Author: Russell Lightner

Examining social media and our motives as pastors

Pastors and social media are sometimes a dangerous duo. I am obviously not opposed to social media, as many of you would not even see this article without it.  It can be a great way to stay connected with friends and family, as well as to inspire, inform, and equip your people. 

Although I have used media tools extensively in my pastorates, as well as my ministry to pastors in North America, there is a blurred line between connecting and overconnecting. Let’s take a minute to unblur that line by auditing our motives with three questions:

1

Are you are overexposing your ‘acts of righteousness?

I started writing this post on an airplane after my wife Janet and I spoke at a ministry marriage retreat. That event went well, yet no one posted or tagged any pictures of it on social media. Last week, I spoke at three events in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, and again, no pictures or tags were to be found on the social channels I use.  

Did these events even happen if there was no evidence of it on social media? More importantly, why should I even care?

Jesus warned the religious leaders of His day, “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. Otherwise, you have no reward with your Father in heaven” (Matthew 6:1 CSB).

2

Are you overconnecting to the point of not being present?

I find it ironic when older adults with Apple watches get annoyed  by younger people who stare constantly at their phones, because I experience more interruptions from watch alerts than I do phones. I am not suggesting you shut everything down. Just consider dialing back your notification settings a few notches and see if it improves your conversations and thought life. 

3

Are you overly concerned about what others think about you?

Everyone likes to be liked, but the Pharisees were putting on a show as they prayed, gave, and fasted. Preachers become posers when we go out of our way to draw the attention and applause of people. 

“Be especially careful when you are trying to be good so that you don’t make a performance out of it. It might be good theater, but the God who made you won’t be applauding” (Matthew 6:1 MSG).

If you are interested in pastoring with a basin and a towel instead of a picture and a post, here are a few practical ways to help you connect with others better online and offline:

  • Write a note to someone who cannot help move the needle on your ministry.
  • Comment on a social media channel about something a small church pastor said or did that blessed you.
  • Practice generosity without using it as a sermon illustration.
  • Visit a nursing home without being asked or posting a picture.
  • Take a social media fast for a week and use that time to invest it in your soul.
  • Audit your time on media and social media this week.

Ask the Holy Spirit to give you discernment about your motives and methods of using media and social media in your ministry, then make whatever changes He leads you to make. 

Lone Star Scoop • November 2023

Reach Texas giving in 2022-23 sets record

GRAPEVINE With the 2023-2024 Reach Texas State Missions Offering in full swing, the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention is celebrating the generosity of its churches during last year’s campaign. SBTC churches gave $1,673,560 to Reach Texas—the most ever collected in a single year for the offering. The offering period covers September 2022 to August 2023. It marked the second time in three years a record Reach Texas offering was collected. The second-highest offering came during the 2020-2021 campaign, when $1,527,969 was given by SBTC churches. SBTC Executive Director Nathan Lorick said giving to Reach Texas is critical for the advancement of missions and evangelism strategies across the state and expressed gratitude for yet another year of sacrificial giving on the part of convention churches. “I am so grateful for the generosity of SBTC churches and their common desire to reach Texas and impact the world together,” Lorick said. Reach Texas funds a variety of gospel-fueled efforts, including church planting, disaster relief, missions mobilization, and the annual Empower Conference, which emphasizes evangelism.   The 2023-2024 statewide challenge goal is $1.6 million. For more information or to give, visit sbtexas.com/reachtexas. —Texan staff
Melton, a ‘great woman of God,’ passes away at age 90

ABILENE Mary Frances Teaff Melton died Wednesday morning, Sept. 20, in Abilene. She was 90 years old.

A Texas native, she married her husband of 72 years, T.C. Melton, in 1951. Mary Frances was a graduate of Hardin Simmons University and taught in public schools for 20 years.

The Meltons served churches in West Texas for decades as pastor and wife. Later, they became an encouragement to pastors in that part of the state and great supporters of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention as T.C. became a consultant for the convention.

Said SBTC Executive Director Nathan Lorick: “The Meltons have been such a blessing to the SBTC. Mary Frances served the Lord faithfully with such a sweet spirit. Our hearts and prayers are with T.C. and the Melton family as they grieve the loss of a great woman of God.”

SBTC Executive Director Emeritus Jim Richards, Lorick’s predecessor, knew the Meltons well.

“Mary Frances Melton was a supportive pastor’s wife and vital ministry partner for over 70 years,” Richards said. “It is impossible to tally, this side of heaven, the ways God blessed His people through her. I’m praying for my friend T.C. as we all await the day when we’ll see her again.”

— Texan staff

SBTC DR responds to Florida after Hurricane Idalia

PERRY, Fla.  Though national media attention regarding Hurricane Idalia has ceased, recovery from the disaster continues. The category 4 storm slammed into Florida’s Big Bend region on Aug. 30. Southern Baptists of Texas Disaster Relief teams answered the state’s call for assistance in late September and remained working in Taylor County in early October.

