Clay Crosse: Devotion to Christ is Critical 11/14/2007 ELIZABETHTOWN – Pastors must keep their eyes on Jesus and pursue holiness at all times, said Christian vocalist Clay Crosse and his wife Renee during the Nov. 12 Pastor’s Conference, held this year at Severns Valley Baptist Church. Nearly a decade after a life-changing encounter with God’s grace, Clay and Renee Crosse are committed to helping Christian couples strengthen their relationships with both God and each other. The Crosses were two of eight guest speakers at the conference, where hundreds of pastors and guests gathered to enjoy worship, fellowship and encouragement at the conference. Their ministry, Holy Homes, grew out of what they describe as their “Ground Zero” moment nearly a decade ago when Clay, a Dove-award winning artist, admitted to struggling with pornography. For Renee, who “was really good at playing the role of good little Christian wife,” his disclosure was painful, leaving her angry and confused. But pornography was simply the symptom, Renee says. The real problem was that Clay was not fully surrendered to God. “I love what our pastor says, ‘healthy, happy or holy – God’s going to choose holy every time,’” said Renee. They had planned to set aside one room in their house to be a “holy room,” but God wanted “the whole house,” she said. Clay asked Renee for forgiveness for failing to be the man God called him to be, and failing to lead their home. The Crosses now travel to churches across the country, encouraging Christian couples to go beyond simply going through the motions and begin living as devoted followers of Jesus Christ. The Crosses receive hundreds of emails every month, and many are from Christians and ministers struggling with the same issue. They’ve been able to encourage others with their experiences. Clay also believes his ministry has been enhanced by what he has learned. Previously, he said, he used to talk in between songs at a concert “to sort of entertain.” “But now, I feel like I have a message I really want to share,” said Clay. The Pastor’s Conference is an annual event, held each year the day before the start of the Kentucky Baptist Convention annual meeting. Using the theme “Connecting Our Culture with Christ,” the 2007 conference was designed to empower pastors to better minister within the culture of Kentucky. Messages from the eight guest speakers were the focus of the day. Highlights from the six other speakers include: - Christians must truly love Jesus if they want to reconnect America to Christ, said Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. “We’ve got to be seen as lovers of Jesus,” said Land. “If we’re going to reconnect America with Christ, it’s going to be done by the Lord using us and we must be intimately tied to Christ ourselves.” - Kevin Smith, first vice president of the Kentucky Baptist Convention, urged pastors to embrace and evangelistic view of unity. Unity has theological implications, said Smith, who is also a professor at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville and pastor of Watson Memorial Baptist Church in Louisville. Those who do not believe in Jesus Christ may use Christians’ lack of unity as an excuse to reject Jesus Christ. “As much as we are willing to seat and struggle to contend for biblical truth, and as much as we are willing to seat and struggle to contend for personal holiness, we must be willing to sweat and contend for biblical unity,” said Smith. - Pastors eager to connect our culture to Jesus Christ should look to the Apostle Paul’s example in Acts 16, said John Mark Toby, pastor of Beacon Hill Baptist Church in Somerset. “Are we praying that God will place people in our pathways daily that will lead to an encounter with Christ?” In a culture awash with materialism, hedonism, pragmatism, and humanism, believers must be prepared to present the Christian worldview and point others to Jesus Christ, said Toby. - Fred Wolfe, an evangelist who served for 25 years as pastor of Cottage Hill Baptist Church in Mobile, urged Kentucky Baptist pastors to pursue a more intimate relationship with God. Wolfe said God is calling pastors to have a servant’s heart, a surrendered heart, a sacrificial heart and a supernatural heart. Using the example of the Jesus washing the feet of the disciples during the last supper, Wolfe encouraged pastors to serve those Jesus put in their care. “You are never more like Jesus than when you have a servant’s heart,” said Wolfe. - Bill Henard, pastor of Porter Memorial Baptist Church in Lexington, encouraged Kentucky Baptists to be intentional in sharing their faith with non-Christians. Most people probably never share their faith because they are afraid, but they must tell the truth and trust God with the results, he said. “All witnessing is intentional,” said Henard. “The more you do it, the more people you will see come to Christ.” - Steve Gaines, pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova, Tenn., urged pastors to be “men of God.” “There is nothing this world or this country needs more than for men of God…to preach the Word of God with the anointing of God,” said Gaines. “The White House can’t send revival, but you let us get revival and the White House can’t stop it.” Audio files of each message will be available online in streaming and .mp3 format later in the week. In other business, pastors elected Delton Beall, pastor of Southside Baptist Church in Princeton, as president-elect. Beall will preside over the 2009 Pastors’ Conference. They also chose Jeff Sargent, pastor of Marcus Baptist Church in Williamstown, to serve as secretary/treasurer. Floyd Paris, pastor of Unity Baptist Church in Ashland, presided over the 2007 conference. Cory Abney, pastor of Kings Baptist Church in Mt. Washington, will serve as president of the Pastors’ Conference in 2008. The 2008 Pastors’ Conference will meet Nov. 9 at Immanuel Baptist Church in Lexington. Release prepared by Kristie Randolph, KBC Communications