Author: Jayson Larson

Remembering the beauty of our calling

I have historically not been a strong reader. I don’t think I actually read a book from start to finish that wasn’t written by Beverly Cleary until I graduated from college. Later in life, I found out my reading struggles were caused by learning disabilities, but I did not know that growing up as a kid in the 90s.

Do you know what? I am kind of glad I didn’t know. If someone had told me I didn’t have the tools or that my situation was different, I probably would have just hung it up and never challenged myself.

At age 35, I went to seminary—where I was required to read about a book a week. I struggled with the theological vocabulary because it’s like learning a second language. I struggled with the volume of reading. I felt like I was drowning and didn’t have any time to myself. I was in full-time ministry and married with four kids. All the other students, 10 years younger than me, seemed to be running circles around me.

However, I had professors who made the subject matter so beautiful that I wanted to read these books. And they reminded me often that what I was doing was worth it.

So I grew—in my love for reading and for the Lord. I was molded into a different person. My weakness has become a strength. I have graduated and continue to read about a book a week.

Being a pastor is hard. I am told that a lot, and I think it is a growing trend for us to talk about how hard it can be. We need rest, we need soul care, and we need others to help us. Most of all, we need the Holy Spirit to do a job no man is strong enough to do.

But we need to be careful not to focus so much on the difficulties of pastoring that we never push through or delight in our calling. Just like with reading, I don’t always need someone to tell me why this will be hard for me, but I do need someone to remind me of the beauty of it.

Yes, our calling can be challenging, but here are some of the beautiful parts I want to remind you of:

There is no other job in this world where you get to hold people’s hands as they come into this world and as they leave it. There is no other job in this world where you see people get saved, graduate, get married, counsel them through the hard, celebrate the beautiful, see their children saved, and bury old friends knowing they will rise from the dead and see the Lord.
Of all the people who have ever existed, we are the few the Lord has allowed to professionally declare the full counsel of God. Think about that.
I am paid to read God’s Word, study God’s Word, teach God’s Word, and subsequently enjoy the God of the Word more and more. That’s like getting paid to eat candy.
God is our great joy and treasure. He is the bread we eat in the wilderness that gives us joy until we see His face. John Piper says, “If you live gladly to make others glad in God, your life will be hard, your risks will be high, and your joy will be full.”
I saved the best and most beautiful reminder for last: We will see God. We will see His face. I imagine on that day, we will come to a realization that we just barely see now—that being a pastor is the greatest honor and one of the greatest treasures we could ever have. Take my life from me, but let me die serving the Lord.

Brothers, pastoring is one of the greatest joys ever. You can do it. His grace is sufficient, His power is perfect, and His joy is wonderful. Let us remind each other about these things.

What does a special-needs family experience when they visit your church?

Editor’s note: The Southern Baptists of Texas Convention has designated July 14 as Disability Ministry Sunday.

We walked up to the registration area for the children’s classes one Sunday at the church we were visiting in North Carolina while staying with family. The woman we met there asked questions to figure out where the boys should go and typed the answers into her computer.

“What are their names? When are their birthdays? Do they have any allergies?”

The questions were easy to answer for our older son, but our younger son took more explanation. His birthday does not represent his developmental stage. The computer can’t consider all the variables that would tell her what class option would be a good fit. “Can I type in that he was born in a different year? Would that work?” she asked.

It was our first time visiting a new church after James’s autism diagnosis. We didn’t know what to expect, how to prepare, or even whether we would be able to attend or if they would turn us away. The church wanted to welcome us and figure out a way to include James, but without any options for kids who didn’t fit into the usual ministry structure, they weren’t sure how to proceed.

Visiting a church as a special-needs family is challenging. Of course, we are no strangers to challenges. We navigate special education meetings at school to advocate for our kids. We drive them to therapy appointments and incorporate those goals into our family life. And we learn new acronyms and visit specialists. We feel guilty about the time and attention one child requires over the others. And of course, we worry about what the future will look like for our children and ourselves.

Add in the unknown challenges of visiting a church, and you can understand why many families stay home on Sundays. Studies show that a family like mine who has a child with autism is 84% less likely to attend church than a typical family. When you consider that 1 in 36 children in the U.S. has been diagnosed with autism, you realize the number of families missing from our churches is significant.

What can churches do to reach and welcome special-needs families? There’s a biblical example they can follow. In Matthew 21, Jesus entered the temple area and drove out those who bought and sold goods and the money changers. What we often overlook in this passage is what came next, “The blind and the lame came to him in the temple ….” (v. 14a). There were obstacles in the way that made it impossible for people with disabilities to enter the temple area that they had access to. Jesus overturned and overcame those obstacles, setting an example for us today.

Here are three ways to make it easier for special-needs families to visit your church and feel welcomed:

1. Put information on your website

Special-needs families are often going to visit your website before they visit your church. They will likely look on the children’s ministry page to see if there’s any information about how you accommodate kids with disabilities. Also, consider whether there is a way for them to communicate about their child’s needs before they attend. If you have an online registration option, you can add a question like this: “Does your child have allergies, learning disabilities, or special needs that we can be aware of to make sure he/she is safe and comfortable in our ministry?” If a family answers yes, you can ask more questions so you’re better prepared.

