He Began a Good Work

Our little red brick building on West Commerce may not
look like much, but God has done amazing things to bring
us this far, and He has far greater things in store
for our future

Everyday I wake up thinking the same thing... "We have to reach more people."

In 2007, God called me to uproot my family from East Texas, and move to the West Central Texas town of Brownwood to start a new church. I felt funny explaining my calling to potential employers and contacts in Brownwood, because anyone who has been there knows there is a Baptist church on just about every corner. Still, God compelled my wife and I to move to Brownwood and begin ministering to the community.

What we learned upon arriving in Brownwood is that, despite the best efforts of some of the best churches around, there are still lost people in Brownwood who need the Lord, who are receptive to His word.

From the moment we moved to town, God has guided every step. He led us to our first visitors (our neighbors). He led us to the first place we held worship services (Brownwood Apartments Phase II Community Room). He led us to our first members. He guided my secular employment in ways that have raised Grace Pointe's visibility in Brownwood. Every step of the way, God has been there.

So here we are, 4 1/2 years after arriving in Brownwood. I've gone from just a new resident, to news director for the #1 radio station in town (KOXE 101.3 FM), where I also get to host a Sunday morning program about Jesus. Furthermore, Grace Pointe has a solid group of core members. Our youth ministry is going strong, and there is a good spirit among the members.

The Brownwood Apts. Phase II community room,
Where it all started

Yet, everyday, I wake up concerned... I am concerned about the health of the church, and I am concerned that we are not reaching enough people. Then, the other day, while reading my Bible at Riverside Park, it hit me. I didn't wake up one morning in East Texas and decide to move to Brownwood to start a church. God called me to Brownwood, shortly after Sunday morning services at Denson Springs MBC in Slocum, Texas. Not only did He call me, he confirmed that calling through things that happened with some of our ministries there, and through conversations with church members. And just to let me know that Denson Springs would be okay after I resigned the pastorate there, God added many people to that church right after I left. Once in Brownwood, He took over, and made things happen.

God is in control of things, and He reminded me of that this week. He has great things in store for Grace Pointe, and He is bringing those things about right now. All we have to do is keep moving forward, trusting Him, and following His lead.

Philippians 1:6 - Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

Booze Stooge

Part of my job as news director for KOXE is to go to the Law Enforcement Center every morning and check the police reports for any possible incident that might make a good news story. While there is an occasional robbery, or string of vehicle burglaries, most of the incident reports have to deal with DUI violations, possession of small amounts of marijuana, or disorderly conduct often caused by excessive drinking. To be quite honest, if not for the alcohol-related offenses in the stack of police reports, there probably wouldn't be much news at all come out of the Brown County Law Enforcement Center.

To be quite honest, consuming alcohol is quite popular in America. When Jacksonville, Texas, voted to allow alcohol to be sold in stores, sales tax revenues jumped. At the store my father manages, the increased sales revenues allowed him to hire an assistant manager, thus making it posssible for him to take a day off. While many people drink socially without much problem, many others have their lives destroyed by their actions while under the influence of alcohol. Given the problems and social stigma that often accompany the consumption of alcoholic beverages, my practice is to counsel people to avoid consuming alcoholic beverages.

The Bible is very clear in regard to recreational drinking. Isaiah 5:11 says, "Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink, that continue until night, till wine inflame them." Isaiah 5:22 reiterates this by saying, "Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink."

People who engage in recreational drinking for the purpose of getting intoxicated are setting themselves up for disaster. Drunkeness is a sin, and it also creates situations that will not be easily resolved when the buzz wears off.

For that reason, and given the strength of alcoholic beverages today, I counsel people not to drink alcohol. (1) Despite it's popularity, recreational drinking does carry a social stigma. (2) Given the potential for recreational drinking to go too far, resulting in a drunken incident, I advise people to abstain from drinking alcoholic beverages. Why flirt with disaster? (3) Drinking alcoholic beverages does not help your relationship with Christ. You are not going to grow closer to the Lord by drinking.

Now, some will counter with the statement, "But the Bible doesn't forbid drinking." This is true, but if you are going through life trying to figure out what the Bible allows you to do, then you are approaching your relationship with God the wrong way. The question is not, "What can I do, and what can't I do?" but rather, "What should I be doing?" That's a topic for another day.

