This morning I am boarding a plane for Dallas, Texas. The Pastor’s Conference team is headed to Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary for the much awaited speaker colloquium. All 12 of our speakers will be gathering today and tomorrow to meet one another and study Philippians together. The speakers will also be subject to photography and interviews for the purpose of conference promotion. A few members of our team are tagging along for various reasons. My purpose for being there is to use SBC Voices to let you know how things are going and promote the conference. So check back often as I will be writing several times over the next few days.
I am excited for several reasons:
- I will finally meet in person the speakers we have chosen for the conference.
I had the privilege of helping Dave with the selection of the speakers. I’m not sure how many sermons I listened to, but it was a lot. We heard a lot of good preachers, and I am very pleased with the final slate of speakers that we were able to put together. We have 12 excellent expositors who will serve us well in Phoenix by rightly dividing the book of Philippians.
I have only ever met Bart Barber, and that was only very briefly in St. Louis last summer. I’ve heard one of the other speakers preach in person. I’m looking forward to spending a couple of days with these men and getting to know each one of them.
- I have never been on the campus of SWBTS.
I graduated from Southeastern. I’ve seen the campus of SBTS from the road. But I’m told that everything is bigger in Texas. So I’m ready to see for myself. As a lifelong Southern Baptist, I am thankful for all six of our seminaries that proudly stand on the authority of the Bible. I am thankful for Paige Patterson and his many years of service to the Southern Baptist Convention. I’m told he has a room somewhere around there with his many big game trophies gathered from around the world. I don’t know if seeing it is on the agenda, but I’m hoping to take a peek.
- We’re going to study the Bible with Dr. David Allen and his team.
This is the main purpose of the colloquium. Since these speakers will be preaching consecutively through Philippians, it will be helpful to have this time where they can study Philippians together. Let’s get on the same page concerning Paul’s purpose in writing and what he is doing at each point throughout the epistle. I don’t know the full agenda, but the speakers will also have the opportunity to make use of Southwestern’s library resources while on campus.
Southwestern has been very helpful to Dave and the Pastor’s Conference ever since Dave was elected in June. We are thankful for this partnership, and look forward to seeing some of the fruit of it this week. This kind of cooperation is one of the things that really makes the Southern Baptist Convention.
Though it’s not important that I get to study Philippians with the speakers, I am looking forward to heading back to hermeneutics and preaching class for a couple of days. We never stop learning. Maybe I’ll return with plans of my own to preach through Philippians soon.
We do ask that you will pray for this two day colloquium. We are packing a lot into two days. We trust that it will be beneficial to the speakers, and will help make for an even better conference in June. Pray for the twelve men who are preparing to preach God’s Word to us in Phoenix.
