Month: June 2024

SBC 2024: In leading worship, SWBTS’ Crider has one goal: ‘This is about Christ’

INDIANAPOLIS —Joe Crider smiled broadly as he stepped onstage Tuesday morning, surrounded by the worship team that had just opened the 2024 annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention with songs ranging from the traditional to the jazzy.

They had arrived. Crider’s smile reflected joy—and perhaps a touch of relief.

He welcomed messengers and guests, evoking the convention theme from Romans “that we would magnify and glorify the Lord Jesus Christ with one mind and one voice.” After reading from Psalm 90, he asked that the Lord would “establish the work of our hands during our meeting” and that “we would rejoice with one heart and one voice for what He has done, for what He is doing, and for what He will do.”

It’s been a busy year for Crider, dean of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary’s School of Church Music and Worship (SCMW).

Last-minute pre-SBC preparations included a daylong rehearsal on the first Saturday in June with two SWBTS musical groups both leading worship at Indy: Southwestern A Capella, the 17-member select vocal ensemble of graduate students, and the seminary’s 10-person Cowden Hall Band.

That Saturday marathon was followed by a Monday afternoon session with James Cheesman, going over the meeting’s musical selections that he led prior to Barber’s presidential address. Cheesman, worship leader at First Baptist Church in Farmersville—the church pastored by SBC President Bart Barber—led worship at last year’s SBC Annual Meeting in New Orleans.

These rehearsals represent a fraction of the time spent getting ready for the annual meeting. Crider told Baptist Press in an earlier interview that he had lost track of the hours of rehearsal time spent over the past year.

As if things weren’t hectic enough, during the final pre-convention week, the seminary also hosted 67 young people attending its Student Worship Camp, conducted in partnership with the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention.

“This place is hopping!” Crider said of the Southwestern campus, as he offered a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the story behind the story of worship at the annual meeting.

Countdown to Indy

As the days counted down to the opening of SBC 2024, Crider stressed the need for flexibility, adding that his team had worked diligently to ensure a seamless musical experience for messengers.

“We wanted to make sure we hit our times so we don’t cause any delays in the business. … We have to be flexible. Meetings run over. We may not do some sets at all,” he noted, adding, “We are ready to turn on a dime if needed. We have to be ready for anything.”

Serving as music director has entailed far more than holding rehearsals and selecting music, Crider said. He has attended meetings of the SBC’s Committee on the Order of Business as an observer, to be part of the conversation as needed.

He praised his team, including Chuck Lewis, associate SCMW dean and director of Southwestern A Cappella, for his handling of musical and logistical details, and Ricky Johnson, SCMW artist-in-residence and Cowden Hall pianist and band leader, for their invaluable assistance.

“This means a lot for us as a seminary,” Crider said. “One, that Pastor Bart [Barber] trusted us. We are grateful for the trust and the stewardship we have been given. We have been blessed with wonderful faculty and students in the School of Church Music and Worship to serve the convention.”

SBC 2024 marks the third consecutive year of significant involvement by Southwestern musical groups, Crider noted. Two years ago, the Cowden Hall Band played for the Pastors’ Conference in Anaheim, when Matt Boswell led worship. Last year, Southwestern A Capella sang under Cheesman’s direction.

“We are grateful for these three years of involvement,” Crider said.

Crider expressed enthusiasm about what serving at the convention will mean for the students, most of whom are pursuing master’s degrees. The band and ensemble represent a variety of ages and ethnicities, he said. While some have attended multiple annual meetings, for at least a third, this year’s SBC will mark their first exposure to the event.

“It’s pretty amazing. Several international students … are seeing firsthand the beauty in cooperation, the power of cooperation,” he said. They are “realizing that they, too, because they are part of Southern Baptist churches in the United States, that they … have a part in this although they might be from Mexico, Korea, Venezuela, Argentina, or even Nagaland.

“I hope they realize that all of us together are better than one of us alone.”

Picking the music

The musical selection process began months ago, as team members prayed about the meeting’s theme: “One Mind, One Voice,” and its scriptural basis in Romans 15:5-6.

The convention featured a variety of music, including several of the great classic hymns such as “Holy, Holy, Holy” and “O God Our Help in Ages Past,” “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus,” and “I Stand Amazed in the Presence.” One session included selections inspired by a heaven theme; another focused on the blood of Jesus.

Selections reflected each speaker’s message or complemented the Scripture guiding a particular convention moment.

“We [chose songs] in the heart language of a lot of Southern Baptists,” Crider said. “For many, it may have been a long time since they have sung a lot of those older hymns.” he said.

The students will lead 35 songs throughout the two-day meeting, he said.

Logistical matters

It is no easy or inexpensive task to transport nearly 30 people from Texas to Indianapolis. Crider especially thanked First Baptist Benbrook, First Baptist Farmersville, and Birchman Baptist for their support. All three churches hosted special evenings of worship highlighting the seminary vocal ensemble and band, resulting in generous gifts to help defray costs.

Churches in Indiana—Friendship Baptist in Franklin and Northside Baptist Church in Indianapolis—provided the use of their vans to transport the students from the airport to the convention center, eliminating the costs of taxis or ride shares.

