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I
love the fall. The heat begins to fade and cooler weather moves in. Leaves begin to change colors and, of course, football season begins. Every week there is football for me to watch from Thursday through Monday night.
This season there has been a lot of buzz around the trade of Aaron Rodgers, one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. He is a four-time league MVP and a future Hall of Famer who was traded to the New York Jets this past offseason.
What does Aaron Rodgers have to do with anything? Well, he made his Jets debut on Sept. 11. The entire stadium was filled with anticipation as he took the field for the first time with his new team. Jets fans believed their new superstar would make them immediate Super Bowl contenders.
However, something unexpected happened. In the first quarter, Rodgers left the game with a season-ending injury. A season of hope and expectations now seems to be lost because of the status of their superstar who they felt would lead them to victory.
This is the tragedy of putting expectations on one player instead of the entire team. If that player goes down, it causes you to lose hope. You see, the best way to build a strategy for winning is not to build around one, but rather, all 11 on the field.
"I pray we sense the magnitude of the opportunity God has given us and suit up together every day as a team of churches and advance the mission together."
The same is true with cooperation between churches. There are no superstar churches—only local churches seeking to reach their communities with the gospel. That’s the beauty of a network like the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. We have an entire team of churches working together to move the ball down the field, or better yet, the gospel across Texas. We truly execute better when we are doing this as a team.
The SBTC is a network of more than 2,700 churches that love the mission God has given us. We operate together to reach Texas and impact the world. We give together, go together, grow together, send together, plant churches together, and so much more. We do it so effectively because we cooperate to do it together. When one is down, we have so many others to pick them up. When one is experiencing success, we have so many others to celebrate with them. We know it takes all of us working together around doctrinal and missional unity.
I have never in my life been more grateful for a network of churches as I am today for SBTC churches. We know God has given us a clear mission field. We know He has strategically placed each church in Texas where it is for such a time as this. I pray we sense the magnitude of the opportunity God has given us and suit up together every day as a team of churches and advance the mission together. The time is now, the need is great, and the opportunity is in front of us. Let’s do this together!
Let me encourage you to attend our 2023 SBTC Annual Meeting being held at Cross City Church in Euless Nov. 13-14. It is going to be an incredible time as we celebrate 25 years of ministry together in Texas. I hope to see you there. I love you and am honored to serve you!
