Voices: Proud yet embarrassed over HSU’s Six White Horses Confederate flag decision

I am a two-time alumna, former staff member and current faculty member at Hardin-Simmons University.

One of HSU’s traditions has included the Six White Horses program, which performs at a wide variety of events including rodeos and parades. In their performances, each of the six riders bears one of the six flags that have flown over Texas in modern history.

Recently, HSU decided that the Six White Horses will no longer carry any flag representing the Confederate States of America.

President Eric Brutmyer wrote to faculty and staff, “Each flag carries with it a context. In ideal circumstances, flags are unifying symbols, serving as common representations of purpose and pride. In other cases however, flags can be divisive symbols which create conflict and disunity.”

Pointing to the life’s mission of HSU founder and abolitionist Baptist pastor, James B. Simmons, President Bruntmyer stated that the decision continues HSU’s “commitment to unity in the purpose of Christ’s love.”

Willing to confront our complicity

I was present in a faculty and staff breakfast when the discussion of discontinuing to carry a Confederate flag was first announced. Upon hearing this news, I felt two distinct emotions.

First, I felt an immense sense of pride to be a part of an institution that is willing to confront its own complicity in racism.

On social media, I have seen dissent with President Bruntmyer’s decision among my fellow alumni. People say that carrying a flag represents an emphasis on history that should not be silenced. And I would agree with them. We should always seek to know our history.

Our history has formed us into who we are, but hopefully our history also informs us on how to be better followers of Christ in our current story.

Learning and engaging our history is different from honoring its mistakes by flying a representation of an entity created to sustain slavery and which has contributed to the institutional and systemic racism that still permeates our society today.

No country is perfect. Flags of other countries, as well as our own, also represent oppression and marginalization. But, in the case of the United States, a flag of the Confederacy is a symbol of the devaluing of human life in our society, and thus it is not something worthy of paraded celebration.

Personally, I am proud of HSU’s president for being brave enough to challenge tradition in the name of love and respect for all humanity.

But why not sooner?

The second emotion that I felt upon hearing the news was one of embarrassment and contrition. As proud as I am of the fact that this decision has been made, I am equally as sorry that the decision has not been made sooner.

I grew up in a neighborhood in which my white face was the minority. I had friends who were brown and black. We would stay out till dark playing in the streets together. But at some point, around middle school, we all began to mostly gravitate toward friends whose skin tones were more like our own.

I thought I was the opposite of a racist because I had grown up in this way. But I didn’t realize how much that gradual separation between me and my childhood friends meant.

I went off to join a group of friends that were mostly white and who had a lot of opportunities, just as I did. I didn’t realize how much white privilege was shaping the formation of our adolescent selves and the lives that we got to live.

My white friends and I were never stopped or approached by the police … except for that one time on prom night. (Sorry if I never told you that, mom.) People never moved to the other side of the street when we walked by. They never wondered if we were coming into a store to steal something.

We lived in a world in which we had privilege simply because of the color of our skin, and we had no idea that was the way it was.

Admitting my white privilege

It’s difficult to confront white privilege and to be willing to admit that I have benefited from the fact that institutional slavery existed in this country just a few hundred years ago. It’s difficult to admit that my ancestors were probably people who perpetuated the devaluing of human life.

So I am embarrassed that I have attended and worked at an institution that flew a flag representing systemic racism and I didn’t think to say something sooner. And I beg the forgiveness of anyone offended or hurt by HSU’s association with that flag.

White Christians, we have to do better. We have to admit when we are wrong and when we have been wrong in the past. We have to be willing to challenge tradition for the sake of love. We have to sacrifice so that reconciliation can begin — that is the example of the Christ we follow.

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 Publishing board of directors.




Voices: Letter to a young ministry student

Ah, back-to-school time. Sometimes, children in my church ask me what grade I’m in. I tell them I’m in the 18th grade and watch their eyes widen.

Jake Raabe 150Jake Raabe I am in my second year of graduate school, working toward my master of divinity degree at Truett Theological Seminary. I have my bachelor of arts degree from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor with a double-major in English and Christian studies.

Looking back fondly

This time of year always makes me nostalgic about starting college six years ago. Lots of excitement accompanies this time: moving away from home for the first time, starting a new life in a new city, being considered an “adult” for the first time and so on. For students pursuing a religion degree, a unique kind of excitement exists.

Going to college as a church member studying for some type of ministry is a great experience: one leaves with a sense of support and encouragement by their church community that I can’t imagine any other type of student feels. (Well, at least if you’re a man. If you’re a woman, I imagine you get less encouragement and more bad exegesis of 1 Timothy 2 and second-guessing of your life ambition).

At the same time new religion, theology, and ministry students feel encouraged by their congregations, a suspicion of higher education pervades American Evangelical churches. In the weeks before I left for college, I often heard, “Don’t let education ruin you.” When I graduated college and was preparing for seminary, I heard a similar sentiment: “Don’t let seminary ruin your faith.” Seminary/cemetery jokes ensued as well. As excited as churches are to see their young men (and, in some fortunate cases, women) begin training for ministry, a real fear exists that education will somehow “corrupt” them.

Blessed is the theology student

I understand this impulse, and, frankly, I think it’s at least partially our fault as students. As a young theology student, I forgot how lucky I was. I forgot that, given the chance, almost any member of my church would have switched places with me. What follower of Christ wouldn’t jump at the opportunity to spend four years of their life devoted to the study of God, God’s word and the Christian community throughout history?

