PHOENIX -- The president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Committee urged believers to become a "kingdom
person" through constant prayer. Morris H. Chapman delivered the message for national revival during the SBC annual meeting in Phoenix, June 17.
"I believe that's what God wants for America," said Chapman. "I believe that's what God wants for Southern Baptists."
Chapman asserted Southern Baptists be on their knees to pray in order that God may fill us with His fire and with His Holy
Spirit in order that something different can happen in [America]."
This revival, said Chapman, can begin only in the hearts of individuals who humble themselves before the Lord. A spiritual
awakening, he said, will be marked by holy living, sacrificial service and global witness.
Believers should ask if they have "lost the joy" and if they have "been beaten down," he said. They should, in turn, pray, "
God, give me a passion" and then act on that passion in order to make a difference.
Chapman's call for national revival came in the midst of the release of Empowering Kingdom Growth initiative. The North
American Mission Board will launch a program in 2004 in which Southern Baptist churches will be praying for other Southern
Baptist churches, Chapman announced. By the end of 2004, he said, every church in the convention will have been prayed over by another church.
By Pauline J.