“We really couldn’t have done it without all these churches,” Crider said. “ … We do not want to make this opportunity about us. This is about Christ and pointing people to Him. We want to rely completely on Him and the power of His Spirit to guide and direct us.”

SBC 2024: Pressley elected SBC president; Forney’s Lopez chosen as second VP

INDIANAPOLIS—In a six-way presidential race that resulted in two run-off votes, Clint Pressley, pastor of Hickory Grove Baptist Church in Charlotte, N.C., was elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention June 12.

Brad Graves, pastor of First Baptist Church in Ada, Okla., was elected first vice president. Eddie Lopez, pastor of First Baptist Forney En Español, was elected second vice president. Lopez has been a church planter and led his church to plant other churches in the U.S and Mexico. He has served committees at the SBC level and the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention as vice president.

Recording Secretary Nathan Finn and Registration Secretary Don Currence were re-elected by acclamation.

Task force recommendations OK’d by messengers

Messengers approved recommendations from three task force groups:

Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force (ARITF)

The ARITF was formed in 2022 with the charge to study and bring recommendations to help Southern Baptists make their churches safer from sex abusers. The convention approved recommendations from the group in 2023 providing an additional year to build resources, such as the Ministry Toolkit, for training church leaders and volunteers, and for development of the Ministry Check database of known abusers associated with Southern Baptist churches.

The ARITF brought two recommendations to the convention:

It recommended the convention affirm the objectives emphasized in the group’s report: the expansion of the Ministry Toolkit; the establishment of the Ministry Check website; and the creation of a permanent home for abuse prevention and response.
The second recommendation urged the SBC Executive Committee to “work earnestly” by recommending a structure and funding for the implementation of the objectives, and report to messengers during the 2025 SBC Annual Meeting in Dallas.

Great Commission Task Force

The Great Commission Task Force was appointed last year to evaluate the outcomes of the Great Commission Task Force that reported to the convention in 2010. After its research, the task force made the following recommendations, all of which were approved by messengers:

State conventions and Lifeway are requested to discontinue using the term “Great Commission Giving” in an effort to reaffirm the Cooperative Program as the primary method of giving for Southern Baptist churches;
State conventions and Lifeway are requested to use a simplified Annual Church Profile, limited to six categories and two questions;
The North American Mission Board is requested to conduct an annual survey of churches planted, revitalized, or otherwise assisted with CP funds 10 years after their launch;
The Executive Committee is requested to increase the budget allocation for the International Mission Board to 51% beginning with the 2026-2027 budget year;
The Historical Library and Archives is requested to make the audio recordings of the 2010 Great Commission Task Force available and navigable by June 16, 2025; and
The Executive Committee is requested to propose changes to governing documents that would require entities to report on action they have taken in response to messenger-approved recommendations coming from special work groups or task forces.

Cooperation Group

The Cooperation Group was appointed in response to a 2023 motion, during a time when the nature of a church’s “friendly cooperation” was being reconsidered. Speaking to Baptist Press last fall, group chairman Jared Wellman, pastor of Tate Springs Baptist Church in Arlington, said the Cooperation Group’s work needs to address what it means for autonomous, independent churches to work in cooperation in the SBC.

The group brought four motions to the convention, all of which were approved:

The process for editing or amending the Baptist Faith and Message should be the same as that for the SBC Constitution (two-thirds vote, two consecutive years);
The sole authority for seating [convention] messengers will be vested in the messenger body;
The Committee on Nominations should nominate as entity trustees and standing committee members only those candidates who affirm the convention’s adopted statement of faith; and
The Executive Committee will evaluate the usefulness and accuracy of a public list of SBC churches.

Eight resolutions approved

Messengers in Indianapolis approved eight resolutions expressing their convictions on relevant social and moral subjects on Tuesday, June 11. Although resolutions are not binding on the convention or its entities, these statements have been guidelines that allow convention leadership to generally know the thinking of Southern Baptist church members.

This year’s resolutions dealt with world events such as the Israel-Hamas conflict, moral issues such as in vitro fertilization and religious liberty, and convention issues such as the personal holiness of convention leaders.

Messengers offered support for Israel in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks, while also standing with all those suffering in the region. The resolution additionally denied “assertions of moral equivalence between Israel and Hamas.”

In the resolution titled, “The Ethical Realities of Reproductive Technologies and the Dignity of the Human Embryo,” the convention affirmed “the unconditional value and right to life of every human being, including those in an embryonic stage ….” The statement went on to call on Southern Baptists to use only technologies consistent with that affirmation of life. This call included a consideration of “the number of embryos generated in the IVF [in vitro fertilization] process ….”

Speaking to religious liberty, a resolution rejected any effort to impose a state religion—whether Christianity or another faith—while also condemning efforts such as blasphemy laws that would restrict a person’s freedom of conscience.

A resolution on “Integrity in SBC Leadership” expressed gratitude to God for “righteous and godly leaders,” but rejected “the notion that giftedness, charisma, or influence supersede character and qualification in the life of a leader.” The resolution called on leaders to repent when they fall into sin.

