Author: Jayson Larson

Dockery elected 10th president of SWBTS; Hawkins elected chancellor

FORT WORTH—Christian higher education leader David S. Dockery was elected 10^th president and Southern Baptist leader O.S. Hawkins was elected to the new role of chancellor during the spring meeting of the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary board of trustees on April 19.

The unanimous elections of Dockery and Hawkins to their new roles come nearly seven months after their elections as interim president and senior advisor and ambassador-at-large, respectively, in a special-called trustee meeting, September 27, 2022, following the resignation of Adam W. Greenway.

“Dr. David Dockery is God’s man for Southwestern Seminary in this hour,” Chairman Danny Roberts told trustees. “Our seminary’s at a critical juncture in [its] 115-year history, and in God’s providence, He has already provided the man to lead our seminary during this time.”

Roberts said trustees did not need to “look further for our next president” based on Dockery’s “impressive performance as interim [president] providing stability and healing, his long track record of outstanding Christian leadership in higher education, with the current needs of the institution.”

Although a presidential search committee would be typical, “Southwestern’s current challenges are best faced with clarity in the Office of the President as soon as possible and for the future,” he said, noting that it’s not the first time a president of Southwestern was elected without a search process, referring to the seminary’s second president, L.R. Scarborough.

“We have settled today who our leader is, and we may move forward as we continue to seek God’s favor on Seminary Hill as we equip men and women of the next generation of ministers to the calling that God has given them,” Roberts said.

Dockery said he was “deeply humbled and genuinely grateful for the privilege and responsibility to serve” as Southwestern’s 10^th president. “I am truly thankful for the overwhelming support from the board of trustees as well as for the faithful encouragement and prayerful support from the faculty, staff, colleagues, and students. What an honor it will be to continue to serve side-by-side with O.S. Hawkins, a dear friend and person that I greatly admire and from whom I have learned much in recent months.”

He added, “We recognize that we stand on the shoulders of so many who’ve gone before us. I love this institution and the best aspects of its history. We will, with God’s help, seek to carry forward in the future the best of Southwestern’s heritage and the Southwestern spirit.”

Dockery said he trusts in the “Lord’s favor and blessings to rest on Southwestern Seminary and Texas Baptist College in the days to come. We invite Southwesterners representing various generations to join us in this shared effort to advance the Southwestern mission for the good of this institution and for the glory of our great God as we seek to prepare well the next generation of students to take the gospel to the nations.”

Roberts expressed gratitude for Hawkins’s willingness to accept the new role of chancellor in which he “will continue to offer his experience as statesman and influence in this seminary and in this community. There are really few leaders in Southern Baptist Convention life who have the impeccable leadership credentials of Dr. Hawkins has with the sterling track record of 25 years as president of GuideStone Financial Resources, among other places of service.”

Roberts said Hawkins would continue to serve as a volunteer and will report to Dockery by providing “counsel, offer support and guidance, develop contacts, raise funds, and bring his influence, credibility, good will, and gravitas to our seminary community. This change in title will greatly aid his efforts in supporting the seminary. And we are blessed that this Southwesterner is willing to serve our seminary at this strategic moment in our history.”

As a two-time graduate, Hawkins said his service to the seminary is in gratitude for what the institution has meant to him.

“I have loved Southwestern since the first day I attended classes in January 1970, and I feel a sense of indebtedness to all those who invested so much in my own journey to the M.Div. and Ph.D. degrees on this hill,” Hawkins said. “While I will be serving alongside Dr. Dockery in the new role of chancellor, I will be volunteering my time and whatever gifts and talents God has given me to prayerfully advance the school into what we hope and prayerfully expect to be a brighter tomorrow. We are calling on all Southwesterners to join us on this journey.”

Dockery, who earned a Master of Divinity from Southwestern Seminary in 1981, joined the seminary faculty in 2019 when he was named distinguished professor of theology and theologian-in-residence for the B.H. Carroll Center for Baptist Heritage and Mission. He also served as special consultant to the president. Later, he was named editor of the Southwestern Journal of Theology, the seminary’s historic academic journal. From December 2020 to February 2022, he also served as interim provost at Southwestern. Additionally, he serves as the inaugural director of the Dockery Center for Global Evangelical Theology, which was named in his honor by the board of trustees at their spring 2022 meeting.

After a lengthy career in Christian higher educational leadership at Trinity International University, Union University, and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, in 2019 Dockery was invited to assist with the founding of the International Alliance for Christian Education. He has also served as president of the Evangelical Theological Society and board chair of Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, Christian College Consortium, and Consortium for Global Education.

A native of Tuscaloosa, Ala., Dockery has had a distinguished career as a theologian and educator. In addition to his degree from Southwestern Seminary, he holds degrees from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (B.S.), Grace Theological Seminary (M.Div.), Texas Christian University (M.A.), and the University of Texas at Arlington (Ph.D.). Dockery was named a distinguished alumnus by Southwestern Seminary in 2002.

In 1995, Dockery was elected president of Union University in Jackson, Tenn. Under his transformational leadership, enrollment more than doubled, net assets more than tripled, and Union sprang to a place of national leadership in Christian higher education. In September 2022, he was among the first honorees to be inducted into the university’s hall of honor.

In 2014, he was installed as Trinity’s 15th president and served in that role for five years, then transitioned to the role of chancellor. At Trinity, he brought guidance to an institution that had previously experienced more than a decade of significant enrollment decline and an array of institutional challenges. He led processes to strengthen the Trinity board and enhance denominational relationships. New academic programs were introduced, and four new academic centers were established.

