Tuesday, September 26, 2006

The Joshua Convergence

I am sitting here in my recliner at home after having returned from the Joshua Convergence. It was a spirit filled conference and personal experience. I had been told about the meeting of pastor's who wanted to speak for themselves rather than to have a small minority of people to misrepresent the vast majority of "young southern baptist" preachers. My good friend Jeremy Green, a church planter in Waco, TX. invited me to come be apart of what was going to happen. Before the meeting even began on Monday night, we were already being labeled a "political" movement strategizing against our "enemy" within the SBC. This could not be further from the truth. Those persons who gathered at Aloma Baptist Church gathered for a time of worship on Monday night as well as a "Round Table" discussion on Tuesday morning.

We spent time praying for our convention. We discussed the past, present and future direction of the SBC. We thank God for the leaders of the Conservative Resurgence and the stand that they took concerning the Word of God. We have a strong desire to honor the Lord Jesus Christ in the way in which we conduct ourselves in the present so that in the future God will be honored in our SBC just as I believe He was in the past.

You see, our concern as those who signed the "Principles of Affirmation" is not political in nature, although we know that there will be political ramifications, but our motivation is theological. We stand on the inerrant, infallible Word of God. We believe that the "Battle for the Bible" is not over. The Word of God had been under attack since the Garden of Eden and will not cease to be under attack until Jesus comes again. We made it very clear that the enemy we are fighting is not physical in nature but spiritual (Eph. 6). Some in the blog world will disagree with this statement but it doesn't change the fact of the matter. We as the Joshua Convergence do not have a political agenda. We are willing to serve if needed, but all agree that God has given us an awesome responsibility in the areas of ministry in which He has already placed us. Our primary responsibility is to serve as the Lord gives us opportunity. Pray for us, that we will never lose sight of the calling God has placed on our lives.

One last comment concerning the Joshua Convergence, it is not an "insider thing." We welcome any person who can gather with us under the banner of the cross, standing on the Word of God, affirming those principles listed at www.joshuaconvergence.com. Our agenda is all about position, and the position we affirm is servanthood. www.alomachurch.org/joshua.wma is the site where you can watch the Monday evening service.

Serving Him,
Mike

4 comments:

Writer said...

Mike,

Excellent post. Great work. You have my unqualified support!

Regards,

Les

Jeremy Green said...

Mike,

You make some excellent points. I’m glad you stated that our motivation is that the SBC continue the theological course set during the Conservative Resurgence. I, for one, have absolutely no desire to broaden the tent of SBC leadership to include those who cannot affirm the inerrancy of the Bible and the BF&M. This phrase pretty much sums it up:

MM: “We discussed the past, present and future direction of the SBC. We thank God for the leaders of the Conservative Resurgence and the stand that they took concerning the Word of God. We have a strong desire to honor the Lord Jesus Christ in the way in which we conduct ourselves in the present so that in the future God will be honored in our SBC just as I believe He was in the past.”

Truly, the “Battle for the Bible” will never be over until the Lord Jesus returns. I like the way that Dr. Rummage put it (my paraphrase): If you think that this is an old man’s battle, before long it will be a young man’s battle (our children’s battle). Thanks and God bless!!!

In Christ,
JLG

Pastor Mike said...

Thanks for the comments.
Maybe you can help me out on Wade's blog.

Serving Him,

Mike

Pastor Mike said...

Matt,
It was good to meet you as well. I am confident that our paths will cross again. Until then.
Serving Him,
Mike