Other resolutions addressed the rights and responsibilities of parents, the just conduct of war, evangelism and the Great Commission, and gratitude for the convention’s host city. The text of all eight resolutions will be posted to SBC.net.

Other convention business

In other news, an amendment that would have expanded the definition of a cooperating church with regard to the role of a pastor failed the garner the required two-thirds vote to be adopted.
The convention approved a 2024-2025 Cooperative Program Allocation Budget of $190 million to fund the work of 12 SBC entities. Cooperative Program allocations to missions (the International and North American mission boards) are over 73% of the funds received.
Messengers affirmed an SBC Credentials Committee recommendation declaring First Baptist Church in Alexandria, Va., no longer in friendly cooperation with the convention because their faith and practice regarding complementarianism are incompatible with the convention’s statement of faith.

The 2025 Southern Baptist Convention will meet in Dallas June 10-11.

SBC 2024: Southwestern students lead people to Christ, learn lessons of evangelism through Crossover

Trying to share the gospel with a 73-year-old man who was “rude,” reminded Joo*, a Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary Master of Divinity student from East Asia, how God “patiently waited” for her when she came to Christ about seven years ago.

Joo recalled the man told the team to “stop” talking about Jesus before he walked away. She said when she “faced his rejection,” she thought about her “personal journey” and how God “used different people to reach my life.”

Joo was one of 22 Southwestern students and friends who participated in Crossover, an evangelistic outreach the week before the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting, in Indianapolis, Ind., June 3-7. The Southwestern students spent each morning in classroom instruction alongside other students from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, before they would disperse in the afternoons to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ through door-to-door evangelism in groups of three to four people.

Through Thursday, the Southwestern team saw 13 salvations, shared the gospel 126 times, and engaged 342 people in conversation.

Carl J. Bradford, dean of Texas Baptist College and assistant professor of evangelism, has led Southwestern’s Crossover teams since 2018. He said Crossover “provides opportunities for further cooperation within our convention.”

“Students partner with churches and NAMB to engage the surrounding community of the SBC’s annual meeting of that particular year through door-to-door evangelism,” Bradford said. “It’s fulfilling the Great Commission together.”

Bradford said during the week of sharing the gospel in Indianapolis, students’ hearts “broke” for the lost, which resulted in “the students embrac[ing] the uncomfortableness of evangelizing with strangers.”

McLain Johnson, a Master of Divinity student with a theology concentration from McKinney, Texas, participated in Crossover for the first time. Johnson said he learned “teamwork” from his week in Indianapolis as the “neatest thing” was “seeing everyone be encouraged to evangelize and work together and figuring out how to help each other and giving advice.”

He added “seeing the Spirit move between the different team members, while we’re actually out talking to somebody” was the “coolest thing” as they would see “a light go off in somebody’s head” as they understood what the team was sharing. Johnson explained it led the team members to understand “this is the perfect time to share this part of my testimony” or to apply something they learned earlier.

Johnson recalled a Tuesday afternoon experience in a group sharing door-to-door with Joo and Richard Silva, a student in the 5-year program from Brazil. He said the trio encountered Laverta who said she was “curious” about God. He said as the group talked with her, they learned she was “open to different religions and just wanted to know the true way to God.”

As the group spoke further with Laverta, Johnson said she mentioned that her late father was a preacher and she had his Bible. They also noticed she had stickers of the cross on her car because “she said it made her feel closer to God,” he said.

“We just thought that was a great bridge, a great opportunity,” Johnson said. “We talked about how, you know, the true meaning of the cross … is God bringing us closer to Him. He’s coming close to us” and “uniting us with Him through that cross.”

Laverta told the group, “I don’t know what the true way is,” and Johnson said the group explained, “God was here to tell her that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” based on Jesus’s words to His disciples in John 14:6. Johnson said they asked Laverta if she wanted to “commit” her life to Christ that day, but the woman “struggled,” and said she would “go to church” and “she would give her life [to Christ] when she got to church.”

Johnson said the group “pleaded with her” telling her “you don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow.” Laverta “gave her life to Christ right there” as Johnson said he led her in prayer—his first time to lead someone to Christ “in a prayer like that.”

“As far as prayers go, it was a pretty poor prayer,” Johnson recalled, adding “I was not prepared for that. But it wasn’t about me. I had no part in it. So, it was just neat to get to see God do that, despite me.”

Spending the week sharing the gospel caused Grace Kim, a Doctor of Philosophy student from Korea who grew up as a missionary kid in Japan, to understand the importance of evangelism in Christian education. Kim, who was participating in Crossover for the first time, said attending a Christian college for her undergraduate studies and two seminaries afterward caused her to have a “mindset” that is “really focused on discipleship.” Subsequently, she said she has sought to “encourage the Christians around me making sure that they fix their eyes on God and encouraging them in God’s Word.”

However, her Crossover experience was “stretching” as she said it was the first time she was “so exposed to the world, and realizing how much they are lost people in the world,” adding that she “knew it in my head, but actually seeing this is a great awakening moment for me.”