Dockery is a sought-after speaker and lecturer and former consulting editor for Christianity Today, and has authored, edited, or contributed to nearly 100 books, including Renewing Minds: Serving Church and Society Through Christian Higher Education, Southern Baptist Consensus and Renewal, and Theologians of the Baptist Tradition. As an author, he is best known for his works in the areas of Baptist studies, biblical interpretation, and Christian higher education. He served as the New Testament editor for the 40-volume New American Commentary Series, as general editor of the 15-volume Reclaiming the Christian Intellectual Tradition Series, and is co-editor of the multi-volume Theology for the People of God series. He is general editor of the forthcoming New English Translation Study Bible.

Dockery has received numerous awards, including the Herschel H. Hobbs Distinguished Service Award from Oklahoma Baptist University, M.E. Dodd Denominational Service Award from Union University, Holman Christian Standard Service Award from Lifeway Christian Resources, the Land Distinguished Service Award from the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, and the John R. Dellenback Global Leadership Award from the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities.

Dockery has spoken on more than 80 campuses. He served churches in Brooklyn, N.Y.; Birmingham, Ala.; and Dallas, as well as serving as interim pastor for several congregations in Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Texas.

He has been married to Lanese for more than 47 years, and they have three married sons and eight grandchildren. Their travels have taken them to the various regions of the United States and Canada, as well as to Europe, Latin America, Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Middle East.

Hawkins, who retired in March 2022 as president and CEO of GuideStone after leading the Southern Baptist entity for 25 years, is a two-time alumnus of Southwestern Seminary, holding Master of Divinity (1974) and Doctor of Philosophy (2020) degrees from the institution. Additionally, the Fort Worth native holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Texas Christian University and honorary doctorates from Liberty University, Dallas Baptist University, Southwest Baptist University, and Criswell College. Hawkins received the distinguished alumni award from Southwestern Seminary in 2000.

Immediately prior to assuming the presidency at GuideStone, Hawkins was the senior pastor of the historic First Baptist Church of Dallas, leading the downtown Dallas church from 1993-1997. Hawkins also served as pastor of First Baptist Church of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (1978-1993), First Baptist Church of Ada, Okla. (1974-1978), and First Baptist Church of Hobart, Okla. (1972-1974).

Hawkins has authored more than 40 books, including the 2021 B&H Academic release, In the Name of God, which details the relationship between George W. Truett, who pastored the First Baptist Church of Dallas (1897-1944), and J. Frank Norris, who pastored the First Baptist Church of Fort Worth (1909-1952). Hawkins is also the author of the best-selling Code Series books, with the proceeds and royalties benefitting Mission:Dignity, a ministry of GuideStone started under Hawkins’s tenure that assists retired ministers and their widows who are in need.

Hawkins has been married to his wife, Susie, since 1970. They have two married daughters and six grandchildren.

Charles Stanley, pivotal SBC president and TV preacher, dies at 90

ATLANTA—Charles Stanley, a former Southern Baptist Convention president and one of the nation’s foremost television and radio preachers, passed away peacefully at his home on Tuesday, April 18, at age 90.

Stanley presided over the two largest annual meetings in SBC history — 45,531 messengers in 1985 in Dallas and 40,987 in 1986 in Atlanta — when conservatives faced the most pronounced opposition to anchoring the convention in biblical authority.

As senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Atlanta, Stanley was elected in 1984 in the sixth year of the conservative advance toward majorities on the trustee boards of the convention’s seminaries and other entities. Conservatives rose to the challenge in 1985 and 1986, with Stanley receiving 52.18 percent of messengers’ vote in Dallas over two nominees and 55.3 percent of the tally in Atlanta over a single nominee.

Stanley transitioned to pastor emeritus in September 2020 at age 87, having led First Baptist for nearly 50 years. Anthony George, senior associate pastor since 2012, succeeded Stanley.

“My election [in 1984 in Kansas City, Mo.] infuriated the opposition,” Stanley wrote in his 2016 autobiography, “Courageous Faith,” “and ultimately revealed many of the underlying problems that had existed in the convention for a long time but had either been ignored or denied. … All the liberal and moderate political forces of the Southern Baptist Convention were against me, which included seminary presidents and state convention newspapers.”

Even so, “I knew I was in the center of His will, so I never felt anxious or angry even when the conflicts were at their very worst.”

Beyond what became known as the Conservative Resurgence in the SBC, Stanley developed an extensive television and radio audience through his In Touch Ministries and was inducted into the National Religious Broadcasters’ Hall of Fame in 1988.

Stanley’s broadcast ministry began in 1972 as “The Chapel Hour” on two Atlanta TV stations and a radio station, subsequently expanding to TBS (Turner Broadcasting System) and to CBN (Christian Broadcasting Network). He renamed the outreach In Touch Ministries in 1977, stirred by the title of a devotional book in his office, “to get as many people as possible in touch with Jesus Christ and His way of living.”

Today, Stanley’s In Touch messages are broadcast on a myriad of TV and radio stations and satellite networks as well as via shortwave in more than 100 languages across 150 countries. In 2007, the ministry also began distributing pocket-size In Touch Messenger solar-powered audio devices that contain the New Testament, Psalms, Proverbs and several dozen of Stanley’s sermons in a variety of languages. In addition to distributing hundreds of thousands of the units to U.S. soldiers and to missions efforts worldwide, the devices have been adapted for placement at refugee camps and on water towers in various parts of the world for listening by cellphone.

More than any other SBC president, Stanley’s personal life had been on public display, beginning when his wife Anna filed for divorce in 1993. After a period of reconciliation, a divorce ensued in 2000, after 44 years of marriage. Anna Stanley died in 2014 of pneumonia and other health issues at age 83.

In SBC life prior to his presidency, Charles Stanley was the 1984 president of the Pastors’ Conference that precedes the convention’s annual meeting, and he was the 1983 chairman of the Committee on Nominations (then called the Committee on Boards), which was pivotal for the Conservative Resurgence in nominating trustees for the SBC’s seminaries, mission boards, and other entities.

