BELLEVUE, Neb. (BP)–Kansas-Nebraska Baptists at their 62nd annual meeting were challenged to imitate Jesus and “tie on the apron of humility.”
Nearly 500 people attended the two-state convention’s Oct. 15-16 sessions at LifeSpring Church (formerly West Bellevue Church) in Bellevue, Neb., on the south edge of Omaha. Registered attendance included 334 messengers and 148 visitors.
Elected as officers of the Kansas-Nebraska Convention of Southern Baptists were: president, Steve Holdaway, pastor of the host church who previously had served two years as KNCSB vice president, and vice president, Ron Pracht, pastor of Olivet Baptist Church in Wichita, Kan. Recording secretary Bryan Jones, pastor of Tyler Road Baptist Church in Wichita, was re-elected.
Messengers also:
— approved the 2008 KNCSB budget of $5,468,358, a 1 percent increase from the 2007 budget. Cooperative Program receipts from Kansas-Nebraska Southern Baptist churches are anticipated to total $3,195,000, 32 percent of which will continue to be forwarded to Southern Baptist national and international missions and ministries.
— recognized longtime KNCSB campus ministers Brett Yohn and Bob Anderson for 35 years of service. Yohn leads Christian Challenge, the Southern Baptist ministry at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, while Anderson is head of Christian Challenge at Kansas State University in Manhattan. Also recognized was Terry McIlvain, who has served as KNCSB director of youth ministries 25 years.
Hance Dilbeck, the meeting’s Bible study leader, took an in-depth look at 1 Peter 5: 1-4. The passage is “Peter’s description of a local church minister,” said Dilbeck, senior pastor of Quail Springs Baptist Church in Oklahoma City. “We shepherd the flock of God. That is such a beautiful, powerful biblical job description.”
Dilbeck challenged pastors to be humble as Jesus was when He washed the disciples’ feet in John 13.
In 1 Peter 5:5, “clothe yourself with humility” means to “tie on the apron of humility,” Dilbeck noted, describing humility as the “fundamental Christian virtue.” It is “key to a right walk with God and with others.”
Pastors are “in the relationship business,” Dilbeck continued. “Humility is the oil of the machinery of the church,” regardless of the worship format it uses, he said.
Michael Catt, the convention’s keynote speaker, urged the crowd to ignore obstacles and see opportunities. Catt is pastor of Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Ga., which has a Christian film ministry known for its 2006 release “Facing the Giants.” Catt preached from Matthew 14, focusing on the feeding of the 5,000.
The 2008 KNCSB annual meeting will be Oct. 13-14 at Westside Family Church in Lenexa, Kan.
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Eva Wilson is associate editor of The Baptist Digest, newsjournal of the Kansas-Nebraska Convention of Southern Baptists.
