Archive for May, 2017
This Week at Cross Church | Summer is Coming!
A Personal Financial Goal for Each of Us This Summer
A personal and worthy financial goal for each of us should be to give at least the first tenth of all God has given to us each week. Therefore, from May 28 – September 3, faithfulness is the goal. Regardless if we are in worship or away on vacation, we should be faithful to give. You can set up your account for recurring giving here. If each of us does this, we will reach our Summer Program of Giving goal of $5,580,000 over this fifteen-week period this summer. Included in this total need is $150,000 to provide financial assistance for students and children to attend camps this summer. This Sunday is the beginning date for this fifteen-week emphasis. If you’d like to learn more about the Summer Program of Giving, you can go here.
“Did God Really Say” Series Began This Past Sunday
This past Sunday, we began a new message series on the book of Genesis entitled, Did God Really Say. For eleven weeks this summer, we will be teaching from Genesis. This will keep us on task and in the Word of God this summer. If you missed the first Sunday in this series and our message, Did God Really Say He Created the Heavens and the Earth?, you can watch it here. Do not miss this Sunday, May 28, as we speak on, Did God Really Say He Created Everything in Six 24-Hour Days?
Send Your Students and Children to Camp… The Rest of Us, Let’s Pray!
The most life-changing week of this summer could be the week that you send your student or child to camp. I promise you, by the time they return, they will be so glad they went. Parents, lead your children spiritually. Sending them to camp is one way to do this. For those of us without children or students to send, let’s pray for our camps. Here is a list of camps and their dates:
- Kidz Camp – Camp Siloam, Siloam Springs, Arkansas, June 12-15: For children who have completed grades 2-5
- Middle School Camp – Sky Ranch, Oklahoma, July 4-6: For students who have completed grades 6-7
- Student Beach Camp 2017 – Destin, Florida, June 25-30: For students who have completed grades 8-12
Again, let’s call out to God for the students and children who will be attending one of these camps!
Pray for Me
I need your daily support in prayer. It is a busy season for all of us, and summer does not slow down. Leading our church and preparing to speak weekly, plus working on my next book manuscript due at the end of June means early mornings are sometimes paired with late nights. I want to fulfill the responsibilities God has for me to the best of my ability for the glory of God. Thank you for praying for me. I am most grateful.
See you Sunday, Cross Church!
Ronnie W. Floyd
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.
Guest Post | When a Minister’s Wife Gets Disappointed, by Jeana Floyd
Today, RonnieFloyd.com welcomes guest writer, Jeana Floyd. Jeana is the wife of Dr. Ronnie Floyd, mother, grandmother, author, and 27-year breast cancer survivor.
The phrase, “Don’t let the disappointment in a ‘few’ keep you from loving the ‘many’,” comes from a chapter in my book, 10 Things Every Minister’s Wife Needs to Know. In recent days, I’ve gone through a season of disappointment and I’ve had to remind myself of my own words. And unfortunately, I am pretty sure I will find myself there again in the future. You may say, well, that’s just ministry life. But it’s not. It’s everyone’s life, regardless of the occupation of your husband.
As minister’s wives, we can be tempted to withdraw or retreat, become bitter, give up, or be resentful of hurts. But when we do that, we end up lonely, isolated, and we miss the blessings of the “many” God has called us to serve and serve with. We sometimes determine in our hearts we will never allow ourselves to be put in that position again – we determine not to be vulnerable or transparent ever again. We tell ourselves it’s not worth the effort or the hurt. Unfortunately, that gets us nowhere in the eyes of others, or most importantly, with the Lord.
Withdraw and Retreat or Honor and Commend
So how are we to respond when we feel that keen disappointment in others? In my recent season, I deliberately decided to respond exactly opposite of how I felt on the inside. Rather than choosing to withdraw (my natural inclination) and retreat, I chose to take advantage of an opportunity to honor and commend others.
Rather than focusing on my personal disappointment, I asked the Lord to show me how I could be an encouragement to others.
What Godly Women Do
As I started to work on overcoming this season of disappointment, the Lord began to give me an actual list of attributes of the women I serve and serve with. This list included attributes from godly women of all ages and circumstances. My list reminded me I am not alone in this battle, and that others walk beside me in ministry life, also fighting the good fight.
This list included:
- Women who had walked by their husband’s side faithfully for many years of marriage and ministry.
- Women who are young moms, trying hard to raise godly children in the midst of our very challenging world.
- Women with aging parents, as they attempt to care for ALL family, immediate and extended.
- Women who do well at balancing work outside the home/family life/ministry life.
- Women who have overcome tough backgrounds before salvation.
- Women who had experienced miscarriages, and some who desperately desired to have a child.
- Women who struggle with physical challenges, from weight issues to severe allergies, to chronic illness with little hope for healing here on this earth.
- A woman who’d suffered the loss of a child and lived out faith in front of us – grief and hope mixed together, honoring the Lord with faith and longing for the promise of heaven.
- Extremely creative women and women with a sense of humor – destined to keep us laughing!
I acknowledged what I’d seen lived out in the lives of these women.
- Women of heart
- Women of depth
- Women of self-sacrifice
- Women of submission
- Women of integrity
- Women who are wise
- Women who juggle many balls with great grace
- Women with grateful hearts
- Women who love the church
- Women who recognize their God-given gifts and use them for His glory.
Without a doubt, if you’re reading this, you could very well come up with your own list, plus a few more based on your individual ministry life. These are women you do ministry life with – women you serve with – women you watch faithfully live out the life God has called them to.
3 Actions To Take When You Are Disappointed In Others
So what do we do when people disappoint us? This certainly is a reality I would not and cannot deny. I’ve been there too many times as a pastor’s wife and I’m sure I will return there again.
1. Pour out your heart to the Lord.
Above all, I pour out my heart to the Lord. I ask Him to help me not give up. I ask him to help me forgive. I sometimes ask a very trusted friend to pray for me. I seek His Word for help because I know He has the answers better than anyone else.
2. Do something tangible.
In this particular season of disappointment, I did something tangible. I determined to turn my focus from my own personal hurt to honoring and acknowledging some extraordinary women God has placed in my life! Disappointment in others can be very depleting of our energies. Honoring others is refreshing and renews us.
3. Trust God and His Word.
My final words to you who may be going thru a season of hurt or disappointment come from His Word. Trust God and His Word, like these words from Philippians 1:9-11, “This is my prayer for you: that your love will grow more and more; that you will have more knowledge and understanding with your love; that you will see the difference between what is important and what is not and choose what is important; that you will be pure and blameless for the coming of Christ; that your life will be full of the many good works that are produced by Jesus Christ to bring glory and praise to God.” (ERV)
Refuse to become so disappointed in people that it rocks your faith or commitment to Christ. Keep your eyes on Jesus. God will see you through.
Live Faithfully,
Jeana Floyd
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.