Monthly Archives: July 2015

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July 30, 2015

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Christian Life, Congregrational Ministries, General Baptists, Leadership, Pastoring

Life in Those Old Denominations: 5 Ways to Participate

Having just completed our annual Mission & Ministry Summit I have been reminded not only of the history of our own denomination but also the value of belonging and participating in a denominational network. Nevertheless, while hundreds of General Baptist leaders gathered in Collinsville, Illinois for Powerful Worship, Practical Training and Personal Missionary Connections, (you can read about the event here) hundreds of others chose not to participate. As I reflected on participation in denominational enterprises it struck me that there are at least five ways I can participate.

  1. Participating through shared theology. The heart of our General Baptist movement, network, denomination is a commitment to our core theology of a General Atonement. This seems old-hat to those of us who have always held such a simple belief. As stated in the Scripture, Jesus Christ by the grace of God tasted death for every man so that whosoever will may be saved. It seems strange to think that this concept was considered heresy in most Baptist circles in the 1820’s when our movement was born. It also seems strange to think that many evangelicals today avoid that simple truth without realizing that they then portray a view of God as capricious, arbitrary and unreasoning.

When I served as pastor, I regularly met new people in our community who came from a church background that was non-General Baptist. They were delighted to learn that we believed as they did that God offers equal opportunity to all who would by faith accept Jesus as a personal savior.

Whenever I espouse belief in a General Atonement rather than a Limited Atonement, then I am participating in our General Baptist denomination by sharing a mutual theology.

  1. Participating through shared mission. The natural outgrowth of belief in a General Atonement is taking the Great Commission seriously. Thus when I pray for, support or participate in the denominational mission, then I am participating in the General Baptist cause. Shared mission involves missionary activity throughout the world, church planting within the United States, and various initiatives to teach and train as we make disciples in obedience to the Great Commission.
  2. Participating by personal networking. Shared theology and shared mission puts me in connection with others and while I cannot be connected personally with every adherent of the General Baptist cause, I can and do make connections with some others. Many times these connections are framed within my local church or regional association. On other occasions they cross regional boundaries as I find personal connection with like-missioned people across the nation or around the world.
  3. Participating by officially belonging. While shared theology, mission and network are excellent starting points, officially belonging is an important and meaningful way to participate in the life of our denomination. This official connection generally occurs through participation in a regional association that in turn is connected to the General Association of General Baptists. Churches that are not part of a denomination may become direct affiliates of the General Association to establish an official connection. Help is always available from denominational officers and denominational offices to assist any church who shares our core theology, mission and network to make official connections.
  4. Participating by showing up. Attending the first time is always a bit awkward whether it is a pastor’s conference, The Summit, or a Council of Associations meeting. Repeated attendance, however, means that soon we learn the expectations and nature of the gatherings. Repeated attendance also means that soon we learn not only how to navigate the denominational circuit but also that we anticipate seeing, greeting and catching up with folks who have become partners in the gospel. After 40 years of attending the General Association and after directly working with The Summit for 10 seasons now, I still look forward to showing up and checking up on folks I may only see once in a while.

 

 

 

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July 28, 2015

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Christian Life, Congregrational Ministries, Executive Office, General Baptists, International Missions, Leadership, National Missions, Pastoring, Women's Ministries

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Life in Those Old Denominations: 3 Reasons for Belonging AND Participating

By Dr. Franklin Dumond

Having just completed our annual Mission & Ministry Summit I have been reminded not only of the history of our own denomination but also the value of belonging and participating in a denominational network. Hundreds of General Baptist leaders gathered in Collinsville, Illinois for Powerful Worship, Practical Training and Personal Missionary Connections.

Powerful Worship was made possible by a Collective Worship Team of musicians and vocalists from several churches. The main sessions were completed by powerful preaching from both General Baptist and guest preachers who obviously had a message to share. Each preacher (Mark Powell, Darren Patrick, Alex Himaya, and Clint Cook) shared passionately and effectively. (Note: DVD copies of the main sessions are available for purchase from Congregational Ministries.)

Practical Training came from workshop sessions offered throughout the week. Workshop tracks allowed participants options to build a series of connected workshops or to enjoy highlights from several workshop tracks. Along with missionary connections, special training came from our own Church Planting Team and guests assisted with rural church, discipleship, personal enrichment, church systems and other topics. To conserve the learning, audio recordings were made of most workshops and access to those downloadable recordings is available through a drop card system that may be purchased from Congregational Ministries.

Missionary Connections were not only available in the workshops but were also part of the main stage event, a featured element of the exhibit hall, and an important part of two very powerful group prayers. On Tuesday evening Executive Director Clint Cook presided over a very moving commissioning service as the assembled leaders laid hands on newly appointed International Missions Director Mark Powell and newly appointed church planter Steve Gill to commission them to their new tasks. On Wednesday evening all the current missionaries, church planters and ethnic ministries were grouped together for a special joint prayer of blessing on their lives and service.

Looking back over the week I was reminded of three very important reasons for being part of a denominational network.

First, we do together what we cannot do alone. No one church can accomplish individually what we accomplish collectively. What one church can supervise the gathering of 42 churches in India? What one church can undertake the management of an orphanage in Honduras? What one church can plant a series of fast-growing, high-impact churches to reach thousands with the gospel? What one church can set the stage for revitalization of hundreds of existing churches? While no one church can undertake these ministries, when we work together they are rather easily accomplished!