An SBTC DR chainsaw team under the direction of Monte Furrh of Bonham arrived in the Perry area first. Six volunteers worked 10-hour days for a week and completed seven time-consuming chainsaw jobs. That task included removing large limbs—known as widow-makers due to their dangerous potential to harm people if left in place—from damaged trees or helping homeowners with downed trees. Furrh’s team was relieved by another North Texas team directed by Jesse Hauptrief of Anna on Oct. 1. 

Florida homeowner Randy Newman posted his thanks for the SBTC DR team’s help on Facebook. “Them showing up to our house was a godsend,” Newman wrote. “They worked all day cutting trees, most of them ‘widow-makers.’ They started the day with a prayer for safety, our community, and for me and [my wife] personally. I can’t explain the true compassion they have for all of us involved in the storm.”

— Jane Rodgers

Prestonwood’s Corredera featured in ‘I am Second’ video

PLANO  Gilberto Corredera, pastor of Prestonwood en Español, was recently featured in the popular Christian testimony video series, “I Am Second.”

In the video, Corredera shares about his life journey. He accepted Christ as a teen in his native Cuba, where he also experienced his call to ministry. He eventually brought his family to America to seek a better life, but before long, found himself out of ministry and washing dishes to make a living. He says his “pride was broken” during that time, but he goes on to share how God eventually opened doors for him to minister once again. 

Now the pastor of one of Prestonwood’s fastest-growing ministries, Prestonwood en Español hosts three services and ministers to people in 19 nations. It is also featured on a weekly television program on Telemundo Dallas that is broadcast to thousands of people.

“I never really imagined God was going to take me out of a broken family from a small town … to bring me to a great nation and to a great church to share my faith and be a bearer of a message of hope to the nations,” Corredera says in the video. “It is what God can do by His grace.”

— Texan staff  

Renewed commitment to crying out to God is leading to transformation at FBC Troup

Prayer before progress

Preston Lindsey has worn a lot of hats in his lifetime. He’s been a logger, pipe-fitter, oil field roughneck, telephone lineman, and a shipping manager and transportation director for a grocery chain. He spent 15 years as an agriculture teacher with the Troup Independent School District before becoming its director of support services, a position he holds today.

One thing the 65-year-old never expected to be was a pastor. Yet, since January 2023, he has worn that hat as well, pastoring at First Baptist Church in Troup—where, through an emphasis on prayer, the church is experiencing new life. 

A native East Texan, Lindsey was raised in Mixon—a tiny community with fewer than 100 residents located seven miles southwest of Troup—trusting Christ at age 10. He married his high school sweetheart, Kelli, attended Kilgore College, and later earned a degree from the University of Texas at Tyler. Lindsey still resides near Mixon on 50 acres with Kelli and two adult children, both with special needs. Another daughter and her family also live nearby.

“He was leading me to be a pastor somewhere. It pretty much scared me to death.”

—Preston Lindsey Tweet

No stranger to church work, Lindsey served 40 years as a deacon at FBC Mixon, where he led dozens of mission trips. Following a mission trip to Mexico two decades ago, he realized he was serving himself more than serving God. 

“I realized then I wanted to serve Christ with all my heart,” he recalled. As he reached his 60s, he “really began to feel the call.” God was doing something. “He was leading me to be a pastor somewhere,” Lindsey said. “It pretty much scared me to death.” 

Meanwhile, FBC Troup lost its pastor in June 2022. Lindsey understood some of the circumstances. He knew many people at the church and was saddened by its struggles. One Monday morning, Lindsey drove by FBC Troup as usual on his way to work at the school district. He pulled into the church parking lot to pray for the church, its members, and the community.  

Within 30 minutes, he received a call from one of the FBC Troup deacons asking him to fill the pulpit the following Sunday. He agreed, thinking the Lord might use him to help the deacons reorganize. He preached that Sunday and met with the deacons about the church’s issues. 

The revitalized youth department (seen on pages 11 and 13) at FBC Troup has embraced prayer and mission trips. (RIght) Pastor Preston Lindsey baptizes member Bracey Cover, one of 60-plus baptisms since Lindsey's arrival at FBC Troup. SUBMITTED PHOTOS

The next Monday morning, he once again found himself praying in the FBC Troup parking lot. 

“Lord, what are you asking me to do?” Lindsey recalled praying. Within 15 minutes, another FBC Troup deacon called to ask him to preach again the following Sunday. Lindsey agreed. The deacons then asked him to serve as interim pastor until things could be “straightened out.”

Lindsey was astonished. Yes, he was a lifelong Bible student, but he had no formal seminary training. He had just gotten through studying Moses with the youth group at FBC Mixon. Was it time to step out in faith?

“I wanted to serve the Lord,” he said.

So he said yes.

What followed is a “crazy story of what God’s doing,” Lindsey noted.

A matter of prayer

If his ministry at FBC Troup was to honor God, Lindsey knew it had to begin in prayer—a truth he had learned at the 2021 Southern Baptists of Texas Convention Annual Meeting in nearby Flint. At that gathering, he said he heard “preacher after preacher” talking about how prayer had changed their lives and their churches.

“I brought that focus to Troup,” he said. If  his involvement at the church began with prayer in the parking lot, his time as pastor would also start with prayer.