You—the person going to study Christianity for the sake of ministry—have no idea how lucky you are.

You’ll get to spend hours, days, weeks, months and years in contemplation of difficult subjects. You’ll do this with resources—books, professors, assignments and so on—that those in your congregation don’t have. You will change your mind on important issues as a result of your studies, and your congregation won’t understand why because they don’t have the same time and resources as you.

You’ll find new ways of reading biblical texts and thinking about God, and you’ll forget just how long and painful getting to that point was. And, for that reason, you may resent your congregation for not thinking the same way as you or immediately adopting the new insights that you spent months and years developing. You’ll get frustrated, thinking of them as “close-minded fundamentalists” for believing something you may have believed three months ago. They’ll become equally frustrated, thinking you’re “another student turned liberal by <insert college>.”

Evangelicals have a reputation for being “anti-intellectual,” and it’s probably earned. But religion students certainly don’t help the case by forgetting our privilege, in being able to study in the first place, and by expecting those around us to immediately change their minds on ideas we wrestled with for months before becoming comfortable with those ideas.

Be slow to anger and quick to listen

How do we in the study of religion combat this idea that education is a bad thing? I believe we do so by remembering that whatever we do or study, and whatever our career aims are—pastoral ministry, nonprofit work, religious academics—we do what we do in service to the church.

The point where we find ourselves frustrated with the church or feeling like it’s holding us back is the point where we have forgotten why we do what we do.

I’d like to close with a quote from Helmut Thielicke’s “A Little Exercise for Young Theologians,” a transcript of the first lecture he would always give to his introductory theology classes at the University of Hamburg:

If the theologian, however, does not take seriously the objections of the ordinary washerwoman and the simple hourly-wage earner … surely something is not right with theology. … The church has the prior right to question us, even if it does not and cannot understand the details of our work; for we are pursuing our theological study in its very midst as surely as we are members of that church.

Young religion students, enjoy the road ahead! But never forget that you do what you do in service of the church. That’s what I wish I would have known six years ago, so learn from my regrets.

Jake Raabe is a student at Baylor University’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary in Waco, Texas and a writer. Follow him on his Facebook page.

 




Voices: A prayer of faith for boldness

The scene in Acts 4 of the early church gathered together and praying for one another is powerful.

Peter and John have just been released from the council with the command not to speak in the name of Jesus anymore or face dire consequences. The reprimanded disciples run back to their brothers and sisters in Christ and report what has happened to them and the sure future of the church if she continues to proclaim Jesus. In verses 23–31, we see the response of these early believers.

Zac Harrel 175Zac Harrel They stop everything and they pray together.

The church today needs to follow this example. While we are not being persecuted like these believers in Acts 4, we are in a moment in our country where the church needs this prayer. The church needs the filling power of the Holy Spirit.

In this prayer we see a powerful request built on the foundation of trusting faith.

The foundation of faith

First, we see the faith of these believers in their sovereign God. They confess that all they have seen, heard and experienced in the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus are according to the plan and purposes of God. God is working even in the midst of their persecution to redeem and restore his world. They trust God.

We need to trust God. This moment of chaos and evil seeming so prevalent needs a church standing on the foundation of a hopeful, trusting faith. To be who we are called to be and to do what we are called to do, we must be men and women of prayer who stand on the foundation of deep trust and faith in God and his good plan.

A request for boldness

Out of this faith, the church together makes one request of God. They ask God to help them “continue to speak your word with all boldness” (Acts 4:29). In the face of opposition and in the midst of chaos and evil, they ask for boldness.

They don’t ask for safety or comfort; they ask to have the boldness to speak the word of God.

The church today needs boldness to stand for the truth of God’s Word. This is not a call to be politically incorrect. This is not a call for the church to be loudmouthed and full of hate.

True boldness in our day is to stand for the value and worth of all who are made in the image of God. True boldness is not to let the gospel be co-opted by right or left but to be willing to offend both with the truth of God’s word. True boldness is not just our words, but our actions as well.

Will we be bold enough to open our homes and our lives to those who disagree with us and who look different from us?

The church must stand with radical love and kindness proclaiming the truth of the word of God, calling all to repentance and faith in Christ. The disciples asked for boldness to proclaim the gospel, not the talking points of their political party.

We must ask God to give us this same boldness to speak his word with love.

God’s answer

Verse 31 tells us what happens next. God answers their prayer. The followers of Jesus are filled with the Holy Spirit, and they continue to “speak the word of God with boldness.”

God answers the prayers of his people when they pray to fulfill his will and redemptive plan of salvation. God will answer our prayer if we pray on the foundation of a deep faith for God to give us boldness to truly be the church.

This world needs the church to be bold with God’s word, to be filled with the Holy Spirit and to walk by faith in the plan and purposes of our good God.

Will you pray with me for God to make us bold with love and kindness? Will you pray with me for God to help us let go of safety and comfort for the sake of the gospel? Will you pray with me for God to give us a deep faith as the people of God?

Pray with me and let us be amazed together how God will be faithful to answer the prayers of his people.

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

 




Voices: Whom Would Jesus Take Out?

The Washington Post reported on August 9, 2017 that Robert Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Dallas, declared that President Trump had the biblical authority to “take out” North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Leaning exclusively on a vague understanding of Romans 13, Jeffress argued that the passage “gives the government … the authority to do whatever, whether it’s assassination, capital punishment or evil punishment to quell the actions of evildoers.”

