The New York Times link below highlights the retirement life of Marteen and Wiley Blankenship who are literally waist-deep in Southern Baptist disaster relief efforts. Following the tragic tornadoes that swept through the South, especially Alabama and Mississippi, Marteen and Wiley “grabbed their sleeping bags and sturdy shoes and headed out…”
This is what retirement should be about. Marteen and Wiley are stellar examples of what it means to no longer “punch a clock,” but still serve Jesus with faithfulness and fervor!
Praise God for the hard work of Marteen and Wiley and thousands of other Southern Baptist relief workers. May our convention continue to serve God’s world in such a way that when we proclaim the Gospel message, our lives have already set a stage of love and grace.
Read the NYT article here on SBC Disaster Relief Efforts
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Dr. Danny Akin is husband to Charolotte, father to Nathan, Jonathan, Paul, and Tim, “Grandaddy” to six grandchildren, a minister of the Gospel—and is the sixth president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Prior to returning to SEBTS as President, Dr. Akin served for eight years at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary where he served as Dean of the School of Theology and Senior Vice-President for Academic Administration.
In his 7 years as president at SEBTS, God has used Dr. Akin to inject a fresh vibrancy on Southeastern’s campus. The Great Commission is not merely a mantra at Southeastern, but is embodied by faculty, staff, students, and foremost by Dr. Akin, himself. He leads with rifle-shot precision, is approachable and accessible, loves his students with a pastor’s heart, and is wayward only in his inordinate love for Georgia football.
Baptist21 is deeply grateful for the leadership of Dr. Akin in our personal lives, at Southeastern, and in our Convention. Please welcome Dr. Danny Akin to the B21 Panel at the SBC2011 in Phoenix.
For a wealth of resources, including his recent talk at the Advance the Church Conference (How the Gospel Impacts our Ecclesiology) check out his website: DanielAkin.com
About the B21 Panel SBC2011:
When: June 14th, during the SBC lunch break (roughly 12pm-1pm)
Where: Phoenix Convention Center (PCC), West Building in Room 301A
What: A lunch panel discussion on Mission, the SBC, and more…
Who: Danny Akin, Kevin Ezell, Albert Mohler, John Piper, and David Platt
Registration Details:
- General Registration (April 26th – June 10th) – $15
Note: This $15 will include a lunch. We understand that $15 may seem high, but it is an average price at convention centers. We are not doing this to make money. In fact, we are attempting to raise money with sponsors to keep the cost at $15. Lunch in Phoenix downtown area will be costly, why not spend the time at a lunch listening to men like John Piper and David Platt talk about critical issues for the church. Thanks for considering this and we hope to see you there!!
As a north Mississippi native, I’ve long been burdened about the need for healthy, Christ-centered churches in my home town of Corinth, and the surrounding region. Indeed, there is a “church on every corner,” but though USA Today named MS the most religious state in the Union, it also boasts the highest teen pregnancies, highest illiteracy rate, greatest obesity, and is the poorest state in the US. AND…most Southern Baptists per capita.
Thankfully, however, God is at work in Mississippi as evidenced by the One8 Network.
Based out of Senatobia, MS “ONE8 is a cooperating network of churches in partnership with the MS Baptist Convention, focused on developing pastors and multiplying congregations. It is our firm conviction that we must embrace the call to plant churches in order to fulfill the Great Commission, and no one else is given that stewardship more than the local church. We seek to do this through shared financial resources, intentional relationships, accessible church-planting churches, and an approved system of planter assessment, training, and coaching.”
Learn more about One8 and how to get involved at their website, http://one8.org/. If you are serving in a church or thinking of church planting in MS, we encourage you to connect with One8.
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(Reflections on Prov 9:10)
If the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, is the fear of man the beginning of foolishness?
In my own attempt to live out the Gospel, I constantly fight the fear of man. I am reminded, however, that fear is fundamental to the Christian faith. Not the fear of man, of course, that centers around self, but the fear of the Lord that centers around God and His Gospel.
At the root of the fear of the Lord is a humility before almighty God that He is the Creator and we are His creation; He is in charge and we must obey. At the root of the fear of man is pride before almighty “me” and a need to defend oneself, saving face at all cost. Fear of the Lord evokes awe-filled wonder of God, even genuine fright, like that of the “undone” Isaiah. Fear of man stands in awe of the smart and the talented, and seeks to be made in their image. Fear of the Lord promotes right worship of our King positioning our heart to approach the throne of grace with boldness. Fear of man invites man worship wherein mere creatures become our idols and attemps to please them occupy the bulk of our time and energy.
It is foolishness to walk about crippled by what others think, and decide what to say by the impression it will make. The fear of man puffs up to the point that men are sure to wrap an arm around their wives during the closing prayer of corporate worship, but never lead in prayer at home, and blinds to the degree that moms will dress their daughters in the trendiest jeans and jewelry, but never consider adorning them with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit.
The fear of the Lord, however, is the starting place for a life of wisdom. It breeds humility, hard work, discernment, patience, perseverance, love for others, kindness, and joy. The fear of the Lord thinks first of others and how to serve them. The fear of man thinks first of self and plans how to sacrifice others to get ahead. The fear of the Lord recognizes the value of creation and remembers the sacrifice of Christ.
This is the way in which Christians are to walk. It is not the way that seems right to man, for that way leads to destruction. But rather, it is the way that leads to life–wisdom’s way. So, walk this way. And, where to begin? In the fear of the Lord.
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From, On The Incarnation
“The marvellous truth is, that being the Word, so far from being Himself contained by anything, He actually contained all things Himself. In creation He is present everywhere, yet is distinct in being from it; ordering, directing, giving life to all, containing all, yet is He Himself the Uncontained, existing solely in His Father.” 3.17
“But now that the Saviour has raised His body, death is no longer terrible, but all those who believe in Christ tread it underfoot as nothing, and prefer to die rather than to deny their faith in Christ, knowing full well that when they die they do not perish, but live indeed, and become incorruptible through the ressurection.” 5.27
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