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SPRINGDALE, AR (BP) – The future of Southern Baptist Convention is on my heart this week. Perhaps now, days away from the conclusion of my two-year presidency, my feelings may lean toward being a little nostalgic. What will our future look like? If Jesus tarries His coming, how long will our convention of churches last? Only God knows the answer to these and more questions when we think about our future together. Who do we want to be in the future? This should be a concern for all of us, and we should never minimize this issue: Who do we want to be in the future? I recently heard a major political leader say that during the decision-making process, he keeps in mind that "Every step is a forward-moving step." The same is true for the future of our Southern Baptist Convention. Every step we make needs to move us forward. Nothing moves fast in a major government or a convention of churches. Checks and balances are provided at many levels. At times these may appear to bind us, but in reality, they protect us in the long term. I want to suggest some steps that will always keep us moving forward. Perhaps these steps could be more properly called axioms, which are principles or self-evident truths that are widely accepted among us. Who do we want to be in the future? 1. A Bible-believing Southern Baptist Convention While this may currently be part of our identity, the reality is that the culture mocks the authority of the Bible in 2016 and beyond. Our pastors and churches are navigating in a world unlike anything we have experienced before. Our leadership with our laypeople and one another is critical in this hour. Whatever step we take in our decision-making, we must always do so believing the Bible is infallible, trustworthy, sufficient and inerrant, progressing toward the goal set before us. 2. A Gospel-advancing Southern Baptist Convention In this diverse, complex season in American life and in the evangelical world, there really is only one passion that keeps us tied together: Advancing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the entire nation and world. Our pastors, churches and convention leaders must dig deep and find a way to experience a rebirth of sharing the Gospel personally and a renewal of our priority to evangelize the towns and cities of America and simultaneously extend the Gospel globally. We cannot retreat from this calling, but must renew our commitment to such a point that we act upon it urgently, personally, collectively, cooperatively and aggressively. 3. A Leader-developing Southern Baptist Convention In order for us to live out Ephesians 4:12, "For the training of the saints in the work of ministry to build up the body of Christ," every member in the body of Christ must be developed to do the work of the ministry in and through the local church. Until our local churches return to our members owning the ministry and personalizing the Great Commission locally, we will not seize this opportunity before us. While our six seminaries are developing just over 20,000 seminary students in their various locations, their robust effort must continue forward for God's glory. This is one of our most encouraging dynamics in Baptist life. This indicates a hope that perhaps God is preparing His called servants to impact our nation and the globe in an unprecedented way. 4. A multi-ethnic, multi-lingual Southern Baptist Convention Strengthening our commitment to becoming a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual denomination begins in the local churches of the Southern Baptist Convention. In other words, this is a local church issue more than a Southern Baptist Convention issue. The Southern Baptist Convention will mirror our churches. If our churches are going to reach the towns and cities of America with the Gospel, each church must become committed to reach people that comprise their community, including those of unique ethnicity and may speak a language other than English. The North American Mission Board informed Southern Baptists that 58 percent of the churches planted one year ago are non-white churches. In the past two years, with the appointments I am permitted to make as president of our convention, we are at the highest percentage of appointments of non-white Baptists in our history. Additionally, in last year's National Call to Prayer and with this year's National Conversation on Racial Unity in America, the Southern Baptist Convention is making great strides in this conversation and will continue to do so. But let me remind you, the key is what is happening in our churches. 5. A local church-centered Southern Baptist Convention The Southern Baptist Convention is not centered on our SBC national entities, state conventions, or regional associations; we are to be centered on helping our churches. These entities, conventions and associations exist for one purpose alone: for our churches. Their role is to assist our churches to carry out their God-assigned, God-anointed task of reaching the world for Christ. Otherwise, they have no reason to exist. Southern Baptists are always at our best when our churches are being assisted and equipped, and our pastors are leading not just their churches, but in their beloved Southern Baptist Convention. 