And One to Grow On - Wisconsin, Day 3

Does the title of this post bring back memories for you? Unless you had most of your birthdays in the previous century, it probably didn't. If you don't know what I am talking about, I'll leave it to your imagination. We are packing to check out of the hotel, go pick up some Wisconsin cheese, have one final lunch with the DOM of BLBA before we fly out for home this afternoon. Yesterday was a cool and rainy day, so hopefully all the people who complained about the sweltering 80 degrees the day before were more comfortable. One of the pastors (newly elected to our Partnership Planning Group) picked us up at the hotel and drove us to Manitowoc to look at a possible new location for the only Southern Baptist Church there. New Beginnings Baptist Church is about 4 years old. It began in a living room and has been in its current rented facility for about 3 years. They have completely outgrown the building that is only about 1000 square feet (for the entire building). They have about 500 sf for worship space and are already plateaued because there is no more room for worship, a nursery about the size of a restaurant booth, and restroom/storage room/library combination. The church has been trying to find new space for almost a year and has even been in process of trying to purchase a couple of buildings and both have fallen through. Understandably, they are getting discouraged. A couple of weeks ago part of a building next door to their current facility came available for rent. The landlord of that space is their current landlord. We met there yesterday and talked about how the space might be configured for their use. That space would increase their worship space and allow them space for two classrooms, office, nursery, and welcome center. None of the interior walls are load-bearing, and the landlord has given them permission to tear out walls and build new ones in whatever configuration works for them. And, as of our meeting yesterday, he has agreed to a rental cost for the first two years that will actually be less than what they are paying now and will give them almost double the space. As Jerry Clower used to say, "Ain't God good!" Sorry about the Jerry Clower reference for those of you who didn't get "one to grow on". There are a few details to iron out, but it looks like this church will be gaining some much added space. They even have first option on the adjacent space in the same building that is currently occupied by a resale shop. If that were to be available, it would provide a great worship space that would easily allow the church to double in size. It is more than they could handle financially right now, but we will be in prayer that the new space will allow them to grow to the point that they could handle the financial increase. God has been directing this trip in ways that we didn't anticipate, but I believe some good groundwork has been laid. Please pray with us about what happens next.

