It is the “woe” point that Christians must find, Calvin Miller told Alabama Baptists during the Tuesday evening session of the Alabama Baptist State Convention in Montgomery.
“Woe be unto me if I do not ____. You fill in the blank,” he said. “We need to know the ‘woe’ point.”
Preaching from 1 Corinthians 9:16, Miller, professor of preaching and pastoral studies at Samford University’s Beeson Divinity School, said Baptists should not meet until they find their “woe” point.
“We do not have to be the best, only faithful to the way God calls us to be,” he said, noting that Paul proves this in 2 Corinthians 10:9. And, in Acts, “Paul preached so long (a man died),” Miller said. But Paul resurrected him and went on preaching. “He knew why he was in the world.
“God wants everyone to hear the gospel at least once,” Miller noted. “Why do people need Jesus?”
1. Because hell is a real place.
2. Because it produces vitality in the church.
3. Because there is division in America. “We are a nation in need.”
Still, “you can’t win everyone at once,” he added. “You have to win them one at a time. … You have to be all things to all people.
“The whole process of evangelism is highly relational,” Miller said. “Joy comes to the church by learning a little thing called relationship.
“We are a called people,” he said. “Woe be unto us if we do not preach the gospel.”
Miller challenged Alabama Baptists to consider why the church really exists and to exert discipline. Disciple and discipline are the same thing, he said. “Discipline is to be a student,” he said. “We love the song ‘Amazing Grace,’ but “grace is what God gives to you. Discipline is what you give to God.
“We need to beat our body in discipline to be an achiever for Jesus Christ,” Miller said. “The number one thing to do is to introduce people to Jesus Christ. If ever the world needs us, it is now.”
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