Loving Houston is almost upon us!

Loving Houston is less than a month away and momentum continues to build as churches and individuals volunteer to serve daily.

To date over 30 churches and ministires, representing hundreds and hundreds of volunteers, will spread across our city demonstrating the love of Christ through acts of kindness -- repairing roofs, building wheelchair access ramps, refurbishing homes and schools, installing windows, replacing siding, cleaning parks and cemeteries … the list goes on and on.  To read Reagan O'Hare's informative story on scope of Loving Houston, click here. 

Churches of all sizes are responding.  Some of our larger churches--like Sagemont, Champion Forest and Church Without Walls--are sending hundreds of volunteers.  Our smaller churches can't marshall hundreds of volunteers and do lots of projects, but they are doing things in a big way nonetheless.  Memorial Drive Baptist Church, for example, will working with a children's academy to do general clean up, provide mulch and gravel for the playground, and upgrade the academy's computers and playground equipment.  Sometimes churches are partnering to work on projects.  Three churches--Woodridge, Kingwood First, and Humble Area's First--are working together on several projects in the Denver Harbor area.

Groups of all kinds are volunteering -- men's ministries, Sunday School classes, mission teams, youth groups, RAs, individuals.  College students and disaster recovery workers are coming in from across the state to participate. 

And it's not just UBA churches that are participating.   What began as a UBA initiative has expanded to involve the larger body of Christ in the city as evangelical churches and ministries join us in Loving Houston. We've discovered that we don't need to agree on all aspects of theology to serve side by side in the name of Jesus and be a witness to our communities. I am so grateful for those church leaders who are taking a chance, going outside the safe confines of their own denominational boundaries and saying "Loving Houston is of God.  We must be a part."  

Reflecting on what he sees happening, Jeff McGee, associate pastor of Calvary Community Church (a UBA congregation) said: "Loving Houston gives us the chance to demonstrate tangibly the love of Jesus to our city, to honor those in leadership (by responding to requests from the mayor and community leaders), and to promote unity among believers across Greater Houston as we take on a large effort together and use our resources and talents for good."  Well said, Jeff!

For all that have committed to serve, though, we still need more volunteers!  If your church or group hasn't gotten involved yet, it's  not too late.  You can sign up to work on a project (as either a group or individual) by going to the Loving Houston Project Page, finding a project and volunteering.  

We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Mike Kraxberger (Loving Houston project manager), John Clayton (UBA volunteer) and Gerald Davis (BGCT, disaster recovery) for their outstanding leadership and service in coordinating all the Loving Houston projects, and to Dian Kidd for her behind the scenes project support work.

Prayer and spiritual preparation has been an important part of Loving Houston.  Thousands of folks have used the  prayer guide to pray for our city.  Hundreds have prayer walked through the six neighborhoods where we will serve.  Several of the communities are having revival meeting in preparation for Loving Houston.  We owe a great debt of gratitude to Mary Ann Bridgwater, Rickie Bradshaw and Brian Gowan for their leadership in this area.

To see a list of church and ministries that have committed to participate in Loving Houston thus far, click here.  To stay up to date on all the events surrounding Loving Houston, click here.

Athletes Take Note

If you love to compete,  we have road races Saturday morning June 1 at the University of Houston and a 3 on 3 basketball tournament at Second Baptist Church (Woodway campus) June 7-8. You can sign up for these events on the Loving Houston Events Page. 

Loving Houston Proclamation from the Mayor

One other exciting note…I've received word from the Mayor's office that Mayor Parker will issue a proclamation declaring June 1-8, 2013 Loving Houston Week in our city. More details as they are available.

Is the church full of hypocrites?

Lifeway commissioned a survey in 2007.  One of the key questions folks where asked was about what they thought of the church.  

Their answer?  They said the church was full of hypocrites.  They said we care more about organized religion than loving God and loving people.

We might not like their answer, but consider it from their perspective.  

We do often get caught up in the finer points of organized religion.  We fuss about theology and doctrine.  We argue about music or debate whether to tithe on gross or net income.  We get into sometimes heated discussions over whether tongues are valid today, what it means to be filled with the Spirit, and whether salvation is predestined by God or the result of our free will choice to follow Jesus.  

I wonder what Jesus would think of all this.  

When Jesus was asked by a lawyer how a person inherited eternal life, he didn’t talk with him about theology (and there was much conversation about theology in Jesus’ day).  Jesus asked him, What’s written in the Law? (or we might say, What does the Bible say?)

