I can’t begin to tell you how wonderful last Saturday, August 22, was! Many of you who read this know last Saturday was our annual Arizona Church Equipping Conference, or “ACE” for short. It is that time of year where Arizona Southern Baptists try to cram all of our training into one event. Now, it’s not that we will not train at other times throughout the year … but this is one time where we try to make the broadest brush strokes possible.

I want to personally thank Corrin Conway, our Church Ministries Assistant, who carried the lioness’s share of the details for planning this event. Corrin is a recent graduate of East Texas Baptist University and is currently studying at our seminary. She also has a heart for ministry, and her family has been a part of the Arizona Southern Baptist family for three generations. I run into some people who are just “naturals” at planning events like ACE, and Corrin is certainly at the top!

Second, Keith Henry did a wonderful job taking the leadership role as key strategist in getting ACE ready. I asked Keith to take this role when Mark Gibson left our team for a ministry position in Colorado. And those of you who know Keith understand he is the master of developing teams. And the truth is … I can’t remember a time when our staff team functioned so well in working out the logistics of the day. It was almost magic (even though we Baptists frown at such notions). And if you don’t like the word “magic” … well, let’s just say everything clicked!

And finally, this year’s ACE team was downright Phenomenal!!! Let me tell you their names: Tracy Baker, Carrie Chipman, Mona McDonald, Craig Anderson, Cheri Dempsay, Jay Gjurgevich, Jennifer Gressett, Mitch McDonald, Eddy Pearson and Elizabeth Young. Each one of these people is an excellent leader in his or her own right, but when they get together as a team and seek to honor God … man, oh, man! I cannot tell you what an honor it was to follow this group of leaders. What they did honored our Lord and served 1,260 Southern Baptists! You could not have had a better day than that …

So … what happens when bad news comes?

Today, Wednesday, August 12, we arrived at our office, fired up our computers and learned that Dr. Geoff Hammond and three others in his leadership team had resigned at the North American Mission Board. Bottom line? Bad news!

It’s not bad news because I am mad, or upset, or anything else. After all, who really cares what one denominational servant thinks about what goes on at another denominational servant’s office anyway? In many respects there is a world of difference between Alpharetta, Ga., and Arizona. It is simply bad news because of timing. Here we set on the precipice of what could be our greatest day in terms of “God’s Plan for Sharing” and then oops … we seem to be stumbling again.

It is bad news because it hurts. I am certain there are Godly, good people on both sides of this issue. Dr. Hammond is a great man of God and a Jesus follower. But so is every member of the board. This is not about who is on God’s side and who is not. This is about a national agency that just went through some tumultuous years and seems to be going through them again. And so my heart hurts for all of those involved.

I am proud to be called a Jesus follower … and a Southern Baptist, but there are some mornings that it does hurt. I am praying for a day when we can celebrate a clear vision for North America and a consistency in leadership … and I mean long-term leadership. For that day I am asking God!

Could it be that God’s Plan for Sharing is coming down to us from God’s throne and not Alpharetta? I firmly believe it is. Just think … every Southern Baptist bears the biblical mandate to share the Gospel. That, my Arizona Southern Baptist friends, didn’t come from Alpharetta … it came from the Master! And so … to that end I will give my life … even on the bad days.