This week's newsletter from Gene

Defining “Senior” Ministry

For about as long as anyone remembers, “Senior” ministries in churches have been activities designed for our oldest members, typically consisting of monthly lunches, board game days and day trips. Anyone wishing to attend was encouraged to do so. 

There is certainly a place for these activities in the church in 2014. However, societal changes are requiring that changes be made in adult ministry. These changes are somewhat complicated by the fact that a very large segment of our adult population, those currently 50-67, are Baby Boomers who may die of old age but will never consider themselves senior adults. AARP begins offending this group by sending them membership applications when they turn 50. What a shock and insult!!

Although many Baby Boomers are not yet “seniors,” as defined for years, they are a very important and large part of our society and churches that can use “group specific” ministries and activities. The fastest growing group moving to Austin is 55-65. They can be a tremendous source of leadership and resources. Most are empty nesters, and many are at the peak of their professional lives. This is true of most of the trailing edge Baby Boomers.  Those who are in the leading edge are probably retired or looking seriously at retirement plans.

You will be hearing more about these ministries in the months to come, but we have identified three groups of adults attending Hillcrest who are over 50. I recently heard these groups referred to as “Go-go,” “Slow-go” and No-go.” Are you over 50? Which group are you in? We’ll be developing ministries for each group.

Get to Know Lottie

by Tom Goodman

I hope you'll join Diane and me in giving to the cause of international missions this Christmas. The "Lottie Moon Christmas Offering" that our church promotes each December is named for a Southern Baptist missionary who served in China in the late 1800s.

Nicknamed "Lottie" by those around her, Charlotte Moon was born to a wealthy Virginia family in 1841. She began her work as a missionary to China in 1873. Slowly, she overcame her language problems and cultural differences to connect with the Chinese people. She wrote about her experiences to churches in the United States, and her letters became popular sources of information about Christian mission efforts.

When China was swept by a famine, Lottie suffered this deprivation with those she served, refusing to eat any more than what was available to those around her. She soon became ill and she was ordered back to the States. But before the boat left port, she died. It was Christmas Eve 1912, and she was 72 years old. Now, Southern Baptists have an offering called "the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering" to honor her service.

Today, our church contributes to the support of 4,850 missionaries through our giving to the International Mission Board. Their work is essential to the spread of the gospel. A total of 6,946 people groups of all sizes are classified as “unreached,” meaning that less than 2 percent of the population identifies with an evangelical church. What’s more, 3,605 unreached people groups that were also classified as “unengaged,” meaning that no church planting strategy is underway by evangelicals

It costs $41,000 a year to support an IMB missionary, which includes things like housing, food, children's education, and retirement. A portion of your regular contributions to Hillcrest already go to missions work through the Cooperative Program, but at Christmas time we challenge you to give directly to missions through the Lottie Moon Offering.

Make this year’s Christmas Offering more meaningful by tapping in to these important resources:

To learn more about Lottie, go here.

To participate in this week’s “Week of Prayer,” go here.

To read a one-page summary of last year’s IMB work, including the number of baptisms conducted and the number of churches started, go here.

To give, turn in your contribution during church attendance, or go to the “giving” page on our website.

ICYMI Thanksgiving

by Tom Goodman

I’m sure I’m just feeding the donkey sponge cake, but here are 10 quirky idioms from around the world.

 

Sermon Illustration Alert: “In 2002 disaster struck when the pedestal beneath the statue collapsed, precipitating [Tullio’s 1490s masterpiece] “Adam” to the floor, where it broke into 28 large pieces and hundreds of smaller fragments. The head, face and torso emerged comparatively unharmed, but the arms, the lower legs and the carved tree trunk were severely damaged. An exceptionally complex, pioneering restoration process lasted 12 years, and on Nov. 11 “Adam” was unveiled in a magnificent state of repair.” (WSJ)

 

Has it really been nearly 30 years since the world’s most perfect film was released? An oral history of The Right Stuff.

 

Family Has Strict No Smartphone Rule While Eating Dinner In Front Of TV

 

Baby Boomers in the UK play “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” more than any other track. No, this post isn’t from the Onion but from Time. Other hit classics to make the Top 10 Most-Played list in the humor category include “Another One Bites the Dust” by Queen, “Ring of Fire,” by Johnny Cash, “Bat Out of Hell,” by Meat Loaf, and The Trammps’ “Disco Inferno”—“Buuuurn baby burn!” Just to be clear, at services I lead, I get the last say on music and eulogies.

