Last night the Southern Baptist Convention Pastor’s Conference kicked off this year’s annual meeting here in Phoenix. Today is the first full day, and I am excited to see how this all goes. Mostly. I say “mostly” because it’s been an interesting year in the SBC. The fallout from the strangest presidential election cycle in modern history still casts a long shadow in particular. There are more issues, of course, but we don’t really need to read the laundry list.
So as we prepare for the first full day of the event, I find myself praying. Here’s what I’m praying for in three words:
Humility, grace, unity.
I thought about trying to explain each one individually, but I can’t. They all tie together. We all need to see God work these three things in us. We need to continue to grow in humility, by God’s grace, so that we might better understand one another and grow in unity for the sake of the gospel. That we would be humble enough to own our faults and failings, to be good repenters when we fall short of the goal. That our humility and grace for one another would draw us closer together, that we would be one in spirit as we seek to live on mission throughout the world
Would you join me in praying this for SBC17? The world needs us to be united. We need us to be united. May God give us the grace and humility necessary to see it happen.
