THE POWER OF RECIPROCAL ENCOURAGEMENT

Encouragement is reciprocal. If you encourage someone else, it blesses you too! And we all need encouragement- no one is exempt. If you know a buoyant, optimistic, endlessly happy person, you can be sure of one thing- they have known dark, discouraging days sometime, somewhere. It is inconsistent with Scripture and experience to assume anyone can perpetually avoid the emotionally heavy moments of real life. Charles Spurgeon, for instance, has often been crowned “the Prince of Preachers.” He may have been the greatest preacher in the English language. His Victorian age congregation in London was a mega-church when no one had ever imagined such a thing! His books and written sermons were so widely distributed he became the biggest selling author of his (or nearly any other) time. He was a faithful and favored minister but he wrestled with debilitating discouragement all of his life. His own descriptions of mood swings have led some to speculate that he suffered from a form of bipolar disorder. If not, he certainly exhibited a strange mix of unrivaled accomplishment and extended bouts of despondent depression.

During the painful days of inner chaos, Spurgeon discovered a powerful way to recover some emotional balance. He would seek out someone else to encourage! Regarding this therapeutic self help method, Spurgeon said, “I would go to the deeps a hundred times to cheer a downcast spirit. It is good for me to have been afflicted, that I might know how to speak a word in season to one that is weary.”

Discouragement casts a heavy shadow so each of us must learn to seek the sunshine of encouragement. Since encouragement is reciprocal, one way to get out of the oppressive darkness of personal discouragement is to shine a spotlight of encouragement on someone else. Why? Well, to put it into the trite, colloquial  terms of my youth, “What goes around, comes around!” Encouragement is reciprocal.

The principal of reciprocal encouragement became more clear to me just a few years ago. When I was a University student, studying for the ministry in the 1970’s, I read a book that has blessed my life for more than 35 years. For many years, whenever I traveled, I actually took the book along because I loved it so much and re-read it constantly. I still do. The book is “The Hour That Changes the World” by Dick Eastman. I have given away hundreds, or perhaps, even thousands of copies of the book over the years.

One day, not too long ago, it occurred to me to write the author, whom I’ve never met, to tell him how much his book has encouraged my life. I wrote a simple note and sent it to his ministry address not knowing if he would even see it.

Imagine my surprise when a package full of books arrived from Dick Eastman, including a hard-back, 25th anniversary edition of The Hour That Changes the World! In fact, there were several of his books, and each one was hand signed with a different encouraging message from the author. In addition, there was a personal hand written letter from Dick Eastman , letting me know how much my previous note had encouraged him! Think about it: he encouraged me through his book about 35 years ago, my note encouraged him, and his personal and unexpected response, in return, encouraged me again! That’s how it works. Encouragement is reciprocal.

You don’t have to be discouraged to encourage. Anytime you lift another person with encouragement you will benefit too. When you encourage others you will also be encouraged. It’s reciprocal. So, I encourage you to be an encourager!

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” (2 Corinthians 1:3, 4 ESV)

~jkb

                              Making Sense of the Senseless

If you haven’t ministered beside a hospital bed in an ICU, or near the graveside of an innocent child, and had to struggle with the helpless feeling that comes to Christians when the wounded sceptic demands to know “Why?”- just wait, your turn is coming. It’s much easier to work through the question, “Why?” in a Bible study with other Christians, when most of the participants are predisposed by faith and a Christian worldview to accept a certain level of mystery. It is much tougher when an angry, hurting cynic leaves you feeling like the destiny of their soul depends upon how you answer the unanswerable. And while there is no simple answer to the tragedy of suffering, there are examples of people whose lives are heroic through the devastating setbacks of real life. Their testimony of steadfastness through the kind of suffering that appears to make no sense at all during the worst of it, speaks to us about how to live through trouble we can’t control.

God hasn’t revealed everything to us and we still “live by faith and not by sight” but the drama of the Old Testament Joseph is shoulder deep in wisdom, revealed through the life of a man who endured enormous, and what could have appeared to be senseless suffering. His testimony near the end of his life was unnervingly simple: God had a plan.

