Pan Dulce

Kindred Spirit: Rick Warren and the PEACE Plan

On Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday of this week I participated in the annual meeting of the Baptist General Convention of Texas in Amarillo. It was a good convention and a great time of connecting with friends I have not seen in a while. The usual business was conducted but what really arrested my attention in the three day meeting was the message by Rick Warren. You may have heard of the PEACE plan and Rick’s testimony leading him to rediscover some of the teachings of Jesus, in fact, the agenda of Jesus.

As I intently listened to Pastor Rick’s message my mind did a rewind to trace my personal connections with his ministry and his message. My first connection with Pastor Rick was while I was in my Doctor of Ministry in Missiology program at Southwestern Seminary. In 1991 petitioned the faculty to do an independent study on leadership since that subject was not offered in the DMin curriculum or the specific concentrations and I knew that I would need to know something about leadership in a ministry context. I took the independent study with Dr. Royce Rose. Dr. Rose agreed to allow me to study the “Leadership Styles of CAMEO (Contemporary Approaches to Ministry, Evangelism, and Organization) pastors. We worked out a plan of study to research Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Valley Community Church and Bill Hybels, pastor of Willow Creek Community Church. It was a refreshing and rewarding study.

My second connection with Pastor Rick was while I was a church planter in El Paso, Texas between 1992 and 1999. I led a team of leaders to participate in Saddleback’s Church Growth Conference on two occasions in Southern California. I was encouraged, empowered, and highly motivated to apply the principles I learned in our ministry in El Paso. Over the years I have read his books like the Purpose Driven Life and learned to really appreciate his ministry. I had the privilege of meeting Pastor Rick both times we attended these conferences.

The third connection with Pastor Rick was Monday in Amarillo. I listened to his message and then met him briefly back stage. If you were not at the convention this year I would recommend that you find a way to get a copy of his message. It is worth hearing again. Over the next few days I plan to share with you some of the many impressions that the Lord put on my heart during his message. I mentioned to Pastor Rick after his teaching time that his message was the closest thing to revival that I have experienced at an annual meeting of the BGCT, ever. I realize that is a rather strong statement, especially since I have not attended every BGCT meeting. But don’t miss my point. I sensed God speak to me through Rick in powerful ways. I sensed the spirit of God speak to me as Pastor Rick spoke of his PEACE Plan.

The PEACE Plan is a vision or strategy to connect the agenda of Jesus to the world’s biggest problems. Tomorrow I will explain Pastor Rick’s plan and my journey toward this message. I also want to explore how the BCFS Growth Plan connects with the PEACE plan. It is a pretty amazing thing. I hope to be in conversation with Dr. Warren and his staff about ways we might collaborate. Please keep these conversations in your prayers, especially as these conversations have potential to advance the Kingdom.

Bella, the Movie…Signs of Hope for Children and Families

On October 26th a film was released all across the country in local theatres affirming life, children, and families in a realistic portrayal of real people in real life.

Bella is an entertaining and engaging story in which a young lady faces a critical decision about whether or not to end her pregnancy. It's a heart-warming account of the importance of love and family values and the positive impact that one person made on her final decision. Bella has won numerous awards, including the highly-acclaimed People's Choice Award at the Toronto Film Festival and the Heartland Film Festival Grand Prize. Both awards are often clear indications of a film that has Oscar potential. We need your help to make sure that Bella is truly a success!

Click on the link below to find a list of theaters in your area: www.bellathemovie.com/theater

National List of Theatres for Bella:  http://bellathemovie.com/theater/. To view and forward Bella emails with trailers and testimonials visit: www.BellaLifeEmails.com

Here are some Reviews and Quotes…

CNN - Ana Maria Montero
“Powerful and moving... a true inspiration.”

FAMILY LIFE
Bella masterfully and powerfully captures the best things of life:  family, the value of unborn life, unconditional love and redemption.  Bella is a 10!  You must see this movie!
Dr. Dennis Rainey, President of Family Life

ABC NEWS
A romantic drama….Mexican director Alejandro Gomez Monteverde's Bella tells the story of two people whose lives converge and turn upside down on a single day in New York. It has won the People's Choice Award, which is often an indicator of future Academy Award nominations.

“The last film with Bella’s momentum was the Passion of the Christ.”
–Steve McEveety, Executive Producer of Braveheart and a producer of The Passion of Christ.

Since the film is rated PG13 you may want to read www.pluggedinonline.com for a review from a Christian perspective. Adoption and Abortion are at the core of this movie. These are two choices that the mother in the movie considers. This movie will raise awareness of the potential for adoption and the power that this ministry has to touch the life of a child and a family. I hope you will consider this movie as a means to bring the hope of adoption onto your radar.