Whereas FBC Troup had once averaged around 120 in services, only 35-40 attended during the new pastor’s first month. The four deacons and Lindsey committed to pray, a commitment the church body, though small, also embraced.

They focused on 2 Chronicles 7:14-16, Lindsey said, spending weeks on that passage.

“We prayed in church services. We prayed as a deacon group. We really wanted to understand what humbling ourselves meant,” he recalled. The church held a 12-hour prayer vigil in 2022 and again in fall 2023, with people signing up for time slots and coming to the church to pray.

“After our church fell on our knees and asked the Lord for His direction, things happened,” Lindsey said.

It started in the youth department.

“We’ve had 60 baptisms so far this year. We’ve seen amazing things through our youth and the leadership. All that is of the Holy Spirit.”

—Preston Lindsey Tweet

Tragedy brings unity

“Our youth exploded,” said Lindsey, crediting youth director Matt Ranshaw and his wife, Brooke, for bringing new life to the group and encouraging mission trips. Like Lindsey, Ranshaw is bivocational, serving also as a policeman for Tyler ISD.

Students started sharing Christ with their friends. The youth brought their parents, friends, and family to church. More than 170 kids and 35 volunteer workers participated in a mid-October Wednesday night youth group meeting, Lindsey said. That increase has spilled over into the church, which now averages 200 on Sundays.

“We’ve had 60 baptisms so far this year,” Lindsey said. “We’ve seen amazing things through our youth and the leadership. All that is of the Holy Spirit.” 

Some of those amazing things started after a tragedy.

Youth camp at Piney Woods in July 2022 started out as a struggle, Ranshaw said. Kids were not gelling. Groups kept to themselves. Ranshaw was discouraged. Wednesday of camp week, he called Lindsey and learned that the congregation had prayed for youth camp that evening.

“After our church fell on our knees and asked the Lord for His direction, things happened.”

—Preston Lindsey Tweet

Things started changing quickly. Kids at camp started opening up that same night: students shared their struggles, some admitted to needing salvation, and others revealed brokenness. Camp ended on a spiritual mountaintop for many, and the students wanted to continue that when they got home.

The youth group started growing in numbers and spiritual maturity, which would soon be tested. On Sept. 9, 2022, during the Troup homecoming football game, junior player Cooper Reid—Lindsey’s cousin’s son—collapsed on the field. Cooper had gone to camp with the FBC Troup kids, although he attended another church.

Instead of the planned homecoming the following night, the school held a community prayer vigil for Cooper. FBC Troup kids attended, as did pastors, kids from other schools, and community members.

Ranshaw saw his students’ faith in action. 

“Sometimes you can teach kids all you want. Until they experience it, they won’t buy in,” he said, adding that he told his youth group, “Now you understand intercessory prayer.”

The youth and church continued to pray for Cooper, who has since returned home and continues to make progress. 

Progress is real for Ranshaw, Lindsey, and FBC Troup. And all the progress has come as God has continued to show Himself faithful through their continued prayers.

25 years of answered prayer with Chris Osborne & Nathan Lino

In November, the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention will mark 25 years of answered prayer at its Annual Meeting at Cross City Church in Euless. Each month leading up to the meeting, the Texan will feature a brief conversation with past SBTC presidents about how they have seen God answer their prayers for the convention over the past quarter century and how they are praying God will bless the convention moving forward. This month, we feature past SBTC presidents Chris Osborne (2003-2005) and Nathan Lino (2015-2017).

Chris Osborne

What were some of your earliest prayers for the SBTC?

I thoroughly enjoyed my time as president and there was one particular thing I prayed about. We were committed, and still are, to the idea of the inerrancy of Scripture and its vast importance in the lives of the churches. My prayer was that as we stood strongly in this vein, that we not become a people who moved from that into silly legalism. I did not want us to become, as Jesus said, people who “strain at a gnat and swallow a camel.”

What is your prayer for the next 25 years of the convention?

It is still my prayer for us that we remain solid on the Bible without going beyond its teaching into areas that will bind us to wrong-headed ideas. I loved and still love this convention and have the highest hopes for it in the future.

Nathan Lino

What were some of your earliest prayers for the SBTC? 

I prayed for our state convention plant to make it—for God to give Dr. [Jim] Richards [the SBTC’s first executive director] wisdom and perseverance, our convention money, and spiritual protection from the enemy. Our convention started with a convention planter literally running the convention from the front seat of his car. I prayed the new plant would become a convention that made it long term. 

How have you seen God answer your prayers regarding the convention? 

As some church plants become far more than we could ever dream or imagine, so did the convention that Dr. Richards planted. That we are a convention of 2,700 churches with a budget of $28 million facilitating the scope and scale of ministry we see today is a miracle of Jesus Christ. 

During your service as president, how were you praying for the convention? 

My big prayer during my presidency was to see a wave of under-40s pastors actively engage our convention. 

What is your prayer for the next 25 years of the SBTC? 

