Author: Jayson Larson

FBC Rockwall’s Criner named SBC Pastors’ Conference VP

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (BP)—Texas pastor Michael Criner has been named vice president of the 2025 Southern Baptist Convention Pastors’ Conference, June 8-9, in Dallas.

D.J. Horton, Pastors’ Conference president and senior pastor of Church at The Mill in Spartanburg, S.C., announced Criner’s selection in a Sept. 9 press release, noting that Criner’s leadership will be a tremendous asset to the conference.

Criner, senior pastor at First Baptist Church of Rockwall, has more than 25 years of ministry experience, serving in various ministry roles from children and youth ministry to leading multiple congregations as a senior pastor.

Historically, First Baptist Rockwall forwards roughly 18 percent of its undesignated receipts through the Cooperative Program.

The congregation is also engaged in missions work with the International Mission Board and with the North American Mission Board’s church planting initiatives across Texas.

Criner has held various roles in broader SBC life, most recently as chairman of the Committee on Nominations in 2023. He also served on the SBC Committee on Committees in 2019.

In the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, Criner has served as chairman of its Committee on Order of Business and as a member of its Sexual Abuse Advisory Committee.

“In his leadership, Criner is known for his strategic and collaborative approach, emphasizing the importance of trust and teamwork in advancing the mission of the church,” Horton said in the release. “He is deeply passionate about seeing others come to know Jesus, grow in their faith, and serve in the life of the church and beyond. His vision for ministry is centered around creating pathways for people to hear the Gospel, mature in their faith, and become active participants in sharing the gospel with the world.”

Raised in Texas, Criner became a follower of Jesus at age 7, and his spiritual foundation was built through the influence of his grandfather, Ed Hecht, who led him to Christ and discipled him during his early years. He answered the call to vocational ministry at age 12.

He and his wife Abigail, a musician and worship leader, have three children.

The theme of the 2025 SBC Pastors’ Conference is “Worth Following” from 2 Timothy, where Paul describes God’s plan for a pattern for pastors’ lives that is worth following.

Clarion call goes out as Dallas prepares to host 2025 SBC Annual Meeting

FORT WORTH—The woman was in her late 80s, living on a fixed income in a modest house in rural East Texas. She wasn’t able to get on a plane and go on mission overseas, and at that stage of her life, even making the three-hour car ride to Houston to help plant a church would have been difficult.

And yet, when Southern Baptists of Texas Convention Executive Director Nathan Lorick thinks of the power of the Cooperative Program, this woman—whom he pastored more than a decade ago—comes to mind.

“She faithfully gave [through the Cooperative Program] because she desperately wanted her life to be an extension of the gospel beyond our city,” Lorick said. “Every month she scraped by and continued to give to the Cooperative Program so that … God would take [her gift] and, through a collective effort, multiply it among 47,000 churches so her life could be multiplied to advance the gospel and the mission of Christ.”

Lorick made his remarks at this year’s Southern Baptist Convention 2025 Annual Meeting kickoff luncheon, hosted by Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary on Aug. 22. The luncheon was held in an effort to begin rallying support for next year’s meeting, which will be held in Dallas.

The theme of next June’s meeting will be “Hold Fast,” based on Hebrews 10:23-24: “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works ….”

Among the highlights of the annual meeting will be a celebration of the 100^th anniversary of the Cooperative Program—the primary giving model used by Southern Baptists to advance mission in Texas and around the world. The meeting will be preceded by Crossover, an annual outreach aimed at mobilizing churches to join hands, minister, and share the gospel in cities across the area.

Lorick noted Texas has a population of 30 million people, with 19 million of those estimated to be lost and separated from Jesus Christ.

“We need a coalition of people on the streets of Dallas sharing the gospel,” Lorick said.

Bruno Molina, SBTC’s language and interfaith evangelism associate who also serves as executive director of the National Hispanic Baptist Network, said Southern Baptists have a great opportunity to put Jesus’ passion for the lost on display by participating in Crossover.

