Archive for May, 2016
Guest Post | Why I’m Excited about Saint Louis by Andrew Hebert
Today, RonnieFloyd.com wecomes Andrew Hebert. Andrew is the 2016 Chairman of the SBC Committee on Order of Business and lead pastor of Taylor Memorial Baptist Church in Hobbs, New Mexico.
As we near the 2016 SBC annual meeting, I’m growing nostalgic. My first annual meeting was in Saint Louis in 2002. It was memorable! As a fifteen-year-old, it was a lot to take in with protestors outside the convention hall holding signs and protestors inside the convention hall interrupting James Merritt’s presidential address. Fred Luter preached at the Pastors’ Conference, my first time to hear him!
The most memorable moment for me, however, was walking into the convention hall for the first time. The first person I met was Adrian Rogers. I grew up listening to Dr. Rogers on the radio, but he was more impressive in person. In his gracious way, he treated me like I was the only person in the room. I’ll never forget the SBC in Saint Louis.
Fourteen years later, I’m serving my second term as chairman of the Committee on Order of Business. What a privilege to serve this way as we go back to Saint Louis. The annual meeting will look different than it did fourteen years ago, but my prayer is that it will be just as memorable.
Last year, we received overwhelmingly positive feedback to changes we made to the “look and feel” of the annual meeting. We are excited again about this year’s annual meeting program. Here are a few of its exciting features.
1. National Call to Prayer.By far, the most talked-about session of the annual meeting last year was the Tuesday night call to prayer. Our committee has asked SBC President Ronnie Floyd to lead the Tuesday night session again and call us to prayer for awakening. We are excited about what God is going to do during this time.
2. Panel Discussions.The annual meeting will be enhanced by two panel discussions about relevant and important issues for local church ministry.
First, following his president’s address on Tuesday morning, Ronnie Floyd will host “A National Conversation on Racial Unity in America.” Jerry Young, president of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Marshall Blalock, pastor of First Baptist Church in Charleston, South Carolina, and others, will participate in the panel discussion. Nearby Ferguson, Missouri, has been under intense national scrutiny for the past two years. There is no more strategic time and place than this year in Saint Louis to discuss how the Gospel brings racial unity.
Second, on Wednesday afternoon we will have a panel discussion on the role of the pastor and the church in American politics. With the 2016 presidential election just a few months away, this discussion will help us think through the implications of the Christian worldview for politics in practical ways.
3. Joint Seminary Reports. Rather than hearing from our seminary presidents throughout the two-day meeting, we will hear from them back-to-back on Wednesday morning. Messengers will have the opportunity to see all of our seminary presidents on the platform at the same time and hear about what God is doing on their campuses as Southern Baptists train more than eighteen thousand current and future pastors, missionaries, ministers, and other church leaders.
4. Joint Mission Presentation.A high point of last year’s meeting was the joint mission presentation by the North American Mission Board and the International Mission Board. Kevin Ezell and David Platt will again lead a joint mission presentation on Wednesday afternoon, highlighting Southern Baptist missions and church planting across the country and around the world.
5. Panel of Entity Presidents. Our entity presidents will stand together on Wednesday afternoon in a visible display of unity as they field questions from messengers about their respective ministries.
6. Intentional Business Sessions.Again this year, we have very intentionally condensed the majority of the business to one session. Nearly all of the business will be conducted on Tuesday afternoon, including all elections and reports from the Committee on Committees, Committee on Nominations, Resolutions Committee, and the Executive Committee.
The flow of the entire annual meeting is natural and intentional. Each session will be packed with content that no one will want to miss.
7. Presidential Address and Convention Sermon.Ronnie Floyd will cast a compelling and convicting vision for our Convention on Tuesday morning in his second address as SBC president. Ted Traylor, pastor of Olive Baptist Church in Pensacola, Florida, will bring the Convention sermon on Wednesday morning. Ronnie Floyd and Ted Traylor are two of the most prophetic leaders in the Southern Baptist Convention. We will hear powerful messages from both men.
Our committee has been praying for a year that God would move in Saint Louis in a way only He can. We have worked closely with our president, Ronnie Floyd, and other leaders from across the Southern Baptist Convention to ensure that the meeting will be one of the best we’ve ever had. We will get the needed business done, but we will do so much more. As Southern Baptists, we will come together to pray, work, strategize, listen, and move forward together. This will be an unforgettable few days together and I look forward to seeing you there!
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.
Pastors and the Church in American Politics Today
In the last four weeks, Jeana and I have been in Washington, DC three times. Each time I go to America’s Capitol city, I am captivated by it. As I jog around the National Mall, I become even more burdened for our nation and our leaders. There is always something special about making my way through the entire terrain from the Supreme Court to the United States Capitol, the Washington Monument, the World War II Memorial, and the Lincoln Memorial.
