Hinkle's Defense of Moran

I submitted the gist of the following post as a comment on Marty Duren's SBC Outpost blog and it might appear later, as he has enabled comment moderation at this time. I was checking out the latest issue of The Pathway online (I wouldn't pay for the print issue) and found a couple of very interesting articles.

The Pathway (Missouri Baptist Convention state paper) has weighed in on Roger Moran’s comments at the Executive Committee regarding the Emerging Church. Don Hinkle’s editorial is an impassioned defense of Moran and includes the statement that Hinkle has examined Moran’s research and finds it compelling.

Staff writer Allen Palmeri also comes to the defense of Moran’s position and approvingly reproduces the full text of Moran’s comments.

Hinkle in particular berates the bloggers who have dared to criticize his buddy Moran in such an unchristian manner. I almost gagged when I read the following quote by him: “It is the most shocking public display of personal attacks that I have ever witnessed in SBC life (though I have read how some leaders in the conservative resurgence have been subjected to similar treatment by moderates since 1979).” Hinkle has consistently attacked moderates in Missouri from the time he assumed his role as editor of the Pathway and has done so with what can only be described as yellow journalism. It is not surprising therefore that he totally ignores Moran's history of attacking all moderates with his guilt-by-association tactics. The fact of the matter is that both of these guys appear to feed off of and encourage one another in these kind of attacks. Thus Hinkle finds Moran's "research" compelling. If you haven't read the comments on Marty Duren's blog regarding Moran's presentation, it would be well worth you time.

Youth Mission Trip fundraiser

I had the privilege this past Friday and Saturday evening of being the emcee for our church's annual dinner theater that raises money for our youth group's summer mission trip. The group that puts it on is a talented collection of young adults called Sonlight. The last couple of years they've done a program around the theme of Uncle Phil's diner with a 1950s setting and lots of humor and songs from that era. This year they took a different approach and did a Tribute to the Oscars. They sang many of the songs that won Academy Awards for best song, as well as acting out scenes from three different movies--The Wizard of Oz, Steel Magnolias, and A Few Good Men (with the language cleaned up of course). We had a great crowd in our fellowship hall each night (about 260 each evening) with a delicious meal prepared by a young fellow in our church who is a chef and a young mother who bakes and caters for a living. The show also included door prizes donated by area businesses, and a contest to correctly identify the character, actor/actress, movie name, and year of some famous movie scenes as re-enacted and videoed by the Sonlight players. It was a thoroughly entertaining evening, and the best part of all was that $7800 was raised to help cover the cost of the youth group's summer mission trip. If your church has some creative and talented folks who like to sing and act, perhaps a similar event might be a good means for you to raise money for missions as well.

Kenya Report

Scott and Janis were due to have arrived back in last night from their trip to Nairobi to explore opportunities for our church to partner with a school that is functioning in one of the worst slum areas of the city, right next to the city dump. They were expecting to spend the better part of the day today trying to get over jet lag, having left Nairobi on Sunday evening about 11:20 p.m. their time. We did receive 3 encouraging emails from them while they were gone. The first described their safe arrival and plans to attend a home for babies with AIDS on Friday morning. Dinner plans that evening were to meet up with an IMB couple serving in Nairobi. The wife of the couple has an aunt and uncle in our church. On Saturday they visited the school itself in the Korogocho area of Nairobi. Although school wasn't in session, the kids lined the streets to wave and scream their greetings. On Sunday morning, Scott preached in the church pastored by the man who oversees the school. A total of 7 people made decisions to trust Christ in the service. This Sunday, Scott will be sharing with the church family ways in which we can partner in this work as part of the KidsHeart Africa project. I'm including some photos of the children and of Scott and Janis with the kids at the school site.

Touching Lives in Nairobi

Our pastor and children's minister are leaving on Wednesday to explore first-hand the opportunities for our church to engage in a missions project in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya. As most are well aware, the AIDS crisis has left millions of orphans in the continent of Africa. Nairobi is no exception. Dr. Harrison and Janis will be visiting in one of the worst slum areas (shantytowns) in the northeastern portion of Nairobi near the city dump. A pastor there runs a school that is meeting the needs of some 80 students each day--providing them a good meal as well as an education and sharing the love of Jesus with them. We made the connection to this ministry through two groups--CBF and Buckner Orphan Care International.

