Revival

The state of Christianity in American churches appears to be in much disarray. Mainline denominations have been in decline for a number of years. Southern Baptists also find themselves in decline these days. Non denominational churches, including Bible churches in the South, seem to have made some gains. At least a portion of those gains have come at the expense of Southern Baptists and other denominations. This is not a new phenomenon. Actually, it parallels events in the early part of the 19th century. W. W. Sweet writes about this period in Baptist life saying, "Baptists admitted in a wintry season in which the love of many had grown cold, while members were being lost to the Methodists alone at a rate of four thousand a year." We may not be losing thousands to the Methodists, but it could be a correct observation to state, "the love of many have grown cold."

In writing of the revival which sparked in the early 19th century, J. Edwin Orr speaks of the revivalism that saved Christianity in Scottland. He says, "These revivals helped counteract an unbelief that kept the gospel from the people by dominating the theological schools and deadening the pulpit ministry. Not only through the revivals was Moderatism overcome, but in district after district, immorality, drunkenness, and profanity dwindled to the disappearing point."

These meanderings of thought bring a question to my mind, "Are we modern day American Christians too sophisticated to expect and experience revival? If so, maybe a revival of epidemic proportions is what is the only and primary hope for an end to the decline in Christianity in America.

Raise the Positives

A strike out in the ninth inning when you are 10 runs ahead is not nearly so serious to a batter as when you are ten runs behind. Negatives are naturally tolerated or dealt with more easily when there is an ample supply of positives. Those who navigate the waters of politics not only measure there approval ratings in the polls but also in the measurement of their positives versus their negatives.

Negatives are a never ending reality in organizations and institutions. When the negatives outweigh the positives in any such organization or institution, it will likely find decline or destruction in its near future. The perceptions of negatives and positives in the Southern Baptist Convention have been leaning toward a deficit in the minds of numerous supporters for several years. As a result, the pundits and cynics have found a willing audience for dialogue.

There seemed to be a new wind blowing at the SBC annual meeting this year. That wind seemed to indicate a genuine desire to raise the positives. The negatives will always be with us, but the balance and strength of negatives and positives can be changed. For generations the SBC has enjoyed multiple positives. In this new wind these positives may be accentuated giving the entire convention a chance to breathe and freely express positive agreement without fear of castigation or criticism. Now is a great time to accentuate the positive rather than the negative.

A Day of Celebration

American stood a little bit taller today. Barack Obama is officially president of the United States. His journey to the White House can bring inspiration to new generations of Americans with the message of hope and opportunity. I didn't vote for him but he is my president because I am an American. I salute the privilege that is ours to arise from any level of society to the highest place of government in our land.

While I celebrate, I am also a bit numb to the financial picture. The 2 million people in Washington were a bit more excited than the millions of investors across our land. My portfolio dropped almost 5% today. It is my retirement and my health savings account that are taking the beating.

Today Obama's rhetoric will turn to action and he will begin the encounter of differing ideas and values. Some of his own rhetoric will be hard to overcome. He campaigned on the promise to get us out of Iraq. Lately his rhetoric matches what President Bush has been working toward for the last 3 or 4 years, to bring our troops home responsibly. Nothing new on this front. Today he vowed to work with clinched fist Muslims. For the good of our nation I pray for him to do well. He will likely encounter attitudes that have driven Bush to take the stands he has taken.

Obama is not a token minority given the job to prove some victory over racism or our past. He is bright and articulate. His charisma exceeds President Clinton and rivals that of President Reagan. If he can bring the same since of confidence to American that Reagan brought following the presidency of Jimmy Carter, perhaps the recession won't be as deep or as long as it threatens to be. He will have his challenges. Israel and Palestine are still at odds. North Korea is again flexing its muscle. Iran is still Iran. And then their are the pirates at sea.

I pray today that God will raise him up to be a great leader. One who leads with integrity, intelligence, courage, and wisdom.

