The late Jules Verne, author of 20 Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, called the sea the “Living Infinite.” Yet the vast waters that surround us don’t seem as infinite as they once did.

Garrett Vickrey

The world is shrinking. And the increasing lack of headroom is ratcheting up anxieties. These anxieties drive support for President Trump’s “America First” mentality. A new world is emerging, and it remains to be seen how Christians will respond to the challenges ahead.

When Christopher Columbus began exploring the so-called “New World,” his discoveries caused great excitement throughout Europe. Columbus sought a western path to the far east. He found the Bahamas instead.

Similarly, John Cabot believed he had arrived in Asia when he landed in Canada, claiming land there for King Henry VII. Excitement over the possibilities of this new world began to spread throughout Europe. Expeditions were launched under the auspices of diverse flags, all wanting a piece of the new pie.

A whole new world

These early expeditions opened up trade in a whole new world. Ships were launched. Goods were exchanged. Poor swine-herders like Francisco Pizarro made a fortune. The business of exploration was promising enough for Columbus to leave behind his life as a weaver. But not all Europeans experienced the blessing of this new wealth. The very foundation of wealth was changing.

The medieval era was transitioning to something new. The foundation of wealth for medieval Europe was land. Kings had it; the poor worked it. The owners of land lived quite well by renting their lands out and requiring their renters to provide them with service and a share of their crops.

Suddenly, gold and silver, which had been in short supply, began flooding from the new world back into Europe, resulting in skyrocketing inflation. The economy was changing. Is there a place in the new world for old world people?

Many in today’s emerging world can sympathize. The exploration of trade routes to the East Indies has evolved over centuries into globalized world markets, remaking economies and nations worldwide. The conversation about the ramifications of globalization need to be worked out in dialogue. Right now, few of us get beyond sound bites about what this means for “workers” or “corporations.”

Some are trying to return the world to glorious eras where we know our roles. But like 16th century Europe, we know if we ignore the new world out there, it will pass us by.

Faithful engagement

How can we as faithful Christians engage this emerging world in faithful ways? Here are three elements of Christian faith that can help us in this new world.

• First, recovery of the early Church’s understanding of Creatio Continua should underlay our image of God’s relationship to this world.

God is still creating. Creation is continually upheld and sustained by God’s Word through the Holy Spirit. God continually calls forth, dwells in and provides for creation. Whatever new world is emerging is still a world that reflects the image of the Creator.

• Second, incarnational ministry demands that the spiritual practice of empathy be given significant space within the liturgy of the church.

Life in the digital age provides too much space for empathy to dwindle. There is a great chasm formed between what we see on screens and what we feel. We protect ourselves from the emotions of others.

Christ came to dwell with us. To feel what we feel. We must do the same. We must practice empathy. We must, as the hymn encourages us, “Let our hearts be broken for a world in need.”

• Finally, we always must keep the vision of the New Jerusalem before the eyes of the world.

The failure of our imaginations keep us locked into imitations of previous failures. How can Christians in the 21st century help the world grasp images of God’s new creation?

Harmful outsourcing

Far too many churches have outsourced the work of social transformation to the political realm. Too many churches have hedged their bets that simply putting “the right kind of Christians” in powerful political roles will create a more sympathetic environment for people of faith. This cloaked identity politics needs a refresher in the much-maligned doctrine of original sin. G.K Chesterton once quipped that original sin is “the one Christian doctrine that is empirically verifiable and validated by 3,500 years of human history.”

People of faith know their frailty. Often, we fail to espouse our corporate infirmity. Yet even in our sickness, the health of God’s new creation is found. Here, there, every now and again, God’s kingdom bursts forth in beloved communities where the hungry are fed, the naked clothed and the stranger is welcomed.

Churches need not bless everything that comes with the dawn of a new era. There is a time for resistance when the dehumanization of certain people groups becomes normative through political talking points, when fear is lifted as a virtue and greed revered.

We find ourselves again in fleets of small vessels cast out upon the “Living Infinite,” crossing toward some great unknown. But like Jesus’ first disciples, we must never forget the One who is on the boat with us.

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

Take a deep breath. This is my advice to Christians.

No matter what side you are on politically, we can all agree this has been a crazy last few weeks. Executive orders and protests have dominated the news, and every publication is filled with thinkZac Harrel pieces and analysis of what is happening.

This ultimately is a good thing. As Christians, we need to be informed about what is going on, and we need to stand for truth in the public square. There needs to be wise and biblical analysis about what is going on. We must be involved.

But we should also be careful not to ignore our own spiritual lives. We must be careful that in seeking to gain the political world we don’t lose our souls in the process.

When we are consumed by political news and every breaking news story about the next order or the reaction to it, we run the risk of allowing politics to become our idol. The danger is to allow The New York Times or Fox News or talk radio—rather than God’s word and time spent in silence and prayer—to form our hearts.

Heavenly citizenship

In calling us to remember our heavenly citizenship, Russell Moore said, “We are Americans best when we are not Americans first.” The same idea should be applied to our daily intake of news and political information. We are informed best when we are not informed by the news first. Only out of the overflow of time spent in prayer and with the word of God should we come to the news of the day. Only out of a heart formed by time spent with our Father should we speak, write, tweet or comment.

