We Are Here to Help Leaders Flourish

Jun 22

3 min read

Hey Pastors, and Ministry Leaders,

Last week, Lisa and I had the opportunity to attend the Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida.

There were many things that made this year’s meeting special. One of the biggest was simply having Lisa there with me. Because this was my first Annual Meeting as Executive Director of the Northwest Baptist Convention, my schedule was much fuller than in years past. Between

meetings, conversations, and events, it was a blessing to have her alongside me throughout the week.

As always, one of the highlights was reconnecting with old friends, meeting new people, and hearing stories of what God is doing in and through churches across the country. I was also deeply moved by the International Mission Board’s missionary commissioning service. This year, 63 missionaries were commissioned and sent to take the Gospel to people around the world.

Some are heading to places where missionaries are not welcome and where openly identifying themselves could place them and others at risk. As they stood behind a curtain with their identities concealed and their voices altered, I was reminded once again of the cost of taking the Gospel to the nations and the privilege we have of being part of that work together.

The Annual Meeting itself was much like every Annual Meeting. For two days, thousands of messengers gather to conduct business, make decisions, and speak collectively on behalf of our Convention. This year, more than 11,000 messengers participated.

Good things happened.

Some things made me smile.

Some things made me shake my head.

That’s probably true every year.

But one thing that continues to encourage me is the reminder that while the Annual Meeting receives most of the attention, it represents only two days out of the year. The other 363 days are spent by churches faithfully serving their communities, making disciples, planting churches, sending missionaries, and sharing the Gospel.

As I reflected on this year’s gathering, I found myself thinking about my first Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting.

It was 1998 in Salt Lake City.

I was serving a small church in Longview, Washington. We didn’t have money to fly, so my volunteer Sunday School Director and I borrowed my wife’s grandmother’s motorhome and drove the 800 miles to Utah. We couldn’t afford a hotel, so we parked the motorhome on a side street near the convention center and slept there during the meeting. We didn’t know many people and spent most of our time looking for inexpensive places to eat. It wasn’t glamorous, but we were excited to be there.

I remember being amazed by the size of the gathering. I remember seeing leaders whose names I had only heard on the radio or read about in books. I remember thinking I was witnessing history.

But what I remember most is what happened after the meeting.

We drove home.

Back to our little church.

Back to our community.

Back to the mission God had given us.

Over the years, there have been many Annual Meetings, important votes, major discussions, and significant decisions. Yet none of those things prevented our church from continuing to focus on reaching people with the Gospel. While the population of Cowlitz County grew by roughly 16 percent, our church grew by more than 1,000 percent. Not all of that growth came through conversion, of course, but God did amazing things as we stayed focused on the mission He had given us.

Perhaps that’s what I was reminded of most this year.

Meetings matter.

Decisions matter.

Cooperation matters.

But at the end of the day, our calling remains the same.

People still need Jesus.

Communities still need healthy churches.

The Gospel is still the power of God for salvation.

And the mission God has given us is still worthy of our very best efforts.

Thank you for faithfully serving where God has placed you. Thank you for keeping the mission in front of your people. And thank you for continuing to point others to Jesus in communities across the Northwest.

by Faith,