About Rod D. Martin
Praise for Rod D. Martin
Book Rod to Speak
Politics & Economics
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Faith & Culture
by Ronnie W. Floyd
June 22, 2015
My heart is overflowing with gratitude to our great God for meeting with us in Columbus in a powerful manner. People came with great expectation and prayerfully returned to their churches resounding great hope.
Today, I want to share a few reflections before we charge forward toward the next year. Christians, pastors, and leaders need to push pause periodically and celebrate the work of God in our midst.
1. Recognition of the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War was one of the tremendous moments of the week.
General Doug Carver assisted me in this recognition, and it was terrific. When we asked for our Vietnam veterans to come forward to help us in giving the Pledge of Allegiance, it was powerful. Tears were flowing, emotions were high, and when all veterans and active duty service members joined them, it was an amazing moment. This was followed by the Star Spangled Banner, sung by the incredible Julio Arriola. To all generations of Southern Baptists, please note: Southern Baptists love this nation and our armed services. I encourage all of our churches to find a time in the next couple of Sundays to give honor and recognition to our Vietnam veterans on the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War.
2. My heart is so thankful for your response to the Presidential Address, “Now Is The Time To Lead.”
The Lord has taken this message across the country and parts of the world. For complete clarity and additional reference, this linkwill provide the video, manuscript, and graphics from the address. Pastors who have an interest in showing it to their churches can find all the resources in this one place. Thanks again to the hundreds of people who have responded so graciously.
3. Our new schedule was well received.
I am so thankful for Dr. Andrew Hebert and our Order of Business Committee who walked alongside me with great conviction and full support in seeing these changes made. Also, many thanks to Chief Parliamentarian, Barry McCarty, who helped me tremendously in this endeavor. Southern Baptists are grateful for his 29 years of service to us.
The messengers loved the format, including the unified report from our seminaries and mission boards, as well as seeing the vast majority of the business completed in one session on Tuesday afternoon. Packaging things together was positively received.
I am grateful for all who worked with us to see this occur. I believe now everyone understands why it was done and I firmly believe it contributed to our unity throughout the entire convention.
4. Our seminaries reporting to our convention together and praying for one another was a powerful message to our churches.
While they spoke of their uniqueness in their individual reports, our seminaries communicated effectively their respect and love for one another as a team, working together to equip the next generation of pastors, missionaries, and scholars. Please take this to your churches and give them great hope for what is taking place through the work of our six seminaries.
5. The National Call to Prayer for the next Great Awakening and to Reach the World for Christ was an epic experience for the estimated crowd of 7,000 that attended.
Words cannot do the evening justice. Those in attendance can speak for themselves and they are, but as for me, the night was one I will never forget.
You can go here to experience the entire prayer service via video and see the Order of Service. Pastors and Christian leaders, please feel free to use this video and outline to inspire a prayer service in your church, association, or state convention. You are welcome to use this footage in part or its entirety. In whatever area you lead in Southern Baptist life, consider leading people to moments like these. If we can’t pray together like this, we will never be used personally or collectively as God would desire.
Additionally, this vision of prayer for awakening has been shown across our nation and even across the world on DayStar Television Network and the Salem Radio Network has aired, this weekend, the two-hour prayer service on over 100 stations nationally in some of the country’s largest cities. To God be all the glory and praise!
6. The Church and Missionary Sending Celebration Service on Wednesday morning was such a blessing to our messengers.
Many messengers had never been part of a service that communicated the vision of reaching the world by highlighting our missionaries and church planters. Again, the uniqueness of both mission boards coming together for this experience demonstrated and communicated a unified vision.
7. The Presidential Panel on The Supreme Court and Same-Sex Marriage: How to Prepare our Churches for the Future was powerful.
The participants on the panel shared powerful and helpful insight for our churches. I believe the vision of bringing an overall message of hope and encouragement regarding this subject to our pastors and churches was fulfilled beyond what we would have ever thought. Please take it beyond the convention and show it to your leaders, staff, or entire church.
8. Attendance was strong during the entire convention, even through the final session on Wednesday.
People stated they have not seen a Wednesday afternoon attendance so strong in many years. The final session was a great session, from the wonderful Convention Message of Pastor Eddie Bumpers, handing off the convention from Columbus to St. Louis, the final time of worship and prayer, to the final fall of the gavel concluding the 2015 Southern Baptist Convention. Thanks for staying all the way through. Since our churches send most of us, we should always stay through the end.
