From the Exec...

One is such an important number.

True or false? A proposal to make German the official language of the United States of America was defeated in Congress by one vote! If you said "true" you are almost correct. Here's the story. In response to a request from a group of German-Americans from Augusta, Virginia, a House committee recommended publishing 3,000 sets of laws in German and distributing them to the states (with copies of statutes printed in English as well). The House debated this proposal without reaching a decision, and a vote to adjourn and consider the recommendation at a later date was defeated by one vote, 42 to 41. There was no vote on the actual bill, just the vote on whether or not to adjourn. Because the motion to adjourn did not pass, the matter was dropped. If they had considered the bill later, would they have voted to publish in German? Probably not. The House, a month later, debated a similar issue and decided to publish only in English. But the legend persists to this day that the German missed becoming the official language of the US by one vote.

There's no denying that one was an important number to Jesus. He told a parable about the importance of one, three parables in fact, all found in Luke 15. A shepherd had one lost sheep, a woman lost one coin, a father had one wayward son. The shepherd left ninety-nine sheep in the fold and risked everything to find his one lost sheep. The woman turned her house upside down trying to find her one missing coin. The father abandoned decorum and protocol to welcome back his one wayward son. These parables show us God's heart for the lost, his willingness to do whatever was necessary to bring one more person into a relationship with him.

Last week our staff went away for 3 days to begin trying to "think different(ly)" about UBA and to ask what our responsibility was to our churches. [see my January 2010 blog] We are not interested in thinking different just to be different. We recognize there is a significant gap between what God wants and what is going on in our churches and in the world.

We didn't just talk about things. We sought God. We prayed. We read Scripture. We listened to God and shared with one another what God was saying to us. And there was amazing, amazing clarity and consistency in our conversation.

One of the things we discussed was the parable of the lost sheep. The good shepherd left 99 sheep in the fold to focus all his attention on rescuing one lone, lost sheep. Rescuing the one lost sheep became his priority! He risked everything to rescue that sheep.

Then we looked at the way the church (not any specific church, but churches as a whole) does things. What did we observe? We've inverted the parable. We focus our attention on the sheep in the fold, not on the lost sheep that need to be rescued.

We may say lostness is a priority, but what do the records say? In 1999, with 489 churches, UBA churches baptized 10,413 people. In 2009, with 599 churches and with 583,771 more people living in Harris County, we baptized only 9,595 people. With 110 more churches and almost 600,000 more people living around us, we baptized about 900 fewer people. You tell me, is lostness really our priority?

I wonder what would happen if the association, UBA or any association, saw as it's primary purpose to mobilize churches to take on lostness - intentionally and persistently.

We're just one association, but if we did, maybe others would follow.

In 1997 Apple Computer introduced their “Think Different” ™ advertising campaign. The campaign featured people who changed the world — scientists, social reformers, ministers, entertainers, athletes, explorers, artists — because they thought about things in ways different than the general populace. (For more information and links to the video, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Think_different)

We are all familiar with the idea “if you keep doing what you’ve been doing, you’ll keep getting what you’ve been getting.” Let me introduce a new spin on that. If you keep thinking the way you’ve always thought, you’ll keep getting what you’ve always got.

Stephen Covey in 7 Habits of Highly Effective People introduces the See-Do-Get model. What you see influences what you do, and what you do determines what you get. So to change what you get you must change what you do, and you will only change what you do when you change the way you see things, in other words to get different results we must learn to think differently.

I believe the church in North America needs to think different(ly). Why? It’s simple. The results we are getting are unacceptable. It’s not my purpose to defend my position, simply to state it. Anyone who has been a longtime lover and observer of the church knows that the church in North America is in trouble. A quick review of the Glenmary reports of religion in America from 1990 to 2000 verifies this. Baptist Christians, my denominational family, particularly should be concerned. Whereas, we were once strong and growing, we are now a denomination in decline. If we think we will survive, much less thrive, by doing what we’ve been doing, we are sadly mistaken. We need to learn to think different(ly).

As the executive director of UBA, I believed we, as a staff and as an organization, needed to think different(ly). I believe church leaders need to think differently. So to that end, I’m devoting this year to helping us learn.

In January I introduced the concept at our Quarterly Meeting. (To view an edited version of that presentation go to our website at http://newsite4083.web08.intellisite.com/449925.ihtml , click on QAM Presentation, and the three part series will open. Right click on the center of the video and Zoom In to make the image bigger.) Other presentations will follow. Throughout the year the theme of our Pastor to Pastor series will be think different(ly) … about the church, about the church in the community, about making disciples. I will work with our staff, our moderator team, our subsidiary corporation leaders and our Associational Leadership Council to look at UBA and see where we need to think different(ly) in order to fulfill our vision of a transformed city.

