MOORE—Pastors and church leaders from across Oklahoma attended the 2026 Priority of Preaching Conference hosted on Feb. 2 by Moore, First. This annual event is hosted by Oklahoma Baptists and is focused on helping pastors make progress in their preaching ministries. The theme for this year’s conference was “Preaching That Gives Life,” focusing on the type of preaching that renews and revitalizes the spiritual life of a church.

The conference began with worship by the Moore, First worship team followed by a welcome by Oklahoma Baptists Executive Director-Treasurer Todd Fisher.

Greg Gilbert, senior pastor of Louisville, Ky., Third Avenue, was the first speaker of the conference. His talk pulled from Rom. 1:16-17 and focused on the importance of preaching with confidence in the Gospel.

“We can have unshakable confidence in the Gospel of Jesus because it is powered by the God of the Universe,” Gilbert said.

He focused on the three things that make the Gospel so impactful: the Word’s massive power, the Word as an awesome gift and the Word’s wide invitation. Gilbert also emphasized the need to “be on the offense” when reaching out to the lost.

After an introduction from Brett Selby, Oklahoma Baptists Central Regional Ministry partner, Ben Panner, Director of Workshops for the Charles Simeon Trust, used numerous verses from 2 Corinthians and 2 Peter to highlight the importance of preaching from Scripture as it is. He said sometimes pastors have the tendency to alter or manipulate what Scripture says by adding or subtracting from it in their sermons. Something that Scripture teaches against.

“When a preacher adds or subtracts from Scripture, there can be disastrous consequences,” Panner said.

Pastors have been given a duty by God to proclaim the Word, as it is written in the Bible. Panner reminded those in attendance that tampering with the Word is dangerous because the stakes are eternal life or eternal separation from God.

Following a brief lunch break, attendees returned to hear Panner for the third keynote speech. Staying on topic with his first speech, Panner instructed pastors on how to “stay on the line” and keep the Gospel message true to how it’s written while also connecting the message of the text to today

Using what Peter teaches about Christ in Acts, Panner emphasized that all of Scripture points to Christ. The Old Testament points to, predicts and anticipates Jesus while the New Testament applies and shows the Gospel Jesus taught.

“The person and saving work of Jesus is the unifying interpretive center of the Scriptures according to the Scriptures,” Panner said.

Following that, both Gilbert and Panner held a brief Q&A session, allowing those in attendance to ask them questions about the previous talks or general questions related to preaching.

Gilbert concluded the conference by looking at 1 & 2 Timothy and how those books can be used for a sermon. In his letters to Timothy, Paul requested that those who accompanied him on mission trips in the past would take time to visit him in prison, even those he had a falling out with. Gilbert used this as an example to show that even with someone as well regarded as Paul, there will be those who will fall away from each other.

“Paul had crystal clear clarity that people will not be with him until the end, but the Lord will,” Gilbert said.

He wrapped up the final session with an encouragement to pastors to always look to God for encouragement even in the lowest of lows.

For more information on upcoming pastor events, visit oklahomabaptists.org/pastors.