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FLINT—The Southern Baptists of Texas Convention must have a “singled-minded focus” of moving forward in advancing the gospel even as it celebrates God’s faithfulness in the past and undergoes a transition in leadership, SBTC Executive Director Nathan Lorick told messengers during his Monday night sermon.
This was Lorick’s first annual meeting as executive director after he succeeded Jim Richards on April 1. Richards had served as executive director for 23 years since the formation of the SBTC in 1998.
Lorick, preaching a sermon from Joshua 1 about the transition in leadership from Moses, noted he was in high school when the SBTC was launched. The SBTC may be experiencing a transition in leadership, Lorick said, but it holds the same Christ-centered vision for the church it always has embraced.
Lorick encouraged the SBTC not simply to transition — but to “transition forward.”
“The future is not dependent on who occupies my position,” he said. “It is dependent on the churches being broken and burdened to reach 19 to 20 million lost people, to plant more churches than we ever have, to work every day to come alongside other churches – so that no church dies on our watch, in our state, in our generation.
“Now is the time,” he said, “that the new generation must rise up and advance forward with the mission that God has always had us on.”
The biblical story of the transition of Moses to Joshua, Lorick said, has application for the SBTC. Lorick spotlighted three “observations” from the text.
First, he said, “God’s faithfulness in the past gives us the anchor of hope for the future.” The Israelites, he noted, regularly remembered and celebrated the miracles of God past generations had experienced.
“They were able to look back and remember that the faithfulness of God showed up time and time and time again in the life of their parents,” Lorick said. “God has been so faithful to the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. God has taken what was a small nucleus, a group of people standing firm on the Word of God, and he has, through his faithfulness, led us to the place where we are tonight.
“… God’s faithfulness in the past gives us the anchor of hope for the future. In order to move forward, they must always remember God’s faithfulness of the past.”
Second, Lorick said, “God’s vision for the past is transferable for the future.” The mission of the Israelites, he noted, was the same under Joshua as it was under Moses.
“It was a new generation. But it was the same vision of taking the Promised Land,” Lorick said. “… Though our convention is in a leadership transition, though it is just by nature shifting to a new generation, I want you to understand the vision is the same. We will be a network of churches that stands firm on the Word of God and serves churches with every fiber of our being.”
Third, Lorick said, “God’s manifested presence throughout the past will be our passion in pursuit in the future.” The Israelites, Lorick noted in referencing Joshua 1:17, wanted God’s presence to be with them in the same way it was with Moses.
“My heart,” he said, “is that the family of churches known as the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention … be mainly known [as] a network of churches that get on our face together all across our state and beg God for a fresh movement of His Spirit … to fall on our churches.”
Three pillars, Lorick said, set the SBTC apart: 1) a theological position anchored in inerrancy and the Baptist Faith & Message 2000; 2) a missional strategy that focuses not only on Texas but also the world; and, 3) a methodological approach that focuses on the local church.
“Southern Baptists of Texas, we must dive in and we must move forward – forward in reaching the lost, forward in planting churches, forward in revitalizing churches, forward in encouraging and equipping churches, forward in mobilizing churches, forward in missions,” he said. “… This is who we are, this is who we will be, [and] this is who we have been in the past. This is where we’re going – forward, together, for the glory of God.”
Richards gives ‘valedictory’ address
Richards spoke to messengers the same night as Lorick and preached from Joshua 4 in a sermon focused on what he called “remembrance stones.” God, in the passage, commanded the Israelites to take 12 stones from the middle of the Jordan to create a memorial at Gilgal.
Richards noted the need to “reinforce the values” of the SBTC for the next generation – many of whom were children or teenagers when he became executive director.
“We are to be the remembrance stones for the next generation,” Richards said. “Just like Israelites in Canaan, we have battles to fight, cities to conquer and land to subdue. One day our time will be over. … When you are gone from this world, what will you leave behind? Will there be stones of remembrance or nothing of significance?”
Richards affirmed the biblical principles upon which the SBTC was founded, adding that the SBTC has always adjusted to ministry needs. “Have a kingdom vision. Be ready to look beyond where we are,” he urged, calling on “seasoned ministry leaders” to be flexible.
“The SBTC is always ready to change,” Richards said. “We can never get tied to something that hinders our collective work. We must always be looking for better ways to accomplish gospel advance.”
Finally, he implored listeners to “Commit yourself to stack God-honoring stones today and provide a ‘leave-behind’ for others to see Jesus.”
