This afternoon I had the privilege to spend about 20 minutes on the phone with Tony Campolo. The Baptist General Convention of Missouri is in the midst of a several month study process to devise a new strategy plan for the next five years for the organization. A part of that process involves interviewing key leaders engaged in innovative ministries. I requested the opportunity of interviewing Dr. Campolo and he was gracious enough to take time out of his busy schedule to answer several questions regarding leadership and ministry. I've long been an admirer of Dr. Campolo since I first heard him in person at the International Baptist Theological Seminary in Buenos Aires where I served on the faculty. Dr. Campolo came as the keynote speaker for our annual conferences. During his visit, my wife and I had the opportunity of hosting him in our home one morning for breakfast. He obviously is a fascinating man with a deep passion for holistic ministry to the poor and needy.
While all of his answers were insightful and will prove helpful in our strategy planning process, one response in particular stood out. When asked to identify risks or dangers confronting his organization's ministry, he replied that he worries about the tendency toward secularization. That is, with his organization involved in a wide variety of social ministries aimed at meeting the needs of the poor and oppressed, he fears and fights against the temptation to get sucked into the purely secular side of that effort, given that the biblically prescribed holistic mission they attempt to fulfill also demands a focus on evangelism and sharing the gospel to meet the spiritual needs of the lost. I commented in response that I suspected he had received a lot of criticism from the religious right about not being evangelistic enough, and he graciously replied that he was grateful for that emphasis and those who would hold him and his organization accountable to the task of evangelism.
I think I might have mentioned previously after hearing Dr. Campolo again this past spring at the Baptist Border Crossing event in Kansas City that he excels in the art of prophetic preaching that is designed to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable. He surely has a gift for the latter. I'm very grateful for the chance to have spent a few minutes with him on the phone this afternoon and count it a blessing from the Lord.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Rick Warren quote
I received an email from a church member with a portion of a transcript of an interview with Rick Warren, conducted by Paul Bradshaw. There was a quote in it that really resonated with me. Warren said this:
"When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do. That's why we're called human beings, not human doings."
When I used to teach Christian ethics in Argentina at the International Baptist Theological Seminary, in one of the introductory classes I would always do a little exercise with the students about the relationship between being and doing. It's based on the age-old debate or question, does who I am determine what I do, or does what I do determine who I am? I would put the two options to a vote before any discussion to see how many students favored which of the two options. After giving some examples of cases that seemed to support each of the alternatives and some lively discussions, the consensus reached by the class generally was that the two questions represent a false dichotomy. The truth is probably somewhere in between the two extremes and represents a dynamic tension between them.
I can both argue that I do what I do because of who I am, and that I am who I am because of a history or pattern of doing what I do. Warren's quote above emphasizes a bit more the need to focus on who I am in relationship to God. It's not about impressing God by what I attempt to do in His service as much as it is delighting myself in His person and presence. That's a good reminder in the middle of a busy week of ministry.
"When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do. That's why we're called human beings, not human doings."
When I used to teach Christian ethics in Argentina at the International Baptist Theological Seminary, in one of the introductory classes I would always do a little exercise with the students about the relationship between being and doing. It's based on the age-old debate or question, does who I am determine what I do, or does what I do determine who I am? I would put the two options to a vote before any discussion to see how many students favored which of the two options. After giving some examples of cases that seemed to support each of the alternatives and some lively discussions, the consensus reached by the class generally was that the two questions represent a false dichotomy. The truth is probably somewhere in between the two extremes and represents a dynamic tension between them.
I can both argue that I do what I do because of who I am, and that I am who I am because of a history or pattern of doing what I do. Warren's quote above emphasizes a bit more the need to focus on who I am in relationship to God. It's not about impressing God by what I attempt to do in His service as much as it is delighting myself in His person and presence. That's a good reminder in the middle of a busy week of ministry.
Bob Roberts
I mentioned a while back having attended an outstanding missions conference at Frederick Blvd. Baptist Church in St. Joseph, MO entitled Forum One-21. One of the really top-notch speakers featured was Bob Roberts. His message at the conference is now available on-line here. Thanks, Micah and crew, for making that available.
Dr. Roberts will also be the featured speaker at the annual meeting of the Blue River-Kansas City Baptist Association on Sunday evening, October 11th, at FBC Raytown, MO. More information about the gathering is available at the association's website.
Dr. Roberts will also be the featured speaker at the annual meeting of the Blue River-Kansas City Baptist Association on Sunday evening, October 11th, at FBC Raytown, MO. More information about the gathering is available at the association's website.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Writing History
I realized I hadn't shared an update in quite some time about the status of my major ongoing project which is trying to get a history of our church written in time for its 150th anniversary celebration next April. I've found a different possibility for a printer than the one I was originally considering using that will give me a couple of more months of writing and editing time than I had first anticipated. I'm grateful for that and will certainly need the extra time I'm sure. As it is, I have finished reading all 150 years worth of the minutes (minus the 10 years that are missing because they were stored in a church clerk's home and were destroyed in a house fire) and am writing a first draft. I'm up to 1917 and in my fourth chapter in my chronological approach, so I am making progress. It does take a lot of time which at times can be a scarce commodity with my other pastoral responsibilities and my part-time job with the Baptist General Convention of Missouri.
Speaking of the latter, we had an excellent quarterly board meeting of the BGCM yesterday in Jefferson City at the FBC there. I was privileged to share a brief report, including a Powerpoint presentation, about the most recent trip to Guatemala at the end of July. There's a great deal of interest among our board in the ongoing partnership with Guatemalan Baptists. I took advantage as well of the time to twist the arm of one of the pastors from the St. Louis area and encourage him to join us for the next trip in January to Guatemala to conduct leadership training conferences.