UNFAIR REVERSAL OF FORTUNES
He was only 17 and living a highly favored life when he became the victim of human trafficking at the hands of his own brothers! He was sold into slavery and through no fault of his own was almost immediately the victim of sexual harassment in the work place. Then, to make matters worse, the woman harassing him falsely accused him of attempted rape for which he was arrested, convicted, and imprisoned. Through it all God continued to show him favor even through his troubles- but his situation only got worse! While in prison he assisted some white collar criminals who had powerful political connections. As a result of his help, their convictions were overturned – but they forgot to help Joseph as he suffered for several more years in an Egyptian prison.

“WHY?” ARE THERE ANY ANSWERS?
Why does God tolerate any, let alone allow so much suffering? When the question is reduced to the narrow focus of a demand for an immediate, sensible response, it is virtually impossible to answer. But when viewed through the panorama of an entire life it is obvious God allows some of us to walk through incomprehensible personal tragedy, in order to bring us to a point of extreme value in His larger plan for history. Of course, that can only be known in part, and from the rear view mirror of life because, as the writer of Hebrews reminds us, “No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest…” (Hebrews 12:11 NLT) It is the “afterward” that we want quickly and less painfully, and sometimes we start to think we will never see the “afterward” that makes sense of our seemingly senseless suffering. Looking back on some of the most painful times of my life I have to honestly ask myself if I was faithful through the suffering, or have there been times when the undesired circumstances of suffering led me to pursue shortcuts to avoid the pain, loss, humiliation, or difficulty and thus, I missed the good God was bringing into my life through the trouble. In other words, if you have been called to travel the back road of suffering, don’t stop short of your destination, or you might miss the goodness God is leading through pain to receive!

JOSEPH’S ‘AHA!’ MOMENT
Finally, Joseph’s faith in God was rewarded. He rose quickly -in fact he skyrocketed-through the ranks of the Egyptian kingdom, and his integrity and highly developed leadership gifts took him to the top of Pharaoh’s government. It was a strange career path but one day it all made sense at once! His brothers came to Egypt in need of help, and Joseph was the most powerful man, under Pharaoh, in the ancient, wealthy country.

Joseph was older now, and the years had changed him dramatically. His brothers had no idea the CFO of Egypt was the pampered little brother they ruthlessly sold into a life of unknown terror and misery years earlier. But Joseph helped them, and by doing so he rescued God’s small, chosen tribe of Israel’s household from starvation and annihilation.

The brothers, however, were living with secret guilt. They couldn’t look their brother in the eye without remembering the terror in those same eyes the day, so long ago, when they threw him in a deep, dark pit, and sold him without mercy to desert slave traders. So, after several years of living under the favor of Joseph, when they could stand the suspense of fear and dread no longer, they went as a group before their powerful brother and begged for their lives. Joseph, at that point, rises from the pages of Scripture as one of the truly great men who has ever lived. He forgave them. Then he said something that might help us when we are walking through the terrible times. “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” (Genesis 50:20 ESV)

It is clear that Joseph hadn’t forgotten what had happened but his faith had reassigned the significance of what happened. In other words, he didn’t view his difficult journey as something terrible but as something good. He no longer viewed what happened to him as senseless suffering. Instead, he saw the hand of a sovereign God orchestrating the details of his life to use him for something greater- to save his family- the family God had chosen to be a blessing to the world!

HOW JOSEPH SPEAKS TO YOU
Joseph died in Egypt at the age of 110. From 17 to 110 would be an insufferably long time to wait, wondering if God had a plan! Yet, we never hear Joseph ask God how long he had to suffer. He never blamed God or hated any of the people who betrayed him. He is a role model for us. He trusted God and became a man seasoned by trouble, but who was never outside of God’s will. In the end, he could see for who, when, and why his life turned out as it had. God had a good purpose for many others, and Joseph’s suffering was part of the process of God using him in a meaningful way to help them. It was all part of a plan! 

Suffering may never make sense to the man or woman who insists that “if there is a God He wouldn’t allow his children to suffer”. But to His faithful followers, who do endure through unimaginable hardship, many find the destination to wholeness and purpose is the path of brokenness and mystery. And through it all God’s grace proves to be more than enough.

~jkb

STREAMS OF REVIVAL – A RIVER OF AWAKENING

In nature, when two or more rivers or streams come together, the phenomenon is called a “confluence.” Spiritually speaking, there is currently a confluence of historic 20th century spiritual movements potentially drawing together life giving springs of lesser streams of revival into a mighty, rolling river of spiritual awakening.

