The unforgotten

“Can you do a graveside service for my mother?” asked a stranger over the phone.

His mother and father had been members of Baptist Temple during their empty nest years and into their senior adulthood. When his father died, his mom joined a Sunday School class of older widows, who looked after one another.

After a few years, her son moved Mom to an assisted living facility in Dallas, near where he now lived. For over ten years, her Sunday school class sent greeting cards on her birthday and other holidays. He was blessed that Baptist Temple had not forgotten his mother.

She was to be buried next to her husband in San Antonio. Her funeral had been in Dallas, but her family deemed it appropriate that her church, who had not forgotten her, say a few words at her graveside.

It is easy to forget our elderly church members who can no longer attend worship services. Maintaining contact requires conscious effort. Many churches appoint a team to minister to home-bound members and those in assisted living. In smaller churches one or more deacons take on that ministry. Phone calls, greeting cards and the church newsletter maintain the lines of communication.

Not all absentees are elderly. “I used to be very active in my church,” a sharply dressed businesswoman once told me.

She and husband were part of a very active church social group but, when her husband became ill, they were unable to participate in the group’s social activities. As his condition worsened, she stayed at home to care for him. Following his death, her focus became running the family business and church became part of the past.

I am certain that many churches have similar stories. We must do better. Deacons, Bible study teachers, and small group leaders are on the front lines on ministry and, therefore, best positioned to keep watch over the sheep. Moses divided people into groups of ten, giving each group a capable spiritual leader, ensuring the highest quality care. Each person under a church’s ministry ought to have someone who will miss them when they are absent, who will notice when they have a problem, who will walk alongside them when they are hurting and be able to help.

Not all absentees are hurting. One couple, who had stopped attending church and Bible study, weren’t facing troubled times. They had lost interest and found it easier to stay home. Their Bible study class stayed in touch, however, sending them monthly invitations to social events (people are usually not offended by party invitations). After almost a year, the couple showed up at an ice cream social and subsequently returned to church.

Jesus taught us, in the parable of the lost sheep, the importance of even one person. Let no one be forgotten. Phone calls, texts, and emails are free. Not everyone appreciates contact but erring on the side of being annoying to a prickly person, is better than letting a lonely person be forgotten.

Ben finds a home

“We have a bum sleeping on our porch,” said a thrift store volunteer early one morning as the manager walked through the door.

“His name is Ben, and God sent him as a guardian angel to watch over our store at night,” said the thrift store manager.

Ben* had been sleeping under the awning by the front door, next to a shopping cart filled with everything he owned. He had come to the Baptist Temple Food Pantry seeking food. He sat down with a pantry minister who asked questions designed to help get to the roots of why he needed help and help him to develop a plan towards greater independence. It turns out Ben, a veteran, was living on the streets and has disabilities. He probably had benefits available.

Everyone who comes into the pantry sits with a minister to fill out the needed paperwork and match the needs of the client to available resources. More importantly, they offer a listening ear, words of comfort, and prayer in an unhurried atmosphere. Often people who find themselves in grim circumstances feel unwanted and unheard.

After a little research, the minister determined that Ben did have benefits available. But for Ben to receive his benefits, he needed a bank account in which to deposit funds. That required an ID card. Another hurdle.

Once the ID card was acquired, the next hurdle was a mailing address to receive his debit card. So, Baptist Temple became his mailing address, and we diligently awaited the arrival of the plastic card that would lead to housing for Ben. Meanwhile, he slept under the awning.

It took a lot of steps to find housing for Ben. This would have been an overwhelming task to tackle alone. People living on the streets lack the connection of friends and family to help them through tough times. Life can be challenging to navigate alone as problems and setbacks snowball into catastrophe.

Networking is a key element in business success, but it is essential for survival. Baptist Temple stepped in, becoming that network for Ben. Of course, the issue of homelessness is complex, especially when addiction and mental illness come into play, but there are some things we can do to help. Jesus taught us, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” (MT 25:40)

God, grant me the serenity to

Accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference.
Reinhold Niebuhr

*Not his real name.

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Stewardship of a legacy

An oasis of help in a desert of need

God’s hand was evident when, after seven moves in seven years, Baptist Temple found its permanent home. It was an idyllic location, former pastureland, in a prosperous suburb on the growing edge of a city on the move. In the right place at the right time for the Baby Boom, the church exploded in growth, with never ending building programs and property acquisitions.

In the life of most churches there comes a peak in growth followed by a slow decline. Attendance drops, donations decrease, and buildings age. As a result, many churches find themselves unable to afford building maintenance and are forced to close. Lifeway Research found that, in 2019, three thousand new churches opened and forty-five hundred closed.

These church closures often occur in areas of need where the people are too poor to support a building that was built by a more affluent congregation. Yet, the need is still there. These buildings, dedicated to God, built by the prayers, the dollars, the blood, sweat, and tears of past generations are being lost to the Kingdom. At the same time, new church starting efforts often focus on growing parts of the city. I understand that is where the people (and the money) are, but this trend increases the growing disparity between the haves and the have nots.

Inner city churches usually provide critical services to under-resourced neighborhoods. Eighty percent or more of the people who are served are not church members. Church closures also mean shutting down food pantries, youth programs, addiction treatment support, and other vital ministries. In the inner city, the property is as much a ministry as the programs it hosts.

BT has beautiful, well-built facilities. We have nearly eight thousand square feet on three acres that are strategically located near an interstate exit that connects with three other highways and has access to public transportation. Once again, God’s hand is evident in the longevity and continuing Kingdom value of this mission station that has repeatedly adapted its ministry to the changing needs of its community, maximizing the resources provided by God through faithful people. It is a significant legacy of the faithfulness of past church members, who had a vision of establishing a lighthouse, shining God’s love on Highland Park.

While we have done a commendable job of sharing our space in a way that divides our expenses and significantly multiplies our ministries, there is not a lot of money available from the small churches and nonprofit organizations with whom we share our facility. Because of this, we have had to subsidize these groups, offering space at below fair market value. We have placed ministry over money, relying on God to fill on the gaps. And He has.

Donations from mission minded individuals beyond our church membership have helped sustain our efforts at demonstrating God’s love in practical ways to our neighbors. Now, perhaps more than ever, Baptist Temple is THE church for our community. The need has never been greater.

Click here to donate now to support our fight against generational poverty.