Archive for April, 2008

Albert caused me to think more specifically about one of the questions I offered several posts ago …

Albert said …

Ellis, your questions are refreshing. I am not sure I have answers for these tough questions. Through our work at Buckner we are providing a platform for the next generation to get on mission to serve children and families who desparately need help. I am hoping to open up internships to provide the next generation to discover ways God might use them in non-traditional capacities. Hopefully out of this call, some youth might gain a sharper call to pastoral ministry to equip the membership for ministry. When I was at BUA, a theological university, we were surprised to learn that only about 40% of the students were there to study to be a pastor. The majority wanted to serve the church but not as a pastor or staff minister. God is calling our youth but as you asked: Do we have a place to plug them in? We are making a place at Buckner through internships and staff positions. Let’s keep pursuing these questions. Very few leaders are thinking this way.

The part that caught my attention was that more than 50% of his BUA students were NOT studying to become pastors (by this I assume he means traditional senior pastors of a church).  The reason that strikes me is that I was recently asked to go speak at chapel at Truett and spend some time with students in a class setting, as well as Q&A time.  Truett is bringing in different pastor practitioners who can give the student body a positive message about pastoring because so few of them are wanting to go into the pastorate.  So, Al, I think it’s probably a pretty big trend.  We need to pay close attention to what God is doing and completely rethink the way we do church.

We are looking at the possibility of doing satellite worship services at my church.  I’m not particulary fond of the idea, but it’s growing on me.  One of the things we will need are “pastors” who are not interested in a traditional model of pastoring, but in being “lead shepherds” at these satellite congregations, ministering to the needs of the people, under the umbrella of Calvary.  These shepherds would not be traditional “preaching pastors,” but rather “pastoral ministry” … “spritual development” … and “equipping” type of ministers.  It seems a great place to get a lot of experience on the “nuts and bolts” of ministering to people, without the overwhelming demands of being a lead pastor … and without being a “preacher” in the traditional sense.

We have also attempted a co-op ministry where we rent a building and have businesses use the facility during the day (coffee shop, t-shirt shop, art gallery, etc.), and at night and at different times we have worship and bible study there … it begins to get the church out into the community.  No sign anywhere that says “Calvary” or anything that would smack of a church.  It’s just a place where people come to drink coffee or buy a shirt … but the Christ Spirit is there … and there are plenty of flyers around that advertise a Thursday night Concert or a Tuesday night AA meeting or a Saturday Karaoke night.

Anyway … I would see these kinds of ministries as ways to connect an entire generation that seems to be saying … “Typical Senior Pastor? … No thanks.”

ellis

I am 26 at the time of this writing and some might say the Journey has just begun for me and I would have to agree.

Salvation Experience

I responded to the Lord at the age of 12. I attended a pre-teen camp in Huntsville called Trinity Pines Baptist Encampment. Our church counselor, Blair Montgomery, took a small group of us boys from Broadway Baptist Church in Houston, TX to camp this particular summer. The worship artists was Jami Smith and the speaker was Scott Crenshaw who was an evangelist at the time but is now working as Singles Leader for Lakewood Houston if you have ever heard of that church. I know this because four years ago I set out to meet this man who led me to the Lord during his evangelistic ministry. We talked for about ten minutes and he was excited about what the Lord was doing through me.

At 18 yrs of age, I surrendered my life to ministry at Mt. Lebanon Baptist Encampment during Campamento. I was there as a counselor for IB Houston under Johnnie Musquiz’s leadership. Before this experience I had not prayed inside of the church and I certainly had never led a bible study lesson. It was then that Alex Marin took me under his wing and spoke power truth into my life, he really encouraged me to dream big and put all I do in God’s hands. I started to lead bible studies, and really I was teaching all that I was learning since I didn’t have any training but I did have a calling and I believe that God uses people who are called and gets them trained to do greater things. I started to speak on Wednesday nights in the Sanctuary and the youth group started to grow and students would come from other churches as well. Things were going great until I had to take a college course on Wednesday night. So my friend Matt Musquiz and I sat down and started to discuss the possibilities of started a bible study on Friday nights. It was then that the idea of Refuge Bible Study was created and from 2/1/01 forward, we had a bible study every Friday night in Houston from young people all over the city. See the website www.refugebiblestudy.com.