So, to sum up. Drinking is not expressly prohibited in scripture, but for a variety of reasons, I strongly advise against it.

A Fishy Weekend

Volunteers at Lake Brownwood First Baptist Church serve
fried fish plates, complete with hush puppies and baked beans.

The Brownwood community enjoyed a "fishy" weekend as two separate fundraisers involving fried fish took place this weekend.

On Friday, the Pecan Valley Kiwanis Club hosted their annual Fins and Feathers luncheon to raise funds for their various projects that help area children. The event was so popular, the Kiwanians had trouble keeping up with demand. Live entertainment was provided by Island Phil.

Saturday, Lake Brownwood First Baptist Church hosted their fish-fry to raise funds to pay off their building. Fish plates were two-for-$10, or one for six dollars. Additional funds were raised through the desert auction.

The cake has met its demise, but the
pie has survived so far.

Jessica bid on a number of desserts and we walked away with three. If anyone needs a pie, be sure to hit me up. We also have some home-made yeast rolls, but I plan on making quick work of them at lunch tomorrow.

Overall, it's been a fun weekend... and we haven't even had a church service yet! Speaking of church, see you at Grace Pointe, 1045 West Commerce, in Brownwood... Sundays at 11 a.m. & 6:30 p.m. If you're lucky, maybe Jessica will share some of the preserves she bought at the fish fry.

Camp Bowie Continues to Drive Brownwood Forward

Vintage military equipment is on display at 36th Division
War Memorial Park, located at the corner of Milam Drive
and Crockett Street. The park sits on land just outside the
former headquarters of Camp Bowie.

In 1940, with World War II escalating in Europe, President Franklin D. Roosevelt mobilized the National Guard to boost U.S. defenses. That order resulted in the construction of Camp Bowie, a military training facility that would be home to the 36th Division of the Texas National Guard, and more than 3,000 German POWs, many from Erwin Rommel's Afrika Corps.

As the United States became involved in the European theater of the war, Camp Bowie grew to be the largest military training facility in Texas. The influx of military personnel was a boon for the local economy, and the arrival of German POWs provided local farmers with cheap labor.

Following the war in 1946, Camp Bowie was declared military surplus, and land and buildings were distributed to the public.

Camp Bowie remains a training station for the National Guard's 111th Engineer Battalion. Though the National Guard facility is a small fraction of what the camp used to be, the camp, its history, presence and downsizing continue to drive Brownwood today.

Land formerly occupied by Camp Bowie is now home to
major manufacturers, like 3M and Kohler.

Where the main gate was, Gate 1, is now where the Gate 1 Inn is located. Land formerly used for Camp Bowie is now home to Brownwood's major industries, like Kohler and 3M, Brownwood Regional Hospital, and various recreational facilities like the Bert V. Massey Sports Complex, the aquatic center, Gordon Wood Stadium and 36th Division War Memorial Park.

The presence of 3M and Kohler adds manufacturing jobs which continue to drive the local economy. The recreational facilities offer better quality of life and draw visitors from out of town. Brownwood Regional Medical Center is a health care hub for the small towns that surround Brownwood.

The distribution of land and buildings provided for low-cost housing and the addition of subdivisions.

Gordon Wood Stadium, home of the 7-time state champion
Brownwood Lions, is located on land formerly occupied
by Camp Bowie. The stadium is adjacent to the sports complex.

Many homes in Brownwood were fashioned out of former Camp Bowie barrack buildings. Such homes have been remodeled and made into very spacious residences.

Though Camp Bowie's "hay-day" was only six years, Brownwood will always be a military town at heart, as is evidenced by the way the town rallies around the 111th Engineer Battalion at deployment time.

Though Camp Bowie is only a fraction of the size it was from 1940-1946, the decision to build, downsize, and maintain the training facility has proven to be a blessing for Brownwood.

