Don WiltonI am so grateful for this opportunity to write to you in each edition of The Baptist Courier. We are a diverse and very large group of cooperating Southern Baptists who, though separated by many miles, share a common bond in and through our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
While our churches certainly come in all shapes and sizes, is it not wonderful to remember we are one in heart and spirit because of our love for the Lord Jesus Christ? I want you to know just how much I love you and pray for you. May our Savior truly bless you, your family, and your ministry of faithfulness to the Lord.
I was recently with Dr. Billy Graham and his team as they prepared for the New Orleans crusade, which God blessed so mightily. Being back in that devastated part of our nation reminded me of just how blessed we are in South Carolina.
Miles and miles of utter chaos and destruction meet the eye. Not only have churches by the hundreds been obliterated, but the people who make up the churches have been scattered far and wide.
While we pray for them and support them in their agony, let us not forget to thank the Lord Jesus for the beauty that surrounds us and for every precious member of our South Carolina Baptist Convention. So many of you have stuck to your posts. You continue to serve and give. You are prayer warriors. Many of you have left your churches in your wills so that God’s work can go on long after you have entered into God’s presence.
Thank you for all you mean to our Savior. So many of you have a brokenhearted passion for those who do not know the Lord Jesus. Your tears are a sweet fragrance to our Lord and provide the fuel that drives the resilience of our people to do that which is well-pleasing in the sight of God.
Please don’t grow weary in well doing. Please don’t get sidetracked by minors. Keep the main thing the main thing. Stand up and be counted, not for the applause of man, but for the pleasure of our Savior. Watch out for Satan and his horrible cohorts, who will stop at nothing to distract us, disarm us and destroy us. Resolve to love others with no strings attached and make a determination to “give it away.”