Jill & I are together reading, LEADERSHIP PAIN, by Dr. Samuel R. Chand. It’s extremely beneficial, and I highly recommend it because approximately 6-8 phone calls received each month are spent in attempting to assist a minister who is hurting. No one experiences the success of leadership without also knowing pain. It’s up to each individual leader if they will press through the pain and grow as a leader, or quit leading. Dr. Sam Chand says, “You’ll grow only to the threshold of your pain.” Sure makes pain a bit more tolerable. Huh? There are many different kinds of pain leaders experience. Here are a few examples. Can you relate? What others can you name? The pain of being misunderstood. You can do everything right and be completely misunderstood. The pain of people leaving your church. The people you help the most are often the first to complain and leave. The pain of a staff member leaving and taking others with them. You chose them, hired them, paid them, encouraged them, trained them, and they leave without honor. The pain of deep disappointment. Your ministry isn’t turning out like you thought or hoped. The pain of carrying others pain. You can only carry so much yourself, you need someone who can walk the leadership journey with you. Can you handle it when you’ve been there for everyone else, and there is no one there for you? Pain isn’t a popular topic, but we are wise to embrace its reality. It’s part of life and leadership. If we fail to see pain as only an unwelcome intruder, we’ll fail to ask the right questions, and our heartache will be wasted. Comfort is overrated. It doesn’t lead to happiness. It makes us lazy – and forgetful. It often leads to self-absorption, boredom, and discontent. Discomfort can be a catalyst for growth. It makes us yearn for something more. It forces us to change, stretch, and adapt. Discomfort can be a catalyst for growth. It forces us to change, stretch, and adapt. – @samchand 1) See pain as your greatest teacher. Don’t avoid it. Don’t minimize it. And don’t numb yourself to it. Pain 2
never just goes away. When it’s not resolved, it sinks deep into our minds, creates anxiety in our hearts, causes resentment and creates tension in our relationships. Instead ask God what He has in store and how you can learn and grow through it. 2) Let your vision drive you. Keep the vision fresh and strong. Don’t let your mind be consumed by your immediate pain and obvious limitations. When you interpret your pain as bigger – more important, more threatening, more comprehensive – than your vision, you’ll redefine your vision down to the threshold of your pain. 3) Have a rigorous personal development plan. If you have a plan to grow, you’ll incorporate the difficulties, challenges and trials life brings your way to a stronger more capable and more resilient leadership self. And remember, “You’ll grow only to the threshold of your pain.” Leadership is the lifting of a man’s vision to higher sights, the raising of a man’s performance to a higher standard, the building of a man’s personality beyond its limitations. —Peter Drucker When you interpret your pain as bigger—more important, more threatening, more comprehensive—than your vision, you’ll redefine your vision down to the threshold of your pain. Change only happens when our level of desire (or actually desperation) rises above the level of our fears. The art of leadership is understanding what you can’t compromise on. Reluctance to face pain is your greatest limitation. There is no growth without change, no change without loss, and no loss without pain. Success is not measured by what you accomplish but by the opposition you have encountered, and the courage with which you have maintained the struggle against overwhelming odds. Pain is a part of progress. Anything that grows experiences some pain. If I avoid all pain, I’m avoiding growth. Difficulties are God’s curriculum for those who want to excel. Never trust a leader who doesn’t walk with a limp. — Dr. J. Robert Clinton Consider the following questions: • Who in your life “gets you” and doesn’t think you’re weak or strange when you wrestle with the complexities of your role? • Who listens to you without feeling compelled to give you advice? • Who asks second and third questions to draw you out instead of giving pat answers, simple prescriptions, and easy formulas? • Who is your safe haven so you can be completely honest and open? • Who fills your spiritual and emotional gas tank? In a New York Times article, Stanford professor Robert Sutton commented, “One nasty person can bring down a whole group." That can happen because the group members devote more energy