 

What you need to know about “The Marriage Pledge” many pastors are signing.

 

Adults who live in treehouses:

 

This week's newsletter from Steve

I am typing this from a chilly spot in New Mexico… 36 degrees outside! Just arrived at home for a few days of family time during the holiday week!

We had an amazing time on Sunday at the Angel House Soup Kitchen downtown. We took 18 of our youth and youth workers to help serve a special Thanksgiving meal to the less fortunate and hungry in Austin. We served turkey, dressing, green beans, potatoes, and pie to well over 200 people. You would have been proud of our teenagers! They served with eager hearts, and the love of Jesus was evident in their kindness and smiles. We served alongside another church youth group from south Austin. What a wonderful way to see the body of Christ in action!

We pray that you have a wonderful week, and a very happy Thanksgiving!

This week's newsletter from Karen

Psalm 100

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.

Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people,

the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him

and praise his name.
For the Lord is good and his love

endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through

all generations.

Psalm 100 was my grandmother’s favorite passage of Scripture. I saw, heard, and was taught these words from a very early age and they have become one of my favorite passages, too.

In a country, city, and church as blessed as ours, it is sometimes easy to take for granted the good stuff and question God’s motives about the hard stuff. I’m no exception to that line of thinking. As we go through this week of Thanksgiving, my prayer is that we will all remember these words from the psalmist. God is worthy, creator, good, loving, and faithful. Our response in good and bad times – thanksgiving.

My family and I wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving!

This week's newsletter from Gene

It seems like holidays are always a mixed bag of emotions. Hopefully for most, they are a fun time to get together in special ways with family. However, for some, these times of getting together with family bring up stresses that are unique to this time of year, or at least are brought to a head. For others, holidays are a difficult time because of having lost loved ones. This year it seems like we have more than our normal share of families losing loved ones. Just in the past week, there are three of our families who have lost loved ones. Others are struggling with serious health issues and some with very strained family relationships.

This is not gloom and doom, but a reminder to be in prayer for others in our fellowship as we celebrate Thanksgiving this week. I hope you are one of the families that everything is going pretty well for right now. Don’t forget those who are needing a special helping of God’s grace and provision for them. As you get your families together, remember, “Make every effort to live in peace….”  Heb. 12:14.

Be sure to put the night of Christmas music on your calendars for Dec. 14th, 6:00 PM. This will be a really fun and worshipful time as we celebrate Christmas through music. All of our music groups will be taking part, so it is a really good time to invite guests to come with you. Begin to think now, “Whom can I invite?”

Happy Thanksgiving!!!  Gene and Lynn

The State of Our State Conventions

by Tom Goodman

 

Tis the season for…state convention meetings. Last week I attended the annual meeting of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention and this week I attended the annual meeting of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. Our church is affiliated with both organizations.

A few thoughts on the state of our state conventions.

The days of acrimony are largely gone. In the 80s and 90s, Baptists in Texas battled for the direction of the national convention (SBC) and the state convention (BGCT). At the national level, when theologically-conservative Baptists ended up setting the direction of the SBC, theologically-moderate Baptists reacted by forming the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. At the state level, when moderates redefined what counted as Cooperative Program giving and set up alternatives to SBC resources in Sunday School literature, theological education, and missions, conservatives reacted by forming the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. Some will say that the conflict in these two decades was over control, but it was really over direction, so I believe it was necessary. But it was also painful. That’s why I was surprised to hear myself use the word “enjoyable” the first time some asked me how my convention visits were this month. It’s good to have the Baptist tribe in that season for now.

The executive directors of both conventions are top-shelf. I believe the health of our two state conventions are largely the result of the men leading them. I’ve known SBTC executive director, Dr. Jim Richards, for 30 years, and I count him a friend of mine. And Dr. David Hardage is the most promising, refreshing leader the BGCT has had since I began serving Texas churches in 1979. Read them or listen to them and you’ll easily catch the clarity and passion of their vision, their love for Texas churches, and their love for Jesus.

