Southern Baptist Convention

SBC Monday: In pictures

Meredith Flynn — June 15, 2015

Columbus | The SBC Pastors’ Conference continues today, and the nearby exhibit hall is busy too. Keep checking back here for more news from Columbus!

Pastors’ Conference attenders prayed this morning for Pastor Saeed Abedini, who is imprisoned in Iran. Abedini’s wife, Naghmeh, was interviewed by Conference President Willy Rice.

In the first prison where her husband was held, said Naghmeh Abedini (left), so many people were coming to faith in Christ that they had to exile him.

Travis Cottrell, worship leader at Englewood Baptist Church in Jackson, Tenn., leads “Revelation Song” during the Pastors’ Conference Monday morning.

In the SBC exhibit hall, the North American and International Mission Boards have adjoining spaces–and complementary giveaways. NAMB has coffee mugs printed with the airport codes of each of its SEND focus cities. IMB has coffees and teas from countries and regions around the world where missionaries are serving.

Jeff Calloway (left), NAMB’s city missionary to Cleveland, talks with visitors at the NAMB exhibit.

SBC President Ronnie Floyd (left) is interviewed by LifeWay Research President Ed Stetzer in the exhibit hall.

Rosaria Butterfield, author of “The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert: An English Professor’s Journey into Christian Faith,” is one of several authors who will sign their books at the LifeWay Store here in Columbus.

Cliff Woodman, pastor of Emmanuel Baptist in Carlinville, visited the exhibits with his wife, Lisa, and son, Daniel.

In Uncategorized #sbcpc15, Columbus 2015, discipleship, evangelism, Missions, persecution, Prayer, SBC, SBC annual meeting, Southern Baptist Convention

Illinois Baptists at Crossover Columbus outreach events

Meredith Flynn — June 15, 2015

Columbus, Ohio | Several Illinois Baptists were among those serving Saturday through Crossover, the day of outreach and ministry that precedes each year’s Southern Baptist Convention.

Crossover volunteers from Uptown Baptist Church, Chicago, on their way to a day of service in partnership with United Faith International Baptist Church in Columbus.

The Uptown team taught classes, prayerwalked, and shared the gospel one-on-one. Above, IBSA zone consultant Steven Glover (left) shares his faith with a young man from Somalia.

IBSA church planting leaders Van Kicklighter and Charles Campbell and their families also served during Crossover. The group worked with Neil Avenue Baptist Church in Columbus and another partnering church from North Carolina to make improvements at a local apartment complex for physically handicapped people.

Pastor Michael Kanai also took a team from Orchard Valley Baptist Church in Aurora to participate in Saturday’s outreach. Look for more on their Crossover experience this week.

In Uncategorized Columbus 2015, evangelism, Missions, SBC, Southern Baptist Convention

SBC meetings start tonight in Columbus

Meredith Flynn — June 14, 2015

The Southern Baptist Pastors’ Conference just began in Columbus, Ohio, to be followed by the SBC Annual Meeting June 16-17. The Illinois Baptist staff is in Columbus to cover the meeting, so check back here often for news, and stay up-to-date at Facebook.com/IllinoisBaptist or Twitter.com/IllinoisBaptist.

A few things to look for during this week’s meetings:

1. Focus on prayer. SBC President Ronnie Floyd has made the last year all about praying together in an extraordinary way. The schedule for this year’s meeting was revamped to make room for Tuesday evening’s SBC-wide Call to Prayer, beginning at 6:30. Watch it live at sbcannualmeeting.net, or on the Daystar Television Network.

2. Young leaders in Columbus. Over the last several years, the annual meeting has seen an uptick in young attenders. At least one piece of early anecdotal evidence shows the trend continues this year: Lots of blue jeans. Look for updates this week from meetings popular with young Baptists, like the annual Baptist21 panel discussion, and 9Marks-sponsored gatherings following the Monday and Tuesday evening sessions.

3. Baptists still do Baptist things. They reunite with old friends outside the convention hall. Sip coffee at Starbucks (we haven’t found it yet, but there’s almost certainly one in the building.) And they celebrate missions and evangelism. The Wednesday morning business session concludes with a commissioning service of International and North American Mission Board missionaries.

We’re excited to be in Columbus! Thank you for “being here” with us!

In Uncategorized Columbus 2015, Missions, Prayer, SBC, Southern Baptist Convention

Let’s all go to Columbus

Meredith Flynn — June 12, 2015

Midwest is host for Southern Baptist business, prayer next week

Columbus, Ohio | Missions, evangelism, and cultural impact will highlight the 2015 Southern Baptist Convention June 16-17, which also will emphasize prayer—“extraordinary prayer.”