to dealing with the bad apple and less energy to the task at hand. Moreover, anger and hostility are contagious, so the whole group can become infected. If you’re not hurting, you’re not leading. Your vision for the future has to be big enough to propel you to face the heartaches and struggles you’ll find along the way. Leaders can do one of three things with those who hold their ladders: retain them because they’re effective, release them because they aren’t, or reassign and retrain them to hold someone else’s ladder. Many people only seek covering when they are in trouble and find themselves trying to deal with long-term problems with short-term friends. Being uncovered isn’t just inconvenient; it’s dangerous. When you chart the course of your church toward growth, start with one basic assumption: your efforts to grow are going to create many, many problems. Expect them, anticipate them, and welcome them as God’s instructors. There is nothing in the world as wonderful as knowing that everything is right with you and the Father, knowing you are forgiven and clean. I don’t mean knowing that you’re going to heaven when you die. I mean knowing that everything in your past and present is in the open. You’ve brought everything into the light. You aren’t hiding anything from God or anyone else. Adversity is the diamond dust Heaven polishes its jewels with. — Thomas Carlyle REMEMBER... You’ll grow only to the threshold of your pain. Samuel Chand, Leadership Pain: If we give, love, and serve to win approval or gain control over others, we’re not really giving at all; we’re only manipulating people for our benefit. At some point, you’ll stop seeing pain as the enemy and make peace with it. Like Paul, you’ll see pain as a surprising source of strength. God’s power, Paul learned, “is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Without a fresh perspective about pain, a compelling vision, and a clear plan, every heartache has the potential to stop you in your tracks. As we lead organizations—businesses, nonprofits, and churches— size doesn’t matter as much as another crucial factor. The biggest difference between leaders of large organizations and small organizations isn’t their location, the size of their building, the scope of the vision, the number of staff members, or their talent. In fact, some of the best leaders I’ve ever met have small organizations. But in all my consulting and conferences, I’ve seen a single factor: leaders of larger organizations have proven they can handle more pain. Work hard to build or rebuild trust. With it, you can fulfill the greatest dreams. Without it, you’ll crush people’s spirits. Being a Christian leader in any organization is one of the most difficult jobs in the world—full of risks, strains, and challenges for the leader and his family—but it’s also the one that offers the greatest hope to make a difference both now and for eternity. We are honored to host Dr. Chand at our first-annual REFUEL CONFERENCE, on Thursday, May 16 for three dynamic sessions. Make plans now to join us. I assure you that you’ll be blessed! Tim R. Barker 3
67th Annual South Texas District Council May 14-16, 2019
Schedule Tuesday, May 14 8AM
Speed the Light Golf Tournament
7PM
Missions Service
Following the Service
Southwestern Assemblies of God University Alumni Reception
Shot-Gun Start – 4 man scramble format Reverend Eli Gautreaux - Chi Alpha Representative South Texas District of the Assemblies of God
Wednesday, May 15 9AM 11AM
Business Session Memorial Service
12:30PM
Missions Luncheon
3PM - 4:15PM
Sessions
7PM
Ordination Service
Thursday, May 16
Refuel Conference ($25/person OR Free if registered for District Council)
9AM
General Session
12PM 2PM - 3:30PM
Lunch General Session
7PM
General Session
Reverend Joel Garza - Lead Pastor, First Assembly of God, San Antonio Hilton San Antonio Hill Country Luncheon cost is $25 if registered by May 6, $30 if registered after May 6, or $35 at the door. If you wish to attend please pay when your register for Council. For questions please contact Roger or Debbi Audorff at raudorff.stxag@gmail.com or call the District Office at 713.455.1221 Serving Fitness Reverend David Summerlin Disaster Relief To Be Announced La Mesa Rodunda – (How to Best Serve Your Church) Reverend Kendall Reavis, Church Planting Facilitator South Texas District of the Assemblies of God Dr. Tim R. Barker - Superintendent, South Texas District of the Assemblies of God
Dr. Sam Chand - Leadership Architect & Change Strategist More information at: samchand.com
Dr. Sam Chand Dr. Sam Chand
Hotel Information Hilton San Antonio Hill Country
9800 Westover Hills Boulevard, San Antonio, Texas 78251 210.509.9800 / Cut-off date: Sunday, April 21 Rate: $109 / Blocked Name: South Texas District Assemblies of God In House Restaurant / Scheduled Shuttle Service to the Church.
