GMBSC of MS Annual Session was full of hope and promise 

ROOTED • READY • RESOLVED

Editor’s Note: The General Missionary Baptist State Convention of Mississippi held its Annual Session July 21-24, 2025, at various venues in Jackson, MS. Member churches across the Magnolia State came together once again to recommit themselves to the mission of evangelism, discipleship, education, and outreach to carry out the commission of our Lord: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations…” (Matthew 28:19). Following is the keynote address delivered by GMBSC of MS President, Rev. Reginald Buckley, Pastor, Cade Chapel MBC in Jackson, MS.

To our esteemed officers, dedicated board members, faithful pastors, and committed delegates and friends of this great Convention. 

I greet you with the love of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is both an honor and a privilege to stand before you today as we celebrate another year of mission-minded ministry across the great state of Mississippi. In spite of all manner of evil and ill-intent, by God’s grace we are yet here. 

And I am thankful indeed of what the Lord has done and is doing through the collective efforts of our convention churches, members, and partners. If I could begin by simply saying all the glory belongs to our God. And because of our God and His goodness; God and His faithfulness; God and His multiplied mercies extended to us morning by morning, I am happy to report that the state of our convention is strong.  Strong, not because of me; strong not even because of us; but strong because of a strength not our own. A power not of ourselves. But through the presence and the power of the Holy Ghost with us, in us, and among us, together we are advancing the Kingdom of God. And I thank each of you; cabinet members, members of the board, moderators, pastors, preachers, and every layperson – for your labor, your loyalty, and your love for this convention and the collective work we share. Your prayers, your presence, and your persistence have helped us remain strong and steadfast in our calling. And I want to frame my address to you this year around three words – Rooted, Ready, and Resolved. 

This year, we have seen the hand of God move in undeniable ways. Two monumental milestones mark this season of forward movement – milestones that underscore the vibrancy and vision of a convention that refuses to settle for survival, but instead chooses to press forward in strength. 

First, I want to give God glory for the ongoing restoration work at historic Natchez College. What was once a beacon of higher education for African Americans in Mississippi, but that lay in ruins for over 30 years is being reborn as the Baptist Heritage and Arts Center – a sacred space that will stand as a cultural home and spiritual landmark for Black Baptists across the state. A place where our stories will be preserved, our contributions celebrated, and our future ignited. We’re not just restoring buildings – but we are reclaiming our legacy. At a time when history around this nation is being rewritten at best and erased at worst and contributions made by Blacks in this country are being hidden at best and denied at worst, we are dedicated to the mission of making it known what God has allowed us to do as a people by building institutions like Natchez Seminary and Natchez College, lifting up a Black middle class, and educating our children in a society that sought to keep us as a permanent underclass. 

To date, this restoration project has cost over 1.7 million dollars, which has been funded through a mixture of both private and public dollars. The first floor of the historic TJ Huddeston Memorial Chapel has been fully restored and we are hopeful that new monies will soon be awarded to complete the second floor where meeting and training spaces will be housed. 

I recommend that we name this space the Isiac Jackson, Jr. Conference Hall. Let us remember that this restoration began under his administration. It was his insight and foresight that helped to inspire us to believe that from the ruins we could resurrect a monument that when our children stop by Natchez and ask the question, “what mean ye these stones?” we would be able to retell the old, old story of the God of our weary years; the God of our silent tears. The God who has brought us thus far on the way. The God who has by Thy might led us into the light. He who has been keeping us forever in Thy path. 

When completed, the Baptist Heritage and Arts Center will be a place that Black Baptists can call home. A place that makes a statement about our rootedness. Rooted in the Word of God. Rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Rooted in the soil of this our native home – a home that has not always been good to us; a home that has been responsible for heinous crimes against us; let the story never be forgotten that we were enslaved; our women were raped; our men were lynched; our backs were beaten; and our bodies mortally wounded. Fire hoses were turned on us; dogs were loosed and blackjacks were swung; public doors of state universities were shut while governors vowed to never let them open for us to be educated. And yet here, in this state of blood-stained magnolias, we have been rooted. Rooted in a place that has been the propagator of policies designed to reduce and restrict us; rooted in a state that continues to wave its confederate heritage in our faces every April even after changing the state’s flag. Rooted by Holy Ghost power; established by the grace of God and standing yet today because of His mercy. We are rooted. 