The pastor laid out just a general description of the trip and the needs in his message yesterday morning which focused on Jesus' giving of the new commandment to love one another. He made the excellent point that while the needs in Africa are absolutely overwhelming and many say that nothing can be done in the face of such pressing needs, we can at least do something. He and Janis will be meeting with the pastor of this school and exploring ways in which our church can assist this ministry among the "least of these."

In his absence this coming Sunday, I'll be preaching in the morning service on "More than Abundant Grace," using 1 Tim. 1:12-17 as a text, and springboarding into the message with an introduction based on the movie "Amazing Grace" to be released this coming weekend. The movie, in case you haven't seen the trailer, tells the story of the efforts of William Wilberforce to eradicate slavery in England, influenced by John Newton, a former slavetrader himself and author of the hymn "Amazing Grace."

Entertaining Video and Audio

Not to be outdone by some fellow bloggers with their links to entertaining videos and audios, I feel compelled to share a couple of fun links for your viewing and listening pleasure.

Missional Churches & Kingdom Priorities

I had the privilege while in Dallas last December to meet Milfred Minatrea during some quality sharing time between the leadership of the BGCT, BGAV, and the BGCM. Milfred has written an outstanding book on missional churches entitled, Shaped by God's Heart: The Passion and Practices of Missional Churches. I would like to share a couple of quotes from chapter nine of the book which deals with Placing Kingdom Concerns First.

p. 129 - "In their passion for the Kingdom of God, missional churches serve to ensure that every person has the opportunity to respond to the King's invitation, becoming part of the Kingdom. They see themselves as only one battalion of a great kingdom force deployed on earth. Other Christians are brothers and sisters serving the same master. Although their affiliation might be with different denominations, they find their primary identity as part of the Kingdom. They distinguish between essentials and nonessentials in doctrinal interpretation, value and cooperate with Christians from other traditions in Kingdom tasks, and join together in spiritual warfare against the enemy."

p. 138 - "Missional churches cooperate with other believers in pursuit of the interests of the Redeemer's Kingdom. They are not in competition with one another; rather, they stand united in opposition to the one who, through lies and schemes, seeks to divert others from the Kingdom. They value their beliefs, although they do not agree in every area of interpretation. They do not focus their passion on what separates them, but on that which unites them: the Kingdom of God. Missional churches are not building their kingdoms. Their primary allegiance is to His Kingdom."

I believe that Minatrea's description of missional churches as those whose primary commitment is to the Kingdom of God and not their own kingdoms is both refreshing and a necessary corrective to much of what takes place in typical denominational life. Denominational pride is surely one of the greatest obstacles to Kingdom expansion as it undermines Christian unity and baffles non-believers. Modern day zealots and Pharisees' overriding preoccupation with excluding those who don't cross their "t's" and dot their "i's" the same way regarding doctrines that aren't essential to salvation has most assuredly damaged the witness of the Body of Christ.

Minatrea's book is an excellent resource for churches wishing to move from a maintenance or survival mode to a pro-active, missional mindset. He cites numerous examples of churches that have effectively made that transition and gleans from their experiences some valuable principles and insights.

A New Baptist Covenant

Marv Knox of the Baptist Standard has written an outstanding editorial regarding the proposed Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant, scheduled for Jan. 30 - Feb. 1, 2008 in Atlanta. The meeting, contrary to the opinions voiced by numerous detractors, will not be a preamble to forming a new convention, nor will it be a political rally for Hillary Clinton, just because her husband is involved. The purpose of the gathering is to seek creative ways to address the pressing issues that Jesus declared would be the priorities in His public ministry as He read from the scroll of Isaiah in the synagogue of Nazareth. Knox's observation that if you came upon a burning building, you wouldn't stop and require total agreement with every rescuer before attempting to save the lives of those inside, is certainly a timely word. With many Baptists insisting on checking out the pedigree of fellow Baptists (even on non-essential areas of doctrine and practice) before being willing to engage in cooperative endeavors, it's refreshing to see 4 National Baptist (African American) and several Anglo groups coming together in an effort to be the hands and feet of Christ on behalf of the least of these.