Childcare ages 0-5 is available for evening services only. You must pre-register
Remember to Pre-Register at STXAG.org
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Proverbs 3:5 & 6 NLT About 5 years into our pastorate in Seguin, Texas there was a burning desire to see new churches planted in the greater San Antonio area. I don’t understand everything about the call of God or the nudging and leading of the Holy Spirit but it was something very real that was taking place in my spirit. You cannot get away from it and if you try you’ll find yourself in the belly of a fish. At the same time there was the same burden and nudging going on in my Youth Pastor & Associate Bobby Nixon. God doesn’t just burden you but he burdens the team. And remember that many of the team you begin with won’t be with you long. Just for a season. So how do you know where to plant? Where to minister? Where to go? I literally ask those who are burdened to drive around the area and pray. The Holy Spirit will burden you and lead you. He will give you a wonderful peace about the location. Bobby & Lisa Nixon in LaVernia - they drove around praying and landed in a rural area southeast of San Antonio population 941 Stephen and Thelisa Nutt - drove around San Antonio, Helotes and Bulverde but landed in Mansfield (the North Texas District. . . but we still love them!) John & Stephanie VanPay - had a burden for San Antonio and landed in Helotes, the same area that Steve and Thelisa did not have a burden for. Joe and Jean Barnes - his family started a church in Huntsville, Texas. At the time the 1960 population of Huntsville was around 7-9,000. God wanted him there. He had a burden for college students and the rest is history because under his leadership Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship was born on the campus of Sam Houston State University. 1. Acknowledge the burden and nudging 2. Pray 3. Find someone to talk to 4. Attend conferences that deal with your burden 5. Pray 6. Take steps to fulfill the nudge 7. Drive around and PRAY. The Holy Spirit will lead and guide you to the area where He wants you 8. Don’t pre-decide location based on population, demographics or income level or possible remuneration. Be completely open. 9. Develop a support group, a team 10. Did I say pray ? God will lead you. He will provide for you. He will sustain you. But your story will be your story and will be different from everyone else’s. In this edition of the STAR I want to highlight the ministry of Scott & Kathy Briggs, pastoring Oak Harvest Assembly of God in rural Fred, Texas. Population around 300. This is one of the healthiest and most dynamic churches in South Texas. It’s not the size of the town or the socioeconomic dynamic of the area, it’s whether or not God wants you there to partner with Him to build His church, to love and serve that community and to consistently and faithfully minster the full gospel. South Texas is blessed to have so many thriving Assembly of God churches that are located in rural areas. These are some of our healthiest and most vibrant churches. I can’t force you to plant ministries at any certain place but I want to encourage you to not forget about rural South Texas. If you commit to these smaller communities they will love you, serve you and your family will have a lifetime of wonderful Kingdom Harvest. Most of the time the smaller community simply wants to know if you are committed to them. Make it a matter of prayer. With God's help, in the next few years, we need 100 more rural churches in South Texas. People everywhere need to be reached with the good news! Pray. Go. Serve. Commit. And pray more. I love each of you! Thank you for your faithfulness! Pastor Don 6
Ministers & Churches Changes and Updates New Certified
Veronica Alonzo Darlene Ayers Keith Barger Jason Bone Jennifer Coronado Tien Dang Shannon Fridge Maria Garcia
Upgraded to License Vincente Montelongo Moriah Offord
New License
Peter Adewole Sandra Barnes
Reinstate
Matthew Andersen
Vanessa Glass Clark Lanning Krysta Marino Ryan Marino Douglas McIntosh Trevor Morvant Sir James Offord Vanessa Perez
Stephen Pridemore Sean Scott Nicholas Skogg Daniel Tavani Lillian Taylor Daniel Van Hook Caleb Yanase
Nathaniel Pacini
Samuel Pitt
Pat Beaty
Alisa Ward
Joshua Lowrance
Transfers in
From Georgia District - Eric Starks
Transfers Out
To North Texas District - Patrick Washburn
From Oregon District - Aaron Flynn To Oklahoma District - Larry Martin
Name Change
City South Church, San Antonio - is now: City on a Hill of the Assemblies of God
New PAC Church
Motion Church, Pastor Nolan McLaughlin – Parent Church: Life Point Church, Pastor James Polnick
General Council Affiliated - The following churches completed the process Beaumont Section Redemption Church, Baytown – Pastor Byron Ellis Victoria Section Hallettsville Community Church, Hallettsville – Pastor Apolonio Garcia
