2009 Southern Baptist Convention, Observations and Personal Reflections (Part 1)

Joyce and I were privileged to join with more than 8,700 messengers attending the 152nd session of the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting on June 23-24 at the Kentucky Exhibition Center in Louisville, Kentucky. Others attending from our Association included: Dr. and Mrs. Michael Lewis and Dr. and Mrs. Bill Clark, messengers from First Baptist Church, Plant City. We did not have opportunity to visit each other in the sea of messengers and various opportunities and responsibilities of the week. Michael Lewis serves through 2009 on the Administrative Committee of the SBC.

Mrs. Lewis served on the committee to organize a minister’s wives luncheon and program. The luncheon event was held Tuesday, June 23, with 1700 minister’s wives attending. Joyce and my daughter, Lisa, were able to be among the 1700 attending the lunch.

My eight-nine year old uncle, W.H. Morris, attended as a messenger from his Louisville, Kentucky Baptist Church, He is a faithful deacon and a tremendous inspiration.

We had the joy of staying at their Louisville residence with my daughter and son-in-law, Steve and Lisa Yates, during the convention week. Steve is completing his PhD in ministry and administrative leadership. He plans to go to work with Southern Baptist Lifeway, and may move to any of the nationally located 150 stores. We are grateful for answered prayer as he begins this job, Wednesday, July 1, by having an eight week training at the Louisville Lifeway store.

We concluded the week spending some time with my mom who lives in a retirement home in Campbellsville, Kentucky. She continues to weaken physically and suffers from loss of memory and other mental abilities. It is wonderful that she knows us and enjoys our visits and has good care.

Here at home, Pastor Hal Sexton shares that members of Berea Baptist Church (James Redman Parkway) were able to hear and watch parts of the Convention on the I-Max screen. An opportunity provided by the new technology of SBC internet. Bro Hal indicated that he looked forward to having the entire convention available in the coming years.

Our Association has a copy of the audio CDs of the Convention and Key Note preachers of the Convention. Pastors and church leaders are welcome to check them out of the Library here at the Resource Center.

Pre-convention events began for us on Sunday as we attended the two day National Director of Missions Conference. I estimate that there were approximately 300 of the 950 national Director of Missions attending. Key note speakers included Dr. Ken Hemphill and Dr. Thom Rainer, president of Lifeway. Their messages focused on building relationships, developing fellowship, offering forgiveness, and doing Kingdom priorities as servants exampled in the New Testament Church. The second day included break-out seminars on subjects such as: competence and future directions of Director of Missions, Prayer Ministry, Changing models affecting Association ministry, and new services offered by NAMB for the Association. It was an enjoyable time of fellowship and opportunity to network with leaders across our country.
The major goal of our Convention this year was finding ways for Southern Baptists to “work more faithfully and effectively" together in fulfilling the Great Commission. They, like all of us, have to look at doing more with less. The messengers to the convention's annual meeting affirmed asking a task force to examine the denomination for one year and report back to the 2010 meeting in Orlando Florida.