Sometimes a new name can give you a new perspective. Saul's name was changed to Paul. It was a new life and a new perspective. Others viewed him differently. He was no longer the man who persecuted Christians, but became the man who preached the gospel to the gentiles.
Adding just one word to the name of our association would send a clear message as to our global vision; International. Many years ago one of our ABA presidents recommended with a resolution that our name be changed to 'ABA International', due to the growing number of churches in many new foreign countries being added to our fellowship and the importance of developing a global unity among us. It was soundly defeated on the messenger floor!
A name change would be good for us all. It will give us a sense of going forward. It will be encouraging to the hundreds of new churches globally to know that we have accepted them. It will clearly declare where we are going and who we want to become.
A new name would be a good thing.
David
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Change Agents
Being a change agent is risky business. You never know when you have moved too fast or too far until you look back and notice that there is no one with you.
I will probably be guilty of moving too fast and too far for many of my brethren; but I am willing to take the risk for the sake of necessary change.
For too long we have all endured the reading of associational reports that somehow sound very similar to reports a year ago. During this time of the year many local associations are meeting and you can almost guarantee that the same thing will be done like it was last year and the year before. Believe it or not, some of the exact same reports will be repeated word for word from last year's minute book because there was not enough initiative on the part of someone to at least change a few words. Associational reports, in my opinion, are nothing more than a miserable reminder that there was nothing to report in the first place.
Just in case you are being severely offended by the above statements let me assure you that the giving of reports has its place. Simply place the written reports on the table for easy access to all the messengers so that they may choose or not choose to have a report. Then use the time normally given to the reading and discussing of reports to a meaningful seminar on church planting, pastoral needs, leadership development, encouragement and exhortation, and etc.
Would someone take the risk of proposing such a change? Here is my guess; most will be afraid to make such a change because historically we have always done it that way. How about someone making history and saying, 'enough is enough'. It maybe that your local association is not like that, if not, let me know about it. Maybe others would love to find out about it also.
What is really sad is that our national association is also filled with what seems endless reporting and duplicity using up much valuable time. It seems to me that the time invested by our missions committee at the ABA and other State associations is totally undone in subsequent sessions nearly every time. Either the missions committee recommendations need to be accepted as recommended or it (the committee) ought to be dismissed completely since what they have recommended is ignored most of the time anyways. One or the other, right?
It has been said, "Deal with things the way they are and not the way they ought to be"; I would like to add "...until you can change them to become what they ought to be." Let's be change agents.
David
I will probably be guilty of moving too fast and too far for many of my brethren; but I am willing to take the risk for the sake of necessary change.
For too long we have all endured the reading of associational reports that somehow sound very similar to reports a year ago. During this time of the year many local associations are meeting and you can almost guarantee that the same thing will be done like it was last year and the year before. Believe it or not, some of the exact same reports will be repeated word for word from last year's minute book because there was not enough initiative on the part of someone to at least change a few words. Associational reports, in my opinion, are nothing more than a miserable reminder that there was nothing to report in the first place.
Just in case you are being severely offended by the above statements let me assure you that the giving of reports has its place. Simply place the written reports on the table for easy access to all the messengers so that they may choose or not choose to have a report. Then use the time normally given to the reading and discussing of reports to a meaningful seminar on church planting, pastoral needs, leadership development, encouragement and exhortation, and etc.
Would someone take the risk of proposing such a change? Here is my guess; most will be afraid to make such a change because historically we have always done it that way. How about someone making history and saying, 'enough is enough'. It maybe that your local association is not like that, if not, let me know about it. Maybe others would love to find out about it also.
What is really sad is that our national association is also filled with what seems endless reporting and duplicity using up much valuable time. It seems to me that the time invested by our missions committee at the ABA and other State associations is totally undone in subsequent sessions nearly every time. Either the missions committee recommendations need to be accepted as recommended or it (the committee) ought to be dismissed completely since what they have recommended is ignored most of the time anyways. One or the other, right?
It has been said, "Deal with things the way they are and not the way they ought to be"; I would like to add "...until you can change them to become what they ought to be." Let's be change agents.
David
Thursday, October 18, 2007
100 New Churches?
I would love to hear from anyone that knows of someone that has started a new church or mission since the ABA meeting in June this year. Are you out there somewhere?
After having spoken to a few it is our opinion that 100 new churches/missions is not an unrealistic goal for our ABA churches.
If the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia (about 500 churches) can plant over a hundred new churches in one year then the ABA could do even more since there are over 1500 churches in the whole association. Don't you think?
What will it take for us to catch this vision? Who will help cast the vision for this? Is there anyone? Or is mine the only voice?