During the Thursday afternoon opportunity for door-to-door evangelism, Kim and her teammates, Anna Matsuura, a Master of Arts in Christian Education student from Japan, and Josh Okoye, a Master of Divinity student in evangelism from Houston, encountered a man who had experienced depression and at one point in his life tried to commit suicide. Kim explained as they talked with the man in his 40s, they learned he did “firmly believe in God,” but was “struggling to find a church” and was grieving the loss of both of his parents within the past year.

Kim noted that Okoye pointed out it was “not a coincidence” that the team encountered the man as the man could “be led to church and have that Christian fellowship together.”

“And so in that sense, yes, in evangelism, we do want to reach out to non-Christians, but at the same time, God allows these Christians to meet and help them [and] encourage them in faith,” Kim observed. She said encountering Christians allowed the opportunity to “testify Christ” and that “the Gospel itself is so powerful.”

Okoye said that hearing about Crossover through participating in Everyday Evangelism with Bradford led him to think it was an “opportunity to come out and evangelize in a different context.” Everyday Evangelism, a weekly evangelism initiative led by Bradford during the academic year, allows students to share the Gospel at parks, shopping centers, and other places around Fort Worth.

Okoye said during the week he “saw God bring people to salvation.”

Okoye, who helped lead people to Christ through door-to-door opportunities, said “one thing” that he “definitely” likes about evangelism is that “despite our weaknesses, … He’s still able to do His work.”

He added that it “creates an environment where we have to rely on Him more than we have to rely on ourselves and, honestly, the more I think that that happens, then the greater that we can expect to see from God.”

One of the experiences from the week that stood out to Okoye included when he was witnessing to three men “and they all eventually ended up coming to Christ. They were convicted about the message that we were sharing.” He said preparing the invitation and “helping them in the process of placing their faith in Christ or praying through it” was something that he found to be a “struggle.” However, he learned from Bradford who “sort of stepped in and helped me with that process.” Okoye said the next time he applied what he learned from Bradford as he led a man to faith in Christ.

Okoye said his first experience participating in Crossover showed him God’s sovereignty “to answer other people’s prayers” as he encountered two people who had been praying about finding a church and “to see people come from halfway across the country, not even just in their environment, but to see people come from halfway across the country and have the need met.”

As he prepares to return to Fort Worth at the end of the week, Okoye said he brings with him the lessons of keeping evangelism as a “practice” and helping people in the local church body “get more acclimated to having the conversations or having that on the forefront of their mind and going out.”

Okoye concluded that he believes there is an “intentionality that is key” to evangelism and he wants to help those in the local church to have “conversations” within their own “spheres” that are “that are Christ-exalting and are evangelistic.”

Bradford observed the long-term result of the Southwestern group’s participation in Crossover was committing “themselves to take the next step in their evangelism practice, whether knocking on a stranger’s door, praying for an individual, getting through an entire Gospel conversation, or answering an objection to the gospel. Simply put, they allowed God to work in them and through them.”

*Name changed for security reasons.

SBC 2024: Panel discussion underscores the primacy, power of prayer

INDIANAPOLIS—Nathan Lorick, executive director of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, was 17 years old when God changed his life through an encounter with prayer.

Though he gave his life to Jesus as a child, Lorick admits he was not living for the Lord as he approached the latter part of high school. So one day, a youth pastor brought him into a room to show him something. Upon entering the room, Lorick saw his name written over and over again on one of its walls.

“What is this?” a bewildered Lorick asked the youth pastor.

“A few months ago, we began challenging our students to name that one person who they think would be impossible to imagine walking with God because of the state of their life,” the youth minister explained. “They identified you … and they’ve been praying for you. They’ve been begging God to do the impossible in your life.”

On Monday, speaking on a prayer panel at the Southern Baptist Convention’s Annual Meeting, Lorick recounted that story and spoke about the impact the prayers of his peers had on him.

“These are people whose names you’ll never know or who you’ll never see on a stage,” he said, “but they got behind the curtain of their prayer closets and got on their faces before God for me.”

The panel was hosted by Kie Bowman, SBC’s national director of prayer, and also included International Mission Board ambassador Gordon Fort. Bowman’s work has included keeping prayer at the forefront of ministry efforts among SBC churches. For his part, Lorick has repeatedly stressed the primacy of prayer if SBTC churches are to experience a movement of God to reverse the growing rate of lostness in Texas and around the world.

“[Prayer] is not just an emphasis—it is a major emphasis for the churches of the SBTC,” Lorick said. “We are going to unapologetically be churches of prayer. … I’m convinced that the tool of prayer is one of those things churches [often] use as an accessory, but when it becomes a driving force, we experience the power and presence of God in ways we’ve not experienced before—and it’s exciting.”

Added Fort: “The great need of the hour is to restore the doctrine and practice of prayer.”

Bowman concluded by asking each panelist what advice he would offer to young leaders struggling to develop and maintain their prayer lives. Fort encouraged such leaders to make a daily request that the Lord teach them how to pray and to prioritize prayer at the beginning of each day. Lorick challenged young leaders to make note of how God moves when they have prayed. He said being able to see how God powerfully moved in a situation when prayer was made a priority will leave a lasting impression.

“I promise you,” Lorick said, “you’ll become a prayer warrior who is intentional about chasing after the heart of God.”

