Ronnie Floyd

Archive for the 'America' Category

July 1st, 2016

Spiritual Leaders and Their Influence in This Election Season

America, Leadership, Southern Baptist Convention

I give my full and complete endorsement to Jesus Christ. My 100% trust is in God alone, our Sovereign King.

I agree with the late Adrian Rogers, who said, “We dare not identify the Christian faith with the Democrat or Republican party. We need to be free to tell both parties to repent and get right with God.”[1] In fact, I would add what I shared on June 14 with the Southern Baptist Convention, “The church cannot call America to repent until the church repents.”

The Tension Is Real

Christians have dual citizenship. Our citizenship is not only in the Kingdom of God that is eternal and superior to all, but we are blessed, active citizens in the United States of America. Our Sovereign God not only determined the period of time He ordained us to live, He also determined where we would live.

I love the United States of America and still believe it is the greatest country in the world. Yet, I feel an enormous tension in my spirit about how to operate in our nation effectively, even though my ultimate allegiance is to the Kingdom of God that has no end. We live for one Kingdom while we live in another kingdom. Often, the decisions within our own country increase this tension and we have never lived in a time in our generation when this tension has been any greater.

Spiritual Leaders Are Wrestling Through This Tension

Spiritual leaders are wrestling through this tension. While this is real and challenging for each of us, in Jesus’ name for the sake of gospel testimony, we need to cease wrestling with each other through this tension. This does not honor God in any way.

Questioning the motives of other Christian leaders is not in your purview, but God’s alone. He is more than capable to take care of His God-called leaders. For those who are acting like they are spiritual policemen in the evangelical world, it is time to put the whistles away and cease the demeaning of other Christian leaders. God has called us to love, trust, and honor one another.

In this presidential election season, some are acting like we have had pure choices before and now we do not. Let’s get real: we have never had pure choices to select from. We live in a fallen world and all of our systems are less than perfect. It was failed when some of our greatest presidents have been elected or when some of our greatest presidents have emerged through the fire of leadership. Perfection will not occur until we die and our residency changes from here into heaven, and ultimately when Jesus comes again in His coming eternal, sovereign Kingdom.

Besides this, our trust needs to be in our Sovereign God, not in people or our processes. Think on and stand with confidence upon these words:

Daniel 2:21, “He changes the times and seasons; He removes kings and establishes kings.”
Daniel 4:26, “…Heaven rules.”
Proverbs 21:1, “A king’s heart is like streams of water in the Lord’s hand; He directs it wherever He chooses.”

Our trust is in the Lord and His word.

A Precedent That Is Undeniable

As many of you know, I have been navigating through this difficult terrain as President of the Southern Baptist Convention. When my two years of service concluded on the evening of June 15, the terrain did not become any less difficult, but in all reality, may have increased in difficulty in the last few days.

As the volatility increased in this year’s United States presidential election, I prayed, searched, and became convicted in March that there was one biblical character God wanted to use in my life who would become my mentor and model while navigating through these tumultuous waters.

Daniel was a statesman and a prophet. This is what I want to be in my life and leadership. Daniel lived in Jerusalem. In 605 B.C., some say at age 15, Daniel was taken captive along with others and exported to Babylon. He lived there for at least seventy years, where three times each day, he would open his window, kneel facing Jerusalem, and pray. John MacArthur noted this about Daniel: “He quickly rose to the role of statesman by official royal appointment and served as a confidante of kings, as well as a prophet in two world empires.”[2]

Daniel was a godly, praying and fasting man whom God used powerfully. He was entrusted with favor from God and had favor with man. Daniel was entrusted with influencing the King and the future of the country, as well as given the authority to lead. Daniel 1-4 speaks of his relationship and influence with one of the most wicked leaders of all time, King Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel 5-10 speaks of his relationship with King Belshazzar, King Darius, and King Cyrus.

America is like a modern-day Babylon: sinful, wicked, and godless. God raised up King Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon to exercise God’s judgment upon the people of God. Daniel and the people of God being exported into this godless, wicked nation gives us a living example of where we are as Christ-followers. We need to go to school on how God used Daniel and others in this season of judgment.

