Al Gilbert's Convention Message

He begins speaking from 1 Corinthians 4. He starts by telling the story of his own almost-cancer and said that he had a "death check" that caused him to look closely at his life. The SBC is getting information that we are sick and dying. Will we ask the tough questions about what we are doing? We face a challenge of denominational priorities. We are going to have to pass the baton to the next generation, but they do not seem to want it. From 1 Cor. 4, we should be seen as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. We should be seen as servants of Christ. Paul used a term for servant that appealed to the idea of being an "under rower." The under rower is to push and pull the oars at the bottom of the ship to move the ship forward. Jesus gives us direction and we are to follow. We are to also be stewards of the mystery of God - we are to be found faithful to managing God's truth and caring for it. We are accountable to God.

The primary mystery that Paul was referring to was the message of the Cross. He quoted Dr. Mohler saying that the church is the repository of the gospel. 2 Cor. 5 says that God has entrusted to us the message of reconciliation. God pleads with the world to be reconciled to Him through the church. We are not just given the message of the Cross, but also the mission of making this message known to the world so that the world will be reconciled to God. The mystery of the gospel is that the Nations would bow down and worship the Lord. We have been entrusted the message and the mission of the Cross - we are stewards to tell the whole world about Jesus. This stewardship has been given to ALL.

If we do not exercise the stewardship of proclaiming the gospel among the nations, we have no relevance. We should not be glad until the nations are glad because they have heard the gospel. We live in a world of instant news regarding everything that is going on around the world. If our message is not a message for the whole world, then it is not good enough. The message must be for all the nations, lest we come to believe that Christianity is just one among many religions.

India has more people than all the people in the entire Western Hemisphere. China does as well. America needs Jesus. But, we must tell our sons and daughters that this message is not just for America. We have a global Messiah - He is to be worshipped by all the world. This message drove Paul and it must drive us as well. We live in a world that sees information in an instant because of the internet. The world has grown smaller. We must announce to the whole world that the gospel is for them.

Are we willing to evaluate our stewardship in our churches and our convention the stewardship of the gospel that we have been given? Do we handle the things of God with a sense of awesome accountability? We must have purity to never compromise or water down the message. Our lives must be pure and we will give an account to God as to how we proclaim and live the message. The message is also a message of power. 1 Cor. 2:1-5 tells us that the message is not of word but of power. Are we giving the message with power? Are our hearts soft toward the Lord and broken for the lost?

Is the stewardship of this message a priority? Our baptisms are falling. We are not only not winning the world to Christ, but we are not reaching our own sons and daughters. Our organizations have erected bureaucratic barriers that keep us from proclaiming the message of Christ. We have been propping up dead horses and showing them off to other people. We are now serving the organization instead of the organization serving the mission. Could it be that if we would do a death check while getting the reports from the doctors, that we must radically reorganize the convention if we are to reach the world for Christ.

We must prioritize our money and our resources to see the world come to Christ. Do we need to reprioritize our money? In 2005-06 our churches gave 10.4 billion dollars. The total missions expenditure was 1.2 billion dollars. The CP total was 500 million. Should we be asking how we can be more efficient and effective so that churches would want to give more to the CP. The states keep more than 50% of CP money.  Can we defend our bureaucracy to the next generation?

Why are we spending as much money on Southen states that have thousands of churches and we are not spending the money to reach the masses of lost people all over the world? Is this good stewardship? We needed the Conservative Resurgence in the past to protect the mysteries of God, but we now need a Great Commission Resurgence. We cannot continue to do business as usual. We are servants of Christ and we are stewards of the mysteries of God. Christ is Master and Lord and He is the Captain of this ship. May God give us an overwhelming sense of stewardship to fulfill the task that has been entrusted to us - to see the nations come to Christ.

Comments

[Cliff]

Wow, I heard the sermon and I was blown away at how bold he was in bringing to light the CP giving. As a young Southern Baptist that wants to remain one as long as I can, I am disgusted at how much money the states keep of our "missions" money. I hope this starts a much needed conversation. Thanks for a great summary of the sermon.

[Marty Duren]

Best thing I've heard so far.

[david goggin]

Al Gilbert is my Pastor and he is the
real thing. David Goggin

[Cliff]

Is anyone else commenting on the sermon or is it too early?

[Ken McLemore]

Al has been a mentor and friend for 20 years. He has an amazing heart for the nations like very few pastors I know.
I had tears listening to this message and thought he hit a home run! This is the kind of voice the SBC needs. I hope more will join Al in challenging our churches to take the gospel to UPG's who have no gospel witness at all. We need more pastors willing to lead their churches in going to the ethnos of the world instead of focusing mainly on ourselves. Go Al !

Ken McLemore , Missions pastor, Liberty Baptist Hampton, VA.