By the time you read this, 2011 will be a distant memory for many. Some will be able to look back with fond memories of all that took place, while others will look back with sorrow or regret over what did or did not happen.
AtkinsI must say that 2011 surely did hold a lot of surprises for our family. Our son was diagnosed with a food allergy called eosinophilic esophagitis, my dad was diagnosed with stage-4 renal cell carcinoma (cancer), and I was elected president of the South Carolina Baptist Convention. Some of you just read that last sentence and you are wondering: “What do those things have in common?” I am so glad you asked.
Whenever a child becomes ill, you do all you can to help make him or her better. You take them to the doctor, try different medications, start new routines, pray for God to do that which only He can, and then you stay focused on what is important. When a loved one is diagnosed with cancer, you go through a similar process, and you stay focused on what is important. So how does the office of being president fit into this paradigm?
When I was elected president, I sought out counsel from those wiser than I, tried to follow some of the prescriptions and routines they gave me, prayed for God to move in my heart and life, and then I stayed focused on what was important.
My friends, our focus must be on fulfilling the Great Commission. There are those who have concepts and ideas, there are those who have programs and projects, but we must never stop praying to God and be focused on what matters most in 2012.
The days leading up to my writing this article have been filled with some interesting twists and turns. My responses to a reporter’s questions about the candidates running for the office of president of the United States have become a lightning rod in the world of social media. Since that time, there have been numerous posts that have been less than flattering, along with emails intended to discourage me, and other attacks from the enemy that would have gripped my heart with the very fear that would sway me if I did not stay focused.
During this time, I have sought wisdom from those wiser than I, walked a path that I never would have chosen for myself, prayed for God to strengthen me, and sought to stay focused on what He has placed within me.
No matter what may be written or said about Christians, who are also South Carolina Baptists, we must stay focused in 2012. No matter how the enemy may try to discourage or distract us, we must stay focused in 2012. No matter what the cost might be to us personally or denominationally for holding fast to what biblical Christianity is, according to the Word of God, we must stay focused in 2012. Eternity is too long for those who have not heard the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ for us not to stay focused in 2012. Now more than ever, it is imperative that we “stay focused!”
– Atkins is pastor of Powdersville First Baptist Church and president of the South Carolina Baptist Convention.