Let's pray together.

Almighty God and Heavenly Father, this is for me a very high privilege to speak to these unbelievably strategic servants of yours and I don't

take it lightly and tremble at the thought of having some little influence in the thousand or so pools from which it

will ripple out here.

And so I ask for your help to be faithful,

to your word on which this society is built and to depend upon the Holy Spirit for his merciful

enablement. I ask for alertness for this mid-afternoon hour for those who hear.

And I ask that you protect us from the evil one who would distort what I say and ruin it.

And I pray that you would cover any error and cause it to be recognized and dispensed with

and that you would confirm what is true and that

our hearts would be inflamed with delight in you and our minds would be made clear concerning who you are and what you're

up to in the church and in the missionary enterprise of the world.

So draw in the air now and help us for this next hour.

I pray for the glory of your name and the good of your bride

and the expansion of your kingdom among all the unreached peoples of the world.

In Jesus, name I pray, amen. the greatest need of pastors and missionaries for the next generation is precisely the same need as every generation that has ever been or will ever be.

And therefore, the task that is the greatest challenge for each of you who are engaged in preparing them for it never, ever changes.

In fact, the great need is so central to all of life and so definitive of all ministry and so relevant to all culture

and so ultimate compared to every other

value that it should be the all-absorbing passion of every scholar and

every teacher in this room, especially those who presume to help prepare pastors

and missionaries for their work in this day.

...