What unites us as Colorado Baptists? What common bond do we share that will help us truly impact this state by penetrating lostness?  Is it the Cooperative Program? Is it the Baptist Faith and Message? Is it sharing particular affinities such as being a product of a “mountain/western” culture? Is it geographical proximity? Is it style of worship? Is it our methodology and ecclesiology? What truly unites us as Colorado Baptists?

While I am a strong proponent of the Cooperative Program and believe it to be the most effective means of fulfilling the Great Commission through shared resources, and I subscribe wholeheartedly to the Baptist Faith and Message 2000, and appreciate the diversity of our many worship styles, methodological and ecclesiological expressions of church, I believe there is something more deeply fundamental that unites us. It is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I am afraid that we are living in an evangelical culture where the gospel is being assumed and whenever this happens, the next generation almost always suffers a drift into liberalism, pragmatism, and a down-grade on the most important message we are called to share. In 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, Paul reminds us that the gospel is of first importance. He writes, “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you- unless you believed in vain.  For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,  that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.”

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Thank you all for your continued prayer and your sacrificial gifts to this effort.  There have been a number of Colorado Baptist churches that I am aware of that have given to the relief efforts in Haiti and I am sure many more that I am not.  Below you will find the most current information regarding SBDR response to Haiti, with commentary in italics.

1. Southern Baptist (SB) Disaster Relief Operation

• SB assessment team to return to Florida for debriefing on Tuesday.
• SB Disaster Relief network to enter the strategy development phase.
• SB Disaster Relief volunteers are not first responders (i.e. military, fire fighter, police officers, rescue & recovery teams).  While some of our volunteers may actually be first responders by trade/career, we are not a first response organization…we are a relief organization.  We will continue to support first responders but the bulk of OUR response will be over the long term.  It has been said, “When the cameras go home, we come in.”

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