Either beg God for spiritual awakening or sink into irrelevance — that was the plea International Mission Board (IMB) President Tom Elliff voiced to trustees at their Sept. 13–14 meeting in Orlando, Fla.
“I see this as the critical issue facing us as Southern Baptists,” Elliff said.
“The truth of the matter is that if we don’t experience spiritual awakening we will forfeit our capacity to effectively partner with others in carrying out the Great Commission.”
The call for stateside spiritual awakening was unusual for the IMB’s president, who would normally focus his report on issues facing Southern Baptist missionaries overseas.
But Elliff said, “God had instead placed a huge burden on my heart that couldn’t be ignored.”
“[Spiritual] awakening is a missions issue, because if we don’t have an awakening in the hearts of Southern Baptists, then the pool out of which we fish for missionaries gets smaller and smaller,” he explained. “We’ll just become another denomination that had its day and has now slipped off into irrelevancy, and when people say ‘Southern Baptist Convention,’ they will probably say it with a yawn.”
Elliff extended his appeal beyond trustees, asking IMB missionaries and all Southern Baptists to join him in praying weekly for the United States and the nations of the world.
Elliff designated a specific 24-hour period every week, from sunset Sunday to sunset Monday, for Southern Baptists to join together in petitioning the Lord for spiritual awakening. (BP)
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