Congreso

My first Congreso that I ever attended was in Corpus, two years later I would serve as President. This was the first time I met Gus and Leticia and other Hispanic Baptist Leaders. I was still in Houston working full time for a large energy company called El Paso Corporation, formerly known as Tennecco. I’m grateful for El Paso Corp, because they paid for my junior college years or they reimbursed me. I am also grateful because they hired me at 16 years of age when Enron wouldn’t, well we all know how that cookie crumbled. So I worked for the pipeline dept as a Strategist Assist for 6 years before moving to Dallas.

Gus

One day I received a call from none other than, Dr. Gus Reyes. He called only to tell me one thing that afternoon, it was to ask me how long it was going to take me to finish college taking 1-2 courses a semester working full time. It’s funny how he asks questions that he already knows the answer too, but thats his way of teaching or mentoring. So that was my first mentoring session of many to come with Gus and of course like all sessions, I was left having to make a decision, do I quit my job and go full-time to HBU or DBU which were his suggestions. I was just excepted into the College of Business program at the University of Houston and I decided that I was going to answer my calling of ministry and attend DBU to take Christian Studies courses. So I moved and turned on the jets and completed 80+ hours of course work in two years, starting in Jan ’04 finished in Dec ’05 with a 3.0 GPA which is the mininum requirement for Graduate School and it was just enough for them to accept me into the Management Program. So after 2 1/2 years I am going to receive a Masters of Arts degree in Management and this time I am going to finish with a 3.85 GPA. This will take place May 15, 2008 at DBU. The best part of graduation is that I finished paying cash for school and not taking out student loans.

My wife Andrea and I have been married for eight months and we are debt free everything but the mortgage. I now want to share with people steps they need to take to get out of debt, my financial blog is www.debtfreehispanic.com I get to share tips, ideas and random thoughts about money. Why is this important to me? Because I want to change my family tree and I want for my children to not have to work as hard during their college years. I want to pay for their school from start to graduation. Plus I want to retire with dignity & money.

Future

My wife Andrea, who works for Guidestone Financial, is looking to pursue her PhD so we are looking at schools where she can attend. I’m going to take a break since i’ve been in school since I graduated high school in 1999 but I will look into pursuing a PhD further in life. I would like to do some consulting work helping organizations know the difference between Hispanic generations.

I currently work for the Baptist General Convencion of Texas where I am in charge of web content and the Spanish website which is www.bgct.org/espanol.  This summer Andrea and I are giving leadership to Hispanic Singles by overseeing Hispanic Singles Camp www.bgct.org/singlescamp .

Our Journey has just begun. Let HIS light shine through us. – Fabian Ramirez

Thanks for the bios … it has really helped me get to know you a little better. 

As I mentioned before, I’m a little “out of the loop” and am curious about the state of affairs in the existing structures for Baptist work among Hispanics.  I know that it is impossible to paint all Hispanics (American and Non-American) into a single category. It is impossible, in fact, to relegate all Texas Baptist Hispanics (a much smaller grouping) into one cultural body.  In the Texas Baptist Hispanic church I grew up in there were 19 different countries represented from all across the Latin world. Latinos in America are such a widely diverse group that to attempt a synthesis of their cultural patterns would be impossible.

Acknowledging that … what are the things that bring us together? Who are we talking about when we talk about Hispanics in Baptist life?  For me it would include anyone who would claim their Hispanic identity as part of their hermeneutical baggage (the way they interpret Scripture and the world), and who live their Christian lives within the context of a commitment to the Latino struggle to become a follower of Christ (salvation/liberation/discipleship). 