“This is where our heart is,” Molina said. “By going to the convention, people will see Cooperative Program dollars at work and be inspired to collaborate more … and to be more engaged in gospel coalition.”

All told, organizers said they anticipate needing a volunteer force of more than 700 people to serve at the annual meeting, working as ushers, registration clerks, and more. Many of those volunteers will come from the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

“Texas leaders have the greatest potential of impacting the attendance of both the annual meeting and the [pastor’s] conference,” said D.J. Horton, a South Carolina pastor who is president of the 2025 SBC Pastors’ Conference held in conjunction with the annual meeting. “ … There are pastors here in Texas who will make a decision to come because they are invited by you, and I hope you will do that because we have a gospel and a Savior who is worth following.”

Lifeway celebrates 100 years of VBS

BRENTWOOD, Tenn.—Vacation Bible School (VBS) is a widely familiar term in our culture, identifiable with both kids and parents as a fun way to learn about God’s Word.

Vacation Bible School traces its roots to New York City where in 1898 Virginia Hawes, concerned with the spiritual formation of school children, rented a beer hall in the city’s East Side to conduct an Everyday Bible School. Hawes envisioned a place where kids could safely spend their summer while learning about the Bible and receiving spiritual nourishment.

In 1901, after three years of Hawes’ effort, the New York City Baptist Mission Society picked up the banner of “Vacation Bible School” and established schools throughout the East Side. By 1921, Vacation Bible School had spread well into the South and was a strong program across many denominations.

In 1924, the Baptist Sunday School Board (now Lifeway) created the Vacation Bible School department led by Georgia pastor Homer Grice and first published VBS manuals for churches. Grice blazed a trail working with the Baptist state conventions to equip and train churches to reach kids in their communities with the gospel.

Today, 100 years later, more than 2.5 million kids engage with Lifeway’s VBS curriculum each summer across more than 25,000 churches. VBS remains one of the largest outreach efforts for Southern Baptist churches, leading to nearly 60,000 salvation decisions each year.

“VBS is a time-tested, successful strategy for reaching kids with the gospel that is still engaging, appealing, strategic and effective today,” said Lifeway President and CEO Ben Mandrell. “We can look back over the past 100 years and celebrate what God has done through Vacation Bible School.”

In Hawes’s time, there was an awareness that kids were not learning about the Bible as much as they used to. And that seems even more true today. VBS has consistently been about assessing the needs of the culture and deciding what timeless truth about Jesus needs to be shared.

“You can’t really separate it from being a Great Commission story,” says Melita Thomas, Lifeway’s VBS specialist. “It’s part of who we are and who we want to be.”

Gospel intentionality

From its beginning, VBS had an evangelistic mission. Each year, a lot of prayer, discernment, and dedication goes into producing evangelistic VBS curriculum and materials. Lifeway’s NextGen team is simultaneously operating the current VBS, preparing the next year’s material, and brainstorming ideas for two years out. Alongside the curriculum, the team provides training for church leaders to introduce them to the new material and teach them how to adapt it to their churches. For every leader trained, it’s estimated there are 1.1 salvation decisions.

The team reminds VBS leaders that every role is important and has a kingdom purpose. Whether leading a group of kids, hosting games or providing snacks, volunteers are engaging in divine opportunities to share the truth of God’s Word with the next generation. They are reminded the same kid who cannot pay attention during small group may be able to listen to the gospel clearly during games. Each leader has just as much responsibility as the next to ensure kids hear about Jesus’s love for them.

Throughout VBS, kids have multiple opportunities to hear the gospel, and Lifeway’s NextGen team is committed to helping churches communicate it clearly. Understanding they serve a God who knows the needs of His people, the team members rest confidently, trusting God will make Himself known.

“The format has changed,” said Rhonda VanCleave, publishing team leader of VBS, “but the heart cry that kids need to hear the gospel hasn’t changed.”

