Baptist Convention of New England

 Take My World Apart

The Christ Awakening Evangelism Conference in March...
How would you put into written words an encounter with the living Lord Jesus? Paul attempted (2 Cor. 12:1-5). Many of the Biblical authors sought to. Thousands of others since have tried to write about such movements of Christ. What do you say to those who were not there other than the cliché: ‘You should have been there’?

   Northampton and the central western part of Massachusetts have an undeniable spiritual legacy of great preachers and great movements of God. This was a good place for leaders and members of the Baptist Convention of New England to rally to seek God’s glory toward revival or in what David Bryant, the conference keynote speaker, has coined a “Christ Awakening.” The whole conference sought to exalt Christ and refocus and revive the faith of those attending on the glory and greatness of His person.  It was the belief of those organizers of the conference that the greatest crisis confronting the church is a crisis of Christology. Declining baptisms, poor attendance and overall spiritual paralysis are symptoms of a greater problem: a church that has lost its first love and undying honor for Jesus Christ.

  It was a conference like any other in all outward ways. A hotel ballroom and meeting rooms, platforms and Powerpoint- banquet and breakfast- a busy schedule- a Christian bookstore- all the things you usually expect, yet there was something distinctly different. You could see the difference in the faces of expectation; in the familiar relationships of friends; and in the hospitality of the hotel staff, but these were only the beginning. There was a growing awareness that the preparation of prayer was bearing fruit.

    David Bryant (Proclaim Hope ) began by sharing an overview of his book, Christ is All, during a pre-conference session and the subject of his life work. “There is a crisis in our nation today… not of terrorist threat, pornography, abortion or other forms of immorality- although each of these is cause for alarm... The crisis is not in our culture, but in the church.” It is a crisis of Christology. Christ is no longer Supreme in Christians or His church. He began to share indications that there is hope for a re-awakening. There are very early signs from scripture, the culture and the church that we can rely on Christ to pour out His Spirit yet again and that we can prepare the church to work to this end.

   Afterward began a journey into five breakout groups aimed at developing the theme of Christ’s supremacy and awakening from various vantage points. Sessions dealt with revival, prayer, church renewal and apologetics. All sessions were well attended.  NAMB staff member Rob Bowman who spoke from the theme of he and Ed Komoszewski’s book, Putting Christ in His Place , led one of the sessions.  He presented a clear, memorable way to explain to others the evidence from the New Testament that Jesus Christ is God incarnate and why it matters. He used the simple acrostic of HAND to explain how the New Testament speaks of Christ’s Honor, Attributes, Names, Deeds and Seat (throne).

   After a wonderful evening banquet, Dr. Jim Wideman (BCNE Executive Director) and Bruce James (BCNE Evangelism Director) shared some introductory remarks began the time of worship. The worship team from Haverhill Community Church led by Mike and David Sperring moved all before the throne of our King. One of the speakers commented that as soon as the singing began it was evident that the Lord was in the place.  David Bryant shared the message with the group of 165 pastors and leaders (an increase from last year’s conference) on, “The Christ” What is the Hope we must recover?”  
It was the Saturday morning worship service in which Christ’s presence was keenly felt by attendees. David Bryant’s message on “Where is the Hope” was followed by a stirring rendition of the Jars of Clay song Worlds Apart by David Sperring:

   Both the message and the song stunned the audience into a season of complete silence. Weeping was heard among those in the session and many considered the crisis the church was in, their part in it and how we have corporately relegated Christ to the side-lines of life and ministry.  Jesus had become our mascot instead of our Monarch. Spontaneous singing broke out and after a time of repentance the session was closed with prayer. Only time will tell if the message mattered.

    During the final breakout sessions, Dr. Donald Whitney, Senior Associate Dean and professor of Biblical Spirituality at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Biblical Spirituality ) taught selections of his writings including two great sessions on the spiritual disciplines of Jonathan Edwards.

   Elaine Helms of NAMB spoke on developing a prayer ministry toward Awakening. Her great experience as a prayer leader and wisdom helped attendees move from a lethargic prayer life to a vibrant, active walk with Christ. She spoke of repentance in awakening, moving toward actively sharing Christ, and preparing for longevity. Bob & Phyllis Foy, NAMB missionaries with Church Renewal Journey, shared their ministry passion in two different sessions about Lay Renewal and its place in awakening. In David Bryant’s last message in the final session he addressed how each person could develop a “Campaign of Hope” in six different ways. It ended first with a challenge for each attendee to make a lifetime commitment:

 “From this moment forward, every time I share God’s Word with any of God’s people – as fully as each opportunity allows, by the power of the Holy Spirit- I will set before them: (1) A larger vision of the supremacy and glory of God’s Son than they had before we began, so that (2) they have greater reasons than ever to put their hope in ALL that Christ is.”

   Lastly with an empty chair commissioned to be a throne, the entire group surrounded the throne and worshiped Jesus the King.

    Over all the conference was well received and appreciated by those who attended. Next year’s theme will deal with “Christ in His Church.”