Matt Henslee's Blog, page 18
August 14, 2021
Pastors’ Conference Update: August
It has been two months since you elected Cam Triggs, Sam Greer, and me as the SBC Pastors’ Conference officers. We are grateful for the trust you have given us and have already hit the ground running as we step another month closer to gathering in Anaheim! As we do, here are a few highlights…
Site Visit.
I am flying out on Monday to do a site visit with our event planning team and key SBC leaders. We have two possible conference formats that will be decided during our time in Anaheim. One involves breakouts, while the other offers some room for special guests in three to four of our sessions. Would you please pray for clarity as we meet and consider what will best serve pastors and their families?
Event Planning.
Speaking of event planners, we selected Yellow Brick Events to help us plan the 2022 SBC Pastors’ Conference. Elizabeth Graham and her team are consummate professionals who have experience putting on events of all sizes. We are excited about the partnership and encourage you to visit https://yellowbrickevents.com for more information.
Fundraising.
While hiring Yellow Brick Events is an expense, they are working hard to cut costs for us that will make it more than worth it! Still, the Pastors’ Conference is a large expense that is totally reliant on fundraising. However, I am going to sweeten the deal. We are announcing today the “Get it Gone” fundrazor.
If we make our budgeted fundraising goal by December 31, 2021, the beard is gone. If you want to see that happen AND help us put on the 2022 Pastors’ Conference, visit: https://www.sbfdn.org/ways-to-give/give-now/donate/?id=208&hash=7409570231424287db30abbb7fc19aab
Music.
Last month, a friend gave me a hard time for having an announcement without an announcement. True, it was more of an update on our progress, which we will provide on the 14th of every month (unless it falls on Sundays because pastors have sermons to preach), but to make up for it, our announcement: The team that will lead the music during the 2022 SBC Pastors’ Conference!
Introducing Matt Boswell and the Cowden Hall Band. Hear Matt at https://youtu.be/hxOApooUSFI and the Cowden Hall Band here: https://youtu.be/a13ciF8fwgQ. Boswell has a heart for pastors and church leaders, and is an incredible musician. The Cowden Hall Band is comprised of students from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and these guys have one aim in mind when they lead: glorify God. Both will lead us to the throne of grace through biblically faithful and doctrinally robust music.
Last things.
As we shared in the last update, your 2022 SBC Pastors’ Conference will platform 12 men who affirm the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message and the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy. These guys reflect the vast diversity of the Southern Baptist Convention. You may know some of them, but not all––but you can count on no agendas beyond glorifying God and encouraging you through biblical exposition. Depending on what we find out during the site visit, we may have a few guest preachers to preach stand-alone sermons or offer breakout sessions. Finally, make sure you are following us on Facebook and Twitter for daily encouragement and updates.
Pastor, while we are now ten months away and there is still work to do, we are hard at work for you. Please continue to pray for us, give if you are able, and make plans to join us in Anaheim! Until then, lead on for the glory of God and the advancement of His Kingdom.
PS.
I almost forgot…we have a new home thanks to Brian Malcolm. Visit http://sbcpc.net today!
August 11, 2021
Comfort for the Ghosted Pastor - Lifeway Research
My latest article for Lifeway Research.
August 9, 2021
Recent Announcement at MBC
On August 8, 2021, I shared an announcement with our Mayhill Baptist Church about my candidacy for Executive Director/Associational Missionary of the Collin Baptist Network.
August 5, 2021
Pastors to gather in Anaheim for annual meeting preparation | Baptist Press
I’m looking forward to getting on the ground in Anaheim to share our vision for the 2022 SBC Pastors’ Conference with local pastors and church leaders. I aim to communicate the heart behind our plans and am praying local leaders and volunteers will say, “Yes, I am all in for this!”
July 23, 2021
July 21, 2021
Speaking Requests
From time to time, I’m asked to preach or speak at camps, DNOWs, conferences, churches, on podcasts and webinars, or for revivals––you name it. Have Bible will travel! It’s always a joy and privilege and I’d be happy to visit with you about it if you’d email mhrequests@gmail.com.
We also traditionally go either to Orlando or Anaheim in the Spring, Dallas for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and wherever Southern Baptists go for the Annual Meeting. I’d certainly love to give your pastor or worship leader a break on one of those Sundays.
Upcoming…
“Pastor Rally,” Anaheim, CA, August 16-18“Replant Summit,” Atlanta, GA, August 25-27“Association Conference,” Garden City, KS, October 2“Small Town Jesus,” Shawnee, OK, October 8-9“BCNM Annual Meeting,” Roswell, NM, October 26-27“Plymouth Park Baptist,” Irving, TX, November 28One more thing, I’m not one of those guys who has a handful of sermons he preaches everywhere he goes. If I’m going to leave my family, our dogs, my coffee maker, and this beautiful mountain, I’m making the most of it. If it’s a sermon, I’m in the Study just as I am every week; seeking the Lord, studying His Word, and crafting a text-driven sermon for your people. If it’s a conference or webinar covering a specific topic, sure, you might want me to lean on or cover what I’ve written about or spoken on before, but it’ll be refreshed and reworked to apply to your context and goals.