God’s word reminds us all people are created in the image of God, calls us to compassion toward one another, and reminds us our hope is not in executive orders or in opposing these orders. Silence and prayer allow us to focus our hearts and minds on God and his will, to turn off the noise of the world and hear God’s voice.

Therefore, sometimes, we should step back from politics and the minute-to-minute nature of political coverage. The world will keep spinning if we miss a news cycle or if we don’t weigh in with our thoughts. Take a day off from reading the news. Spend the day in prayer and reading Scripture. Take a walk, see a movie, engage in conversation that has nothing to do with President Trump. Take a month off from social media and Internet click bait. Read a book, invest in your marriage or a new friendship, and find a place to make a tangible difference in your community.

Souls need a break

Our souls need a break from the perpetual outrage.

I am not calling for Christians to pull back completely, and I am not asking for you to be uninformed. We should watch the news. We must subscribe and support publications that are seeking to do good journalistic work. Christians should not separate from the wider culture, and we especially should be involved in politics locally, statewide and nationally as we seek the common good.

But politics must not run our lives. It must not dictate the way we think about and treat others, and it must not leave us in despair.

Take care of your soul first. Your greatest need is to know God, to be known by God. When politics gets in the way of seeking God through prayer, through Bible reading, through relationships with other people, it has become an idol. We are in grave danger of making this political moment an idol that will divide the church.

Jesus tells us, “Seek first the kingdom of God” and teaches us all of the commandments boil down to loving God and loving our neighbor. Do our current intake of news and our current conversations about politics help us love God and our neighbor well? Do they show we are pursuing the kingdom of God above all things?

Maybe we need to take a break. Maybe we need to step back. Maybe we don’t need another think piece about the Trump administration this exact moment. Maybe we need to turn off our phones, log off social media and seek the face of God first.

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

Jesus said, “Everyone on the side of truth listens to me,” to which Pilate retorted, “What is truth?”

Eric Black

Indeed, what is truth these days?

What used to be called “spin” has now become “post-truth” and “alternative facts.” Some might say the change in terminology reflects transparency, the willingness of purveyors of spin to be more honest now—although not entirely honest—about what they actually are doing. Let’s humor this idea for a moment.

Three terms

Consider my definitions:

• “Spin” puts the best face, the most positive light, on the facts at hand.

• “Post-truth” suggests the truth is no longer necessary in reporting the facts at hand.

• “Alternative facts” are ideas offered as a substitute for the facts at hand.

“Spin” is the most playful and positive of the three and requires a real craftsman—an “alternative fact” term for “liar”—such as Deputy Mayor Mike Flaherty in the sitcom Spin City. “Spin” used to be good for a laugh.

“Post-truth” is the most nihilistic of the three. “Post-truth” is a bald admission that although truth exists, we don’t care about it anymore. We are more interested in what is true for us, in what works for us, in what we want people to think or know. There is nothing funny about post-truth.

“Alternative facts,” well, that phrase is simply an oxymoron, which actually makes me laugh quite a bit. Similar to “post-truth” in acknowledging the existence of facts—facts being those objective things on which most reasonable people can and will agree—the phrase “alternative facts” and those who use it suggest reasonable people are in fact stupid and don’t know the difference between “actual” and “alternative.”

Be warned

Notice: All three are responses to the facts at hand. All three are used only when one set of facts puts the powers-that-be in a negative light. They never are used when the actual facts—notice the redundancy—bode well for the powers-that-be.

Here’s the truth: I don’t offer the preceding thought experiment merely as an experiment. I offer it as a caution.

Another caution: Don’t let the attractiveness of power, wielded by whomever, seduce you into becoming a purveyor of “spin,” “post-truth” or “alternative facts.”

Believe me, power is seductive, and the tactics of the powerful are very attractive. Lord knows, I’ve been enticed.

Jesus said, “Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

Lord, help me listen to you.

Eric Black is pastor of First Baptist Church in Covington, Texas, and a member of the Baptist Standard Publishing board of directors.

My grandparents were extraordinary people. I wish you could have known them—my maternal grandparents in particular.

James Hassell

Grandad Hanna was born and raised near Canadian, Texas, and Grandma was reared on a cotton farm outside of Gould, Okla. They were hard workers and had the scars to prove it. Grandad basically was kicked out of the house after high school graduation and wound his way to the Santa Fe Railway yard in Amarillo. There he found Grandma working at the phone company.

The rest is history. They never left Amarillo until they went to heaven and were faithful at Buchanan Street Baptist Church and then First Baptist Church.

I learned a lot about practical theology from the Hannas. I played at their house every Thursday afternoon before kindergarten interrupted the routine. Weekly visits continued, however, until I left for Hardin-Simmons University. Grandad taught me how to fish, tinker with things in the garage, keep a nice yard, play baseball, develop a love for country music, grill a mean hamburger and pull pranks. It was Grandma’s and Grandad’s course in theology that stuck the most.

Memorable theology

Here are a few of the more memorable teachings:

• Treat people fairly by taking turns.

• Don’t hit, but stand up to a bully.

• Be nice to enemies, and if they don’t want to be friends, still be nice.

• You don’t have to yell and pitch a fit to prove a point.

• Be committed to the church, and get yourself to Sunday school and worship unless you’re sick.

