Another good day at the Missouri Baptist Convention... Much of the conflict that we feared might rear its ugly head, simply did not come to pass. The nominating committee submitted their nominations without one peep of dissent. In the presidential election, Gerald Davidson (retired pastor, FBC-Arnold) defeated incumbent Mike Green (former pastor, Calvary Baptist Church-Republic). Mike Green was actually the moderator when the election results were announced. Upon hearing the results, Mike publicly stated that Gerald was his friend, his president, and that he would be praying for him. These were Christlike, healing words that the convention needed to hear. I have no doubt that the sweet spirit that's been exhibited in this meeting is the direct result of our executive director's (David Tolliver's) emphasis on prayer in the weeks leading up to the meeting.
I would like to say this... In my view, giving the messengers a choice in their election of officers is a healthy thing. For the last several years in the MBC, only one candidate has run for each office. There is no reason why the MBC cannot operate as the SBC, in which multiple men run for each office, and no one is offended that there is more than one person running. I hope this year establishes a trend, and is not just a one year thing.
I got to hear two great sermons today... Rodney Albert (FBC-Hallsville) preached the annual sermon on the centrality of Christ, and did an outstanding job. I got to know Rodney at last year's convention, when we served on the Resolutions Committee together. I knew Rodney was a very talented leader, but I learned today he is also a powerful orator!... Vance Pitman (Hope Baptist Church-Las Vegas) also preached today. Vance spoke on the theme of this year's convention, being "kingdom focused." Vance (with the sponsorship of FBC-Woodstock, GA & Pastor Johnny Hunt) planted HBC just a couple years ago, and already they run nearly 2,000 in worship in "Sin City." Vance makes an extremely compelling case for church planting, both at home and abroad. I plan on ordering a copy of his sermon, so I can show it to our folks at Selmore, sometime in the near future.
One of the best parts of attending the annual meeting of the MBC is making new friends, and catching up with old ones... Last night I got to sit by Bob and Joy Caldwell for awhile, and exchange pics of our kids. Bob recently served as the evangelism director of the MBC. When I was a teenager in my home church (Bucyrus Baptist-Houston), Bob came and did several revivals with us as a young evangelist. We laugh about those days. If you aren't familiar with the great game of "egg joust," you need to talk to Bob... Today I got to eat lunch with Terry Kendrick, pastor at Hopedale Baptist in Ozark. We had a really good visit, and found out we have a lot in common. We pledged to get together again when we get back home.
I miss my three girls. I am looking forward to coming home tomorrow!