The lawyer answered, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and love your neighbor as your self.  Do that, Jesus said, and you will have eternal life.

So just what does it mean for us to love God and love our neighbor as ourselves?  That question is at the heart and core of Loving Houston.  When our leadership team began designing Loving Houston we wanted to develop a mechanism by which we could say to the city that we, the church, do love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and one of the ways we show that is by loving our neighbor(hoods) as ourselves.

That’s why we met with Mayor Parker last year and asked what were the most under-resourced neighborhoods in our city.

That’s why we went to these communities and asked them to help us identify projects--things we could do--that would help them, make their homes and neighborhoods better places to live and their schools better places to learn.

That’s why we are asking churches to be part of Loving Houston, to adopt one of these neighborhoods, take on one or more of these projects, and go into these communities the first week of June.  

It’s all part of our commitment to “mobilize churches to take on lostness” because we hope while we are serving people will come up and ask, “who are you and why are you doing this?”  Then we have an open door to share the gospel with them.

Sharing the gospel is our ultimate motive, but not an ulterior motive.  We will serve them because we are Christians whether they become Christians or not.

 If you, your church, your class, your group hasn’t signed up to participate in Loving Houston yet, I hope you will soon.  You can do that by going to www.lovinghouston.net.  There you can find a prayer guide for the city, see all the neighborhoods where we will work, overview the projects and sign up for the one you want to do.

You can even find more information about some fun events we have planned -- 5k, 10k and Family Fun walk plus a 3-on-3 basketball tournament.

By participating in Loving Houston  we can show the city that our churches are not fully of hypocrites who care more about organized religion than loving God and loving people.  We love God and we love them and we'll prove it by what we do!

God willing, Loving Houston is going to be one of the greatest initiatives in UBA history.  It will be if you’ll join us. 

Loving Houston: Lucky 13

The number 13 is the Rodney Dangerfield of numbers.  It gets no respect.  Adding insult to injury, 13 comes right after 12 which seems to get all the breaks.

Consider, there are 12 months in a year, 12 items in a dozen, Jacob had 12 sons, Israel had 12 tribes, Jesus had 12 disciples.  Mathematicians consider 12 is a “sublime number,” a number that has a perfect number of divisors, and the sum of its divisors is also a perfect number.  Nobody considers 13 a sublime number.

Twelve seems to get all the breaks.  Poor 13.  What does it get?  It gets saddled with lots of superstition and a bad reputation.  Friday the 13^th is an unluckiest day on the calendar.  Companies and manufacturers use ways of labeling that avoid the number 13.  Hotels and tall buildings skip 13 when numbering floors.  (Do folks on the 14^th floor know they are really on the 13^th?  Does it bother them?)  It’s considered unlucky to have 13 guests at a table.  It’s said a hangman’s noose had 13 turns … anything less would not snap a neck.  The fear of 13 is so bad it even has it’s own clinically recognized phobia (Triskaidekaphobia).  Now how bad is that?  Poor 13.

(The Aggies like the number 12, too!  I wonder if Johnny "Football" Manziel would have won the Heisman Trophy if he'd worn number 13.)

So you might think I’m despairing about turning the page on the calendar that ends 2012 and begins 2013.  Just the opposite is true!  As I look ahead to 2013 I’m excited!  I think it may well be looked back upon in the years ahead as one of the greatest years in UBA history.  

Why am I so excited about 2013?  Loving Houston.  What is Loving Houston?  Loving Houston is about doing good deeds while sharing the good news of the gospel.  It is built upon the idea that while Jesus went about sharing the good news, he also went about doing good.  In UBA, we want to mobilize churches to follow Jesus example.  Working with Houston Mayor Annise Parker and some of her senior leadership team, we have identified four areas of the city and specific projects where the church can serve and bless our city.  Working with such groups as Baptist Men, Disaster Relief, Habitat for Humanity, community development groups like Agape and  Generation One, area churches and folks coming in for the Southern Baptist Convention, we hope to mobilize thousands of folks to make a demonstrable difference for eight days in four communities across our city (June 1-8).  

 The kick off to Loving Houston will be a city-wide worship service Sunday night, February 24^th, at the Woodway Campus of Second Baptist Church.  The following day we will host a day long training conference to help us prepare for Loving Houston.  Mark it down on your calendar and plan to come.   You’ll be so glad you did!  