2. Train your greeters and guest services team

They are the first people who will welcome families. Make sure they know how to help a family go to the right place if they want to attend children’s or youth ministry activities. You can also help them know how to meet the needs of families who attend the worship service. In our church lobby, we have noise-reducing headphones and buddy bags with sensory items available for those who need them. Our greeters can make sure families know where they are.

3. Have some level of accommodations available

Churches of every size can take steps of inclusion. There are three common types of accommodations in children’s ministry and Next Gen ministry: inclusive settings (often with additional help from a buddy), specialized settings like a sensory room or self-contained class, or a hybrid of both options (when a student attends class with typical peers and has the option to visit the sensory room when needed).

Your church can work toward these options. For example, if you don’t have space for a designated room, you may have a sensory corner in a classroom or put sensory items in the hallway when kids need a break.

The next time we visited a church, we were better prepared. I had looked at the church’s website ahead of time to see if they had any information on their children’s ministry page about accommodations or options for kids with disabilities. I emailed the children’s ministry director to let her know when we were coming and told her more about James (how he communicates and what might trigger his anxiety).

When we went to the registration area in the children’s lobby that Sunday, they welcomed us warmly and introduced us to the man who would be James’s buddy. The plan was for them to start in the class for his age group and visit the sensory room if he got overwhelmed. When we picked him up after the service, his buddy brought him to us and said he enjoyed music time and playing with trains. We were able to attend the worship service without worrying because we knew they were prepared.

Taking these three steps—putting information on your website, training your greeters, and having a level of accommodations available—will help special-needs families like mine feel welcome, knowing you are prepared for their visit.

SBC 2024: In leading worship, SWBTS’ Crider has one goal: ‘This is about Christ’

INDIANAPOLIS —Joe Crider smiled broadly as he stepped onstage Tuesday morning, surrounded by the worship team that had just opened the 2024 annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention with songs ranging from the traditional to the jazzy.

They had arrived. Crider’s smile reflected joy—and perhaps a touch of relief.

He welcomed messengers and guests, evoking the convention theme from Romans “that we would magnify and glorify the Lord Jesus Christ with one mind and one voice.” After reading from Psalm 90, he asked that the Lord would “establish the work of our hands during our meeting” and that “we would rejoice with one heart and one voice for what He has done, for what He is doing, and for what He will do.”

It’s been a busy year for Crider, dean of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary’s School of Church Music and Worship (SCMW).

Last-minute pre-SBC preparations included a daylong rehearsal on the first Saturday in June with two SWBTS musical groups both leading worship at Indy: Southwestern A Capella, the 17-member select vocal ensemble of graduate students, and the seminary’s 10-person Cowden Hall Band.

That Saturday marathon was followed by a Monday afternoon session with James Cheesman, going over the meeting’s musical selections that he led prior to Barber’s presidential address. Cheesman, worship leader at First Baptist Church in Farmersville—the church pastored by SBC President Bart Barber—led worship at last year’s SBC Annual Meeting in New Orleans.

These rehearsals represent a fraction of the time spent getting ready for the annual meeting. Crider told Baptist Press in an earlier interview that he had lost track of the hours of rehearsal time spent over the past year.

As if things weren’t hectic enough, during the final pre-convention week, the seminary also hosted 67 young people attending its Student Worship Camp, conducted in partnership with the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention.

“This place is hopping!” Crider said of the Southwestern campus, as he offered a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the story behind the story of worship at the annual meeting.

Countdown to Indy

As the days counted down to the opening of SBC 2024, Crider stressed the need for flexibility, adding that his team had worked diligently to ensure a seamless musical experience for messengers.

“We wanted to make sure we hit our times so we don’t cause any delays in the business. … We have to be flexible. Meetings run over. We may not do some sets at all,” he noted, adding, “We are ready to turn on a dime if needed. We have to be ready for anything.”

Serving as music director has entailed far more than holding rehearsals and selecting music, Crider said. He has attended meetings of the SBC’s Committee on the Order of Business as an observer, to be part of the conversation as needed.

He praised his team, including Chuck Lewis, associate SCMW dean and director of Southwestern A Cappella, for his handling of musical and logistical details, and Ricky Johnson, SCMW artist-in-residence and Cowden Hall pianist and band leader, for their invaluable assistance.

“This means a lot for us as a seminary,” Crider said. “One, that Pastor Bart [Barber] trusted us. We are grateful for the trust and the stewardship we have been given. We have been blessed with wonderful faculty and students in the School of Church Music and Worship to serve the convention.”

SBC 2024 marks the third consecutive year of significant involvement by Southwestern musical groups, Crider noted. Two years ago, the Cowden Hall Band played for the Pastors’ Conference in Anaheim, when Matt Boswell led worship. Last year, Southwestern A Capella sang under Cheesman’s direction.

“We are grateful for these three years of involvement,” Crider said.

Crider expressed enthusiasm about what serving at the convention will mean for the students, most of whom are pursuing master’s degrees. The band and ensemble represent a variety of ages and ethnicities, he said. While some have attended multiple annual meetings, for at least a third, this year’s SBC will mark their first exposure to the event.

