ORLANDO, Fla. – Either beg God for spiritual awakening or
sink into irrelevance – that was the plea International Mission Board (IMB)
President Tom Elliff voiced to trustees at their Sept. 13-14 meeting in
Orlando, Fla.
“I see this as the critical issue facing us as Southern Baptists,” Elliff said.
“The truth of the matter is that if we don’t experience spiritual awakening we
will forfeit our capacity to effectively partner with others in carrying out
the Great Commission.
“In this world of absolute tumult and chaos, God is giving us opportunities
around the globe to share the wonderful message of the gospel of Christ that
are unparalleled in the history of this world.”
The call for stateside spiritual awakening was unusual for the IMB’s president,
who would normally focus his report on issues facing Southern Baptist
missionaries overseas. But Elliff said God had instead placed a huge burden on
my heart that couldn’t be ignored.
“(Spiritual) awakening is a missions issue, because if we don’t have an
awakening in the hearts of Southern Baptists, then the pool out of which we
fish for missionaries … gets smaller and smaller,” he explained. “We’ll just
become another denomination that had its day and has now slipped off into
irrelevancy, and when people say ‘Southern Baptist Convention,’ they will
probably say it with a yawn.”
Elliff pointed out that spiritual awakening is distinctly different from
spiritual revival.
BP photo Jim Richards, left, executive director of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, presents International Mission Board (IMB) President Tom Elliff with a ceremonial check representing a $1 million gift to the IMB given out of the convention’s reserves. Richards said the money is to be used to fund future missionary deployment.
|
“Revival presupposes pre-existing life,” he explained. “I’m not so sure we need
to be saying the things we say about the size of our convention and the number
of our churches because I’ll be quite honest with you – I’m not so sure all
those people we claim as members of our churches know Christ. They may know
about Him, but if knowing Christ makes a difference in your lifestyle and a
difference in your community, if knowing Christ drives you to periodically come
for the family reunion which we call a worship service, over half of those
people that we say are Southern Baptists never come to the table.
“But if we had awakening – that’s a revival of those who know Christ but it’s
also a stirring and deep conviction of the Holy Spirit among those who are out
there on the fringes, the kind of stirring that calls them to repent and
receive Christ as their Savior. If we had an awakening in our nation, then
think what Southern Baptists could do in terms of global missions, not to
mention right here in this nation.”
Such an awakening, Elliff cautioned, will require a “totally different” kind of
prayer, one that rests on God’s character rather than our own.
“I’m afraid that so much of our praying is a shot at getting something done by
God with the thought that if He doesn’t come through we’ve got another plan.
Folks, if God doesn’t come through we don’t have a plan.
“(We need to pray) like someone crying out from beneath the rubble of a
building … and I’m afraid our prayers are not that desperate yet – because most
of us come to the altar with two or three alternatives in our pocket.”
Elliff extended his appeal beyond trustees, asking IMB missionaries and all
Southern Baptists to join him in praying weekly for the United States and the
nations of the world. Elliff designated a specific 24-hour period, from sunset
Sunday to sunset Monday, for Southern Baptists to join together in petitioning
the Lord for spiritual awakening.
“Wouldn’t it be wonderful if, from the time the sun went down every Sunday
evening until the time the sun went down every Monday evening, that somewhere
in that 24-hour period … we found time to steal away … and fall on our knees
and cry out to God for spiritual awakening?” Elliff asked.
“Pray for the nation, our nation, and for the nations. That’s the prayer. …
Could you not do that? Is that an impossibility? Is that too steep of a
challenge, to find time in a 24-hour period to pray for the nation as well as
the nations of the world? Surely we can do that.”
Other business
In addition to receiving Elliff’s challenge to pray for
spiritual awakening, trustees were briefed on a draft of the 2012 budget and
highlights from the 2010 annual personnel report.
They also appointed 77 new missionaries who were honored
during a special appointment service Sept. 14 at First Baptist Church in
Orlando.
Jim Richards, executive director of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention
(SBTC), presented Elliff with a ceremonial “giant check” for $1 million, a gift
given out of the SBTC’s reserves to IMB for the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering.
Richards said the money is to be used for missionary deployment and shared
excitement over the SBTC’s recent decision to challenge Southern Baptist
churches in Texas to embrace 1,000 of the world’s 3,800 unengaged, unreached
people groups.
Elliff expressed gratitude for the generosity of the Southern Baptists of Texas
and for Richards’ leadership.
“This is no small thing to lead your convention to encourage 1,000 churches to
engage 1,000 unengaged people groups. This money will be spent in such a
fashion that it reaps eternal benefits,” Elliff said.
The next IMB trustee meeting is scheduled for Nov. 14-15 in Richmond, Va.
(EDITOR’S NOTE – Don Graham is a senior writer for the International Mission
Board.)