Rice: Stop settling for status quo, engage the enemy

DAYTONA BEACH (FBW)—In the midst of a culture that opposes biblical values and churches that seem satisfied with the status quo, Willy Rice urged Florida Baptists to follow the biblical example of Jonathan who won a surprising victory because he trusted in God in spite of the seemingly insurmountable odds.

In his president's address Nov. 12 during the 146th annual meeting of the Florida Baptist State Convention, Rice, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Clearwater, preached from 1 Samuel 14 that Jonathan and his armor-bearer are models of both faithfulness and fruitfulness from which modern-day Christians can learn.

"We are living in a time when people are confused and unbelief seems to be at its highest. We are in the danger of losing an entire generation. And there are voices being raised today that suggest this battle perhaps cannot be won, that this tide cannot be turned, that perhaps this culture is simply too far gone," Rice told the messengers at the Ocean Convention Center.

In the biblical account, Rice noted the Israelites merely hoped for a "lethargic, stagnant stalemate" against their familiar foe, the Philistines, who held the high ground.

"It looked like the enemy was much, much stronger than they really were," Rice said, noting the Israelites could not see "behind the veil of humanity the battle was already at a tipping point and God Himself from Heaven was ready to move, all it took was somebody with courage and conviction to climb out from beneath the rocks and take the battle to the enemy."

Today, Christians are similarly demoralized by the enemy they face which appears to be too powerful to defeat and churches are "hiding behind some rock somewhere, hunkering down in security and familiar and safety, just kind of holding on to what we've got, afraid of getting out from behind the rocks and scaling the cliffs and taking the battle to the enemy. We've even coined a term for it in Baptist life, it's called plateaued."

Rice said Jonathan possessed three qualities that are worthy of following—a sense of dissatisfaction, a source of motivation and strategy of cooperation.

Jonathan's dissatisfaction was a "holy discontent." He "was tired of going to sleep in the Israelite camp listening to the Philistine jeers across the mountainside. He was tired of listening to their arrogant taunts and there was something that welled up within, something stirred in his soul and he said this is not how it is supposed to be. This is not how the army of the living God is supposed to fight. And something within him would not bear any longer settling for the status quo."

Rice said Florida Baptists need a sense of dissatisfaction with their lack of "missional focus" and "spiritual fruitfulness."

Asserting "our churches are suffering from a crisis of purpose," Rice said there are two kinds of churches - those doing the Great Commission and those which don't.

"I believe our churches are suffering from a crisis of purpose. ... Many of our churches have forgotten why we exist," Rice said, adding the church's mission is "to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to every creature on the earth and be used of God to bring people who are far away from God into a saving relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ."

Like a soldier whose mission is not merely survival but to take the enemy's territory, Rice said churches cannot settle for survival, counting another anniversary and satisfied that the budget was met.

"I have heard it said that God has not called us to be successful, God has called us to be faithful. But that's only half true. God has surely called us to be faithful. But what is faithfulness? ... Did Jesus not command us to go and bear much fruit?" Rice asked.

Rice empathized with pastors who are dissatisfied but face opposition in their churches. He urged those pastors to not grow weary and to not accept the status quo, noting "the first step forward is to believe that God can do it again."

Although he was a skilled soldier, Rice said Jonathan's "source of motivation was his absolute confidence in the power of God."

Rice said today there are many "ten talent leaders" pastors can learn from, but "the power we need is not in the latest strategy, it is not in latest consultant, it is not in the latest, fancy notebook. The power we need is the power of the living God to move in our lives and in our churches."

Contrary to Jonathan who had to take a risk to act, not knowing how God would respond, Rice said, "we're playing it way too safe and our dreams are way too low. We need some leaders who will say, I would rather die on the cliffs of uncertainty than stay here safe behind a rock and waste my life and ministry."

Rice said Jonathan and his armor-bearer also had a strategy of cooperation.

"Our partnership here tonight is voluntary, cooperative partnership that is based upon this—we share the same Lord, we share the same mission, and we share the same message," he preached.

Rice said although it was only Jonathan and his armor-bearer initially in the battle, "It is doubtful that his mission would have succeeded without cooperation."

Just as the armor bearer gave emotional support to Jonathan, pastors need that support, Rice said.

"Aren't you glad in that moment that Jonathan didn't run into the cold water committee?" Rice quipped.

But Rice decried the "tragedy" of "computer board cowboys" who spread church gossip across the Internet.

"They love to get on the computer with a thesaurus in one hand and a freshman theology book in the other and send out their bombastic missives to everybody who'll read, fancying themselves to be some kind of courageous prophet. I tell you, they are nothing of the sort. They are blemishes on our love feast; they are clouds without water; they are trees without fruit. And we need to send a word to those modern-day Absaloms that gossip by any means is still gossip and it is evil and it is wrong and it should be stopped!"

More than emotional support, Jonathan's armor bearer also gave practical support.

"Words are needed, but words are not enough," Rice said, noting the armor bearer gave his time, talent and treasure in a partnership that made a difference.

Rice said he has seen throughout the last year as FBSC president the results of cooperation, citing an example in Haiti where nearly 700 churches have been started in 12 years because of Florida Baptist work. He visited one church, the Baptist Church of the Good Seed, whose vibrant ministry in a modest building with rough floors and a tin roof caused a voodoo temple across the street to shut down.

Rice told the story of how the people of Haiti in rebellion against France's rule in 1803 prayed to Satan, the enemy of their oppressors' God, that if he would deliver them from Napoleon he could rule their nation for 200 years.

"I want to tell you Satan's lease is up in Haiti. I want to tell you his lease is almost up in this old world. His lease is almost up in this state. He is a defeated foe waiting to be deposed," Rice declared. "And all that needs to happen is for the men and women of God to believe that our God is stronger than the enemy and to say that we will no longer play it safe. We will no longer hide behind the rocks. We will no longer settle for the status quo. But we will come out from behind the rocks. We will scale the cliffs. We will engage the battle, because we know Jesus Christ will prevail. His Kingdom will endure. He is the Lord. Therefore, let us go forth and carry the battle and turn the tide and win the victory."