Advent Guide 2007

Today I am attending the annual meeting of the Baptist General Convention of Texas where we are distributing Buckner’s Advent Guide 2007. Some very creative staff from External Affairs developed a unique guide for use in congregations, families, and individuals during the Advent Season this year.

The Advent Guide is a collection of devotionals and prayers to be used during the four weeks leading up to Christmas. The devotionals are written by staff of Buckner International Carol McEntyre of Knoxville, Tennessee, Dixon Masindano of Nairobi, Kenya, Patty Villarreal of San Antonio, Dr. Ken Hall of Dallas and Kathy Keasler. Advent Prayers were written by Leslie Chace of Dallas, Glen Shoemake of Longview, Olga Vlasenko of St. Petersburg, Russia and Rick Webb of Longview. The writers help us celebrate the Advent of the Christ children from a multicultural and multiethnic perspective.

The Advent Guide 2007 is being made available at no cost to you and your congregation. All you need to do is place your order. To place your order, please go to www.buckner.org and find the Advent Guide 2007 in the center of the front page of the web. You will need to place this order by November 12th to receive your copies in time for the first week of Advent. You will need to provide your name, your church’s name and address, your email, and how many copies of the Guide you will need.

The Advent Guide 2007 is a great idea for home bible study groups, Sunday School classes, family devotionals, and personal spiritual formation times. I hope you will consider making the Advent Guide a part of your Christmas celebration this year.

If you are in Amarillo and want to pick up your copies today, just come by the Buckner International booth. I would love to see you and visit while we are here at the annual meeting. I shared the news this morning at an 8 am breakfast at First Baptist Church Amarillo with leaders of Plaza Global, a network of Hispanic Baptist leaders who have come together to synergize Hispanic missions resources for global missions. Jeff Raines, Associate Pastor and Chair of the Worldconnex Board hosted us for this meeting. Folks are excited about the Advent Guide.

The Advent Guide 2007 is about celebrating the Christ Child born in a manger and the mission he came to do. The mission of the child born in the manger still drives us today to take the peace that passes all understanding to children in Texas, the USA, and around the world. Celebrate the Child with us and the hope he brings to children in the global village.

Collaboration at Baylor School of Social Work: Baylor and Buckner Leading the Way

Felipe Garza, Vice President, Ministry and Missions Group spearheaded a collaborative relationship with Baylor University’s www.baylor.edu School of Social Work (BSSW) in Waco, Texas. In this effort Buckner and Children Family Services connected with BSSW to work together to better serve at risk children and families. The Buckner staff person selected for this collaborative effort was Angela Dennison who became Associate Director for Research and Development in the Center for Family and Community Ministries (CFCM) of BSSW. As part of this unique collaborative effort, Angela assists Buckner, Baylor and other religiously affiliated organizations and local congregations to plan, implement and evaluate effective community ministry models grounded in professional social work methodology. Angela has several projects in the works including:

Developing a defined process in the form of a procedure manual for Buckner and other faith based agencies to utilize in collaborations with congregations in particular, but that can also be utilized to collaborate with other like-minded, faith based groups serving children and families. 
Coordinating a national research effort regarding congregationally based child care centers across the nation.  From this research, it is hoped that best practices for strong relations between churches and child care centers housed in their facilities may emerge.

Assisting Buckner and one of its ministry collaborators, Kids Hope USA, a church based mentoring model for at-risk elementary school children, to help churches expand this mentoring ministry to the families of the children and bringing them into the communal. Publishing an article on “Stand in the Gap” study has been submitted for publication in Family and Community Ministries Journal.
Participating with other staff of the Center for Family and Community Ministries in the CIOS grant, particularly focusing on field supervision of church interns, seminar participation with students, workshop leadership, and review of curriculum as it is developed by students and staff.
Providing supervision to Samantha (Sam) Oakley, Buckner Director Community Ministry at Calvary Baptist Church in Waco.  The future goal of this collaboration is the development of a Buckner Family Place site in Waco.  Providing supervision to Mallory Homeyer, Buckner Benevolence Intern at First Baptist Waco.

Serving on BSSW’s “External Relations Committee.”  The committee is working on revising the school’s mission statement and strengthening ties with external partners like Buckner, Baptist University of the Americas, BGCT, CBF and others.
Felipe Garza and I serve on the BSSW Board of Advocates with Dr. Diana Garland, Dean of BSSW. We appreciate her heart, spirit, and leadership in this strategic role. Baylor and Buckner, like much of Baptist history, are leading the way.