Getting to Know You - Wisconsin, Day 2

Thursday was "Meeting" Day and it was a hot one. At least the folks from Wisconsin thought so. Every place we went people commented on the temperature. Even the local news channel commented on how it was about 10 degrees above normal for this time of year. The sweltering temperature? 80. With hardly any humidity. Ron and I would have been dancing in the streets if we hadn't been Baptists! We began the day's agenda with a two hour meeting of BLBA pastors. They have this meeting every month and call it their monthly pastor mentoring meeting. What they do is mentor each other. They sometimes study a book together and discuss it. They always pray together about their personal needs, the needs of their churches, and the association. For some of them, this meeting each month is the only contact they have with another pastor. When you are truly isolated, you realize how important those relationships are. Eight of their pastors were present. There are currently only 19 pastors in this 26 county association, so it was a pretty good representation. I would love to see that percentage of our 57 current pastors at our monthly pastor/staff prayer luncheon (that would be 24 if my math is correct). After the prayer time, Dennis Hansen (BLBA DOM) asked me to share about the partnership. I told them how God had put the pieces in place going back to Henry Blackaby challenging me to pray about God's plan for my ministry in August '08, meeting Steve Melvin (Minnesota-Wisconsin Baptist Convention) and Dan Casper (BLBA) in October '08, hearing about the BLBA Vision Tour in Jan '09, and my first trip to Wisconsin in June '09. We spent time talking, discussing, answering questions, enjoying each other's company, laughing together, and just getting to know each other as brothers in Christ and potential kingdom partners. We gained a new appreciation for their concerns that (1) people from Texas would come and try to tell them how to do their ministry and (2) people from Texas would come and do things for them and their churches would become dependent. So, part of our conversation was about how we could keep those things from happening. I believe it was truly a fruitful meeting and we are beginning to put some things in place that will bear longterm fruit for the health of both associations and the benefit of all our churches. After enjoying lunch with several of the pastors, we went back for the second meeting of the day. This one was with the administrative team of BLBA. During that meeting, we talked about some financial arrangements that are being made in both associations and BLBA elected three people to serve on the Partnership Planning Group (along with the three that have been elected from HBA). Again, a fruitful meeting that lasted until mid-afternoon. Ron and I drove back to Green Bay and did a little more driving exploration around town. We found the downtown area, drove across one of the drawbridges that crosses the river, and even found a "Beach" Park on the Bay that had a little amusement park with rides, go-carts, a wildlife sanctuary, picnic area, etc. Should one of our churches bring a youth group up here for ministry next summer, it could be a cool place to spend part of a day. The reason "Beach" was in quotations is because the word was in the name, but there was no beach to be seen, unless the word is defined as the grassy, weedy area next to the water. So, my day two reflections go this way. In my 20 years as a pastor, I had quite a few times when the Lord had given me a vision for ministry. I thought about it and prayed about it and spent a lot of time on it for days ... weeks ... sometimes months. When I shared my excitement with the church, the response was often less than enthusiastic. It was not necessarily opposition, they just couldn't be as excited as I was because they hadn't spent all the time thinking and praying about it and they couldn't see it like I saw it. I think it is the same with this partnership both in HBA and in BLBA. We have a couple of DOMs who are pumped. We have spent months thinking, praying, dreaming and (sometimes) forgetting that those we work with haven't been in on all that. That realization helped me explain things to the pastors yesterday because they know what that experience is like. It is a great reminder that the Lord's work is always about people. It is always carried out in relationships. Getting to know one another and trust one another is not preliminary to ministry. It is part of the ministry. I can't wait to see what God is going to do next.

What is a Baptist? - Wisconsin, Day 1

I intended to blog last night but was too tired by the time we got back to our hotel. Yesterday was a long day. Got up at 4:00 a.m. so I could meet Ron Johnson at DFW Airport for our flight up to Wisconsin to meet with pastors and other church and association leaders from Bay Lakes Baptist Association. We landed in Green Bay shortly before 1:00 p.m, got our rental car and drove to our hotel, stopping for lunch along the way. After checking into the hotel, we drove over to Lambeau Field, home of the Green Bay Packers (for those who are uninformed about such things) so Ron could do some shopping at the pro shop for his Packers-fan son. After that, we explored the area as we drove over to Appleton, where the BLBA office is located. We had time to find the downtown area of Appleton and then drove along a really nice stretch of the Fox River. Grabbed a bite to eat and then headed over to the BLBA office for our first meeting of this trip. In the meeting with us were the BLBA Director of Missions, along with one of the pastors in the association and three members from his church. The pastor had asked for this meeting for us to clarify some things for them about our fledgling partnership and to help them understand some things about Southern Baptists and missions. This church began as a non-denominational church and most of their members have no experience with the SBC. The church sought affiliation with the SBC and BLBA in 2007 and are still new in this journey. We had a great dialogue that included an unexpected question. One of the men in the church asked, "So, what is a Baptist?" I expected questions about the benefits of being a part of our denomination or about Baptist mission opportunities or even about what Baptists believe. I don't know that I have ever been asked, "What is a Baptist?" I won't go into the whole answer. With two DOMs going, it turned into quite a discussion and it may have actually been beneficial to everyone in the room. What really stuck in my mind was the conversation Ron and I had on our 30 minute drive back to our hotel in Green Bay. How many people in our Baptist churches in Texas--some of whom have been Baptists their whole lives--couldn't answer that question? How many of them would like to ask that question sometimes but are afraid to? It was actually refreshing to have someone be willing to ask the question that was really on his mind. I wonder ... have we given people the idea that the church is a place you go to hear someone tell you things--making pronouncements, prescribing beliefs and behavior and discouraging questions that are not on the agenda? Or is the church a group of people on a journey of discovering what it means to have a real, vital, growing relationship with the One who is the Truth? A group of people who will ask questions and who dig into God's word together and pray together for the Spirit of the Living God to interpret His word to shape their lives as Christ-followers? Let us not be afraid of questions or of those who ask them. We may not know all the answers, but we can go with them to the One who does.

