Thank you so much for praying for me as I attended the Southern Baptist Convention in Phoenix last week. It was a busy week, as I also had IMB Trustee meetings in Phoenix as well. The Trustee meeting was great. I can’t adequately express to you what a joy it is to meet with and send out people who are going to the ends of the earth with the gospel!

The SBC meeting itself was excellent, with a tremendous spirit of unity. President Steve Gaines did a fantastic job in presiding, and gave a wonderful President’s Address. Two highlights stand out from this year’s meeting:

• Dr. Gaines appointed a 19-member task force on evangelism, which will report to the 2018 Convention. This group will make recommendations about how to increase soul-winning and evangelistic preaching in the SBC. The task force will be chaired by Dr. Paige Patterson, the President of Southwestern Seminary, and is composed of pastors and professors of evangelism and preaching. It is an excellent team. Please pray for them over the following year.

• The Convention almost unanimously passed a resolution condemning the “Alt-Right.” The Alt-Right is an aggressive, racist, and anti-Semitic movement that has come to the fore recently. They are especially active in spewing forth neo-Nazi hatred on the Internet. Although the SBC has already passed several resolutions condemning racism and anti-Semitism in past years, the rise of the Alt-Right, particularly on social media, needed to be addressed.

Keep our Southern Baptist family and our IMB family in your prayers as we join with them to reach the world for Christ.

This Sunday we will be in Acts 14. We will look at the exciting ministry of Paul as it gets underway. I am loving the journey through Acts with you! Thanks for all your encouraging feedback on this series.

Also this Sunday, after our service, we will have a chance to say “thank-you” to David Edgell for 5 years of service at FBC. We are grateful for David, Suleah, and their sweet family, and this is an opportunity for our church family to express that. Make plans to stay and fellowship.

It will be a great Sunday, with praise, preaching, baptism, and great fellowship afterwards. See you then.  

By His Grace, For His Glory, To The Nations, 

Dr. Thurman Hayes, Jr.