De todas las historias de la bíblica, una de mis favoritas es la visión de los huesos secos en el capítulo 37 del libro de Ezequiel. Dios lleva al profeta a un valle que según los primeros versos estaba “lleno de huesos” y “secos en gran manera.” Entonces Dios le hace una pregunta muy extraña al profeta: “vivirán esos huesos?” A lo que el profeta contestó, “solo tú, Señor lo sabes.” Dios quiere y puede darle vida a su iglesia. Nosotros deseamos ayudarle.

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Of all the stories in the Bible, one of my favorites is the vision of dry bones in Ezekiel 37. God takes the prophet to a valley that was "full of bones" and "dried up in a great way" according to the first verses. Then, God asks a very strange question to the prophet: "Will those bones live?" To which the prophet replied, "Sovereign Lord, you alone know." God is willing and able to give new life to your church, and we want to help you, as well.

In a dramatic scene of the 1987 movie The Untouchables, Jim Malone presses Eliot Ness on what he is willing to do to finally catch Al Capone. Though I'm certainly not advocating for illegal activity as Malone was, I think it's a great picture of what we need to innovate and reach gospel saturation in and beyond our city.

If your way isn’t working where you are, are you prepared to learn a new way? As leaders, we need to be asking ourselves and allowing trusted people in our lives to ask us the same question: “What are you prepared to do?”  

Every month, we feature people, events, and ministries we want our people to pray for. So, join us as we pray to and praise God for what He's done, because we're always better together.

#UBAPraysTogether

The church is getting some tragically and disturbingly well-deserved bad press these days. I do not excuse the bad actions of any who are a part of the church. We are all responsible for being light and salt in our world, and the church must take care to provide a safe and secure environment.

However, when my adult daughter and I have conversations about the state of the church, I remind her of her grandma, a powerful example of a loving life. Even in the midst of bad publicity we've brought upon ourselves, the church is still filled with good people quietly doing good things. That's worth taking a moment to remember.

“We need more planters.”

I can remember, only a few years ago, speaking with representatives at some of our national church planting agencies and hearing they were at capacity. At the time, the conversation was centered on increased efficiency in equipping. Processes needed to be streamlined in order to run through more planters. Capacity was the issue back then. Now, it's scarcity.

With both of these sending problems, the answer lies in the way we think—and more importantly act—as sending churches. How do we move past mere rhetoric to actually become sending churches?

Have you ever thought of art as a form of outreach? If we do it right, art can bring glory to God and display his greatness to mankind in a way that causes people to follow him. That sounds a lot like outreach to me! I recently wrote an article encouraging leaders to value art in ministry, but what about the creatives in our midst?

Artists can serve to aid in evangelism, discipleship, and the edification of others in the church, as well. So, how can we get started? Here are a few suggestions for the artists (and wannabes) among us.

Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:1-3 that in order to walk worthy of our calling in Christ Jesus, members of the church body must work diligently to keep the spirit of peace which holds us together. But why? Why is the unity of the church such a major doctrinal concern? If it is “work,"—and especially if it is a work in need of “diligence,”—then there must be something larger at stake when unity in the church is failing. Why is unity important in the church body? Allow me to offer three biblical reasons from Ephesians 4.

In my role in ministry, I have a lot of people confide in me that they feel they are failing with personal evangelism. You may be one of those people. Honestly, I feel I am at times. Truth is, I am afraid too many believers (here in the US that is) are struggling in this area. That’s one reason why I'm so excited about a new initiative by the Southern Baptist Convention called “Who's Your One?”

Why is this discussion of a leader’s power so important? Recent issues have made this question extremely pressing for us. Power is possibly the greatest asset towards leadership. It provides leaders with the potential to do good or bring harm. Power allows leaders to build trust and thus gain the voluntary and legitimate permission of people to influence them, or power can be used in such a way that it undermines trust and legitimacy. Abraham Joshua Heschel writes, “Nothing is more useful than power, nothing more frightful.”

Since this is true, the way a leader uses power is the truest test of his or her character. God gives power and position for the sake of his people, not for the privilege of the leader.

I just finished the 1st of The Houston Chronicle 3-part series on sexual abuse within Southern Baptist churches. Like other SBC pastors and church members, my response is one of grief and sadness for the victims and frustration for those who were never brought to justice. Yet, I also understand that while calls for a response and a denominational fix have been given for years, the nature of church autonomy—as addressed briefly in the article—puts the SBC in a unique position as compared to other denominations. Nevertheless, denominational polity is not something that will concern most readers of the story. For those who are victims of such abuse, it shouldn't.