Author: Jayson Larson

For Chayasirisobhon family, serving the Lord is a family affair

ANAHEIM, Calif.—The 2022 SBC Annual Meeting was special for the Chayasirisobhon family for many reasons.

During the meeting, Pastor Chayas “Victor” Chayasirisobhon was elected SBC first vice president. While that was a special moment, Victor also honored by another moment that happened much farther away from the main stage.

“I had the privilege of helping my father, Sirichai Chayasirisobhon, register at the SBC registration booth,” Victor said.

The 77-year-old Sirichai, a 2022 SBC church messenger, was so proud of his son, he asked the registration chair to take pictures of them together. When asked how he felt about having Victor serving the Lord, Sirichai said, “It’s all about grace, God’s grace, all grace!”

Victor is the lead pastor of the First Southern Baptist Church of Anaheim, chief administrator of the Anaheim Discovery Christian School, and is also a medical doctor following his family’s tradition.

Victor’s grandfather, Dr. Tseng Sui Po Chayasirisobhon, was married to Chantana Chayasirisobhon and served as a deacon at the Sapang Luang Church in Thailand. He was a renowned medical doctor, an elder at his church, and a well-respected member of his community, Victor said. His grandfather “built a home for the homeless and took care of them, and as a church Elder, he was highly respected in his community,” added Victor. When his grandfather died at the age of 40, people lined up for miles to mourn him. His family carried the cross for Christ because as “one of the only Christian families in Thailand, they were made fun of quite a bit for being a Christian,” Victor added.

Sirichai was of Chinese descent, born in a bomb shelter in Thailand during World War II, lived in Bangkok, Thailand, served at his church as a deacon and later as lead pastor. According to Victor, his father migrated to Canada, where he attended McGill University, followed his father’s footsteps, and graduated as a medical doctor.

Sirichai married Wanpen, who also studied at the same university and became a microbiologist.

“My parents modeled to me the importance of getting an education,” Victor said. “Becoming a doctor was an honor for my father, and being a doctor is highly valued in our culture.”

While living in Canada, Victor’s parents prayed about whether to go to Thailand or America, ultimately choosing the latter. His father got his green card, came to America as a computer technician, and was then able to practice medicine in Michigan. At an early age, Victor moved with his parents to California, where they currently live and serve.

Victor said that after the death of his grandfather, Sirichai—at the age of 13 and the oldest of four children—had to take the responsibility of helping his mother raise his brothers and sister.

“My father said that he went from being a bad boy to a good boy,” Victor said. Sirichai helped his mother lead the family. His siblings were all educated: two became doctors and another is a famous opera singer.

While his father was serving as a deacon at their church, Victor says his parents were raised and helped by the church to be leaders. His father has planted many Thai churches, and currently he is the senior pastor at the Thai Church, a SBC church, in Anaheim. His church gathers in the space right above First Southern Baptist Church of Anaheim where Victor pastors.

Victor is the third generation of men serving God, following the ministry and the example of his father and grandfather, but he also had a time of rebellion. During his youth, he became a gang member.

“When you see the picture of me and my dad together, on the same page, it is such a picture of God’s love, a picture of God’s grace, a picture of God’s redemption,” Victor said. During his time of rebellion, Victor shared that his father was always praying for him. “No matter what I did, I knew that he always loved me. As a teenager I did not understand how he loved me so hard,” he said.

Victor is an only child, born in Montreal, Canada. He was given the Thai name Wuttichai, by his parents. Wuttichai means champion of knowledge, champion of beauty or gloriousness, glory, and honor. As an only child Victor had a nickname in Thai “Hnung,” which actually means “number one.”

“I think that they were expecting to have number two, so they nicknamed me ‘one’ with high hopes,” Victor said. Victor, a bi-vocational pastor, is married to Theresa, also an only child, and they have four children—two girls and two boys.

“After having me, my dad wanted to be a better man and showed me what a Christian looked like,” Victor said. “My children make me want to be a better man, a better Christian. My congregation makes me want to be a better man, a better Christian. With each position that God has given me and the responsibility that I have, not to be the perfect role model, but to try to be an example makes me want to be a better man, and a better Christian. … God gave me this SBC family, and I’m just trying to help my family.

“I became a doctor because I wanted to help people. That is why I got into medicine, and I found that I can help people in more of a holistic way in the church,” he said.

His dedication to God’s work is very important. “I am very loyal,” he said. “I learned that from my family, but I also learned that in the street. When God saved me, I became loyal to Him as an adult.

“I came to know the Lord Jesus through my parents but, really, the person that challenged me and asked me if I wanted to believe in Jesus was my Sunday school teacher, Lois Cadwaller. She led me through the sinner’s prayer. At 9 years old she gave me a Bible and wrote on it, ‘Dear Victor, one day you are going to do great things for Jesus Christ.’ I found the Bible, new, and preserved, and it has encouraged me later in my life.

“I started my ministry teaching the youth at the age of 17, and God gave me the grace of attracting different ethnicities of young people, teaching them all the stories from the Bible,” Victor said. “I already felt privileged to teach the youth after all the things that I had done as a youth. God saved me and allowed me to serve in that capacity for four years.”

He said he is very grateful to the church members, pastors, and leaders who helped him during his training for the pastorate. “I am so grateful to the church for suffering by patiently listening to my message at the age of 22. God knows what he was doing because now, instead of teaching youth, I preach more to adults,” Victor said.

One thing that helps Victor thrive in his in ministry is that he has experienced discrimination among different ethnicities, including his own. His family experienced discrimination because of their culture and their faith. “I never treat anybody like a second-class citizen. That is one of the reasons I help people,” Victor said. “This desire and the love of Christ helped me start The Galaxy Vision. This concept of churches was built on the vision that came out of the pain my family and I suffered and when I promised myself that we will never treat anybody as like a second-class citizen.”