Today I'm trying to catch up on a little cleaning around the house, hope to catch a bit of the game between UT and Wyoming this afternoon, and then will go and see my wife's production of "Cheaper by the Dozen" at her school tonight. She said the two previous shows have gone well. I missed them because of other commitments, including going to the youngest son's homecoming game last night. He's the junior drum major in the marching band.
Speaking of the latter, we had an excellent quarterly board meeting of the BGCM yesterday in Jefferson City at the FBC there. I was privileged to share a brief report, including a Powerpoint presentation, about the most recent trip to Guatemala at the end of July. There's a great deal of interest among our board in the ongoing partnership with Guatemalan Baptists. I took advantage as well of the time to twist the arm of one of the pastors from the St. Louis area and encourage him to join us for the next trip in January to Guatemala to conduct leadership training conferences.
Today I'm trying to catch up on a little cleaning around the house, hope to catch a bit of the game between UT and Wyoming this afternoon, and then will go and see my wife's production of "Cheaper by the Dozen" at her school tonight. She said the two previous shows have gone well. I missed them because of other commitments, including going to the youngest son's homecoming game last night. He's the junior drum major in the marching band.
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
Finishing Well
The following is my latest article for our senior adult newsletter, the Joyful Tidings.
Is there an upper age limit for being a disciple? By that I mean is there a time that we reach in our lives when we’ve either gotten sufficiently old or been a Christian long enough that we can somehow unplug and coast for the rest of the way home? These questions are of such a nature that by merely asking them, one automatically knows the right response. We’re never so old and certainly never so spiritually mature that we can rest on our laurels as Christians and cease striving to know Him better and live for Him more fully. While all of us would undoubtedly agree with the truths of those statements, somehow in actual practice we’re tempted at times to do just that. Perhaps you’ve been an active church member for most or all of your life and you’ve rationalized in your mind that it’s now someone else’s turn to serve, to give, to teach, or whatever other ministry you’ve been doing.
I’m not saying of course that we as a congregation don’t need to develop and utilize younger folks in leadership roles, for certainly we must do that. What I am insisting is that I cannot find a single example in the pages of Scripture of an individual who decided that it was time for him or her to kick back and relax and leave the responsibilities for worship and service to someone else. Rather, it seems that advancing age only solidified and strengthened the resolve of these folks to utilize whatever time they had left to serve God and advance His Kingdom’s causes. This isn’t to say of course that one should never engage in recreation and relaxation, for we know that these are beneficial for our bodies which are the temple of the Holy Spirit. What I do believe we find in the Bible though is that individuals in their later years who had walked with God for a long time never seemed to wane in their level of commitment to Him. They seem to have taken to heart the words of Jesus in Matt. 6:33 where He said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
It’s a question of priorities in the final analysis, and I trust that each of you will desire that your life count for the Lord right up until the time He calls you home or when Jesus returns for His church. Jesus said, “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.” Keep serving Him faithfully!
Is there an upper age limit for being a disciple? By that I mean is there a time that we reach in our lives when we’ve either gotten sufficiently old or been a Christian long enough that we can somehow unplug and coast for the rest of the way home? These questions are of such a nature that by merely asking them, one automatically knows the right response. We’re never so old and certainly never so spiritually mature that we can rest on our laurels as Christians and cease striving to know Him better and live for Him more fully. While all of us would undoubtedly agree with the truths of those statements, somehow in actual practice we’re tempted at times to do just that. Perhaps you’ve been an active church member for most or all of your life and you’ve rationalized in your mind that it’s now someone else’s turn to serve, to give, to teach, or whatever other ministry you’ve been doing.
I’m not saying of course that we as a congregation don’t need to develop and utilize younger folks in leadership roles, for certainly we must do that. What I am insisting is that I cannot find a single example in the pages of Scripture of an individual who decided that it was time for him or her to kick back and relax and leave the responsibilities for worship and service to someone else. Rather, it seems that advancing age only solidified and strengthened the resolve of these folks to utilize whatever time they had left to serve God and advance His Kingdom’s causes. This isn’t to say of course that one should never engage in recreation and relaxation, for we know that these are beneficial for our bodies which are the temple of the Holy Spirit. What I do believe we find in the Bible though is that individuals in their later years who had walked with God for a long time never seemed to wane in their level of commitment to Him. They seem to have taken to heart the words of Jesus in Matt. 6:33 where He said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
It’s a question of priorities in the final analysis, and I trust that each of you will desire that your life count for the Lord right up until the time He calls you home or when Jesus returns for His church. Jesus said, “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.” Keep serving Him faithfully!
Monday, August 31, 2009
Follow-up to Forum 121 Gathering
In re-reading my own post (something I don't do very often), I was struck by the fact that one comment I made might easily lend itself to misinterpretation and I wanted to clarify it. I had remarked that I didn't feel that it was necessary for Dr. Reid to sing the praises once more of the Conservative Resurgence and comment on the fact that there will always be a battle to be fought for the Bible. My concluding sentence in that paragraph states, "Angry and argumentative Baptists who excoriate fellow believers with hate-filled words simply aren't fulfilling the command of Jesus to love one another, no matter how much they insist that they're merely defending sound biblical doctrine." As I thought about it, I realized that some might take those words as a criticism of Dr. Reid's own demeanor or presentation at the conference. He in no way was guilty of such an attitude or action from my perspective. His words were gracious and his illustrations clearly indicated a man who shares the love of Christ with a heart of compassion for others. My comment stands though in the sense that his tribute to the Resurgence did nothing in my opinion to strengthen his presentation. It was more like the perfunctory bone tossed to the dogs to keep them hungry and wanting more. I encounter numerous commenters on the Baptist blogsites in particular who can't even conceive of a moderate Baptist as belonging to the family of God and are quick to lash out with accusations of liberal, etc. whenever someone dares to question one of their interpretations. There seemingly exists an utter inability in the fundamentalist mindset to be able to separate the action of questioning their interpretation of a passage with rejecting the Bible itself.