9. Worship led by Julio Arriola and our team from Cross Church was outstanding.
As the first Mexican American ever elected as our convention’s Music Director, we shout out praise to God for the outstanding leadership and ministry of Julio Arriola. Thank you and the entire Cross Church Team for letting God use you. Thankfully, you will lead us again in 2016.
10. 5,406 registered messengers have led us to our largest convention gathering since our 2012 Convention in New Orleans.
There are many reasons our attendance has grown, but I want to specifically thank the 711 Ohio Baptists who registered and attended our convention. Dr. Jack Kwok, the Executive Director of their convention along with his team, were outstanding! Additionally, Rich Halcombe, the Executive Director of the Metro Columbus Baptist Association, was critical in his great leadership through the year and for Crossover Columbus!
We had at least 3,385 volunteers at Crossover Columbus, over 1,000 more than the year before. Additionally, the gospel was presented at least 4,948 times, resulting in 345 people coming to Christ as Lord and Savior, which is also more than last year! Hallelujah!
As well, our Convention leadership from the Executive Committee was outstanding. Bill Townes and Don McGee and their team reported we had an estimated 8,500 in attendance on Tuesday morning and an estimated 7,000 on Tuesday night. We give God alone the praise.
I regret I cannot talk about every detail of the convention as I have worn you out already, but I want to say 1,000 thank yous for letting me serve another year as President.
Mark your calendars now for the Southern Baptist Convention in St. Louis, Missouri on June 14-15, 2016. We will talk more about that later. Until then and throughout this year, please remember…
Now is the Time to Lead,
Ronnie W. Floyd
Senior Pastor, Cross Church
President, Southern Baptist Convention
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— Reproduced with permission from Ronnie Floyd. Please read the original here.
Rod is one of our nation’s leading minds. He’s smart, original, and very committed—a combination that one rarely finds.
Rod Martin and [former Howard Dean campaign manager] Joe Trippi are America’s two foremost experts on online politics.
Rod Martin is a Reaganite-Thatcherite conservative…[and] a man who has spent much of his life ministering to and working for the benefit of others. I know Rod as an advocate for freedom, a leader who understands the real changes we need in Washington, and who has the drive and ability to make those changes happen.
Rod Martin is the kind of dynamic leader who has the knowledge, ability and experience to lead us successfully into the 21st Century. His vision for America is compelling.
Rod Martin literally wrote the book on excellence. Humble yet brilliant, a man of love and compassion, with penetrating clarity he illuminates the world around us, and we are both stirred and enlightened.
Rod Martin is a born leader and an outstanding political mind. Anyone who takes him on is going to have a serious fight on their hands.
Rod Martin is a man of uncommon vision and character. Ever since I first worked alongside Rod in the early days of PayPal, I’ve been struck by his powerful vision for the future. Rod understands the intersection of technology, politics and culture in a way that few others do.
Rod Martin wears with uncommon grace an uncanny ability to link his vigorous faith to the practical challenges of both the business world and the political arena. Yet the respect he shows for others carries a warmth and modesty that are both too rare among those who are strong advocates of feisty positions.
America badly needs more leaders who really get the future. We need more Rod Martins.
Rod Martin is a modern day philosopher-statesman. He is a capitalist intellectual, a conservative iconoclast, a gentle adversary and a kind prophet. He inspires us towards a fresh national vision built upon the original founding principles.
Rod Martin is not only effective and efficient, but he is also perceptive, wise and gracious. He gets things done. He is a great friend and a great ally.
Rod is one of the sharpest, most gracious men I know, and one of the most gifted political thinkers today. His ability to analyze issues and communicate thoughtful insights on them have earned him the respect of people across the political spectrum.
I am proud to have been Rod Martin’s friend for a quarter century, and I can tell you that he is one of the finest men and most outstanding leaders in our church and in our country today. He has a knack for turning everything he touches to success.
Rod Martin is a cornucopian entrepreneur and eutropic thinker whose influence radiates through an array of companies, institutions, movements and churches. A renaissance American, he is also a prolific friend of freedom and faith around the globe.
If Rod Martin represents the next generation of leaders, America has nothing to worry about.
A leader and a servant, in public life and in private, Rod Martin strides at the top of his profession, and has nowhere to go but up. He is in the truest sense of the word ‘outstanding’.
Rod Martin is undoubtedly one of the most accomplished thought leaders today. He is a wonderful mentor, a humble role model, and a deep inspiration for the next generation of scientific innovators and entrepreneurs.
Rod’s achievements pale beside his character and his brilliance. He sees what others can’t. He leads when others won’t.
Rod Martin is one of America’s finest young minds.