As SBC president, Stanley served on the 22-member Peace Committee that was established and named by a motion approved at the 1985 annual meeting. The committee was tasked with identifying “the sources of the controversies” within the SBC and making recommendations for reconciliation and cooperation in “evangelism, missions, Christian education and other causes … all to the glory of God.” In its 6,450-word report, issued in 1987 after 15 meetings, the Peace Committee stated that “the great number of Southern Baptists” believe the Bible “speaks truth in all realms of reality and to all fields of knowledge. The Bible, when properly interpreted, is authoritative to all of life.”

This article originally appeared on Baptist Press.

How can pastors stress the importance of church attendance?

Every church ministers in seasons: Christmas season, Easter season, VBS and church camp season, fall ministry launch season, hunting season, travel baseball season, and snowbird season, to name a few.

You might be wondering, “Is he serious? Christmas and Easter are not the same as hunting and youth sports.” If you think this, know that I wholeheartedly agree with you. But sadly, many members of our churches see this very differently. They might not ever say they believe this is true with their words, but their church attendance declares it from the rooftops: “My hobbies and kids’ activities are as important as my church!”

As pastors and leaders, this declaration—whether spoken or not—causes frustration, hurt, confusion, and even anger sometimes. We know church membership and attendance are non-negotiable. We know the body must gather on the Lord’s Day and no season is more important than God’s commands about this. When our members do not take church attendance as seriously as God’s Word instructs, there is a temptation for pastors to take it personally.

The truth is, every church deals with these kinds of issues. So how do we respond as church leaders? Should we throw up our hands, sigh loudly, and declare, “It is what it is”? I believe we should respond by showing our members why church attendance is different than anything in the world and why it is worthy of being a regular part of their week.

Respond through thanking

Every pastor and leader is thankful when people show up on Sunday. But do you ever actually thank them for coming? This can be done individually, through writing them a note, or shooting them a quick text. I would challenge you to say it from the pulpit—often. Let people know you see their obedience to the Lord and appreciate their regular attendance.

Respond through teaching

I am a book-by-book, verse-by-verse preacher. I like long preaching runs and plugging in to a book for months and sometimes years so our people will know the depths of the riches of God’s Word. When you preach one-off sermons, that steady rhythm is interrupted. Sometimes you struggle with dealing with important issues like church attendance because it doesn’t fit your rhythms. Consider these ways to teach these important lessons in the life of the church:

Once a year, preach a monthlong series on a theological topic and start with ecclesiology.
Teach your leaders and teachers about the importance of church membership and attendance and then encourage them to pass those truths along to those in their spheres of influence.
This is a big one—teach these truths to kids. When children know what God expects, that information forms in them in a different way than in adults. God designed kids this way for a reason, so they can know Him and know how to follow Him well. Preach it and teach it at all levels and see how it becomes part of your church DNA.

Respond through talking

If you find that thanking and teaching aren’t enough, go to your members struggling to attend consistently and talk to them. Do it in a way that is not heavy handed, but as a shepherd or friend. Don’t use cliche’s like, “You don’t have to go to church to be a Christian, but Christians should want to go to church.” Instead, let them know you miss them and that you care for them and their family’s souls. Tell them you desire for them to be obedient to all of God’s Word and want what is best for them. This conversation might be hard, but it is worth it.

When pastors thank, teach, and talk about the importance of church attendance, we will help our people see the importance of the church body in their lives and watch them respond with obedience that will lead to fruitfulness through God’s grace.

SBTC DR crews serve tornado survivors in Arkansas

LITTLE ROCK, Ark.—Easter weekend is a time for family, friends, and worship. For Southern Baptists of Texas Convention Disaster Relief workers, it was a time to serve survivors of the tornados that devastated parts of Central Arkansas on March 31.

Relief teams worshiped on Resurrection Day and found opportunities to pray with survivors and share the gospel—even seeing some trust Christ as Savior.

A rapid response

SBDR groups, along with other first responders and disaster relief groups, headed to Arkansas within days of the tornados. SBTC DR volunteers set up their main headquarters at Immanuel Baptist Church, just off Interstate 430 on the west side of Little Rock, while other SBDR teams deployed to two other sites across the capital city.

The Immanuel site fell under the purview of SBTC DR incident management, led initially by Debra Britt of Flint who, with her team, coordinated the movements and work of 45 SBTC DR volunteers (as of Good Friday) and numerous Arkansas Baptist DR workers, too. This included feeding teams, shower teams, chainsaw and recovery crews, chaplains, and assessors.

Volunteers stayed at Immanuel Baptist’s large City Center, a former grocery store purchased by the church and converted into a massive classroom and community space that became a distribution center for food and supplies for tornado survivors. Residents drove up for diapers, water, toiletries, non-perishable food items, and clothing. The large complex offered plenty of room for representatives from FEMA and other emergency response agencies.

Britt arrived at Immanuel on Monday, April 3, and stayed until April 10, when SBTC DR’s Mike Jansen rotated in. Jansen supervised the hand-off of the response to Arkansas DR, which will establish a headquarters at a nearby location, said Scottie Stice, SBTC DR director.

Volunteers manning an SBTC DR quick response mobile kitchen prepared meals for disaster relief workers and first responders, while a mass-feeding kitchen cranked out 2,000 meals per day distributed by another aid organization to survivors in the area.

Meeting spiritual needs

Recovery teams, chaplains, and assessors found numerous opportunities to pray with survivors during the one-week deployment, Britt said. Those workers often didn’t have to leave the parking lot or the City Center building to minister to those with spiritual and physical needs.