SBC 2024: ‘The church has left the building’: SBC Crossover team takes unique approach to open doors for spiritual conversations

INDIANAPOLIS—Tailgate parties—where fans gather, socialize, and barbecue in stadium parking lots before a sporting event—usually require people to come to them.

Living Faith Church in Indianapolis tried something a little different this past weekend as part of the evangelistic Crossover event held each year in conjunction with the Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting.

The church brought the party to the people.

Living Faith Church held a mobile “tell gate” party, serving traditional stadium fare such as hamburgers and hot dogs to residents of the Indianapolis neighborhood of Riverside. The food was cooked on a grill fastened to a rack on the back of a van, which included a decal on one of its back doors stating, “The church has left the building.”

The strategy was simple: meet needs through food service, make connections, and tell people about the love—and saving power—of Jesus. The church later reported that, through a series of Crossover-related events over the past couple of days, it had shared the gospel with 400 people and seen 17 put their faith in Christ.

Living Faith’s “tell gate” team was joined by members of SBC churches from as far away as Tennessee, Alabama, and Texas.

“Friends from around the country joined us to serve burgers door-to-door in Riverside today,” stated a June 8 post on the church’s Facebook page. “Together, we extended the love of Jesus in conversations and condiments.”

Tony Mathews, senior strategist of missional ministries for the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, was on the Living Faith team.

“It was an amazing event,” Mathews said. “Not only did we get to interact with the people in the neighborhoods, but we got to pray for them, pray for their families, and share the gospel with them. The response was incredible. You could tell they really appreciated what we were doing.

The North American Mission Board, which hosted Crossover 2024 in partnership with the State Convention of Baptists in Indiana and the Indianapolis-based Crossroads Baptist Association, said 44 local churches participated in the event from June 3-8. Those efforts included block parties, sports camps, health clinics, door-to-door evangelism, and service projects. Students from several Southern Baptist seminaries also participated in Crossover, NAMB reported. A number of SBTC churches participated in the event, as well.

“As followers of Jesus we are all called to engage the world around us through personal evangelism,” said JJ Washington, NAMB’s national director for personal evangelism. “Crossover is an event where we get to put that into practice. I’ve been thrilled to see Indiana Baptist churches embrace the opportunity both in the preparation leading up to Crossover and in proclaiming Jesus to the people in their communities scattered throughout Indianapolis.”

Mathews said plans are already underway for Crossover 2025 when the SBC Annual Meeting comes to Dallas. SBTC churches are invited to a NAMB-hosted Crossover interest meeting, which will include an evangelism toolkit training, scheduled for Oct. 22 at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano.

Information from the North American Mission Board was used in this report.

SBC 2024: National Hispanic Baptist Network workshops focus on women’s ministry, missions, evangelism

INDIANAPOLIS—The National Hispanic Baptist Network (NHBN) organized a day of workshops for Hispanic Baptists gathered in Indianapolis for the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Pastors, lay leaders and women had 19 different breakouts to choose from covering missions, evangelism, church planting and children’s education, and for the second year running, the NHBN offered a workshop track specifically designed for women.

Led by Clara Molina, director of the network’s ministry to women, the women’s general session started with worship led by Nelly Juarez, followed by a short devotional shared by Diana Puente and a biblical message conveyed by Molina. The message, titled “United at the Vine with a Sound Doctrine”, encouraged women to pursue sound doctrine to shape their lives in the likeness of Christ. The women were led in prayer by Aleyda Muñoz before splitting up for breakout sessions. The sessions included a children’s education track, serving in the church, personal devotional life and an evangelism tracks.

Besides the women’s program, there were another 15 workshops to choose from. The Logos Bible software presentation was one of the best attended sessions. Led by Jose Chicos, the workshop modeled for pastors how to use software that facilitates access to various Bible versions, languages, historical context and more. Lifeway’s Carlos Astorga led a session on the Baptist Faith and Message, which those in attendance found refreshing and useful. David Perez shared from his book the 7Ds of Prayer, International Mission Board’s Annel Robayna session talked about being a church on mission, Send Relief’s Jonathan Santiago’s shared with pastors how Send Relief comes alongside local churches to help their communities in times of disaster and open doors to share the gospel.

Raul Santamaria led a church planting workshop; Ronald Vides focused on revitalization of churches; Prison Fellowship’s Karin Arango shared how churches can come alongside families affected by the imprisonment of relatives; Angel Jordan with the Billy Graham Evangelism Association facilitated an evangelism workshop; Corporate Chaplains of America’s Cesar Brito’s session highlighted the ministry of chaplains; Apartment Life’s Rey Matos shared how apartments can be a missionary field and Luis Soto from the Southern Baptist Convention of Puerto Rico taught on personal discipleship.

New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary’s Fabio Castellanos session focused on Bible translations; Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary’s Ricardo Sanchez’s session focused on leadership training and manuscripts and Rafy Gutierrez from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary taught about Biblical paternity.

Following workshops, state representatives for the NHBN met for fellowship and to discuss ministry in each of their regions. The NHBN’s board of directors met for a business meeting where they unanimously passed the following resolution: We serve the Hispanic churches of the Southern Baptist Convention and as an organization affirm the Baptist Faith and Message 2000.

