A total of 541 from both our Springdale and Pinnacle campuses traveled to Panama City, Florida last week for an awesome Student Beach Camp. Ken Freeman was our camp evangelist, and as usual, did a phenomenal job. There were a total of 78 professions of faith during the week, with 58 of those being baptized in the ocean.

I am so thankful for the leadership of Shawn Smith, Josh Wisdom, Chuck Butler, Matt Clough, and all those who assist them in ministering to our students. Matt Clough related a great story to me about one of our students who is going into 11th grade. He has been active in our Pinnacle Student Ministry for several years. Matt felt burdened for him at camp and pulled him aside and asked if he was saved. Another one of our leaders also talked to this student about his salvation. He told them both, no he wasn’t, and that he was not willing to give up what he would have to give up to be saved. His friends then became burdened for him and began praying for him. Over the next 24 hours, they prayed for him together…separately…and also over him. He had over eight people come and pray over him throughout that next day. He had many people expressing their concern for his life. Then the night after Matt first pulled him aside, he came to Matt saying they needed to talk, which they did and he prayed and gave his life to Jesus Christ! He said that he had asked God for a sign if he really needed to get saved, and it was after that everyone began to pray for and over him. That was an awesome God moment.

It is great to see our students become burdened for their friends. This story is also a testament to the power of prayer. Thank you, Church, for your generosity in giving scholarships to make it possible for so many young people to experience this life-changing week!

Enjoy these pictures of their week…

Yesterday was a fabulous day from start to finish! Starting with Summer Freedom Celebration at each campus and ending with our Baptism at the Crosses and Fireworks at the Crosses, it was a such a wonderful day!

Thousands attended each campus for Summer Freedom in the morning. We were so blessed by the worship ministries of each campus along with Vietnam Veteran and Hero Tim Lee. Tim brought a stirring message, giving his testimony and the result was that many people came to Christ at each campus. What a great morning of honoring America, those have served and are serving, and most importantly – sharing the Good New of Christ!

Last night at Pinnacle Hills was so exciting! People were everywhere, enjoying music, food, and fellowship. The fireworks that ended our evening were phenomenal – we will share pictures this week – but the absolute highlight was the baptism of 117 people! Thanks goes to all of our staff and volunteers who worked so hard to make this day possible.

God is so good.

Rising up in the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention this week was a Great Commission Resurgence. From the heartbeat of our President, Johnny Hunt, we have been asked to “Let it rise!” Without any doubt at all, with an overwhelming heart of support, these is a rising of the Great Commission in Southern Baptist life. There is a resurgence that is happening already.

A Great Commission Resurgence Task Force was named yesterday in our final days of meetings. This list of 18 leaders in Southern Baptist life have a huge task ahead of them. By God’s sovereign grace and will, the Lord has opened up the opportunity for me to serve on this task force. I am humbled by the request made of me by the President.

Through several conversations and Dr. Hunt asking me to serve as Chairman of this task force, I have submitted to do whatever God calls me to do with my life. Well, I cannot tell you on this late night of the last day of these meetings, how much I feel the necessity and burden of this has been laid upon me. I am truly overwhelmed with not only the request made of me by the Lord through Dr. Hunt, but overwhelmed by the task that lies before us.

This is a God moment for all of our churches to rally together to pray for this divine assignment that all of our convention of churches share – taking the gospel to the world. Over the next year, we will do everything we can to pray, study, listen, and act upon whatever God wants us to do with the responsibility laid upon us. The urgency is NOW.

Let it rise: Surely there are 5,000 Christians, part of Southern Baptist churches, who will pray daily for this Great Commission Task Force. I plead with all that I am, please, rise up to pray for us daily. We cannot do this without God. We must have God’s vision. We need you to pray for us. I need you to pray for me.

Let it rise!

An historic moment occurred yesterday at the Southern Baptist Convention. Even beyond the spiritual leadership and preaching by our dear President, Johnny Hunt, the convention empowered our President with at least a 95% vote to establish a Great Commission Task Force. This task force will evaluate and examine the convention and its entities for the purpose of maximizing our efforts and resources to finish the task of the Great Commission. A spirit of resurgence has already begun and I am highly encouraged.

The unity and spirit today was phenomenal. While differing discussions occurred rarely, they were done in a Christ-like spirit. I believe as the leader led with that kind of spirit, the people have caught it from him. As well, there is an urgency upon this convention and its leaders – we must do something now about the present and our future.

