Convention fellowship fueled by Spirit-led worship

By Lindsey Williams
Writing Specialist

As young voices echoed praise in the combined university choirs, as instruments hummed in cadenced worship, Slater Murphy, Worship Ministries Director of the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board (MBCB), darted behind the scenes and ensured that every ‘i’ and dotted note was indeed dotted. During this animated first morning of worship at the Mississippi Baptist Convention on Oct. 24, Murphy looked down to see his phone coming to life with text after text. Later, when he could find an appropriate minute to check his messages, he would read the comments of pastor after pastor, all sitting in the room, to say how encouraged they were by the sound of Spirit-led worship. 

“Our pastors, I know, were truly blessed by every session,” Murphy reflected. “We worked really hard to plan moments of worship well. Great theologians have asked for decades: What fuels Christianity? Some will say our mission connects us. Well, it does. With the Cooperative Program, we’re connected through our mission, but the theology’s got to be right. We’ve got to agree basically within parameters of what would be orthodox theology to get us together so we can even do missions. But then many of those theologians have guided us toward the true first call, which is my Lord and my God. Worship is recognizing that He has sought you out. He has saved you through Jesus Christ. He’s initiated that contact, and your first response is thanksgiving and absolute humility. I mean, He absolutely just devastates us with grace.

“We can’t do anything without the power of the Holy Spirit, so you can make an argument that worship really fuels missions and makes fellowship possible, which is key, but fellowship’s not going to be sweet unless Jesus Christ is the center of that. So it’s really important for Convention each year that we get together and adore the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Wesley Dykes, Director of the William Carey University choir alongside Brandon Hardin, said of the Convention worship, “What a blessing to be a Baptist in Mississippi! We are a state whose leadership is committed to worshipping the Lord in Spirit and in Truth, which was quite evident at this year’s Convention. To see church and university worship choirs, teams, and orchestras from around our state join together in one accord to worship Jesus, was a picture of unified worship and a taste of Heaven!”

Kristopher Smith, Chairman of the Order of Business Committee and Worship Pastor of Carterville Baptist Church in Petal, commented, “We are tremendously blessed to have outstanding music and worship ministries in our Mississippi Baptist churches, and our Baptist colleges and universities are first rate.  In preparation for the worship portions of the Annual Meeting, members of the Order of Business Committee spent significant time coordinating with the various church and entity music/worship leaders to ensure a smooth, organized, and worshipful gathering.  It was our desire that the worship in each session was cohesive and engaging; each session was intentionally planned so distractions could be reduced or eliminated and give freedom for the Holy Spirit to work.”

“I cannot begin to express my gratitude to each Minister of Music, university/college Choral Director, singer, and instrumentalist for the incredible support and willingness to making the 187th Annual Meeting successful,” said Smith. “From the downbeat of the Call to Worship on Tuesday morning to the tap of the adjourning gavel on Wednesday afternoon, Mississippi Baptists were united in worship of our heavenly Father.  As a Worship Pastor, I am incredibly proud of the support and emphasis that our state convention places on strengthening music and worship ministries across our state, and I believe our experience in worship at this year’s annual meeting was a direct reflection of that commitment.”

Steven Hodge, Worship Pastor of Longview Point Baptist Church in Hernando, led the Tuesday evening combined choir. “Our Northwest Mississippi teams were extremely grateful for the opportunity to lead at the convention. Not only was it an honor, it also gave our teams the opportunity to grow musically, spiritually, and relationally. They worked diligently to prepare for musical excellence, but more importantly they served with hearts prepared for worship. I hope that was evident!”

“I am thankful for the opportunity I had to lead this team,” Hodge expressed. “I could not have done it without all of my fellow brothers in ministry. Each worship pastor contributed equally to the effort. We have something unique in the northern part of the state – our worship pastors genuinely enjoy friendships and work together for the calling placed on us as believers – lead others to Christ. There is no time for competition between SBC churches. We must work in a team effort.”

On the complexity of pulling together various college and church choirs, Murphy explained, “I can’t overstate how difficult the logistics are to move that many people to First Jackson from wherever they are, feed them, be in a three-hour session, and then go back home. It is very sacrificial. But the Scripture does say, I will not offer to the Lord which cost me nothing. It is truly a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of the lips, which confesses His name.”

To watch through those significant moments of worship again or for the first time, visit Convention – Mississippi Baptist Convention Board (mbcb.org) for a video playback.