We are doing everything different this year in the Pastors' Conference at the SBC Annual Meeting. In the past, it has been normal to elect a president and then hear almost nothing about the PC until sometime in February or March when the slate of speakers is unveiled and promotion begins. We have pulled back the veil and included the average SBC pastors in every aspect of the process. It was about this time last year when our little band of blogging brethren started a conversation about the idea of embarking on this journey. It all started with a private conversation I had with a highly … [Read more...] about Rounding the Turn with the Pastors’ Conference – A Progress Report
SBC Pastors' Conference
Keith & Kristyn Getty to Lead Worship at 2017 SBC Pastor’s Conference
We’re thrilled to announce that the music and worship times for all four 2017 Pastor’s Conference sessions will be led by Keith and Kristyn Getty. We consider the Gettys the perfect fit for our conference vision: leading music that highlights corporate singing as our voices are lifted together and Scriptural truth through their fantastic hymn-writing abilities. As we’ve worked with Keith, Kristyn, and their team, we’ve been blessed by their humble spirits and desire to serve SBC pastors through the SBC Pastor’s Conference. From the start we’ve made the focus of our conference the … [Read more...] about Keith & Kristyn Getty to Lead Worship at 2017 SBC Pastor’s Conference
Things to watch in the SBC in 2017
SBC This Week has a list, something for which I have an inveterate predisposition, on the SBC for this year: 10 Questions for 2017: 1. What will be the response to the revamped Pastors Conference in Phoenix? 2. Will we start to see leadership transitions in southern states? 3. How will a Trump presidency affect religious liberty? 4. How will the new CSB translation from LifeWay be received? 5. Will the LifeWay building be occupied in 2017? 6. How will the changing online education landscape affect SBC seminaries and baptist colleges? 7. Will limitless missionaries start to become a … [Read more...] about Things to watch in the SBC in 2017
SBC This Week: Interview about 2017 Pastors Conference
Jonathan Howe and Amy Whitfield do a weekly podcast called SBC This Week - informative and helpful. This week, in addition to the their regular features and coverage of the ERLC controversy, they ran an interview that Jonathan and I did a few days ago. http://www.sbcthisweek.com/pastors-conference-roster-released-erlc-in-the-news/ The interview with me starts around 24:35, but the whole program is worth a listen. … [Read more...] about SBC This Week: Interview about 2017 Pastors Conference
Top ten Southern Baptist news stories of 2016
Here is my completely subjective list of the top Southern Baptist news stories of 2016. Presumably, all of our colleagues will be occupied with Christmas gaiety and not make news between now and the end of the year. The rankings are meant to be generally taken. _______________ 1. Russell Moore's strident opposition to Donald Trump and reaction from some segments of the SBC The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission CEO, Russell Moore, was a heavy critic of Donald Trump. Some segments of the SBC objected to what was seen as imbalance in his anti-Trump. One mid-level SBC personage spoke … [Read more...] about Top ten Southern Baptist news stories of 2016
Announcing the Preachers for the 2017 SBC Pastors’ Conference
I am excited for the 2017 SBC Pastor’s Conference in Phoenix, AZ. As we gather together in Phoenix June 11-12, we will have the opportunity to hear from twelve excellent expository preachers as they preach through Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi. These preachers all come from average-size Southern Baptist Churches. They also represent the diversity of our convention in ethnicity, age, worship style, soteriology, and in many other ways as well. This all began, of course, at the 2016 SBC Pastor’s Conference in St. Louis when Dave Miller was elected President of the 2017 … [Read more...] about Announcing the Preachers for the 2017 SBC Pastors’ Conference
Pastors Conference 2017: We Are Looking for a Few Good Expositors UPDATED: Nominations are OPEN!
NOTE: The Nomination process is up and running. You can make nominations here. It's been almost 3 months since our little band of bloggers were entrusted with this gargantuan task of putting together the 2017 Pastors Conference in Phoenix. I wish I could share all that has happened - it's been amazing how things have come together. Now the time has come to begin our biggest and most important job - selecting the preachers who will deliver the 12 sermons. We ran on a simple premise and everything we are doing is based on this same foundational idea: The word of God is so … [Read more...] about Pastors Conference 2017: We Are Looking for a Few Good Expositors UPDATED: Nominations are OPEN!
A Preview of the Pastors Conference Nomination Form
As you may have heard, the nomination process officially begins on Monday. You can read more about it here and here. For this post, I wanted to give you a sneak preview of the nomination form questions and a brief explanation and rationale for the things we are asking. We are looking forward to your participation in this selection process as you introduce us to some of the faithful pastors of our Southern Baptist family. When you log in to sbcpc2017.com, here’s what you will be asked: Name of person making the nomination Self-explanatory – we want to know who you … [Read more...] about A Preview of the Pastors Conference Nomination Form
Why a Pastors’ Conference A-la-Dave-and-His-Merry-Band Is Good for Us
Not because past Pastors' Conferences have been bad. They haven't. We've been blessed. Not because mega-church pastors are power-hungry prima donnas who won't share with the other kiddies. They aren't, and if any of us think that way, we ought to examine our own hearts and make sure there aren't bad, green-eyed things living in there. The men who have been leading our Pastors' Conferences are (a) brothers of ours who have (b) sacrificed to do so (c) without getting anything to show for it because (d) we asked them to. Spending a year watching this Pastors' Conference be put on by pastors … [Read more...] about Why a Pastors’ Conference A-la-Dave-and-His-Merry-Band Is Good for Us
Hearty congratulations to Dave Miller and the collaborative 2017PC group
Someone ought to note that this is no small thing - an upstart group of no-names proposing a different approach to a major SBC event, putting forth a candidate, and winning an election. And all that being done in a positive manner and without rancor. The usual way we do things is for a group to get mad about something, spit fire about it, complain incessantly, and try and get a majority vote. That doesn't usually work but the 2017PC brain trust made this one work. Congratulations and very good work. It has always struck me that the attitude of large/megachurch pastors and leadership has … [Read more...] about Hearty congratulations to Dave Miller and the collaborative 2017PC group