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In this edition of the STAR we want to shine the spotlight on Rev. Scott and Kathy Briggs and their church Oak Grove Harvest Assembly of God in Fred, Texas. Wikipedia says, “Fred is approximately 40 miles north of Beaumont and is located in the Big Thicket. The community has no traffic lights and 55 is the only city speed limit, except during school traffic hours. Fred is home to one convenience store, Fred Grocery which has a deli. Since the introduction of a Dollar General Store, Fred Grocery has closed. There are two Baptist churches and several other churches of various denominations. Fred has a health care clinic with a physician’s assistant." “Hunting (wild hog and deer) and fishing are favorite pastimes of the residents of Fred” according to texasescapes.com. Fred’s Post office was granted in 1881. The town started out with a modest population of 30, which exploded to 75 by 1913. Fred had a population of 349 in the late 60s but it declined to 239 in 1990. The 2000 census shows a population of 299. taught Sunday School, sang in the choir, taught in Missionettes (my daughter attended her first Prim’s class at one week old because Kathy took her to her class), ran the Women’s ministry, sat on the deacon board, attended conventions, worked in camps, cleaned, cooked, set up tables and chairs, and took them down again. We were mentored by wonderful men and women of God; Rev. J.A. Hendrix, Rev. Reggie Lloyd, and Rev Sidney Woods preached, taught, and lived the Word until it birthed iron in our souls. We were associated with wonderful ministers from a previous generation that still had fire in their bones. Rev. Jenkins Woods gave me church core values when he told a church plant story in the middle of possibly the last sermon he preached. We did what we did because we loved it. The church was who we were, not what we did.
Rev. Scott & Kathy Briggs
I was asked to speak at a C.A. Rally in the mid-1980’s. After the event, a pastor told me the call of God was evident on my life and asked if I was taking Berean. I wrote off for a catalog, soon after enrolled in Berean College and got my first course, “The Life of Christ” by Ralph M. Riggs. Through his writing, the Bible exploded to me. It transformed from a book that I read to a treasure that I sought. Other courses by writers Myer Pearlman, Stanley Horton, and Frank Boyd made the scriptures my sought-after pearl of great price.
My grandfather was Rev. W. O. Henin, a minister with the Assemblies of God. My mom was raised in a Pastor’s home. My parents and Rev. B. H. Clendennen taught me that the Church was the best thing on this earth and to have a call of God to minister was the richest, most noble, and highest appointment man could receive. My experience has convinced me that the most powerful position for change of a culture is the pulpit where the Word of God We received our Minister’s credentials in 2001 and were is preached in power and demonstration. immediately called to be interim Pastors for a church that the Pastor had a long term illness. We led 4 churches as the interim In 1979, I married my absolute soul mate, Kathy. We were already over the next four years. We were allowed by God to take the leading our church’s youth group and knew that we had a call of Pastorate at Northside AG in Houston in 2005, but God never ministry on our lives. For the next 21 years, we lived out that call by made the way for us to move. We tried, but no-one in Houston working in the local church. We led youth (how we loved our teens), would hire me and the company I worked for wouldn’t transfer me.
So the church allowed us to lead that church from 120 miles away. It wasn’t ideal, but it was joyous for us. We were honored to be called Pastors and, because of an occasional word of encouragement from Greg Thurstonson, we really didn’t care about any hardships associated with this. After 18 months, God released us from Northside, and we tearfully left. Then in December of 2007, we were voted in at Oak Grove Harvest in Fred, Texas. We followed wonderful Pastors, Wayne and Betty Watts, who had dutifully worked to build a new building and disciple a solid group of core leaders that are still the core of the church today. Oak Grove is a church of lay-leaders. God has raised up men and women who have come along side us to build a strong fellowship. We are so proud to be a part of what God is doing in Fred. Our hearts are overwhelmed with love for these wonderful people and the way they give themselves to this church. It’s a blessing without words to express. In 2011, we were able to go full time at the church. The church is still who were are, not just what we do.
Looking back from 2019 we can truthfully say that we have had a great ride to- date. We have a daughter that leads worship with a beautiful family and four grands in the Uvalde area. Our son and daughter in law are both credentialed ministers and serve as Missionaries in Athens, Greece with our two other grandchildren. We wouldn’t trade a day and would love to go back and do it all over again; however, the year 2019 is starting off like the best year yet. We believe a “Great Awakening” is just ahead of us. We press on with joy praying, “Lord thy kingdom come, thy will be done.” Thank you Lord for choosing us.