 Information about Loving Houston will soon be available on a dedicated website.  There you will be able to find about the project, the locations, and the volunteers needed.  You will also be able to take a virtual prayer walk of the areas in the city where we will be working.  You will find a downloadable thirty-day prayer guide which you, your Bible study class, your mission group or your church can use to pray for the city.

Undertaking a project of this size and scope won't be easy.  In all likelihood, it will be the most significant project we've ever undertaken as an association.  What it will do is glorify God, serve people in need and provide a wonderful opportunity to make the love of Christ real and tangible to people who need Him.

Please, set aside Sunday and Monday, February 24-25 for the Loving Houston Launch and some time during the week of June 1-8 to serve the Lord by working in the city.

 

 

Loving Houston

UBA is about to undertake one of the greatest initiatives in her history, and it’s called Loving Houston. Loving Houston will be a three-year initiative involving three major components.  The first part is now behind us.  It was the Transforming a City Conference featuring Eric Swanson and Sam Williams.  If you missed it, we will post some videos online so you can get a sense of what we did.

 

The second part is scheduled for February 24-25, 2013.  It will be a Loving Houston Mobilization Extravaganza, starting with a city-wide Sunday night service hosted by Second Baptist Church followed by conferences the following day.  The purpose of the conferences will be to better equip us to take on lostness and to prepare us for a major initiative next June … our Loving Houston:  Crossover 2013 Initiative.

 

Let me tell you about Loving Houston:  Crossover 2013.  The Southern Baptist Convention will be meeting here next June (2013).  As part of their meetings, volunteers come from across the country to share the love of Christ in word and deed with folks in the host city.  The North American Mission Board of the SBC asked if we could organize opportunities for them to serve while they are here.  We went way beyond that!

 

Next June we want to mobilize our churches (and volunteers who come into our city to help us) to love on our city!  

 

Once, after Jesus had been teaching all day, he saw that folks were hungry and had no food.  He told the disciples to feed them.  How?, they objected.  We don’t have any food.  You know that story.  It’s commonly called the feeding of the 5,000 (though actually there were many more there than that if you read the story closely).  Jesus told them to gather what resources they had, small amounts of bread and fish, blessed it and used it to feed the people. 

 

In that same vein, as we look around our city we see lots of needs … areas of our city that need beautification, homes that need to be fixed, widows and widowers that need to be cared for, folks that need medical and dental assistance … the list goes on and on.  We want to do something to help them, to meet their needs.  We won’t be doing it so they become Christians so much as we’ll be doing it because we are Christians, Christians who want to show the love of Christ in deed and word to our city.

 

We will have some fun along the way … sports clinics, fun runs, three-on-three basketball tournaments … and we will use events like that to build relationships, share the gospel and raise money to fund the projects.  We will invite Baptist Builders, Disaster Relief teams, student teams from across the country and a host of others to help us.  But the heart of it all will be the participation of our UBA churches.

 

It’s going to be exciting, fun and rewarding in so many ways.  My hope, when all is said and done, is that lots will be said and done to show Christ real and the church relevant to our city.

FAQs about My Sabbatical

It's the first day back in the office and I've already been asked countless times, "So, how was your sabbatical?"  That's the first question, then others usually follow, so I thought I'd provide a FAQ sheet on my sabbatical.  Here goes.

How was your sabbatical?

Great.  Perhaps you'd expect me to have a more prosaic word at my disposal than "great," but in truth that's what it was … it was great.  

What made it "great" for you?

A series of things.  I had a number of great experiences, read some great books, took some great courses in areas where I wanted to learn more.  Like I said, it was great.

Can you be a little more specific?  What kinds of experiences?

I was invited to spent a few days in North Carolina speaking to the state convention's executive leadership and the state directors of missions about thinking like a missionary and it was fantastic.  Among the participants were five young adults involved in a future leaders mentoring program.  During our first session together where we focused on the Great Commission, a young woman left the meeting.  It seemed something was troubling her.  She returned after the session to talk.  God had made it clear during the session that he wanted her to serve as a career missionary, and the call was so clear and compelling she had to step out to compose herself.  In our final session she shared her call to missions, a fitting conclusion to our time together.

I also spoke at the first Send North America conference in Atlanta, led a pastor's retreat in Utah, met with a group of key directors of missions in Portland, Oregon, had lunch with Drayton McLane and Lewis Timberlake in Austin … I had some great experiences.

In what areas did you focus your learning?

