God's Purpose for Our Church: Sunday, March 2, 2008

God’s Purpose for Our Church
Acts 1: 1 – 11.

I. Introduction.

This is a true story. You always know it going to be good when someone begins by telling you it is a true story…

In 1980, a young man who had recently graduated from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary travelled to Lufkin, Texas to preach in this church. The young man came to Lufkin to share his vision for evangelism and starting a new kind of church in Southern California. Some of our long-term members remember this young seminary graduate and the time he preached in First Baptist Church. His name is Rick Warren. His dream turned into one of the largest churches in the United States.

On any given weekend Rick Warren’s church—Saddleback Community Church in Mission Viejo, California—holds six worship services with a total attendance of 26,000 worshippers. And it all started right here in Lufkin’s First Baptist Church.

After Rick Warren preached in our church, our deacons held a meeting and made a recommendation to the church that we support him financially in his dream to plant a church in California. The church agreed, and we supported Rick Warren with $250 per month from 1981 – 1984.

Most of you know the name Rick Warren through his book, The Purpose-Driven Life. Churches all over the world, including Lufkin’s First Baptist, have studied this book and undertaken an event known as Forty Days of Purpose. Several years ago, we went through Forty Days of Purpose. We divided our members into small groups to read and discuss God’s purposes for our individual lives as well as God’s purposes for our church.

There were so many people who purchased the book The Purpose-Driven Life, that Rick Warren is now recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the third wealthiest author in America. I wasn’t sure how to feel about this until I learned what Rick Warren has done with his finances. The first thing he did was to refuse any salary from his church in California. Then he added up the total amount of salary his church has paid him over his 25 year career and paid it back to the church. So, now he can say that he has never benefitted financially from serving as a pastor. Then he identified five world-wide projects and sponsors them with his book earnings.

Last year, I got this crazy idea to invite Rick Warren to come to our church and preach. Jeannie Gilcrease helped me research Rick’s email address and phone number. And I started trying to call him. I discovered in the process that he has a secretary who answers his phone and responds to his email. I have never been a person to give up. I am tenacious! I am a bulldog! I do not give up. I called his secretary and emailed her so many times, that she finally gave me her cell phone number so I could call her direct.

When I called her on her cell phone, I thanked her for helping me. I said, “I realize that you get calls like this from hundreds of pastors just like me every single day.” She said, “I do get a lot of requests, but I’ve never had anyone as persistent as you are!”

She tried to help me, but we could not get our church calendar and Rick’s speaking calendar to line up. So, now I am working to schedule him sometime for 2008.

Then, I had an opportunity to meet Rick Warren face-to-face. He was the keynote speaker for the Baptist General Convention of Texas back in October. Right before Rick was supposed to speak, I walked backstage and found him. He was surrounded by a group of pastors just like me. They were engaged in conversation but stopped when I walked into the room. They gave me a look that communicated, “You are not supposed to be here.”

When the conversation stopped, I stuck out my hand and said, “Rick, my name is Andy Pittman. I am the pastor of First Baptist Church in Lufkin.”

Rick shook my hand and said, “Andy! I just finished a press conference and told them that I got my start because First Baptist Lufkin believed in me and my calling to California. Your church was the first church to believe in me and to support me financially. Tell me how things are going in Lufkin.”

We sat down on a sofa as I started telling him about all the wonderful things taking place in this church. I told him about people joining our church and the excitement we feel every single week. I told him about the five mission churches we are sponsoring right now—a cowboy church, an Hispanic church and a black church in Lufkin as well as two international churches, one in Canada and one about to begin in Ethiopia. He took out a notebook and started writing down notes on what I was saying.

Then, Rick leaned back on the sofa and said, “I want to come to Lufkin to preach.” I said, “It’s interesting that you say that. I have been trying to schedule a date through your secretary for the past few weeks.” He asked for my business card and promised to come back to Lufkin.
Now, I want you to keep in mind that we are still surrounded by other Texas pastors. They are watching us and listening to our conversation.

Then, Rick added something. He said, “I am going to come to Lufkin to preach and give your church a plaque. I need to tell ya’ll how much you have meant to me.”

I replied, “Rick, I want you to come to Lufkin, and I want you to preach. But, I don’t want you to give us a plaque. I have a better idea. Remember when you wrote that book and made all that money?” He said, “Yes.” I said, “And remember when you added up the salary your church paid you over 25 years?” He said, “Yes.” I said, “Instead of bringing us a plaque, why don’t you bring us a check?”

The room erupted. Rick was bent over laughing. He loved it. He even offered to write a check on the spot to cover the first installment. Of course, I told him I was joking and did not want anything from him.

I tell that story to introduce two ideas. First, I want you to know the story of Lufkin’s First Baptist Church. This year, 2008, is the 125th anniversary of our church. A lot of changes have taken place in our church over 125 years. But, hopefully one thing has remained unchanged—our purpose. God placed each man, woman, teenager and child in this church for a purpose. What do you think that purpose might be?

I also told that story to introduce Rick Warren. His first book was The Purpose-Driven Church. In this book, he addressed the contemporary fascination with church growth. Everyone says they want their church to grow. But what are you doing to grow this church? If you agree that God has brought us together in this church, how are we going to work to grow this church?

Rick Warren says there are three ways for our church to grow:
1. Birth. As long as our members keep having babies, our church will grow.

2. Transfer. Sometimes people transfer their membership from one church to another. Often these people have moved to Lufkin for new jobs, and they come to our church from a church in another town. At other times, people will move from one church in Lufkin to another church. Aubrey calls this “aquarium growth.” It means taking fish out of one aquarium and placing them in our aquarium. I prefer to call this “sheep stealing.” Our church will grow if we can steal sheep from other churches. Or, perhaps we don’t have to steal sheep if another church in town starts having conflict. Sheep will start to come here to get away from the conflict.

3. Evangelism. Would you believe, this is the only kind of church growth found in the New Testament? The New Testament does not tell us to grow our church through either birth or transfer. The New Testament tells us our purpose is to evangelize the lost.


Read Acts 1: 1 – 11.

These were Jesus’ last words to his disciples as he ascended into heaven. After the resurrection, Jesus spent forty days with his disciples. They had one final gathering together on the top of the Mount of Olives. In this final meeting, Jesus did two final things. First, he gave them their last instructions. Second, he promised them the Holy Spirit.


II. The Disciples’ Misunderstanding.

It’s interesting to me that Jesus ended his ministry on earth just as he began it. He talked about baptism and taught them about the Kingdom of God.

The Kingdom of God was the dominant theme throughout Jesus’ teaching ministry. You have heard me say that we can debate all day long about what exactly the Kingdom of God is. On one hand, we know that the Kingdom of God is a future reality. It is something Jesus taught us to pray for in the Model Prayer—Let your kingdom come (to earth). In this sense, we will never fully experience God’s Kingdom until we are with him in heaven.

On the other hand, in Jesus’ first sermon he said, “Repent! For the Kingdom of God is here.” In this sense, Jesus taught his disciples that we can actually begin to experience the Kingdom of God while we are still living on this earth. The Kingdom of God is the realm in which God is the sovereign King.

This world is the realm of the devil. Satan subdues this earth through sin and sickness and natural disasters and death. Jesus broke into Satan’s realm and began spreading the reign of God. When people placed their faith in Jesus as Lord, they stepped out of Satan’s kingdom and entered into God’s Kingdom. Through the ministry and teaching of Jesus, the Kingdom of God began to grow and expand. This was Jesus’ work on earth. This is the work Jesus is now handing over to his disciples. So, Jesus spent his last forty days reminding his followers of their responsibility to expand the Kingdom.

Jesus taught this to his disciples for the entire three year period of his ministry with them. Surely they understood after three years? Surely they didn’t need to be reminded what the Kingdom of God is? But look at the question the disciples asked Jesus in Acts 1: 6, “Lord, are you at this time going to RESTORE the kingdom to Israel?”

The disciples still did not understand their purpose! Jesus did not come to RESTORE anything! Jesus came to create something completely new—the Kingdom of God. To restore something means to return it to its original state. To renovate something means to take what you have and make it better. Jesus came neither restoring nor renovating. He started over. He created something new. He did not restore Israel as God’s people. Jesus created a new people, the church.


III. Jesus’ Final Instructions.

In my interpretation, Jesus established his disciples as God’s people on earth. We see this at work in the very next passage of Scripture. In the book of Genesis, Jacob’s name was changed to Israel. Jacob / Israel had 12 sons. These 12 sons became the ancestors of the 12 tribes of Israel. From Genesis through the end of the Old Testament, God’s people were represented by the number 12. When Jesus selected his followers, Jesus chose 12 disciples. At the end of Jesus’ life on earth, Judas—one of the 12 disciples—hanged himself. Therefore, there were only 11 disciples remaining. Eleven is a good number. It’s more than ten, but less than twelve. It’s a good number, but it does not symbolize anything. This is why Judas had to be replaced. There had to be 12 disciples in order to symbolize the new people of God Jesus came to create.

Acts 1: 8, contain the final instructions Jesus gave God’s chosen people—the church. One word: Witness. Tell someone about Jesus.

Jesus created his new people so that we can tell others about Jesus. Jesus established the church so that we could continue his original work of breaking up Satan’s reign on the earth. Our job—our God-given purpose—is to grow and expand God’s Kingdom on earth. The only way to do this is by witnessing—telling others about Jesus.

Notice what Jesus did NOT say. Jesus did not say, “Break into Satan’s reign on this earth by having a lot of babies.” Jesus did not say, “Break into Satan’s reign on this earth by transferring people out of the church across town.” NO! Jesus said, “The only way to stop the advance of Satan’s kingdom is to witness to others about Jesus.”


