Hello, Texas Baptists! The summer of 2013 is almost behind us, and I know for many it was a positive, life-changing summer.

David HardageI want to thank those of you who helped financially and spiritually support the work of our Baptist Student Ministries summer missionaries. They have served the Lord and Texas Baptists well. Now, join me in praying that this good work on our Texas college and university campuses continues strong during this fall semester.

I recently had the privilege of attending a gathering of the Korean Baptist Fellowship of Texas in Fort Worth. It was a delightful evening full of good food, great fellowship and powerful worship. I thank our own Patty Lane, director of intercultural ministry, for working so diligently with all of our wonderful cross-cultural communities and churches.

Congratulations to Steve Vernon, the associate executive director of the BGCT, for being awarded an honorary doctorate at the summer commencement at Dallas Baptist University. And speaking at this commencement ceremony was a former BGCT president, David Lowrie, senior pastor of First Baptist Church of El Paso. I appreciate President Gary Cook and DBU for honoring Steve Vernon.

I enjoyed my Sunday morning at First Baptist Church of Cuero recently. Pastor Glenn Robinson has now served there faithfully 20 years. Cuero is really in the “sweet spot” of the South Texas oil and gas boom, so let’s pray that this great church can continue responding to the growth of their community.

It was my honor to preach in the Sunday morning worship service of Richardson Vietnamese Baptist Church. They are meeting in the gymnasium of Arapaho Road Baptist Church but are looking to purchase their first facility. Pastor Chuyen Tran has served there since 2000. He was baptized in a creek in the Philippines in 1984. This great church is doing good work, and I ask you to pray for them as you read this column.

Finally, congratulations to my mother, Johnnie Hardage, a proud Hardin-Simmons University  alum, on her 80th birthday celebration. My two brothers and my sister surprised her with a party. It was a great time!

More next time.

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

I’ve been diagnosed with a chronic, debilitating illness, and I’ve received two pieces of advice: “Suffering builds character.” And “learn to comfort as you have been comforted.” So, what is the relationship between character development and chronic illness?

Your two pieces of advice certainly find their origins in Scripture. However, as with all such biblically based instruction, we must be careful in applying these truths to be sure they build up, rather than tear down, the spirit within a suffering body.

The Apostle Paul writes in Romans: “Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope” (Romans 5:3-4). Following the linear relationship that Paul develops, it is the perseverance of the suffering that actually produces the character. Certainly, living the journey with a chronic illness challenges, yet it also can confirm such character traits as trust, patience, selflessness, humility and the like. Remember, it is the persevering that may bring these qualities to the surface. Perseverance usually takes time.

The second admonition is somewhat more complicated. Indeed, Paul writes to the Corinthians: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).

Empathy

Perhaps one of the most positive outcomes of such an illness is the empathy that may develop toward others, particularly those living with similar conditions. However, just as in the case of the Romans passage, these words come with a potential for misunderstanding. We must be careful that we do not interpret Paul’s words to mean: “Been there, done that.”

This oft-repeated phrase minimizes the other person’s suffering far more than it comforts them. Unfortunately, that all-too-common response will direct attention away from the one who is hurting and refocus it on the past experience of the speaker. Instead, we are called to comfort in the same way that God comforts us, through intense listening in love. Only by our presence and our intentional attention can we offer compassion, love, and hope.

How do character development and chronic illness relate? Enduring the suffering can offer a unique, God-inspired result. Unwavering faith strengthens character in a variety of ways. In fact, one of the manifestations of wisdom gained through affliction may very well result in much-needed comfort of someone else.

Encouragement

The next hurting person you encounter may need encouragement for patience, or trust, or one of the other character traits you have already developed through your own journey. At the end of the day, the experience of a chronic illness may very well reveal the intent of the Scripture: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

Allen Reasons, senior pastor

Fifth Avenue Baptist Church

Huntington, W.Va.

Right or Wrong? is co-sponsored by the Texas Baptist theological education office and Christian Life Commission. Send your questions about how to apply your faith to  bill.tillman@texasbaptists.org. (Top Image: Baylor University Medical Center)

The screen on my laptop is a smudgy mess. And I don’t intend to clean it up.

My friends and family who just read those sentences probably think I’m coming down with something. They know I’m fastidious, which is a $5 word for obsessive-compulsive, which is a psychological term for just-plain-nuts.

Thing is, I like things to be neat. And clean, too. But neat is better.

You know folks like me are twisted because we prefer neat over clean. If you’re smart and scientific and rational, you want stuff to be clean. If something is clean, then it’s probably not toxic. You won’t catch horribleness by touching it and then bringing your hand within a foot of your face.