David
After having spoken to a few it is our opinion that 100 new churches/missions is not an unrealistic goal for our ABA churches.
If the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia (about 500 churches) can plant over a hundred new churches in one year then the ABA could do even more since there are over 1500 churches in the whole association. Don't you think?
What will it take for us to catch this vision? Who will help cast the vision for this? Is there anyone? Or is mine the only voice?
David
Friday, October 5, 2007
Indigenous Church Planting USA
Ed Stetzer has coined it well, "Most church planters start the church in their head and not in their community." In other words, a lot of cp's (church planters) come into an area with preconceived ideas about things they have always wanted to try and find out it doesn't work. The reason for this is that the cp needs to contextualize himself. He will need to become culturally relevant in his target community.
Doing indigenous church planting in the USA is most essential in order to reach the people in any community. Our country is so diverse that you cannot use the same methods of church planting in California as you would in NY City or in East Texas as you would West Texas or in Miami as you would in Seattle. The cp will need to become incarnate to his community and then reach them. The cp will need to study his target group adequately and personally before he jumps in with all "fours''.
One of the reasons we have fewer churches being planted is that there are fewer men who
are willing to start churches in cultures other than white, middle-class, suburban communities. It seems that we are training men exclusively for that kind of ministry in our Bible Institutes and not entertaining cross cultural church planting as a valid exercise of church planting. To plant churches in the types of communities for which our men have been generally trained for is expensive and disheartening. People may not be as responsive as they are in other communities.
The belief that a beautiful church building will draw them in is false, unless your goal is to move Christians from one church to another church. "Build it and they will come" does not work effectively unless there is a greater vision in place than just building a building. Indigenous church planting does not consider the building as the end to a means but a means to an end.
Indigenous church planting works for our Foreign missonaries and will work here at home. Let's do it!
David
Doing indigenous church planting in the USA is most essential in order to reach the people in any community. Our country is so diverse that you cannot use the same methods of church planting in California as you would in NY City or in East Texas as you would West Texas or in Miami as you would in Seattle. The cp will need to become incarnate to his community and then reach them. The cp will need to study his target group adequately and personally before he jumps in with all "fours''.
One of the reasons we have fewer churches being planted is that there are fewer men who
are willing to start churches in cultures other than white, middle-class, suburban communities. It seems that we are training men exclusively for that kind of ministry in our Bible Institutes and not entertaining cross cultural church planting as a valid exercise of church planting. To plant churches in the types of communities for which our men have been generally trained for is expensive and disheartening. People may not be as responsive as they are in other communities.
The belief that a beautiful church building will draw them in is false, unless your goal is to move Christians from one church to another church. "Build it and they will come" does not work effectively unless there is a greater vision in place than just building a building. Indigenous church planting does not consider the building as the end to a means but a means to an end.
Indigenous church planting works for our Foreign missonaries and will work here at home. Let's do it!
David
Faith Promise Blessings at Ranson WV
Bro Mike Withem and First Baptist Church of Ranson WV are an awesome example of what happens when a church and pastor get committed to the Great Commission.
I remember visiting Bro Mike's church many years ago when it was still a baby church. Alice and I were doing a church plant in Mississauga, Canada and were invited to come share our ministry with First Baptist. That's where I was really first introduced to faith promise and Bro Harold Williams. Not long after that we invited Bro Mike up to Mississauga to start us off on our first faith promise conference. Then the following year we invited Bro Harold. Our church in Canada was so blessed by this.
It would be so wonderful if more churches would have a faith promise missions conference. So many don't have a clue as to what they are missing. I'm sure some are wondering what it is all about. Let me just encourage everyone that is reading this blog to discover for themselves what a little more faith can do in the matter of giving for world missions. It will challenge your church and build a vision for mission beyond you're expectations.
To learn more about Faith Promise Missions Giving please visit our website and go to church planting then to Faith Promise.
David
I remember visiting Bro Mike's church many years ago when it was still a baby church. Alice and I were doing a church plant in Mississauga, Canada and were invited to come share our ministry with First Baptist. That's where I was really first introduced to faith promise and Bro Harold Williams. Not long after that we invited Bro Mike up to Mississauga to start us off on our first faith promise conference. Then the following year we invited Bro Harold. Our church in Canada was so blessed by this.
It would be so wonderful if more churches would have a faith promise missions conference. So many don't have a clue as to what they are missing. I'm sure some are wondering what it is all about. Let me just encourage everyone that is reading this blog to discover for themselves what a little more faith can do in the matter of giving for world missions. It will challenge your church and build a vision for mission beyond you're expectations.
To learn more about Faith Promise Missions Giving please visit our website and go to church planting then to Faith Promise.
David
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