6. A Generously-giving Southern Baptist Convention Southern Baptists have been able to do what we do for one reason alone: Our churches are generous in giving through the Cooperative Program and to our mission offerings. We do not need to minimize what our churches are doing already and have done together historically. While generosity must continue to grow, money usually follows vision and the unity of our fellowship together. 7. A people-loving Southern Baptist Convention Southern Baptists are not perfect, especially in our testimony together in fellowship, but we must not neglect our need to be a people-loving convention. Right now in these socially uncertain waters in America, we face an ongoing threat of being pulled into an ocean of skepticism, criticism and cynicism toward not just people in America, but even more sadly, one another. Southern Baptists should want to be known for being a people-loving convention, both within our family and outside of our family. Jesus calls us to love one another. Who we do not want to be? Daily, we face the ongoing tension between who we want to be in the future versus who we do not want to be in the future. I have encouraged us to make great choices about who we want to be in the future. Briefly, I want to declare who we do not want to be in the future: We do not want to be a convention that questions or denies the Holy Scripture and its ongoing authority until Jesus comes again. We do not want to be a convention that minimizes evangelism locally, regionally and nationally, or we will become a convention that does not advance the Gospel globally. If we lose evangelism as our priority, we will soon cease to have a convention. We do not want to be a convention that demeans the role of laypersons in our churches and minimizes the ministry of equipping from the local church to the convention level. We do not want to be a convention comprised of only Anglo/white churches, or we will soon be dead and irrelevant to our culture. We do not want to be a convention centered on ourselves, our structures, and our systems, or we will float away on the seas of selfishness. We do not want to be a convention that is comprised of selfish non-giving Christians and self-serving churches or we will cease being able to finance our work together statewide, nationally and internationally. We do not want to be a convention that erodes relationships with each other and other evangelicals through constant, ongoing skepticism, un-Christian criticism, and unattractive cynicism. I call our pastors, churches and convention leaders to a higher life and a greater level of leadership in the times in which we live today. In 2016, we need leaders to rise up as modern men and women of Issachar, "who understood the times and knew what Israel should do." (1 Chronicles 12:32) ABOUT THE AUTHOR Ronnie Floyd is president of the Southern Baptist Convention and senior pastor of Cross Church in northwest Arkansas. This column first appeared on Ronnie Floyd's website, www.ronniefloyd.com. #JULY16

Heavy rains on June 23 brought historic flooding to West Virginia, claiming at least 24 lives and 100 homes. Search and rescue efforts are still in progress. Southern Baptist Disaster Relief teams are already on the ground giving aid to survivors and comfort to those facing the loss of family and loved ones. While you may not be able to travel to the affected area, every church—every church member—can be on mission and Send Relief to West Virginia now by giving to provide food, bottled water, cleanup supplies and more for flood survivors. Give to support Disaster Relief efforts and the volunteer teams on the ground in West Virginia. Learn more about Southern Baptist response to the crisis in West Virginia. #JULY16

NASHVILLE, TN – What is Zika? Zika is a disease caused by the Zika virus, which is spread to people primarily through the bite of an infected mosquito, says the Centers for Disease Control. Only 1 in 5 people infected by the virus show any symptoms, the most common being fever, rash, joint pain and conjunctivitis (red eyes). Adults infected with Zika usually have only mild symptoms that last less than a week. Most people infected don’t get sick enough go to the hospital and very rarely die of Zika. (A rare nervous system disorder that causes temporary paralysis (Guillain-Barre syndrome) may also be linked to the infection, though that has not yet been established.) If the effect of Zika is so mild, why is there so much concern? Although Zika is rarely harmful to most adults, it could be dangerous for pregnant women and is suspected of causing birth defects in newborns. The infection of pregnant women by the virus is believed to be the cause of thousands of babies being born with microcephaly. Although no scientific evidence has confirmed a link between the virus and microcephaly, the World Health Organization (WHO) has classified Zika a global public health emergency because of a spike in both Zika and microcephaly cases in Brazil since May 2015. What is microcephaly? Microcephaly is a condition where a