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1,132 missionaries, staff opt to leave IMB

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Men’s Game Banquet sees 191 professions of faith

PLATT CONFIDENT BOARD HAS ‘SUSTAINABLE FINANCIAL FUTURE,’ ‘POSITIONED TO GO FORWARD’ By Alex Sibley SWBTS

By Tammi Reed Ledbetter Special Assignments Editor ROCKVILLE, Va. The largest mission organization in the world is “positioned to go forward” with a balanced budget in 2017 after receiving voluntary retirements and resignations from nearly 21 percent of field personnel and a third of its stateside office staff in Richmond. International Mission Board President David Platt

told trustees meeting Feb. 24, “It is high time for the IMB to turn our collective Southern Baptist sights away from all these financial struggles to the billions of people who haven’t heard the gospel and the missionaries from Southern Baptist churches who are taking that gospel.” Hoping to reduce personnel by 600-900 people, trustees learned that the actual number taking advantage of incentives to leave the IMB

totaled 1,132. Platt reported that the Voluntary Retirement Incentive (VRI) yielded decisions from 702 missionaries and 109 stateside staff, while a later “hand-raising opportunity” for all personnel was accepted by 281 missionaries and 40 stateside staff. The number of missionaries on the field is now around 3,800, according to IMB fig-

ures. The last time the number of missionaries was below 4,000, according to SBC Annual reports, was in 1993 at 3,954. “There have been days when the heaviness has been really hard,” Platt said of the process, recalling an instance when he felt he might collapse See IMB, 10

"There have been days when the heaviness has been really hard." — DAV I D P L AT T

FORT WORTH Nearly 2,000 men and boys filled Southwestern Seminary’s MacGorman Chapel for the Men’s Game Banquet, Feb. 20, united by a love for the great outdoors—the artistry of the fields, streams, and mountains; of the fish and the animals; of the sunrises and sunsets. And there on the seminary’s campus, many of them met for the first time the Artist who made it all—the heavenly Father. The event featured free barbeque, exhibits, and door prizes, along with speakers Paige Patterson and David Morris relating hunting stories regarding some of their most prized trophies, but

See MEN, 2

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PRAYER, INTENTIONALITY KEYS TO REACHING COMMUNITIES WITH THE GOSPEL By Keith Collier Managing Editor LAS COLINAS Christians and churches must rely on God’s power through prayer and recognize their role in reaching friends, family, co-workers, neighbors and the nations with the gospel, speakers at the 2016 Empower Conference said Feb. 29-March 2. The

three-day evangelism conference put on by the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention (SBTC) at the Irving Convention Center in Las Colinas drew pastors and church members from across the state and featured 15 main session speakers as well as breakout sessions. Nathan Lino, pastor of Northeast Houston Baptist Church and SBTC presSee EMPOWER, 6

SBTC President Nathan Lino calls pastors and churches to intentional evangelism during the 2016 Empower Conference, Feb. 29. PHOTO BY GARY LEDBETTER

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“We found out that as important as Mom is—and she is critical—Dad, to a little boy, is absolutely imperative.

And what Daddy does, the kid’s going to do. No wonder we’re in trouble in America.”

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the clear focus of the evening was the gospel. Of the almost 2,000 men and boys assembled, 191 responded to the gospel message by surrendering their lives to the lordship of Jesus Christ. David Morris, Tecomate president and CEO, gave the first presentation, sharing among other things his experience of taking down an elephant. “[But] as much as I love hunting,” he continued, “it is not my first love. My first love is Jesus Christ.” Morris explained that for many years he was hesitant

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to submit to God’s authority for fear that God would force him to abandon his aspirations and become a vocational minister. Nevertheless, conviction brought by the Holy Spirit eventually led him to surrender. “And instead of taking away the things that he had put on my heart to have a passion for

[like hunting], he expanded my horizons,” Morris said. “It was from that point that I began to hunt all over the world and have TV shows and hunt big deer and have ranches—things that I never dreamed. God’s plans for us are way bigger than ours.” During his presentation, Patterson, president of South-

western Seminary, encouraged all those in attendance to go on safari in Africa. He shared some of his own experiences from his time on that continent and some of his trophies—including a cape buffalo, a roan antelope, and a lioness—sat alongside him on stage to authenticate his stories. Noting that such a trip presents an opportunity for family bonding, Patterson then transitioned into something of a more serious nature. Citing a study conducted by the Dartmouth medical school, Patterson said America’s No. 1 problem is not immigration, drugs, alcohol, gang warfare in the cities, or even issues with the government. Instead, the No. 1 problem in America today is that one out of every three children grows up without a father. “We found out that as important as Mom is—and she is critical—Dad, to a little boy, is absolutely imperative,” Patterson said. “And what Daddy does,

the kid’s going to do. No wonder we’re in trouble in America.” Patterson proceeded to inform the men of a terrible truth: many of them are on their way to hell. Acknowledging the numerous reasons that one should want to avoid hell, Patterson pointed to one of particular significance. “[That Dartmouth study] said that even the harshest of masters, the sons honor,” he said. “[So] as you file off into hell, look behind you: your boy will be there. He may be 13, he may be 33, he may be 53, but he’ll be following you to hell, and his son will follow him.” In order to be made right with God, Patterson, alluding to Psalm 51:10, said one needs a new heart. He explained, “Only God can create in you a clean heart, but he can do it, and he can do it today.” Patterson invited those who wanted to surrender their lives to the lordship of Jesus Christ to pray a prayer of salvation. Nearly 200 men did so.

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U.S. SUPREME COURT HEARS CASE ON TEXAS ABORTION LAW By Bonnie Pritchett TEXAN Correspondent WASHINGTON, D.C. After three years of back-and-forth court decisions, the legal challenge to a Texas law regulating abortion procedures and their providers was finally heard by the U.S. Supreme Court March 2. The court’s decision in Whole Women’s Health v. Hellerstedt, though not precedent-setting, could have ramifications on other pro-life legislation across the country. The Supreme Court hearing of Texas House Bill 2 brings full circle what began in Texas more than four decades ago when the court’s Roe v. Wade decision conferred a constitutional right to an abortion. WWH v. Hellerstedt is considered one of the greatest challenges to elements of that law in almost 25 years. If upheld, HB 2 could indirectly impact similar laws around the country. Without a majority decision—an unlikely outcome with the current eight-justice panel—the best-case scenario for pro-life advocates is a 4-4 tie, which would merely uphold the law and not give legal precedent for similar laws. Abortion advocates decry the law as a thinly veiled attempt to shutter clinics and end all abortion access in Texas. The bill’s proponents argue the measure raises the standard of care for women. The eight justices must decide whether the rationale of the law justifies any burdens it may

impose on a woman’s access to an abortion. Their decision is due in June. A black-draped bench where the late Justice Antonin Scalia once sat served to remind all present that the most significant abortion-related case to come before the court in decades was being heard without the high court’s most ardently pro-life justice. Texas Rep. Jodie Laubenberg, R-Murphy, author of HB 2, was not without hope. “My feeling is God didn’t take us this far to say, ‘This is the end of the line,’” she told the TEXAN in a phone interview prior to the hearing. “As much as I will miss Scalia on the court, the end decision is God’s decision.” Laubenberg watched from the Supreme Court gallery as the law she drafted was defended by Texas Solicitor General Scott Keller and opposed by Stephanie Toti of the Center for Reproductive Rights. Laubenberg was part of a fourmember Texas delegation that included Gov. Greg Abbot, Attorney General Ken Paxton and Leslie French, Texas Health and Human Services Women’s Health Coordinator. John Seago, Texas Right to Life legislative director, attended the hearing and told the TEXAN Keller grounded the state’s argument on the last abortion case to go before the Supreme Court, Gonzalez v. Carhart, in 2007. In that case involving a congressional

ban on partial-birth abortion, the justices ruled it was not the court’s role to determine the medical necessity of a law. Rather, they must discern whether a state legislature or Congress could prove the necessity of the law outweighed the burden it might impose in its implementation. Seago said Keller kept driving the point that, per Carhart, the court had no role in determining the medical necessity of HB 2. Justice Samuel Alito pressed the question as well, Seago said. Most encouraging were similar questions from Justice Anthony Kennedy, who is seen as the swing vote in this case. But the liberal Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ruth Bader Ginsburg repeatedly challenged Keller to defend the medical necessity of the law. “That’s what is most worrisome,” Seago said, noting he feared some justices want to redefine the role of the court to allow it to go outside the bounds of the Constitution in making judgments. Outside the court room conflicting rallies championed their causes. Seago said pro-life advocates were far outnumbered by pro-choice activists who appeared to have been bused in for the event. Before HB 2 went into effect in 2014, about 40 abortion clinics operated in Texas. Within weeks of its passage in July 2013, Planned Parenthood filed

a lawsuit challenging two of the law’s four regulations—the administration of abortioninducing medication and the requirement that a clinic’s abortion doctors have hospital admitting privileges within 30 miles of the clinic. A federal judge struck down the law, but the U.S. Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit upheld it. The Supreme Court refused to hear the case and Planned Parenthood did not press the issue. In April 2014 Amy Hagstrom Miller, owner of Whole Women’s Health, a chain of abortion clinics, filed suit challenging the regulations requiring abortion clinics meet the ambulatory surgical center (ASC) standards and the admitting privileges for just two Texas clinics, one in El Paso and one in McAllen. Planned Parenthood did not join the suit. By the time WWH v. Hellerstedt was argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit, the number of abortion clinics had dwindled to about 10. The appellate court upheld HB 2 with one exception—the abortion facility in McAllen would not be held to the admitting privileges requirement. Miller appealed her case to the Supreme Court in June 2015. In agreeing to hear the case, the court put a stay on implementation of HB 2, allowing noncompliant clinics to remain open until the case is decided in June. Since the passage of HB 2, abortion rights activists have

sought to win their case in the court of public opinion arguing the law would shutter clinics and drastically hinder women from “reproductive health care,” a euphemistic term for abortion. In response to that claim and withdrawal of Medicaid funds from abortion-providing health clinics, the State of Texas established the Women’s Health Care program. Medicaid-approved women seeking medical care other than abortions can access any of the 4,780 providers at 1,096 clinics across the state. Women can receive the same—or in some instances more—care they would be missing with the closure of the few dozen Planned Parenthood and other abortion clinics across the state. Laubenberg, who does not shrink from her pro-life convictions, called the accusations “absurd,” noting abortion industry giant Planned Parenthood has built new clinics in Texas per the HB 2 regulations since the law went into effect in 2014. One Planned Parenthood abortion facility is opening in San Antonio in direct competition with the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit, Whole Women’s Health. That point was not missed by Keller. He told the court that abortion providers are building clinics in Texas according to the regulations they once decried as harmful to the industry.

