Because I like good food, I live in Louisville, out of towners won’t know where restaurants are and — drum roll please — I can thus get to the restaurants first and enjoy the food while everyone else is frustrated on the road.
Beat that.
In all seriousness, I am excited about the SBC annual meeting for the following five reasons:
1. Because SBC supports more than 11,200 missionaries (5,600 - currently — foreign and 5,600 domestic) and we need to grow, not diminish, those numbers.
2. Because SBC president Johnny Hunt has a “Let’s move forward” emphasis, not a “Let’s keep the status quo” emphasis.
3. Because of 9 Marks at 9.
4. Because of the Baptist 21 panel.
5. Because I am SBC messenging for the first time.
Why these five reasons?
1. Missionary support of the SBC through the CP
I was recently interviewed for a Baptist Press article (they wanted a quote from an average Southern Seminary student) on the SBC’s Cooperative Program, where I articulated my support of, and appreciation for, the CP.
In addition to the information BP used, I supplied the following quote answering the question of if I will support the CP after I graduate from seminary.
“I would whole-heartedly support the Cooperative Program as a local church pastor so long as it remains focused on its primary goal of cooperating together for the sake of spreading the Gospel.
“On a state Baptist convention level, I would be proactive in encouraging our state conventions to have at least a 50/50 split of funds going to fund Southern Baptist Convention causes and state convention causes. State conventions keeping 60 percent and more of funds is a concern to me. While voicing these concerns, I would actively support the Cooperative Program and teach my congregation about its value.”
While the downturned state of the economy is a factor in the decrease in Lottie Moon giving, this is not an excuse Southern Baptists can afford to hide behind for a lack of missions funding.
We are not supplying money for some humanitarian effort, but are instead working to extend to hell-bound people their only source of hope: the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is more important than any humanitarian effort, valuable those may be. We need to do what it takes give as much money as possible to support NAMB and IMB missionaries.
2. Because SBC president Johnny Hunt has a “Let’s move forward” emphasis, not a “Let’s keep the status quo” emphasis.
Johnny Hunt is no stranger to the SBC, as a long-time SBC pastor. When he was elected president, I was afraid this might mean a focus on “keeping the old fires burning,” thereby leading to more young pastors to burn their fire elsewhere.
Instead, Hunt has made it his mission to say to my generation of potential SBCers “We want you and need you in the SBC.” I am convinced this is one of the main reasons for Hunt’s push for a Great Commission Resurgence.
Messengers are likely to vote on Hunt’s initiative to create a task force to analyze the various entities of the SBC. This task force would analyze the entities of the SBC to make sure local church dollars are being used effectively, which directly relates to reason No. 1 for why I am excited about the annual meeting.
3. Because of 9Marks at 9
If you haven’t heard about these events, check them out and then come. 9Marks is a ministry committed to biblical faithfulness, Gospel-centeredness and Gospel-advancement. These discussions and fellowships promise to be engaging, edifying and fun. So come!
4. Because of the Baptist 21 panel
The purpose of the Baptist 21 panel is to discuss the future of the Southern Baptist Convention. The participants in the panel? Danny Akin, R. Albert Mohler Jr. Mark Dever, Ed Stetzer, Daniel Montgomery and Baptist 21 fellows.
This should be a mix of no nonsense, intelligent, biblically faithful, missional conversation about the future of the SBC. Why not go? (Sign up: seats are limited).
5. Because I am SBC messenging for the first time.
This is my fourth SBC annual meeting. I have been to roughly 30 minutes of business meeting sessions in three years. This year will be different.
I am looking forward to representing Ninth & O Baptist Church as a messenger at the SBC annual meeting. At its core, the SBC is a collection of local churches coming together to advance the Great Commission by supporting missionaries and planting churches.
The only way to keep local churches at the core of the SBC is for messengers from local churches to participate in annual meetings. Thus, though I despise business meetings, I am serving as an SBC messenger.
There are plenty of other reasons to attend the SBC annual meeting, such as the Pastor’s conference (which includes David Platt, Johnny Hunt, J.D. Greear, Ed Stetzer and others), Founders breakfast (featuring Danny Akin) and spending time with friends and fellow ministers and ministers-to-be.
All-in-all, it looks to be a worthwhile event, with plenty of worthwhile elements.
And plenty of good food that I’ll get to first.