Daniel determined he would honor God whatever the costs. Daniel received God’s favor and was given leadership and influence. Each spiritual leader should aspire to be like Daniel.

Throughout Scripture, we see men and women of God who had a voice with leaders of nations. Some examples of these God-called spiritual leaders speaking to a nation’s leader:

Moses to Pharaoh
Eliezer to Jehoshaphat
Elijah to Ahab
Elisha to King Ben-hadad of Aram and also to the King of Israel
Nathan to David
Esther to Ahasuerus
Jeremiah to Zedekiah
Daniel to Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Darius, and Cyrus
John the Baptist to Herod
Peter and John to Annas and Caiaphas
Paul to King Agrippa

There are others I could list. This is a biblical precedent that is undeniable.

What If

What if Daniel had refused to acknowledge King Nebuchadnezzar and acted like he was too righteous to relate to him? What if Daniel had not answered the request to come interpret his dream? When you read the book of Daniel, you find him relating to these leaders continually, oftentimes entrusted with great influence upon the nation and even property; but at other times, being put in prison or ending up in a lion’s den. Daniel was not for sale. He even told King Belshazzar, “keep your gifts.”[3] God always prevailed. Daniel was always faithful.

Why would we not want godly spiritual leaders to be influencers upon national and global leaders today?

Spiritual Leaders Need Tact and Discretion

Daniel 2:14, “Then Daniel responded with tact and discretion to Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, who had gone to execute the wise men of Babylon.” This is a pivotal verse that we need to go to school on in 2016 as spiritual leaders. In this day of social networking and endless opinions, Christian testimony is being destroyed and people are being hurt continually.

Daniel’s tone and words were flavored right, proper, and wise. Daniel’s counsel was sound, careful, and sensible.

As Christians and Christian leaders, we need to make sure our tone and words must never eliminate our ability to win someone on this earth to faith in Jesus Christ. We need more tact and discretion with our words or we automatically forfeit our statesmanship and prophetic voice in America.

Billy Graham, Daniel, and Spiritual Leaders Today

In Billy Graham’s book, Just As I Am, he writes about the tension he walked in during the 1996 election season. Two of his friends, Bob Dole and Bill Clinton, were running against each other for the office of President of the United States. While pressure was on him to endorse one of them, he did not do so. Yet, when Elizabeth Dole attended Graham’s crusade, some viewed this as an implied endorsement, just as others would do so when he was seen with President Clinton.

Yet, Billy Graham writes these words which so resonate with me today: “My own prayer was that God’s will would be done, and that He would grant wisdom, compassion, and integrity to whoever was elected to our highest office.”[4]

Just think what social media would have done to the great Billy Graham, who had an ongoing, personal spiritual relationship with multiple politicians and presidents who served our nation. Just think what social media and modern-day Christianity would have done to Daniel, the statesman and prophet.

Let me set the record straight today: I want Daniel, the statesman and prophet, and the life, leadership, and legacy of Billy Graham and their relationships with national and global political leaders to be my model rather than sitting on the sideline, critiquing every political candidate and anyone whom God would raise up to influence them.

Now is the Time to Lead,

Ronnie W. Floyd

Senior Pastor, Cross Church

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Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the Senior Pastor of Cross Church, immediate past President of the Southern Baptist Convention, and founder of the Cross Church School of Ministry.

To request an interview with Dr. Ronnie Floyd
contact Gayla Oldham at (479) 751-4523 or email gaylao@crosschurch.com.

Visit our website at http://ronniefloyd.com
Follow Dr. Floyd on Twitter and Instagram @ronniefloyd

[1] Dr. Adrian Rogers, “Christian Citizenship”, Love Worth Finding Ministries
[2] https://www.gty.org/resources/bible-introductions/MSB27/daniel, accessed June 26, 2016
[3] Daniel 5:17
[4] Graham, Billy. Just As I Am. Zondervan, 1999. p. 657

Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.