How will he deal with the economic situation? I am no friend of Bush's solutions and Obama's seem to be in the same vein. The borrower is the servant of the lender. Today Americas banks are in debt to their government. Government in the USA is supposed to be servant to the people. If banks are in debt to the government, then they are servants to the lender. Some have suggested buy outs of bad loans by the government leaving the Federal government to hold title to property at the foreclosure on households. The borrower is servant to the lender. The current bailouts are equivalent to massive nationalization of commerce. It will take years to untangle what has been intermingled in the last 4 months.

Oh the privileges of serving as the president of the United States in such a time as this. May God touch Obama with strength, wisdom, and courage.

Wednesday September 3, 2008

Ephesians 1:3-13

“3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4. just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love 5. He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, 6. to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace 8. which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight 9. He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him 10. with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him 11. also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, 12. to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory. (NASB)

Yesterday we spent our devotion time considering our blessing to God. The same verse that speaks of blessing God also speaks to His blessings upon us. There is a slight distinction in the original language of the two words translated as blessing in English. They are from the same root word yet with a major difference. The first is to speak well of someone based on what they have done, this is how we bless God. The second is to speak something into someone’s life that will come to pass. This is the way that God blesses believers.

After preaching the final service of a revival meeting some years ago, the pastor came to me and said, “Brother Gary, our church wants to bless you with this offering.” Their blessing was not merely verbalized but became tangible by giving me something. God’s blessing to us works in similar manner. He has blessed us with spiritual things that make a difference both in the here and now and in the future. As you read through the Scripture above, make a list of the supernatural blessings God has spoken into your life. If you are reading this through our web blog, please post a comment as we have an open discussion.

Tuesday September 2, 2008

Ephesians 1:3

“3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,” (NASB)

Several people have been a great help to me as I have grown from a child to an adolescent and then to early adulthood and now to one whose nest is empty. My parents are right there at the top. They raised me with a continuous exposure to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, were great encouragers, and taught me useful disciplines such as a strong work ethic and financial responsibilities. I speak well of them today. I also speak well of my high school coach because he used the medium of sports to help me develop an abiding sense of hope and in perseverance. These two characteristics have served me well all of my adult life. There are others such as the man who first gave me a job, a Sunday school teacher who was a great model and friend, and several pastors who challenged me to grow in Christ. There is a sense in which my speaking well of them is blessing. To say God is blessed is to speak well of God.

Are you blessing God today? By that question, I do not mean to ask if you are doing things for God. What I do mean to ask is are you taking a little time to remember all He has done for you and in turn speak those things? How do you bless God? You can bless God by singing songs with lyrics that testify of what God has done. You can bless God by continually talking with your family of what God is doing in your life. This week I spoke with a man whose business is seeing prosperous times. He was quick to bless God. Foremost on his mind was the fact that God is the source of his prosperity.

Why not spend the next few minutes blessing God who is worthy of praise. If you are reading this on our blog site, feel free to post some comments listing the blessings you give to God. If you are reading by way of the printed page, then why not make a list of ways that you can speak well of God.

Monday September 1, 2008

Together in Christ

Ephesians 1:1-2

“1. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints who are at Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus. 2. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (NASB)

Over the next 12 weeks, we at First Baptist Church of Diana will be seeking the Lord through a study of Ephesians in our LIFE Group ministry. On this blog you will find devotionals that can be considered daily to assist in study and meditation on the great truths God has given us through this blessed book of the New Testament. If you are not a member of FBC but have stumbled onto this website, we welcome you to take this journey with us and believe that God will bless your study in the ministries of the church where you faithfully serve.

My intentions in these devotions are to address one particular theme each day from the section of Ephesians under study in a particular week. We will also have a memory verse each week to serve as a reminder of what God is teaching us through His Word. I invite and encourage you to join in this study as we discover what God wants to do in our lives during these days.

