Biblical Recorder: Pastors & the church in American politics today

In the last four weeks, Jeana and I have been in Washington, D.C., three times. Each time I go to America’s capital city, I am captivated by it. As I jog around the National Mall, I become even more burdened for our nation and our leaders. There is always something special about making my way through the entire terrain from the Supreme Court to the United States Capitol, the Washington Monument, the World War II Memorial, and the Lincoln Memorial.

As I returned from the National Day of Prayer in Washington, D.C., I was not just reflecting, but anticipating our Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting in June. When we meet in the closing session of the 2016 Southern Baptist Convention on Wednesday afternoon, June 15, in St. Louis, our Order of Business Committee has allocated time for a special panel on investing in the lives and ministries of our messengers.

Navigating through these turbulent times

Just as we did last year, we are going to address one of the challenging areas in life today. Last year, we provided “The President’s Panel: The Supreme Court and Same Sex Marriage: Preparing Our Churches.” [See video of last year’s panel.] It was well received and appreciated.

Early last fall, when our Order of Business Committee began discussing possible topics, our chosen panel for this year seemed to be extremely relevant and interesting. Even though we have wrestled with fulfilling this vision, I think it is important for us to assist our pastors and laypersons while we are gathered. The decision we made last fall has now proven to be not only relevant and interesting, but extremely challenging to accomplish.

Please know, no one but God has the corner on this subject in American life. Regardless of your political party or your personal feelings concerning this subject, we need to converse and navigate together through these turbulent times.

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