Caring for your staff well

One of the greatest elements of pastoral ministry is the opportunity to care for people. The word “pastor” possesses a deep connotation of love, care, and leadership.

However, caring for people is not always easy, and caring for your ministry team can be even more challenging when considering the unique confluence of church members who happen to earn a living working underneath their pastor. This reality underscores the necessity to care for your team well.

Hopefully, what follows will be both principled and practical—but there is one thing worth mentioning before jumping in. It is healthy to remember that caring for your staff is a journey. It is a path I hope we learn to walk more faithfully and intentionally. It is also a path where all of us have undoubtedly caused hurt. We need to own that. Leadership is challenging and good leadership demands that we keep learning and getting better at truly caring for others well.

Now, let’s look at a few areas we can grow and better care for our ministry teams.

1. Is your leadership postured to link arms with your team?

Beginning with the big picture in mind is important. I’ve heard it communicated more than once that a staff serving under the lead pastor is there to make his ministry successful. I couldn’t disagree more. While the lead pastor is responsible as the primary under-shepherd, his goal should foster mission success, not personal platform. Men and women serving in vocational ministry positions are first called by God, secondarily called by the church, and then work alongside one another to accomplish the mission.

There are certainly healthy reporting structures necessary for organizations, but our posture should be one of linking arms to accomplish God’s great purposes for His local church and His great kingdom.

Is your leadership postured to labor alongside your team for the sake of the gospel?

2. Remember, communication = value.

You’ve probably heard it stated before: “Communicate early and often.” This is especially important with our ministry teams. When we communicate with our teams, they feel included, important, and valued. It also prepares them to field the questions and concerns they’ll inevitably hear concerning whatever is happening.

Good communication, however, is more than merely information—it also contains vision and builds culture. How we communicate matters. Here are three areas which are particularly important:

Communicate change: Before change happens, take the necessary time to communicate to your team. Provide opportunities for your team to ask hard questions and take time to build consensus. And don’t forget to communicate the “why.” If we’re all going to row the boat in the same direction, your team needs to know why the change took place.
Communicate public appreciation: As you’ve probably heard it stated, “Correct privately, celebrate publicly.” Our churches need to be reminded often that it takes a ministry team to truly accomplish the mission. It is a great privilege that we get to deflect credit and celebrate others.
Communicate how things are really going: Valuing your team also means telling them hard things. When the job isn’t getting done, we need to communicate even more early and often with the intent of coaching them to success. Ultimately, if it’s not going to work out, caring for a person means loving them through that process, as well.

Where does your communication need to get stronger?

3. Love your staff by loving their families.

We have a staff value we revisit fairly often: “We love our families as our primary ministry, and they know it.” It’s not enough to say it—they need to know it because we live it. At times, this may simply mean flexility regarding a work schedule. Other times, it may mean walking a family through a season of incredible difficulty.

Additionally, care for your team by knowing the families of your staff. Know the names of spouses and kids. Ask about them and shepherd them well. Caring for families adds exponentially more joy and commitment as you work together for the mission.

How well are you loving the families of your ministry team?

4. Celebrate.

Caring for your ministry team will always include celebrating the amazing and gifted individuals God has called to your church. Here are three practical ways to celebrate:

Celebrate regularly: Every month, we pull our entire staff together. Included in our time is a devotional, communication, housekeeping things, and celebration. It’s usually fairly simple. We have a meal, acknowledge wedding and work anniversaries, and point out birthdays that will happen that month. We laugh together, sing together, and share a small part of our lives. On a less regular rhythm, we’ll bowl, play laser tag, hit golf balls, and engage in other team-building fun. Regularly celebrating reminds team members they are important and valued.
Celebrate wins: Take time to highlight wins. These wins might include an event that was incredibly successful or a project completed despite significant setbacks. Other wins might be small moments you caught someone doing something above and beyond the call of duty. We’ll even celebrate the ones who get all their ministry receipts in on time (I rarely receive that honor).
Celebrate authentically. However you choose to celebrate, mean it.