Victor explained that Galaxy is a network of both Southern Baptist and non-Southern Baptist Christian churches that are like-minded and working together to reach the community together. According to Victor, since he has been the lead pastor at his church, they have been planting, adopting, and sponsoring a church every year.

“We don’t charge rent, not for our school, even through the pandemic, even when things got hard,” he said. “As pastors, if tithing is not enough, we go and get jobs as soon as we can and many of us have done it. If the lights got turned off at the church, we would light some candles until the bill was paid.”

First Southern Baptist Church of Anaheim sponsors a Hispanic church, a Kenyan church which is getting ready to re-launch in about a month because of COVID, and a Thai church in California (his mother church where his father is the senior pastor). It also has a Christian school, Anaheim Christian, that serves children from pre-school through 12^th grade.

One of Victor’s favorite Bible verses is Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” He wants all people to become one in Christ.

His personal prayer for the SBC, his church, and his other ministries is as follows: “I pray for our kingdom family to come together as a family, to join together for generations and generations to come. I pray that the definition of progress is known when the next generation is better than the one before us, through His Holy Spirit. I pray that by His grace we can create an even better generation for our children and the one to come.”

Barber sees SBC presidency as chance to unify in difficult culture

FARMERSVILLE—SBC president Bart Barber was a reluctant candidate. But, having been elected June 14 by SBC messengers in Anaheim, he’s a president with a mission.

Barber—pastor at First Baptist Church of Farmersville—was at first unwilling to join a field that already had three candidates by late March. Robin Hadaway, a seminary professor and retired missionary; Tom Ascol, a Florida pastor; and Willy Rice, also a Florida pastor, made up a crowded slate in the wake of SBC president Ed Litton’s decision to not run for a second term.

“Whenever people would ask me to run for president of the SBC, I would always say, ‘I’m not going to do that,’” Barber said. “And I had a lot of reasons—my kids being the age that they were, I wasn’t sure that I wanted to do it for that reason. I honestly thought I could do more good as a pastor with a Twitter account who tried to call balls and strikes fairly and promote good, sound, Baptist, conservative theology.”

He started to change his mind after Rice dropped out of the race in early April.

“I prayed about that and just felt strongly led,” he said. “I’ve told people I came to the end of my stubbornness, and I guess that’s the best way to describe it. … I thought Southern Baptists needed more choices than just Robin Hadaway and Tom Ascol.

“I felt like I had a calling from God to try to help our convention be healthier and was committed to doing that for whatever years God had left for me here on the earth.”

In comments he made before and after being elected, Barber highlighted two major things he hoped to emphasize as a candidate, and now as president. One was introduced by a hashtag, #armyofpeacemakers, that he offered through his Twitter account.

“I came to see what I thought were some really unhealthy things that were creeping into our convention, just in terms of the way we interacted with one another,” he said. “A lot of it involved recognizing it myself, some of what I’d done online, and also seeing that in others.

“I just think in the midst of a culture that is bent upon growth by division that there’s a need for us to have a different culture that’s inclined toward and believes in growth by reconciliation and resolution of conflict, and peaceful unity moving forward together to the degree possible.”

The priority of peacemaking had been on his mind for a while, going back to a sermon he preached from Philippians 4 during the 2017 SBC Pastors’ Conference. In his assigned passage, two women, Euodia and Syntyche, were described as Paul’s co-laborers, but also were embroiled in a personal disagreement.

“If you look at that passage of Scripture, immediately after the urging of these two women to get along with each other, the longer exhortation is to the other people in the church to say, ‘Will y’all please come alongside and help these folks to get along with each other?’

“There’s a role for the active work of people in God’s kingdom, who aren’t in the midst of the conflict, to step up and do something to try to resolve the conflict, to interfere in each other’s business a little bit and try to make peace,” he added.

Barber acknowledges that the power of SBC president is limited when it comes to fostering peace within the convention’s fellowship, but that the president does have influence through his constitutional roles.

“I think there are some important ways that the president has the opportunity to [encourage peace]. One, profoundly undersold as an important role for the president is the moderation of the business meeting, because that’s where we gather to try to have conflict resolution … and help us to move forward,” he explained.

He considers a careful and respectful handling of the gavel important partly because he’s seen some examples where the actions of the chair showed “heavy handedness” in this regard.

“When the Great Commission Resurgence report was brought [2010], a messenger offered an amendment to the GCR report, and the folks with the gavel at that time just said, basically, ‘How about if your amendment said this instead?’” he said, offering one example. “And [they] substituted a new amendment for the messenger’s amendment, without the consent of the messengers … and they got the thing passed. I did walk away thinking ‘That guy’s rights as a messenger were not respected.’”

While offering no criticism of a specific predecessor in the office, Barber hopes to offer unifying leadership in today’s denominational climate.

“I’d like to be the kind of SBC president who actually does try to serve the full messenger body and the full count of churches in the SBC,” he said.

One substantial way an SBC president affects the future of the denomination is through the appointment of committees. Barber hopes that these appointments will also be a means to unify the convention’s churches.

“My appointments are going to reflect the diversity of opinion that exists within the Southern Baptist Convention. I think that kind of thing is healing, and I’m trying to make sure that I do that in a way that stays true to the conservative convictions of the Southern Baptist Convention, the things that we’ve said in the Baptist Faith and Message, and in other statements that we’ve made,” he explained.

He said that this diversity would include those from smaller and larger churches, geographic diversity, and people of different ages, in addition to racial and ethnic diversity—the goal being to avoid the impression of elitism that bypasses grassroots Southern Baptists.