Mitch RandallMitch RandallHere is what the passage actually states: “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God … For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad … But if you do what is wrong, you should be afraid, for the authority does not bear the sword in vain! It is the servant of God to execute wrath on the wrongdoer.” (Romans 13:1–4 NRSV).

A clear warning

Now, let’s be very clear, this passage was not written to the governing authorities but to those Roman Christians living under their authority.  Paul was not creating a “How To” manual for emperors and presidents. He was, however, encouraging Christians living under an oppressive regime to act with integrity and grace.

Paul’s warning is clear: Christians should honor the authority of governing leaders while at the same time understand there will be consequences for unruly and unlawful behavior. Paul never makes the argument that emperors should kill but simply acknowledges the reality they do when given a purpose to do so. 

Jeffress misses the mark in his argument when he neglects to consider other passages of Scripture, even those close to Romans 13. Immediately preceding it, Paul wrote, “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ No, ‘if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:19–21).

When pastors and theologians fail to consider the entire Bible to make an argument about doctrine, then we fail to be objective and thoughtful practitioners of the Bible.  When Christians fall short in measuring our theology against the teaching and life of Jesus, then we can be found guilty of using the Bible for our own objectives. 

Picking and choosing

Back in 2000, the Southern Baptist Convention decided to eliminate one important sentence within the section on the Bible from their confession of faith. In that section in 1963, the sentence read, “The criterion by which the Bible is to be interpreted is Jesus Christ.” Now, only conjecture is left to determine why this sentence was eliminated from the SBC’s confession of faith, but we might now be witnessing the damage it is causing.

When Jesus is taken out of the equation when we read, interpret and apply the Bible to important situations, then anyone is left to pick and choose passages of Scripture that fit their preconceived ideals. When those preconceived ideals merge with political agendas, then the stage is set for what we have seen unfold with Jeffress’ claims.

Without Jesus to guide our thoughts and conclusions, we can make arguments for war against those we dislike and instill oppressive laws against those who worship differently than us. If we insert Jesus back into the equation, then we Christians must ask ourselves, “Whom would Jesus take out?” 

Emperors, kings and dictators have been trying to answer this question for over 2,000 years. When church and state have worked to together to eliminate common enemies with the sword, the only thing to suffer has been the gospel itself. 

If only we had Jesus saying something about what we should do with our swords when faced by an enemy? Ah, yes, how quickly we forget. 

On the night of his betrayal, as soldiers came to arrest him and Peter drew his sword to strike, Jesus said, “Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword” (Matthew 26:52). 

Now, there is an idea!

I think I will go with Jesus on this one.

Mitch Randall is the pastor of NorthHaven Church in Norman, Oklahoma.

 




Voices: Colin Kaepernick and the hypocrisy of image

Thirty-two teams in the league, with each team carrying about two quarterbacks, and a quarterback who has led his team to a Super Bowl cannot get job.

Dante WrightDante WrightThere has been chatter among the NFL and its fans about the reason for Colin Kaepernick’s inability to find work in the NFL, even as a backup quarterback. Back in May, Giants owner John Mara said, “All my years being in the league, I never received more emotional mail from people than I did about that issue.” His quote suggests that the issue of Kaepernick’s patriotism and activism is the reason for his unemployment.

Other reasons have emerged that state he’d be a distraction, he doesn’t care about football, he doesn’t want to play football, he’s not a good player, and he hasn’t expressed that he actually wants to play.

Everyone has a reason for his scarlet letter.

Who needs to change?

The most recent reason for Kaepernick’s unemployment is from Michael Vick, who states that Colin Kaepernick will not get a job until Kaepernick changes his image, starting with cutting his hair. If anyone knows about changing one’s image, it is Vick, who, after being a successful quarterback, found himself in the federal penitentiary for running a dogfighting ring.

Vick was given a second chance to play in the NFL. Vick meant well, but his advice does not reflect the reason for Kaepernick’s league-wide blackballing. In fact, it is not Kaepernick that needs an image change, but the league itself.

What is it about Kaepernick’s image that needs to change? He has no criminal record and no record of drug or domestic abuse. He is not out partying all night, and he is level-headed and to himself. In other professions, this would be a laudable person to have as an employee and representative. So, what is it that makes his image undesirable?

‘A willingness to risk’

Kaepernick is a rebel rouser . . .

. . . for the right reasons, calling our attention to the bigotry and hypocrisy of our nation. In doing so, he questions what patriotism is by protesting — peacefully I might add — the national anthem.

He holds camps for disenfranchised youth of color, teaching them their rights, and he is outspoken and knowledgeable about the pain in black communities. He has opted to use his platform, as Muhammed Ali did in the past, to not only raise awareness but to be an activist.

This is the image everyone wants him to change.

Why not just be a football player? they say. However, Kaepernick got it right. Our positions of power and privilege are to be used to transform society. There must be a willingness to risk it all for what is hard yet right. In fact, we must be willing to take the righteous path even if that path leads us away from the things we love.

The NFL’s image

While Kaepernick’s image is being questioned, it is interesting to me that the NFL’s image is not. They are a league that insists on signing players who have a history of domestic abuse, among other problems, and while these crimes certainly create problems and distractions for teams and fans, they are not deal breakers for players receiving sizable paychecks.

They are not hurdles too high for players and teams to jump over, but an outspoken black activist is a deal breaker. He is too much of a distraction. He takes away from the joy of the game, while these other issues are mere stains. What hypocrisy!