All my life I’d been admonished to “think” — by parents, teachers, professors, my own self talk. Until I began studying about thinking, though, I didn’t realize no one had ever really taught me to think or helped me understand why I think as I do much less taught me how to think different(ly). As we learn, we will pass our learning on to you with the prayer that by thinking different(ly) we will begin to do things differently which should change the results we are getting.

God help us. Amen.

In physics, power is the rate at which work is performed or energy is converted. It is represented by the equation P(ower)=W(ork)/t(ime).

In the spiritual realm, that may be a good place for us to begin a discussion of the power of prayer. PP=W/t. Power in prayer equals the amount of actual prayer (work) divided by the time spent in prayer. The more time spent in prayer, the more effective our prayers. That would be a good place to begin, that is, if God measured our prayers by the time we spend praying. But that’s not what God does. Jesus made that clear in his denunciation of the Pharisees.

So what does matter? It matters that we pray. That’s it. While God doesn’t measure the length of our prayers, God does care that we pray. Prayer is an admission of our limitedness and a recognition that the all-powerful, all-loving God really does care about what we think and want, really does intervene in the affairs of men, and that life really is a collaboration between man and God.

One of the greatest prayer passages in the Bible is hidden away in Paul’s closing remarks to the church in Rome. He asks the Roman believers to pray for him, specifically to pray that he would be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea, that his service for Jerusalem would be acceptable to the Christians there, and that he would be able to visit the church in Rome (Romans 15:30-32). Overlay those three prayer requests over the closing chapters of the book of Acts and you will see a marvelous testimony to the power of answered prayer. Paul is miraculously delivered from an angry mob by a Roman soldier, saved from an assassination plot when a young man overhears a comment and persuades the Roman government to get Paul out of Jerusalem, and arrives safely in Rome after being saved from a storm at sea after the boat perishes upon the rocks. Oh, yes, and the believers in Jerusalem do welcome him warmly. It is a fascinating story!

Why all this talk about prayer and power? Because I want to call the churches in UBA to a Day of Prayer for our city. Specifically, Sunday, January 31. I want to challenge every church in UBA to set aside time in the worship service, set aside time in Sunday School, Bible study classes or in small group fellowships, set aside time to pray for our city — specifically that churches would be faithful in sharing the gospel with the lost in 2010, that folks will be saved in 2010 in record numbers, and that the transforming power of God will be evident in our city throughout the year.

Texas Baptists are engaged in an initiative called Texas Hope 2010 which has three goals: that the gospel is shared with everyone in Texas by Easter Sunday 2010, that no one go to bed hungry in Texas, and that these initiatives be undergirded and supported through fervent, focused, intercessory prayer. The Houston expression of this is called Pentecost Houston. Randall Everett, executive director of BGCT, has issued a challenge to BGCT churches to set aside time that day to pray for Texas. I want to encourage all UBA churches regardless of state convention affiliation to set aside a few minutes that day to pray that the lost in Texas will be reached with the gospel, and specifically that our initiatives in Houston will be effective in sharing the gospel with the lost in our city.

When Paul asked the Romans to pray for him, it was years before anyone knew of the significance of that request and the power unleashed through their prayers. It may be a few years before we know the impact and power of the prayers of 2010, but it is my firm belief that if we are faithful in praying, God will be faithful in responding. What a difference it will make.

Let us pray.

Writing is hard work, at least for me. I marvel at the way authors like Dean Koontz and Stephen King can write so prolifically while I struggle to get out a simple article once a month. They write hundreds of pages a year and I only need to knock out twelve short articles a year. I realize they’re doing it to make a living; fortunately my livelihood isn’t dependent upon my writing!

Actually, writing isn’t really the hard part. Putting words on a page is easy enough. It’s knowing what to write about -- that’s the hard part. Figuring out what to write, then doing it in an informative and entertaining fashion, that’s the hard part.

Do I right about things in the news? Tiger Woods confession. (for all have sinned) President Obama’s troop deployment to Afghanistan. (there shall be wars and rumors of wars) The New Orleans’ Saints unbeaten season. (miracles happen) I suppose I could, but you don’t read my article to keep up with stories better covered by CNN and ESPN. Nope, the news is out.

Do I write about something theological? The interface of resurrection theology and the current economic crisis. The conflict between the radical Muslim agenda and freedom of religion in America. Global warming and our stewardship responsibilities for the planet. Theology is more my style, but not too many folks are excited about the interface between theology and life.

