Grab your coffee cause I got great news to share today. Last night I went to the Florida Baptist State Convention, it is here in coral Springs. Usually they hold it somewhere up north in Florida but this year it is taking place at Church by the Glades. If you have time tomorrow I recommend you take the road trip and sit and be among these pastors and listen how they preach to each other, Pastor to Pastor.
It was refreshing to hear that Christ is still the center of the church and that church should be there to follow the Great Commission, not a fraction of the Great Commission but all of it. i got there right on time for the Biblical message given by David Hughes, for 30 minutes I heard a message about the Great Commission, making disciples of all nations, teaching them and baptizing them in the name of the Trinity. The focus was to remind all the pastors attending the convention that the purpose of the church is to worship God, love and encourage his children make them disciples and evangelize to the lost.
The second service was given by the President of the FLBC, Pastor David Uth. He mentioned that he grew up in church, swimming in the baptistry was just the most fun activity for a teenager in church. He would walk after the service to drink all the grape juice left in the unused cups. He said that the danger of growing up in church is that what is Holy becomes common and that most Pastors grow into a routine that makes them change from Pastors, good shepherd to CEO's; their church they no longer see it as holy but they see it as a corporation and they run it as one. they forget that it is not their church but the church of our Lord Jesus Christ. He used Psalm 137 as the example. If you read this Psalm, you need to know that it was written when God's people were driven in exile. They had been disobedient and they had been making idols and worshiping other gods and God punished them and took them out from the Promised Land. These Pastors walk away from God and they don't know how to get back home. David said that Worshiping God was a simple yet powerful way to be renewed. For a pastor to get back home, he needs to worship with his people, he needs to fall down in reverence to God so that they can stop being CEO's of a corporation and become a humble servant of God, so that these pastors can worship God and not their own brand names. The point of using Psalm 135 is that Pastors need to praise God, worship His holy name. Keeping close to God and to His Holy word, will keep them in touch with their calling as pastors. Hughes called the pastors to teach sound doctrine and to stop having "cool" worship services but to bring Jesus in the worship and lift His name up high, because it is all about Jesus being the way to the Father. He called the pastors to worship; many times Pastors are there in the worship service but they never sing with the congregation, they are engaged in other stuff. He called them to the stage to worship and to sing to God our Lord. It was the most beautiful choir of men, it was loud and amazing.
I prayed for the church where God called me to and for all its leadership, it is my desire and prayer that God will pour His righteousness and bring justice to our people, I prayed for restoration and for a refreshed God centered shepherds. I pray and I claim God's promises that we will see His hand moving and shaken up everyone and that we worship Christ name above all names with all of our hearts, mind and strength.
The end of the message: keep singing, keep praising God not people, not church programs, don't follow CEO's of corporate churches but be the pastor God called you to be, remember when God first called you to ministry. David Hughes ended his message presenting his wife and acknowledging that she was the one person who changed his life, his spiritual life. He had never seen such a godly woman and he married her because God used her to change him to the man called him to be. Their journey has been amazing and from the many lessons in life, their biggest one is to sing and praise God in the moments you would least like to do that, like in Psalm 137. Remember what the Lord has done for you, Remember your calling....
He said so much more but I am just given you the highlights here. It was AMAZING!!! If God is nudging you heart, GO!! check the schedule, tomorrow services promise to be just as great.
http://www.flbaptist.org/ Psalm 137
4 How can we sing the songs of the LORD
while in a foreign land?
I thank God for the opportunity to experience my first state pastor's conference, it was amazing, this is the highlight of my 2011!
Julieta Reyes
Proverbs 16:3
Commit to the LORD whatever you do,
and your plans will succeed. 