Yes, we are living in perilous and peculiar times in America. The political temperature is rising, not just with partisanship, but with the growing idolization of parties, politicians, ideologies, and leaders who demand more than allegiance – they demand worship. Democracy as we know it is being shredded before us daily. Freedoms are being erased and fairness is being withheld with the signing of every ill-conceived executive order. We see a disturbing trend where truth is treated as negotiable; where justice is redefined to serve power; wealth is restricted to serve the interests of those in power; and righteousness is bartered away for access and influence. Legislation that has protected people from systemic racism and organized discrimination for years is being revoked and removed from the books. Political figures portray themselves as saviors of the nation, asking citizens to bow not just to their policies, but to their personas. And perhaps the most troubling reality is that in this moment, the lines between faith and nationalism are being dangerously blurred in churches across the country, as evangelicals are being persuaded and encouraged to compromise their convictions by putting country before Christ; the constitution before the Bible; guns before God; parties before the Prince of Peace. 

But General Missionary Baptist, we are rooted – not in politicians, but in the Prince of Peace. Not in legislation, but in the Lord of Lords. Not in kings or kingdoms of this world, but in the King of Kings whose kingdom we seek first believing that all the things that we stand in need of will be added unto us without bowing to gain favor with men. We are rooted in Christ Jesus. 

Second, I am proud to report that not only are we rooted, but we are Ready. You just witnessed and shared with us the historic moment of submitting the application for full accreditation for the Mississippi Baptist Seminary. This is no small feat. It is the fruit of years of planning; years of intentional sacrifice by this convention, and years of tedious and patient progress toward this moment to make theological education accessible, affordable, and authentic to who we are. Our seminary stands alone as the singular African American seminary recognized by the Mississippi Commission on College Accreditation. And once fully accredited, it will be one of only four seminaries accredited in the entire state of Mississippi. 

I had the pleasure of meeting with the seminary board on last week and impressing upon them the need to start now mapping out a clear strategy of institutional development and independence beyond the support of the convention so that the seminary can fully blossom and not be starved by the meager coffers of GMBSC. But rather it will reach its full potential of fruitfulness. The board made commitments on that day that said to me that the seminary is ready. Ready to lean into its promise by reclaiming accredited status. Ready to take the necessary steps to begin the journey of becoming fiscally solvent. Ready to make real the hopes and the dreams of our foremothers and forefathers who have labored long in keeping the institution afloat and alive through lean and lacking years, so that we might wrap our hands around this holy work. Ready to fulfill its mission to prepare pastors, preachers, and Christian leaders around the state and nation to be the next prophetic voices in pulpits, publications, and public forums of social thought and spiritual transformation. We are ready to launch Mississippi Baptist Seminary into the vast expanse of accredited theological training so that men and women who have a calling upon their lives can study to shew themselves approved unto God; not ashamed; and rightly dividing the Word of Truth. We are ready!

These two initiatives – the restoration of Natchez College and the accreditation of our seminary – stand as pillars of progress. They affirm that the General Missionary Baptist State Convention is rooted in our history and heritage and ready for our destiny and promise. We are rooted in our past and yet ready for our future. We are rooted in the Word and ready for a fresh impartation of God’s Holy Spirit. Rooted in the gospel and ready for God to show up in our churches; show up in our associations; show up in our districts; show up in our missions and missionary work; show up in our meetings and our ministries. We are rooted and we are ready. We are not standing still. We are not shrinking back. We are moving forward. 

Because while we are rooted and ready, we are also resolved. Resolved in the belief that our mission is right. Because our mission is given to us by that Man from Galilee, that olive-skinned Nazarene who walked the dusty roads of Palestine. Who opened blinded eyes and unstopped deaf ears. That God-man who walked on top of water and turned water into wine. That lamb of God who raised up Lazarus; who lifted up a lame man; and who cleansed lepers. That sun-kissed Saviour who healed a woman with an issue of blood; who brought Jairus’s daughter back to life; and who made too little too much by taking a little boy’s pan trout sandwich, blessing it and breaking it until the multitudes were fed. We are resolved in the commission of Jesus Christ to go and make disciples of all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things that He has commanded us knowing that He is with us until the ends of the earth. We are resolved that His Word is truth; resolved in our doctrine being right. Resolved in our love for Jesus and our adherence to His gospel being real. 

And although the political winds are contrary to preaching the fullness of the gospel that challenges power and the powerful; although we face a current climate of retribution for those who dare to speak up and to reject or oppose policies that expose the most vulnerable to among us; although we wrestle with principalities, powers, and spiritual wickedness in high places – let it be known that as General Missionary Baptists in Mississippi that we are not swayed and we are not afraid. But we are resolved. 

