Southwestern Seminary's first 10:02 meeting focuses on South Africa

FORT WORTH, Texas - A record number of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary faculty and students met last Wednesday to participate in a guided prayer time in the first Prayer 10:02 meeting. Participants, inspired by the text of Luke 10:2 from which the meeting draws its name, met in Lottie’s Lobby of Mathena Hall  on the seminary campus.

Buntain added that the prayer gathering will occur every Wednesday at the same 10:02 time “unless Jesus comes back before then.” He opened the meeting by reading the text that inspired the inception of the prayer gathering. The verse reads, "And he said to them, 'The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.'"

Following his opening remarks, Buntain introduced Dean Sieberhagen, interim dean of the Roy J. Fish School of Evangelism and Missions and associate professor of Islamic studies. Sieberhagen, who is originally from Cape Town, South Africa, led the prayer meeting as the nation of focus was South Africa.

Sieberhagen provided context for the need to pray for the country of South Africa. He explained South Africa has long been known for the tragic implementation of apartheid, a policy of racial segregation that lasted until the 1990s.

“South Africa had the worst racism in the world,” said Sieberhagen. “It really was the worst, a true evil. I lived during that time and there is still a lot of violence that stems from it.”

Providing more context to the struggles in South Africa, Sieberhagen mentioned that there are economically depressed areas with many people living in poverty. Some friends of Sieberhagen were relaying to him the struggles they see every day such as violence, lack of police help unless a horrible crime is committed, and many people living in fear of their surroundings.

Sieberhagen led the gathering through multiple prayer points focused on difficulties facing South African Christians and the nation of South Africa. The group was instructed to break up into smaller groups to pray together for the nation.

While Sieberhagen led the prayer meeting through prayer points on a handout sheet, Buntain mentioned that “those leading us in prayer each week will encourage us to pray in diverse ways.”

Following a closing prayer led by Sieberhagen, Buntain closed the meeting by reminding everyone in attendance that the meeting will occur from 10:02-10:50 am every Wednesday. Buntain closed with the words from Numbers 6:24-25, “May the Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord shine His face upon you.”