Upon the request of several of our churches, we have produced this five minute video. This will give each of our churches an opportunity to experience the events of this day as well as move us forward to finishing the task of the Great Commission. It is our prayer that you will share this video [...]
We praise God that the Southern Baptist Convention adopted all seven recommendations of the GCR Task Force in an overwhelming manner. With a 75-80% vote that affirmed these recommendations, Southern Baptists enter into an aggressive strategy to penetrate the lostness of North America and the world. The hand of God led us through the challenges [...]
The next few hours may be some of the most critical in the recent history of the Southern Baptist Convention. Opinions and thoughts have been shared by thousands, but in these hours only God can do what should be done. More than ever before, we must pray. We must pursue God. We [...]
During the early discussions regarding the possibility of a GCR Task Force, I was both excited and somewhat conflicted. On one hand, I eagerly endorsed the idea that change, major change, was necessary if the Southern Baptist Convention was to adequately confront the challenge of marshalling our forces toward the fulfillment of the Great Commission. [...]
One of my favorite convention moments occurred in 1988 when Dr. W.A. Criswell spoke at the Southern Baptist Convention Pastors’ Conference. Referring to liberalism’s attempt to rebrand itself with a more tolerable name, Criswell said, “A skunk by any other name still stinks!” He went on to say, “We need a resurgence,” and by God’s [...]
Johnny Hunt’s leadership is visionary and necessary. His heart is to see us use our money to bring the most people we can to Jesus Christ. This effort emphasizing the “Great Commission” will be a great step in that direction.
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A great sense of historical importance looms as the 2010 meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention fast approaches. The messengers to the SBC meeting in Orlando will cast many important votes, but one exceeds all others in significance, and that is the vote on the report of the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force.
Southern Baptists have [...]
To my brothers and sisters in Christ, several months ago, Dr. Hunt gave me a copy of an early draft of the Great Commission Resurgence Report. It contained many positives but also some concerns. Others, as well as myself, expressed similar thoughts. The committee listened to us, carefully examined them and changes were made that [...]
I have been asked to give my endorsement to the Great Commission Task Force report and I do so with complete, whole-hearted enthusiasm and conviction. I commend Dr. Floyd and his entire team for this bold and courageous report and do so for the following reasons.
First, the report is mission motivated. This entire report grows [...]
I am glad to be a Southern Baptist! I was born into a Southern Baptist family, born again and called to ministry in the context of a Southern Baptist church, educated in a Baptist college, trained for ministry at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and practiced ministry among Southern Baptist churches for 32 years. For [...]
Like many Southern Baptists I have followed with great interest the work of the GCRTF that was appointed by Johnny Hunt the president of our Convention. I have prayed for the Task Force knowing that their assignment was impossible to fulfill apart from God’s enablement and the prayers of God’s people. I have followed their [...]
In the worst economy since the Great Depression, last year Southern Baptists gave the third largest offering to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions. We were informed today that a total of $148,984,819.41 was given last year by our churches which reflects a 5.43% increase over the previous year. Praise God for [...]
On a weekly basis, including this past weekend, the church I serve as pastor is in the category of size that 84% of SBC churches fall into, an attendance of under 200 persons. As a pastor of a small attendance church, I want to tell you why all pastors of similarly-sized churches should [...]
Someone asked me recently, “If you had it to do over, what would you do differently?” My reply, “Not much.” When Nancy led me to Christ and God called us to ministry, we made a commitment to follow always what we believed to be the will of God. We have made that journey together for many years. [...]
As the pastor of a church that has made a strong commitment to the Cooperative Program and calls its people to sacrificially give to both the Lottie Moon and Annie Armstrong offerings, I feel I should speak to why I support the adoption of the GCR report.
Reason Number One: Two years ago as a Convention [...]
Last June I sat in the hall of the Southern Baptist Convention and joyfully joined what appeared to be 99+% of the messengers in affirming the motion to ask President Johnny Hunt to appoint a Task Force to study the work of our great Convention and bring recommendations for a better way to move forward [...]
The GCR Task Force believes the North American Mission Board exists to assist churches in penetrating the lostness of North America. The 258 million lost people that live on this continent need to have the opportunity to hear the Gospel and become a part of a spiritual family. This is why the recommendations [...]
Mike Wright
First Baptist Church, Iraan, Texas endorses the Great Commission Resurgence report. We know that continual evaluation is essential in fulfilling the Great Commission. We believe that the task force prevailed in much prayer and deliberation to come to these recommendations. Our church is small in membership, yet we know that as we give 11% of [...]
“Penetrating the Lostness” is the theme of the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force final report. I hope and pray that the steps we as Southern Baptists take in coming days will indeed help us penetrate the lostness. The question raised in the final report especially grips me, A world of lostness is waiting-what are we [...]
On Tuesday, June 15, from 2:45 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. (EST), the Southern Baptist Convention will make its decision on the report and recommendations of the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force. In order to prepare for this spiritually, we are inviting you to agree with us in prayer over the following “Seven Points of [...]