“It’s pretty amazing. Several international students … are seeing firsthand the beauty in cooperation, the power of cooperation,” he said. They are “realizing that they, too, because they are part of Southern Baptist churches in the United States, that they … have a part in this although they might be from Mexico, Korea, Venezuela, Argentina, or even Nagaland.

“I hope they realize that all of us together are better than one of us alone.”

Picking the music

The musical selection process began months ago, as team members prayed about the meeting’s theme: “One Mind, One Voice,” and its scriptural basis in Romans 15:5-6.

The convention featured a variety of music, including several of the great classic hymns such as “Holy, Holy, Holy” and “O God Our Help in Ages Past,” “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus,” and “I Stand Amazed in the Presence.” One session included selections inspired by a heaven theme; another focused on the blood of Jesus.

Selections reflected each speaker’s message or complemented the Scripture guiding a particular convention moment.

“We [chose songs] in the heart language of a lot of Southern Baptists,” Crider said. “For many, it may have been a long time since they have sung a lot of those older hymns.” he said.

The students will lead 35 songs throughout the two-day meeting, he said.

Logistical matters

It is no easy or inexpensive task to transport nearly 30 people from Texas to Indianapolis. Crider especially thanked First Baptist Benbrook, First Baptist Farmersville, and Birchman Baptist for their support. All three churches hosted special evenings of worship highlighting the seminary vocal ensemble and band, resulting in generous gifts to help defray costs.

Churches in Indiana—Friendship Baptist in Franklin and Northside Baptist Church in Indianapolis—provided the use of their vans to transport the students from the airport to the convention center, eliminating the costs of taxis or ride shares.

“We really couldn’t have done it without all these churches,” Crider said. “ … We do not want to make this opportunity about us. This is about Christ and pointing people to Him. We want to rely completely on Him and the power of His Spirit to guide and direct us.”

SBC 2024: Pressley elected SBC president; Forney’s Lopez chosen as second VP

INDIANAPOLIS—In a six-way presidential race that resulted in two run-off votes, Clint Pressley, pastor of Hickory Grove Baptist Church in Charlotte, N.C., was elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention June 12.

Brad Graves, pastor of First Baptist Church in Ada, Okla., was elected first vice president. Eddie Lopez, pastor of First Baptist Forney En Español, was elected second vice president. Lopez has been a church planter and led his church to plant other churches in the U.S and Mexico. He has served committees at the SBC level and the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention as vice president.

Recording Secretary Nathan Finn and Registration Secretary Don Currence were re-elected by acclamation.

Task force recommendations OK’d by messengers

Messengers approved recommendations from three task force groups:

Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force (ARITF)

The ARITF was formed in 2022 with the charge to study and bring recommendations to help Southern Baptists make their churches safer from sex abusers. The convention approved recommendations from the group in 2023 providing an additional year to build resources, such as the Ministry Toolkit, for training church leaders and volunteers, and for development of the Ministry Check database of known abusers associated with Southern Baptist churches.

The ARITF brought two recommendations to the convention:

It recommended the convention affirm the objectives emphasized in the group’s report: the expansion of the Ministry Toolkit; the establishment of the Ministry Check website; and the creation of a permanent home for abuse prevention and response.
The second recommendation urged the SBC Executive Committee to “work earnestly” by recommending a structure and funding for the implementation of the objectives, and report to messengers during the 2025 SBC Annual Meeting in Dallas.

Great Commission Task Force

The Great Commission Task Force was appointed last year to evaluate the outcomes of the Great Commission Task Force that reported to the convention in 2010. After its research, the task force made the following recommendations, all of which were approved by messengers:

State conventions and Lifeway are requested to discontinue using the term “Great Commission Giving” in an effort to reaffirm the Cooperative Program as the primary method of giving for Southern Baptist churches;
State conventions and Lifeway are requested to use a simplified Annual Church Profile, limited to six categories and two questions;
The North American Mission Board is requested to conduct an annual survey of churches planted, revitalized, or otherwise assisted with CP funds 10 years after their launch;
The Executive Committee is requested to increase the budget allocation for the International Mission Board to 51% beginning with the 2026-2027 budget year;
The Historical Library and Archives is requested to make the audio recordings of the 2010 Great Commission Task Force available and navigable by June 16, 2025; and
The Executive Committee is requested to propose changes to governing documents that would require entities to report on action they have taken in response to messenger-approved recommendations coming from special work groups or task forces.

Cooperation Group

The Cooperation Group was appointed in response to a 2023 motion, during a time when the nature of a church’s “friendly cooperation” was being reconsidered. Speaking to Baptist Press last fall, group chairman Jared Wellman, pastor of Tate Springs Baptist Church in Arlington, said the Cooperation Group’s work needs to address what it means for autonomous, independent churches to work in cooperation in the SBC.