Second, as part of a network of churches we are exposed to the help and encouragement needed to be more effective in our local ministries. One of the amazing things about The Summit is that since the meetings were re-engineered in 2007 a broader connection among and between General Baptists from different parts of the nation and different parts of the world have developed. With these new connections there is a synergy of effort as well as a keen reassurance that we are not alone in the struggle.

Third, as part of a denominational connection I can take advantage of services and programs that are offered to assist and expand my own ministry. Conferences and events offered by the denomination are provided at very modest costs and in convenient locations. If I accessed similar services as a private payee I would spend hundreds of dollars more for the same or similar conferences and events. Consultation services, missionary presence and church planter connections are all designed to assist and expand each local ministry to more effectively reach the world.

Executive Director Clint Cook puts it like this, “General Baptist Ministries exists to maximize Kingdom impact by starting, equipping and inspiring local churches to accomplish the Great Commission.”

Brand name loyalty is not what it once was. Markets for automobiles and dishwashing detergent can no longer depend on a buying public that is motivated by brand name loyalty. Church connections, too, are often driven by factors other than brand name loyalty. For me, however, there are compelling reasons for connecting to those old denominational structures, so I want to do my part to establish and improve my connections.

 

To purchase recordings of the workshops or General Sessions, contact Congregational Ministries at cmofc@generalbaptist or by calling 573-785-7746.

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July 16, 2015

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Christian Life, Congregrational Ministries, Family, Leadership, Pastoring

4 Areas Where Church Leaders Need Continuing Education Pt 4

By Dr. Franklin Dumond

The following is the fourth and final part of a series dealing with “4 Areas Where Church Leaders Need Continuing Education.” These four areas are:

  1. Communication Skills
  2. Personal Evangelism
  3. Making Disciples in a Non-Christian Culture
  4. Maintaining an appropriate work/life balance

An ongoing struggle for many church leaders is the struggle to maintain an appropriate balance between ministry tasks and obligations, and personal or family life. Three particular groups of church leaders often face this as THE paramount struggle in their ministry settings.

  1. Bi-vocational pastors must balance the demands and tasks of ministry with the demands and tasks of livelihood and working a ‘real’ job.
  2. Pastors with younger children must balance the demands and tasks of ministry with the demands and tasks of child rearing, especially in two-income households.
  3. High capacity volunteers who serve ably as teachers, task force leaders, ministry organizers, board members and in dozens of other necessary roles in the church also struggle to maintain balance in their endeavors.

While every ministry leader must wrestle with and solve this problem of balance, a few leading questions may point toward meaningful solutions.

1.  How much time is actually being used? A simple time log can assist the church leader to analyze how much time is being spent on what particular task. A time log should be maintained for 2-3 weeks to provide a broad enough overview for analysis. The time log should identify time usage by using easily understood labels and descriptions.

Analysis of time used should also lead to an evaluation of “How much time should be used for…?”

2.  Are time wasters built into your day? The ready availability of internet connections allows many well intended workers to drift into meaningless searches or time-consuming online chatter. E-mail alerts, text messages and social media posts have replaced the persistent ringing of the phone as one of the most intrusive time wasters.

Simple organization can easily reduce the time wasters that so easily interrupt the day. For example, by setting a time for returning phone calls or responding to e-mail I no longer have to be interrupted if I am in the middle of an important, tedious or get-this-done-the-deadline-is-approaching task. Returning calls and e-mails just before lunch and just before going home in the afternoon can give you a couple of significant time blocks for productive work.

3.  Do you have a plan for how your day will unfold? Writing down a to do list or a schedule of activity for the day/week/month can go a long way toward getting done what needs to get done and then moving on the next task or even going home on time. An intentional plan to say “Yes” to certain tasks means that I must say “No” to other tasks. Appropriate “Yes” and “No” is the key to work/life balance.

Everything cannot be done in a day but many pastors would do well to add a few more tasks to their days rather than to always be on call and thus to only have a schedule of time use that is controlled by others and by circumstances rather than by advance planning.

Maintaining regular and adequate office hours is an important feature for the vocational pastor. This means showing up on time but it also means going home on time. Advice given to a young pastor who lived next door to the church in a parsonage is still sound:

“Leave your house on time to drop the kids off at school. Circle back to the church and park outside the building so everyone will know you are in the office today. At the close of the day drive back home and park inside the garage. Close the garage door. You’re home now; act like it.”

When it comes to maintaining balance here are some strategic questions to explore.

  1. Do I have a regular day off? Do I use it as it should be used? Regular office hours are important because they not only define the time I spend at work they also define the time I do not spend at work.
  2. How do the hours I spend in ministry compare with the hours other professionals spend in their vocations? Many pastors would do well to compare schedules with a successful real estate agent or the managing partner in an accounting firm or a building principal in the local school system.
  3. Is my current busyness due to a season of ministry or is it chronic workaholism that is destructive? A friend who was setting up his medical practice intentionally scheduled his clinic to be open one evening each week and every Saturday morning. This schedule, however, lasted only for a year or so until he had gathered enough patients to fill his regular appointment schedule. Now, several years later, his office is closed two afternoons a week and he shares his on-call weekend responsibilities with others. There are seasons of ministry in the local church that are much busier than other seasons. The special programs of summer, the holiday frenzy of November-December and the period around Easter are sure to be busier-than-usual times that come but then go.
  1. Is my current schedule working for me, my family and my church? When it comes right down to it this answer really defines work/life balance.