Resolved in who we are; what we believe and who we serve. And it may come as a surprise to some but we don’t serve politics or politicians. We do not serve states or empires. We do not serve presidents or want to be kings. We do not serve the dictates of the flesh or the impulses of temptation. But we serve a risen Savior. We serve a glorious God. We serve the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. We serve the el Shaddai. We serve Jehovah God. 

So to every pastor, every auxiliary, every layperson, every youth, and every delegate under the sound of my voice – let us leave this session declaring that we are rooted, ready, and resolved. Now, lest I get charged with not taking a text, let me see what the apostle Paul has to say about this. In the last chapter and the last verse of the first letter to the church at Corinth, Paul closes his letter in verse 58 with these words: 1 Corinthians 15:58 –  Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. 

The apostle Paul writes this letter to the Corinthian church in an effort to encourage them not to cave to the societal norms and the social pressures of the day. But to be a light; to be what he calls in his second letter to this same church – ambassadors for Christ. And the reason Paul writes this letter is because of the growing pressure it faced to remain a witness for Christ in an increasingly humanistic and hedonistic world. And the corrosion showed itself first through spiritual disharmony. They started dividing themselves based on their favorite church leader. Some liked Apollos. Some liked Paul. And they began to split according to who had baptized them. But not only was there spiritual disharmony, but there was sexual immorality. In his letter Paul said, “there are things happening among you that even the Gentiles don’t do.” 

He said, there’s a brother among you who has taken his father’s wife (his stepmother) as his own. But the real issue that Paul had with it was that the church remained silent about it. And Paul says, listen you’ve got to deal with sin, because a little leven spoils the whole loaf. And when the church winks and nods at sin; when the church ignores and looks over sin; when the church refuses to identify and deal with sin, it damages the credibility of the church’s witness before the world. I need to let you know that when you endorse sin with your silence, you damage the credibility of the church. When you don’t make noise about unrighteousness, you damage the credibility of the church. When you see wrong and don’t call wrong out, you damage the credibility of the church. When evil is in front of you and you ignore it because it advances your agenda or it aligns with your politics, you do damage to the credibility of the church. 

But not only was there spiritual disharmony and sexual immorality, but there was dietary hostility. They were fighting over what kinds of meats were ok for believers to eat. And the question of religious freedom came up. Are we free to eat what’s put in front of us? Are we free to indulge in the succulent pork and the elegant lobster? Can we eat the meats that were sacrificed in the local temples to Greek and Roman gods or not? They divided themselves over diet and meat consumption. 

And if that wasn’t enough, in this Corinthian church, not only was there spiritual disharmony, sexual immorality, and dietary hostility, but there were issues of worship indecency. That’s what Paul talks about in Chapter 14 –the need for things remaining orderly during worship. Paul had no problem with the exercising of spiritual gifts – particularly the gift of tongues. He said, but if you use them, make sure there’s an interpretation given. Otherwise, it would create questions and lead to chaos. And a lot of churches think they’re having church as long as it’s loud and noisy. Noise is their indicator; noise is their objective; noise is their goal. No clarity in it. No Holy Ghost in it. As long as it’s exciting and emotional and cultural – a lot of churches don’t care whether or not it’s sound as long as it sounds good. We’ll put thousands of dollars into a good sound system but won’t train our choirs in what they’re singing. We’ll have the best microphones and the best monitors and the best speakers and subwoofers, but won’t invest any real time in the ones who are doing the singing to see if they know the Savior; do they love the Lord; are they secure in their salvation. 

It’s after addressing all of these things, spiritual disharmony, sexual immorality, dietary hostility, and worship indecency, that this last chapter – Chapter 15 – then begins. 

And Paul must have been Baptist. Because in this last chapter of this first letter, Paul has at least two closings to the letter. His first close he starts by talking about Jesus. That’s a good close to any sermon. Paul says in Verse 3: For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures. Listen to the preacher – He died. For our sins, He died. For our transgressions, He died. For our iniquities – He died. Paul says, let me remind you that all the things that are troubling you in your walk and in your witness, Christ died. He died, I tell you. On a hill called Calvary, He died on an old rugged cross. He died in between two thieves. He died until the sun refused to shine. He died until the earth began to reel and rock. He died. Didn’t He die? But after that Verse 4 says: And that He was buried. Buried in a borrowed tomb. Wrapped in grave clothes. Buried. Laid on a cold slab – buried. The tomb was sealed. Buried. 

