Month: March 2022

The discipline of standing firm

As foreign tanks rumbled and bombs hissed and boomed across Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky delivered one of the more quotable I’ve heard in quite a while. It came in response to the U.S. government’s offer to evacuate him from his country in the face of an intensifying Russian onslaught.

“I need ammunition,” Zelensky said, “not a ride.”

And so he stayed, and remains there as of this writing.

It’s hard to stand firm in the face of a fire, isn’t it? Pastors and church leaders know this all too well. Zelensky’s courageous stance—his literal, iron-clad refusal to move—should remind us of something we all know in ministry but seem to forget at the most inopportune times: leadership takes guts. I say “inopportune” because the moments that make us want to flee are the same moments I believe God intends to use to strengthen and mature us.

Leadership isn’t anchored in good ideas, although good ideas certainly help move the needle. It isn’t achieved on the strength of enthusiasm or passion alone, although, again, those seem to be universally necessary elements for effective leadership to happen. It’s not even about having an outgoing personality or polished oratorical skills.

Leadership is about taking people and organizations from where they are to where they need to be, from Point A to Point B. The challenge is, people systems typically consist of two kinds of people: the kind who are willing to be led, and the kind who have their own ideas about how to lead and who are willing to fracture the group to achieve their own goals.

In other words, the kind of people who make you want to flee from the leadership to which God has called you.

"Leadership takes guts. It’s going to require you, at some point, to stand firm in the face of a fire that’s a lot hotter than you’ll like. In that moment, you’ll essentially have two choices: You can go, or you can grow."

Jayson Larson Tweet

Think about Moses. God called him to lead the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt to the promised land. Moses didn’t ask for that job, tried to ask himself out of that job, and in the end, didn’t even get to reap the benefits of the mission accomplished. Moses wasn’t going to set a stage ablaze with a fiery speech; Scripture tells us he had what most scholars consider a speech impediment.

Add to those shortcomings the people God called him to lead. They were lifelong slaves with a severe case of short-term memory loss. It only took hunger and thirst to make them wish they were back in chains. Rather than worship the God who turned a sea into a sidewalk, they grumbled. Later, in the book of Numbers, Moses faced challenges in his leadership from people who thought they could do it better (Aaron and Miriam, and then several hundred led by Korah).

And yet Moses stood firm. You can almost hear him saying, “Yes, I know you don’t like the menu. Yes, I heard you say you had it better with your last leader. Yes, I know some of you don’t think I’m a very good leader … now, let’s keep going. God’s got somewhere for us to be.”

Don’t get me wrong: the effectiveness of your leadership will rise and fall in direct correlation to the quality of your personal walk with Jesus in any given moment. That is a battle leaders fight every day, especially in the church. It’s a battle I fight every day.

But beyond that, leadership takes guts. It’s going to require you, at some point, to stand firm in the face of a fire that’s a lot hotter than you’ll like. In that moment, you’ll essentially have two choices:

You can go, or you can grow.

From the Eastland Complex fires: SBTC DR delivers food and hope

EASTLAND COUNTY—The smell of smoke from charred grasslands and fields lingers along State Highway 6 and Farm-to-Market Road 2526, roads into Carbon, a small Eastland County town devastated by wildfires that broke out March 17 and claimed the life of Eastland County deputy Barbara Fenley, who died evacuating residents when her patrol car became stuck in a pasture engulfed by flames.

As of March 22, the Eastland Complex fires—four wildfires that scorched Eastland County and spread to neighboring Brown County—were 60% contained, thanks to the efforts of firefighters from across Texas and other states such as California, Colorado, Nevada, and Florida.

Rains on March 21 also soaked the area, dampening smoldering pockets which had threatened to burst into flames again, fanned by high winds as they had been the day before.

The damage to Carbon is extensive. The sheriff’s report shared on Carbon Community Baptist Church’s Facebook page revealed 151 structures had been destroyed by the fire, which burned whole streets full of homes only a block from the church. Jody Forbus, Carbon Community pastor, also serves as chief of the town’s volunteer fire department and owns the local Ag & Outdoor store.

Responding rapidly to the tragedy, Southern Baptists of Texas Disaster Relief rushed a quick response kitchen unit to Carbon to offer meals for first responders and survivors. Fredy Quain of Athens and volunteers manned the mobile food truck during its short deployment.

Serving first responders at Eastland

In its ongoing partnership with the Salvation Army, SBTC DR deployed a separate team of volunteers to Eastland to staff a large Salvation Army kitchen and serve first responders, including forestry service personnel, firefighters, and the veterinary emergency response team from Texas A&M University at College Station.

The DR team set up next door to Stanley Ford at Eastland and made breakfasts, lunches, and suppers for the frontline workers, some of whom were housed in a village of climate-controlled tents erected on the parking lot.

The Aggie veterinarians, under the direction of Dr. Wesley Bissett, were treating small animals and pets, some at a temporary headquarters at a nearby cattle auction facility. The team of 17 vets and techs also visited local vet clinics and area ranches, where they observed a significant loss of pets and livestock and treated injured herds. They also wrapped the paws of search and rescue dogs to protect them.