IV. The Holy Spirit.

God’s purpose for our church can be summed up in one brief statement. God has called us to stop the reign of Satan on earth. The only way to stop the advance of Satan’s kingdom is to witness to people who do not know Jesus. Our purpose is evangelism. If we are not doing the work of evangelism, we are not fulfilling our God-given purpose.

Jesus gave us instructions to do the work of evangelism. But Jesus also gave us the power to do the work. The bad news is that we cannot fulfill our God-given purpose of evangelizing the world on our own. The good news is that Jesus gave us the power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish this.


V. Conclusion.

So, how can we tap into the power of the Holy Spirit to do the work of evangelism? Simple! We have to pray!

On January 28, our church staff met in an all day planning retreat. It is ironic that on the same day, the BGCT evangelism director described the four ways to do evangelism in today’s world. He said evangelism should involve (1) Prayer for lost men and women; (2) Intentional efforts to win the lost; (3) Building Relationships with non-Christians; and (4) Specific Events which gather non-Christians to hear the Gospel.

I say this is ironic, because on the same day, our staff developed a plan to use small groups to reach non-Christian people. We did not read about these four elements of evangelism until after our staff retreat concluded. But we our plan incorporates all four elements.

Beginning on Sunday, March 30, I want to see 100 people from our church meeting in small groups. These small groups will focus on evangelism and will ask each person to identify three people you know, whom you believe are not Christians. We will spend five or six weeks praying for these people. Then, we will host an event at the church with food and information about our church.

I want our church members to approach the people you have been praying for and invite them to the event. Tell them, “I have been praying for you for the past five weeks. I want to invite you to come to my church on Saturday night. You will learn more about what my church does, and my pastor is going to tell you what we believe.”

Whatever Happened to Sin? Sunday, February 17, 2008

Whatever Happened to Sin?
Genesis 3: 1 – 24.

I. Introduction

Do you remember the old nursery rhyme about Humpty Dumpty?

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king’s horses and all the king’s men
couldn’t put Humpty together again.

This is a familiar rhyme about an egg that had the misfortune of tumbling from top of a wall. I have always wondered what business an egg had sitting on top of a wall.

This nursery rhyme is believed to be thousands of years old. It is widely known in several European languages that were around long before the English language. But it didn’t start out as a nursery rhyme. It started out as a riddle.

What, when broken, can never be repaired, not even by strong or wise individuals?

The answer to the riddle, of course, is an egg. No matter how hard we try, we can never fix a broken egg. It cannot be put together again.

I remember when I was a child that I was proud of myself when I was finally big enough and strong enough to help my mother bring in the groceries from the car. But one time I took the wrong sack. I picked up the one with the eggs in it. And—of course this probably means that I am strange—I remember walking in the door and dropping the sack right in the middle of the floor. I broke the whole dozen eggs. And there is no remedy for broken eggs. They cannot be put back together. When the eggs are broken, there is only one thing to do…Clean up the mess.

I think this is a good parallel to sin. In Genesis 3, we read the story of how sin first entered into creation. Adam and Eve sinned. We normally describe this as the Fall. In one weak moment, Adam and Eve faced temptation and gave in to sin. As a result the human race fell. We were broken—just like an egg. Broken beyond the possibility of repair. All that was left to do was “clean up the mess.”

Did you know that you can never be repaired? Your only hope is to be re-created by God. And that is what the Easter season is all about. Sin entered into the human race, and we fell. Now there is no possibility that we can be repaired. So God sent his son to die on the cross to forgive us our sins and to re-create us, to make us a New Creation.

Read Genesis 3: 1 – 24.




II. The Nature of Sin (Genesis 3: 6 & 1 John 2: 15 – 17).

A. Good for Food…(The Lust of the Flesh).

The fruit appeals to her flesh, or human nature…Just as sin appeals to our flesh, or human nature.

As a result of what happened to Adam & Eve, we have a natural tendency toward sin…
Given an opportunity to choose between God’s will and our own will, we choose to rebel against God…Nine times out of every Nine.


B. Delight to the Eyes…(The Lust of the Eyes).

I remember hearing an evangelist preach once when I was a teenager. He stood before the church and said, “Once you become a Christian, sin is no longer fun.” I remember thinking, “If sin is no longer fun, then he must not be doing it right.”

NASB => “Desirable”…NIV => “Pleasing”…KJV => “Pleasant”
Better to translate “Lust”…Sin is Lust, not Pleasant or Desirable…
Do you know the difference between Desire and Lust?
Lust can never be satisfied…

This is a rather gruesome illustration, but a great way to describe sin and lust…It was told by Paul Harvey…

Eskimos have found an interesting way to kill a wolf that is disturbing the village or camp area…They coat a knife with animal blood and allow the blood to freeze on the blade of the knife…Then they add another layer, and another, and another, until the blade is completely concealed by layer after layer of frozen blood…

Next, the Eskimo fixes the knife in the ground with the blade up so that the wolf will be attracted to the scent of the blood on the knife…When the wolf discovers the freshly frozen blood, he begins to lick the knife…The more the wolf licks, the more blood he tastes, so he begins to lick faster and faster trying to satisfy his lust for blood…The wolf begins to lick vigorously, faster and faster…The wolf’s lust for blood is so great that he never notices that the knife is cutting into his own tongue with every lick…After a short time, the wolf begins to taste his own blood…Yet he craves more and more, until the next morning when he is found dead in the snow…


C. Desirable to make Wise…(The Pride of Life).

Ultimately all temptation comes down to this one category…We want to be our own gods…
We don’t want to be subject to anyone…Not even God…

Notice also that this is an appeal to the human intellect… Temptation includes physical, spiritual and mental…



III. The Consequences of Sin.

A. Distorted Values (Genesis 3: 7).

Cf. Genesis 1: 31…God SAW everything he had created and said, “It is good”…Now, Adam & Eve see the same thing as somehow bad…It is the difference between seeing yourself through the eyes of God or through the eyes of sin…

The way we see ourselves is important…Remember when Moses sent the spies into the Promised Land…12 spies went in…But 10 spies came back afraid…They said, “We SAW the people of the land, and we were like grasshoppers in their presence.”…But 2 spies said, “We should take it, because God is on our side.”



B. Distorted Relationships (Genesis 3: 16).

Cf. Genesis 2: 24…God’s plan was for the man to leave his father and mother so that the husband and wife could become ONE FLESH

But that was distorted after the Fall…What God created to be ONE FLESH was separated by sin…Sin created division, even competition (Lord, the woman you gave me…)

The text describes 2 symbols of separation, or broken relationship…
1. Clothing…Man separated from Woman…Human separated from Human…
2. Angel with a Sword…Humanity separated from God…


C. Distorted Life (Genesis 3: 22 – 24).

God took away the Tree of Life…
A direct result (consequence) of sin = Adam & Eve lost the possibility of eternal life…Before sin entered the creation, all they had to do was eat from the Tree of Life and they would live forever.

Now, eternal life was lost…But it is worse than that…Not only have they lost eternal life…Now they will have to die…Sin brought about DEATH…

Notice that God did not kill Adam & Eve…God did not take their lives…Adam & Eve forfeited (willfully gave away) life…Cf. modern question, “How can a loving and gracious God SEND anyone to Hell?”…

God does not SEND anyone to Hell, just as he did not KILL Adam & Eve…When anyone rejects Christ, you forfeit life…You choose Hell over Heaven…You choose DEATH over LIFE…



IV. Conclusion

In 1997, Timothy McVeigh was finally convicted for his role in the 1995 bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. During the 1997 trial, one of McVeigh’s old Army buddies, Jo Thomas, testified in court. According to the New York Times article on the trial Jo Thomas said, “I’ve known Tim for quite a while. If you don’t consider what happened in Oklahoma, Tim is a good person.”

If you just overlook the fact that he murdered 168 innocent people with a truck loaded with fertilizer and diesel fuel, Tim was a good person.

On one hand, I can’t believe those words could actually be formed on the lips of a reasonable person. On the other hand, we say the same kind of thing about ourselves almost everyday.
If you overlook the “lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life,” I am really a good person.

That is a lie the world wants us to believe about our own sinfulness. The truth is much worse. Sin has affected us so much that we are broken beyond the possibility of repair. And the only hope that remains is to “clean up the mess.” We cannot clean up our own lives. But God can clean us up. We can be re-created by God through the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

From Sinner to Saint: Sunday, February 10, 2008

From Sinner to Saint
Psalm 32: 1 – 11.


I. Introduction.

Have you decided who you are voting for? I had two church members tell me this week they had decided to vote for “None of the Above.” I think “None of the Above” would have won every presidential election I have voted in since 1988!

Several presidential candidates are running on a platform of “change.” If you are not satisfied with the way things are, you can make a difference by voting for the right candidate. Or, you can vote for “None of the Above.”

Perhaps we can make the world a better place to live by selecting a new president. But that won’t solve everything. We will still have the same jobs and live in the same families. We will wake up every morning and take the same pills and worry about the same health problems. We will even face the same temptations and struggle with the same spiritual problems. No. Neither the Democrats nor the Republicans can solve all our problems.

If you have spent any time watching television, reading the newspaper or reading Internet news, you have heard a lot of talk about the economy and the war in Iraq. Often, the television news is interrupted with pharmaceutical commercials promoting the latest pill for joint pains or bladder problems or depression or healthy weight loss or even prostate health. But when was the last time you saw an advertisement or a news story promoting spiritual health? It seems that Americans are concerned about everything else. But no one seems concerned about spiritual well being.