Collaboration with BUA…Gateway to the Americas

While I was president of Baptist University of the Americas www.bua.edu we signed a collaborative agreement with Buckner International to position a Buckner Community Ministries Director on campus to focus on social ministry. This initiative was led by Felipe Garza, Vice President, Ministry and Missions Group at Buckner Children and Family Services. Patty Villarreal was the selected staff member and became Director of Community Ministries for San Antonio with an office at BUA.

Since the collaboration began Patty began to serve as adjunct instructor of Social Work teaching four classes a year featuring the following subjects: Introduction to Social Work, Human Behavior and Social Environment, Ministry and Community, and Social Work Practicum. She has also served as coordinator for Sigueme, a community relations, public education initiative focused on providing educational support and encouragement along a continuum leading to college and leadership development. Patty serves as Supervisor of BUA Student Mentor Coordinator, Liaison with Communities In School program, and Team leader of BUA’s Sigueme Leadership team.

Another exciting initiative in the Buckner and BUA collaboration is the development of the Latina Leadership Institute in cooperation with Dr. Nora Lozano, Associate Professor of Theology at BUA. The program seeks to develop leadership from among Latina’s enrolled at BUA as well as women in the Latino community at large. The class is held in January at Camp Buckner and can be taken for undergraduate credit. Contact Patty Villarreal at pvillarreal@buckner.org for more information.

Patty serves as a liaison between Buckner and BUA students assisting with employment and career counseling, life and community educational seminars as well as participating in student orientation and career week. She also connects BUA and Buckner with the Baylor School of Social Work where several BUA students have enrolled upon graduation at BUA. Through this collaboration Baylor School of Social Work, BUA, and Buckner find synergy in order to advance social ministry in the Latino community.

In her role as Director of Community Ministries, Patty was instrumental in launching our first Church and Community Collaboration in a Hispanic congregation at South San Filadelfia Church in San Antonio. She supervises the work of Sara Rangel who began this fall. Buckner and Baptist University of the Americas provide an excellent platform for service in San Antonio, gateway city to the Americas. San Antonio is a strategic city in the future of missions, especially in the Americas south of the border. Buckner has presence in Mexico, Guatemala, Peru and we have accepted the invitation of the first lady of Honduras to serve there as well. We hope to expand our presence in San Antonio in cooperation with BUA and her new president, Rene Maciel. The Buckner/BUA Collaboration is good news for the Americas! Let’s pray toward that end.

Collaboration is Good News at The Family Place

I have been writing about collaboration this week. The word collaboration means co-laboring or working with or working together. Collaboration is a champion value we share at Buckner Children and Family Services. It is a hallmark of future oriented organizations. Lone Ranger people and organizations will not survive in the future.

This past Tuesday I celebrated the 10th Anniversary of The Family Place in Lufkin, Texas. The Family Place is collaboration with Angelina Community College and Buckner Children and Family Services. However, ACC and BCFS did not create The Family Place alone. We had the help of the Temple Foundation, The Family Place Advisory Council, and Lufkin area community leaders and organizations.

I was so proud to meet Lufkin area leaders and administrators from Angelina Community College on the 10th anniversary of this unique ministry. I heard the testimony of one of the graduates who came to The Family Place from a difficult situation. She came with her children in need of a new start. She received coaching, counseling, and a safe place for her and her children. Several years later she graduated from Angelina College with an associate of arts degree, also finished a BA degree, and is currently a graduate student. She is remarried and expecting another child from that marriage. Wow! What a story. The real treasure of this ministry is in the testimony of the participants. Their struggles, their victories, and their successes make this program a unique collaborative effort that changes lives this side of heaven.

I would not want to miss this opportunity to thank and affirm Judy Morgan and her staff for the outstanding work this team does in life transformation of the women and children that come to the Family Place. I am reminded once again that all across the BCFS organization, in 14 cities across Texas, four states, and 8 countries, staff members tirelessly report to their ministries everyday to make a difference in someone’s life. These are truly the unsung heroes. I went to Lufkin to pronounce congratulations and a few words of thanks but I am the one that came away blessed.

The Family Place in Lufkin is our prototype for this ministry in Amarillo, Dallas and Midland. We need a Family Place in every major city in Texas at the very minimum. Families searching for hope need a place like The Family Place in Lufkin to turn to when life gets hard. Michelle Harris mharris@buckner.org and Felipe Garza fgarza@buckner.org are working hard to find new opportunities for the Family Place model to be established. The Family place provides a safe place for hurting moms and kids to heal. Children participate in a Child Development Center while their mother attends college. A few years later the mom and kids emerge confident, stronger, and ready to pursue a new life.