Chaplain David Mehl of Tyler said listening in such situations is key: “You have to listen to people’s stories.” On the rainy evening of April 5, when work had paused for the day, Mehl found himself with fellow SBTC DR chaplain Jim Carsten in the City Center after dinner when a church volunteer brought a woman to them to talk.

“She told us she was looking for help to remove trees from her yards,” Mehl said. Carsten helped the woman fill out the request for assistance. The men noticed she seemed tense.

“I explained that we were not only assessing her need for physical help, but assessing her emotional and spiritual needs,” Mehl said. “I told her that people with a faith story seem to do better in disasters.”

The woman explained that she had a religious background, so Carsten asked her if she would be confident of her eternal destination if she were to die.

“Yes,” she replied hesitantly, adding that she had “tried to live a good life.”

“We presented John 3:16 to her,” Mehl said. After further conversation, and at her request, the chaplains led the woman in a prayer of salvation.

“She said she felt so much better. She said she had never heard about Jesus that way, not heard a prayer like that,” Mehl said. The tension was gone. The woman wanted to see the chaplains again. They reconnected via text the following day and she said she was at work telling her friends what the chaplains had told her.

As of Good Friday, teams had seen three salvations. “We’ve seen hundreds of ministry contacts and passed out a lot of Bibles,” Britt said. “Because City Center is a distribution point, we have been able to establish chaplains at drive-thru lines. They talk and pray with people coming for food and miscellaneous things. It’s really beginning to hit home how bad things are. People are very receptive to hearing the gospel.”

Operations cease mid-deployment

SBTC DR operations halted abruptly on Monday, April 10, following two reported cases of COVID-19 among Texas volunteers, necessitating shutdown protocols.

“One case may be an anomaly, but when two or more cases pop up, we have to cease [operations],” Stice said, adding that both individuals reporting illness are experiencing mild symptoms. Teams had activated enhanced COVID safety procedures after the first reported case. The second case prompted the stoppage.

Of the unexpected shutdown, Stice said, “We had a plan in place and activated it immediately. This is the first time we have had to stop operations mid-deployment because of COVID, although other state DR teams have had to do this over the course of the pandemic.

“We shut down our feeding operations per protocol and handed off to Arkansas Baptist DR. They mobilized and set up a kitchen the same day and were cooking by April 11. There was no gap in meal service. Commonly, meals would stop for 24 hours while we made such a shift. We did a rapid shutdown. They did a rapid setup. No meals were missed.”

The worship song is theologically sound … but what about the artist singing it?

A friend of mine recently shared a great quote from a worship leader: “When you preach, you’re putting words in people’s ears. When I sing, I’m putting words in people’s mouths.” What a profound statement on the weight of the words we sing! As I’ve sat beside a dear saint on their death bed, I find that they rarely quote their favorite theologians, but they do sing their favorite hymn or worship song.

I’ve seen calls for pastors to exclude songs from ministries and artists who hold theological stances that many evangelicals might disagree with. While I don’t have the space here to dig into the theology or practice of each of these artists, it’s worth simply asking the question: should we, as pastors, narrow the spectrum of artists whose songs we sing corporately?

My elder team and I recently discussed this question in-depth. My hope is to present both sides fairly. We’ll start with three brief arguments for including songs from artists like those I just mentioned, then move to three brief arguments for exclusion of some artists. I’ll conclude by sharing what my elders and I decided for our church.

Three arguments for inclusion

1. Is the song is theologically accurate?

The most important thing is that the songs we use in corporate worship are theologically sound. Horatio Spafford, author of the hymn “It Is Well,” held theological views that many would take issue with. Yet there aren’t calls (yet) for boycotting this well-known hymn. As long as the words we’re singing are theologically accurate, we need not forbid certain artists from our repertoire.

2. The vast majority of congregants won’t be led astray by artists.

Through our teaching and discipleship of the congregation, our church should be able to separate between the truths we sing and possible error artists espouse in their churches. In fact, by singing and discussing these songs openly with our congregation, it can help them grow in their discernment when they ask about the artists who composed them.

3. It’s virtually impossible to draw a line consistently.

With the increasing collaboration between artists today, it is extremely difficult to police which artists are theologically sound and which are not. Where do we draw the line? Or is it really even possible to draw these lines? And how much time would it take to try and keep up with all these collaborations between artists as they constantly change?

Three arguments for exclusion

1. In our digital age of accessibility, members can be led astray.

When artists have clearly questionable teaching and practice, singing their songs can inadvertently lead people astray. Admittedly, there are plenty of artists whose teaching and/or practice are not known to us. It’s virtually impossible to implement these limitations with perfect consistency. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try, especially for artists and groups who have such large platforms and influence. We’re not just singing songs our church members will remember; they will go home and Google artists they hear and like.

2. By singing their songs, we are supporting these artists and their ministries.

Even though it’s not a verbal endorsement of all their ministries, using songs from questionable (or straight-up heretical) artists not only supports them, but spreads their influence. Churches are required to pay license fees through organizations like CCLI when they sing copywritten songs, so there are financial implications every time you report usage of a worship song you sing corporately. That alone should cause us pause.

3. There are so many great worship artists we align with theologically.

We’re not going to run out of great worship songs to sing in our congregations. It doesn’t put us in a bind to limit which artists we use. Perhaps expanding our repertoire can be a good thing, especially if it points congregants to artists with whom we have no hesitation on their theology and influence. With so many great songs from great artists, why not focus on and support theologically solid artists?

Where our church landed

There could be many more arguments and nuances given here on both sides of the issue. For us, we decided to steer all church ministries away from using songs written by theologically questionable artists who have an active influence on Christians.

