As the 2015 Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) annual meeting approaches, SBC President Ronnie Floyd urges fellow Baptists to gather June 16–17 in Columbus, Ohio, to cry out to God and expect great things to follow.
The meeting’s theme is “Great Awakening: Clear Agreement, Visible Union, Extraordinary Prayer,” based on Romans 13:11.
“We’ve got to understand that we need everybody,” said Floyd, pastor of Cross Church in northwest Arkansas. “I know historically and biblically there is no great movement of God that ever occurs that is not first preceded by the extraordinary prayer of God’s people.”
During the annual meeting messengers gathering at the Greater Columbus Convention Center will consider a variety of recommendations. Among them:
- A new name for Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary. Prompted by its decision to relocate its primary campus to the Los Angeles area from the San Francisco area, the seminary has requested that its name be changed to Gateway Seminary of the SBC.
- An amended North American Mission Board (NAMB) ministry statement to include planting churches overseas in cooperation with the International Mission Board (IMB). Messengers approved a similar amendment change to the IMB’s ministry statement in 2011 to allow it to assist with unreached people groups in the United States and Canada. The amended NAMB statement is expected to relate particularly to military chaplains stationed at overseas bases.
- SBC bylaw amendments to allow for the potential use of electronic voting devices in the convention hall after the 2015 meeting in Columbus and to establish a quorum for voting on all matters of SBC business as those present at the time of a ballot.
Other highlights will include:
- A “Sending Celebration” — a joint commissioning service June 17. IMB and NAMB will celebrate commissioning overseas missionaries and North American church planters.
- NAMB will host its fifth annual Send North America luncheon June 15 at noon in the convention center’s Battelle Grand Ballroom. The lunch is free but tickets are required and available at snaluncheon.com.
- GuideStone Financial Resources will again offer a wellness center and will offer retirement and insurance meetings June 15–17.
- Crossover Columbus, the annual evangelistic outreach by Southern Baptists in the host city of the SBC annual meeting, will take place June 13. For more information, visit www.namb.net/crossover or crossovercolumbus.org. Collegiate groups can learn about opportunities at forcolumbus.org.
Related meetings
- Hispanic Southern Baptists’ AVANCE will meet prior to the SBC annual meeting, with Floyd as the featured speaker. The meeting will begin June 14 at 5 p.m. with dinner followed by workshops from 6:30 p.m. to 7:45. The meeting will conclude with an 8–9 p.m. session on the newly formed SBC Hispanic Pastors and Leaders Network.
- The National African American Fellowship (NAAF) will hold its annual meeting June 14–15 and will focus on revival for the Church and spiritual awakening for the U.S. culture. To purchase tickets in advance, visit naafsbc.org or email f.williams@naafsbc.org or t.mcbride@naafsbc.org.
- The National Hispanic Baptist Fellowship will host its annual National Day of Prayer on June 15, 7–8 p.m. in the convention’s prayer room in Hall D.
- The Pastors’ Wives Conference will be held during the morning session of the Pastors Conference on June 15.
- NAMB will host all SBC chaplains at a reception June 15, 4:30–5:30 p.m. on Level 1, Room C123–C125 of the convention center.
- The SBC Ministers’ Wives Luncheon will be June 16 at noon in the Regency Ballroom. Email mary.cox@northmetro.net for tickets.
- A Samford University Alumni reception will be June 17, 2–3 p.m. on Level 2, Room C221.
- A NAMB-sponsored lunch honoring bivocational pastors and their wives will be June 17 from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Level 3, Room Battelle A.
Register online at sbcannualmeeting.net under the “Messengers” tab. After completing online registration, each messenger will receive an eight-digit registration code to present at the annual meeting’s express registration lane. There the registration code can be entered into a computer and a nametag will be printed.
Messengers planning to propose resolutions must submit them no later than 15 days prior to the annual meeting. Detailed guidelines on submitting resolutions are available at sbcannualmeeting.net under the “Messengers” tab. Resolutions may be submitted online but must be followed up by a letter of credentials from the submitter’s church.
For more information about anything related to the annual meeting, visit www.sbcannualmeeting.com. (BP)
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WMU to focus on surrender, sacrifice, service
Prior to the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention, North American and international missionaries will share how God is at work around the world during the Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU) Missions Celebration and annual meeting June 14–15 in Ohio.
The theme, “All for You,” focuses on surrender, sacrifice and service as a follower of Christ.
