Ken Keathley is Professor of Theology, Senior Vice President for Academic Administration, and Dean of the Faculty at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina.

SBC Today: What do you think are the greatest challenges confronting the SBC?

Ken Keathley: For all the changes the SBC and the nation are experiencing, the greatest challenge is still the same: reaching the lost with the gospel. We are not a denomination in the traditional sense of the word.  The SBC and its entities exist for the sole purpose of enabling Baptist churches to collectively obey the Great Commission.  People without Christ are lost.  They are not simply prospects. They are persons for whom Christ died.

SBC Today: What do you see as the greatest opportunities opening to the SBC?

Ken Keathley: We are quickly losing the cultural comfort of being the largest religious group in the Bible Belt.  The social environment of the nation as a whole is becoming much less friendly to the Gospel and scriptural norms.  However, I believe this is also a time of opportunity.  During the 20th century, cultural dominance in the rural south caused Southern Baptists to be rather careless in a number of crucial areas.  We became shallow theologically and sloppy methodologically.  The distressing direction that America is headed in is now forcing us to walk against the grain.  But that means we have the opportunity to present Christ in a clear and definitive way.  Society as a whole is rejecting our Christian heritage, but I can’t think of a better time to do one-on-one evangelism.

SBC Today:  As you look back over the Conservative Resurgence, what do you think that movement accomplished, and what (if anything) is left to be done?

Ken Keathley: I shudder to think where Southern Baptists would be today if the Conservative Resurgence had not happened.  Recent statements by leaders in the CBF expressing support for same-sex marriage once again demonstrate that the Resurgence was necessary.  During the conflict, the broader evangelical community provided support to Southern Baptist conservatives through their schools, organizations, and media outlets by providing a clear rationale for holding to the infallibility and authority of the Bible.  Remarkably, while Southern Baptists were reaffirming the inerrancy of Scripture, some of those same evangelical institutions appear to have been losing their way.  It’s very concerning.  The task ahead now appears to be that Southern Baptists need to call our evangelical brethren back to the historic understanding of the Word of God

SBC Today: What are your thoughts about the proposed SBC alternate name?

It is probably the best resolution that is reasonably available.  I intend to vote in favor of it.

SBC Today: What are the most significant doctrinal issues that the church will struggle with over the next few decades?

Ken Keathley: As I have noted elsewhere in print, the Baptist Faith and Message does not take a position on three issues: the millennium, Calvinism, and the age of the earth.  I think that was a wise course of action, because there is not a consensus among Southern Baptists on these matters.  Quite honestly, the question of whether one is pre-, post-, or a-millennial and the question of whether one is a young-earth creationist or an old-earth creationist are rather humble matters.  This does not mean that they are not without major implications, but on the hierarchy of theological importance they are modest.

The Calvinism issue could be serious.  Within the SBC, thoughtful Calvinists and thoughtful non-Calvinists have the responsibility of engaging with one another in ways that are charitable and candid.  We also have the responsibility of calling to task those within our respective camps that are taking extreme positions and/or misrepresenting the other side.  I have expressed in print my concerns about Calvinism very clearly.  And, God help me, I enjoy a theological tussle far too much.  But I’m convinced that Calvinists, Molinists, and others can join together to obey the Great Commission (while still continuing to discuss vigorously the important points concerning the doctrine of salvation).

SBC Today: Tell us about your interest in the doctrine of creation and the dialogue with BioLogos.

Ken Keathley: Just look at the number of books and articles currently published, and continuing to be published on the subject of creation, creationism, evolution, intelligent design, as well as the proper way to interpret Genesis 1-3 and other biblical texts concerning creation.  It is overwhelming!  Mark Rooker and I have been asked by Kregel to co-author a book entitled 40 Questions on Creation and Evolution.  One of the most difficult tasks has been to arrive at the proper forty questions.  The interest on the subject has never been greater.

The BioLogos Foundation is making a concerted effort to convince evangelicals that theistic evolution (or evolutionary creationism, as they call it) is a viable option for Bible-believing Christians.  They are making formidable arguments and they are not going away.  Darrel Falk, the current president of BioLogos, asked several Southern Baptist theologians, philosophers, and biblical scholars to express our concerns is a series entitled “Southern Baptist Voices.”  The series is now running on the forum of the BioLogos website, along with their responses.  Most of the members at BioLogos are scientists–geneticists, biologists, etc.  We did not attempt to challenge them scientifically, that’s a task for others to do.  Instead, we focused on the serious theological and biblical problems with evolutionary creationism.  So far it’s generated a great deal of discussion–hopefully, helpful discussion.

SBC Today: SEBTS has been criticized at times because of a perceived close relationship with Acts 29 and Mark Driscoll. What would you say to defend SEBTS against this criticism?

Ken Keathley: The criticism is simply bizarre.  We had Mark Driscoll on our campus for a conference over three years ago.  At that time we pointed out where we disagreed with him (his affirmation of social drinking, for example).  Mark has an extraordinary ministry in Seattle, which most would recognize as a difficult field.  Despite his shortcomings we believed he had something worthwhile to say to our students.

SBC Today: What are some exciting things happening at SEBTS?

Ken Keathley: During his tenure as president, Paige Patterson established Southeastern as a Great Commission school.  Under the leadership of Danny Akin, that emphasis continues and has been taken to the next level.  The number of young men and women who are answering the call to missions and church planting is extraordinary.  By God’s grace we have had over 2,900 students this academic year (2011-12).  We are thankful that God has led them to us and we take stewardship of their training very seriously.

SBC Today:  How do you balance ministry and family responsibilities?

Ken Keathley: Maintaining a proper balance is always a challenge. But a minister must make a priority of his family for the sake of his spiritual health and the long term health of his ministry.  I’m blessed with Penny, my wonderful wife.  I fell in love and married my best friend.  And now that we are empty-nesters we have rediscovered dating!

SBC Today:  What do you do for fun? Anything else you would like to tell us about?

Ken Keathley: Penny and I had no idea that grandkids would be so much fun!  A second grandson is due in June!

Dr. Steve Gaines is the pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee. He has earned a baccalaureate degree from Union University, and the MDiv (1984) and PhD (1991) degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Dr. Gaines has also served on the State Board of Missions for the Alabama Baptist State Convention, served on the committee to revise the Baptist Faith and Message in 2000, preached the keynote sermon at the 2004 convention in Indianapolis, and served as president of the 2005 SBC Pastor’s Conference in Nashville. He is also the author of a popular devotional called Morning Manna, and in 2007 he published When God Comes to Church.

SBC Today: What are some great things that are happening in your church?

Steve Gaines: In 2007, we began a ministry called “Bellevue Loves Memphis.” It is a service-evangelism model that has helped us become more involved in community missions in our region. We try to “find a need and meet it; find a hurt and heal it.” For years, liberal churches have participated in social ministry, but they have neglected genuine evangelism. We’ve coupled social ministry with soul winning and found it to be a powerful combination. Social ministry is not an end in itself. Rather, it is a means to the end of soul winning. Social ministry opens the doors for us to verbally share the Gospel.

In the past several years, Bellevue has worked with inner-city schools repairing grounds and facilities and tutoring students. We’ve assisted the City of Memphis with clean-up efforts to remove urban blight. We’ve distributed massive amounts of food and clothing to needy people. We have also ministered to people in prison, as well as those who are shut-ins and in nursing homes. We’ve repaired facilities of inner-city churches. We have purchased and manned a mobile-dental clinic that has provided over $1 million in free dental care to those who cannot afford it. We always verbally share the Gospel with the people to whom we minister.

People don’t go to heaven because they minister to the poor. But people that are on their way to heaven will desire to engage in ministry to “the least of these.” If you don’t care about helping people in need, you have every reason to question whether or not you are really saved (cf. Matt. 25:31-46). Every local church should minister to “the least of these” in their community and couple it with soul winning. It will change you and your church.

SBC Today: What is the key to being a faithful/effective/successful pastor?

Steve Gaines: A pastor must make prayer the priority of his life (Lk. 11:1f). Preaching comes after prayer (Acts 6:4). Luther said, “He who has prayed well has studied well.” What good is a prayerless conservative, a prayerless preacher, or a prayerless professor? We must talk with God before we try to talk for God. We need daily prayer. Yesterday’s manna won’t feed us. Yesterday’s anointing won’t empower us. Yesterday’s prayers won’t help us make it through today.

A pastor should also be approachable with his people. A true shepherd will be around God’s people enough that he has the “smell” of sheep on him. He should spend time with staff and church members, scheduling lunches with them, visiting them in hospitals, performing weddings and funerals, etc.

A pastor should not be the last one to enter the church on Sunday morning and the first one to leave. Rather, he should be the first one there and the last to leave. He should walk slowly among the people, look them each in the eye, talk with them, pray with them, love them, and seek to get to know as many of them by name as possible. He should also invite them into his heart, weeping with those who weep and rejoicing with those who rejoice. He must embrace Paul’s method in 1 Thess. 2:8 – “Having so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us.”

A pastor must also learn to forgive people who wrong him. Life is too short (or too long, however you want to look at it) to hold a grudge. Don’t allow mean people to get the best of you. Jesus forgave malicious people even when they didn’t ask for forgiveness (Lk. 23:34). We must as well. Forgiving them doesn’t mean that you condone what they did to you. Nor does it mean that you trust them or that you must become “best friends” with them. But it does mean that you pardon them in your heart, you release them to the Lord, and you no longer talk negatively about them. Vengeance belongs to God; He will always repay. Leave it at that.

SBC Today: What is one key mistake that you see pastors and/or church staff members making that causes them problems in their churches?

Steve Gaines: Pastors get so busy that they don’t spend enough time with God or with their families. We don’t have enough time to do everything that other people want us to do. Nor do we have time to do everything that we want to do. But we do have time to do what God wants us to do.

We must work at time management basing the use of our time on our priorities. Communing with God in prayer and personal Bible intake must come first. We should then allocate time for our family. A pastor who does not take care of his walk with God and his family relationships won’t have a ministry for long. Every need is not a call from God. Focus on God, your family, and then your church.

SBC Today: Who are two or three of your “heroes in ministry”?

Steve Gaines: Dr. Adrian Rogers was a dear friend and a beloved mentor. For almost two decades before I became the pastor at Bellevue, I met with him several times each year and learned about ministering in a growing church. When our church in Gardendale began to grow, I sought advice from him and he gave it. He graciously made time for me and helped me with his tremendous wisdom. He was one of the finest men I’ve ever known. He was (and is to this day) one of my greatest “heroes.”

While in seminary, I also met and interviewed Dr. Herschel Hobbs and Dr. W. A. Criswell. I greatly admired both of them. They both had earned Ph.D.s from Southern Seminary, and were career-long senior pastors.

To be candid, I believe that is the kind of leadership we need in the SBC today. It is essential that we have men in SBC leadership positions who have been equipped to lead others by both service and scholarship; experience and education. Theology without experience is like faith without works – it is dead. Someone with little (if any) experience as a senior pastor is limited when it comes to mentoring young pastors. Being a “scholar” isn’t enough. Serving on a church staff isn’t enough. Young pastors need mentors with significant senior pastoral expertise. They need to be taught by men who have attended multiple deacons meetings, have performed numerous weddings and funerals, and have counseled couples with marital problems. Senior pastors who have had to face the pressures of annual budgets, supervising staff members, and dealing with difficult church members, are the most qualified people to teach young pastors. It is hard, if not impossible, to lead someone to a place you’ve never been. The best SBC leaders will be shepherd-scholars – men who have been to seminary and who are also veteran senior pastors.

SBC Today: What is one of the best lessons you have learned in ministry?

Steve Gaines: As pastors, we don’t have to “out-lead.” Rather, we should seek to “out-love” others, even the difficult people with whom we must deal. Christian leadership comes through relationships of genuine love. People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. A pastor must be “a people-person;” authentic and approachable.

No pastor can be aloof from people and be effective. If people are a “bother” to you, you should find another occupation. People are your ministry. On Sundays and Wednesdays, our church members are present at Bellevue. It’s a great time to be with them. When they ask me to pray for them about something, I do it on the spot. It is hard to believe that I am in my seventh year at Bellevue. The first year and a half was a period of transition and difficulty. The past five years have been some of the greatest days of my life. Bellevue’s members are very loving. They have become our family.

SBC Today: What is your approach to preaching?

Steve Gaines: I heard of a preacher who said: “When I preach, I read myself full, pray myself hot, and turn myself loose!” I like that. A preacher should study, pray, and then be himself when he preaches. A prayerless preacher has no power. A preacher who hasn’t studied has no content. A good sermon gets “hot” from the preacher’s prayers and “full” from his study.

I don’t preach other people’s sermons. A preacher that preaches other people’s sermons on a regular basis is a thief with a slothful mind and a shallow heart. God has not called us to be pirates that steal or parrots that mimic. He called us to be prophets that proclaim the Word that He has given to us. I receive my sermon ideas from reading and memorizing Scripture.

I preach verse-by-verse through Scripture texts. I also like to add verse-with-verse, utilizing other Scriptures to support my primary text.

A preacher shouldn’t preach 40-50 sermons out of one book in a single series. That wears people out. Most sermon series should be no longer than 10-12 sermons. If you preach through a lengthy book of the Bible, do it in stages.

