Cheryl and I stopped in at FBC Santa Fe in New Mexico for worship today. Heard a great message from Pastor Reed Redus about religious liberty from 1 Timothy 2. Such a friendly, welcoming church.
@joe_rigney Thanks Joe…I agree with your analysis and it’s a major confirmation of our arguments. Thx for sharing your thoughts and for strong influence over these recents years. I’ve appreciated your voice.
Pray for Venezuela. Powerful earthquakes have struck, and rescue efforts are underway. Pray for the injured, those searching for loved ones, rescue workers, and local churches serving their communities in Jesus' name. https://t.co/8MS6wbgmxx
Happy Father’s Day to the men who quietly yet consistently lead, provide, and care for their families. They may not be applauded for spectacular things but they build a legacy of faithfulness and provide a foundation for their children’s future. Heroes.
I’m back at Baptist Headquarters this week, the local church. Here at Calvary, it’s VBS
week. We have 3 different VBS’s going on at 3 different campuses. We have 2 in the
morning and 1 at night and last week we had a 4th, our Deaf VBS.
As Baptists return home from our convention, the real work of the kingdom is in full swing.
Summer brings missions trips, summer camps, summer revivals, VBS and much more. This
is the real work. Last week we gathered to take care of church work, but now we get to go
home and be about the work of the church. Both are important, but let’s not forget where
the greatest work is done. It’s done in local churches when ordinary people pour out their
lives to build relationships, serve in the name of Jesus and share the gospel. 1000 years
from now, it won’t be raised ballots, resolutions, or amendments we are talking about, it will
be the stories of God’s grace poured out through seemingly ordinary means.
This summer as Southern Baptists go back to their churches and mission fields to work, it is
with a prayer that some seed will fall on the fertile soil of a heart ready to hear and believe.
Even seed as small as a mustard seed will grow and God’s kingdom advances. A child
believes. A student answers a call to serve. A missions volunteer is moved in ways words
cannot fully describe. The kingdom advances. God’s good work continues.
So Southern Baptists as we return home to our fields of service, let’s rejoice for the fields
are ready for harvest, the Holy Spirit is moving in wonderful ways, and the glorious message
that God so loved the world He gave His only Son, is still the best news human ears have
ever heard. Brothers and sisters…to the fields!
Make your ways known to me, LORD; teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; I wait for you all day long. Psalm 25:4-5, CSB
Join me in praying for our brother HB and those affected by this tragedy. I’ve been in contact with HB and assured him of our prayers and willingness to help anyway we can.
URGENT PRAYER REQUEST: I am in Moneta (near Roanoke), Virginia, to preach the 20th church anniversary of Troy Keaton and the Eastlake Community Church. The service was in a tent on campus, with close to 1,000 attendees. Ten minutes into the service, a sudden, severe weather event pulled the support poles out of the ground and blew the tent off. One of the elders of the church went to be with Jesus, and several others were seriously injured. Please pray for Pastor Troy, Eastlake Church, and this community - that the hope of our risen Savior would be theirs in abundance during this crisis.
Dear Southern Baptist family, we have much work to do. As we return to Baptist headquarters (our local churches) for a busy season of ministry, I want to thank you again for your many expressions of prayer and support. As we look ahead, I assure you that it is my intent to lead out of the 7 Pillars of Renewal that I articulated throughout the spring. We are reworking our Baptist renewal website and will have a revised site up and running very soon. We want to provide a mechanism for Baptist people to express their concerns and questions. It is not possible or advisable to try to interact with every comment or question online, but we do care and want to find ways to interact with good faith concerns. We want to hear your ideas and attempt to answer questions that may come our way. The SBC President represents the people. My job is to serve you. We’re already hard at work, so stay tuned for more information to come.
As a momentous week ends, I want to again thank Dr. Clint Pressley for his excellent job leading and presiding these last two years as SBC President. He has led with great skill and character. He leaves big shoes to fill (and a big wardrobe budget). I know all Southern Baptists join me in thanking him for his service and wish he and Connie some much deserved rest in the days ahead.
Congrats @WillyRice on your election as the new President of the SBC. Thank you for your kindness to me and my family throughout this process.
I’m cheering for you, and I’m committed to praying for you as you lead our one sacred effort to reach the nations with the gospel of Jesus Christ. #SBC26
I want to thank so many of you who have reached out personally to congratulate us and assure us of your prayers. We are humbled and accept this opportunity for service knowing it is a stewardship for which we will give account. I want to congratulate my brother, Josh Powell, and his wonderful family for his exemplary conduct and efforts during this season.
My esteem for him has only grown and I know he will be a voice in Southern Baptist life for years to come. We need 1000 pastors like him.
I want to assure all Southern Baptists, those who voted for me and those who didn’t, that
our desire is to serve our Lord and you and my prayer is indeed that God will bring us into a season of reconciliation and renewal. It is my hope to listen and to serve and I ask for your prayers, your patience, and your continued cooperation as we continue in the good work God has given us to do.
I’ll be preaching at FBC Daytona Beach this Sunday morning for my dear friend Pastor Eric Stitts. Any SBC friends who are already in town are invited to make the short drive to Daytona for one of their two morning services Sunday.