Forestville Baptist Church music minister Duane Slate leads worship.Pastors gathered recently for a time of spiritual growth at the 37th annual Bible Study and Preaching Retreat hosted by Anderson University.
The three-day retreat, which included worship and teaching sessions, was held July 16-18 in Merritt Theatre on the Anderson campus. Sponsored by the evangelism and missions team of the South Carolina Baptist Convention, it was designed to provide insight and prepare pastors, as well as laity, to teach LifeWay’s January 2008 Bible study curriculum.
Speakers included Walter Johnson, dean of the College of Christian Studies at North Greenville University, and Marshall Fagg, director of the SCBC evangelism and missions team. The theme for the retreat was “Amazing Grace: Studies in Romans.”
“Behind everything that the apostle Paul is writing to the church in Rome is the backdrop of amazing grace,” said Fagg in his opening message. “With this backdrop, the apostle Paul presents to us some of those challenges that face your church and that face all of us who serve in the kingdom of God.”
Speakers Walter Johnson, left, dean of the College of Christian Studies at North Greenville University, and Marshall Fagg, director of the SCBC Evangelism and Missions Team.Each of the four sessions dealt with one of four specific questions: Can I believe God? Is God still active today? Does God care about me? Does God care how I live? Johnson and Fagg addressed the questions as they broke down Paul’s letter to the church in Rome.
Johnson said he hoped pastors would come away with an exalted view of God. “I think pastors should take away a renewed passion for the word and a glimpse of the glory of God as Paul wanted them to see in Romans,” he said.
Rosevelt Morris, director of the office of prayer and spiritual awakening for the SCBC, led the group in times of prayer and preparation for the messages to come.
Duane Slate, minister of music at Forestville Baptist in Greenville, served as the worship leader for the retreat. He said he hoped that pastors could come into the presence of God in a new way. “Some of these guys are in churches where their worship is not really where they think it should be, and I hope to give them some fresh ideas and help them model biblical worship back in their churches,” he said.
Bret Tolbert, minister of outreach at Utica Baptist Church, Seneca, said, “The Bible Study and Preaching Retreat is probably one of the best-kept secrets in the South Carolina Baptist Convention. What I gained from this conference was how glorious and how holy God really is, how magnificent salvation is in light of his holiness, that he would still consider us worthy of salvation in his mercy.”
Pastors enjoyed times of fellowship and relaxation apart from the sessions at a golf tournament and an ice cream social.
Jim Austin, far right, executive director-treasurer of the South Carolina Baptist Convention, greets pastors attending the retreat.
Rosevelt Morris, left, director of the office of prayer and spiritual awakening, SCBC, talks with pastors during a break.