Tras una caída casi mortal, esposa de pastor aprovecha todas las oportunidades para compartir el evangelio

SE SUPONÍA QUE IBA A SER UN RETIRO TRANQUILO, un tiempo para empezar a buscar el plan de Dios para la próxima etapa de sus vidas.

Después de 50 años de ministerio a tiempo completo, 21 de ellos en la Primera Iglesia Bautista de Galena Park, el pastor Marcos Ramos y su esposa, Irma, sintieron que era hora de jubilarse. Así que planearon una escapada a Holly Lake Ranch, situado justo al norte de Tyler, el pasado mes de diciembre.

“Aquí está la cabaña”, dijo Marcos mientras estacionaba el coche de la pareja cerca de la cabaña 51.

Mientras se instalaban, Irma volvió al coche para buscar algo. De regreso a la cabaña, subió el primer escalón y, en un confuso momento de pánico, dejó escapar un profundo grito antes de caer de espaldas.

Eso es lo último que recuerda Irma.

Marcos, al oír el grito de su esposa desde el interior de la cabaña, salió corriendo y la encontró tendida en el suelo. Estaba inconsciente y ensangrentada, pues se había dado un fuerte golpe en la cabeza contra el cemento.

Irma fue trasladada al hospital más cercano, en Tyler, e ingresada en la unidad de cuidados intensivos. El médico de guardia se sorprendió de que no hubiera sufrido una fractura de cráneo, teniendo en cuenta el fuerte golpe que se había dado en la cabeza.

“El cerebro de su esposa está nadando en sangre”, dijo el médico a Marcos.

Irma había sufrido una hemorragia cerebral potencialmente mortal que necesitaría ser drenada lo antes posible. Si no se aliviaba la presión cerebral, podría haber sufrido lesiones cerebrales permanentes o incluso la muerte.

Tres días después del accidente, el 12 de diciembre, Irma recobró el conocimiento. Podía moverse y sonreír, pero no podía hablar ni comunicarse. No sabía dónde estaba ni reconocía a las personas que la rodeaban, incluida su familia. Los médicos temían que sufriera una pérdida de memoria a largo plazo y prepararon a la familia para que no volviera a reconocerlos.

‘Dios la va a sanar’

Pero cinco días después del accidente––cinco días de intensas oraciones y suplicas de familiares y amigos que aman a Irma––algo empezó a cambiar. Comenzó a pronunciar palabras cortas. Reconoció a las personas reunidas a su alrededor, incluidos sus nietos, cuyos nombres podía recordar y que se habían unido al coro de oraciones que la rodeaba.

A pesar de lo alentador de la situación, los médicos no tenían esperanzas de que Irma pudiera recuperarse por completo. A sus familiares les dijeron que probablemente su estado mejoraría, pero no estaban seguros de si sufriría algún tipo de parálisis a largo plazo o pérdida de memoria.

“Tengo fe en que mi madre se va a recuperar y va a estar bien”, dijo su hijo, Sammy, en respuesta al comprensible escepticismo del médico. “Va a caminar y va a poder hablar porque Dios la va a sanar”.

“Tienes mucha fe”, le dijo el médico a Sammy. “Eso esperamos”.

Milagrosamente, sólo dos días después, Irma mejoró lo suficiente como para ser trasladada de cuidados intensivos a cuidados intermedios. Empezó a responder bien a la terapia y a comer por sí sola, sin necesidad de un tubo de alimentación.

En total, Irma pasó 13 días en el hospital de Tyler. Fueron días de espera e incertidumbre, en los que Dios mostró a la familia que no estaban solos. Los miembros de la familia recuerdan cómo pudieron sentir Su presencia y ver Su divina provisión a través del mar de oraciones y ayuda que les fueron enviadas.

Mientras estuvo hospitalizada, ayuda económica y personal llegó desde lugares como la Convención de los Bautistas del Sur de Texas y la Red de Cuidado Pastoral Lone Star. Amigos y conocidos le llevaron suministros, hermanos y hermanas de las iglesias que pastoreaba Marcos hicieron el largo viaje desde Houston para visitarla y muchos llamaron para dejarle saber a la familia que seguían orando.

Irma siguió mejorando tanto que, justo antes de Navidad, Dios permitió que ella y Marcos regresaran a Houston para celebrar las fiestas en su ciudad. Fue ingresada en un hospital donde comenzó un proceso de rehabilitación de 14 días. En ese momento seguía luchando con sus capacidades cognitivas, pero al llegar a Houston se produjo otro milagro.

“Quiero enseñar a la gente lo que he aprendido, tras 50 años de ministerio, sobre la soberanía de Dios, su misericordia y dar testimonio de Su grandeza”

—Irma Ramos Tweet

Era el 23 de diciembre, su primer día en el hospital de rehabilitación. Cuando Marcos estaba sentado en la habitación con su esposa, comenzó a oír la voz de ella, que hablaba con coherencia y claridad, y comenzaron a tener su primera conversación en casi un mes.

“¿Dónde estamos? preguntó Irma.

“En el hospital”, respondió Marcos.