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REPORTING ON THE SBC Gary Ledbetter Editor

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n 1994, right before the Southern Baptist Convention met in Orlando, the little paper I edited ran an investigative piece about a farreaching policy at one of our SBC agencies. It was an embarrassment to the president of that agency and he responded by calling our executive director as he was packing for the trip and asking in a loud voice, “Can’t you control those people?!” The exec backed us (those people) up in that case, and the agency president took his lumps. It doesn’t happen every year, but I’ve seen a version of this struggle between reporters and administrators for how the news is told many times and at all denominational levels. What is the legitimate role of the denominational press, the Baptist state publications, as the leaders of our work and the constituent churches attempt to communicate with one another? A bit of the answer is presupposed in my question—the publications pass information to and from both parties in various ways. Because state papers are positioned to know the churches of our state conventions better than national leaders, we ask questions or seek information we believe will be beneficial to our churches’ stewardship of SBC work. These questions, and some editorial content, help alert leaders to how churches in different parts of the country understand their ministries. Because journalists have opportunities to observe the work of our SBC leaders, we can interpret their work to our churches in a way that makes sense and usually encourages them. This interpretation is more crucial and difficult when the news is less encouraging. Most recently, for example, the “less encouraging” news came from the International Mission Board as it completed the hard work of cutting personnel in order to balance the budget. Something had to be done, and it was a challenging way for President David Platt to begin his tenure at IMB. In the midst of conference calls, press conferences, and other contacts between IMB leadership and the denominational

press, there was a bit of a struggle over the message. Is the headline “IMB brings expenses into line” or “IMB cuts 1,132 missionaries and staff”? That’s the struggle. It’s nearly always a disagreement made inevitable by the differences between the role of news writers and that of visionary leaders. Though passions may run high, it’s rarely a matter of good guys versus bad guys. But someone will almost always speak as if it is. Here are some thoughts on the responsibilities of the denominational press telling difficult stories and a couple of ideas for those who find us frustrating. Journalists should ask about issues or decisions we don’t understand or that should be more completely told. Sometimes asking questions is seen as malicious or an effort to trip up a spokesman. This happens and probably explains why some folks won’t talk to reporters. But asking is not by definition contrarian, although it may turn that way when a reporter is biased or when a leader keeps too many secrets. Baptist papers should provide information and examples that spur churches to support Southern Baptist work worldwide. These stories are crucial and gathering them requires full cooperation from our leaders. I add here that the IMB has been exemplary in cooperation with the denominational press as we seek missions stories. Baptist journalists must give churches a clear understanding of why things are not going according to plan and what is being done about it. This is tricky for both parties, but if we don’t do it, church leaders become cynical or immune to our calls for support. That has happened over the past 40 years. Journalists should not, however, be recreationally suspicious of those who lead ministries broader than our own. It can become a habit or a lazy man’s version of “objectivity,” but suspicion, snark and insinuation are death to our work. Neither should we be an uncritical extension of someone’s public relations team. We do wish our leaders well but cannot become habitual boosters of every plan or leader. Leaders, tell it all, unless you can share a good reason to keep something secret. Confidenti-

Jim Richards, Executive Director

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ality should be the exception rather than just the easy option. When a reporter seeks access to your business, see her as representing thousands of readers with whom you’ll never have any other contact. She does. Would you treat hundreds or thousands of Southern Baptists attending your meeting as intruders? When a leader shares a vision or plan at a press conference, he must remember that he is not the only person in the conversation who talks to God. Someone who asks, “How will this work?” or “What will this cost?” is seeking information, not trying to undermine God’s kingdom. Similarly, leaders are not the only people in the room who want the mission of the SBC to succeed. Baptist editors and reporters are committed to the prospering of God’s work through Southern Baptists. Unity in purpose does not mean we ignore hard questions.

SOMEONE WHO ASKS, “HOW WILL THIS WORK?” OR “WHAT WILL THIS COST?” IS SEEKING INFORMATION, NOT TRYING TO UNDERMINE GOD’S KINGDOM. “Good journalism” is not necessarily telling the story a reader wants told in the way he wants it told. Of course it follows that “poor journalism” is not simply defined as a story we wish was not true. Poor journalism exists, of course, but it’s sloppy, even sinful, to slander a writer just because his perspective or the news he tells annoys us. This tense interplay between newsmakers and those who tell and explain the news is not a recent phenomenon, and it will not end. When Christian brothers are on both ends of the communications process, we are obligated to treat one another with the kind of respect we don’t

always see in the culture at large. “Respect” does not mean we must agree. It does require news people to think carefully about what is edifying as well as what is true. It requires that both parties develop thick skin and a bit of grace. We will not always agree on what’s true, much less on what is edifying to the kingdom. I believe newsmakers and news reporters have distinct and important roles within the kingdom of God. We each have responsibilities, and we can provoke one another to fully live up to our Great Commission ideals. Perhaps it can be a mutually edifying relationship if all parties approach it that way.

Who, Me? Diana Davis Fresh Ideas

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et’s suppose that your boss is not a believer, and you are personally assigned to tell him or her about God. This is not an imaginary story; it’s a fact. God has commissioned every believer (that’s you) to share his plan of salvation with those who don’t know him. Sharing Jesus with others is really much easier than you may think. Lost people are often more anxious to hear God’s good news than we are to tell it! Begin today by taking this simple three-question quiz. Question #1: In your normal pattern of life, where do you mingle with non-Christian people? Think hard. The answer could describe the focus of your personal mission field. Is it around the water cooler at work? In your neighborhood or favorite coffee shop or gym? At your cancer treatment center? Could it be at your children’s ball games or on the playground? As a volunteer in a local nursing home or

Contributors: Diana Davis, Michael Foust, Nathan Lino, Bonnie Pritchett, David Roach, Jane Rodgers, Alex Sibley, Art Toalston

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SBC’s Disaster Relief? Maybe it’s in your professional organization or community organization. As you live among unbelievers, be sure to “make the most of every opportunity” (Colossians 4:5). God has strategically placed you in every circumstance of life. “But this will be your opportunity to tell the rulers and other unbelievers about me” (Matthew 10:18). If you’re a lawyer, you’re a lawyer for Jesus. If you’re a commuter, you’re with a busload of people who may need Jesus. Whatever you do, “… do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings” (1 Corinthians 9:23). If you truly don’t ever have contact with unbelievers, perhaps it’s time to take a class, join a club or meet your neighbors. Question #2. As a Christian, can you express some ways God has impacted your life this week? It’s one of the most effective ways to share Jesus—just tell your personal story. In everyday conversations, give God the glory for blessings, and tell about how he helps you through difficult circumstances. As you live for God and tell stories about how God works in your life, “many will see what he has done and be

amazed. They will put their trust in the Lord” (Psalm 40:3). Now that’s an exciting Scripture. Consistently share your personal, daily God-stories. Pray for listeners. Tell them about God. Invite them to church. “But as for me, I will always proclaim what God has done” (Psalm 75:9). Question #3. Will you count it a privilege to share Jesus with others? Jesus has commissioned every believer to intentionally tell others about God’s salvation plan. “Work at telling others the Good News, and fully carry out the ministry God has given you” (2 Timothy 4:5). Sharing about Jesus is not a punishment; it’s an enormous joy and privilege. You are God’s representative (2 Corinthians 5:20)! Paul said, “Though I am the least deserving of all God’s people, he graciously gave me the privilege of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ.” (Ephesians 3:8). You can do this. Today, look at the mission field around you. Tell your personal God-story. Treasure the privilege of representing God to those who don’t yet know him. God has entrusted you to share his salvation plan.

The Southern Baptist Texan is the official newspaper of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, P.O. Box 1988, Grapevine, Texas 76099-1988. Toll-free 877-953-7282, Phone 817-552-2500, FAX 817-552-2520. Email: [email protected]

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BELIEVE IT OR NOT, EVANGELISM STILL WORKS Jim Richards Executive Director

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unday night, March 6, will live with me the rest of my life. June and I were at AT&T Stadium where the Cowboys try to play football. On that night, 82,000plus packed the building to hear the name of Jesus exalted. Greg Laurie’s Harvest Crusade was used of God like nothing I have ever witnessed. Over 6,000 people were saved at the event. More people were saved at one time than any evangelistic effort I have participated in, and 750 local churches have agreed to follow up and disciple the new believers. I attended Billy Graham Crusades back in the day when mass evangelism was more than acceptable. Churches that had little in common other than the confession that “Jesus is Lord!” came together to hear the pure gospel proclaimed.

Questions may be raised about discipleship methods or nonevangelical involvement, but the bottom line is that people did accept Christ in large numbers. Mass evangelism still works, and the DFW Harvest Crusade proves even metro areas can be impacted. Last year one of my closest friends, Joe Senn, who pastors in Louisiana, experienced a move of God during a local church revival. Evangelist Bill Britt started a five-day revival that was extended several times. After a couple of weeks, more than 100 people came to Christ through an evangelistic outreach. Churches don’t have to do weeklong revival meetings, but they still work. The problem is the four-letter word “work.” Revival and evangelistic results only come through prayer and individual time investment. If we will do our part, God will do his part. God still uses evangelistic events. Pastor John Meador at First Baptist Church in Euless created an outreach tool named “Can

We Talk?” God has used the training to equip church members to be intentional with their witness. Byron McWilliams, pastor of First Baptist Church in Odessa, used the tool, and God’s Spirit has swept through the church and city with scores were saved. When people are equipped with a method, charged with an eternal mandate and empowered by the Holy Spirit, an ingathering of souls can take place. The Southern Baptists of Texas Convention is encouraging every local church to take part in “One in a Million,” a plan to blanket Texas with the gospel by local churches reaching a million homes by the year 2020 (Find out more at sbtexas.com/oneinamillion). Evangelism training still works. A couple of weeks ago, I felt deeply impressed to speak to a young lady who was working in childcare. Quickly dispensing with small talk, I moved to diagnostic questions, and she was immediately open to a spiritual conversation. Within minutes I was able to share

REVIVAL AND EVANGELISTIC RESULTS ONLY COME THROUGH PRAYER AND INDIVIDUAL TIME INVESTMENT. IF WE WILL DO OUR PART, GOD WILL DO HIS PART. GOD STILL USES EVANGELISTIC EVENTS. the gospel. She fell under conviction of her need for Christ, and it was my privilege to hear her pray to receive Jesus as her personal Savior. She was unashamed to share with others her newfound faith, and I was able to see her connected with a pastor and church. Personally sharing your faith is still effective.

Our nation is in chaos. The Southern Baptist Convention is declining. Local churches are struggling. Believers are discouraged. There is a solution. One on one, intentional gospel presentations will transform lives. Let’s get back to New Testament life by telling others about Jesus.

During election season, pastors cannot afford to be silent Nathan Lino

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ensationalism. Hysteria. Conspiracy theories. Apocalyptic forecasts. Fear. Worry. Smallgroup Bible studies digressing into political discussions. Political partisan divides in the congregation. The presidential election season has ramped up. And my fellow shepherds, we cannot afford to be silent.

First, silence on our part hurts our members. The election season is heavy on our members’ minds, and they are looking for guidance. Our calling is to teach them how to be conformed to Jesus Christ in the real world. And right now, in the culture in which we live, election season is front and center on the radar. What does it mean to look and act like Christ during election season? We cannot and must not ignore the reality in which our members live; instead, we must have the courage to teach them how to think well about election

season and how to make Christhonoring decisions. Silence leaves our sheep vulnerable. Second, silence on our part hurts our city. Christ’s church is his voice to all of society, not just those inside our churches. As pastors, we are called by God not only to our church but also to our city. Silence on our part is neither inaudible nor neutral; it communicates to the residents of our city that God has nothing to say on the matter of what a society should value and prioritize. Silence leaves our city void of the voice of God.