R. Scott Briggs
2019 Schedule Date
Level 1 Courses (Certified) Level 2 Courses (License)
March 2
BIB115 Acts: The Holy Spirit at Work in the Believers
April 6
June 1
BIB121 Introduction to Hermeneutics: How to Study the Bible MIN123 The Local Church in Evangelism
Level 3 Courses (Ordained)
9:30AM - 12:00PM BIB214 Old Testament Survey 1:30PM - 3:30PM MIN261 Introduction to A/G Missions MIN223 Introduction Homiletics THE245 Eschatology: A Study of Things to Come
MIN325 Preaching in the Contemporary World MIN327 Church Administration, Finance & Law
June 1
MIN191 MIN291 MIN391 Beginning Internship Intermediate Internship Advanced Internship Classes not taught on site, students study with their Mentor
September 7
9:30AM - 12:00PM THE142 AG History, Missions & Governance
October 5 November 2
MIN251 Effective Leadership
THE311 Prayer & Worship
1:30PM - 3:30PM MIN171 Spirit Empowered Church MIN181 MIN281 MIN381 Relationships & Ethics in Conflict Management for Pastoral Ministry Ministry Church Leaders BIB114 Christ in the Synoptic Gospels
THE211 BIB313 Introduction to Theology Corinthian Correspondence
Hosted at New Life Church on Northpark, 4032 Northpark, Kingwood, 77345 All students must RSVP 2 weeks prior to each class. 10
So, how would you define the word “Senior”? When we were in High School, we could hardly wait to be “Seniors”! I’ll never forget my first days at SAGU, well SAGC back then. I had served 4 years in the military and had been appointed by the South Texas District to be the temporary pastor of the Assemblies of God church in Universal City. Did that for 6 months! I was discharged from the Air Force in January of 1970. Then, that Fall, with my AG credentials and G. I. Bill in hand at age 22, I walked onto our Bible School. It did not go so well when some “Seniors” informed me that I would need to wear a gold and purple beanie and participate in some other events designed to initiate (humiliate) the Freshman Class of new students. After a brief one-sided conversation, those 21 and 22 year old “Seniors”, apologized and never mentioned the beanies again… at least to me! Later that year, two of them became great friends! “Senior” can be applied so many ways. • Senior defines the highest ranking officer in the room. • Senior refers to the father when he and son have the same name! • Senior is defined as an older, more experienced person • Senior can simply mean older than someone else: He was 26, but was two years his friend’s senior! • Senior can mean holding a high and authoritative position. • I was a Senior pastor at age 28…and age 70! Most applications of the word “Senior” are positive and complementary. That moderates a bit when you add the word “Citizen” to “Senior”, making it “Senior Citizen”! Said that way, there are different kinds of images conjured up in people’s minds, some good, some not so good, But when defining our new District Ministry to Seniors, Seniors With Purpose, SWP, we will use the complementary definitions, especially, “more experienced people”. The church does have the responsibility to minister to it’s Senior Citizens, and we will love them and have a component that serves them, and challenge our churches to that end. What SWP will work towards is harnessing the strength, energy, wisdom, experience and resources of our age group, first for our local churches, then as a demographic of our District. Many of our District’s Seniors are in the most productive years of their lives! The Bible is complementary of “more experienced people”! It is an honor to be a “Senior”! Far too many run from anything that would indicate they are no longer considered young, in age! Remember when CA’s, the AG Youth Ministry, went through age 36? When I was in my early teens, I thought anyone who was no longer a Christ Ambassador, had one foot securely in the grave and the other had a lot of dirt on it! They weren’t just on the down hill side of life, they had hit the bottom of that side! But, I have since discovered the error of my perception. These people were truly equipped for life and had so much energy and wisdom and they had lived the Word and experienced God’s marvelous faithfulness. SWP, will be anything but dull! Seniors, doing exploits for our God, and enjoying the ride! Oh, yes, there