We don’t have a problem with our congregants listening to these songs on their own; in fact, some of our own favorite songs come from these artists. However, for the shepherding of our church, for the support of orthodox and faithful Christian worship artists across the world, and due to the biblical mandate to have nothing to do with the “fruitless deeds of darkness” (Ephesians 5:11), we’ve decided it is best to avoid these artists in all corporate gatherings and ministries.

With so much confusion in our world about biblical truth and what it means to be a Christian, we need to take seriously our task of shepherding our flocks in the truth. No matter where you land on this important question, I would encourage you to do your research and ask the hard questions. No matter what you decide, this is a weighty task. Why? Because we’re not only putting words in people’s ears when we preach. We’re putting words in people’s mouths when we sing.

SWBTS hosts inaugural World Missions Center Sending Church Conference

FORT WORTH—Ian Buntain, director of the World Missions Center and associate professor of missions at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (SWBTS), said the idea behind the inaugural Sending Church Conference was sparked by a conversation he had with his grandson.

During a discussion about Romans 10:14-15, which says, in part, “How then are they to call on Him in whom they have not believed? How are they to believe in Him whom they have not heard?” the grandson asked a simple, yet convicting question: Why doesn’t everybody know about Jesus?

That question, and those verses, provided the inspiration for the conference, held March 16 at the seminary’s Riley Center.

“The purpose for this conference is to be a bit subversive, a bit disruptive, to reverse the current flow of church culture, and to remind us again that we began as a people of God, as Southern Baptists, for the sake of sending missionaries,” said Buntain, a former missionary to Asia who organized the conference and served as its keynote speaker. “I want to offer this conference to encourage believers to become full-time missionaries and to offer resources to those interested in missions.”

Stu Cocanougher, who serves as the share strategy pastor at Southcliff Baptist Church in Fort Worth— spoke at the conference and said most Christians Americans do not regularly engage in cross-cultural ministry even though all Christians are called to engage in such efforts. “As Christians, we love global missions, but we don’t practice it,” he said. “We are great fans of missionaries, but we think that we can never be that.

“For every one Southern Baptist that goes to the nations as [a missionary], 3,879 choose to stay. Going and sending is in the very nature of God,” Cocanougher added. In addition to speaking, he taught a workshop called “Leading Your Church to Create Effective Cross-Cultural Ministries” and gave participants numerous ideas about how to minister to their communities through their church.

Barry Calhoun, a church mobilization strategist for the International Mission Board (IMB) and missions director at North Garland Baptist Fellowship in Garland, spoke on the topic of “Creating a Mission Culture Within the Church.” He said his desire is to help churches prioritize missions “because missions is part of the fabric of the church, not just an activity of the church.”

April Ott, who has been serving with IMB for the last 17 years, taught on the topic of “Leading Your Church in Short-Term Missions.” On of the workshop attendants told her his church was “a going church, but not a sending church.” In response, Ott said, “Short-term missions lead people to become full time missionaries, because they can see the need first-hand. We need to help those who go on short-term missions to discover their calling to full-time mission work.”

Bruno Molina, language and interfaith evangelism associate for the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention and CEO of the National Hispanic Baptist Network, taught a workshop on “Sharing Christ Among Cultures and Religions.”

“My focus is to enable churches to develop cross-cultural interfaith knowledge and discernment, to be able to share the gospel effectively,” he said. Molina, who is of Hispanic descent, knows first-hand the importance of cross-cultural evangelism and diversity.

SWBTS celebra la primera conferencia de la iglesia de envío del centro de misiones mundiales

El 16 de marzo, el Director del Centro Mundial de Misiones y Profesor Asociado de Misiones en el Seminario Teológico Bautista del Suroeste (SWBTS), Dr. Ian Buntain, llevó a cabo la primera Conferencia de la Iglesia que envía en el Centro Riley del seminario. El evento comenzó con alabanza y adoración dirigida por estudiantes de la escuela de música y adoración de la iglesia de SWBTS, oración y una bienvenida del Dr. Buntain.

El Dr. Buntain basó la conferencia en Romanos 10:14-15, ¿Cómo, pues, invocarán a aquel en el cual no han creído? ¿Y cómo creerán en aquel de quien no han oído? ¿Y cómo oirán sin haber quien les predique?¿Y cómo predicarán si no fueren enviados? Como está escrito: ¡Cuán hermosos son los pies de los que anuncian la paz, de los que anuncian buenas nuevas! (RVR 1960) Buntain decidió usar estos versículos después de compartirlos con su nieto, quien quería saber por qué todas las personas no conocen a Jesús.

“El propósito de esta conferencia es ser un poco subversivo, un poco perturbador, para revertir el flujo actual de la cultura de la iglesia; y para recordarnos nuevamente que comenzamos como un pueblo de Dios, como bautistas del sur, por el bien de enviar misioneros”, compartió Buntain. Como ex misionero en Asia y nativo de Canadá, entiende el evangelismo transcultural, dijo: “Quiero ofrecer esta conferencia para alentar a los creyentes a convertirse en misioneros de tiempo completo y ofrecer recursos a aquellos interesados en las misiones”, agregó Buntain.

Como organizador del evento y uno de los oradores principales, Buntain dijo: “Mi deseo es revertir el flujo de nuestra cultura bautista, a la que se le ha dado la plataforma a los pastores que son mejores para reunir, y luego moverlos de regreso a siendo una cultura emisora”, agregó el Dr. Buntain. También impartió un taller titulado,Misiones en casa e incluyó un tiempo de oración como parte de la conferencia.