The question is not if we should speak to the election season, but when and how? May our Chief Shepherd grant his undershepherds wisdom and courage for such a time as this. And to that end, let me point you toward some trustworthy and helpful resources for equipping. I list them here in no particular order: 1. How Should Christians Vote? by Tony Evans 2. Politics – According to the Bible: A Comprehensive Resource for Understanding

Modern Political Issues in Light of Scripture by Wayne Grudem 3. The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission website: erlc.com 4. Russell Moore’s blog: russellmoore.com/blog 5. Barry Creamer’s blog/radio/podcasts: barrycreamer. com 6. Al Mohler’s “The Briefing”: albertmohler.com/category/ the-briefing —Nathan Lino is pastor of Northeast Houston Baptist Church

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ident, spoke of what he called a “state of evangelism atrophy” in the majority of Southern Baptist churches today. Similar to muscle atrophy—a loss of vigor and strength due to lack of activity— churches and individuals are suffering from a lack of regular, intentional gospel witness. “Everything left alone under the curse of sin ultimately reaches a state decay, even SBC President Ronnie Floyd calls Christians to urgent prayer during the 2016 the most important things, Empower Conference, March 1. PHOTO BY GARY LEDBETTER like evangelism,” Lino said in the opening evening session and billions of people around and his mercy is made known of the conference. the world” during his message, to the people around you.” Preaching from Ephesians which followed Lino’s. Too ofLike Moses, who interceded 6:19-20, Lino acknowledged the ten, Platt said, Christians are ig- on behalf of the Israelites for great irony for the Apostle Paul norant or indifferent regarding God to show mercy on them, to request prayer for boldness Scripture’s teaching on hell and Christians must regularly inand clarity to speak the gospel, the fact that people who do not tercede in prayer for those unbut Paul recognized that “past repent will spend eternity suf- reached with the gospel. effectiveness is no guarantee of fering there. “Pray to God like it matters; future effectiveness.” pray to God like your “I don’t think what prayers affect the way we need as shepherds God acts,” Platt told “WHOEVER YOU ARE, WHEREVER in Texas is more statisconference attendees tics about evangelism and those who were YOU LIVE, WHATEVER YOU DO, and how urgently we watching the event via REALIZE THAT GOD HAS PUT YOU need revival,” Lino livestream. said. “I think what we WHERE YOU ARE FOR A REASON. … “God wills to work need is to return to through willing interGOD LOVES THE PEOPLE AROUND intentionality in evancessors. When we pray, YOU SO MUCH, AND HE’S DESIGNED gelism. Nothing good God responds. When happens in this world we pray, we take our YOUR LIFE TO BE THE MEANS IN for Jesus Christ withGod-given privilege to HIS SOVEREIGN HAND BY WHICH out intentionality.” participate with him in Intentionality was the spread of his mercy HIS WRATH IS RELENTED AND HIS the theme of Lino’s in the world. Moses MERCY IS MADE KNOWN TO THE message as he exhortprayed, and it had an ed pastors in particular effect. When you pray PEOPLE AROUND YOU.” to greater intentionfor people in Texas, it — N AT H A N L I N O, S B TC P R E S I D E N T ality in personal and will have an effect.” corporate evangelism. In addition to pray“Intentionality looks ing like it matters, Platt like a plan,” Lino said. “So called on Christians to what is your plan to directly enPreaching from Exodus 32:1- share the gospel like it matters. gage unbelievers with the gospel 14, Platt also called on believ“We’ll never reach the naof Jesus Christ? ers to “realize the role God has tions with the gospel if we’re “We need a return to exhort- given you to play in his relent- not reaching our neighbors ing each other and our people ing wrath.” with the gospel,” Platt said. He to actually verbalize the gospel “Whoever you are, wherever concluded his message with a in its entirety to people who do you live, whatever you do, real- challenge to pastors in the room not yet believe.” ize that God has put you where to commit to reaching homes International Mission Board you are for a reason. … God loves in their communities as part of President David Platt urged the people around you so much, SBTC’s “One in a Million” evanChristians to “recognize the re- and he’s designed your life to be gelism initiative to reach 1 milality of God’s wrath upon mil- the means in his sovereign hand lion homes in Texas with the lions of people across this state by which his wrath is relented gospel by the year 2020. Scores

SBTC Evangelism Director Nathan Lorick (left) prays for evangelist David Stockwell and his wife, Amy, after presenting David with the Roy Fish Lifetime Achievement Award for vocational evangelism at the Empower Conference, March 1, PHOTO BY GARY LEDBETTER

Lynn Crosslin, pastor of Harmony Baptist Church in Weatherford, accepts the W.A. Criswell Lifetime Achievement Award for pastoral evangelism during the Empower Conference, March 2. PHOTO BY MIKE GOFF

of pastors brought forth commitment cards and placed them on the stage. SBC President Ronnie Floyd continued the call for prayer and bold gospel witness during his message, March 1. Too many churches, he said, are trying to accomplish God’s work apart from his power. “Why do we believe so much in the power of God for New Testament salvation, but we struggle believing in the power of God to turn the deadest church in Texas upside down?” Floyd, pastor of Cross Church in Northwest Arkansas, asked. “Trust the God of heaven who was able to raise Jesus Christ from the dead is the same God who can raise up this conven-

tion of churches to take the gospel into at least 1 million homes in this state. We need to understand that none of that can happen without God.” Floyd assured pastors and churches that God has a future for them individually and corporately and that faithsaturated prayer was the bridge between their current state and that future. Preaching from 1 Chronicles 4:9-10, the account of a man named Jabez’s prayer, Floyd explained that the passage was not a prescription on what to pray but was a description of a man who cried out to the God who answered. Likewise, Christians should cry out to God as their only hope and the only hope for an unbelieving world.

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CHURCHES KEEP COMMITMENT TO COOPERATIVE PROGRAM DESPITE STRUGGLES By Tammi Reed Ledbetter Special Assignments Editor LAS COLINAS First Baptist Church of Iowa Park has a long, committed history to giving 10 percent of its undesignated receipts to the Cooperative Program. The only problem came when budget expenses outstripped income. “We were having the financial secretary cut the checks, and then she would mail it if the money was there,” explained Pastor Glen Pearce during a March 1 Cooperative Program luncheon as part of this year’s Empower Conference. When funds were tight, other commitments took precedence. “We did this over and over again,” he said. “At the end of the year we’d sit down the finance committee and if there wasn’t enough money [for the CP portion] we’d release some of it and void the other.” Pearce admitted, “We felt guilty, repented a little bit, felt terrible about it and promised to do better. But the same cycle

happened again, and this went on and on and on.” God eventually convinced Pearce of the need to pray specifically for the church’s financial situation, inviting staff and deacons to join him. When an administrative assistant proposed writing a check for CP giving every Monday based the previous day’s offering, Pearce agreed. “Every Monday they would count the offering. She would write the check and mail the check,” he recalled. “For 52 weeks that happened, and we ended the year in the black because we pulled money from our contingency fund,” he explained, “but the Cooperative Program (commitment) was met that year.” As the church began 2015 with no money in the bank and no contingency fund, Pearce said, “I think God was testing us to see if we’d keep doing that.” There were times when the staff held their checks, waiting for another Sunday to come through. “But the Cooperative Program check went.”

“OBVIOUSLY WE’RE RESPONSIBLE FOR REACHING HUNTINGTON FOR CHRIST, BUT THE COOPERATIVE PROGRAM IS A GREAT WAY TO INVEST IN GOD’S KINGDOM THAT’S GOING AROUND THE WORLD.” —DARRYL SMITH, PASTOR OF FBC HUNTINGTON

By the end of last year, receipts exceeded budgeted expenses, depleted reserves were replenished, and excess income covered the cost of remodeling an entire floor for children’s ministry. Once again, the church kept its commitment to allocate 10 percent of undesignated receipts for distribution through the Cooperative Program. “I believe what we’re seeing is that God hears our prayers,” Pearce shared, interrupted by applause. “God blesses, but we have to do what it takes to be obedient.” Encouraging pastors to make good on their support for the Cooperative Program, Pearce said, “Our church isn’t huge, and we

don’t have a lot of rich people, but if you’re faithful to God and pray and expect him to come through, he will come through.” Darryl Smith, pastor of First Baptist Church in Huntington, described giving to the Cooperative Program as an investment in a kingdom that reaches around the world. “Many times it is easy to look within our four walls and our city limits,” he said in describing ministry in a small town. “Obviously we’re responsible for reaching Huntington for Christ, but the Cooperative Program is a great way to invest in God’s kingdom that’s going around the world.” Early into his 17-year tenure as pastor, Smith heard a young

man express appreciation for prioritizing missions giving. Looking at the financial report during a business meeting, the man asked if Smith had noticed that after making a commitment to give sacrificially to missions and the Cooperative Program, God had blessed the church with more than they had planned on receiving. “It’s the paradoxical truth that’s throughout the Scripture that as we give our life away more and more, we receive more and more of life,” he added. “Missions is a part of my DNA, and it became a part of the DNA of our church,” Smith said. “The Cooperative Program is very personal to us because it’s real people.” FBC Huntington has adopted an unreached people group in West Africa and travels to the site four or five times a year. When members of the church give their offerings, they know they are supporting missionaries who serve through the International Mission Board like the couple with whom they work.

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SMALL-STATE REPRESENTATION CONSIDERED AT EC TRUSTEE MEETING By David Roach & Art Toalston Baptist Press NASHVILLE After nearly an hour of discussion, the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee’s officers withdrew a recommendation to propose granting representation on three key SBC committees to Baptists in pioneer regions. EC leadership promised, however, to make an alternate proposal with the same goal but addressing logistical concerns raised by EC members. In other business during the EC’s Feb. 22-23 meeting Nashville, the committee recommended a change in the method for asking questions of entity leaders during SBC annual meetings; approved a one-time transfer of funds from the North American Mission Board to the International Mission Board to assist IMB personnel leaving the board during its “organizational reset;” and withdrew the convention’s fellowship from a South Carolina church whose pastor performed a same-sex wedding ceremony with the deacons’ approval. The initial recommendation on “representation from new states and territories” would have asked the SBC’s legal counsel to present a recommendation to the EC’s Bylaws Workgroup for consideration in June on providing “representation on the Executive Committee, the Committee on Nominations, and the Committee on Committees for the following states or defined territories: the Dakotas, Iowa, Minnesota-Wisconsin, Montana and Puerto Rico-U.S. Virgin Islands.” The recommendation also proposed “limit[ing] to four the maximum number of members which any cooperating state or defined territory shall be entitled to have on the Executive Committee” and “request[ing] Baptist Press to report the foregoing information to Southern Baptists so that any comments in response to the proposal [could] be included in the background materials for the Executive Committee’s consideration on June 13.” Currently, EC representation for any state or territory is capped at five members, with Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas having maximum representation. According to SBC Bylaws 18 and 30, having 15,000 members in cooperating Southern Baptist churches qualifies a state or territory for initial representation on the EC, the Committee on Committees and the Committee on Nominations. When a state or territory reaches 250,000 church members, it qualifies to have a second EC member. Each additional 250,000 church members qualifies a state or territory for an additional EC member up to the maximum. The recommendation would have granted one EC member to each pioneer state and territory listed while maintaining at present levels the representation of states and territories with 1-4 EC members. The recommendation was affirmed by EC officers, the Bylaws Workgroup and