A second conviction Barber brought into the office is that our understanding of Baptist distinctives needs to be shored up.

“I’m hungry to go to seminary campuses and say, ‘Here’s why we believe in believer’s baptism,’ and to make that case from the Scriptures, from the pulpit of our chapels,” he said. “Not that I think that we have a seminary body full of students who aren’t sure whether they want to sprinkle infants or not, but because when you stop making the biblical case for it, you’re only a few generations away from having those students sitting in the seminary chapel.”

He also expressed concern that the convictions of Southern Baptists on religious liberty are starting to show some “cracks” and require a thorough biblical treatment in our day.

A related issue involves the way our fellowship of churches understands its confession of faith. That discussion came to light this year during the SBC annual meeting as messengers considered the credentials of a church that had ordained female associate pastors. Barber thinks these conversations are important to our fellowship and unity as well.

“I think we should move toward a convention in which we’re all in agreement about our statement of faith, whatever means we need to take to get there,” he said. “I hope that we can do that by persuading people and coming to the point where we all see the truthfulness and utility of what this statement of faith means. But I do think it would be unhealthy for us to just say, ‘Well, our confessions of faith are non-binding, and they don’t really say anything about the bounds of our fellowship within the convention.’”

Much has been said about the rare election of a smaller-church pastor to the role traditionally given to the pastors of churches five to 10 times larger than FBC Farmersville. Barber believes the size difference matters, but not as much as some might think.

“I feel a pressure to do it well,” he admitted. “I mean, if I’m late getting everything done, and if I do a slip-shod job of it all, and if everybody sees this as a train wreck, then it won’t be anybody but a megachurch pastor ever again after this.

“I think it’s not just about the size of the church, some of it is also about the fact that I’ve been at FBC Farmersville for 23 years, and I’m not the only staff member. It’ll be some substantial commitment of time, but I completed a PhD while I was the pastor at First Baptist Church Farmersville. So did the guy before me, and so did the guy before him—this isn’t the first time I’ve had some sort of major time commitment that went alongside trying to serve as pastor of this church.”

Speaking again on the vigorous dialog regarding SBC leadership in this day, admitting that some pastors may have been dissuaded from allowing their names to be put forward because of a harsh political climate, Barber expressed a personal hope for his tenure as SBC president, even as he begins his time at the forefront of those decisions and discussions.

“My prayer is that whenever this is over for me, I’ll still love the Southern Baptist Convention, the people of the Southern Baptist Convention, and not just in an abstract sense,” he said. “I want to still feel that way about us.”

In South Texas, Hispanic plant seeks to raise faith from the ruins

HEBBRONVILLE—Like many towns, Hebbronville has its challenges.

This small South Texas city with roughly 5,000 residents wrestles with crime, drugs, and divorce. No aspect of the community is unaffected.

“It’s hard to work [in Hebbronville],” says Jhonny Gonzalez, pastor of True Hope Bible Fellowship Church, “because now we have seen this town’s spiritual and moral condition is in crisis.”

Amidst all the physical ruin, social deterioration, and spiritual drought, God called Gonzalez and his family from Reinosa, Mexico, several years ago to plant True Hope. The church’s vision and mission are focused on restoring families, marriages, and children and strengthening family relationships through the gospel.

Despite all the challenges, they continue to see the power of God bringing families out of the ruins of sin so that they can then be witnesses for Jesus among their neighbors—even as parts of their own church are in disrepair. A portion of the building where True Hope meets, that once housed the now-defunct First Baptist Church of Hebbronville, has been condemned by the local government. So True Hope’s members meet in a multipurpose room on another portion of the property.

After 100 years of existence, FBC Hebbronville closed due to a significant drop in membership, Gonzalez said. In early 2000, the roof of the church collapsed, the walls began to break, and the few remaining families meeting there had to look for another church.

One of the families that left went to Retama Park Baptist Church, located about 60 miles east of Hebbronville, and upon meeting Gonzalez and his family, urged the leaders at their new church to join with the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention to seek ways to resume services at the old FBC Hebbronville site—but this time as a new Hispanic mission. Hebbronville’s population is nearly 90% Hispanic.

Retama Park continues to support True Hope by helping fund the pastoral salary and administrating the church’s finances.

“Our heart is to be involved in the Great Commission,” said Brent Howard, Retama Park’s pastor. “Hebbronville, it’s an area that is kind of economically depressed. It is very much predominantly Catholic, so there is very little evangelical presence there at all. So a major thought in the process and the goal is to establish solid Bible belief and a Baptist presence in that town and region. That’s why we continue helping Brother Jhonny and True Hope the best that we can to be an established church fulfilling the Great Commission.”

Healing the divide

Gonzalez said many years ago, racism was very strong and evident in Hebbronville. The divide could be seen in the town’s churches, as many Anglos attended the Baptist church while Hispanics attended the Catholic church. Gonzalez—who was raised in the Catholic church—said the racial divide left many Hispanic residents feeling welcomed only in the Catholic church, and as it grew with the population, other evangelical or non-Catholic churches were viewed with contempt.

Thanks to the church planting efforts and the work God is doing in Hebbronville, those feelings have been changing in a positive direction and more and more people in town are receiving the gospel and seeing Anglo people as brothers and sisters in Christ, Gonzalez said.

Although the mission at True Hope began as a Hispanic one, Gonzalez said he realized there were still original Anglo families from the old First Baptist Church who needed to be ministered to, as well as second- and third-generation Hispanics who prefer to speak English. Because of that, True Hope began transitioning to a bilingual work. One of the church members began helping translate, and now Gonzalez preaches his messages in Spanish and English.