“¿Estás enfermo?” respondió Irma, extrañada.

“Tú eres la enferma”, dijo Marcos.

Marcos empezó a explicar todo lo que había pasado. Su vuelta al auto para buscar algo. Su grito. La difícil travesía hasta llegar al hospital. Las agotadoras horas de espera, los médicos y enfermeras entrando y saliendo de la habitación, las oraciones… todo.

Irma no recordaba nada.

Ella permaneció en el hospital de rehabilitación hasta el 5 de enero, cuando los médicos le dieron el visto bueno para volver a casa y continuar con su terapia. Tras haber empezado a recuperar la mayor parte de sus facultades mentales, compartió continuamente el testimonio de lo que Dios había hecho en su vida con todo el personal médico que la atendía. Estaban asombrados de ver lo mucho que había progresado.

“La misericordia y el amor de Dios están siempre con nosotros, así que cada vez que vayas a pasar por una prueba, cada vez que pases por un sufrimiento, sigue confiando en el Señor.”

—Marcos Ramos Tweet

Una nueva misión

“Ahora aprovecho cualquier oportunidad para compartir mi testimonio”, dice Irma. “Quiero enseñar a la gente lo que he aprendido, tras 50 años de ministerio, sobre la soberanía de Dios, su misericordia y dar testimonio de Su grandeza”.

Uno de esos testimonios ocurrió en febrero en la Conferencia Apoderados celebrada junto con la Conferencia anual Empower de la SBTC. Durante el evento, Irma conoció a una mujer que trabajaba en el mantenimiento de la iglesia anfitriona de la conferencia.

Empezaron a hablar. Irma le explicó lo que estaba ocurriendo en la conferencia. La mujer compartió que, aunque su hijo, un seguidor de Cristo, la había invitado a la iglesia con frecuencia, ella personalmente aún no había tomado la decisión de seguir a Jesús. Aprovechando la oportunidad, Irma compartió el Evangelio con la mujer y la invitó a entregar su vida a Jesús allí mismo. Pero la mujer dijo que no estaba lista.

Al día siguiente, Irma volvió a verla. “¿Estás lista?” le preguntó Irma. Esta vez, la mujer dijo que sí y oró para recibir a Cristo en ese instante. Irma la puso en contacto con un pastor para hacer un seguimiento.

Seis meses después de que se retiraron a los bosques del este de Texas en busca de dirección para los próximos pasos de sus vidas, Dios ha concedido a Irma y Marcos una respuesta. Ellos están comenzando un ministerio hispano en la Iglesia Bautista Clay Road en Houston, ofreciendo clases de inglés como segundo idioma, visitando hogares del área y proveyendo ayuda comunitaria a aquellos que lo necesitan. Recientemente, Clay Road celebró un evento para la comunidad el Domingo de Resurrección donde Marcos predicó en inglés y en español. Irma está ministrando activamente a las esposas de pastores a través de la Red de Cuidado Pastoral Lone Star que ministró a su familia durante su recuperación.

“La misericordia y el amor de Dios están siempre con nosotros”, dijo Marcos, “así que cada vez que vayas a pasar por una prueba, cada vez que pases por un sufrimiento, sigue confiando en el Señor, mantén tus ojos en Jesús, porque Él obra todo para bien”.

Abundance Mindset

As his presidential term comes to an end, Bart Barber sees more on the horizon for Southern Baptists—more cooperation, more giving, and more people coming to know Jesus

Editor’s note: Bart Barber, pastor of First Baptist Church in Farmersville, will wrap up his two terms of service as president of the Southern Baptist Convention this month. At the end of a whirlwind two years, Barber spoke briefly with the Southern Baptist Texan about the impact his time as president has had on him personally and his prayer for the future of the SBC.

What are some of the exciting things you’re seeing God doing among Southern Baptist churches?

Bart Barber: Even while some other statistical indicators have gone in the other direction, baptisms have been higher recently. Across our nation, I’m encountering Southern Baptists who are deliberately and enthusiastically focused on evangelism. They are discovering that our culture is more open to the gospel than naysayers understand. A hedonistic world is not serving people well. So many of them know they need something else.

We are sharing the gospel. We are improving our churches’ approach to sexual abuse prevention and response. There’s a great attitude across the convention. We are less influenced by social media than we were a few years back. I’m always encouraged by the brotherly love and missional focus that is so evident among Southern Baptists.

How has being SBC president impacted you personally?

Barber: The more prominence any of us experiences, the more prominently our weaknesses will be put on display for others to see. If we are blessed, it will also allow us to see those flaws and weaknesses ourselves. That has been my experience over the past two years. Each of those moments has given me the opportunity to step into the refiner’s fire and burn away some of the dross. I’m very thankful for that. Also, I’ve grown to love more people and to love some people more dearly. I’ve seen our church do better than ever before in reaching our community and seen it do so with less of my time and attention than it has had in 25 years, which has helped me to see that God can work here without me.

What are you praying God would do in the SBC over the months and years to come?

