Archive for July, 2014
Southern Baptists: Are We Desperate Yet?
I was conversing last week with one of America’s pastors. This specific man holds a special place in the history of our Southern Baptist Convention. As we discussed our past, present, and future, we began to talk about desperation. When we are desperate, we sense the need is great and we respond with extreme urgency.
Are We Desperate Yet?
When we are honest with ourselves, we will agree the need among us is great. We will face our reality with courage and with hope. We will not run away from our challenges or become spiritual spinmeisters. We will stand united and face the future together with hope.
Desperation is determined by understanding the condition around you. While I have never been more encouraged about many things in our Southern Baptist Convention, the following realities we must face together as a convention of churches:
- Declining membership
- Declining attendance
- Worst year of baptisms in 62 years
- Instability of our financial future
- Cross generational disengagement from our Annual Meeting
- Unhealthy condition of many of our established churches
- Increasing lostness of America and the entire world
- Continuing slide of our culture into immorality
- Rising of global crises
- Lack of passion for spiritual revival, spiritual awakening, and the Great Commission
We cannot operate in a make-believe culture. The things listed are just some of our challenges, and certainly not a complete list. They may appear to be brutal, but each one is real and when viewed together, they are a massive challenge.
We must respond urgently and with great conviction. Based upon the above list, our present condition is not sustainable and our future trajectory is not encouraging. While my burden for our convention is heavy and my task as President at this time in history is overwhelming, my hope for our future is abounding.
Why is my hope for our future abounding? I believe, with all of my heart, that the vast majority of Southern Baptists are moving toward a state of desperation. We are desperate for God to step in and miraculously and missionally do a great work in us personally, in our churches collectively, and with our convention.
Our Decision Time is Now
The time is now for us to face our challenges, stand together, and courageously embrace our future together. God has all of us here at this time in history to answer the call.
The times are desperate, but we need to be even more desperate than our times. We need to be desperate for:
- God to do a fresh work in us personally
- God to bring spiritual revival to His church
- God to sovereignly give us the next Great Awakening
- God to empower us to accelerate our pace of completing the Great Commission
You see friends, when we are so desperate for God to have His rightful place in our lives, His church, and His Kingdom, we will do all we can to answer His call in the times in which we live.
The time is now for us to make difficult decisions that will move us toward the greatest days in our history and our future. Yes, we will have to work through these challenges patiently, but we can do it, and I am convinced we will.
Only God knows what the Southern Baptist Convention will look like in the future. Only God knows how many churches we will have, how many missionaries we will have, and how effectively we will do our work together. Since He alone is Sovereign, we trust Him.
Our Trust is in Him Alone
Because our trust is in Him alone, here are some things I believe we can and should do together now. We can:
- Agree that God alone is our answer
- Agree to unite together visibly
- Agree to pray together extraordinarily
- Agree to work together through our challenges
- Agree to strategically address and turn around many of these things
I do not know all Southern Baptists, but I do know many of you. I have yet to meet anyone that wants any of the present negative conditions to continue on our watch. I can assure you that I do not.
Therefore, as we trust in the Lord and pray extraordinarily for the next great move of God in our nation and world, we need to work strategically to address each of these situations. We need to do so with desperate hearts and urgent actions. Let’s do it now, and let’s do it together.
I Learned Many Years Ago
I learned many years ago that God will meet us at the point of our desperation. Therefore, may our spiritual desperation rise even higher than the desperate times in which we live. Let’s face our future courageously with boldness and hope. I believe we are growing more desperate than ever to see God work among us and through us like never before. We will stand united and face the future together with hope.
Yours for the Great Commission,
Ronnie W. Floyd
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.
Now is the Time for Southern Baptist Churches to Prioritize Reaching, Baptizing, and Discipling Young People
When the Pastors’ Task Force on SBC Evangelistic Impact and Declining Baptisms report was released this late spring, to say the least, I was overcome with a great burden. The entire report was concerning in every way. I wrote a response here, which received much feedback. One of the realities, which did not surprise me but absolutely grips me, is the reality about youth baptisms.
