NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The chairman of the Great Commission
Resurgence (GCR) Task Force is asking for Southern Baptists to be in a “concentrated”
time of prayer as members of the task force meet Jan. 26-28 in San Antonio to
make “many difficult decisions” regarding its report to the Southern Baptist
Convention.
GCR Task Force Chairman Ronnie Floyd sent an e-mail to prayer partners
Thursday, saying the “pressure is on” as task force members prepare a
preliminary report to present to the SBC’s Executive Committee Feb. 22-23. The
task force’s final report will be presented at the annual meeting in Orlando,
Fla., June 15-16, for a vote by messengers.
“While additions or revisions to this report (to the Executive Committee) are
probable before the final report is made in June at the Orlando Southern
Baptist Convention, the release of it in February will give Southern Baptists
four months to gain clarity and have their questions addressed,” Floyd wrote.
Following is the complete text of Floyd’s e-mail:
“Your Great Commission Task Force has listened to Southern Baptists, gathered
as much information as possible, asked the tough questions, gone through
volumes of information, and has really sought to hear what Southern Baptists desire
to do to advance the Great Commission in our generation. Equally, we have been
before God to seek His will. Now we enter the season and the crucible of
decision-making. The pressure is on and the test is real. For the past three
months, these decisions have been in process, and in our next meeting we will
finalize and make many difficult decisions. This is why we need you.
“On Tuesday through Thursday, January 26-28, our Great Commission Resurgence
Task Force will be meeting for our most significant moment in this journey. As
our process goes forward, we will be presenting our report to the upcoming
meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee on February
22-23. While additions or revisions to this report are probable before the final
report is made in June at the Orlando Southern Baptist Convention, the release
of it in February will give Southern Baptists four months to gain clarity and
have their questions addressed.
“Therefore, I am asking you to give some concentrated prayer time for this
upcoming meeting. Please ask your prayer ministries to pray for us. Our need
for prayer has never been greater. Please consider even praying for us during
the various segments of our meeting. Our meeting begins on Tuesday at 3:00 p.m.
and concludes on Thursday at 2:00 p.m. We will meet in the mornings,
afternoons, and evenings of each day. We would appreciate various groups within
your church having continual prayer for our GCR Team during these hours.
“How can you pray? We need God’s leadership and will to be manifested. We need
the wisdom of God regarding every situation. We need complete clarity on
presenting our convention of churches a compelling vision for the future. We
need to abound in spiritual unity as we move through this significant meeting.
We need courage to make the decisions that will truly advance the Great
Commission through the ministries of Southern Baptists. We need God’s
protection upon our own lives, our families, and the ministries we are a part
of, because dealing with major Great Commission issues brings strong spiritual
warfare.
“Please continue to enlist people to be a part of our www.pray4gcr.com prayer
team. We have just under 6,000 people who are prayer partners with us daily. We
would love to see hundreds more join us in this daily commitment to pray for a
Great Commission Resurgence to occur in and through the Southern Baptist
Convention.
“Additionally, please share with your congregation that Dr. Johnny Hunt, the
President of our Convention, has issued a ‘Call to Prayer’ for Sunday, January
31. He is appealing to every Southern Baptist Christ-follower and church to
pray for the future of our convention of churches on this day.
“May God bless you wonderfully for being our partners in prayer.
“Dr. Ronnie Floyd
“Chairman, Great Commission Resurgence Task Force”
(EDITOR’S NOTE — Compiled by Michael Foust, an assistant editor of Baptist
Press.)