Takes one to know one

But a preference for neatness is altogether different. If you think things have to be neat and orderly all the time, then there’s a better than even chance something is not neat and orderly inside your noggin’. I’m neither a psychologist nor the son of a psychologist, but I think compulsion to keep things properly arranged reflects an inordinate need to corral chaos. Where does that theory come from? Let’s just say it takes one to know one.

The smartest person I’ve ever met—and I won’t tell you his name, because he’s not only smart but modest—keeps one mess of a desk. And if you think his desk is a wreck, then just look at his credenza. Not to mention the couch across the room. But his mind is as neat and sharp as a pin. He even keeps a note about the relationship between cluttered desks and clear minds pinned on the wall. It’s there, even if sometimes obscured by stacks of papers.

I’m jealous, of course. I wish I were like him. Still, I can’t stop from arranging my desk before I go home in the evening. It’s spare. Ordered. Practically perfect in every way. I shudder to consider what my friend thinks my mind must be like.

A personal aberration

So, my messy computer screen represents a personal aberration. Maybe even liberation.

Almost every day, I pull out one of those microfiber wipes—the soft cloths optometrists give you to clean your glasses—and remove all the fingerprints and marks from that screen.

Right now, a thick, waxy collage of smudges covers a triangle-shaped section, about a quarter of the screen. I haven’t touched it to check, but I’d just about bet it’s sticky, too.

And I don’t have the slightest desire to wipe it down.

It reminds me of a little boy.

The other day, Joanna and I drove from our home in Coppell down to Buda to spend part of the weekend with our grandson, Ezra, and his mama and daddy. We had a ball. It was our best visit in that little guy’s two years and seven months on this planet.

Here’s unswaddled truth: Little kids improve with age. Babies get all the hoopla, but let’s talk turkey. Baby-time is overrated. I mean, really. For months, all they do is eat, cry, burp, poop and sleep. They’re cuddly and sweet, all right, but it’s hard to have much of a relationship with a baby.

Starting to jabber

But when a child starts to jabber? Well, that’s nothing short of a hoot. Ezra’s like a word magnet. He can say lots of things, and he’ll try to say anything. Even when his pronunciation falls somewhere shy of English, you pretty well know exactly what he means.

So, Jo and I thoroughly enjoyed talking to Ezra—or, more exactly, listening to Ezra talk. We also went swimming, choo-chooed trains on the living room floor, played at two parks, ate donuts, blew bubbles and shot water guns.

OK, I try not to be an over-the-top granddad. I don’t foist pictures of Ezra on friends. I think he’s a handsome little fellow, but he’s probably no better looking to you than your grandkid is to me. He’s smart as a Baby Einstein, of course, but your child might be, too.

The difference is Ezra is my grandson. We both smile when he enters the room. I can make him laugh, which makes me happier than words have the power to describe.

I’m keeping the smudges

I don’t want to wipe those smudgy fingerprints off my computer screen because Ezra put them there. For about an hour, he sat in my lap, and we watched videos: Thomas the Train. The Chuggingtons. Mickey Mouse in English, Spanish and Russian, of course. A few others I can’t remember.

When a video ended—which wasn’t necessarily when the story was over but when Ezra wanted to watch something else—he reached up and touched the YouTube icon of the video he wanted to see next.

That’s how my screen became a smudgy mess.

Just the way I like it.

I recently spent a memorable and meaningful few days with a group of music ministers. I had many significant conversations with these men and women about their life in the 21st century church. Many wanted to talk about the challenges of their specific settings.

Bill WilsonGranted, I was only hearing one side of these stories. Believe me, I know every story has multiple sides and complexities. Some of the things I’ve seen music leaders do defies belief. Even with that proviso, I am convinced those who lead in music and worship ministry are the recipients of an obscene amount of vitriol, anger, criticism and unreasonable expectations. While my experience with congregations and their relationship with music/worship leaders has been overwhelmingly positive, such is not the case for many.

Healthy churches can do better. Start with a hard question: How can we bring our expectations back to earth and turn our focus to the true calling of worship?

Here are some general thoughts to guide that conversation:

More art than science

1. Let’s acknowledge worship and music leadership is more art than science. No formula for worship will work in all settings. Just because something works at your cousin’s church in Birmingham does not mean it will succeed at yours.

2. Music hooks our emotions. When it comes to our emotions, most of us are irrational. That makes for a toxic brew in a church. No area of church life seems to invite more overreaction than worship and music. Since overreaction usually is a sign that something else is going on in your life you are ignoring, you might want to ask the simple question: “What is this really about for me?”