My apologies to Dr. Reid and the forum organizers if my comments somehow indicated that he was guilty of angry or hate-filled speech toward fellow Christians, for he most certainly was not.
My apologies to Dr. Reid and the forum organizers if my comments somehow indicated that he was guilty of angry or hate-filled speech toward fellow Christians, for he most certainly was not.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Forum 121 Gathering
I very much enjoyed the Forum 121 gathering this weekend that was held at Frederick Blvd. Baptist Church in St. Joseph. The 121 stands for First Century Mission, 21st Century Practices. The most challenging speaker for me of the entire conference was Bob Roberts whom I had heard a number of years ago but not in recent times. Bob is the pastor of the Northwood Church in Keller, TX and they've been instrumental in starting something like 90 different churches. They have a major focus internationally in Hanoi, North Vietnam, and Bob meets with leaders from across the world, including many Muslims, to seek ways to partner in bettering the living conditions of many living in poverty. He truly has a Kingdom focus, despite his Southern Baptist upbringing in East Texas. He alluded to the cosmic nature of Jesus' role where Paul says in Colossians 1 that Jesus came to redeem all things. He spoke extensively about discipleship and made one statement that really struck me. His comment was that we have to push evangelism in our churches because we don't have disciples. Speaking of missional living, he also posed the question, "What if God gave people their jobs not to make a living but to make a difference?"
Rodney Reeves, professor at Southwest Bapt. Univ. in Bolivar, MO also did a great job with his conference on First Century Missional Practices. His introduction followed Bob Roberts' thoughts about the Kingdom, saying that the church is not an end in itself but the means to an end which is the Kingdom of God. Taking the model of Paul, he suggesting our ministry must be prophetic, incarnational, and community-focused.
The other conference leader whose presentation I really enjoyed was Allan Karr, a missions professor at the Denver campus of Golden Gate Seminary. One of his statements that grabbed me was this--"If you make disciples, church happens." He then proceeded to outline a series of shifts needed to achieve a viable 21st Century ecclesiology and expressed them in terms of respiration, breathing in and out.
1. Breathe in - From extrabiblical traditions to biblical minimums. This echoed strongly what Wade Burleson and others have been encouraging Baptists to do in not going beyond the Scriptures themselves in our demands for conformity around non-essentials.
2. Breathe out - From institutional church-based to Kingdom of God based ecclesiology.
3. Breathe in - From a regional focus to a neighborsphere/local community focus.
4. Breathe out - From an organizational maintenance focus to an incarnational community transformation focus.
5. Breathe in - From hierarchical structure to shared leadership.
6. Breathe out - From "going to church" to "being the church."
7. Breathe in - From a focus on a main gathering to "doing life together."
8. Breathe out - From "right belief" to living out sound biblical doctrine holistically.
9. Breathe in - From efficiency-driven strategies to collaborative relational efforts.
10. Breathe out - From strategies of the flesh to a reliance on the power of the Holy Spirit.
Alvin Reid of Southeastern Seminary also did a very good job of highlighting 8 keys for missional living. His main focus, not surprisingly given his role as an evangelism professor, was to focus on evangelism and sharing, using Paul's example in 1 & 2 Thessalonians for his text and point of departure. My only criticism comes from my own admittedly moderate viewpoint. I just didn't see the need for him to extol the virtues of the Conservative Resurgence and stress that there will always be a battle to be fought for the Bible. Moderate or historical Baptists don't have a problem affirming the truth and authority of the Scriptures whatsoever. Allan Karr's comments regarding his 8th point about the shift from right belief to living out sound biblical doctrine holistically resonates much stronger with me. He said that for far too long we've emphasized knowledge and content rather than transformed living. Angry and argumentative Baptists who excoriate fellow believers with hate-filled words simply aren't fulfilling the command of Jesus to love one another, no matter how much they insist that they're merely defending sound biblical doctrine.
Finally, to end on a more positive note, I was strongly encouraged by the great turnout of college students and 20-somethings who were clearly passionate about what was being shared. There weren't a lot of folks my age there, but the millenials and Gen-X'rs are certainly tuning in to the theme of living missionally. That gives me hope.
Rodney Reeves, professor at Southwest Bapt. Univ. in Bolivar, MO also did a great job with his conference on First Century Missional Practices. His introduction followed Bob Roberts' thoughts about the Kingdom, saying that the church is not an end in itself but the means to an end which is the Kingdom of God. Taking the model of Paul, he suggesting our ministry must be prophetic, incarnational, and community-focused.
The other conference leader whose presentation I really enjoyed was Allan Karr, a missions professor at the Denver campus of Golden Gate Seminary. One of his statements that grabbed me was this--"If you make disciples, church happens." He then proceeded to outline a series of shifts needed to achieve a viable 21st Century ecclesiology and expressed them in terms of respiration, breathing in and out.
1. Breathe in - From extrabiblical traditions to biblical minimums. This echoed strongly what Wade Burleson and others have been encouraging Baptists to do in not going beyond the Scriptures themselves in our demands for conformity around non-essentials.
