Lewis Addition Drummond was the 4th president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and Professor of the History and Theology of Evangelism. The service opens with a word of prayer from Dr. George Braswell (00:00-02:14). President Lewis A. Drummond gives a word of greeting for the day of convocation for the inauguration of the Center for Great Commission Studies, and he introduces the seminar leaders and plenary speaker, all the conference attendees, and the board of trustees (02:15-06:25). Dr. Wayne McDill briefly speaks about the importance of evangelism, the Great Commission, and missions for Southern Baptists and Southeastern Seminary, and he presents a theme for the convocation service of “Heart for the World” (06:26-11:25). Drummond reads from Matthew 28:16-20, and he begins his sermon with his first point that the fulfilment of the Great Commission comes through the power of the Holy Spirit (11:26-18:17). Drummond’s second point is that God calls us to make disciples and not decisions, and he says that the power of the gospel message is Jesus Christ and his defeat of death in the resurrection (18:18-26:36). Drummond’s third point is that we are to baptize converts into the community of God and teach them the Scriptures, and he says that God desires believers to know and be like Jesus Christ (26:37-32:35). Drummond’s final point is that we need the presence of God, and he says God’s presence must reach the ends of the earth (32:36-37:15). Drummond concludes his sermon with a Great Commission litany (37:16-39:56). Dr. Delos Miles closes the convocation with a benediction (39:57-40:33).
David R. Beck was Professor of New Testament and Greek. He opens his sermon with an encounter he had with a statue of Jesus in the belly of Brontosaurus (00:00-03:47). Beck reads from John 12:20-36, and he first says that Greeks addressing Jesus is a trigger point for his ministry showing that the gospel is for the whole world (03:48-08:01). Most Beck’s sermon centers on the ultimate purpose of Jesus’ ministry that the Greek who came to him did not understand, that he was to be the one who would take away their sins (08:02-31:16). Beck ends the service with a word of prayer (31:17-33:06).
There is an opening reading of Scripture passages and prayer from 0:00-3:30. The source text for the sermon was read from 3:10-7:55 along with another prayer and a responsive reading. The Scripture used in the sermon was Hebrews 11:32-38, 12:1-2, and Luke 19:1-10. Thomas Furman Hewitt, Professor of Christian Ethics, preaches from 8:12-18:45. He shares a story about a meal he had with a blind woman and relates it to Jesus wanting to have dinner with Zacchaeus. He encourages the students to sit down and have a relationship with the Lord. There are two closing prayers from 18:54-21:49. The audio was transferred from audio cassette.
"A Time of Refreshing" and The audio was transferred from audio cassette. The service begins with announcements and an explanation of the order of events (0:00-4:35). Harry Hunter follows the announcements with a devotional and a time of prayer and reflection. Hunter speaks about how in order to find true refreshment we need God to break us down to our true self. Hunter's source text was Nehemiah 1:1-4. Hunter speaks from 4:38-25:52. Todd Hadley speaks from 25:53-33:10 and shares a personal testimony to the chapel service. Hadley informs the students that spiritual awakening is realizing that we're double minded and that we have a crucial need to submit to God. Hadley's source text was James 4:7-10. Charles Fuller, the main speaker, speaks from 33:11-42:43. His audio is cut off at the end of this recording. Fuller discusses how God wants to have a relationship with humanity. Fuller uses Joshua chapters 4 & 5 as his source text. This audio is continued under side B.