I try to emphasize one primary idea per sermon. Any sermon “points” should relate directly to that main idea. I explain, illustrate, and apply the biblical text. I primarily preach sermons to help Christians mature. Yet, like Spurgeon, I always give an evangelistic appeal at the end. I focus on Jesus, and say the name of “Jesus” often. There is great power in His name.

At the conclusion of my sermons, I seek to persuade lost people to become Christians by giving a public invitation. Whenever the Gospel is proclaimed, the listeners should be given the opportunity to be saved. Before anyone can become a Christian, he must first hear the Gospel (Rom. 10:14), repent of his sin (Acts 3:19), believe in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), and call upon the name of the Lord (Acts 22:16; Rom. 10:9-10, 13). No one is regenerated before he/she repents and believes. Rather, there is a nanosecond in time (Jesus called it being “born again” – Jn. 3) before which a person is lost and on his way to hell, at which he repents, believes, and calls on Jesus’ name and is regenerated, and after which he is saved forever. To “call upon the name of the Lord” is to pray. Thus, I give listeners the opportunity at the end of every sermon to meet with a counselor and to become a Christian by repenting (Acts 3:19), believing on Jesus in their heart, and praying and confessing Him with their mouth (Rom. 10:9-10). To preach the Gospel and not encourage people to become a Christian then and there is unthinkable.

That’s how I preach – prayerfully, studiously, scripturally, passionately, and evangelistically. “Read yourself full; pray yourself hot; and turn yourself loose!”

SBC Today: How do you help your congregation focus on missions?

Steve Gaines: We have an excellent missions program at Bellevue. We base our missions’ emphasis on Acts 1:8, starting in Memphis. Memphis is our “Jerusalem.” Close to a thousand of us participate in community missions each quarter on designated Saturdays for our “Bellevue Loves Memphis” workdays. We love our City! We then seek to branch out to the nation and the nations. We send out short-term, lay-volunteer mission teams around the world throughout the year. Short-term mission trips are a wonderful way to move people out of their comfort zone and motivate them to evangelize a lost world. We have an annual missions’ conference during which we highlight local and global evangelism and missions. We put much money, time, and resources into missions and it pays eternal dividends.

SBC Today: How do you balance ministry and family responsibilities?

Steve Gaines: A pastor must love his family. A pastor’s family should take precedence over the church he serves. Husbands and wives should dialog daily, date weekly, and depart on short trips periodically. While our children lived at home, my wife and I were there for them. We attended our son’s ballgames and the games for which our daughters cheered. On weeknights, Donna cooked meals and we shared time around the dinner table. For almost 25 years, Donna made sack lunches for our children every day. Until they started driving, I took them to school every morning. Donna chose to be a stay-at-home mom. She picked up the children after school and drove them to ball practices, piano lessons, ballet, etc. We enjoyed Christmas mornings, birthday parties, vacations, etc. We made home videos that we still enjoy watching.

By God’s grace, our children love Jesus. The three oldest have married godly spouses who themselves come from godly homes. Our youngest is in college and she loves the Lord. Presently, we have three grandchildren, and they are all being reared in godly homes. We never told our children to read their Bibles or go to church because they were the preacher’s children. We told them to do those things because they loved Jesus and belonged to Him.

We wanted our kids to be “normal,” so we tried to make home “fun.” We bought a boat and often went waterskiing. I took Grant hunting many times. We made sure they knew their grandparents. We had family nights, watched movies, played games, and prayed together most evenings.

I’ve said for years that I’d never take Monday off because I don’t want to feel that bad on my time. If I’m going to feel the way I do on Monday, I’ll do it on church time. I take Friday and Saturday off and it’s great. Donna and I have had a standing date every Friday at lunch for close to 25 years.

I prayerfully and cautiously accept invitations to preach outside my church. Every open door and invitation is not a call from God. Pastors that are absent often from their families and churches are not practicing the better part of wisdom. A pastor should disciple his family before trying to disciple someone else’s. I have a pastor-friend who realized he was spending more time with people who wouldn’t even attend his funeral than with family members that one day could possibly take care of him in a nursing home. A church has many men who can serve as their pastor. But a pastor’s wife and children have only one person who can be their husband and father. Don’t be away from your home and church all the time. Reach the “empty nest” with few regrets, many good memories, and a good relationship with your wife.

SBC Today: What do you do for fun?

Steve Gaines: I enjoy working out. I have a treadmill at home on which I walk and pray. I also have a recumbent bicycle on which I ride while I read. I enjoy lifting weights at a local gym several times each week. I go there instead of using our church facilities so I can be around non-Christians. I’ve been able to witness and pray with people at the gym. I also swim laps there occasionally. All of that is “fun” to me.

I spend a lot of my leisure time with my wife. In 2004, we bought a used convertible. It is my way of “getting away.” We take rides on our Friday dates. It gives me the feel of being on a motorcycle, but with a lot more protection!

SBC Today: What are your two or three favorite TV shows? Movies?

Steve Gaines: I don’t watch much television. My favorite movie is, “It’s a Wonderful Life.” I watch it every year on my birthday (Dec. 31^st). George Bailey learned from Clarence the angel that God is doing more in and through us than we can imagine. He is working through “the little things” in our lives. People may not realize how much the devil discourages pastors. But every pastor can be assured that God is using him regardless of how “small” his situation is. Significance comes not from where we are, but Whose we are!

SBC Today: Anything else you would like to tell us about?

Steve Gaines: Yes. Stop worrying, pray, love your family, and win people to Jesus! That should keep you busy until you see Him face to face.

Bill Harrell has served as Pastor of Abilene Baptist Church in Martinez, Georgia, for over 30 years. Over this period he has led this 200-year old church to quadruple its attendance, increase its membership by over 2,000 members, and begin hosting a region-wide “Strength for Today” television program. He has served in a number of positions in the Augusta Baptist Association, Georgia Baptist Convention, and SBC, including serving as the Vice-President of the Georgia Baptist Convention and as Chairman of the SBC Executive Committee.

SBC Today: What do you think are the greatest challenges confronting the SBC?

Bill Harrell: If answered completely the answer to this question would require the space of the entire blog, but in short there are two main problems facing us. The first is the new, aggressive Calvinism which has emerged over the last twenty years or so. As I have stated before, I have no problem with a person being a Calvinist. I have had a numbers preach at Abilene over the years and count those people as close friends. The differences in our theological underpinnings have never been a source of tension between us. However, when there are those who have an agenda to change the SBC into a Reformed convention by using the Calvinistic theological model, then I have a problem with that. For a number of years there has been a plan to raise up an “army” of Calvinists in an effort to capture the SBC for the Reformed position. People will deny this and use all kinds of “doubles-speak” to talk around it but anyone who has been involved even in a casual manner knows this is true. And, at the present time, we are experiencing problems which stem directly from this effort. The growing number of churches which have been split or disrupted by this effort is evidence that something is amiss. I know that there will be a hue and cry about my stating this, but I am stating something that many others see even if they are too timid to call attention to it. If I had more space, I could easily develop my answer to a greater degree.

Secondly, I think that the contemporary worship model has taken us exactly where I and some others have said it would. Human nature being what it is, people always want something more “with-it” and “hip” than they had the last time. They will always be pushing the envelope to keep the excitement high and draw a crowd. This all got started with Bill Hybels and Rick Warren back in the early nineties and it has now reached ridiculous levels in many places. I think we must keep something very important in mind. In our worship we must always try, to the best of our ability, to mirror the image of what took place on the cross because what took place there was the most serious business in the history of the world. And, we can only be in our worship experience because of what happened there. Our worship should be oriented toward and energized by that event and not by what the world says we should do to get a crowd. From the cross, Jesus did not say, “it is finished now go have yourselves a good time.” He did not expect that we would use the trappings of the world to help draw people to him. I believe that many churches have totally lost their vision of who they are and what they should be doing. I am not saying that we should have long, sorrowful faces and sing dirges during worship. I think we should exhibit joy as we worship God, but we should not dishonor the death of Jesus on the cross by employing worldly methods to the extent that our human nature has led us to do. We are different and we should show the world we are different. We cannot win the world by being like the world and the contemporary movement needs to learn that lesson.

SBC Today: What do you see as the greatest opportunities opening to the SBC?

Bill Harrell: The SBC has always been and should ever remain a force within society to be recognized as one which is pointing the way to salvation and proper living. The SBC has been viewed as a large body of people who were morally, spiritually, and ethically setting the tone for the nation. We have been looked to for guidance on societal issues such as abortion, homosexuality, and political responsibility. We need to be careful that we always remain a denomination that is looked upon as a leader in American life and not find ourselves lumped in with those denominations that have given up their leadership roles by compromising on key issues. We have the opportunity to continue to impact society in a positive, godly way and I pray we will continue to do so. But, the main opportunity we must grasp is the preaching of the gospel as we seek to be used of the Lord to bring those around us to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Our responsibility in this area grows exponentially as the society around us descends into darkness more and more.

SBC Today: What do you think the Conservative Resurgence accomplished?

Bill Harrell: The Conservative Resurgence brought us back to a formal and practical belief in the Bible as the inerrant and inspired Word of God. Most Southern Baptists believed that anyway; but many who became leaders in our seminaries and agencies had compromised on the issue of Biblical inerrancy. The battle was hard fought but in the end the good people of the SBC corrected the situation under the leadership of some very capable men that the Lord brought together for that particular reason. I considered it an honor and privilege to serve with men such as Dr. Paige Patterson, Judge Paul Pressler, Dr. Adrian Rogers, and Dr. Jerry Vines just to mention a few. God drew together a very special group of men to handle the issue of the time, and He led them to be successful. So, the issue of inerrancy is settled, but we must be careful that we do not drift back into some of the errors we harbored in the past. It was my privilege to serve on the Executive Committee from 1986 to 1994 and then again from 2003 to 2011. During those days I saw many things change and many improvements made. I also saw how delicately the SBC is balanced and we must be careful in the midst of all the talk about the Great Commission Resurgence to make sure that we don’t upset the balance of our convention to the point that it begins to come apart.

SBC Today: What are your thoughts on the proposed SBC alternate name?

Bill Harrell: My question is this: Why have an alternate name at all? All this is doing is creating confusion as we will now have to explain the structure of the SBC to people every time the subject comes up. We never had to do that before. Some were worried about the word “southern” limiting us. The many times I have witnessed to people, I have never had anyone ask me if I was a “Southern” Baptist. They did not care as long as I was bringing the gospel to them. The committee which worked on this issue is proposing that we keep “Baptist” in the name . . . Great Commission Baptist Convention. I hate to tell them but the word “Baptist” creates more question in the minds of the people in the northern reaches of our country than the word “southern” does. I think this is all just a part of trying to reorganize something that was fundamentally sound to start with. There is nothing wrong with the organization of the SBC. What we lacked was leadership in crucial areas. If that had been present, we would not be faced with trying to create energy by reorganizing so much of the convention. My concern is that the delicate “balance” between the different entities of the SBC will be disturbed and things will start to come apart. Also, I think it is quite funny that after all the talk, postulating, meeting, traveling, and planning, all they could come up with is a “nickname.” That might mean that they should have left well enough alone.

SBC Today: What are some things happening at Abilene Baptist Church?

Bill Harrell: After 31 years of being the pastor of this great church, I am now preparing to retire and pass the baton to someone else. I am not leaving the ministry as I hope to preach in many different places over the next number of years. We have approached finding a new pastor in a very stable way that is going to produce continuity in leadership as I step out of the way and another assumes the role of Pastor. The church will soon vote on a young man who will have a wonderful ministry here at Abilene. I plan to be his best “cheerleader” and helper when he desires my help; but other than that, I plan to be busy with my personal ministry beyond the walls of Abilene. The young man’s name has not been released yet out of respect for his current pastorate, but I think people will see the wisdom of the selection when that name is made public shortly.

Other than that, Abilene is a church which loves good preaching, loves the Word, seeks to witness and lead people to the Lord and desires to reach more and more people for Jesus Christ. She is a church which lives in harmony and accomplishes goals together without a negative vote. I have tried to prepare the church in such a way that the next pastor will be set to launch a vibrant and God honoring ministry here.

SBC Today: What are some keys to being a successful pastor?

Bill Harrell: In my view, the key to being a solid successful pastor consists of three things. First is one’s calling. He must be certain in the deepest part his soul that God has called him to preach and pastor a people. Without that certainty a man will waver on many occasions and he will not exhibit solid leadership. The second thing is consistency. Make up your mind where you are on the issues and always be the same. Be sure you can back up your positions from the Bible and then stick with them no matter what. Sometimes it will cause a man some pain to do that but he will always come out on top. The third thing is commitment. Know what you are committed to and when you have made that commitment don’t be looking in every direction for something that looks better than what you have. Commitment is something that is a rare commodity today but it is essential to success in the pastorate. God always rewards a man if he is certain of his calling; living and practicing consistency in his ministry and life, and being committed to what God has called him to do–focusing primarily on the task at hand.

SBC Today: What are some key mistakes pastors and church staff make?