2. Breathe out - From institutional church-based to Kingdom of God based ecclesiology.
3. Breathe in - From a regional focus to a neighborsphere/local community focus.
4. Breathe out - From an organizational maintenance focus to an incarnational community transformation focus.
5. Breathe in - From hierarchical structure to shared leadership.
6. Breathe out - From "going to church" to "being the church."
7. Breathe in - From a focus on a main gathering to "doing life together."
8. Breathe out - From "right belief" to living out sound biblical doctrine holistically.
9. Breathe in - From efficiency-driven strategies to collaborative relational efforts.
10. Breathe out - From strategies of the flesh to a reliance on the power of the Holy Spirit.
Alvin Reid of Southeastern Seminary also did a very good job of highlighting 8 keys for missional living. His main focus, not surprisingly given his role as an evangelism professor, was to focus on evangelism and sharing, using Paul's example in 1 & 2 Thessalonians for his text and point of departure. My only criticism comes from my own admittedly moderate viewpoint. I just didn't see the need for him to extol the virtues of the Conservative Resurgence and stress that there will always be a battle to be fought for the Bible. Moderate or historical Baptists don't have a problem affirming the truth and authority of the Scriptures whatsoever. Allan Karr's comments regarding his 8th point about the shift from right belief to living out sound biblical doctrine holistically resonates much stronger with me. He said that for far too long we've emphasized knowledge and content rather than transformed living. Angry and argumentative Baptists who excoriate fellow believers with hate-filled words simply aren't fulfilling the command of Jesus to love one another, no matter how much they insist that they're merely defending sound biblical doctrine.
Finally, to end on a more positive note, I was strongly encouraged by the great turnout of college students and 20-somethings who were clearly passionate about what was being shared. There weren't a lot of folks my age there, but the millenials and Gen-X'rs are certainly tuning in to the theme of living missionally. That gives me hope.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Last night in our Wednesday evening prayer meeting and Bible study time, we were looking at the healing of the lame beggar as Luke describes the account in Acts 3:1-10 and a portion of Peter's sermon that follows, beginning in v. 12. As I was preparing for the study this past week, a phrase jumped out and grabbed me and I've wrestled with it all week. It's not that it's difficult to understand. It's the impact of the words themselves and the irony they portray. While not an oxymoron as such, the phrase strikes with the force of one. I'm referring to Peter's words in v. 15 where he says of the Jewish leaders who demanded Barabbas' release and Jesus' crucifixion that they had "put to death the Prince of life." The word translated as Prince is the same one translated as author in Heb. 2:10 and as author or pioneer in Heb. 12:2. The notion of having put to death the author or source of life gripped me and I've not been able to shake that verbal image from my mind.
As I pondered that a bit more last evening after the study, it brought to mind another one of those biblical statements that exemplifies this same irony. This one is found in Paul's 2nd letter to the church at Corinth - 2 Cor. 5:21 - where we read, "He (God) made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin our our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." The sinless One became sin for us so that we might taste and experience His righteousness.
I suspect that there are many other affirmations in the Bible that possess this same ironic, or oxymoronic type of an impact. Anyone care to suggest another that you've encountered?
As I pondered that a bit more last evening after the study, it brought to mind another one of those biblical statements that exemplifies this same irony. This one is found in Paul's 2nd letter to the church at Corinth - 2 Cor. 5:21 - where we read, "He (God) made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin our our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." The sinless One became sin for us so that we might taste and experience His righteousness.
I suspect that there are many other affirmations in the Bible that possess this same ironic, or oxymoronic type of an impact. Anyone care to suggest another that you've encountered?
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Great Quote
One of the blessings I enjoy each day is receiving in my email inbox a daily devotion from the Ravi Zacharias ministry. The devotional series is called "A Slice of Infinity" and is written by a number of different writers on their team. The author who never fails to disappoint with an extremely-well written and thought-provoking devotional is the managing editor, Jill Carratini. In today's piece, Carratini included a quote from Walter Brueggemann in his book, Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth . Brueggemann's statement is worth pondering as we think of our tendency to create God in our own image.
We are your people and mostly we don't mind,
except that you do not fit any of our categories.
We keep pushing and pulling and twisting and turning,
trying to make you fit the God we would rather have
and every time we distort you that way
we end up with an idol more congenial to us.
In Isaiah 44:6-10 and following, the prophet records the words of God Himself as He reminds Israel that He has no rivals, for He alone is God. All attempts to replace Him with an idol are doomed to failure and merely reveal the folly of those who look elsewhere for strength and guidance.
We are your people and mostly we don't mind,
except that you do not fit any of our categories.
We keep pushing and pulling and twisting and turning,
trying to make you fit the God we would rather have
and every time we distort you that way
we end up with an idol more congenial to us.
In Isaiah 44:6-10 and following, the prophet records the words of God Himself as He reminds Israel that He has no rivals, for He alone is God. All attempts to replace Him with an idol are doomed to failure and merely reveal the folly of those who look elsewhere for strength and guidance.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Missions emphasis this coming Sunday evening
At times it’s difficult to keep track of all that our church is doing in the area of missions. There is such a wide variety of ongoing missions projects in which we’re engaged in addition to the special emphases we participate in either be sending volunteers or providing financial support to enable others to go or to undergird their ministries. This coming Sunday night will focus on missions as Janis Mansker (our children's minister) and I share a brief report regarding our trip to Guatemala at the end of July and the team of 9 that went to the motorcycle rally in Sturgis, South Dakota will share pictures and testimonies of their experiences of sharing the gospel with the bikers there. Furthermore, we’ll have the privilege as well to hear a brief update from Eduardo Soto PadÃn, the pastor of the Evangelical Baptist Church of the Word in Fajardo, Puerto Rico that our church partnered with for several years to assist them in building their worship center.
We are blessed by the Lord in order for us in turn to bless others, and our ongoing missions program is one great way of sharing that blessing. Our church actively suppoprt a number of groups and organizations-—Lee’s Summit Social Services, City Union Mission, Hope House, Rachel House, Hillcrest Ministries, Harvesters, KidsHeart Africa, and the Special Care Home at Peculiar to name just a few-—in addition to our regular budget offerings that support missionaries in the U.S. and around the world. It's exciting to be a part of a church that seeks concrete ways to be involved in and support the work of missions both locally, nationally, and internationally.
