NOBTS Missions Week emphasizes reaching the nations
By Timothy Cockes, NOBTS
NEW ORLEANS — Missions Week at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (NOBTS) emphasized the need and the opportunity for students to reach the nations with the gospel.
Taking place March 24-28, the week featured a variety of guest speakers and events all focused on the importance of fulfilling the Great Commission, one of the seminary’s four pillars.
Greg Mathias, associate professor of global missions and director of the seminary’s Global Mission Center (GMC), opened chapel on Tuesday (March 25) by recapping two recent mission trips the GMC led during spring break (one to London and one to Mexico).
Mathias said the seminary’s reason for taking these two outreach trips is clear.
“It’s because of who we are; We want to fulfill His mission,” Mathias said. “That’s why we were established as a seminary. That’s who we’ve been, that’s who we are right now and, God willing, that’s who we will continue to be.
“That’s also why we have weeks like this. As you think about this week, I want to encourage you to not miss the opportunity to connect with the church planters, ministries and missionaries that are here on campus. This is a tremendous week not because we highlight missions during this one time of the year, but because we highlight what God is up to all the time and how we can be a part of it.”
Jamie Dew, president of NOBTS and Leavell College, asked students to consider their part to play in fulfilling the Great Commission.
“Throughout our whole history, we have really tried to focus on the Great Commission and urged people to consider what God is calling us to do towards the Great Commission,” Dew said.
“For some of you that means plane tickets and passports. For some of you it means quite literally moving yourself, your spouse and your family across the world to the nations. For some of you, you’re going to pastor churches, and I charge you to pastor and lead in such a way that you’re raising up a generation of people in your church that will go. Whatever it may be, my request to you this morning is that you would make the prayer of your heart: ‘God, how can I be a part of the Great Commission? What do You want me to do towards that end?’”
Events held throughout the week included: a night of prayer and praise at Pontilly Coffee; a missions expo featuring a variety of church planters, missionaries and ministry leaders; an outdoor movie night; and a next steps meeting led by representatives from the International Mission Board (IMB) and the North American Mission Board (NAMB).
The week’s guest chapel speakers were Vance Pitman, president of NAMB’s Send Network, and Paul Chitwood, president of the International Mission Board.
Pitman spoke on Tuesday about his passion for church planting and his desire for the younger generation to catch the same vision.
‘Pastoring Through Preaching’ theme of MBTS spring workshop
By Michaela Classen, MBTS
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — More than 100 pastors and ministry leaders from the region gathered at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (MBTS) on March 27 for the first on-campus preaching workshop from the Midwestern Institute for Preaching and Preachers.
Featuring speakers Robert Smith Jr., Jason K. Allen and H.B. Charles Jr., the workshop focused on the priority of Christ-centered preaching in the pastor’s call to shepherd the local church.
President Jason Allen shared the vision for the workshops to serve local churches and their pastors. “We consider it to be a precious stewardship not only the students we train but the churches we serve. And we consider it a double stewardship to serve those churches in our immediate proximity,” he said.
The workshop comprised three keynote sessions, a panel discussion with seasoned preachers and a group work session where participants had the opportunity to sharpen one another in sermon preparation.
The first session was led by Robert Smith Jr., distinguished professor of divinity at Beeson Divinity School, who focused on the preacher’s task to lead a congregation through a text to Christ.
Smith demonstrated this preaching objective with the example of Luke 24:30-36, where Jesus meets several disciples on the road after His resurrection and shows them how the Old Testament points to Him.
Smith showed how Jesus used the opportunity on the road to help His disciples see for themselves how the Old Testament Scriptures point to Him, thus stirring their affection for Him and their response to Him.
From this example, Smith offered preachers practical encouragement for persevering with their congregations through a text, such as asking good questions and listening to the text, for the goal of building up their congregations in maturity. Smith also noted that expounding the Old Testament and faithfully preaching the sufferings of Christ are essential components of leading people to Christ through Scripture.
Following Smith, Jason Allen led the second session, which addressed the work of studying to show oneself approved, drawing from 2 Timothy 2:15.
“Part and parcel with a ministry of the Word is a devotion to the study of the Word,” Allen said.
He gave several reasons why preachers must study, noting the dignity of God’s Word and the importance of handling it well; the biblical requirement that pastors be “able to teach;” the church’s need for clear and confident articulation of the truth in a confusing culture; and the preacher’s own self-respect and self-confidence in reflecting the living and active Word of God.
Allen then gave 16 practical recommendations for how to study God’s Word, including to start early, use good resources, be inquisitive of the text, be humble, be expositional, be authoritative and be Christ-centered.
The final session was given by H.B. Charles Jr., pastor-teacher at the Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church of Jacksonville and Orange Park, Florida. Charles highlighted the importance of growing and progressing as a preacher.
He encouraged participants to pursue seven characteristics of effective preaching: faithfulness to the text, purpose for the sermon, unity in the sermon elements, movement toward the goal, clarity in words, passion for the message, and liberty in the pulpit.
“That kind of preaching liberty is the overflow of a heart full of devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ,” Charles said, adding, “It is preaching to the glory of God.”
Charles reminded preachers that their preaching should seek to clearly and consistently communicate Scripture’s purpose. “It is not our preaching that makes the gospel work. It’s the gospel that makes our preaching work. So you want to be faithful to the text.”
Following the sessions, the three speakers were joined by Midwestern Seminary faculty members Jared Bumpers, assistant professor of preaching and evangelism, and Jared C. Wilson, assistant professor of pastoral ministry, to answer questions from workshop participants during a panel discussion.
The Midwestern Institute for Preaching and Preachers will host three workshops each fall and spring, including one on campus and two regionally. Upcoming workshops will be held on Sept. 8 in Oklahoma City; Sept. 9 in Wichita, Kansas; and Oct. 21 on Midwestern Seminary’s campus in Kansas City.
To learn more about the Midwestern Institute for Preaching and Preachers and to sign up for updates, click here.