If that’s what you want, let’s talk! I only require you cover my travel, lodging, and any expenses incurred. I don’t require a set honorarium or speaking fee, but I do ask you to give enough to take my wife out to eat when I get home after __ number of days alone with our girls. Send me a note at mhrequests@gmail.com.
July 14, 2021
Pastors’ Conference Update: July
It has been one month since you elected Cam Triggs, Sam Greer, and me as the SBC Pastors’ Conference officers. We are grateful for the trust you have given us and have already hit the ground running as we step another month closer to gathering in Anaheim! As we do, here are a few highlights…
Theme.
While we would love to share this today, just know it will be timely, practical, and involve a verse-by-verse journey through an encouraging and convicting book of the Bible. A quick praise here, when I floated my book idea/theme to the team, Cam and Sam had already sensed a pull in that direction! After a lot of prayer, we sent the theme and ideas to folks who can make an excellent design for us and a trusted web designer who will craft an engaging website. So, in the words of Alexander Hamilton, “Just you wait.”
Preachers.
As you know, the SBC Pastors’ Conference is, well, a PASTORS’ conference, so there will be preaching. We promised to choose preachers who preach expository sermons, affirm the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message and the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy, and reflect the wide diversity of churches and contexts that make up the Southern Baptist Convention.
Our team listened to many, many, many sermons from the 400+ nominations we received, which was a blessing! 400 is only a drop in the bucket of the over 47,000 churches that make up the SBC, but if these 400 preachers are any indication, the SBC has some strong, biblical exposition happening week in and week out…from those you know and those you don’t.
There was a great sense of unity among our team as we bounced suggestions off of one another. When I began contacting our selections, I simply asked that they pray. As of today, those invited have accepted, and we have a couple more to ask. And, as Reavis suggested, the SBC Pastors’ Conference should have some of the “who’s who, and the who’s that?!” To that end, we have church planters and church replanters, megachurch pastors and small church pastors, big city pastors and rural pastors, newer pastors and retiring pastors, and everything in between––all reflecting the diversity of our SBC.
They are…
Sorry, you will have to wait a little while. Gotta save some news for the monthly updates, y’all! :)
Song leaders.
While the exposition of God’s Word will be front and center, we also promised to build our sessions around preaching, praising, and praying. To that end, we have reached out to a relatively unknown, diverse group of young song leaders and a more established and well-known group who will lead the songs during our sessions.
Each group can lead sessions that will mix modern songs, hymns, and hymns with a more modern twist. They do not desire to perform, just lead us in worship through singing, which will complement our preachers who will do the same through preaching. Couple that with intentional time devoted to prayer and sacrificial giving, and you can count on four sessions to lead you to the throne of grace in worship.
Fundraising.
Past SBC Pastors’ Conference Presidents know this, but one of the critical components of the conference is, well, paying for it. It is almost as if you hear, “Congrats, now go raise half a million dollars!” We believe we can do it for less and have already been overwhelmed by the generosity of a major sponsor and several churches and friends, but we are about 1/3 of the way to our goal.
We aim to raise what we need before we even make it to 2022, let alone June 2022, so that we can focus our attention on details, promotion, and encouraging pastors NOW. You can help us by clicking here!
Socials.
We now have access to the Pastors’ Conference Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Email, though we have not focused on Instagram at this point. Sure, we will use these mediums to spread the word about the theme, preachers, song leaders, and so forth, but we desire to use them NOW to help encourage pastors TODAY.
For example, we have been receiving prayers requests that we share among our team, we send out links that will inspire, tweets or posts that will encourage, and that will continue. If you haven’t yet, follow us:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SBCPastorsConferenceTwitter: https://twitter.com/SBCPastorsConf
Pastor, while we are now eleven months away and there is still work to do, we are hard at work for you. Please continue to pray for us, give if you are able, and make plans to join us in Anaheim! Until then, persevere in your church for the glory of God and the advancement of His Kingdom.
June 22, 2021
Pastors’ Conference, Dallas Baptist Association, 6/21/2021
A sermon I preached for the DBA Pastors’ Conference.
June 20, 2021
Morning Worship Service, FBC Farmersville, 6/20/2021
I had the privilege of preaching the Word with the saints called First Baptist Farmersville for my good friend, Bart Barber, on Father’s Day.
June 18, 2021
Quick #SBC21 Recap
Kyle and Matt ate a bunch of sushi and then sat in a rental car to discuss a few quick thoughts about #sbc21 in Nashville, including Matt’s election as SBC Pastors’ Conference President. More to come soon, as well as the return of the Potluck Podcast on Tuesday.
Matt’s election: https://www.baptistpress.com/resource-library/news/henslee-elected-2022-sbc-pastors-conference-president/
Other notes: https://www.baptistpress.com/resource-library/news/wrap-up-sbc-elects-litton-takes-control-of-ec-investigation/
A special thanks to SWBTS and the CSB for making this episode possible.