I pray that seeking the manifest presence of the Lord is a primary priority of our convention. Our churches are in need of revival and our state is in need of spiritual awakening. Our secular culture is turning on the Lord and the mission of the church in ways that are catching us unprepared. The only hope of the church in fulfilling our mission during the next 25 years is that we are filled with the manifest presence of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Q&A: Kaunitz reflects on two-year SBTC presidency, the power of the Holy Spirit, and the primacy of prayer

‘I’ve never been more encouraged or excited’

Todd Kaunitz, lead pastor of New Beginnings Baptist Church in Longview, will conclude two terms as president of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention at the convention’s Annual Meeting in November. Kaunitz recently spoke with Texan Editor Jayson Larson about how he has seen God move not only in the convention, but in himself, through a laser focus on prayer and a continued commitment to the Great Commission.

Prayer has been a focal point during your time as president. What do you know about prayer today that maybe you would say you didn’t know about it even a year ago?

TK: On a personal level, I feel like in many ways I’m learning how to pray for the first time. Even though I’m three years into this new prayer journey, I feel like the Lord is just showing me more and more about what it looks like to be a person whose posture of life is in submission to Him in prayer. From the pastoral side, I’ve learned so much. I’ve been humbled by the number of pastors I’ve been able to cross paths with, to be able to watch their prayer lives, and hear them talk about prayer. It’s been amazing to network with and learn from like-minded pastors who prioritize leading corporate prayer in their churches. I had no idea before this journey what I was missing personally and what our church was missing. I never want to go back to doing life and church without prayer being the highest priority. 

During your service as president, you, Nathan Lino (senior pastor at First Baptist Church Forney), Jason Paredes (lead pastor at Fielder Church in Arlington) and Nathan Lorick (SBTC executive director) began working together to host prayer retreats for pastors. How have you seen God use those retreats in the lives of those pastors and their churches?

TK: What we’ve seen is a hunger in the hearts of our SBTC pastors to allow prayer to be more incorporated into their daily lives and into the body life of their church. What I’ve witnessed through these prayer retreats is how God has knitted our hearts together with these pastors. 

I mean, the stories we are hearing through these retreats are so similar—stories of brokenness, of getting to the end of ourselves, of finding that what we’ve been missing all along is intimacy with Jesus and more of the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives and churches. We’re learning that what was lacking in our ministries wasn’t programs or strategies, but the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit. We have heard  story after story from pastors who have experienced personal spiritual renewal and who are implementing prayer as the ministry of first importance at their local church. They are leading their churches to become churches that are built upon prayer.

"I never want to go back to doing life and church without prayer being the highest priority."

Todd Kaunitz Tweet

The 2023 Annual Meeting is fast approaching. What are some of the victories we are going to be able to celebrate, and what are some of the challenges that lay ahead? 

TK: One of the things we are looking forward to at this year’s Annual Meeting is that it’s our 25th anniversary, so we get to celebrate the great work God has done. We get to honor 25 years of fruitful ministry, fruitful partnership. But what I’m most excited about is, we’re going to get a chance to dream about the future. Dr. Lorick, the SBTC staff, and a group of pastors and leaders from all over the state have been working on a fresh mission statement and strategy that we get to run toward over the next 25 years. I think it’s going to be a great balance of celebrating God’s work in the past and anticipating His work in the future. There are so many great things happening. 

As far as challenges, we’ve got to make sure we’re keeping the main thing, the main thing. We’re a big family, and just like any other family, there’s different expressions of how we walk in the shared values we have. As we gather and make business decisions and mission decisions, it’s critical that we make sure we’re holding tight to the commonalities we share as a family and not get distracted by some of the differences that are more peripheral or non-essential to the gospel movement we have been called to together. I think keeping that central is going to be key for us moving forward.

There’s been so much controversy and uncertainty at the national SBC level that has created a lot of discouragement in pastors—and I am one of those pastors. But the closer I get to our state convention, the more encouraged I am. I’ve seen key leaders in our convention who have different positions on various topics that could be divisive, but these leaders are talking through some of these tough issues with humility and grace and in a way that brings us closer together rather than driving us apart—it just encourages me so much. I’ve never been more encouraged and more excited about what’s happening at the state level. To see the partnership we share with theologically conservative churches that are passionately committed to the Great Commission, that’s a very special gift God has given us and we shouldn’t take it for granted. We should count it a privilege to be a part of such a great state convention that is so unified and so missionally focused.

“I am praying we will see a movement of the gospel that advances the Great Commission across our state and around the world and that we would see the greatest gospel movement in the history of the church.”

Todd Kaunitz Tweet

What will your prayers for the SBTC look like over the next 25 years?

TK: There are three key things I’m praying for our state convention. Number one is that we would become a praying convention. I know that historically, God has had given us leadership that believes in prayer and that believes prayer should be primary for us. I pray that in the future, we will see a prayer movement that would usher in revival and spiritual awakening and that the power of God would be unleashed. Number two, I pray the Holy Spirit would unify us, that we would stand together in our core doctrines and in the missional calling we have—that we would do that without wavering regardless of what culture says or does.

Thirdly, as we pray together and stand unified, I am praying we will see a movement of the gospel that advances the Great Commission across our state and around the world and that we would see the greatest gospel movement in the history of the church. That’s what I’ve been praying for these past two years, and that’s what I’ll continue to pray for in the days ahead.

