"I take my text and make a beeline for the cross." This quote is often attributed to the great English Baptist preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon....
Hey guys. Brad Whitt here and I want to take just a minute to share with you why I’m so very excited next week to...
While I was attending the Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary in Memphis, TN I had the opportunity and tremendous privilege to work at Bellevue Baptist Church...
This week I will be attending the Pastors' Conference and Annual Meeting of the South Carolina Baptist Convention in Columbia, South Carolina. I have to admit that I love these days of preaching and denominational meetings. I grew up going to these events with my father and I hope one day to take my children to them as well. The Annual Meeting is a time where we can see how and where our Cooperative Program dollars are being used. Also, the Pastors' Conference and Convention is a great time of encouragement and fellowship with other pastors as we hear some of the greatest Bible preachers and church leaders anywhere.
After an early morning and a very long day of walking, meeting, talking, walking, eating, walking, talking, eating, listening, voting, walking (get the picture?) I'm finally back in the hotel room. I am tired, but I do have to admit that I really love being here this week. I grew up coming with my parents to the "the convention." My family friends were and are pastors. We talk a lot during the year by phone, Facebook, Twitter and text about the joys and burdens of ministry. However, there is something very encouraging and energizing about sitting across a table from an old friend and seeing what God is doing in their life, their family and their ministry. For a people person like myself there really are very few things that are better than spending a day meeting and talking with many people that you've just met or have known for years. So, needless to say, it's been a good day.
Tomorrow evening I will fly out of Greenville to attend the 2011 annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention in Phoenix. I'm not really sure how many of these meetings I've attended in my lifetime, but it's probably safe to say that it's been more than a few. As I have thought about this year's convention, I have been overwhelmed with mixed emotions. While I deeply love and am committed to being a Southern Baptist, I am increasingly concerned about many of the things that I see transpiring in our denomination.