VOICES
Encourage: Keep on asking Hance Dilbeck Oklahoma Baptists’ Executive Director-Treasurer @Hance_Dilbeck
“Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.” Those should be familiar words to you. I have often preached and written from this text. In fact, about one year into my service as executive director-treasurer for Oklahoma Baptists, November 2018, I set this great benediction before our messengers and guests during our Annual Meeting. Toward the end of my address I said: “Where do we begin? We are going to do what Paul assumes we will do—think and ask. We will think about our work, our mission, our field. We will
dream about the future and imagine our most essential tasks and most productive strategies. We will thoughtfully order our priorities. We will think and we will ask. “We will ask because we know that the horse might be prepared for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord. We will ask because we confess that unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it. We will ask because we believe that our Father knows how to give good gifts to those who ask.” I consider it a great honor to have served you. Thank you for entrusting this work to me. As I leave the office of executive director-treasurer of Oklahoma Baptists to prepare for my new Kingdom assignment as president of GuideStone, I want to encourage you one more time: Keep on asking! Asking provides perspective. Our cooperative mission is not merely our work for the Lord, but His work for us and in us and through us. Asking reminds us to focus on what the Lord is able to do according to His power that works within us.
John Newton wrote, “Thou art coming to a King, large petitions with thee bring; for His grace and power are such, one can never ask too much!” He is able to glorify His Name in the church in all generations. “All” includes this present generation. We should always be asking the Lord to work with power to glorify His Name in our churches in this generation. We are not able, but He is. I concluded that 2018 convention address with these words: “One day, years from now, our grandchildren might learn about a great season of Gospel advance that began in our generation in Oklahoma and spread to impact the world for Christ. If they inquire of us, ‘How did this great Gospel advance come to pass?’ Wouldn’t it put a smile on your face to give them a simple answer? ‘We asked Him, and He is able.’” “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen” (Eph. 3:20-21).
Sword & trowel: Always go forward Brian Hobbs Editor of the Baptist Messenger @BrianGHobbs
We are now on the heels of the Annual Meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), which was one of the largest meetings in decades. After all is said and done, it leads to the question, “What happens next?” Much has been written and spoken about what the SBC must do: maintain theological faithfulness and personal integrity; pursue even better care for the abused and the vulnerable, and prevent such tragedies from ever happening; work together to end abortion; maintain biblical unity among churches; and, of course, take the Gospel to the ends of the earth. I would encourage all Southern Baptists to pray and to consider their part in all these urgent matters. Gen-
eral George Patton, famous for his bold action and audacious actions, was quoted as saying “Always go forward.” That idea has implications for churches today. Think about Christ’s words about the church, that “the gates of Hell will not prevail it” (Matt. 16:17-19). As many biblical commentators have pointed out, this suggests the church is a force on the offense, not defense. It is a picture of Christ’s followers coming up against the gates of Hell. The church today, however, seems to have adopted a defensive, instead of an offensive mindset. We see it in other various denominations, as in our own. We see it in the decline in evangelism and baptisms. We see it when we consider even the fearful tone of our rhetoric. Perhaps what is behind this is that we have taken our eyes off of Jesus, that we have let our love grow cold. Now, I do not expect that merely one annual meeting, one officer election, or one speech—or certainly one article—alone will change our mindset or posture for every single person. But each of us can take this moment to consider the outcomes of our lives. What about you? Have you spent more time
worrying and less time praying? Have you spent too much time on social media and too little time sharing Jesus with people around you? Have you stopped moving forward in your walk with Christ? If I am honest, I can say I have failed so often to do the right thing in these scenarios. Jesus warned us about being critical of the speck in our neighbor’s eye and missing the plank in our own (Matt. 7:4). If we are not careful, we will spend all our time finding flaws in other people and other things that we will not see clearly our role in advancing the Gospel. C.S. Lewis said, “A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.” On the heels of a great SBC meeting—one that was historic in so many ways— let’s ask God to give us humility in place of pride. Let’s ask God to cleanse us of sin and to better protect the weak. And above all, let’s ask Him to renew our passion for sharing the Gospel with our neighbors and the nations. Only then will we live lives that are going forward; always going forward.
Voices | June 24, 2021 | The Baptist Messenger | www.baptistmessenger.com
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