After WWII Billy Graham led the most impressive evangelistic crusades in history while theologically conservative pastor and prolific author Harold J. Ockenga wrote books and articles advancing what came to be called, “Neo-Evangelicalism.” Concerned that the perceived anti-intellectual fundamentalism of a previous generation would not speak to the mind of post war Americans, Graham expertly used mass media and preached in carefully prepared stadium events, intentionally uniting multiple churches from different denominations for a common evangelical cause. Meanwhile Ockenga, along with other young evangelicals, with Graham’s encouragement founded both Fuller Seminary and Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary in the hope that a more educated and culturally articulate theological conservatism would give Bible believing pastors greater personal credibility in the modern age. In addition, he and others formed the National Association of Evangelicals as a way of uniting the growing movement around the common themes of strengthening an evangelical witness in America, influencing public policy, unifying various evangelical bodies, and acting together to assist in social ministry.

With these national efforts, along with the launch of Christianity Today (founded by Billy Graham and conservative theologian Carl F.H. Henry), Evangelicals reshaped what it meant to be a Protestant Christian in the 20th Century. Their strategic efforts were so successful that within 30 years, both Time and Newsweek declared 1976, “The Year of the Evangelical.”

On the “other side of the church aisle” (so to speak), at the beginning of the 20th century, in a run down building on Azuza Street in Los Angeles, a group of ministers and laymen, (some who had been part of the late 19th century Holiness movement, and an odd assortment of others), were teaching that supernatural healing, prophecies, and the strange gift of “speaking in tounges” were all for the church today, just as they had been in the book of Acts. In the Azuza Street Revival of 1906, only a handful of people identified with the “Pentecostal” message, but by the end of the 20th century millions of Pentecostals in America, and up to 600 hundred million worldwide, were impossible to ignore. Looking back, a well known Pentecostal leader, Jack Hayford wrote a history of the movement titled, “The Charismatic Century.” Given the unprecedented growth of Pentecostalism worldwide, which C. Peter Wagner called the fastest growing non-military movement in history, it’s hard to disagree with the assessment.

In the late 1960’s the fabric of American unity was shredded. The Vietnam War, the Civil Rights movement, the Women’s movement, the counter-culture youth and hippie movement, and numerous smaller cultural tributaries were coming together like a flooding river overwhelming the traditional view of America as many had perceived it. Campus unrest like the Kent State Massacre, racial violence like the Watts riots in LA, growing political activism and the protests of the left, combined with a relaxed and redefined sexual ethic, along with the wide spread introduction of the drug culture made America a cultural battleground. The American “Melting Pot” was boiling into an inferno!

Those days of social upheaval were my childhood and early teen years. As images of riots, assassinations, and angry protests in the streets poured into America’s living room at 6pm every night on our new color TVs, it seemed to me there was no hope. But I was wrong, God was still at work.

The Jesus Movement of the late 60’s and early ’70’s seemed to arise from no where and spread through the youth culture like a prairie fire. Tens of thousands of young people came to Christ. Long haired, bearded hippies tripping on LSD one week were carrying big leather Bibles, preaching a fundamentalist brand of the Christian message, expecting the imminent return of Christ, and creating a new musical style the next week. In a few short years The Jesus Movement changed the spiritual landscape of the nation. Bible colleges and seminaries filled up, churches were planted, and the mega church phenomenon was birthed. The revival among the youth culture reignited Charismatic and Evangelical Churches across the country. It was a “God thing.”

Those three major trends- the Pentecostal/ Charismatic Renewal; the Evangelical Awakening; and The Jesus Movement represent the greatest large scale revivals in the last 100 years. Most historians, however, regard them as something short of the full-scale National Awakenings of the 18th & 19th centuries that affected every corner of society. They were each related to the other, but still somehow distinct, like three fresh water streams that never meet until they reach the sea. 

