Baptist Reflections:
Bill Jones
TBC Newsletter
August 2008

ASKING YOU TO PARTNER WITH TEXAS BAPTISTS COMMITTED

by Bill Jones
Communications Editor, Texas Baptists Committed; and member, TBC Board of Directors

(Originally published July 22)

As we prepare to gather for our annual Texas Baptists Committed Convocation next month, I want to take a moment to consider exactly what TBC is all about.

Some still think of TBC purely in terms of its historic focus on mobilizing Texas Baptists to support TBC-endorsed candidates for BGCT office year in and year out . . . candidates committed to fighting Fundamentalist control and supporting freedom. Newspaper articles – by Baptist newsjournals and others – continue to refer to TBC as a “political organization.”

Well, the battle for Baptist freedom is certainly not over, but it has changed. The threat is less overt, more subtle, but no less real. After all, the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention continues its efforts to draw churches away from the BGCT.

But Texas Baptists Committed is a dynamic organization that seeks to meet the needs of today and tomorrow, not yesterday. TBC, under David Currie's leadership, has always sought to educate and inform. For the past year, however, David and our Board have been working together to give even greater emphasis and breadth to that focus to enable us to respond to the needs of Texas Baptists today and well into the future. Although we can never afford to neglect the “politics” of the moment, our focus extends much further than that. We are focusing on educating and equipping every generation of Texas Baptists so that they will be prepared to handle the challenges and threats posed to them in the years to come.

At our Convocation in Dallas next month, we will be presenting four panel discussions that will share details concerning some of the new TBC initiatives targeted at equipping Texas Baptists, or – as the Convocation theme puts it – “helping Texas Baptists stay Baptist.” I’m excited about these programs, and I believe that they will get you excited about the future of TBC.

Following are the four areas of TBC work that our Convocation panels will share:

This is just the beginning. Our TBC Board continues to explore ways in which we can partner with the BGCT to address the needs of Texas Baptists. So there will be additional initiatives down the road. But there will be a central focus to all of them – encouraging generations of distinctively Baptist believers and distinctively Baptist churches.

Many of us remember a time when Training Union taught us what it means to be a Baptist. We grew up learning, every Sunday night, the principles that Baptists have held dear ever since those first Baptist churches were formed in England and Holland in the early 17th century.

But Training Union is a distant memory today. Many members of Baptist churches know no reason for being Baptist except that the Baptist church is the closest . . . or the one with the most comfortable worship style . . . or the one with the best youth program for their kids. Teaching them the importance of historic Baptist distinctives – such as soul competency, the priesthood of every believer, and separation of church and state – is the responsibility of the free and faithful Baptists in their church.

That’s where Texas Baptists Committed comes in. We seek to partner with the BGCT in providing Texas Baptist churches with resources for teaching and promoting Baptist distinctives.

But Texas Baptists Committed is YOU. I hope that these new TBC programs will excite you to the point of wanting to actively participate in, and support, them. Please partner with us in this work. Do you want to teach a series on Baptist heritage and distinctives in your Sunday School class? We can help you find the source materials that you need. Is your church looking for a pastor? Let us know, and we can send you our “Help for Pastor Search Committee Packet.” Do you want to introduce your church to what TBC is doing? We plan to take our Convocation program to churches around the state this fall. Ask your pastor to contact our office and offer to host one of these programs.

Finally, please contribute financially as the Lord leads you. In fact, if you find that one of the new TBC programs being presented during our Convocation is of special urgency to you, feel free to send a donation and designate it for that program.

These are just a few of the ways in which you can be involved. If you want to partner with us, we’ll find a way for you to get involved.

New generations of Baptists – young and old – need to know that Baptist is more than just another denominational name. It’s a way of living out the Gospel of Jesus Christ . . . a way of sharing the freedom that Christ gives . . . a way of taking personal responsibility for one’s own relationship with God. It means taking a stand for freedom and against any who seek to control that relationship.

Texas Baptists Committed is looking for partners . . . free and faithful Baptist partners to share in this great work. We invite you to take a fresh look at what TBC is doing, to get excited about the future of Texas Baptists, and to become active partners with us.