The ethnic diversity of both conventions hints at a bright future. I was thrilled to see strong representation of African-Americans, Asians, and Hispanics in attendance and in leadership. Anyone who thinks evangelicals in general and Baptists in specific are uniformly white seniors with southern drawls hasn’t been paying attention.

It’s time we sent our gifts to the national SBC through the SBTC. Historically, Hillcrest has sent our SBC giving through the BGCT office. (If you’re wondering, these days that amounts to about $44,000 a year.) I suggest we start sending that through the SBTC office. This change won’t make any difference in what we give the BGCT or the SBTC. It’s just a bookkeeping move. But here’s why I think it makes sense: The SBTC identifies itself as a convention of Southern Baptists serving in Texas, while the BGCT identifies itself as a convention of Texas Baptists who may or may not have anything to do with the SBC. I think the state convention that highlights our national SBC identity should have records of how we support the national SBC. And, at present, they have no record of this. This is a discussion for the Missions Committee and the deacons to have sometime in 2015.

It’s time we moved toward equal support of the two state conventions. When we joined the SBTC a few years ago, we decided to stick our toe in the water with a small sum of $100 a month. This is in sharp contrast to the approximately $2,250 per month we send to the BGCT. A few years ago, this was entirely understandable given our church’s historic ties to the BGCT. But now that we’re more and more deeply connected to both conventions, I think we need reflect that with greater parity in our giving. I also think our annual Fall state convention offering should be divided between the 2 conventions. This is a matter to discuss with our Missions Committee and our deacons sometime in 2015, and then our church can vote on the matter.

Continued affiliation with any group bears monitoring. As Baptists, we believe that Christ is building churches, not conventions. Conventions and fellowships and mission boards are simply ways that churches affiliate together for greater effectiveness. Therefore, individual congregations have the responsibility to monitor the groups with which they associate their church’s witness. Are these groups fiscally responsible? Are these groups pro-life? What do these groups think about gender and sexual identity? What is their view of the Bible? Do they believe that people are saved by the substitutionary work of Jesus and that people are lost without responding to this message? Forever? When these groups write Bible study literature or send out missionaries or equip pastors, will the message that we want shared be shared? It’s important that we keep asking these questions of the groups we affiliate with. It’s important that we hold them accountable for good answers to these questions. And it’s important that we withdraw from groups whose answers are not satisfactory. Don’t read between the lines: I’m not hinting there’s a problem with either state convention. I’m insisting that we never forget our duty: Our first priority is to be a church that communicates a biblically-faithful witness of what it takes to be saved and to grow in greater obedience to Christ. We’ll partner with anyone who can make us more effective in that work. And, no matter how historic our ties, we’ll end our partnership with anyone who muddies the message we’re trying to share with the world. It’s our church, not our conventions, that we’re ultimately responsible for.

It’s been a good two weeks of state convention meetings. And I look forward to our continued partnership with Baptists in both state conventions.

__________________________________________

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This week's newsletter from Karen

The last few weeks I’ve been facilitating Simple Truths, a class designed to give parents a strategy for talking about sex with their children in a simple, natural way. There are two things the author suggests that really make a lot of sense.

First, when approaching this subject with our kids, parents need to start the conversation with the words, “by God’s design.” How wonderful! Everything we see, experience, feel, etc. is all by God’s design. Sex is no different.

Second, parents need to become the “loving authority” in the process of teaching their children about sex. Parents are encouraged to teach about sex out of a love for their child.

With sex being so pervasive in our culture, I wonder why this topic seems to be awkward for parents. Culture has no qualms or embarrassment about teaching our children about sex. Why do we?

Our enemy has really had success in this area on two fronts. First, parents have let culture become the teacher/authority in the minds of children on the topic of sex. Second, parents are made to feel uncomfortable talking to their children about sex.

It is time to take back any ground that has been given over to culture. My prayer is that parents will become more proactive in their conversations with their children on the topic of sex, and as their “loving authority,” will begin to have them understand that “by God’s design” it is a very simple and natural part of God’s abundant life.

This week's newsletter from Steve

Thank you so much for your continued prayer for the shoebox ministry of Operation Christmas Child, and the mission that our boxes are supporting! This week, I would like to ask you to pray for another missions ministry that our church is involved with.