Justo Gonzalez, in his book Santa Biblia: The Bible Through Hispanic Eyes, identifies five lenses through which Hispanics view the Bible (and the world, for that matter): Marginalization, Mestizo, Exile, Poverty, and Solidarity.  Pablo Jimenez (Teologia en Conjunto: A Collaborative Hispanic Protestant Theology ) and Gustavo Gutierrez (We Drink from our own Wells) would add the supremacy of community to the Latino perspective (something Gonzalez addresses in his idea of solidarity). They both (Jimenez and Gutierrez) lament the privatization of the salvation experience in American Christianity and how it has warped the experience for American Latinos.

So … How are we addressing the issues particular to the Hispanic condition within the existing structures in Baptist life?  Are the existing structures able to carry the weight of the work that is ahead?  There’s no need to reinvent the wheel … unless the wheel isn’t turning. Baptist life is rapidly changing.  How are Hispanic Baptists changing with it? 

These are a few questions from someone “out of the loop” who is genuinely unaware of the answers …

I leave them unanswered …

I’m calling on you … my friends … to enlighten me …

Blessings,

Ellis

     At the age of seven I accepted Christ during Vacation Bible School.  One of the key elements that made me realize the need of Christ on that day, and still impacts me today, was when my teacher told the group that “the love for Jesus was so strong that he did not pay attention to the pain He suffered for us.”  This has influenced my life and my commitment to become more like Christ.  I strongly believe that through true love and its attributes one can find the path to success.   As I work and relate today with Christian leaders my first and most important objective is that people will experience or see the love of Christ in me. Even though being a friend of Julio makes it difficult (Se te quiere chavo!).

     Another important aspect of my childhood and part of my adolescent years was my participation in the Royal Ambassadors of Christ.  This organization helped me develop strong Christian habits and friendship.  Obedience to Christ and self-discipline was highly encouraged in this organization. One of the important influences of this ministry was the confidence I gained in my social skills. This confidence has allowed me to be able to relate with other leaders in today’s ministries. I have learned the importance of social skills as the bridge that will allow results to happen. Also, I have been able to grasp how the elements and dynamics of relationships play a crucial role in my spiritual journey. 

     The Royal Ambassadors experience also helped me discover how self-discipline and trust are crucial in obeying God.  Even today, as I encounter the different situations and different personalities, I still practice the focus on God and His principles instead of allowing the present moment determine my final decisions. Discipline has helped me reflect on my values and keep God’s love as my goal instead of the emotions I might have at the moment.

     While the above stories give a glimpse of some elements I consider important in how I practice leadership today, it was the following experiences which led me to concretize how my purpose would be implemented. My father has been a pastor for 43 years.  I have been able to experience first hand the amount of challenges and injustices that ministers go through in their vocation. I observed how it affected my mother, other ministers that I knew through friendship with my parents, and my brothers and me. I saw my parent’s frustration when they failed to accomplish their visions as a result of lack of skills, resources, and even ill intentions of others. On the positive side I also became aware that ministries through the use of networks (support systems), following God’s principles, and encouragement were able to accomplish their visions.

     The other side of this experience was also the difficulty that my father, and at times my mother had in balancing ministry and family. I know the pain this created in my siblings and me as my parents struggled to make time for the home and ministry.  These experiences gave me a desire to help and serve ministers.  Also, having an inside look at the ministry dynamic in addition to the opportunities God has provided me to understand the leadership environment, motivated me to make a commitment to God to serve, equip, and challenge those who have devoted their lives to expand His Kingdom.

I answered a call to salvation when I was nine years old and a call to vocational ministry when I was about 15 years old in 1975. I am a third generation native Tejano born to Baptist Christian parents. My family first heard the gospel in the 1930′s as migrant workers picking cotton near Snyder, Texas. Edwardo P. Gonzales was the church planter/missionary who announced the gospel to our family. Francisca Rodriguez Reyes responded in faith and the gospel that came to us went through us and each of her children. My mother was a Roman Catholic when she and my father were married. They began attending Primera Iglesia Bautista in Corpus Christi before I was born. Ignacio Gonzales was their pastor and discipled my dad.

