W e often think about blessings in terms of possessions, things received. It’s not unusual to hear someone say, “God blessed us with this house” or, “She was blessed to receive a scholarship”—and let’s be clear, we’re not wrong when we credit God (which is to say, give Him glory) for the things we have. But thinking about blessings merely in terms of possessions can skew our understanding of what Scripture means when we see instances of humans blessing God. For example, we find this command frequently in the psalms. Psalm 96:2 and Psalm 100:4 instruct us to bless the name of the Lord. Psalm ..read more

We may not have much control over when we leave this planet, but we do have a say in how we leave and the impact it will have on our families. When King Hezekiah became terminally ill, the prophet Isaiah said to him, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Put your affairs in order, for you are about to die’” (2 Kings 20:1). Abraham is an even better example of how to put our houses in order because he didn’t have a heads-up like Hezekiah—and neither do we. I can think of at least three ways Abraham showed us how to put our houses in order: Update your financial affairs Very few people can relate to ..read more

HORSESHOE BAY—There is power in connecting. That was a key message Spencer Plumlee, elder and senior pastor of First Baptist Church Mansfield, delivered to the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention executive board April 23 during its quarterly meeting. Plumlee was speaking about the SBTC’s Young Pastors Network (YPN), for which he serves as a consultant. YPN is a networking and leadership development initiative offered by the SBTC for pastors 40 years old and younger. Several years ago, YPN was reorganized around three priorities, according to Plumlee: to encourage pastors with resources to ..read more

BOERNE—“We are planting churches for an audience of One,” said Dean Inserra, pastor of City Church in Tallahassee, Fla., and one of the speakers at the Send Network SBTC church planter retreat held April 4. “Be people of defiant joy. Be joy scatterers.” Inserra offered a message of encouragement, reminding planters of the importance of togetherness, partnership, prayer, and church support. “Church planting is hard work—and it’s supposed to be hard. You cannot do it alone. We signed up to serve in this manner, by God’s calling, to do something that was never designed to be easy. … You are hero ..read more

A man for many seasons O.S. Hawkins is chancellor of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, former pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, and president emeritus of GuideStone Financial Resources. He has authored more than 50 books, including the latest, Criswell: His Life and Times. Hawkins recently spoke with Southern Baptist Texan magazine about why he chose to write about the legendary W.A. Criswell and how others can benefit from learning about his life. You’ve described W.A. Criswell as a friend and mentor. Can you talk about the impact he had on you personally and why yo ..read more

Bruno Molina, language evangelism associate for the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, got good news a couple of months ago. Let’s just say it was good news about the good news.  Molina received notification that the SBTC’s 1Cross app had been used to share the gospel with somebody in India. In response, that person made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ—11 years to the day the app was launched by the SBTC right here in Texas. The 1Cross app was developed as a tool churches and individuals can use to share the gospel in nearly 70 languages, including many you’ve probably heard ..read more

As I sat down with a young pastor in our region recently, he shared with me the latest challenge at his church. It was growing. I believe growing people grow a church, so I was elated when he shared this news with me. But that wasn’t exactly how this brother was feeling. He was distraught. Being in his first pastorate, this pastor was happy his church was growing. But he loved the feel and experience of being in one service, and he knew growth in corporate worship would cause his elders to consider adding an additional worship service. He was concerned how adding a second service would affect ..read more

KIRBYVILLE—As soon as the April 10 torrential storms ceased after inundating Kirbyville with nearly 18 inches of rain, Southern Baptists of Texas Convention Disaster Relief teams deployed to the area with other Southern Baptist DR crews and first responders to assist survivors. An incident management team based at First Baptist Church in Kirbyville became operational almost immediately, SBTC DR Director Scottie Stice said. By April 11, an SBTC DR feeding team supporting volunteers set up and began preparing and serving meals. Shower and laundry crews also established support operations, as d ..read more

I recently took my youngest son fishing. We make memories I cherish every time we get the opportunity to go. These trips are often filled with laughter, serious discussions about life, and occasionally a few fish. On this particular trip, my son and I were in the boat talking about all kinds of things when it dawned on me how fast he has grown up and how quickly time goes by.  The same week, I was scheduled to speak at a conference about reaching the next generation. I had been studying Psalm 78 about passing the truths of God to the next generation. A recent poll conducted by North Ame ..read more

Afather dropped his daughter off at Arcadia First Baptist Christian School in Santa Fe and walked back to his car.  “I saw him look back at the office,” Pastor Joshua McDonald said, recounting what he saw watching out the window that day. “He was getting back in his car, and he shook his head and he just walked straight to the office.” The man had no history of church involvement, but his daughter, an elementary student, had placed her faith in Jesus at the school and had been baptized at Arcadia First Baptist Church about six months earlier. The father sat down with McDonald and poure ..read more