How are you caring for your team through celebration?

5. Disciple your team intentionally.

For ministry leaders, this is an easy one to miss. We often see our teams as fully developed followers of Jesus. However, discipleship is a lifelong process for everyone. Investment in their spiritual journey is so important. Practically, caring for your team can include reading developmental books together, reading articles, listening to podcasts, and then discussing with the intention of personal or ministry growth. Also, choose to spend time in God’s Word together. They probably don’t need another sermon but would relish scriptural encouragement and direction through devotion.

Finally, pray often and intentionally—for your team and with your team. Model dependence on Jesus and care for them through their spiritual journey.

Do you take seriously the intentional discipleship of your team?

When Paul wrote to the Corinthian church (1 Corinthians 13), he made the underlying motivation of spiritual investment really clear. It is love. To sum it all up, may we care for our staffs by loving them well.

The old adage is true: “People don’t care how much you know until they know much you care.” Our leadership abilities, preaching abilities, and administrative gifts are unimpressive and often frustrating if love is absent. Let me encourage you to take a few minutes to read through 1 Corinthians 13:1-8, thinking about your ministry team. Ask God to give you the sacrificial love needed to care for these unique sheep particularly well.

New school year, same mission

DALLAS—For many students and ministries, the start of a new school year feels the same as New Year’s resolutions for many adults. Most students see returning to school as offering more new opportunities and better chances to start over compared to the beginning of a new calendar year.

As leaders, we tend to feel the pressure of overthinking what we will do differently in our ministries each school year. We want to be innovative, creative, and think outside the box or even crash the box to build a whole new one.

However, I’ve found that after being in ministry for over 20 years, if it’s never been done before, there is probably a reason. Now, don’t get me wrong. Be creative, innovative and think outside the box, but don’t feel pressured to overthink it so much that you forget the basics of what has been true for 2,000 years.

Here are some strategies that have been solid and reliable for a very long time and remain trustworthy today for a new school year:

Be led by the Holy Spirit

Jesus said, “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you” (John 14:26, CSB). This a good reminder that if you have been bought by the blood of Jesus and have the Holy Spirit of God living inside of you, then rest assured that the Spirit inside of you desires to reach young people even more than you do. No matter how long you’ve been in ministry, the Holy Spirit knows how to disciple students more effectively than you do. So, trust Him. Be led by Him.

Even more than seeking to be a numerically growing ministry this school year, seek to be a Spirit-led ministry. If you desire to be Spirit-led, everything else will fall into place. Leonard Ravenhill said, “Gifts and talents can build a crowd, but only the Holy Spirit can build the church.”

Preach the Bible

If you want to be a relevant ministry this school year, then preach the Bible. The Word of God is always relevant. The writer of Hebrews said, “For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12, CSB).

Notice that every descriptor word he uses to describe the Bible uses present tense language: living, effective, sharper, and penetrating are all given in present tense. It’s not past tense because the Bible is not an old book; it’s an eternal book. It’s not a history book; it’s a living book. If you want to be a relevant ministry this school year, stick to the book!

Share the gospel

Often, people will be open to the gospel during changes in their lives. There is something about entering a new grade, going from middle school to high school, and going from high school to college that causes people to desire community, stability, and support. Students going through ever-changing seasons of life desperately need a never-changing God that provides eternal life.

Plus, we should enter this school year encouraged by the truth that the same gospel that has saved young people for 2,000 years still works today. Students are looking for hope, answers, and truth, especially in today’s world with many cultural shifts. Ultimately, whether they realize it or not, we, the church, know they are looking for someone. Hope has a name, the answer has a name, truth has a name, and that name is Jesus! Share that good news, and train students to share that good news.