On December 26th, Katie Cline, Brandy Williams, Amy Cloud, Meaghan Cloud, Jeff Robertson, my niece Amanda Potts and I will fly to Prague, Czech Republic for MKR 2014. If you are unfamiliar with MKR, it stands for “Missionary Kids Retreat.” Each winter, our team of about 25 volunteers from across Texas, New Mexico, and California hosts this event in central Europe for the teenage children of our International Mission Board families. These students travel from all over Europe and northern Asia for this week of camp.

We will be hosting about 100 teenagers for five days of camp in Prague. Since MKR is held in the middle of winter, we have camp in a hotel meeting room! Each day, we will have 3 Bible study times, recreation, meals, and late night activities… all on-site at the hotel. For many of these students, MKR is the only chance each year that they get to spend time with other English-speaking teens and to worship/have Bible study with people outside of their immediate family. It is a wonderful time of encouragement and renewal for all involved!

How can you pray for this ministry? First, please pray for our team as we prepare both spiritually and logistically to go. There are three of us that will be leading the Bible study times: Brett Dutton, pastor from Houston, Jesse Hicks, youth pastor from Spring, and myself. We will also have two worship leaders: Joey Porter, worship pastor from NM, and Lance Dockery, worship pastor from Conroe. Amy Cloud and Jason Cotton will be handling many of the administrative/logistical arrangements, and with 100 teenagers from multiple countries, they will need some prayer, for sure! Every team member has multiple jobs, as well as leading a small group several times a day. Also, please be in prayer for the missionary families that we will be working with. Please pray that not only will their children be encouraged, but that their entire family will receive a boost from our week together. We would LOVE to have your prayer support over the next few weeks as we get ready for MKR 2014!

This week's newsletter from Gene

We had an excellent trip to Branson this past week. The weather there was very cold, 20’s and 30’s for highs with a strong wind, but was still enjoyable. We did make one change in our schedule from an outdoor event Wednesday night to an indoor one. It just didn’t sound like fun riding around in an open wagon looking at lights in 30 degree temps with a wind. The Chinese acrobats were a much better choice!!

The Lord always provides everything needed on these trips. We had two who had to stay behind because of last minute health issues, but we still had 21 go with us. We had a very close call on the way up. A mid-size SUV came across a divided highway trying to beat traffic and didn’t see a full-size pick up just two vehicles in front of us. The lady t-boned the pick up and spun it around 180 degrees. The pick up almost turned over but continued down the road for another 75-100 yards and immediately caught fire. Ken Clonts was driving and was able to get our bus stopped before hitting anyone. We then ran to the burning vehicle to get the passengers out. There was only a driver and she was able to make it out of the passenger side door just before we got there. Her truck was totally destroyed but both drivers were ok, with only minor injuries. We had to reroute, but still got to Branson on time.

This is the time of year when many are doing their year-end giving analysis. Remember that it might be more beneficial to you and the church for you to donate appreciated stock rather than cash. If you would like information regarding how to make this transfer, please contact Betty, Karen or me.

ICYMI Thursday

by Tom Goodman

Heartbreaking photo of the demolition of the Sanjiang church in Wenzhou.
From an excellent Financial Times article
about China’s campaign to rein in the rise of Christianity

 

“Despite being overcome by a profound realization just minutes earlier that challenged his long-held beliefs and promised to forever alter his daily existence, sources confirmed that 42-year-old Thomas Wilson’s epiphany had fully worn off during his drive home Wednesday.” (Sometimes The Onion gets it so right.)

 

Well, who wouldn’t want a $129,000 Grand Rapids house almost completely occupied by a $1mil pipe organ?

 

“A June 2012 survey of about 1,000 British secondary school students aged 11 to 18 showed that while 92% of them could identify a picture of a dog named Churchill from a popular British insurance advertisement, ‘only 62% correctly identified a photo of Sir Winston Churchill’…A hundred books a year are published on him—and yet we cannot take his reputation for granted” (In a WSJ essay by Boris Johnson)

 

I Will Not Trust the Sweetest Frame. “Sweet little old ladies have a lot of clout in society in getting social practices to pass from fringy to normal. It is one thing if a bunch of pink-haired, tongue-pierced, sleeved up Gen-Y types say they support same-sex marriage, but if Andy Taylor’s Aunt Bee supports it, you have much bigger trouble on your hands….It is a far greater challenge for me to put the Word of God above the word of a sweet little old lady than to put the Word of God above the word of a Unitarian pastor.”