Who's the Boss - Vision, Part 1

Who's the boss? Who calls the shots? Who decides? Who's in charge? Common questions in almost every arena of life ... even in the church. Different denominations handle those issues in different ways. Since I became Director of Missions of HBA, I have been amused to hear some folks describe my job as being "in charge of 62 churches". Boy, do they have that wrong! And not just from a practical standpoint (as if anyone COULD be in charge of 62 Southern Baptist Churches), but also from a ecclesiological standpoint (I have to throw in a seminary word once in awhile just so you know I went). In other words, it is not just a question of could an individual be in charge of multiple congregations, but also of should an individual be in charge of multiple congregations. To use a lesser known seminary phrase ... that just ain't right! You see, that is not what the association is about. I spent several weeks highlighting the Values statements on the Mission Wall of the HBA Mission Center. For the next few weeks I want to highlight the final poster on the wall ... the one that says Our Vision. Not only do we need values to drive the ministries of the association, we should also have a common vision of what a cooperating congregation looks like. So here is statement #1.

Autonomous congregations that are determining their own course, values, and mission under the direction of the Holy Spirit and submitted to the Lorship of Jesus Christ.

Who gets to tell a local congregation what their mission and ministry should look like? The Director of Missions? The president of the SBC? No and no. The pastor? Afraid not. So who's in charge? Well, let's break the statement down a little: Autonomous - that word means self-governing. In other words, no one outside the local congregation gets to set the agenda. Congregations - that word indicates the church gathered. In other words, no one individual inside the local congregations gets to set the agenda. Determining their own course, values, and mission - that phrase means that this congregation is on a journey of mission and ministry together that is unique to this particular congregation. So that means that they get to do whatever is right in their own eyes, right? Nope. We stopped reading too soon. Under the direction of the Holy Spirit - that phrase means that this unique course, values, and mission will be birthed through much prayer, seeking God, searching the heart of God as revealed in His word, and observing how He is moving in the world. The Spirit of the Living God is the director. And one final phrase ... submitted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. There's the answer to the original questions. He's the boss. He calls the shots. He decides. He's in charge. So where do the association and the DOM come in? Tell me where God is leading you and then we can talk about how we can assist you in getting there.

Mission Possible - Values, Part 6

We can't develop a mission partnership. We can't go on a mission trip. We can't be involved in church planting. We don't have enough money ... people ... resources ... Those statements probably reflect the sentiment of a lot of churches. They know the need, but just can't see past last week's offering total and attendance record. The current difficult economy has only accentuated the tendency to pull back, to close ranks, to focus on "our" needs. So, how can the association assist with that? How do we help and encourage each other? The final values statement on the Mission Wall at the HBA Mission Center says:

Missions Training: Assisting our congregations to become missional congregations through opportunities for direct missions involvement, mission partnerships, and planting new congregations.