Most of us ar narcissists

3. Most of us are narcissists when it comes to worship and music. We know best, and we want what we want when we want it. We need a good dose of humility. Actually, we need to become Christians, because from all appearances, too many of us check our Christ-like spirit at the door most Sundays. Helpful, objective and constructive feedback is rare. Try setting up something to help with this.

4. There is no way to make everyone happy when it comes to planning music and worship. In fact, one sure way to make everyone unhappy is to try and make everyone happy. It’s the wrong agenda for many reasons. Primary among them: Your church’s music ministry is not there to please you. It is endeavoring to lead a group of people to worship God. By the way, one of the side effects of healthy worship is it helps grow you into the person God intends you to be. Guess what? That never is painless.

5. Music ministers often are artists first and administrators/schedule makers/people managers/relationship builders second. Granted, many of them need to work harder at some of their shortcomings, but don’t most of us?

No one has all the skills

6. No music minister possesses all the skills all the people want. If you think they do, you just don’t know them well enough. If they tell you they do, they are deluded and/or dishonest. In addition, many were trained for a music/worship culture that no longer exists.

7. Music and worship leadership is a team effort. No one person deserves all the blame or credit for what happens. Team leadership is not a music-specific skill. When interviewing potential music minister candidates, this should be as high a priority as anything on your list of desired traits. Remember, character trumps skills.

This isn’t ‘American Idol’

8. When it comes to music and worship evaluation and expectations, far too many people are harshly critical in a way that dishonors Christ and his church. This isn’t American Idol, and the congregation is not on a panel of self-absorbed judges.

9. The relationship between pastor and music minister is pivotal. Make sure both know you expect a healthy and collaborative approach. Make time and resources available to help make that happen.

10. Changing the style of worship music often is seen as the essential element in attracting young adults/turning around decades of decline/reaching unreached people groups/attracting throngs of the disaffected and disengaged. Such shortsighted thinking has created monumental strife and started an untold number of vicious congregational civil wars. It has fractured more churches than most of us can count. It seldom works, because the real issues at the heart of such concerns remain unaddressed.

I came away from my time inspired by the willingness of these men and women to learn and adapt to a changing church world. Sadly, I am deeply concerned about the congregational landscape they must navigate in the meantime. 

Bill Wilson is president of the Center for Congregational Health in Winston-Salem, N.C. His column is republished from ABPnews.com, where it is posted regularly as “Vital Signs.” You also can following him on Facebook and on Twitter @cntr4conghealth .

Fifty years ago this week, a black pastor from the South stood in front of the Lincoln Memorial and delivered the gold standard of social and political oratory.

I wish we could say Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech became the most important and effective political proclamation of all time, or at least in our nation’s history. But we cannot say that, because it’s not true. At least not yet. Reticence does not reflect Dr. King’s vision and eloquence. Rather, it reflects our nation’s moral timidity, fear and greed.

Editor Marv KnoxOften imitated, never duplicated, Dr. King’s speech moved millions of Americans with its power, poignancy and passion. It articulated the aspirations of Americans who did not enjoy the promises of our founding fathers’ principles.

“In a sense, we have come to our nation’s capital to cash a check,” King told 250,000 participants in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. “When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

“It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check which has come back marked ‘insufficient funds.’”

After Birmingham

King spoke three months after horrified Americans tuned in to the evening news and watched police in Birmingham, Ala., turn attack dogs and fire hoses on women and children who protested for integration. He spoke in the shadow of bus boycotts, lunch-counter sit-ins and Freedom Rides—all peaceful protests to lift the yoke of injustice.

Indeed, even as King spoke, more than two-thirds of African-Americans lacked the right to vote, attend integrated schools and use the same water fountains, restrooms and other public facilities as white people, according to USA Today.

King began his speech as most African-American preachers launch their sermons—slowly, deliberately. His prepared text included the line, “I have a dream,” which he had spoken before, at least in Chicago and Detroit.

Well into the speech, Mahalia Jackson, a gospel singer and King’s good friend, called out to him: “Tell ’em about the dream, Martin. Tell ’em about the dream.”

Departing from the text

That’s when King departed from his text and told the world about “the dream”—King’s dream, of course, but also the dream of African-Americans and others who envision true liberty and equality.

“I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream,” King said. “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created equal.’

“I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood. … I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. …

“This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day. …

“And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, ‘Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!’”

King’s dream inspired African-Americans and awakened millions of middle-class whites. The next year, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the year after that, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 became law. Schools integrated. Forty-five years later, Americans elected an African-American president.

But don’t be confused. Dr. King’s dream has not been fulfilled.