the Administrative Committee. However, when the matter came before the full board, trustees raised questions such as: 4Why does the proposal reduce EC representation from states whose Baptists support the Cooperative Program with some of the largest financial gifts? 4Why does the proposal specify a set number of EC members from each state and territory rather than establish a formula to determine representation? 4To what extent is the reduction of EC representation from certain states driven by a need to limit the EC’s spending? After 40 minutes of discussion, SBC President Ronnie Floyd, who serves as an ex officio EC member, asked, “Could we simply say the will of the body would be that it is our intent to study seriously, without involving the negative of taking away [EC members], if possible, to give representation to every state convention, period?” EC President Frank S. Page said he believes “the big issue” is granting EC and other committee representation to Baptists in every state and territory. He asked that all recommendations and amendments be withdrawn so that officers and staff “might ... come back with a cleaner way to say, ‘We want to add five’“ EC members from the states and territories mentioned in the recommendation. He said EC staff can, if instructed to do so, re-appropriate funds to allow five new members without reducing any state’s current representation. The committee opted to follow Page’s advice. Entity questions at SBC annual meetings In a separate action, the EC recommended amending SBC Bylaw 26 regarding questions to SBC entity leaders from the floor during the annual meeting, which will be presented to messengers during the SBC’s June 14-15 sessions in St. Louis. Intended to provide consistency in the time allotted for messengers to ask questions, the proposed amendment would stipulate that segments for questions “provide no less than four (4) minutes times the number of entities included for discussion during that time.” The total time in any segment, however, “need not be evenly apportioned” among the entities included in that segment. The bylaw amendment was drafted, as stated in EC resource materials, “In the interest of promoting greater transparency, amenability to the constituency, and a broader understanding of the work of the Convention’s entities.” A chart included in the background material noted that the average length of time allotted for questions to each SBC entity over the past 20 years has been about four minutes per entity, spaced across multiple sessions of the annual meeting. The new proposal will allow for consolidating question and answer segments to specific times on the agenda. NAMB funds transfer

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The SBC Executive Committee gathered Feb. 22-23 for their meeting in Nashville. PHOTO BY MORRIS ABERNATHY

The EC approved a one-time transfer from NAMB to the IMB of up to $4 million, with three conditions which must be approved by NAMB’s trustees: 4The transfer must be drawn from the reserve portion of NAMB’s unrestricted assets. 4The transfer must not “negatively impact the performance of NAMB’s ministry assignments.” 4The transfer must be “designated to the IMB for the specific purpose of assisting transitioning IMB missionaries who have accepted the IMB’s Voluntary Retirement Incentive (VRI) or its Hand Raising Opportunity (HRO).” NAMB President Kevin Ezell told Baptist Press NAMB’s “main motivation [for the gift] is that we’re family.” “We’ve walked down this path before,” Ezell said. NAMB “let 817 people go in a transition. I know how hard that is along with trying to balance a budget. We look at the IMB as a sister entity. We are a family. When families hurt, you make sacrifices for family.” S.C. church disfellowshipped The EC’s decision to withdraw fellowship from Augusta Heights Baptist Church in Greenville, S.C., acting on behalf of the SBC ad interim, was based on “public information provided by the church which amounts to clear evidence of the church’s affirmation and approval of homosexual behavior,” according to the recommendation. Article III of the SBC Constitution stipulates that “churches which act to affirm, approve, or endorse homosexual behavior would be deemed not to be in cooperation with the Convention.” Background material provided to EC members stated Augusta Heights pastor Greg Dover “sought and acquired approval” from the church’s deacons to perform a same-sex wedding ceremony and did so Oct. 10, 2015. Dover told EC staff in a letter the congregation “does not have a

marriage policy, or any official position or doctrinal statement on issues of homosexuality or same-sex marriage.” The church, Dover said, “does not wish to end our relationship with the Southern Baptist Convention.” Augusta Heights, which also has been disfellowshipped from the South Carolina Baptist Convention and the Greenville Baptist Association, was invited to send representatives to the EC meeting but did not do so. In other items on its agenda, the Executive Committee: 4approved a 2016-17 Cooperative Program Allocation Budget of $189,000,000 for recommendation to the SBC during the June 14-15 annual meeting in St. Louis. The proposed budget maintains current allocations to the convention’s ministries, including 50.41 percent of receipts to IMB and 22.79 percent to NAMB, for a total of 73.20 percent allocated for mission ministries nationally and internationally. The convention’s six seminaries will receive 22.16 percent. The seminary enrollment formula for funding will be: Golden Gate Seminary, 2.15 percent; Midwestern Seminary, 2.65 percent; New Orleans Seminary, 3.82 percent; Southeastern Seminary, 4.17 percent; Southern Seminary, 5.06 percent; Southwestern Seminary, 4.07 percent; and .24 percent to the Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives, a ministry overseen by the seminary presidents. (Cumulative numbers may not match the sum of individual seminary percentages due to rounding.) The budget proposal maintains a 1.65 percent allocation to the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. The SBC Operating Budget, the only CP-funded facilitating ministry, encompassing the SBC annual meeting costs and the work of the Executive Committee, would receive 2.99 percent of the budget.

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HARVEST AMERICA EVENT AT AT&T STADIUM RESULTS IN 25,000+ PROFESSIONS OF FAITH By Jane Rodgers TEXAN Correspondent ARLINGTON Overflow crowds swelled Arlington’s AT&T Stadium Sunday, March 6, for Harvest America, a North Texas evangelistic event months in the making. After the stadium reached capacity, hundreds milled around large screens outside to watch Christian entertainers Switchfoot, MercyMe, Lecrae and Chris Tomlin as events within the venue were streamed live on the plaza. Following the music came a message by California megachurch pastor Greg Laurie of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside. Hundreds of thousands in 123 countries also tuned in via radio, television, Internet stream or remote broadcast at 7,200 host locations, crusade organizers reported, adding that 750 local churches were involved in bringing Harvest America to Texas. More than 350,000 attended the event or viewed it at a host location or via webcast. Groups from Southern Baptists of Texas Convention churches joined the 82,000 in attendance inside and out to hear Laurie’s message of hope and salvation from Scripture. SBTC churches also numbered among those providing nearly 5,000 counselors and volunteers for the event. Harvest America reported that 6,300 in attendance responded to the gospel invitation issued by Laurie. Additionally, more than 18,000 professions of faith were made at host locations and 1,042 more were made through the online webcast, bringing the total number of professions of faith to more than 25,000. Laurie’s message focused on John 3 but included personal illustrations of his childhood with his often-divorced mother and kindly stepfather. Referencing Clint Eastwood’s “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly,” Laurie explained that until her salvation, his mother was “the bad,” not unlike the woman at the well in Samaria. His stepfather was “the good,” an educated, moral professional who still needed Jesus. As for “the ugly,” Laurie explained that this meant, “you and me. You need Jesus.” “The good, the bad, the ugly, that’s all of us because of sin. Everybody needs Jesus, and that means you. You need Jesus.” Laurie continued, citing not only Pascal’s metaphor of the “God-shaped vacuum” within humans but also quoting celebrities regarding the spiritual

emptiness characterizing those who appear to have it all. “Everyone is lonely.” Alluding to the millennial generation as “increasingly lonely,” and referencing Pew Research Center findings, Laurie said millennials spend 6.5 hours a day on social media. “They have large numbers of friends but an increasing sense of loneliness.” Affirming salvation through faith, Laurie underscored the insufficiency of religious beliefs for salvation. “Heaven is not for good people. Heaven is for forgiven people. You don’t need a little religion. You need a lot of Jesus.” Laurie emphasized John 3:16, focusing on God’s love. “The thief on the cross was probably a murderer, a terrorist, planning to overthrow Rome. Jesus said, ‘Today you will be with me in paradise.’ It’s a gift.” Laurie closed with a clear presentation of the plan of salvation and an invitation to the assembled crowd to confess their sins and acknowledge Christ as savior. Thousands poured onto the field at AT&T Stadium, “not to catch a pass,” as Laurie said, “but to make a stand for Jesus.” “Today is the day of salvation. Now is your time. Acknowledge that Jesus died for you. Repent. Change your direction. Hang a U-turn in the road of life, and go to God.” Among volunteers and those in attendance were many from SBTC churches, including Prestonwood Baptist in Plano and First Baptist Dallas. Prestonwood supplied nearly 1,000 volunteers as decision counselors, choir members, ushers, security staff, and parking attendants in addition to contributing to help cover Harvest America expenses before the event. “Harvest America was exceedingly more than we could have asked for or expected. To see thousands streaming down to the field at AT&T Stadium after the invitation is a sight that will be etched in our memories forever. My prayer is that Harvest America will be a catalyst for a renewed commitment to evangelism by churches all over the world,” said Prestonwood pastor Jack Graham. “As for Prestonwood, our involvement and preparation for months leading up to March 6 were truly a blessing as they led us to become even more evangelistic in our approach to everyday ministry. Harvest America has come and gone, but the harvest is still plentiful in North Texas and there is much to do as the church.”

More than 6,300 people made professions of faith inside AT&T Stadium in Arlington, March 6, during Greg Laurie’s Harvest America crusade. PHOTO PROVIDED COURTESY OF HARVEST AMERICA

Christian worship leader Chris Tomlin performs at the Harvest America crusade inside AT&T Stadium in Arlington. PHOTO PROVIDED COURTESY OF HARVEST AMERICA

Christian rapper Lecrae performs at the Harvest America crusade inside AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

More than 82,000 people attended the Harvest America crusade inside AT&T Stadium in Arlington, with an additionall 268,000 watching across the country via host locations and webcast. PHOTO PROVIDED COURTESY OF HARVEST AMERICA

Jack Graham, pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, speaks from the stage during Harvest America crusade at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

Smaller churches were engaged as well. First Baptist Church of Bullard brought eight adults and 24 youth, one of whom was saved. “We were surprised by the turnout. We arrived an hour before the event and barely got seats behind the black curtain. We watched the evening on the Jumbotron,” said Tony Shafer, FBC Bullard youth pastor. “This did not ruin the evening at all. Just being there, bringing students from a small town, seeing [82,000] people worshiping God, made a huge impact. The message was spot on.

PHOTO PROVIDED COURTESY OF HARVEST AMERICA

PHOTO PROVIDED COURTESY OF HARVEST AMERICA

God touched us and moved us. I know the evening will have an impact on lives moving forward.” Amy Fullen, First Baptist Bullard administrative assistant who attended as a volunteer with her daughter, a high school senior, echoed Shafer’s enthusiasm. “It was wonderful to be in the mass of Christians like we’ve never seen and good to see the diversity, too. People came from all walks of life. The message was just what our group needed.” The SBTC supported the event financially, through promotion and in prayer.

