Southeastern hosts annual Go Conference on the Glory of God

Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS) hosted its seventh annual collegiate conference on the theme “go for the glory of God.”

Approximately 620 students heard from featured speakers Daniel Akin, H.B. Charles, Jr., J.D. Greear, Tony Merida and Russell Moore at the SEBTS campus on Feb. 6 and 7.

Smaller breakout sessions gave attendees the opportunity to hear other SEBTS professors and local leaders speak on the glory of God in a variety of areas such as spiritual formation, suffering, seeking justice and work.

Greear, lead pastor of The Summit Church in Durham, North Carolina, challenged the audience to work in a strategic place in America or around the world for the glory of God and his mission.

He reminded listeners from Acts 8 that the Holy Spirit is the source of a Christian’s strength and power. “The Gospel goes forward faster through lay people than apostles,” Greear said. “Jesus has a prime spot for you in the starting lineup regardless of what your gifting is.”

Greear believes that the gospel will reach the ends of the earth through “ordinary people making disciples everywhere they go.”

Moore, the president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) of the Southern Baptist Convention, preached from 1 Peter 2:6-17.

He challenged listeners to realize that “every Christian is embedded in the public square,” and to use that arena to manifest the glory of God.

“The gospel is a rock of offense, you cannot get around it,” Moore said. “You are going to find many times that simply acknowledging Jesus Christ becomes scandalous.”

Friday evening, a panel featuring several of the speakers offered personal insights into what it means to live faithfully for Christ in dating and marriage relationships.

Akin, the president of SEBTS, spoke on the glory of God in marriage. Akin has been married to his wife Charlotte for almost 37 years; they have four sons and 11 grandchildren.

Akin preached from Ephesians 5:21-33 and called for a biblical view of marriage between one man and one woman “equal in essence and made in the image of God.”

“Marriage is a great gift from a glorious God that should point the world to Christ and the gospel,” Akin said. “There is nothing like being married and having a godly wife.”

Charles, pastor of Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida, highlighted the glory of God in diversity in Ephesians 2:14-18.

“Jesus Christ is the only One who can bring peace with God, with self and with others,” Charles said. “To find peace, you must run to the cross and repent of your sins. The real issue that separates us is sin.”

He called the audience to replace hate with kindness and not follow a plan for racial reconciliation, but to follow the person of Jesus Christ. “The unity of the church is rooted in the unity of the Godhead,” he said.

Charles commanded the church to tear down walls of hostility. “Christ didn’t Christianize the Jews, or Judaize the Gentiles. He instead created an entirely new race,” he said.

Merida currently serves as the pastor of Imago Dei Church in Raleigh, N.C., as an associate professor of preaching at SEBTS and was the Go conference host.

Merida preached on the glory of God in ordinary people with a focus on Acts 1-2.

“The ordinary people of God, empowered by the Spirit of God, armed with the Word of God, can accomplish the mission of God,” Merida said. “The only thing that separates Christians from non-Christians is God’s grace.”

Merida encouraged listeners to learn and love the Bible to be effective disciple makers. “God saves people by sharing the gospel through ordinary people. Do you believe this?” he said. “You might be surprised who says yes when you preach the gospel.”

Join us for the annual conference next year, “GO: To the Ends of the Earth,” on January 29 and 30, 2016.

To view photos from the Go conference, please click here.

To watch the messages online, please click here.