The Great Commission Resurgence

Last week I attended a pastors' luncheon at the Church at Pinnacle Hills in Rogers. Pastors within a 100 mile radius had been invited to come and engage in a talk-back session based around the topic of The Great Commission.

Our church is a cooperating member of the Southern Baptist Convention. The SBC is showing signs of decline. Last year the churches of the denomination baptized fewer people than in 1950. In 1950 the SBC had around 30,000 churches. Today we have 43,000 churches and vast amounts of resources. So why has this happened?

In order to answer this question and to set a course for the future of the SBC, current convention president, Dr. Johnny Hunt, appointed a Great Commission Task Force this past summer at the annual meeting. Dr. Ronnie Floyd is heading this task force. I love Ronnie Floyd and was privileged to serve with him for 10 years at the First Baptist Church of Springdale, Arkansas. In fact, I was on the first staff of the Church at Pinnacle Hills when it launched back in 2001. Everybody who knows Ronnie Floyd, or knows of Ronnie Floyd, has an opinion about him. Regardless of yours or anyone else's opinion of Ronnie Floyd, I can tell you this: He is the perfect person to lead our denomination's Great Commission Task Force. Ronnie Floyd bleeds the Great Commission.

I've not been one to be involved with national SBC matters. In fact, I have never even been to an annual meeting of the convention. I've got my hands full pastoring one of the larger churches in the State of Arkansas. I just don't have time for the climate of national denominational polity. But the Great Commission? Now that's something I have time for. And so, I drove up to Rogers last week to eat, listen, talk, and pray. I was encouraged by what I heard. Much needs to be done within the SBC to return this denomination to what made it great. I believe the key is the Great Commission.

I encourage you to check out the Great Commission Task Force website: http://www.pray4gcr.com/. I also encourage you to join the 4500 plus people from around the country who are praying for a national resurgence of the Great Commission.

The Great Commission is something that crosses denominational lines. It is the Lord's Great Commission for all believers.

Blessings,

Jeff