I am very excited about our upcoming South Carolina Baptist Pastor’s Conference on Nov. 14 at Trinity Baptist Church in Cayce. I hope you are planning to attend and be a part of what I believe will really be a “Time of Encouragement” for pastors and their wives, staff and laity, and any others who may attend.
ChildersThe men I have lined up to preach, under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, are men who have walked through the fire and can say that the Lord was, and is, Lord in the fire as much as He is out of the fire. The devil desires to take the servants of the Lord through the fire and do his best to destroy the testimony of God’s servant.
I love to read Daniel 3:16-18 where it says that after Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were threatened by King Nebuchadnezzar to bow down and worship him by kneeling at the feet of a big statue that he had erected, they answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship that golden image which thou hast set up.”
One of our preachers, Daniel Dickard, is the youngest preacher on the program. He is a wonderful young man with a heart for God. He needs our encouragement. He needs to see preachers and pastors standing for the Lord Jesus in these days in which we live, and to see them holding on to the Lord and standing strong, no matter how hot the fire may get. We must remember that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had someone who was a godly example to them, and that man was Daniel. What a man of God!
Also on the conference program will be Dr. Danny Gray. Even though Dr. Gray is not pastoring anymore, he is still out there telling people about Jesus. Others on the program are Brad Goodale, pastor of Philippi Church in Union; Dr. David Gallamore, pastor of Rock Springs Church, Easley; Dr. Dwight Easler, pastor of Corinth Church, Gaffney; evangelist Len Turner from Woodstock, Ga.; and Dr. Phil Waldrep, evangelist from Trinity, Ala.
The music will be led throughout the day by Mike Speck. In the evening session, the Mike Speck Trio will lead music along with a joint choir made up of members from the churches of the North Spartan Association under the direction of Tim Hammett, music director of Greenpoint Church, Boiling Springs.
I will be sharing with you about other encouraging things that will be taking place at the conference in another article before the Nov. 14 conference. Plan to attend. It will truly be a “Time of Encouragement.”
– Childers is president of the South Carolina Baptist Pastor’s Conference.