Texas Baptists Committed has been called a “watchdog.” That’s a great metaphor; unfortunately, our critics have often turned it upside-down and portrayed TBC negatively as an attack dog. But that’s not the Texas Baptists Committed I’ve come to know through the years.
None of the people I’ve met who make up Texas Baptists Committed – both leaders and supporters – have been “attack dogs”; rather, they are Baptist Christians who have committed themselves to a common cause – the cause of keeping Baptists truly Baptist . . . keeping Baptists committed to historic Baptist principles . . . keeping Baptists free in Christ as God intended.
So I prefer another metaphor – that of the “lookout.” In Isaiah 21:8 (NIV), we read, “And the lookout shouted, ‘Day after day, my lord, I stand on the watchtower; every night I stay at my post.'”
Texas Baptists Committed stands in the role of this one described by Isaiah: the lookout . . . the one who stays at the assigned post, day after day, night after night . . . the one whose role isn’t to attack but to report any threats and – by so doing – enable the city to protect itself against those threats.
Texas Baptists Committed is the lookout – ever reminding Texas Baptists of the foundational principles that have undergirded the Baptist movement since its beginning in the 17th century and keeping them informed of the latest threats to the preservation of those principles.
Have we slipped into attack mode at times? Perhaps . . . after all, we’re only human. But attacking has been the exception, not the rule.
TBC goes where the people are – in the local church – and equips them with the information they need to keep their churches free . . . their Baptist universities free . . . and countless other Texas Baptist ministries and institutions free.
And that’s why we’ve begun this blog – as one more way of carrying out this mission to equip and inform Texas Baptists. But we can’t do it alone. If you are committed to TBC’s mission, we need you to get involved. Please share this blog with friends in your church, with your pastor and other leaders, so that they can stay informed and equipped as well. By doing this, you could be starting a valuable conversation in your church.
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The “lookout standing on the watchtower” is of no use unless the citizens are keeping vigil, too, and are diligently passing along the news to others. Truly, we need all of you to join us as “lookouts.”