In his year as SBC President, Ronnie Floyd has positioned the Columbus meeting as an opportunity for Baptists to pray together. The annual meeting’s theme is “Great Awakening: Clear Agreement, Visible Union, Extraordinary Prayer,” based on Romans 13:11. Floyd told Baptist Press he hopes Southern Baptists of all ages and ethnicities will attend and “rise to this moment in our nation calling out to God for the next Great Awakening in our nation.”

“We’ve got to understand that we need everybody,” said Floyd, pastor of Cross Church in northwest Arkansas. “I know historically and biblically there is no great movement of God that ever occurs that is not first preceded by the extraordinary prayer of God’s people.”

The prayer focus will culminate in a Tuesday evening Call to Prayer to be streamed on sbcannualmeeting.net and broadcast on the Daystar Television Network. “We will join together in the same room and around the world via technology for this one epic night of prayer,” Floyd blogged last month. “Plan now to adjust your dinner or fellowship to before this session or gather with friends after the session itself. Please let NOTHING
keep you from this extraordinary night of prayer together.”

Floyd also will host a discussion Wednesday afternoon on preparing churches for the future of marriage in America. Panelists include two SBC pastors, Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission President Russell Moore, Southern Seminary President Albert Mohler, and Rosaria Butterfield, author of “The Secret Thoughts of an Unchurched Convert: An English Professor’s
Journey into Christian Faith.”

On the Saturday before the Convention convenes, more than 140 projects and activities are planned for the annual Crossover evangelism outreach.

Sending Celebration
The North American and International Mission Boards will hold a joint missionary commissioning service during the Wednesday morning session of the Southern Baptist Convention. Along with celebrating the missionaries about to embark for their mission fields, the service also will celebrate the churches that are sending them.

“The mission fields we serve are unique and need to be approached differently; but the people we want to reach are growing more similar all the time,” said NAMB President Kevin Ezell. “The Sending Celebration is another example of the greater collaboration between IMB and NAMB.”

Musicians Shane & Shane will lead worship during the celebration.

Movies, meals, and an app
LifeWay Christian Resources will offer free screenings of two upcoming movies in Columbus.

“War Room,” the newest film from Alex and Stephen Kendrick, will be shown June 15 at 9 p.m. in the convention center. “Woodlawn,” a true story about spiritual awakening among high school football players, will screen June 16 at 9 p.m. in the convention center.

LifeWay’s The Gospel Project will host a light breakfast and panel discussion on different preaching styles and philosophies. The June 16 meeting begins at 6:30 a.m. and features Pastors H.B. Charles (Florida), J.D. Greear (North Carolina), Chip Henderson (Mississippi), and LifeWay VP Ed Stetzer. Register at Gospel Project.com/SBC15.

The SBC Men’s Breakfast is June 17 at 6:30, sponsored by the North American Mission Board and LifeWay. Speakers include Greear, Matt Carter (Texas) and Michael Catt (Georgia), along with LifeWay and NAMB personnel.

The annual SBC Ministers’ Wives Luncheon, featuring author Angie Smith, is sold out, but there are several other opportunities for women attending the Columbus meeting. The Pastors’ Wives Conference begins at 8 a.m. on Monday, June 15, at the Hyatt Regency, and a women’s expo area will be open prior to each of the events. Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary will host “Tea at 3” on June 15 from 3-4 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency, featuring short messages from women in a variety of leadership roles.

The SBC’s two mission agencies will co-host the fifth annual Send North America Luncheon June 15 at the convention center. Ezell and International Mission Board President David Platt will discuss how the mission boards’ closer cooperation will serve Southern Baptists. Free tickets are available at snaluncheon.com.

Baptist21 will host its annual lunch and panel discussion on June 16 immediately after the morning session. Panelists, including Platt, Moore, Mohler and Charles, will discuss the most pressing issues facing the church. Register at baptisttwentyone.com.

Messengers can once again schedule their SBC activities with help from an app available for iPhone, iPad, and Android
devices. Search “SBC Annual Meetings” in the app store. Along with up-to-date schedule and speaker information, the app also includes a map of the exhibit hall, local restaurant list, PDF versions of the book of reports, daily bulletins, and SBC Life, and a list of area churches.