The first two verses of Ephesians clearly identify this literary work as a letter from Paul to believers in the city of Ephesus. Although we are not in Ephesus, I believe we can receive the teachings and admonitions as though he were writing them to us this very day. Upon that foundational understanding of the New Testament, let us consider the title he gives to believers here, “saints.” Paul calls them saints and gives a further description as “faithful in Christ Jesus.” Paul liked to identify Christians as in Christ and spoke about walking “in the spirit.” John preferred to use the term “abiding in Christ” as is found in John 15. Paul was certainly speaking to men and women who had placed their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

If you have placed your faith in Jesus Christ, you also qualify for the title saint. A saint by definition is “one who has been set apart.” When a person is saved by Jesus Christ, he is literally set apart from the world. The implication is that this person set apart is more than he was before. There is something special about this person labeled as saint. Some would have you believe a saint is one that has lived some supernatural life and earned the title of saint. The New Testament teaches it is a title bestowed because of the supernatural work Jesus has done in salvation. No one earns the title saint through good living but receives the title through an action of the Living God.

Rejoice in your blessing of sainthood given through the grace and mercy of Almighty God. Rejoice today in the blessing of being set apart through the love of Jesus Christ. Rejoice in the supernatural work that God has done in your life to bring salvation and the freedom that follows.

What Kind of Steward Will You Be?

Headlines lately have been probing the intended recipients of a tax rebate to consider what they will do with the money. Some have vowed to spend it immediately, others are going the savings route, some are paying down credit card debt, and others are investing in stocks. How about this for an investment, how about giving it away? There are loads of charities and needy who could use the money more than some folks. Some in our church have committed to give it to help retire the mortgage on our education building. Wouldn't it be great to see it go to some special fund in your church, the missions offering of your denomination, a food and clothing shelter in your city, or even simply to pass it on to a needy family in your own neighborhood? Investments in others are investments in the Kingdom.

How to Call a Meeting

Some weeks ago I read something complimenting President Carter about knowing how to call a meeting. The kudos went out over calling a national meeting that received nationwide press coverage and invited tens of thousands. It noted the speakers that were committed to come, President Carter himself, President Clinton, and Vice President Al Gore to name the most popular. Of course there were other political leaders and activist along with a few well known preachers such as Joel Gregory and Tony Campolo. All total, it looks as if 15,000 registered for the national event.

If this meeting means that President Carter really knows how to call a meeting, Don Cass is to be highly commended. Don is the director of evangelism for the Southern Baptist of Texas Convention and each year calls a meeting called an Evangelism Conference. This year the theme was When Time is No More and included various sermons dealing with themes around the second coming of Jesus and the end of the earth. As I search for news articles I am coming up short. Evidently Don didn’t know that you should publicize a Baptist meeting via the secular media. I have seen no reports of attendance but I do know the numbers were several thousand. Having attended for the last three years, it was easy to see the crowd this year exceeded previous crowds. The time has come to move to a larger venue. The facilities of First Baptist Church of Euless have been outgrown.

Imagine this; a meeting publicized within Baptist circles and not reported in the secular media drew several thousand perhaps 4000 or more. The SBTC today reports 2002 churches as cooperating. Let me see, that is close to 2 from each church based on pure guesses. Even if the attendance was half the 4000 it would still be 1 from each cooperating church. The NBC meeting boasted 30 Baptist Conventions as participating and it is plain that they did not draw any where close to one person from each church. As a matter of fact, the BGCT lists over 5000 churches and one from each of their churches would have likely doubled the attendance in many of the NBC meetings. Who knows how to call a Baptist meeting? I think Don Cass knows how to call a meeting.

Already Don is calling another meeting for next year. Having outgrown FBC Euless, the new home will be in the Tarrant County Convention Center. It will be exciting to see the list of speakers who come together to preach on the subject of the Holy Spirit. Now what do I choose? Do I choose to encourage the members of the church where God has allowed me to serve to attend a meeting about the environment or one that encourages evangelism? Well, if I believe the answer to man’s problems on earth can be solved by science I will go to hear Al Gore, if I want to see the souls of men saved in my community and the moral pollution cured, I think I will go to Fort Worth on Monday after the third Sunday in February of 2008.

Confused

I am confused. Nothing new here. I have been reading some of the news reports published by the New Baptist Covenant and they are either confusing or humorous. President Carter practically begs those in attendance not to speak critically of others. Now don’t get me wrong, those words are usually appropriate any time two humans get together whether they are Baptist or not. It is what he did not say that confuses me. Note this quote from their web site:
“For the first time in more than 160 years, we are convening a major gathering of Baptists throughout an entire continent, without any threat to our unity caused by differences of our race or politics or geography or the legalistic interpretation of Scripture," said Carter, who co-chaired the gathering with Mercer University President Bill Underwood.