• Give food to the hungry by volunteering your time to do so.

• Be a good citizen by voting and committing to education.

• Give away most of your saved-up money, and take care of your family with the rest. The money is God’s anyway.

• Laugh at yourself whenever possible.

• Greet people with a smile and a handshake, never speaking of yourself.

• Enjoy the outdoors, because God created it all.

• And hard times will pass.

Religion and politics

These teachings are just the tip of the iceberg. I could go on a while, but perhaps one of the most important lessons had to do with religion and politics. Yes, we talked about these two things at their house. They weren’t bashful. In fact, I think they would be appalled and outspoken about some of the political problems in our nation today, as well as how those problems have spilled over into some of our churches.

Specifically, they would have balked at both the state trying to increase its control over people and the church attempting to co-opt the freedom of conscience for anyone in our country who is not a Christian. Religious liberty is not liberty when someone has no freedom to worship according to the dictates or his/her conscience.

Keep in mind my grandparents were some of the most patriotic people I ever met. Grandad grieved until his death that he could not go overseas in World War II because a blood disorder kept him from the armed forces. His war service, however, was to drive trains.

Defending freedom

They knew it was patriotic for them to defend the freedom of others who were different than they were. Patriotism did not include wrapping a cross in our churches up in a flag. Both biblical and historical evidence show that when we lessen the tension between church and state, every citizen loses, especially those in the minority. When the tension is pulled too tightly, we snap.

Therefore, let’s take a lesson from the Hannas in Amarillo.

Don’t hit, but stand up to the bully who wants either to keep the church out of the state or to make the state into the church. Stop all the yelling in order to prove your point. Get back into a church that wants to make disciples of the kingdom of God, not the kingdom of America. Give, vote, educate yourself and our kids, greet, laugh, enjoy our land. And remember, these hard times will pass.

James Hassell is senior pastor of First Baptist Church in San Angelo.

A couple of weeks ago, Libby Rankin handed me a plate with broken crackers as I was sitting at the end of the pew at First Baptist Church in Abilene. In a few minutes, she handed me the plate with the tiny cups of juice.

Bob EllisRev. Sarah Greenfield stood at the front of the sanctuary behind the Lord’s table. She had preached an eloquent sermon and now was serving the elements of the Lord’s Supper to the congregation. She took bread and broke it and then repeated the words of Jesus, “Take and eat.” She poured juice from a silver pitcher into a cup and spoke Jesus’ words, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”

And we received the bread and cup to eat and drink, to remember. It was sacred. It was life-giving. It was grace.

“Why don’t we …?”

Over 20 years ago, First Baptist in Abilene began ordaining women as deacons. Our church’s tradition before that time was to pass around a list of all the men in the church when it came time to nominate deacons. One year as the process was about to begin, a male deacon asked the innocent question, “Why don’t we have the names of church members who are women on the list, too?”

The question led to a careful process of studying Scripture and discerning God’s leadership. There are many examples of women in spiritual leadership positions in the Bible, including a direct reference to the deaconess Phoebe (Romans 16:1).

After careful consideration, our church determined opening the deacon body to women was an important step for us to take in following Christ. Since then, many capable women have served as deacons, and they continue to do so. In fact, someone called to my attention one year that laywomen were serving as the chair of the deacons and chairs of each major committee in the church. Without any sort of gender-based “affirmative action,” that particular year, our church simply found women were the best choices for leadership in each of those positions.

Barriers come down

We are learning that in Christ, the barriers come down.

Sarah Greenfield, who recently served the Lord’s Supper to us, was ordained by our church in 2014. A graduate of Logsdon Seminary, she now leads our congregation as the pastor for emerging adults. Through the years, First Baptist has ordained a number of other women for ministry, including Venantie Uwishyaka, whom we ordained earlier this year. She is a Rwandan who earned a degree in family ministry at Logsdon Seminary and now has returned to her country to begin a center for Christian counseling and ministry to women and families.

To be sure, Texas Baptist churches are at different points in the journey of women’s leadership in the church. We are familiar with the way in which the Apostle Paul gave instructions to early churches about how to behave within their contexts in order to further the gospel most effectively. At one point, he called for women to be silent in church (1 Corinthians 14:11-12), and at another, he talked about how women who publicly pray and prophesy in church should do so with heads covered, as was the custom of the day (1 Corinthians 11:5). One assumes the ancient context sometimes limited and sometimes permitted women in public church ministry.

A better way …

We remember the profound words of gender-equality in Genesis, declaring God has created both women and men in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). There is the tragic story of human sinfulness in Genesis 3, which led to the divine prediction that husbands will rule over wives in the future (3:16). My view is that the passage is describing, rather than prescribing, what lies ahead for the sinful couple. But whatever one’s interpretation of the statement, the passage clearly indicates male dominance of women is a result of human sinfulness. The good news is Jesus has come to show us a better way: He breaks down barriers; he sets us free. Paul summarizes the gospel lesson so profoundly: “For in Christ Jesus … there is no longer male and female, for you are one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26-28).

Perhaps we also remember how the book of Joel speaks of God’s dream for God’s people: “I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, your sons and your daughters shall prophesy” (2:28). Texas Baptist churches are becoming increasingly open to ways in which the Spirit is breaking down barriers and leading women with new freedom to minister within congregations and the world.

