Once a month the MBC team leaders get together for prayer, reports, recommendations and presentations relating to ministry initiatives that impact our cooperative work with churches in making disciples, multiplying churches and developing next generational leaders.
If you have been around Baptists very long, you know we participate in a lot of meetings. This month’s meeting was rather eventful and worthy of sharing a peek with you.
First, I shared some of the ramifications regarding the partial settlement with Church Mutual Insurance Company in our efforts to restore the Foundation to the MBC family. The information I shared was the same information that appears on page one of this issue of The Pathway and on the website.
I wanted team leaders to know what you know. I have contended for years that our churches and our cooperative ministries need to do our work together in the sunshine. More communication makes for better Baptists.
Capture the moment with me. After I shared the information, the room grew silent. We had much earlier in my tenure talked about the importance of appropriately responding to any news that affirms the MBC position in the litigation. Humility and gratefulness to God must take precedence over celebration.
But this day, it wasn’t my talk that gripped our hearts. These men of God were not responding to my exhortations. There was something else. There was a sense in the room that the Spirit of the Lord was present. I have experienced the profound presence of the Lord before. While our flesh wanted to celebrate the good news and rejoice in the Lord, we were awestruck by what we believe to be the handiwork of God in later days of these tragic circumstances.
No one said anything. Nine speechless men stared at one another, deeply humbled, aware of God’s authority over each of our lives. I can say that to a man, we desire to obey God above all things.
I broke the silence and asked the state missionary to my right to lead in prayer. Jim Wells began to pray. He experienced this whole sordid tale from the beginning to what we pray are the closing chapters. And yes, he is the same guy who had told us earlier in the meeting that if the next PET Scan showed spots in his lungs and his hip, it appears he must restart chemo treatments.
As he prayed, he thanked the Father for guiding us to this moment in history. He asked the Father for wisdom and discernment with our actions and our words. The room was silent and I heard Jim’s voice tighten and the tears began to flow from a tender, broken heart. He began to call out to the Lord for lost people. He asked the Father to forgive us for being distracted from our mission of helping our churches reach lost people with the gospel. He asked the Father to help bring a speedy conclusion to this matter.
When he finished verbalizing our prayer, I looked up and saw that we were all staring at each other in silence. Then, I saw these bold warriors for Christ sitting around the conference table begin to wipe the tears from their eyes. In this moment, I sensed I was seated in a room of men who were as overcome as I was at the presence and handiwork of God. All praise goes to our Lord for His work in helping bring this important issue toward a conclusion.
One of the things I have learned about these men I’ve worked closely with over the course of the years at the MBC is that they have invested many hours in the work to which God has called them. For most of their tenure at MBC, we have asked them and the people they lead on their teams to make a “lot of bricks without straw.” Yet, to the man, these brothers have remained faithful and focused on their ministry task. I thank the Lord for each of them.
Then the spectacular
Jerry Field announced to the team leaders that by God’s grace and the faithfulness of our churches, the Cooperative Program preliminary receipts are $327,445 over the 2014 budget. This means that half of that total is forwarded to the SBC to fund ministry to the ends of the earth. Hallelujah! The other half is distributed by formula to the ministries of our state. Double hallelujah!
In addition, the Lottie Moon Offering for International Missions exceeded our $3.5 million goal by $293,576. Those funds are sent directly to the International Mission Board for its ministries, including support of our missionaries that are serving in very challenging circumstances to share the gospel on our behalf. That’s a big praise!
The longer I serve the Lord, the more convinced I become that God is working in amazing ways among His people. Often in the silence He has a way of demonstrating spectacular things for His glory.