Articles from March 2018

A diverse crowd of more than 300 united in worship and heeded the call to live in right relationships with God, self, others and creation at the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission’s Micah 6:8 Conference March 23-24 in Sugar Land, Texas.

The combined missions efforts of Texas Baptists over Spring Break involved more than 1,400 middle, high school and college students engaged in ministry across the United States. Projects ranged from rebuilding homes in Houston damaged by Hurricane Harvey, providing free van rides and pancakes to fellow college students in South Padre Island and engaging in evangelistic efforts alongside church planters in New York City.

Por Bryant Lee

Así dice el Señor Todopoderoso, el Dios de Israel, a todos los que he deportado de Jerusalén a Babilonia. “Construyan casas, planten huertos y coman de su fruto. Cásense, y tengan hijos e hijas; y casen a sus hijos e hijas, para que a su vez ellos les den nietos. Multiplíquense allá, y no disminuyan. Además, busquen el bienestar de la ciudad adonde los he deportado, y pidan al Señor por ella, porque el bienestar de ustedes depende del bienestar de la ciudad” (Jeremías 29:4-7, NVI).

La palabra “gentrificación” es análoga a “cáncer” en muchas comunidades para aquellos que han dado sus vidas por los desafíos y preocupaciones de estos vecindarios. La realidad es que las comunidades siempre evolucionan hacia formas y configuraciones nuevas en la medida que nuevas personas, negocios, ministerios y tipos de desarrollo cambian el panorama cultural.

From March 12-13 & March 15-16, the 580 students and student leaders volunteering with BOUNCE Student Disaster Recovery completed projects such as installing drywall, insulation, siding, painting and flooring for homeowners who had been affected by the disaster.

Por John Litzler

La libertad religiosa es una libertad fundamental de los Estados Unidos, pero un sinnúmero de asuntos legales relacionados con esta libertad se discuten en las cortes y en los medios de comunicación hoy en día.

De alguna manera, la decisión histórica de Obergefell de parte de la Suprema Corte en el 2015, la cual legalizó el matrimonio de personas del mismo sexo en los Estados Unidos,levantó más interrogantes que respuestas. En su opinión la Corte concluyó que “las parejas del mismo sexo pueden ejercer el derecho a contraer matrimonio” y dijo que “la Primera Enmienda asegura que las organizaciones religiosas y las personas reciban protección adecuada al buscar enseñar los principios que son tan enriquecedores y básicos en sus vidas y su fe”. ¿Qué sucede cuando estas dos libertades parecen contradecirse?

The word “gentrification” is akin to “cancer” in many communities for those who have given their lives to challenges and concerns of these neighborhoods. The reality is that communities are always evolving into new shapes and forms as new people, businesses, ministries, and development change the cultural landscape.

I hear the words of Jeremiah ringing in my ears from church planters to well-established pastors. However, I often sit with multiple community investors who harbor a sense of discomfort and disappointment with the changing context. When offering counsel, the question that must be answered, is what does God want? Does God care for those new residents as much as the existing residents and how do we live together to the glory of God?

By John Litzler

Religious liberty is a bedrock American freedom, but a number of legal issues related to this freedom are being sorted out in the courts and news media today.

In some ways, the Supreme Court’s landmark 2015 Obergefell decision legalizing same-sex marriage in the United States raised more questions than it provided answers. In its opinion the Court concluded that “same-sex couples may exercise the right to marry” and also said “the First Amendment ensures that religious organizations and persons are given proper protection as they seek to teach the principles that are so fulfilling and so central to their lives and faith.” What happens when these two liberties appear at odds with one another?

One example of this conflict between freedoms occurred in both California and Colorado. In each place, a same-sex couple, exercising their right to marry, sought to hire a baker to create a cake for the couple’s wedding and in each case the baker declined asserting that the baker’s religious beliefs prevented the baker from making a wedding cake for a same-sex marriage.

I was blessed with the opportunity to attend the Discovery Weekend for Go Now Missions from February 16-18. During those three days I learned a lot. I learned to trust in God, to listen to what He was telling me and to follow my heart. I went into the weekend with a feeling that I was supposed to go to a specific place.