El Dr. Stu Cocanougher, quien se desempeña como pastor de Share Strategy en la Iglesia Bautista de Southcliff, liderando los ministerios de alcance, evangelismo, misiones e interculturales de Southcliff y uno de los oradores en la conferencia dijo que, “La mayoría de los cristianos estadounidenses no se involucran regularmente en el ministerio transcultural y los ministerios transculturales son para todos los cristianos, no solo para los misioneros. Como cristianos, amamos las misiones globales, pero no las practicamos… Somos grandes admiradores de los misioneros, pero pensamos que nunca podremos serlo”. Cocanougher agregó que “la mayoría de los cristianos ven las misiones como algo que podemos elegir hacer pero no ser parte de ellas.

“Por cada bautista del sur que va a las naciones como misionero, 3.879 eligen quedarse en casa. Ir y enviar está en la naturaleza misma de Dios”, agregó Cocanougher. También impartió un taller llamado Dirigiendo a su iglesia para crear ministerios transculturales efectivos y les dio a los participantes en su taller numerosas ideas de cómo ministrar a sus comunidades a través de su iglesia. “Creo que este es el mejor momento para estar vivo en la historia del cristianismo”, dijo Cocanougher, autor de Reaching the World Across the Street (Llegar al mundo al otro lado de la calle).

Barry Calhoun, un estratega de movilización de iglesias para la IMB y director de misiones de North Garland Baptist Fellowship en Texas, fue el tercer orador principal y habló sobre Creando una cultura misionera dentro de la iglesia. Dijo que quiere que los participantes sepan, “cómo mover la misión de un segundo plano a un primer plano de la iglesia porque las misiones son parte de la estructura de la iglesia, no sólo una actividad de la iglesia”. Calhoun también proporcionó formas prácticas de cómo se vería eso dentro del contexto de la iglesia local.

April Ott, quien ha estado sirviendo en la IMB durante los últimos 17 años, impartió el taller Dirigiendo su iglesia en misiones a corto plazo, donde uno de los participantes compartió la razón por la que decidió asistir al taller: “Mi iglesia es una iglesia que va, pero no una iglesia que envía, quiero que seamos una iglesia que envía”. Ott lo animó cuando dijo: “Las misiones a corto plazo llevan a las personas a convertirse en misioneros de tiempo completo, porque pueden ver la necesidad de primera mano y necesitamos ayudar a aquellos que van a misiones de corto plazo a descubrir su llamado al trabajo misionero de tiempo completo”.

El Dr. Bruno Molina, Asociado de Lenguaje y Evangelismo Interreligioso para los Ministerios Misionales de la Convención de los Bautistas del Sur de Texas, y director ejecutivo de la Red Nacional Bautista Hispana, impartió un taller sobre Compartir a Cristo entre culturas y religiones. “Mi enfoque es permitir que las iglesias desarrollen conocimiento interreligioso transcultural y discernimiento para poder compartir el evangelio de manera efectiva”, agregó Molina. Molina, de ascendencia hispana, conoce de primera mano la importancia del evangelismo y la diversidad intercultural.

La conferencia también incluyó a otros oradores y líderes de talleres como Ron Bunyard, quien enseñó Ministerio de Estudiantes Internacionales; Garrett Pearson, quien enseñó Los desplazados y cómo se puede responder y dijo, “No puedes cambiar el mundo entero, pero puedes ayudar a cambiar a una persona”; el Dr. y la Sra. Ford quienes enseñaron Necesidades de atención de los miembros para nuestros misioneros; y el Dr. David Pagel, quien Misiones Interculturales. Varios ministerios apoyaron el evento con casetas ofreciendo información misional a los participantes: El Director de Admisiones del SWBTS, Armando Hernández y parte de su equipo de admisiones, SBTC Missions y SEND Network, IMB, el equipo de Deaf Catalyst de Converge International Ministries, World Relief , estudiante internacional de SWBTS, equipo de estudiantes de SWBTS, Texas Baptist College, Hope Literacy para enseñar ESL como una forma de compartir el evangelio, etc.

SBTC’s Wolfe called to lead South Carolina Baptists

COLUMBIA, S.C. (BP)—South Carolina Baptist Convention messengers unanimously elected Tony Wolfe as the new executive director-treasurer (EDT) Monday afternoon (March 20) in a special called meeting at Shandon Baptist Church in Columbia.

Wolfe begins work April 1 and will replace Gary Hollingsworth, who is retiring after serving in the office for eight years.

Search Committee Chairman Ian Geimer said the process of finding God’s man to lead South Carolina Baptists required months of interviews, research, prayer, and discussion, but in the end, Wolfe emerged as the clear choice as EDT-elect.

“Our committee was thoroughly impressed and pleased with the candidates brought before us,” Geimer said. “Through a very competitive interview process, Dr. Tony Wolfe emerged as the frontrunner for South Carolina’s next executive director-treasurer.

“We believe Dr. Tony Wolfe’s qualifications begin with his love for Jesus. Ever since his salvation, he has dedicated his life to loving, following, and trusting the Lord. This love for God is best exemplified in his being a godly husband to Vanessa, a godly father to Ethan and Aaron. It was also recognized by our committee his humble nature, the numerous testimonies to his godly character, and his unrelenting desire to go only where God calls him.”

Wolfe, a Louisiana native, comes to South Carolina after having served as associate executive director of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention since 2017. The 40-year-old Wolfe is the son of a Baptist pastor, came to a saving relationship with Christ at a young age and began in ministry at a relatively young age. He has served in Texas and Louisiana in various ministry positions, including pastor, worship leader, counselor, educator, and denominational leader, with 23 years of ministry experience.

Wolfe said it became clear to him early in the process that God was calling him to serve Baptist churches of South Carolina.

“After my first interview with the search committee, I was convicted and convinced that there was something special happening here,” Wolfe said. “It was actually at dinner; we sat around, and we talked, and I asked questions, and they asked questions.