 

Why idolatry is just another valid way of being Christian. Love the parody here, exposing the screwy exposition of those who have abandoned the biblical view of sexuality.

 

Interstellar Isn't About Religion (and Also It Is Totally About Religion)

This Week’s Column from Karen

Here is this week’s newsletter column from Karen.

Job, described as blameless and upright, experienced some rough times. He never cursed God for the rough times, but he did question why he had to face them. God had some interesting answers for Job’s questions, but afterwards Job says this, “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted. You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.” (Job 42:2-3) In the end, Job was restored by God.

In the New Testament Paul describes the many successes and defeats he went through. In Philippians 4:12-13 he says these words, “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”

I’m always ready to question God when times are tough, but many times forget Him when times are good. But as both men point out, God is there all the time. Good and bad.  It is so important for children to understand this concept. Take some time this week and share with your child times when you knew God was working during a tough time in your life and when God was present in a wonderful time of your life. Help them understand that God is always with them.

This Week’s Column from Michael

Here’s this week’s newsletter column from Michael:

Gene has finally decided to let me take over his column this week while he is away with some of our people in Branson, Missouri. 

What an awesome day of worship we had yesterday! It is such a joy to worship with you all each week! I just wanted to take a minute or two of your time to let you know that Rachel and I are thrilled to be apart of the Hillcrest family! It will be three months next Sunday that we have been a part of the fellowship. You all have been so kind to us since the first day we walked through the doors. We truly felt that this is exactly where the Lord was leading us to serve.

November and December seem to be the busiest months here at our church. Many things are going on whether it is church or family related, especially with the holidays approaching. I want to let you know that our Worship Ministry is working hard on our December 14th Christmas Night of Worship at 6:00pm! It’s going to be awesome! YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS THIS!! I would encourage you to put this date on your calendar and also invite a friend.

We have some exciting things that are going to be happening in our Worship Ministry coming in January! You will begin to see some of it unfold in our Beacon, worship service, and by word of mouth! I hope you will be excited in the days to come.

Michael Slaughter

This Week’s Column from Steve

Here’s this week’s newsletter column from Steve:

I want to personally thank you for your involvement in the ministry of Operation Christmas Child. I realize that there are many things that pull at our hearts and pocketbooks out there, but there are very few that take the love of Jesus to the world in the way that OCC does. Hillcrest family, by my count this morning, there are 324 boxes at the front of the auditorium! That is 50 more boxes than we collected last year! I praise God for your faithfulness and obedience to the call to take the message of the cross to the world!

Will you join me in prayer for these boxes? Not just that they would arrive safely, but that God would use these boxes to open doors for pastors in local communities all over the world for ministry. Samaritan’s Purse (the ministry that runs OCC) has developed a follow-up teaching program for the pastors and churches in these communities to use after the gifts are distributed to children. Their follow-up discipleship classes, called “The Greatest Journey," are 12 engaging Bible lessons that are designed to teach these children how to be devoted followers of Jesus, as well as teaching them to share their faith with others. This is, in my opinion, the most important part of the ministry we have through OCC. Please pray for the children that will receive these boxes, and for the churches and church leaders that will be leading these classes all over the world.

We will be taking the boxes to the collection center on Thursday. The boxes will still be in the Worship Center on Wednesday night. Would you consider coming in for a few minutes when you arrive Wednesday night and praying over our boxes? There may be music rehearsal going on, or the room maybe quiet, but either way we would love to see these boxes bathed in prayer one last

ICYMI Thursday

by Tom Goodman

Donuts are nature's fruit. Who knew?
Yelp's best places for donuts in Austin.

 

Thomas Kidd explains how to check whether a quote is being attributed to the right author—and why it’s important.

 

Yeah, it’s a Chinese commercial for shampoo. Yes, it’s a 4-and-a-half minute commercial for shampoo. But what a bold move, with the bold design to reduce divorce in China. #BelieveInLoveAgain.