SBC messengers can register online at sbcannualmeeting.net. Each messenger will receive an eight-digit registration code to present at the annual meeting’s Express registration lane. Childcare for kids in grades 1-6 will be provided, as will hands-on mission opportunities for teens. Pre-registration is required at sbcannualmeeting.net under the “Children/Youth” tab.

SBC Annual Meeting information is from Baptist Press, online at BPNews.net. For more, including a schedule of the Annual Meeting June 16-17, read the May 18 issue of the Illinois Baptist online.

In Uncategorized Columbus, evangelism, Missions, Prayer, SBC, SBC annual meeting, Southern Baptist Convention

Before we get to Columbus

Meredith Flynn — June 11, 2015

COMMENTARY | Robin Bickerstaff Glover

For many Baptists traveling north and east for this month’s Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting, Ohio probably feels like an out-of-the-way destination. Before moving to Chicago earlier this year, my husband, Steven (an IBSA zone consultant), and I lived and ministered in Ohio for several years. Those of us in the Midwest know the state as an influential place whose opinions and politics can affect the whole country, and where the gospel is desperately needed.

In the 1980s, Columbus, the state capital, adopted a new slogan, proclaiming the city “the heart of it all.” Truly, time and again, the state has proven to be a powerful community in politics. As one Washington Post columnist wrote before the 2012 presidential election: “As Ohio goes, so goes the presidential race.”

But how much do we know about its capital? Here are some facts and figures: Columbus is home to Ohio State, one of the country’s largest public universities. The city has a large LGBT community and has been named the country’s “most underrated gay city” by an LGBT travel website.

At 36%, Catholicism is the predominant religion practiced in Columbus, and the Muslim population is on the rise. According to the most recent statistics, only 6% of the city’s population identifies as Southern Baptist.

The SBC is going to Columbus in order that we might bring the good news of the gospel to the lost, and so that we might strengthen and encourage each other and our brothers and sisters in Christ who are on the front lines, pushing back the darkness.

As we share the gospel through the Crossover evangelistic outreach and other outlets along the way, we can say like the prophet in Isaiah 40:9, “Behold your God!”

As we go into Columbus, here are some things to remember and pray:

• As light bearers, we must keep the premier things in their place. The premier thing is the love of God, and the second is to love others. As Christians, our premier work is to share the gospel of Jesus Christ.

• We should go in the spirit of missions, not only sharing the Word, but also showing the gospel through acts of service, compassion, and justice toward the lost.

• We must go to Columbus encouraging our denomination to purposely speak to the issues of our young people, in order that we might raise up a passionate, God-fearing generation of diverse leaders who stand on the Word of God and live with a Christian worldview, even in these difficult times.

Let us greet the city of Columbus graciously. As we do, our desire must be to bless our host city by our conduct and love for people, even as we lift up our voices saying, “Behold your God!”

Robin Bickerstaff Glover is a writer living in Chicago and a member of Uptown Baptist Church.

In Uncategorized 2015 SBC Annual Meeting, Columbus, SBC, Southern Baptist Convention

Cooperation: The pathway to plenty

nateadamsibsa — June 8, 2015

HEARTLAND | Nate Adams

My work has always involved a fair amount of travel. And so early on, I discovered the value of joining various reward programs, where the airline or hotel chain or rental car company gives you a certain number of reward points each time you use their services. Those reward points can then be redeemed for free flights or stays or rentals.

I know many travelers actually choose the company with which they travel based on the reward points they are seeking to accumulate. That’s exactly the kind of loyalty the company is seeking to achieve with its program.

However, I’ve always felt that I should try to choose the least expensive option, whether using my employer’s travel funds or my own. So over the years, I’ve ended up joining multiple rewards programs, hoping to earn at least a few points, no matter what hotel or airline happens to be least expensive.

I think that’s why a certain television commercial caught my attention a few days ago. It was advertising a new rewards program, one that multiple companies of all different types were cooperating to sponsor. There were nationwide chains of supermarkets, gas stations, retailers, and insurance companies, as well as the option of earning points through online ordering. And not only could you earn points in these multiple ways, you could spend them in multiple places!

Now I’m not mentioning this program to endorse it or encourage anyone to try it. But I have to admit it was very attractive to someone like me, who wants to choose the best option for my employer or me, regardless of which company is providing the service. These individual companies had chosen to work together to provide rewards in ways that were more beneficial to me, their shared customer.

It then occurred to me that this is actually one of the reasons that I find our Southern Baptist Cooperative Program so attractive and compelling. What if individual SBC mission boards or ministries chose to compete with one another for my loyalty and support? What if I had to choose between state missions, North American missions, and international missions?
What if my missions dollar only “earned points” with one “service provider,” to the exclusion of the others?