I think this is what Jesus meant when he said “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me and has anointed me to bring good news to the poor, give sight to the blind, freedom to the captives, and liberty to the oppressed….” The Family Place is good news for hurting families. Contact us if you would like to be part of bring good news to moms and children who need hope.

Collaboration is Key…Dallas Baptist University

Since 2003 students and staff of Dallas Baptist University have traveled to Guatemala on four mission trips and one trip to Peru with 50 students. In the spring of 2007 Dr. Gary Cook and I signed a collaborative agreement providing for Buckner Children and Family Services as the primary conduit for DBU missions.

Since then, 26 DBU students traveled to Guatemala in May of 2007 to serve children in the Xela orphanage conducting various projects and a vacation bible school. In September, approximately 98 students and staff traveled from DBU, including members of the Patriots Baseball Team to play three exhibition baseball games against the National Baseball Team of Guatemala. All proceeds of these games benefited the orphanages Buckner serves in Guatemala. During the day, DBU students and baseball players conducted baseball clinics for children in communities and orphanages to participate. The students also led vacation bible schools, gave away baseball gloves, baseballs, and other gifts. The National Baseball Team of Guatemala has already requested another date to play again.

The Baptist Standard featured a full length article on this trip entitled “DBU team hits home run with Guatemalan children” or you can find the article at the this link  http://www.baptiststandard.com/postnuke/index.php?module=htmlpages&func=display&pid=6935 or go to www.baptiststandard.com and look for the article half way down the page.

The games were dubbed “The President’s Orphan Cup. We hope this is the beginning of many other trips to Guatemala and perhaps other Latin American countries as well. This is the kind of missions resource that is resident in Baptist colleges and universities all across the country. I am so proud of Dr. Cook and the Patriot Baseball Team for their ministry and for being servant leaders, leading the way to orphans. The DBU patriots broke new ground with this event and philanthropic focus in Guatemala. I am thrilled with the impact of this team and university on the lives of the children Buckner serves as well as the encouragement DBU students and staff were to Buckner Guatemala staff.

This is collaboration with DBU is just the beginning of significant impact on the lives of orphans and children at risk. In closing I want to ask you to pray for Dr. Gary Cook, President of Dallas Baptist University. Many of you may already know that Dr. Cook has been diagnosed with Leukemia and is undergoing intensive chemotherapy. Please pray that his body will respond positively, that he will be healed, and that Sheila and their sons will have the strength and support they need to walk through this experience.

Collaborations Week…Truett Seminary Student Internships

Last week Victor Upton and I visited the George W. Truett Seminary to sign a Collaborative Agreement between Buckner Children and Family Services and Truett Seminary and to meet with students to launch a new program for seminary interns.

The agreement provides for scholarship/grant assistance for Truett Students to travel to BCFS sites in Texas, Oklahoma, Washington, Tennessee as well as our international sites in Mexico, Peru, Guatemala, Ethiopia, Kenya, Russia, Latvia, and Romania. We hosted about 50 students for lunch in Piper Hall and shared our vision with the students and Drs. David Garland, Dean of the seminary and Mike Stroope, Professor of Missions. Drs. Garland and Stroope spoke highly of our collaborative agreement and encouraged students to consider applying for placement in the spring 2008 semester as well as summer or fall placements.

Students are also eligible to apply for their Mentoring requirement and earn academic credit for the Buckner Internship. It is truly the best of both worlds. I participated in something similar to this program when I attended seminary. It was called Pioneer Penetration and later it was referred to as the Evangelism Practicum course. This experience gave us an opportunity to put into practice what we were learning. Since the inception of this program, Buckner has received two gifts to financially support the placement of theological students at Buckner sites all over the world.

This agreement signals a new day in collaboration between Buckner and Truett. It is a truly win-win situation. Buckner gains much needed service from students in a wide array of places of ministry and has an opportunity to introduce Buckner ministry to emerging ministry leaders. Truett students have an opportunity to serve in a cross-cultural setting among children at risk, orphans, and families with the possibility of earning graduate credit. The children have additional servants who want to share the love of Christ with them. Donors provide strategic financial investments to develop a missions-culture and focus on the needs of the least of these in the formation of a future pastor, staff minister, or missionary. Truett administration has the ability to provide another venue to Mentoring credit and expose their students to practical ministry in cross-cultural settings. Everyone is served and the Kingdom is advanced.

“Every encounter is an interview.” These were the words framed by Victor Upton when responding to a question. This new agreement provides a way for students to consider Buckner and for Buckner to meet prospective ministry leaders. If you would like to learn more about the Buckner-Truett Collaborative Agreement please email Victor Upton at vupton@buckner.org or call us at 214-758-8190.