Moving forward on mission together

Gonzalez constantly urges his congregation to share the gospel—not only because of the biblical mandate to do so, but because “not everyone wants to talk to a pastor, but they listen to their cousin or neighbor.” Church members are responding and are increasingly sharing the gospel more naturally with their families and neighbors, he said.

The result? Ex-alcoholics are now evangelizing their alcoholic friends. Husbands are wanting to come home and restore their families. A local nursing home is hearing the gospel each week through one of the church’s outreaches, with some employees not only sharing their need for Christ but also expressing a desire to someday visit the church. Gonzalez and his daughter offer piano and guitar lessons to the community, as well, which has allowed them to connect with two families.

In other words, the mission of the church is moving forward. Gonzalez said he is daily seeking wisdom from God about how to continue moving ahead in this gospel work. He is also urgently seeking help to demolish the old church building that has been condemned so a new work can soon be constructed in its place.

A work that, literally, will rise from the ruins and provide hope to a city where hopelessness, for many, is a daily reality.

She Stands keynote Lennon: ‘Hope is more than a feeling’

Andrea Lennon is a Bible teacher, author, podcaster, and founder of Andrea Lennon Ministry. She also serves as Women’s Ministry Specialist for the Arkansas Baptist State Convention. Her books include “God in the Window” and “Hope: More Than A Feeling.” Lennon recently spoke with Texan editor Jayson Larson about her upcoming keynote address at the She Stands Women’s Conference set for August 26-27 at West Conroe Baptist Church in Conroe.

JL: What do you see as the greatest need of women today?

AL: I really think we need hope. We’re in a season of time where life is hard, questions are big, there are twists and turns, and there are ups and downs. We have to understand that daily, as believers in Jesus Christ, we have the opportunity to possess a biblical mindset. That is where we filter our life and our experiences and our thoughts through the Word of God. So what we’ll talk about at She Stands is how to know, live, and share the truth of God’s Word in the context of biblical hope. Hope is more than a feeling. It is not an emotional whim that comes during the good times and leaves during the hard times. Biblical hope is a strong assurance based on God’s character rather than our circumstances. I think the greatest need for women is to just understand that God loves us, that He has a plan for our lives, that He is in control, and because of who He is and how He faithfully works, we have hope in Him. That’s really a message that God has placed on my heart for women today.

JL: There’s so much bad news and hopelessness and so many things that can steal our focus away from remembering what true hope is. How do you plan to address that at She Stands?

AL: We’re going to dig into Romans 15:13, which says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” What we’ll see there is that hope originates with God. He is the God of hope, and as we place our trust and our faith in Him, His hope is applied to our lives. That gets into the nitty gritty details of life, the hard questions, the unknown situations, the overwhelming seasons. So that’s where I just encourage women to bring your questions, bring your doubts, bring those hard things that are going on in your life, lay them before the Lord and His Word, and watch Him speak truth and direction into those places and spaces where maybe you have questions and doubts.

JL: If hope is a mindset that exists within individuals, encouragement may be better understood as something that occurs between two or more individuals. What are some things women can do to be more effective encouragers of one another?

AL: I always encourage women to really cultivate a passionate pursuit of Christ in their life, because if we’re going to minister out of the overflow and encourage others with the encouragement we receive, then we better be receiving encouragement. So often, I think we focus on roles and responsibilities and we forsake relationships. If we can go back and abide in Christ and let His Word abide in us, then what’s going to happen is we’re going to bear much fruit. So it’s really just learning how to abide, learning how to sit at the feet of Jesus, inviting Him to answer those questions that are in our life, and inviting Him to give encouragement to our soul.

JL: Are there some practical rhythms that you would recommend to women to help them come to that place where they are living and hoping and encouraging—as you said—“out of the overflow?”

AL: I have an eBook called, Andrea’s Top 10 List, where I talk about the top 10 things we can do to cultivate hope or cultivate a passionate pursuit with Jesus. A couple of things that are in that eBook, I think, are very pertinent to this question. Number one is that we have to have a daily quiet time. I mean, we need time in the Word with the Lord every single day. Another thing is that we need a consistent prayer life where we’re utilizing an ACTS model where we have a balanced prayer life engaging in adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication so that our prayer lives don’t just consist of telling God what we think He needs to know or asking for what we think we need to receive. It’s more of a relationship where we’re praising Him for who He is, and we’re confessing our sins to Him and asking for forgiveness so we have that passionate pursuit because we’ve encountered the grace of God.

One other discipline that I think is so important is to both memorize Scripture and to share Scripture with others. It’s so easy in the category of encouragement to share our thoughts or our feelings or our perspectives, but we need to share the Word of God and be prepared to do that throughout our day. One of my favorite things about the faithfulness of God is that, even if we don’t know it, He prepares us during our quiet times with Him to live out that truth and share that truth later in the day. So in that sense, the Word of God is lived out through us.

This is how our faith carries on

Biblical mentorship … what is it? Why do it?

Proverbs 19:20 says, “Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future.”

The problem

What do you do when you don’t know what to do, whether you are a church member or the pastor? I began in ministry when I was 20 years old and I didn’t even know all that I did not know at that point! At the age of 37 and in my first senior pastorate, I am just now figuring out all that I do not know. So what do you do when you don’t know what to do?

What the Bible says

2 Timothy 2:2-3 says, “ … and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.” Paul tells Timothy there are men who have been entrusted with wisdom and men who need to be entrusted with wisdom.

For those who have been entrusted, Paul tells Timothy (I’m paraphrasing here): “Don’t take what you have heard and keep it to yourself! Don’t gain wisdom only to clench onto it for yourself. Rather, take what God has given me to teach you and you, likewise, teach faithful men who don’t know what to do. Do this so they, in turn, will be able to teach other faithful men to share in the suffering of being a good soldier of Jesus Christ! In other words, Timothy, reproduce yourself!”