Tonight we heard a challenging and convicting word from Dr. Jerry Rankin, President of the International Mission Board. Oh dear friends, we must do more and do more now. By the end of September, our church will have increased our support to the Cooperative Program of the SBC by 44%, as we will give $350,000 by the end of this year. The Cooperative Program supports our 5,500 missionaries overseas, 5,000 plus in America, as well as our six seminaries training the next generation of Christian leaders, provides representation in Washington, as well as other ministries of our convention. Our heart is to get as many dollars as possible planting churches in North America, pioneer missions globally including reaching, discipling, training and empowering new converts, also planting churches internationally, as well as providing monies to support theological education.

Please pray today as we wrap up all meetings on Wednesday night. It is a joy to be here and we are highly grateful for the opportunity.

Blessings and peace.

Last night concluded the Pastors’ Conference under the leadership of Dr. Ed Litton. He did a great job bringing together a team of speakers that challenged the lives of pastors, plus worship that was fabulous. The pastors gave $46,000 to fund our missionaries during the closing session of the conference. This is a great glory to God.

Pray this morning for Dr. Johnny Hunt, our President of the Southern Baptist Convention. Please pray for him as he leads the sessions and preaches this morning. Dr. Hunt is calling the SBC to a Great Commission Resurgence, which will lead to many things. This has the potential of being a powerful window for our convention of churches, so please pray. We have missionaries ready to go, but funds are not sufficient to send them. We must have a renewal in our churches, including our church.

By the end of September, our own church will have increased our Cooperative Program giving by 44% in one year. The blessed gifts of our people last year enabled us to make some special steps this year and this is our goal for the future as well. Even though this is significant, we must do more annually. The cause of Christ is calling us to touch our world with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Jeana had a good and long day with the Pastors Wives’ Session of the Pastors’ Conference. Tomorrow, she (along with four other women) will be speaking at the luncheon for ministers’ wives, so please pray for her.

Pray for our week and for our church to lead the way in a Great Commission Resurgence.

Jeana, Meredith, Nick and I left straight from worship services yesterday to the airport, and flew to Louisville. Jeana and Meredith left after our first worship service, via Memphis, and Nick and I left after all of our services, flying through Chicago. Thank God, all the flights were on time and all the baggage arrived. We are grateful.

Since we were not able to be here until later due to flight schedules, we were only able to have dinner with our friends, Claude and Janice Thomas, along with Larry Jones, the Founder and President of FEED THE CHILDREN. The later dinner was a blessing, listening to him talk to us about all they are doing around the world. It is amazing what God does with a man who has a relentless vision of which his is: FEED THE CHILDREN.

Jeana had to touch base with some ladies over their conference today so she had matters to attend to and I went to a meeting I needed to attend. The week will be very, very busy. So many people do not understand, it is a never-ending schedule, filled with many meetings from early mornings to late nights. The days are filled, but blessed.

Pray for all matters this week, it could be a momentous week in the history of the Southern Baptist Convention. We have much at stake, therefore, the right decisions are imperative.

By the way, it is HOT and very humid here.

Since Easter weekend, I have been in an expositional, text-driven series called, THE TOP 10 WAYS TO MAKE IT THROUGH DIFFICULT TIMES. This coming Sunday, I am bringing closure to this series. I have been absolutely energized and encouraged by the study of this great book. As Paul was facing the last days of his life, perhaps months before he was beheaded, he wrote to Timothy the powerful words we know as 2 Timothy. We are the great beneficiaries of this fabulous book, especially right now in America.

Think about the series with me again – what are the top 10 ways to make it through difficult times?

• Know You Are Saved
• Hold On To The Grace of God
• Work On Your Walk With Christ
• Make The Right Choices
• Understand The Times
• Continue In The Sacred Scriptures
• Accomplish Your Life Purpose
• Live For Eternity
• Discern Whom You Can Trust
• Expect The Lord To Stand With You

This week, I will talk about how to “Expect The Lord To Stand With You.” Oh friends, if you are in Northwest Arkansas, please be here. If not, tune into our webcast at www.fbcs.net or www.churchph.com.  If you know anyone who needs encouragement, insure they are in one of our worship services this Sunday. Please join us in prayer about Sunday and do everything you can to bring others with you.

We have “Casting Crowns” in concert tonight at our Pinnacle Hills Campus. Tickets still may be available, so go to itickets.com and the remaining tickets will be available at the door tonight.

