September 7, 2024
MARTINEZ, Ga. — Georgia Baptist pastor Dr. Brad Whitt will be nominated for president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Pastors’ Conference at the annual meeting June 9-10 in Indianapolis. Dean Inserra, pastor of City Church in Tallahassee, will nominate Whitt, who he said is not only his fellow pastor but also his friend.
Whitt is pastor of the historic Abilene Baptist Church in Martinez founded in 1774. His passion is to lead the church he serves to be a regional church that reaches the Central Savannah River Area with the gospel of Jesus Christ and equip and encourage pastors and churches for the glory of God.
“He has displayed strong integrity, unwavering biblical convictions, and has shown himself to be about the kingdom of God and our cooperative efforts as Southern Baptists,” Inserra said. “His passion for reaching people for Jesus Christ is evident in how he preaches God’s Word, loves his local church, and regularly is an encourager to other pastors like myself. Abilene has experienced exciting growth and Brad Whitt has never stopped faithfully preaching the scriptures and calling people to trust in Jesus Christ.”
“My pastor, Dr. Adrian Rogers, taught me to love pastors,” Whitt said, “and pastors are heroes. I love being a pastor myself and love to observe how the Gospel of Jesus and the ministry of the church impacts people’s lives.”
“I grew up in a pastor’s home where Adrian Rogers’s name was known and honored,” Whitt recalled, and he credits Rogers for having a major impact on his life and ministry. “What I have always admired and respected about Dr. Rogers,” he said, “is how he made the gospel clear and compelling in his invitations.”
“In fact,” Whitt explained, “I wrote my dissertation at Southwestern Seminary on the public invitation in [Rogers’] preaching.” He researched Rogers’ model of public invitation, seeking methods to “help us as pastors be more biblical and fruitful in calling men and women to Jesus.”
Looking back at his experience at pastor’s conferences, Whitt said, “I remember being worn down and beaten up in my early churches and the Pastors’ Conference was a time when I could be refreshed and encouraged. It was at those conferences that I met and created friendships with other pastors. I would like to see my fellow pastors to be encouraged and feel like a part of the great Southern Baptist family.”
Whitt feels that, “Pastors should be celebrated as our spiritual heroes, and I believe the Pastors’ Conference should equip them to return to their churches refreshed, renewed and ready to love and lead their churches to reach their neighbors and the nations for Jesus.”
Whitt expressed concern that the SBC is experiencing a season of division and contention and prays that the Convention will unite for the sake of the gospel and the good of our convention of churches.
“One of the things I had to learn the hard way,” explained Whitt, “is that if you yell and scream all the time, you lose your voice. I want us as Southern Baptists to have a compassionate, convictional, and compelling voice for Jesus in our nation and in our world today.”
Johnny Nix, pastor of Pickett’s Mill Baptist Church in Dallas, Ga., described Whitt as having “an uncanny ability to unite people. He is authentic, has integrity, and he is unapologetically himself. He is a great preacher, knows preaching and loves preachers.”
Whitt describes himself as a Bible preacher, explaining, “My ultimate desire is to lead Abilene Baptist Church well in reaching our community with the gospel and seeing our people built up in the faith through the clear, passionate, anointed preaching of God’s Word.”
There are ample statistics showing that many pastors are suffering from post-pandemic burnout, and a study from Harvard Institute for Religion Research revealed that 53 percent of pastors have considered leaving the ministry as of the fall of 2023.
“I have been there,” remarked Whitt. “I know what pastors experiencing burnout are going through. What I learned in those valleys is that I found help and guidance by looking to the Lord and the support of my friends and fellow pastors. My friend and mentor, Dr. Steve Gaines, current pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova, Tenn., said, ‘Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is take a nap.’”
Whitt added, “If you are worn out and run down, get some rest. Spend some time with the Lord like Elijah and Jeremiah and let Him refresh and restore your soul.”
Whitt has served as the president of the South Carolina Baptist Convention’s Pastors’ Conference. He is currently on the Executive Committee of the Georgia Baptist Mission Board. Brad and his wife, Kim, were married in 1996 and have four children, Laura Kate, Jack, Benjamin, and Jonathan.
