My dad grew up on a farm in Oklahoma close to the Red River before WWII. When he was a teenager, his family transitioned from horses and mules to mechanical equipment, including gas-powered trucks and tractors. On one occasion, they were transporting hay from the field down the red dirt road to the barn on a 5-ton Dodge truck that was loaded down. The truck was driven through a ditch, where it got stuck and would not move. My dad was told to get the tractor. Once they chained it to the front of the truck, they began pulling it. The truck would not move. My dad was then instructed to go and get the two big black mules, Tom and Tob. He went to the barn, found their leather harnesses, and placed them on each mule. Once this happened, the mules worked side by side and worked as a team. My dad brought them to the front of the truck. His dad hooked the chains from the back of the harness to the truck. My grandfather Lester called their names and moved the check reins, and they started pulling. My dad said the two mules were bearing down so much to pull the truck their bellies were no more than 6” off the ground. They kept pulling until they got the truck unstuck and moved it to the barn to get it in position. As I thought about that story, I was reminded of the value of pulling together to accomplish a task.
That is what an association is: churches partnering or pulling together for common purposes. Denton Baptist Association began in 1886 to gather for fellowship and work together to share the gospel with the whole county. Since then, our Association has continued to gather to strengthen each other, plant churches together, and partner with evangelistic ministries in our area.
Along the way, our associational churches have partnered or pulled together with our two State Conventions: The Baptist General Convention of Texas (Texas Baptists) and the Southern Baptist of Texas Convention (SBTC). On a national level, many of our churches have partnered with the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). Since associational churches partnered with these entities, our Association has partnered with them for the previously stated purposes locally, statewide, nationally, and internationally.
Through the work of these entities, our DBA churches have been able to receive help with their work locally. Both state conventions provide financial aid through grants offered for specific ministries. Each state convention provides help in strategy planning, outreach, focused needs assessment, and development. On the national and international levels, the SBC convention offers assistance in the same areas and a platform to reach the nation and the world with the gospel.
For our churches to better understand the benefits of each of these entities, the DBA has reserved program times at the Executive Board meetings for a representative from each convention to share their visions. The first opportunity to hear from one of these conventions will be Tuesday, March 5. The Executive Board meeting will be held at FBC Corinth at 11:30. Nathan Lorick, the Executive Director of SBTC, will be our speaker. On May 14, Bart Barber, President of the SBC, will speak, and then on August 27, Julio Guarneri, the Executive Director of Texas Baptists, will be our guest.
As we move through this year, I hope you will strengthen your partnerships with other DBA churches so we can pull together. I also hope you will come to our Executive Board meetings to see how your church’s chosen state and national partnerships can be strengthened by hearing what these men will share with us about their respective visions. Remember, we can do more work together than separately.