Stay on mission

The last great promise and call that Jesus gave His disciples before ascending to Heaven was, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8, CSB). The Spirit in us will empower and propel us to stay on mission by being His witnesses. The primary purpose of our ministries is to know Jesus and to make Jesus known. God’s Plan A of getting the gospel onto school campuses and into the ears of students is the church, and there is no backup plan. That’s the plan. The Spirit empowers the church to take the gospel to “their Jerusalem” and beyond.

So, if we want to approach things differently this school year, then let’s return to the basics of what has always been true. What would it look like this school year if we were so laser-focused on the mission that we refused to be distracted or discouraged by ineffective busyness and unnecessary drama? What would this school year look like if we set goals for challenging students to have gospel conversations? What would this school year look like if students were intentionally and regularly trained on how to articulate the gospel? What would this school year look like if we equipped the saints for ministry work according to Ephesians 4:12? What would this school year look like if we discipled students to understand that they’re not the church’s future, but the church right now?

Wouldn’t that make for an amazing school year for the glory of our great God?

This article originally appeared on Baptist Press.

Equip attendees encouraged to change the world through acts of obedience

PLANO—History could have been different.

Acts 16 records Paul’s desire to take the gospel into Asia and Bithynia during his second missionary journey. In both instances, Scripture teaches the Holy Spirit did not allow Paul to make those journeys.

Guided by a vision from the Lord, Paul instead went to Macedonia. While there, he shared the gospel with a woman named Lydia—who became what many scholars believe was the first convert in what is now modern-day Europe.

Believers who follow Paul’s lead by putting God’s plans before their own have an opportunity to change history today, according to Nathan Lorick, executive director of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. Lorick spoke about Paul’s obedience and selflessness during the keynote address at the SBTC’s annual Equip Conference held Saturday, July 27, at Prestonwood Baptist Church.

“God can take any of us in this room—who are fully obedient, fully surrendered, and laying down our desires for the kingdom and for His glory—and do things that make us [say], ‘How in the world did that happen?’” Lorick said.

Lorick said SBTC churches can follow Paul’s example and, in doing so, experience the fulfillment of three truths set forth in the Acts 16 passage:

Obedience puts kingdom needs above personal desires;
Obedience brings clarity to our own mission; and
Obedience postures the lives of His followers in a way to be used by Him.

Paul’s obedience paved the way not only for the gospel’s arrival in Europe, but it started a chain of events that influenced the Baptist faith, ignited cooperative missional work, and started a church planting movement that continues today.

It was a timely message for Equip attendees who came from all over Texas to receive leadership training in a wide variety of ministry areas. This year’s conference offered more than 200 breakout sessions taught by leading ministry practitioners. It also included a Spanish track that included a keynote address delivered by Lázaro Riesgo, director of Spanish ministries at Sagemont Church in Houston.

“Our heart’s desire [as a convention] is that you are encouraged, equipped, and edified,” Lorick said, “but really deep down, our heart is that you will take back a heart of radical obedience to the Lord, fully surrendered, and say to Him … ‘God, whatever it is, would you allow me to exhaust my life so that your glory may be my reward?’”

‘A great encouragement’: SBTC DR Hurricane Beryl response continues in Southeast Texas

SOUTHEAST TEXAS—The man’s bruised face said it all. A limb had flown back, striking him hard as he used a chainsaw to cut up a tree felled by the EF2 tornado that ripped through Jasper County on July 8 in the wake of Hurricane Beryl.

“We had eight tornadoes in our area on that date,” veteran Southern Baptists of Texas Convention Disaster Relief chaplain Wayne Barber said. “Not all hit the ground.”

The disaster—as disasters tend to do—provided opportunities for spiritual and physical assistance.

Eight tornadoes, nine salvations

Almost immediately after the tornadoes, Barber and other SBTC DR volunteers from Hillcrest Baptist Church in Jasper moved into the community, joining their neighbors to see who needed help. Soon, other SBDR crews would come to the area to help.

Barber, among those who responded, approached the man struck by the limb and they began talking.

“What would you do if that limb had taken your life?” Barber asked the man and his friend who was there to help.

“He didn’t know what to say,” Barber later recalled.