Bill Harrell: Actually there are two main things which will ruin and end a man’s ability to serve God in the pastorate. Those two things are sex and money. My advice to a person entering the ministry today is to make sure that you have those two things in control or you will meet a sad end. You can lose your ministry over sex and money quicker than over anything else except maybe lying and plagiarism. Your people will not put up with failure in these two areas. They will hold you responsible for sexual impurity, but they will hold you more responsible for dishonesty and mishandling of money. They might forgive you and restore you where a sexual issue exists but they will not forgive you where their money is concerned.

I would say that they must stay sexually pure, and that they should stay away from the money. I don’t ever get involved with the money of the church. We have a trusted finance committee that has proven their ability to handle the finances of the church and I let them do it. I don’t get involved with counting the monies. I don’t know who gives faithfully and who does not except in rare cases when it is necessary for me to know that information. I simply try to lead the people to be faithful in their tithing, and then I trust God to provide our need for the ministries He gives us. I think one of the best things a person can do is stay away from the money.

SBC Today: Who are two or three of your “heroes in ministry?”

Bill Harrell: I have a number of men who have been wonderful “heroes” of mine over the years. I will list more than two or three as requested. I do so with the fear that I will leave someone out, but some of the more notable ones are: Dr. Paige Patterson, Dr. Jerry Vines, Dr. Junior Hill, Dr. Adrian Rogers, Evangelist Sam Cathey, Evangelist Manley Beasley, Dr. W. O. Vaught and my dear friend Rev. Steve Brumbelow of Texas. Many good men were not included but these are all men I knew and grew to love because of who they are and were. I discovered something while serving on the Executive Committee during the Conservative Resurgence and that is this: Truly great men don’t know that they are. They are totally surprised when someone mentions their greatness.

SBC Today: What is the greatest lesson you have learned in ministry?

Bill Harrell: The greatest lesson I had to learn and internalize is that I am not responsible for whether or not a person accepts Christ as their Savior. When I left industry to enter the ministry I found that my relationship to my boss changed. My earthly boss would say: “Succeed or else.” My Heavenly Boss says: “You be faithful in trying and leave the success up to me.” God holds us accountable for our faithfulness. We do not have the ability to save anyone or make anyone order their lives by the Bible. But, God holds us responsible for being faithful to Him or not. When I learned this lesson, a great weight was lifted from me.

SBC Today: What is your approach to preaching?

Bill Harrell: By nature I am an expository preacher. It just naturally came out of me to preach in that style. When one preaches expository sermons they will teach the Bible and at the same time lead people to salvation. I honestly don’t know how men stand in a pulpit Sunday after Sunday and speak on various subjects. Most of those sermons are spiritual pabulum and won’t be remembered past the front door of the church. But if a man faithfully studies the Word and preaches it in an expository fashion, then every person in the congregation will have the Holy Spirit minister the Word to them and the pastor will touch everyone. That is something that cannot be done with purely topical preaching. I would say this, however: Good topical preaching will contain some expository treatment of the scripture and good expository preaching will often have a topical element to it. But the primary aim should be expository preaching.

SBC Today: How do you help your congregation focus on missions?

Bill Harrell: I preach missionary-oriented sermons. We give to missions causes that are Southern Baptist oriented. We also give to mission trips that people are going to take, and we send mission teams to various places. We have sent medical missions teams as well as construction and evangelistic teams. This all helps a church to stay focused on our number one priority: the Great Commission.

SBC Today: What do you do for fun?

Bill Harrell: The main things I like to do for recreation and relaxation are fishing and dove hunting. It gives me a chance to get away and orient my mind on something entirely different. I am refreshed when I return to work and can concentrate better. A pastor needs to get away from people from time to time. He needs to have some time to himself so that, as the Indians used to say, his “soul can catch up with his body.”

SBC Today: Thank you, Bill, for your many years of service to the Lord, especially your ministering faithfully to one congregation for over 30 years. However, you have also made a great contribution to Georgia Baptists and the SBC which has made a difference, especially your courage in standing strong in the midst of the Conservative Resurgence.

Kevin Apperson began North Las Vegas Baptist Church in his living room in 2003. He earned his bachelor’s degree in engineering from UGA and his MDiv from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He and his wife Elizabeth have five children, the youngest of which has Down Syndrome.

SBC Today: What do you think are the greatest challenges confronting the SBC?

Kevin Apperson: I see several issues that are, and will continue to be, hot-button issues within the SBC. I think that any one of these may be very divisive in the ranks of the SBC, but I also believe in the old maxim that it is “better to be divided by truth than united in error.” In no particular order, here are the issues that I see:

1. I am afraid that our SBC churches and institutions may be practicing the Great Omission as they seek to perform the great Commission. Matthew 28:19-20 gives us a clear mandate to go into all the world with the gospel AND teach the people ALL THINGS that Jesus commanded. In other words, Jesus seemed to say that salvation through faith in Him was absolutely necessary, but that growth/maturity/sanctification should accompany this salvation. I see a trend in many churches of all sizes in minimizing holiness and accommodating worldliness all for the supposed purpose of sharing the gospel. The book of James tells us that whoever wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. This teaches that our churches should not seek to emulate the carnality of this world in which we live. I have been disappointed in the seminary in which I serve in promoting a man like Mark Driscoll as one who should be emulated by our young pastors. I am disappointed when I see so much emphasis on a carnival like atmosphere as the church goes to extremes in pushing the sex envelope with risqué language that promotes more worldliness than holiness. Salvation is not the end point in the life of the Christian but rather the beginning point. In our quest for seeking the salvation of the world, we have forgotten God‘s command of seeking purity within our lives and abstaining from the leaven that corrupts. The leaven is being accommodated in areas within the SBC, and it takes just a little to do a lot of damage.
2. The theological understanding of those whom Jesus died for will continue to be an issue. There is a significant difference in understanding the nature and character of God when one approach says that Jesus died for all, and another approach says that He died for a select group known as the elect. I believe that a great majority of Baptists have what I believe is a correct soteriology in confessing that Jesus died for all, and that whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Those in the reformed camp believe in a God who was graceful to save some, but who did not make salvation truly possible for the rest. This issue will continue to divide Baptists.
3. Battle For the Bible – Part ?? – The authority and inerrancy of the Scriptures will continue to be tested. It will be subtle. Recently, a man named Mike Licona sought to explain away the miraculous resurrection of the saints after the resurrection of Jesus as explained in Matthew 27. One would think this man would be summarily chastised for his error by the leaders of our academic evangelical community. However, men like William Lane Craig, Gary Habermas, and J. P. Moreland rushed to defend their fellow academician and his approach. Also, even two of our own Southern Baptist professors from SEBTS affirmed that Licona’s proposal was compatible with Biblical inerrancy. Where is the outrage? Where is the oversight in taking these professors to task? It does not require a logician to see that if one endorses a faulty hermeneutic when interpreting the Bible such that we get to symbolize the obviously historical, literal events, then it will not take long before we can doubt all of the miracles because they are de facto “miraculous” and beyond our understanding.
4. Although it is not discussed in SBC circles now, I believe that the idea of Replacement theology (i.e. the NT church taking the place of corporate Israel) will have ramifications on God’s blessing of our nation and our churches. I believe that our nation has been blessed by God partly because we have blessed Israel. This support by our country and by our churches is waning, and I believe it is partly due to this errant doctrine.

SBC Today: What do you see as the greatest opportunities opening to the SBC?

Kevin Apperson: We, as Southern Baptists, have a great missionary force. We have great financial resources, comparably speaking, compared with other denominations and agencies. Most of all, we have the Truth. We have a right understanding that God loves people enough for Him to make a way for them to be saved through faith in His one and only Son by His substitutionary work on the cross.

SBC Today: As a church planter in a “pioneer” area for Southern Baptists, what are your thoughts about a possible SBC name change?

Kevin Apperson: All Baptist churches are Baptist voluntarily. We are Baptists because we believe in believer’s baptism, salvation by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus, and eternal security, as well as other distinctives. If a church currently believes that the name “Baptist” is an obstacle towards reaching their mission field, they are free to use some of the more generic titles like “community church “ or “Epic Church” or “New Life church”. Personally, I like for people to know that ours is a Baptist church. We try to be transparent. I believe that very, very few churches within the SBC have on their church signs or stationery that they are a member of the SBC. For that reason, along with others, I think a name change is of no practical significance in reaching the lost. If it is not obvious that a church is a part of the Southern Baptist Convention, how can the name be an obstacle? I think it is a tremendous waste of time and money. I can offer only my experience for nine years as proof, but the only people who have desired to know whether we are Southern Baptist are those who are looking for a KJV-only church. Nobody else cares! People want to know if we are a Christian church and if we use the Bible. This is my experience in a society of mostly un-churched people here in Vegas.

SBC Today: What is the key to being a faithful/effective/successful pastor?

Kevin Apperson: Wait for God’s calling before you go to a church or an area, and stay there until He is finished with you. Don’t leave because you are tired of the work, because others want you to leave (disgruntled members), because your church isn’t growing like you think it should, because you don’t have enough help, or because you are unappreciated. Serve the Lord and thank Him that you have not had to suffer imprisonment like our brothers in China, or martyrdom. In our tenth year here, I have seen many preachers come and go. It is hard for me to believe that God has called the typical pastor to remain only 1.5-2 years as the typical tenure of service. Godliness with contentment is great gain. Success as defined by God is different than success as defined by Man. God asks us to be faithful in using the gifts He has given us for His kingdom, while Man says “How many you runnin’?” Death to self-centered goals is what God calls us to, and this is a point of struggle for probably all of us.

SBC Today: Who are two or three of your “heroes in ministry”?

Kevin Apperson: My wife and I were both students of Paige and Dorothy Patterson during our time at SEBTS. I have a great amount of respect for what they have done and what they have personally sacrificed in doing so. We appreciate the clarity of their theological positions (you may disagree, but you will not misunderstand their positions), and their love for the Lord Jesus. I also appreciate the example and teaching of Pastor Bill Ricketts (Prince Ave Baptist, Athens, GA) and Pastor Bill Bowyer (Wake Cross Roads Baptist, Raleigh, NC) for their influence in my life during my days of academic training.

SBC Today: What is the toughest lesson you have learned in ministry?

Kevin Apperson: I have learned that preaching God’s Word will necessarily confront and often offend. If you aren’t prepared to face anger, hostility, or abandonment because of this, you will learn to do so, crumble under the opposition, or become a chameleon so that no one knows where you stand such that they cannot be offended. Some of the people in whom we have invested great time and energies have abandoned us. We have learned to focus on doing the right thing, the honorable thing, the thing that is pleasing to God, and we try not to look back. Ultimately, each of us will give an account for how we have lived. We cannot impose orthodoxy, conviction, or holiness onto another’s heart or conscience; but we can teach God’s truth without reservation and pray that the Holy Spirit may use it.

SBC Today: What is your approach to preaching?

Kevin Apperson: Generally I teach through books of the Bible. As my preaching professor used to say, when one does this, he will “scratch where the itch is.” This method of preaching also systematically addresses the issues that all humanity faces in a manner such that a person doesn’t feel like you are using the pulpit as “the bully-pit.” I try to use a lot of Scripture to explain Scripture so that the majority of our congregation who were not raised in Christian homes may learn that the Bible is consistent in its teachings.

SBC Today: What has your church done recently that God has really blessed?

Kevin Apperson: Our existence as a local church is a testimony to God’s provision. North Las Vegas Baptist began with 2 members, my wife and me. We began with services every Sunday morning in our home 2 weeks after we moved here, and had 3 evenings a week in which we ministered to children, teens, and adults, respectively. After a year, we were able to leave our “cozy” living room worship area to move to a small rental office space. We stayed here for a few years until another Baptist church disbanded and allowed us to assume the mortgage note on their property. If you had told me 10 years ago that it would be possible for our church to have a small building sitting on 4 acres of property in North Las Vegas, I would have been ecstatic, but this is how God has provided.

Apart from the stipend and health insurance that NAMB gave us for 2 years, our support has come from lots of seniors, family members, college friends, and people that God has allowed us to meet in various places. A few smaller churches with whom my wife and I have been associated in the past were able to help some, but due to their size and limited resources, not a great deal. Technically speaking, we had no mother church as a sponsor. God has chosen to meet our needs and allow us to continue in spite of what many would have said was foolhardy in not having enough support.

God has blessed us with a church that looks like our community in that we have African-American, Jamaican, Filipino, Hispanic and Caucasian ethnicities all represented on any given Sunday. We were advised early on to pick a target group in order to succeed, but we believed that all those who are living and breathing should become our target groupJ. God has allowed our church to be a melting pot of ethnicities and ages.

SBC Today: What are the most significant doctrinal issues that the church will struggle with in the next few decades?

Kevin Apperson: I believe that for the most part, we have the correct doctrine within our churches, but it is the application of the doctrine that poses the struggle.