“Harvest America was truly an incredible experience. It was so exciting to see thousands of people place their faith in Jesus at the end of the night,” said SBTC Director of Evangelism Nathan Lorick. “The event was a great example of how God uses churches working together for the common goal of the gospel being proclaimed. I am convinced that God will continue to use SBTC churches in the same way across Texas as we work together to see one million homes reached with the gospel.” Watch the archived webcast at harvestamerica.com.

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under the weight. An IMB employee who had decided to accept the Voluntary Retirement Incentive (VRI) encouraged him to view the transition as a time when 5,250 people were all seeking the Lord and his will for their lives. “He said, ‘This is like revival, and nothing but good can come from this,’” Platt recalled. “I’ve rested in that reality the last six months as people have made decisions,” he told trustees. “And I rest in that today as I share numbers with you that have surprised me and for which I don’t have human explanation.” Anxious to focus on future IMB strategy for the missionaries who remain and the “limitless number” who will be serving in new pathways in the future, Platt spoke of significant changes to infrastructures and systems that will efficiently increase the IMB’s effectiveness. Platt envisioned clusters of professionals, students and re-

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“I’m under no presumption our work won’t be affected by over 900 people not on the field.” — DAV I D P L AT T

tirees serving alongside existing personnel to further advance the gospel. Clyde Meador told trustees, “We’re not seeing limitless yet, but we will.” The veteran missionary and administrator who serves as executive advisor to the president, reminded, “At the core of those limitless missionary teams around the world will be fully supported language and culturally competent missionaries who remain on the field, and there will be others who follow after them.” Meador went so far as to express gratitude for “the untold numbers of new believers and churches that came into being during the five years when we spent $210 million more than came in,” and quickly added, “I’m thankful for the realization we couldn’t keep doing that.”

“We are positioned to go forward,”Clyde Meador, IMB executive adviser to the president, tells IMB trustees during their Feb. 22-24 meeting in Richmond, Va.

Platt said, “IMB is committed to a future marked by faithful stewardship, operational excellence, wise evaluation, ongoing innovation and joyful devotion to making disciples and multiplying churches among the unreached.” He thanked Southern Baptist churches for increased giving to the Cooperative Program and the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions, both of which are “trending upward.” In the first trustee meeting to be livestreamed via the internet, Platt said the last thing he wanted to see when he stepped into the role of president in the fall of 2014 was hundreds of fewer missionaries serving on the field. “Could it be that God has designed the globalization of the marketplace for the spread of his gospel?” he asked. Instead of attempting to “grow back” to 4,500 or 5,000 missionaries, Platt encouraged Southern Baptists to lift their eyes to see the billions who have never heard the gospel. “Surely this God is calling more than just 500 or 1,000 people to go, but tens of thousands.” During a subsequent news conference, Platt said, “I’m under no presumption our work won’t be affected by over 900 people not on the field.” Critical needs are being addressed first, making sure changes do not jeopardize the security and stability of remaining staff, he explained.

David Platt prays at the beginning of a phone press conference with Baptist state newspaper editors following the announcement of 1,132 IMB personnel opting to leave during organizational ‘reset’ Feb. 24. PHOTO BY TAMMI REED LEDBETTER

“We want to make sure people are not serving in isolation or in ways that are unhealthy for them,” Platt said, raising the possibility of relocation of personnel where necessary. IBM is strengthening the network of former missionaries with conferences planned for those who recently retired. Platt expressed gratitude for North Carolina Baptists and the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention in funding opportunities for former missionaries to take the gospel to unreached people groups in those states. Asked what the larger than anticipated number of missionaries leaving says about current leadership, Platt said he wants Southern Baptists to be confident in the faithful stewardship of the resources they contribute. “It’s not going to be good leadership in the days to come to let the IMB operate in a position where we cannot sustain ourselves financially and have to start pulling people invol-

untarily. If we had waited, we would not have been able to be as generous.” Reasons missionaries chose to leave vary with each situation, he said, noting efforts to solicit feedback from returning personnel to help the IMB improve its effectiveness. Thousands of years of collective experience still remain on the field, with each missionary receiving clear affirmation from God, Platt said. With significant changes to the infrastructure and systems, he said the stage is set to send thousands more by leveraging Godgiven opportunities. “We must think through as Southern Baptists how to mobilize as many missionaries as possible without in any way undercutting the foundation on which we stand in the cooperative approach to missions. I want to strengthen that, and I think we can by involving more churches in what we’re doing.” —with additional reporting by Baptist Press

IMB PHOTO BY LEXIE BENNETT

IMB commissions 26 new missionaries By Tammi Reed Ledbetter Special Assignments Editor ROCKVILLE, Va. Asked to confront the lostness of the world, 26 new missionaries were approved by International Mission Board trustees Feb. 23 and commissioned later that evening at the International Learning Center outside of Richmond. The event was broadcast via livestream, allowing friends, family members and churches a chance to hear the testimonies of the new group of missionaries. Only darkened profiles were shown in order to protect the security of Southern Baptist personnel who will be serving in dangerous destinations. In making the recommendation as chairman of the Global Engagement Committee, Texas trustee Byron McWilliams of Abilene told board members

International Mission Board trustees and staff gather around Texas natives Bailey and Josh Krause to pray for their return to Poland where they will be involved in church planting. She previously served as a journeyman and an International Service Corps member through the IMB, having been appointed to career service two years ago. While serving as a journeyman utilizing music for ministry in Poland, he and Bailey met and were married last year. Josh was approved Feb. 23 as a career missionary.

meeting earlier that day, “The greatest power on the face of the earth is the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are sending 26 heroes out into the world to confront the lostness.” Of that number, seven are going to Central Asia, five to

South Asia, 11 to North Africa and the Middle East, one to Europe and two to Sub-Saharan Africa. Five have ties to Texas by birth, education, or church membership, though only Josh Krause, a native of Abilene who will be involved in church

planting in Poland, could be identified by name due to security concerns for the other four missionaries. IMB President David Platt turned to Luke 9:57-62 to describe what it means to follow Jesus as he challenged new missionaries. “Apparently, the call to follow Christ is not simply a call to pray a prayer,” he said. “It’s a summons to lose your life.” Platt said the passage tells believers to love Jesus in a way “that makes our closest relationships in this world look like hate in comparison.” “Ladies and gentlemen, we have found someone who is worth losing everything for,” he said. “Jesus is this good, this great, and this glorious that he is worthy of the surrender of our lives. “Don’t doubt for a second in the valleys you walk through, the challenges you face, the

questions and confusion you have, ‘How did I get here? Why is this happening?’ Don’t doubt for a second he loves you so much. He’s worthy of your total affection.” Before closing the appointment service in prayer, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary President Danny Akin related a message from the president of Brazil’s mission board who asked him to thank Southern Baptists for their witness. “His great, great, great grandfather was led to Christ by a Southern Baptist,” Akin said, adding that the gospel was repeatedly shared with each generation that followed. “Today there are more than 12,000 Baptist churches in Brazil with over 1,000 international Brazilian missionaries,” Akin said. “That’s because of our giving, our sacrifices, our sending, and your going.”

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TEXAS TRUSTEES ANALYZE REDUCTION IN IMB MISSION FORCE By Tammi Reed Ledbetter Special Assignments Editor ROCKVILLE, Va. While saddened to see any missionaries leaving fields of service, Texas trustees of the International Mission Board are encouraged by what has been called a “reset” of the largest mission organization in the world. Upon returning from the Feb. 22-24 board meeting, trustee Geronimo Disla told the TEXAN, “My assessment is that we are doing the right thing concerning the future of the IMB.” The Bedford layman expects “it will take a few months to come back even stronger with the vision of reaching many for Christ with the gospel.” Trustee John Ross of Judson, a dentist, reflected on the process of resetting the massive IMB organization, reminding fellow Southern Baptists of the type of leader they embraced 18 months ago as president. “One constant is change, and ‘business as usual’ under David Platt is unlikely,” Ross said after returning to Texas. Though far more missionaries accepted incentive packages than expected in the effort to balance the budget, Ross focused on Platt’s vision of “sending limitless missionaries to the world” now that the IMB is on track for a balanced budget by 2017. The 2016 budget approved by trustees will continue a sixyear trend of tapping reserves in order to cover a $23 million deficit primarily caused by the cost of bringing so many missionaries back home. Of the 5,250 personnel offered incentives to retire or resign, 1,132 took advantage of the opportunity—a number nearly double the minimal 600 projected to be needed, though closer to the top figure of 900 seen as the

“My assessment is that we are doing the right thing concerning the future of the IMB.” —IMB TRUSTEE GERONIMO DISLA

most responses needed to avoid involuntary terminations. Thirty employees in the 40-member communications department in Richmond were the exception to the voluntary nature of the process. The 30 communicators were allowed to apply for open positions within the board. The 10 remaining members of the Richmond communications team were reassigned to the IMB’s new mobilization structure when administration eliminated the stateside group, deemed ill-equipped for what Platt described as “digital realities and opportunities of our day.” Disla, Ross and other Texas trustees present for the meeting at the International Learning Center outside of Richmond offered assessments of news that 983 Southern Baptist missionaries voluntarily retired or resigned when offered incentives to transition out of employment with IMB. Another 189 stateside employees based in Richmond, Va., accepted either a Voluntary Retirement Incentive (VRI) to eligible retirement-age personnel or a “Hand Raising Opportunity” extended to remaining employees. Trustee Ron Phillips of White Settlement admitted his surprise when he heard how many missionaries would be leaving the field. “It’s disheartening. I wish we could keep everyone on the field, but we have to live within our means. We can’t keep selling properties and taking from our contingency

funds,” he said, referring to practices that allowed the IMB to spend $210 million more than expenses covered over the last six years. Phillips is glad to see churches beginning to increase their gifts to the Cooperative Program (CP) to help secure funding for the remaining mission force. “I’m thankful to be a part of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention because we give 55 percent [of undesignated receipts from churches] to the Southern Baptist Convention for CP.” After hearing that 28,000 SBC churches gave nothing to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering (LMCO) for International Missions, trustee Mike Simmons of Midlothian said his focus is on encouraging any he can influence to realize missionaries are dependent on CP and LMCO for funding. Without that support, finances will always be strapped at IMB, where 80 percent of the budget relates to personnel costs. Simmons said the smaller number of churches supporting Southern Baptist mission causes is “indicative that we desperately need revival in this country in our churches.” Ross spoke of one Shreveport church that reported “an amazing increase” in giving as an example of many congregations that rallied to increase their mission offerings in light of missionaries having to return home in order to balance the IMB budget. Simmons was heartbroken by news that a couple from Hill-

crest Baptist Church where he pastors had accepted the VRI. Simmons said he has already learned of a new opportunity for ministry in Seattle where they are moving. “They assured me this is what God was leading them to do or else they wouldn’t have done it.” A closed-door forum with Platt provided trustees extended time for questions to be answered in an informal setting. “Our leadership gave us some very transparent answers,” Simmons said. “I really expected there’d be some testy moments, but there absolutely were not. There were some wise questions, and it was very helpful.” Trustee Nathan Lorick of Fort Worth agreed that lengthy dialogue was healthy, stating, “Trustees and staff leadership continue to have those eternally significant discussions in order to find the best roads forward for that vision” to see the gospel go to the ends of the earth. Trustee Byron McWilliams of Abilene said the IMB president was handed “an organization that was hemorrhaging financially, and he has determined to stop the bleeding and put us back on solid footing.” McWilliams supported the necessity of the decision and is encouraged that the reset will ensure a much healthier International Mission Board from this point forward. Regarding closure of the communications department, McWilliams said he regrets the loss of jobs but trusts Platt to have made the right decision. “I feel confident that our state news agencies will continue to receive excellent material on the status of the work the IMB is doing.” Ross also shared concern at “decentralizing communica-

tions.” He told the TEXAN, “At first glance it appears counter intuitive, but we have been assured it is in the best interest of our mission. I am taking the focused prayer approach, hopeful the new communication strategy will work well.” McWilliams said a new day began when Platt was elected in August of 2014. “While all of his decisions have not been perfect, I feel strongly as a trustee that he is relying more heavily upon the Holy Spirit for guidance than anyone else, and he is leading the board forward with a strategy that remains positive and exciting for Southern Baptists worldwide.” Trustee Robert Welch of Brownsboro praised the churches, state conventions, and SBC entities that rallied around returning missionaries. “It’s been amazing to watch and a great testimony of just how deep our cooperation goes.” While the number of people taking advantage of incentive offers was higher than Welch expected, he agreed with other trustees that God had guided the process to give discernment and clarity to each individual. “The voluntary nature of the VRI and HRO helped families truly seek the Lord for his will in this matter.” Grateful for the financial stability the reset brings to the IMB for the future, Welch said, “That’s a place we’ve not been for a while.” Though painful to walk through, he said it was needed. While the IMB experienced “a much needed reset,” Welch reminded that the need, the gospel, and the Great Commission remain the same. “I’m glad that our IMB can now focus on these pressing things with the reset complete.”