I encourage you to participate in the 2017 Women in Ministry Conference sponsored by Texas Baptist Women in Ministry and Logsdon Seminary. The conference will be at Logsdon’s campus in Abilene Feb. 10-11. The event is designed to encourage all ministers, men and women, and especially to provide an affirming context for thinking about how women who are called by God can serve our churches effectively. To register for the conference, click here.

Bob Ellis is a member of First Baptist Church in Abilene and associate dean for academics at Logsdon Seminary.

I was preaching through Ephesians 5 a few weeks ago and came to verses 15 and 16: “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” Godly wisdom directs us to watch our lives carefully and make the best use of our time. What does this mean?

Zac Harrel

One answer to this question is found in Psalm 90:12: “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.”

To make the best use of our time, we should realize how short our time truly is. To live carefully, we should number our days. Godly wisdom is marked by knowing our own frailty and seeing each day as a gift from the hand of God, a gift of his grace.

Shocking reality

Everything around us in our consumer culture fights against this wisdom. We have come to expect to live long, to live without suffering or sickness, to live with no thought toward death or dying. So, when suffering comes or when our frailty is made abundantly clear, we are shocked. We feel cheated. We blame God.

As American Christians, we live in such an affluent time with so many amazing technological advances, we can live without a second thought about our frailty most days, most years. But life has a way of reminding us of our finiteness.

This truth always seems to be front and center in pastoral ministry. There are hospital visits to make and funeral services to perform. I can’t escape the fact of human frailty. It is always right there. There are the phone calls in the middle of the night, the desperate visitor into the office asking for prayer, the congregant who has struggled for years with cancer breathing the last breath, the freak accident and everything else marred by this broken world.

Hard truth

When the Apostle Paul tells us the days are evil, this is what he means. We can’t escape the hard truth of the evil of this age, but we can live with wisdom.

We can number our days, living in the reality we are just a vapor. A heart of wisdom knows this truth, lives in this truth. Foolishness is living as if we are invincible, as if our days aren’t numbered. Foolishness is being surprised at the suffering of these evil days.

Godly wisdom teaches us to number our days and to make the best use of the short days we have been given by living with thanksgiving. God’s grace is all around us. God’s beauty is all around us. In the midst of our fleeting days, we can see God’s grace and beauty everywhere, and we can be thankful always and for everything as Paul says in Ephesians 5:20: “… always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Godly wisdom

Godly wisdom tells us our days are numbered and instructs us to be thankful for each moment God gives. Be thankful for this day. Be thankful for this season, even if you are walking through the valley of the shadow of death. Be thankful for the grace and beauty of God that makes these evil days bearable.

God’s grace is everywhere. It is there in the middle of the night in your tossing and turning. It is there in the doctor’s office when the tests come back with bad news. It is there when you are on your knees praying for God to bring your son or daughter back to him. God’s grace is there every single day.

God’s beauty is everywhere, too. It is in creation all around us, from the flowers that bloom to the heavens filled with stars. It is in the eyes of my 3-year-old, who sees the beauty of this life in fresh ways, reminding me of God and his presence. It is in the faithful love of a spouse and friends, as well as in the fellowship of your church. God’s beauty is there if we have eyes to see.

This life is short. Wisdom is accepting this frailty and living with eyes wide open to the grace and beauty of God filling each moment of these numbered days.

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

Texas political rhetoric often calls for reclaiming and preserving the American founders’ original intentions for our nation. This rock-ribbed conservatism is at the core of our spirit as Texans.

Charles Foster JohnsonYet, perplexingly, some Texas politicians today continue to attack one of the most successful bedrocks of American culture, democracy and our economy—our public education system.

In 1785, John Adams said: “The whole people must take upon themselves the education of the whole people and be willing to bear the expenses of it. There should not be a district of one mile square without a school in it, not founded by a charitable individual, but maintained at the public expense of the people themselves.”

Clearly, this founding father of our Republic saw public education as central to our social contract and fundamental to the provision of the common good.

Constitutional mandate

Accordingly, the Texas State Constitution ensures public education for all children in Article 7, Section 1: “A general diffusion of knowledge being essential to the preservation of the liberties and rights of the people, it shall be the duty of the Legislature of the State to establish and make suitable provision for the support and maintenance of an efficient system of public free schools.”

True conservatives rally around our neighborhood and community public schools as the primary vehicles for perpetuating civil society, strengthening our economy and ensuring our continued leadership in the world. This is why our Texas pastors overwhelmingly support them.

Public education advances conservative values through early investments to give every student a fair shot and the tools needed to pursue a more prosperous, self-sufficient future. These investments reap significant long-term economic dividends and savings because they produce fewer societal problems, benefiting all Texans.

Furthermore, public schools are filled with many people of faith. These teachers, principals and school staff bow their heads in our houses of worship with us, serve and fellowship alongside us, and model their faith in schools and classrooms. Indeed, public school educators fill our congregations.

Absolute and total obligation

As a state, we have an absolute and total obligation to our children. Not just the few. Not just the privileged. Not just our own. All Texas children. This is the only way “the Texas miracle” can live on.

Ninety percent of Texas children are educated in public schools. The lion’s share of our focus should return to strengthening the only institution equipped to embrace and educate every child.