The truth of the matter is that most people are concerned more about physical health and economic stability than they are their spiritual condition. Let me suggest that we have things exactly backwards. Our spiritual conditions as individuals and our spiritual condition as a nation should be our biggest concern.

We don’t need a new drug. We don’t need the right president. We need a revival. We need God to change us as individuals and as a nation of people. We need to feel the Breath of God blow across our churches and communities in a fresh, new way. We need to experience the power of God and the joy that comes from having confident hope in our spiritual lives.

But how can this happen? Psalm 32 demonstrates the path to a personal revival, but get ready…You are not going to like this…


Read Psalm 32: 1 – 11.

Psalm 32 is one of seven Psalms, known as the “Penitential Psalms.” The most famous Penitential Psalm is Psalm 51. That is the Psalm of David we associated with his affair with Bathsheba and his murder of Uriah. In Psalm 51, David “comes clean.” He confesses his sin to God, and he experiences God’s forgiveness. The same thing happens in Psalm 32.

vv. 1 – 2: This Psalm begins with a “pronouncement of forgiveness,” in the form of a Beatitude. Some believe this would have been the words of a priest in a public worship service. The priest announces God’s willingness to forgive sins, then the worshippers respond by seeking God’s forgiveness.

vv. 3 – 5: Then the Psalm “moves” to the actions of the worshippers. The second movement describes the close connection between confession of sin and forgiveness of sin.

vv. 6 – 7: The third movement is a prayer for God’s protection.

vv. 8 – 10: The fourth movement is God’s response to the prayers of confession and prayers for protection. God’s is willing and able to forgive us our sins, AND God is willing and able to give us the protection we need. God’s protection comes by way of his instructions.

v. 11: The Psalm ends with joy and gladness. Worship—in this Psalm—is a joyful expression of what it feels like to be forgiven for all our sins.

In describing the movement of Psalm 32, I have used several words that are not very popular words in Twenty-First Century America. For example, when was the last time you heard someone talk freely and openly about “sin?” Or what about “confession?” One of the reasons we don’t hear people talk about confession, is because we don’t really like to talk about sin. Confession is about admitting guilt. And there are not many people in our culture who are willing to admit they are guilty. We might even have a difficult time finding a guilty person in the Huntsville (Texas) prison.



II. Three Words for “Sin.”

There are three Hebrew words that we translate as “sin.” The interesting thing is that all three of these words show up in the first two verses of Psalm 32.

Verse 1 a: “Blessed is he whose ‘TRANSGRESSIONS’ are forgiven…” This is the Hebrew word “pasha…”

Verse 1 b: “…whose ‘SINS’ are covered.” This is the Hebrew word “hatah…”

Verse 2: “Blessed is the man whose ‘SIN’ the LORD does not count against him…” This is the Hebrew word “avon…”

Hatah is a term from the world of archery. It paints a word picture for us. The translation would be something like “to miss the mark.” The archer takes careful aim at either a target or at his supper. He draws the bow string back and releases the arrow. He is doing everything in his power to hit the target or to kill the animal. BUT, he missed his mark. If we apply this to sin, then we can say that there are times in our own lives when we tried to do the right thing. We wanted to do the right thing. We might even have thought we were doing the right thing. BUT, we missed the target.

Avon is a term from the world of shepherding. It also paints a word picture. The translation would be “to stray off the path.” Think about the nature of sheep. Individual sheep do not consider the needs and desires of the rest of the flock. All they think about is themselves and what they want or need at any given moment. And what is a sheep’s most immediate need? Usually, it is food. A shepherd cares for the flock and provides food and water for the flock. He also wants to keep the flock together, so they will be easier to protect from predators. But the sheep don’t think about things like this. Individual sheep only think about eating the grass in front of them. A sheep might put his head down and move from one clump of grass to the next without ever paying attention to where he is going or where the rest of the flock is. After moving from one clump of grass to the next, a sheep might look up and discover he is all alone. He has strayed away from the path and is separated from the rest of the flock. Again, we can apply this to sin in our own lives. We might move closer and closer to the boundaries, thinking, “I’m not hurting anyone. What I am doing is really not sin. This is the Twenty-First Century. No one follows those out dated rules anymore.” Then one day, like the sheep, we look up to find ourselves all alone. We strayed away from God’s will and purpose. And we wonder, “How did I get to where I am now? How did I become this person? This is not who I am!”

Pasha is a strictly moral term. There is no word picture associated with this type of sin. Its translation is “willful violation of God’s standards.” Another word we might use here is “rebellion.” We know what the right thing is, but we don’t care. We know what the Bible says, but we ignore it. We seek to please ourselves and satisfy our own desires with no regard for what is right. If you want a word picture, we might compare this to an angry bull that charges and injures others. He does not care about your feelings or your pain. He only cares about himself.

We could build a case here for what we might call “Hebrew parallelism.” This is a poetic device often found in the Psalms and other Hebrew poetry. The author repeats himself using similar words and phrases to communicate one idea multiple times. However, we could also build a case for a comprehensive view of sin.

Such a comprehensive view would mean that all sin separates us from God. It does not matter which kind of sin you might commit. You might have TRIED to do the right thing and failed. You might have WANDERED away from God’s plan. You might have REBELLED against God willfully. It doesn’t matter. Sin is sin. Any sin—no matter how small you think your sins are—needs to be forgiven by God. And the pathway to forgiveness is confession.


III. Confession.

Again, let me point out that confession is not very popular, because at its very root, confession is an admission of guilt. We cannot be forgiven if we never admit we are guilty of sin. That is the first step to confession. Confession is the opposite of pride.

The second step is to say it out loud. You cannot keep your confession of sin inside. Notice how David was struck with physical ailments as long as he kept his sin inside himself (verses 3 – 4). God has already told us he is willing and able to forgive our sins, so why would we remain silent? Are we trying to hide our sins from God? It is like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Once they realized they had sinned against God, they hid from God. But God knew about their sin and confronted them. God already knows about our sins. God has already told us he is willing to forgive. We should have no reason to remain silent out of fear.

The third step of confession is to be specific. We are not told to pray, “Lord, forgive us our sins and wherever we have failed you.” Let it out. Start naming the ways you have sinned against God. If you want to be forgiven, you must tell God what you want him to forgive.



IV. The “Godly” Person in Verse 6.

Notice how David changes the way he views himself in verse 6. Up to this point, he has described himself as a “sinner.” Now, he has taken a huge leap and describes himself as “godly.”
What does it mean to be godly? Does it mean that we are perfect? No. It means we are forgiven!

The godly man or godly woman is the one who admits he or she is guilty and comes to God for forgiveness.

Forgiveness is the pathway from sinner to saint.





V. Conclusion.

If you want the world to be a better place, vote in the election, take your medicine, but don’t forget to take care of your spiritual health. You and I cannot fix our sin problem. We will deal with it for the rest of our earthly lives. But God has given us a spiritual prescription. The human path to forgiveness is confession. The forgiveness is up to God.

Third Sunday of Advent: Forgive Us Our Christmases...

Forgive Us Our Christmases…
Matthew 11: 1 – 19.

I. Introduction.

When I started my doctoral work at Truett Seminary (in Waco, Texas), I was pastor of a church in Mississippi. The doctor of ministry degree is a professional degree designed for pastors who are currently serving in a local church setting. The degree requirements included four doctoral seminars, an extensive reading list of over 50 books and a written project (my project was 265 pages long). I had a “field supervisor” in Mississippi who met with me regularly to guide me and keep me on task. But I only had to be on campus in Waco four times for 14 days at a time.
As you can imagine, it might be expensive to live away from home for 14 days. Some guys stayed in cheap hotels. Others discovered that Baylor would lease apartments for short terms. But, I had a friend. My friend Steve—who was in my doctoral class—has grandparents in Waco. So, we had a free place to stay.

Steve’s grandfather’s name is Tootie. His name is actually Walter, but everyone knows him as Tootie. And as you can imagine, Tootie is quite a character. Lots of jokes and joking…Even a few theories about life.

One of Tooties’ jokes is to suggest the title of our sermon today. Tootie suggests that we should change the words of the Lord’s Prayer to say, “Forgive us our Christmases as we forgive those who Christmas against us.”

Think about that. Do we need to ask forgiveness for the way we celebrate Christmas? It’s all according to how you “celebrate” Christmas.

I try to tell this story every Advent. Another one of my preacher friends once called me and recited all that he had done for the previous week: worship, meetings, parties, fellowships, etc, etc, etc… He called to say, “Next year, I am not going to ‘celebrate’ Christmas. Next year, I am going to ‘observe’ Christmas.”

What is the difference between “celebrating” Christmas and “observing” Christmas? Celebrating requires a lot of energy. Observing is a passive activity. Rather than hustling and bustling around, we would allow God to do his work, while we sat in observation of what God is doing around us.

Now, there is a lot about Christmas worth celebrating. The angels announced the birth of Jesus with joy and singing. The shepherds ran and jumped and told everyone they could find about this joyous event. The Wise Men brought expensive gifts. But there was something even bigger than a big Christmas party. God himself finally broke into our world and our history to reveal himself. God took an extraordinary step to demonstrate his love for us.

On one hand, we have something to celebrate. On the other hand, if we spend all our time partying and celebrating, we are going to miss something. We might fail to “observe” the extraordinary love of God revealed in his Only Begotten Son.