What about those who don’t know what to do? As young (or “youngish”) men in ministry who often don’t know what to do, what can we learn from this passage?

We need to recognize that there have been faithful men who have come before us and have been entrusted by God with wisdom. We need to listen to them. Seek them out, invite them to lunch, take a notebook, ask them what they would tell themselves at your age, and listen. Absorb and learn from the wisdom they have to share.
As we who are younger become older, grow in the wisdom of the Lord, and hear from God during the seasons in our lives, we also then need to entrust that wisdom and experience to the faithful men coming after us.

Christian mentorship is a non-ending process. At any given time, we should all be mentored by someone more mature in the faith than ourselves while also mentoring someone who is still growing in their faith.

Who are you being mentored by today? Who are you mentoring today? It can’t be no one—it must be someone!

I praise God that He placed mature men in the faith in my life. Those men mentored and poured in to me so that I am now able to share and pour in to men growing in their faith and how they can better fight their sin and glorify God as a good soldier of Christ Jesus! Let’s all be about continually producing the next generation to glorify Jesus

Alcanzando y equipando a líderes hispanos en Odessa y Midland Texas

El 24 de junio en la Primera Iglesia Bautista de Odessa y el 25 de junio en el Templo La Hermosa en Midland, líderes de esas áreas se reunieron en una conferencia para capacitarse sobre cómo alcanzar a la próxima generación de hispanos, ministrar a las familias pastorales y sobre la Teología y los ministerios de alcance. La conferencia fue patrocinada por el Ministerio en Español de la Convención Bautista del Sur de Texas (SBTC), dirigida por Chuy Ávila y su asociado, Jesse Contreras. Las conferencias regionales de Capacitarte se enfocan en alcanzar a los perdidos, equipar a los líderes y miembros de la iglesia y enviar misioneros por todo el estado de Texas y en el extranjero.

Mario Bernal, pastor de la Iglesia Bautista Emaús en New Caney, Texas, embajador hispano del ministerio para la sanidad mental, Fresh-Hope en Español, y quien también forma parte del ministerio Red de Apoyo Pastoral (RAP) patrocinado por la SBTC, compartió cómo ministrar a las familias pastorales. “Como pastores, el primer ministerio que tenemos y la primera iglesia que Dios nos da es nuestra familia,” dijo Bernal. También agregó que “si no estamos bien espiritual, física, emocional y psicológicamente, no vamos a cuidar de manera efectiva y correcta a nuestras familias.” Bernal compartió que “los tres problemas de salud mental más frecuentes en la actualidad son el trastorno bipolar, la depresión y la ansiedad,” y animó a los pastores a buscar ayuda cuando la necesiten. El también los desafió a que comiencen a delegar, establecer prioridades, descansar, no tratar de impresionar a los demás, y enfocarse en agradar a Dios y no a los hombres (Colosenses 3:23-24). Bernal, específicamente se dirigió a los pastores y los desafío a cuidar de sus esposas, a quienes el llamó un tesoro. Bernal sufrió la pérdida de su esposa luego de que ella sufriera 5 derrames cerebrales en enero del 2021.

El Dr. Bruno Molina, Asociado de Idiomas y Evangelismo Interreligioso de la SBTC, compartió sobre a Teología y los ministerios de alcance. “Nuestro Dios es único y existe por sí mismo y para sí mismo y todo lo hace en su tiempo como está escrito en Eclesiásticos 3:1,” dijo Molina. Hizo hincapié en que, “El Dios omnisciente, todopoderoso, de amor y justicia, que nos ha llamado y nos ha dado el ministerio de la reconciliación, nos ha prometido que estará con nosotros. Esto debería ser un gran estímulo para nosotros mientras buscamos ser sus fieles embajadores y tener el gozo de compartir las buenas nuevas de salvación en Cristo.” Molina también habló sobre los atributos de Dios, la importancia de esperar que Dios nos dirija en el ministerio y la singularidad de Dios.

Molina también compartió sobre el ministerio Bless Every Home (BlessEveryHome.com) que se enfoca en ayudar a los cristianos a orar por sus vecinos, no creyentes, por nombre, ministrarle y compartir el Evangelio con ellos para que ellos puedan ser discipulados. Cada individuo e iglesia puede conectarse por medio de una aplicación para orar y alcanzar a otros para Cristo.

Daniel Moreno, pastor de la Iglesia Bautista Jezreel en El Paso, Texas, dirigió un taller sobre cómo alcanzar a la próxima generación de hispanos. Moreno dio una perspectiva general de los diferentes grupos generacionales de hispanos que existen y están representados en nuestras iglesias hoy, desde la generación silenciosa hasta la generación Z. El ha estado sirviendo como pastor por los últimos 30 años y por su experiencia les dijo a los pastores y líderes: “ No obstaculices el crecimiento de tu iglesia. Si no sabes cómo hacer algo, deja que otros lo hagan.” Moreno cree que a veces los pastores se enfocan en la forma en que las personas se visten, sus tatuajes, o la forma en que hablan, la tecnología que usan o la música cristiana que escuchan, en vez de considerar sus capacidades y disposición para servir a Dios. El también animó a los participantes a enfocarse en lo eterno, averiguar qué cambios necesitan hacer personalmente y descubrir cómo conectar a las diferentes generaciones representadas en su iglesia.

El Dr. Terry Coy, autor y profesor adjunto en el Seminario Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (SWBTS) y ex Director de Misiones en el SBTC, compartió la importancia de equiparse adecuadamente en un Seminario Bautista. Agregó que, “Es importante avanzar en su educación teológica y conocimiento bíblico; obtener una educación formal es clave.” Coy también trabaja para SWBTS, viajando por el estado de Texas para animar a los hispanos a aprovecharse de la educación teológica en español que ofrece SWBTS en línea.