Expressing appreciation for SBTC DR and Salvation Army’s efforts to feed them, veterinarian and A&M professor Dr. Debra Zoran described the team’s nearly 24-7 work, including late-night callouts for sick animals. “On these deployments, typically when you’re super busy … you need fuel to keep going,” Zoran said.

The opportunity to interact with first responders like the firefighters and Aggie vets keeps the SBTC DR volunteers going, too, team leader Debby Nichols of Texarkana said. “We like to look them in the eye and tell them to have a good day,” Nichols said, adding that team members had also prayed with responders.

SBTC DR volunteer Sharon Grintz spoke of praying with a Carbon couple who lost their home but found the wife’s first wedding band amidst the debris.

Nichols said the team expected to work through March 24.

Marilyn McVey of Flint said she came to SBTC DR following management careers in the grocery business. McVey and her husband, Brad, moved from northern Missouri to retire early on Lake Palestine three years ago. They attended an SBTC DR training course at their new church, Flint Baptist, and found their retirement calling.

“All the background we’ve had, the places we’ve worked, it’s just amazing that God prepared us for this,” McVey said, adding that Brad also has served on recovery teams but that she mostly stays with feeding.

Nichols’s team of eight SBTC DR volunteers plus two Salvation Army volunteers from Big Lake, sisters on their first deployment, split time between cooking in the trailer, serving food, welcoming guests, and maintaining the eating area.

Jimmy Stanford, Salvation Army Texas division emergency services manager, praised the working relationship between his organization and SBTC DR, noting multiple deployments in which he personally had worked with the volunteers present and many others.

“We actually love the partnership with the Baptists,” Stanford said.

As of March 22, 54,463 acres had burned in the Eastland County Complex. Most evacuees from Brown and Eastland counties had returned home. Gov. Greg Abbott proclaimed on March 18 that wildfires dating from late February posed an imminent threat to 11 Texas counties: Brooks, Brown, Coleman, Comanche, Eastland, Grayson, Mason, Potter, Randall, Reynolds, and Williamson.

The wildfires weren’t the last of the disasters to strike the Lone Star State this month. Dozens of tornadoes spawned by severe weather beginning March 21 prompted a second disaster declaration from the governor the next day for Bastrop, Cass, Cooke, Grayson, Guadalupe, Houston, Jack, Madison, Marion, Montague, Nacogdoches, Panola, Rusk, Upshur, Williamson, and Wise counties.

More than half the SBTC DR volunteers came from towns and counties affected by high winds and tornados that struck while they were deploying at Eastland. A brief tornado warning even sent the volunteers to seek shelter in Eastland themselves.

SBTC DR Director Scottie Stice confirmed that recovery teams are deploying to Eastland County.

Storm response begins in East Texas

In other SBTC DR news, in response to the recent tornadoes, Stice said that an SBTC DR quick response kitchen and shower unit is scheduled to arrive in Jacksboro on March 23. Assessors have also traveled to the Round Rock area, including Hutto, Elgin, and Taylor, to determine needs. Assessment continues in the Texoma area and has already occurred in Crockett and Madisonville. Additionally, a shower and laundry unit requested by county emergency management will deploy to Ore City.

A large SBTC DR operation including assessors, recovery volunteers, a command post, shower unit, generators, and bunkhouse trailer is established at New Beginnings Baptist Church in Gilmer, Stice said. Teams will minister to survivors from the Gilmer area.

Romania and Moldova

SBTC DR workers departed March 21 with a Send Relief team on a fact-finding mission to determine how to best minister to Ukrainian refugees fleeing their country for Romania and Moldova. A second Send Relief team, also with SBTC DR volunteers, will depart for Eastern Europe on March 30, Stice confirmed.

“We call up and they go,” Stice said. “We are happy to serve survivors in Texas and throughout the world and bring the love of Jesus to them.”

Donations to SBTC DR can be given here.

Former missionary Robin Hadaway to be nominated for SBC president

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (BP) – Former International Mission Board missionary Wade Akins has announced he intends to nominate fellow former IMB missionary Robin Hadaway for SBC president at the upcoming 2022 SBC Annual Meeting in Anaheim, Calif.

Hadaway becomes the third announced candidate for the office. Florida pastors Willy Rice and Tom Ascol have already been announced as candidates.

Hadaway began his ministry career pastoring churches in California and Arizona before serving with the IMB on the field in Africa and South America. While on the field, he was involved in church planting in Tanzania, starting churches among unreached peoples in Northern Africa and directing church planting efforts in Eastern South America. During his stint in South America, Hadaway served as a regional leader for the IMB leading more than 300 missionaries in the region.

“Robin Hadaway has a passion for missions, evangelism and church planting,” Akins told Baptist Press in a statement. “He believes thousands of Southern Baptists – men and women, pastors and laypersons – need to drop what they are doing and seek a career in home and foreign missions.”

Akins also said that, if elected, Hadaway would strive to “see 1,000 new WMU chapters started,” saying “WMU has the backs of our missionaries by providing what’s often lacking – prayer and financial support.”