After I was a year old my family moved to California in an effort to raise us in a part of the country where discrimination was not so prevalent during the early 1960′s. We joined Iglesia Bautista Emmanuel where my mother and older brother, Gus, came to faith in Christ and were baptized. The family later joined Memorial Baptist Church in Rialto, California under the leadership of Leonard Roten and later Bill Thornton, a transplanted Texan. I came to faith in Christ and was Baptized under Rev. Thornton’s ministry. My younger brother, Fred was also born in California. He is married to Sharon and they have three children: Ahnna, Caleb, and Seth and live near Nashville, Tennessee. Gus married Leticia Lozano and they live in Dallas with three children: Andrea who is married to Fabian Ramirez, Gus 2nd, and Samuel.

We moved back to Texas in 1970 to be closer to our families, the Reyes’ and the Garcia’s. We returned to my father’s church PIB in Corpus and Rudy Hernandez was the pastor followed by Rudy Sanchez. Those were wonderful years of growing up at PIB, learning Spanish and the culture. Those were the years that Primera was a softball powerhouse at Alto Frio and Mount Lebanon during the Texas Baptist Mexican American Youth Camp. I answered a call to vocational ministry as a 15 year old at Primera in Corpus and began to preach when I was 16. Bro. Rudy put me in charge of the Children’s worship and I found myself in leadership roles in the youth ministry.

During those years I sang in the Ambassador Quartet and went with Bro. Rudy Sanchez as he preached in churches around South Texas. In one of those churches, Beeville, I met Belinda Ruth Alvarado, whom I would later marry. I saw her again at youth camp where we began our courtship.

I graduated from Mary Carroll High School and went to Angelo State University to earn a BBA in Management. Belinda went to Baylor University and earned a BS degree in Speech-Pathology. We were married in 1982 and then moved to Fort Worth to attend seminary. I graduated with an MDiv in 1989. In the meantime, Belinda earned an MS in Communication Disorders and a PhD in Communication Disorders and Human Sciences from UT Dallas.

During my seminary years I served as pastor at Home Gardens Baptist Church in the Hispanic mission, Iglesia Bautista Amistad and after graduation from seminary I served as pastor of North Temple Baptist Church in Dallas. I enrolled in the DMin program in 1991 and graduated in 1995 with a DMin in Missiology. In 1992 we sensed a call to El Paso, Texas to plant Pueblo Nuevo Community Church until 1999 when I was called to Hispanic Baptist Theological Seminary to serve as president. I really thought I was going to retire at Pueblo Nuevo in El Paso and HBTS in San Antonio but the Lord had other plans. HBTS went through certification to grant degrees, accreditation, a name change, and the purchase of a new campus in seven years. It was a phenomenal time of growth and miracles. During those years I enrolled in a PhD degree program in leadership at Andrews University in an effort to enhance BUA’s potential for accreditation and certification to grant degrees. I am doing my dissertation on “Exploring Organizational Transformation in Higher Education: A Study of Executive Leadership Reflection.” This is an exploratory qualitative case study on my tenure at BUA in light of its 60 year history.

In 2007 I began my current assignment as president of Buckner Children and Family Services, Inc. in Dallas. I have to say that I am fully engaged and fulfilled in this role. I have felt this way in every Kingdom assignment the Lord has given me. I think it it important to be faithful in one’s assignment, focus on building skils, competencies, and providing leadership where we are. Rather than looking for the next career move, I have made it a practice to radically invest myself where I was with a 100% commitment to give up my life for what the Lord has called me to.

Belinda is my best friend, bar none. She has been a wonderful partner in ministry and in life. She is a fantastic mother to Joshua, David, and Thomas. These guys are a blessing to me even if I am not cool during their teen years. We love each other and Belinda and I work hard each day to help them learn how to live a life that is pleasing to the Lord.

You can read more about my stuff at www.pandulce.typepad.com especially if you look at February of 2007. There may be more info there than you want to know.

Ellis Orozco, Josh Guajardo, John Roman, and serveral other friends from across the state starting talking about what it means to be both Latino and Baptist at the same time back in the early 1990′s. Ellis mentioned this in his entry. Today the tribe has grown and I hope we make room for lots of emerging leaders who will make a positive impact in the Kingdom for years to come.