Russia Pics 2007

I have finally uploaded my pics from Russia. Several of you have asked about them so I am posting them today. Big thanks for Matt Searcy and Cheryl Jones for getting these pics uploaded for me. There are only 30 pics representing a mere sampling of the other photos I took while in St. Petersburg and Moscow. I will provide a generic description and comment on the photos provided.

Canals of St. Petersburg – one of the memorable sights of the great city of St. Petersburg are the many canals and rivers that sprinkle the city. The view was breath-taking.

Span of the Dove – you will notice one of the photos is a straight up shot looking into the dome of one of the cathedrals we visited. If you look closely you will see a dove with wings stretched out at the top and center of the dome looking straight up. Our guide told us that the wing span of that dove, symbolizing the Holy Spirit, was 9 feet. Wow, hard to believe but it gives you sense of the size and scope of this cathedral. I don’t remember the name of this particular cathedral. Those of you on the trip will probably remember. I was struck with the investment in resources deposited in the cathedrals and palaces.

St. Isaac’s Cathedral in St. Petersburg was quite impressive. In Russian history, military battles were celebrated with the construction of cathedrals. Cathedrals dot the landscape and add a real sense of culture and history to the city.

St. Catherine’s Palace – was a magnificent structure in Pushkin/Tsar’s Village. I took several pictures of this palace. You can see the opulence with which this palace was constructed with elaborate window treatments, gold plated wall coverings, ponds, and waterways.

The Children – The best view of all. The faces of these children will forever be etched in my mind. I was privileged to take a few pictures with some of the children. Most of these children are in government run orphanages that Buckner serves with staff, support, and resources. The Donors – we had several friends of Buckner International accompany us on this trip to consider personal stewardship efforts for the work in Russia. The Staff – You will see several shots of Buckner Russia Staff who serve with glad hearts.

St. Basil’s Cathedral – In Red Square you will find the tomb of Joseph Stalin and behind his tomb is the Kremlin in Moscow. At one end of Red Square you will see St. Basil’s Cathedral, a multi-colored magnificent structure.

When you see these pics…pray for the children, the orphans, the children waiting adoption, and the families waiting for children. Pray about your involvement in these places where we find the least of these.

Connecting with Muslim Friends

Dr. Abraham Sarker is Founder and Executive Director of Gospel for Muslims, an organization that is focused on helping people of Muslim background learn about the teachings of Jesus. I met Abraham recently at a Worldconnex meeting www.worldconnex.org and immediately connected with his passion to share the gospel with people of Muslim heritage and faith. My assignment was to explain the Latino/Hispanic-Arab connection and his assignment was to present Muslim faith and how Christians and Muslims connect on matters of faith.

Recently I met with Dr. Sarker to explore ways we might work together in our ministries for greater synergy. I wanted to tell you about a conference that he has planned in a few weeks called the “2007 Muslim Background Believers Conference” on October 26-27, 2007 in Dallas, Texas. You can find more information at www.mbbnetwork.com or www.gospelformuslims.com or you can download the PDF file on this blog for more information. I want to encourage you to consider attending this conference in Dallas.

Keynote speakers include Dr. Jim Denison, Senior pastor of Park Cities Baptist Church, Dr. Abraham Sarker, Karen Hatley, Activation Leader of Worldconnex, Jeff Padget, church planters, and several other speakers. If you want to learn about Arab culture and the Muslim faith as well as how to share the love of Christ with Muslim friends, make plans to attend this conference.

I have had the privilege of connecting with Arab friends both in the United States and in other countries. I have found many similarities between Hispanic/Latino culture and Arab culture. Those of us living in Texas find historic, language, cultural, and architectural connections with Arabs and people who adhere to Islam. Texas is connected to Mexico, Mexico is connected to Spain, and Spain is connected to North Africa and the occupation of the Moors for over 700 years. There are approximately 7,000 words in Spanish that are pronounced almost identically in Arabic. There another 21,000 words in Spanish that have Arabic roots. I have found Arab culture to share some of the same features as Latino culture. We even share similarities in architecture.

When you consider these facts and connections, one begins to think differently about our investment and strategic focus of our Hispanic community in Texas. Missiologists have suggested that the most effective resource for sharing the gospel with Muslims will be the Hispanic/Latino community. What then, are the implications of this truth with regard to the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas comprised of 1200 congregations? If Jesus were here he would spend time meeting the needs of Arab children among the orphans and children at risk in the world. Dr. Sarker will provide an orientation to help demonstrate Christ’s love with our Muslim friends both here and abroad.

Click here to view a pdf of the 2007 Muslim Background Believers Conference brochure.