Following his time with IMB, Hadaway spent nearly two decades at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary as a professor of missions and serving in a variety of administrative roles including interim president, dean of students, vice president for institutional initiatives, interim CFO and interim administrative vice president.

Prior to his call to ministry, Hadaway served four years in the U.S. Air Force as a pilot attaining the rank of captain, worked as military air traffic controller and finished his career as an administrative officer.

Hadaway is no stranger to service in the SBC having served on the 2000 SBC Credentials Committee, the 2005 and 2006 SBC Resolutions Committees, the 1981 Local Arrangements Committee and the planning committee for the 1984 Baptist World Alliance meeting in Los Angeles.

Hadaway and his wife, Kathy, returned to California after he retired from residential teaching a year ago. He now serves as MBTS’ senior professor of missions and resides in Oceanside, Calif. The Hadaways are currently members of New Song Community Church in Oceanside. According to its Annual Church Profile statistics, New Song reported 26 baptisms in 2021, undesignated receipts of $1,648,176.96 and giving through the Cooperative Program of $16,750.02 (1.02 percent of undesignated receipts).

Hadaway is a graduate of the University of Memphis, has an M.Div. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and D.Min. from Gateway Seminary as well as a D.Th. from the University of South Africa. He and Kathy have three children and two grandchildren.

This article was originally published by Baptist Press.

Voddie Baucham to be 2023 SBC Pastors’ Conference presidential nominee

ANAHEIM, Calif. (BP) — Voddie Baucham, dean of theology at African Christian University in Lusaka, Zambia, will be nominated for Southern Baptist Convention Pastors’ Conference president at the 2022 SBC Annual Meeting in Anaheim, according to a story published at the Daily Wire, a conservative news site conceived and founded by political commentators Ben Shapiro and Jeremy Boreing. The nomination was also announced in a statement posted at the Founders Ministries website.

“Voddie Baucham is one of the most faithful expositors of our day, a day in which sound preaching is more important than ever,” the Founders Ministries statement said. “He will give the exact kind of leadership needed for the SBC Pastors’ Conference, an event which in recent years has shifted radically from one of the high points of the entire year into what many have termed ‘Woke Fest.’ The importance of restoring that pivotal event cannot be overstated.”

The statement supporting Baucham’s nomination is signed by 11 people. Among those is Mike Stone, a member of the SBC Executive Committee and the steering committee of the Conservative Baptist Network (CBN), who lost the SBC presidency in 2021 in a runoff with Ed Litton. Stone is senior pastor of Emmanuel Baptist in Blackshear, Ga. Several other CBN members are signatories as well, including current SBC First Vice President Lee Brand.

Baucham left his position as founding pastor of Grace Family Baptist Church in Spring, Texas, in 2015 and is no longer an active member there, current pastors Erin Frye and Aaron Wright told Baptist Press.

“We only have active members at Grace Family Baptist Church. This is, by the way, what Voddie always taught while he was preaching in the church. He stands by that now as well. There is no such thing as an inactive member,” Frye and Wright said in a jointly signed email. “Therefore, when we sent him out to Zambia, he joined the solid biblical church he was attending. He is a member of Kabwata Baptist Church in Zambia and has been since 2015.

“He continues to be a part of our church since we are the Southern Baptist Church that sent him out. We support him monthly, and he regularly comes back and preaches at our church and other conferences.”

Grace Family contributed $500 through the Cooperative Program in 2021, which was the church’s first CP gift since 2014, a Southern Baptists of Texas spokesperson told Baptist Press.

Neither the seminary where Baucham now serves nor the church where he is a member are Southern Baptist. They are both affiliated with Reformed Baptists of Zambia.

It is unclear whether Baucham’s lack of membership in a Southern Baptist congregation precludes his nomination. The conference has no organizing documents or stated qualifications for its officers. Baucham serves on the board of Founders Ministries and is a member of the CBN steering council, two groups with Southern Baptist members.

President of Voddie Baucham Ministries, Baucham lists an active speakers’ itinerary at voddiebaucham.org, including a 2022 spring tour that included engagements at the G3 Expositors Conference in Santa Clarita, the Shepherds’ Conference in Sun Valley, the 58th Annual Louisiana Governor’s Prayer Breakfast in Baton Rouge, La., and the Triple R Fundraising Dinner in Crestview, Fla., among other stops.

Baucham did not respond to requests for comments Baptist Press sent to two different email addresses at time of publication .

He describes himself as a cultural apologist. According to voddiebaucham.org, “Whether teaching on classical apologetic issues like the validity and historicity of the Bible, or the resurrection of Christ; or teaching on biblical manhood/womanhood, marriage and family, he helps ordinary people understand the significance of thinking and living biblically in every area of life.”

He planted Grace Family Baptist Church in 2006, and maintains a relationship with the church as a missionary, Frye and Wright said.

“We sent him out as a missionary to work at the African Christian University in Zambia in 2015. We believe that missionaries going out into the field should join the church that they are attending residentially on the field,” Frye and Wright said. “We believe this because biblically, that is how someone is shepherded.” The church only allows exceptions when missionaries in serving in areas with no churches, the pastors said.