“In following Jesus we find the joy and purpose that makes life worth living,” said Wanda S. Lee, executive director of national WMU. “Nothing shares the message of Jesus better than a life lived in total surrender to Him.”
This devotion to Christ and a passion for sharing Him with others will be a consistent theme of featured speakers, including: Michael Coleman, a military chaplain with the North American Mission Board; Terry Dorsett, executive director of the Baptist Convention of New England; Earl Hewitt, a doctor who serves in West Africa; David and Alicia, who serve in Southeast Asia; and Bud Fray, a retired missionary who served in Africa.
General sessions are June 14 at 3:30 p.m. and 6 p.m., and June 15 at 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. In addition, 20 different conferences will be offered June 15. Topics range from creative ways to engage preschoolers in missions to understanding post-traumatic stress disorder and learning ways to minister to those suffering from it.
The meeting and missions celebration will be at First Baptist Church, Grove City, approximately a 10- to 15-minute drive from the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus. (BP)
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NAMB seeking permission to assist IMB in ‘specialized’ role overseas
Southern Baptist military chaplains would be authorized to plant churches overseas under a recommendation headed to the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) annual meeting June 16–17 in Columbus, Ohio.
In February the SBC Executive Committee approved a recommendation enabling the North American Mission Board (NAMB) to “provide specialized, defined and agreed upon assistance to the International Mission Board (IMB) in assisting churches to plant churches for specific groups outside the United States and Canada.”
NAMB President Kevin Ezell said in an email to SBC entity heads and state convention executives that the request is being driven in part by a climate in the U.S. that is “more hostile toward religious liberties.”
Ezell said the agency wants to be positioned to “take proactive steps should large numbers of our military chaplains decide they can no longer serve the military in good conscience.”
“If that becomes the case, we would like the freedom to plant churches adjacent to military bases outside the United States with the specific purpose of serving the U.S. military population,” he wrote.
Ezell said the new assignment would be a good fit for NAMB.
Southern Baptists outnumbered
According to a 2013 article in SBC Life, Southern Baptists have 1,440 endorsed chaplains serving in the U.S. military, more than any other denomination or faith group. Christianity Today recently reported new Department of Defense statistics showing that Southern Baptists make up about 1 percent of the nation’s current military force, and are now outnumbered by atheists.
Recent changes in the military including the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” and reprimands for proselytizing have caused some SBC leaders to wonder about the future of military chaplaincy in the denomination.
Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., said in a 2013 blog that “Southern Baptist chaplains cannot surrender their commitment to Christ in order to maintain their commitment to ministry within the armed services.”
NAMB issued new guidelines clarifying that SBC chaplains will not participate in or attend wedding ceremonies for gay members of the military.
Ezell said, “Southern Baptists love and pray for our chaplains. That being said, we only want to endorse chaplains who can support Baptist doctrine and belief without reservation.”
Other Baptist groups recognized as endorsing agents by the military include the Alliance of Baptists, American Baptist Churches USA and the Baptist General Convention of Texas.
According to the pre-convention issue of SBC Life, David Platt, IMB president, supports expanding NAMB’s portfolio. The change also would enable the two agencies to cooperate in evangelizing unreached people groups with populations both in the U.S. and abroad. (BNG)
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SBC Pastors Conference to focus on theme ‘He Must Increase’
Though the 2015 Southern Baptist Pastors Conference will feature a diverse array of speakers — in terms of both race and age — conference president William Rice hopes they won’t be the gathering’s focus.
Instead he hopes pastors will turn their attention to Jesus, setting the stage for the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) annual meeting’s emphasis on prayer and awakening. Hence the theme of the 2015 Pastors Conference: “He Must Increase.”
“In ministry, we get distracted by so many things,” said Rice, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church, Clearwater, Fla. “And some of those are good things,” like methodologies, leadership, strategies and worship styles.
“But at the end of the day, what we need most of all is this movement which focuses upon Christ — His glory, the mission to make Him known among the nations and in our own country.”
The June 14–15 Pastors Conference will be at the Greater Columbus Convention Center.
Speakers for June 14 at the conference will include Dean Fulks, pastor of LifePoint Church, Columbus, Ohio, and Russell Moore, president of SBC’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission.
