Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Dr. Avery Willis - An Endorsement

We have good crop of candidates in the pool who are seeking the presidency of the Southern Baptist Convention. This year's mix includes some predictable faces, great pastoral leaders, and wonderfully gifted men.

Without hesitation, I personally endorse Avery Willis as the candidate to represent all Southern Baptists. Avery's passion for missions is amazing. His understanding of discipleship is well documented. He understands the power and challenges of Baptist churches with small congregations more so than anyone I know. Avery is a practical man with approaches to ministry/missions/discipleship that would be a breath of fresh air in the SBC.

I pray for all of these candidates...but I love the senior, statesmanship qualities of Avery whose life at home and abroad defines what I love most about Southern Baptists. There are many areas of the conservative direction of the SBC where Avery and I would disagree, but I am convinced that Avery's understanding of fellowship among Baptists is more 'embracing' of our diversity rather than 'narrowing' due to our differences.

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