If all we do is celebrate, we ought to pray, “Forgive us our Christmases…”

The story of the first Christmas, is the story of God’s directing his attention on us. Of all the things God could have focused his attention toward, God chose us. Rather than being all consumed with the grand order of the universe—the planets, the stars, the solar system, the changing climate on earth, or the melting polar ice caps—God fixed his attention on the human beings who inhabit this planet. God turned his attention toward you and me. Where is our attention this morning?

Some of us are, in this very moment, trying to complete our Christmas shopping lists. Others are just now beginning to fret about the gifts we have not even begun to think about. Fathers and mothers, grandmothers and grandfathers are arranging schedules to host the entire family, while balancing the time children spend with their in-laws. We are thinking about Santa Claus, Christmas trees, candy and stockings. All the while ignoring the fact that God focused his full attention on us.

Forgive us our Christmases, indeed. Forgive us, Lord, because we are less concerned about you than you are concerned about us.

Our Scripture today tells us about the true nature of Jesus Christ and why he originally came to this earth. While it does not tell us about angels and shepherds, it does describe the work and purpose Christ had and continues to have today.


Read Matthew 11: 1 – 19.

Matthew re-introduces us to an important man by the name of John. Sometimes, the Bible simply uses the name John. Other times, it uses a brief description to distinguish this John from other John’s in the Bible. This is one of just a few biblical references to John the Baptist.
The Gospel of Luke gives us a little family history of John the Baptist. Luke tells us that John and Jesus were cousins. In fact, when the angel Gabriel told Mary that even though she was a virgin she would give birth to the promised Messiah, Luke tells us that Mary first went to her cousin Elizabeth. Elizabeth was John’s mother and was expecting John at the time of Mary’s birth. The baby in Elizabeth’s womb recognized the significance of this meeting and leapt in his mother’s womb.

The next time we see John, he is preaching about the coming Kingdom of God. John told the people of Israel that God had finally had enough of their rebellion. The Kingdom was coming. The Kingdom would come when God’s Promised Messiah entered into our space and time. The Messiah would usher in a time of judgment. And the only way to avoid judgment was to repent and be baptized. John said, “I baptize you with water, but the One following me will baptize you with Holy Spirit and fire.” In other words, if you want to escape the fire of God’s judgment, get in the water.

Then Jesus came to John to be baptized. Once again, John recognized something special about Jesus. The first time, he leapt in his mother’s womb. This time, John refused to baptize Jesus, saying that Jesus is the One who should baptize John. Jesus insisted, and immediately the Spirit of God descended and a voice from heaven announced that Jesus is the Son of God.
There is an interesting thing about John the Baptist which I had never given much thought to before this week. In Matthew 4: 12 and 17, we read, “When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he returned to Galilee…From that time on Jesus began to preach…”

This tells us a little history and gives us a timeline which is important for our Scripture today. John announced that Jesus was the coming Messiah. John thought that Jesus would usher in the Kingdom of God by bringing down God’s judgment against Israel’s rebellion. BUT, John never witnessed the ministry of Jesus first hand. John never saw any of Jesus’ miracles. John never heard any of Jesus’ sermons. He couldn’t, because John was in prison! The only thing John knew about Jesus’ ministry and preaching was what had been reported to him in prison.

According to Matthew 11, John had a group of followers, or disciples. Disciple is the Greek word for a “student” or a “follower.” We believe that these men—and all disciples were men in the ancient world—studied John’s interpretations of the Hebrew Bible and patterned their lives after John’s life. They studied like John. They preached like John. They might even have dressed like John and eaten the same foods John ate. One thing is certain, they told John everything Jesus did.



II. Expectations.

Matthew 8 and 9 tell the stories about many of the people Jesus healed as a part of his ministry. He healed an unclean leper. He healed the servant of a Gentile soldier. Jesus calmed a storm. He cast out demons. He restored a paralyzed man. He raised a dead girl to life. He touched an unclean woman. Jesus even gave sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf. In short, Jesus performed miracles that only God could perform.

But there was no judgment. On one hand, John might have felt a little embarrassed that he had predicted Jesus would bring the fire of judgment, and now Jesus is doing the exact opposite. Instead of judging sinners, Jesus is calling tax collectors to be his followers. On the other hand, John might feel a little disappointed. He was looking for a different kind of Messiah. John wanted a judgmental Jesus, not a compassionate Christ.

This is what lay behind the question John’s disciples brought to Jesus: “Are you the One who is to come, or should we look for someone else?” Jesus was not meeting John’s expectations. But there is only One Jesus. And, when it comes to Jesus, what you see is what you get.

In fact, that is the way Jesus answered their question. He could have very easily answered, “Yes. I am the Promised Messiah.” But he didn’t. Jesus said, “Go and tell John what you have heard and seen. The blind receive sight. The lame walk. …”

John was looking for a Messiah who would bring the “Bad News” of judgment. But Jesus did not come to bring Bad News. Jesus came to bring Good News. And the Good News is that sick people can be healed and sinners can be turned toward God.



III. Incarnation.

Jesus came to bring us the Good News of healing and restored life. But there is a part of Good News that we cannot miss. The miracles Jesus performed were not possible for ordinary people. Jesus did things that only God could do! That is because Jesus is God. He is not God-like. Jesus is God.

God loved us so much that God became a man and dwelt among us. Jesus is God in the flesh—the Incarnation. He brings God closer to us, and he brings us closer to God. God turned his attention toward us and expects us to turn our attention toward God.

This is what John missed. John was expecting God to turn his attention to earth. But, John expected God to look at us with wrath and anger. Jesus shows us that God looked at us through eyes of love. In the person of Jesus, the Good News is that God loves us and wants us in a relationship with himself.


IV. Hear and See.

Notice Jesus’ words to John’s disciples: “Go back and report to John what you HEAR and SEE.” This indicates a progression of the Good News—both in Jesus’ ministry as well as in our lives.
We first HEAR the Good News. Then, we experience it first hand and SEE what Jesus can do in our lives.

It also describes the progression from John the Baptist to Jesus. John came preaching. Jesus came preaching and doing.

And John never got to see for himself all the things Jesus did to demonstrate God’s Good News.
We might feel a bit tempted at this point to criticize John for not understanding the Good News Jesus preached and performed. Or we might shake our heads, because John held different expectations for Jesus. However, Jesus never criticized John. In fact, it was just the opposite. Jesus gave John the greatest compliment we can even imagine. Jesus said that John fulfilled a God given mission to be like Elijah, who was to come before the Messiah. John announced the coming of the Messiah. John was the one who prepared the way.

Exactly how did John “prepare the way” for Jesus? Did he “smooth out” the road so that Jesus’ life and ministry would be easier? Of course not. Jesus did not have an easy life or ministry. He was despised and rejected, even crucified by the political and religious leaders.
John prepared the way by preparing the people to hear and see the Good News. He told the story. John announced that the Kingdom of God was coming. John called for people to repent and believe.

This is what we are supposed to do when God turns his attention toward us.



V. Conclusion.

There is only one thing missing in this story. There is no happy ending. We would like to think that John’s disciples returned to the prison. They told John about the Good News and the lives that had been changed. Then, we want to think John said something like, “Ah. I knew Jesus was the One.” But there’s nothing like that. There is not even a sad ending. There is just no ending. We are left to wonder.

We wonder…What did John do? And we wonder…What would I do?

And what will we do? It is Christmas. God turned his attention on us. God has become a human being. God shows his love to us and calls for us to respond with our love for him. If we are too busy celebrating the things of Christmas, we might just miss what God is doing around us.

If we miss what God is doing…Then, Lord, forgive us our Christmas…

Second Sunday of Advent: Christmas Inside Out

Christmas Inside Out
Romans 15: 1 – 13.

I. Introduction.

A couple of weeks ago, I told a story about Paul “Bear” Bryant in a Sunday morning sermon. You may remember the story. It was about the athletic trainer who accompanied Bear Bryant from Kentucky to Texas A & M to the University of Alabama. The trainer’s name was Charles “Smokey” Harper.

Bear Bryant didn’t have a coaching position for Smokey on the Alabama staff, but gave him an “at large” assignment to travel all over the state of Alabama as an ambassador for the new coach. Smokey went into coffee shops and roadside diners to smoke cigarettes and drink coffee with Alabama fans. Over coffee and cigarettes, Smokey told the people of Alabama that Bear Bryant was the best football coach in America, and by the time Alabama won their first national championship the fans believed Smokey’s story.

Today, we have the same job as Smokey Harper. We want our church to grow and make an impact on our community. And, the only way we are going to see that happen is to get outside these walls and tell the men and women of Lufkin, Texas that we have the very best church in a 50 mile radius. I truly believe that about our church. Do you believe this? Do you tell your friends and neighbors? Do you ever sit down with people and brag about your church? If you don’t, then they will never know why you go to church here.

When I told that story, I made reference to the ESPN TV movie—The Junction Boys—inspired by Bear Bryant’s early days at Texas A & M. I later learned that the author who wrote The Junction Boys (Jim Dent) has a new book that was published in 2007—Twelve Mighty Orphans.

In the late 1800’s the Texas Freemasons established an orphanage on the outskirts of Fort Worth. In 1926, the Mason Home established their first football team by hiring Rusty Russell as their first football coach. Many people thought Russell was committing career suicide by leaving the position of head football coach of the successful Temple Tigers to move to a school which, at the time, did not even own a football.

Throughout Russell’s tenure as the football coach at the Mason Home, he led the Mighty Mites to 127 wins, two Texas Interscholastic League state championship games and one co-championship in 1932. These were remarkable feats since the Mason Home had less than 200 high school students and played nearly every game as underdogs to schools with enrollments around 1000 students. In fact, the orphans were only able to field a team of twelve players and sometimes played against teams with rosters of over fifty players.