We are blessed by the Lord in order for us in turn to bless others, and our ongoing missions program is one great way of sharing that blessing. Our church actively suppoprt a number of groups and organizations-—Lee’s Summit Social Services, City Union Mission, Hope House, Rachel House, Hillcrest Ministries, Harvesters, KidsHeart Africa, and the Special Care Home at Peculiar to name just a few-—in addition to our regular budget offerings that support missionaries in the U.S. and around the world. It's exciting to be a part of a church that seeks concrete ways to be involved in and support the work of missions both locally, nationally, and internationally.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Strategic Planning
I attended the initial meeting in a series of four projected gatherings whose purpose is to enable the Baptist General Convention of Missouri to formulate a new strategic plan and initiatives for the next five years. One of the blessings of working with such a young convention is that we're not bound by lots of tradition and bureaucracy. That provides a great deal of freedom to engage in some creative thinking and searching about where God would have us be five years from now. Today we basically looked at three different methodologies to help us assess the current realities and challenges we face as well as identifying a large number of groups (most of them being para-church organizations) that are engaging in some creative ministries. The plan calls for us to interview key leaders in these organizations in addition to conducting some listening sessions in churches and encouraging lots of folks to complete an on-line survey to help us assess what they sense the most pressing needs are in their congregations.
It was a productive day with some good fellowship and dialogue as the group worked to develop some exploratory questions for both the listening sessions and the online survey after we had dialogued exensively about the groups we knew of that we doing some "out of the box" things in ministry.
It was a productive day with some good fellowship and dialogue as the group worked to develop some exploratory questions for both the listening sessions and the online survey after we had dialogued exensively about the groups we knew of that we doing some "out of the box" things in ministry.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Famous Quotes on Missions
I was deeply moved last night by our church's drama ministry (entitled First Acts) and its presentation in a readers' theatre format of “Bridge of Blood”--the story of Jim Elliott and his colleagues' efforts to evangelize the Aucas of Ecuador. I had first been exposed to the life of Jim Elliott back in seminary days and his famous quote, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose,” has challenged my life for the past 30 years or more. In that same vein, I thought I’d share a few other memorable quotes from missionaries and Christian statesmen on the subject of missions.
“Christ alone can save the world, but Christ cannot save the world alone” - David Livingstone.
“I have but one candle of life to burn, and I would rather burn it out in a land filled with darkness than in a land flooded with light” - John Keith Falconer.
“God isn't looking for people of great faith, but for individuals ready to follow Him” - Hudson Taylor.
“Some wish to live within the sound of a chapel bell; I wish to run a rescue mission within a yard of hell” - C.T. Studd.
“Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God” - William Carey.
“If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him” - C.T. Studd.
“No one has the right to hear the gospel twice, while there remains someone who has not heard it once” - Oswald J. Smith.
“We talk of the Second Coming; half the world has never heard of the first” - Oswald J. Smith.
“The mark of a great church is not its seating capacity, but its sending capacity” - Mike Stachura.
When James Calvert went out as a missionary to the cannibals of the Fiji Islands, the ship captain tried to turn him back, saying, “You will lose your life and the lives of those with you if you go among such savages.” To that, Calvert replied, “We died before we came here.”
“Christ alone can save the world, but Christ cannot save the world alone” - David Livingstone.
“I have but one candle of life to burn, and I would rather burn it out in a land filled with darkness than in a land flooded with light” - John Keith Falconer.
“God isn't looking for people of great faith, but for individuals ready to follow Him” - Hudson Taylor.
“Some wish to live within the sound of a chapel bell; I wish to run a rescue mission within a yard of hell” - C.T. Studd.
“Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God” - William Carey.
“If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him” - C.T. Studd.
“No one has the right to hear the gospel twice, while there remains someone who has not heard it once” - Oswald J. Smith.
“We talk of the Second Coming; half the world has never heard of the first” - Oswald J. Smith.
“The mark of a great church is not its seating capacity, but its sending capacity” - Mike Stachura.
When James Calvert went out as a missionary to the cannibals of the Fiji Islands, the ship captain tried to turn him back, saying, “You will lose your life and the lives of those with you if you go among such savages.” To that, Calvert replied, “We died before we came here.”
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Guatemala Update
We had an outstanding time in Quetzaltenango with the leadership training conferences on Tuesday and Wednesday, returning to Guatemala City late in the afternoon yesterday. Both Verlyn and Janis did a wonderful job with their teaching times and the contents of their talks were very well received. As always, there were a large number of questions and comments by the workshop participants. They really do enjoy interacting with the conference leaders on these trips.
I didn't verify an actual number of participants at this event, but I would judge we were right at the number of 80 which is upper limit that we've placed on the conferences--mainly from the standpoint of budget concerns. In addition to covering the cost of lodging, food, and the conference room space itself, we also provide some books each time to help these pastors and lay leaders expand their libraries with some good materials that will help them in their ministries.
I never cease to be moved by the expressions of gratitude and appreciation that our Guatemalan brethren share with us for having provided these training events. We've actually done 6 of these to this point (I think I mistakenly said 7 in an earlier post), and each time has been a tremendous blessing. Most of the pastors and leaders have attended all 6 of the sessions though we do pick up a new church or group of leaders from time to time, or a church opts to send some different leaders to accompany their pastor for the training.
The hugs, kisses, etc. as we leave are always part of an emotional farewell until we get together again six months down the road. I'm extremely grateful for the BGCM and the Baptist churches in Missouri that make these trips and training events possible. I don't think that perhaps we'll know this side of heaven just what all has been accomplished through these conferences. I do know that I consistently hear testimonies from the pastors and leaders who attend that the topics and themes that we cover have always been timely and apropos to the situation in which their congregation finds itself, so they've been able to implement the teachings in their local setting.
Today we're off to Antigua for some sightseeing before flying home early tomorrow morning. We'll probably be up around 4:00 a.m. to get to the airport in time for a 7:00 flight out, assuming it's on time. The other thing we're doing this morning before heading to Antigua is visiting the Tabitha Ministry that Carol, our partnership liaison has with the women and their children who live near the city dump here in Guatemala City. We have brought a couple of suitcases stuffed with children's and baby clothes for the ministry and will have a chance to deliver that to them.