Part of the genius and effectiveness of Cooperative Program missions is that it allows me to “earn points” in multiple mission fields and ministries, along with every other faithful giver in my church. A portion of each dollar I give through my church is set aside for the larger cause of SBC missions and ministries. And as those points are accumulated with the gifts of other
churches, they grow and can be “redeemed” through multiple service providers, not just one.

How many “points” for missions does your weekly giving through your church earn? If you don’t know, that’s a good question to ask your missions or finance committee, or your pastor. My home church designates 10% of its undesignated offerings for Cooperative Program missions. That means a dime out of every dollar I give each week earns multiple “rewards,” through the International Mission Board, the North American Mission Board, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, our six world-class seminaries, and, of course, right here in Illinois through IBSA.

I really like the title of that rewards program I saw on that TV commercial. They simply call it “Plenti.” The idea, I think, is that there are plenty of points to be earned, and plenty of service providers to provide plenty of benefits to plenty of customers. It’s not competition and scarcity, but rather cooperation and generosity that lead to plenty. It’s a truth that we as God’s people should model, especially through our missions giving. Cooperation is the pathway to plenty.

Nate Adams is executive director of the Illinois Baptist State Association.

In Uncategorized Cooperative Program, IBSA, Illinois Baptist State Association, ministry, Missions, Southern Baptist Convention

A Midwest call to Columbus

nateadamsibsa — May 18, 2015

HEARTLAND | Nate Adams

A few years ago I transitioned from a publishing career in the Chicago suburbs to a new role at the North American Mission Board near Atlanta. For our young family, the move required a number of minor adjustments, from snowy winters to no winters, from bluegrass to Bermuda grass, and from bad traffic to worse. Other transitions were far more significant, like the transition from smaller churches to much larger churches, and from the realities of the evangelical Christian publishing world to those of the Southern Baptist denominational world.

In many of those new arenas, I found that I looked at things differently than my new friends and coworkers. I had different life experiences than most of them. As a result, I often found myself expressing a minority opinion.

Of course this may have been partly because I was initially the only non-Southerner on our executive team. After a few months, Randy from New York joined us. It was then that the rest of the guys started affectionately calling both of us the
“NAMB Yankees.”

The nice thing about our new team, though, was that we respected each other enough to patiently listen to one another’s different perspectives. “That’s not how megachurch pastors think,” one of my new colleagues would say, and I would have to admit I didn’t have a lot of experience in that world. But then later I would hear myself saying something like, “That may work in the Bible belt, but it wouldn’t make any sense in Chicago.”

Somehow, in the midst of that verbal sparring, we saw the “wisdom of many counselors” emerge. Our multiple perspectives gave us a more complete view of reality, and of the diversity of the SBC churches we served. As a result, I think we made better decisions, and became better leaders.

It’s the wonderful value and synergy that can come from multiple perspectives that leads me to challenge all of us that possibly can to travel to Columbus, Ohio, for the Southern Baptist Convention next month. The Southern Baptist Convention needs Midwest perspective.

Many of the folks that attend the SBC each year are from the larger and more numerous churches in the South. We need that perspective. Many are there because they serve at a national SBC entity or on an SBC board or committee. We need those perspectives too.

But there is something unique about being Southern Baptists in the North, and in the Midwest, that makes our perspective equally needed, and valuable. Many important insights come from average people, in average churches.

Last January, when we hosted more than a thousand leaders from 10 Baptist state conventions here in Springfield, I heard over and over from national SBC conference leaders how impressed they were with our people. “Your folks are so devoted to ministry, and so eager to learn. We don’t see this kind of enthusiasm and dedication everywhere. We are so encouraged by what we see here in the Midwest.”

I’m encouraged by what I see in the Midwest too, and by our unique perspective on ministry and Great Commission causes. We have a lot to offer to the national SBC dialogue. In fact, I think a stronger Midwest perspective might have led to some different, perhaps better, decisions over the past few years. And with the 2015 SBC in Columbus and the 2016 SBC in St. Louis, we now have two years in a row when our strong participation can be more practical and affordable.

IBSA will be hosting a reception for Illinois Baptists at the Columbus SBC on Tuesday night, June 16, following the evening session. Watch for details on IBSA.org and in the Illinois Baptist newspaper.

I hope to see you there. The Southern Baptist Convention needs our Midwest perspective.