BGCM Annual Meeting Line-up

This has to be a record for me--two posts in one day. I'll confess that I am not the most prolific of writers when it comes to blogging, though I do read several in my spare time and enjoy commenting on them occasionally. On Wade Burleson's blog yesterday, there was considerable discussion about women in ministry and several commenters (though not all) observed some similarities in the dismissal of Sheri Klouda from SWBTS and the earlier dismissal of Molly Marshall from SBTS. To their credit, several writers urged bloggers to judge Marshall on the basis of her writings and firsthand knowledge of her rather than repeating second-hand rumors.

I'm pleased to pass along the information that Molly Marshall will be leading the Bible study times at the annual meeting of the Baptist General Convention of Missouri in Jefferson City on April 13-14. I'm certain that some will find that objectionable, even as a few expressed concern last year when the daughter of Billy Graham, Anne Graham Lotz, was our keynote speaker on Friday evening of our annual meeting. Personally, I'm grateful that the BGCM is willing to recognize that God has gifted men and women alike for ministry and look forward to hearing Dr. Marshall again.

Other program personalities this year include my former boss at the FMB, Dr. Keith Parks; Dr. Lance Watson, Senior Pastor at Saint Paul's Baptist Church in Richmond, VA; and Dr. Daniel Carro, a former teaching colleague at the International Baptist Theological Seminary in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Daniel is currently a professor at the John Leland Center for Theological Studies in Arlington, VA and is heavily involved in the work and ministry of the Baptist World Alliance.

Our program line-up reflects the same gender and racial diversity as last year's annual meeting when we had a woman, an African-American pastor, and a Latino among our featured speakers. For more information about this year's annual meeting, just click on the link above in the second paragraph. I'm excited about hearing each of these and being able to report as well on our partnership with the Guatemalan Baptist Convention.

Carside Funeral

I had a first in my pastoral ministry today--a carside funeral. Before you jump to conclusions and envision something on the order of the Crystal Cathedral with multiple cars sitting in a huge parking lot for a funeral service, let me clarify. I officiated the service for a sweet Christian lady who had been a member of our church for 66 years. She was born in Germany on Christmas Day, 1904. That's right, she was 102 years old! I had visited her regularly at one of the local care centers during the past 3 years and appreciated her sweet spirit. Communication was a challenge as she was almost deaf, but I discovered if I spoke loudly into her left ear at a distance of 2-3 inches, she could hear and understand me. She would frequently ask about old friends from church (some who had passed away but she still regularly inquired about them) and I would share some of the events in the life of our congregation. Before I would leave, she would always say, "Would you say a little prayer for me?" I would always conclude our time together in prayer for her.

She passed away this past Tuesday in the wee hours of the morning and the funeral home contacted me about conducting a simple graveside service for this morning. I knew the crowd would be small as Anna had outlived all of her family and peers except for a nephew. A total of 5 folks showed up besides the funeral director and myself. The problem was that the gravesite was about 40 yards or so from the road, and a good part of that was still covered by snow and ice from our recent winter storms. One elderly lady with a walker tried to make it a few steps and realized that it was going to be too difficult to travel that distance on uncertain footing. (On a parenthetical note, we've already had 3 church members fall and break various limbs on the ice in recent days, including our minister of education with an ankle broken in 3 places). With all of that in mind, Sean (the funeral director) and I opted to encourage this elderly woman to sit in her car along with her sister with the window down and we brought chairs from the gravesite area for the others to sit on during the service. It was quite cold in the wind still, so I abbreviated a little of what I had planned to say. Those present were appreciative of the consideration and expressed thanks for the service afterwards.

Has anyone else ever had an unusual experience at a funeral service that you would be willing to share?

Back from Guatemala

Jim Hill and I had an outstanding trip to Guatemala this past week, returning Sunday afternoon. We arrived in Guatemala City on Tuesday evening and spent the night at the seminary in a guest apartment. We left at 7:30 the next morning for about a 5 1/2 drive west to Quetzaltenango, the second largest city in the country. There we ate lunch at the hotel and then moved directly into our first teaching time with the 55 pastors and leaders who were present. We spent the first session dealing with some issues relating to ecclesiology and then shifted to the topic of helping a church achieve a vision for what God wants them to do in the future. That evening we had a worship service and I was privileged to preach on "The Centrality of the Word," using Acts 17 as a text. The next morning we had two more teaching sessions, dealing with mobilizing volunteers in the church and helping them find their place of service (borrowing some ideas from Warren's SHAPE for ministry) and then a final session on stewardship. The topics we addressed in the teaching times were those that the Guatemalan Baptist Convention leadership had asked us to focus on.