I didn't verify an actual number of participants at this event, but I would judge we were right at the number of 80 which is upper limit that we've placed on the conferences--mainly from the standpoint of budget concerns. In addition to covering the cost of lodging, food, and the conference room space itself, we also provide some books each time to help these pastors and lay leaders expand their libraries with some good materials that will help them in their ministries.
I never cease to be moved by the expressions of gratitude and appreciation that our Guatemalan brethren share with us for having provided these training events. We've actually done 6 of these to this point (I think I mistakenly said 7 in an earlier post), and each time has been a tremendous blessing. Most of the pastors and leaders have attended all 6 of the sessions though we do pick up a new church or group of leaders from time to time, or a church opts to send some different leaders to accompany their pastor for the training.
The hugs, kisses, etc. as we leave are always part of an emotional farewell until we get together again six months down the road. I'm extremely grateful for the BGCM and the Baptist churches in Missouri that make these trips and training events possible. I don't think that perhaps we'll know this side of heaven just what all has been accomplished through these conferences. I do know that I consistently hear testimonies from the pastors and leaders who attend that the topics and themes that we cover have always been timely and apropos to the situation in which their congregation finds itself, so they've been able to implement the teachings in their local setting.
Today we're off to Antigua for some sightseeing before flying home early tomorrow morning. We'll probably be up around 4:00 a.m. to get to the airport in time for a 7:00 flight out, assuming it's on time. The other thing we're doing this morning before heading to Antigua is visiting the Tabitha Ministry that Carol, our partnership liaison has with the women and their children who live near the city dump here in Guatemala City. We have brought a couple of suitcases stuffed with children's and baby clothes for the ministry and will have a chance to deliver that to them.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Guatemala Bound
Monday afternoon I'll be heading southward again for the latest round of leadership training conferences with Guatemalan pastors and lay leaders. We anticipate a good crowd of close to 80 to be in attendance this time. Accompanying me will be the children's minister from our church, Janis Mansker, and a BGCM colleague, Verlyn Bergen. Both bring a lot of expertise in their fields and undoubtedly will make a significant contribution as conference leaders. For this occasion, I'm going to just fill the role of translator for their workshops. Janis has been to Guatemala previously when we went in February 2008 for a week-long missions trip to Cantel and did VBS, spoke in public schools, and conducted leadership conferences for four area churches. This will be Verlyn's first trip with us to Guatemala.
It will be a quick trip this time--down on Monday, driving out to Quetzaltenango on Tuesday morning in order to arrive in time for lunch and then 3 sessions that day. Wednesday we wrap up with two more sessions and will be heading back to Guatemala City late that afternoon. We'll do some sightseeing in Antigua on Thursday before winging our way home on Friday. These are kind of whirlwind trips, but it enables church staff members to make a meaningful contribution as a conference leader while not having to miss out on services and responsibilities in their own churches. If you stumble by the blog and have read down this far, please remember us in prayer this coming week as we minister in Guatemala. Thanks!
It will be a quick trip this time--down on Monday, driving out to Quetzaltenango on Tuesday morning in order to arrive in time for lunch and then 3 sessions that day. Wednesday we wrap up with two more sessions and will be heading back to Guatemala City late that afternoon. We'll do some sightseeing in Antigua on Thursday before winging our way home on Friday. These are kind of whirlwind trips, but it enables church staff members to make a meaningful contribution as a conference leader while not having to miss out on services and responsibilities in their own churches. If you stumble by the blog and have read down this far, please remember us in prayer this coming week as we minister in Guatemala. Thanks!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Getting Your Goat
I can’t attest 100% to the accuracy of the following, but I ran across an interesting explanation of the phrase “to get someone’s goat.” You’ve probably heard or maybe even used that phrase before, though it seems to be fading out of common usage today. The phrase supposedly originated from the practice of the owners of racehorses keeping a goat as a stable companion for their horse. With both being herd animals, the goat presumably had a calming influence on the racehorse and kept him from being excessively jittery. If you owned a competing horse and wanted to improve your odds of winning, you would steal the competitor’s goat so as to upset the horse and make it run a poor race. From this practice, the phrase came to describe the action of doing something to upset another person—to get their goat.
What is it that most frequently “gets your goat?” What is the usual source of irritation that provokes you to become upset? The answer to those questions will of course vary from person to person, but it’s worth asking ourselves what it is that we allow to disturb and disrupt our peace of mind. Sometimes the provocation is something over which we have absolutely no control. At other times, perhaps we can identify the source of the conflict and thus not put ourselves in the same situation so as to experience those distressing feelings.
While we may not always be able to control the source of the irritation, we still can choose how we will respond to the irritant. We read in Prov. 15:1, “a gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” That’s great advice if the source of conflict is another person’s words. But what about when it’s just the circumstances of life that upset us? It’s then that we claim the promise of Jesus when He said, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; do not let your heart be troubled” (Jn. 14:27). His supernatural peace can be ours as we daily trust in Him.
(The above post comes from an article I wrote for our Senior Adults' monthly newsletter).
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Summer Adult Bible Study Series
This summer I resurrected an event that I had conducted my first 4 summers on staff here. For whatever reason, last summer I failed to lead what at that time we were promoting as an Adult Vacation Bible School. I was scolded by some of my senior adults (very nicely of course) for not having offered it because they told me they really missed it. I have to confess that I missed it as well. Each summer it's been one of the highlights of the entire year to get together each evening of one week (actually we go Monday through Thursday night) and study a book of the Bible.
I suppose the format is similar to the days when January Bible studies were common in Southern Baptist life, only we choose to do it in the summer. In the past years we've studied Romans, Colossians, James, and 2nd Timothy. I have to confess that Romans was a real challenge to cover in four nights. I much prefer taking a shorter book where you can at least spend one evening looking at a chapter or so. In previous years, we split the evening in two parts with either a missionary report from a team that had recently gone on a missions trip, a musical program, or other speaker, followed by refreshments, followed by the Bible study time.