Voucher and privatization programs that divert public dollars to private entities without accountability, however much they are cloaked in the deceptive language of “school choice,” are not the answer to our educational challenges. Texans clearly do not want to see their tax dollars underwriting the private education of affluent people.

Care for the most vulnerable

More than 60 percent of Texas schoolchildren are identified as economically disadvantaged. Public schools cannot be expected to overcome the challenges created by rising poverty, especially when they are educating more students with less money. The last thing these neighborhoods need is to be stripped of their remaining vitality.

Texas ranks near the bottom in per-pupil spending nationwide. In 2011, devastating funding cuts forced school districts to lay off teachers, increase class sizes and reduce pre-kindergarten programs. In 2013, Texas legislators restored only a portion of the cuts—about 60 percent—leaving a gaping deficit in education funding. In 2015, schools also had to accommodate for student growth, totaling 300,000 more students than in 2011. 

Now it is 2017, and here we go again with the misguided and cynical attempt to privatize this foundational public trust. 

Time for rededication

Let us rededicate ourselves to our Texas children in our public education system. Rather than again debating controversial, unproven policies that further impair our public schools, let us reclaim our collective will to pursue proposals that give our schools the support they need to prepare our children adequately for the economy they will inherit and create.

People of faith all over Texas are rallying to this call. Our close friends in the Baptist General Convention of Texas and the Christian Life Commission are at the lead in this movement.

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Our neighborhood and community schools obey this command each and every day.

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

It is my hope and prayer that by the time this column is published, it is obsolete, and President Trump’s executive order concerning a ban on refugees has been rescinded or struck down by the courts.

Myles WerntzBarring that hope, Christians should continue to remember not only the facts regarding refugees and safety, but also, for Christians, nothing less than our gospel witness is at stake. If we are not moved by the sheer percentage of refugees who are in fact children or by the already laborious vetting process in place for refugees, let us be moved by the judgment of God.

Matthew 25, particularly for Protestants, typically has been a passage that has been taken with a grain of salt. As John Thiel details, Protestants—Baptists included—have done a bit of hand-waving when it comes to passages surrounding divine judgment for moral behavior. To think Christians could actually be held accountable for their works runs crosswise to our doctrine of salvation.

The way of Jesus

Here, however, it is important to note that for Scripture, disciples are those who have a coherence of confession and practice; no sooner does Peter confess that Jesus Christ is the Lord than Peter is rebuked by Jesus for false associations with that confession.

As Christians approach the issues surrounding refugees, it is important we do so not from the perspective of national sovereignty, but from the perspective of scriptural hospitality. In this, we trust the way of Jesus is the way of God, and disciples entrust their safety to the Lord when following.

With this in mind, when searching for how Christians are to act when it comes to the suffering of that miniscule number of refugees who will be resettled, we do so in light of our call to be disciples and not out of fear. For if we must fear, let it be for fear of betraying our Lord and being found wanting in the last days. 

Moral care of nations

The arguments that pit national sovereignty over against the call of the Christian should, at this point, be put away. For if we see anything from the Old Testament, it is that God cares deeply about the moral care nations give, and very little about what we call national sovereignty, at least in our moral reasoning. There is a place for wise, prudential governance, but when Christians begin to use prudence as a cover for fearfulness, we have moved into a dangerous place.

Christians are people called to exercise hospitality for many reasons, but primarily, we exercise it because of who we are in Christ—ones who were alien to God who have been made heirs and co-sharers in the very nature of God. As Christine Pohl rightly notes, this is a habit Christians now, perhaps more than ever, are in need of recovering as Christians, as legislation is being proposed which would end this support. Christians should rightly do this in any event, regardless of state legislation, but seek that vision for their world as well.

Friends, there are many moments when as a collective group, Christians will be called—by God—to rise to the occasion. This is one of those moments, among many others, which have come and which are yet to come.

Let us not shrink back from doing good. Let us not shrink back from courage. And let us not shrink back from proclaiming that a border that would prevent the suffering from entering is not, from the perspective of the Scriptures, a border worth defending.

Myles Werntz is assistant professor of Christian ethics and practical theology and the T.B. Maston Chair of Christian Ethics at Hardin-Simmons University’s Logsdon Seminary in Abilene. Email him at Myles.Werntz@hsutx.edu.

If you keep up with the news, you know last weekend was eventful. On Friday, Jan. 27, President Trump signed an executive order banning travel from several Muslim-majority nations, throwing airports across the country into chaos. The same order also suspended refugee resettlement in the United States. The Trump Administration vowed to defend the order against challenges from courts, although the reaction throughout government agencies largely has been negative.

Jake RaabeThe reaction from faith leaders has been mostly negative as well, with many condemning it as an unconstitutional and unethical ban on Muslims. Samaritan’s Purse CEO Franklin Graham, however, was one of the few major voices speaking in favor of the measure. He told the Huffington Post he could support the suspension of refugee resettlement because it’s “not a biblical issue.”

I don’t feel the need to address Graham’s claim the Bible doesn’t speak on immigration and asylum-seekers; Mark Wingfield at Baptist New Global has done a great job of that already. The Bible does speak on these issues, and it does so extensively and clearly.

