Archive for the 'America' Category
Remember These Five Things During This Presidential Election Season
During this pivotal year of electing the next President of the United States, we need to be wise with our words and actions. There is much passion rising in America during this season.
These are serious times. It is in the air. We sense it, feel it, and know it in our heart. Much is at stake. This is unquestionable and undeniable.
Yet, it may do well for each of us to remember these things during the election season:
1. Keep everything in perspective.
God is sovereign over all human affairs. Regardless of who wins the nomination of your preferred party or who wins the election, God is ultimately in charge. Keep everything in perspective.
I am not advocating passivism. I am calling for each of us to keep perspective. Our hope and trust is ultimately in the Lord.
2. Be involved in the process.
I am deeply convicted that each Christ-follower needs to be involved in the processes of electing our next president. We need to know about the candidates, understand what they believe, measure it by the Word of God, and vote as we believe God is leading us. Yes, we need to vote not only in the general election, but also in the primary of our choice.
It is incumbent upon us to be involved in the process at whatever level afforded to us. If you get a chance to meet a candidate, meet them. If you get a chance to speak into their lives and platform, step up and represent the Lord and His Word honorably. If you are never afforded this privilege, learn what you can by listening, watching, and reading.
I say it again; it is incumbent upon us to be involved. Quite honestly, America cannot afford for us to stay at home. Please be involved in the process of electing our next President.
3. Watch what you say and how you say it.
Passion is rising over these matters. In our respective places and positions, each of us will be asked our opinions. Therefore, we need to be deliberate about what we say and how we say it.
People are watching and listening to us. We represent our Lord everywhere, so we need to live up to this wisely. This does not keep us from providing insights and speaking up when appropriate, but it does call us to weigh every word we say and the way we say it.
Do not lose your testimony and influence with others for the sake of pontificating, as if you are trying to win an argument or promote your preferred persuasion. This is difficult for each of us, but we must be wise with our words and gentle in our spirit.
In our congregations, we have people from all backgrounds with all kinds of opinions. This should not call us to silence or intimidate us into fearfulness. Yet, it does call us to be wise with our words and clear in every way, exhibiting at all times, the spirit of Christ.
4. Refuse to be categorized.
Election season usually pushes us into categories and labels. Now, it is more than obvious by what we read that even evangelicals are broken into various categories. These categories are labeling different groups and how they will vote with different candidates.
I hope each of us will strive not to be categorized by anyone.
We are one thing ultimately: Followers of Jesus Christ. This is our badge of honor. If we abandon this by our actions or opinions, we will begin to lose our prophetic voice during this critical hour in America.
5. Pray for God to raise up His next leader for our nation.
Daniel 2:21 (NIV) says, “He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.” God does have a will for our nation and He has the power to raise up whomever He desires to lead our nation.
As followers of Christ, while we work in the processes afforded to us as Americans, we need to also pray for God to raise up His next leader for our nation. May He raise up such a leader where His mercy will extend toward us. And, regardless of this leader, I pray for the mercy of the Lord to be upon us.
When we know we have worked in the processes and prayed for the Lord’s will to be done, when all is concluded, we have the peace to trust the Lord, who is sovereign over all affairs.
Finally, let’s pray for one another to remember these five things during the presidential election season.
Now is the Time to Lead,
Ronnie W. Floyd
Senior Pastor, Cross Church
President, Southern Baptist Convention
*******
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is currently serving as the President of the Southern Baptist Convention. The Southern Baptist Convention is America’s largest Protestant denomination with more than 15.7 million members in over 51,094 churches nationwide.
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
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.
Dear America: Evangelicals Can Pick the President, Period.
This article was published on FoxNews.com on Monday, February 1, 2016.
The first votes of the 2016 presidential election have been cast, but with ten months to go until the general election, a lot of my fellow evangelicals are already frustrated with this campaign.
I get that. Every election season brings with it the highs and lows that come with passionate, democratic discourse. There’s no mistaking, though, that this one feels different.
It’s not just that “this is the most important election in American history” (don’t we always hear that?). Instead, you can sense it in the air and on the airwaves: this time it’s more serious, more consequential. Much is at stake during the term of our next president.
So, amid the rancor and the discord, the partisan name-calling and political infighting, what is a faithful Christian to do? It’s tempting to say we should just distance ourselves from politics altogether—to avoid the mud and muck and keep our eyes solely focused on matters of the church.
The thing is, for those of us who call ourselves Christ-followers, avoiding politics can’t be an option. I submit to you that while it’s okay to be fed up, it’s not okay to sit out. And, in fact, participating in the electoral process is exactly the sort of cultural engagement we’re called to by our faith. This is part of what Jesus meant when he told us to “render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s.”
Think about what our country would look like today if all 60 million U.S. evangelicals showed up to vote this year… To put that number in context, President Barack Obama only earned 65 million votes in total in 2012. Mitt Romney received just over 60 million that same year, while John McCain didn’t even receive 60 million votes four years prior.
If every eligible evangelical voter would cast a ballot in each of our local, state, and federal elections, will the United States be a better place? I’m convinced that it would.
Think about an America where 60 million Jesus-loving, God-fearing men and women stepped into their voting booths this election season—not with the intention of electing a “Christian president” but with the intention of faithfully living out biblical values in the public square.
I understand that we Christians are by no means monolithic in our politics. We are, however, generally unified in our values. Regardless of which candidates we support, we can all agree that there needs to be more truth in the public square.
The Christian worldview gives us a valuable perspective on important questions related to helping the poor, maximizing individual freedoms, dignifying life, strengthening families, protecting the unborn, and guarding religious freedom.
Without our votes, that voice is absent.
As a follower of Jesus Christ, the only label I wear in and out of election season is that of a “Christian.” I understand that my primary allegiance isn’t to political ideology but to Jesus Christ himself and to the Bible as God’s final authority. And, it’s because of this belief that my faith supersedes and informs my politics. While we’re not electing a pastor to govern America – we are not a theocracy – biblical faith does not distance itself from political action but rather requires it.
When we’ve done our part, when we’ve prayed for the Lord’s will, when the votes have been tallied, we no longer have frustration but peace, knowing that our God is sovereign over all affairs and we did our part.
Make no mistake, evangelicals have the ability to determine the course of America’s future, one vote at a time.
Now is the Time to Lead,
Ronnie W. Floyd
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.