La alabanza y adoración para los dos eventos estuvo a cargo de Aaron y Melissa Mireles junto con el equipo de alabanza de la Iglesia Bautista Jezreel. El equipo también fue parte del Concierto de oración en cada evento, dirigido por el Dr. Bruno Molina y su esposa Clara.

La conferencia también incluyó una cena para los pastores y esposas en el área, el viernes por la noche. Durante la cena Chuy Ávila desafió a los pastores que se cuiden y confíen en Dios mientras sirven. Ávila agradeció a los pastores Fernando de Luna y Ignacio Rubio por haber facilitado sus iglesias para los entrenamientos y también agregó: “Si queremos alcanzar a Texas para Cristo necesitamos enfrentar el gigante de la indiferencia y estar dispuestos a dar el primer paso para relacionarse con las generaciones venideras. La población de Texas seguirá creciendo día a día, eso es algo que no podemos retener, pero si podemos prepararnos como iglesia para construir puentes de impacto espiritual.”

Hispanic pastors, leaders encouraged at conferences in Midland, Odessa

On June 24 at Primera Iglesia Bautista de Odessa and, on June 25 in Templo La Hermosa in Midland, leaders gathered at a conference to receive training on how to reach the next generation of hispanics, minister to pastoral families, and learn more about the theology of outreach.

The conference was sponsored by the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention’s en Español Ministry, led by Chuy Ávila and his associate, Jesse Contreras. The Capacitarte regional conferences are focused on reaching the lost, equipping church leaders and members, and sending missionaries all over the state of Texas and abroad.

Mario Bernal, the pastor at Iglesia Bautista Emaús in New Caney, Hispanic ambassador of Fresh-Hope Español for Mental Health, and who is also part of the Red de Apoyo Pastoral (RAP—Pastoral Support Network) ministry sponsored by the SBTC, shared about “How to Minister to Pastoral Families.”

“As pastors, the first ministry that we have and the first church that God gives us is our family,” Bernal said. “If we are not well spiritually, physically, emotionally, and psychologically, we are not going to effectively take care of our families correctly.”

Bernal shared that the three most frequent mental health issues are bipolar disorder, depression, and anxiety, and he encouraged participants to get help when they need it. That effort also includes delegating tasks when possible, setting priorities, getting rest, not trying to impress others, and focusing on pleasing God and not men (Colossians 3:23-24). He specifically encouraged pastors to take care of their wives, whom he called a treasure. Bernal suffered the loss of his wife after she had five strokes last January.

Bruno Molina, SBTC’s language and interfaith evangelism associate, shared about the theology of outreach ministries.

“Our God is unique and exists of Himself and for Himself and He does everything in His time like it is written in Ecclesiastics 3:1,” Molina said. “The all-knowing, all-powerful God of love and justice who has called us and given us the ministry of reconciliation has promised us that He will be with us. This should be a great encouragement to us as we seek to be His faithful ambassadors and have the joy of sharing the good news of salvation in Christ.”

Molina also spoke about the attributes of God, the importance of waiting on God to direct us in ministry, and the uniqueness of God. Additionally, he shared about the Bless Every Home ministry (blesseveryhome.com), which focuses on praying for your neighbors by name, caring for them, and sharing the gospel with them so they can be discipled. Every individual and church can get connected to pray and reach others for Christ, he said.

Daniel Moreno, pastor at Iglesia Bautista Jezreel in El Paso, led a workshop about how to reach the next generation of Hispanics. Moreno gave an overview of the different generational groups of Hispanics that exist today and that are represented in our churches, from the silent generation to Generation Z. He has been serving as a pastor for the last 30 years.

“Do not hinder the growth of your church. If you do not know how to do something, allow others to do it,” he said.

Moreno said believes that sometimes pastors focus on the way people dress, their tattoos, the way they talk, the technology that they use, or the Christian music they listen to instead of looking at their capabilities and willingness to serve God. He also encouraged conference participants to focus on the eternal, figure out what changes they need to make personally, and figure out how to connect with the different generations represented at their church.

Terry Coy, author and adjunct professor at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminar and a former SBTC director of missions, shared the importance of getting properly equipped at a Baptist seminary. Coy travels the state of Texas to encourage Hispanics to take advantage of SWBTS’ online, Spanish-language theological education.

“It is important to advance your theological education and biblical knowledge,” he said. “Getting a formal education is key.”

Praise and worship for the two events was led by Aaron and Melissa Mireles, along with the praise team from Iglesia Bautista Jezreel. They were also a part of the concert of prayer at each event, led by Molina and his wife, Clara.

The conference also included a pastors and wives dinner on Friday night, at which Chuy Ávila—who leads SBTC’s en Español department—reminded the pastors to take care of themselves and trust God as they serve.

As summer burns on, here’s 5 ways to recharge

Our phones recharge twice as fast when we put them in airplane mode. Likewise, ministers recharge faster when we unplug. Most pastors I know are tired, exhausted, or burnout. We are not tired of ministry, but we are tired from it.

Ministry sprints are common and usually seasonal, but too many of us have been on a two year sprint and need to take a strategic summer break – preferably two Sundays in a row. With a busy spring behind you and a packed fall calendar ahead, this is a great time to change your pace and recharge between sprints.

Here are a handful of ways I try to recharge each summer:

1. Finish a project that’s been mocking you

Start it, finish it, and then run screaming through your yard like you just scored a World Cup goal (warning: keep your shirt on!). Practice dominion on your yard, attic, garage, or closet. Replace that fixture or toilet before fall creeps up and steals away your margin.

After I replaced the antennae on my truck yesterday evening, I strutted into the house like rooster at the County Fair.