My mission is to develop kingdom leaders from my circle of influence to the ends of the earth.

    I dread writing these things, but since the great Ellis and Julio have done it I have to keep up I guess. Well my real name is Daniel Dominguez and I was born to Ruben and Beatrice Dominguez in Denver City, Texas where I grew up. (got the name Tiny at youth camp when I was 15) In high school I played football and ran away from cheerleaders (at least that’s how I remember it). After high school I went to play football at the University of Texas-El Paso. That soon ended due to knee injuries and I transferred to Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas, were I am finishing my degree. While I lived in Wichita falls I was active in the BSM and served as president for two years. I also served as youth minister at Iglesia Bautista Emmanuel and also Iglesia Bautista Ebenezer. I enjoyed living in Wichita Falls and thank God for all the leaders and minister in the area that encouraged and mentored me in ministry and allowed to speak at their events. I believe God used my time in Wichita Falls to mold me, teach me, and encouraged me in my calling to ministry. It was during this time when I became a camp officer for the Hispanic youth camp in Chaparral Baptist Assembly and also Congreso president.In October 0f 1999 I left Wichita Falls and moved to Fort Worth when I accepted te call to be the Associate Pastor with Youth at Iglesia Bautista Getsemani AE DJ (After Ellis, during Julio). I served there for 6 years and I am very grateful to be a part of a wonderful, loving, and caring church for that long. leaving Getsemani was really one of the hardest things I ever had to do in ministry, but it has been a blessing seeing that the youth and singles ministry is still impacting lives. I worked at the BGCT during the restructuring as the Hispanic Evangelism Associate where my duties were coordinating the statewide Hispanic youth and singles events (Congreso, Campamento, Convocation, HEC English Track, etc.) Currently I live in Lubbock and I am now the Pastor of Community Heights Church. I can’t believe I am pastoring, sometimes I feel like I have no idea what I am doing, then again that;s how I have felt during my entire ministry so I guess all is well. I do love Community Heights, it is a unique church. I love the members and miss them when I am out with other speaking engagements. It has een a blessing seeing who our church is reaching and also seeing these young couples serving the Lord. One of the blessings about my ministry that I thank God for has been my role as a communicator. I have had the  honor of being able to speak at several churches, Baptist universities, youth camps, Congreso, YEC and other events. I enjoy being able to meet people and also the ability to minister world wide. Hope this gives you a better idea of who I am.    

I think Ellis’ idea of beginning by telling each of our stories is a great one. Even though we may know a lot about each other. It is always surprising to find out things about each other through means like this. Having this kind of background will help us understand each other better and the context from which we engage the dialogue.

So here’s my story:

I was born in 1965 in Mexico City (DF) where my parents had felt called to do evangelistic and discipleship work with the students at the University of Mexico. I was a toddler when I had my first experiences with guerilla-style student protests and with the Olympiads (1968 at the Aztec Stadium). My father, Carlos Julio Guarneri, was born in Monterrey, studied Mechanical Engineering at the University of Nuevo Leon and was converted from Roman Catholicism through a student movement led by an independent Anglo missionary (Emil Aanderud) and by a Baptist teacher (Mariluz Gutierrez). He surrendered to the ministry and was prepared for it by intense one-on-one discipleship with Bro. Aanderud. My mother, Elizabeth Martinez, was born in a town near Monterrey, graduated as an early childhood educator; having grown up Presbyterian, she was involved in the student movement and was hired as a missionary by Bro. Aanderud’s mission. My parents married on April 1st 1964 and moved to Mexico City where I was born.

After five years, my parents moved back to Monterrey in order to continue working with students and in order to plant a house church. It was at this house church at the age of 7 that I made a clear commitment to trust in Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior under the leadership of my mom who was teaching the Children’s Bible class. Children’s Bible classes, Vacation Bible School, Bible Clubs, the life of the congregation and late-night college student fellowships at my home were all part of my formation as a young believer. I was baptized by my father at the age of 12 in a river about 1 hour north of Monterrey where our congregation would have a day of celebration outdoors.

