not based on the Bible, it can’t be doctrine—only allows for male and female. 

The Bible allows for male, female, and other (eunuch). “For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother’s womb” (Matthew 19:12).

Lianne Simon

Atlanta, Ga.

Transgender: ‘Know the full story’

I was born with one testis and one ovary that later in life became malignant with ovarian cancer. While being treated at the Mayo Clinic, I encountered another person with the same condition. 

I’ve never said God made a mistake when I was born. People are born with many variations of their body structures. 

In response to Maurice Harding’s letter (above), you better start looking up intersex conditions. There are at least 30 or 40 such variations. I have two friends who are XXY and one who has AIS—androgen insensitively syndrome. In her case, she is XY with a female body structure. Her cellular structure cannot absorb androgens (testosterone), hence the female body structure. 

Your world is doing much harm to children who are born with these issues. 

Please keep in mind that many transgender people do have an intersex condition. In fact, about 1.7 percent of children have one form of intersex conditions. Most go though life and never know. 

It was common practice to do sex-change surgery to babies if their male sex organs failed to develop. In fact, the practice is still being done in many areas even today. I know of one such adult who had surgery imposed on him as a child. He almost went insane before he had surgery to change him back to male.  

Don’t present yourself as an expert unless you know the full story and the science behind all this.

David Micheletti

Cohasset, Min.

We made history early this month. For the first time, both our grandchildren and both their mothers spent a long weekend under our roof.

Ezra, our 4-year-old grandson who lives in Buda, has visited Joanna and me many times. But this was the first opportunity for 3-month-old Eleanor, who lives in Nashville, to come see us.

We rolled out the red carpet—or, more appropriately for a 4-year-old boy, the white snow.

I probably won’t mention this when Eleanor is old enough to understand, but Ezra was far more excited about seeing snow for the first time than about meeting his baby cousin. 

A little boy just doesn’t stop

Little boys are like that. If you can’t or won’t play, he questions your value. Well, that’s not right. A little boy doesn’t stop to consider worth. Actually, a little boy just doesn’t stop.

That’s fine with me, at least as long as I don’t stop long enough to consider the implications of our 54-year age span. Ezra goes to bed revving his little engine faster than mine runs all day. How can someone that small never stop running and talking—at the same time?

Ezra and I have a wonderful relationship. That’s because I know my job. Where he’s concerned, I’m the purveyor of play, the concierge of comedy, the meister of mirth, the gadfly of games, the raconteur of rasslin’. In Ezraworld, I exist for his great fun.

And I’m good with that. Because when he’s having fun, so am I. 

Ready to play in the snow

Before Ezra and Lindsay arrived, I pulled out my coat, cap and gloves, so I’d be ready to play in the snow as soon as he sprung free of his carseat.

Ezra lives 18.47 miles south of the Texas Capitol. Folks don’t get much snow that far down. In fact, Ezra had not seen snow until he arrived in North Texas for his visit with Marvo (and Jody, and Aunt Molly and Eleanor). 

We hit the white stuff almost immediately. For the record, Ezra generates far more energy than I. But never underestimate the assets of age—wiliness, experience and cunning—and a pretty good arm. I won our snowball fight by about 85 snowballs to three.

Fortunately for Ezra—but not so much for the 6.7 million other souls in the Dallas-Fort Worth area—the temperature remained cold that night. That meant plenty of snow for Day 2. That’s when we built three snowmen. Or, judging by their height, snowchildren. 

Constructing snowmen

Jody supplied carrots for noses and raisins for eyes. Ezra fetched sticks for arms and hair. And as long as we stuck to the moist almost-ready-to-melt snow, we rolled it up into passable snowhumans. 

By Day 3, just about all the other snow melted. But our little snowpeople hung in there. Eyeless and noseless, but with stick arms and stick hair. And what appeared to be world-class snow-scoliosis.