This year I've decided with the name change to simplify the format as well. We are studying 1 John this year and my plans are to take about 45-50 minutes each night to cover the Bible study portion and then being good Baptists, we have to have some refreshments and fellowship time afterwards. Last night it was cookies and brownies. Ice cream is on the agenda for this evening and then cakes and pies on Wednesday night. By Thursday, we'll try to both wrap up the study of chapter 5 and finish off whatever leftover desserts there are by that time.
We had a good group of about 80 in attendance last night. That number down just a bit from previous years, but it's still a wonderful group to show up mid-summer to study the Scriptures together. I am energized by the teaching opportunity as well as the gift of teaching is the one that God seems to have most blessed me with to serve His church.
Next week it's off to Guatemala once more for another round of leadership training classes with pastors and lay leaders in the western region. Our children's minister will be joining me as a conference leader as well as a colleague with the BGCM who leads out in the area of church relations. It should be another exciting week of ministry and fellowship with these pastors whom I've come to love deeply.
I suppose the format is similar to the days when January Bible studies were common in Southern Baptist life, only we choose to do it in the summer. In the past years we've studied Romans, Colossians, James, and 2nd Timothy. I have to confess that Romans was a real challenge to cover in four nights. I much prefer taking a shorter book where you can at least spend one evening looking at a chapter or so. In previous years, we split the evening in two parts with either a missionary report from a team that had recently gone on a missions trip, a musical program, or other speaker, followed by refreshments, followed by the Bible study time.
This year I've decided with the name change to simplify the format as well. We are studying 1 John this year and my plans are to take about 45-50 minutes each night to cover the Bible study portion and then being good Baptists, we have to have some refreshments and fellowship time afterwards. Last night it was cookies and brownies. Ice cream is on the agenda for this evening and then cakes and pies on Wednesday night. By Thursday, we'll try to both wrap up the study of chapter 5 and finish off whatever leftover desserts there are by that time.
We had a good group of about 80 in attendance last night. That number down just a bit from previous years, but it's still a wonderful group to show up mid-summer to study the Scriptures together. I am energized by the teaching opportunity as well as the gift of teaching is the one that God seems to have most blessed me with to serve His church.
Next week it's off to Guatemala once more for another round of leadership training classes with pastors and lay leaders in the western region. Our children's minister will be joining me as a conference leader as well as a colleague with the BGCM who leads out in the area of church relations. It should be another exciting week of ministry and fellowship with these pastors whom I've come to love deeply.
Saturday, July 04, 2009
Projects
I've been pretty remiss about posting anything on my blog for the past few weeks. Life has been pretty busy and I've been working on several projects simultaneously. With summer, my wife isn't teaching and has had a rather lengthy honey-do list to do. I'm also trying to get prepared for a week-long summer adult Bible study series on the book of 1 John. Last year I didn't do one of these for the first time since I've been on staff here and there was a clamor to resume the activity this year. I've also been translating the outlines for the conference leaders for the next trip to Guatemala which is scheduled for July 27-31.
Finally, the biggest time-consumer has been working on the church history project in an attempt to write a church history and get it published in time for our 150th anniversary celebration next spring. Reading through and taking notes on 150 years of minutes when the church met monthly for business meetings represents a huge undertaking and a lot of time invested. It's been an interesting process and I've still get a ways to go. I'm up to 1981 in the minutes now. When I finish the minutes, there are still other sources to research including our church's newsletter which has been published since the 1940s or so.
I'm afraid my posting is still likely to be sporadic due to these projects, but I'll try to do a brief update from time to time. Thanks to those who stop by occasionally or frequently to check on updates.
Finally, the biggest time-consumer has been working on the church history project in an attempt to write a church history and get it published in time for our 150th anniversary celebration next spring. Reading through and taking notes on 150 years of minutes when the church met monthly for business meetings represents a huge undertaking and a lot of time invested. It's been an interesting process and I've still get a ways to go. I'm up to 1981 in the minutes now. When I finish the minutes, there are still other sources to research including our church's newsletter which has been published since the 1940s or so.
I'm afraid my posting is still likely to be sporadic due to these projects, but I'll try to do a brief update from time to time. Thanks to those who stop by occasionally or frequently to check on updates.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Racism and the Power of the Gospel
As a denomination, Southern Baptists haven’t always been at their best in the area of race relations. Southern Baptists were born out of the slavery controversy in the years leading up to the Civil War, and many preachers used biblical texts to justify the continuation of the South’s “peculiar institution.” Even after freedom for African Americans was declared, the general population’s prejudice continued to display itself.
I read recently an article about the first African American graduate of West Point Academy. Henry Ossian Flipper, born in 1856 as a slave in Thomasville, GA, became the first African American to graduate from the U.S. Military Academy on June 15, 1877. Flipper was appointed a second lieutenant in the all-African American 10th Cavalry and was assigned to Fort Sill in what was then Indian Territory. The amazing thing about the article was its report that not one white cadet ever spoke to Flipper in his entire four-year period of study at West Point. That someone would treat a fellow soldier and fellow human being with such disdain and contempt boggles the imagination.
Racial prejudice and hatred can be deep-seated, but the power of the gospel is capable of radically transforming the human heart and bringing love and acceptance where these destructive emotions once reigned. Paul’s words to the church at Ephesus about Jesus being our peace and abolishing in His flesh the hatred between Jew and Gentile surely apply equally to the lingering expressions of racism and prejudice in our day as well (Eph. 2:14-16). Paul says that both groups have been reconciled in one body (the church) to God through the cross. No wonder Paul’s message was Jesus and Him crucified. May that be our theme as well.