Of course, there are a various theories about why the Mason Home always did so well on the football field. Some accused the Home of running a program more like a college program than a high school program, with players living together in dormitories, eating all their meals together in the dining hall and living as a football team 24 / 7. Some might even attribute it to the fact that these orphans had developed a “street toughness” unlike their opponents which had come from more traditional home environments. However, I think it was something else.

I noticed in the book that every orphaned child entered the Mason Home not wanting to live there. For the first several weeks no one called the new kids by name. They were simply addressed as “New Kid.” Then, after several weeks the “New Kid” was given a nick name as a sign of acceptance. And that is when something magical happened. While no child outside of the orphanage ever wanted to know what life was life like inside the orphanage, the orphans didn’t want to live outside the orphanage. Inside the orphanage, life was comfortable and predictable. Outside the orphanage, life seemed dangerous and uncertain. The twelve orphans did not just play football. They were fighting for their identity as orphans. They were proud of their life inside the orphanage, and they did not want to become like the kids on the outside.

I see a parallel in this story to our story as Christians. We have an identity as Christians—on the inside—that is different from the world outside. We are proud of who we are—children of God, followers of Jesus Christ, Christians. We don’t want to become like people on the outside. Inside the church, we have security. Outside the church, we see a dangerous life that is uncertain at best.

On one hand, this is what God wants for us. God wants the church to be different from the world—a place of safety and security in a dangerous and uncertain world. On the other hand, this view of the church can be misrepresented into something God never intended. Yes, the church is supposed to be different from the world. Yes, we are supposed to find safety and security inside the church. But NO, we are not supposed to retreat from the world, satisfied in what we have, while the world around us goes to Hell. The purpose for the church is to break outside the walls of security and bring others into the same kind of life we have in our salvation through Jesus Christ.

Christmas is a beautiful picture of our purpose to turn the church “Inside Out” in an effort to bring the world to faith in Jesus as Lord.


Read Romans 15: 1 – 13.

This does not quite sound like a Christmas story. There is no mention of angelic messengers or a miraculous virgin birth. There are no shepherds or wise men. However, the purpose of Christmas is apparent.

II. Inside the Church.

Just a few chapters before this, Paul described the church as the Body of Christ. Our human bodies are made up of many different parts. Each part has its own purpose and function within the system. When all parts are functioning as they were created to function, the body can be healthy and effective. But, when just one body part is unhealthy, the entire body suffers from pain, disease and cannot be as effective. There is an intimate relationship between all the parts of our human bodies—when one part suffers, the entire body suffers. There is a division of labor among the parts of our bodies—the eyes depend on the feet to perform their duties and the feet depend on the eyes. In the same way, there should be the same kind of interconnectedness and interdependence among us as members of the Body of Christ.

This is more than just a description of an ideal world. This ought to be the reality we experience. The problem lies in the fact that most churches only experience this periodically. We face several threats to our unity on a daily basis.

In Romans 15, Paul described three threats to unity faced by the church at Rome—and, I believe, threats faced by the church at Lufkin.

A. Sin…(Verse 1)

This is the point Paul made in verse one. As long as we live here on earth, we will be plagued by our own sinful nature. This is true both inside the church and outside the church. Christians are not immune to the temptations of the world. In fact, I would argue that sin is perhaps an even greater struggle for us than for others.

On one hand, we do have God’s forgiveness for our sins. On the other hand, we have God’s conviction through his Holy Spirit in our lives. When a Christian sins, more times than not, he or she knows that what they are doing is actually sin. We usually don’t need our sins pointed out to us by other people. That is one of the roles and functions of the Holy Spirit in our lives. When we face temptation, the Holy Spirit helps us to discern right from wrong. Then, even though we know it is wrong, we go ahead and give in to the temptation at hand. After the fact, the Holy Spirit continues to convict us of our failure in order to bring us to confession and repentance.

How should we deal with sin inside the church? One very popular opinion is that we should constantly be on the “look out” for church members who sin. Then, once we have found a guilty person, we should cast that person out of the church. After all, if we welcome sinners into our fellowship, the world will judge us based on that one sinner.

If you hold to that opinion about sin inside the church, I am going to disappoint you. As I look around the room, I see several hundred men and women, teenagers and children present. If we “kicked out” all the sinners this week, I dare say the room would be empty. Of course, there has to be someone here thinking that they would not have been kicked out this week. If you are thinking that right now, I hope you are willing and prepared to preach on Sunday, because I don’t think we would be able to find a deacon or a minister who passed your “sinless test.”

No, the proper way to deal with sin is to follow the example of Jesus. In another part of the New Testament—Philippians 2—Paul wrote to us about how Jesus “condescended” to be with us. Jesus held the very same nature as God, but he took on the nature of a human being to demonstrate God’s love for us. Jesus was all powerful, but he became a man with limited power and abilities. Jesus was strong, but he became weak. In the same way, we who are strong ought to bear with the failings and failures and sins of our weaker brothers and sisters. We ought to embrace sinners inside the church and outside the church with the forgiveness that God showed us in Jesus Christ. I might also add at this point that there is coming a day when the roles will be reversed. You might be the strong Christian today, helping a weaker brother or sister. But, one day you will be the sinner in need of a stronger brother or sister.

Paul’s encouragement to us: Don’t let sin destroy the unity of the church!

B. Self-Centered Members…(Verse 2)

It would be absurd for a part of our human bodies to begin to think it was the most important part of the body. We might imagine an eye trying to tell a foot that the eye held a more important position. Of course, the foot could reply that the eye can only see things when the foot transports the body into new environments. The heart could challenge the skin that the heart is a vital organ. And the skin could reply that the heart could not survive if it were exposed to the harsh outside world. In the same way, choir members and the preacher would not be as effective if there were not people willing to take care of our babies in the nursery on Sunday mornings.

Once again, Paul presents Jesus as the remedy to this internal problem in the church. We should imitate the love and forgiveness of Jesus when we deal with sin in the church. We should also imitate Jesus as we deal with self-centeredness in the church.

It’s interesting that Paul makes his point here by quoting from the Old Testament. Specifically, he quotes from Psalm 69: 9—“The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.” Paul interprets this as a reference to the Jewish Messiah. This Jewish Messiah did not come with the glory due him. No, Jesus came as a Messiah who was rejected and despised by all humans.

I would have chosen a different illustration to place here. I would have chosen the story in John 13 about how Jesus served his disciples by washing their feet before the Last Supper. I would have quoted from Mark 10: 45, where Jesus said, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” The very nature of Jesus Christ was to serve others. When faced with the temptation to call down 10,000 angels to rescue him from his crucifixion, Jesus chose to be a servant to you and me by giving his life as a ransom for our eternal salvation.

Again, Paul encouraged us: Don’t let self-centeredness destroy your unity!

C. Persecution…(Verses 4 – 5)

In the first century, Christianity was not accepted in Rome. Christians were accused of being unpatriotic, because they would not pledge their allegiance to the Caesar. Christians were accused of being atheists, because they did not acknowledge the Roman gods. Christians were accused of committing incest, because they recognized each other as brothers and sisters in Christ. Christians were accused of being cannibals, because they ate the flesh and drank the blood of Christ in the Lord’s Supper.

Christians were killed, imprisoned and beaten for their faith in Jesus. As a result, many were becoming discouraged, and some gave up.

Paul encouraged: Don’t give up, and don’t get discouraged! Our hope is in the Lord. This reminds us of our theme from last week: Jesus is coming back. The wicked will be punished, and the righteous will be vindicated. Don’t give up. And don’t let persecutions destroy your unity!

III. Outside the Church.

Once again, Paul turned his attention to the fulfillment of the Old Testament. Any time you read the word “Scripture” in the New Testament, it is a reference to the Jewish Scriptures that we now recognize as the Old Testament.

Here Paul did a very interesting thing. He quoted from every section of the Old Testament…Not every book, but every section. Jewish people generally recognize three divisions within the Old Testament: Torah, Prophets and the Writings. The Torah includes the first five books of the Bible. The Prophets includes the books which were attributed to the words of a prophet, or a spokesman for God. The Writings includes the poetry and wisdom literature.

Verse 9 is a quote from David found in both 2 Samuel 22 and Psalm 18…

Verse 10 is a quote from Deuteronomy 32…

Verse 11 is a quote from Psalm 117…

Verse 12 is a quote from Isaiah 11.

Do you notice anything these verses from the Old Testament have in common? All of these quotes describe God’s plan to show Grace, Mercy and Salvation to the Gentiles. God never intended that Israel and the Jews would be the only ones saved. God has always had a plan to extend salvation to every nation and every people of the earth. Israel just rejected God’s plan and preferred to think of herself as God’s only people. Israel was God’s chosen people, but Israel was never God’s only people.

IV. Conclusion: Inside Out.

This is where our Scripture intersects with the story of Christmas. When God first revealed himself to Abraham, it was for the purpose of beginning with Abraham’s descendents and extending salvation to all people. Israel rejected God’s purpose, because they never turned God’s revelation inside out. They just kept it inside.

God sent his Son Jesus for the same purpose. Jesus was born into Jewish heritage, but Jesus finally turned God’s purpose inside out.

Now, we face a choice. Christmas is a wonderful time of year inside the church. But that is not enough. We must turn Christmas inside out, so that all the world can experience God’s purpose for sending his Son.