But here’s Paul Baptist coming out. Verse 4, and that He rose again the third day according to the scriptures. Listen to Paul close. He died. They buried Him, and He rose again on the third day morning. But I like Verse 5, because Verse 5 says: And after He rose from the dead, we saw Him. Cephas saw Him. The women saw Him. Peter and John saw Him. Andrew and James saw Him. Nathaniel and Phillip saw Him. Even Thomas who said I will not believe except I see – Thomas saw Him. And 500 hundred brethren at one time saw Him. 

Paul said, but what really matters here is that I saw Him. One day on a Damascus road, He showed Himself to me – the chiefest of sinners. I saw Him! But that’s his first close. 

I told you, Paul had to be Baptist. Because he comes on down to Verse 58 and writes his second close, “therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” 

And the reason Paul has to write this second close is because he has to tie up the loose ends of the letter. Because remember, he’s addressed spiritual disharmony, sexual immorality, dietary hostility, and worship indecency. And what Paul closes with is this idea. That if you’re going to solve all of these issues, then you’ve got to be “steadfast and unmovable” or rooted in Christ. Because if you’re rooted in Christ, you won’t be fighting over your favorite preacher or teacher. Because you’ll remember that Christ is not divided and neither should we be. 

If you’re rooted in Christ, you won’t be sexually immoral, because you will be reminded that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost. And when your flesh wants to act up, you will be convicted that you are not your own; but you’ve been bought with a price. If you’re rooted in Christ, it’ll solve the issue of your dietary hostility because you’ll realize that it’s not about you being free to do what you want to do if what you’re doing is hurting somebody else’s faith walk. But rootedness in Christ will help you to put others before yourself and refrain from what you’re free to do for the sake of not becoming a stumbling block to your brother or sister. If you’re rooted in Christ, you’ll be sure that your worship is done in spirit and in truth and not as a show of your gift; or a performance of your ability; or a demonstration of your talent. But what is done in worship will be done decently and in order knowing that God is not the author of confusion, but of peace. Paul’s answer to the church at Corinth is simple. Be ye steadfast and unmovable or rooted in Christ. 

But be always abounding. In other words, not just rooted, but ready. Paul says, I want you to be ready to be a light for the Lord. Always abounding. I want you to be ready to live the life of a disciple of Christ. I want you to be ready to give evidence of your faith in Christ Jesus. Always abounding – be ready to offer proof of your rootedness in the Lord. Always abounding – ready to let love flow out of your heart; ready to let the mercy of God flow in you, but also through you. Always abounding – ready to be a living vessel filled by the presence and power of the Holy Ghost. Always abounding. Paul says, we’ll be the people of God even in the midst of corroding and potentially consuming cultures if we are always ready to be a witness for the Lord. Be ready to bless those who curse you. Be ready to love those who hate you. Be ready to pray for those who despitefully use you and persecute you. Be ready to forgive folk who lie on you. Be ready to help folk who hurt you. Be always abounding. Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: Be ready to let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify the Father in Heaven. 

So be steadfast and unmoveable (rooted), be always abounding (ready) in the work of the Lord (resolved). Paul says, I want you to be resolved in doing the Lord’s work. Be resolved in knowing that this work is holy work. This work is righteous work. This work is Godly work. This work is the right work. And although this work gets hard sometimes, I need to remind somebody today to be resolved to keep doing the work. The work of preaching. The work of teaching. The work of ministry. And don’t get weary in doing this work. For in due season, ye shall reap if you faint not. I know sometimes it feels like thankless work. But stay resolved in the work of the Lord. Sometimes it feels like pointless work. But stay resolved in the work of the Lord. Sometimes it feels like you’re the only one doing the work. But stay resolved in the work of the Lord. Why Paul? “…forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” 

And that’s why I’m resolved today. Because the labour of our convention is not in vain. This labour of restoring Natchez College is not in vain. The labour of accreditation is not in vain. The labour of home missions and disaster relief is not in vain. The labour of the Congress of Christian Education is not in vain. The labour of the laymen is not in vain. The labour of the women’s auxiliary is not in vain. The labour of the music department is not in vain. The labour of the ushers is not in vain. The labour of our youth and young adults is not in vain. And I don’t know about you, but I’m resolved today. 

Resolved to do the work. Resolved to finish the work. Resolved to keep the faith. Resolved to stay the course. Resolved to keep my hand in the Master’s hand. Resolved to keep praying prayers of faith. Resolved to give God His glory. Resolved to walk right. Resolved to talk right. Resolved to live right. Resolved to love right. Resolved to act right. Resolved to be right. Resolved to worship right. Resolved to treat my brother right. Resolved to treat my sister right. Resolved in the work of the Lord. And if we do this work together, I am convinced God will use this convention in a way that eyes have not seen, and ears have not heard.