Gift cards are great, but these things will really bless your pastor

It’s October, a month when many churches observe Pastor Appreciation Month. That means there will soon be hundreds of gift cards and thank you notes stuffed into envelopes faster than you can say “Pumpkin Spice Latte.” There’s nothing at all wrong with this. I can think of far worse things that could happen to a pastor than having a three-month supply of Whataburger gift cards in his desk drawer.

But there are other ways you can show the pastor or pastors in your life appreciation. Consider blessing your pastor in these ways:

Take ownership

When I think about our Southern Baptists of Texas Convention pastors—most of whom lead small, rural churches—I think about men who are overloaded and, frankly, more prone to do things themselves than ask for help. That’s why it blessed my heart so much when, as a pastor, I’d hear stories of church members caring for and meeting one another’s needs. It made me feel like all the weight of caring for people wasn’t just on my shoulders.

Want to show your pastor appreciation? Ask him if you can make a follow-up call to one or two of the people who visited your church this past Sunday. Go see someone in the hospital who needs a visit. Help him carry the burden of caring not only for your members, but the people who wander into your church every week looking for answers and help. You can’t imagine what a gift this will be to your pastor.

Protect his boundaries

As a first-time lead pastor, I thought it would be noble to let our members and guests know I would always—always—be available to them. What I meant was, “Hey, if you find yourself in crisis at 2 a.m., call me and I’ll be there as soon as I can.” What a small fraction of them heard was, “Hey, when you’re driving your semi and bored at 4 a.m., give me a call and we can talk college football!” It didn’t take long for me to realize I needed to adjust the expectations I had set for myself.

Want to show your pastor appreciation? Beat him to the punch when it comes to respecting his boundaries. Remember that he’s got a wife and kids who have schedules of their own and a dog and bills and all the things you’ve got—in addition to caring for people in the church. Be patient and understanding when he doesn’t immediately answer your emails and texts. Keep in mind he may struggle to get two consecutive days off in the same week, and if he does, he’s likely going to try to take those days on a Friday, Saturday, or Monday.

Honor his family

God doesn’t call individuals into ministry. He calls entire families, and each member of a called family experiences the pressures of ministry. So whenever and however you honor your pastor—be it gift cards or words of gratitude—remember to honor his family as well. Even a simple acknowledgement of the entire family’s service to the church will go a long way toward warming your pastor’s heart and making him feel appreciated not just this month, but all year long.

Families who planted Houston church came for NASA, stayed to spread the gospel

F

amilies who moved to the Clear Lake community of southeast Houston to start the U.S. space program more than five decades ago started something else that continues to impact the world: Clear Lake Baptist Church. 

They met in homes for a while and sent mailers to the community to gauge interest—and they had a great turnout, said John Aaron Matthew, pastor of Clear Lake Baptist Church. “They have continued to minister here in the community and meet needs, to be a light for all these years,” he said.

Some of the founding members are still there, having retired from NASA or related contractors IBM or Boeing, and newer generations of space program workers have come along. “It’s pretty fun to have these people as deacons and church members,” Matthew said.

“It’s cool to know that those who are working at the highest levels of science believe in God as our Creator and they are worshiping Him even from the space station and even as they’re working on these projects.”

—John Aaron Matthew Tweet

One new member recently graduated from college and moved to Houston to work for Mission Control, and another church member has trained astronauts. The pastor is friends with the daughter of an astronaut who perished in the Challenger explosion. 

When Matthew was on a trip to Israel with the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention last year, his friend Bob Hines was the pilot on a SpaceX mission to the International Space Station. 

“As I was posting pictures of what we were seeing from the ground, he sent me pictures of us from space and said, ‘Looks like you guys are having a great time,’” Matthew recounted.

Popular opinion doesn’t link science with God, but Matthew has heard countless testimonies of God’s involvement from members dating to the beginning of the space program. Hines, for instance, was praying for people on earth while he was in the space station, Matthew said. 

“It’s cool to know that those who are working at the highest levels of science believe in God as our Creator and they are worshiping Him even from the space station and even as they’re working on these projects,” Matthew said. “Person after person at high levels at NASA have faith, and they are worshiping God, and they view what they’re doing as part of using their gifts and abilities to glorify God. They see Him in creation all around.”

John Aaron Matthew, pastor of Clear Lake Baptist Church in Houston, travels to India for a missions partnership in which he teaches biblical theology to support church planting.

A New Orleans native, Matthew graduated from Southwestern Seminary before working in college ministry with the Tennessee Baptist Convention and earning a Doctor of Ministry from Southeastern Seminary. Along the way, God drew his heart to church revitalization. 

He discovered Clear Lake, which had been used by God to do great things but was in a season of decline, and God moved him there with his wife Emily and two children in 2015. At the time, the church was mainly senior adults and his 5-year-old and 3-year-old were two of about 10 children attending.

“We haven’t seen fast, explosive growth, but as we’ve been faithful to preach and to pray and to love and to stay, we’ve seen God bring health and growth to our church in a meaningful way,” Matthew said. “Our church is spiritually healthy, loving, and unified.”

