It’s been a very busy day. The speakers had a session this morning with Dr. Allen. I missed most of the information from that session because I was filming interviews with the speakers. Those interviews will show up here at SBC Voices in the near future.
Going to the Chapel
After the session we headed over to the chapel on campus. The chapel is a beautiful facility that was built since Dr. Patterson became President at Southwestern. Dr. Patterson told us yesterday that the facility was designed to be conducive to preaching. The purpose of going over to the chapel was to give the speakers an opportunity to get a feel for standing in the pulpit of a large room. The chapel seats 3,000 people. That doesn’t quite simulate the size of the room in Phoenix where these guys will be preaching, but it was helpful for them to speak into the microphone and get used to the echo of a large room.
Standing behind the pulpit of a large room and speaking into the microphone may seem like a very minor thing. But these guys do not preach to large congregations every Sunday. They may have had an opportunity before to speak to a large group, but it is not something they are used to doing. It’s easy to forget about some of the logistical concerns related to an event as large as the SBC Pastor’s Conference. We were also able to get some photos of the speakers on the platform of the chapel.
Lunch with the President
Next was lunch at Pecan Manor. Pecan Manor is the home on campus where Dr. and Mrs. Patterson live. The lunch was delicious, and the hospitality was top notch. I had the opportunity during lunch to talk with Dr. Matthew McKellar who is one of the members of preaching faculty here at Southwestern. He almost had me convinced to pursue a doctoral degree in preaching at SWBTS. Though I quickly remembered how much I enjoy not having class assignments to complete, he vowed to pray that I will see the light and decide to study preaching at SWBTS.
While at Pecan Manor for lunch, we also had the opportunity to step back into Dr. Patterson’s library. Impressive is an understatement. The shelves were built by students at Southwestern, and they are full of books from the floor to the ceiling. Dr. Patterson has an area in the back of the library where he studies, and where he is presently working on a biography of Dr. W.A. Criswell.
Check Back Again Later
Right now Dr. Allen is giving an overview of the book of Philippians. After he finishes, the speakers will group up with preaching faculty members from SWBTS and NOBTS to talk individually about their particular text for the conference.
Photos and videos from the colloquium are also available on the Pastor’s Conference Facebook page.
I’ll try to get a wrap-up of the day written on the plane home this evening. Continue to pray for these men as the colloquium comes to an end.
