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The Supreme Court and Same Sex Marriage: Preparing Our Churches for the Future | SBC Presidential Panel

The Supreme Court and Same Sex Marriage: Preparing Our Churches for the Future | SBC Presidential Panel
One of the most powerful features in our upcoming Southern Baptist Convention in Columbus, Ohio, will occur in our final afternoon session on Wednesday, June 17. This is NOT the year to leave the Annual Meeting early!

The Stakes Are Rising

The United States Supreme Court is beginning to hear oral arguments this week for and against redefining marriage in America. Marriage between a man and a woman is a God-ordained institution; the courts in our land do not need to attempt to redefine what God Himself has already clearly defined.

Yet, this week the stakes begin to rise regarding marriage in our nation. If the United States Supreme Court rules to redefine marriage, the continual attack that is already taking place on religious liberty will escalate.

Hear me clearly: If we lose the freedom of religion, then all the freedoms we have today will begin to diminish.

What is at stake is great. This is undeniable. We do not control the Supreme Court. At this point, our number one role must be to pray. Regardless of the outcome, may God have mercy on America and teach us how to live daily.

Preparing Our Churches for the Future

It is incumbent upon us to do all we can with all we have to prepare our churches for the future. The Supreme Court may rule on this issue within days of or during our convention in Columbus, and regardless of the outcome, our churches need to be prepared. We must respond to the issue and toward those who may have differing opinions in a way that would represent our Lord Jesus Christ in the highest manner. Unquestionably, things are changing, and the way we address this issue must be done with the truth of God in one hand and the love of God in the other hand.

Our Southern Baptist churches must rise in this moment and minister to people of all ages who are wrestling with all the challenges of the sexual revolution in America. Children and teenagers need help. Parents need help. Adults of all ages need help. Pastors, Christian leaders, and churches need help.

SBC Presidential Panel

Since this need is so pressing, I appealed to our 2015 Committee on Order of Business to allocate some time for us to address it on Wednesday afternoon. I am thankful to Dr. Andrew Hebert, our Chairman, and the members of this terrific committee who provided us with an answer to this need.

We created an SBC Presidential Panel for a session entitled The Supreme Court and Same Sex marriage: Preparing Our Churches for the Future. I prayerfully thought about who could contribute to this conversation and sought counsel from others. I am absolutely thrilled with who God has put together. I will lead this panel with five gifted people, each of which have valuable insight into this discussion.

Let Me Introduce You to Our Panel

The Presidential Panel includes:

  • R. Albert Mohler Jr., President of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky
  • Russell Moore, President of The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, Nashville, Tennessee
  • Rosaria Butterfield, Writer, Speaker, Educator, Pastor’s Wife, and Author, Durham, North Carolina
  • Ryan Blackwell, Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church, San Francisco, California
  • Matt Carter, Senior Pastor, The Austin Stone Community Church, Austin, Texas

While most of us are very familiar with the giftedness and contributions of Dr. Mohler and Dr. Moore, the other three leaders will also bring a special perspective. Recently, I listened to the powerful testimony of Rosaria Butterfield concerning this issue. You will not want to miss her insight. Additionally, my thirty-one year old dear friend, Ryan Blackwell, has pastored San Francisco’s First Baptist Church for four years. Our own Matt Carter has pastored in the capital city of Texas since 2002 and speaks into the lives of people weekly who live and navigate through cultural issues.

2015 SBC Presidential Panel

Spread the Word and Join Us

Spread the word and join us for the final session of our 2015 Southern Baptist Convention. Do not miss any session of the SBC, including this final session. Let’s experience our convention all the way through the final prayer with a great expectation for God to encounter us powerfully.

Yours for the Great Commission,

Ronnie W. Floyd
Senior Pastor, Cross Church
President, Southern Baptist Convention

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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 46,000 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

Register Now for the SBC and Announcing Two More SBC Committees

SBC 2015 Logo-NoBackgroundWe are within two months of our Southern Baptist Convention in Columbus, Ohio, on June 16-17, and our pace is intensifying and accelerating as we are preparing continually. Now is the time for each of us to get serious about attending.

Register Now for the Southern Baptist Convention

If you are representing your church as a messenger at our upcoming convention, your church can register you online right now. Or, you can register in person once you arrive if you are not able to do so online.

When you become a registered messenger, you will represent your church by:

  • Receiving your credentials as a messenger in Columbus at our registration area in the convention center
  • Attending the convention meetings
  • Voting when opportunity is given
  • Reporting to your church upon arrival back home

It is very important for each church to be represented and if you are in Columbus serving the convention itself, please ask your church to register you as a messenger. Again, REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN and can be done online here.

2015 Credentials Committee

Today, I am sharing our 2015 Credentials Committee. This committee is very important, as they review and verify the credentials of each registered messenger. According to SBC Bylaw 8, as President, I am to appoint this committee no less than thirty days prior to the convention meeting.

It also states this committee will review and rule upon any questions that may arise in registration concerning the credentials of messengers. If any contention arises concerning the seating of messengers, it is this committee who will consider the situation and report back to the Convention.

This committee will work in the registration area one day prior to the convention, as well as meet with the Registration Secretary, who oversees all matters relating to their responsibilities. Dr. Jim Wells of Missouri serves as our Registration Secretary for the Southern Baptist Convention.

