Pastors Round Table / Lab @ NAMB

NAMB Headquarters / Alpharetta, GA

One of the many, many things that I love about being a Southern Baptist is that we have learned that we can do so much more together than we can individually. I have experienced the power of this truth in the past couple of days.

My friend and former pastor, Dr. Hershael York, is passionate about Kingdom work. He finds great pleasure in influencing and teaching pastors who are preparing for the field (he teaches preaching at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) as well as those already on the field.

Instructional time led by Dr. York.

So, he asked 24 pastors to make this trip to NAMB headquarters (North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention) in Alpharetta, GA. This would provide a brief but productive pastoral get-away where we could be encouraged and instructed. It would also provide an opportunity for pastors to network and build relationships with other pastors. Further, it provided an opportunity for NAMB to continue bridging the gap between SBC entities and the local church by way of the pastor.

The folks at NAMB were so gracious to each of us! They were generous in providing for our accommodations, our afternoon and evening meals, a tour through the CNN headquarters on Tuesday afternoon, giving every pastor a stack of new books (it often feels like Christmas when a pastor is given books!), an enjoyable tour of the NAMB facilities while getting to meet some of the folks that serve there, and so much more. Kevin Ezell, the President of NAMB, who stays extremely busy, made it a point to drop by to visit with us.

Of course, the instructional time with Dr. York was fantastic. It is always helpful to hear from a pastor who is farther down the road of ministry as he speaks about lessons the Lord has taught Him along the way. But, Dr. York doesn't simply regurgitate principles. He has a wealth of stories that illustrate how he has put the principles into practice. I had a few "aha" moments today and am looking forward to prayerfully putting some of the things I've learned into practice.

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I took quite a few pictures today. I will put some of them below with a few words underneath.

Our group listening to some information about the various regions in which
NAMB is encouraging churches to partner with new church plants.
Westside Baptist has a partnership with a church plant in Denver through the Send Network.

Kim Robinson, Vice President of Marketing and Ministry Support at NAMB, is
speaking to us in Kevin Ezell's office on our tour. 

This display keeps up the latest total of churches that are partnering with church plants
through NAMB's emphasis, Send North America. It is exciting to see a church planting
movement taking place as folks, who may have never heard the Gospel, are being reached
through churches that are planted in their neighborhoods.

NAMB has a "War Room" on the 5th floor. This room has names, churches, church plants,
and other information that surround the individuals who enter this room with the purpose
 of interceding.

If you watch the news and see the Red Cross delivering meals int he time of a national disaster,
you can take it to the bank that NAMB is behind the scenes cooking the meals, etc. Our Disaster
Relief Operations Center is second to none as it mobilizations thousands of Southern Baptists
to help in a time of need.

Take it to the Lord in prayer

Have you ever felt overwhelmed at what seemed to be impossible circumstances? Maybe things even seemed utterly hopeless?

Sometimes, life can do that to us. We live in a broken world, after all.

Well, what is to be done? Friend, I read a story in Isaiah 36-37 this morning that gives incredible hope! It is a truth that we all need to remember.

Sennacherib, the supreme ruler over Assyria, sent his army to attack Hezekiah and the land of Judah. The battle wouldn't have even been close. There was absolutely no way that Judah could prevail.

What was Hezekiah to do? Throw up his hands in despair. No one could have blamed him if he did.

But he didn't.

While he was filled with despair and feelings of hopeless, he took the matter to the Lord. A letter had been written to clarify just how hopeless the situation was ... but Hezekiah took that letter to the Lord.

Isaiah 37:14-15 "Hezekiah took the letter from the messengers, read it, then went up to the LORD’s temple and spread it out before the LORD. Then Hezekiah prayed to the LORD: ..."

Did God already know what was in the letter? Yep.

Did Hezekiah inform God of anything He didn't already know. Nope.

But, God was pleased when Hezekiah brought the matter to Him, opened up the issue, told Him all about it, and explained what needed to happen.

Essentially, Hezekiah bore his soul to God. He expressed his fears. He expressed his feelings of hopelessness. But, he also said that God must move and that God could absolutely do something about the problem.

And God did!

Friend, do not settle into despair when life gets tough. It's easy to do. I have done it all too often. But, Christians have the powerful resource of prayer in times of trial.

Will God answer us quickly? No necessarily.

Will God grant our requests every time? No.

But, that's where faith comes in. We go to Him, tell Him what's going on, and then trust Him with the results.

Let's strive to live in victory today. Our Father, if you are saved, is the Ruler of the Universe, after all.

Antares and Worshiping God

Ok, I love star-gazing. I'm looking to the SW and see the red planet, Mars. To the right of Mars is the bright planet, Saturn. If you look below Saturn, the bright star is Antares. That star is so far away that the light you are seeing began its journey (traveling 186,000 miles per second) before Columbus sailed the ocean blue.

Genesis 1:16 "And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars."

When you read Genesis 1:16, it's almost as if the stars, in their incomprehensible immensity, were an afterthought. "Oh, by the way, He made the stars, too. No big deal." Our God is awesome!