Pastors challenged: ‘Keep gospel central in ministry’

Speakers at the SBC Pastors’ Conference June 11 challenged their fellow pastors to reach today’s world for Christ by making the gospel the center of their ministry through a renewed emphasis on prayer and clear proclamation.

David Jeremiah

David Jeremiah, senior pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church in El Cajon, Calif., said pastors must follow the apostle Paul’s example to not be ashamed of the gospel and make it the center of their church ministry.

“Some people say to me, ‘What is your evangelism program?’ I say, ‘I don’t have a clue, I just preach God’s word and people get saved,’” Jeremiah said. “The reason people get saved is because at the center of God’s holy word is the gospel, which is the power of salvation. We need to strip everything else away and get back to the basics, get back to the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Jeremiah was joined by Ed Young, senior pastor of Second Baptist Church in Houston; Nelson Searcy, lead pastor of The Journey in New York City; Erwin McManus, lead pastor of Mosaic Church in Los Angeles; Kerry Shook, lead pastor of Fellowship of The Woodlands in The Woodlands, Tex.; and Tony Evans, senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas.

Ed Young

Young noted that many Christians in America are unable to say they are not ashamed of the gospel for several reasons.

“Some Christians are ashamed of the gospel for social reasons, some for philosophical reasons, and sometimes we are ashamed of the gospel in our culture because of political correctness,” Young said.

Young said Southern Baptists won the battle over theology years ago and should not become overly focused on secondary theological issues.

“We are not Calvinists and we are not Arminians, we are Baptists,” Young said. “We have always come down in the middle. That is who we are theologically. We are a Great Commission denomination.”

Searcy challenged pastors to embrace the high responsibility of training church members to share the gospel with people outside the church.

“God has entrusted pastors to be the equippers of those on the inside (of the church) so that they may effectively reach those on the outside,” Searcy said.

Evans urged pastors to avoid distractions that keep them from reaching the world for Christ. “If you don’t know what you’re here for, there are a lot of voices out there to distract you,” Evans said. By developing a mindset focused on eternity and learning to number their days, he said pastors will stay focused on the “big picture” of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

McManus used the account of Paul on Mars Hill to emphasize the importance of sharing the gospel in a culturally relevant way.

“The church isn’t here for us. We are the church, and we are here for the world,” he said.

Like McManus, Shook also emphasized the importance of being culturally relevant in sharing the gospel.

“We have to wake up and realize we are now missionaries in a foreign culture,” he said. “And just as a missionary has to be trained in the language before they go overseas to minister, we need to be trained in the language of the unchurched so we can share the never-changing message of the gospel in their language, so they can understand it.”

Elected as Pastors’ Conference officers for 2007 were Hayes Wicker, pastor of First Baptist Church in Naples, Fla.; Kevin Ezell, pastor of Highview Baptist Church in Louisville, Ky.; and Joe Taylor, pastor of South Reno Baptist Church in Reno, Nev.