I read recently an article about the first African American graduate of West Point Academy. Henry Ossian Flipper, born in 1856 as a slave in Thomasville, GA, became the first African American to graduate from the U.S. Military Academy on June 15, 1877. Flipper was appointed a second lieutenant in the all-African American 10th Cavalry and was assigned to Fort Sill in what was then Indian Territory. The amazing thing about the article was its report that not one white cadet ever spoke to Flipper in his entire four-year period of study at West Point. That someone would treat a fellow soldier and fellow human being with such disdain and contempt boggles the imagination.
Racial prejudice and hatred can be deep-seated, but the power of the gospel is capable of radically transforming the human heart and bringing love and acceptance where these destructive emotions once reigned. Paul’s words to the church at Ephesus about Jesus being our peace and abolishing in His flesh the hatred between Jew and Gentile surely apply equally to the lingering expressions of racism and prejudice in our day as well (Eph. 2:14-16). Paul says that both groups have been reconciled in one body (the church) to God through the cross. No wonder Paul’s message was Jesus and Him crucified. May that be our theme as well.
Monday, June 01, 2009
Responding to change
Sociologists have studied the differences in the rates at which groups of people respond to new information and ideas and have devised classification schemes based to describe this behavior. One such scheme speaks of innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards—with the innovators being the quickest to accept change and the laggards being the last to respond. I thought about that when I ran across a reference to the fact that this past weekend marked the 74th anniversary of the first night game in Major League Baseball history. The Cincinnati Reds played the Philadelphia Phillies on May 24, 1935 under the lights at Crosley Field. Other teams rapidly followed suit and night games became the norm rather than the exception. The last holdout to this trend was the Chicago Cubs. They didn’t play their first night game at Wrigley Field until Aug. 9, 1988, 53 years after the first MLB night game.
Laggards tend to be so tradition-bound that when they finally accept a new behavior or idea, it may well have been rendered obsolete by the innovators who have pushed on to newer frontiers. While we serve a risen Lord who is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8), and while the truths of the Gospel are unchanging, our methodologies and programs must be flexible and adaptive to respond to the ever-changing world in which we live. Time-honored traditions enrich our heritage, but if we’re not careful they can become prisons that entrap us in the past. Let’s not lag behind to the point that we’re left out in the dark.
Laggards tend to be so tradition-bound that when they finally accept a new behavior or idea, it may well have been rendered obsolete by the innovators who have pushed on to newer frontiers. While we serve a risen Lord who is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8), and while the truths of the Gospel are unchanging, our methodologies and programs must be flexible and adaptive to respond to the ever-changing world in which we live. Time-honored traditions enrich our heritage, but if we’re not careful they can become prisons that entrap us in the past. Let’s not lag behind to the point that we’re left out in the dark.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Agency Heads Clarify Question of CP Giving
In a post of April 23rd, I commented about the Missouri Baptist Convention's decision to utilize Cooperative Program offerings to fund their ongoing litigation efforts against five Missouri Baptist entities. The argument that MBC Executive Director David Tolliver advanced to justify the use of CP funds to pay for lawsuits against fellow Baptists was that these institutions had been built and sustained by CP funds so it was only right to use CP funds to reacquire control of them.
In an article in the most recent edition of Word & Way, the heads of the Baptist entities in question examine Tolliver's claim about CP funds building and sustaining their institutions and the facts clearly don't bear out Tolliver's assertion. In the year in which Missouri Baptist University received their highest support from the MBC, it represented 3% of their total budget. All of the funds that went to MBU were restricted to scholarship assistance for Baptist students, so cutting those funds merely hindered Baptist young people from pursuing an education.
The Baptist Home existed for 4 years before it received any MBC support and the MBC never owned or purchased any of the properties or assets of the Home, including the expansion to the two additional campuses.
The MBC did purchase the Windermere Conference Center but its level of support was once again only a fraction of the center's operating budget down through the years. The convention budgeted $148,875 in CP funds for Windermere in 2001, an amount equal to 5 percent of the $3 million budget.
In fact, in 2002 when CP allocations for the five were escrowed and never paid, the convention budgeted about $2.1 million for them--less than 5 percent of the combined current operating budgets of the the five.
It will be interesting to see how Missouri Baptists respond to the appeal to officially approve of the use of CP offerings to fund the ongoing lawsuits, now in their seventh year. Hopefully the hollow claims of these institutions being built and maintained by CP funds will be exposed and one more prop will be knocked out from under the MBC's efforts to justify the unscriptural practice of suing fellow believers.
In an article in the most recent edition of Word & Way, the heads of the Baptist entities in question examine Tolliver's claim about CP funds building and sustaining their institutions and the facts clearly don't bear out Tolliver's assertion. In the year in which Missouri Baptist University received their highest support from the MBC, it represented 3% of their total budget. All of the funds that went to MBU were restricted to scholarship assistance for Baptist students, so cutting those funds merely hindered Baptist young people from pursuing an education.
The Baptist Home existed for 4 years before it received any MBC support and the MBC never owned or purchased any of the properties or assets of the Home, including the expansion to the two additional campuses.
The MBC did purchase the Windermere Conference Center but its level of support was once again only a fraction of the center's operating budget down through the years. The convention budgeted $148,875 in CP funds for Windermere in 2001, an amount equal to 5 percent of the $3 million budget.
In fact, in 2002 when CP allocations for the five were escrowed and never paid, the convention budgeted about $2.1 million for them--less than 5 percent of the combined current operating budgets of the the five.
It will be interesting to see how Missouri Baptists respond to the appeal to officially approve of the use of CP offerings to fund the ongoing lawsuits, now in their seventh year. Hopefully the hollow claims of these institutions being built and maintained by CP funds will be exposed and one more prop will be knocked out from under the MBC's efforts to justify the unscriptural practice of suing fellow believers.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)