Worship, fellowship and encouragement were threads woven throughout the day at this year’s School of the Prophets, a one-day conference for pastors and laypeople organized by the Etowah Baptist Association.
This year’s event, held April 22 at MeadowBrook Church in Gadsden, featured seven speakers in six sessions and worship led by Kenny and Claire Hilliard of Nashville.
Craig Carlisle, director of missions for Etowah Association, said as he begins planning each year for the next conference, he has ideas about speakers, and then he starts making calls and watching the Lord work.
“God always does more than I think He can do,” Carlisle said. “This year is certainly no exception.”
Centered on the theme “Matters of Life & Ministry,” speakers addressed a variety of topics, including generosity, prayer, healing, reconciliation, accountability, evangelism and being led by the Holy Spirit.
Art Rainer
Leading off the day was Art Rainer, vice president for institutional advancement at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina, and founder of Christian Money Solutions. Rainer spoke on biblical generosity and the future of fulfilling the Great Commission.
God has a plan for the believer’s finances, and “it’s far better than anything the world can offer,” said Rainer, who has written several books on Christian money management.
Generous churches make a Kingdom impact, he said.
“And in my experience, generous churches are led by generous ministers,” he added.
The United States is in the midst of the largest transfer of wealth in history as Baby Boomers pass on their estates to Gen Xers, he said, and how that wealth is stewarded will have an eternal impact.
“Money is Great Commission fuel, so it would not surprise me if Satan is strategically working in our nation, specifically among Christians, to reduce their ability to financially fuel the Great Commission.”
“Believers, we can cheerfully give … because we’re looking through the lens of eternity and we’re seeing the eternal outcome — lives changed forever.”
Jeremy and Caleb Freeman
Jeremy Freeman, pastor of First Baptist Church Newcastle, Oklahoma, took the stage with his son, Caleb, who in 2017 survived a severe traumatic brain injury in a near-fatal car wreck. Caleb’s miraculous recovery is chronicled in Freeman’s book, “#butGod: The Power of Hope when Catastrophe Crashes In.”
The Freemans shared the story of Caleb’s wreck and his long journey of recovery and rehabilitation, noting the power of prayer and Christian community throughout. Jeremy also shared about the death of his son Trey, who died of leukemia at age 7 a few years before Caleb’s wreck. His family’s struggles have taught them important truths about God and about faith that they now share with others, Jeremy said.
“Sometimes [God] gets glory by healing in heaven. Sometimes He gets glory by healing on earth. And sometimes He gets glory by our endurance,” he said.
The Freemans share their story often, and they have ministered to people in their grief and led people to the Lord, Jeremy said.
Caleb’s zeal for sharing the gospel and his humor despite ongoing challenges is evident, and he encouraged those in the audience to follow his example.
“No matter who you come into contact with, everyone has some barrier. … God has given me [humor] and God will use my humor to tear down that wall.”
Others can and should do the same, he said.
“Share your testimony boldly,” he said. “God can use it in ways you never thought possible.”
Walter R. Strickland II
Speaking on accountability in the digital age, Walter R. Strickland II, assistant professor of systematic theology and contextual theology at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, addressed the need for a biblical approach to managing technology.
“Technology used to serve us. But now technology is seeking to master us,” he said. “We become a product that is being manipulated. … It’s shaping us.”
Technology has an impact of those who are leading churches and trying to disciple others, he said, because children, youth and adults are constantly on devices. The result: “Technology has eroded our felt need for incarnate relationships.”
Relationships have become superficial and transactional, he observed. Grocery pickup, online shopping, food delivery — all are new levels of impersonal interactions, he said. Similarly, remote work has taken the place of communal workspaces, places where people would regularly interact with people who are different from them and learn to navigate those different opinions, beliefs, cultures and values. For believers, these spaces were also places to share gospel conversations and faith lessons.
“One of the fundamental ways humans are made in the image of God is that we are relational,” he said. “We are losing the opportunity to rub shoulders with people in very natural ways.”
That shows in our online communication especially, where it is easy to misunderstand someone or tear another person down. That’s not the biblical standard, he emphasized.
“We need to have online accountability so that our engagement with each other leads to the building up of others. … Everyone wants to have the mic drop moment, but mic drop moments don’t make disciples,” Strickland said.
Matt Queen
Matt Queen, pastor of Friendly Avenue Baptist Church in Greensboro, North Carolina, began the afternoon sessions speaking on the topic of evangelism, a subject close to his heart as a believer, pastor and former professor of evangelism at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Preaching from the Book of Jonah, Queen titled his sermon, “What’s eating Jonah and is it eating you?”
