It’s day 2 here at the SBC in Orlando. It was a blessed time last night at the opening. We were blessed to hear from David Uth, Steve Gaines, and Ravi Zacharias. Uth is the pastor of FBC Orlando. We went to church there yesterday morning and were tremendously blessed. David morning sermon was a challenging and affirming message from Acts 27 reminding us that God has planned a time of shipwreck and crisis in our ministry but has also promised us that if we stay on the ship, we will make it. His evening message was a powerful reminder that we are in the business of changing lives.
Gaines is the pastor at Bellevue in Memphis. He shucked the corn. His message was from Revelation 3 and the church at Sardis about a dying church that thought it was alive. It was a powerful reminder of our accountability to the Lord Jesus as church leaders. Ravi Zaharias is probably one of the smartest men I have ever heard. He is a brilliant apologist. His message was an overview of the life of Joseph in Genesis. He reminded us of the need to be firm in the midst of temptations and have peace in the midst of our pain. God has given Zacharias a powerful platform to defend the faith in some of the most challenging places on earth. The evening was closed by Tony Evans. However, my party and I were ready to get home and get something to eat so I missed it.
This morning, I got to hear from Matt Chandler and C.J. Mahaney. I am extremely grateful to God for raising up these two men and the impact they have had on me in recent years. Matt did a powerful job reminding us of the dangers of boiling our preaching down to sin management and neglecting the power of the gospel. C.J. preached an affirming message from 1 Peter 5 reminding us that our task is to engage in the work of ministry with joy, eagerness, and gladness and to try to avoid the ministry crushers that we face every day.
Break for lunch now...very unhealthy Chili Cheese Dog and Fries. No wonder I weigh 235 lbs.