Separating decision & faith

Graham’s treatment of Scripture is equally troublesome. His claim implies the teachings of Scripture only matter to certain issues, and Christians can make decisions on other issues without reference to their faith. This is a fundamentally incorrect understanding of the role of Scripture in the Christian life and of discipleship in general.

The Bible isn’t simply a guideline for how to vote or a list of do’s and don’ts for getting to heaven: It’s an encounter.

When we come to Scripture, we find in it more than simply a set of teachings: We find Jesus Christ, the Son of God. All of the stories, commandments, poems and teachings of the Bible ultimately lead to this person. Christian discipleship doesn’t mean distilling the Bible into a series of topics it talks about and topics it doesn’t. Discipleship means submitting every thought, every decision, every word that comes out of our mouths to the crucified and resurrected Christ.

No independent decisions

We make no decisions independently, by our own logic. All decisions are submitted to Christ. In this, there is no issue that isn’t a “Bible issue.”

Graham, claiming Scripture doesn’t have bearing on the conversation at hand, claims: “We have a country, and a country should have order. … Because of the dangers we see today in this world, we need to be very careful.” I suppose, by worldly standards, it makes sense to say we should keep strangers at bay (this ignores the odds of being killed by a refugee in the United States—about one in 3.6 billion).

Graham’s logic does not follow Christ’s example, though. The Christ we worship did not stray from danger. He walked directly into it out of love for those suffering. To call Christians to do anything other than love—even at risk to themselves—is to call them to reject the example of Christ.

I’ve long had concerns about Graham, but this claim especially is worrisome. He’s calling on Christians to substitute the self-emptying, life-giving gospel of Christ with an America-first, self-centered civil religion.

“Christ first,” not “America first”

“America first” is not a concept found in the Bible. “Christ first” is what Scripture teaches us to base all our decisions on.

I can’t imagine the Christ of the Bible turning away a starving child. I can’t imagine the Christ of the Bible allowing a people with more than they need to send the needy to their deaths.

Graham is calling us to make decisions about the well-being of others out of our own self-interest. He calls us to put our nation’s interest above Christ’s call. Every issue is a “Bible issue,” and Graham is teaching falsehood if he suggests otherwise.

We speak often about the “word of God” being a sword. What we too soon forget is that this sword is not in our hands. We don’t use the word as a weapon pointed at our enemies. When the word of God “pierces to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerns the thoughts and intentions of the heart,” Christ wields it, and he points it at us, his followers. Scripture constantly calls our ideas and actions into question by the example of Christ.

I pray my brother Franklin will recognize this. Syrian lives and American souls are in danger.

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

Dear President Obama:

As I sit here, the day after President Donald J. Trump’s inauguration, the day after the last official day of your historically forbidden yet history-changing presidency, reflecting on the state of the Union, I am compelled to pen you this letter.

Dante WrightIt is with mounting reverence that I articulate this expression of unwavering respect. Even though I did not agree with all of your policies, I respect the position of the office you held and the challenges confronting bipartisan politics. Although unsolicited, I believe it necessary to illuminate your never-anticipated, highly-ridiculed, awe-inspiring presidential legacy. As Dr. Freddie Haynes would say, “I am hyena happy, peacock proud, and elephant elated” for this opportunity to serve up an honorary summation of what is to become your ancestral and patriotic heritage.

Mr. President, I am so very proud of you. I also believe this to be true for many Americans. We are proud of you and the legacy you leave behind as you depart from the highest office in the land. Not only that, but you provided an undoubtedly unequivocal example of a lifestyle befitting a God-fearing man, although many questioned your Christian faith. You were elected twice to serve in the highest humanly possible position of power.

Opportunity to thank God

I breathe a liberated sigh of relief after eight years of weighted respiration, because you, a black man, became the president of the United States of America. I feared for your life daily while you were in office because of the known and unrecorded detriment inflicted on so many of our black heroes of the past whose lives were prematurely taken, namely, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X. However, because of God’s unyielding grace and limitless mercy, he spared you, his child. Every minute of every day of every year became one more opportunity to thank God for a positive change for African-American history, as well as for American history.

When the historians and pontificators have their final say, I believe it will be understood without a shadow of a doubt, that you, Barack Hussein Obama, arguably are the single most remarkable black figure ever birthed on American soil, and that includes Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Tavis Smiley once said, “History is written backwards, while life is lived forward.”Some men read history, some men write history, but you, Barack Hussein Obama, you made history. Yes, you made history on Jan. 20, 2009, when you were sworn in as the 44th president of these yet-to-be United States of America.

As a young black man, on the day of your first inauguration, I witnessed something I never thought I would live to see. Mr. President, I do not stand alone in celebrating you, because on the day you were elected as president, it wasn’t just the black race that elected you, but the people of the United States of America elected you. The American people as a whole—whites, Hispanics, Asians, blacks and millions of people of all races, colors and creeds elected you. According to a recent poll, 62 percent of black America said the election of you, President Obama, was the most important event of their lifetime. Even the saints of the past celebrated you. You ask me how so, and how do I know?

Cloud of witnesses

The Bible and my baptized imagination took me back to that wonderful inaugural day. On that day, Mr. President, the Hebrew writers reminded me you were not only surrounded by the crowds in the street; you also were surrounded by that “great cloud of witnesses” in the sky. Yes, many of us on earth were proud, but not all. I just wish you could have seen what my spiritual eyes saw. You were so preoccupied with your inaugural speeches and taking the oath of office that you missed some things. There was a great cloud of witness in heaven who were so overjoyed and elated.