In recent weeks I have heard Southern Baptists from various sectors of our Convention express some concern regarding the proposals to be recommended by the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force at the forthcoming gathering of the Southern Baptist Convention meeting this year in Orlando. As I have tried to listen to these concerns, I have [...]
I have been asked to share some of my thoughts about the GCR and its current consideration before our convention. I am glad to do so. It has been a long and fascinating year. I have not always shared the view points of some of the committee members. However, let me be [...]
Southern Baptist pastors agree on many essentials. We agree that cooperation among like-minded Baptists is essential to educate the next generation of pastors to send an army of missionaries to the nations and plant churches within driving distance of every person in North America. We agree that preaching the Word of God is essential to [...]
In what follows, I want to express why I wholeheartedly support the final report from the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force of the Southern Baptist Convention. Since the report was released, much discussion has ensued concerning whether or not the recommendations in this report are healthy for the future of the Southern Baptist Convention. To [...]
To continue doing the same things in the same way and expect different results is a foolish strategy for our churches and our national and state conventions. While nearly tripling our membership in the last 60 years, we have not increased our effectiveness in reaching and baptizing new converts here in America. There must be [...]
The Great Commission Challenge for North America is one of Perspective. We must see the world through the eyes of Jesus. In Matthew 9:35-37, Jesus went through all the towns and villages and He “saw” the crowds. He “saw” them as sheep without a shepherd. He “saw” them being harassed and scattered. And He had [...]
In Component #3 of our GCR report, Penetrating the Lostness, we have introduced a term called Great Commission Giving. The term is engaging and does represent the heart of all we do to support the work of the Great Commission through our Convention. Surprisingly, it has received so much attention that the intent [...]
Throughout my decades in Southern Baptist life and leadership it has been my joy to know and love men on both sides of the denominational divide; both before, during and now after the “conservative resurgence.” In my present calling at GuideStone we have the privilege of serving everyone in SBC life and since we do [...]
My first exposure to an SBC-wide emphasis was “A Million More in ’54,” an effort by the churches of the Southern Baptist Convention to enroll a million more people in our Sunday Schools. The emphasis was on reaching people. Other significant emphases have been “Bold Missions Thrust” and “Empowering Kingdom Growth.” Each of these has [...]
In 1900 a visionary pastor named H. Boyce Taylor led First Baptist Church of Murray, Kentucky to a plan of supporting ministries called “the box plan of giving.” The plan was the forerunner of the Kentucky Baptist Convention’s unified plan that became the model of the Cooperative Program of my denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention [...]
Responding to the Challenges from the GCRTF
I can’t imagine anyone who cannot embrace and get excited about the final recommendations of the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force. The task force has done a thorough and commendable job in recognizing what needs to happen among Southern Baptists if we are to see a renewed impetus in [...]
Due to the great interest, discussion and questions related to the GCR Task Force report and recommendations to the Southern Baptist Convention in Orlando, I am going to take my column for these editions prior to the convention to speak to the report. There is a lot of misinformation circulating and no small amount of [...]
Dr. Ronnie Floyd, Chairman of the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force, sat down with Douglas Baker, Editor of The Baptist Messenger, for an interview following the release of the final report of the task force. In the interview, Floyd fields questions regarding state conventions and their future; Great Commission Giving; the future of the Cooperative [...]
Yesterday was a great day – indeed a historic day. Meeting all day at the Airport Marriott in Nashville, the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force finished our report and adopted it unanimously. We now look forward to the public release of our report on May 3 and we are confident that Southern Baptists will respond [...]
Spiritual revival is the number one need in the Great Commission Resurgence movement. Nothing is more needed in our lives, our churches, and in our convention of churches than spiritual revival. We are in desperate need for the refreshing wind of God’s Spirit to blow upon us.
Revival is the manifested presence of God in our [...]
Committed to a process of learning and thinking together with Southern Baptists, I asked a group of Great Commission Resurgence Task Force members and state executive directors to meet in a conversation session designed to help us work together toward our final report in Orlando
In the Fall of 2008, voices began to surface across various places in the Southern Baptist Convention calling for renewal and revival in local congregations and in the agencies, institutions, commissions and entities found by Southern Baptists.
The phrase, “Great Commission Resurgence,” was originally coined by Lifeway Christian Resources President Thom Rainer; further defined by the [...]
God’s people are never without an assignment, and the Southern Baptist Convention came into being more than a century and a half ago as a means of answering the call of the nations and mobilizing Southern Baptists for the Great Commission. Thankfully, we are still focused on that call. Strategically, we must ask if there [...]
I thank God everyday for having godly parents. Being reared in the Deep South I was taught the southern graces such as responding with “Yes ma’am, no ma’am,” and “Yes sir, no sir.” I sometimes get funny looks when I use these deeply rooted, culturally gracious terms. Honestly, I can’t help it.
