This Sunday we will finish our series, Tell Me The Story Of Jesus, in the only appropriate way…by talking about his resurrection.  We will look at Luke 24:36-53 and talk about “Our  Risen and Ascended King.”  This is the culmination of the story, and I can’t wait to share it!  Be praying for our time of worship  this Sunday.

It was a joy last week to represent you at the Southern Baptist Convention, in New Orleans.  There were almost 13,000 messengers there – a great crowd.  I was thrilled that Bart Barber, a pastor from Texas, was re-elected as our SBC President.

I invariably come away from these meetings refreshed and thankful for our family of churches.  Here are a few of the reasons:

First, there is no other Christian denomination that supports missions like the SBC.  In fact, our meeting began with 79 new IMB missionaries coming up on stage and sharing their testimonies. Some of them were veiled in shadows, for security reasons.  They are going to the hardest places…to those unreached and unengaged with the gospel.  They are going with hands that will minister with compassion and lips that will tell the story of Jesus to those who have never heard.  And they are going fully funded by people like you, who faithfully give.  No other denomination even comes close to the Great Commission reach or level of missions support that is found among Southern Baptists.

Second, the SBC stands on the Word of God.  We believe the Bible is without error, fully truthful in all it affirms.  That doesn’t always make us popular in the eyes of the world, but God is pleased when we stand on his Word.  In a broken world that has lost its way, we are to be a transformed people who can offer hope.  How can we offer hope to the world if we become just like the world?  No, we must stand on God’s Word, the Bible.  The SBC does that faithfully.

Third, the SBC speaks to the culture.  This year, we passed nine resolutions.  In one of those resolutions, we became the first denomination to speak to the issue of artificial intelligence. Resolution 3 was “On Artificial Intelligence And Emerging Technologies.”  In a culture where confusion reigns on gender, Resolution 8 was “On Opposing ‘Gender Transition.’”  And Resolution 4 was “On Wisely Engaging Immigration.”  All these     resolutions are beautifully and compassionately written, display  sound biblical ethics, and speak the truth in love.  If you would like to read these other resolutions, you can find them at sbcannualmeeting.net.

Fourth, the SBC is working hard to ensure that our people are safe from sexual abusers.  Toward this end, last year we appointed a  Sexual Abuse Task Force, and voted to continue supporting them as they continue their work and report to us at next years’ meeting.  This will result in churches having more resources to educate our people on preventing abuse, and ways to more quickly identify convicted abusers and prevent them from going from church to church.  In the past, some churches have been “soft targets” for abusers.  (Our church has been very proactive, requiring training on sexual abuse and criminal background checks for anyone who works with children, as well as other safety measures.)  The SBC task force is chaired by my dear friend, Marshall Blalock, who pastors FBC of Charleston, S.C.  Marshall gave the report for the task force at the SBC, and in his report he told about a little girl in his church who gave him a Valentine’s card where she had written the words, “I love my church.” 

Marshall then said, “I long for the day when every little girl and every little boy can write a card to their pastor saying, ‘I love my church,’ because they know their church is a safe place.”  The SBC is doing all that it can to make our 47,000 churches “hard targets” for abusers, and ensure the safety of our people.

This years’ meeting also featured a reaffirmation of the SBC’s confession of faith, The Baptist Faith and Message.  Southern Baptists have always held – again, standing on the Bible -  that men and women are equal in value and personhood before God.  Genesis 1:27 makes it clear that men and women are created “in the image of God.”  But God made us different, to complement one another.  He gives us different roles to play, in the family and the family of God.  Our  statement of faith, The Baptist Faith and Message, puts it this way:  “While both men and women are  gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.”  While the issue of women pastors is a second-tier issue that Christians can disagree on in good faith, the SBC has made its stance on this very clear through the years, and the messengers strongly affirmed our confession of faith on that issue at this years’ meeting.

Southern Baptists have always championed women in ministry.  In fact, our two annual missions offerings in SBC churches are named after women, Lottie Moon and Annie Armstrong.  This year, another resolution we passed was Resolution 5, “On The Legacy And  Responsibility Of Women Fulfilling The Great Commission.”  As an IMB Trustee, I’ve been able to be a part of commissioning hundreds of women to go to the nations with the gospel.  SBC women are ministering in a plethora of capacities, in our churches and around the world.  But on the basis of 1 Timothy 3 and other passages, the SBC, along with most Christian churches for 2000 years of church history, holds that the office of pastor is limited to men.

In my view, the complementarian view of gender which is held in our denomination beautifully reflects God’s design for the family and the family of God. 

Again, this is not a popular position in the eyes of the world, which wants to obliterate any distinction between genders, and is now confused on the nature of gender itself.  But isn’t that all the more reason for Christians to stand out, to be different, and to speak the truth in love?  That’s what we seek to do at FBC, and that is what our family of churches in the SBC is seeking to do.  I’m thankful to be a part of our church, and thankful to be a part of our family of churches, the Southern Baptist Convention.

See you on Sunday, as we fix our eyes on Jesus, our risen and ascended King!              

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

Dr. Thurman Hayes, Jr.