In that great cloud of witness were men and women who paved the way with their lives for those of us who have been kissed by nature’s sun. Rosa Parks was delighted she took her stand “not to get out of her seat” so you could one day occupy the highest seat of the free world. Even that dreamer and drum major for justice, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was excited his dream did not turn into a nightmare but became a living reality and to finally see this nation “rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed.”

Yes, Mr. President, in that great cloud of witness were four little black girls, Denise McNair, Addie Collins, Carole Robertson and Cynthia Wesley, whose lives were cut short by an American terroristic act, the bombing of 16th Street Baptist Church of Birmingham, Ala. They were excited not just for you, but also for your two little girls. These four little black girls became martyrs so that your two little girls could now play hide-and-seek, hopscotch and 1, 2, 3 red light on the White House lawn, as well as the many social activities they experienced while living in the White House.

Remarkable legacy

Mr. President, allow me to highlight part of your legacy that I believe you will be remembered for and will stand the test of time.

• You were the first African-American president of the United States of America.

• You served two terms successfully without any scandals, such as a stain on another woman’s dress, and you did not send our American troops on a hide-and-seek mission for weapons of mass destruction that did not even exist.

• Jolting the economy.

• Ending the war in Iraq.

• Obamacare, which provided health care for more than 20 million American people.

• Killing Osama bin Laden and other leading terrorists.

Role model

Mr. President, thank you for being such a great role model for the American people. Thank you for your intellectual prowess and brilliance. Thank you for your cool and classy persona that exuded every time you walked with that smooth and sophisticated strut.

Thank you for how you displayed love for your family and presented a biblical model for what a family should look like. Since Good Times, The Jeffersons and The Cosby Show, black America has been dying to see what a model black family looks like. Thank God the love affair you and Michelle Obama displayed before the American people was not a reality TV show but a real-life love affair for the world to see. Maybe the 45th President, Donald J. Trump, can learn from you and stop bragging and boasting about his sexual misconduct, such as tonguing and groping women just because he is powerful and privileged. Thank you for your moral ethics that led the way for a scandal-free White House over the last eight years.

Mr. President, I do not come before you on this day from the perspective of a Democrat, a Republican, nor as an Independent. Instead, I come as the Great Agitator who proclaims a great life-changing gospel. I come not as one who blows a flute, but one who blows a prophetic trumpet. Mr. President, with you leaving office, I see dark days ahead for the American people, because we have allowed politics, power, greed, bigotry and racism to remove God Almighty out of the way.

Mr. President, I am afraid that the moral compass of our country is headed in the wrong direction. I used to live by the audacity to hope and the motto, ‘Yes, We Can!” But after seeing over the last eight years racism, bigotry and hatred show up again like malignant cancer, I have resolved now I no longer can trust in a system that never was designed to help me.

Two-sided gospel

Mr. President, now that you have departed the Oval Office, I have a message I want you to help me to get out to the American people and in particular, the church at large, which has allowed its spiritual salt to become contaminated and its spiritual light to be concealed by the wicked ways of the world.

Mr. President, what I am suggesting is a two-sided gospel approach:

• Side 1 is for spiritual transformation

• Side 2 is for social transformation

Mr. President, tell the people to:

Refocus their vision and see God.

Receive God’s grace.

Respond to the call of God.

This message is not original to me, but it was first given to Isaiah the prophet and can be found in Isaiah 6:1-8.

Mr. President, once again, thank you for your service and for a job extremely well-done. Take time to relax and enjoy your family as a full-time husband and father. However, it is my prayer that merely because your term of being Commander-in-Chief of the United States of America has come to a close, does not mean you will now become silent. You still have much to do. Your voice is still one that rings loud and clear. Mr. President, continue to use your voice to be an advocate for the American people. Speak up, speak out, and speak boldly to the cause for justice, equality and the pursuit of the American dream for all Americans.

Finally, all that you can do to assist and encourage our new president, Donald Trump, please do so, because you know all too well the challenges, stress and weight he has now undertaken as president of the United States of America!

Yours truly,

A Prophetic Voice with a Cause

Dr. Dante D. Wright I

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

A great deal has changed in the way communication is done since I began serving in local churches. With the advent of texting, email, social media and the Web, our modes of communication have become a hallmark of effectiveness for us, sometimes leading pastors and church leaders to believe using those forms of communication is a mark of our efficiency and “with-it-ness.”

Steve Bezner

I’m not anti-technology, but I’ve also come to recognize that while there are times to use digital communication, there also are plenty of times to move in a different direction.

Here are a few principles I’ve discovered for my own ministry:

1. Text-based communication can be easily misinterpreted.

When I send a text or an email, instead of speaking face-to-face, I am foregoing body language, tone of voice, eye contact and all of the other variables that power interpersonal communication. Sometimes, circumstances force you to use email or text, but when you can see someone in person or make a call, your communication drastically improves.

All the more important: When the conversation centers around conflict or has the potential to be emotionally charged, avoid texting or emailing at all costs. When my adrenaline is high, I write poorly. When my adrenaline is high, I also read poorly.