We wrapped up after lunch on Thursday with a time of sharing insights gained and also we were able to donate a set of books to each pastor and leader present. Those included a concordance, a book on hermeneutics, a 4-volume biblical commentary set, and a copy of Rick Warren's Purpose-Driven Life. Many commented that they didn't own any book other than a copy of the Bible, so they were thrilled to receive these resources to help them in their ministries. Those present were very gracious in their comments and expressions of thanks for our participation in the training event.

After a long drive back to Guatemala City on Thursday evening, we spent Friday doing some sightseeing in the old city of Antigua before meeting with the leadership of WorldconneX and the Guatemalan Convention to put the finishing touches on our meeting scheduled for Saturday. The Saturday gathering turned out to be a wonderful time of hearing reports from different convention ministries and then some very profitable time spent in small groups, discussing the priorities that they Convention itself had identified in an earlier visioning conference hosted by WorldconneX in the fall of 2004. Significant progress had been made toward addressing many of these priority concerns and some new ideas surfaced as well in the discussion to help the Convention continue to advance in those areas.

All in all, it was a wonderful trip and a great time of fellowshipping with and learning from our Guatemalan Baptist brothers and sisters.

Dramatic monologue

Just a quick post about tonight's prayer meeting and Bible study time. The Wednesday evening gatherings are one of my favorite times of the week as we gather to pray for the concerns of our congregation and needs they express far beyond the confines of our church. I also thoroughly enjoy leading in the Bible study time. Our focus has been mainly the exegetical study and life application of individual books such as 1 & 2 Peter, Hebrews, and selected Psalms. I also did a series for a few months on the many benedictions and doxologies found in the Scriptures. A few weeks back I began a study in Mark's gospel. Tonight I'm doing something very out of character for me--a dramatic monologue. We're looking at the passage in Mk. 2:1-12 where the paralytic's friends bring him to Jesus and dig a hole in the roof in order to accomplish their goal. I'm going to tell the story as a dramatic monologue, related from the viewpoint of the paralytic. I did so once before in Argentina, but I've never tried this in English. Has anyone else ever experimented with a dramatic monologue? I'll conclude by making several observations about the lessons to be gleaned from the story (e.g. Jesus recognizing and honoring bold, creative, and tenacious faith; Jesus' affirmation that He can forgive sins; and the resulting amazement and wonder of the people at His power and authority). If you've tried using dramatic monologue in a sermon or Bible study, drop me a comment and let me know how it went.

Guatemala Beckons Again

I'm less than 2 weeks away from my third trip to Guatemala in less than a year. This trip will mark the first of what are projected to be up to 6 leadership training conferences with pastors in three western regions of the country during the next 3 years. Jim Hill, executive director for the BGCM, and I will be flying down on the 16th, spending that night at the seminary campus, before traveling the next day to Quetzaltenango for a 2-day training workshop. Convention leaders have indicated that there will be as many as 60 pastors involved in the event. We'll then travel back to Guatemala City where we will attend a meeting on the 20th of the entire executive board of the Guatemala Baptist Convention along with other key institutions involved in the missions efforts in Guatemala. This meeting is being sponsored by WorldconneX and marks the third such gathering for the purpose of information-sharing among groups ministering in Guatemala and the convention leadership.

I had initially hoped to involve several BGCM pastors in this event as workshop leaders, but a variety of health issues, previous ministry commitments, and other conflicts dictated that just Jim and I will be making the trip. I did discover something very interesting and a bit perplexing though in the process of inviting pastors to participate in the trip. Several informed me that they would have difficulty in going because they didn't have a current passport. As one who has filled the pages of a couple of U.S. passports over the years with entry stamps from immigration offices in a number of countries, I found that to be intriguing. As Baptists we have preached, prayed for, and given to missions practically since our inception as a denomination. Recent years have witnessed a huge amount of volunteers journeying to distant lands to work alongside career missionaries on short-term assignments. As they've returned with a first-hand view of what mission work looks like "up close and personal," they have become the point men and women in their churches for promoting missions causes.