60% of our 46,125 SBC churches reported NO baptisms (age 12-17)
Please grasp this reality: 27,675 Southern Baptist churches reported they did not baptize one single young person between the ages of 12-17 years old. This is unacceptable and must change. Of course, this always makes one ask the honest question: How many young people did our churches really baptize? Of the remaining 18,450 churches that did report baptizing at least one young person between the ages of 12-17 years old, how many even baptized 50 students last year? This would be an embarrassing number. Did we penetrate the true lostness of any middle school or high school at all in this nation?
Why are we not baptizing many young people through our churches? What does this mean? Without documented research, I believe this is occurring because:
- We are not reaching young people effectively
- We are not discipling young people effectively
- We are not prioritizing reaching, baptizing, and discipling young people
Many would say more money needs to be thrown at this problem or more staff allocated. Others would blame it on the church, the worship ministry, or the pastor.
Let’s face reality and own the problem
We need to stop blaming, face reality and own the problem! It starts with each church asking: Do we have a culture that embraces reaching young people? Each pastor, staff member, and student leader needs to ask: What do we need to do to prioritize the reaching, baptizing, and discipling of young people through our ministry? Can we each win one to Christ, or five to Christ, or disciple ten who will, in turn, reach another ten with the gospel? All of us need to be asking and insuring that we ask ourselves honestly: Are we really preaching and teaching Jesus Christ, His gospel, and calling young people to follow Jesus Christ unashamedly?
If we face the reality we are in today and own the problem individually and as a church, I believe we can see this turn around quickly. You have to believe that our God is able!
4 ways we can reach and baptize more young people through our churches
1. Boldly teach and preach the gospel to young people, calling them to follow Jesus boldly through professing their faith and being baptized.
To each pastor, student pastor, or student lay leader, I want to challenge you to stand up boldly for Jesus before young people, calling them to follow the Lord Jesus Christ as His disciple. Refuse to relax on the call or compromise to make it contemporary. Be clear. Be bold. Call young people to follow Jesus.
2. Baptize young people during the main worship services of the church.
I realize that many churches baptize while at student camp, and that is a local church decision. Beyond that experience, here is my appeal: You have 52 Sundays each year; use this incredible opportunity to baptize students before the entire church. All churches love to see young people baptized, and they will celebrate when it occurs. The more young people we see baptized within the Sunday morning services, the more young people we will see baptized in our Sunday morning worship services. Yes, I meant to write that sentence, so read it again slowly. Make sense? I guarantee you it will happen.
3. Student pastors, reach out and help a few of the 27,675 churches that did not baptize one young person between the ages of 12 to 17, to see them baptize at least one young person.
You may wonder what you can do. Contact your local Director of Missions or the Evangelism Department of your state convention, and volunteer yourself and some of your workers and students to help a church that did not reach and baptize one young person last year. This could be over a weekend event or a Student Sunday. Brainstorm, use your influence, own the problem, and let’s get this turned around now.
4. Pray for the next great move of God. This will turn it around quicker than anything else.
In 1972, we had had the largest number of baptisms in our Southern Baptist Convention. Why? We were in the middle of the Jesus Movement, a great move of God. Young people were being reached, baptized, and discipled in great numbers. This is the last great move of God documented in recent United States history. Guess what? I was reached in the fall of 1971 and was baptized the following day. Therefore, I was one of many young people reached and baptized during the year we had our greatest number of baptisms in a single year – October 1971, through September 1972.
Let’s remember this: A great move of God will always reach great numbers of young people, which will result in great numbers of young people being baptized and discipled.
Pray for a Great Awakening that will turn the young population upside down for Jesus Christ! Student pastors, student lay leaders, and parents need to be crying out to God daily for a move of God to take place among our youth population in the United States.
The hour is late
The hour is late. The need is great. We must rise up and prioritize the reaching, baptizing, and discipling of young people through our Southern Baptist Churches.
Yours for the Great Commission,
Ronnie W. Floyd
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.