Of course, I’d love to tell you Ezra charmed his new cousin by singing “If You’re Happy and You Know It” or “There’s Power in the Blood,” two of his favorite songs. But Ezra never slowed down that long, and Eleanor probably wouldn’t have noticed, anyway. A boy doesn’t have time for playing with babies when he’s got basketball, Chutes ’n’ Ladders, Batman Uno, video games on a cell phone, football, Hungry Hungry Hippos and wrestling.

For her part, Eleanor charmed her great-grandparents, great-aunts and great-uncle, grandparents, aunt and mama by cooing and smiling and generally exuding 11 pounds of cuteness. 

Snowmen’s demise

By Sunday afternoon, when Ezra and his mama packed to leave, we crossed the front yard to their car. He walked over and looked down on the tiny pile of carrots, raisins and sticks, the remaining residue of our snowfolks.

“Our snowmen died, Marvo,” he called out.

“I know, Ezra,” I replied. “It’s warmer. I’m sorry.”

“They’re in heaven now,” he surmised.

I guess they wouldn’t last long if they went the other direction.

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught and overflowing with thankfulness. (Colossians 2:6-7)

Kathy HillmanWanted: High school, college and seminary students to enter Texas Baptists’ essay and sermon contests on Baptist distinctives. Entries should clearly demonstrate understanding of distinctives chosen and their biblical background. Scholarship awards include $2,000 for first place, $1,000 for second and $500 for third. For rules and deadlines click here.

Winners will be invited to present their sermons and essays at the 2015 Baptist General Convention of Texas annual meeting. The convention will focus on Baptist distinctives organized around the theme “Deep Roots … Living Legacy.”

People often ask why I am a Baptist. Many assume I was born that way. Faye Watson enrolled me in cradle roll as soon I came home from the hospital. My first outing was to a Woman’s Missionary Union circle meeting. Growing up, I participated in every aspect of First Baptist Church in Eldorado. 

Baptist Training Union group at First Baptist Church in Atlanta, Texas, 1938. (Photograph courtesy of the Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives)But while I was born into a Baptist family, I am not part of the Baptist family today because of my roots. I choose to be Baptist because I have prayed, studied and determined I am Baptist by belief. 

Baylor classmate Hollis Browning tells of growing up at First Baptist Church in Plainview, where he learned Baptist distinctives firsthand. When he was a teen, his longtime Texas Baptist pastor grandfather Bill Mason and grandmother Lillian joined the Brownings for worship on a Lord’s Supper Sunday. As the bread passed down their pew, Grandmother Mason took the wafer, but her husband did not. When the cups came, again she participated while he did not.

After church, Hollis took his mother aside. Why, he asked, did his grandmother take the Lord’s Supper when his grandfather did not, especially as a pastor? Shouldn’t they have done the same thing? 

First Baptist Church Waco communion set dating from 1830. (Kathy Hillman photo)Billie Claire Browning indicated her parents had differed as long as she could remember. Then she wisely explained their actions illustrated several Baptist beliefs. Both understood only those who were born again and baptized by immersion should take the Lord’s Supper. Both agreed individuals read and interpret Scripture for themselves with God’s guidance. However, Rev. Mason believed he should participate in the Lord’s Supper only in the church where he was a member. His wife interpreted the Bible to mean the ordinance was open to all baptized believers, even if they were not members of that congregation. Most importantly, each honored the other’s decision.

I learned the meaning of being Baptist growing up through junior high and high school in Training Union. I still recall Baptist distinctives using one of several common acrostics.

B – Biblical Authority

A – Autonomy of the Local Church

P – Priesthood of the Believer

T – Two Symbolic Ordinances: Believer’s Baptism by Immersion and the Lord’s Supper

I – Individual Soul Liberty

S – Saved Church Members

T – Two Offices of the Local Church

S – Separation of Church and State

In 1994, the BGCT formed the Baptist Distinctives Committee, which developed a representative list of Baptist beliefs. In addition to most of the acrostic, they include congregational church government, deity and lordship of Jesus Christ, evangelism and missions, religious freedom, salvation only by grace through faith, security of the believer and voluntary cooperation among churches.