President Carter raises some worthy issues, division caused by race, politics, geography and the legalistic interpretation of Scripture. Now pardon my bias, but some of the division has been caused by a liberal and unbelieving interpretation of Scripture. Speaking of politics and interpretations of Scripture, I believe it was Carter who walked away from the SBC over his disagreements.

I can not help but wonder; as I read the reports intended to promote the idea that the meeting was in unity, who was Campolo preaching to? Did he see some BMW’s in the parking lot when he drove in? What plane did Gore use to get to the meeting? Can you live in a mansion like Gore and fall into the classification Campolo placed those who drive BMW’s. Tony rarely pulls punches because of his audience and so perhaps he wasn’t preaching to those in were not in attendance but those who were in attendance. Yes he was preaching to most all of us in our lack of helping others.

Clinton’s reaching out to Southern Baptists was interesting. Was he sincere or hoping to pick up a few votes for Hillary? We will no know until his works are judged at the judgment seat of Christ as we won’t know even about some of our own until that day. His bias also came out:
Baptists who gained control of the SBC focused on "works" related to issues such as opposition to abortion, the Equal Rights Amendment and gay rights, he noted, while "more progressive Baptists" focused on fighting poverty, protecting the environment and providing housing for poor people, he said.
"I say this in good conscience: We all believe we are doing what we can. But so do they. They read the obligations of Scripture in a different way," he noted.
Calling for humility and respect, Clinton urged, "We should not let our response to the people who disagree with us be dictated by what they say about us or even how they treat people we care for. If there is any chance that this covenant can become an embracing one, that there can be a whole community, then there has to be a chance that we can find love."

You did catch the bias didn’t you? If you are not a Baptist Democrat, you do not care about the poor, protecting the environment of providing housing for poor people. President Carter knows better than this because even Republican Baptists have helped his poster organization, Habitat for Humanity.

“Grisham offered Baptists three suggestions for seeking unity: Restore their good name by respecting diversity, stay out of politics and ‘spend as much time out on the streets in ministry as in the church."

This was the most humorous of all. Grisham blasted anyone who would hold to a literal interpretation of Scripture while calling for respecting diversity. His funniest line in light of the other speakers was stay out of politics. If Gore is successful in his creation campaign it will be political. Marian Edleman is always political. The highlighted speakers come from political backgrounds.

Conclusion: When you are for something you are automatically against its antithesis. Baptists have never wanted to keep themselves out of politics. Leland would strongly object. Without the Baptist of the early colonies, we might not even have Bill of Rights. We just don’t want the government running the church. Baptists are not showing disrespect for diversity when they politically propose a moral agenda that departs from Grisham’s agenda.

We do know what the leaders of this meeting are against, at least from the press reports.
1. The war in Iraq
2. Tax Cuts
3. Literal and legalistic interpretations of Scripture.
4. Private Health Care
5. Poverty
6. Hungry Children
7. An overpopulated earth
8. Materialism
9. Consumerism


After the meeting, many went to a nice restaurant and ate an expensive meal, flew home on airplane emitting carbons, some drove BMW’s, Cadillac’s, Hummers, Lincoln’s, a few from Texas drove pickups, slept in expensive motel rooms just a few blocks from some homeless hungry on the street, and felt good about the call to save the environment and reduce poverty. I am amused and confused.

SBTC Convention 2007 Session 1

Juan Castro from Longview addressed the SBTC annual convention in the first theme interpretation Monday evening in the Arlington Convention Center in Arlington, Texas. Juan brought a great challenge and his presence broke many stereotypes many Texas Baptist hold concerning Hispanic immigrants. Juan came to America from Honduras. He holds a graduate degree in economics and came to USA soil to work in the banking industry. After a time in the states he accepted a position at East Texas Baptist University teaching in the School of Business. Currently he teaches business courses at LeTourneau University in Longview. About three years ago Juan started a Hispanic congregation as a mission of Oakland Heights Baptist Church. In these three years the Lord has broken his heart for the Hispanic population among us.