First Sunday of Advent: Jesus Is Coming in Time

Jesus Is Coming in Time
Romans 13: 8 – 14

I. Introduction.

Today is the first Sunday of Advent. Advent is the season of the year in which we prepare ourselves for the “Coming of Christ.” In fact, that is what the word “Advent” means: “Coming.”
I did not grow up in a church that recognized Advent, so when I first encountered a Baptist church observing the season of Advent, I thought they were doing something that wasn’t really Baptist. And you may be wondering the same thing. Of course, Lufkin’s First Baptist has observed Advent for many years, but most of us did not grow up at Lufkin’s First Baptist. So, for those of you wondering if Advent is Baptist or not, I have an answer. No. Advent is not Baptist. Advent is Christian.

Two times during the course of a calendar year, we pause to celebrate the highest and holiest Christian holidays. I know most of you think I am going to say Easter and Mother’s Day. No. Easter and Mother’s Day are our highest attended days of the year. Our highest holy days are Easter and Christmas. Easter is the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus. Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus. When we celebrate these two significant events in the life of Jesus, we unite with Christians of all denominations from every people of the world. We are not just Baptists, we are Baptist Christians; and we unite with all Christians to worship the same Lord Jesus Christ.

By observing the first Sunday of Advent, we are beginning our Christmas worship 23 days before Christmas. This means we are extending our Christmas worship to something more than just one worship service. It also means we are creating a sense of anticipation, perhaps even giving ourselves an opportunity to prepare ourselves. We anticipate and we prepare for the “Coming” of Jesus.

There are two ways we can think of the “Coming” of Jesus. On one hand, we will light candles in anticipation and prepare our hearts for December 25. On the other hand, the hope of our faith is based on Jesus’ promise that he will one day return to this earth. So, I want to direct your thoughts this Advent season to both the First Coming of Jesus when he was born in a Bethlehem stable and the Second Coming of Jesus when he will return to bring judgment to the world and vindication to the righteous.

It was two millennia ago—in the fullness of time—that God fulfilled his promise to Israel by sending his Only Begotten Son as the Promised Messiah. God had originally called Abraham and established Abraham’s descendants as God’s own people. Then God sent Moses to rescue his people from slavery in Egypt; to lead them through the desert; and to establish God’s Law and covenant with these people. God’s people continually rebelled against God’s Law and covenant, so God sent the prophets to call God’s people to repentance and faithfulness. When the time was right—hundreds of years after the prophets fell silent—the God broke into the space and time of our world in a new way. God became flesh and dwelt among us so we could see God and know God like never before.

The birth of Jesus was the beginning of a new time. It was the beginning of the end. Today, we live in expectation of Jesus’ Second Coming. His first Coming was simple. He was born of a virgin. He had no place to call home. No one really suspected that this simple baby was the Son of God. But when Jesus returns, he will return as the righteous judge. It has not yet happened, but it will. This is another promise God has made. And we have a Bible filled with God’s promises, each of which was fulfilled exactly as promised.

Read Romans 13: 8 – 14.

This Scripture appears in a context in which Paul describes how Christians are supposed to live in the world as we wait for the Second Coming of Jesus. He writes about our relationship with the government, our relationships within the church and our relationships with non-Christians. In a nutshell, Paul told us to obey the law and pay our taxes. Then, he turns his attention to the daily relationships of life.

II. Love One Another (v. 8).

Paul starts out with some practical advice. Well, it’s practical advice to you and me. But in the ancient world, this was not so much advice as it was a common assumption. We live in a world of easy credit and high balance credit cards. In the 21st Century, there are people who make millions of dollars hosting radio programs to give out advice like this. In the ancient world, people did not carry a debt load like we are accustomed to. In fact, most people lived like our grandparents. If they didn’t have the money, they didn’t buy it. They didn’t borrow money for houses, transportation, Christmas presents. They just knew how to live without. So, Paul states the obvious: “Do not owe anyone anything.” Then, Paul introduces an acceptable debt for all Christians: the continuing debt to love one another.

There is something unusual about this debt of love. First, this is a continuing debt, which will never be paid off. As long as we live, we will always owe love to others. Secondly, this is a debt we owe, not to the people around us, but to God. God loved us and sent his Only Son who died for our sins. This is a continuous debt we can never pay off. God does not expect us to pay him back: He expects us to love each other.

III. Love Fulfills the Law (vv. 9 – 10).

Two times in this passage, Paul mentions love. The first time, he said we should “Love one another.” The second time, he quotes from Leviticus 19 and from the teaching of Jesus by saying, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

There is a very subtle difference between these two commands to love other people. The first reference is to “Love one another.” This is a refrain which we find in the teachings of Jesus, the Apostle John and here in the writings of Paul. I would make an argument here to say that this is a command for Christians to love other Christians. In other words, church people are supposed to get along.

The second reference is to “Love your neighbor as yourself.” This is a teaching that comes directly from the Old Testament book of Leviticus (19: 18). Most of the Jewish people interpreted this to mean they should love other Jews. However, Jesus gives us a fresh, new interpretation of “Love your neighbor” by telling us the parable of the Good Samaritan. In the parable, Jesus presented a Samaritan man as the hero—the one who demonstrated love for his neighbor. Therefore, I believe this is a reference to love people who are outsiders and do not look like us. People who are like the Samaritans—different from us in race and religion.
When we love the people who look like us and dress like us and smell like us, we are no different from the people of the world. BUT…When we love people who are different…When we love every person God has placed on this earth, we separate ourselves from the world and demonstrate that we are God’s people. We are God’s people who fulfill God’s original purpose for his people Israel. But let me ask a question. If loving each other inside the church and loving people outside the church is the way we fulfill God’s purpose, then what does it mean when Christians do not love other Christians?

Since Paul is making such a big deal about loving other people, perhaps we should ask what it means to love others. Well, if you are reading verse 10, you don’t have to wonder. Paul says that we love others when we choose not to do harm to them.

This may sound like a strange definition of love, but it is one that has been around for many years. In fact, it sounds a lot like what we refer to as the “Silver Rule.” I know you have heard of the “Golden Rule,” but have you heard of the “Silver Rule?” We believe it originated in the teachings of a Jewish Rabbi, named Hillel. Hillel was noted for teaching his disciples: “Whatever you hate, do not do that to others.”

Of course, this leaves open the possibility that it is OK for us to do nothing and feel good about not doing harmful things to others. I believe Jesus would have been aware of such a teaching about withholding evil from others and chose to set a higher standard for his followers.

Therefore, Jesus gave us an entirely positive definition of loving others by teaching us: “Do to others as you want them to do to you.”

This is love. Withholding evil and doing good to others.

IV. The Hour Has Come (vv. 11 – 12).

Here Paul begins to express his urgency in commanding us to love each other and to love the world. We should love; because the time is right…We are running out of time to do the right things.

In the New International Version I read, there is a word missing in verse 11. It may seem like a small word, but I think it changes the way we interpret this. The word is “already.” Paul did not write, “The hour has come.” Instead, Paul wrote, “The hour has ALREADY come.”

The difference is like when the alarm clock goes off in the morning. On a regular morning, the alarm goes off, and we wake up—The hour has come. But then there are some mornings when we are not quite ready to wake up when the alarm goes off. We turn the alarm off and think we can sleep for just another five minutes. Then, 30 minutes later we wake up in a panic—The hour has ALREADY come.

This is the kind of desperation Paul is communicating. Every day we live is one day closer to the Second Coming of Jesus.

Again, if you want to play with my image of the alarm clock, we can think in terms of the dawn—night is coming to an end, daylight is beginning to break. Yet, this daylight is different from the daylight of dawn. It is different, first, because it is symbolic. It is different, second, because this daylight is not recognized to everyone.

If you want to think in terms of what Jesus taught us, we can think about the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God was the primary theme in the teachings and preaching of Jesus. After his baptism, Jesus began telling his followers that the Kingdom of God was at hand. When you and I place our faith in Jesus, we enter into his Kingdom by allowing Jesus to become the King of our lives. Yet, we continue to live in a world that does not acknowledge Jesus as King. Therefore, we live as citizens of two different worlds. We are ultimately citizens of God’s Kingdom, but we are forced to live in a world filled with evil, death and pain.

This is the image of light and darkness. When Jesus came into our space and time, dawn was beginning to break. Everyone who places faith in Jesus as Lord and King lives in the light that Jesus brings. However, we are surrounded by a world of darkness. Yet, this will not always be the case. When Jesus comes to our space and time in his future Coming, the light will break forth throughout all the earth. There will be no more darkness, only light—for the dawn will have come.

The church should be like that one house in the neighborhood that has Christmas lights everywhere. You know the house I’m talking about. Everyone in the neighborhood has modest decorations and a few lights on the house. But there is always one house that is so bright that the Houston airport has to divert air traffic away from it to keep pilots from trying to land in their front yard.

V. Clothe Yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ (v. 14).

There are two ways we can interpret this verse. The first way—and this is what I thought it was at the beginning of the week—is to interpret this as a baptism formula. The new convert would wear an old set of clothes to be baptized in. Then, after baptism he or she would change clothes and put on a brand new set of clothes. This was a visible representation of the spiritual change in the person’s life—Taking off the old way of life and putting on a new life with Christ.
The second interpretation is to return to Paul’s charge that it is time to wake up. What do you normally do when you wake up in the morning? I eat breakfast, I shave, and I get dressed for the day.

The hour has come. We have slept too long. It is time to wake up and get dressed. But what am I going to wear?