All of that leads me to say that I fail to understand why any Baptist pastor would not possess a current, valid passport (excepting of course those whose health will not allow them to travel). I know we can't make that a prerequisite to ordination or anything, but it wouldn't be a bad idea (tongue-in-cheek). Nothing compares to experiencing international missions personally as a preparation for effective missions promotion at home. If you happen to have stumbled upon my blog and don't possess a passport, please accept my challenge to apply for one ASAP. The cost isn't that high and it's valid for 10 years. Maybe I'll see you on the plane next to me on a future flight to Guatemala.

MBC Woes

Two prominent SBC bloggers have recently addressed the issues plaguing the Missouri Baptist Convention. Wade Burleson and Art Rogers have each weighed in on certain aspects of the current controversies in Missouri. I commented on Art's blog that I would likely post on my own blog about these concerns, given that I have a certain vested interest in them as a Baptist residing in Missouri. I chose the preceding words carefully, and they do in fact reveal that our church is not associated currently with the Missouri Baptist Convention. Ours was one of 19 churches recently dismissed by the MBC for violating their single alignment clause. It is the issue of single alignment that I wish to address briefly in this post, for it is part and parcel of the trend that many have observed of the narrowing of parameters of cooperation.

I've only spoken up one time at a meeting of the MBC. I did so in November 2004 when the convention was proposing the language for single alignment. Word & Way picked up a portion of my objection to the language that the committee had employed in an earlier letter in the Pathway entitled "Debunking Myths about Single Alignment." I found the opening paragraph to contain a number of not-so-veiled attacks on moderate Baptists. The references to the "duty to cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit," to "count their own masters worthy of all honor, that the name of God and his doctrine be not blasphemed," and the allusion to brand knockoffs and cheap imitations," as "those who have come among us who trumpet to the world that they are Southern and/or Missouri Baptists when in reality they are Baptist in name only" were deeply offensive and I drew the attention of the messengers to the inflammatory language of this document. The other phrase in the document that raised my hackles was the purported justification of the single alignment procedure in that it "allows the churches of the Missouri Baptist Convention to avoid having their doctrinal positions compromised by the heretical actions of a corrupt few." Calling fellow Baptists heretics certainly goes beyond the pale of Christian love and grace. To his credit, following my objections to the tone of the document, James Freeman issued a public apology, but the ongoing attacks on moderate Missouri Baptists by the MBC, especially in the Pathway, certainly raise the question as to whether or not moderate Baptists are still deemed to be heretics.

As one who taught Baptist and church history for many years, I always associated the charge of heresy with denial of the basic tenets of the Christian faith, not with questioning some of the cultural issues addressed in the BF&M 2000. Evidently the term heresy is a bit looser in its application in our day. I well remember the experience of reading Dr. Rankin's letter in January 2002, asking IMB missionaries to sign their agreement with the BF&M 2000. It arrived via email late one night after we had recently moved from Argentina to Mexico City and I awakened my wife to share the disturbing news. One of the justifications he gave for this action was the need to protect us from accusations of heresy behind our backs. It wasn't clear at that time exactly who was making said accusations, but I felt then as I do now that the term heresy was a misnomer to describe the objections to the changes that were being introduced into the statement of faith.

The MBC's actions reflect a witch-hunt mentality, and amazingly, there is almost a rather perverse sense of pride in that mindset. The latest issue of Pathway also contains an article that states the convention has now named an ad hoc committee to study the theological soundness of all non-political para-church organizations with whom the MBC relates. The quest to exclude other Christian groups who cooperate but who might not cross their t's and dot their i's the same way as Missouri Baptists reflects an inordinate amount of arrogance rather than a desire for purity and holiness from my perspective. The same issue of Pathway also contains an article entitled "Single Alignment proceeding toward '07." Let me quote just one line from it near the end of the piece. It states, "Missouri is unique in its approach to single alignment in that no other state convention in the SBC has passed such a definite statement articulating the ever-strengthening ties between the MBC and SBC." This statement oozes with self-righteousness and pride--despite the fact that it means that fellow Christians and Baptists will be cut off from fellowship because of the desire to control how autonomous Baptist churches spend their missions dollars and with whom they choose to cooperate in missions efforts. May God have mercy on us all.

