Letter to editor

As a director of missions, a former IMB missionary to Chile and now a trustee of the SBC’s International Mission Board, I am compelled to write to all the churches of Texas. At the SBC meeting inCity Phoenix it was reported that the IMB is experiencing a 10 million dollar shortfall. I was in the Framingham meeting of the IMB. We were in a committee meeting discussing how to address this ten million dollar dilemma. Visiting our meeting was a missionary stateside recuperating from injuries his family sustained on the field by a terrorist attack. In the midst of our discussions this missionary demonstrated true Christian values when he observed that we have about 5,000 missionaries on the field. (He missed the number of 5,545 missionaries on the field.) However, he went on to say that if we as a board would cut the salaries of the missionaries by $2,000 per year we would make up the shortfall in one year. While our board would never entertain such asuggestion, our committee noted his commitment and dedicationto the Lord’s work. As I left the meeting it occurred to me that in Texas we have about as many churches as we have missionaries on the field. If a missionary would be willing to make such a sacrifice how much more should we who enjoy churches like “Ivory Palaces” be willing to sacrifice. Just think if each church in Texas gave $2,000 more to the Lottie Moon Christmas offering how in one offering the short fall would be covered. What a tragedy it is to turn away or delay the people God is calling because we who hold the ropes must build a bigger better building or remodel our place instead of take care of God’s called. I challenge every church to increase their offering this year. Knowing small churches cannot the larger churches might need to do more than the minimum. Thank you for letting me share this with Texas Baptists who have in the past been such pace setters for the cause of Christ. May we do it again.