does come a time when we can’t do everything we used to. But with wisdom and an intrepid spirit, we will accomplish our purpose in God’s Kingdom. We will not disengage from serving in our churches! So here is what you can look for as we move forward and begin to put the pieces of the SWP puzzle together: 1. A Challenge to be or remain engaged in our own Local Church 2. District, Regional and Sectional events designed for Seniors 3. A Missions element with two parts: a. Giving- All our AG demographics have a Missions element. Speed The Light, BGMC, Light for the Lost, etc. We will have one too! b. Going i. We will develop a Disaster Response Team that will work with the District Team. ii. We will participate in one Missions Trip per year. 4. There will be some great, fun, trips. Usually one per year. The first one will be a Seniors Cruise, this year, November 30- December 5. 5. Spiritual Growth- We want to continue to grow in Christ! In addition to great meetings that will minister to us and challenge us, we will have a yearly Bible reading challenge. No Christian has the right to disengage from serving in God’s Kingdom. That’s why “No Coasting to the Finish Line”! Hope to see you at “The Summit”, Wayne and Judy Clark
CHURCH MINISTRIES AND DISCIPLESHIP Rev. Tammy Calderon, Director 2018 was a great year for BGMC. South Texas gave a total of $253,055.22. We are Þrst in our division and 8th in the Nation. Two of our churches had outstanding years and ranked high in the Nation. • Portland Revival Center in Portland, Texas, Pastor Sandy Woodard gave $39,000 making them #1 in South Texas, #13 in the whole Nation and #1 in Division 1-B (51-100 Sunday AM attendance). • Also, New Life Church, Cypress, Texas, Pastor Steve Weaver gave $24,110.11 making them #2 in South Texas and #1 in Division 3 (251-500 Sunday AM attendance). Working together for our King!
Tammy Calderon
Our 2018/2019 is in full swing! We have new churches that have joined us for this season and we have seen growth in every division. This season, our focus is on teaching the kids to have Godly Sportsmanship. We have seen our STX kids show love to each other during completion more than before. We would love to see more churches join JBQ. To Þnd out how to incorporate JBQ in your childrenÕs ministry, email stxkids@gmail.com.
2018 was another incredible year for BGMC Offerings. Throughout the year, BGMC Offering can be sent to: 1445 N. Boonville Ave. SpringĂželd, MO 65802. We expect 2019 to be a great year of giving! Thank you for giving to missions and helping the Gospel reach the world!
So many exciting things are happening in 2019! We hope to see you at our future events!
CHURCH MINISTRIES AND DISCIPLESHIP
South Texas District Church Ministries and Discipleship Department 2019 Calendar Of Events January 1 New Year’s Holiday - D.O. Closed 12 JBQ League Meet 20 Cradle Roll Day 21 Martin Luther King Day - D.O Closed
July 1-4 4 6-9 10-13
February 2 JBQ League Meet 16 “Tru Fire” Children’s Pastors Training Northwood Church Spring, TX 19-21 Senior Adult Retreat - HCC Kerrville
August 31-4 General Council (July 31-Aug. 4)
March 2 JBQ League Meet 10 BGMC Day 23 JBQ District Finals April 19 Good Friday – D.O. Closed 21 Easter 26-27 JBQ Regional Finals May 5-11 National Family Week 14-16 District Council 27 Memorial Day-D.O. Closed June 6-8 JBQ Nationals 24-27 Kids Camp #1 - HCC Kerrville
Family Camp – HCC Kerrville Independence Day - D.O. Closed Kids Camp #2 – HCC Kerrville Kids Camp #3 – HCC Kerrville
September 2 Labor Day - D.O. Closed 14 JBQ Coaches & Officials Training 22 National Sunday School and Teacher Recognition Day October 5 Kids In Ministry – First AG La Porte 12 JBQ Practice Meet November 3 National Singles Adult Day 9 JBQ Practice Meet 27-29 Thanksgiving Day- D.O. Closed December 23-27 Christmas – D.O Closed 31 BGMC offering deadline to Springfield, MO
For more Information regarding any of these events please visit our web site at www.stxagchurchministries.org or email stxkids@gmail.com
UNLOCKING the MYSTERY and the POWER of the HOLY SPIRIT
May 3-4, 2019 Hill Country Camp Kerrville, TX 2 Tracks: Elementary & Teens
Come expecting God to do great things!
Join us for the adventure Melissa LeClare mleclare@stxag.org 713.455.1221
Special Speakers