Tomorrow Johnny Hunt will be nominated for President of the Southern Baptist Convention in Indianapolis. I believe this is a very significant election, and I believe it is very important that Johnny be elected. In leading his church, the First Baptist Church of Woodstock, Georgia, he has been a model of evangelism and missions. His election is important because of the message that it sends. The office of the President certainly does not make all the decisions for Southern Baptists.

As a Southern Baptist church, we participate in denominational activities on the basis of our choice. We are an autonomous church. Church decisions are made on the basis of the desires of each individual church.

What the President does is serve as a representative of Southern Baptists to the world. The President helps set the tone and can be a very significant motivator in terms of challenging the church of our conviction to make a difference for the Lord. I know of no one that could do a better job of that than Johnny Hunt. This is a significant investment of his time and gifts. Please pray that the Convention will do the right thing and that the result will be that Southern Baptists will be more effective in sharing the message of Christ to a lost world.