I am afraid the church is already adopting the way of the world in its methodology and accommodation of sin. In the last couple of years we have seen an explosion of talks on human sexuality that I believe are very crass and unbefitting a Christian, much less a pastor. I have heard Christians speak of the sin of abstinence from alcohol. I have heard of the glorification of gratuitous violence through an appeal to manliness by some pastors in the sense of the enjoyment of watching men getting their faces bloodied and bashed in while participating in the Ultimate Fighting “sport.” Instead of the Roman coliseum, we now have the octagon. We cannot endorse sin and ask God’s blessing on our ministries. I am afraid that a desire for growth has come at the expense of a call to set apart, sanctified, holy living. If the SBC churches desire growth at the expense of purity, then I do not believe that God will continue to bless us as He has.

SBC Today: How do you balance ministry and family responsibilities?

Kevin Apperson: In a new church start with mostly new Christians or lost people, finding reliable helpers is a constant challenge. I am, for the most part, the church fix-it man, which allows the church to save money on repairs that come up. I try to take my kids with me as many times as I can in pastoral visits or work on the church property. We, as a family, try to make trips to the nursing homes and to visit the seniors when we can. Being bi-vocational is challenging in the family arena, and we are still a work in progress as far as finding that right amount of time to devote to our family exclusively.

SBC Today: What do you do for fun?

Kevin Apperson: Corny jokes, playing with my kids, and going by the gym every day and even stopping in once or twice a week :).

SBC Today: Anything else you would like to tell us about?

My Life Verse is Galatians 6:9 – “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”

Wade Rials has been the Senior Pastor of Thorington Road Baptist Church in Montgomery Alabama since 2008. He earned a bachelor degree from the University of Mobile and his MDiv from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. You also can follow his blog at Wade’s Thoughts.

SBC Today: What do you think are the greatest challenges confronting the SBC?

Wade Rials: As a convention, we are divided, fractured, and splintered. If Calvinism is mentioned, an alarm is sounded and we all stand to attention, pick sides, and take up arms. It is not my responsibility to determine what makes a good “Southern Baptist,” but the issue itself is not going away. It seems that there is a lack of clarity over what defines us. The great question that I see on our horizon is the unequivocal need to articulate clearly who we are.

This articulation will allow us to define expectations. Questions such as, can we (are we willing), as Southern Baptists to unite under an umbrella that includes a wide spectrum of systematic theologies? If so, how big is the umbrella? Is there a percentage expected to be given to the Cooperative Program? What role should the Cooperative Program play? Should denomination leaders pass a “litmus” test in order to serve? This process will bring pain, but currently we are going through the motions carrying on as if all is kosher, holding bitterness and resentment towards others. Rather than deal with our differences openly as gentlemen, we get in theological huddles and thank “God” we are enlightened. The conversations on the convention podium are nice and unifying but they do not correspond to the conversations in the hallways.

Quite honestly, our denominational politics has great similarity to the children’s game musical chairs; everyone wrestling to have a seat and not to be the proverbial last one standing and left out of the loop. Our churches, in many ways, are experiencing a Great Commission Resurgence. Unfortunately, on the denominational level it looks more like a Great Convention Restructuring than any type of resurgence. Now more than ever, we need a denominational statesman to emerge who has extraordinary leadership capacity. He must force us honestly to admit and converse on the issues before us.

Allow me to make a rather drastic statement; the divide between us may be too wide. One must admit that the visions for the future of the Southern Baptist Convention are drastically different within the various circles of influence. It is time for Southern Baptists to be honest and mature and acknowledge these differences. I pray that over the next few years, we can find an umbrella all Southern Baptist can agree to cooperate under. But if we can’t, then let’s shake hands as Christian gentlemen and go our separate ways. Let us not forget that our denomination is man-made and our God doesn’t need us to accomplish His will. We are privileged to cooperate together for the glory of our God!

Should we agree to a theological and practical umbrella then let’s get to work together to accomplish what God has placed before us. I have no idea how one would bring about a process to accomplish this objective, but we must have complete transparency and unity around a mission that is championed by all. This process must be grass roots driven from the bottom up rather than from the top down. It is my humble opinion that our denomination has been and will always be a grass roots movement and not one directed by the elite. Currently, we are damaging our witness and handcuffing our Kingdom potential. Rather than having a movement, we have an institution and quite honestly it’s an institution that no one is really happy with. My greatest concern is that more young leaders are going to lose trust in our convention and leadership, resulting in a slow but intentional pulling away from denominational life. The characteristics of this practical break are twofold; first, leaders will shy away from the denomination, choosing to focus only on their local church and individual partnerships. One can see this already in the attendance to denominational meetings at both the state and national level. Secondly, leaders will direct their churches to reallocate money currently given to the Cooperative Program. This will result in a slow death for the Southern Baptist Convention.

SBC Today: What do you see as the greatest opportunities opening to the SBC?

Wade Rials: We are living in an epoch where there is openness to the Bible. There is a hunger for the Word of God and this hunger brings great possibility. The future of the Southern Baptist Convention will be determined by our pulpits. I believe with all my heart that if we regain a belief in the authoritative Word of God and create passionate and powerful pulpits that expose congregants to the truth of the text, then revival will follow. God will do exactly what he said he would do. He will bring life! Now more than ever, we are famished for the Bible and illiterate of its truth. When we preachers proclaim its eternal and majestic precepts leading to genuine holy living among believers we will shine forth light in a culture of darkness.

I also think that social networking has created a brand new avenue for the gospel. I anticipate the next generation of leaders will tap into this resource and create powerful methods of using social media to spread the love of Christ.

SBC Today: What are your thoughts about a possible SBC name change?

Wade Rials: Wow! As I ponder this dilemma I am reminded of a story told about Marie Antoinette during the French Revolution. While her country was going through a great famine and struggling to find food, the question was given to Marie as to what to do. She responded, “Qu’ils mangent de la brioche” or in English “Let them eat cake”. She was completely oblivious to the situation surrounding her.

I recognize that by making this parallel I set myself up to be kindling for the blogosphere’s fire, but I feel we are in a somewhat similar circumstance as a convention. The culture around us has become post-Christian. Our churches have lost the Bible as the inspired, inerrant, infallible, authoritative Word of God. Our people have a pagan worldview colored and “christianized” by a couple of nice sermonettes. Our pastor’s no longer understand their prophetic role, choosing to be culturally relevant and accepted rather than Biblically faithful. The hip churches that are looked upon as bastions of success are known for putting a bed on top of a building, or cussing in the pulpit, or blatantly saying that they choose to focus on “positive” aspects of God rather than “negative aspects such as judgment and condemnation.” In the midst of this madness we are fighting about a name change! We can pay marketing gurus vast amounts of money to pitch a name that will be well perceived, but what is so desperately needed today is not that we be “better perceived” by a depraved culture, but better received by a Holy God.

Let’s be honest, our impuissance in sharing the Gospel has nothing to do with our brand and everything to do with our heart. We need the Spirit of God to move on our churches and bring a renewed emphasis on the authoritative Word of God. The Sprit of God moving through the Word of God will result in sold out, surrendered, missional living. This new perspective will allow us to see the world through the mind of Christ, with hearts broken for their salvation. Anything less is, to quote Shakespeare, “much ado about nothing.” We need revival. In my humble opinion, a name change is inconsequential if Christ has removed his lampstand.

SBC Today: What is the key to being a faithful/effective/successful pastor?

Wade Rials: Honestly I have no idea what I am doing. Biblically, my call is to be a faithful preacher of God’s Word. I am just thankful that God doesn’t give me a progress report or annual evaluation. It would not be pretty. I also think it is imperative that one be a lifelong learner.

It is a common joke around Thorington Road that I really knew what I was doing before I got here. There is value in that. I have seen our ministries grow and expand as I have been willing to grow and expand. Honest criticism and accountability are vital for that. A successful pastor will have people around him that tell him the truth. Unfortunately, I see far too many young pastors make the mistake of Rehoboam in that we place people around us that tell us what we want to hear and inflate our egos. Although painful, I have grown to I appreciate those in my life that care enough for me to warn me of dangers and pitfalls.

Ultimately, an old preacher in a small, rural, country church once told me that a great pastor simply loves his people. Everything else is mute unless we as pastors love our people.

SBC Today: What is one key mistake that you see pastors and/or church staff members making that causes them problems in their churches?

Wade Rials: I can’t speak for anyone else, but my mistake(s) seemingly always stem from my independence from God’s Spirit and his control. I daily struggle to surrender my will and desires to his authority. Ministry can become easy when things are smooth and that ease makes us/me think that success is based on my abilities, intellect, and charisma. It is in these moments I am most vulnerable to the nature that wars within my soul. I am a recovering narcissist who often believes that the cosmos was created to entertain me. Humility is a trait that God is branding into me. My use of branding is representative of the farming community I grew up in and cattle branding that I witnessed. The process hurts and leaves scars. Constant dependence on the Spirit of God is the remedy for my pride. It is this area that I have much growth left to attain.

SBC Today: Who are two or three of your “heroes in ministry”?

Wade Rials: As a young(er) man, many of my heroes were the hip, cool, and trendy leaders that spike their hair, wear cool clothes, and say radical things with shock value. As I have matured, this view has changed drastically. The men that I admire are those men with staying power; Men who have been faithful to the Word of God and passionately served King Jesus. Technology has allowed me to feed on the preaching of men from the past such as Vance Havner, R.G. Lee, W.A. Criswell, Richard Owen Roberts, Leonard Ravenhill, Adrian Rogers, and many others. These men are role models for me in the way they handled the Word of God and preached it with what the former generation called “unction.”

One of the greatest blessings that God has placed in my life is godly men who have invested in me. Three specific men have poured their life into mine and the fruit born from those investments are of priceless value. My home pastor Randy Kuhn saw something in me and chose to see beyond my immaturity and personal failures and taught me to love and cherish the Word of God. Dr. Jim Bryant, a college professor, walked with me as my theology developed and put up with some serious theological flaws and continued to show me a better way. In recent years, Dr. Rick Lance has influenced me to become a better leader; his example of statesmanship and grace through a difficult season has been monumental in my evolution as a leader. I would consider these men to be heroes as well.

SBC Today: What is the toughest lesson you have learned in ministry?

Wade Rials: There have been so many I don’t know where to start. Candidly, the toughest lesson I have learned is an ongoing lesson. I am my own worst enemy. During seasons of intimate fellowship with Jesus Christ, it seems that positive momentum is generated within our church. In contrast, in seasons where I am distracted and distanced from a powerful prayer life and close fellowship with Christ, the momentum and fellowship at our church suffers the consequences of my sin.

This realization has been fundamental in understanding what God desires from me as a pastor. I have been trained in multiple theories, ideologies, philosophies, and paradigms, but the influence that I have as a pastor is a direct repercussion of my personal holiness. Purity of heart leads to clarity and intimacy of fellowship with God. I am convinced that the most critical area of a pastor’s life is his personal holiness. This lesson is critical for me and one that I will continue to learn until the Lord returns.

SBC Today: What is your approach to preaching?

Wade Rials: Preaching is the passion of my life. For me preaching preparation is not a propositional checklist to work through. Preaching is life immersion into the text. Preaching flows from our fellowship with God through his Word. More important than our scholastic abilities, hermeneutical prowess, and homiletical articulation is the power of the Holy Spirit over our task. I am committed to expository preaching. I preach through entire books, but I do feel that at times one can be thematically expositional. Currently, I am preaching a series through the first two chapters of Act.

I was blessed to have the opportunity to be introduced to the biblical languages and I feel that any preacher truly desiring to grow as a good handler of God’s Word should discipline himself to learn the biblical languages if given the opportunity. It has made a tremendous impact on my ability to understand and process God’s Word. I begin in the original text. What is the context? Who is writing? Who is hearing? What are circumstances surrounding the production and reception of the text? What does this text mean? Is my interpretation consistent with the totality of the biblical text? What was the purpose of the text? How do I transition this truth into today’s language? What cultural parallels can be found to illustrate the truth? What modern story or illustration will allow my people to connect with this text? Finally, in light of God’s exposed truth, what does He expect us to do? What are the walking away points?

SBC Today: How do you help your congregation focus on missions?

Wade Rials: We do the traditional Southern Baptist things. We are still paying off Lottie Moon and Annie Armstrong. We have ministry connections from out of our church that we give financially towards. I have found it very important to put the faces of those we support in front of the congregation. With modern technology, we have so many resources at our disposal, so there is really no excuse not to put the mission in front of the people. People give to vision not programs. Therefore, it is critical to champion a mission minded worldview. We show successes.

Ultimately, only the Word of God transforming a heart through the power of the Holy Spirit can create a missionary culture. I consistently try to show from God’s Word His expectation for us to live as his ambassador’s in this world. We have a long way to go.

SBC Today: What are the most significant doctrinal issues that the church will struggle within the next few decades?

Wade Rials: I have been blessed to have the opportunity to spend time with many of our Southern Baptist greats who fought valiantly to honor the Word of God during the Conservative Resurgence of a few decades ago. We should be thankful for the soil they tilled to provide my generation an opportunity to serve a denomination where the integrity of God’s Word is upheld.

