Encourage: Advance
Advance is the theme of the 2019 Annual Meeting of Oklahoma Baptists. We will gather on Nov. 11-12 at Oklahoma City, Quail Springs. Please make every effort to participate in this important year for our cooperative work. What is our work? We encourage one another to advance the Gospel. The Gospel is the Good News of Jesus Christ. Paul employs the idea of the advance of the Gospel. “Now I want you to know, brethren, that my...
Encourage: ‘WE’ are Oklahoma Baptists
On November 11-12, Oklahoma Baptists will gather at Oklahoma City, Quail Springs for our Annual Meeting. I hope you will come and participate, even if you have not in the past. This is an important year for us. As we move toward the Annual Meeting, I want to reflect on the reason why we exist. Our mission is simple: We encourage one another to advance the Gospel. Consider the three primary building blocks of our mission: 1) We, 2)...
Encourage: Acknowledging attendance
I took a leisurely stroll to the park recently. The pace was set by George, my two-year-old grandson, who held my finger when he was so inclined. It was the best hour I have spent in a long while. From time to time, something would catch George’s attention—a puddle, a pile of leaves, the cracks in the sidewalk, dirt of any sort. An army of ants captured his attention for a full five minutes (Impressive, for a two-year-old boy). The...
Encourage: The poison of pride
Last week I prepared to teach a group of pastors at the Oklahoma Baptist University’s Pastor’s School. In four hours of teaching, I unpacked 1 Peter 5:1-5. I consider this the most important New Testament teaching on the work of a pastor. That paragraph closes with a call to cultivate humility. “Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Peter uses...
Encourage: Uneasy patriotism
We celebrate this Independence Day with some uneasiness. Our hearts are unsettled by concern that our nation has somehow lost her way. Culturally, morally and spiritually, we are drifting like a ship without an anchor. We are not sure where we are heading, but ships that drift tend to sink. What if you were asked to list three sins that are pushing our nation off course? What character flaws, corrupt lifestyles or moral compromises...
Encourage: Prayers answered at SBC
In the weeks leading up to the 2019 Annual Meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), I prayed for grace, peace and wisdom for our convention. The Lord answered this prayer. In this edition of the Baptist Messenger, you will see stories and highlights from our meeting, which I would encourage you to consider. There are three aspects of our meeting of Southern Baptists that I want to underscore. First is the issue of confronting...
