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Why Is the NACC Important? Let Me Count the Ways

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by | 15 February, 2009 | 0 comments

by Ken Idleman

 

I have participated in the NACC every year since 1964, with the exception of one. Through the ensuing years, I have transitioned from attending to frequently serving on the continuation committee, on seven executive committees, and as president in 1992.

I can answer the question above these articles in a single statement: “The North American Christian Convention is important to me because of the significant influence it has been on me in six areas over the past 45 years.”

 

Domestically

In 1964 the convention was hosted in St. Louis. My family camped at Cahokia Mounds State Park and commuted downtown for the convention sessions at Kiel Auditorium. I did not know it at the time, but the girl who would become my wife four years later was also camped there that same week, attending the NACC with an elderly couple from her church in Quincy, Illinois. Kaylene”s and my spiritual DNA has matched up largely because we have had many of the same spiritual experiences, including church, the convention, and a Bible college education.

All three of our children who have been called by God into vocational ministry were brought up attending the children”s sessions that are part of the convention program.

Our son, Kyle, attended his first convention as a 4-month-old baby in 1976 in Denver, Colorado. Twenty-six years later he preached in a plenary session of the convention.

Our daughters, Karissa and Kamille, have become wives of worship pastors, Brian Sites and Matt Bayless, respectively, both of whom have led worship at the convention. The NACC has been a huge contributor to the sense of calling and vision our children and in-laws have embraced.

 

Ecclesiastically

As a teenager, I think I took St. Joseph (Illinois) Church of Christ for granted. I did not appreciate what it meant to be a nondenominational Christ follower. As I have studied the church of the New Testament in the book of Acts and in the epistles, I have come to understand what it means to be part of an autonomous church. I have come to cherish the freedom in Christ that is part of our Restoration plea.

I likewise took the NACC for granted. I did not appreciate, because I did not understand, the genius of belonging to a fellowship of churches bound together by mutual devotion to Christ, mutual loyalty to the Bible, mutual commitment to unity, and a mutual mission of world evangelism. The convention was the dominant influence to bring me to both an understanding and an appreciation of our ecclesiology.

 

Globally

I have been influenced to discover and adopt the ethic of being a world Christian and not a provincial Christian. To be honest, I would have to split the credit here between the National Missionary Convention and the North American. But the fact is, I never would have attended the NMC if I had not had such good experiences with the NACC.

The North American was the port of entry for me in practically understanding the imperative for the global expansion of the kingdom of God.

 

Professionally

After I sensed God”s calling to full-time Christian service, I began to unconsciously look for role models. I vividly recall the first NACC I attended in St. Louis. On the preaching program that year were Leon Appel, Marshall Leggett, and Wayne Smith. Leon Appel would later become my valued mentor during the years he was executive vice president at Lincoln Christian College and Seminary. Marshall Leggett would become my colleague as the president of Milligan College. Wayne Smith once heard me speak and then sent me a paperweight with his paraphrased quote from Esther 4:14, “You have come to the kingdom for such a time as this.”

It was the convention that connected me with these leaders and others who became role models/mentors/ministry coworkers. It would be impossible to overstate their influence on me. I have the NACC to thank for that.

 

Fraternally

Perhaps the easiest imperative in Scripture for me to obey is found in the middle of 1 Peter 2:17, “Love the brotherhood of believers.” I have been consistently replenished year after year by the pleasure of connecting with peers in ministry. The NACC has been the catalyst for generating zeal for faithfulness and effectiveness in church leadership through collegial relationships with those I have come to value and love because of our intentional, once a year contact.

 

Spiritually

I cannot count the “God moments” I have experienced in my 45-year experience with the NACC. I can remember the conviction generated in my impressionable young heart when I heard Buford Bryant preach on the lordship of Christ in Tampa, Florida, when I heard W.A. Criswell defend creation in Dallas, Texas, when I heard David Corts”s challenge to evangelize in Cincinnati, Ohio, when I heard George Bajenski sing “Ringa da Bells” in Indianapolis, Indiana, and when I heard the Impact Brass and Singers perform “Find Us Faithful” in Anaheim, California.

God has met me at the NACC again and again. The convention has been a recurring spiritual oasis. And, being an executive committee insider again this year, I promise you the planning and prayer that have gone into this year”s theme, “Still Amazed,” will make it so for everyone who attends the convention in Louisville.

 

 

 

 

Ken Idleman serves as senior pastor with Crossroads Christian Church, Newburgh, Indiana.

 

 

Related 2009 NACC Articles:

“Still Amazed!” by 2009 NACC President Jeff Stone

“Why Is the NACC Important? I Go for My Family” by Brent Storms

“NACC Women’s Conference Returns for a Second Year” by Jennifer Taylor

“2009 NACC Program”

“Other 2009 NACC Events”

“The Minister & Spouse Retreat” (Aug. 11-13 in Ridgecrest, NC)

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