Reviewing the life of Jonah and God’s call for him to go to Nineveh, Queen noted that Jonah’s problem was one that some Christians today also struggle with, the truth that “the great, righteous God loves the wicked and has done something about it.”
“Your theology can be right. You can know everything about God and His creation, just like Jonah. … Your practice can be right. But you can still accommodate a sinful condition: lack of concern in your heart for the lost.”
Queen challenged those in attendance to set aside their fears and share the good news of Jesus Christ with someone.
“Do you have pity for the lost? Do you have compassion for the lost? … Where is your Nineveh? … Let’s go out there! There’s no shortage of wicked people out there that need to hear the good news.”
Jeff Iorg
Jeff Iorg, retiring president of Gateway Seminary and president-elect of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee, continued on the theme of evangelism, emphasizing the importance of prayer and reliance on the Holy Spirit in sharing the gospel and keeping a Kingdom-minded focus.
Speaking on John 14, a passage he called “intimidating,” Iorg said believers should be emboldened by Jesus’ teaching on prayer.
“You can do the ‘greater things’ because you can pray in the name of Jesus. Praying in the name of Jesus means you pray in the name of Jesus. You pray for things worthy of being prayed in His name,” Iorg said. “What are you praying that is worthy of being asked in His name?”
“I want to encourage you: pray bigger prayers. Pray audacious prayers, big prayers, impossible things that could not happen unless Someone who has all authority in the universe answers ‘Yes.’”
Sharing examples from his experiences as a church planter, pastor, seminary leader and Major League Baseball chaplain, Iorg spoke of lives changed through the power of prayer, the transformational impact of the Word of God and the influence of the Holy Spirit.
“The Holy Spirit produces ministry results, meaning people saved and lives transformed in ways no one else can explain,” Iorg said.
Addressing his new role in denominational life, Iorg said he is striving to practice what he preaches.
“I have found myself praying, ‘Father I am undone. I do not have the wisdom, the experience, the training, the charisma or the intelligence to solve the pressing issues facing our denomination. I yield to the power of the Holy Spirit, and I’m asking for the Holy Spirit’s empowering to do supernatural things I can’t even imagine need to be done. … And that while I’m taking on an even more administratively focused responsibility than I’ve ever had in my life, that I will not forsake the teaching of the Word of God and teaching to obey the Bible. … When we all do it together, our movement will be transformed.’”
Paul Worcester
Paul Worcester, national collegiate director for the North American Mission Board, spent time with college and student leaders during lunch and spoke during the final session of the conference. He addressed the gospel strides being made on college campuses and the ongoing need for strong leaders and mentors who will speak into the lives of young adults.
Speaking on Matthew 9:36–38, Worcester noted the compassion of Christ on the crowds “because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”
“The average college campus is 5% reached with the gospel,” Worcester said. “The next time you’re watching college football and you see a crowd shot, let your heart be broken for what breaks the heart of God. If nothing changes, most of them are going to live a life away from God.”
Worcester cited research suggesting that among young adults in Gen Z, 57.6 million are spiritually lost.
“They may look cool, … but they are suffering from addiction, depression and hopelessness,” he said. “Thirty-seven percent of students reported feeling so depressed within the last 12 months that it was difficult to function.”
That’s the dark side, but there is light, Worcester noted.
“Where we are seeing the most people come to Christ is on college campuses,” he said. “College students are incredibly open to the gospel. They have time and desire to be discipled and trained as leaders, and they can become a leadership pipeline for church planting and missions.
“The problem is not with the harvest. The harvest is plentiful. The problem is the lack of laborers,” he continued. “There are more students who need to hear the gospel than there are people who are willing to share with them.
“Please don’t get sidetracked into petty and secondary issues when there is an entire generation that’s lacking spiritual fathers and mothers. … This generation is ripe for revival. Will you lead them?”
More information
From 1948 to 1994, School of the Prophets was a mainstay Bible/preaching conference in northeast Alabama that drew pastors and laypeople from across the southeast. In 2019, the conference was resumed. Each year, the conference features preachers with the goal of addressing relevant issues for today’s pastor and layperson.
Etowah Association also held its annual Bivocational Ministers Dinner on April 20. Author, cartoonist and retired pastor Joe McKeever spoke, and Kenny and Claire Hilliard led worship.
Next year’s School of the Prophets conference is set for April 28, 2025, at MeadowBrook Church. For more information, click here.
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