‘Consider Him’

Alabama Baptist pastors encouraged, strengthened by conference

Alabama ministers were presented with some straightforward advice on the need for preaching the truth of Christ being the Light of the World, during the 2000 Pastors Conference.

Held Nov. 13, prior to the annual meeting of the Alabama Baptist State Convention, the conference also encouraged pastors to be bold in proclaiming the truth of Christ amid a society that is increasingly abandoning values and in which untruths of other doctrines are being disseminated.

Some 2,000 ministers from across the state met at Frazer Memorial United Methodist Church, Montgomery, on a rainy Monday to participate in the conference. Included with the preaching were stirring instrumental music, songs of praise and vibrant chalk drawings created as attendees watched.

Jeff Noblit, pastor of First Baptist, Muscle Shoals, offered an often fiery message on the importance of always emphasizing Christ. “The creation light testifies to Christ, because it is the sent light,” Noblit said, referencing Genesis 1:3, when God said “Let there be light.”

“When light came into the world, it was nothing but a transfer of God into the world order,” he said.

Noblit told pastors Christ became the lightholder when He came into the world. He said the light of creation also testifies to Christ because it is a pure light and cannot be marred like other natural wonders.

“No man can make God’s light less pure,” he said. “So it is with our Savior, He is the pure light of God. Let the light shine and it reveals the sin that is hiding in every corner of our hearts,” he said.

Using an analogy relating to nature, Noblit said that just as the sun brings life to vegetation, so it is with Christ. “If you remove the light, vegetation dies,” he said. “So it is with our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Noblit said a belief is creeping even into evangelical circles that Hindus and Muslims will receive the salvation of Christ. But he said that salvation is available only through one person — Jesus Christ.

Concluding his comments, Noblit said the light of Christ also brings judgment. But just as creation’s light is free, so it is with the light of Christ.

“Aren’t you glad, brothers, that we get to preach of free salvation?” Noblit asked.

Joe Godfrey, pastor of Taylor Road Baptist Church, Montgomery, and president of the Pastors Conference, told pastors he hoped the words they heard would encourage and strengthen them in their ministries.

“You go to conferences and you want to hear preachers that know how to preach,” Godfrey said.

“And you can learn from them — you watch them and you listen and you’re able to pick things up and it helps you to become a better preacher.

“Not that we’re trying to copy everything these preachers do, but we can learn from everybody,” Godfrey said. “So, it is encouragement. That’s why I chose the particular pastors that I did.”

One of the pastors attending the conference, Murray Wilton, pointed to the conference’s importance in refreshing ministers.

“I give out every day of my life. … I always have the privilege of giving out to other people,” said Wilton, pastor of Southside Baptist Church, Huntsville. “And the well runs dry. Every now and then, you need to sit still and listen to God and be encouraged and built up and strengthened.”

Al Jackson, pastor of Lakeview Baptist Church, Auburn, pointed out the hope Christ brings to the world during his sermon.

“Christ is supreme in creation and since He is supreme, we should worship Him,” Jackson said, characterizing Jesus as the icon that represents God.

“What is God like?” Jackson asked. “He’s like Christ. He is the image of the invisible God.”

Jackson also encouraged pastors to be bold in trying to reach groups such as Hindus and Jews as well as homosexuals.

“The eternal (destiny) of multitudes hangs in the balance,” Jackson said. “Let the world say that we’re narrow-minded bigots, but we’re going to stand on the Word of God.”

Ed Litton, pastor of First Baptist Church in North Mobile, Saraland, said ministers need to continue spreading the gospel message now more than ever before.

“What do you say to people who preach on the cross all the time?” Litton asked. “This is a tough assignment.”

Litton said pastors should remember to stay bold in a world of constantly changing values about the real value that accompanies knowing Jesus. “It is the blood of Jesus that transforms the heart,” he said.

The Bible, Litton said, offers absolute truth that we were designed and created by God and that we are headed toward a conclusion in life when we will be judged.

“Thus, there is meaning and purpose in this life,” he said.

But Litton said pastors today are having to deliver that message in a society where there is no longer a belief in absolute truths among young people.

Litton asserted that people today believe they should experience evil before they choose God.

“It is the philosophy, ‘let me taste it (evil) and see,’” he said.

Calling for revival in churches and pulpits, Litton said today’s society must understand they must either be cleansed by Christ’s blood or be punished.

“If God did not spare His own innocent Son, He will not spare you,” Litton said.

Echoing Litton’s observations, Ken Hemphill said changes in society mean Christians should keep their eyes on the victory in Christ.

“This Christian race we’re in today is a marathon,” said Hemphill, president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.

Hemphill added the race should be run with endurance.

“I believe we are living in a day where we are seeing a cultural war,” said Hemphill, predicting the outcome will determine the future of the nation’s children and grandchildren.

Hemphill offered five keys for running the race:

-Draw inspiration from the cloud of witnesses.

“Folks, if you don’t run with the heroes of the faith, you won’t finish well,” he said.

-Prioritizing the Great Commission.

Hemphill said churches need to remove encumbrances by asking “does it impact eternity?”

-Christians need to get rid of entangling sin that addicts them.

“Do you train for righteousness the way the marathoner prepares for the race?” he asked.

Hemphill warned that ministers especially who are not studying the Bible and having a daily quiet time are bound for a shipwreck.

-Anticipate pain.

Christians can finish the race, Hemphill said, because Jesus endured the pain.

-Focus on the leader.

Hemphill said Jesus was the first on the race course and He never faltered. “We will not win the race — He has,” Hemphill said. “And thus we focus on Him.”

Being prepared for the race’s conclusion was addressed by David Dykes, pastor of Green Acres Baptist Church, Tyler, Texas, who encouraged pastors to be prepared for the rapture.

Dykes, a former Alabama Baptist pastor, said there will be three kinds of participants in the rapture — the Lord, those who are dead in Christ and the living who have accepted Christ as their Savior.

Following the rapture, Dykes said there will be “major tribulation and confusion on the face on this earth.” He said Christians should live their lives as if Christ were coming back in their lifetime.

Dykes said there are three things that can cause a believer to be ashamed when Christ returns:

-Unholy behaviors.

-Unresolved relationships involving bitterness or inability to forgive others.

-Unfinished business by not sharing Christ with others.

But he added there are also three things Christians can do to be confident:

-Faithfully watch for Christ’s return.

-Faithfully work for God’s kingdom.

-Faithfully witness.

Offering an illustration to accompany his final point, Dykes shared the story of a pilot who crashed his plane after landing on a wrong runway filled with construction equipment.

“Our job — until Jesus comes back — is to faithfully witness and warn the world, ‘you’re on the wrong runway.’ ” Dykes said.

Doug Sager, pastor of First Baptist Church of Concord, Knoxville, Tenn., delivered a roller coaster ride presentation to his fellow ministers that included humorous twists, emotional turns and a jolting spiritual message.

His topics ranged from former president Jimmy Carter’s recent split with the Southern Baptist Convention to the importance of world missions.

The former pastor of Roebuck Park Baptist, Birmingham, also reminded his audience to “love (sinners), not their behavior,” illustrating his point with Jesus’ encounter with the woman at the well.

“Jesus didn’t see an adulteress — he saw a woman made in the image of God who had committed adultery,” he said.

“We put people into categories based on their behavior and then we write them off,” he said, using homosexuality as an example.

“We have to separate the person from his or her behavior.”

He emphasized the importance of loving Jesus first, and in turn, His love will enable one to love others as Christ did as a result of seeing others through His eyes.