News Articles by Barbara Denman

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (BP) -- A sacrificial investment made by Florida Baptists decades ago could make a far-reaching global missions impact this year as the State Board of Missions approved a multi-million dollar contract to sell the Baptist Building property in Jacksonville. Fifty-one percent of the proceeds of the Baptist Building property sale will be directed to the Southern Baptist Convention's Cooperative Program for worldwide mission causes, pledged Tommy Green, executive director-treasurer of the Florida Baptist Convention, during the State Board's April 1 meeting at Lake Yale Baptist Conference Center in Leesburg, Fla.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (BP) -- Denominational leaders championed the role of the association as partner and doctrinal watchdog during the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Conference of Associational Leaders (SBCAL) in Columbus, Ohio.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (BP) -- Arkansas pastor Ronnie Floyd was reelected without opposition to a second term as president of the Southern Baptist Convention June 16 during the SBC annual meeting in Columbus, Ohio. Registered messengers totaled 5,277 messengers at the time. Floyd was nominated by North Carolina pastor J.D. Greear, who said, "God's hand has been upon Brother Ronnie. I believe he is the man God has raised up to lead us for another year."

LEESBURG, Fla. (BP) -- J. Thomas Green ha sido electo para dirigir al millón de miembros de la Convención Estatal Bautista de Florida como director ejecutivo y tesorero de la Convención Bautista de Florida. Green, pastor de la Primera Iglesia Bautista en Brandon, fue nombrado por la Junta Estatal de Misiones durante su reunión el 29 de mayo en el Centro de Conferencias Lake Yale en Leesburg. Él asumirá su nueva función a partir del 8 de junio.

NEW YORK (BP) -- Can the still, small voice of God be heard amid the sensory overload of Times Square's bombastic billboards and teeming crowds of people from life's every corner? That voice was heard by Nick, a young Marine from New Jersey who came to the Big Apple on leave with his buddies. Listening to the Florida Baptist Worship Choir and Orchestra sing "Open Up the Heavens" at the exact location where the Times Square New Year's Eve Ball drops, Nick heard the message God had for his ears -- and heart. The Marine asked Wes Ratliff, worship pastor at Wright Baptist Church in Fort Walton Beach, a simple question, "What are you doing?" sparking a conversation that led to eternal life. "We spoke about why we were in New York City and our desire for God to 'Open Up the Heavens' on this great city and those that were visiting from all over the world," Ratliff said of the flash mob-type rendering of one of the choir's most compelling songs. "My wife and I explained to him how God speaks to us individually," Ratliff said, "and that his interest in our flash mob performance was no accident, but most likely God was speaking to his heart." The young soldier who had once been deployed to the Middle East promised to come hear the Florida worship choir in concert the next night at Carnegie Hall. Near the end of that concert, Bill Hild, pastor of First Baptist Church in Sarasota, who accompanied the choir, extended an invitation for anyone to come and speak to him afterward. Nick, however, headed straight to Ratliff, who reiterated some of the pastor's message from the Bible. Ratliff noted the "holy" moment occurring in a place like Carnegie Hall where so many special moments have taken place. Ratliff then asked if Nick wanted "a holy moment that would change his life forever." After the Marine confirmed he did, "I led him in prayer as he admitted his need for Christ's forgiveness, his belief in what Jesus has done for him, and confessed he wanted Jesus to be Lord of his life." As many as 50,000 people heard the 300-member choir sing in Times Square on Sunday, June 1, their voices resonating even a few blocks away, drawing more and more people who sought a glimpse of the singers. The Floridians visited with the throngs who came, thanking them for their interest, some striking up spiritual conversations and distributing tickets to the next day's performance at Carnegie Hall.

BALTIMORE (BP) -- En un año en el que la Convención Bautista del Sur se enfocó en "Restauración y Reavivamiento a través de la Oración," el pastor de Arkansas Ronnie Floyd, quien ha buscado animar a los bautistas del sur a profundizar su caminar espiritual a través de libros, estudios de Escuela Dominical y reuniones de oración de pastores, ha sido elegido como presidente de la Convención Bautista del Sur.