 

A southern-born CEO invokes religion regarding his views on homosexuality, lobbying for what he believes in, and using his company to financially and publicly support those views. Chick-fil-A? No, Apple. The company’s CEO, Tim Cook, announced his homosexual orientation last week, and he pledged to use his company to promote his social agenda. (HT: YoungCons) For me, though, media reaction to Cook’s announcement didn’t bring to mind Chick-fil-A. It was another tech CEO I thought of. Brendan Eich, of Mozilla Firefox, was ousted six months ago over the issue of homosexuality, too. Opponents launched a campaign to seek his firing over a donation six years earlier. They dug up public records showing the Catholic’s quiet and private (not company) donations to an organization promoting the traditional definition of marriage during California’s Prop 8 debate and demanded his ouster because of it. Fasten your seat belts, it’s going to be a bumpy Night.

 

Rod Dreher applauds the Southern Baptist leaders who are helping the denomination live in our American Babylon. (Related: Samuel Goldman discusses “The Jeremiah Option” as the best option for living in Babylon.)

 

As you evaluate Brittany Maynard's decision last weekend, Joni Eareckson Tada's book, "When Is It Right to Die?" can help.

 

In his delightful review, Jason Hood prefers to zimzum away from Rob Bell's new book on marriage.

This week's newsletter from Karen

Upward/Hoops Basketball & Cheerleading

Evaluation Day—November 8

Hoops - 8:00 -10:00am

UPWARD - 10:00am - 1:00pm

Registration forms may be found online at www.HillcrestHoops.org or in the church office.

This week's newsletter from Steve

What an amazing (and busy) couple of weeks we have experienced here at Hillcrest! Craft Show was a huge success, Trunk or Treat was very well attended, our College Bible Study is going great, and the Youth Ministry had a great time playing Capture the Flag last night! The weather has started to cool a bit, and it actually feels like fall is here. Just in time for the holidays!

Speaking of the holidays, we have a very important deadline coming up THIS Sunday, November 9th. This is the last week that you can bring your shoebox gift for Operation Christmas Child. We are off to a good start so far, but we would really like to pass last year's total of nearly 300 boxes. We are not there yet, but if you would consider bringing a box this Sunday (or maybe a second one), that would be a huge blessing! 

This ministry allows our church to partner with churches all over the globe through simple gifts in the name of Jesus. What greater way is there to show love to families in a community, than through ministering to their children? Our gifts help open doors to pastors and churches in communities that might not otherwise be open to the message of Jesus. It is such a simple, yet effective way to share not only the love of Jesus, but the Message of the Cross, as well.

I pray that you will ask the Lord how you should be involved in this ministry. Your obedience to His answer is all we need! Thank you for your support of Operation Christmas Child, foreign/local missions offerings, and other ministries that we are a part of here at Hillcrest! Have a wonderful week! 

This week's newsletter from Gene

Both our Kids Music Theater choir and SonShine Singers did an excellent job this past Sunday as they helped lead us in worship. Our Preschool Praise Club, 4-5 year olds, sang in Praise Hill Sunday night. For many of them, it was their first performance and they did great!!

When I was in college, some sports were referred to as “carry over sports” meaning they would last beyond the school experience. Obviously, football is not typically considered a “carry over sport.” However, you can see how tennis and golf would be “carry over sports” because they can easily be played throughout a person’s life.  Lynn’s grandmother bought her last set of golf clubs at 91!

Music is a “carry over activity,” as was demonstrated this past Sunday. Our youngest singer was 4 years old; our oldest was 93. Now that’s a “carry over activity” you can be involved in. Music should be a lifetime experience and we have a place for you to be involved whether you are a beginning or experienced singer or instrumentalist. We want to find a place to provide you an outlet of ministry using the talents God has given you.

Please contact me or Michael if you would like more information about how you can participate.

“The ugly seeds that will one day bring forth a harvest of grave public injustice”

by Tom Goodman

Today’s LeaderLines was on preparing people to face hostility. When American Christians complain about persecution in this country, some think that such complaints ring hollow in light of the sufferings of believers in more oppressive parts of the world.