I wanted to learn more about the brain and how it functions.  I wanted to study decision-making because I think that's one of the critical skills for every leader.  I wanted to develop the right side of my brain, the creative side, so I studied things like the arts and story-telling.

What did you read?  How did you go about studying in these areas? 

I read several books:  Walter Isaacson's biographies about Steve Jobs and Einstein, Jim Collin's latest book, Great by Choice, Jonah Leher's How We Decide, and portions of Michael Roberto's Why Great Leaders don't take YES for an Answer (which I intend to finish).

Just before I began my sabbatical I discovered The Great Courses (www.thegreatcourses.com).  They video take some of the nation's leading professors teaching on a variety of subjects.  They courses are roughly the equivalent of a semester of college (or grad school) lectures on a topic, along with a course book and follow up questions for the really motivated.  

I "took" courses in neuroscience (the study of the brain), game theory (which is about critical decision-making), Einstein's relativity and the quantum revolution, decision-making (your deceptive mind and critical decision-making), even a course on innovation and how to think differently.  

The arts have always fascinated me, music much more so than other types of art.  So I tried to expand my understanding of music and the arts as well.  I also have a number of other courses I intend to take, things like creative writing (guess it's obvious I haven't completed this one yet) and the great ideas that have shaped our lives.  

Discovering the Great Courses was one of the best things about my sabbatical. 

Did you do anything just for yourself?

Sure.  I began running again, lost a few pounds, and got in better shape physically.  Sandra and I went on a cruise (our first but we don't plan for it to be our last!).  I played golf with friends.  So it wasn't all work with no play.  But I'd have done those things whether I was on sabbatical or not (except for the running).

Anything else?

I took time to think, to reflect, to ponder, to pray.  Those are things that we do in spurts, but sabbatical provides more extended time for these activities.  Those were perhaps my richest moments.

So any insights you gained?  Any final impressions?

Lots of insights, and I'll share them along the way.  Looking back, I do think I tried to do too much, and I didn't get everything done that I wanted.  That probably reflects my work ethic and desire for folks to appreciate the importance of taking a sabbatical.  It's time away, but it's time spent sharpening my skills as a learner and leader, so I wanted to ensure it was time well spent.

I still have one thing left.  This weekend Sandra and I will head to east Tennessee for the national story-telling festival.  When I come back, I'm sure to have some great stories to tell.

Stepping Back, Going Forward

Creativity must be hard work, even for God, for the Bible says after he created the heavens and the earth God "rested from his work of creation" (Gen. 2:3).  I really don't believe God stopped because he needed a break, but I think he stopped because he was through … at least to that point.  But in stopping, taking a break, God established a pattern for us to follow.  Later Moses would teach that every seventh day all of us should rest.  Every seventh year even the land should rest.  Let it lie fallow, Moses said.  Don't exhaust it by planting a crop every year.

When Jesus walked among us, he took time to get away from the crowd apparently to think through what was going on, to pray, to plan his next steps, and to make significant decisions.

So the idea of getting away, changing your routine, taking time to reflect, think, pray, ponder, plan, and anticipate must be a good thing.  Apparently the leaders of UBA thought so many years ago when they instituted our sabbatical policy.  Once every five years UBA leadership is permitted to take three months for a sabbatical.  

It's not a vacation.  I'm sure the first thing many think about when they hear that is, "wow, I wish I had a three month vacation."  I wish I had a three month vacation as well because that is not what a sabbatical is.  Sure, there is a break from driving into the office each day, and the number of appointments and meetings is significantly curtailed.  But that's so we can focus on other things, things vitally important to our work.

During my first two sabbaticals I studied the concept of metropolitan areas (the city), the missional church and church planting movements around the world.  In the second sabbatical I studied the effectiveness of using church planting methodology in Europe and the US.  In both instances my research became foundational to the work we are doing in UBA and the course for our work in UBA in the years that followed.  

Later this summer I will begin my third sabbatical (July through September).   Each year, whether on sabbatical or not, I choose a topic and delve deeply into it.  In recent years I have studied creativity and entrepreneurial leadership.  One of the books I read last year, Daniel Pink's A Whole New Mind, became formative as I planned my sabbatical.  I want to build on my study of creativity and entrepreneurial leadership by studying two widely divergent topics:  the arts and the brain.  I will study the arts (music, painting) to learn to be more creative, as Pink describes it to cultivate the right side of the brain.  My undergraduate degree was in psychology.  Even as a teenager I knew that we needed to understand the brain in order to understand people.  So I'll be studying the the brain and the field of neuroscience.  I'll also take courses and read in the area of  decision making (probably laying the groundwork for future seminars in the area).  (For fun I even plan to take a course in physics and everyday life.  Yep, that's what us nerds do.)  In doing so I believe I will enhance my ability to lead UBA.  In addition, I have been invited to speak at a number of events across the US and outside our country where I'll be sharing the UBA story. 