2. Enjoy a book that feeds you personally

Reading can be relaxing, especially if it is not related to your job. I have a tendency to read several books at a time without finishing any of them. My reads this summer are A Chapter A Day: Reading the Bible in 3 Years (YouVersion); The First 90 Days, Michael Watkins; Leaders Made Here, Mark Miller; GK Chesterton, Legacy Edition; Peterson’s Bowhunting Magazine. What are you reading that feeds your soul?

3. Go outside and play

I try to stay healthy in every way the Great Commandment defines it: heart, soul, mind, strength. The outdoors seem to help expidite pastoral wellness in all of these areas.

My wife and I enjoy walking together a couples of times a week. Additionally, our personal hobbies of backpacking, bowhunting, and tennis are done outdoors. We are never too old to be told to “go outside and play.” Too hot? Get creative and find a way to get some excercise that is fun. Pickleball is a fast growing sport that can be played on indoor or outdoor tennis courts. I’ve never tried it but I play competitive tennis every week somewhere in metro Dallas.

So what do you enjoy doing for fun?

4. Take a vacation

The average worker leaves an average of 8.1 days of unused vacation each year. That is about 500 million days collectively (TIME.com). Americans are now treating vacations as a luxury rather than a benefit. I believe that vacations not only benefit us personally, but also those we live and work with during the rest of the year.

Janet and I have scheduled a backpacking trip in Montana next month. I have also put in for vacation for a couple of bowhunting trips later in the fall. Don’t hope that margin happens, make it happen. Ministry demands that we stay flexible, but it does not serve as an excuse to neglect ourselves or our families.

Perhaps you have put off a vacation so long that you are tempted to throw together a guilt trip. My advice is to take the trip, but leave the guilt at home by simply asking your family what they want to do and making it happen.

5. Unplug and recharge

About two-thirds (67 percent) of vacationing Americans remain tethered to the office, while 93 percent of the French claim to “constantly, regularly, or sometimes” check work emails and voicemails while on holiday. Ninety-four percent of Indians and 91 percent of Mexicans do the same. Only 43 percent of Germans and 46 percent of the British remain tightly connected to work while on break (TIME.com).

I personally recharge much quicker when I unplug from ministry completely. I cannot completely go into “vacation mode” unless I first turn on the “airplane mode” or turn my tools off completely. Of course, your tools may also be your toys (books, music, games), so at least turn off your email and alerts. Some go further by going dark on all social media and phone. I personally turn my phone off and ask my co-workers and family to use my wife’s phone for emergencies.

Sound radical? It is.

It takes both faith and humility. Humility to concede that you are not so important that you have to ignore your health or the sabbath. Faith to believe that Jesus and His Bride can take care of things while you are gone.

Do your very best to unplug and recharge this summer. Fall will be much more fun and fruitful if you do.

This article originally appeared at markdance.net.

How to pass the baton to the next leader: A Q&A with Bryant Wright

Today the average clergy member is 57 years old, compared to 50 years old in 2000, according to the 2020 Faith Communities Today study. In the next 5-10 years, a wave of Boomer pastors will reach retirement age. Unfortunately, few churches plan for pastoral succession. And that transitional period is often difficult.

Bryant Wright, the former long-term pastor of Johnson Ferry Baptist Church, faced this issue. After decades of serving his church, the Lord led Wright to carry out a succession plan. His book, “Succession: Preparing Your Ministry for the Next Leader” (B&H Publishing), captures that journey from the first conversations about stepping down to the final sermon he preached before becoming president of Send Relief, an international relief organization that partners with local churches to provide help to those affected by a disaster or crisis.

Whether you can see retirement on the horizon, you’re leading your church through a season of transition, or you’re being called to be the successor to follow a long-tenured pastor, Wright has helpful insights for leading your church through seasons of change. We got to sit down and ask him a few questions about his experience creating and implementing a succession plan. Here’s a look at our conversation:

Why do you think so few churches have a succession plan for their senior leadership?

Bryant Wright: I read Bob Russell’s book, “Transition Plan,” where he says that when the pastor goes to the elders to talk about a succession plan, it’s a succession plan. But when the elders come to the pastor to talk about a succession plan, it’s a firing plan. A lot of pastors are hesitant to bring it up, wondering if the lay leadership will think, “Well, if you’re bringing it up, then it might be time for you to move on.” A lot of lay leaders in churches are hesitant to bring it up to the pastor because they love their pastor and don’t want him to feel they’re ready for him to retire.

Why is it so difficult for a pastor to leave a church? And leave well?

It’s difficult because most pastors love their churches and the people of their churches. The longer you’ve been there, the deeper and richer the love. So, it’s hard, humanly speaking, for the pastor to let go. It requires a supernatural grace from God when that time is right.

What are some traits of pastoral transitions that don’t go well?

Number one, the senior pastor, the long-tenured pastor doesn’t have a clear ending date and has a hard time letting go. That’s usually a major reason why it doesn’t go well. Second, the retiring senior pastor isn’t supportive of the pastor who’s following him. Thirdly, the wife of the retiring senior pastor has a hard time letting go. Fourth, the successor doesn’t show proper respect and honor to the long-tenured pastor they’re following.

How does a pastor know when it’s time to leave a church?

You just know. I remember asking my father as a young man, “How do you know you’ve met the right girl to marry?” He said, “You’ll just know,” and that really irritated me because that didn’t tell me anything. But then I met my wife, Anne, and I just knew. And it’s very similar when God is leading you—when the timing is right. But secondly, I experienced a lack of vision for future plans and direction of ministry. A lack of vision for the future certainly helps a retiring pastor know it’s time.

How do you know when it’s time to tell the lay leaders of your church and the congregation?