VI. Conclusion.

I remember when I was a child, we always went to church on Sundays and Wednesdays. We always dressed up on Sunday mornings. But as soon as I got home, I started changing clothes. I wanted to put on my “play clothes.” It’s hard to have fun while wearing your Sunday clothes.
Different clothes serve different purposes. We have work clothes, dress clothes, school uniforms, etc… No one would try to work in the yard while wearing their dress clothes! There are just some things you can’t do while wearing your best clothes.

When Paul commands us to “clothe ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ,” he is making the same point. As long as you are clothed in Jesus, there are some things you just cannot do. But there is one thing we can do—Love.

The Church We Are Today

The Church We Are Today
Philippians 3: 1 – 4: 1

I. Introduction.

June was my one year anniversary as pastor of this great church. Many of you will remember what I did to commemorate my anniversary. I called a committee meeting! I met with the Pastor Search Committee and the Transition Team. These two committees played instrumental roles in leading our church through the interim period before I came. In this combined meeting, I did two things. First, I said to the committees, “In the name of Jesus, I release you from your responsibilities.” Second, I asked them questions to get their input and opinions on what needs to happen next in our church. They suggested we should celebrate the wonderful things going on in our church today. So, here we are.

Before I tell you the “Good News” about Lufkin’s First Baptist Church, I want to begin with a kind of apology. Wonderful things are taking place in our church, but I do NOT take credit for this. We are growing in several different ways, but it is not because of our new pastor. We are growing, because God is working. I tell people often that I am here at a really good time. A BABOON could be a successful pastor of this church right now, because our church is hungry for growth and health. Some of you know that we have not always been a healthy church. But we are healthier now than we have been in many years.

There was a turning point in the life and health of First Baptist Church. There was one moment in time when we made a strategic move to get healthy. Do you know what that was? Some people might say that it was calling me as pastor, but I disagree. Others may say it was when we called Joe Laughlin to be our intentional interim pastor, but I disagree. The best move we made to become a healthy church happened almost three years ago. It was the moment we decided to plant the Cross Timbers Cowboy Church. That was the moment we decided we were no longer going to feel sorry for ourselves. We had focused on ourselves and our internal problems long enough. We were ready to focus on missions and evangelism, and to get busy doing the things God called us to do. A church will never be healthy and will never grow if all they ever do is focus on their own problems. God’s plan for all churches in general—and First Baptist Church in particular—is to focus outside the walls of the church, not on how to get along with each other.

I want to publicly say “Thank you” to Glenden Sanders for having the vision and answering God’s call to start a new kind of church in Lufkin, Texas.

Since the day we decided we would focus on God’s mission more than ourselves, let me share with you what has happened at First Baptist Church.

In June 2006, we called a new pastor. In April of 2007, we called Clay Walker to be our new youth minister. Our minister of music search committee has tried to call a music minister, but we have not found the man we are looking for. I have worked closely with this committee as we have gone through at least 60 résumés and had face-to-face meetings with 9 music ministers. The committee even traveled to another church to see one man in action. But none of these was the right fit for our church. We think it is very important for us to call the right minister of music.

In the past year and a half, we have had 59 people join our church from other churches. AND, we have baptized 18. That is 77 new members in just 18 months! There are two things I find exciting in these numbers. First, people who study church growth tell us that in order for a church to be considered a growing church, we must grow by a factor of 10% per year and sustain that growth for 5 consecutive years. We have one year of growth. Now we need to sustain that growth. Second, it is exciting because we have new members from every age group: Adults, Senior Adults, Young Adults, Youth and Children. But the most significant growth has been in the Young Adult group.

When I moved here in June 2006, we had one Sunday School department for young married adults between the ages of 20 and 40. As new people began to visit and join our church, Aubrey had the vision to divide that department into two departments: one for 20 – 30 and one for 30 – 40. In the past year, those two departments have nearly tripled in membership and attendance.

Last December, we had a very unusual occurrence. We ended the year with a budget surplus of $130,000. I can explain the surplus in three ways…1. We did not pay a full time music minister last year, and we didn’t have a full time youth minister for the full 12 months. 2. We did not over spend our budget categories. 3. You were faithful to support the work of the church financially.

We used that budget surplus to invest in ourselves. We added to our operational reserves and paid off our church debt. Let me restate that…We are out of debt! All we have left is one small, monthly note which we will pay off at the end of 2007. When was the last time you remember being out of debt? This is significant, because just 2 years ago we purchased an Energy Management System to control our heating and air conditioning by computer. The system cost $120,000, and we paid for it in less than 2 years!

We are currently working on three building renovations. We will use some of the surplus funds to install new flooring in the nursery and preschool area; to make some changes in the youth ministry area; and to renovate the church parlor. We have already accepted bids on these projects and are now waiting for the work to begin.

But what about the 2007 budget? For the first time in recent memory, we have gone through the entire Summer without going into a deficit. Summer is usually the time when we fall behind in our contributions and spend more than we collect. But not this year. We ended the third quarter of the year (end of September 2007) with a budget surplus. We anticipate that through your continued faithfulness, we will end the year with a larger surplus than last year and make additional building repairs.

Again, let me restate that the reason why this is happening in our church has nothing to do with our new pastor. This is happening because we renewed our focus on missions. This year, we added four local ministries to our missions budget. We give 9% of our undesignated receipts to the Cooperative Program of the BGCT. We give 1% to the Unity Baptist Association. And now we give 1% to be divided evenly between the Mosaic Center (Christian Women’s Job Corps), GODtel, Love INC, and the Christian Information and Service Center. In addition to this 11%, we gave financial assistance to three churches: La Casa Del Alfarero, Cross Timbers Cowboy Church and a church in Grandprairie, Alberta, Canada. Next year we will continue supporting these areas, but we will add three new missions expenses: The first African American church affiliated with the BGCT in our county (New Beginnings Baptist Church), an orphanage in Ethiopia, and the first evangelical Christian church in the Ethiopian village of Bantu.

Read Philippians 3: 12 – 14

The Christian life does not happen over night. It takes discipline. It takes will-power. It takes pain. And it takes a commitment to do the long and hard work to achieve our God-given goals. But most importantly…When we run a race, there are a lot of things that can distract us from our ultimate purpose…Sometimes even the race itself can be a distraction…But Paul tells us to push all those distractions aside and focus on the goal…To finish the race…To win the prize…To fulfill our God-given purpose in life.

In verse 12, Paul tells us that he has not yet arrived at perfection…There was a time when he thought he was perfect, but now he realizes that God does not call us to be perfect…God calls us to be MATURE…

Then Paul explains to us what he believes is the single most important characteristic of a Mature Christian… Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus…We know this is Paul’s idea of Christian maturity based on what he said in the very next verse…All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you…

Mature Christians run the race God has given us with our heads facing forward…With our eyes on the finish line…Not looking back on what has happened in our past…Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead…Exactly what are we supposed to forget?

Read Philippians 3: 1 – 4: 1

Many believe that Paul’s words here were in response to false teachers in church. More than likely these false teachers were of a group that we refer to as the Judaizers…This name is a little misleading, because these false teachers were not Jews. They were Gentile converts who got so excited and so zealous about the laws of the Old Testament that they started teaching the weaker church members that there were two things necessary for salvation…Jesus + the Law…Jesus + Perfection.

So, Paul challenged their view of salvation and Righteousness by comparing himself to their view of Perfection. Paul was saying to the Philippians, “If anyone has a reason to boast about what their religious life, it is me.”

Paul first boasted about his Jewish Heritage…
Circumcised on 8th day – according to law, this is the proper day…not like Gentile converts who were circumcised as adults…This indicates that Paul’s parents were meticulous in keeping law…
Of nation of Israel – Paul holds all rights & privileges afforded to God’s chosen people by virtue of his birth…Paul was not a Jew by conversion, but by birth…

Of tribe of Benjamin – small but prestigious tribe…younger of two sons by Jacob’s favorite wife Rachel…tribe brought Israel’s 1st king, Paul’s namesake…Holy city Jerusalem in boundaries of Benjamin…Benjamin remained loyal to YHWH after divided kingdom…

Hebrew of Hebrews – two different interpretations…Either Hebrew born to Hebrew parents, indicating that Paul was from a pure bloodline…Or…Paul was a Jew who actually spoke Hebrew language…

Now Paul changes his list to things he has actually accomplished for himself. These are not received from his parents…

Pharisee – small religious party of Paul & Jesus’ day…There were very strict requirements for a man to become a Pharisee…had to strictly adhere to Mosaic Law of OT…also had to keep the oral law, traditions handed down by the Scribes & Pharisees… And on top of all this, we also know from Acts 23 that Paul was disciple of Gamaliel, who was perhaps the most famous Jewish Rabbi…

Persecutor of the church – Paul’s love for the Law & his religion led him to try to annihilate the early Xn church…

Blameless concerning the Law – not only had Paul given life to study of Law, he had also fulfilled it in a human sense…Just like the Rich Young Ruler, Paul felt confident he kept the Law

Paul thought himself to be the model Jew, he was more than satisfied with his religious life. He was proud that he could be so Perfect…So Pious…So Spiritual…So Religious…After all, Paul thought he had upheld God’s external legal requirements… Perfection…That is, Paul thought he was Perfect until something changed…Paul eventually encountered the risen Christ while he was on his way to persecute the church in Damascus…

When Paul came face to face with Jesus, he realized that his life was not Perfect. Paul did not measure up to Jesus. This is when Paul finally realized that when compared to Christ Jesus, his self-righteousness fell desperately short of the true life God wanted him to live.

In fact, Paul realized that his own righteousness was nothing more than an attempt at self-reliance…An attempt to EARN salvation from God rather than to receive it as a gift of grace. He no longer viewed these external qualifications as “gains,” but as “losses.”