The group brought four motions to the convention, all of which were approved:

The process for editing or amending the Baptist Faith and Message should be the same as that for the SBC Constitution (two-thirds vote, two consecutive years);
The sole authority for seating [convention] messengers will be vested in the messenger body;
The Committee on Nominations should nominate as entity trustees and standing committee members only those candidates who affirm the convention’s adopted statement of faith; and
The Executive Committee will evaluate the usefulness and accuracy of a public list of SBC churches.

Eight resolutions approved

Messengers in Indianapolis approved eight resolutions expressing their convictions on relevant social and moral subjects on Tuesday, June 11. Although resolutions are not binding on the convention or its entities, these statements have been guidelines that allow convention leadership to generally know the thinking of Southern Baptist church members.

This year’s resolutions dealt with world events such as the Israel-Hamas conflict, moral issues such as in vitro fertilization and religious liberty, and convention issues such as the personal holiness of convention leaders.

Messengers offered support for Israel in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks, while also standing with all those suffering in the region. The resolution additionally denied “assertions of moral equivalence between Israel and Hamas.”

In the resolution titled, “The Ethical Realities of Reproductive Technologies and the Dignity of the Human Embryo,” the convention affirmed “the unconditional value and right to life of every human being, including those in an embryonic stage ….” The statement went on to call on Southern Baptists to use only technologies consistent with that affirmation of life. This call included a consideration of “the number of embryos generated in the IVF [in vitro fertilization] process ….”

Speaking to religious liberty, a resolution rejected any effort to impose a state religion—whether Christianity or another faith—while also condemning efforts such as blasphemy laws that would restrict a person’s freedom of conscience.

A resolution on “Integrity in SBC Leadership” expressed gratitude to God for “righteous and godly leaders,” but rejected “the notion that giftedness, charisma, or influence supersede character and qualification in the life of a leader.” The resolution called on leaders to repent when they fall into sin.

Other resolutions addressed the rights and responsibilities of parents, the just conduct of war, evangelism and the Great Commission, and gratitude for the convention’s host city. The text of all eight resolutions will be posted to SBC.net.

Other convention business

In other news, an amendment that would have expanded the definition of a cooperating church with regard to the role of a pastor failed the garner the required two-thirds vote to be adopted.
The convention approved a 2024-2025 Cooperative Program Allocation Budget of $190 million to fund the work of 12 SBC entities. Cooperative Program allocations to missions (the International and North American mission boards) are over 73% of the funds received.
Messengers affirmed an SBC Credentials Committee recommendation declaring First Baptist Church in Alexandria, Va., no longer in friendly cooperation with the convention because their faith and practice regarding complementarianism are incompatible with the convention’s statement of faith.

The 2025 Southern Baptist Convention will meet in Dallas June 10-11.

SBC 2024: Southwestern students lead people to Christ, learn lessons of evangelism through Crossover

Trying to share the gospel with a 73-year-old man who was “rude,” reminded Joo*, a Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary Master of Divinity student from East Asia, how God “patiently waited” for her when she came to Christ about seven years ago.

Joo recalled the man told the team to “stop” talking about Jesus before he walked away. She said when she “faced his rejection,” she thought about her “personal journey” and how God “used different people to reach my life.”

Joo was one of 22 Southwestern students and friends who participated in Crossover, an evangelistic outreach the week before the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting, in Indianapolis, Ind., June 3-7. The Southwestern students spent each morning in classroom instruction alongside other students from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, before they would disperse in the afternoons to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ through door-to-door evangelism in groups of three to four people.

Through Thursday, the Southwestern team saw 13 salvations, shared the gospel 126 times, and engaged 342 people in conversation.

Carl J. Bradford, dean of Texas Baptist College and assistant professor of evangelism, has led Southwestern’s Crossover teams since 2018. He said Crossover “provides opportunities for further cooperation within our convention.”

“Students partner with churches and NAMB to engage the surrounding community of the SBC’s annual meeting of that particular year through door-to-door evangelism,” Bradford said. “It’s fulfilling the Great Commission together.”

Bradford said during the week of sharing the gospel in Indianapolis, students’ hearts “broke” for the lost, which resulted in “the students embrac[ing] the uncomfortableness of evangelizing with strangers.”

McLain Johnson, a Master of Divinity student with a theology concentration from McKinney, Texas, participated in Crossover for the first time. Johnson said he learned “teamwork” from his week in Indianapolis as the “neatest thing” was “seeing everyone be encouraged to evangelize and work together and figuring out how to help each other and giving advice.”

He added “seeing the Spirit move between the different team members, while we’re actually out talking to somebody” was the “coolest thing” as they would see “a light go off in somebody’s head” as they understood what the team was sharing. Johnson explained it led the team members to understand “this is the perfect time to share this part of my testimony” or to apply something they learned earlier.

Johnson recalled a Tuesday afternoon experience in a group sharing door-to-door with Joo and Richard Silva, a student in the 5-year program from Brazil. He said the trio encountered Laverta who said she was “curious” about God. He said as the group talked with her, they learned she was “open to different religions and just wanted to know the true way to God.”

As the group spoke further with Laverta, Johnson said she mentioned that her late father was a preacher and she had his Bible. They also noticed she had stickers of the cross on her car because “she said it made her feel closer to God,” he said.