The statement from the group did not indicate who will nominate Baucham for the post, but it also announced the intended nomination of Florida pastor Tom Ascol, Founders Ministries president, will be nominated for SBC president.

In addition to Stone and Brand, signers of the statement are Tom Buck, senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Lindale, Texas, and a board member of G3 Ministries; Javier Chavez, senior pastor of Amistad Cristiana International and a member of the CBN steering council; former Atlanta, Ga., fire chief Kelvin Cochran, a member of the CBN steering council; Mark Coppenger, Illinois pastor, CBN steering council member and former president of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary; Greg Davidson, senior pastor of Trinity Baptist Church in Vacaville, Calif., and state coordinator of the CBN California chapter; Mark DeVine, associate professor of Beeson Divinity School; Brad Jurkovich, senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Bossier City, La., and a CBN steering committee member; Ronnie Rogers, senior pastor of Trinity Baptist Church in Norman, Okla., and a CBN steering committee member; and Carol Swain, former professor of political science and law at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.

The article was originally published by Baptist Press.

Florida pastor Tom Ascol announces candidacy for SBC president

CAPE CORAL, Fla. (BP) – Founders Ministries President Tom Ascol announced his intention to run for SBC president Tuesday (March 22) in a story published at the Daily Wire, a conservative news site conceived and founded by political commentators Ben Shapiro and Jeremy Boreing. The nomination was also announced through a post at the Founders Ministries website.

Ascol becomes the second announced candidate for the office. Florida pastor Willy Rice was announced as a candidate last month a day after current SBC President Ed Litton announced he would not seek a second term.

Ascol has pastored Grace Baptist Church in Cape Coral since 1986. Prior to his time at Grace, he served as a pastor and associate pastor of various churches in Texas.

“I love the SBC and am grateful for all the wonderful things God has done in and through the Convention,” Ascol told Baptist Press in a phone interview. “I believe we are in need of a course correction so that regular Southern Baptist churches can have a voice and can help hold our institution and entities accountable to the churches that own them. If we don’t do this, then we will lose many opportunities to be united to spread the Gospel of Jesus around the world.”

The nomination announcement at the Founders website was signed by nearly a dozen Southern Baptists – many of whom are leaders in the Conservative Baptist Network – including current SBC First Vice President Lee Brand and Mike Stone, runner-up in last year’s election for SBC president.

The announcement cites a “freefall” of baptisms and evangelism as reasons for needing Ascol to “unite our convention around the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

According to Annual Church Profile information, Ascol’s church has not officially reported baptism totals since 2004. However, Grace did report 280 in weekly worship attendance with $725,110.02 total undesignated receipts and $30,660.94 (4.23 percent) given through the Cooperative Program. According to Ascol, the church gave a total of $159,524.20 in Great Commission Giving and $34,500 to Southern Baptist Disaster Relief last year.

Ascol is most widely known in the SBC for his work as president of Founders Ministries, an organization Ascol helped start in 1982 that is “committed to encouraging the recovery of Gospel and the biblical reformation of local churches.” According to its website, Founders holds to the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession of Faith as its doctrinal confession. Ascol is also a frequent contributor in TableTalk, the monthly magazine for Ligonier Ministries, has authored several books, and hosts a popular podcast – The Sword & The Trowel.

Ascol’s lone service role in the SBC on the national level was in 2012-13 when he was a member of a Calvinism Advisory Committee assembled by then-SBC Executive Committee president Frank Page. The task force was charged with developing “a strategy whereby people of various theological persuasions can purposely work together in missions and evangelism.”

Ascol is a graduate of Texas A&M and has both an M.Div. and Ph.D. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Donna, have six children and 15 grandchildren.

This article originally appeared on Baptist Press.

Pastor, hundreds of miles away being treated for cancer, blessed as his church steps up and stays strong

FREER—Daryl Hall doesn’t like to talk about himself.

He doesn’t necessarily like to talk about his prostate cancer battle, either—about the yearlong struggle to find treatment at the height of the COVID pandemic, the 400-mile trip from FBC Freer to Irving (a suburb of Dallas) that he considered attempting weekly, or the grueling proton therapy that would be waiting for him once he arrived.

In fact, if you ask him about it, he’ll probably tell you the doctors caught the cancer early and that he’ll be fine.

There are things Hall likes to talk about, however, like his church. He loves to talk about his church—and how it has carried on the work of ministry in his absence.

FBC Freer has blessed Hall with the ability to stay in Irving rather than make a series of nearly 1,000-mile round trip commutes for cancer treatments, which will end in the next couple of weeks. Once they are done, he will have been away from the church for a total of about six weeks—a span of time he didn’t initially believe was possible.

The trek north for treatment that first Sunday left him exhausted not only from the sheer miles and the therapy, but also because he bore the concerns common to those who shepherd a flock: church finances, scheduling, a concern of feeling disconnected from his congregation while being away for days at a time. Staying in Irving for the duration of the treatment and not commuting—as church leaders had encouraged him to do from the beginning—just didn’t seem like an option.

The second Sunday, however, provided a relief that alleviated his and his wife Laura’s concerns and weariness. They had rushed home to see two of their deacons ordained, and the church was in full swing without him—from the deacons themselves, their wives, other church members, and neighboring church members. It was enough to encourage Hall that he could stay in Irving for the rest of his therapy, and he had peace that the church would be OK in his absence.

