I remember reading Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities while in high school. My imagination was instantly captured by one of the most iconic opening paragraphs in literature. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times … .” Dickens’ masterful use of the English language in that paragraph characterized the strong sentiments of the era preceding the French Revolution. Many in Paris and London believed they were living at the greatest time in human history, while others saw it as the worst moment in western civilization. The same poetic prologue could be employed to describe key moments in history, including the days in which we currently live.
We have a lot to celebrate in the first part of the 21st century. Technological developments are revolutionizing our world in communication and information. No one is more than a couple of clicks away from almost anything or anybody. The medical advancements in diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and surgery reveal a rapidly improving quality of life. Global wealth is rising to the point that there is a much larger global wealth pool than ever before.
But the wars in Europe and the Middle East have put the whole world at risk of a worldwide conflict, with tensions increasing along the Taiwan Strait. There is political volatility in nearly every corner of the globe, including our own nation where the political discourse has devolved into hate-filled rhetoric and cheap shots across the aisle. Despite the unprecedented global affluence, there are still nearly 310 million people in 71 countries facing chronic hunger. Add to that poverty another 50 million souls living as modern slaves. But the worst problems in our world are not political, economic, or physical; our greatest problems are spiritual.
For decades, the institution of the family has been on the decline, causing rot in the culture unlike anything we have seen in many generations. Advances in communication and travel have increased our ability to reach every tongue and tribe, but our missional efforts are lagging way behind the population boom among the world’s most unreached peoples. Technological advances are also allowing autocrats to tighten the flow of information among those unreached groups. Post-Christian sentiments have swept across the Western Hemisphere to the point that Christianity’s center of gravity is now in the Global South and East Asia. We are essentially at the point of needing missionaries from Korea to come to our American shores.
Even if the days in which we are living cannot be described as the best of times, as believers in Jesus it is our great privilege to do the best of things especially during the worst of times. More than ever before, South Carolina Baptists must strengthen cooperation, share Jesus, and send the gospel. Our neighbors need to hear the Good News and be discipled; our communities need healthy churches and trained pastors; our world needs incarnational missionaries and gospel-centered assistance. We must not become divided or distracted by secondary matters. This is no time to lessen our commitment, reduce our effort, or cut back on our prayers. We must keep going, keep telling, and keep praying. Till all have heard, we must stand strong.
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Join me at the South Carolina Baptist Convention Annual Meeting
at First Baptist Church of Columbia on Nov. 11 and 12:
MONDAY, NOV. 11
• Morning and Afternoon: SC Pastors’ Conference and Pre-Convention Collaboratives
• Onward, Outside the Walls, Elephant in the Pew, Church and Campus, and Together
• Evening Session: We Must Strengthen Cooperation
• Worship with Shane and Shane and the First Baptist Columbia Choir and Orchestra with Presidential Address by SCBC President Wes Church
TUESDAY, NOV. 12
• Morning Session: We Must Share Jesus
• Greetings from SBC President Clint Pressley, pastor of Hickory Grove Church in Charlotte, N.C., and message by J.J. Washington, national director of Personal Evangelism at NAMB
• Afternoon Session: We Must Send the Gospel
• Message from Bryant Wright, president of Send Relief