He Gets Us

Commercials are a big part of the Superbowl event. The audience is huge and so is the price tag. It cost seven million dollars for a 30 second ad. Spending that much money requires the advertisers’ best efforts and, so, we are treated to clever moments of entertainment.

These commercials are teased in advance and discussed the next day. They seem to take on a life of their own and some become legendary. Of note this year are two commercials behind the “He Get Us” campaign. These well-crafted, attention grabbers speak powerfully about the love of Christ.

As one might expect, they have drawn negative reaction both by people outside the faith and people who include themselves in the Christian faith family. The attacks are not against the content of the ads nor on its subject. They are “ad hominem” attacks on the humans behind the campaign.

Among the criticisms was the idea that the $14 million would have been better spent on alleviating poverty. Isn’t that the argument Judas made when a woman anointed Jesus with an expensive jar of perfume? (Mark 14:4-5)

Imagine what could have been done with the billions spent to put on the event. Tickets started at $5911! Now throw in the salaries of the players… and coaches… and announcers. The critics did not focus on that. I don’t think alleviating poverty was the issue on anybody’s mind.

I appreciate the campaign’s effort at cooling down the heated rhetoric displayed in contemporary political debate. Our civil discourse has become decidedly uncivil. We can do better and people who call upon the name of Jesus must lead the way to peace. Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God.” (Matthew 5:9)

The ad campaign’s detractors don’t get it but “He gets us.”

Wise Up

 

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 1:7

It's good to be around wise people. They always know what to do. Wise friends can save us money, time and effort but pride will often get in the way of our seeking advice. The Bible warn that, “Fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

Wisdom is different from knowledge. It is knowing the right thing to do at the right time in the right way. Wisdom is the ability to make good judgments based on what you have learned from experience and experience is what we get when we don't get what we want. It stands to reason that wisdom takes time and is earned through some mistakes along the way.

Part of the problem is that we don't value the timelessness of wisdom. We fail to appreciate the experience of the past. I've never heard anyone use the phrase “modern wisdom.” Yet, we think we are wiser than those who came before us. On the other hand, those who came before us, also, thought themselves wiser.

Another challenge is that science gains knowledge much faster than society gains wisdom. We have made such tremendous leaps in our understanding of chemistry and genetics that we can now play with the basic building blocks of life itself. However, just because we can do something doesn't mean we should.

Thankfully, we can ask God for wisdom. “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God.” (James 1:5)

Solomon asked God for wisdom and God was pleased. He said, “I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both wealth and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. And if you walk in obedience to me and keep my decrees and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.” (1 Kings 3:9-14)

God's wisdom is different from what the world calls wisdom. “We preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness but to those who are called, both Jews & Greeks, Christ the power of God & the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, & the weakness of God is stronger than men.” (1 Corinthians 1:23-25)

The fear of God is, also, the end of wisdom. “If you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.” (Proverbs 2:1-5)

2022: The Year in Review

Every good and perfect gift is from above,
coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights,
who does not change like shifting shadows.
James 1:17

 2022: The Year in Pictures

God has given Baptist Temple many good and perfect gifts in 2022. The largest of these was a grant of $653,668 to help our Early Learning Center with the labor shortage and pandemic-related losses, thus enabling us to continue our vital service to the community. The grant was a result of federal funding provided to answer the national childcare crisis which has threatened to leave 6.5 million U.S. families without stable childcare. Once again, the Baptist Temple Early Learning Center has stepped up to meet a community need.

Often, God’s gifts come as people. Our new daycare director, Lakita Oats, brought 14 years’ experience and an MA in early childhood education combined with a passion for service and a desire to be used by God. Her cheerful countenance and steady leadership have kept us moving forward through troubled times.

Sometimes, God’s gifts come disguised as trouble. When the Early Learning Center’s van was stolen and vandalized this fall, several folks responded financially (including one large gift of $30,000) to help us recover. Most of the contributions came from strangers who learned of our plight on the news. While it is sad that there are people who would perpetrate such a senseless act of destruction, it became an occasion for joy as God demonstrated His provision. “Every good and perfect gift is from above.”

More financial blessings came from the Charity Ball Association ($110,000) and the Baptist Health Foundation ($118,000) to help renovate the gym. Over the last ten years, the gym has been used more than ever before. Jubilee uses it during the day, youth basketball teams practice at night, and adult recreation groups use it on the weekends. That’s a lot of wear and tear. Work has already begun and will include the floor, lights, staircase, locker rooms and bathrooms.

The gym renovation is not the only maintenance task we undertook in 2022. The roof of the Brunnemann Building had to be replaced after it started leaking, we changed all the exterior locks on the campus, and a SAGE grant (San Antonio for Growth on the Eastside) helped us to replace more exterior windows.

God is a wise investor. The servant who invested the master’s money received more. Jesus said, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Luke 6:38)

The fellowship hall looks more cheerful now with the replacement of our worn-out chairs. The new chairs are blue and are made of more durable materials. The Baptist Student Missions group from Baylor assembled the chairs while on a mission trip to San Antonio. They also painted the exterior of the Fritz Building.

Another mission team, the middle school choir from FBC Garland, stayed at BT this summer and ministered throughout San Antonio. They sang at a senior center and our Tuesday night community meal, distributed flyers and sorted food at the San Antonio Food Bank.

Fighting hunger is Baptist Temple’s most visible community ministry. Each Tuesday night and one Sunday a month, we provide a free meal to all who come. Our food pantry provided groceries for 4608 people in 2022. This is made possible by the generosity of Woodland Baptist Church, the Fellowship of San Antonio, San Antonio District 3 Councilwoman (Phyllis Viagran), Jubilee Highland Park Academy, the San Antonio Food Bank, Daily Bread Ministries, funding from the BGCT World Hunger Offering and the SABA hunger walk, and individual food donations.

We enjoyed four worship concerts throughout the year. The Southern Plainsmen, Westward Road, Don Wallace, and Simply Blessed communicated the gospel through music, while providing an occasion to invite new folks to our church. A fellowship meal helped to create bonds of friendship in an atmosphere of welcome.

This year we said goodbye to The Message Church and Rise Above Ministries but welcomed three new churches to our campus. One Voice Praise and Worship meet at one PM on Sunday in the main sanctuary and the Spanish-language church they sponsor meets at five PM. World Healing Church meets on Saturday evenings at six.

As the new year began, an eighth church joined our family. Casa de Oracion has begun to meet Sundays at 3 PM in the chapel. With Family Deaf Church, New Direction and Sunny Slope Baptist church and our new congregations the Baptist Temple Campus displays a diversity rarely witnessed in the American church.

The recovery from the COVID disruption continues. We have made a lot of progress but there is still room for growth. The community garden and Fritz Building are underutilized ministry assets. Our worship numbers remain 30% below the pre-COVID days but God is still at work. New people are coming every week. Increasing our efforts at discipleship continues to be the key to kingdom success.

 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,
and all these things shall be added to you.
Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow,
for tomorrow will worry about its own things.
Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Matthew 6:33-34