I spoke to the elders about developing a succession plan long before I was ready to retire. That’s the first step in the process to develop a general game plan for succession. Then, continue to be in prayer. When it’s time for the senior pastor to let go, he first tells the lay leaders, and then determines when and how to tell the congregation. It’s extremely helpful to the congregation to hear from the senior pastor’s wife, as well as him. This will assure the congregation that God is leading both of them.

How would you recommend that current pastors prepare themselves for the next ministry assignment or season of life?

Concentrate on your areas of passion. I was sure I was to retire from Johnson Ferry and hand the ministry off to a younger man, but I was not ready to retire from ministry. I wanted to continue to do what I was called to do—to preach the gospel, to preach the Word. The best advice I can give current pastors is to ask yourself, “What are my gifts? What are my passions I want to focus on when I retire?”

Experiment with some things before you retire to see if you could sink your teeth into something or do something that would be fulfilling when you retire. Having an idea of what to focus on is vitally important to helping current pastors prepare themselves for that new season of life.

You mention in the introduction of your book that all pastors are really “interim pastors.” Can you unpack that a bit?

If any church is going to last (and you sure hope it is), you realize that church is going to be around a whole lot longer than the tenure of any pastor. Whether it’s an interim pastorate for six months or an interim pastorate like I had for 38 years, we’re given a stewardship where God entrusts the leadership of a church and a congregation to us. It’s for a period of time. It’s healthier to see ourselves as interim pastors wanting to make the most of that role and lead faithfully in God’s will in that interim as long as He allows.

If pastors think they own the ministry of the church rather than lead the ministry of the church, it can set them up for unnecessary pain. How do a pastor and his wife come to realize they don’t own the ministry?

One, have a weekly Sabbath, where you let go for a 24-hour period once a week. Do that on a regular basis. The Holy Spirit has a way of whispering in a still, small voice in that Sabbath saying, “This isn’t your church, Bryant. This is My church.” Having vacation and sabbatical times are tremendous helps in realizing it’s God’s church.

You and your successor, Clay Smith, had a time of overlap in the transition. A lot of churches don’t plan for that. How important do you think that time was to the health of the church?

Extremely important! Clay and I shared the pulpit and did a sermon series together, throughout the four months we overlapped. There were a few other things that also happened. Number one: I moved out of the office—the pastor’s office—before Clay got there. I wanted the congregation to see Clay as the new pastor.

Secondly, we had a game plan where I led meetings for the first month, and Clay would see how I did it. The next month, we led meetings together with each of us having specific responsibilities for that meeting. In the third month, Clay led the meetings while I was in the room. The fourth month, Clay led the meetings, and I wasn’t there. The congregation was able to see a transition take place. On the last Sunday, Clay and I did the sermon together. I gave him one of my preaching Bibles. It was a picture to the congregation we wanted to continue to be a people of the Book and for Clay to continue to preach the Word. Then the elders and I laid hands on Clay asking for God’s blessing on his ministry. So, we painted a clear picture for the congregation of the transition occurring.

What is the departing pastor’s role once he’s stepped down from leadership to help the church and its new leader move forward?

It’s important that I’m not there that much. In two and a half years, my wife and I have attended about six Sunday mornings. We try to come in just a little late to sit in the back, trying to be as unobtrusive as possible. Obviously, that’s not always possible, as you see people and they gather to speak. But that helps the church move forward. Clay is there, and I am not. I always try to let people know how much I appreciate Clay and am excited for him to be the pastor. I think it’s key for me to affirm Clay for the church to move forward into the future.

What suffering has taught me

“I’ve learned to kiss the waves that throw me up against the rock of ages.”

This famous Spurgeon quote has been about the only thing on my mind lately, as I’ve found myself daily in a dark room, pleading with the Lord to lift the dark clouds. For the last eight months, I’ve not had the emotional, mental, or physical energy to fully love my wife, shepherd my two small kids, or pastor the flock God has given to me. Since October, the debilitating migraines I’ve experienced all day every day have taken everything out of me.

And because of this (not in spite of this), God is good. How? Because He brought me near and showed me a clearer picture of His love for me. For the second time in my life, God providentially allowed me to walk through intense physical suffering for His glory. Though there are countless lessons God is teaching me, here are three lessons I’m learning from physical suffering over the past year.

I’m learning to share my current burdens

In an attempt to not burden my members, I foolishly didn’t let people into my dark days until the clouds began to lift. Not only did I miss the opportunity for 68 members to pray alongside me, but I also missed the opportunity to model what it is to suffer well. I know the biblical command to bear one another’s burdens, but this assumes that the burdens are known (thus shared). As a burden-lifter who hates to be a burden-giver, I’ve learned that vulnerability with suffering opens doors to be carried by the hands and feet of God in prayer and care.

I’m learning to prioritize according to my limitedness

It took all my energy to simply focus at work. I would then get home completely depleted, yet called to give to and love my wife and kids. I had nothing to give to the three people that God called me to serve above all others. My wife helped me reorder my rhythms and reconsider my commitments to make sure that my responsibilities were given time and energy according to their priority. This means I had to say no to great opportunities, but it also forced me to trust and rest in God’s sovereignty and faithfulness to accomplish His purposes.

I’m learning to give patience

I’ve always known that patience is learned through tribulation (Romans 5; James 1). But this time, my lesson was not only in the patience I needed to receive, but also in the patience I needed to give. Those two are tied: I could not patiently parent a tired toddler without God’s patience. Because I cannot give what I don’t have, I depended daily on God’s provision for grace, patience, and love. God is still teaching me these principles. But as I continue to behold the cross of Jesus Christ, not only am I learning great lessons for my life, but I’m also finding great rest for my weary soul.