He has since watched the church flourish and is thrilled with the notion that it has stayed on mission. The deacons have led in services and prayer, made ministry calls, and ministered to Daryl and Laura, as well. Nearly every congregant has called, the children have made gifts, and the ladies class has made cards. The children’s ministry has also grown, and after an outreach in which free light bulbs were handed out in the community to share that Jesus is the light of the world, three new families joined the congregation of about 50.

Hall likens his congregation to the widow’s mite and salt of the earth, saying, “They give all they have—above their tithe, their work, their sweat. It is all about the Great Commission to them regardless of the pastor or anything else.”

His extended stay in DFW Metroplex has brought other blessings and revelations, as well. As a Tennessee native who moved to Texas only five years ago, getting started in ministry in the Lone Star State and making connections pastoring a church about an hour from the Mexico border proved difficult. Yet this year, he was able to meet and network with other pastors and leaders at the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention’s annual Empower conference—held earlier this month across the street from the Irving hotel where he has been staying. At Empower, Hall said people continually stopped to encourage and pray for him simply due to a picture taken and posted on Facebook by Alex Gonzales, a church health and leadership associate who works with the SBTC and had asked for prayer for the pastor.

These aren’t incidental details to him. When first diagnosed, Daryl considered seeking treatment at MD Anderson in Houston, which would have been closer for him and Laura, but that plan ended up not working out. He now knows that, between the Facebook connections, Empower, and seeing First Baptist Freer thrive that the Lord wanted him in Irving for a reason: to reacquaint himself with his first love and to confirm something he already knew—how healthy the church really is.

“Because if the church is not healthy because you’re not there,” he said, “it’s not healthy.”

Hall’s faith has been central to healing and recovery. He has spent a lot of time praying, learning to be thankful, and reflecting on ministry. He has considered ministry careers versus the essence of the calling, asking himself, “Have you used your time and relationship with Christ wisely? Are you making disciples? Do you have a heart for the lost?” He said he has developed a thankfulness that God would include him in His mission. Even though Christ does not need us, Hall has been reminded, He chooses, wants, and uses us. And in recognizing his privilege in being in the service to his King, he asks himself now, based on Hebrews 12:28, “Am I making an acceptable sacrifice?”

With treatment soon in the rearview, Hall is developing a sermon series on gratitude and has started a blog entitled “Living Freer,” in which he gives a devotional on thanksgiving for every day of treatment. In building the blog, it dawned on him that he needed to take his own advice rather than dwell on the cancer and being away from the church. He says God is using this season to teach him and show him “all the ways He has blessed me.”

The Halls are focused on what’s ahead. They are working on a feature film titled “Armor” about ministry for children to benefit smaller SBTC churches. They are considering a barrel race and skeet shoot to raise funds, as well. All big ideas, all 100% for the sake of the mission.

Not that anything is too big for even the smallest of churches steeped in the power of the Holy Spirit and laser-focused on the gospel mission.

“I am humbled at the commitment of this tiny, multi-ethnic and multi-generational church,” Hall said. “These are very humble people with the deepest commitment to be the light of the world.”

How Christians can think about the epidemic of online gambling and sports betting

I am an avid college basketball fan. During my college years at the University of Tennessee, our basketball program took major steps forward in being competitive each year, routinely making the NCAA tournament. I follow my team and interact with various sports accounts on social media, which has put me in the target audience for many marketers including most sports betting apps and other forms of online gambling.

These companies routinely target younger to middle-aged men, especially those who show interest in sports. I can’t go an hour or two online without seeing multiple ads for sports gambling, and even more so during March Madness. And due to the power of algorithms and digital marketing, the more I research this subject (and even you simply reading this type of article) will increase the likelihood of seeing gambling ads across the internet and social media platforms.

In recent years, there has been an explosion of online gambling especially related to sports. Whether professional sports like football, soccer, and basketball or collegiate sports including the current NCAA basketball tournaments, many of us are inundated with countless advertisements about making a quick buck or even betting on our team to win it all. Most of these ads are tailored to our favorite teams, often using images from high-profile games with the allure of “instant bonuses,” free credits, or an easy win. This time of year, online gambling surges leave many in their wake.

According to The New York Times, about 30 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico currently allow sports gambling either online or in person, which means that over 30% of the population is able to legally bet on March Madness or other sporting events, across sports. These deceptive schemes or forms of “entertainment” can ruin someone’s life quickly, particularly those who may be prone to addictions or destructive behavior. They can be devastating and predatory. But how did this explosion in online sports betting become so widespread, and what is the human toll? And how does the Church begin to navigate these complex ethical issues that are plaguing our communities?

The human toll of gambling

Gambling has become an epidemic around the world in recent decades. It is important to note that gambling is not a new phenomenon or simply related to sports, as this form of entertainment (and addiction) has long been a part of our culture in the U.S., ranging from the allure of Sin City to the lottery in many states across the nation. Due to the digital age, the means have become easier in recent years, and gambling addictions can be assumed as predominant throughout our communities. This is true for about 1-3% of our country’s population, which brings the total of those dealing with serious gambling addictions to over 10 million people. Gambling accounts for about $53 billion of revenue in the U.S. alone, with $900 million in sports-related gambling in 2019.