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from Tennessee Wesleyan College. She has been a member of Brentwood Baptist Church in Brentwood, Tenn., since 2005. -from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

BRIEFS National CP 7.19% ahead of projection Year-to-date contributions to Southern Baptist Convention national and international missions and ministries received by the SBC Executive Committee are 7.19 percent above the year-to-date budgeted projection and 1.46 percent above contributions received during the same time frame last year, according to a news release from SBC Executive Committee President Frank S. Page. The total includes receipts from state conventions and fellowships, churches and individuals for distribution according to the 2015-16 SBC Cooperative Program Allocation Budget. -from bpnews.net

Missionaries leave Zika-affected mission field in preemptive attempt to protect children Since 2014, Richie and Gabrielle Sparling served with the mission agency, Makarios, in the Dominican Republic. Having only been married six months when they moved to their mission assignment, they intended to begin a family while on the mission field. Growing concern over the mosquito-transmitted Zika Virus which researches think to be linked to miscarriage and microcephaly in infants carried by their pregnant mothers, however, led them back to the United States. “As a husband and future father, I believe my family is my first mission field. God, then family, then ministry,” Richie

Refugees, churches & fear spotlighted in study When it comes to helping refugees, Protestant churches

told WORLD ”My hope is firmly in the Lord, and I know regardless of where he takes us, his will for our lives remains the same: make disciples.” -from WORLD

Texas high schools to require birth certificates before students play sports Beginning Aug. 1, student athletes at Texas public high schools must present birth certificates verifying their genders before they can play sports. The decision was made by the University Interscholastic League (UIL), the body that governs extracurricular activities in Texas schools, and has been criticized by LGBT activists and praised by the Family Research Council. -from WORLD

Archivist Taffey Hall named SBHLA director Archivist Taffey Hall will replace Bill Sumners as director of the Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives (SBHLA) upon Sumners’ retirement in July. Hall has more than a decade of experience in researching Baptist history, having held a variety of research positions in Tennessee as well as a position at the Daily Post Athenian newspaper in Athens, Tenn. Hall earned her Doctor of Education from Tennessee State University, Master of Arts from Middle Tennessee State University, and Bachelor of Arts

and their pastors are often separated by faith and fear, according to a new survey from LifeWay Research. Most pastors say Christians should lend a hand to refugees and foreigners, and believe caring for refugees is a privilege. But

Budget shortfalls hamper 3 in 10 churches surveyed When it comes to finances, the new normal for many American churches seems to be “just getting by.” A third of Protestant senior pastors say their church’s giving was under budget in 2015, according to LifeWay Research. One in five saw their finances decline. Overall, about half of pastors say the economy has negatively affected their churches. In October 2010, most pastors (80 percent) said the economy negatively impacted their church. That number dropped to 64 percent in 2012 and then 56 percent by 2014. The most recent telephone survey of 1,000 Protestant senior pastors found 51 percent said the economy is hurting their church—the lowest total since LifeWay began researching the topic. One in 8 (13 percent) say the economy had a positive effect on their church. -from bpnews.net

NYC bathroom order called ‘one-way tolerance’ A New York City executive order underscoring the requirement that city agencies allow transgender persons to use any restroom they choose is among the latest round of cultural challenges to which believers are responding. In other developments, Georgia’s Republican governor has suggested his opposition to a bill that would allow wedding vendors to decline service to same-sex couples based on religious convictions; Hawaii legislators are considering a proposal to ban licensed counselors from attempting to help minors overcome samesex attraction; and Alabama’s Supreme Court dismissed a set of petitions requesting

pastors say their churches are twice as likely to fear refugees than they are to help them. “Pastors believe Scripture tells Christians to care for refugees and foreigners,” said Ed Stetzer, executive director of LifeWay Research. “Yet

Mo. Senate votes to put religious liberty on ballot Missourians will vote on protecting people from being penalized for their religious beliefs on marriage if a resolution passed by the Missouri Senate March 9 is next passed by the state’s House of Representatives. President Pro Tem of the Senate Ron Richard broke a 39-hour filibuster of Senate Joint Resolution 39 (SJR 39), also called the Missouri Religious Freedom Amendment, by calling for the previous question. In accordance with Senate rules, members of the Senate then took a 7 a.m. roll call, and

enforcement of the state’s same-sex marriage ban. In New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed an executive order March 7 that bans city employees from requesting identification or any other proof of gender before allowing individuals into public restrooms. -from bpnews.net

Photography an act of bearing witness, conference teaches During the 24th annual Southwestern Photojournalism Conference, Feb. 26-28, Matt Miller and Adam Covington, directors of the Office of Communications at Southwestern Seminary, explained that photography is a ministry in itself. Seeing, experiencing and affirming what God is doing and sharing that through photographs, videos and stories are the heart of this ministry,

many admit their church is not involved in such ministry.” The telephone survey of 1,000 Protestant pastors, conducted in January, was sponsored by evangelical relief agencies World Relief and World Vision. -from bpnews.net

SJR 39 passed its first-round approval, 23-9. SJR 39 now heads to the House of Representatives for approval for the ballot box this fall. If voters approve the resolution, it will be added to the Missouri constitution. The resolution’s legislative process does not require the signature of Gov. Jay Nixon. -from bpnews.netinvestigate, or adequately investigate, allegations of sexual violence,” including two instances of sexual assault by former members of the university’s football team. The football players referenced, Tevin Elliott and Sam Ukwauchu, both have been convicted of sexual assault and sentenced to prison. -from bpnews.net

and each of these elements ties into the biblical concept of “bearing witness.” The ultimate aim, they said, is to raise awareness of the gospel. After Covington and Miller laid the foundation for photography as ministry, other speakers shared how to write stories to accompany one’s photographs and how to share one’s work (suggestions included social media; a photo gallery in one’s home, church or a local coffee shop; and local newspapers). -from Southwestern Seminary

Boyce College senior receives NCCAA Maravich basketball award A Boyce College senior took home the National Christian College Athletic Association’s top award for Division II athletes, the organization announced March 8. Ben Akers, a senior forward from Danville, Ky., is the first Boyce player to win the Pete Maravich Memorial Award, given annually to the most outstanding student-athlete in NCCAA men’s basketball. According to the NCCAA website, winners of the Maravich award must show excellence in skills, academics and Christian service. Winning the Maravich award caps Aker’s record-setting career with the Bulldogs. The award is named after Hall of Fame basketball player Pete Maravich, considered one of the best offensive talents in history. After his storied NBA career, “Pistol Pete” Maravich professed faith in Christ. Boyce College, the undergraduate school of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, began its NCCAA-affiliated basketball program in 2006. -from Southern Seminary

APRIL 2016

GET TO KNOW OUR SBTC TEAM NAME: GAYLA HOLT SULLIVAN JOB: COMMUNICATIONS ASSISTANT & CIRCULATION MANAGER CHURCH: HARMONY BAPTIST CHURCH, ARLINGTON

SO, WHAT DO YOU ACTUALLY DO AS A MINISTRY ASSISTANT? I am a cheerleader for the TEXAN! I am the manager of addresses and email information, announcements and paid classifieds for the TEXAN; organize meetings for Resolutions Committee, Ministry Relationships Committee and Texas Ethics and Religious Liberty Committee; assist our incredible communications team as needed.

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my boss Gary gets up for an introduction of the three speakers. He glanced down and realized there was one lone large piece of popcorn clinging to the front of his shirt. He held it up, turned to the guest speakers and excitedly said, “Hey, I found some popcorn!” then popped it in his mouth and in true Gary form, as if nothing had happened the second before, delivered the most eloquent introduction. THE BEST DAY AT THE OFFICE IS WHEN I get to be a day brightener to someone.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU WORKED FOR THE SBTC? A little over 2 years

WHAT IS ONE THING YOU KNOW NOW, THAT YOU DIDN’T KNOW BEFORE BEGINNING YOUR JOB AT THE SBTC? That there are 45,582 subscribers to the TEXAN (but who’s counting?). I am!

WHAT IS THE FUNNIEST THING YOU’VE SEEN HAPPEN IN THE COURSE OF WORKING AT THE SBTC? I may find this funnier than my boss does … but recently we had a press conference. Cameras rolling, recorders recording,

ON A WEEKEND AWAY FROM WORK, WHAT DO YOU MOST LIKE TO DO? I like to engage in a little retail therapy at TJ Maxx; spending time with the fam; writing and decorating.

CHURCH POSITIONS PASTOR u Faith Baptist Church, located 3 mi. outside Fredericksburg, TX, seeks a full-time pastor with at least 5 years experience; Master of Divinity desired. Please submit resume to faithbc@ ctesc.net or Pastor Search Committee, Faith Baptist Church, 3022 N. State Highway 16, Fredericksburg, TX 78624 by May 15. u Friendship BC in Weatherford is seeking a FT senior pastor. Friendship is a rural church with an average worship attendance of 110. Please contact [email protected] or mail resume to Friendship Baptist Church, 801 Friendship Rd, Weatherford, TX 76085. Call 817-594-5940 for more information. u FBC, Timpson, is seeking a FT pastor. Resumes will be accepted with a minimum of four references (name and addresses included). Must be received no later than May 20, 2016. Please mail to Pastor Search Team, c/o Don Barnett, 486 West Lake Timpson Rd, Timpson, TX 75975. u FBC, China is searching for a FT pastor. Please send resume to Perry Seaman at First Baptist Church, P.O. Box 68, China, TX 77613. u Fairdale BC, Hemphill, is seeking a FT pastor. Seminary degree is required. For more information, contact Jess Thames, Chairman Pastor Search Committee, at 409-579-3345. Send resume’s marked “confidential” to: Fairdale Baptist Church, Jess Thames, 4820 Fairdale Rd, Hemphill, TX 75948. u FBC Stinnett seeks FT pastor with either a seminary degree or one who is attending seminary. Must be ordained. Send resume to [email protected] or PO Box 1316, Stinnett, TX 79083. u Piney Grove BC is accepting resumes for the position of pastor. Resumes may be mailed to the following address: Piney Grove Baptist Church, Attention: Pastor Search Committee, 3268 Texas Highway 77 W, Atlanta, TX 75551. u Maplewood Baptist Fellowship, North Richland Hills, is seeking a bi-vocational senior pastor. Please submit resumes to [email protected]. u Sylvester BC is searching for a bi-vocational pastor. Parsonage available. Send resume to Sylvester Baptist Church, PO Box 8, Sylvester, TX, 79560, [email protected] or call 325-962-5571.