After Barber presented the gospel, both men prayed to trust Christ as their Savior. Seven more salvations ensued over the next few days as SBTC DR chaplains ministered to survivors.

The Hillcrest Baptist SBTC DR volunteers were in the right place at the right time to minister quickly following the storms. Hundreds of SBDR teams from Texas and other states hurried to Southeast Texas soon after Beryl made landfall between Corpus Christi and Galveston as a category 1 storm about 4:30 a.m. on July 8, striking a region already inundated by pre-hurricane rains.

SBDR crews set up mass feeding units and shower/laundry trailers to serve immediate needs. Chaplaincy, chainsaw, and mud-out crews followed, their work overseen by SBDR incident management teams and unit leaders, also known as “white hats.”

As is typical in such situations, neighbors and community members also pitched in to help those affected.

“It’s the biggest mass deployment since Hurricane Harvey,” Stice said of the ongoing effort. “ … There’s still work to be done.”

A coordinated effort

Much work has been done by SBTC DR teams in addition to other Baptist DR teams from Texas and across the nation.

“Our SBTC DR teams, together with others, have served from Spring to Conroe, down into Houston. We’ve had work orders from Cleveland, Livingston, Jasper, and elsewhere,” Stice said. “We’ve fed folks in Wharton … and we’re still at it helping survivors recover.”

Stice explained that SBTC DR serves in such situations as part of a larger coordinated effort among state Baptist DR teams, whose units deploy in strategic locations to avoid duplicating efforts. Feeding teams often work in conjunction with workers from the Red Cross and Salvation Army, who distribute food prepared by the Baptists.

Such was the case in Wharton, where an SBTC DR mass-feeding kitchen and a shower/laundry trailer operated until the site closed July 14. SBTC DR teams prepared more than 15,000 meals, in addition to providing showers and laundry services, logging a total of 1,100 volunteer hours.

Among other tasks, SBTC DR continues to operate a HAM radio communications network to help coordinate the overall response. SBTC DR and out-of-state Baptist DR partners are still responding to chainsaw needs in Spring, Texarkana, Huffman, and Jasper.

As of July 24, volunteers headquartered at Spring Baptist Church have logged nearly 3,000 volunteer hours, completing chainsaw and roof-tarping jobs. A single SBTC DR chainsaw team working out of Hillcrest Baptist Church has contributed 1,624 volunteer hours to complete more than 70 chainsaw jobs in the Kountze/Jasper area. Another SBTC DR team and a crew from Louisiana Baptist DR have worked in Lumberton out of Calvary Baptist Beaumont’s North Campus.

Arkansas disaster relief chainsaw teams are laboring in Texarkana, while Alabama and South Carolina crews have joined SBTC DR to work in Huffman, logging more than 6,000 volunteer hours.

By the grace of God

For Robert Frank, a maintenance staffer at Spring Baptist Church, the efforts of SBDR to assist his mother will never be forgotten.

Mary Frank, 76, has lived in the same Spring house since childhood. The massive pecan tree that once graced her half-acre yard was large when she moved in at age 12. Mary recalled climbing the tree often as a kid.

At the end of the storm, Robert—who lives in the family home and helps his mom care for the place—left to check on the Spring Baptist Church campus. Then he received an unexpected phone call from home.

“The tree fell and I can’t see my car,” Mary exclaimed. Shortly after this, neighbors arrived to cut the tree away from the car and clear Mary’s driveway.

“That more than 80-year-old tree had been leaning toward the house. It should have fallen on the home,” Robert said. “By the grace of God, that tree fell onto a narrow 10-foot space between the house and the fence.”

Robert put in a work order request to SBDR teams headquartered at the church, and a DR crew from the Tennessee state convention came to finish cutting up the tree, leaving only its stump.

“They did an awesome job,” Robert said. As a bonus, Mary loved the company, he added. “Miss Jane, the lady [who showed up with] the crew, talked with her. They gave her a Bible. It was a great encouragement.”