“They asked everything you hoped they’d ask. Then over dinner, I felt there was something special that happened, so much so that on the way back to the hotel, I called my bride and said, ‘Babe, I don’t know how to put this into words right now, but something special just happened.’”

Wolfe outlined three priorities that will occupy the first six months of his work: meeting Baptists of South Carolina, asking them questions and building trust.

Wolfe also listed five priorities for his life and ministry, priorities to which Wolfe pledged to give his full attention:

Fervent prayer

“Because I am at my best with people when I am on my knees before God,” he said. “South Carolina Baptists, prayer is not a really good part of our program, prayer is the program. We can have all the staff and resources, but if the Holy Spirit doesn’t breathe on them, nothing happens.”

Biblical integrity

“Because I live and lead in wisdom when I am faithful to God’s Word,” he said. “The Bible is the perfect treasure of divine instruction, we’ve commonly confessed. It is our supreme standard. … We don’t have to agree on every little interpretation of Scripture, but we do have to stand together on the inerrancy, inspiration, infallibility, sufficiency and authority of God’s great Word.”

Missional priority

“Because my message is urgent and my time is short,” Wolfe said. “I’m committed to investing every minute for the rest of my life for God’s global glory through the advancement of the Gospel. The message of the Gospel is not complicated, but it is urgent. God has entrusted to us 5.3 million South Carolinians, 8 billion image bearers — citizens of the planet earth, for us to reach with the Gospel before it is everlastingly too late. … Let’s stay laser-focused on the mission.”

Everyday excellence

“Because how I do anything is how I will do everything,” he said. “I want to brush my teeth to the glory of God. At my home church, I want to set up tables and chairs to the glory of God. … Christ is worthy of excellence.”

Cooperative disposition

“Because I am better when we are together,” Wolfe said. “I’m sure you’re aware that much threatens to divide us. Southern Baptists are at one of our most delicate seasons in recent history. I firmly believe South Carolina Baptists can show our larger faith family and the rest of the watching world what it looks like to love one another with the peculiar love of Christ.

“That means to stick together, to work together, to advance the Great Commission together. Our general disposition should always be toward cooperation, not away from it.”

Wolfe and his wife, Vanessa, married in 2001 and have two sons: Ethan, who serves as a youth pastor in Oklahoma and is engaged to be married in the summer, and Aaron, a high school junior.

Wolfe holds degrees from Lamar University, Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary, and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He will complete a Ph.D. in evangelism and missions from Southwestern Seminary next year.

Said Wolfe, “Vanessa and I are prepared to invest the best years of our lives in united, vigorous exertion with you around one common cause.”

This article originally appeared on Baptist Press.

Affirming women called to vocational ministry

Decades ago, grandfather clocks were common fixtures in homes. I haven’t seen one in years, but I remember my grandparents’ clock loudly announcing its presence each hour. Between those disruptive chimes, one could faintly hear its pendulum swinging. A pendulum is designed to bypass the midpoint as it swings to extreme positions.

Certain issues within the church can cause such pendulum swing reactions in an effort to correct or compensate for the past. The roles of women in vocational ministry, for example, can easily garner such extreme reactions. One extreme keeps women from any leadership role, while another eliminates role distinctions altogether.

As Christ-followers, we are all called to ministry and given gifts to edify the church. God’s Word gives us guidelines for clarity and health. It is always our responsibility as church leaders to look first to Scripture, allowing it to steer our decisions and correct our biases. With a Christ-centered focus, we can affirm and honor our sisters in Christ and their calling to vocational ministry.

Differing viewpoints exist within a complementarian framework, and each church and its leaders will guide specifics appropriate to their setting. Defining that framework is far beyond the scope of this article. Instead, my hope is to encourage those in any framework to embrace biblical role distinctions and honor the women who lead in those roles while elevating Jesus alone.

How can we do this? There are a few intentional ways to establish a nurturing church culture affirming women called to vocational ministry:

1. Develop

We can move toward excellence in developing women in vocational ministry by creating a culture valuing growth and increased opportunity. Creating this kind of environment requires time and intentionality. In our church’s context, we have protective guidelines necessary for the integrity of our staff. At the same time, lead pastors have a responsibility to ensure the development of both men and women on their teams. Here are a few practical suggestions:

Create a monthly rhythm to invest in the women on your team in an appropriate manner.
Include your wife in meetings and development.
Use tools such as regular ministry supervision conversations and long-term vocational-goal conversations.
Connect women on your team with a mentor who is further down a similar ministry path.
Encourage conferences and cohorts for continued learning and relationship building.

2. Celebrate

Each person has leadership gifts and abilities. Intentionally celebrate women on your team for leadership accomplishments and in using their gifts for kingdom impact. In this, we nurture both the individual and demonstrate the value of women in vocational ministry for our churches. A few other ideas include:

Using Sunday morning as an opportunity to honor and celebrate women on your team.
Celebrating major accomplishments when ministry staff and church leadership are gathered.
Writing cards of encouragement after ministry wins.
Providing a bonus or gift of gratitude after leading through a challenging season.

3. Ask

While the lead pastor is ultimately responsible, it is wise and helpful to gather perspectives from various individuals when making major decisions—including decisions that involve directional changes. It is easy to fail to intentionally make room for women on ministry teams to speak into decisions. This requires slowing down enough to create room at the table. Their perspectives can greatly benefit and protect the team in helping make wise decisions.

4. Support

One of our staff values is: “We love our families more than ministry, and they know it.” Women in vocational ministry who are moms need added flexibility as they embrace their primary role in their family. Recognizing and honoring this need in our church culture reinforces the family as the primary place of ministry. Thankfully, in our post-COVID, remote-work world, this option of flexibility can often be more easily applied.