Saying that, I have become more and more convinced of a new battle for the Bible. In my humble opinion I believe the most important doctrinal issue in my era is the sufficiency and practical authority of God’s Word. Is the Bible all we need? Have we outgrown it? Are our churches built on the foundation of God’s Word? Do our churches allow the Word of God to have complete authority over the life of the church or are we using human methods to build great empires? In many cases evangelism has been replaced with marketing and the leading of the Holy Spirit has been replaced with demographic and socioeconomic surveys interpreted for us by pop-psychology. Ultimately, the question before us is whether or not the Bible is sufficient for everything and authoritative over everything. Do we treat it as authoritative or do we use it as a nice moral storybook from which we derive cute therapeutic devotionals. The answer to this question will determine the path of our churches, communities, and ultimately, I believe, our nation.

SBC Today: How do you balance ministry and family responsibilities?

Wade Rials: I’m still waiting for someone to write the authoritative book on this one. My wife is an Assistant Professor at a local university so her schedule is booked like mine and we have two wired full-octane little boys. I have always taken Friday off and it is known around our house as “Daddy Day.” It is so much fun! We play all day. My wife and I are striving to find a date night at least every two weeks. I know that every week would be ideal, but one thing that helps out is that we do everything as a family.

Another aspect that helps is that we have fought very hard to have a very simple church structure. My week is not filled with meetings. We have no Sunday night service and we try to load up one Sunday afternoon a month with meetings. This helps tremendously. At least three Sunday afternoons a month our family spends the afternoon together. We nap, watch TV, nap, and whatever the boys want to do. This time together is wonderful for us as a family.

As most things in my life, this area is one in which I need to continue to grow.

SBC Today: What do you do for fun?

Wade Rials: I am a homebody and don’t like to get out much. My favorite thing in the world is to have my wife and two boys hang out at the house while I read and watch football. For full disclosure, my boys like football as much if not more than me; my 20-month-old walks around the house pointing to the TV screaming “football!” I am really a boring person. Recently, I have gotten my oldest son (4 and a half) into watching Star Trek and Star Wars so I am passing on my geekiness to them.

SBC Today: What are your two or three favorite TV shows? Movies?

Wade Rials: Anything football, baseball, Sportscenter, Star Wars, Star Trek, and Swamp People.

SBC Today: Thanks, Wade. We appreciate younger pastors like you who are making a difference in the name of Christ.

Keven Newsome is a graduate student at the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, pursuing a Master of Arts in Theology. He is the author of supernatural thriller

SBC Today: How did you get into writing Christian fiction?

Keven Newsome: Fifth grade was a pivotal year for me, and looking back I can see how God was shaping me that year. That was the year I began my formal training in music, which is my first degree. It was the year I first put a pencil to paper to write a story. And it was also the year I gave my life to Christ. All the elements of what God had in store for my life came together that year.

Writing itself has been a journey and a process for me. Back in that fifth grade year my first attempt at a story was fantasy fan fiction based off a popular video game . . . complete with King James English, because after all that’s how they spoke in the game. My attention span wouldn’t suffer it. I took to drawing my stories instead. By junior high drawing stories wasn’t enough any more. There was too much to tell. I would tell these stories to my friends, and at some point I decided to write them down.

High school was when I became serious about writing. I wrote several short stories and began an awful fantasy novel full of teen angst and anachronistic dialogue. But something was nagging me. How could I do this for God? I gave up on that novel and went to college, discouraged with the direction of my writing. Thanks to the influence of a growing number of speculative Christian writers, I realized how I could make the stories I wanted to write glorify God. That’s when I began in earnest . . . learning the craft and writing constantly.

SBC Today: Would it be accurate to describe the genre of your writing as dark supernatural/paranormal Christian fiction? If not, how would you describe it?

Keven Newsome: That would certainly describe my style of writing, though the genre varies depending on the project. My style is a very edgy, intense, realistic portrayal of events. I want to write about life in all its grit and emotion. I’ve been called a Christian Horror writer by some, and I’m not opposed to that. I don’t do the slasher/bloody stuff … but life is horror. When life is portrayed properly, it comes out rather dark. Take a look inside the emotional state of most people, and you’ll see quiet despair, secret depression, and some very scary thoughts. The difference between my writing and the writing of secular writers of a similar nature is that I know where the Light is . . . and I make sure the Light pierces the darkness of the lives of my characters. By doing so, I hope to make the Light pierce through the darkness within my readers.

SBC Today: Are other supernaturalist authors like Anne Rice or Frank Peretti a model for you in any way in your fiction?

Keven Newsome: Anne Rice, not so much. I don’t go for the vampire thing. When I write about the supernatural, I want to write about it as biblically accurate as possible. Frank Peretti was a huge influence on me. During those first couple of years of college when I was searching for an answer to how I could write this sort of thing for God, a friend told me to read This Present Darkness. It opened my eyes to what a Christian could do with the darker side of writing. I have Lewis, Tolkien, and Robin McKinley to thank for my first love of fantasy, which I’m now getting a chance to return to. From a secular standpoint, Edgar Allen Poe was a big influence and some of the more psychological stuff from Stephen King. However, at this point in my career I’m learning to lean less on the influence of other authors and to develop my own unique style and voice. What you read from me won’t be like anything you’ve read from other authors. My publisher accuses me of not playing by the rules, and I’d like to keep it that way.

SBC Today: Describe Winter and your other writings that are available to the public.

Keven Newsome: Winter is the story of Winter Maessen, a Goth girl who is a new Christian. As she begins her freshman year of college she discovers she has the gift of prophecy. The story is told with two timelines. In the primary story, we see her adjusting to a new life in Christ and trying to figure out what her gift means. Her dark past and prophetic gift makes her uniquely qualified to take on a Satanic priest. In the secondary story, we see her first year of high school as she deals with the slow death of her mother and learning to live with her estranged father. Here we see her decline into the Goth subculture and experimentation with witchcraft. At the heart of Winter is the theme that no life is too broken to be used by God. All he requires is a willing vessel, not a perfect vessel.

Aquasynthesis is a short story anthology put together by my publisher. Within it I have three stories, one of which is a “deleted scene” from Winter. I also assisted with the narration story and my wife designed the cover.

Beginning January 2012, my novel Among Dragons will be serialized with monthly installments in Digital Dragon Magazine, after which they plan to publish it through their parent publishing arm. This is a fantasy story about a world plagued by dragons and two armies bent on mutual annihilation. The Creator gives a warning of fiery destruction. He sends three friends on impossible journeys to spread the warning and the message of the one hope to escape.

You can also find weekly(ish) articles on my website, ranging from life experiences to writing experiences to my theological research. www.KevenNewsome.com. Mind the E’s. And coming soon to YouTube . . . vlogging.

SBC Today: What additional book projects would you like to write?

Keven Newsome: My “to write” list is quite long. I think I have enough projects to keep me busy for at least the next twenty years, and that’s only if I don’t add to the list. In the next five or so years you can expect a few specific things from me.

Winter is a four book series. The second one is already written and in revision. We’re looking at an October 2012 release for it. The following two Winter books should come out in one and a half year increments after that . . . unless I get more time, God blesses me to be able to write full time, and/or my fans start beating down my door after the second book.

Among Dragons will be serialized starting January 2012 and will probably run in monthly installments for about two years. After that it will get a print release, maybe in 2014. Until then, though, you can catch each “episode” monthly at www.digitaldragonmagazine.net.

I also have a “secret project” I want to write, which is outlined and just begging for my attention. I’m very excited about it, as is most everyone I’ve pitched it to. At some point during all the other projects I’ve got, I want to write it too. Sooner rather than later. Look for it before the Winter series concludes.

That’s certainly enough projects to keep me very busy for at least five years. Beyond that, I’m not sure what I’ll work on. I’ll go to my list and see what shouts for my attention the loudest. I’d really like to do some sort of space/sci fi Christian horror. That idea has been marinating for a couple of months. Perhaps that’ll be next.

SBC Today: What are you trying to accomplish in writing Christian fiction? Do you attempt to embed a Christian message in it? Are you attempting to inform, inspire, entertain, or something else?

Keven Newsome: First and foremost, I want to write stories that God would be pleased with. Which means I want to be a good writer, excelling in the craft. Everything I write has a message in it. I have an entire approach to writing that’s built around developing the “take away” value of the story. But what I don’t want to do is cleverly disguise a sermon as fiction. That’s bad writing. Good writing doesn’t have to do that. Good writing can tell the story of a person in such a way that the message is portrayed rather than dumped into the text. Everything I write should also entertain the reader. Boring certainly isn’t a characteristic of good writing. With Winter I hope the reader will be inspired that God can use even them to do great things. But overall, I want to strive for excellence in this craft. Yes, I’m a Christian writer . . . but I don’t want to be a good Christian writer by just Christian writer standards. I want to be an excellent writer by anyone’s standards. I want a non-Christian to pick up one of my books and feel comfortable reading because it’s a good book, and maybe God will use the story to speak to them. Cleverly disguised sermons in Christian fiction are not as cleverly disguised as some might hope. Non-Christians see right through it and put the book down. It’s bad writing. Authors who do this wind up preaching to the choir. I don’t want to be that. I want to honor God with the very best and I want it to appeal to the largest audience.

SBC Today: Your recent book Winter deals with prophecy. How do you understand the New Testament teachings about the gift of prophecy?

Keven Newsome: The biggest thing people miss is that there is a difference between the gift of prophecy and being a prophet. I think the gift of prophecy is alive and well in every Christian church in the world. Prophecy happens from the pulpit every Sunday and most people don’t even realize it. How many times do people come up to their preachers and say something like, “How did you know what I was going through?” or, “That’s exactly what I needed to hear.” or, “I felt like you were preaching just to me.” That’s prophecy . . . speaking words of truth directly to someone without having the full knowledge of the truth behind the words. It’s God speaking through you to someone else. I don’t buy into all the future telling worldly definition of prophecy. That’s not strictly biblical. Sure there’s some instances of that, but it’s more the exception than the rule.

But what I’ve done in Winter is take an Old Testament view of prophecy. It’s more than just a spiritual gift, it’s an office. Old Testament prophets performed miracles, led armies, challenged kings, protected people, and delivered messages. I wanted to write a story that would show what an Old Testament prophet might look like today. I say that Winter has the gift of prophecy because it’s easy for the average person to understand. But she really is an Old Testament style prophetess. By the end of the four books she will become as great of a prophet as Elijah.

Perhaps you’ve seen the hole in this? Yes, the Bible tells us that Old Testament style prophets won’t return until the last days. You can rest assured that by the last Winter book there will be eschatological implications.

SBC Today: Who are your favorite authors and/or books?

Keven Newsome: My favorite books list includes Lord of the Rings, by Tolkien; Voyage of the Dawn Treader, by Lewis; Thr3e, by Dekker; This Present Darkness, by Peretti; Red, by Dekker; The Visitation, by Peretti; The Hero and the Crown, by Robin McKinley; Perelandra, by Lewis; Harry Potter; and Alpha Redemption, by my friend P.A. Baines. Favorite authors whose books didn’t make my top ten list would be: Robert Liperulo, Edgar Allen Poe, Ursula K. LeGuin, Michael Crichton, and my friends Kerry Neitz, Diane M. Graham, and Kat Heckenbach.

SBC Today: What is your favorite book of the Bible? Why?

Keven Newsome: It’s really difficult to pick a “favorite” book of the Bible. Every book is a favorite for different reasons. But if I had to pick one book that I enjoy reading and studying the most, it would have to be Genesis. Being a story teller I’m partial to narrative passages. In fact, my favorite preaching style is to take an instructional passage from the New Testament and pair it with a narrative passage from the Old Testament as a running illustration. It plays to my strength of teaching through story. There are so many rich stories full of insight in Genesis. I’ve taught through that book several times and each time I learn something new. I think it’s fascinating to see how people interacted with God before formal religion came into the picture. I like to think this is the way God would prefer it, but humans need religious structure so we don’t get distracted. The Garden of Eden presents to me a picture of what the New Jerusalem might be like, so it gives me something to look forward to. Genesis chapter 6 is so rich (and controversial) that I never tire of digging into the implications of what life might have been like at that time. I’ve even developed a couple of book ideas from it. There are aspects about God that you learn only in Genesis, and the entire gospel message can be seen woven within the lives of the patriarchs. It’s an amazingly rich book that I feel doesn’t get enough attention.

SBC Today: How does writing fiction fit into your sense of calling?  What other things are you doing in Kingdom service?

Keven Newsome: In a big way writing is to me an offering to God. I think writing is the closest a person can get to imitating God. Jesus often told stories to teach people about God and life. In the same way I want my stories to be a portrait of life as it truly is, and in the process I want to reveal to them who God truly is. God is also the Creator of the universe. His creations are not only functional and not only reveal His character, but they’re beautiful to enjoy. He created this world as much for our pleasure as His. Through writing I have the opportunity to shape worlds and create beauty. Using words I can create something wonderful and enjoyable in the mind of my reader. It’s the closest I can come to trying to imitate my Father, and hopefully through my efforts I can point others to see the true beauty and awesomeness of the real Creator. I can’t make a tree, but maybe the way I paint the description of a tree with words can make you have a whole new appreciation for the real thing. So writing is my offering . . . my sacrifice to God first. I want it to be the very best it can be, and I want to draw others to God at the same time.

Other than writing, I am currently serving as Associate Pastor at Lakeside Baptist Church in Metairie, LA. It’s not exactly a position I ever saw myself doing, but I don’t feel it’s my place to refuse God with anything. I have never, and still don’t, feel a calling to be a pastor. But as associate pastor I get to assist the pastor in ministry, and I get opportunities to preach.

