Archive for the 'Leadership' Category
Taking Care of Our Children and Youth
As I reflect on Mother’s Day, I am reminded of our responsibility to take care of our children. How can one think of Mother’s Day without also thinking about children? Jeana and I think about the care and protection of our six young grandchildren endlessly.
Yesterday, they were with us to celebrate Mother’s Day. While watching them all together, it reminded me once again that we are always thinking of their care; whether they are inside our home, outside playing, or in their own homes. We pray daily for their care and protection. We also place various practical safeguards to ensure their safety.
When children and youth are abused
I absolutely shudder every time I hear that 25 to 33 percent of girls and 5 to 15 percent of boys will be sexually abused by the time they are 18 years of age. Sadly, most abuse is at the hands of family members or trusted family friends[1]. Yet, too often it also happens at church.
All Christ-followers should understand that God is very serious about caring for and protecting children. Unquestionably, children are a gift from God. As they are placed into our care, we need to care for them in the highest manner, protecting them at all times.
Jesus is always pictured as one who cares for children. God’s Word says that Jesus believed that children should have direct access to Him. At the same time, he gave serious warnings to any person who would ever harm children.
Jesus would weep over the way children are treated in our culture today. Whether it is the killing of the unborn, the sexual, verbal, or physical abuse of our children and youth, or the tragedy of human trafficking, all are severe violations of children and youth, and should be recognized as evil, wrong, and sinful.
Our churches must be protective of all children and youth
At Cross Church, we have taken a proactive approach in protecting our children and youth when they are entrusted to us. Let me share with you a few ways our church cares for and protects our children:
- Cross Church requires background checks on all employees and volunteers who work with our children and youth.
- Cross Church equips our staff teams that work with children and youth, keeping them up-to-date on their responsibilities of caring for our children and youth.
- Cross Church staff and volunteers are always expected to call authorities immediately if any questionable or suspect situation occurs, as well as cooperate with those authorities.
- Cross Church responds with immediate discipline of those found guilty of child abuse.
- Cross Church ministers with compassion toward any child or youth who has ever been threatened or taken advantage of in any way.
- Cross Church trains and oversees our staff and volunteers on these and other ways to keep our children safe.
We all have a responsibility, but I believe that churches have a greater responsibility and accountability relating to caring for and protecting our children and youth.
Without any doubt, we believe in caring for and protecting our children and youth who are part of any activity at Cross Church. My prayer is always: “Lord, please give us the wisdom we need to care for and protect our children in the highest manner.”
Our church—and every church—needs to be a safe place for children.
Our Southern Baptist Convention has a role to encourage our churches to care for and protect our children and youth
I cannot speak with any level of authority about conventions or denominations other than my own. As an active part of the Southern Baptist Convention, I know this subject is always on our minds, but we must remain vigilant and recognize that not everyone is getting the message.
As recently as June 2013, the Southern Baptist Convention passed a resolution “On Sexual Abuse Of Children.” This resolution gives a brief summary of important facts, noting that there are, “1.8 million reported victims of sexual abuse by more than 750,000 child abuse perpetrators identified in the United States alone.” This is so disturbing to hear and read.
With conviction, this strong resolution was approved. Christ-followers and churches were called upon to be proactive in developing policies relating to people who work with our children and youth, as well as be reactive, when or if, there is any suspect or situation that occurs.
In our Southern Baptist Convention, we also encourage our churches to do background checks on all staff and volunteers. As well, we encourage them to review the U.S. Department of Justice sex offender database, which is linked on our sbc.net website.
Furthermore, we can and must hold up the issue. Yes, we are a convention of autonomous churches, but we need to continue to sound the alarm on national, state, and the association level, calling churches to protect children in their care.
As a Team
We must work together as a team: Parents, churches, and denominations, to do all we can to care for and protect our children and youth. We cannot do it alone. We need each other. We need to be diligent in this task.
It is fitting that a few hours with my very young grandchildren reminds me of our responsibility as family members, our responsibility as a church family, and our responsibility as a denominational family to care for and protect our children and youth.
Yours for the Great Commission,
Ronnie W. Floyd
[1] SBC Life Special Report, Protecting Our Children, “Silence is Not Always Golden” by Hope Graham
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.
You’re Not Thinking Big Enough
My first pastorate was in a town of 300 people. It was a very special church. Each Sunday I would go to lunch at a different member’s home. We will never forget those days. It was a great place for me to learn.
