Archive for the 'Pastors' Category
When Disappointment Comes
Disappointment is not easy to live through. It is real and will visit you from time to time. Learning to live and work through disappointment will save you from a life of resentment and bitterness.
Identifying Disappointment
Identifying disappointment will help us know what to expect and perhaps give us some insight on how to live through it.
1. People will disappoint you.
All kinds of people will disappoint you in life. At times, even people you love and admire may disappoint you. No one is perfect. Each of us has disappointed other people. Hopefully, it has never been intentional, but it does happen.
2. Organizations will disappoint you.
When you are involved in organizations, there is potential for them to really disappoint you. Perhaps they will not live up to what they state or they fail to respond in the way you assumed they would. This could be a school, church, business, government, or civic organization.
3. Circumstances will disappoint you.
There are times in life when we work hard to shape something we love or even the future. Then suddenly, something changes, someone leaves, someone fumbles the vision, or resources are not provided. Transition and change can challenge your attitude and lead to disappointment.
4. Unrealistic expectations will lead to disappointment.
Each of us can have unrealistic expectations. We can have unrealistic expectations of the people we love the most, and even of our nation. As a person who has high expectations of myself and others, I have had to moderate some of my expectations.
Living Through Disappointment
Living through disappointment will require us to take a few actions on a regular basis.
Action #1: Realize no one is perfect.
Our unrealistic expectations lead us to assume that people are perfect and operate their lives and leadership perfectly. This is completely unfair and unwise. Personally, I must always remind myself that I am not perfect and I should not expect other people to be perfect.
Action #2: Forgive and let it go.
Forgiving other people who have disappointed us is the key to living with peace and contentment. We cannot hold something against someone else. We have to forgive and let it go.
Action #3: Forget it and drive on.
When we truly forgive and let something go, we also forget about it and drive on. My friend Clebe McClary, who fought courageously in the Vietnam War paying a high price for our freedom, taught me this principle years ago. He called it FIDO: Forget it and drive on. This is outstanding counsel for each of us when we are disappointed.
Action #4: Give it to God.
God knows everything. He knows where you are. He knows what happened. He knows the people, situation, organization, or experience that has disappointed you. Therefore, give it to God. He will take care of you.
The Only Thing You Can Control
There is only one thing you can control in your life: Your response to the situation.
When disappointment comes with people, circumstances, organizations, or with life itself, the only thing you can control is your response to the situation. You cannot control others or their actions.
There is one thing you can control: Your response to the situation.
Choose to accept all people.
Choose to forgive and let it go.
Choose to forget it and drive on.
Choose to give all your disappointments to God.
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
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.
The Most Powerful Action the Church Can Take in This Critical Hour
The church is fighting to find a way to make a difference. Methodologies are tested endlessly. Strategies are adjusted continually. Even theologies are compromised periodically. Each is nothing more than a frail attempt to make some kind of difference.
Yet, at our fingertips is the hope to make a difference. Stirred by the words of Acts 12:5, God has placed upon me what I believe is the most powerful action the church can take. What does Acts 12:5 say?
“So Peter was kept in prison, but prayer was being made earnestly to God for him by the church.”
Peter was just hours away from execution under the leadership of King Herod. While he was in prison, the church was praying. The Bible says the church was praying earnestly to God on Peter’s behalf. Which means that with great fervency and intensity, they were stretched out before God, crying out to Him to save the life of Peter!
The Most Powerful Action the Church Can Take is Prayer
I ask you to say these words out loud as you read them: The most powerful action the church can take is prayer! Under the same conditions Peter faced, if they existed in our time, some modern churches would:
- Appoint a study committee to discover the needed actions
- Call a business conference to see what possible solutions may exist
- Contact an attorney to take some kind of legal action
What would your church do? I am convinced that the two most powerful words in Acts 12 are the words, “but prayer.”
Bondage is Everywhere
Peter was in the literal bondage of prison. Yet, people all over our nation and world are living in bondage. Sadly, many of our churches only attempt new methodologies, new strategies, or even adjust their theologies in a futile attempt to help people overcome their problems.
Why Don’t We Pray?
When the most powerful action the church can take is prayer, why don’t we pray? What is it about us that we will try almost anything other than prayer? When we pray, we are depending on God! When we choose not to pray, we are depending on ourselves! God, help the church to become the praying people You intended us to be.
When We Pray, God Does Miracles!
Yes, I write it again and ask you to say it out loud: When we pray, God does miracles! In Acts 12, this is exactly what happened. God freed Peter from prison miraculously, all in response to the prayers of God’s people. God took this ordinary man named Peter, and made him the recipient of an extraordinary work of God because the church prayed.
This Week, I Want To Challenge You
This week, I want to challenge you to take these four actions:
1. Pray for miracles: God is able to do anything, anywhere, at any time, with and for anyone; therefore, pray for miracles!
2. Expect miracles: Because our God is sovereign and in complete control of all things and He desires us to pray to Him about all things, expect miracles when you pray. Refuse to settle, expect God to move, and to answer prayer.
3. Trust God’s sovereign will: Yes, He is in complete control of all things; therefore, when you pray, God moves your heart to receive whatever He so chooses to do in response to your prayers. The ways of God are often explainable; therefore, the sovereign will of God has to be trusted.
4. Church, rise up and pray: The greatest action a church can take is prayer!
Believe it! Do it! I want our people to know that when their lives are falling apart, our church is praying. When the world is uncertain, our church is praying. When families are struggling, our church is praying. When hope is seemingly dissipating, our church is praying. Therefore, rise up and pray!
Now is the Time to Lead,
Ronnie W. Floyd
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.