About Rod D. Martin
Praise for Rod D. Martin
Book Rod to Speak
Politics & Economics
Technology & Markets
Faith & Culture
by Dr. Ronnie Floyd
May 2, 2016
When I was elected President of the Southern Baptist Convention in June of 2014 in Baltimore, little did I know God would take me through the open doors of addressing racial 
challenges in America.
While racial unrest already existed in our nation, it was not until August 9, 2014, and the tragic death of a black teenager named Michael Brown, shot and killed by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, that we began to see this racial unrest erupt like a volcano across our nation.
God Adjusted My Path of Understanding
From my very first press conference as the newly-elected President of the Southern Baptist Convention, I began calling upon Southern Baptists to join me in praying extraordinarily and passionately pursuing the next Great Spiritual Awakening in America. When the Ferguson tragedy occurred, God burdened my heart immediately, adjusting my path of understanding. Politicians, corporate leaders, educators, religious leaders, and pastors in America rarely initiate and move forward a positive agenda that leads to racial unity. We should seek to change this.
While this path is still toward the next Great Awakening, God revealed clearly to me and anyone else that has been spiritually alert in America that one of the greatest sins in our nation today is the sin of racism.
I encourage you to take the time to review the following articles, which will recount the journey taken to bring us to the upcoming session at our 2016 Southern Baptist Convention, A National Conversation on Racial Unity.
- Southern Baptists: When Crises Abound, What Should We Do?
- The Wounds Run Deep: Racism and Injustice Must End and Let Grace and Love Begin
- The Spiritual State of Our Union
- 5 Actions for Southern Baptists to Take Now Due to the Conflict in Our Culture
- We Are a Country in Chaos: What Southern Baptists Should Do
- A National Conversation on Racial Unity
- Now is the Time for the Racial Crisis to End in America
- It’s Time for Pastors to Lead a National Conversation on Racial Unity by Jerry Young and Ronnie Floyd
- From the New York Times: Race, History, and Baptist Reconciliation
Jerry Young, Marshall Blalock, and the Racial Unity Panel
Immediately following my Presidential Address, we will move into our National Conversation on Racial Unity. Dr. Jerry Young, President of the National Baptist Convention, USA, and Marshall Blalock, Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Charleston, South Carolina, will begin the conversation. Dr. Young will speak on “Where We Are Today and Where We Must Go in the Future,” and Pastor Blalock will speak on “The Tragedy and Triumph of Charleston, South Carolina.”
From this foundation, I will lead a panel conversation on racial unity in America. During this fifty-five-minute section of our Southern Baptist Convention, we will be joined by the following ten pastors:
- Marshal Blalock, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Charleston, SC
- Jerry Young, President, National Baptist Convention, USA
- H.B. Charles, Senior Pastor, Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church, Jacksonville, FL
- Joe Costephens, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Ferguson, MO
- Timmy Chavis, Senior Pastor, Bear Swamp Baptist Church, Pembroke, NC
- D.A. Horton, Church Planter, Reach Fellowship, Los Angeles, CA
- Fred Luter, Senior Pastor, Franklin Avenue Baptist Church, New Orleans, LA
- Gregg Matte, Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church, Houston, TX
- Kenny Petty, Senior Pastor, The Gate Church, St. Louis, MO
- David Um, Senior Pastor, Antioch Baptist Church, Cambridge, MA
The entire Tuesday morning session will be powerful, so please do not miss any of it. All scheduled luncheons will occur following the dismissal of the morning session. You won’t be late!
Tuesday Morning Will Help Set Up Tuesday Night
One of the areas we will pray about on Tuesday night of the convention in our National Call to Prayer for Spiritual Leadership, Revived Churches, and Nationwide & Global Awakening is the racial crisis in our nation. How do we not do this when we are meeting within twenty minutes of Ferguson, Missouri?
Pray Now for This National Conversation
Would you begin to call out to God daily by name each of us who will be participating in this conversation during our convention gathering? Put the attached graphic in a prominent place and join me in this prayer initiative.
The sin of racism is a spiritual stronghold in this nation and now is the time this wall must come down. As we repent of it personally, repent of it in our churches, and repent of it in our nation, we will perhaps see the next Great Spiritual Awakening in our generation.
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.
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