Nate Adams is executive director of the Illinois Baptist State Association.

In Uncategorized Prayer, SBC, Southern Baptist Convention

God’s sovereignty and praying for marriage

Lisa Misner — April 28, 2015

The IBSA staff, led by Executive Director Nate Adams, gathered this morning to pray for marriage.

Christians in the U.S. have been asked to pray for marriage today as the Supreme Court is hearing arguments in a case which could decide if same-sex marriage will be made legal in all 50 states. The outcome could also have far-reaching consequences for churches, military chaplains, Christian business owners, and others.

Many have warned that the case being presented today is of paramount importance comparing it to the Court’s 1972 decision in Roe v. Wade which legalized abortion in the U.S. SBC President Ronnie Floyd wrote on his blog, “What is at stake is great. This is undeniable. We do not control the Supreme Court. At this point, our number one role must be to pray. Regardless of the outcome, may God have mercy on America and teach us how to live daily.”

Russell Moore, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), stood outside the Court this morning and described the scene as “circus-like.” He wrote on his blog, “Rainbow flags were waving, as protesters on either side lifted aloft contesting signs. A man screamed through a megaphone about how ‘God hates queers’ right next to men in stiletto heels and nun’s habits. The whole scene drove me to pray, and almost to tears.”

The IBSA staff gathered this morning to pray for marriage. Executive Director Nate Adams led in prayer for attorneys arguing both sides of the case, for the justices, for those involved in homosexuality, for our nation to turn to God, and for Christians and pastors to share Christ in love, not condemnation.

Adams likened what is happening today to how the “Israelites must have felt facing the Red Sea as they heard the pharaoh’s chariots pounding behind them” and noted that God provided a way. No matter the outcome, he reminded, “God is still sovereign and on His throne.”

Regardless of the court’s decision, which is expected to come in June, Moore recognized, “We then must have enough confidence in our gospel to stand with conviction, even when the world thinks we’re crazy. And we must have enough confidence in our gospel to stand with kindness toward those who disagree with us.”

What are the facts in today’s case?

The Supreme Court is hearing arguments in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges, which is consolidated with three other cases from Kentucky, Michigan, and Tennessee. The case challenges the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution regarding same-sex marriage and state’s rights.

According the ERLC, the court’s decision will determine:

Does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to license a marriage between two people of the same sex?
Does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex when their marriage was lawfully licensed and performed out-of-state?

Read the full explanation from the ERLC.

In SBC Culture, Faith, Same-Sex Marriage, Southern Baptist Convention, Supreme Court

Tuesday Briefing: Survey finds friendships influence views on same-sex marriage

Meredith Flynn — April 21, 2015

THE BRIEFING | Meredith Flynn

People with gay or lesbian friends are almost twice as likely to say same-sex marriage should be legal, according to a survey by LifeWay Research. Half of all Americans overall believe gay marriage should be legalized, but the percentage jumps to 60% for people who have gay or lesbian friends (and decreases to 33% for those who don’t).

From LifeWayResearch.com

An additional LifeWay survey found 30% of Americans believe homosexual behavior is a sin, down from 44% in 2011.

On April 28, the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in several same-sex marriage cases.

Thirty Ethiopian Christians were killed in two attacks by ISIS in Libya, according to a video released by the terrorist group April 19. “That these terrorists killed these men solely because of their faith lays bare the terrorists’ vicious, senseless brutality,” said U.S. National Security Council spokesperson Bernadette Meehan.

Back in February, Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission President Russell Moore asked in a blog post, “Should we pray for the defeat of ISIS, of their conversion?”

Southern Baptist Convention President Ronnie Floyd has designated the Tuesday evening session of this summer’s SBC Annual Meeting as a “National Call for Prayer.” Floyd has recruited 11 pastors to help lead the prayer meeting, including Paul Kim, pastor emeritus of Antioch Baptist in Cambridge, Mass., K. Marshall Williams, president of the National African American Fellowship, and Timmy Chavis, chairman of the SBC Multi-Ethnic Advisory Council.

“One of the unique moments of the evening will be when we embrace and celebrate our ethnic diversity, which may also involve moments of repentance and reconciliation,” Floyd said in a blog post about the service.

Baptist pastors and leaders will share the stage with a potential presidential candidate at the 2015 SBC Pastors’ Conference in Columbus, Ohio, June 14-15. Dr. Ben Carson, a neurosurgeon and author, will speak during the Sunday evening session. Earlier this month, he said on his Facebook page that on May 4, he will announce whether or not he will run for President.

