March 10, 1999
'Let Jesus motivate you,'
Panhandle pastors told
___By Toby Druin
___Editor Emeritus
___PLAINVIEW--Motivation for claiming Texas for Christ should come from Jesus, speakers urged at the 78th Panhandle Pastors' and Laymen's Conference at Wayland Baptist University Feb. 15-16.
___Theme of the conference was "His Witnesses to Texas and Beyond." A consistent thread running through messages andtestimonies was that Jesus-- who he is and what he did-- should provide the motivation and impetus for Christians to share the gospel.
OFFICERS for the 2000 Panhandle Pastors' and Laymen's Conference are Vice President Bob Moody, layman, First Baptist Church of Lubbock; President Kenneth Flowers, pastor of First Baptist Church of Brownfield; President-elect Charles Price, pastor of First Baptist Church of Canyon; and Secretary-treasurer Charles Bassett, special assistant to the president of Wayland Baptist University.
___First century followers at first wanted to make Jesus a king, said Brian Harbour, pastor of First Baptist Church of Richardson and keynote speaker for the conference.
___"What conclusions (about Jesus) have you reached?" Harbour asked. "I think if we would spend enough time on what Jesus has done, we would conclude he is Lord of life, and if that is true, there is nothing else we can do than be faithful to him."
___In subsequent messages, Harbour noted that Jesus comes to Christians in the storms of life to remind his followers of who he is.
___After recognizing him as the Messiah, the woman at the well went back into the city and brought many people to him, he noted.
___"The disciples had just gone into the same city and brought only food to him," said Harbour. "Why didn't the disciples see the soul harvest?"
___Paul Powell, retired president of the Southern Baptist Annuity Board, urged participants to "be rekindled from above" in seeking to win Texas for Christ.
___Too many churches are satisfied with themselves, soft on sin and shut the Savior out, he said. Powell urged Texas Baptists to have a "holy dissatisfaction with ourselves," deal honestly with sin and "humbly welcome the Savior back in."
___"The problem with most of our churches," he said. "is they are half empty and fully satisfied. An awful lot of them are just trying to hold their own, and we weren't put here to hold our own. I tell you we can't be satisfied if we want God to do something with us."
___Powell challenged Christians to deal with the sin in their lives and in their churches.
___"The problem is we don't want to give up our sin," he said. "We cannot expect God to forgive our sin if we don't want to give it up."
___The way to build a strong church, Powell said, is to make a commitment to growth, provide strong leadership and fellowship, build it around the Sunday school, develop a multiple-option program and work hard.
___"We are people on mission," he said. "We don't have time to stand around and look at the scenery."
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