And it isn’t hard to see the devastating effects of gambling in our communities. Whether it’s a neighbor getting $5 on pump 2 and $10 worth of scratch-offs or intoxicated casino-goers racking up major tabs with the hopes of striking it big, the house always wins by design. It’s clear that gambling is an extremely attractive venture for many as it can bring in desired tax revenue for local governments and be a lucrative business venture. Though if the chances of winning were actually high enough for most to win, then gambling wouldn’t be such a profitable business model. Online gambling companies, especially those connected to sports, know they will draw a major profit as most business leaders will never willingly put themselves at great risk of massive financial loss even if the public suffers as a result of their business.

Sports gambling exploded after the 2018 Supreme Court decision to strike down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), which opened the door to online sports betting across 21 states. PASPA was a 1992 federal law signed by then President George H.W. Bush, which prohibited states from offering sports gambling, with very few exceptions. The act did not make sports gambling itself a federal crime, but instead allowed the “Attorney General, as well as professional and amateur sports organizations, to bring civil actions to enjoin violations.” While many states allowed casinos, racetracks, and other forms of gambling prior to this decision, this case brought by the State of New Jersey allowed for sports gambling to be a major fixture in these institutions including online or app-based sports gambling which have become especially prominent during playoffs, tournaments, and large sporting events.

Given the ubiquity of sports betting in our digital society, it is likely that you or someone you know well is gambling or is struggling with addictive behavior. In light of the addictive and predatory nature of gambling, how should the Church respond to this growing epidemic in light of the biblical ethic?

The Church and the common good

The Christian ethic reminds us of some core truths that apply in conversations about gambling and addiction. First and foremost, we are each called to live righteous and God-honoring lives, knowing that everything we have is from God himself (1 Corinthians 4:7). Among Christians, it can be tempting to simply give God “his portion” of our income and fail to see that all the rest is a gift from God, too. We are called to wisely steward these gifts as we seek to love God and love our neighbor (Mark 12:29-31). This all comes down to the perennial question of ethics: Just because we can do something, does that mean we should?

It is important to note here that God is the creator of the entire universe, and he also created each of us in his image whether or not we choose to fulfill our purpose as his image-bearers. It may be one thing to participate in a company tournament raffle or to have a friendly wager between friends, but online gambling and app-based sports betting is a completely different situation especially if one is flippant about their stewardship of God’s provisions. Often gambling is done where one sacrifices their necessities or provision with the hopes of winning big.

Another angle that is not often discussed in light of gambling are the social effects of our sin, greed, and pride. Like the man who gets $5 of gas and $10 of scratch-offs, the allure of gambling can be used to take advantage of certain segments of our neighbors and communities. As I mentioned above, gambling is a predatory practice — exploiting some for the benefit of others. An important question for all of us to ask is how does one’s participation in this type of industry, even if it is done without malicious motives, encourage or sustain these predatory practices throughout our society? Does your involvement prop up this business model that is known to exploit the weaknesses of others and dehumanize them in the process?

Similar to how payday lending is predatory with astronomically high interest rates and short loan periods, online gambling is designed to line the pockets of the company rather than to promote the common good rooted in the dignity of all people. Taking advantage of our fellow image-bearers, especially in terms of financial provisions and their economic future through highly addictive means like contemporary sports gambling apps, is morally incongruent with the biblical ethic as it is a form of stealing and being deluded by the love of money (Exodus 20:17; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; 1 Timothy 6:10). It does not live up to the standard which Christ gave us to “love our neighbor as ourselves” (Mark 12:31). Gambling also leads to countless other social ills, including the breakdown of families, other highly addictive behaviors, loss of homes and jobs, and extreme financial peril.

Gambling, including the meteoric rise of sports betting, often leads to encouraging vice in our society rather than virtuous and wise behaviors. It is important for the Church to remember that all policies, laws, and practices are inherently moral by nature as they encourage or discourage certain behaviors. As many in our communities are lured in by the delusions of quick cash, massive payouts, and a long list of ‘what-ifs’, the Church must be ready to care for and love those who are seeking to break these addictions. Far from being an isolated and simple issue, gambling has unfortunately become a mainstay in our society, especially in this digital age.

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Reports of God’s provision pour in from frontlines of Ukranian refugee response

WARSAW, Poland—When veteran Southern Baptists of Texas Convention Disaster Relief chaplain and assessor Linda Mitter of Rockwall was asked to join a Send Relief fact-finding team headed to Poland, she didn’t think she would go.

“I thought there were others who could serve better. I prayed about it. I felt God saying yes,” Mitter said, adding that after the decision was made, she experienced “complete peace.”

Mitter was a member of the Send Relief Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART), led by Tom Beam, North Carolina Baptist DR director. The team also included Ohio Baptist DR director John Heading and three other North Carolinians, one a medical doctor. The team met in Chicago on March 4 and flew to Warsaw, arriving the following day.