Shortly after I was baptized, I went to Mexico City with my parents for a missions conference. At that conference Mexican believers were encouraged to leave Mexico and be missionaries to another country. My dad felt that call was for us. The options were Argentina, California or Texas. After prayer and deliberation, the decision was made for Texas. In 1978, we sold most of our belongings and moved to Edinburg, Texas. Though my father’s initial plan was to plant house churches to reach Hispanics for Christ, he ended up pastoring established Hispanic Baptist churches. He supplied the pulpit at various Hispanic Baptist churches in the Rio Grande Valley and eventually was called to pastor the Primera Iglesia Bautista in Beeville, Texas. It was through this church that I was introduced to the “big 3 C’s:” Convencion, Congreso and Campamento. From age 10 until about this time (age 15) I really felt distanced from God, hung out with the wrong crowd and experienced a period of rebellion and disillusionment which ended up in a reaffirmation of Christ’s lordship on my life. If Ellis’ biggest sin was chasing cheerleaders, then he’s a saint compared to me but I won’t go into that here. It was at Congreso 82 in Houston that I surrendered to God’s call on my life for vocational ministry. In 1983, my dad accepted the call to pastor Calvary Baptist Church in Freer, Texas. That was my senior year in High School. In May of 1984, I graduated from Freer High School and was licensed to the ministry by First Baptist Church of Freer. That summer, at youth camp, I would meet Monica Soria, who would later become my bride. (Actually, I had met Monica 2 years earlier but that’s another story). Later that year, my dad accepted the call to pastor the Hispanic department of Parkdale Baptist Church in Corpus Christi. Calvary mission of Freer asked me to stay as their pastor. So began my vocational ministry, attending college in Corpus Christi and commuting on the weekends to Freer.

I was later called to be the youth minister of Calallen Baptist Church in Corpus Christi (an Anglo congregation). It was during my ministry there that I married Monica. Monica’s father, Jose Isaac Soria, was a bivocational pastor of Hispanic Baptist churches and a Spanish teacher at Robstown High School. In addition to these churches (Primera Odem; Primera, Rockport; Primera, Sinton, etc., etc.), Monica and her parents, (Diana Munoz Soria is her mother) were members of Primera, Corpus Christi; Segunda, Corpus Christi and El Mesias, Corpus Christi.

Subsequently, I pastored Primera Iglesia Bautista in Taft, Texas; planted the Shalom Baptist Mission in Corpus Christi under the sponsorship of Iglesia Bautista Mesias (Salvador Cervantes was the pastor; it was this church that ordained me to the ministry); and served as minister of education and youth at the Segunda Iglesia Bautista in Corpus Christi, before coming to Iglesia Bautista Getsemani in Fort Worth (A.E.; “after Ellis”), where I have been for the last 14 years.

I graduated from Texas A&I (now A&M) University (Kingsville, Texas) with a Bachelor in Secondary Education in 1990 and from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (Fort Worth, Texas) with a Master of Arts in Religious Education in 1998. I am currently at the end of my third year in the Ph D in Leadership Studies program at Dallas Baptist University.

Monica, who has been my wife and companion, graduated from the same university as I with a Bachelor in Elementary Education and from Texas A&M in Corpus Christi (formerly CCSU) with a Master in Mid-Management. She has been a school teacher, housewife, and ministry companion. Together we are parents to Joshua (21), a junior at Dallas Baptist University; Rachel (13), a 7th grader tennis player; Mia (10), a 5th grader who loves cheerleading; and Stevan (8) a 3rd grader who is a die-hard Star Wars aficionado. Our two male English pointers, Canelo and Espresso, keep us on our toes also.

I thank God for my family and for the opportunity to serve him in our church which has really been a second family to us.

Beyond the local church, I have been part of a couple of exciting groups: LeadersEdge, TarrantNet and Plaza Global. These have to do with sharpening leaders with a vision to transform their community and their world. I look forward to being a part of this on-line community! Thanks for the opportunity.

Julio Guarneri, Getsemani, Fort Worth