Home from a Road Trip

I just returned late last night from a 3-day trip to Big D (that's Dallas for you non-Texans). The staff of the BGCM (all 7 of us) piled into a 12-passenger van early Monday morning for the 8 hour or so drive to Dallas from near Springfield, MO where we all met up and spent Sunday night. We had some great fellowship along the way as our staff typically tends to do. We spent Monday evening, all day Tuesday, and Wednesday morning meeting with the leadership teams of the BGCT and the BGAV at the BGCT's beautiful facility. In addition to some general sessions where we spoke of common concerns, challenges, and some victories along the way, we also broke up into small groups with our counterparts from the other state conventions. We had some fruitful sharing times in the group I was privileged to meet with of those who are giving leadership to the Texas and Virginia state conventions in the area of missions. I truly believe that such networking is a key ingredient to future effectiveness in ministry. We were able to share with one another some helpful resources that we have discovered along the way as well as to encourage one another in the struggles we all face. Spending quality time with brothers and sisters in Christ who are committed to reaching their states and the world with the gospel was a tremendous blessing for our staff. Six of the seven of us are part-time with the BGCM, so our situation is unique as compared to the size of both Texas and Virginia. Nevertheless, we weren't treated as inferiors or stepchildren, but as peers in the work. My prayer is that this type of cooperation and the fruitful interchange of ideas and information might proliferate to other groups as well.

Posting Again

While many famous bloggers are participating in an intentional fast from the blogosphere, my lack of posting has been more the result of a lack of motivation to write about anything substantial or meaningful lately. I have continued to read and even comment occasionally on other blogs. In a previous blog I had commented on the irony of attending the West Africa Summit that was sponsored by the IMB and the Missouri Baptist Convention when our church was one of 19 that was ousted from the MBC that very week for not being singly aligned with the MBC. I felt obliged to leave a clarifying comment on John Stickley's blog about the MBC's action. John commented that MBC delegates voted to kick 19 churches out of the convention due to their violation of rules requiring “single-alignment” with the Southern Baptist Convention. The fact is that the MBC doesn't require single alignment with the SBC but single alignment with the MBC. Our church along with 18 others were excluded because in the exercise of local church autonomy, we have chosen to partner with groups in Missouri other than the MBC in missions endeavors.

While the exclusion was probably more symbolic in our case than in some of the other churches affected by the decision, given that we had decided as a congregation several years ago to designate the Baptist General Convention of Missouri as the default giving option among state groups, there was one casualty of the action by the MBC. For several months we had been hosting a Spanish Bible study on Sunday evenings in our facilities, led by an Hispanic pastor from Mexico. He was receiving a portion of his funding through the MBC and it was determined that since our church was no longer singly aligned with the MBC, he would have to cease his ministry with us. We are reassessing which direction to go with this ministry while our outstanding ESL program continues to function on Wednesday evenings.

I had the privilege of leading a young Hispanic couple to the Lord on successive Monday nights the past couple of weeks--the wife first as she came for some marital counseling and then the husband this past week as they met together with me. They are from a town some 10 miles southeast of Lee's Summit and I've encouraged them to attend the only Spanish-speaking services that I'm aware of at this point in the vicinity. I would have loved to been able to invite them to services in our church, but for the time being that isn't possible. The exercise of denominational politics certainly has some unforeseen negative consequences for kingdom work, but I trust that the Lord will continue to work in the lives of this young couple to help them grow in their new-found faith. The worship minister in the town where they live has befriended them, but her Spanish is extremely limited and the couple speaks very little English. I would appreciate your prayers on their behalf.

On a separate note, I'm trying to organize a group of BGCM pastors to participate in a missions trip to Guatemala the second half of January. That doesn't leave a great deal of time to finalize plans, but I'm confident that God will raise up those whom He desires to participate in a training event for leaders in 3 states near Guatemala's western border with Mexico. The trip will also coincide with a meeting hosted by WorldconneX with the leaders of the Guatemalan Baptist Convention and several entities that are currently working in or are considering missions opportunities in Guatemala.

West Africa Summit update

I arrived safely in St. Charles, MO at midday and attended the afternoon and evening sessions of the first day of the West Africa Summit at the FBC of St. Charles. The church has done an outstanding job of preparing to host this summit and the IMB has really put together a great program. Many missionaries from West Africa have just returned stateside in the last couple of days to be a part of the summit. The purpose of the summit as Dr. Rankin communicated it very clearly this evening is not to be a typical missions conference with reports from missionaries about what they're doing and the state of the work. The goal is to motivate churches to become directly involved in one of three areas of the work in West Africa--as an exploring church that participates in an occasional mission trip as they seek where God would have them invest their time and energy long-term, as a partnering church to work with an existing IMB church planting team to reach a unreached people group, or as an engaging church that assumes the direct responsibility for taking the gospel to an unreached people group that currently has no IMB or other evangelical work in place.