As I returned from the National Day of Prayer in Washington, DC, I was not just reflecting, but anticipating our upcoming Southern Baptist Convention. When we meet in the closing session of the 2016 Southern Baptist Convention on Wednesday afternoon, June 15 in St. Louis, our Order of Business Committee has allocated time for a special panel on investing in the lives and ministries of our messengers.
Navigating Through These Turbulent Times
Just as we did last year, we are going to address one of the challenging areas in life today. Last year, we provided The President’s Panel: The Supreme Court and Same Sex Marriage: Preparing Our Churches. It was well received and appreciated.
Early last fall, when our Order of Business Committee began discussing possible topics, our chosen panel for this year seemed to be extremely relevant and interesting. Even though we have wrestled with fulfilling this vision, I think it is important for us to assist our pastors and laypersons while we are gathered. The decision we made last fall has now proven to be not only relevant and interesting, but extremely challenging to accomplish.
Please know, no one but God has the corner on this subject in American life. Regardless of your political party or your personal feelings concerning this subject, we need to converse and navigate together through these turbulent times.
Pastors, Churches, and Politics
Pastors and the Church in American Politics Today is the subject of our presidential panel scheduled to take place at 2:45 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon, June 15. These twenty-five minutes will be just one segment of this incredible Wednesday afternoon session.
Introducing the Members of Our Panel
There is a real passion to hear from local church pastors about this challenging subject. It is local church pastors who have to, anchored in the Word of God, navigate these matters in their church and community. Local church pastors identify with other local church pastors.
We are a convention of local churches. These local churches have entrusted the leadership of their churches to God-called pastors.
Since so many of our pastors and churches are uncertain about this subject, with many never even addressing it, we believe that beyond five proven local church pastors, we need a respected and gifted attorney to help us address some matters.
Let me introduce the five local church pastors and attorney who will serve on our panel, in alphabetical order:
HANCE DILBECK is the Senior Pastor of the Quail Springs Baptist Church in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Hance is the President of the Oklahoma Baptist Convention, our immediate past 2nd Vice President of the Southern Baptist Convention, and one of the most respected pastors and leaders in Oklahoma. His church is a leader in the Southern Baptist Convention.
JACK GRAHAM is the Senior Pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas. In the years of 2003 and 2004, Jack served as President of the Southern Baptist Convention. He pastors one of the most incredible churches in the world and is widely respected both nationally and internationally. Last fall, Jack led and moderated The North Texas Presidential Forum, which included many presidential candidates from our current election cycle.
DAVID MCKINLEY is the Pastor of the Warren Baptist Church in Augusta, Georgia. He has also pastored in Florida, as well as served alongside Jack Graham in both Florida and Texas. David has invested in churches in different states with different perspectives. He is a gracious and godly pastor to people.
MAT STAVER is the Founder and President of the Liberty Counsel in Orlando, Florida. The Liberty Counsel is an international nonprofit litigation, education and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of human life, and the family. He is the former vice president of Liberty University and dean and professor of law at Liberty University School of Law. He has argued landmark cases before the U.S. Supreme Court; written over 230 legal opinions; authored eight scholarly law review publications, 10 books and hundreds of articles. Mat is a member of the First Baptist Church in Orlando, Florida.
A.B. VINES is the Senior Pastor of the New Seasons Church in Spring Valley, California, which is a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-generational church. He has also served as one of the past Presidents of the African American Fellowship of the Southern Baptist Convention and currently serves on the Board of Advisors for the Southeastern Center for Pastoral Leadership and Preaching.
K. MARSHALL WILLIAMS is the Senior Pastor of the Nazarene Baptist Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is also the current President of the African American Fellowship of the Southern Baptist Convention. He has pastored the same church for thirty-two years, and has preached at our Southern Baptist Convention the past two years. He is also the Director of Community Outreach for the Germantown Academy of Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, and a founding Trustee of the Community Partnership School in North Philadelphia. He is a powerful prayer warrior and a leader of leaders.
As I facilitate this discussion through these turbulent waters, may God lead us to His will and to experience His glory.
I Am Convinced
I am convinced when we complete this discussion on June 15, we will all leave with one strong conviction: Our help comes from the Lord. Read and pray this for your life, family, church, America, and our future together.
I lift my eyes toward the mountains.
Where will my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not allow your foot to slip;
your Protector will not slumber.
Indeed, the Protector of Israel
does not slumber or sleep.
The LORD protects you;
the LORD is a shelter right by your side.
The sun will not strike you by day
or the moon by night.
The LORD will protect you from all harm;
He will protect your life.
The LORD will protect your coming and going
both now and forever.
Now is the Time to Lead,
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 51,094 churches nationwide.
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Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.