To contribute to Hurricane Beryl relief efforts and/or learn how to receive DR training and become a credentialed SBTC DR volunteer, visit sbtexas.com/disaster-relief/.

Fire engulfs historic sanctuary at FBC Dallas

DALLAS (BP)—The historic sanctuary at First Baptist Church Dallas burned Friday evening, July 19. The cause of the blaze is not yet known. The Victorian-style, red brick sanctuary building was erected 1890 and is a recognized Texas Historic Landmark.

According to media reports, Dallas Fire and Rescue received a call at 6:05 p.m. Friday evening regarding a building on fire in downtown Dallas. Firefighters responded and within 15 minutes of the first call, a second alarm was requested. Then around 7:30 p.m., the scene was upgraded to a three-alarm fire. A fourth alarm was called in around 8:15 p.m. The Dallas Morning News reported that “more than 60 units were dispatched to respond to the structure fire.”

The church released a statement on X at 9:34 p.m. saying the primary fire was extinguished but firefighters were still working at the scene.

First Baptist Church Dallas has an indelible history within the Southern Baptist Convention having been pastored by former SBC presidents George W. Truett and W.A. Criswell. Currently led by Robert Jeffress, First Baptist Dallas reported a membership of nearly 16,000 in 2023. The church currently worships in a state-of-the-art facility, which opened in 2013, adjacent to the historic sanctuary.

Jeffress posted on X Friday night asking for prayers for the church saying “We have experienced a fire in the Historic Sanctuary. To our knowledge, no one is hurt or injured, and we thank God for His protection. He is sovereign even in the most difficult times.”

The historic sanctuary was home to First Baptist Dallas’ contemporary service each week, called the Band-Led Service. There was a special VBS service scheduled for this Sunday, June 21. The church hosted its annual Vacation Bible School this week.

“We are grateful that no life has been lost that we know of even though we just had 2,000 children and volunteers on campus for Vacation Bible School earlier in the day,” Jeffress said in a statement to Baptist Press. “As tragic as the loss of this old sanctuary is, we are grateful that the church is not bricks and wood but composed of over 16,000 people who are determined more than ever before to reach the world for the gospel of Christ.”

The church campus consists of multiple buildings across a six-block footprint in downtown Dallas.

Something better than ‘WWJD?’

I am a child of the 90s. I grew up with Walkmans, Tamagotchis, and neon-colored windbreakers. I also grew up in the craze of the “What Would Jesus Do?” bracelet.

Every stylish Christian kid had at least one WWJD bracelet next to their cassette of DC Talk’s Jesus Freak (played at ear-piercing volume in your Walkman, with bass boost) and their puka shell necklace. For many, these bracelets became more than a reminder of acceptable behavior—they were a fashion statement!

What could be so wrong with that?

I think the most basic way to answer this question is not only to ask what Jesus would do, but why we should model Christlike behavior. At its core, WWJD assumes personal action. When we are faced with an ethical or moral dilemma, we ask, “What would Jesus do?”

The result is a good deed or good work. The connection to the dangerous prosperity gospel—which has attempted to infiltrate the gospel of grace by turning it into a gospel of works—is undeniable: If I do what Jesus would do, God will bless me. Essentially, if we model Christlike behavior, God will bless our efforts.

Now, don’t miss what I am saying. Indeed, we should behave in a way that reflects what we believe, but even more, we should reflect what has been done for us.

This brings us to the follow-up question: Why should we model Christlike behavior? This question gets to the core of the biblical gospel. Instead of looking back at our good works, we should look back at what has been done on our behalf. Our behavioral change comes out of a heart change.