BALTIMORE (BP) -- In a year when the Southern Baptist Convention focused on "Restoration & Revival Through Prayer," Arkansas pastor Ronnie Floyd, who has sought to encourage Southern Baptists to deepen their spiritual walk through books, Sunday School material and pastor prayer meetings, has been elected as the 2014 SBC president.

BALTIMORE (BP) -- In a year when the Southern Baptist Convention focused on "Restoration & Revival Through Prayer," Arkansas pastor Ronnie Floyd, who has sought to encourage Southern Baptists to deepen their spiritual walk through books, Sunday School studies and pastor prayer meetings, has been elected as the Southern Baptist Convention's president. Floyd, pastor of Cross Church in northwest Arkansas for 27 years, topped fellow nominees Maryland pastor Dennis Manpoong Kim and Kentucky pastor Jared Moore to win the SBC post June 10 in Baltimore. The new SBC president succeeds New Orleans pastor Fred Luter of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church, who became the first African American to lead the SBC when he was elected in 2012. With 5,001 registered messengers and 3,553 ballots cast, Floyd received 1,834 votes, or 51.62 percent. Kim, pastor of Global Mission Church of Greater Washington in Silver Spring, Md., received 1,446 votes or 40.70 percent while Moore, pastor of New Salem Baptist Church in Hustonville, Ky., received 210 votes or 5.91 percent. Moore is the current second vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention. Floyd was nominated by Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President R. Albert Mohler Jr. Kim and Moore were placed in nomination, respectively, by Texas pastor Dwight McKissic of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington and Bennie Smith, a deacon at the Kentucky church where Moore is pastor. Mohler, in his nomination speech, said Floyd, 58, has "the Great Commission in his heart" and has been a leader "with peerless experience in the Southern Baptist Convention." Mohler noted Floyd's service as president of the Pastors' Conference; chairman of the SBC Executive Committee; participation on the denomination's Program and Structure Committee; and, "most importantly," as chairman of the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force (2009-10), which set forth wide-ranging recommendations for expanding the SBC's missions outreach. "He is a unifier and a denominational statesman. He knows the Southern Baptist Convention at every level, and he has served and led at every level," Mohler said. While chairman of the task force, Mohler said Floyd "bridged generations and institutional boundaries to forge a new commitment to reaching the world for Christ. As an immediate result of that leadership experience, Ronnie Floyd became convinced of the need to direct ever greater financial support to the world missions task." After his experience on the task force, Floyd steered his church to be one of the convention's leading contributors through the Cooperative Program, "even leading his church to give more to the Cooperative Program during a time of national recession, contributing more than $700,000 last year alone," Mohler said. While chairman of the task force, Mohler said Floyd "bridged generations and institutional boundaries to forge a new commitment to reaching the world for Christ. As an immediate result of that leadership experience, Ronnie Floyd became convinced of the need to direct ever greater financial support to the world missions task." After his experience on the task force, Floyd steered his church to be one of the convention's leading contributors through the Cooperative Program, "even leading his church to give more to the Cooperative Program during a time of national recession, contributing more than $700,000 last year alone," Mohler said. "We need a man of that commitment and leadership now as president of our beloved convention -- a man who models the message." Mohler said Floyd "will lead all Southern Baptists, and he will lead us well. He is a bridge-builder who unites us theologically and stands in a direct line of noble leaders who have defended the inerrancy of Scripture and every doctrine of our Baptist Faith & Message.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (BP) -- While focusing on "Partnering for God's Kingdom," Florida Baptists moved one step closer to sending half of their Cooperative Program gifts to national and international missions with the approval of a $30.5 million CP budget during their 152nd annual meeting.

    During a year when mass shootings and suicides have stunned the nation, a resolution on "Mental Health Concerns and the Heart of God" was overwhelmingly approved by messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention’s June 11-12 annual meeting in Houston. The resolution offered by the SBC Committee on Resolutions sought to "affirm, support, and […]