Times change. Unfortunately, revival fires grow cold. Scandals came that embarrassed the Church and tarnished our witness. Some visible Christian leaders fell into immorality. A new generation of Americans, with less confidence in religious explanations, is asking a different set of questions today and the Church is finding itself in a rapidly changing cultural context. Simultaneously, some evangelicals in the late 20th century became overtly  enthralled with the political process and others failed to represent Christ in any tone other than a strident, partisan, argumentative one. Over time, the culture moved away from us again. That’s essentially where we are today. American Christianity has moved from the “Moral Majority” of the 1980’s to what Dr . Russell Moore calls, “the prophetic minority” of today. Atheism is rapidly becoming an option of religious choice for a new generation. Our nation has been scarred by the attacks on 9/11, global economic uncertainty, and war. Christians are increasingly marginalized by a growing secularism but even more increasingly focused on our need for revival!

The desire for another move of God in national awakening and revival has never seemed more needed, especially, perhaps, by those who are themselves the products of past revivals. Reflecting on the revivals of America’s past, and his own conversion during the Jesus Movement, evangelist and California pastor and author Greg Laurie in 2013 said, “…that’s history. We need to pray, ‘Lord do it again…’ We need another revival in America.” His view is shared by Christian leaders across the Protestant spectrum. For instance, Erwin Lutzer, Pastor of Moody Memorial Church in Chicago, a congregation deeply identified with the evangelical wing of the Christian family, recently said, “Despite its foundational Christian heritage, America is rapidly degenerating into a godless society. The church in America, although highly visible and active, appears powerless to redirect the rushing secular currents. Mired in a moral and spiritual crisis, America’s only hope is a national revival, like God has graciously bestowed in the past.” The voices are different but the message is strikingly similar. Even Billy Graham himself said last year, “Our country is in great need of a spiritual awakening. There have been times that I have wept as I have gone from city to city and I have seen how far people have wandered from God.” (http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2013/11/07/billy-graham-turns-95-says-country-needs-spiritual-awakening/)

Can America see another Spiritual Awakening? Yes. The three streams of revival from the 20th century still make up the collective memory and practical experience of the vast majority of Christians today. Almost every American Christian today is, in a sense, a child of revival. Each of these former movements started as small sub-culture movements which grew exponentially. Given the calls from numerous sub sections of the American Christian family for God’s people to repent and cry out to God for revival, our past may flow into something greater tomorrow. By God’s grace, the three streams of revival can become a mighty river of Spiritual Awakening.
~jkb

 
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THE RIGHT VISION, THE RIGHT LEADER, THE RIGHT TIME- NOW!

“If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14 ESV)

Elvis was right: “It’s now or never!” Some things of great importance are so urgent there can be no delay. Joining with leaders with a God-sized vision for the soul of a nation is an urgent concern that should rally us to immediate action. The time for urgent, “extraordinary prayer” is NOW!

Our new SBC President, Dr. Ronnie Floyd, has issued a clarion call- an invitation loud and clear- that every Southern Baptist join him in “extraordinary prayer” for personal revival, revival in our churches, and national spiritual awakening. Early this morning, I committed to him the unqualified support of Hyde Park Baptist/The Quarries Church in this heart cry for our souls, our congregations, and our nation. How could we do otherwise? The time is NOW! (You can read Dr. Floyd’s urgent call here http://www.ronniefloyd.com/blog/7143/southern-baptist-convention/the-call-to-columbus-june-16-17-2015/)

Years ago, a prophetic voice in the music world, the late Keith Green, wrote and sang these alarming words of assessment about our times, “The world is asleep in the dark, that church just can’t fight- ’cause it’s asleep in the light!” I am praying the Body of Christ wakes up and I believe that it is already happening. But we are only at the beginning stages, much more remains to be done.

Our great nation is on a dangerous precipice and at a “tipping point.” If God does not intervene, the moral slide and the sins of our generation will escalate far beyond human control. In fact, we are already there and living by grace at this moment! How long will God delay judgment? Look around, it has already begun! It is past time for the Church to rise up on its knees to intercede as a Kingdom of Priests to pray for our own hearts, our homes, our churches, and the United States of America. The Apostle Paul insisted the Church is key to the healing of some of our world’s deep fears and frustrations. When the Church functions as originally intended and designed-as His Body- our decadent culture will get a glimpse of what it desperately needs, but cannot naturally recognize!  “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.” (Romans 8:19 ESV) The world may not know it, but it needs the Church to be manifested clearly as the Church!