Attendance on Sundays ranges from 150 in the summer to 200 on a high attendance day, and the children’s ministry has grown to about 40 kids, he said.

“It didn’t happen overnight, but now we’ve got a leadership team of about 30 people that went to the Equip Conference and were encouraged,” Matthew said. “It’s a challenge to develop leaders, and it takes time, but we have new leaders stepping up and a growing ministry to young families.”

The children’s ministry at Clear Lake Baptist Church in Houston grew from about 10 kids in 2015 to 40 children most Sundays now.
Clear Lake ministers to about 30 children every week through an afterschool program it started at a local elementary school. SUBMITTED PHOTO

God used a love for reaching the nations to draw Matthew to Clear Lake. Houston is the most diverse city in America, he said, with more ethnic groups than any other city. Ministry to international students had been part of Matthew’s college work, and the University of Houston campus in Clear Lake appealed to him.

Also, Matthew had a previous missions partnership in India, and he led Clear Lake to get involved. “As a small church that doesn’t necessarily have a ton of resources, we still can make a Great Commission impact,” Matthew said, adding that the church was introduced by the International Mission Board to a church planting network in India. 

“We’re able to fund monthly support for 10 church planting families among 10 different unreached people groups in India,” he said. Matthew also travels occasionally to teach biblical theology to about 100 Indian church planters. 

“We just got a report that this network of churches that we sponsor has shared the gospel with nearly 1.3 million people” and saw more than 158,000 decisions made for Christ, he said. 

Locally, Clear Lake established a food pantry to feed the community. When COVID demands pressed beyond their ability to provide, they reached out to five other churches for help. Now Clear Lake partners with those churches to run an independent food pantry providing groceries for about 300 families per week. 

The church also started an afterschool program in a local elementary school, ministering to about 30 children each week, said Matthew—who also serves as chairman of the SBTC’s Texas Ethics and Religious Liberty Committee and on the leadership team of the convention’s Young Pastor Network.

“When you invest in a church and you take time and you don’t give up, you see fruit,” Matthew said. “Fruit doesn’t come quickly, typically. It takes years of tending and cultivation. But when you walk through difficulties, you get to be a part of experiencing the spiritual fruit that God brings in season.”

Lone Star Scoop • October 2023

TBHC to mark 500th adoption with ceremony

Texas Baptist Home for Children will soon mark its 500th adoption, TBHC President Jason Curry told the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention Executive Board during its August meeting in Grapevine. A special celebration focusing on adoptions is planned at TBHC’s Waxahachie headquarters on Nov. 16—just before Ellis County’s official Adoption Day recognition and two days before National Adoption Day on Nov. 18.

By the time of the November celebration, the actual 500th adoption will have already taken place, said Scott Arthur, TBHC development supervisor, who noted that the festivities will honor all the adoptive families thus far.

“We are celebrating numbers 1 to 500,” said Arthur, adding that the November event will also mark the kickoff of the “For the Future 500” campaign to take the organization forward.

—Texan staff

Wildfires, storms send SBTC DR crews into the field to serve

Southern Baptists of Texas Convention Disaster Relief feeding crews deployed in Jasper, preparing meals for first responders and the community following August’s Shearwood Creek wildfires. About a dozen SBTC DR volunteers from Hillcrest Baptist Church in Jasper met their community’s needs, producing 100-150 meals per day over a three-day period from Aug. 24-26.

Wildfires near the Panhandle town of Lefors, which caused the evacuation of that community and school district on Sept. 8, also prompted the deployment of the SBTC DR Quick Response Unit from Pampa to serve first responders and volunteers.

Two SBTC DR chainsaw crews deployed to Tennessee the week of Sept. 10, said Scottie Stice, SBTC DR director. The volunteers assisted survivors of summer windstorms in an ongoing recovery effort. A future deployment to Maui may also occur, but SBTC DR help has not been requested at this time.

Meanwhile, West Brownsville Baptist Church continues its border ministry, with volunteers preparing almost 3,400 meals supplied by SBTC DR in August. The gospel was presented 2,882 times that month with 631 professions of faith seen by Pastor Carlos Navarro and his church members.

—Jane Rodgers

Several Texans named to SBC Cooperation Group

NASHVILLE  Addressing “things we have never done before” in the history of the Southern Baptist Convention will permeate discussions of those who will present a report next June that could reassert or redefine what constitutes a church to be in friendly cooperation with the SBC, said President Bart Barber. 

A 20-member Cooperation Group was named by Barber in September and came about from a motion at the 2023 SBC Annual Meeting in New Orleans that placed the group’s formation in Barber’s hands. Jared Wellman, pastor of Tate Springs Baptist Church in Arlington, will serve as chair. 

 Other members include Matt Henslee – associational missionary, Collins Baptist Association in McKinney; Jason Paredes, lead pastor, Fielder Church in Arlington; Jim Richards, executive director emeritus, Southern Baptists of Texas Convention; and Juan Sanchez, senior pastor, High Pointe Baptist Church in Austin. Tony Wolfe, executive director-treasurer of the South Carolina Baptist Convention who formerly served as the SBTC’s associate executive director, will also serve on the group.