As the league overlooks abuses against humanity, they blackball someone who calls attention to them and wants to transform them. While the NFL boasts of paid patriotism, it neglects to see that the atrocities committed against women by their players and against sex slaves by their fans and employees during the Super Bowl are in direct contradiction to the patriotic fervor they espouse.

The bottom line is that Kaepernick hurts their bottom line and shines a light on the nation and the NFL’s tarnished image.

Dante Wright is pastor of Sweet Home Baptist Church—known as the Pinnacle of Praise—in Round Rock.




Voices: Living in Two Worlds

“Maybe in a perfect world, but that’s not the world we live in.”

I’ve heard some version of this statement several times in the last week, in various contexts. I think the nexus for the last time was a discussion about my and my wife’s shopping habits.

Jake RaabeJake RaabeWe have serious problems with Walmart that keep us from shopping there unless absolutely necessary. Instead, we frequent our town’s farmers market. Our Christian convictions lead us to believe that buying locally and directly from farmers is more socially responsible and environmentally sustainable, so that’s what we try to do.

This is, of course, significantly more expensive than buying from Walmart and means we typically have to make less go further. We don’t “proselytize” for farmers markets, but if we’re asked about our shopping habits, we don’t mince words about the damage we think that mega-chains like (especially) Walmart are doing to both society and the environment. (Fear not, Texans: HEB is actually a pretty great company and a fantastic alternative to Walmart).

The conversation usually moves to “but Walmart is cheaper, so that’s where people will always go” (even if the low prices are due to employing sweatshop workers in third-world countries).

In contemporary American society, the dollar is king. We make economic decisions based on what gets us the most for the least in return. But then again, Christians are citizens of Americans secondarily; we are first citizens of the kingdom of God, and in the kingdom of God, proper treatment of other humans is more important than paying less money for a pair of shoes.

See, Christians live in two worlds: the world that is, and the world that will be. Jesus’ incarnation, life, death and resurrection have changed the world in a profound way. Because of Christ’s work, we are free to die to ourselves, to live a new, changed Christ-centered life.

The kingdom of God is here in part, and we should live accordingly. We should live according to the standards of God’s kingdom: the love of our enemies, the respect for all people, the self-discipline of Christian discipleship. God rules the world, all of it, and those of us that are citizens of God’s kingdom should live accordingly.

At the same time, God’s kingdom is not here on earth in the same way that it one day will be. Paul tells us that “the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.” The world, in other words, is waiting to be completely and totally redeemed at the time of Christ’s return.

Not only the world, says Paul, but “we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.” We too recognize that we live in a world fundamentally changed by the work of Christ but one still waiting for its complete redemption when Christ returns.

The kingdom of God is both here and yet-to-come. It is both in our midst and something we look forward to in expectant hope.

The people I talked to this week didn’t understand why my wife and I paid more for our groceries. In American society, saving money is a high cultural value. In the kingdom of God, respect for persons and compassion are higher values. Because we live as citizens of God’s kingdom, we live by a different set of values than the culture around us. God’s kingdom teaches us that people are more important than saving money, so we spend our money at places where we know that no product sold involves abuse or exploitation.

Remember: Christians live in two worlds. Though we may exist for now in a world that doesn’t mirror God’s intentions for creation as it should, we derive our values from the world-that-will-be.

“That’s just the way things are” isn’t an excuse for Christians. We don’t live according to the way things are; we live according to the way things will be.

Jake Raabe is a student at Baylor University’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary in Waco, Texas and a writer. Follow him on his Facebook page.




Voices: God’s Still Small Voice

Recently, while sitting on a porch with a calming stream babbling by in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado, I was suddenly filled with anxiety and fear. It was early in the morning and no one else was up. The air was clean and cold, but the stillness of the moment did not translate to my heart.

The reason for this anxiety and fear was not clear. It seemed to creep up on me out of nowhere. My heart was in a battle of faith, a battle to believe God is bigger than my fears and my anxiety. The passage of Scripture I was reading in that moment was Psalm 29.

This Psalm calls us to worship the Lord, to ascribe glory to his name because he is on the throne. As I was sitting on this porch in the cool of the morning, watching this stream rush by below me, I read verses 3 and 4: “The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord, over many waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.”

The Lord is on the throne. He is Lord over these waters and he is Lord over my heart. He is Lord over this fear and anxiety, which seems to dominate so much of my life. My heart needs to hear the voice of the Lord, the voice of this majestic and glorious King. His voice calms these fears and holds back this anxiety.

What Elijah heard

As I was thinking about the Lord, as I was ascribing glory to His name and longing to hear His voice, my mind turned to the prophet Elijah and his struggle with fear and anxiety in 1 Kings 19:9–18.

Elijah has defeated the prophets of Baal, and now he is fleeing from the wrath of Queen Jezebel. We see him struggle with fear and anxiety, with exhaustion and depression. He feels alone and abandoned, and he is searching for God and the voice of God.

He comes to a cave and lodges in it when the word of the Lord comes to him, calling him to come and stand in God’s presence. Elijah comes out to hear God, to be in the presence of God, to stand before the Lord.

A great and strong wind tears by breaking the mountain in pieces, but the Lord is not in the wind. After the wind, an earthquake shakes the mountain, but the Lord is not in the earthquake. After the earthquake comes a fire burning down the side of this mountain, but the Lord is not in the fire.

Finally, after the wind, after the earthquake, after the fire, there comes the sound of a low whisper, and there is the voice and presence of God.

