Our yearly meeting is coming up Nov. 13-14 in Greenville at the TD Convention Center behind the Krispy Kreme. Just like the sweet donuts that you can get on your way to the meeting, it is going to be a sweet time of fellowship with SCBC members from all across our great state. I want to encourage all of you to come and to be a part of this special time in the life of our state convention.
AtkinsMichael Lord, with Michael Lord Outdoor Ministries, will be leading us in our times of corporate worship. Many of you will remember Michael from when he was with the group “Lordsong” and toured with Mark Lowery. We will also be blessed this year to have Rodrigo Rodriguez, who will be joined by Suresh Jonnalagadda for a duet that Rodrigo composed for the classical guitar and the Indian sitar entitled, “A New Day.”
In addition to Rodrigo and Suresh, we will have special music by “King’s Cause” on Tuesday afternoon and the “Providence Quartet” during our Wednesday morning session before our convention sermon by pastor Michael Catt from Sherwood Baptist Church in Georgia. All of our special music groups and individual musicians call South Carolina home for their ministries, and we are so blessed to have each of them with us this year.
Our Tuesday evening service will be a different format than in many of our previous years. In years gone by, this was when the SCBC president would preach his “farewell” sermon. This had been labeled by some as the time for the president’s family and friends to come hear him preach. Well, my mom and dad have heard me, most of my friends have heard me, and if you are there Tuesday morning you all will have heard me, too. So this year I have invited Mark Dever from 9 Marks Ministry to be our guest speaker on Tuesday night after a special concert provided by “Sisters.” This evening of encouragement begins at 7:00, and you do not have to be a registered messenger to attend. My desire as your 2012 president was to provide an evening service that would not only encourage our hearts through music, but also challenge our spirits with a message that can we can all apply to our daily lives. I am praying that God will use Mark Dever and “Sisters” to do just that, and I hope that you will all make plans to attend.
In addition to our business and ministry partner reports, there will also be four messages pertaining to our 2012 Theme “Great Commission Living.” I will be presenting on the mandate to “Go,” first vice president Brad Kelley will speak on “Make,” SCBC church planter David Bagwell will preach on “Baptize,” and our final message “Teach” will be given by second vice president Frankie Melton.
I fully believe that the greatest days for the SCBC are still yet to be written, if we all will strive for “Great Commission Living” in our daily lives. I am praying that God will do an amazing work in our midst at our annual convention and that each of you will be a part of this special time in the life of the SCBC.
– Atkins is pastor of Powdersville First Baptist Church and president of the South Carolina Baptist Convention.