A dream still deferred

Just this summer, the George Zimmerman trial reminded Americans of the pungent fear that leads to racial profiling and resulted in the death of an African-American teenager, Trayvon Martin.

An even more craven and calculating fear pressed the Supreme Court to undermine the Voting Rights Act and—in moves that confirm the justices’ myopic failure—propelled states to enact practices that once again curtail minorities’ access to the ballot. To our shame, Texas is among them.

If you pay even the slightest attention, you realize race is an underlying theme of strikes and other protests by fast-food workers. Far too many jobs do not pay a wage sufficient to raise a family, mocking the “American dream.”

To be sure, racial liberty and equality is one of the thorniest issues of this and any age. Responsibility lies with all parties. But as long as racial injustice exists—and any reasonable person must recognize its existence among not only African-Americans, but also Hispanic-Americans and other people of color—we all must press for liberty, equality, freedom.

Otherwise, Dr. King’s hallowed dream will remain deferred.

Go To Topics: CLC, Women, Rescuers, Marfa, Wisdom, Gambling, Atonement 

Preserve the Christian Life Commission

I would like to affirm your editorial, which calls to our attention the vital function of the Christian Life Commission.

I wholeheartedly believe the commission’s place is in the bylaws of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, or a statement that clarifies its purpose and function should be reincluded in the constitution of the convention, so that the CLC may continue to function at the pleasure of the entire convention.

Julian C. Bridges

Abilene

Francis & pastors miss the gospel

Pope Francis missed the point of the gospel. It is not to live simply and to reach out to the physical outcasts. Jesus reached out to all, some of whom were outcasts. Pope Francis disenfranchised women when he said that because Jesus didn’t choose women to be disciples, they could never be priests.

Baptist pastors are disenfranchising women today. I know from Internet sermons these pastors have become mean-spirited in their preaching against women. With loud declarations, they preach that women are to be submissive to all males, both in the home and in the church. Jesus never indicated by word or deed any such theology. 

Recently I heard the pastor of a large Baptist church compare women to the Holy Spirit, telling women they are exalted. That pastor denigrated the Holy Spirit by that comparison to women, because women in his church are denied full service to the Lord. 

Another pastor of a Baptist church nearby told women they are equal, but have different functions. That, too, is nowhere to be found in the words or deeds of Jesus.

To be radical, or to simply be Christian, pastors and the pope would have to allow the Spirit to blow where it will and take their feet off the neck of women.

Shirley Taylor

Willis

Life-savers are wonderful people

Richard and Rebecca Strange are wonderful people. They are an example to so many in our congregation, Cowboy Church of Tarrant County. Our singles admire their love and devotion to each other.

Richard is a new lay pastor for us. He and Rebecca love the Lord, love each other and their family, and love their church. I’m so blessed to be their pastor and friend. 

Bobby Rice

Keller

Help Marfa battle smut

The small West Texas town of Marfa is in a battle with an adult magazine over the use of Marfa to market their smut and sexism. The marketing vehicle is a large outdoor sign of the trademark logo for the adult magazine. It is claimed that the sign is “art.”

The Texas Department of Transportation is in the process of deciding whether the sign is legal given the general ban of outdoor advertising along the highways in the open spaces of Texas. This ban is one of the grand legacies of Lady Bird Johnson.

The good citizens of Marfa need the help of those Texans who honor the legacy of Mrs. Johnson. If the purveyors of smut and sexism can vitiate this legacy in a small West Texas town, what will become of the beautiful open roads of Texas that the work of Mrs. Johnson bequeathed to all Texans?

Please contact your state representative, state senator and the Texas Department of Transportation and demand that this sign be taken down. Please act to preserve Mrs. Johnson’s legacy against its attack by the purveyors of smut and sexism under the guise of art.

Lineaus Hooper Lorette

Marfa

Realizing Christianity’s potential

We live in a world that is both oozing with potential but yet neck-deep in error, confusion, sheer and abject stupidity, war, hatred, disease, ignorance, etc. ad nauseum.

A whole lot of necessary answers will occur if and when pastors begin teaching their congregations—and most especially, the youth: “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore, get wisdom, get understanding” (Proverbs 4:5) and “All the paths of wisdom are peace” (Proverbs 3:17b).

Then, and only then, will true Christianity realize its potential.

John Narez

St. Louis, Mo.

Predatory gambling can be beat

Law enforcement officials have shut down a huge illegal gambling operation in Plano. The sports betting operation allegedly was a $1 billion business.

Officers seized about $10 million in a sting. Half will go to Plano police. Undercover officers placed some 300 bets, documenting the illegal activity. The investigation began with a tip from a citizen.