Here are a handful of things to consider when you ask “WWJD?”:

Your ability to do anything Jesus would do is only because He has given you a new heart. Ezekiel 36:26 says we will be given new hearts as a result of the new covenant made in Christ’s blood. Our sinful hearts of stone will be removed and we will be given new hearts sealed with the Holy Spirit.
Apart from a new heart, all your works are dead in and of themselves. Paul says in Ephesians 2:1-3 that we are dead in our sins and trespasses. In our dead state, we carry out the desires of the flesh, and one of the strongest desires of the flesh is validation. As dead people, we find validation in doing good works, even though everything good we do as dead people only results in dead works with no value. But there is hope. Paul says in Ephesians 2:4-9 that God—being rich in grace, mercy, and love—has made us alive in Christ. The gospel is the message that God, in Christ, has brought dead men and women to life by grace through faith in Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection.
Having been made alive in Christ, we are to be imitators of Christ. Ephesians 5:1-2 says to be imitators of God and walk in love as a sacrifice to God, who has made you alive in Christ. Additionally, Paul writes to the Corinthian church in 1 Corinthians 11:1, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” We are to follow in the sacrificial love of Jesus, who gave His life as a ransom for our sins to give us a new heart. In his grace, God also gave us strong men of the faith like Paul who model Christlikeness. They were imperfect and struggled with sin, but we are encouraged to follow them as they strive to follow Jesus.
Imitating Christ results in the fruits of the Spirit. Paul writes in Galatians 5:22-23 about the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These fruits are the byproduct of imitating Christ. They also become the salt we, as believers, are to season the earth with. In this, we work out our faith with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12-13).
The fruits of the Spirit are worked out in our good deeds. Paul says in Ephesians 2:10 that we are created in Christ Jesus for every good work. Additionally, James 2:17 says faith without works is dead. He continues in the next verse to say, “I will show you my faith by my works.”

WWJD is not simply about behavioral modification, but a reminder that God is at work within us. Simply asking what Jesus would do and doing that thing does not earn favor with God. Instead, when we understand that we should model Christlike behavior because He died to give us a new heart and bring us to life, we will desire to demonstrate our faith in Jesus by modeling Jesus through our words and deeds.

Several SBTC DR units already deployed after Hurricane Beryl

MATAGORDA, Texas (BP)—Disaster Relief units from the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention have already deployed even as now-Tropical Storm Beryl makes its way northeast along the eastern edge of Texas and parts of Louisiana.

Beryl made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane near Matagorda around 4:30 a.m. Monday (July 8), about 95 miles southwest of Houston. The storm pummeled coastal areas like Galveston as well as the outskirts of Houston, America’s fourth-largest metro area. Nearly 3 million people are without electricity.

“We have one mass care feeding unit, two shower trailers, one quick response feeding unit and one chainsaw unit mobilized,” said SBTC DR director Scottie Stice in an email to Baptist Press. “However, we are less than 12 hours from landfall. More units will be activated.”

Houston has experienced flash flooding Monday after several inches of rain, with more expected. Flash flood warnings continue for Houston and Galveston.

At least two people were killed in southeast Texas by trees felled by the storm. Prior to its arrival in the U.S., Beryl caused widespread damage in Mexico and the Caribbean, killing at least 12. At one point, the storm reached Category 5 strength.

DR resources including a mass feeding unit, a chainsaw unit and a laundry unit are heading to three locations today—Wharton, Galveston County, and Spring, Texas. More locations will probably be added in the coming days, Stice said.

The mass feeding unit in Wharton will prepare meals that will be delivered by the Salvation Army.

“We will be here to serve so long as we have financial and volunteer resources available,” Stice said. “I anticipate requesting out-of-state DR teams.”

Stice urged Southern Baptists to pray for “God to be in the details.”

“We have logistical and volunteer needs already,” he said. “Pray for our volunteers as they meet needs of survivors. Lastly, pray with us as the Gospel is shared with the Texas Gulf Coast communities.

“I wish to thank Southern Baptists that have already sacrificed so much to get us to the field,” Stice continued. “SBTC DR is supported by CP, state mission offerings, and designated gifts. Thank you, Southern Baptists, for your prayer and financial investment in Southern Baptist Disaster Relief.”