“We just thought that was a great bridge, a great opportunity,” Johnson said. “We talked about how, you know, the true meaning of the cross … is God bringing us closer to Him. He’s coming close to us” and “uniting us with Him through that cross.”

Laverta told the group, “I don’t know what the true way is,” and Johnson said the group explained, “God was here to tell her that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” based on Jesus’s words to His disciples in John 14:6. Johnson said they asked Laverta if she wanted to “commit” her life to Christ that day, but the woman “struggled,” and said she would “go to church” and “she would give her life [to Christ] when she got to church.”

Johnson said the group “pleaded with her” telling her “you don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow.” Laverta “gave her life to Christ right there” as Johnson said he led her in prayer—his first time to lead someone to Christ “in a prayer like that.”

“As far as prayers go, it was a pretty poor prayer,” Johnson recalled, adding “I was not prepared for that. But it wasn’t about me. I had no part in it. So, it was just neat to get to see God do that, despite me.”

Spending the week sharing the gospel caused Grace Kim, a Doctor of Philosophy student from Korea who grew up as a missionary kid in Japan, to understand the importance of evangelism in Christian education. Kim, who was participating in Crossover for the first time, said attending a Christian college for her undergraduate studies and two seminaries afterward caused her to have a “mindset” that is “really focused on discipleship.” Subsequently, she said she has sought to “encourage the Christians around me making sure that they fix their eyes on God and encouraging them in God’s Word.”

However, her Crossover experience was “stretching” as she said it was the first time she was “so exposed to the world, and realizing how much they are lost people in the world,” adding that she “knew it in my head, but actually seeing this is a great awakening moment for me.”

During the Thursday afternoon opportunity for door-to-door evangelism, Kim and her teammates, Anna Matsuura, a Master of Arts in Christian Education student from Japan, and Josh Okoye, a Master of Divinity student in evangelism from Houston, encountered a man who had experienced depression and at one point in his life tried to commit suicide. Kim explained as they talked with the man in his 40s, they learned he did “firmly believe in God,” but was “struggling to find a church” and was grieving the loss of both of his parents within the past year.

Kim noted that Okoye pointed out it was “not a coincidence” that the team encountered the man as the man could “be led to church and have that Christian fellowship together.”

“And so in that sense, yes, in evangelism, we do want to reach out to non-Christians, but at the same time, God allows these Christians to meet and help them [and] encourage them in faith,” Kim observed. She said encountering Christians allowed the opportunity to “testify Christ” and that “the Gospel itself is so powerful.”

Okoye said that hearing about Crossover through participating in Everyday Evangelism with Bradford led him to think it was an “opportunity to come out and evangelize in a different context.” Everyday Evangelism, a weekly evangelism initiative led by Bradford during the academic year, allows students to share the Gospel at parks, shopping centers, and other places around Fort Worth.

Okoye said during the week he “saw God bring people to salvation.”

Okoye, who helped lead people to Christ through door-to-door opportunities, said “one thing” that he “definitely” likes about evangelism is that “despite our weaknesses, … He’s still able to do His work.”

He added that it “creates an environment where we have to rely on Him more than we have to rely on ourselves and, honestly, the more I think that that happens, then the greater that we can expect to see from God.”

One of the experiences from the week that stood out to Okoye included when he was witnessing to three men “and they all eventually ended up coming to Christ. They were convicted about the message that we were sharing.” He said preparing the invitation and “helping them in the process of placing their faith in Christ or praying through it” was something that he found to be a “struggle.” However, he learned from Bradford who “sort of stepped in and helped me with that process.” Okoye said the next time he applied what he learned from Bradford as he led a man to faith in Christ.

Okoye said his first experience participating in Crossover showed him God’s sovereignty “to answer other people’s prayers” as he encountered two people who had been praying about finding a church and “to see people come from halfway across the country, not even just in their environment, but to see people come from halfway across the country and have the need met.”

As he prepares to return to Fort Worth at the end of the week, Okoye said he brings with him the lessons of keeping evangelism as a “practice” and helping people in the local church body “get more acclimated to having the conversations or having that on the forefront of their mind and going out.”

Okoye concluded that he believes there is an “intentionality that is key” to evangelism and he wants to help those in the local church to have “conversations” within their own “spheres” that are “that are Christ-exalting and are evangelistic.”

Bradford observed the long-term result of the Southwestern group’s participation in Crossover was committing “themselves to take the next step in their evangelism practice, whether knocking on a stranger’s door, praying for an individual, getting through an entire Gospel conversation, or answering an objection to the gospel. Simply put, they allowed God to work in them and through them.”

*Name changed for security reasons.

SBC 2024: Panel discussion underscores the primacy, power of prayer

INDIANAPOLIS—Nathan Lorick, executive director of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, was 17 years old when God changed his life through an encounter with prayer.

Though he gave his life to Jesus as a child, Lorick admits he was not living for the Lord as he approached the latter part of high school. So one day, a youth pastor brought him into a room to show him something. Upon entering the room, Lorick saw his name written over and over again on one of its walls.

“What is this?” a bewildered Lorick asked the youth pastor.

