The theme for the 2014 annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention in Baltimore, Maryland, will be "Restoration and Revival through Prayer," according to SBC President Fred Luter.
"We have not had a theme that focused on prayer and revival for many years," Luter, pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans, told SBC LIFE. "I pray that God will send revival across America and particularly among Southern Baptists."
Luter selected Psalm 80:18-19 as the biblical text to support the annual meeting theme: Then we will not turn away from You; revive us, and we will call on Your name. Restore us, Yahweh, the God of Hosts; look on us with favor, and we will be saved.
Luter will preach during the Tuesday evening session, following last year's annual meeting format. No other business will be presented or discussed in the evening session.
"It obviously had such a great response last year that we decided we wanted to do it again," David Smith, chairman of the SBC Committee on Order of Business and executive director of the Austin Baptist Association in Texas, said. "We just think it's going to bring back something that folks go to Convention for—to hear the Word, to be inspired, and to worship. And we're looking forward to it."
Luter, a member of the committee, requested at the September committee meeting that the evening revival continue, Smith said.
"[President Luter] said, 'I'd really like to recommend that we do the Tuesday night event again.' And of course our committee wholeheartedly supported that," Smith said. "On Tuesday night of the convention he'll be sharing his president's address and Roger [McGee, pastor of music and worship at First Baptist Church in Alexandria, Virginia] will be leading in the worship time."
The 2014 annual meeting will be June 10-11 in Baltimore.