Elijah gives his list of grievances. He tells the Lord what is causing him so much fear and anxiety, and God reassures Elijah he is not alone. God has seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal, and God will call others through Elijah to help these people persevere. God speaks to Elijah in the low whisper, in a still small voice.

The low whisper of God

On that porch in the early morning, I thought I needed the wind, the earthquake, the fire to calm my fearful heart. The truth is, many times the powerful voice of the Lord does not come in a shout; it comes in a whisper.

The calming voice and presence of the Lord is not found in the noise; it is found in the quiet. The Lord speaks to us in a low whisper, and the tragedy is, much of the time we cannot hear his voice because our ears are full with the clanging of the world around us and the fear within us.

We hear the voice of the Lord when we are quiet. Step away from the wind, earthquakes, and fires of this world and prepare yourself for the low whisper your heart needs.

Fear and anxiety can be overwhelming, and they are multiplied by the busyness and noise of our world. Our hearts weren’t made to be plugged in and only busy. We were also made to rest in the presence of God.

Quiet your heart and open your ears to hear the still small voice of God. You may be in the middle of the wind, earthquake or fire, but the low whisper is coming.

Don’t miss it.

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




Voices: In Defense of Small Towns

In the first chapter of the Gospel of Mark, Jesus’ story begins just like one of our modern American tales of “making it big.”

An unknown boy from a nowhere town has a big dream, so he risks it all to leave the security of home in search of something better. He meets some scrappy, endearing, and perhaps a little dopy, friends along the way, and when they get to the big city, Capernaum in this case, the kid gets his shot in the limelight, overcomes adversity, and triumphs to the amazement and admiration of all.

Then, at the height of his fame, our hero makes a foolish decision. He gets into a fight with his best friend, and the whole thing threatens to collapse.

In Mark 1:37, Peter tracks Jesus down, all alone and outside of town. He says to Jesus, “Everyone is looking for you! You’re the talk of the town! We’ve really got something going here! Come on back so we can set up shop and make this miracle business work for us! I’ve even got a guy working on a Jesus bobblehead. Here, let me show you the mock-up.”

But Jesus isn’t buying it, or selling, as it were. He replies, “Let’s go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” It looks like Jesus is wasting his opportunity.  As soon as he gets some brand recognition in Hollywood, he throws it all away to do community theater out in the sticks.

But is it really such a tragedy to use your God-given gifts in service to small communities?

Know Thy Neighbor

I don’t think so. There’s a widespread myth in our culture that bigger is better, and you’re better off starving in the city than surviving in the country. And I use the word “surviving” intentionally. Life in rural communities is hard.

Those who don’t inherit family land or businesses often struggle to find gainful employment. Services and entertainment in small communities are often hard to come by, and the definitions of growth and success are different in places with limited capital and small markets.

But in exchange for sacrifices in luxury and opportunity, I’ve found that small towns offer a truer form of community: People know their neighbors. (Whether they like them or not is an entirely different matter.)

We care for one another and are genuinely invested in one another’s well-being. The faith life of small communities benefits from this intimacy of knowledge among neighbors. It’s harder to keep secrets and easier to hold one another accountable.

The Christian fellowship that comes naturally in small churches must be intentionally sought in larger contexts. These and other gifts await those who are willing to set down roots and forego some metropolitan conveniences.

Where Community Comes Naturally

Too often though, the draw of the bright lights has proven disastrous to small towns. Visit any rural high school and utter the question, “How do you like living here?” and you’ll inevitably hear students respond that they can’t wait to “get out of this town.” Implicit in their response is the desire to move to the city.

Now, to be fair, the same response may be common in urban high schools, but I expect that few of those urban students want to move to little towns and stake their livelihoods on the price of wheat.

And that social dynamic has generally resulted in small communities being drained of all their best and brightest, with only those who lack the means to escape being left behind. Over the course of a few decades, this has resulted in deeper impoverishment and greater struggle in rural communities, which is further compounded by the fact that small towns pour so much of their community resources into young people with little return. Meanwhile, cities feed on the lives and dreams of these young people the same as they do on the commodities imported by the same rural communities.

I don’t mean to imply that small towns are any better or more virtuous than large cities. Both are inhabited by human people with all their faults and failures, but small towns carry an undeserved bad reputation in our society. Some days I wonder why my millennial peers—for all their talk of community, concern for sustainability and appreciation for minimalism—are unwilling to invest their lives in a place where these things come naturally and are simply a way of life.

Perhaps it’s because it’s hard to come home.

The Haven of Small Communities

When Jesus went back to his hometown in Mark 6, the people didn’t accept him, and their lack of faith even curbed his divine power. That’s not a ringing endorsement of small towns. But even so, in the verses that immediately follow Jesus’ rejection in Nazareth, he carries on “teaching from village to village” and sends out his disciples two by two into the small towns.

Perhaps more of Jesus’ modern disciples will join me in the haven of small communities where the hurry and excess of the city are less tempting and where community life is natural and necessary.

Chris McLain is the pastor of First Baptist Church in Crowell, Texas.




Voices: Why pastors—and you—need to be social

“I have called you friends.” (John 15:15)

Steve BeznerSteve BeznerI recently wrote a post in which I explained why many pastors often appear to be antisocial. Lest you think that I am defending antisocial pastors, I wrote that post to explain the relational dynamics at play in the hearts of most pastors.

At the same time, pastors need healthy friendships. Here’s why:

Jesus modeled friendship.