Their task? Assess the needs of Polish Baptist churches and entities ministering to Ukrainian refugees fleeing their country following Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion. To date, more than 3 million Ukrainians—half of whom are children—have sought refuge throughout Europe, with Poland generally their first stop.

The DART crew determined how the national network of 42 U.S. state Baptist DR teams and eventually, U.S. churches, could help. They encouraged Polish Baptist leaders and pastors and returned stateside March 14 with recommendations for organizing and quickly deploying SBDR teams and resources.

Mitter said Polish authorities at the Ukrainian border had well-organized reception centers where the refugees received help with housing and immediate needs. Many Ukrainians were just passing through to other destinations in the EU and abroad. Others were welcomed into private homes by citizens in Poland and surrounding countries.

Churches and Baptist organizations were also providing temporary and long-term shelter for refugees. Undergirding them would be a primary goal of Send Relief and SBDR.

“We learned there are 115 Baptist churches in Poland, less than 10,000 members. Many are tiny churches with 50 or fewer in the congregation. Right now, 40 churches are helping and 20 of those already have refugees,” Mitter said.

During their nine full days in the country, the team traveled across Poland from Warsaw to Krakow to destinations such as the border city of Chelm, tiny Zelow, and Gdansk.

The schedule was packed, the travel exhausting, the meetings plentiful and productive, Mitter said. Her stories were plentiful, too, and included poignant moments of fellowship and obvious indicators of God’s presence and provision.

Warsaw: Needs met

Warsaw was their first base, where the team met at the Warsaw Baptist Seminary with IMB missionaries and Polish Baptist representatives, including Mateusz Wichary, former Baptist Union of Poland president and current vice president of the European Baptist Federation. Wichary told them 75-80% of the refugees would stay in Poland, necessitating long-term assistance. He expressed concern about the 100,000 refugees pouring across the border every day.

Conversations centered on financial and facility issues, then Wichary mentioned the depressed emotional state of many refugees. To immediately assist those working with refugees, Heading offered to conduct a condensed training class in grief counseling and crisis management, which took place Sunday afternoon, March 6.

The team also explored area churches and facilities currently or potentially housing refugees.

Zelow: Prepared beforehand

At Zelow, some 2.5 hours from Warsaw, they met Pastor Greg Skobal, whose 25-member congregation was working hard installing showers and an additional bathroom to prepare the church for refugees due March 14.

The church had been updating its 126-year-old facilities for over a year and had made some changes that seemed unnecessary at the time. Alterations such as the addition of an extra water line would serve the refugees they hadn’t expected to host when the renovations started.

Skobal has plans for a future orphanage and a mission in Belchatw. “Pastor Greg is very passionate and excited about helping the refugees,” Mitter said.

Chelm: Nearest the border

The Baptist church at Chelm (pronounced Helm), a city of around 64,000 only 16 miles from the Ukrainian border, contains the evangelical church closest to the border, Mitter said.

Even before the Russian invasion, Chelm Baptist pastor Henryk Skrzypkowski and his church began purchasing beds, blankets, and other supplies for the impending influx of refugees, the pastor told Paul Chitwood during the IMB president’s visit there in early March.

“Pastor Henrik said he is learning exactly what it means to trust God as with the loaves and fish,” Mitter said. “They have bought four washers and five dryers. So many needs and God keeps providing.”

Refugee children in the busy church shelter played while their mothers chatted. Skrzypkowski has many connections with his Ukrainian neighbors, Mitter said, and many have sent their relatives to him and the church for assistance. The pastor has 16 children himself, seven biological ones and nine foster children, three of whom have special needs.

Mitter said that from the first day of the war, the church has received about 200 refugees per day to spend the night. Another hundred may pass through daily, stopping for meals, showers, and clothes. Church volunteers, with help from a local restaurant, serve about 350 meals twice a day. A local nurse stops in to attend to medical needs. The pastor is exhausted, Mitter said, adding that the team’s physician, Dr. Dan Phillips, treated several refugees at Chelm.

The environment is safe and welcoming. One seven-year-old boy even cried when it was time to move on. He didn’t want to leave the place.

The church’s large warehouse is being used to store goods for refugees at Chelm and throughout Poland.

Skrzypkowski said that tens of thousands of refugees are being cared for in Polish homes, calling it a “miracle,” as animosities dating from World War II that had spawned hatred have vanished.

“Now the Ukrainians see that no one is helping like Poland,” Skrzypkowski said.

Gdansk: American president paves the way

At Gdansk, the team met at First Baptist to discuss needs and tour the facility, which had been converted to accommodate 40 but was housing 60 refugees per night.

“They were in every room,” Mitter said, adding that a large house in the back of the property was also housing 20 more long-term refugees.

The facility is larger than the congregation needs. When it was built in the 1980s, it was customary to submit building plans for approval that were twice as large as needed, expecting authorities to approve only half the size of any structure. U.S. President Jimmy Carter happened to be visiting Gdansk when the church filed its building proposal and authorities, in a goodwill gesture inspired by Carter (a Baptist), approved the entire construction project decades before it would be needed to house refugees.

