Whew! I am flying home as I type this, and I’m exhausted. If I’m this tired, I can only imagine how an old guy like Dave feels. If you haven’t already figured it out from my previous posts about the colloquium, we had a great two days at Southwestern. Everything was top notch. I am confident that the colloquium will help the conference preachers tremendously as they prepare to proclaim the Word of God this summer in Phoenix.
My primary job today was to do a brief video interview of all 11 preachers who attended the colloquium. Those videos will show up here on SBC Voices over the next several weeks as we continue to march toward the date of the conference in June.
What Excites You Most?
As you know, this year’s conference is unlike anything we’ve ever done before. We have twelve diverse preachers for average-size Southern Baptist churches. These twelve men will be preaching through Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi. Each preacher has been assigned a text, and they will together move systematically through the book over the course of the conference.
One of the questions that I asked each of the speakers in the interviews was “What excites you most about this new format for the Pastor’s Conference?” They gave some excellent answers that you will hear when the videos are released.
I am excited to hear these men that have been selected dig into the text of Philippians and share with us a word from the Lord. They are all excellent preachers, but they are all committed to making sure that the star of the conference is Jesus. Above every name!
We believe that the very presence of these preachers on the platform in Phoenix will be an encouragement to the pastors of average-size churches. But even more than that, we believe that hearing these men open their Bibles and preach 12 text-driven sermons through Philippians will be a challenge and an encouragement to pastors and lay people across our convention from churches of all sizes. God has not promised to bless our creativity or speaking ability. He has promised to bless His Word, and we know that He will.
How Can We Pray?
Another question that I asked each preacher is “How can we be praying for you in the coming months as your prepare to preach?” I hope you will commit to pray for these men. This is no small task. This is a very important assignment that has been given to each one of them.
- Pray that God blesses their study of the text with clarity and understanding.
- Pray that God uses His Word in each one of their lives as they prepare.
- Pray that God would protect them and their families from our enemy, the devil.
- Pray ultimately that God would be glorified as Christ is exalted through the proclamation of the Word of God.
I hope you are planning to make the trip out to Phoenix this summer. We know it’s a long way. We know that going to the convention can be expensive. We know that it’s hard to get away from home and church to attend the convention. But we believe it will be worth your time, effort, and money if you decide to come. Make sure that the pastors in your network know what is happening with the SBC Pastor’s Conference this year, and encourage them to join us in Phoenix.
If you haven’t had a chance to check out the Pastor’s Conference Facebook page, there are several archived Facebook live videos from the colloquium posted there. Keep checking here in the days ahead for more information about the Pastor’s Conference June 11-12 in Phoenix, Arizona.