Why State Missions is just as Important as Foreign Missions

When God first called me to Brownwood, Texas, to start a new church, I felt silly explaining my call to others. I didn't call myself a missionary, because I didn't feel worthy to have the same title as the men who went to foreign countries to preach the Gospel, some in the face of persecution. Explaining my calling to those who are not members of a local New Testament church was equally odd, because, after all, doesn't Brownwood have enough churches? (At one time, Brownwood had more churches per capita than any other city in Texas).

In some circles, state missions is seen as a second-tier priority, because they believe that people in America have had ample access to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I have a friend in another Baptist association who once told me that "The sun never sets on our mission programs" (meaning the association had missionaries worldwide), but "We're not that good at state missions."

So, why should we give state missions and state missionaries the same consideration we give foreign missionaries? Here's why.

In my two years I have been in Brownwood (it'll be two years come June), I have observed that despite the large number of churches (and buildings with "church" on the sign), there is a large percentage of the population that (a) has not heard the true Gospel (the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ for our sins according to the scriptures), (b) have not been reached out to with the Gospel, and (c) many do not have ready access to solid teaching of the whole counsel of God. This is in Brownwood, Texas, a hub for various Baptist groups, and home to many Charismatic churches and organizations as well.

I'm not going to criticize these groups because I have no knowledge of what they teach or how they endeavor to spread the Gospel. What I am saying is that despite the presence of these churches, and a theological school at Howard Payne University, many in Brownwood still live without having heard or without knowing or understanding the Gospel.

Over Spring Break, Jessica and I were priviledged to travel to Corpus Christi (pictured above). We passed through cities like Llano, Fredericksburg, Boerne, San Antonio, Corpus Christi, Aransas Pass and Port Aransas, as well as Ingleside, Goliad, Gonzales, Austin, Leander, Lampassas and Goldthwaite. What kept pressing on my heart were the multitudes of people in these towns that still had not been reached with the Gospel.

I understand that many will not receive the Gospel, I recognize that most will reject Christ. Still, we must be busy reaching people with the Gospel because (a) we were commanded and (b) some will receive.

Corpus Christi alone has more than 200,000 residents, all without the lighthouse of an ABA church. McArdle Road MBC was there at one point, but a series of unfortunate incidents led to the church's disbanding a few years ago. If we can find those who still need to be reached in Brownwood, Texas (population 24,000), think of how many need to be reached in Corpus? Yet it seems difficult to get anyone to go there with the Gospel.

It's not just Corpus. Aransas Pass and Ingleside both have populations at approximately 10,000 people, plus a few thousand more in nearby Port Aransas. All three of these cities are within a 10-mile radius of each other. Look at all the growth around Austin. Thousands live there unreached.

There is a great need for state missionaries in Texas, and missionaries all over the U.S. There is a great need for missionaries worldwide. Don't discount the value of a mission work based on its location. Evaluate it based on what the Spirit is leading you to do in regard to supporting it, or even going to the field yourself.

Monday Mission Fields - West Central Texas

As Grace Pointe MBC works toward organization, I would like to share my burden with you. My goal for Grace Pointe, even before we arrived in Brownwood, was to see a church established that in turn, planted other churches by sending out missionaries. West Central Texas, also referred to as The Big Country and The Heartland, is home to thousands of people, many sizeable towns, all located hours away from the nearest Missionary Baptist Church. If you don't think it matters, think again. I have met many who hope for and pray for Missionary Baptists or like-minded Baptists to come to their towns.

That being said, let's look at some of these towns, located near Brownwood, which are towns that I'd like to see missionaries go to. My plan is for Grace Pointe to send men to these towns as missionaries, but if some other ABA church beats us to the punch... PRAISE THE LORD!

Coleman, Texas

Coleman is a town of 5,000 people, with 10,000 residing in Coleman County. (In West Texas, county names make sense. Coleman is in Coleman County, Comanche in Comanche County, and Brownwood in Brown County, contrast that to Athens being in Henderson County, Henderson being in Rusk County, and Rusk being in Cherokee County.)

The population of Coleman County peaked at 30,000 back during the Great Depression, and has slowly declined ever since.

Coleman is home to five independent Baptist churches, three of which I would consider viable. Aside from that, Coleman lives on poverty. The city has several public housing projects and millions are paid to Coleman County every year through federal programs. Drug use is rampant, as is alcoholism, and the county jail only holds 9 inmates, all of which must be adult men.