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2016 EXHIBIT

QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

Approved exhibitors at the SBTC Annual Meeting include (subject to available space) SBTC ministries, SBC agencies, SBTC ministry relationships (under the oversight of the Ministry Relationships Committee of the Executive Board), Baptist associational ministries, and any host church. All other entities desiring booth space must submit their request in writing to Joe Davis at the SBTC, prior to June 1, 2016. Entities or individuals may share exhibit space with approved exhibitors only with the approval of the Committee on Order of Business. For profit entities that have no formal relationship with the SBTC shall not be granted exhibit space. All exhibit material must be in agreement with the SBTC Constitution and Bylaws, which includes the Baptist Faith & Message 2000. Fund raising or sales that do not conflict with SBTC priorities will be allowed in the exhibit area.

u Calvary BC, Woodville, is seeking a bi-vocational pastor. Send resume to PO Box 484, Woodville, TX 75979 or email [email protected]. u Mt. Zion BC, Lufkin, is seeking a bi-vocational pastor. Please submit resumes to 4303 FM 842, Lufkin, TX 75901 or email mbridges@ consolidated.net. u FBC Higgins, in the Top of Texas Association, is seeking a bi-vocational pastor. Parsonage included. Send resume to FBC Search Committee, PO Box 279, Higgins, TX 79046, or to [email protected].

combinations may also be considered. Resumes can be sent to Hagerman Baptist Church, 4619 Refuge Road, Sherman, TX 75092. u Trinity BC, Bonham, is accepting resumes for a PT youth/children’s minister. The ideal candidate must possess a passion and dedication for youth/children ministry, leadership skills, a genuine interest in students’ lives and a willingness to get involved in the community. Send resumes to trinitybaptist@ cableone.net or mail to Trinity Baptist Church, Attn: Search Committee, 219 W. Denison, Bonham, TX 75418.

MUSIC u FBC, Kingsville, is seeking a FT minister of music and worship. Please send resumes to [email protected] or mail to First Baptist Church, Attn: Search Committee, PO Box 751, Kingsville, TX, 78364. u Main Street BC, Grand Saline, is seeking a FT worship leader. Must be able to play instruments, direct choir and move into community. Send resume to [email protected] or call Edell Davis at 409-489-5323. u FBC of Rogers seeks bi-vocational worship leader to oversee choir, praise band and blended-style worship services. Compensation based on experience. Please send resumes to [email protected]. u Silver Oaks BC in Mauriceville is accepting resumes for a PT or bivocational director of music. Please submit all resumes to silveroaks@ netzero.com or to SilverOaks Baptist Church, attn.: Music Director Search Committee, 16460 FM 1442, Orange, TX 77632. Salary commensurate on experience.

YOUTH u Sunray BC, Sunray, is seeking a FT student pastor who will be responsible for ministering to preschoolers-12th grade with an emphasis in youth ministry. If interested, please send resumes to [email protected]. Check us out on Facebook at facebook.com/SBCStuMin. u Indiana Ave Baptist Church in Lubbock is seeking a FT minister of youth. The qualified candidate will need both education (bachelor’s degree minimum) and experience (at least three years full-time). Over 100 students are waiting for you. Send resumes to [email protected]. u Forest Branch BC, Livingston, seeks a PT youth director or youth ministry intern. Submit inquiries to Pastor Hutson Smelley at proclaimtheword@ mac.com. u Calvary BC of Tishomingo, OK is seeking a FT youth minister. Experience in music is a plus but not required. Apply by mail to Calvary Baptist Church, 9700 S Hwy 377, Tishomingo, OK, 73460, or email to: [email protected].

COMBINATION u FBC Borger seeks FT worship arts & college ministry pastor. The successful candidate will partner with the senior pastor in communicating the mission and message of the church to the young and old, churched and unchurched, by creatively incorporating elements of song, video, and the visual and performing arts into an authentic worship experience. The successful candidate also leads college ministry to students at Frank Phillips College. Resumes to Charlie@ firstborger.com by May 13, 2016. u Hagerman BC, Sherman, is looking for a FT music/youth minister. Other

CHILDREN u FBC of Malakoff is searching for a FT children’s minister to lead out in our ongoing effort to reach the children and families of our community. Please email resume to fbc@ fbcmalakoff.com, Attention Children’s Minister Search. u FBC Borger seeks FT pastor to families with children responsible for partnering with families and seeing their children, birth - 6th grade, come to Christ, grow in conformity to the image of Christ, and form the foundation of a biblical worldview. Must minister to both children and their families. Send resumes to [email protected].

u Windom Baptist Church is accepting resumes for a part time children’s minister. Call or email Pastor Judd Strawbridge at 903-578-2190 [email protected]. OTHER u Del Rio-Uvalde Baptist Association,

druba.net, is seeking DOM for South Texas / Hill Country area. Minimum 10 years’ ministry experience, fluent in Spanish and English, willing to travel in association area. Send resumes to Del Rio-Uvalde Baptist Association, 117 E. Commerce Street, Uvalde, TX 78801 or [email protected].

Announcements u Dr. James F. Eaves passed away peacefully in December at age 90. He served as a pilot and officer in the U.S. Air Force. He obtained a BA from Union University, also Master of Divinity and Doctor of Theology degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He pastored churches in New Mexico, Tennessee, and Texas. He was interim pastor for over 30 churches in seven states. Dr. Eaves was professor of evangelism at Southwestern Seminary for 17 years and professor emeritus for an additional 10 years. He was a guest lecturer at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Oxford University. Eaves served as a trustee at Union University and worked as director of evangelism and church growth for the North American Mission Board. He and his wife Jeane celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary in 2015. u Latham Springs Camp and Retreat Center, an associational-owned (13 Central Texas associations are owners) Baptist camp located near Waco at HCR 2202 N, Aquilla, TX, 76622, invites you to their ground-breaking ceremony for a new adult conference center on April 21, 10 a.m. For more information, contact Mike Wilson, 254-694-3689. u We have essential needs for a new church start-up on the Navajo reservation in New Mexico. We will be conducting their first vacation Bible school & revival. We have a need for Bibles, backpacks, new sneakers, socks & basic school supplies. We need all items by July 1st. Bill & Bettye Roberts (Native American Partnership missions) 903-364-2515, 361 Harris Lane, Whitewright, TX 75491, [email protected]. u Feel called to missions? Have a heart for the nations? Want hands-on experience in church planting? Nations Church Planting Network is offering a nine-week summer internship for high school seniors and college students with a focus on discipleship, evangelism with internationals, and church planting. Come serve with us in the International District of Houston, home to over 300 people groups from all around the world who need to hear the gospel! For more information, please contact Jessica Rexrode: jessica. [email protected] or 770-843-5034.

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u CUSTOM SCREEN-PRINTED T-SHIRTS FOR CHURCH EVENTS PUERTO RICO. Experienced team – Incredibly low prices, plus free coordinators will design a missions trip shipping! Small or large orders tailored to your need and goals. Come welcome. Call David at Southeast for 10 days Or two weeks. No passport Texas Printing Company needed. Area is safe, cost effective (409) 622-2197. and perfect for all ages and sizes of u CAREER OPPORTUNITY teams. You can teach, preach, hold Immediate earning potential. Be part an evangelistic outreach, work of the rapidly growing precious metals in schools, senior citizen centers, industry. Free training and ongoing do light construction, painting, sports support. Work from home. Rapidly or music ministry. Learn more at growing international company. 888vision-puertorico.org. 644-4408. Call NOW! u BRING A MISSION TEAM TO

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‘AWAKEN AMERICA’ REGISTRATION OPENS FOR SBC ST. LOUIS By Art Toalston Baptist Press ST. LOUIS Registration for the SBC’s “Awaken America: Reach the World” annual meeting, June 14-15 in St. Louis, has opened. Online registration for messengers and local hotels can be accessed at SBCAnnualMeeting.net. Through online messenger registration, each messenger will receive an eight-digit registration code to present at the annual meeting’s Express Registration lane in St. Louis, preferably as a printout for the church’s credential. The code will be entered into a computer at

the SBC registration area and a nametag will be printed. The appropriate churchauthorized representative must complete all online registrations. The SBC constitution and bylaws were amended last year to broaden messenger representation. Each cooperating church that contributes to convention causes during the preceding fiscal year now automatically qualifies for two messengers; previous rules allowed for one messenger. Additionally, the convention will recognize 10 additional messengers from a cooperating church under one of the following options:

4One additional messenger for each full percent of the church’s undesignated receipts which the church contributed during the fiscal year preceding through the Cooperative Program, and/or through the convention’s Executive Committee for convention causes, and/or to any convention entity. 4One additional messenger for each $6,000 the church contributes in the preceding year through the normative combination of the Cooperative Program, designated gifts through the Executive Committee for convention causes or to any SBC entity.

Greear, Gaines to be SBC president nominees By David Roach Baptist Press

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story is an edited compilation of two separate stories written by David Roach at Baptist Press. ST. LOUIS Two prominent Southern Baptist pastors will be nominated for president of the Southern Baptist Convention during the annual meeting June 14-15 in St. Louis. Florida pastor Jimmy Scroggins announced March 2 that he will nominate J.D Greear, pastor of The Summit Church in Raleigh-Durham, N.C., and Georgia pastor Johnny Hunt announced March 9 that he will nominate Steve Gaines, pastor of the Memphis-area Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova, Tenn.