While Stop Predatory Gambling played no known role in shutting down this particular operation, lessons can be learned.

First, citizen tips to law enforcement can be effective. If you are aware of illegal gambling, report it to police vice officers. If you want to be remain anonymous, contact Stop Predatory Gambling, and we will report it for you to the North Texas Gambling Task Force, a coalition of law-enforcement agencies. The task force works throughout the state.

Second, although not every raid on an illegal gambling operation is well-publicized, law enforcement shuts down illegal gambling operations regularly. One Texas county has run out of room to store all the illegal slot machines it has seized while waiting for them to be used as evidence at trial. Law enforcement does not count illegal gambling a “victimless crime” to be ignored. 

It’s tempting to throw up our hands and believe nothing can be done about the blight of predatory gambling. But the City of Plano has five million reasons to disagree. The fight against predatory gambling is not only a noble fight but also one which can be won.

Rodger Weems

Arlington

Atonement debate

Mr. Mohler appears to believe that God requires one to pass a doctrinal advancement test to qualify for salvation. I would have thought that believing Jesus knew what he was talking about when he taught that man’s chief duty was to love God and other humans–an ancient rubric of multitudes who had never come to accept Jesus as other than as an imperfect man, by the way–is sufficient for “salvation.” Sufficient, that is, if put into action and not given mere lip service. (But, what does anyone really know?)

Ernest L. O’Bannon

New Orleans, La.

I attended seminary to be a pastor, but not before going to college to be a TV producer. Part of my media education involved a journalism course. The professor was a bulldog, unapologetically committed to making me better, whether I wanted it or not.

Joseph BarrettAlthough I reviled her at the time, I look back with warm memories of her passion. She made me a more disciplined pastor without knowing I would become one. Her journalism course taught me several lessons about preaching:

Be clear and concise

A visiting preacher borrowed my pulpit to preach for a search committee. Supposing this was his only opportunity to impress them, he combined all the sermons he ever heard into one super-jumbo-sized amalgam of Jesus soup that lasted forever. News articles always have a word limit. There is only so much space for the main point, so spit it out already! Sermons should answer questions parishioners are dying to ask: So what? Why should I care? What should I do? Who is this Jesus fellow, anyway? What is the real revelation of God for today?

If people leave worship unsure what the preacher said, the sermon failed. True sermons do not happen because it is Sunday morning and the preacher has to say something; they happen because the preacher has something to say. Preachers should make sure people understand what that thing is. They should:

• Select one main text.

• Preach no longer than 30 minutes. This applies to everyone.

• Quickly state the main thrust of the sermon.

• Avoid run-on sentences and flowery, vague grammar.

• Never allow a single “um,” “uh,” “like,” “OK,” “literally,” “basically,” “you know” or “so.” Filler words mean nothing.

• Not mumble. If the preacher does not seem to believe in the sermon, the congregation will not believe in it, either.

• Not yell. When preachers yell, parishioners don’t hear words; they just hear anger.

Prepare

When journalists neglect fact-checking, newspapers print errors. When preachers neglect research, God’s people hear less than truth. Retractions are hard to make while fumbling through disorderly notes, looking for something worth uttering, with hundreds of people looking on. Pastors who preach “what the Lord gave me between the parsonage and pulpit” are the ones whose churches form committees to move the parsonage farther from the church. They use time-filling clichés, such as, “God said it, I believe it, and that settles it.”

Worshippers need to be in touch with God’s word. That will not happen if the preacher is not in touch with it first. Hype and filler are no substitute for time spent reading good sources and reviewing the Bible text over and over again.

A good pastor is busy. A preacher should reserve some time anyway, even at the cost of sacrificing other work, to focus and research for preaching. There is no other time during the week to reach more ears with God’s word than during worship. People wake up and get dressed, burn gas and sacrifice their Sunday off. That takes effort. Imagine how disappointing it could be to come and find the preacher has not put any effort into the sermon.

Avoid technical language

Pilots talk yaw and pitch, ailerons and flaps. A golfer talks about swinging with his driver, and someone who knows nothing about golf thinks he is disclosing an extra-marital affair with his chauffeur. Not everyone knows those phrases. A journalist who insists on using the word “pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanokoniosis” to describe lung inflammation would quickly lose readers. The congregation already knows the preacher is smart, so the preacher can drop the long words.

Spinning the truth is the same as lying

Occasionally, journalists tend to make news rather than report it. They may be trying to win favor or increase readership, but they do not benefit their readers. The same is true of preaching. A preacher who arrives at a difficult text in the Bible and tries to whitewash the truth may win favor, but the preacher is not doing the parishioners any favors. They came to church to hear the truth.