The latest UBA happenings? Insights into the state of our churches based upon the latest Annual Church Profile reports. The upcoming Pastor to Pastor series for 2010 (the 2009 series was a big hit, btw). The impact of the Fire Torch city transformation tour. Our redesigned UBA website. Giving patterns of UBA congregations. New churches started. I could, but I write about things like this all year long. Besides, many of them are adequately covered in the emails we send out regularly. No need to be overly redundant.

I could write about something personal, but I’m not sure anyone outside my family would be interested. See? It’s not as easy as it seems to write these articles.

There is one sure fire, can’t miss option. It only happens once a year. Christmas is days away. Snow is (literally) in the air. New Year’s is coming. Something seasonal and sincere seems appropriate. So let me say (quite sincerely), from all of us on the UBA team --
• associate directors -- Dian Kidd and Ron Towery
• our incomparable church consultants-- Rickie Bradshaw, Josh Ellis, Sally Hinzie, and Campo Londoño
• our fantastic support team -- Dana Bowdoin, Sharon Cain, Gloria Londoño, Alex Martinez and Nallely Torres
• our invaluable voluntary staff members -- Ron and JoAnn Holt in our financial office and UBA prayer coordinator Margie Randall
• our ever-faithful missions teams -- Mary Valerio and her team of WMU leaders and Herb Weaver and his men/boys ministry team
• our first-class subsidiary ministry teams -- Nick Howard and our Baptist student ministers, Ginger Smith and the MCH staff, Phil Springer and the TPCC staff

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. It truly is our privilege to honor Christ by serving you.

PS: Now wasn’t that creative?

Houston is the host city for the 2009 Annual Meeting of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. Messengers from many of the 5,700 churches that comprise BGCT will meet for two days in November, and we want to say welcome.

For our guests, let me tell you a bit about our city. Houston is the largest city in the state of Texas and the fourth largest city in the US. More than 4.5 million people currently call Houston home. Believe it or not, the Houston Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) covers an area slightly smaller than Maryland but larger than Massachusetts. At 634 square miles, the City of Houston could contain the cities of New York, Washington, Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, Minneapolis and Miami. The Houston MSA contains more people than Minnesota, which ranks 21st among the states in population. Houston is as diverse a city as there is in the US. We’ve identified over 300 different ethnolinguistic people groups living in Harris County. One out of four folks that live here was born overseas. One in three will not speak English when they go home tonight.

The 600 churches of Union Baptist Association minister to the folks who live in our highly diverse, rapidly growing city. One-third of all UBA churches are Anglo, one-third are African American and one-third are congregations that speak a language other than English.

Houston is our primary mission field. People from all over the world move to Houston daily. When they do they bring with them their ethnic identity and rich cultural history including their religious heritage. Consequently, every major religion in the world is actively practiced in Houston. Still, with all that religious plurality, half of the population of Houston claim no religious identity.

A couple of years ago I wondered what would it be like if Pentecost were to happen in Houston today like it did in Jerusalem 2000 years ago. I called together church leaders from across our city to help me ask and answer that question and to begin to build a strategy which could set the stage for Pentecost Houston. About the same time Dr. Randel Everett returned to Texas as the Executive Director for BGCT and shared his dream of “prayer, care and share.” As we talked, it became apparent that Pentecost Houston and Prayer, Care and Share (now called Texas Hope 2010) were parallel initiatives that could easily be merged. Consequently, Pentecost Houston/Texas Hope 2010 are a major part of the strategy for reaching our city in the immediate future and for years to come.

We are working to see that everyone in our city has a chance to hear the gospel in their heart language just like they did at Pentecost, and to be able to attend a church where they can identify with folks ethnically, culturally, linguistically and spiritually.

We are bringing together secular and sacred care agencies to help eradicate hunger in Houston, much like the early church shared with others so that no one was in need of food.

Fervent, focused intercessory prayer undergirds and provides the foundation for all our work, just as with Pentecost.

We long to see our city transformed by the power of God. We know we cannot orchestrate it. God is not our's to command and control. Still, we want to do our part so that God can do His.

So to all our guests, we say welcome. We hope you enjoy your time among us. As you walk the streets of our city, pray for the churches of UBA and the body of Christ in our city as we fulfill the Great Commission in our lifetime in our city.

This month Houston will host the annual meeting of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. UBA is an association of churches that partners with both the Southern Baptist Convention of Texas and the Baptist General Convention of Texas to promote and extend the cause of Christ in Texas and beyond.

Prior to 1886 there were as many as five state conventions in Texas. Over time the leaders of the various conventions realized it would be better to consolidate the conventions and agencies and work together rather than compete with one another. They consolidated under the name “Baptist General Convention of Texas.” From then until November 1998, BGCT was the only state Baptist convention in Texas.