"Missional" is a kind of a buzzword right now. Some people would tell you that it has a specific definition. Maybe it does, but I like to look at it this way: A mission-minded congregation believes in the importance of missions. A mission-minded congregation collects missions offerings and prays for missionaries. A missional congregation does those things, but also has a strong sense of being on mission for God. A missional congregation has a mission from God to fulfill. A missional congregation is active in seeking to fulfill that mission. A missional congregation is not satisfied with maintaining, but is moving forward intentionally to penetrate the lostness and brokenness of the world. How we can assist one another in the association is by providing opportunities for churches to get involved in Great Commission ministry through looking beyond the local congregation. This may be in partnering with another congregation in a mission/ministry project within our associational area. This may be in taking advantage of the opportunities that our partnership with Bay Lakes Baptist Association in Wisconsin will provide through mission trips and projects and prayer partnerships. This may be in providing prayer support, financial support, or resource support for a new work in our area ... in Wisconsin ... in some other place in the world. We have adopted an associational goal of having every HBA congregation invovled in partnership missions and with a new church plant somewhere in the world by October 2013. We won't tell any congregation what that partnership involvement should look like. The Lord will direct. Our role is to encourage one another to focus on the words of Jesus that inspired the name and formation of Harvest Baptist Association in 2002.

"The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest."

(Matthew 9:37-38)

How can we assist you to see the world through His eyes?

Sharpening the Saw - Values, Part 5

Bill and George went into the forest to cut firewood. They felled a tall pine tree and began sawing it into useable fireplace logs. Bill worked non-stop all day, trying to get as many logs as he could before sundown. At several times during the day, he glanced across the clearing and saw George sitting down taking a break. As twilight approached, he finally gathered his tools and walked over to where George was stacking his logs. Much to his surprise, George's stack was considerably larger than his. He couldn't believe it! How had George been able to get so much work done with all those breaks he took? His curiosity had to be satisfied, so he just asked George how he did it. "Simple," George said. "Every time I sat down to take a break, I sharpend my saw." You've probably heard that little parable before. But it is worth repeating. We Baptists tend to have a good work ethic. And because of that, we sometimes think if we just work a little harder or a little longer we will get the results we are looking for. How about working smarter instead of harder ... or working better instead of longer? The 5th value stated on the Mission Wall of the HBA Mission Center reads:

Ministry Training: Facilitating opportunities for Christ-followers to grow in specific knowledge and skills necessary for effective ministry.

Sometimes we have enough basic knowledge and skills to do certain things. Sometimes we just need the opportunity to step back from the work and sharpen our saws. That may mean a one-day workshop. It may mean a conversation with a coach. It may mean spending a part of a day with a mentor. It may mean a multi-day training conference. Many possibilities exist. The association cannot provide every kind of training possible, but we can facilitate opportunities by providing some within our own area ... identifying some that are provided by other associations, conventions, and organizations ... assisting ministry leaders in obtaining training ... the possibilities are many. The bottom line is that we want to assist one another in sharpening our saws for maximum kingdom effectiveness.

A Church Without Walls - Values, Part 4

Have you ever heard a church building referred to as the church-house? "Well, we went down to a meetin' at th' church house." Do you think you might be a redneck if that is what you call it? Actually, redneck as it sounds, you might be theologically correct. As we continue highlighting our core values as posted on the Mission Wall at the HBA Mission Center, the next value reads ...

Community Impact: Motivating the church to get outside the walls of the church-house to be the church in the community.

One way the Body of Christ has missed the mark is in referring to a building as the church. The New Testament never uses the word church in reference to a building, but in reference to a congregation or assembly of believers. The church is the people. It is not something you go to or have, but something you are a part of. You can't be a part of a building unless you are a brick (I won't make any brick-head comments. You can insert your own joke). One of the ways the association seeks to assist our churches is in helping to focus the church on being the church. Instead of trying to figure out how to get the community to come into a building (the church-house), we need to help each congregation focus on how to be the church (the visible representation of Jesus Christ) in the community. I am not anti-building. I am anti-edifice obsession. Churches are not built from wood, steel, brick and mortar. Churches are built with grace, truth, holiness, and compassion. A building is no more than a gathering place. Stained glass, steeples, pulpits, organs ... none of these make Christ real in the community. It is only what happens inside those buildings that motivates something to happen outside those buildings that determines whether the building is truly a church-house. Let's join together to pray that Christ is preeminently proclaimed inside our church-houses so that the church can get outside the walls and display in our communities the reality of who He is.