June 15 morning speakers will feature messages from Vance Pittman, pastor of Hope Church, Las Vegas; Paul David Tripp, executive director of the Association of Biblical Counselors’ Center for Pastoral Life and Care; and David Uth, pastor of First Baptist Church, Orlando, Fla. Afternoon speakers will include Clint Pressley, pastor of Hickory Grove Baptist Church, Charlotte, N.C.; H.B. Charles, pastor of Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church, Jacksonville, Fla.; and Steve Gaines, pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church, Cordova, Tenn. Evening speakers will include J.D. Greear, pastor of The Summit Church, Raleigh-Durham, N.C.; James MacDonald, pastor of Harvest Bible Chapel, Rolling Meadows, Ill.; and David Platt, president of the International Mission Board.
Worship will be led by Christian recording artist Travis Cottrell, Harvest Bible Chapel’s Vertical Church Band and Calvary Baptist’s worship team. (BP)
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SBC President Floyd, 11 pastors to lead ‘Call for Prayer’
For an “epic night of prayer” during the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) annual meeting, 11 pastors have been named by SBC President Ronnie Floyd to help lead the evening session June 16 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Ohio.
Floyd has titled the session, “A National Call for Prayer to All Southern Baptists for the Next Great Awakening and to Reach the World for Christ” on the meeting’s opening night.
Two former SBC presidents, Jack Graham and James Merritt, will be among the evening’s leaders. Graham is pastor of the Dallas-area Prestonwood Baptist Church, and Merritt is pastor of the Atlanta-area Cross Pointe Church.
Alabama ties
Also among the leaders are three with Alabama ties: Steve Gaines, pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church, Cordova, Tenn.; Vance Pittman, pastor of Hope Baptist Church, Las Vegas; and Ted Traylor, pastor of Olive Baptist Church, Penscola, Fla.
“It is time to call out to God for the next Great Awakening and to reach the world for Christ,” said Floyd, pastor of the multicampus Cross Church in northwest Arkansas.
Floyd also noted, “One of the unique moments of the evening will be when we embrace and celebrate our ethnic diversity, which may also involve moments of repentance and reconciliation. Each of us needs to be in this experience together, letting God do a powerful work in each of our lives and churches. Southern Baptists must lead the way in embracing and celebrating our ethnic diversity.” (BP)
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Alabamians to lead at SBC annual meeting
Alabama Baptists will be among those serving during the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) annual meeting in Columbus, Ohio, June 16–17.
Appointments to the Committee on Committees were announced by SBC President Ronnie Floyd in accordance with SBC Bylaw 19.
The Committee on Committees will assemble in Columbus prior to the annual meeting to nominate members of the Committee on Nominations who, in turn, nominate trustees for the boards of SBC entities.
The Committee on Committees has 68 members, two from each of the 34 states and regions qualified for representation on boards of SBC entities.
Alabama’s committee members are Marilyn Foley, Spring Hill Baptist Church, Mobile, and Buddy Champion, pastor of FBC Trussville.
Executive Committee, boards
Alabama Baptists also are among those nominated to serve on the SBC Executive Committee (EC), the four denominational boards — International Mission Board (IMB), North American Mission Board (NAMB), LifeWay Christian Resources and GuideStone Financial Resources — the Ethics & Religious Liberties Commission (ERLC), the six seminaries and the Committee on Order of Business. Nominees were selected by the 2015 Committee on Nominations and will serve if elected by messengers to the annual meeting.
Those nominated from Alabama are:
- Paul S. Hicks, pastor of West Jefferson Baptist Church, Quinton, replacing Steven W. Loggins, director of missions for North Jefferson Baptist Association, nominated with term to expire in 2019 on the EC.
- Rick L. Lance, executive director of the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions, nominated for a second term to GuideStone.
- F. Max Croft, associate pastor of Agape Baptist Church, Scottsboro, and Jay L. Wolf, pastor of FBC Montgomery nominated for a second term as IMB trustees.
- Erin S. Bounds, member of North Valley Baptist Church, Odenville, replacing Larry E. Gipson, pastor of FBC Oneonta, nominated with term to expire in 2019 as a NAMB trustee.
- Timothy M. (Mark) Hindman, member of FBC Prattville, nominated for a second term as a Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary trustee.
- Gregory T. Pouncey, pastor of FBC Tillman’s Corner in Mobile, replacing David E. Brown, Wheat Ridge, Colo., who resigned, with term to expire in 2017 as a Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary trustee.
Floyd also named the Committee on Resolutions which will include Kathy Litton, national consultant for ministry to pastor’s wives for NAMB and wife of Ed Litton, pastor of FBC North Mobile, in Saraland. (TAB, BP)
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