I've had a chance to visit briefly with Randy and Kathy Arnett whom we were appointed with back in 1986. Randy is currently the Regional Leader for the IMB over West Africa. I ate dinner with Larry and Lucy Driggers who were in language school with us in Costa Rica since they were headed for the only Spanish-speaking country in West Africa--Equitorial Guinea. The wife of another couple we were appointed with is also here, but I haven't seen her yet. I was pleasantly surprised to see Steve Nolen who served with us in Argentina before transferring to the 10/40 window for a number of years. He's living in the Atlanta area now, serving as a missions pastor and also helping promote Hispanic involvement in the 10/40 region.

A couple of disturbing statistics were shared by Randy this afternoon and echoed by Dr. Rankin this evening. The number of career missionaries to West Africa has decreased each year by an average of 10 missionary units from 1997 to 2006. At the appointment service last night at the MBC annual meeting in Cape Girardeau, 67 new missionaries were appointed. Not one of them is heading to West Africa. The focus of today's sessions by Randy and Dr. Rankin were on the lostness of West Africa. Clearly the need is overwhelming and the response by S. Baptist churches has been "underwhelming." Prayerfully, the Lord will use this summit to awaken an interest in that region on the part of many. The attendance is very good and the majority of folks appear to be from outside of Missouri.

Missions Conference Update, West Africa Summit

I enjoyed an outstanding time the past few days, fellowshipping with Josue Marroquin, the vice-president of the Guatemala Baptist Convention. I flew from Kansas City to Dallas last Thursday for a meeting of the Guatemala Affinity Group at the headquarters of WorldconneX. Representatives from a number of interested churches as well as the Baptist University of the Americas and Buckner Orphan Care International were present. I went to represent the Baptist General Convention of Missouri. We had a great time of sharing what each group has been doing in their focus on Guatemala as well as engaging in some strategic planning.

Josue had flown up the previous evening from Guatemala and he accompanied me back to Missouri on Thursday evening. On Friday I exposed him to a cross-cultural experience as I conducted a funeral that morning for one of our members. We traveled back to the airport Friday night to pick up Bill Tinsley, the leader of Worldconnex. On Saturday, we all traveled early to Columbia, MO for a missions conference. Bill spoke about new paradigms in missions and Josue and I were able to present the details of the BGCM's three year partnership with the Guatemala Baptist Convention.

We stayed over that evening so Josue could preach the next morning at the Parkade Baptist Church in Columbia. In another cross-cultural experience for Josue, he got to witness my passion for college football as I cheered for the UT Longhorns as they won a tough game on the Texas plains at Lubbock against Texas Tech. The Parkade church was launching their world missions emphasis Sunday morning so our visit was great timing for them. We had a wonderful time with the congregation and enjoyed lunch afterwards with pastor Chris Cook, his wife, and Alberta Gilpin. Josue and I traveled back to Lee's Summit that afternoon and he preached in our church that night. He's a gifted preacher and communicated a clear call to missions involvement in both messages.

On Wednesday I'll be traveling to St. Charles, MO for a West Africa Summit that the IMB and the Missouri Baptist Convention are sponsoring. We have a couple that are members of our church that serve with the IMB in Togo and we want to pursue some missions projects with them in addition to our focus in Guatemala. The only ironic part of this process is that our church will be one of 18 at least that will be (or perhaps has already been) excluded from the MBC during their annual convention meeting in Cape Girardeau October 30-31. Because we have chosen to partner with the Baptist General Convention of Missouri, we are no longer considered "singly aligned" and are thus being ousted by the MBC. We will continue to support Missouri Baptist endeavors, including our direct support of the Missouri Baptist Children's Home and other entities, despite the MBC's decision to sever ties with us and many others churches over the single alignment issue.

I'm looking forward to seeing at least 3 families that are listed on the program for the West Africa Summit that we were appointed with back in 1986. It will be good to renew old acquaintances and hear of the Lord's work in their lives.