I am also working on a Master of Arts in Theology at the New Orleans Baptist Seminary with a “transcript double” in Biblical Studies, after which I plan to pursue PhD work. I am much more comfortable in a teaching role than a pastoring role, so my work preparing to be a teacher is very important to me. In my research I am studying Supernatural Theology. This is a unique specialization that focuses on all things where the supernatural is supposed to have interacted with the natural. The areas of this include angelology and demonology, afterlife, special knowledge, miracles, and cults. Not only does this specialization play into my writing career, but I feel like it is one of the most neglected areas of study for Christians. Our beliefs are very supernatural beliefs. The Bible is a very supernatural book. And our society is obsessed with all things supernatural. You can’t find a single television station that doesn’t have at least one supernatural themed program. But for some reason, we neglect studying supernatural things. The world is seeking answers and we’re not giving them anything adequate. We’re so quick to throw the “demon card” at everything, that the world has dismissed our opinions completely. We’re wrong for that. We need to spend some quality time studying the supernatural and providing truth seekers with sound Biblical answers. That’s what I doing with my research.

Dr. Jerry Vines served as Pastor of the First Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida for 23 years, and was previous Pastor of Dauphin Way Baptist Church in Mobile, Alabama. He has served as President of the Southern Baptist Convention, and now continues to minister through Jerry Vines Ministries. He is known as one of the best expository preachers in America, and is co-author with Jim Shaddix of Power in the Pulpit: How to Prepare and Deliver Expository Sermons.

SBC Today: What do you think are the greatest challenges confronting the SBC?

Jerry Vines: Theologically, will the issue of Calvinism create further division in the SBC. I have been a SBC preacher over 50 years. I have worked quite well with my Calvinist friends, many of whom I invited to preach for me. I have no desire to run all Calvinists out of the SBC; I think it would be divisive and wrong. But, current attempts to move the SBC to a Calvinistic soteriology are divisive and wrong. As long as groups and individuals seek to force Calvinism upon others in the Convention, there will be problems. There is a form of Calvinism that is militant, hostile and aggressive that I strongly oppose. I have stated before, so it’s not new news, that should the SBC move toward five-point Calvinism it will be a move away from, not toward, the gospel. I agree with Dr. David Allen’s assessments at the end of his chapter on Limited Atonement in the book Whosoever Will.

Methodologically, will the SBC try to be like the world to reach the world, or realize the church has the most influence on the world when it is least like the world. I am just astonished and saddened at the Howard Stern approach I am seeing in some of our churches. Holiness and separation seem to be missing in many of our churches.

Denominationally, will the SBC return to the societal method of supporting its work or continue to work together cooperatively to do together what we cannot do separately.

SBC Today: What do you see as the greatest opportunities open to the SBC?

Jerry Vines: Preparing to reach the nations that are literally coming to our doorstep, utilizing the breathtaking advances in technology that allow us to touch the world with the gospel, and responding to the willingness of thousands of our committed young people who want to go to the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. I do not believe we will fulfill Matthew 24:14 in our age. That will be done during the Great Tribulation. But, we should certainly try to lessen the workload of the 144,000!

SBC Today: What are your thoughts about a possible SBC name change?

Jerry Vines: I’m not heated up about it. I do think it is part of an overall desire on the part of some to change everything that is connected with what Southern Baptists have been. I’m  not convinced it is the detriment to reaching the lost some think it is. My ministry has been limited in its location. But, in 50+ years of trying to win the lost I never witnessed by including the fact I was a Southern Baptist. It was just not germane to the task at hand. Nor have I ever had anyone I witnessed to ask me if I was a Southern Baptist. That may happen in other parts of America or the world. I just am not into all of the marketing/branding stuff, I guess. But, if you look at it that way, Southern Baptist is a brand known worldwide for its belief in the Bible, evangelistic thrust, and mission outreach. I think the view that people identify it with slavery and racism is pretty well worn out.

SBC Today: How do you go about sermon preparation?

Jerry Vines: That’s a question that requires a book response! I describe my sermon preparation in detail in the book Power in the Pulpit: How to Prepare and Deliver Expository Sermons.

SBC Today: What is your evaluation of contemporary preaching?

Jerry Vines: It’s a mixed bag. Those who denigrate exposition think they are smarter and more creative than God, I guess. That’s why there is a lot of silly stuff and some crude, unseemly stuff coming from some of our pulpits. But, on the other hand, I am thankful for the large number of young pastors who are giving themselves to book-by-book exposition of the Scriptures.

SBC Today: What is the key to being a faithful/effective/successful pastor?

Jerry Vines: I think it is maintaining a daily walk with God that stems from the quiet time, daily devotions or whatever you want to call: the time when you read the Bible and let God talk to you and pray and you talk to God. Don’t start your day without it.

SBC Today: What is one key mistake that you see pastors and/or church staff members making that causes them problems in their churches?

Jerry Vines: Trying to change everything at once. I plead guilty to that when I was young pastor. In one of my churches I changed so much, one old wag said I’d changed everything in the church except the signs on the bathroom doors! I could have used a little more wisdom. And common sense.

The pastor/staff member would be wise to prayerfully, carefully and slowly look at everything the church is or isn’t doing. Some things may need to be changed. But, you probably won’t know that for several months. If there is a fence and you don’t know its purpose, don’t just assume there isn’t one and tear it down. Find out what the fence is intended to accomplish. You might see it needs to stay.

SBC Today: Who are two or three of your “heroes in ministry”?

Jerry Vines: Some of my heroes are in heaven. W. A. Criswell; Adrian Rogers; Jerry Falwell; John Phillips. I look upon Billy Graham, Warren Wiersbe and O.S. Hawkins as heroes in the ministry to me. I have looked up to these men all of my life.

SBC Today: What is the toughest lesson you have learned in ministry?

Jerry Vines: There are so many it is hard to narrow it down to one! I guess this: things are never as good as you think they are; and they are never as bad as you think they are. Oh yes, and I learned early that I’m not God; I’m not even Assistant God.

SBC Today: What are the most significant doctrinal issues that the church will struggle with over the next few decades?

Jerry Vines: Whether or not the church will be guided by a biblical theology or a manmade theology. Baptists should be neither Calvinists nor Arminians. They should strive to be biblicists. I refuse any man-centered labels. I want to be known as a simple Bible believer, trying my best to believe, teach and live what the Bible says. As Southern Baptists, we must come together, not as Calvinists nor non-Calvinists, but as Baptists committed to obeying the Great Commission in a revival of evangelism and missions.

SBC Today: What do you do for fun?

Jerry Vines: Watch college football, especially the Alabama Crimson Tide. Make fun of my stuffy preacher buddies. Pick at my hero, O. S.

SBC Today: Anything else you would like to tell us about?

Jerry Vines: Yes. I am finding great joy in serving Jesus in my fourth quarter ministry. I have all of the pleasure and none of the pain. I am so happy I feel guilty I’m not unhappy more often! I enjoyed my 50 years as a pastor. But, I’m enjoying preaching all over the country, writing, counseling pastors and just fellowshipping with Jesus. Remember, in our fourth quarter, the game is already won, we are just putting points on the board, running up the score!

Note to our readers: Dr. Vines welcomes your comments, but does not plan to participate in the comment thread.

Dr. Hayes Wicker, has been in ministry for over 41 years and has served as senior pastor at First Baptist Church, Naples, Florida since 1992.  He earned a B.A degree from Grand Canyon University and the M.Div. and D.Min. degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has served as President of the Florida Baptist Convention.

SBC Today: What do you think are the greatest challenges confronting the SBC?

Hayes Wicker: We are dealing with what appears to be a “generation gorge” and not just a “gap.” Those who are younger and who tend to be more innovative must respect those who are proven leaders, while older traditionalists must honor those who love Jesus even though they may adopt different approaches to sharing the gospel.

Denominations tend to become institutionalized, then fossilized and no longer a dynamic, organic Body. Bureaucracy must not replace the local church. At the same time, we must be cooperative and recognize that we still have the most workable denomination in history. Leaders at all levels must not lose touch with the local church, listening to local ministers of churches of all sizes.

We need genuine revival and repentance. We must seek brokenness as we humble ourselves before the Lord, admitting our pride and tendency toward self-sufficiency. Prayer must become a new priority.

As I was meditating on God’s unique message to pastors in 2 Timothy this morning, the Lord seemed to apply these principles to the SBC:

• We need a new sense of urgency concerning “the last days,” realizing that we must swim against the current of the world (2 Timothy 3:1-5) and return to teaching eschatology.
• We must not in any way dilute “the Word of Truth” (2 Timothy 2:15) but “guard God’s treasure” of doctrinal truth and “sound doctrine” (2 Timothy 1:14; 4:3).
• We should resist being “entangled” in the current world system (2 Timothy 2:4).
• Local church pastors must recover preaching and teaching of the Word of God, not seeing this as old fashioned or irrelevant. There must be recommitment to expository preaching which takes seriously God’s inspired Word (2 Timothy 3:16, 17), seeing each text as a wellspring and not a springboard.
• Pastors and church leaders must toughen up and man up as we “endure hardship” (2 Timothy 4:5). We are called to be warriors, not wimps. Things will get worse.
• Each of us need to “do the work of an evangelist” (2 Timothy 4:5). I am deeply concerned that we are losing the emphasis on personal evangelism and the training and reproduction of soul-winners. The Pastor must set the pace as a personal evangelist.

SBC Today: What do you see as the greatest opportunities opening to the SBC?

Hayes Wicker: We have great opportunities in the current national and international climate to offer hope to the hopeless, to shine as spiritual lighthouses in a stormy world and brilliant diamonds against dark velvet. Southern Baptists can bring a balanced perspective to the moral and ethical issues of the day if we are willing to confront cultural evil, be courageous in our pulpits, and prudent and wise when approaching sensitive political issues. People are crying out for authentic voices of authority.

I am excited about the forward-thinking, missional leadership in our Convention, as we give new impetus to church-planting here and abroad. God is mightily bringing thousands to Himself in the 10/40 Window. We need more missionaries and better funding, but I am thrilled that we have a younger generation who are willing to sacrifice for the sake of the kingdom. They are not as status-driven and things-oriented as my boomer bunch.

We also have tremendous opportunities to offer diverse kinds of ministries in our churches, which meet various needs of people when built on a solid, biblical foundation. Americans and Europeans are particularly facing up to the emptiness of political hype and seeing the dead-end of the “American dream.”

SBC Today: What are your thoughts about a possible SBC name change?

Hayes Wicker: Since I have ministered outside “the Bible Belt” most of my ministry, I see a name change as a positive step. We are definitely in a secular culture here in Naples, Florida, with most of our people coming from the north.  I sometimes humorously hope that we will not erect a tombstone, with a convention named “The Gone South Baptist Convention!”

Our Study Committee has some of the brightest and most creative minds in the country. But the name is only a label and a brand unless there is substance and a consistent testimony. Thousands of “Yankees” come to our First Baptist Church because of God’s work here.

SBC Today: What are some great things that are happening in your church?

Hayes Wicker: We have made great strides in continual growth over the years of our Bible Study program, our discipleship groups, our worship attendance, and our ministries. God has allowed us to grow from less than a thousand members in 1992 to right under 9,000 currently and to see an increase in worship from around 400 to over 4,000 during “Season.” We have seen gradual but steady growth in our “Bible & Life Groups” from around 400 to well over 2,000. Our people are discovering that the church shrinks when they get involved in a shepherding group and discover their own unique ministry. We have seen over a hundred ministries develop and flourish, allowing people to hear from God and discover their own niche. I have never seen a sweeter spirit of unity than in our church.

A Christian school, which encompasses kindergarten through high school, has experienced remarkable growth and continues to be a vital arm of our church. We thank God that our second phase building expansion of $30 million has been whittled down to around $8 million, with people sacrificially giving even during the recession in one of the hardest hit areas of the nation.

SBC Today: What is the key to being a faithful/effective/successful pastor?

Hayes Wicker: A pastor of a local church must absolutely do four things. He must live a godly life, faithfully preach the Word of God, lead the congregation, and care for his people. No matter how well he may counsel, administrate, or visit hospitals, he may be faithful but not truly successful in building a New Testament church.

God’s pastor must balance priorities of home, personal life, and ministry. I have always felt that growing the church but losing my children or wife is too high of a price and one that I am not willing to pay. One of my greatest joys, after 41 years of pastoring, is how my children are walking with the Lord and still love His church and ministry and their parents.

I am a firm believer that every pastor must be filled with the Holy Spirit and also experience God’s unique anointing on his ministry, that special touch which empowers him to bear much fruit. This is the key to doing the other important things.

SBC Today: What is one key mistake that you see pastors and/or church staff members making that causes them problems in their churches?

Hayes Wicker: I have made mistakes over the years and am continuing to learn. I can certainly say that I have “blown it” by ignoring at times that “still small voice” that warned me about the calling of certain staff members. We tend to believe the best about people and sometimes have difficulty getting honest references from previous ministries and genuine feedback in the church.