Jesus told his disciples in John 15:15, “I have called you friends.” Jesus spent most of three years with twelve men. They walked the country teaching about the kingdom of God. They ate together, fished together and challenged the status quo together.

Out of those 12, Jesus appeared to be very close to three of them: Peter, James and John. He drew them aside to the Mount of Transfiguration. He pulled them aside for specific exhortations. John, the author of the Gospel of John, describes himself as “the disciple Jesus loved” (John 13:23). Clearly, each of these men thought of Jesus as a dear friend.

If Christians consider Jesus to be an example for every area of life, friendship must be included. If Jesus thought friends were worthy, so should pastors.

All friendships require risks.

As I mentioned in my other post, many pastors fear friendships within their churches because they fear those friendships being weaponized in some future intra-church conflict. While that certainly is possible, I find that most of my deepest pastoral worry never comes to pass. And, of course, Jesus told us not to worry.

Every friendship, and not just those for pastors, requires risk. Friends often betray one another, not just pastors. Yet friends are a gift.

Proverbs 18:24 seems to acknowledge the risk while extolling the virtue of finding that lifelong friend: “A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”

Will many companions turn their backs on you? Yes, the writer says, many will. But there is one who will be like a family member—one who will hold you in the toughest of times. That friendship is worth the risk.

Not all friendships are required to be within your church.

One of the greatest gifts I have found in my city are other pastors. I meet with them regularly for lunch. We encourage one another, pray for one another and bear one another’s burdens. They understand my occupational hazards, and they are able to give me wise counsel. There is little risk of our friendship affecting either of our churches. It has been a gift.

My wife and I also have  become good friends with another couple active in another church. Our sons played seven-on-seven football together, and we have hosted them in our home and vice versa. It’s a great relationship grounded in shared faith yet without any of my irrational fears coming into play.

Friendship is essential to biblical community.

The New Testament is replete with commands for us to take care of one another. We are told to love one another, serve one another, bear one another’s burdens, pray for one another, etc. You cannot do those things apart from one key component: other people.

You can’t understand the intercessory actions of Jesus on your behalf if you are not modeling intercessory behavior that is commanded in the Scriptures. And you can’t model those behaviors if you are isolated.

I have been part of a group of people in our church that regularly meets in a home to study Scripture, pray together, share a meal and grow in Christ. I wouldn’t trade those people for anything. They teach me how to live out the call to be the church. They are my friends, and they are teaching me about biblical community in a powerful way.

Your church has incredible people.

I suppose your church may be the exception. Maybe it is absolutely terrible. But I doubt it.

Speaking from experience, every church where I have served has been filled with great people. We have been blessed by their generosity and kindness. Have the relational waters been challenging to navigate at times? Certainly. Yet we have made friends in our churches, and we have been grateful to have them.

Pastor, you need friends—and you need to have some of them within your church.

Steve Bezner is senior pastor of Houston Northwest Church.




Voices: Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord

It’s a beautiful, brand-new summer morning, and I’m in my office making final preparations for this weekend’s services. This is nothing new. I can often be found here as Sunday approaches.

Jason DuntonJason DuntonOne of my worship pastor mentors once encouraged me to prepare for Sunday mornings exactly as a preacher does. Diligently weighing every word that is sung and said. Purposefully coordinating every element of the service to point to Jesus. Constantly cultivating a heart and mind that are primed for surrender to the Spirit’s leading. This is a rhythm I have worked really hard to develop over the last eight years of full-time ministry, and this morning is no different.

So here I sit with my Bible open, the latest Housefires album on in the background and cinnamon dolce coffee in my favorite mug. (Don’t judge me. It’s delicious.) But something is different this morning. Something is off. I’m distracted. I’m unmotivated. My eyes wander up to my two degrees hanging on the wall from Dallas Baptist University (Go Patriots!), and I begin to think back to my two graduations.

Moving on

I think about the joy I experienced on both of those days as I celebrated with friends and family. The overwhelming pride at the great accomplishment of graduating from college and graduate school. The social, emotional and spiritual growth I experienced during those seasons. But those seasons are long over. In a few weeks, my cousin Bailey will be graduating from Texas A&M University, and I could not be more excited for her. She has worked incredibly hard to claim this accomplishment and is nearing the finish line of this chapter of her life. She will move on. She will leave that season behind.

This is the essence of graduating: you move on. Bigger and better things await you. Onward and upward is not the only path, but it is the desired path forward.

“A prayer of true humility”

Many of my times with the Lord recently have been spent in the Old Testament, and lately I have been camped out in 1 Chronicles. At the end of the book, we encounter an old King David diligently making preparations for gathering all of the materials for the construction of God’s dwelling place on earth, the temple.

The actual construction of the temple would belong to his son, Solomon, but, nevertheless, David was tireless in his efforts to gather the materials and make the necessary provisions for building a house worthy of the presence of the Most High God. This was a massive undertaking and an incredibly daunting task.

David could have responded to the completion of this project in many different ways. He could have proudly beat his chest, boasting in his managerial skills, crediting his charismatic personality or his tireless work ethic, but that’s not the reaction we see from David. Instead, he stands up in the midst of the gathered assembly of Israel and once again models a prayer of true humility.

He offered this prayer in verses 14 through 16 of Chapter 29 when he said: “But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you. For we are strangers before you and sojourners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are like a shadow and there is no abiding. O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a house for your holy name comes from your hand and is all your own.”

Moving on from the grace of God?