It is amazing enough that anyone in our culture still believes the church possesses the truth, so when some come to hear truth, they should receive it unprocessed and unfiltered. Some passages are not smooth stones. Some are not easy to pick up and hurl out to waiting ears. Some passages have thorns and may even startle with new implications for life and faith. It should be preached it as it is. The preacher should not spin the truth.

So what?

If more preachers answer the “so what?” questions of faith, that is a step in the right direction toward fulfilling their calling. Preachers who have a sincere calling are my heroes. So, remember the solemn instructions: “Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage with great patience and careful instruction” (2 Timothy 4:2).

Joseph Barrett is pastor of Central Baptist Church in Italy, Texas.

Texas Baptists should support steps to secure one of our most valuable ministries—the Christian Life Commission.

Editor Marv KnoxFor more than six decades, the Christian Life Commission has provided prophetic leadership to Texas Baptists. The CLC began its ministry in 1950, helping Texas Baptists think about race relations and integration biblically and ethically, years before Brown v. Board of Education.

Through the CLC, we have worked together to apply Christian faith to daily living and public policy. The CLC is renowned for opposing gambling expansion, fighting human trafficking, addressing hunger, curbing predatory lending and standing up for religious liberty.

The Christian Life Commission not only is a Texas Baptist treasure; it is an asset to the entire state. For all our faults, Texas Baptists are more Christlike and Texas is a better place because of the CLC.

Inadvertent action

But this summer, messengers to the Baptist General Convention of Texas annual meeting inadvertently took an action that could erode the CLC’s strength.

Messengers approved a recommendation to clean up the convention’s bylaws. Primarily, the proposal removed descriptions of the BGCT Executive Board’s operational committees from the bylaws and moved them to the board’s policy manual.

That was a good idea. Those committees help the Executive Board do its basic, day-in and day-out work. When their descriptions were included in the bylaws, they could be changed only by vote of the convention in annual session. The Executive Board needed authority to tend to its internal committees directly and promptly.

Unfortunately, along with the committees, the recommendation also removed the description of the Christian Life Commission from the bylaws. So, now the function and operation of the CLC could be modified by the Executive Board with no input from, much less approval by, the convention at large.

Some have contended the change actually did not alter policy, since the BGCT constitution already gave the Executive Board authority to organize itself. But until this year’s BGCT annual meeting, the convention’s bylaws specifically named and outlined the duties of the CLC. So, the CLC was mandated, which provided a parliamentary limit to the Executive Board’s authority with regard to the CLC.

CLC left vulnerable

Under the recently amended bylaws, however, a future Executive Board could decide it wants to do away with the CLC, and the convention at large would have no say in that decision.

More specifically, the language removed from the bylaws transcended mere description. It expressed the ethos of the CLC. For example, this is where the commission was instructed to “speak to and not for the convention and the churches.” Given Baptists’ polity, this is a vital distinction. Without this policy, a future Executive Board could command the CLC to speak “for” the convention without the careful study and approval by, as well as safeguard of, the commission members.

The removed language also charges the CLC with ecumenical work. This is not always popular, but it is vital—both for the commission’s effectiveness and for Texas Baptists’ credibility.

To be sure, the immediate impact on the CLC is not dire. It still functions as it has historically, with offices in Dallas and Austin. The CLC educates Texas Baptists about applied Christianity, helping us bring our faith to bear on everyday ethics and on the great moral issues of the day. The CLC also leads Texas Baptists in public policy engagement. Although it speaks to and not for Texas Baptists, it enables us to address matters considered by state government.

BGCT Executive Director David Hardage affirmed the commission and its work. “The CLC is a vital part of who we are and what we do,” he said. “There was no intention to de-emphasize the CLC. Any conclusion that it has been de-emphasized is incorrect.”

Commission ‘reinstated’

In fact, although recent plans called for the CLC director—a position currently vacant—to report to BGCT Associate Executive Director Steve Vernon, the ethics leader will report directly to Hardage. The CLC has been “reinstated” at the upper echelon of staff leadership, he said.

Still, the Executive Board should recommend reinserting the CLC in the convention’s bylaws at next year’s BGCT annual meeting.

This idea does not reflect on Hardage and Vernon, whose affirmation of the CLC and its role in the convention is strong and consistent. Vernon is a former member and vice chair of the commission. Diminution of the CLC is not likely to take place on their watch.

But Texas Baptists should take a longer view of history. In both state and national spheres of Baptist life, we have seen values and policies shift with the accession of leadership. The Christian Life Commission is far too important to Texas Baptists and to the Lone Star State to be susceptible to changes in executive administration or board rotation.