Always looking for “greener grass” and not shepherding in the pasture where God has put you will lead to discontent and erosion. If this happens, pastors or staff members will begin to look for reasons to leave rather than to stay. This is more than just “one key mistake.”

SBC Today: What were your earliest opportunities for preaching?

Hayes Wicker: I was called to vocational ministry the same night that I believed in Christ for salvation. I preached in my church in Phoenix and in rest homes, jails, and the Salvation Army. God opened the door for youth revivals, banquets, and retreats even while I was still a high school student. I was greatly blessed to pastor my first church as a junior and senior in college.

When I went to Southwestern Seminary, no doors opened that first year for a staff position. God laid it on my heart to begin a drive-in theater ministry of weekend evangelism. For a 1 ½ years I related movies to the gospel and gave an invitation in between double features at the Southside Twin Drive-in. A number of guys were mad at me for interrupting their dates in the cars, but God protected me and used the unsaved manager and owner to defend me. Jesus is Lord!

SBC Today: Who are two or three of your “heroes in ministry?”

Hayes Wicker: Dr. T. W. Hunt has been my great model of a godly prayer warrior who faithfully intercedes for us daily. Dr. Roy Fish taught and modeled empowered evangelism and has greatly encouraged me. Dr. Adrian Rogers represented the total balance on a 10-talent pastor/leader/preacher. I have benefited greatly from the wise counsel, compassionate shepherding, and ministry-modeling of Dr. Jimmy Draper and Dr. Jim Henry. Dr. Ron Dunn modeled creative, expository preaching in a unique way for me in my early years. Dr. Paige Patterson has exemplified courageous conviction and believed in me even in tough times.

SBC Today: What is the toughest lesson you have learned in ministry?

Hayes Wicker: I have learned to try to balance aggressive, visionary leadership with patient waiting on the Lord’s timing. I have also learned the hard way that I must seek wise counsel from those who not only walk with the Lord but who know the situation best. I have learned that God’s “grace is sufficient” when I live within the sphere of His calling, not trying to overextend or underachieve.

SBC Today: What is your approach to preaching?

Hayes Wicker: I always seek to be an expository preacher, taking seriously the text, doing thorough exegesis, and giving a full explanation of all of the truths in a passage of Scripture. I preach through books of the Bible and also teach thematic subjects. For instance, in recent months I preached about 25 themes in the book of Proverbs, then each week on one of the Ten Commandments, and then key biblical passages in Eschatology. The series that I am currently involved in is entitled “A Tour Guide Through the End Times.” I will begin soon a verse-by-verse series through 1, 2, and 3 John, entitled “Being the Real Deal.”

On short prayer and study retreats I plan upcoming sermon series. I create a file folder for each message after determining the key themes. I seek to outline the passage of Scripture and collect illustrations and thoughts weeks in advance.

I dictate each message, which is typed by my wonderful administrative assistant in manuscript form. I learn that and deliver it with an extemporaneous approach. But “all is vain unless the Spirit of the Holy One comes down.”

SBC Today: How do you help your congregation focus on missions?

Hayes Wicker: We continue to focus on a variety of mission opportunities, calling our people to give, to go, and to pray. We significantly support the Cooperative Program in our budget giving and have numerous partnerships with other missionaries. We encourage every member to go on a mission trip at some point and usually have one to two teams out on the foreign field each month.

We highlight the mission trips by commissioning each team before they leave and also feature each week in our Mission’s Kiosk a different partner. We have resident missionaries living in mission homes. We created the Great Commission Connection two years ago, which involves hundreds of our people praying for and interfacing with International Mission Board missionaries, those with the North American Mission Board, the Florida Baptist Convention, and all of our seminaries. We have also created a special funding approach to supplement our Cooperative Program giving. We are prayerfully seeking to discover how we can best adopt more people groups, having already been involved in unique ways with the Pushtun people in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

SBC Today: What are some of the  most effective means of outreach at your church?

Hayes Wicker: We have seen God greatly bless our Discovery Dinners, which, on a quarterly basis, we use to bring prospects and new members for an evening together. I teach about our philosophy of ministry, present the gospel, and share about doctrine, missions, and stewardship. My Associate Pastor and I have found this incredibly effective for years and average 40-50% of decisions in any size group. We also see great effectiveness in a Pastor’s Reception time following the Worship services where people can come to me to make decisions for Christ or to pray with pastors and staff. We still are involved in Witnessing Training and visitation, even in what is primarily a gated community. We are seeking to train soul-winners and to personally confront people with the gospel. Most importantly, we encourage our people to share Christ in the normal traffic patterns of their lives.

SBC Today: What are the most significant doctrinal issues that the church will struggle with over the next few decades?

Hayes Wicker: As the church has struggled for centuries with these issues, we will continue to debate issues of reformed theology and Calvinism. We must continue to focus on biblical theology rather than man-oriented commentary. Charismatic extremes are also still very much an issue on the mission fields. We will struggle with a correct definition of “the gospel” and how we can faithfully present truth even though we might offend those who seek to be seeker-driven. We dare not water down the issues of sin, lostness, and the cross.

SBC Today:  How do you balance ministry and family responsibilities?

Hayes Wicker: I have sought to balance ministry and family responsibilities by giving my children total access to my study, by spending date nights with my wife, and calendaring time with my family. At times I tend to be out of balance with workaholic tendencies. I have a very patient and loving wife, who is as called to ministry as I am. I thank the Lord that all of my children are involved in ministry to some extent. Whenever I am in the country I call my wife daily. We also believe in the importance of eating meals together.

SBC Today: What do you do for fun?

Hayes Wicker: I love to play golf. I am blessed to be in what is often called “the golf capital.” I thoroughly enjoy doing anything with my wife and find my grandchildren to be the funniest people on the planet. I enjoy reading history “for fun,” plus walking on our beaches.

SBC Today: What are your two or three favorite TV shows? Movies?

Hayes Wicker: I prefer to watch football and basketball on TV, as well as the History Channel, and FOX News. I have always loved good Western movies and films that have an inspirational theme such as “Amazing Grace,” “Chariots of Fire,” and most recently, “War Horse.” Anything that is set in historical context I find interesting. I must confess a long attraction to action-adventure films like “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”

SBC Today:  Thanks, Hayes. We knew you in those early days when you were being faithful in smaller opportunities that had no acclaim – the youth detention center and the drive-in theater. We are confident that because you were faithful in these “little” things, God has given you the great opportunities for ministry that God has given you.

Dr. Rummage is the Senior Pastor of Bell Shoals Baptist Church in Brandon, Florida. He earned a Ph.D. in Preaching from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He has been a faculty member at both New Orleans Seminary and Southeastern Seminary. He co-authored Planning Your Preaching and Praying with Purpose with his wife Michele, and co-authored Engaging Exposition with Danny Akin and Bill Curtis. He also hosts a daily Bible teaching ministry that airs nationally on Sirius/XM radio.

SBC Today: What do you think are the greatest challenges and opportunities for the SBC?
Stephen Rummage: Our greatest challenge is that we continue to lose ground to the lostness that pervades our communities, our nation, and our world. I am very thankful that Southern Baptists have established where we stand on issues like the inerrancy of Scripture, the exclusivity of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, and the need for confrontational evangelism. These theological commitments must translate into practice in our collective work as a Convention to reach lost people for Christ. Otherwise, people all around us are just going to keep going to Hell while we congratulate ourselves on how orthodox we are. We have an incredible opportunity in this generation to reach people with the gospel of Jesus Christ. I don’t want to fail in meeting that opportunity.

SBC Today: What are your thoughts about a possible SBC name change?
Stephen Rummage: I place a high degree of trust in the people that Dr. Wright named to the task force to study the possibility of changing our name. I guess I’m like a lot of other people in that I have a kind of emotional attachment to our current name. However, I can understand the rationale for a name change, especially with respect to the first and last parts of our name. “Southern” fails to communicate adequately our actual reach and constituency. “Convention” seems antiquated. Being known as “Baptist,” however, is a non-negotiable as far as I’m concerned, because the word speaks of our theology and identity.

SBC Today: What is the key to being a faithful/effective/successful pastor?
Stephen Rummage: I believe that success as a pastor is found only by bringing pleasure to God. After all, He saved me. He called me. He gifted me. He placed me where I am serving. So, if I please Him, I have been effective and successful. His pleasure is the only true measure of my success. For that reason, my personal walk with God is first and foremost in my life and ministry.

SBC Today: What is one key mistake that you see pastors and/or church staff members making that causes them problems in their churches?
Stephen Rummage: The mistake I think ministers make most often is being impatient. Impatience can cause us to push for change when either the church is not ready or when we have not been at the church long enough to bring about the change. Impatience can also cause us to give up on a vision that God has given us or to exit prematurely from a place where God has called us. Since the fruit of the Spirit includes patience (Galatians 5:22), impatience must be a work of the flesh!

SBC Today: Who are two or three of your “heroes in ministry”?
Stephen Rummage: I have a lot of heroes. It’s hard just to name two or three. Dr. Adrian Rogers will always be a hero of the pulpit for me. In every regard – his delivery, the Christ-centered theology of his messages, his absolute dependence on Scripture, his warm-heartedness, his masterful use of language, his undaunted courage to stand for unpopular truths – I find his preaching to be exemplary. Dr. Jerry Vines is also a great hero. He has been one of my biggest influences in terms of how I outline and seek to explain the text. I read his books on sermon preparation and delivery during my first pastorate, thought to myself, “I want to do it like he does it,” and tried my best to follow his example. Dr. Paige Patterson – who was my boss for six years when I served on the faculty of Southeastern Seminary – has also been very influential. I watched him do two things that I try to remember: First, he hired people he trusted. Second, he trusted the people he hired. That sounds simple, but it can be pretty hard to do, and it makes a huge difference when you do it.

SBC Today: What is the toughest lesson you have learned in ministry?
Stephen Rummage: Learning to say, “no” to people. I like people to like me, and there’s always the temptation to say, “yes,” in order to appease or to gain approval. However, I’ve regretted saying “yes” enough that I don’t say it as easily anymore. I never want to say “no” to Jesus, but I often need to say “no” to church members – and staff members!

SBC Today: What is your approach to preaching?
Stephen Rummage: I’m an expositional preacher, so the beginning place for me is always the text of Scripture itself. I usually begin by diagramming the text to find its structure. Then, I make observations of the text, verse by verse, followed by asking questions about the word meanings, flow of thought, context, history, theological themes, and other issues. Next, I answer my questions by using the various tools in my library.

After I’ve wrestled with the text, I’m ready to identify the main idea of the passage. I work really hard to write a simple sentence that expresses the essence of the text. That sentence becomes the heart of my sermon. I outline the text with points that take me through the text’s structure and connect back to the main idea. I make sure those points are applicational in nature.

Next, I flesh out the message using explanation, illustration, and application for each point. I add an introduction that gets attention and directs the listener’s interest to the subject of my message and create a conclusion that calls for a faith response. Finally, I work hard to internalize the message so that I can preach it with minimal (preferably no) notes, which creates greater communication and rapport with the listener when I preach. All along the way, I’m praying for the anointing of the Holy Spirit and His insight so that He can use me to bring a life-changing word to those who hear.

SBC Today: How do you help your congregation focus on missions?
Stephen Rummage: For missions, Bell Shoals does an annual Global Outreach Celebration that usually brings in 30 or 40 missionary families from all over the world. The missionaries meet with our congregation and staff in small group settings and share what God is doing on the mission field. That approach has created a vibrant atmosphere of missions giving and involvement in our congregation. Last year, nearly 1,100 of our members were involved in some type of hands-on mission endeavor, including hundreds who took short-term mission journeys overseas. Nearly every week, we commission an outgoing mission team in our worship services.

Last year, we began a program that we call “Go Term,” which is designed to encourage and equip students to take a more extended mission journey – from three to nine months – either before, during, or after their college career. Our goal is to make doing this a normal part of the spiritual DNA for families in our church. When we do parent/infant dedication services, we present each child with a $100 voucher to be used when he or she does “Go Term.” We talk about “Go Term” at significant events of our students’ lives – when they enter first grade, when they enter high school, when they graduate. I’m praying for hundreds of our young people to be part of this in the coming years.

SBC Today: What are the most significant doctrinal issues that the church will struggle with in the next few decades?
Stephen Rummage: In the face of an increasingly decadent culture, I think evangelical churches are going to struggle with how and even whether to hold fast to biblical morality and truth. For instance, homosexuality has become normalized in our culture. When pastors preach that it is an abomination (Leviticus 18:22) and that those who practice it will not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9), we often are viewed as unloving, intolerant, and even un-Christlike, even when we proclaim redemption and restoration for all who turn from sin to Christ. Homosexuality is just one example. We could also include divorce, cohabitation, use of profanity, consumption of alcohol, and even drug use. I am grieved that some so-called evangelicals are already compromising biblical truth in order to accommodate cultural mores. I fear that this will increase. In fact, I know it will. It’s just one expression of the apostasy that will characterize the last days.

SBC Today: How do you balance ministry and family responsibilities?
Stephen Rummage: I am blessed to have married a woman who shares my calling into ministry, and we have brought up our son to love Jesus and to love the church. As a result, our whole family is involved with ministry. It’s just who we are. Even so, I guard my time with my family and try to be very intentional about my schedule. I’m a better pastor when I’m also a good dad and husband.