Many times Hispanic immigrants are often stereotyped as poorly educated and granted some have not had the opportunity for an education. Juan holds a doctorate degree. Most Texans stereotype Hispanics as from Mexico, Juan is from Honduras and reminds us that immigrants are coming from all over Latin America. I thank God that He brought Juan to the states to influence our young adults in higher education and reach out to other immigrants with the Gospel. May his tribe increase!

2007 Bible Conference

In keeping with a commitment to Scripture, the SBTC Bible Conference preceding the annual convention was an uplifting time of solid biblical preaching. We were taught from the Word, we were challenged from the Word, and we were encouraged from the Word. Don Willis and committee brought a great conference together and we owe them a great debt of gratitude.

There is so much to take away from the conference biblically that I don’t have time this morning that I am short of time to do justice to each speaker. Two actions were taken by those present that are well worthy of note here. First, the attendees agreed to use the name Bible conference rather than pastor’s conference again next year and perhaps bring a motion next year to let that be a continuing name. This is a commitment that goes beyond pastors to include laity as well. This is a great move. The second was the election of Greg Matte, pastor of FBC Houston as the president of the conference for next year. Greg is a young enthusiastic pastor and his election should result in more youthful communicators and a higher attendance by younger pastors. Again, a great move. I am marking my calendar now to attend the 2008 Bible Conference of the Southern Baptist of Texas Convention that precedes the annual convention meeting.

Bible Conference

Challenging Encouragement

First Baptist Church of Fort Worth served as the host church for the Bible Conference held by the Southern Baptist of Texas Convention as a prelude to the annual meeting. The combined choirs from Tarrant County churches set the tone for what appears to be an encouraging time of worship filled with great music and strong biblical preaching.

Dennis Baw brought the first theme interpretation from Isaiah 43 reminding us that God will be with us through the waters. Joe Lightener brought a powerful message from 2 Peter 3 pointing out that global warming will be God's way of ushering in the new heaven and new earth. To close out the evening Earnest Easley challenged us all to stroll around in the fire just as did the three Hebrew children in the days of Daniel.

It was especially good to fellowship with ministry friends and evangelists we have had the privilege of serving along side over the years. The fellowship and spirit among the pastors attending brings great encouragement to fellow travelers.

The Bible Conference continues tomorrow with the business session beginning in the evening.

Biblical Insipiration

Prior to the gavel falling to begin the annual business meeting of the BGCT, many were attending workshops led by various convention leaders and seminary professors. One was led by Dr. Dan Stiver who teaches theology at the Logsdon School of Theology on the campus of Hardin Simmons Baptist University in Abilene, Texas. While reading the comment section of another blog yesterday, I saw where someone commented that Dr. Stiver was teaching open theism. Below you will find a paragraph from his soon to be released book that may have fueled the accusation.

A third issue is then to understand the historical development that takes place through the Old Testament and into the New Testament. A basically Christian understanding is that the fullness of God's revelation is in Jesus Christ. It implies that previous to Christ there was not the fullness of that revelation. While some would come to the Bible as a “flat Bible,” this is a very ahistorical and unincarnational way to approach the Bible. If we think in terms of what is called "progressive revelation," then we can understand that God is being revealed to people throughout the Old Testament in ways compatible with their ability to understand. John Calvin spoke of this as God “accommodating” the limitations of their understanding.10 At best, he thought, God speaks baby talk to us because of our limitations. We should always be aware, therefore, that revelation does not mean utter and thorough explanation, but it is accommodated to particular places and cultures and languages and translations and concepts. What this looks like is that there were places where there was dramatic understanding, and there were places where they pretty clearly did not understand the way God is later understood in light of the revelation in Jesus Christ. For example, polygamy seemed to be understood by many in the Old Testament as consistent with God's will. Jesus pointed out in the Sermon on the Mount that the understanding of divorce in the Old Testament was not really God's intention. Genocide, under the name of holy war, was understood to be consistent with the will of God in some of the Old Testament, which is difficult to reconcile with the perspective of Jesus in the New Testament. Unless we have some idea of God changing in God's basic character, which is almost universally considered unorthodox among Christian theologians, then it is difficult to think that what happened was that God changed; rather, what it looks like is that the understanding of God changed and developed over the course of time. This is the meaning then of progressive revelation. While this approach enables us to avoid seeming contradictions in the Bible and to make some aspects of interpretation quite a bit easier, it does represent a challenge. It puts a burden upon the believing interpreter to discern in light of the whole canon what is consistent with the nature of God and the purposes of God in places where it is not clear. For example, in the Old Testament, we have the commandments, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might” (Deut. 6:5) and also “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Lev. 19:18) It is fairly easy to see these as revelatory of God in the full and universal sense. It is much more difficult to see holy war, the practice of polygamy, or God hardening someone's heart (as with Pharaoh, Ex. 10:1) as consistent with the understanding of God conveyed in Jesus Christ. Another case is Psalm 137, where the prayer is that God will dash the enemy's children against the rocks. (vs. 9) In the context, there is no hint that there is anything wrong with any of this sentiment, and one can imagine someone taking from the Psalm that this is the kind of attitude that we are supposed to have. It is only in light of the wider message of the whole Bible that we would have a more critical perspective.