All Texas Baptists have a stake in the Christian Life Commission. We should maintain a say in its future.

Most Star Trek stories depict the adventures of humans and aliens who serve in Starfleet, the space-borne humanitarian and peacekeeping armada of the United Federation of Planets. The protagonists have altruistic values, and must apply these ideals to difficult dilemmas. Many of the conflicts and political dimensions of Star Trek represent allegories of contemporary cultural realities.

Michael A. Evans Jr.Star Trek: The Original Series addressed issues of the 1960s,[4] just as later spin-offs have reflected issues of their respective decades. Issues depicted in the various series include war and peace, the value of personal loyalty, authoritarianism, imperialism, class warfare, economics, racism, religion, human rights, sexism, feminism, and the role of technology. Roddenberry stated: “[By creating] a new world with new rules, I could make statements about sex, religion, Vietnam, politics, and intercontinental missiles. Indeed, we did make them on Star Trek: we were sending messages and fortunately they all got by the network.”

Roddenberry intended the show to have a highly progressive political agenda reflective of the emerging counter-culture of the youth movement, though he was not fully forthcoming to the networks about this. He wanted Star Trek to show humanity what it might develop into, if only it would learn from the lessons of the past, most specifically by ending violence.

An extreme example is the alien species, the Vulcans, who had a very violent past but learned to control their emotions. Roddenberry also gave Star Trek an anti-war message and depicted the United Federation of Planets as an ideal, optimistic version of the United Nations.

His efforts were opposed by the network because of concerns over marketability, e.g., they opposed Roddenberry’s insistence that the Enterprise have a racially diverse crew.

Para un tiempo como este…Creo firmemente que nuestra convención esta en un momento crucial con nuevos horizontes y oportunidades para alcanzar.

Bea MesquiasSe que puedo ser una gran ventaja para mover nuestra querida Convención adelante con liderazgo, compromiso, con el animo, el entusiasmo, entrenamiento y construir sobre lo que nuestros pilares del pasado han construido hasta este punto. Una de mis habilidades dado por Dios es unir a personas de a un mayor de nosotros mismos para la honra y gloria de Dios nuestro Salvador. Hay mucho trabajo que hacer y estoy dispuesta y preparada.

Para un tiempo como este…Creo firmemente que nuestra convención esta en un momento crucial con nuevos horizontes y oportunidades para alcanzar. Se que puedo ser una gran ventaja para mover nuestra querida Convención adelante con liderazgo, compromiso, con el animo, el entusiasmo, entrenamiento y construir sobre lo que nuestros pilares del pasado han construido hasta este punto.

Una de mis habilidades dado por Dios es unir a personas de a un mayor de nosotros mismos para la honra y gloria de Dios nuestro Salvador. Hay mucho trabajo que hacer y estoy dispuesta y preparada.

Para un tiempo como este…Creo firmemente que nuestra convención esta en un momento crucial con nuevos horizontes y oportunidades para alcanzar.

Se que puedo ser una gran ventaja para mover nuestra querida Convención adelante con liderazgo, compromiso, con el animo, el entusiasmo, entrenamiento y construir sobre lo que nuestros pilares del pasado han construido hasta este punto. Una de mis habilidades dado por Dios es unir a personas de a un mayor de nosotros mismos para la honra y gloria de Dios nuestro Salvador. Hay mucho trabajo que hacer y estoy dispuesta y preparada.

Some people say “freedom of speech” gives them the right to say whatever they want, including words that hurt other church members. What are the biblical guidelines for watching our tongues? And how can we balance Christ-like behavior and free speech?

We all remember well the first time we heard “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”

Anyone who is serious about following Christ faithfully and loving God with heart, soul, mind and strength is likely to have strong beliefs. Since childhood, many of us have been reminded we must be ready to defend those beliefs. And gratefully, we live in a country that celebrates the freedom to speak up without fear of consequence from the government.

Thanks to the Internet, text messaging and tweets, we also live in a day when we can speak up without having to look someone in the eye. This can lead us to believe we can use our freedom of speech without any consequence, because we can’t see the emotional and social repercussions of our sharp tone or strong words. Unfortunately, we live in a world where words, written and spoken, do injure.

A model from the New Testament

So, what are we to do with our strong beliefs and our freedom of speech? We have a model from the “great cloud of witnesses” that gives us an idea of how to proceed. In Acts 15, the early church encountered one of its first real dilemmas, and strong opinions were abundant. One group boldly insisted believers needed to be circumcised. Paul and Barnabas strongly disagreed, and we are told they entered into “sharp dispute and debate with them” (Acts 15:2).