Display on the Baptist Distinctives Wall in the Texas Baptist Historical Museum in Independence. (Photo by museum director Phillip Hassell)Our Baptist roots include individuals who suffered and died for the freedom of all people to believe and worship according to their convictions. One Baptist founder, Thomas Helwys, died for his faith in an English prison. Others were harassed or tortured. In the colonies, Baptists were imprisoned, beaten, pelted and accused of child abuse because they rejected infant baptism. Yet Roger Williams founded Rhode Island on the principles of religious liberty and separation of church and state. Baptist John Leland played a major role in the inclusion of the religious liberty clauses in the Bill of Rights.

Pastor and educator J.M. Carroll wrote in his 1923 history: “Texas Baptists have a priceless heritage. Their fathers carved out of the Texas wilderness a home of tolerance, of liberty of conscience and freedom of speech. Let us prize this legacy and hand it down stainless and unsullied to those who shall take up our work when we have laid it down.”

May we tap deep into our roots in living our distinctively Baptist legacy of faith and freedom and pass it on for generations to come.

Kathy Hillman is president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. She also is director of Baptist collections, library advancement and the Keston Center for Religion, Politics and Society at Baylor University.

Our church members complain about everything and everyone. Their gripes eclipse the core values of the gospel—peace, joy, love and hope. How can we get back on track?

The issue of griping and complaining in church is a problem that has existed since the first century. This condition reflects our sinful nature in pointed and illuminating ways. While this is an old and continuing problem, 21st century technology and social media have helped give rise to a culture of complaining unparalleled in church history. The problem is ferocious and nearly universal. Yet although the issue is significant and unpleasant, it is not hopeless.

Twelve-step programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous learned years ago the first step to overcoming a problem is to admit one exists. Churches and individual members must admit they have a problem with griping and complaining. They must recognize and admit this behavior is in opposition to the gospel. Too often, the church ignores or dismisses such behavior as something other than the grievous sin it is.

Fruit of the Spirit

According to Galatians 5:22, the fruit of the spirit includes peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Griping and complaining are in direct conflict with these fruits.

The Apostle James warns believers of the dangers into which their tongues can get them. He warns we cannot use the same tongue to praise God and curse people. Jesus’ commands to love one another, even our enemies, and to pray for them cannot exist in tandem with complaining about them. These attitudes and actions are evil, and we must confront them.

Having admitted the problem, the next stage is to repent. Those guilty must confess their sin, seek forgiveness from God and in the power of the Holy Spirit stop what they have been doing. Confession and forgiveness also must include the people harmed by the griping and complaining. Observing the Greatest Commandment allows for no less.

This step is difficult, to say the least. Griping and complaining have become so central to our lives, they have become our nature. The good news of the gospel is our nature can change. There is perhaps no greater example of a new creation in Christ than a person who stops griping and complaining. This change is a marvelous testimony to the power of the Holy Spirit.

Committing to change

Third, the repentant must commit to continuing the change through the power of Christ. Much as an alcoholic struggles with alcohol every day, people soon will realize their struggle with griping and complaining will be a constant ordeal. Only by committing daily to a change in their lifestyle will such a change become a pattern of their life.

This change must start with you. Admit and repent of your own griping and complaining, and commit to change. Stop giving explicit approval by joining in with the complaint. Stop giving implicit approval even by listening. Make it clear you will not participate in or accept griping and complaining. Lead by example. You will be surprised how quickly a change can occur.

Van Christian, pastor

First Baptist Church

Comanche, Texas

If you have a comment about this column or wish to ask a question for a future column, contact Bill Tillman, consulting ethicist for “Right or Wrong?” at btillman150@gmail.com.