The article can be found in its entirety at the following link. http://www.bgct.org/texasbaptists/Document.Doc?&id=4408.

Others have mentioned this seminar in their blogs or comments.

See, Aaron on SBC Outpost as a comment on the story of the BGCT electing a female president.

See this note at Waves of Truth under his blog BGCT thoughts and concerns.

http://tree4lifetx.blogspot.com/

Is this a conservative approach, a moderate approach, or a neo liberal approach?

McBride and the Bull

How about that 90 point ride by Justin McBride to place third in the 4th round of the PBR finals? Justin leads in the point standings but had gone 0-3 in the first three rounds. Marchi and Mauney were closing in on his point lead. Tonight, they buck off and Justin places third in the round. Never count a champion out. Round 5 begins at 9:00 PM Eastern time and will be broadcast on VS. If McBride draws the bulls well he continues to be the favorite to win the world title.

Afterthoughts

Did anything of significance really happen at the Amarillo Convention of 2007? I expect that question will not be answered until the announcement of the new executive director of the BGCT. Today, I have little hope for a change of course. A good topic of discussion is what is the course of the BGCT?

The BGCT is set on a course to become a national convention. Herbert Reynolds, Paul Powell, and Winfred Moore were instrumental in setting this course years ago. They actually reserved a corporate name for this convention that could be chartered in Texas. There was an outcry over their actions and assurances were made that such a move was not in the works. Since that time much has changed. The BGCT is now made up of churches from multiple states. What churches from out of state cooperate with the BGCT is a hidden secret supposedly at the request of those churches. There is nothing like transparency. The BGCT was instrumental in changing the guidelines of the BWA and is now a recognized partner. Each year the BGCT moves closer to having its own mission sending agencies. The BGCT has three seminaries of its own.
Why all this slow movement and why did the leadership play down the idea of a named convention? Its all about money. If the BGCT leadership were to announce her intentions, many rank and file Southern Baptist Churches in Texas would immediately redirect their cooperative program funds. What makes me believe such a thing? The changes made in 2000 in supporting the SBC seminaries cost the BGCT millions in CP money and hundreds of churches left the BGCT to support the SBTC. This move to a national convention is what makes the CBF and the New Covenant so important to Charles Wade and David Currie. The die is cast under the noses of many Texas Baptist who have little clue.

The course is set to continue. The leaders who are quietly working to see this happen remain in place.

Live From Amarillo

Today I brought my laptop with me to the convention and found an open access wireless connection. I caught up on email where I needed to and this is an early observation of the convention on its final day.

The crowd is even smaller than for the election of 1st VP yesterday afternoon. I found Montoya's comments about some of the computers on the stage yesterday having Rick Davis' blog open to be intriguing. The evangelistic thrust for the week seems to have netted over 100 folks receiving Christ, PTL.

