By Lonnie Wilkey
lwilkey@tnbaptist.org
FRANKLIN — In order to reach the world for Christ, it is imperative to change the culture in the Southern Baptist Convention, said Ronnie Floyd, new president of the SBC Executive Committee.
Floyd was the guest speaker during the board of directors meeting of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board on Sept. 9 at ClearView Baptist Church in Franklin.
Floyd, a former Arkansas pastor who was elected on April 2 to lead the Executive Committee, shared five keys to transforming the culture with Tennessee Baptist leaders.
(1) Southern Baptists must live and breathe gospel urgency, Floyd stressed. “We’re missing that in our churches,” he observed.
Ronnie Floyd
(2) Empowering all churches, all generations, all ethnicities and all languages is imperative, Floyd said. He stressed it will take everyone working together, regardless of race, age, size of church, etc., to ultimately reach Southern Baptists’ vision of reaching the world for Christ. “Either we’re going to reach America or we are not.”
(3) Communications is vital, Floyd noted. “We must tell and celebrate what God is doing.”
(4) To reach the world for Christ, “we must love others like Jesus loves,” Floyd said. This may be one of the hardest keys, he acknowledged, but it must be done. “The most riveting words Jesus ever said was ‘love one another,’ ” he observed. “We need to love others like Jesus loved.”
(5) Finally, Floyd noted that Southern Baptists must prioritize, elevate and accelerate generosity. “Giving depends on us living and breathing gospel urgency,” Floyd told Tennessee Baptist leaders. Referring to the Cooperative Program, he reminded them that “we can do more together than we can ever do alone.”
He challenged those present to “do everything you can to mobilize churches in Tennessee to do more for the gospel. “Our vision is to reach every person in every town, every city, every state in the nation. That’s what the Cooperative Program is all about.” B&R — Full coverage of the board of directors meeting will be posted at baptistandreflector.org following the meeting. It will also be included in the Sept. 25 issue of the B&R.