Upon reading this, I found myself overwhelmed with a single thought: We can never graduate from the grace of God. And David displays a beautiful posture for us that unashamedly shouts this truth.

Every achievement, every trophy on the mantle, every victory we ever enjoy was authored by him and meant to produce worship of him.

Who gives us our very breath, our intellect, our gifts and our personalities? Is it not the Lord?

Who gives inspiration through creation, strength to our bodies and dreams and zeal for greater things? Is it not the Lord?

Who initiates, accomplishes and sustains salvation and sanctification for the Christ-follower? Is it not the Lord?

We should move on to bigger and better things in life. We should reach higher, work harder and walk farther than we have ever been. We were never meant to stay where we are. That’s the beauty of growing up, maturing and spiritual sanctification. But we must fight, we must pray, we must struggle to never move on from the truth that God is the author and the perfecter (Hebrews 12:2) and that all the glory for everything we accomplish belongs to him.

“All his own”

Our church is currently experiencing something fairly uncommon in our modern American culture—growth. We are seeing people from all backgrounds giving their lives to the Lord. From children to senior adults, we are seeing an outpouring of the Spirit of the Lord and the liberty that always accompanies it. It would be so easy to attribute this to great leadership, great music, great preaching or great facilities. What a tragedy that would be.

I pray that we never graduate from the grace of God. That our prayer would mirror that of David. That as we build, as we accomplish, as we succeed, we never move on from the truth that “all abundance comes from his hand and is all his own.”

Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.

Jason Dunton is the contemporary worship arts pastor at First Baptist Church in Bryan, Texas, where he lives and loves with his wife, Joanna, daughter, Penelope, and English bulldog, Grubby.




Voices: Finding God’s blessing in our struggles

Sometimes, God’s blessing leaves us with a limp.

Zac Harrel 175Zac Harrel

I am referring, of course, to the account of Jacob wrestling with God in Genesis 32:22-32. Jacob wrestles with God and will not let God go until a blessing is given. Then, for the rest of his life, he walks with a limp from a touch of God on his hip socket. His limp is a reminder of this moment of wrestling, of this moment of struggle and ultimately of this blessing.

In our current church culture, we don’t have a concept for this kind of story. God’s blessing has been reduced to health and wealth. Too many see God as a holy ATM and his blessing as a way to make our lives more comfortable.

This shallow understanding of God’s blessing causes us to see moments of struggle not as blessings but as moments where God’s blessing has been removed. Nothing could be further from the truth. In our struggles, in our wrestling with faith, we find God’s blessing.

In moments that leave us with a limp, we know we have met God and experienced his blessing.

TBV stackedLimp-inducing experiences

The last five years have been filled with limp-inducing experiences for my family. My wife survived thyroid cancer. We experienced a miscarriage. I lost my mother, an aunt and my grandmother. My wife lost both of her grandfathers. Family members have been diagnosed with cancer.

It seems when we begin to see the light after a season of darkness, we enter another valley.

Of all of these, the one I limp with most today is the death of my mom. She passed away two months before our daughter was born. My mom had been buying gifts for her granddaughter the moment she heard the news of our pregnancy. I don’t know of anyone who was so excited for the arrival of a new child—except maybe Sarah and Abraham.

Then, suddenly, one October night, she was gone. In the next two months, we had baby showers and celebrations of this blessing from God, but this blessing came with a limp. I wrestled with God through that season. I don’t understand the plan or purpose of God in that loss, at that particular moment, but I trust God because I know he is there, and I know he loves me.

Face to face with God

What amazes me about this story in Genesis 32 is God meets Jacob face to face. He wrestles Jacob face to face, and he blesses Jacob personally. We see God’s power in the fact he touches Jacob’s hip socket and leaves him with this limp. Just a touch, and Jacob never is the same.

Yet God allows Jacob to struggle with him. What this reminds me of is the truth that God did not abandon me in my loss. God was there personally in my struggle and wrestling amidst my grief and doubt.

I often think of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane when I come to Genesis 32. Jesus also wrestled with God. He cried out for the cup to pass from him, yet he prayed with faith, “Not my will, but yours be done.”

Jesus went to the cross and rose from the grave, and it is this truth that gives me hope in the midst of the chaos of this world. It is this hope that reminds me God is there and God loves me, even when I don’t understand everything.

Hope of the gospel

The hope of the gospel helps me take the next step of faith, even when I walk with a limp in this broken world. The blessing of the gospel is present in every valley of life. Every moment of our lives, we can look to the Cross and to the Resurrection and know the presence, love and blessing of God.

The limp of grief I walk with now points my heart back to those moments of wrestling with God and reminds me of his blessings in the midst of great loss.

So, I want to encourage you. No matter what you are walking through today, God’s blessing is more than your health and your wealth. God’s blessing truly is found in the moments of struggle, in our moments of wrestling with him. God’s blessing is found in the moments when all you can do is hold on to him.

We may walk with a limp, but we are blessed.

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




Voices: Stand with Texas pastors to support the state’s public schools

Good schools are essential to a just society. Along with safe roads, clean water, public safety and adequate health care, they constitute God’s common good.

Charles Foster Johnson 150Charles Foster Johnson

Education is one of the Texas Legislature’s most important duties—a duty to almost 5.5 million Texas schoolchildren.

While it is hard for decent, conservative Texans to believe, a coordinated, well-funded assault on our community and neighborhood schools, schoolteachers and schoolchildren was launched in the 85th session of the Texas Legislature earlier this year.