“A few months ago, we began challenging our students to name that one person who they think would be impossible to imagine walking with God because of the state of their life,” the youth minister explained. “They identified you … and they’ve been praying for you. They’ve been begging God to do the impossible in your life.”

On Monday, speaking on a prayer panel at the Southern Baptist Convention’s Annual Meeting, Lorick recounted that story and spoke about the impact the prayers of his peers had on him.

“These are people whose names you’ll never know or who you’ll never see on a stage,” he said, “but they got behind the curtain of their prayer closets and got on their faces before God for me.”

The panel was hosted by Kie Bowman, SBC’s national director of prayer, and also included International Mission Board ambassador Gordon Fort. Bowman’s work has included keeping prayer at the forefront of ministry efforts among SBC churches. For his part, Lorick has repeatedly stressed the primacy of prayer if SBTC churches are to experience a movement of God to reverse the growing rate of lostness in Texas and around the world.

“[Prayer] is not just an emphasis—it is a major emphasis for the churches of the SBTC,” Lorick said. “We are going to unapologetically be churches of prayer. … I’m convinced that the tool of prayer is one of those things churches [often] use as an accessory, but when it becomes a driving force, we experience the power and presence of God in ways we’ve not experienced before—and it’s exciting.”

Added Fort: “The great need of the hour is to restore the doctrine and practice of prayer.”

Bowman concluded by asking each panelist what advice he would offer to young leaders struggling to develop and maintain their prayer lives. Fort encouraged such leaders to make a daily request that the Lord teach them how to pray and to prioritize prayer at the beginning of each day. Lorick challenged young leaders to make note of how God moves when they have prayed. He said being able to see how God powerfully moved in a situation when prayer was made a priority will leave a lasting impression.

“I promise you,” Lorick said, “you’ll become a prayer warrior who is intentional about chasing after the heart of God.”

SBC 2024: ‘The church has left the building’: SBC Crossover team takes unique approach to open doors for spiritual conversations

INDIANAPOLIS—Tailgate parties—where fans gather, socialize, and barbecue in stadium parking lots before a sporting event—usually require people to come to them.

Living Faith Church in Indianapolis tried something a little different this past weekend as part of the evangelistic Crossover event held each year in conjunction with the Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting.

The church brought the party to the people.

Living Faith Church held a mobile “tell gate” party, serving traditional stadium fare such as hamburgers and hot dogs to residents of the Indianapolis neighborhood of Riverside. The food was cooked on a grill fastened to a rack on the back of a van, which included a decal on one of its back doors stating, “The church has left the building.”

The strategy was simple: meet needs through food service, make connections, and tell people about the love—and saving power—of Jesus. The church later reported that, through a series of Crossover-related events over the past couple of days, it had shared the gospel with 400 people and seen 17 put their faith in Christ.

Living Faith’s “tell gate” team was joined by members of SBC churches from as far away as Tennessee, Alabama, and Texas.

“Friends from around the country joined us to serve burgers door-to-door in Riverside today,” stated a June 8 post on the church’s Facebook page. “Together, we extended the love of Jesus in conversations and condiments.”

Tony Mathews, senior strategist of missional ministries for the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, was on the Living Faith team.

“It was an amazing event,” Mathews said. “Not only did we get to interact with the people in the neighborhoods, but we got to pray for them, pray for their families, and share the gospel with them. The response was incredible. You could tell they really appreciated what we were doing.

The North American Mission Board, which hosted Crossover 2024 in partnership with the State Convention of Baptists in Indiana and the Indianapolis-based Crossroads Baptist Association, said 44 local churches participated in the event from June 3-8. Those efforts included block parties, sports camps, health clinics, door-to-door evangelism, and service projects. Students from several Southern Baptist seminaries also participated in Crossover, NAMB reported. A number of SBTC churches participated in the event, as well.

“As followers of Jesus we are all called to engage the world around us through personal evangelism,” said JJ Washington, NAMB’s national director for personal evangelism. “Crossover is an event where we get to put that into practice. I’ve been thrilled to see Indiana Baptist churches embrace the opportunity both in the preparation leading up to Crossover and in proclaiming Jesus to the people in their communities scattered throughout Indianapolis.”

Mathews said plans are already underway for Crossover 2025 when the SBC Annual Meeting comes to Dallas. SBTC churches are invited to a NAMB-hosted Crossover interest meeting, which will include an evangelism toolkit training, scheduled for Oct. 22 at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano.

Information from the North American Mission Board was used in this report.

Supporting the point, not making the point

Finding sermon illustrations can sometimes seem daunting. In my own process, finding an illustration is often the last task that keeps my sermon from being complete. Authors have made a boatload of money churning out books of illustrations, but a sermon illustration doesn’t have to be complicated to be great. It just needs to help your sermon transition from the exposition of the text to the application of the text.

Think of the illustration as the transmission of your car. The source of power for your car is the engine, but for your car to travel effectively and efficiently, you need something that will translate that power into energy that can be applied to the wheels in a way that is appropriate for the conditions you are traveling in. All things being equal, if you had two identical cars—same model, same engine, even the same driver, but one had a six-speed transmission and one had a three-speed transmission—the six-speed would be faster and more efficient. Why? The transmission would allow it to apply the engine’s power more effectively and consistently.