The mood of the convention has struck me as somber and quiet. As always the music has been great and Warren certainly gave the bell a good ringing in his sermon last night. I was especially disappointed to find out it is not on the list of available audio recordings available for purchase. The sober atmosphere is likely due as much to the size crowd. To full a coliseum so sparsely just prevents an feeling of excitement. Of course, the crowd is older and the music has definitely been hanging out with the traditional crowd. I for one would love to see a representation from our western heritage churches especially considering they are one few evangelistic brights spots in the BGCT. Time to go, the annual sermon is quickly coming.

A Visionary

In his editorial last week, Baptist Standard editor Marv Knox said that BGCT meetings are often “sober’ and “humdrum”. Those descriptions pretty well tell the story of the 2007 annual meeting so far, that is, with the exception of Rick Warren’s address as the keynote speaker Monday evening. Rick broke several rules of Texas Baptist tradition while delivering a blistering challenge to the messengers. The rules:

1. Rick sat in a chair rather than standing to preach.

2. Rick used up 70 minutes of his allotted 30 to 45 minute time slot.

As Rick delivered his address, the gathering, which was larger than for the business session, was captivated by his passion for his subject matter. This was my first time to hear Rick preach in person although I have listened to sermons and watched him on video. Clearly he has two attributes that are badly needed in the BGCT, he has a deep passion for souls and he has visionary leadership. Rick is clearly driven by his vision to reach souls and meet humanitarian need around the globe.

Rick’s address made coming to the convention worthwhile. Most everything else at the convention this year seems to be an attempt to tell us how great the BGCT really is while she is undergoing a substantial amount of testing and redirection. Rick came to preach how great God is and how He desires to use us in what He is doing. It would be well worth your time and money to contact the BGCT asking for a copy of Rick’s message to the convention this year.

Texas House Divided

The BGCT has once again made history by electing a first. The first female to serve as president of the BGCT won on the first ballot by a 60 vote margin with 1740 votes cast. While everyone is publicly giving support to the president elect, Joy Fenner, messengers sent a clear message of support for new directions and disdain for the status quo.

Messengers also brought motions regarding no confidence for the executive board and team, a rejection of no confidence, a motion to evaluate the necessity of the COO position, and raised several questions concerning cuts in the evangelism missions budget with increases in the area of communications. The budget was readily adopted in spite of the voiced opposition.

Nominations have now been made for 1st VP with just a fraction of messengers present for that session as the session electing a president.

All in all, attendance seems to be minimal considering this is to be a time to celebrate the tenure of EC Charles Wade. Further updates to be posted later.

Homecoming

I have made it to Amarillo and found the registration booth at the Amarillo Civic Center. It has been 13 years since attended an event and my how the place has grown. The parking lot we used in 94 is now another building. I dropped by the Amarillo Livestock Auction where I used to buy and sell cattle and found it had changed as well. Gone are the Monday crowds and a parking lot full of trucks to haul cattle back to the ranches. Where once upon a time they would sell 10 to 15000 head per week, I understand they now sell only 3 to 4 thousand now. The registration total at 12:15 was 1756 and it looks to be far short of the numbers from 1994.

My first impressions have been interesting. At the registration desk we were given a goody bag two times the size of last year's bag. As I walked through the exhibit hall I realize why. The marketing team from the BGCT has done a remarkable job of supporting the East Texas timber industry where I now reside. The ballots we are to use in the business meeting are a full 8 1/2 x 14 so we will be easily spotted while voting yes or no.

Missions is the theme for this convention and disaster relief is well represented. Texas Baptist Men have an incredible ministry in this state and DR trailers are all over the parking lot and in the exhibit hall. This ministry has carried the Gospel around the world through humanitarian aid in times of crisis.

I saw a couple of interesting booths in the exhibit hall. LifeWay has been granted a place yet I failed once again to find that Southwestern had been given the privilege. Of course the Smith Helwys booth and Baptist Way press booth were both much larger than the LifeWay booth. I saw the evangelism booth and looked for my friend Jon Randles who is now the team leader for the BGCT in evangelism. I will pray that Jon and staff will find success in returning an emphasis on evangelism to the BGCT.

Our first meeting is just a few moments away and nominations for officers are likely to be presented during this session.