Today’s ERLC Leadership Roundtable brings together several members of the ERLC Leadership Network Council to discuss why they are excited about the ERLC Leadership Network.
Today’s Roundtable participants include:
- Nathan Lino, pastor of Northeast Houston Baptist Church in Houston, TX
- Bart Barber, pastor of First Baptist Church in Farmersville, TX
- Jon Akin, pastor of Fairview Church in Lebanon, TN
- Richard Piles, pastor of First Baptist Church in Camden, AR
- John Powell, pastor of First Baptist Church in Hamlin, TX
- Justin Wainscott, pastor of First Baptist Church in Jackson, TN
What excites you about your involvement in the ERLC Leadership Network?
Nathan Lino: In the ERLC Leadership Network, we have a reliable, intelligent, “real time” source dedicated to equipping pastors to speak quickly and effectively to their people about cultural issues. No pastor has the time or resources to come up with, on his own, the material the ERLC is putting out. As the rate of moral decline is more quickly intensifying in the USA, the ERLC Leadership Network has come along at just the right time to assist pastors in discipling our people really well.
Bart Barber: The SBC has never needed the ERLC more than it does today. The whirlwind of unanticipated questions coming in the next decade concerning Christian ethics and religious liberty are going to catch many of us unprepared. Good help from a strong biblical and Baptist perspective to keep our churches up to speed is going to be most welcome. If I can play some small role in developing that material and getting it out before fellow pastors, I consider that to be worthwhile.
Jon Akin: I'm excited about being involved in the ERLC Leadership Network for two reasons. First, I think Dr. Moore not only talks about convictional kindness but displays and teaches it to others, and I want to learn from him. Second, I learn best in community with wiser Christians, and I have that in this Network.
Richard Piles: The ERLC Leadership Network excites me because it is a gathering of leaders and pastors from very diverse backgrounds and ministry settings, and I always enjoy and benefit from hearing from others with similar situations as well as different situations than me.
John Powell: Involvement in the ERLC Leadership Network equips me to understand in a more complete way the issues in the public square. It helps me to make the connection between the theology that I hold so dear, and the public policy issues that my people are talking about. Also, it let's me hear a variety of peers on the subject, and gain encouragement and strength by watching how they are rightly handling the issues in their local situations.
Justin Wainscott: I am excited about the leadership, vision, and direction of the ERLC. I am encouraged by all the ways the ERLC is seeking to equip churches, and I am sincerely grateful for their desire to speak to issues with “convictional kindness.” For me, it is truly an honor and a privilege to be a part of the ERLC Leadership Network.