This is what a good illustration can do: provide the mental shift from understanding the text in abstraction to applying the power of the text in the life of the believer. A great sermon illustration helps make that transition.

Find the point of connection

Some think that for an illustration to be good, it must be a personal, powerful story, but almost anything can serve as an illustration: the workings of nature, history, current events—the list can go on. The key here is the illustration doesn’t have to be an incredibly powerful example, nor an allegory of the point. Instead, you just need to find the point of connection between the potential illustration and the point of your sermon. In fact, the closer the illustration and the point of the sermon are to one another, the more memorable and effective the message tends to be.

Keep your illustrations common

Illustrations should generally be familiar to your congregation. Since your illustration is meant to help your audience grasp the point, it doesn’t help if they have to work to understand your illustration. But if it is something they have experienced, they can immediately identify. Moreover, if you pick something common to their life, it can serve as a subtle reminder of the point.

To this day, I think about the resurrection every time I eat pancakes. Why? Because 14 years ago, a chapel speaker illustrated the logical chain that Paul built in 1 Corinthians 15:12–19 by comparing it to the steps necessary to be able to eat a pancake: If there was no visit to the store, then there would be no pancake batter in the pantry and, thus, no pancakes. In the same way, if there is no resurrection of the dead, then there was no resurrection of Christ, and thus no hope. It’s simple, familiar, and constantly reminds me of the centrality and necessity of the resurrection.

Keep illustrations in their proper role

When we illustrate, there are two pitfalls to be aware of. First, it is possible to let the illustration drive the sermon. Sometimes it comes from trying too hard to “work in” a specific illustration. Sometimes it happens without us even realizing it. But if we let the illustration start making the point instead of supporting the point, it could ultimately lead us into misreading the text and misleading our flock. So, when you are seeking an illustration, make sure the point you are making is crystal clear before you look for the illustration.

Second, if we use a personal story as an illustration, we run the risk of making someone other than Jesus the hero of our sermon. But if you keep Jesus as the hero, the text’s point as the sermon’s point, and you find an illustration that will help you transition to application, then your illustration will have served its purpose well.

Illustrations can be useful tools in our preaching ministries, but don’t go overboard. Preach the text of God’s Word and let illustrations be a support, not the main point.

SBTC DR response to SE Texas storms mark ‘longest, most involved deployment’ since Hurricane Harvey

HOUSTON—As spring storms pummeled Southeast Texas, including the greater Houston area, Southern Baptists of Texas Convention Disaster Relief volunteers, with help from Baptist DR teams from other states, launched and maintained a steady monthlong response to the emergency.

The response included serving survivors and first responders with logistical support, hot meals, showers, laundry services, chaplaincy assistance, and recovery operations.

“This has been the longest and most involved deployment since Hurricane Harvey,” SBTC DR Director Scottie Stice said. “It’s involved a series of smaller events spread out over the state. We’ve been there to help.”

SBTC DR volunteers responded to April storms that impacted Trinity, Polk, San Jacinto, Walker, Montgomery, Liberty, and East Harris counties in Southeast Texas. They also served survivors of a May storm event in Hardin County and, as of this writing, are on standby status to respond to a tornado that hit the Temple/Belton area in May.

The disasters keep coming.

On May 24, SBTC DR feeding volunteers using the kitchen at Flint Baptist Church fed 160 first responders and members of the public affected by a tornado in Palestine. That work continued on May 25.

“We’ve been busy, and we continue to be busy,” Stice said. “DR response can be a moving target.”

Helping Houston

The greater Houston area prompted the largest response of the spring to date. With their main base of operations set up at Spring Baptist Church in Spring, SBTC DR and Arkansas Baptist DR teams provided showers and did dozens of loads of laundry in addition to completing clean-up at 12 homes and chainsaw work.

Also in Houston, Clay Road Baptist Church continues to offer survivors shower and laundry services.

In North Houston, SBTC DR teams continued their groundbreaking partnership with the Salvation Army, staffing a mass-feeding kitchen site. Teams contributed 2,220 volunteer hours to prepare 20,235 meals distributed by Salvation Army personnel. In addition to mass-feeding operations from large field kitchens, SBTC quick-response mobile unit workers spent 320 volunteer hours preparing and serving 1,017 meals to Salvation Army and other SBTC DR volunteers.

Outside the Bayou City

SBTC DR volunteers also supported the San Jacinto County Shelter, providing 997 showers and doing 236 loads of laundry until May 24.

Chainsaw and recovery teams from First Baptist Bellville responded to needs in their community, northwest of Houston, by completing 27 jobs, logging 18 heavy equipment hours, and contributing 240 volunteer hours.

SBTC DR equipment and teams additionally set up headquarters at Central Baptist Church in Livingston on May 12. Since then, more than 746 meals have been served, 268 showers provided, 92 loads of laundry done, and 56 home cleanup requests completed with 10 more pending. SBTC DR teams alone have clocked 3,820 volunteer hours at Livingston in a deployment which also involved Baptist DR teams from Oklahoma and Florida.