In his book, “Heart Cry for Revival” the late Dr. Stephen F. Olford warned that if America doesn’t see ‘revival’, there will be no ‘survival’ for our great nation. I believe that, and the storm clouds of geo-political, economic, social, ecological, moral, and spiritual troubles are darker and more obvious than at any time before. But God CAN still save us!

The time is NOW. Even though this particular call is coming from our denominational leadership, this is not a denominational issue! As we have clearly seen in our own city, that the burden for revival and extraordinary prayer is already shared by churches of every kind. For the sake of our future as a people, for our children and grandchildren, we must put factionalism and denominational differences aside for this call to prayer and revival! What can be accomplished if we separate from other passionate, Bible believing Christians over petty differences, only to lose a nation as a result? No! We won’t do it! If Jesus is your God you are my brother! Let’s meet in the “prayer room”(so to speak) as the Body of Christ, His “house of prayer,” and claim this nation for Christ! It’s not too late! 

During these weeks of summer, I am prayerfully seeking God’s direction for our church and it’s ministries for 2015 and beyond. The theme and the burden of revival and prayer are not new to us as a church or to me as a pastor. These twin passions are the convictions of my life! In the days ahead, as I pray, these two lights will guide my planning and my focus: prayer and revival. Stay tuned, but start praying now for what God wants to do. THIS IS THE REASON WE ARE HERE NOW- TO PRAY FOR AND EXPERIENCE REVIVAL. WE ARE EITHER A ‘REVIVAL GENERATION’ OR WE ARE WITNESSING THE LAST GREAT HOPE FOR A GREAT NATION. I believe we are a ‘revival generation,’ but there is a price to pay. It is time to begin.

I love you. I love our church . I love our city. I love Texas. I love America. It is time for extraordinary prayer and revival. The time is NOW!
~jkb

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5 STEPS TO SURGE BEYOND LIFE AT THE CROSSROADS

“When you come to a fork in the road – take it!” That was Yogi Berra’s famous but humorously bewildering advice. But standing at a crossroad moment in life is often the least humorous season for any of us. Surgery now or wait? Leave for a better job or try to make this one work? Should you tell her how you really feel or wait for a more opportune time? The crossroads can be agony.

Knowing that we make our choices, then they make us, can strand us paralyzed in the uncomfortable wasteland of indecision. Living at the crossroads means we are torn between two apparently good options and we don’t immediately know which is best. Or, we are left with the frustration of having no apparently good choices so we struggle to decide between the lesser of two evils. As a result, according to Psychology Today, we gaze out at an unrealized future up to one hour for every 8 waking hours everyday. Yet, author Peg Streep, (quoted in the article) finds that, lacking the skills to accurately assess our current situation, or decide what to do next, “We expect that when the future shows up, our best self will show up. Instead, we get our typical everyday self, struggling with the same traits—fear, laziness, procrastination—that consistently hold us back today.” (“Reinvent Yourself” Psychology Today, May 2014) In other words, we get stuck somewhere between dreaming of something different and doing something different. That difference creates a Grand Canyon of emotional distance and spiritual dissonance between what you really want to do and what you are settling for right now. Life at the crossroads starts looking normal, intractable, and permanent. But it is none of those things.

AN ANTIOCH MODEL (Acts 13:1-4)

The Christian movement itself was at a crossroads so a group of gifted, passionate leaders met to pray and worship God, literally expecting Divine intervention. Only a handful of them were there but they had already seen God move in power and He had given them dynamic spiritual gifts which they regularly used. The group included 2 men who are well known today but at the time Barnabas and Saul of Tarsus were relatively new Christians with a heart for God and a successful track record in the fledgling evangelistic and church planting ministry in Antioch, near modern day Antakya, Turkey. Antioch was an important city because it was on the trade route to the East. It had an impressive population of about 500,000 free citizens not counting slaves and was therefore the third largest city in the world.

It was exactly the kind of city the early church was attracted to and more importantly, God was moving in Antioch in a powerful way. It is the first city mentioned in Acts that was evangelized by the church without Apostolic assistance and is the second most frequently mentioned city in the book. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that leaders convened there for a strategic prayer gathering (Acts 13: 1-4).

The Christian movement had come to a crossroads moment. It seemed as if the prophets and teachers could sense an openness to the Gospel in the Gentile world, even though until that point Christianity had been almost exclusively a Jewish movement. What should they do? How should they precede? What they did is a blueprint for how you can move beyond your crossroads.