Many a conflict went on far too long because the invested parties refused to meet face-to-face.

2. Don’t rely on digital communication—especially social media—to recruit volunteers.

When you post you need three more volunteers to work the registration desk for your upcoming event, you are slicing yourself with a double-edged sword. Edge Number One: The only individuals who will respond are those who are most likely already overworked. Edge Number Two: You (not-so) subtly communicate to your church you are either unorganized or too lazy to recruit face-to-face.

Sure, we all end up in times where we need last-minute help, but you’re better served to send an email or—even better—make some calls. This doesn’t mean you can’t use social media at all, but it does mean it should be part of a multi-faceted recruitment strategy.

3. Text messages are the lowest level of pastoral care.

Do I send text messages to those who I think need to hear from me? Absolutely. But they are not the best way to provide pastoral support. The hierarchy of pastoral care communication is as follows:

• In person

• Someone else, in person

• Video call

• Phone call

• Email/text message

If it is important, and if your schedule allows, go in person. If you can’t go, turn to other staff, deacons, elders, volunteers. A personal touch always is best in essential pastoral-care situations. If that isn’t possible, only then turn to “out-of-body” communication forms. Video calls are better than phone calls are better than text messages and emails. Why? Because voice inflection communicates so very much.

These three principles have served me well over the years. I’m reminded God, in his wisdom, gave us Jesus—in person. He knew we needed incarnational ministry. He wired us as such. We have a Savior who is present with us now, available to us, personally. Each of us craves personal attention—specifically face-to-face.

Pastors and church leaders would do well to adopt the communication strategy of Jesus as often as possible—to be physically present.

Steve Bezner is senior pastor of Houston Northwest Church.

The word “evangelical” has gotten a lot of bad press lately. If you read or watched any news outlet in the last year, you probably heard the word used repeatedly to refer to a particular conservative voting bloc. According to multiple analyses from major news networks, evangelicals are the reason Donald Trump is our current president.

Jake RaabeThe connotation of the word is not good in contemporary America; to most, an evangelical is a sub-set of Republican voters who attend church on a semi-regular basis. Especially after evangelicals overwhelmingly identified with Donald Trump, the term has become fraught with baggage.

Given this, it isn’t surprising the last year has seen many Christians distancing themselves from that label. While I haven’t seen any studies or polls dealing with people disassociating themselves with evangelicalism (if anyone knows of any, please let me know!), I’ve encountered more people than I can count who have said they no longer consider themselves evangelical after the 2016 election.

I don’t blame them. It’s hard to do ministry as a member of a group most of the country sees as arrogant, mean-spirited and only concerned with getting Republicans in office. I cannot, however, join those jumping ship; I am committed to evangelicalism and what it historically has meant—before it became a moniker for a certain brand of American politics.

Defining the term

What is an evangelical, actually? Historian George M. Marsden helpfully identifies five main identifiers of evangelicalism: belief in the authority of Scripture, belief in the historicity of God’s saving work, salvation through the work of Christ, the importance of missions and evangelism, and the importance of spiritual transformation.

I certainly agree with all these points, but what makes me a proud evangelical is a conviction that stands behind and drives these principles—the belief God still speaks to and acts in the world and stands apart from human culture.

After the Age of Enlightenment in the 18th century, many Christians began to wonder if faith still was tenable in the new, scientifically-minded world. Amidst concerns about the validity of Christian doctrine, a new form of Christianity emerged late in that century. It downplayed supernatural claims and instead emphasized the ethical teachings of Christianity and the ability of individuals to find God within themselves. While the aim of this school of thought—making Christianity make sense in a changing world—was admirable, many in the church, especially in America, felt this school of thought had gone too far in de-emphasizing the historical character of Christianity and the value of Scripture. Evangelicalism emerged as a reaction, holding that even in the modern world, Christianity remained the same.

Theological, not political

This is what I love about evangelicalism. It began as a way to recognize God is distinct from humanity and can be known only through Jesus Christ, as a real, historical person. It was a theological movement, not a political one.

Interestingly, early evangelicals weren’t especially politically involved. For most of the 1800s and 1900s, evangelicals were less interested in politics than the rest of the population, due largely to the conviction that politics was concerned with the affairs of the world. Only in the 1980s did evangelicals become an identifiable and motivated voting bloc, due largely to the efforts of Jerry Falwell and his Moral Majority.

This is one of the great ironies of modern evangelicalism—an over-entangling of Christianity and culture led to its founding and distrust of politics. The modern consensus that evangelicalism primarily is a religiously motivated political movement is wholly out-of-line with how the group has been understood historically.

Don’t leave …

Far too many evangelicals today have forsaken our historic commitment to preserving the distinction between Christianity and culture. If evangelicalism is going to be reclaimed for what it originally stood, we first must learn to stop pledging allegiance to political parties. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say 2016 revealed the majority of evangelicals are content to put their support behind anyone with an “R” next to their name on a ballot, not that there isn’t a significant number of evangelicals on the left who will do the same thing if the letter is “D.”

Friends who have left evangelicalism, I sympathize. Our corner of Christianity has much repenting to do. Please don’t leave just yet, though. Evangelicalism stands for something special, and it’s worth fighting to preserve.

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