Barber: For two years, I’ve prayed pretty regularly, “God, don’t let me do any foolish thing today that hurts the Southern Baptist Convention.” He has answered that prayer most days. I expect that I will pray it for the next guy regularly, too. I’m praying for God to renew in our hearts a commitment to cooperation, resulting in more money given through the Cooperative Program and more people called into missions and into local church ministry.

God knows who you are, and so do we

You probably didn’t know Sue Barrett.

She would flutter around Trinity Baptist Church in Amarillo lighting up every space her feet touched. An encouraging word here. A kind smile and a hug there.

But when Sue’s name came across my desk a couple of months ago, it wasn’t because of any of those things. I learned those things afterward. Sue passed away on April 11 at the age of 89. On the exact day of her homegoing, she marked her 66th year not only as a member of her church, but as the teacher of the church’s 3- and 4-year-olds.

Sixty-six years.

Though she had no formal teacher training, Sue was adept at finding creative ways to teach the Bible to children. In a world that can feel tall and intimidating to little ones, Sue was a warm, safe place. She would sing happy birthday to them and send cards home telling them they were missed when they didn’t make it to church. She would frequently tell the children she loved them.

Because of that, said Melissa Raleigh, Trinity’s children’s director the past eight years, children—one generation after the next—became easily attached to her. “She just made them feel very, very special,” Raleigh said. “She was that way for her church family, as well.”

Sue was also politely stubborn. She drove her car until the very end and, when inclement weather would sweep into Amarillo, church staff had to beg her not to try to drive in. “She was just one of those people who was going to be there every time the doors were open,” Raleigh said.

No, you probably didn’t know Sue Barrett, but chances are, there’s someone like Sue in your church. Those men or women are precious to your church and they are certainly precious to the kingdom of God. They often do things nobody else wants to do and exhibit a faithfulness that is equal parts convicting and inspiring. The Sue in your church makes you say things like, “If they can do that at that age, then surely I can do that, too.”

You may even be the Sue in your church. One of the great things about the Sue in your church is that she doesn’t even know she’s the Sue, doesn’t want to be recognized as the Sue, and would probably be embarrassed to be recognized as such. The Sue in your church doesn’t want glory. She doesn’t hang around 3-year-olds for the glamour of it and she doesn’t do it for recognition. She just goes about her business, slowly and steadily, week after week, for the glory of God.

My intent here is not to exalt Sue—though her service is worthy of recognition. It’s to remind us to appreciate, both in our prayers and in words of gratitude, the meek servants—the quiet and unassumingly strong servants—God has placed in our churches. Their faithfulness should be a reminder of His faithfulness to provide us with all we need to achieve His purposes.

Those purposes are always eternal—so that others may know Jesus, and so that we may all one day stand before our Lord and hear the words I know Sue heard on April 11:

“Well done, good and faithful servant.”

3 Essential Leadership Lessons from Jesus

JESUS PROMISED HIS DISCIPLES thrones in which to judge the 12 tribes of Israel, and almost immediately, they started itching to get in them. In their excitement, they mistakenly told their friends and family.

Just moments after Jesus predicted His trial, flogging, and crucifixion, the mother of James and John made her ambitious pitch for their promotions. She probably was not there when He predicted His death to the 12, yet her timing is horrible. As she grapples at Jesus’ feet for the top two thrones for her boys, His answer is directed entirely to James and John. The others are fuming, perhaps because the Zebedee boys beat them to the punch.

In that moment, Jesus takes the opportunity to teach these future church leaders about servanthood and humility: “But Jesus called them over and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles dominate them, and the men of high position exercise power over them’” (Matthew 20:25).

I see three essential leadership lessons here:

1. Deal with problems as they arise

Although this lesson was not overtly stated when Jesus called them together, it was clearly modeled in this teachable moment. Like cancer, conflict can grow and kill, especially when competition is a factor. Early detection is important and early surgery is imperative (Matthew 18:15).

Imagine a world where pastors prefer collaboration over competition, clap for each other instead of clapping back at each other, build each other up publicly instead of tearing each other down privately, seek the interest of others first instead of themselves. There is no world in which every pastor agrees on every issue. However, Jesus made it crystal clear that His leaders should act distinguishably different than the power-grabbing Gentiles.

2. Be a leader, not a lord

Kingdom business should not be handled like secular business. Jesus describes us as children, not lords—slaves, not masters. When Martin Luther defended himself before the Roman church, a history-making moment known today as the Diet of Worms, the German monk stood alone, unintimidated and resolute. Just before Luther’s audience with the Pope, the cardinals, and the emperor, a friend moved alongside the maverick monk and asked, “Brother Martin, are you afraid?” Luther’s classic response was, “Greater than the Pope and all his cardinals, I fear most that great pope, self.” Ministry leaders can be the most dangerous people in the church. Our disposition determines whether we are a danger to God’s kingdom or Satan’s.

3. Serve others before yourself

“It must not be like that among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life—a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:26-28).

Jesus put a quick end to their juvenile game of thrones. So should we. Pastoring is all about giving and serving, not lording and posturing. We are called to build other people up, which only works if we assume the posture of a slave. You and I should set the tone in our church, association, state convention, and the Southern Baptist Convention by grabbing a basin and a towel instead of a scepter and a throne.

“For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 14:11).