Hopelessness also reigns in Coleman. The Texas Historic Commission recently offered to restore the county courthouse, offering to pay 80%, but as of yet, the commissioner's court hasn't accepted the offer. Two main points of contention are, (1) Coleman County will still have to pay 20% and (2) What's the point?

Coleman is a tough place to live, work, sell advertising, and maintain hope. Still, they need a good, doctrinally sound church to spread the Hope of Christ throughout the city. Coleman is 35 miles west of Brownwood.

Brady, Texas

Boasting a population of 5,500, Brady is already home to two Missionary Baptists. Not Missionary Baptist Churches, no, Missionary Baptists. These two individuals are core members of Grace Pointe, but I would like to see them be able to take part in a new mission work in Brady in the next few years.

In so far as socio-economics, Brady fares better than Coleman by way of chain retailers, restaurants, hotels and FM radio, as well as a Country Music Hall of Fame type museum. Still the problems that plague Brownwood and Coleman are also persistent in Brady.

Abilene, Texas

Yes, there is economic growth in West Texas, and Abilene is getting the lions share. There are also two ABA churches in Abilene, both located on the southside. Both of these churches, Wyndrock MBC and Texas Ave. MBC, are great churches with great men pastoring them. However, with a population of 158,000, more evangelical, dare I say missional, effort needs to be spent on Abilene than these two churches can do alone. Again, it's not that these churches aren't good, evangelical and missional churches (they are), it's just that there is so much population that a third, possibly fourth ABA church is warranted, in my opinion. (I also think Brownwood needs a second church, plus one in Early).

Abilene is home to three universities, McMurray, Hardin-Simmons, and Abilene Christian University, plus has a campus of Cisco College. The universities are Division II and Division III schools, but rank on the larger end of those divisions. All three are religiously affiliated. Hardin Simmons is Southern Baptist, Abilene Christian is Church of Christ, and I think McMurray is Methodist. Education ranks supreme in Abilene, as the city ranks 17th in the nation for public education.

Abilene is also the birthplace of Jessica Simpson... we'll forgive her for Tony Romo's bad football play. hehe.

Anyway, a large, growing population, combined with an active and mobile student population and a favorable economic atmosphere make Abilene a promising mission field.

Early, Texas

It's hard to say whether Early is Brownwood's suburb, or if Brownwood is Early's suburb. Sure, Brownwood has the population (20,000 vs. 4,000), but Early has the commerce (Heartland Mall, Humphrey Petes, Scott's Western Wear, Brownwood Muffler and Mi Familia Restaurant, among others.)

The Early Longhorns are also one of the most perennially feared 2A football teams in the state as well as softball. Last year, both made the state semifinals, if my memory is correct.

A good strong church in Early could evangelize that growing community, help Grace Pointe reach Brownwood, and be the spring board to Comanche, Texas.

Comanche, Texas

Comanche, Texas is home to 4,400 people, with 14,000 in the county. The nearest ABA church, other than Brownwood, is in the Fort Worth area.

Comanche is a typical small West Texas town, with signs celebrating the girls' basketball teams' state championships in the 1950s still hung on the courthouse square. Unlike Coleman, there are no independent or Missionary Baptists churches in Comanche.

Comanche is a good mission field to evangelize as we begin to work not only outward in West Texas, but also back toward Forth Worth.

Other local fields

Lake Brownwood
Stephenville
Cisco
Rising Star
Cross Plains
Baird
Goldthwaite

What to do about what to do

If you feel drawn to any of these fields, call me at (325) 200-8531 or email gracepointembc@aol.com. I'd like to discuss your burden, my burden, and how we can possibly reach these fields together.

Guiding Principles

Yesterday, Jessica and I had a rather in-depth discussion over dinner at Dairy Queen. We discussed the direction we'd like to see the mission go, and the things necessary for the mission to have an impact on the city of Brownwood. Over the course of the conversation, I identified five possible guiding principles for Grace Pointe. They are:

• Everyone deserves to hear the Gospel (see Romans 1:14).
• Every member proclaims the Gospel.
• Every church sends missionaries.
• Every member supports the church's ministry.
• Every household in Brownwood gets evangelized.