I was also taught [...]
The Great Commission Resurgence Task Force released a progress report last month in Nashville. It is my privilege to serve with these godly men and women. I watched the members struggle with the complexities of bettering our Convention’s Great Commission ministries while moving forward together. Unity of vision and heart was accomplished on the Task [...]
Dr. Johnny Hunt
SBC President, Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church Woodstock
As President of the Southern Baptist Convention, I must confess I have never been more excited about our future as a family. The needs that we see arising is a constant reminder that none of us can do alone what we are called to do [...]
The interim report of the GCRTF has already generated much excitement and many conversations. This is good and healthy.
Reaching the people of North America with the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been a primary purpose of the Southern Baptist Convention since its beginning in 1845. Over the last 150 years and more, Southern Baptists have been working together to evangelize and plant churches throughout this continent.
Of course, reaching North America is a far [...]
As people are processing the Great Commission Resurgence Progress Report, some are trying to understand the Cooperative Program and its relationship to Great Commission Giving.
I am most thankful for the ever growing number of you who are joining us as GCR Prayer Partners. I do not know of any time in our process where we need prayer any more than for our presentation on Monday night in Nashville, Tennessee. Please encourage others to join us as Prayer Partners [...]
Your GCR Task Force has listened to Southern Baptists and has sought to hear what they desire to do to advance the Great Commission in our generation.
The GCR is entrenched with a spiritual heritage and is a sacred honor on which to serve
The Great Commission Resurgence Task Force of the Southern Baptist Convention is very committed to communicating our report in the February 22-23 Executive Committee Meeting.
The key to our ability to be used by God in extraordinary ways, is humble surrender
On Monday and Tuesday of this week, our Great Commission Resurgence Task Force is meeting in Atlanta, Georgia.
I am deeply honored as a layman for the opportunity to serve on the Great Commission Task Force alongside of such godly men and women. I believe that the term layman or layperson is properly defined as “one who is called to full time but non-vocational Christian ministry.” We should all consider ourselves full time [...]
The Great Commission is the charge of our Lord to His church to go to the lost and make disciples
Since the last time I communicated with you, there have been so many things happen in Southern Baptist life.
It is my honor and privilege to serve with a distinguished group of Southern Baptist leaders on the GCR Task Force. The task ahead is mighty. I was kindly asked by the chairman, Dr. Ronnie Floyd, to provide a devotional on the morning of the second day of the first meeting. In [...]
Only God knew what was in the hearts of messengers when they voted to create a Great Commission Resurgence Task Force. I had two major reasons to vote “yes.” First, I share with virtually all supporters of the GCR Task Force the desire for a spiritual awakening. Second, I want an honest look at our [...]
As a mother of children in the Mosaic Generation (those 18-23), I was alarmed last March when The Barna Group’s new statistics were released on Biblical worldview. “For the purposes of the survey, a ‘biblical worldview’ was defined as believing that absolute moral truth exists; the Bible is totally accurate in all of the [...]
The Great Commission given to us by the Lord found in Matthew 28: 19-20 is a commandment, not a suggestion. Considering that most Southern Baptists are committed to the Great Commission, some might ask, “Why do we need a resurgence?” Let me offer the following thoughts as to the need for a resurgence.
Resurgence means to [...]
The convention messengers at the 2009 annual meeting of the SBC voiced the need for a Great Commission Resurgence with a renewed emphasis on North American church planting and global missions.
I’m often asked why I’ve remained affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. The question generally comes from people who fall into one of three categories: 1) friends from my former youth pastor days who have since planted non-SBC churches. 2) young, new church planters 3) my new northern friends. Our [...]
A Burden for the City
When I was praying about going into church planting, one of my mentors encouraged me to ask God for a burden. He said, “Strategy without a burden is just ambition.” That timely word has stayed with me and guides much of what my family has been doing for the past three [...]
My associate pastor, who was responsible for our television ministry, was invited by a friend to be present off stage at the Opryland Theatre for the rehearsal of a country music television extravaganza. He enjoyed watching the stars as they performed their way through the rehearsal. The moment he recalled to me was when Dolly [...]
If 36 still counts as young, then I am a young Southern Baptist pastor. (I’m not sure it does, but whenever I’m at Southern Baptist events, people are always calling me “son” and “boy”—grin.)
I have been given the great honor of serving on the SBC’s Great Commission Resurgence Task Force. I have a great deal [...]
My wife and I started serving in the local church right after we were married. Attending seminary was our first goal—after three years we finally arrived! Knowing I was called to pastor, I avoided “Missions Chapel.” My call was to the church not “missions.”
But, after years of serving as a pastor, God began to deal [...]
Thank you, dear friend, for visiting us here at the GCR website. We have a task before us that is a little overwhelming, but the Lord Jesus has given us passion for the task that can be simplified in the fact that nothing should be more important in the life of the believer than [...]
