Spare Change

Focus!

Posted by Bryan

My first post to the previously mentioned bulletin board on the Emerging Leadership discussion over at Lifeway Christian Resources Online.

On the other side of the conservative resurgence, ours is a denomination muddling through taking the next step. We've gained a reputation for what we are against rather than the One for whom we exist. We appear to have overlap and infighting amongst our agencies, which presents an appearance of being more concerned about product and sales than about people and salvation. We have seemingly competing directives that confuse and stretch local church personnel to the point of abandonment and independence rather than association and interdependence.

How will our denomination not only survive, but thrive in the generation to come. Friends-brothers and sisters-we're not reinventing the wheel here....our only hope is to shrug off any notions of ecclesiastical superiority or denominational hierarchy. If we want to thrive, then our denomination must focus on service. Our presidents, whether elected or appointed, must lead in service. They must hire and direct staff in all our organizations to have a "service-first mentality." We must train and demand that our denominational leaders be willing and committed to adapt their ideas and strategies to the needs and circumstances of the local church, rather than the other way around.

When we are truly being Baptist, we'll focus much less on variations in methodology and more upon unity in the other "ologies" -- theology, ecclesiology, missiology, soteriology.

How does the emerging leader play into this matter of focus? Simply by a humility and focus on cooperation by all parts involved. The preceding generation may need to lay aside some power, some hold on tradition. At the same time, my generation and the one that follows need to knock the chip off our shoulder that "we haven't been allowed to eat at the big boy table." That's a strawman argument. God raises up whom He raises up. If we quit worrying about who's the greatest among us, and instead start focusing on others, God will make sure every important voice is heard. If you don't believe that, you're revealing more about what you believe about God than what you do about our denomination.