Clearly, brotherly love did not cause Paul and Barnabas to remain silent. However, they did create a process for working through their disagreements. The apostles met for “much discussion” and listened to both sides of the argument. They looked for signs of the Holy Spirit’s work and what that might tell them about how to proceed. Once they reached a conclusion, they wrote down their decision with kind and conciliatory language and sent representatives with their letter to speak face-to-face with those who still might have questions or be concerned.

Conversation full of grace

This chapter helps provide us with a model when believers don’t always agree. We do speak up about our concerns and beliefs, but we also listen. Colossians 4:6 also encourages, “let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” We ought always be prepared to answer, but our conversations ought always to be full of grace.

This means we consider with humility that we are fallible and our conclusion might be wrong. We also assume the best intentions in our brother or sister, even if we happen to disagree. If we speak up with humility and grace, we freely exercise our free speech while ensuring our conversations exhibit the love for one another Scripture says should characterize Christ-followers.

Emily Row Prevost, director of leadership development

East Texas Baptist University

Marshall

Right or Wrong? is co-sponsored by the Texas Baptist theological education office and Christian Life Commission. Send your questions about how to apply your faith to bill.tillman@texasbaptists.org.

Somewhere down the street, a squirrel got fried. That’s our theory, at least. Fuzzy rodents and electrical transformers don’t mix.

Joanna called me on my cell phone as I drove home from work a little after 6 p.m. “The power just went out,” my wife reported.

My mind raced to the really important priority. “What do you want to do about dinner?” I asked as I considered the second priority and tapped the weather app on my phone.

“Well, we’ll have to go out,” Jo replied, just as the app informed me the air around our home was 102 degrees. Welcome to August in Texas, where we do our best to imitate living conditions in the bowels of hell.

Waiting for power

Jo told me she already called the company we pay to provide us with electricity. Somebody there told her to call the company they pay to provide electricity to our neighborhood. (This raises a question: How does that work? I mean, how can Company A sell us electricity at a lower rate than Company B, when Company A actually buys electricity from Company B? Maybe I don’t want to know.) A call handler at Company B said they’d send a crew to our neighborhood.

When I got home, the house felt pretty comfortable. But what should I expect? The power had been off only 20 minutes. I imagined a movie about this evening, in which the number on our thermometer crept steadily higher while we walked around in sweat-soaked clothes, melted stuff oozed out of the freezer and Topanga, our dog, molted.

Jo talked on the phone with Danna, our next-door neighbor. She nodded in a way that told me their power was out, too. And while I took no pleasure in their torrid torment, I did feel comforted knowing we were not scorched alone. This meant (a) the problem wasn’t in our house and, more importantly, (b) the power company would take a multihouse electrical failure seriously. That thought alone made me feel a half-degree cooler.

As soon as I changed into shorts and flip-flops, we decided to head out for burgers. “Bring whatever you want to take to the library,” Jo advised.

Refuge at the library

So, we ate dinner and then headed over to hang out at the public library. Seldom have my tax dollars been so well-spent as to provide refuge from the heat on a summer evening.

But here’s an irony I didn’t notice at the time: We just about froze in the burger joint and library. Welcome to August in Texas, where businesses compensate for the hellacious heat by cranking their AC so low it approximates living conditions on a glacier in Greenland. Just think, if we could average our torrid external temperatures with the frosty fixations of restaurants, we’d feel like we lived in Hawaii’s tropical paradise.

When we got home, lights twinkled across the street, while five houses on our side hunkered in darkness. A work crew stood outside their truck, and we walked over to visit with them. Turns out, they were called out to clean up behind the electricians, who had not arrived yet.

I can’t tell you how hot our house was because, well, you know. The power was out, which meant the thermometer was kaput, too. Let’s just say our home felt muggy.

We pulled out the flashlights and killed a couple of hours, hoping the power would come back on before time to get ready for bed. In case you haven’t noticed, we live in an electricity-infused world. It’s pretty hard to do much of anything when the power’s out.

Blown spiritual transformers

That reminded me of the times when I’ve blown the spiritual transformers in my life. Like our little electrical outage the other night, I never expect or intend for the spiritual power to go out. It usually happens when I think I’m too busy to stay connected to the Source. I fail to spend time reading the Bible and rush through my prayers, talking without listening.

Pretty soon, my life is as powerless and ineffectual as our dark, sweltering house. Fortunately, my spiritual thermometer flashes a warning. If I’m listless and forlorn, I know I need to spend time with the Lord. God’s transforming power always is available.

And it’s even more refreshing than the air conditioner’s cool breeze, which blew through our home after the electricians finished their work on that hot, dark night.