baby is born with a small head or the head stops growing after birth. As the WHO notes, microcephaly is usually a rare condition, with one baby in several thousand being born with the birth defect. If this combines with poor brain growth, babies with microcephaly can have developmental disabilities. The WHO says the most reliable way to assess whether a baby has microcephaly is to measure head circumference 24 hours after birth, compare this with WHO growth standards, and continue to measure the rate of head growth in early infancy. The disease currently affects about 25,000 children every year in the United States. There is no specific treatment for microcephaly. Can a woman transmit Zika virus to her baby during pregnancy or childbirth? According to the WHO, Zika virus infection close to term could potentially be transmitted during childbirth, although this has not been proven to date. The CDC, however, claims that the Zika virus can be passed from a mother to child during pregnancy. Can a previous Zika infection cause a woman who later gets pregnant to have a baby with microcephaly? The CDC says there is no evidence to suggest that Zika virus, after it is cleared from the blood, poses a risk of birth defects for future pregnancies. Zika virus usually remains in the blood of an infected person for about a week. How is Zika transmitted? Zika virus is transmitted to people through the bite of an infected mosquito from the Aedes genus, mainly Aedes aegypti in tropical regions. This is the same mosquito that transmits dengue and yellow fever. As the New York Times explains, only female mosquitoes bite people since they need blood in order to lay eggs. They pick up the virus when they drink the blood of a human. The virus then travels from the mosquito’s gut through their circulatory system to their salivary glands and is injected into its next human victim. “Mosquito saliva contains proteins that keeps blood from clotting,” The New York Times adds. “When a mosquito bites it first injects saliva so that its prey’s blood does not clog its straw-like proboscis.” People can transmit the virus to mosquitos even if they themselves do not show symptoms of being infected. Can the virus be transmitted through sexual intercourse? Yes. According to the CDC, Zika virus can be spread by a man to his sex partners. Because the virus is present in semen longer than in blood, the virus can be spread when the man has symptoms, before symptoms start and after symptoms resolve. Can the virus be transmitted through blood transfusion? Currently, there have not been any confirmed blood transfusion transmission cases in the United States. There have been multiple reports of blood transfusion transmission cases in Brazil, notes the CDC, and during the French Polynesian outbreak, 2.8 percent of blood donors tested positive for Zika and in previous outbreaks, the virus has been found in blood donors. Is there a vaccine or cure for Zika? There is currently no vaccine or cure, and even diagnostic testing is difficult. Scientists say that while a vaccine could be ready for testing in two years, it may be another decade for it to be approved by regulators. What areas have been affected by Zika? Prior to 2015, Zika virus outbreaks occurred in areas of Africa, Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands. Since then, it has been reported in Central America, most countries in South America, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and America Samoa. No local mosquito-borne Zika virus disease cases have been reported in U.S. states, but there have been, to date, 591 travel-associated cases (including 11 involving sexual transmission of the virus). There is currently no travel ban to any of the affected countries. How are these countries responding? Several countries—including Colombia, Jamaica and Honduras—have urged women to delay having babies. El Salvador even took the controversial step of encouraging women not to get pregnant until 2018. This has been especially contentious since many of these countries have large Roman Catholic populations. “A campaign to delay pregnancy would seem to be an implicit endorsement of birth control,” The Washington Post notes. “For a region that is majority Roman Catholic, this presents a potential conflict, as the church has long condemned contraception.” Does the virus pose a threat to the Olympic Games? Last week the World Health Organization released a statement saying there is "no public health justification" for postponing or canceling the Rio de Janeiro Olympics because of the Zika outbreak. According to WHO, "based on current assessment, cancelling or changing the location of the 2016 Olympics will not significantly alter the international spread of Zika virus." ABOUT THE AUTHOR The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission is an entity of the Southern Baptist Convention. The ERLC is dedicated to engaging the culture with the gospel of Jesus Christ and speaking to issues in the public square for the protection of religious liberty and human flourishing. Our vision can be summed up in three words: kingdom, culture and mission. For more information, visit ERLC.com. #JULY16