Elder Ruston, from Second Baptist of Gdansk, told the group he had been sad to move to that city five years ago after ministering for years in Ukraine. Now, as he helps search for permanent housing for refugees, he knows why he was sent to Gdansk, Mitter said.

The gospel prevails

The team developed recommendations for Send Relief and presented them to Polish Baptist leaders before flying home on March 14. Under the coordination of Send Relief, regarding Poland, it was recommended that North Carolina DR teams serve in the Warsaw area, Texas Baptist Men staff the warehouse at Chelm, and SBDR teams from Ohio, Louisiana, and Tennessee work in the Gdansk area.

SBTC DR Director Scottie Stice confirmed on March 16 that SBTC DR will be joined by SBDR teams from California, Missouri, and Arkansas to minister in nearby Romania and Moldova, countries also receiving massive numbers of refugees. Two multi-state DR contingents including SBTC DR personnel will depart for Romania on March 21 and 26, he said.

What initially began as a one-month deployment of four teams spread out over 30 days in Eastern Europe is now expected to become a six-month mission, Stice said. Once systems are in place, churches will have opportunities to also send teams to assist, he added.

“We’re there to be a blessing to the Romanian and Moldovan churches as they minister to the Ukrainians. At the same time, we pray for the gospel to go forth,” Stice said.

The gospel has already gone forth, Mitter emphasized, sharing a Polish pastor’s account of Ukrainian soldiers who told him they can feel both the prayers of the people and sense God’s protection.

Donations toward the ongoing crisis response can be given here.

Dickard to be nominated for Pastors’ Conference president

CLEVELAND, Tenn. (BP) – Daniel Dickard, pastor of Friendly Avenue Baptist Church in Greensboro, N.C., will be nominated for president of the 2023 SBC Pastors’ Conference. Jordan Easley, senior pastor of the First Baptist Church of Cleveland, Tenn., announced his intention to nominated Dickard in a video shared on social media Wednesday (March 16), saying his primary reason for the nomination is that Dickard “loves the Southern Baptist Convention.”

Official nominations and voting for the 2023 conference president will take place June 13, 2022, during the second day of the 2022 SBC Pastors’ Conference, which precedes the 2022 SBC Annual Meeting in Anaheim, Calif. The 2023 SBC Pastors’ Conference is scheduled to be held in Charlotte, N.C., June 11-12, 2023, immediately preceding the 2023 SBC Annual Meeting.

“Daniel has a passion for the Gospel, a desire to make disciples, and I believe he has a calling on his life to equip and encourage pastors,” Easley said in the video.

“He believes, like so many of us believe, that the SBC Pastor’s Conference should highlight the best of what it means to be a Southern Baptist. It should spotlight diversity in church size, style, shape and geographical scope … but it should also be centered on our common mission and shared cooperative effort.”

Easley pointed to Dickard’s lifetime of involvement in SBC life as a key qualification for the role, including his childhood and call to ministry in a Southern Baptist church and his education at Southern Baptist schools.

Dickard graduated from North Greenville University, which is affiliated with the South Carolina Baptist Convention, before going on to receive his M.Div. and Ph.D. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth.

“Daniel loves the SBC,” Easley said. “And not only does he love the SBC, he admires the work of pastors in the SBC and wants to lead a conference that blesses them, equips them, and also encourages and motivates them in their ministries.”

During and after his studies at Southwestern, Dickard also served at the seminary in several capacities, including as instructor of preaching and dean of students from June 2017 until he joined Friendly Avenue in May 2018.

According to Annual Church Profile reports, Friendly Avenue counted 601 members in 2021 and gave $162,630 – 11.1 percent of undesignated receipts – through the Cooperative Program.

“There is no greater calling, in my opinion, than pastoring God’s people and there is no weightier duty within that great calling than stewarding God’s Word faithfully,” Dickard said in written comments for Baptist Press. “It is not the size of a church that matters; it is the health and faithfulness of a church that matters. The SBC Pastors’ Conference is one venue where pastors are edified, equipped and encouraged to be faithful to the Word and challenged in our mission to the world.

“My vision for the Southern Baptist Convention Pastors Conference would be to highlight a wide swath of faithful SBC pastors, regardless of church size, age, shape, and geographical scope, as we focus on the idea that character matters in ministry.”

Easley said in addition to character, Dickard plans to focus on “strong biblical preaching.”

“We, as Southern Baptists, share the belief that the Bible is authoritative, inspired, inerrant, sufficient, and totally trustworthy,” Easley said. “Our pastors conference should reflect that same high view of Scripture from all its selected preachers.”

Dickard said his goal for the conference will be to “feed and encourage pastors and preachers through the faithful exposition of the Word,” adding: “Biblical preaching has never been about a particular style or preference. Rather, biblical preaching emerges from a theological conviction that all Scripture is inspired by God. We, as Southern Baptists, all share the belief that the Bible is authoritative, inspired, inerrant, sufficient, and totally trustworthy. Our pastors conference should reflect that same high view of Scripture from all its selected preachers.”

Dickard is married to Cassie, and they have three children – Conrad, Kesyd, Carolina.

This article originally appeared on Baptist Press.