The Baptist General Convention of Texas encourages, facilitates and connects churches in their work to fulfill God’s mission of reconciling the world to himself. Approximately 5,700 churches affiliate with BGCT as do 23 different institutions and human care agencies including Buckner International (the largest Baptist human care agency in the world — founded by a transplanted Tennessee pastor like myself I must add) and ten educational ministries including Baylor University (largest Baptist University in the world).

Sadly, many, if not most, Baptists have lost a sense of their own history and distinctiveness in the body of Christ. When I was a child, denominational distinctives were emphasized, so much that I sometimes wondered if anyone would get to heaven other than Baptists. Today the emphasis is more on recognizing that we are all part of the larger body of Christ with all its plurality and diversity. That doesn’t mean, though, that Baptists should not know and celebrate their uniqueness. 2009 is special because it marks the 400th anniversary of the beginning of Baptists with John Smyth. (For more on the history of Baptists, cf. www.baptisthistory.org) If you want to know more about our Baptist distinctives, I’d encourage you to check out www.baptistdistinctives.org.

Of course, I’m partial to the special role Union Baptist Association plays in the history of Texas Baptists. UBA was the first association formed in Texas (1840). At the second meeting of the association, two actions were taken that even today impact the priorities of our Texas Baptist witness and ministry. The first action was the creation of a “Missionary Society.” Today, missions and evangelism remain the heartbeat of Texas Baptists. The second significant action was the creation of an Education Society. From these efforts, Baylor University was chartered by the Republic of Texas in 1845.

So to the messengers to the 2009 meeting of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, we say “Howdy, partners. Welcome to Houston.”

"It's the economy, stupid" was a phrase in American politics widely used during Bill Clinton's successful 1992 presidential campaign against George H.W. Bush. For a time, President Bush was considered unbeatable because of foreign policy developments such as the end of the Cold War and the Persian Gulf War. The phrase, coined by Clinton campaign strategist James Carville, refers to the notion that Clinton was a better choice because Bush had not adequately addressed the economy, which had recently undergone a recession.

In order to keep the campaign on message, Carville hung a sign in Bill Clinton's Little Rock campaign headquarters that said:

1. Change vs. more of the same

2. The economy, stupid

3. Don't forget health care.

Although the sign was intended for an internal audience of campaign workers, the phrase became something of a slogan for the Clinton election campaign. Today the phrase is often repeated with various other words substituting for “economy,” like “It’s the deficit, stupid” or “It’s the war, stupid.” (For more, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It's_the_economy,_stupid.)

Today, three presidents later, the economy is still foremost in the news. Last week I heard on the news that economists say the recession is over. Last night the same newscasters announced the closing of Saturn, an American automobile manufacturer. Which is it? Is the economy getting better or worse? Likely, it’s both. Economists are saying the stimulus package has made a positive difference on the economy; that the economy has bottomed out and that the recession is over. That doesn’t mean that companies won’t continue laying people off, that industries won’t continue to close, that you won’t have to take another pay cut just to keep your job.

Things are tough. People suffer, therefore churches suffer, therefore the denominational groups like associations and state conventions suffer. I talk with church leaders across Houston and the U.S. almost daily. Everyone is saying the same thing. The new phrase is becoming “resource challenged” (meaning giving is down, they’ve got less money, they are cutting budgets, reducing staff, and making other adjustments). Even if the recession is bottoming out and the economy is turning around, there is going to be a delay before things get better in churches. Just like there is a lag or gap between the time you turn the water in your shower to hot and the time hot water actually begins to come out of the shower head, there is a gap between the time the economy begins to improve and churches experience an increase in giving.

What does this mean for UBA? Even though the economy is getting better, we are likely to be even more resource challenged in 2010 than we were in 2009, all of us: our associational staff, the Mission Centers, student ministry, all our ministries. We have a great team. We will find creative ways to get things done. That’s our commitment.

For us, it’s really not the economy; it’s the mission that drives us. We long to see God’s kingdom come in our various areas of responsibility: inner city work, student ministry, church work, leadership development, among blacks, white, Asians, hispanics, all people. We long to see our city transformed by the power of God. We long to see the Great Commission fulfilled in our lifetime. That’s why we do what we do.

That leads me to say thanks to all our ministry partners. We know times are tough for you as well. Thanks for sharing your resources with us. Thanks for keeping us in your budget. Thanks for believing that what we do is important enough that you continue supporting our work. As Robert Schuller once said, “Tough times never last. Tough people do.” We will last, and we will do it together.