—Baptist Press

Move Conference attracts growing number of young adults

McALLEN  BT Church hosted its third annual Move Conference on Aug. 25-26. More than 200 young adults attended—an increase of 40 percent from last year. The aim of the conference is to help adults ages 18-29 navigate life’s big challenges.

Guest speakers and breakout leaders focused on topics including discipleship, faith in the workplace, mental health, finances, career mapping, social media as ministry, and studying Scripture. One breakout session offered resume-building and interview tips, while another focused on spiritual disciplines and practices. 

“I really believe this year we were challenged and encouraged to pursue Jesus to experience holiness more realistically,” said a conferencegoer named Angelo. “I definitely left refreshed and excited to seek out revival in my every day.”

“I wasn’t expecting the presence of the Lord to be there so quickly or be so strong, but Friday, as soon as worship started, I could feel Him and it was powerful,” added Jessica, another attendee.

—Jane Rodgers

Abilene church sees enrollment continue to rise at Christian academy

ABILENE  When Abilene Classical Academy opened its third school year this fall at South Side Baptist Church, it did so with a growing number of students. 

Enrollment at the school, which follows a three-day-a-week model and welcomes students pre-K through eighth grade, has swelled from 60 students to 125, said Blake White, South Side Baptist Church’s lead pastor. White said the school has its own 501c3 designation and is tuition-driven, but the church also gives support. 

Article XII of the Baptist Faith & Message 2000 regarding education inspired the founding of Abilene Classical, White said. The school also met a local niche by being “robustly biblical” and “classically-oriented,” he added.

“We are coming alongside parents: Christ-centered, classical, collaborative,” White said.

—Jane Rodgers

Fort Worth pastor bestows priceless gift by donating kidney to staff member

A blessing, to give and to receive

Rudy Kebreau and Randal Lyle are bound by far more than their mutual faith and pastoral calling these days. Lyle, senior pastor at Meadowridge Community Baptist Church, gave Kebreau, his next generation and children’s pastor, a priceless gift this summer when he donated a kidney to his friend and associate.

It was an unlikely match made this side of heaven that even astounded transplant doctors who rarely, if ever, see perfect matches between Anglo donors and Haitian-American recipients. Yet, after extensive testing, Lyle met all the markers for donating a kidney to Kebreau. 

“God gave me good health and God brought us together,” said Lyle, 52. “We want the Lord to be glorified in this. He put it all together.”

The pastor sees the transplant process as an object lesson for his congregation. “We are a multi-ethnic church,” Lyle said. “I think it was a testimony that, in a sense, we are all the same. The issue was never anyone’s background or skin color or anything.”

“The church had been praying for Rudy and trying to figure out how to help him. Donating a kidney was not on my radar.”

—Randal Lyle Tweet

From Boston to the Metroplex

Kebreau, 48, never expected to leave his native Boston for Texas. But God called and Southwestern Seminary beckoned, so he and his family moved to Fort Worth.

Kebreau, his wife, and two daughters started attending Meadowridge a decade ago, during his last semester in seminary. Lyle had been the pastor about nine years at that point and Meadowridge was blooming again following a revitalization effort started 10 years prior with the assistance of Wedgwood Baptist Church.

“Everyone [in the family] liked the different departments,” Kebreau recalled about the church. “We decided to make it a home. … We came for the church.”

Soon the church came calling for Kebreau, when Meadowridge’s children’s minister left. Kebreau, who by then had completed a Master of Arts in Christian school education at Southwestern, had to be persuaded to apply for the job.

“I put in my resume just so everybody would leave me alone,” Kebreau said with a chuckle. “The Lord just did what He was going to do.” Kebreau came on staff in March 2014 and was an immediate blessing, Lyle said. 

“It was the Lord’s providential timing,” Lyle said. Little did he or Kebreau understand then just how providential the timing was.

Lyle visited Kebreau’s hospital room following the successful procedure. Kebreau is continuing to recover following the transplant and hopes to be back at work soon. SUBMITTED PHOTO

‘Why would I not help?’

Kebreau, who through a variety of circumstances had lost insurance coverage while in seminary, had let his diabetes go unchecked for years. His ankles began swelling and his blood pressure became dangerously elevated. Consultation with a nephrologist revealed Kebreau’s kidneys were failing.

It seemed like the worst news possible. Kebreau had lost his mother to kidney failure years before. He reluctantly went on home dialysis and was placed on a transplant list at Texas Health Fort Worth. The Kebreaus received the impression it would take years for Rudy to get a kidney.

“The church had been praying for Rudy and trying to figure out how to help him,” Lyle said. “Donating a kidney was not on my radar.” Yet from time to time, he wondered if he could donate.

“Whatever God blessed you with is to bless other people,” Lyle said. “I knew my good health was for more than going to the gym.”

At the same time, Lyle was reading A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life, a book by 18th century English theologian William Law, a man who influenced George Whitefield and John Wesley. As part of his thesis, Law exhorts wealthy Christians to use their gifts for God’s glory. 

Lyle realized that exhortation had deeper implications. “It’s as if the Holy Spirit prompted me, ‘You’ve got an extra kidney,’” he said. “If I have an extra kidney and a brother who needs help, why would I not help?”