At the American Red Cross shelter set up at Cleveland ISD’s Pine Burr Elementary school, SBTC DR teams from the Top O’ Texas Association continue to staff a shower and laundry unit as they have since May 16.

“Pine Burr houses the largest Red Cross shelter at the moment,” Stice said. “Our volunteers have done a phenomenal job here as elsewhere … [with ] lots of ministry, lots of gospel conversations, lots of encouraging folks.”

Also in Cleveland, SBTC DR and other state Baptist volunteers based at Calvary Baptist Church began cleanup operations which were suspended on May 25 till floodwaters recede.

At Huntsville, an SBTC QRU and volunteers supported the shelter established at the H.E.A.R.T.S. Veterans Museum of Texas until May 6, while at Liberty County, an SBTC DR shower and laundry unit supported survivors from May 7-13.

Cleanup operations based at Coldspring in San Jacinto County, staffed by Baptist DR teams from Arizona and New Mexico, also took place, with operations closing on May 25.

Meanwhile, in Hardin County, SBTC DR teams served 30 volunteer hours, cleaning out three damaged homes.

“It has been a very busy spring,” Stice said, expressing thanks not only for SBTC DR volunteers who give so much but also for the out-of-state teams who came to help Texas survivors.

“We appreciate the prayer and financial support of SBTC churches through the Cooperative Program and Reach Texas giving,” Stice added.

Tapping into the real power behind pastoral ministry

There are many ways to fail as a pastor. In the last few years alone, we’ve witnessed moral failure, theological error, and cultural accommodation destroy the ministries of men like us. However, one insidious failure that is often overlooked is prayerlessness.

While most pastors are good at remaining vigilant against temptation and guarding their theology, many frequently neglect prayer. A recent Lifeway Research study found that nearly 75% of pastors say they need to invest more time to become consistent in prayer.

The New Testament, however, knows nothing of prayerless spiritual leaders. Consider that Jesus prayed for His disciples and all those who would be joined to Him by faith (John 17:17–21). In the early days of the church, the apostles refused to allow worthwhile ministry needs to shift their focus from “prayer and the ministry of the Word” (Acts 6:4). Paul told the Romans that he “unceasingly” mentioned them in his prayers (Romans 1:9-10), as he did the Ephesians (Ephesians 1:16) and Philippians (Philippians 1:3–4).

Jesus and the apostles consistently express their dependence on the work of God to build the church through prayer. Derek Prime and Alistair Begg argue in their book, On Being a Pastor: Understanding Our Calling and Work, that prayer is the “principal and main work” of pastoral ministry since it is the first way we exercise care for our people and the foundation of an effective teaching ministry.

Brothers, when we can do ministry without prayer, we are in dangerous territory, unanchored to our biblical calling, guilty of prideful self-sufficiency, and on the way toward a fall. But God is gracious in forgiving us of our prayerlessness and gives us a guide for prayer in His Word.

I have found the following prayers from Paul’s letters particularly helpful in cultivating humility and dependence on God for my ministry. Each prayer challenges the belief at the root of prayerlessness—namely, that I can fulfill my calling without God’s help.

We should pray for unity among our people (Romans 15:5-6)

Because conflict is a normal part of church life, many pastors have grown adept at navigating it with careful and loving leadership. However, the unity that glorifies God is a work of His Spirit (Ephesians 4:3). Therefore, we should pray for God’s blessing of unity and harmony among our people.

We should pray that our people would have insight into spiritual truth (Ephesians 1:15–20)

While we should never neglect the faithful preaching and teaching of God’s Word to His people, we know their spiritual insight must come from the illuminating work of God’s Spirit. As we prepare our sermons and lessons, we should pray that our people receive spiritual benefit from what they hear and ask God to bless their personal time spent in the Word.

We should pray for the sanctification and perseverance of our people (Colossians 1:9–14)

Though we’d like to think our sermons are weighty enough to equip our people for faithfulness throughout the week and that our advice can give them victory over sin, we are poor replacements for the Holy Spirit, whose work is to sanctify them. We should ask the Spirit to continue the good work He began in them and strengthen them to live godly and fruitful lives.

We should pray that God would glorify Himself through our people (2 Thessalonians 1:11–12)

God has entrusted the people in our churches to us for a season, but we should never forget they belong to Him. Their lives, therefore, are not merely reflections of our ministries but of the God who saved them by His grace. We should pray that God works in them to glorify the name of Jesus.

We should thank God for our people (Philippians 1:2–7; 1 Thessalonians 1:1–3)

Finally, as we lift our people up to the Lord in prayer, we should consistently thank Him for the privilege of shepherding them and for their partnership in the gospel. Our church members are created by God, redeemed by Jesus, and indwelt by the Spirit. Every conversation and interaction we have with them is a gift!

None of us is as consistent in prayer as he would like, but we owe it to ourselves, our people, and to God to persist and grow in this essential task. The fruitfulness of our ministries depends on it. Let us, therefore, recover the biblical and historical commitment to pray for the people we lead, and let’s watch as God hears our prayers and answers them for His glory.