Which missions job is right for you? Take this interactive quiz from the International Mission Board.

In Uncategorized Marriage, Missions, persecution, Politics, Religious Liberty, Same-Sex Marriage, SBC, Southern Baptist Convention, Suffering

Three reasons to look forward to the Southern Baptist Convention

Meredith Flynn — April 16, 2015

Editor’s note: The following Trevin Wax column from BPNews.net first appeared on his Kingdom People blog, hosted at thegospelcoalition.org.

COMMENTARY | Trevin Wax

Summer is for vacations and, for many pastors, denominational gatherings. The Southern Baptist Convention is no exception. This year, we’re meeting in Columbus, Ohio, the 15th largest city in the U.S., one that is well outside of the Southeast where most of our churches are based.

In the past decade, though the attendance at the annual meeting has risen and fallen in conjunction with the location and the major topic of conversation (or controversy), the overall trend has been a dwindling of messengers. This isn’t surprising, considering the loosening of denominational loyalty and the variety of good conferences a pastor can attend.

But Columbus might buck the decline. Here are three reasons I’m particularly excited about this year’s annual meeting.

1. The annual meeting is trending younger.

In Baltimore last year, we saw a 10-year high of younger messengers involved in the convention proceedings. Baptist Press has reported that “nearly one-fourth (24.68 percent) of attendees were younger than age 40. That surpassed by more than 4 percentage points the previous best for the age group, recorded in 2013.”

My first visit to a Southern Baptist Convention was in San Antonio in 2007 as a 25-year-old associate pastor. I remember my initial shock at the small number of young people present. Recent years have seen an upswing in younger Southern Baptist engagement, a reality that is especially surprising when considered alongside the millennial generation’s diminishing enthusiasm for institutions in general. What this tells me is that the annual meeting is beginning to show signs of becoming a vibrant network, not just a report on denominational infrastructure.

2. The schedule of the annual meeting has been reworked in order to highlight the things we are most passionate about.

Few people get excited about a business meeting. Most messengers admit they come to network and see friends, not sit through every session of the SBC. But this year will be different, thanks to a reworking of the schedule under the leadership of the SBC’s president, Ronnie Floyd. For example, all the missions entities will present on Wednesday morning, and it won’t just be a time of reports, but also commissioning of missionaries.

The Send North America conference, slated by the North American Mission Board for this summer in Nashville, already has drawn more than 7,000 registrants, a staggering figure when you consider the fact that only one Convention since 2010 has come close to that number.

What does this tell us? Southern Baptists are hungry for a meeting that casts vision and rallies our people around a great cause. They’re not necessarily there, first and foremost, to vote on resolutions.

But resolutions matter. And so does our business. As Southern Baptists, we should care about the annual meeting, and we should care about this meeting because we care about the Kingdom of God. Business meetings come and go, with their moments of boredom and hilarity, awkwardness and quiet power, and yet in these moments, decisions are made, courses are set that define our cooperative work the rest of the year. It’s not glamorous, but the work of the Kingdom rarely is. This year, however, features a streamlined schedule that emphasizes what we’re there for.

3. We will pray for God to awaken His church to the opportunities before us.

The Tuesday evening meeting will be time of prayer and worship, a pleading with God to revive His people and empower our witness. It is easy to bemoan the moral decay of our culture, the encroaching limits to religious liberties and the difficulty of evangelism in a relativistic society.

But we shouldn’t miss the opportunity here. By cherishing once-common things, such as marriage between a man and woman for life, and core Christian doctrines, such as the exclusivity of Christ for salvation, we have the opportunity for our ordinary obedience to shine even brighter in a pluralistic world that bows to Aphrodite. The annual meeting gives us the opportunity to lay aside our differences, unite around our common confession and lock arms for the cause of Christ and His Kingdom.

Trevin Wax is managing editor of The Gospel Project, a Gospel-centered small group curriculum for all ages published by LifeWay Christian Resources.

In Uncategorized Columbus, denomination, Missions, SBC annual meeting, Southern Baptist Convention, young leaders

Archives For November 30, 1999

SBC Monday: In pictures

Illinois Baptists at Crossover Columbus outreach events

SBC meetings start tonight in Columbus

Let’s all go to Columbus

Before we get to Columbus

Cooperation: The pathway to plenty

A Midwest call to Columbus

God’s sovereignty and praying for marriage

Tuesday Briefing: Survey finds friendships influence views on same-sex marriage

Three reasons to look forward to the Southern Baptist Convention

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