Lyle’s wife, Samantha, “didn’t bat an eye” when the pastor gave her the news.

“OK, if that’s what God is telling you to do, go ahead,” she urged.

Lyle submitted the online transplant application and the transplant center contacted Lyle, who was soon undergoing psychological and physical testing and counseling required for potential donors.

“I felt healthy,” he said. “But I didn’t know if I could pass the test. They drew lots of blood. They checked for every disease known to man, did chest x-rays, heart exams, kidney tests, organ tests.” 

Not only did the test results come back fine, but Lyle matched every marker needed to be Kebreau’s kidney donor.

The two pastors learned the good news in late March 2023 and announced it to the church in April. At Kebreau’s insistence, they set the date for the procedure for late June, after Meadowridge’s vacation Bible school and following his daughter’s high school graduation in May.

On June 28, Lyle endured a laparoscopic procedure to detach the healthy kidney, although the actual kidney removal necessitated a larger abdominal incision. Two surgeons were present, one to remove the kidney and the other to supervise the preparation and transplant of the kidney to Kebreau, leaving him with a total of three kidneys (the original kidneys are not removed in transplants).

Making every day a ‘kidney day’

So far, Kebreau’s recovery has gone well. He recently had his dialysis port removed, takes anti-rejection medicines, and must stay in relative isolation at home until December. He hopes to be permitted to go back to his office at church on days when the facilities are empty even sooner.

“I feel great,” Kebreau said.

For Lyle, the recovery has also continued smoothly. He was not allowed to lift anything over 10 pounds for six weeks; it was about eight weeks until he could run again. He has lingering tightness from the abdominal incision but is otherwise back to normal.

Normal, but changed.

During his brief hospital stay, nurses and techs would come in. Many expressed astonishment that he had donated a kidney to a person who was not a relative. 

“Seeing their reaction, I realized that every day needs to be a kidney day for me,” Lyle said. “I need to be thinking, ‘How do I show the love of God in such a way that it’s a big deal to someone else?’”

Lyle learned he was only the second living kidney donor so far in 2023 at Texas Health. He told the transplant team he would be happy to talk to others about what to expect.

He said he would do it “100 times again” if he could, advising people to “slow down [and] figure out how to let your light shine before men.”

And make every day “a kidney day.”

Feeling lonely, pastor? You’re not alone.

Elijah had just had his greatest success in ministry when he crashed and burned.

You know the story, recorded in 1 Kings 18. Elijah challenges the prophets of Baal to prove their god was the true one. They danced and called out for Baal to consume their offering. Elijah mocked them. Finally, Elijah rebuilt the altar of the Lord. Elijah poured water on the bull, so much so that a trench dug around the altar was filled. Then Elijah prayed for the Lord to demonstrate His power and fire fell and consumed everything, including all the water. 

Elijah was enjoying a ministry high. Before his pulse settled, he also courageously took out all the false prophets.

But when he got word that Jezebel was after him, he fled like a whipped pup. He hid alone in the wilderness a full day’s journey away, sat down, and said, “I have had enough!”

Some of you are there right now. Exhausted, afraid, and alone, you are thinking, “I have had enough!”

The truth is, almost every one of us has been there. A 2022 Barna poll shows that nearly two in three pastors either “sometimes” or “frequently” felt lonely or isolated in the prior three months.

I’m not sure isolation is unique to the ministry. Many men and women sitting in front of you each week feel lonely. What makes it unique for ministers is that pastors are surrounded by people constantly. I believe isolation and loneliness are among a pastor’s most preventable challenges.

People are cheering us on from every corner of our convention. So if you feel isolated, ensure you’re not the person who runs off and isolates himself like Elijah did.

Mark Dance Tweet

To be clear, it’s not a recent phenomenon. Isolation has been challenging for decades, and although it was exaggerated during the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s always been challenging. It’s normal to feel isolated occasionally. For that matter, some seasons of life and ministry are better than others. 

So, who can fix the situation?

You can.

Notice in 1 Kings 19 that Elijah flees Jezebel and then goes so far as to leave his faithful attendant behind in Beersheba. If you’re lonely, actively find people inside and outside the church who can become your encouragers in the ministry. Find someone you can call, text, or visit with who restores and refreshes you.

Isolation is both dangerous and avoidable.

And before you say, “Well, I can’t have friendships in the church because it can become awkward,” let me tell you that the pain of isolation exceeds the awkwardness of staff friendships, member friendships, or friendships with other pastors in your community. The Southern Baptists of Texas Convention and your local association exist to serve you and connect you and your wife with other pastors and ministry couples, so make time to attend a few events where you can both come and be refreshed.

People are cheering us on from every corner of our convention. So if you feel isolated, ensure you’re not the person who runs off and isolates himself like Elijah did. Isolation is real, but it’s one of the most preventable challenges a pastor may face.

If you are a pastor looking to connect to resources related to this article, contact Jeff Lynn, senior strategist for the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention’s Church Health & Leadership department, at 877-953-7282 or email jlynn@sbtexas.com.