Guatemala and the BGCM

This coming Saturday the Baptist General Convention of Missouri will be hosting a New Realities in Missions Conference at the Parkade Baptist Church in Columbia, MO from 10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. Bill Tinsley of WorldconneX will be joining us to share about the changing world of missions and new paradigms for churches wishing to be directly involved in missions. Josue Marroquin, vice-president of the Guatemala Baptist Convention, will also be joining us to help promote a three year partnership between the BGCM and the Guatemala Baptist Convention. It will be my privilege to host Josue this week as he arrives on Thursday for a meeting of the Guatemala Affinity Group (consisting of various entities that are pursuing missions work in Guatemala) in Dallas at the WorldconneX offices. In addition to participating in the conference on Saturday, Josue will be preaching Sunday morning at the Parkade Church and then on Sunday evening in our church in Lee's Summit before returning to Guatemala on Monday.

New Wednesday night Bible study series

One of the most rewarding things I'm privileged to do in my capacity as associate pastor at FBC Lee's Summit is to lead the Wednesday evening prayer meeting and Bible study time. Since joining the staff here a little over three years ago, we have studied 1 & 2 Peter, Hebrews, selected Psalms, a series on the benedictions and doxologies found in the Scriptures, and most recently Nehemiah. I've been prayerfully considering what direction to go next as we begin a new series on Oct. 25th. The next two weeks we have our quarterly business meeting and then I've asked a couple who recently participated in a mission trip to Peru to share about their experiences on the 2nd Wednesday. After much thought and prayer, I've decided to begin a series on the Gospel of Mark. Mark has long been a favorite gospel of mine. I remember being impacted by a study on Mark led by the Campus Crusade for Christ director of a summer beach project I was on way back in 1974. Mark's portrayal of Jesus as a man of action, written to a Roman audience that respected such a virtue, is a powerful one even today. I'm excited about the opportunity to study it with our Wednesday evening group.

Missions Projects

Our church has been and continues to be involved in numerous missions projects in a variety of venues and through several different groups. We have had a three-year partnership with a church in Fajardo, Puerto Rico that has included financial assistance to aid them in preparing to erect a building on land they have purchased, as well as a youth trip last summer that I was privileged to participate in as a translator/sponsor. Our youth were involved with the youth of the Fajardo church in a camp experience with wonderful times of praise, solid preaching, and great fun. We also painted the facilities of a Christian school (not affiliated with this church), cleaned an overgrown playground area of a home for unwed mothers that is run by an order of Catholic nuns, as well as doing general clean-up and improvements to the camp facility and some public beaches.

We are currently receiving donations of winter coats, scarves, gloves, etc. for the Lakota Indians of South Dakota. This is the third year we've participated in this effort called Operation Warm Embrace. It's part of the Rural Poverty Initiative that CBF has launched to meet the pressing needs of those in the 20 most impoverished counties in the U.S.

We're also looking to get directly involved as a church in the 3 year partnership that the Baptist General Convention of Missouri has with the Guatemalan Baptist Convention. I've been able to make 2 trips there so far and we're looking at creating some church-to-church partnerships between BGCM churches and those in Guatemala.

Another missions initiative that we will be pursuing is called Kids Heart Africa, a project sponsored by Buckner Orphan Care International and CBF to meet the needs of the rapidly mushrooming number of AIDS orphans in Africa. We'll be focusing specifically on some orphanages and child development centers in Kenya.

Our church also is privileged to be able to offer missionary housing to furloughing missionaries on stateside assignment. In one house we currently are hosting a single IMB missionary who serves in the Philippines where she is involved in MK education. In the other house, an IMB missionary family that serves in Togo, West Africa is currently residing. Tony and Marlene Darnell consider our church as their home church as Marlene grew up in FBC Lee's Summit. Her parents are very active members and her father Lynn has gone on several mission trips with us in recent years. We're also exploring options to plug in to their ministry in Togo through the IMB. The IMB will be hosting a West Africa summit in St. Louis next month and we look forward to the opportunity to learn more about the possibilities of involvement in that part of the world. I noticed that at least three of the missionary couples slated to be present were with us at the Missionary Learning Center in our orientation back in 1987. It will be good to renew ties with them.

I'm grateful to be part of a church with a big enough vision to say that we will work with anyone who is committed to Kingdom causes in missions. It's a blessing to be involved with Christians of many "stripes" who don't let political issues overshadow the task of working together to fulfill the Great Commission.