J.D. Greear Greear, 42, “is leading his generation to live out a passion for the SBC, missions and the local church,” Scroggins, pastor of Family Church in West Palm Beach, Fla., wrote in a news J.D. Greear release. During the 14 years Greear has pastored The Summit Church, worship attendance has grown from 350 to just under 10,000, Scroggins said. Total baptisms increased from 19 in 2002 to 928 in 2014, the last year for which statistics are available through the SBC’s Annual Church Profile. Scroggins said The Summit’s “149 people currently with” the International Mission Board marks the largest total from any church in the convention—a statistic the church told Baptist Press the IMB has confirmed. Greear himself served two years with the IMB before being called to The Summit. Closer to home, The Summit has planted 26 churches in North America in conjunction with the North American Mission Board. In his release, Scroggins said the church “voted last year to give $390,000 to the Cooperative Program in 2016, making it one of the top CP giving churches in the state of North Caro-

lina and the SBC.” He noted this marks a 230 percent increase in The Summit’s CP giving. Three years ago, the congregation voted to increase its giving through the Cooperative Program over a fiveyear period to 2.4 percent of undesignated receipts, the church confirmed to BP. The Summit reached its goal two years early. As of Jan. 1, 2016, The Summit began forwarding all its CP giving through the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina (BSCNC), the church said. Previously, it forwarded some funds it regarded as CP gifts directly through the SBC Executive Committee for distribution according to the CP allocation formula. In 2013-14, for instance, it gave $96,000 directly to the EC, according to the 2015 SBC Annual. The BSCNC reported CP receipts of $54,000 from The Summit in calendar year 2014. Adding the two numbers together yields the $150,000 the church self-reported as “CP giving” on its 2014 ACP—a total amounting to 1 percent of undesignated receipts. The Summit’s Great Commission Giving “has been at or around 10 percent for the last several years,” Scroggins wrote. Great Commission Giving is a category of giving established by SBC action in 2011 that encompasses giving through CP, Southern Baptists’ unified program of funding state- and SBC-level ministries, as well as direct gifts to SBC entities, associational giving and giving to state convention ministries. According to ACP data, The Summit’s Great Commission Giving was 13 percent of undesignated receipts in 2014, 12 percent in 2013 and 15 percent in 2012. The Summit’s Great Commission Giving includes more than $1 million annually to IMB-related causes and more than half a millions dollars to NAMBrelated causes, the church told BP. Greear told BP he would have two goals as SBC president. First, he would encourage “my generation … to take personal responsibility for the agencies and the mission boards of the SBC and not just think of them as the SBC’s, but think of them as ours.” Second, he would “celebrate the autonomy of the local church in choosing how it’s going to give. We want

to see CP giving elevated, and we are doing that ... but we also want to see Great Commission Giving celebrated, because that’s part of the autonomy of the local church.” He is married to Veronica and has four children. Greear holds Master of Divinity and Ph.D. degrees from Southeastern Seminary. Steve Gaines “When Steve Gaines shared his prayer journey he and [his wife] Donna had traveled, I was touched by his clear call to allow him- Steve Gaines self to be nominated,” Hunt, pastor of First Baptist Church in Woodstock, Ga., wrote in a news release. “Steve struggled with this nomination as he has always believed this office should seek the man,” Hunt continued. “With such a passionate desire for spiritual revival in our churches and nation, and knowing him to be a man of deep intense prayer, it brings joy to my heart to nominate Dr. Gaines.” During the 11 years Gaines has pastored Bellevue Baptist, the congregation has averaged 481 baptisms per year, according to the SBC’s Annual Church Profile. Previously, he pastored churches in Alabama, Tennessee and Texas. Bellevue’s finance committee is recommending that the congregation give $1 million during its 2016-17 church year through the Cooperative Program. That will total approximately 4.6 percent of undesignated receipts, the church told Baptist Press. As of April 1, 2012, Bellevue began forwarding all its CP giving through the Tennessee Baptist Convention, the church said. Previously, it forwarded approximately $200,000-$340,000 annually in CP through the TBC, according to ACP data, and designated about twice that amount to be forwarded to the SBC Executive Committee for distribution according to the CP allocation formula, the church said. The shift in giving methods resulted in an increase from giving 1.3 percent of undesignated receipts through CP in 2011 to 2.6 percent in 2012, according to ACP reports. Bellevue increased

that percentage to 3.5 in 2013 and 3.8 in 2014. The church’s Great Commission Giving totaled approximately $2.5 million over the past two years and is anticipated to be $1.3 million (6 percent of undesignated receipts) for the congregation’s 2016-17 church year, which begins April 1, Hunt said. Hunt said Bellevue has collaborated with the International Mission Board to lead evangelism training in 34 countries since 2007 and “at the request of the IMB ... has been a strategy church for Jinotega, Nicaragua, since 2007.” Bellevue is partnering with the North American Mission Board to plant churches in the Northwest and has planted 10 churches in other areas, including work with Native Americans in three locations, Hunt said. Total missions giving for next year is anticipated at 18 percent of Bellevue’s undesignated receipts, the church reported, and includes the “Bellevue Loves Memphis” initiative, a service evangelism campaign launched by Gaines in 2007. Gaines has served as a member of the SBC Committee on Nominations, a trustee of LifeWay Christian Resources, a member of the committee that proposed a revision of the Baptist Faith and Message in 2000 and chairman of the SBC Resolutions Committee. He preached the SBC convention sermon in 2004 and served as SBC Pastors’ Conference president in 2005. Gaines told BP, “I would like to continue [current SBC president] Dr. [Ronnie] Floyd’s emphasis on seeking God for a spiritual awakening and revival. ... I’ve been praying for an awakening for a long time, and that’s really my heart. I want the manifest presence of God in our churches and also in our denomination. “... I also believe that we’ve got a real problem with our baptisms,” Gaines said. “We need to get back to personal evangelism and soul winning.” Gaines is married to Donna and has four children and nine grandchildren. He holds Master of Divinity and Ph.D. degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

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SBC CHILDCARE, CHILDREN, YOUTH REGISTRATION OPEN By Baptist Press ST. LOUIS Registration is open for preschool childcare, Giant Cow Children’s Ministries and Youth on Mission in conjunction with the Southern Baptist Convention’s 2016 annual meeting June 14-15 in St. Louis. Southern Baptist Disaster Relief (SBDR) childcare volunteers will care for preschoolers; Giant Cow Children’s Ministries will lead the 5- to 12-yearolds, and Woman’s Missionary Union will guide Youth on Mission curricula and activities. All activities for children and youth will be housed at the America’s Center, the annual meeting site. Youth who have completed grades 7-12 will begin their days at the convention center with worship before going into the community for handson mission projects. Pre-registration is required and is available online at sbcannualmeeting. net under the “children/youth” tab,

with a deadline of May 6 or whenever the space limitation of 120 children is reached. Registrations will not be taken on site. Preschool Childcare SBDR childcare volunteers will offer childcare for newborns through 5-year-olds June 12-15, encompassing the SBC Pastors’ Conference June 1213 and the annual meeting. The cost is $25 per child for the Pastors’ Conference and an additional $25 per child for the annual meeting. There is also a $10 non-refundable registration fee per child. Lunch for preschoolers will be available for $6 a day June 13–15. Parents should pay all related fees upon registration to ensure their child’s participation. The SBC will verify registrations with an emailed confirmation packet, including a parent’s handbook. Every lesson and game for preschoolers will focus on the theme “Jonah and the Whale.”

Giant Cow Ministries Giant Cow Ministries will be offered for staggered fees; $65 for June 12-15, $55 for June 13-15, $45 for June 14-15, and $25 for each individual day. Registration deadline is May 30 or until available spaces are sold. WMU will provide missions education as part of the curriculum. Youth On Mission Youth On Mission will engage students in hands-on missions projects June 14-15 for $55 per youth, plus a nonrefundable registration fee of $10 per youth. “Youth on Mission will have the opportunity to study the Bible together, hear testimonies from North American and International missionaries, and gain a greater understanding of how God can use them in His work in the world,” said Jess Archer, Louisiana WMU children’s/ youth missions education strategist and Youth on Mission coordinator. Lunch and snacks will be provided both days.

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7 reasons to come to St. Louis by Ronnie Floyd | SBC President

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We need to be with our family, our Southern Baptist family.

We need to be inspired to believe again that God can awaken America spiritually and the world can be reached for Christ.

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We need to hear the Word of God proclaimed, pray and worship together by the thousands, and have our spiritual lives set on fire again.

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We need to hear the wonderful testimonies and reports about what God is doing across America and the world through our work together.

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We need to hear how our churches’ financial investment in the Cooperative Program and mission offerings is being used to share the Gospel.

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We need to be encouraged to know that when we are together and working together there is hope in America and this world.

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We need to join together by the thousands as we pray for our nation at this critical time, calling out to God to revive His church and awaken America so we can reach the world for Christ.

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MINISTER TURNS ‘SECRET SHOPPER’ TO DISCOVER HOW CHURCHES TREAT VISITORS By Michael Foust TEXAN Correspondent

Throughout five decades in the ministry, including 12 at Houston’s Sagemont Baptist Church, Buddy Griffin said he always wondered what Sunday morning services were like at other churches. After all, on most weekends, he was serving at his own church. So when he retired from Sagemont at the end of 2013, Griffin set out to learn about other congregations, turning into a “secret church shopper” and visiting more than 100 congregations of all denominations—from cowboy churches to charismatic ones, from Episcopalian to Baptist to Lutheran. Griffin took detailed notes and compiled his research into a book titled What in HEAVEN Is Going On At Church? that will be released by Tate Publishing April 5, Griffin’s research may have been birthed simply out of curiosity, but it also had a more serious goal: to help churches

improve how they reach visitors, particularly those who are not saved. At about half of the churches, no one even spoke to him. At another 10 or so churches, he couldn’t find a visitor’s card, not even upon request. “I looked at it from the perspective of being a lost man. If I walked onto this campus, would I want to come back?” Griffin, who served as men’s minister and prayer pastor at Sagemont, told the TEXAN. “My goal was to provide firsthand information to pastors and churches to advance the kingdom of God.” Griffin went through the same routine at each church. He would get to the parking lot about 25 minutes early, park away from the main entrance, and then walk toward the door. Upon entering, he would walk around the lobby, acting as if he were a visitor looking for information about the congregation. He then would go sit in the first eight rows of the church. “I had a rule that I would not speak to anybody unless I was

spoken to,” Griffin said. “I would see if anyone would speak to me after the service, and I would hang around in the lobby.” Then, Griffin would walk back to his car and take notes, marking down information he categorized into three points: 1) the Word (was the gospel preached?), 2) the Warmth (was he made to feel like he could fit in?), and 3) the Welcome (did he receive a friendly greeting?). In too many churches, Griffin said, either Christ wasn’t the center of the service or Griffin was not greeted—or both. In one memorable instance, he arrived at the wrong time for the service and asked someone if there was a class he instead could attend. Once finding it, he was abruptly told it was “full,” so he turned around, found the fellowship hall, and sipped on coffee and read his Bible until the service started. But other churches excelled at making him feel wanted. One congregation contacted him on Sunday afternoon, thanking him for coming. An-

other one actually visited him on Sunday night. (The longest a church took to contact him was 62 days.) All total, he visited 100-plus churches of 28 different denominations, making sure they were comprised of various races and nationalities. Griffin always sent the data to the pastor, with a letter and a picture of himself. Most pastors, he said, were thankful for the information. Griffin said he learned a lot during his secret shopper research, both negative and positive. Some congregations—mostly “high church” ones—are “so in love with tradition” that it has replaced Jesus, he said. Still other churches focus so much on money during the service that it seems to be their “biggest concern,” even for visitors. “It was very obvious sometimes,” Griffin said.

Yet Griffin made discoveries that encouraged him, including “how big God really is.” “I had some preconceived views of denominations, and I don’t know where I got them. I’m sure we all put people in boxes,” he said. “Every pastor, if they could go through what I went through, we’d be so much better—so much more loving and kind.” For more information about the book, email Buddy Griffin at 2Buddy.Griffin@ gmail.com.