SBC Today: What do you do for fun?
Stephen Rummage: I love to read. I love to listen to music. I love to hang out with my wife and son. I usually take a consecutive 24-hour period each week when I don’t do “church stuff.” Taking regular time off gives me more energy, creativity, and joy when I am engaged in the work of the church.

SBC Today: What are your two or three favorite TV shows? Movies?
Stephen Rummage: I probably laugh out loud more at “The Andy Griffith Show” than anything else, even though I’ve seen most episodes more times than I can count. I think wholesome laughter is one of the greatest gifts God gives us. I enjoyed Secretariat recently, as well as Rise of the Planet of the Apes. I had no idea there were that many monkeys just waiting to take over San Francisco!

Dr. Robby Gallaty is Pastor of Brainerd Baptist Church in Chattanooga, TN. He earned an M. Div. in Expository Preaching and Ph.D. in Expository Preaching from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. His interest in discipleship led to his organizing Replicate Conferences. He is author of two works addressing discipleship, Creating an Atmosphere to Hear God Speak and Unashamed: Taking a Radical Stand for Christ.

SBC Today: What do you think are the greatest challenges confronting the SBC?
Robby Gallaty: The future effectiveness of the Southern Baptist Convention depends upon our obedience to the Lord’s Great Commission as local churches. One way to become more effective involves some transitional emphases at the mission sending SBC agencies, the IMB and NAMB, as well as the state conventions. The SBC has always been a “grassroots” convention with Baptistic doctrine emphasizing the local church. As a younger pastor it’s encouraging to see a concentrated emphasis shifting from the organization as a whole to the individual local church. One example is the area of missions where the churches are being challenged to adopt unreached, unengaged people groups. This year our church is adopting five unreached, unengaged people groups. The strategy will be for Brainerd Baptist Church to provide resources, both short and long term teams, and full-time families who will move to these areas. We plan to commit to do our part. Still, we will never fulfill the Great Commission unless we all work together. There is no room for building our own kingdoms, names, or ministries in this effort of obedience. We are called to build God’s kingdom, understanding that the sum total of all efforts in the local churches far surpasses what can be accomplished individually.

SBC Today: What do you see as the greatest opportunities opening to the SBC?
Robby Gallaty: As I have already mentioned, the empowerment of local churches to become the missions sending agency is an incredible opportunity. Empowering and mobilizing people in the local church cannot be underestimated. God has always and will always work through people. The Millennials (ages 20-29), as the largest generation since the Baby Boomers, are potentially an incredible resource to leverage to reach the nations. The younger generation along with the advent of technology—Twitter, Facebook, and Skype—offers an impactful amalgam to reach the world population now more than ever before. We are able to be creative in delivering the Gospel, without changing the message in taking the Gospel to another context, whether it be local or global.

SBC Today: What are your thoughts about a possible SBC name change?
Robby Gallaty: I think Lifeway Research’s findings provide valid reason for considering a name change. I found two statistics to be surprsing. First, over a third of Americans strongly agree that a SBC church is not for them. While, we don’t know all the factors involved, it is startling. Second, only 10% of Americans said that knowing a church is SBC would have a positive impact. If I owned a company that manufactured a product, which would change the lives of every person on the planet, and I heard that, unbeknownst to me, the name of the organization would preclude 33% of consumers from ever considering my product, I would not think twice about changing the name. I would understand that the mission of the organization, which is to change every person on the planet, is more important than my personal identity. We aren’t selling a product; we are sharing the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. If obstructions get in the way of our mission, we must consider the hindrance and take steps to resolve it.

SBC Today: What is the key to being a faithful and effective pastor?
Robby Gallaty: I have only been pastoring for 6 years, so I am still growing and learning as a pastor/leader. First, I believe that the greatest gift to my church is my personal holiness before the Lord. This includes my personal quiet time with God, prayer life, obedience, and times of fasting and solitude. I saw a definitive difference in my life 6 years ago when I started praying consistently with a prayer partner. I believe that every pastor should have someone they pray with multiple times a week.

Secondly, my effectiveness should be gauged by how faithfully I am equipping the saints for the work of ministry (Eph. 4:11-12). It is easy to fall into the trap of gauging success in the church based on buildings, bodies, and budgets. But, this mentality presents a problem. Jesus rarely, if every, gauged one’s effectiveness by these factors. During his ministry, he never had a building. In fact, one man desired to follow him, and Jesus responded, “Foxes have holes, birds have nest, but the Son of Man does not have a place to lay his head” (Luke 9:58). The man is caught off guard by the response of Christ. Not only does Jesus not have a meeting place, he doesn’t have a place to lay his head.

Additionally, Jesus was not focused on drawing a large crowd. Although he spoke to the masses on a few occasions, he consistently departed to be with the twelve. After he ascended into heaven in Acts 1, there were only 120 disciples gathered together, praying for the Spirit to descend upon them. According to church growth standards, this number is nothing to write home about. Jesus spoke with authority, he raised the dead, he gave sight to the blind, he cured the sick, and at the end of his ministry, the church had only grown to 120 people. Hear me out, I am not discounted the work of our Lord. What I want us to consider is that Jesus was not interested in growing a mile wide and an inch deep. Jesus developed mature, faithful disciples.

Finally, the focus of Jesus’ ministry was not centered on finances. Think about whom he put in charge of the money. It was Judas, and we all know what happened to him. Jesus was interested in developing people. When I began pastoring Brainerd Baptist Church, I instituted a two-fold strategy: 1) I was committed to expositionally preaching the word of God. Because many churches have abandoned exegetical preaching of the word of God, I trusted that people would be transformed through this type of preaching; and 2) I committed to discipling the people we who were already in attendance. Instead of using people to invite people to fill up the church with undiscipled disciples, I fostered an environment where discipleship was the norm. Ultimately, the goal for our people is to develop into mature disciples of Christ through accountable relationships in order to replicate Christ like followers.

SBC Today: What is the one thing that has made the difference at your church since you have been there?
Robby Gallaty: I created a pastoral leadership team of 6. These men meet in my office every Monday for three to four hours to pray, discuss, and evaluate three areas of ministry in the life of the church: 1) Spiritual Impact and Teaching, 2) Pastoring and Shepherding, and 3) Overseeing and Administrating. Since I am not the only person in church that hears from God, these men provide valuable wisdom for me. In addition to direction and understanding, they are a sounding board for ideas. An idea is sometimes shaped for weeks or months before it makes it to the staff and volunteer ministry teams and finally to the congregation.

SBC Today: Some may not know your dramatic salvation story. Share your testimony with us.
Robby Gallaty:  I was raised in New Orleans, Louisiana in a religious home. I knew of God through Catholicism but unfortunately never had a relationship with Him. After graduating from William Carey College in Hattiesburg, MS, I moved back to New Orleans to start my own business. At this time, I began learning Brazilian Jiu-jitsu in order to compete in Mixed Martial Arts events. I took a bouncer job at a night club in New Orleans in order to help pay the bills. Coming home one night from work, an 18-wheeler going 65 miles per hour rear-ended my car. The doctors sent me home from the hospital with four things: Oxycontin, Valium, Soma, and Percocet. The medications soon took hold of my life and in addition to consuming drugs, I began selling them. Between the years 1999-2003, eight of my close friends died and six were arrested. I began to cry out to the Lord for help.

On November 12, 2002, Jesus Christ met me in my room. A twenty-four hour experience would change my life forever. I was called to be not only a disciple of Jesus but also a spokesperson for Him. The following January I enrolled at the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary to pursue a degree in Expository Preaching, and I met my wife, Kandi, two months later. We were living in Chalmette, Louisiana when Hurricane Katrina hit. Our house was completely flooded with 8 feet of water.  Our family lost everything as well. My childhood home had 12 feet of water and my sister’s house was inundated with 15 feet of water.

After losing everything, a friend, Rob Wilton, encouraged me to move to South Carolina to serve on staff at his father’s church. Under the leadership of Dr. Don Wilton, First Baptist Spartanburg provided needed support and assistance for us. They provided not only employment, but also a home, clothes, food, and pastoral experience. During this time, I sensed the Lord leading him to pastor a church. After returning to Louisiana, I was called to Immanuel Baptist Church in Morgan City, LA. We witnessed an increase in worship attendance there from 65 to over 300. Then we were called to Brainerd Baptist Church in Chattanooga in 2008.

SBC Today: Who are two or three of your “heroes in ministry”?
Robby Gallaty: The three guys that have impacted me are still alive. Each has created a passion in my life for a different area of ministry. After coming off of a three-year addiction to drugs, I stumbled upon Edgewater Baptist church where Jim Shaddix was the pastor. Shaddix, who is currently the pastor of Riverside Baptist Church in Denver, modeled expositional preaching every single week. For the first time, the Bible came alive to me.

Another person that has been instrumental in my life is David Platt, pastor of the Church at Brookhills in Birmingham. Six months after coming to Christ, David invited me to meet with him over lunch to study the Bible, memorize Scripture, and pray. It was during that period of my life that the Lord fostered in me a heart for the nations. David encouraged me to start seminary at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. After starting seminary in January of 2004, I met with David twice a week to pray and study the Word, and eventually became his personal assistant in 2005.

Lastly, Tim Lafleur, former BCM Director of Nicholls State University, built in me a passion for disciplemaking. Tim invited me to spend a summer with him in Glorieta, NM as Camp Pastor of Highpoint. For three straight months, we talked theology from morning to night. When I returned home, I was not the same person who went there. As a result of the investment of these three men, I am committed to the expositional preaching, disciplemaking, and missions.

SBC Today: What is your approach to preaching?
Robby Gallaty: I believe the most effective and reliable way to preach the Word is through expository preaching. Paul gave Timothy a challenge in his final letter: “I charge you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus who will Judge the Living and the Dead and by His Appearing and By His kingdom, Preach the Word” (2 Tim. 4:1).

What is an Expository Preaching? It clarifies that which is unclear. It uncovers truths of the text which lay hidden through casual reading. The goal of the expositor is to take the Authors Intended Meaning (A.I.M.) of a particular passage of Scripture and through exegesis, hermeneutics, and homiletics share these truths through spoken word. Power in the pulpit comes from presenting God’s Word to God’s people. Haddon Robinson said, “Not all passionate pleading from the pulpit, however, has divine authority. While a preacher must be a “herald”—he must herald the Word. Anything less cannot legitimately be called “preaching.”

Certain presuppositions are fundamental to the expository message: (1) Scripture is the Word of God (2 Tim 3:16-17), (2) Scripture is inerrant, (3) Scripture is infallible; and (4) Scripture is sufficient. I love what Martin Luther, the great German Reformer, said about his own preaching:  “I simply taught, preached, and wrote God’s Word: otherwise I did nothing…The Word did it all.”  The job of the expository preacher is not merely to talk about what God said in the text, it is not merely to describe what happened in the Biblical narrative, but to actually declare before the people, “Thus saith the Lord.”

SBC Today: How do you help your congregation focus on missions?
Robby Gallaty: We have adopted a three-fold strategy at Brainerd Baptist Church. We provide our people with opportunities to participate in local and global mission trips. Additionally, we partner with missionaries abroad developing indigenous churches in regions of unengaged and unreached people groups. As I have already mentioned, this year we are adopting five unreached, unengaged people groups. Finally, we create an awareness of Missions by allowing the team members to share a testimony of what God did in their life. Our mission statement is: Deliver, Disciple, Deploy.

SBC Today: How do you balance ministry and family responsibilities?
Robby Gallaty: This is an area I am constantly working on. I just graduated in December with my PhD from NOBTS, so there were three areas vying for my time: family, church, and school. My wife has been very supportive while completing my degree while pastoring. I honestly do not know how I finished the degree with the demands of the church. God has been gracious to me over the last few years.  Prayerfully, I am moving into a new stage of life, so there should be more balance in my life. Overall, my family comes first, and whenever they don’t, my wife has an open door to remind me.

SBC Today: What do you do for fun?
Robby Gallaty: I like to read. After switching from hardback books to reading on the IPad last year, I find that I can read faster for some reason. Now every book I purchase is on the IPad in a digital version. This helps when I travel as I am reading multiple books at one time. When I can find the time, I enjoy playing the guitar. I also love to play golf. It develops hand eye coordination and cultivates humility at the same time. I work out four days a week. Not only is this a stress relief for me, it also provides a venue for developing relationships with unbelievers.

SBC Today: What are your two or three favorite TV shows? Movies?
Robby Gallaty:  I enjoy watching the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Years ago, I studied Mixed Martial Arts, specifically Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, aspiring to fight in the UFC one day. A car accident ended that desire. Since I cannot train anymore, I enjoy watching the fights. Over the years, I have used the fights as an outreach to share the gospel with guys who wouldn’t otherwise attend church. Drug addicts, fighters, and even a professing Mormon have come to my house to watch a fight.

SBC Today: Thanks for the interview, Robby. We appreciate so much your commitment to expository preaching, and the dual focus on  evangelism and discipleship that you have exemplified. We are excited to see what God is going to do through you in the days to come!