BRANSON – Missouri Baptists must seek the glory and primacy of Christ Jesus in everything, Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) President Jeremy Muniz told MBC messengers during their annual meeting here, Oct. 28.
“When we make much of Christ, we will see God move,” said Muniz, who serves as senior pastor of Ridgecrest Baptist Church, Springfield. Preaching from Colossians 1:15-23, Muniz explained that Christ is the author of creation, the genesis of resurrection or recreation, and the agent of reconciliation.
First, Muniz said, Christ is the creator of all things. While Missouri Baptists “have no problem with good science,” they also recognize that the “best explanation” for this universe is that God has created all things. Moreover, they know that God sustains his creation.
“Jesus doesn’t need any help holding the universe together,” he said.
Likewise, Jesus brings resurrection and re-creation by transforming lives through his own death and resurrection. “I have never seen anything more beautiful,” Muniz said, “that a sinner saved.”
Finally, the same Christ who holds the universe together can hold Missouri Baptists together and can bring reconciliation both with God and with other people. “The agent of making peace is the blood of Christ. We need to plead the blood of Jesus,” Muniz said, urging messengers to seek reconciliation and peace with God and others. To exemplify the power of reconciliation, he welcomed on stage Windermere President Tim Huddleston, who extended an apology to the convention on behalf of Windermere (See story, “Missouri Baptists celebrate restoration,” page 1).
“In the days and months to come, we’re going to see more and more opportunities to partner with this dear brother and Windermere,” Muniz told Missouri Baptist messengers. “This issue of Windermere has been one of those things that has broken our hearts for so long and that the world has used to point a finger at us, but here we have a beautiful illustration of how Christ is all, and how we are applying the biblical principle of reconciliation.”