Has there ever been an SBC Pastor’s Conference with more positive buzz surrounding it than this year’s conference? We all know that the Pastor’s Conference was once an important tool used by the leaders of the Conservative Resurgence to rally the troops to elect conservative SBC presidents and return the convention to biblical orthodoxy. We remember how the 2010 conference focused on the Great Commission Resurgence and was perhaps influential in that way. But usually the Pastor’s Conference is somewhat of an afterthought when it comes to the annual meeting.
Not this year. This year’s conference is no ordinary SBC Pastor’s Conference. 12 ordinary men from 12 ordinary churches will be preaching 12 text-driven sermons from Philippians as 1 extraordinary name is lifted up above every name. The name of Jesus is perhaps the only name on the program that everyone will recognize. My sense is that people are genuinely very excited about this year’s conference.
I’ve had the privilege of being a part of the group putting together this year’s conference. I was a part of the initial conversations before it was ever determined that Dave Miller was the one we would nominate to serve as president of the conference. We didn’t know if he would win. We didn’t know where the money for such a massive event would come from. There were a lot of unanswered questions when our conversation began.
But here we are. The countdown on the conference website says that there are only 33 days until Keith and Kristyn Getty lead us in the opening worship song and David Choi preaches the opening verses of Philippians. Sure, there are still things that need to be done between now and then, but everything is on schedule. The funds have been raised by conference organizers. The sermons are being prepared by the preachers. And travel plans are being made by those planning to attend.
We hope that this year’s pastor’s conference will influence our convention for years to come. We hope that pastors of small, medium, large, and mega churches will be challenged and encouraged as they sit and listen to the Word of God preached. We hope that those who already preach expositionally through books of the Bible will be encouraged to continue doing so knowing that they are not alone. We hope that those who may have never tried preaching this way will be challenged to try it. We trust that we will all be encouraged as we are reminded once again that our convention is full of faithful pastors standing in pulpits all across our nation every Sunday preaching the Word of God.
I hope you are planning to be in Phoenix on June 11-12. You will certainly be blessed as a result. If you are not able to make it to Phoenix, block off the necessary time now to watch the full conference via livestream. This will be a special time for our convention as we rejoice together in our Lord Jesus Christ through the proclamation of His written Word.
