Strolling down Perry Street in Montgomery a little before 7 p.m. Feb. 25, one might have mistaken the activity inside First Baptist Church for a sporting event.
The claps, cheers and string of amens following along with Herb Reavis Jr., senior pastor of North Jacksonville Baptist Church, Jacksonville, Fla., mimicked that of any set of fans cheering on their favorite set of jerseys.
Addressing about 1,500 people during the Monday night session of the Alabama Baptist State Evangelism Conference, Reavis pumped up the group with his energetic, singsong, stompin’ kind of preaching.
The enthusiastic crowd repeatedly voiced its affirmation as he preached from Acts 16:16 on the topic of real revival.
"Lord, send a re-revival and let it begin in me," Reavis said, noting revival is for people who know Christ as their personal Savior. "Revival stirs in us a new desire to obey the Lord and renew our commitment."
Similar to the moment in which he preached, Reavis said revival brings with it "an atmosphere that is charged with the felt presence of our Lord Jesus Christ."
Interruption, however, also comes with revival, he said. "The greatest hindrance to revival is not outside the church; it is in the church. In the church, there are people who wouldn’t know God if they ended up with Him in the broom closet," Reavis said, pointing to the interruption of revival by false professions of faith in Acts.
"You are not going to go to heaven because you are Baptist. The only people who are going to heaven are the ones committed to Him, saved down deep in their heart and soul."
Another interruption is distraction, he said. "Satan tries to counterfeit (revival) to rob people of it. There are a lot of things out there being called revival, but any movement that does not emphasize the Word of God is not a genuine movement of God, of revival."
Apathy also interrupts revival, Reavis noted. "People just don’t give a hoot.
"There’s such apathy in the church today," he said. "We have to beg people to show up … to come back tonight … to tithe … even to smile."
And then there is the interruption of tradition, Reavis said.
"Tradition is holding back the flood tides of revival. … (You hear), ‘We’ve never done it that way before.’ God can’t move," he said, illustrating his point by the controversy music causes in the church.
"I don’t care how bad the song is, I just look at the person, smile and go to my happy place."
Frank Cox, the announced nominee for Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) president and senior pastor of North Metro First Baptist Church, Lawrenceville, Ga., focused his sermon on vision during the Feb. 26 morning session of the conference.
"We are living in a day where many Southern Baptist churches have lost their vision," he said, noting reports indicate 23 percent of Southern Baptist churches recorded "zero baptisms" during the most recent year recorded.
Preaching from Proverbs 29, Cox emphasized, "Where there is no vision, the people will perish."
He said every preacher ought to be able to lead one person to Jesus Christ in 12 months.
To stay on track, Cox offered "three visions that should drive your life."
1. A vision of heaven. "Man’s redemption is made complete in heaven. … See heaven as a place … as a portrait … and like a garden."
2. A vision of hell. "Scripture proclaims hell to be real."
3. A vision of the harvest. "We have forgotten what the harvest looks like," he said. "Do you see the face of your wife, your husband, your children?"
James Merritt, former SBC president and pastor of Cross Pointe Church, Duluth, Ga., challenged Alabama Baptists to preach the Word, no matter what.
Preaching from 2 Timothy 4 during the Tuesday afternoon session, he pointed to Paul’s advice to Timothy: "If you are going to be a godly preacher, then here’s what you need to do — preach the Word and reach the world."
"Preaching that fails to … convict and confront does not meet the greatest single need of the human race," Merritt said. "If you will just preach God’s Word, you will not only meet every felt need every person has, you will uncover needs they don’t even know they’ve got."
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