Jessica also identified some core practices, such as Service, Witnessing, Application and Teaching (or Training)... to form the acronymn, SWAT. She is developing a program for the ladies auxiliary, and I think SWAT will be the core values there.

All that being said, we will be canvassing north Brownwood neighborhoods this week, and have two major outreach events approaching.

1. National Back to Church Sunday on Sept. 13.
2. Brownwood Reunion Weekend Sept. 18-20.

I've been told that Grace Pointe MBM is off to a great start... but I don't feel like we've really gotten started. I am amazed at how far the mission has come in the past year, and I anxiously anticipate how amazed I'll be this time next year.

Cruel Summer

Sorry for the reference to the old Bananarama song, but here's how things are going in Brownwood.

1. Mission attendance is way down, as are the offerings for August. I feel that this is temporary as some have been on vacation and others are falling prey to Satan's distractions, but still it can be discouraging. I am fully aware, though, that ups and downs are a part of mission work and general church ministry as well.

2. Mission advancement is challenging. Over the next few months I am going to work to teach the fundamentals about being a scriptural church, and even plan to introduce a church constitution and set of by-laws, as well as a church covenant, documents all prepared for one of our sister churches, as an example. I suspect with the watering down of Christianity, and how that watered down system has been prevalently taught in Brownwood, that there will be problems here. Hence, I have been very slow to move in this direction.

3. Missionary time continues to be strained. Due to the increasing workload of my job (namely trying to get the sales caught up), my time and ability to follow up and evangelize is being cut into heavily.

4. For the fourth time this summer, my home air conditioner is not working. It works fine as long as the temperature stays below 80 degrees outside. Here in Brownwood, it routinely tops 100.

Keep us in prayer, the next two years (the time table for being self-supporting) are going to be times of difficult transition.

Hello, old friend

It's been more than a month since I've blogged. While I enjoy writing and sharing my thoughts and the exploits of the core believers at Grace Pointe, things have been ridiculously hectic over the past two and a half months.

We moved into the rented building at the end of May and held our first services there the first Sunday in June. We immediately went to work refurbishing the back rooms (now a kitchen and fellowship hall, both of which can double as classrooms.) We spent a lot of money at Home Depot and several late nights painting walls and installing floor base (also called baseboard.)

Brothers Mike and John Johnson installed new vinyl composition flooring in the back rooms, as well as carpet in the hallway and nursery.

At the beginning of July, Jessica, the kids and I had to go to Colorado to care for Jessica's mother. We were there for two weeks. While it wasn't really a vacation (we were doing home health), we did enjoy a slowed down pace of life for a while, and got to see the top of Pike's Peak. While I was in Colorado, the operations of KSTA basically fell apart, especially in regard to Sunday programming. One Sunday, the WireReady automation software failed to load the Sunday programs... which is not all that uncommon... but no one caught it until well into the day. Other problems later arose when the person responsible for recording the programs failed to record them in the proper file format.

This is one of the latest in a long series of frustrations that has hindered our mission work. The inability of the station to properly operate during automated hours causes me to have to spend my "off time" (which is when I do the mission work) repairing issues with the radio station.

Three Sundays were horribly botched, and that has had a negative effect on the well being of the station. So, when I returned to Brownwood, I had that mess to clean up... as well as preparations for the Southwest Mission Rally and VBS.

The Southwest Mission Rally went very well. Following a great weekend of fellowship, we hurriedly resumed VBS planning, and finding that a number of our volunteers were falling off due to various reasons, we had to reformat VBS to be more of a youth seminar/presentation than a VBS. Think of it as church camp where the kids go home every night. Attendance has fluctuated at VBS, ranging from six to 22 kids.

Church attendance at the mission is struggling as well. A lot of the regulars have become lax in their attendance, which means that I have to do more follow up, which further strains evangelism efforts.