In this passage, Paul used two words to describe all of his religious achievements before he met Christ…

“Loss”… In other words, none of these things promoted him or helped him, they dragged him down, moved him away from God.

“Rubbish”…This is one of those places where the Bible has cleaned up the Greek a little so that we can read it in church…This is the Greek word skubala, which literally means…Well, it means “manure.” Paul said, all of those religious things, those good things, those righteous things that I have been so proud of for most of my life…Well, now that I know Jesus I realize that self-righteousness is worth as much to me as manure…This is “unspeakable filth”…something that no one would ever think about keeping or bragging about or in any way place value on…
So, Paul is basically saying here…I have a lot of good and religious stuff in my past that I have always been very proud of. But no matter how good I was, and no matter how proud I might be…I will forget about my past and Press On toward God’s future…

But guess what? Paul isn’t exactly proud of everything he has done in his past…This is the same Apostle Paul who told us in 1 Timothy 1: 15… Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst…
Paul had a lot of things in his past that he could truly be proud of: Circumcised on the 8th day; of the people of Israel; of the tribe of Benjamin; Hebrew of Hebrews; Pharisee; blameless…But Paul also had a lot of things in his past that he was ashamed of…

The day that Paul encountered the Resurrected Christ for the very first time…The day that Paul’s life was radically transformed once and for all…Where was he going? He was on his way to persecute Christians. Paul was guilty of instilling such fear in Christian men and women that they were too afraid to preach the Good News about Jesus. In other words, Paul is guilty of preventing some people from getting Saved…Paul was also guilty of murder…In Acts 7, we read that Paul was a part of the Jewish mob that stoned Stephen to his death…Even if Paul never threw a stone at Stephen that day, he was guilty as an accomplice to murder…

I think we can all relate to what Paul is telling us here…I have a lot of things in my past that I am proud of…But I also have a lot of things in my past that I am ashamed of…So, forgetting what is behind and striving toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus…

Paul’s Goal…So, exactly what is our goal as growing and maturing Christians? In Philippians 3, Paul tells us that he has three goals…

First…In verse 12, Paul says that he will press on to “Take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me”…In other words, Paul wants to forget about the past so that he can live out his God-given calling and mission in life…

Second…In verse 21, Paul says that he is striving toward that day when Christ will “transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body”…In other words, Paul wants to forget about his past so that he can live with heaven on his mind…

Third…In Philippians 4: 1, Paul described the Christians at Philippi as his “joy and crown”…In other words, Paul wants to forget about his past so that he can invest his own life and ministry into the lives of other growing and maturing Christians…

II. Conclusion.

A true story about Coach Paul Bear Bryant, the legendary football coach from the University of Alabama. Before Bear Bryant coached at Alabama he coached at Texas A&M. When he left Texas A&M to go to Alabama, he asked his entire coaching staff to go with him. They all agreed, with one exception.

The althletic trainer on the Texas A&M staff was a man named Smokey Harper. No one really knew his name (it was Charlie), they just called him Smokey because he was never without a cigarette in his mouth. He would light the next cigarette from the end of the one in his mouth. Smokey was 64 years old, one year away from retirement, and decided that he would rather retire than try to make the transition to Alabama.

Once Smokey retired, he became bored with just sitting at home every day with nothing to do. So, what did he do? He called Bear Bryant and asked for his old job back. The bad news was that Bear Bryant did not have the budget to hire another coach. Smokey responded, “That’s OK. I can still draw my retirement as long as I do not make more than $200 a month.” Bear Bryant offered Smokey a job in Alabama.

When Smokey arrived in Tuscaloosa, Bear Bryant called him into his office and began to describe his new job. He said, “Smokey, I want to give you the most important job on this entire coaching staff. You will not travel with the team on away games. You will never stand on the sidelines. You will never have any contact with the players. All you will do is what you love to do. I want you to drink coffee and smoke cigarettes every day.

“I want you to go out and find as many coffee shops as possible in the state of Alabama. I want you to go to those shops every morning and sit down with the people of Alabama. I want you to drink coffee with them. I want you to become friends with them. I want you to tell them, ‘Coach Bear Bryant is the best football coach that I have ever seen.’

“Tell the people of Alabama what a good person I am, what a good coach I am and how I am going to make Alabama the best football program in the nation.”

When Bear Bryant won the national championship, he introduced Smokey as the reason for the success of the Alabama football program.

Here is my dream for Lufkin’s First Baptist Church. I dream we will be like Smokey Harper. If you don’t smoke, don’t start…But you can be the same kind of witness. I want you to walk out those doors today to the coffee shops, schools, work places to find everyone you can possibly find to tell them, “I have the best church. Every week I experience the Presence of God in worship. I have the best SS class—My teacher teaches the Bible and we all love each other. We have the best music ministry in Angelina County. We have the best Youth Ministry in Angelina County. We have the best Children’s Ministry in Angelina County.”

If you are praying that the lost will be saved, someone must be a witness. If you are praying that FBC will grow, someone must be a witness. And what kind of witness are we being when we gripe and complain about our church or the Ministry areas of our church. Tell the story of the church we are today...It is good news.

Reflections on the BGCT Annual Meeting in Amarillo

It has taken me a week to sit down to write my reflections on my experience of the BGCT Annual Meeting in Amarillo.

One noteworthy experience of this annual meeting was the historic election. In a previous post, I indicated that I supported (and cast my vote for) Joy Fenner as BGCT president. I still support Joy and do not have second thoughts about voting for her. While I recognize the historic significance of electing a woman to serve as president of our convention, I also recognize Joy as a person worthy of holding this position. Her background as a missionary and her leadership experience with Texas WMU have prepared her for this position as much as any pastor or denominational leader. I believe Joy is perhaps the best “historic” president we have had in recent years and will serve well.

I have great respect for David Lowrie. I first met David in April 1996, when he and I shared responsibilities officiating at my father-in-law’s funeral. However, I have even more respect for David now than ever before. I truly believe David has a Kingdom perspective for his church and for the future of Baptist witness in Texas.

After a week of reflection, I am less concerned about the close vote in the presidential election—only 60 votes separated the two candidates. I have heard some refer to this close vote as “the end of the BGCT” and as a sign that we are “hopelessly divided.” I would agree with this interpretation if there were two organized, political parties vying for control of the convention. Yet, this is not the case. David Lowrie did not run on a political platform and has pledged his support for the new president. I believe him.

Perhaps a political campaign would have brought more people to Amarillo. As it was, there were only 1740 votes cast in this election. In my opinion, the low number of registered messengers is a more telling sign than the 60 votes that separated the two candidates. I am trying to choose between two possible interpretations for the relatively low attendance in Amarillo.

First, it could be a sign that the generation which cared about denominational politics is dying out. I am 36 years old and was one of the youngest people in attendance. I am pastor of a church that ranks in the top 150 churches in Cooperative Program giving through the BGCT. Most of the younger people attending the BGCT meeting fall into the same category: they were pastors and spouses of historically supportive churches. The days of busing a full slate of messengers to the convention to vote for a political may be over. If so, Baptists in Texas will be better for it. The low number of messengers could be a positive sign of a hopeful future.

Second, this could be a sign that the BGCT is becoming less relevant. The BGCT Annual Meeting is definitely not relevant to the lay people of our church who are under the age of 50. I fear this is symptomatic of the decline of the entire denominational enterprise. Which leads me to ask a question: How long should we keep a denomination on life support?

I remember using an illustration in a sermon when I was pastor in Mississippi. I asked a rhetorical question about propping up dead and dying church programs. I said something like, “If your horse dies while you are riding it, will you stay on the horse?” A six-year old girl in the back of the congregation answered loudly, “NO!” I answered her, “That’s right. When the horse dies, you get off.”

If our beloved denomination is no longer relevant to our churches, then we have to get off the horse. I do NOT mean we should withhold funding. I just think it is time to evaluate our relevance. If we are no longer relevant, then we must invent / re-invent something that is relevant. We need something that no longer resembles the denominational structures of the 19th Century, no matter how effective those structures might have been in the past two centuries.

I realize these are just questions. I do not have the answers. I believe Texas Baptists now have an opportunity to create something uniquely Baptist and distinctively Christian which has never existed before now. Perhaps the “Study Committee” authorized by the messengers in the Annual Meeting can begin this type of dreaming. But whatever happens…Please don’t call it a restructuring.

A Parable about the BGCT

Some years, the BGCT Annual Meeting is the only time Shauna (my wife) and I have an overnight date, out of town, without children. It is something we look forward to, even when the location is beautiful, downtown Amarillo.

We flew from Houston to Amarillo on Sunday afternoon. Our return flight was Tuesday afternoon.

As we were boarding the Continental Express Jet at 4:25 Tuesday afternoon, we stood in line with a small group of young adults approximately 25 years old and younger. The young woman in front of us in line was separated from the rest of her group. She seemed excited about flying to Houston and told us that she was traveling with a group to attend a conference in Houston. I asked her what type of conference they were attending. She said it was a “new hire” conference for a major petroleum company. I asked her, “Is this your first real job?” She excitedly answered, “Yes, it is.”

To continue the conversation, I asked her where she lived. When she told me she was living and working in Amarillo, I told her that we were actually leaving a conference which had met in Amarillo. She asked, “What kind of conference would meet in Amarillo?” The man behind us in line joked, “It must have been a conference on wind!” I answered, “It was the Annual Meeting of the Baptist General Convention of Texas.”

Hilarity ensued…

Let those who have ears, hear.