Daniel Ritchie, longtime evangelist and current 1st Vice President of the Southern Baptist Convention, encouraged NOBTS to be unashamed of the Gospel in chapel on Tuesday morning (Oct. 28).
Ritchie, who was born without arms, encouraged the crowd with his own testimony of resilience and Gospel hope.
An alum of the College at Southeastern (now Judson College), Ritchie has been serving in ministry for over 25 years after becoming a Christian as a teenager. He has traveled around the world telling his story and sharing the good news of Christ.
Ritchie explained his own fears and doubts about living out his calling came not from his physical disability, but from his spiritual mindset.
“I have spent my entire life not buying the phrase ‘I can’t’ when it came to my physical life, but the one place where I started to buy the lie of ‘I can’t’ was when it came to the spiritual calling that God had on my life,” Ritchie explained.
“When God called me to ministry, I told the Lord that I can’t do it, but in those moments that we feel done and exhausted, we have a Spirit that carries us along through our inadequacies.”
Ritchie challenged NOBTS students to not be afraid of living out their own ministry calling.
“You know God has clearly gifted you, but you feel that if you put yourself out there then it is not going to go well,” Ritchie told the students.
“If you’re getting to a place in ministry where you realize that you can’t do this, that’s kind of the point. If you can do it on your own, then you’re not glorifying God, you’re glorifying yourself. Don’t let your fear, don’t let your worry, don’t let your insecurity squash the gift that God has given you.”
Ritchie’s sermon focused on the passage of 2 Timothy 1:6-14 and included three main takeaways:
Ritchie reminded students to cling to the sovereignty and love of God no matter their circumstances.
“Sometimes when life gets really hard, busy and noisy, the first thing that we forget is that the creator and sustainer of the universe loves us, saves us, and has a calling for us,” Ritchie said.
“We get so absorbed in what is right in front of us that we forget that the most defining work of who we are is the fact that we are an adopted son or daughter of God. And that ought to be the best news that we have in our life. Don’t get to the place where the Gospel just becomes old news to you,”
Ritchie closed his sermon with the point to live unashamed of the God we know.
“Christ dying in our place and bringing us to life gives us an eternal hope that is meant to be our fuel to keep serving, proclaiming and loving.”
Daniel Ritchie’s full chapel message can be seen here.
NOBTS chapel takes place every Tuesday and Thursday at 11 A.M. Central Time and can be viewed live on YouTube and Facebook.