Denny Burk has a good response:

In what I’m about to say, I do not wish to suggest an equivalence between their suffering and the suffering of American Christians. We do well to recognize that some Christians suffer to the point of shedding blood, while others do not (Heb. 12:4). Nevertheless, Jesus spoke of persecution in terms that embrace the whole spectrum of human suffering and mistreatment. For example,

Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me. Rejoice, and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. -Matt 5:10-12

Clearly, Jesus includes public insults and social marginalization underneath the aegis of persecution. This is not to say that suffering insults is equivalent to being murdered. It is to say that the hatred that leads to insults is on the same spectrum as the hatred that leads to murder (Matt. 5:21-22). Failure to acknowledge this fact blinds people to the ugly seeds that will one day bring forth a harvest of grave public injustice. We need to be clear-eyed about how those seeds are being sown right now before our very eyes. And we need to bear witness to injustice when others refuse to see. Losing the language of persecution to describe what is happening now in America will not serve us in that task.

LeaderLines: Preparing Believers to Endure Hostility

by Tom Goodman

Part of your job as a church leader is to prepare believers to endure misunderstanding, marginalization, and even hostility for their Christian convictions. Ignoring this part of your job description leaves the members of our church unprepared for the real world.

Many can recall a time when what was taught inside the church was largely reinforced in the outside world. This is true especially if you were raised in the American South. That cultural consensus is vanishing rapidly, and believers are finding occasions when embracing the faith comes with certain liabilities. There will be those moments when following Christ will result in the loss of a friendship, or the loss of a potential romantic relationship, or the loss of opportunities for tenure or career advancement.

In our staff meeting this week, we worked through Mark Howard’s post on this topic. He limits his comments to the work of youth ministry, but since his points apply to every age range, I want to edit them a bit. Here are five actions you need to take no matter what age range you lead at Hillcrest.

1. Be intentional.

Our people need guidance if they are going to address contemporary hot topics biblically, intelligently, and respectfully. Simon Peter told us to "honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect" (1 Peter 3:15). We need to intentionally train people so they can gently and respectfully articulate their convictions.

2. Go beyond sound bites.

I know that certain long-time churchgoers in my denomination prefer church to be “Baptist Theater.” That’s what I call it, anyway. It’s entertainment for the already-convinced. A preacher is expected to pound the pulpit and shout out soundbites designed to draw out a rowdy “Amen” from the base. But after the show is over, the already-convinced are no better prepared to have patient, thoughtful conversations with their unconvinced neighbors, coworkers, and relatives. Too often, in fact, Baptist Theater leaves believers even more settled into a smug aloofness from the surrounding world.

As leaders, we need to help people critique exactly what makes an unbiblical worldview so unworkable, and why the biblical worldview is so much more satisfying in the long run. As an example, I demonstrate how to do this with the subject of cohabitation here.

3. Aim to win people, not just arguments.

Our goal is not to sound smart—or smart-alecky! We are to be ministers of reconciliation. Paul tells the Corinthians, “We are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us” (2 Corinthians 5:20). As Howard wrote in his post, “What sort of ambassadors would we be if we only ever started wars and mocked those who disagreed with us, and never actually took the time to know and care for those among whom we serve?”

4. Prepare believers for rejection and humiliation.

We will have our moments when certain nonbelievers misunderstand and marginalize us. This is more than just missing an invitation to join coworkers for Happy Hour after work. As I said earlier, some will find that their Christian convictions will negatively impact their chances of keeping a job or advancing in that job. Some will find that their Christian worldview significantly narrows the number of people willing to enter into friendships or romantic relationships with them.

I think younger believers had a season where they thought if evangelicals just weren’t so dorky the culture would like us better. If only we adopted a trendier look, championed a cool social cause, and updated our terminology, we could be socially respected again. Many are surprised to find that our world’s rejection of our message lies much deeper than these surface issues.

We need to root our people deeply in those scripture stories of prophets and apostles and martyrs who were so maligned by those they sought to love. After all, we serve in the shadow of a cross, don’t we?

5. Foster humility.

As we train up people to lovingly articulate their convictions, Howard says we need to remember to teach them intellectual humility along the way: “Sometimes we will face rejection and humiliation because we are wrong. Scripture is our authority, but history shows us that sometimes Christians misinterpret and misuse Scripture.”

I hope you’ll look at all five of these actions as a “package deal.” In other words, merely taking up one or two of the above actions won’t be enough. We’re in a culture that has shifted rapidly. We once lived in a culture that reinforced much of the Christian worldview (at least in the American South). The current culture doesn’t see a biblically-consistent worldview as a harmless irrelevance, but toxic. Our people need preparation for life in this new order.

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