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June 29th, 2016

Racial Unity in America

America, Join the Movement, Pastors, SBC Annual Meeting, Southern Baptist Convention

The Southern Baptist Convention hosted A National Conversation on Racial Unity in America on Tuesday, June 14, 2016. This was one of the most historic moments in Southern Baptist history since the largest Protestant denomination in the United States of America, the Southern Baptist Convention, had its origin in desiring to appoint slaveholders as missionaries.

In the 1995 Southern Baptist Convention meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, meeting on our 150^th anniversary as a convention, we adopted a strong resolution on racial reconciliation. In this resolution we confessed openly: “WHEREAS, Many of our Southern Baptist forbears[sic] defended the right to own slaves, and either participated in, supported, or acquiesced in the particularly inhumane nature of American slavery; and WHEREAS, In later years Southern Baptists failed, in many cases, to support, and in some cases opposed, legitimate initiatives to secure the civil rights of African-Americans.” THEN, we stated later in the resolution these repentant words: “That we apologize to all African-Americans for condoning and/or perpetuating individual and systemic racism in our lifetime; and we genuinely repent of racism of which we have been guilty, whether consciously (Psalm 19:13) or unconsciously (Leviticus 4:27); and Be it further RESOLVED, That we ask forgiveness from our African-American brothers and sisters, acknowledging that our own healing is at stake; and Be it further RESOLVED, That we hereby commit ourselves to eradicate racism in all its forms from Southern Baptist life and ministry.” This was a bold statement of repentance by the Southern Baptist Convention.

Twenty-One Years Later

Now, twenty-one years later, we finally had an open conversation before the entire Southern Baptist Convention and America about the need for racial unity in America. It should not go unnoticed that this conversation occurred only twenty minutes from Ferguson, Missouri, where in August of 2014, the world became focused on the racial unrest and violence that erupted in this city. Additionally, this conversation occurred within a fifteen-minute walk of the Old Courthouse in St. Louis, where 159 years earlier the infamous court case of Dred Scott v Sandford resulted in the decision that as a black man, Dred Scott could not be recognized as a citizen of our nation and did not have the right to sue for his freedom.

I am not sure why it took twenty-one years for a conversation like this to occur within an annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention, but I am rejoicing it happened. We need to push pause as Southern Baptists for a moment and understand the significance of this event historically and presently.

Our Busyness Oftentimes Diminishes Significance

Our convention offers many options for breakfasts, luncheons, dinners, a myriad of information in the exhibit hall, and even personal appointments and activities. Oftentimes, these can distract from the very convention we journeyed to attend. Racing from one event to another and from one session to another can unintentionally diminish significant moments.

While thousands of our messengers were in the hall when this racial unity conversation took place, we also know many may have missed it. Even for those who were present with us in the convention hall, this conversation on racial unity may have become diminished due to the barrage of activities and options that consumed your mind and schedule.

Take Time Now to Consider Your Life and Church

In this summer season, take time now to consider your own life and ministry relating to this national conversation on racial unity. Consider showing a segment of it or even the entire conversation to your church in some setting. Perhaps you were not at our 2016 Southern Baptist Convention. You can watch this conversation here:

One of the Greatest “For Such a Time as This” Moments

While serving the past two years as President of the Southern Baptist Convention, one of my greatest “for such a time as this” desires was to move us forward in racial unity.

I appeal to you as Southern Baptists, please do not lose this moment historically or presently. Know that this conversation took place publicly because it had already taken place among many of us privately. Furthermore, any advancements we made in this convention or will make in the future as a convention will one day point back to this significant moment where Southern Baptists dealt head-on with one of the most difficult conversations in American life today. We need to further this conversation on racial unity in every church in America, regardless of denominational affiliation.

I conclude today with the words I stated in my 2016 Presidential Address in St. Louis, Missouri, on June 14, 2016: It is with deep regret that I can do nothing about this stained past against our African American brothers and sisters; but with all I am and with all I can, I join you in creating a future together that binds up the nation’s wounds and always marches ahead knowing we will not be satisfied until “justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.” (Amos 5:24)