Encourage people this week, finish the week well, and start the next week THIS SUNDAY by being in worship and in a connection group.

Last night we celebrated Father’s Day due to schedules this Sunday. Josh and Kate are in a coach’s retreat Wednesday through Saturday. Jeana, Meredith, Nick, and I will leave Sunday afternoon for the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention. The meeting will be held this year in Louisville; therefore, it is not an easy place to get to from here, especially on Sunday afternoon.

So last night, Jeana cooked a great meal for us and we ate outside. My wonderful grandchildren were pretty wonderful tonight. We did not have anyone hurt, for long anyway, and tears were infrequent. Sharing is becoming more of an acceptable practice in their relationships with one another. For those of you who do not know, Peyton will be four in September, Reese just turned two, and Parker will be two in August. Need I say more? Oh, we get the boys this Friday afternoon through sometime Saturday.

Big day today: Meredith and Nick will find out the gender of our fourth grandchild, their second child. I have rearranged my schedule to join them on Wednesday afternoon so we can experience that together. I believe Meredith is going to have a boy this time. We will see. The Lord knows. Regardless, we will rejoice.

There is nothing like family, what a joy. Blessed!

When I began Twitter just a few weeks ago, I was not at all certain what would occur. However, after this short amount of time, I want to give a few observations about being on Twitter. By no means am I a pro, but an extreme novice in it. Therefore, please keep that in mind.

Twitter connects me with people all over the world. I am always amazed at who is “following” me and who I end up “following.” I really enjoy the feeling that I know what is happening in various people’s lives, and most of the time, I find a tweet that I do as a window in my life and day, not a burden. Sure, there are some matters that are somewhat meaningless, but much of it is providing me connectivity with many people.

Twitter instructs me with many helpful things for life, both personally and professionally. Various tweets I receive are encouraging words for life today or life this week. Some may be biblical insights or just motivational sayings or outstanding quotes from various people. Others point me to powerful articles and websites that can help me walk through various challenges I may face professionally. I can tell you, the articles and reference points I have been afforded on Twitter have really added value in my life.

Twitter helps me communicate a message to many people who are affiliated with our church. Therefore, I can share with them about an important matter, a call to prayer for something, or share a message concerning a ministry of our church. All of this helps me stay connected from my point of leadership, which is really a great feeling. Due to the newness of Twitter, especially here in Northwest Arkansas, I look forward to having the ability to staying connected with masses of people as the technology becomes a “norm” for most.

I am Twitter-positive.

Training yourself to walk with the Lord is one of the pivotal steps in the life of a Christ-follower. We do not always have the fortune of a personal mentor in the faith. For example, I never was mentored in a formal manner. My mentoring was gained through watching and listening to others share the Word. My watching was from a distance, and my listening happened through listening to the tapes (CD’s today) of great men of God.

Training yourself is such an important part of the Christian life. Sooner or later, it all comes down to us walking with the Lord anyway. Our passion for Jesus will drive us to follow God and keep us focused on growing in Christ. While others can guide us or challenge us, it still comes down to disciplining ourselves, training ourselves to walk with the Lord.

In all the years of trying to live with fitness and exercise in my life agenda, it really still comes down to me. While I have the blessing of a trainer who motivates me and helps me reach potential beyond my will, sooner or later it comes down to me. Will I call upon every part of me in order to achieve the highest level of fitness? On Sunday morning, after I had my time with the Lord, I got on our treadmill and ran five miles. While I was doing that, I went over my Sunday sermon. There was no one there to coach me up or get after me to do it. It was a personal decision that I had to make on my own. Somewhere within me on a consistent basis, I have to pull myself up mentally and physically to achieve the act of fitness and exercise.

As that is true for that area of life, it is also true for walking with Christ. No one can make me have a quiet time. No one can make me pray or study God’s Word. No one can make me live out my faith. No one can make me go to church. Even if a Pastor or a Mentor in the faith tells me how to do it and encourages me to do it daily, it still comes down to you and me. Somewhere within us, we must step up to walk with the Lord. This is a personal, volitional choice each of us make daily.

Therefore, training yourself up to walk with Christ is pivotal to your success spiritually. Can you do it? Absolutely! Discipline is training. It is doing the right thing even when you do not feel like doing it.

This week, choose to do the right thing spiritually. Sooner or later, it does come down only to you. Please make the right choice.

Yes, I can cheer you on, but it still comes down to you.