Last week was the annual meeting for the California Southern Baptist State Convention. It was held at Shadow Mountain Community Church in El Cajon, where David Jeremiah pastors.One of the nice things about this year's convention was that my family was able to tag along with me. Natalie had to babysit Dylan and Heidi during the Pastor's Conference on Monday night and Tuesday morning, but then we were all able to attend the Annual Meeting together on Tuesday and Wednesday. The kids went into child care while Natalie and I attended the main sessions together. Our schedule was very busy, but it was so nice to spend this time with them.
The theme of this year's meeting was "Celebrating the King and His Kingdom." The business meeting portions ran very smoothly, and were the most peaceful of the three years I've attended. Several positive reports were also given, including one about the NAMB church-planting initiative: Vision San Diego.
My wife and I were encouraged by the preaching this year, which was consistently good throughout both the Pastor's Conference and Annual Meeting. On Monday night, David Jeremiah urged pastors to be faithful to "preach the word" and avoid other tantalizing, yet inferior, methods of church growth. On Tuesday, Executive Director Fermin Whittaker called us to keep pursuing our goal of reaching "every man, woman, boy, and girl" in the state of California for Jesus Christ. He reminded us of the tremendous power of God to change lives. On Wednesday, State Convention President Paul Wilkerson urged pastors to shepherd and love their people, then National Convention President Johnny Hunt gave a passionate exposition from Psalm 119.
Paul Wilkerson has now concluded his two-year term as President of the CSBC, and Walter Price from Fellowship of the Pass has been elected as the next President. Walter is a very godly man and theologically conservative pastor. I'm excited to see him serve as our next President.
May God continue to bless our state convention in the year to come.
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