LOUISVILLE, Ky.—Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee stole the stage during the Monday afternoon session of the Pastors Conference—in more ways than one.

With a bass guitar in one hand and a Bible in the other, Huckabee, the former presidential candidate and host of Fox News network’s “Huckabee,” challenged pastors to refocus on biblical roles of leadership, both in the family and the church.

“How can we expect God to bless a nation if we violate his order that he created male and female and we get confused what marriage means. … Hear my heart, people have a right to live any way they want, but no one has a right to change the basic definition of marriage, because it’s not changing social instruction. It’s changing the entire picture of Christ and his church.”

Mike Huckabee, former Republican presidential candidate and host of “Huckabee” on the Fox News Channel, speaks June 22 at the afternoon session of the 2009 Southern Baptist Pastors’ Conference. (BP Photo by Kent Harville)

Preaching from Acts 1:4–8, Luter asked pastors how important the Spirit was to their life and ministry.

“These plain, ordinary men and women (in Acts) had the reputation of turning the world upside down,” he said. “Oh my brothers and sisters, if we wait on what God has for us, we could change the way things are going in our neighborhoods and nation.”

Michael Catt, senior pastor of Sherwood Baptist Church, Albany, Ga., also encouraged Southern Baptists to take advantage of opportunities God provides.

“Paul rebuked the Corinthian church for using their gifts as toys to play with and weapons to fight with,” he said. “We need to figure out how we can learn from one another.”

“Rather than living like a unified people empowered by the gospel, we follow props, gimmicks and methodologies,” he said. But unity “must be built around a person—the person of Jesus Christ.”

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