The church has an important privilege to create an environment that honors and celebrates women, especially those called to vocational ministry. While the specifics for each church will be different, the need to affirm the leadership and service our sisters bring to the body is worth the time and energy. Let us be leaders who build a healthy culture in our churches.

I am grateful for the women I serve alongside for the sake of the gospel. I am grateful for the leadership abilities of my wife and the investment she makes daily in the ministries of our church. I am also grateful for my daughters’ investment in ministry and the women who continue to invest in them. By God’s grace, they will carry that forward and entrust to others what they have received.

Let me encourage you to pause a moment and think through how you can practically affirm women called to vocational ministry in your context. Let’s choose to correct any unbiblical pendulum reaction in our hearts and lay a healthy foundation for the next generation of men and women looking to serve the bride of Christ.

La sesión en español de Empower propone alcanzar a la próxima generación

ARLINGTON—Con un enfoque en equipar a las iglesias para alcanzar a las futuras generaciones, la sesión en español de Empower 2023—llamada Apoderados—marcó un récord de asistencia este año. Aproximadamente 360 pastores y líderes de iglesias asistieron al evento de dos días celebrado en Lamar Baptist Church.

Lucas Leys, fundador de e625—una organización que entrena a pastores y líderes de niños, adolescentes y jóvenes en todo Hispano América—fue el orador principal. Con un gran sentido del humor y carisma, Leys habló de la importancia de renovar una visión impulsada por la misión para alcanzar a las generaciones más jóvenes para Cristo. “Las iglesias están sufriendo porque, a medida que envejecen, no han elaborado un plan para la próxima generación,” afirmó.

Leys dijo que las iglesias tendrán dificultades para crecer—y en algunos casos, sobrevivir- si los pastores no desarrollan estrategias para alcanzar a las futuras generaciones. Uno de los escollos puede producirse cuando las iglesias miden el éxito sólo por el número de asistentes, dijo, señalando que es necesario un examen más profundo para construir congregaciones sanas.

“¿Están mejorando las familias? ¿Los matrimonios están siendo restaurados?” pregutó Leys. “¿Cuánta gente está siendo transformada? Eso es lo que mide el éxito.”

Leys dijo que el discipulado debe ser central en la estrategia de crecimiento de cualquier iglesia. “Si la iglesia y los padres no están discipulando a la próxima generación, eso no significa que no estén siendo discipulados,” dijo. “Significa que están siendo discipulados por el mundo.”

Apoderados contó con una variedad de talleres dirigidos por líderes y pastores hispanos, con temas que van desde la evangelización hasta proyectar una visión. Entre esos líderes estuvo Luis González, pastor de Lamar Baptist Church en Español, quien animó a los asistentes a entender que la evangelización es una tarea diaria que involucra a todos en la iglesia. La evangelización, dijo, no debe sentirse como una carga pesada: “Podemos descansar y disfrutar el evangelismo cuando entendemos que le toca al Señor cambiar los corazones,” dijo González.

Ramón Vélez, pastor de Una Nueva Familia, habló sobre la evangelización intergeneracional y desafió a sus oyentes a ser creativos y “romper moldes” a la hora de evangelizar. Vélez dijo que los que comparten el evangelio deben considerar la edad y el contexto de la audiencia a la que se evangeliza.

“El diablo es un experto en vender el pecado,” dijo Vélez. “Nosotros debemos ser mejores en compartir el evangelio.”

Daniel Sánchez, distinguido profesor emérito de misiones en el Seminario Teológico Bautista Southwestern (SWBTS), compartió estrategias para evangelizar a los católicos. Armando Hernández, director de admisiones en el SWBTS y líder de los estudiantes universitarios en Tate Springs Baptist Church en Arlington, compartió sobre cómo identificar y confrontar el secularismo en nuestra cultura y porqué esto nos debe importar como iglesia.

La conferencia también contó con un panel de discusión dirigido por Bruno Molina, asociado de idiomas y evangelismo interreligioso de la Convención de los Bautistas del Sur de Texas. El panel discutió los desafíos que enfrentan las iglesias hispanas en los que buscan alcanzar y ministrar a los hijos hispanos de segunda y tercera generación.

“Las iglesias [en Estados Unidos] comienzan siendo de una sola etnia, se vuelven biculturales y luego multiculturales,” dijo Molina. Con esto en mente, los panelistas respondieron a preguntas como: “¿Por qué la mayoría de los estudiantes dejan de caminar con Dios y abandonan la iglesia después de la escuela secundaria?” y “¿Cómo pueden los pastores hispanos de primera generación animar a sus iglesias a ministrar mejor a los jóvenes bilingües?”

Hernández, quien dijo representar a esa segunda y tercera generación, instó a las iglesias hispanas a encontrar personas en sus congregaciones que puedan tender un puente entre las generaciones mayores y las más jóvenes. Esas personas pueden ayudar a las iglesias a orientar a las generaciones más jóvenes para que busquen iglesias sanas en dónde puedan identificarse culturalmente.

Lisie Colón, coordinadora de eventos y comunicaciones de los recursos de la iglesia en Lifeway, dijo que es necesario dar a las generaciones más jóvenes la oportunidad de sentirse aceptadas encontrando un lugar en donde puedan identificarse mejor. González recalcó la importancia de no dar por sentado que los niños y jóvenes en la iglesia son cristianos y de modelar para ellos una vida cristiana práctica dentro y fuera de la iglesia. Cristina Ochoa, esposa del pastor Over Ochoa, de la iglesia Vida Victoriosa, añadió que la iglesia tiene la responsabilidad de garantizar que los niños sepan cómo tener una relación personal con Dios desde una edad temprana.

“Debemos planificar e invertir en estas vidas para alcanzarlas, sin importar el costo,” dijo Vélez, “porque el precio que pagó el Hijo de Dios fue muy alto.”