Please understand, this committee is very important in the day in which we live. We want to ensure that all churches represented at our annual meeting have not veered away from our doctrinal beliefs and/or are not operating outside of our Constitution relating to what it means to be a cooperating church. You can read about what this means in Article III of our Constitution.

Therefore, I have named seasoned pastor and theologian, Dr. Hayes Wicker as the Chairman of our 2015 SBC Credentials Committee. He is the Senior Pastor of the First Baptist Church in Naples, Florida, and he will represent us in the highest manner. Assisting him as Vice-Chairman is Dr. Rob Peters, Senior Pastor of the Calvary Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. I have complete confidence in these two men as they work together to lead this year’s Credentials Committee.

Our 2015 Credentials Committee is:

  • Hayes Wicker (Chairman) – First Baptist Church – Naples, FL.
  • Rob Peters(Vice Chairman) – Calvary Baptist Church – Winston Salem, NC
  • James Betner – Delaware Valley Baptist Church – Willingboro, NJ
  • Becky Cavannaugh – Logan Elm Baptist Church – Circleville, OH
  • Greg Cooper – First Baptist Church Groveport – Groveport, OH
  • Debbie Dobbs – Dublin Baptist Church – Dublin, OH
  • Dan Eddington – Island City Baptist Church – Wilmington, IL
  • Shawn Edwards – Valley View Baptist Church – Vine Grove, KY
  • John Flores – La Respuesta, Highview Baptist Church – Louisville, KY
  • John Green – Shindler Drive Baptist Church – Jacksonville, FL
  • Clay Hallmark – Marion First Baptist Church – Marion, AR
  • Doug Hixson – Connection Church – Spearfish, SD
  • Dean Inserra – City Church – Tallahassee, Florida
  • Chris Johnson – Van Buren First Baptist Church – Van Buren, AR
  • Jason Paredes – Fielder Road Baptist Church – Arlington, TX
  • Tim Prock – First Baptist Church of Collinsville – Collinsville, OK
  • Sam Rainer – Stevens Street Baptist Church – Cookeville, TN
  • Phillip Shuford – First Baptist Church of Ozark – Ozark, MO
  • A.B. Vines – New Seasons Church – Spring Valley, CA
  • Jeff Williams – Geyer Springs First Baptist Church – Little Rock, AR

Please pray for them as they lead us.

2015 Tellers Committee

When the messengers of the Southern Baptist Convention are called upon to vote via ballot, the members of the Tellers Committee are responsible for tabulating the outcome of the vote. It is requested of me, as President, to appoint the Tellers Committee.

When a ballot vote occurs, the tellers tabulate the vote under the supervision of the Registration Secretary of the Convention. When messengers complete their registration in Columbus, they will be given printed ballots for voting.

After the tabulation of the ballots, the Chairman of the Tellers Committee reports the outcome of the vote to the secretaries. The results are announced as soon as possible.

By the nature of their responsibility, this committee is very pivotal in conducting business when these moments occur. We must insure it is led by and contains great leaders of integrity.

Therefore, I have named David Galvan, Lead Pastor of the New Life Church in Dallas, Texas as Chairman of the Tellers Committee. Pastor Galvan has led in many areas of our convention, always in the highest manner. He will be assisted as Vice-Chairman by a gifted brother in Christ, Mike Orr, Senior Pastor of the First Baptist Church in Chipley, Florida. Southern Baptists, these two men and this committee will serve us in the highest manner.

Our 2015 Tellers Committee is:

  • David Galvan (Chairman) – New Life Church – Dallas, TX
  • Mike Orr(Vice Chairman)– First Baptist Church Chipley – Chipley, FL
  • Judson Adams – LifeSpring Church – Marysville, OH
  • C.J. Adkins – Westmoreland Baptist Church – Huntington, WV
  • Doug Austin – Bethany Baptist Church – Cape Girardeau, MO
  • Gary Bearce – Pioneer Baptist Church – Wasilla, AK
  • Jeremy Byrd –Dunlap First Baptist Church– Dunlap, TN
  • Tim Carr – Northside Baptist Church – Newark, OH
  • Noel Dear – First Baptist Church Heath – Heath, OH
  • Danny Decker – First Baptist Church Warsaw – Warsaw, MO
  • James Forbis – Sovereign Grace Church – Louisville, KY
  • Steve Ford – Vermillion Grace Baptist Church – Vermillion, SD
  • Peyton Hill – Highland Baptist Church – Grove City, OH
  • Brian King – Ezekiel Baptist Church – Philadelphia, PA
  • Choe Sergent – First Baptist Church Junction City – Junction City, KY
  • Derek Simpson – Highview Baptist Church – Louisville, KY
  • Bruce Speer – Crosspoint Community Church – Missoula, MT
  • Matthew Stewart – South Shore Baptist Church – Crownsville, MD
  • Heath Tucker – First Baptist Church of Sentinel – Sentinel, OK
  • David Warton – Rohr Road Baptist Church – Lockbourne, OH
  • George Wright III – Cedarcrest Church – Acworth, GA

Please pray for them.

Finally, Southern Baptists

Finally, Southern Baptists, please understand that we have worked with great diligence over these past ten months. Please pray for me, my team, and of course, all of our leadership in the Southern Baptist Convention. It truly takes a team to pull off an experience like the Southern Baptist Convention.

If you haven’t already, register now and let’s meet in Columbus, ready to see one another and meet God in His power and glory as we pray together for the next Great Awakening and to reach the world for Christ.

Yours for the Great Commission,

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 46,000 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