One of the greatest lessons about vision I learned in the simplest manner while I was at that church. Some of the church’s leadership determined we needed to air condition the building. This led to a business meeting. We were discussing the situation as the ping-pong match began. One of the men felt strongly we did not need to do it because “times were hard.” A godly woman in the church had heard about all she wanted to hear. She stood up and said to them, “God will take care of this. Let’s help the church move forward to the future for our younger families.” In her passionate speech and plea, she nailed the hard times issue by telling them she would give the first $1,000. Needless to say, within minutes the whole issue was solved. The church was getting its own central heat and air unit.
In the middle of the match, I had resolved that the deal was over and the man had won again. However, I learned that night I was not thinking big enough! I had forgotten the power of vision and how people love to rally to a better future. The lady had called people to a better future, even demonstrating sacrifice toward it.
What God etched in my heart that night I will never forget. A godly lady had a vision and was not going to let anyone torpedo it. She painted a vision, and people ran toward it.
The Lord has used the lessons I learned that night and built upon them church by church and situation by situation. God wanted to build me into a man of vision and faith.
When I came to my present church in 1986 and preached for the church to vote on me becoming their pastor, I was grilled with questions for a long time. That night, I began to cast a vision in many areas.
I remember saying to them, “Surely He wants to use our church to place Jesus and His gospel all over the world from Northwest Arkansas.” That was a strong statement of vision and faith. On that night, I rallied people to a better future.
Through the years, I felt there was no way that would happen, but I continued on in the vision. With the limited population in this region, I lost my vision and faith periodically. Sometimes I would believe we had peaked and there was no way for growth to continue. Yet it continued to happen. Every time I felt the lid was on, God would blow the lid off the church. I was not thinking big enough! Each time I would look back and say to myself, “I should have known God better than that.” Each time, vision and faith were contributing factors. Each time, people were rallying to a better future for their lives and our church.
Vision is rallying people to a better future. Vision is helping people see what you see already. Vision is calling the invisible into visibility. Vision is usually determined by your burden and by your faith.
Jesus Thinks Big
When Jesus was about to ascend to be with His Father in heaven, He demonstrated the big idea. It all fit into His extraordinary plan. He had died for our sins. He had been raised from the dead supernaturally. Moments before His ascension, He laid some major visionary plans upon His faithful followers. He stated, as recorded by Luke in Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
This was a big idea. Jesus was thinking big! He was calling His followers to expand their belief in Him and His good news. He wanted His followers to begin sharing where they lived, then stretch to their own country, and eventually go into the entire world. This plan for reaching the world with news about His gift of eternal life became the marching orders to the church from our commander-in-chief, Jesus Christ. Any vision we have needs to be a vision that is tied to the vision of Jesus. He pulls for your vision to be fulfilled when you join Him in fulfilling His vision for the entire world, beginning with your own world.
When we do this, we experience a better future. We see things happen that do not logically make sense. We begin to realize that when God factors into our lives and churches, He creates something that is powerful! The supernatural power of God is unleashed upon you and your church when you have the heart for and begin to step toward reaching your region with the good news of Jesus with great intentionality. The power escalates along with the vision.
Whether you are trusting God for central heat and air to be placed in your building, or something else, ensure the vision somehow connects with reaching others for Jesus. When you connect what you desire to do with His vision, you send your vision to an entirely different level. The commitment from the divine towards you and your church begins to escalate.
Are you thinking big enough? Is your church thinking big enough?
It all begins with our vision. Do you have one?
A Personal Account
Pastors and church leaders, Great Commission strategizing ignites my spirit like nothing else. I long to exhaust all approaches, and all resources, in telling every person in the world about Jesus Christ and making disciples of all the nations. This has been my heart’s vision for many years.
There is no way I could share a word about vision without mentioning an experience that changed me forever. Johnny Hunt, then president of our convention, appointed me to serve as chairman of the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force of the Southern Baptist Convention in 2009-10. I led a Task Force team of 22 diverse leaders in bringing a report and recommendations to our convention of more than 40,000 churches and congregations, on the question of how we might better work together to fulfill the Great Commission.
I led this gifted team for one year through, long, exhausting, and exhilarating hours. I knew this was the most wonderful, significant opportunity I would ever undertake in my earthly life. At times I felt overwhelmed with our task.
The Lord taught me many things during my time with the Task Force. Through my interactions with these 22 leaders, He ultimately matured my vision for the Great Commission. I concluded that time in my life still holding a deep passion and vision to see the every person in the world hear the great name of Jesus Christ, but with a matured vision to encourage the next generation of pastors and church leaders to join me in this passion.
As part of my Great Commission vision, today I diligently make time to engage the next generation and encourage them in every way possible. I see tremendous value and importance in pouring into the lives of the next generation of church leaders. I encourage you to come alongside and invest in your developing leaders and share your vision with them – may the Lord ignite your vision in them as well.
Yours for the Great Commission,
Ronnie W. Floyd
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.