MOVING BEYOND THE CROSSROADS (Acts 13:1-4)

What did they do at the crossroads? Here are 5 steps you can take to get moving in the right direction.

“Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off. So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus.” (Acts 13:1-4 ESV)

1) They gathered a group of like minded leaders for prayer (vv.1-2). It’s amazing what God will do when you convene with other spiritual men and women who have real passion for God and simply seek His presence in prayer! It can be world changing. Join a group or call one together! Start praying with Godly people and watch your circumstances start to change.

C.S. Lewis, the 20th century Christian philosopher once said, “It is in the process of being worshipped that God communicates His presence to men” His point is obvious. Time spent in worship, with no agenda but seeking God’s face, yields life changing results.

2) They recognized that prayer and worship are intensified with fasting! The word “fasting” occurs twice in this brief section of Scripture (vv.2-3)- more than worship (1 mention) or prayer (1 mention). Fasting “clears” our spirit when we pray. It brings greater clarity and spiritual insight to the worship gathering. It adds a “turbo boost” to the engine of prayer and worship. When you fast and pray things happen!

3) They were very sensitive to the Holy Spirit (v.2). In fact, in this passage we read that the Holy Spirit talked to the group! Can you imagine being in a prayer meeting and the Holy Spirit starts speaking? This much is certain , when you are spiritually open to the Holy Spirit’s leadership you won’t be at the crossroads for long.

Regarding the Spirit’s tendency to intervene on behalf of believers at the crossroads, the British evangelical G. Campbell Morgan once observed, “To the individual believer indwelt by the Holy Spirit there is granted the direct impression of the Spirit of God on the spirit of man, imparting the knowledge of His will in matters of the smallest and greatest importance. This has to be sought and waited for.” In other words, whatever it takes, seek a deep relationship with the Holy Spirit and expect Him to communicate!

4) They were agreeable to new directions led by the Spirit! The Spirit chose Barnabas and his young apprentice Saul of Tarsus to go on a Mission Trip. It was the first of its kind and is often called “the first missionary journey of Paul.” The significance of the journey- through mostly Greek speaking gentile country in modern turkey- was the target audience. What had been a Jewish focus spilled over into the world wide evangelistic mission of the Church we know today!

It was a new direction. At the crossroads, if we are willing to fast, pray, worship and wait on a move of God’s Spirit, we can expect a breakthrough- when the way forward suddenly becomes unmistakable.

5) They obeyed. What a tragedy it is when we pray, hear from God, and then refuse to do what He instructs. After they fasted and prayed they booked passage on a ship and left town! When you are stranded at the crossroads of indecision, and then you worship, fast and pray with a group of godly people, and God speaks- you have to rise up and obey the Lord. Get going!

-jkb

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WHY I’M EXCITED ABOUT THE NEW SBC PRESIDENT- DR. RONNIE FLOYD

Before I knew him as a friend, I read Dr. Ronnie Floyd’s book “Reconnecting” and identified with him immediately. For as long as I have known him, for almost 20 years now, Dr. Floyd has carried and communicated a twin burden for spiritual passion and revival. These convictions mirror those of many pastors and leaders but I don’t know anyone who has been more deliberate in living those disciplines than our new SBC President.

Years ago, in a sermon at the New Orleans Southern Baptist Convention, Dr. Floyd challenged the SBC to pursue God for revival through prayer and fasting. That day I began a 40 day fast that changed the trajectory of my ministry. His passion for revival and evangelism in our churches, our nation, and the nations of the world, has encouraged me as well. Honestly, I know some pastors who focus on the importance of the spiritual disciplines but seem to have little to say regarding the urgency of evangelism. Oddly, I have known gifted evangelistic leaders who have been relatively mum on the priority of spiritual growth. Only a few contemporary leaders have consistently wedded both essential disciplines together in a way that is common, for instance, in the book of Acts. Ronnie Floyd is a proven leader who is perfect for right now because he has lived and led a large, consistent ministry with the strengths we need now in our new leader. Congratulations Dr. Floyd on your election to the presidency of the Southern Baptist Convention! Your denomination needs you, and I am praying your passions for spiritual life and revival will become the passions of this generation!

“And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.” (Acts 4:31 ESV)

~jkb