Let’s be clear about who suffers this attack—our fellow church members, spouses, neighbors and family members. Our brothers and sisters in Christ.

The assault occurred on multiple fronts:

TBV stackedInadequate funding

A brief two decades ago, public education comprised more than 70 percent of the Texas state budget. Now, it has dropped to 38 percent and is going down steadily. Texas ranks in the bottom third in the nation in per-pupil funding. After $5.4 billion was cut in the budget crisis of 2011, only $3.4 billion was restored in 2013 when we were flush again.

Most educators agree the state is several billion dollars behind in “making suitable provision” for public education, as the Texas Constitution requires. Rising property taxes, which we are led to believe go to our schools, are being used to pay for other budget items.

What did the Texas Senate, under the leadership of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, do about making up the gap in their proposed budget? Nothing. Nada. Zero. Zilch.

The Senate’s original 2017 budget line item for public education was $0. After the Texas House budget, under the leadership of Speaker Joe Straus, proposed a structural funding reform of $1.8 billion for public education, Lt. Gov. Patrick’s Senate finally came back with $500 million—but only if the House accepted its private-school voucher bill. The meager concession constituted a bribe from the Senate, and the House refused to take it.

So, this is what it has come to? A Senate that cynically tosses a tip to almost 90 percent of Texas children who attend public schools, but only if we agree to underwrite the private education of a few affluent children through vouchers.

Private school vouchers

Cloaked in the deceptive language of “school choice,” “education savings grants” and “tuition tax credits,” vouchers divert already-strapped public education funds to support private schools. They are:

Unconstitutional. First, they take money away from our “system of public free schools,” as the Texas Constitution explicitly calls for in Article 7, Section 1. Second, they subsidize religious schools, thus “respecting the establishment of religion,” as the First Amendment of the United States Constitution clearly prohibits.

Unsuccessful. There is no data to show voucher schools produce an educational outcome for our children superior to traditional public schools. In fact, in Florida, Michigan and Washington, D.C., the results show voucher programs underperformed the public schools.

Unrighteous. There is something morally unacceptable about taking money out of the public trust of education for all our children, including our poorest kids, and sending that money to augment the education of children affluent enough to attend private schools. As Marv Knox said recently in his editorial, it is “Robin Hood in reverse,” taking from the poor and giving to the rich.

Vouchers never are enough to cover the cost of a high-quality private school, much less pay for transportation, uniforms, meals and numerous other out-of-pocket expenses incurred at the private school. No, they are only enough to subsidize the costs of families already able to pay for the lion’s share of that private school tuition.

Patrick said vouchers were his No. 1 priority this legislative session. So, the Senate sent to the House of Representatives several voucher proposals. They all failed the House by sizeable margins.

One might wonder why so many of our senators support voucher policies so harmful to our children and the dedicated professionals who teach them. There are 31 senators in Texas government, while there are 150 representatives. House members are more closely connected to our communities. They see firsthand the great job our teachers are doing—and doing on a financial shoestring. On the other hand, senators are further removed from our neighborhoods, more disconnected from our schoolteachers who work long hours at low pay to instruct and mentor our kids. Senators are more susceptible to the legislative manipulation and moneyed outside interests that do not have our children’s best interests at heart.

Payroll deduction ban

If these two legislative assaults weren’t enough, there is one more—the proposed payroll deduction ban. For decades, teachers have been allowed to have their professional association dues automatically deducted from their paychecks. This is a small convenience offered those who serve our public good—police and firefighters as well as teachers. It comes at no expense to taxpayers. They are not “union dues.” No, it is a simple option accorded those who advance God’s common good on behalf of all of us. It is a small way of saying, “Thank you.”

But now, the Texas Senate wishes to eliminate this privilege. Senators passed a bill disallowing automatic, recurring deduction of association dues. But get this: They targeted only teachers—not police and firefighters. It is a jab directed explicitly at our teachers. Instead of finding ways to praise teachers and affirm them for their public service, the Senate devised a petty way to punish and demean them instead. Thankfully, it did not get the time of day in the House.

Now we are watching a special legislative session called by Gov. Greg Abbott. While he has ordered the legislature to fix school funding, he inexplicably also has charged them to revisit the misguided policy of vouchers and the ridiculous payroll deduction ban. It is not a comfortable position for us as pastors and faith leaders, but we are compelled to confront our governor and lieutenant governor about these bad and dangerous ideas. We have a responsibility before our Lord to “do justice” and “love our neighbor,” as God’s word clearly commands.

The 2,000 faith leaders in Pastors for Texas Children are deeply grateful for the historic pro-public education stand of the Baptist General Convention of Texas and its Christian Life Commission, from which we were birthed four years ago. Solid, Bible-believing, conservative Texas Baptists love and support their schools. They know our schools are no more perfect than our churches, but also know millions of children are loved and cared for in our schools every day.

We are in a crisis of God’s common good in Texas. God’s people need to stand up, speak out and support quality, fully funded public education for all God’s children.

If you are a faith leader in your congregation—pastor, staff minister or volunteer of any kind—join us by becoming part of our witness. Simply take a moment to sign up on our website by clicking here. There is no fee or any dues. You are not required to be a preacher or a pastor or an ordained minister—only a follower of Christ who sees the goodness of God in Texas teachers and wants to do everything you can to support them.

Charles Foster Johnson is pastor of Bread Fellowship in Fort Worth and executive director of Pastors for Texas Children.