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In November, the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention will mark 25 years of answered prayer at its Annual Meeting at Cross City Church in Euless. Each month leading up to the meeting, the Texan will feature a brief conversation with past SBTC presidents about how they have seen God answer their prayers for the convention over the past quarter century and how they are praying God will bless the convention moving forward. This month, we feature past SBTC president Kie Bowman (2019-2021).
What were some of your earliest prayers for the SBTC?
I was the new senior pastor of Hyde Park Baptist Church in Austin when I heard the SBTC was forming. The conservative resurgence at the national level was making huge strides, but so many of us felt like that wasn’t the case at the state convention level. So honestly, my first prayer for the SBTC was a prayer of thanksgiving and praise to God that it was beginning! Later, I thanked God that Jim Richards would be the leader. Those were exciting days of big challenges and really unbelievable growth, so there was a lot of praise and thanksgiving.
How have you seen God answer some of your prayers regarding the convention?
When I became more involved with the SBTC, it was not organizationally connected to the larger prayer movement I saw emerging everywhere. Nathan Lino’s presidency was the first sign of a major focus on prayer I saw. … Much later, I was a member of the search committee that brought Nathan Lorick as the new executive director. Lino and Todd Kaunitz were also on the committee, and by that time both had experienced major spiritual awakening in their churches. Both outpourings were directly associated with prayer. When we interviewed Nathan Lorick, he had connected with [The Brooklyn Tabernacle Pastor] Jim Cymbala and was passionate about prayer. This has been the biggest answer to prayer I’ve had for the SBTC. These men are making prayer a central part of the convention’s identity and focus. I’m convinced it’s evidence of God at work.
During your service as president, how were you praying for the convention?
Serving as president of the SBTC was an honor and opportunity I will never forget. My presidency, however, was unusual for two reasons. First, I was president during the global pandemic when most of our churches were shut down or greatly restricted for a time. My prayers were constantly for our churches—many of them smaller with limited resources—and for the pastors carrying the leadership burdens we all carried. My prayers were also for our state convention leadership and our financial strength. Second, Jim Richards began confiding in me that he was seriously considering a transition process. That process was on my heart every time I prayed.
What is your prayer for the next 25 years of the SBTC?
We live in a time of radical social change. Texas is a mission field with some of America’s largest and most cosmopolitan cities. I pray the SBTC never loses the courage to build on our confessional foundations. Biblical inerrancy is always threatened by the gravity of a lost culture and the possibility of organizational mission drift. I pray we stay focused on reaching lost people, working together around our commitment to biblical inerrancy, and that we emerge as the premier leader in the growing prayer movement in the Southern Baptist Convention.
