State Convention president urges pastors to ‘stand together’

January 9, 2006

Dear Pastor Friend:

I trust that you have had a blessed Christmas season and that God is already giving you a fruitful New Year. I am honored to serve Florida Baptists in my second year as president and to be a part of our nation’s greatest state convention. God is calling all of us to stand together and to “overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21).

Click on image for related coverage

Time is running out for us to gather the necessary petitions to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot for Marriage Protection. This defines marriage as the legal union of only one man and one woman as husband and wife. Sunday, January 29 is the absolutely last day for our churches to collect petitions, which should then be hand-delivered the next day to your respective county Supervisor of Elections.

This is the only way to protect marriage from redefinition by activist judges, such as those who legalized same-sex marriage in Massachusetts. Fortunately, 19 other states have such amendments. However, we still need about 400,000 more petitions.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Your people respect your leadership and will follow your example. We are not being “political” but taking a stand to responsibly shepherd our people in the right direction as we seek to become salt and light.

Encourage each person to enlist 10 others by distributing the petitions. Have a sign-up table after worship services. Call your people to prayer. Share your vision and burden. But remember, “Be strong and courageous… with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles” (II Chronicles 32:7-8, NASV).

In Christ,

Dr. Hayes Wicker
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Naples
President, Florida Baptist State Convention