Notwithstanding all of this, the work at Grace Pointe continues, and will continue and God will see His church established in Brownwood. As we see more challenges, we are getting together (Jessica, myself and several of the "members") and praying and adjusting to overcome the adversities. I have heard that battles never go according to the battle plan... the same holds true in mission work. A mission project never goes according to plan. There are adversities, hurdles, attacks by Satan, heartbreaks and dissappointments. However, there are also sweet victories that come when you see lives changed and souls saved. AMEN!

So, be in prayer for us. We are transitioning now to empower and enable Grace Pointe to undertake the Great Commission given to the Lord's Churches, and we are looking at ways to transform the work in Brownwood so that the mission work here becomes even more robust, and more abundant than it already has become. I feel that if we work the fields, God will give an abundant harvest... so in the traditions of our agricultural ancestors, we'll work the fields from sun up to sundown, possibly later.

Thank you for your prayers, and to our financial partners, thanks for your financial support. We'll see you in Jacksonville in October, and Denison in November. Until then, here's hoping I can keep up the Mission: Brownwood blog better.

Rain!!!!!!

It rained last night and this morning in Brownwood. While the rain is good for ground moisture, agriculture and lawn maintenance, it is not so good for lawn maintenance, carpet and laundry. Hehe, the kids enjoyed it, though.

Brownwood happenings

Things are on fire in Brownwood... literally. A tracer from machine gun fire on the firing range of the Camp Bowie Military Reservation sparked a huge grass fire, the smoke of which could be seen for miles. The fire has been extinguished, and no major property damage was reported (most of the affected area was on the base.)

Temperatures today seem to have peaked at 107 degrees. Dust devils are a very common site in downtown, mainly due to the dry conditions and numerous street construction projects.

Keeping a car washed here is an exercise in futility.

The further adventures of Leland Acker

Wednesday, my bosses told me to take back some of the extra time I've been putting into my work. So, I jumped in the car with a folder full of resumes and canvassed Brownwood in search of gainful employment. Here's how my day went.

The Goldthwaite Eagle
The Eagle is a weekly paper published in the small town of Goldthwaite, which is approximately 30 miles east of Brownwood. (Goldthwaite is one of the areas I plan to go into after the initial Brownwood mission gets organized.) It turns out, the owners of the Eagle are friends with my current bosses. They and our late owner used to interact through the Texas Press Association and have even swapped equipment on occasion. They said they might use me for free-lance work.

KPSM 99.3
KPSM "The Rock" 99.3 FM is a contemporary christian station in Brownwood. The program director and sales manager were glad to meet me, but the person in charge of hiring was out. After a few minutes of good fellowship, I left my resume and moved on.

Wendlee Broadcasting
"Let's just say you have a job here," the owner of Wendlee (KXYL-FM, KQBZ-FM, KXYL-AM and Kix 1000) said. Still undecided, an exact salary figure and job description. They requested I send them a tape of my work, which I will do today.

KYOX-FM
KYOX "94.3 The Ox" is a Texas Music station out of Comanche, TX (another small town 30 miles away that I hope to expand Mission: Brownwood into.) KYOX has a good signal over Brownwood. The staff and management was friendly, but I'm not sure they really have an opening.

The Brownwood Bulletin is still undecided.

Brownwood to double in size!

According to the lady who is selling us our house, Camp Bowie is set to reopen as a full-time base for the U.S. Army in the next couple of years. What does that mean? 20,000 soldiers will be stationed less than five miles from our new home. Brownwood's population will surge from 24,000 to 44,000 seemingly overnight.

As such, the community is preparing by adding on to local school campuses, bringing in Walgreens, CVS, Chilis, and one new Missionary Baptist Church.

I hope this plays out like everyone thinks it will.

What a weekend!

Friday, Jessica and I purchased the Home & Student version of MS Office 2007. I still can't get it to work, so I'm going to find someone with a CD so I can install it that way and use my product key.

Saturday, I worked the morning show at KWRW 97.7 FM, then headed to the soccer field. It was a topsy-turvy day in the soccer world. After soccer, we all went to Elkhart to the Memorial MBC barbecue, where Jessica got her first taste of wild hog. That was one of the best days of fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ in a while.

Then, it was off to Brownwood to plunk down earnest money on the house we are going to purchase. I also got the exciting news about Camp Bowie reopening.

Then, we came home and crashed.