I am able to take a sabbatical because we have such a highly competent staff and great leadership in UBA.  The moderator team (Jeff Waldo, Jeff Berger and Jerry Edmonson) will work closely with the UBA director team (Dian Kidd and Ron Towery) and our great staff in my absence and provide stellar leadership.  UBA won't miss a beat.  That's mildly disconcerting, I'll admit, but highly satisfying knowing that the work will go forward.  

I haven't decided whether to post anything in this blog while I'm on sabbatical.  If I do, I probably will post them as I want, not be bound by the strictures of a monthly article.  So check back from time to time.  When I return we will be focusing on 2013 and the great things we are planning ahead for UBA.  I can't wait to tell you about all that's in store.

As I close, let me encourage our churches to consider offering a sabbatical for your pastor and staff.  Those who have done so talk about how valuable it is to both the church and their leaders.  If you'd like to know more about UBA churches that offer their staff sabbaticals, call Dian Kidd cause I'm going to be on sabbatical.  :-)

Do Associations Have a Future?

There was a time when, if E. F. Hutton spoke, people listened.  At least, that's what their advertisement would have us believe.  When people wanted an instant picture, they would take out their Polaroid camera, snap a picture and wait a minute for the image to magically appear.  When they needed to travel around the world, they would board the most experienced airlines in the world, Pan American, and fly away.  But not today.  The stock market crash of 1987 and some scandals inside the organization led to the demise of E. F. Hutton.  Digital photography put Polaroid out of business.  And a decade of financial losses grounded Pan Am.
Remember these companies?  Trans World Airlines, PaineWebber (brokerage company), General Foods (Sanka, Kool-Aid), MCI Worldcom, Arthur Anderson (consultants), Woolworths, Standard Oil, Eastern Airlines, The Pullman Company (the railroad folks).
How about these Houston companies:  Continental Airlines, Compaq Computer, Enron.
What do all these companies have in common?  They no longer exist.
Last week I was in Atlanta at the North American Mission Board for a meeting to discuss the future of associations.  Several directors of missions from across the country were invited to the white board discussion.  We met to discuss whether or not associations have a future in Baptist life, and if they do, what is it?
As you might expect, I believe associations do have a future, but there are others who think associations are going the way of E. F. Hutton and Pan Am.  Times are changing, they say, and associations are no longer needed like they once were.  There is some truth to that.  Once our national agencies and state conventions developed programs and tools for churches, and the local association was the main place to learn about these and to receive training.  But now we have other ways folks can access training:  internet (webcasts, online training), YouTube, DVDs.  Once geography and doctrine determined affiliation.  If you were Baptist, you were probably linked to other churches in your county or city through the local association.  But today geography and doctrine are much less of a determining factor.  New kinds of associations are emerging based on affinity that often even cross denominational lines:  e.g., Willow Creek Association, Saddleback Association, Acts 29.  The association, they say, is going to go away.
Time are changing.  Churches no longer need the association for some things as they once did, but that doesn't mean associations are no longer needed.  The association was formed because people wanted to get together and churches wanted to work together.  That hasn't changed.  People will always want to get together with like-minded folks.  They will always choose to work with others because they know they can do more working together than they can working alone.  Associationalism won't go away, but local Baptist associations will need to change in order to remain a vital part of Baptist life. **
When I graduated from college, a friend gave me a little book packed full of short, pithy sayings.  One I've never forgotten:  when you're through changing, you're through.  What I want you to know is this:  in UBA we are constantly changing in order to serve you better.  We believe we are successful when our churches are successful because we exist to help and support the work of the local church (it's not the other way around).
Do associations have a future?  Yes, for now … and for as long as they are catalysts for advancing God's kingdom through the local church.
__________________
** In other blogs I've written about the shifts taking place in UBA.  There have been three primary iterations of the association in our history.  Today we are on what I've called UBA 4.0.  I'll not go through those again.  If you are interested, go back to the blogs from March through May, 2010.