Archive for the 'Leadership' Category
Where do we go now? Membership, Attendance, Baptisms, and Giving Down in the Southern Baptist Convention
On May 28, 2014, LifeWay Christian Resources, in cooperation with Baptist state conventions, released their Annual Church Profile report. While celebrating an increase of 91 net churches, taking our total number of churches to 46,125 churches, along with our now 4,789 church-type missions, overall, we registered a:
DECLINE
*In Membership
*In Attendance
*In Baptisms
*In Giving
This trajectory we are on is approaching a danger zone unlike anything we have seen before in our generation. As a pastor, questions abound, such as:
- Will we face the reality of where we are?
- Will this decline continue?
- Will we see an acceleration of this decline?
- Will we ever see a reversal of our present direction?
While these questions are real, I would like to answer a question that every Southern Baptist pastor, layperson, church, and leader needs to answer for themselves and the ministry they lead or are a part of. The question is…
Where do we go now?
I have been active in Southern Baptist life for years. Over the years, we have never lacked for urgent pleas by leadership, evangelistic initiatives, new, exciting resources, or commitments made regarding one or all of these. Yet, we continue to decline.
Could it be that we are coming to an end of ourselves, realizing we cannot get this done on our own? The culture is becoming more unfriendly to the gospel, and our convention of churches is becoming known for decline. Even the recent report regarding our lack of baptisms, as a convention, received attention by secular periodicals. In fact, if you missed my evaluation of that, please read about it here.
Where do we go now?
1. We need a Great Awakening!
It is time we realize we cannot reverse where we are on our own. It is time to seek the Lord! Yes, we need a Great Awakening. For months, I have been calling upon Southern Baptist pastors and leaders to come together to call out to God in extraordinary prayer. Why? I wrote last week what I have been saying and will say again today:
There is no great movement of God that ever occurs that is not first preceded by the extraordinary prayer of God’s people.
If our personal conviction from God’s Word and the history of the church does not convince us of the need for extraordinary prayer, perhaps the continual statistical decline of the Southern Baptist Convention will. Our number one need is to begin to call out together to God in extraordinary prayer for the next great spiritual awakening in America.
Without question, it is time to seek the Lord together. We need a Great Awakening!
2. We need to accelerate our pace of completing the Great Commission!
Our “business as usual” pace will not reverse the decline. Through God’s power, we need to rise up, come together like never before, and accelerate our pace of completing the Great Commission. In a recent interview with Baptist Press, I spoke to this specific need.
We need to review what we say we believe about the lostness of humanity, the power of the gospel, our hope for heaven, and making disciples of all the nations. When we do this, we will accelerate our pace of completing the Great Commission.
Unquestionably, it is past time for us to deny ourselves, cease any infighting or quarrels, remove the walls of bias, division, and preferences, and in Jesus’ name, deny ourselves, come together, and accelerate our pace of completing the Great Commission in our generation. We need a massive spiritual movement of extraordinary prayer for a Great Awakening and a massive strategic movement toward accelerating our pace of completing the Great Commission. While both need immediate action, I know the former is imperative ultimately to the latter.
Yours for the Great Commission,
Ronnie W. Floyd
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.
“Baptists, Just Without the Baptisms”… Baptists Should Take Notice!
When a national secular publication as prominent as The Atlantic publishes an article entitled, “Baptists, Just Without the Baptisms,” Baptists should stand up and take notice! If there is one thing we do not want to be known for, it is that we are not reaching people with the gospel of Jesus Christ effectively. Additionally, we do not want to be known for not reaching the next generation.
Actions We Should Consider Taking Immediately:
1. Each pastor and church leader should share “Pastors’ Task Force on SBC Evangelistic Impact & Declining Baptisms,” released last week, with their entire church leadership and perhaps their entire church.
Last week, I wrote a response to this report that may encourage you on how we are responding as a church. I believe we need to educate our lay people to these matters, and they will rise up with us to take the needed actions. They can join you not only in strategic thinking, but prayerful intercession.
2. Personally own the call to evangelize the lost.
As Great Commission Christians, we must own the Great Commission personally. We cannot blame others or make excuses. It comes down to each of us owning it and wearing it daily. Evangelizing, baptizing, and discipling must be escalated.
3. Prioritize the conversation in your church.
There is a lot of noise in our churches. It is hard to get the attention of our people. The world is not just noisy, but mobile. The growing infrequency of church attendance adds to this challenge. Yet, somehow, some way, we must prioritize the conversation of reaching lost people with the gospel of Jesus Christ. I can assure you, in our church, the more prioritized the conversation is with our team and leaders, the more people we see come to Christ. Acts 1:8 and Matthew 28:19-20 is not an option; it is the Lord’s command to us. Therefore, it is our priority!
4. Address the reaching of the next generation.
How can we live with 60% of our churches not reaching and baptizing at least one teenager? How can we live with 80% of our churches reaching zero to just one adult from the ages of 18-29? In reality, we cannot do a whole lot about other churches, but we can address our own church. Perhaps if we are realizing some success in reaching the next generation, it will encourage other churches to do so as well. Quite honestly, we must return to the Lord and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, believing and realizing that He and His message can transform lives, even the lives of teenagers and young adults. The gospel is the power of God to salvation to everyone who believes!
5. Agree together that the greatest need in this moment is to see God bring the next Great Awakening.
We can make all kinds of changes relating to reaching people. We can try lots of things to attempt to be more effective. Don’t get me wrong, there are times strategies and even leadership needs to change. However, let’s get real: Above all, we need to see God bring the next Great Awakening! Therefore, we need to pray like never before; meaning, we need to pray extraordinarily. Let’s join together in practicing and believing in extraordinary prayer. No great movement of God ever occurs unless it is preceded by the extraordinary prayer of God’s people.
Perhaps when we take some of these actions, we will become known again as being “Baptists With the Baptisms!”
Yours for the Great Commission,
Ronnie W. Floyd
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.