Category Archives: Executive Office

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October 8, 2015

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Executive Office, General Baptists, Leadership, Pastoring, Staying Connected, Staying Strong

Staying Connected, Staying Strong

Staying Connected, Staying StrongStaying Connected, Staying Strong

Those four words say a lot to me not only as Pastor, but also as Executive Director.

As a pastor, I am reminded of the parable Jesus told:  “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying?” [Matthew 18:12 NKJV]

Jesus used a simple illustration to communicate a directive to every pastor-shepherd. In order to truly disciple Christians into fully devoted, mature followers of Christ, helping them stay connected to the body of Christ is essential. Jesus made it clear that shepherds keep their sheep connected to the fold. For the local church this means we are to seek for straying sheep and help them reconnect to the fold of the church. [bctt tweet=”Jesus made it clear that shepherds keep their sheep connected to the fold. For the local church this means we are to seek for straying sheep and help them reconnect to the fold of the church.”]

As Pastor, I’ve always viewed this shepherding task as a very important and serious responsibility. The spiritual lives of my sheep are dependent upon their connection to the church. A shepherding pastor must also strive to help members stay in the fold of the church. If they stay connected they are better protected from tragic pitfalls and hidden obstacles that await outside the church. A church is always stronger with 100% of its sheep in the fold than it is when even a few are missing.

As Executive Director, the words, Staying Connected, Staying Strong, also have a sobering effect on me. I am reminded that as General Baptists strive to advance the Kingdom, every mission field is crucially important to us. For we “are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it” (1 Corinthians 12:27). We can never forget the sacrifices of missionary families who travel to different states or countries to spread the gospel. We can never forget the sacrificial giving of individuals and churches that help develop new ministries in the U.S. and around the globe.

I always feel a burden when I visit our mission fields. I want to make sure that our missionaries and national workers know that they have a larger General Baptist family in the United States who love them and want to stay connected with them. As a network of churches called General Baptist, we must stay connected to the ministries God has provided to us. [bctt tweet=”As a network of churches called General Baptist, we must stay connected to the ministries God has provided to us.”]

We try to maintain this connection by having our missionaries, and now some national workers as well, travel to the United States to attend the Summit. I want this to continue each year so the ability to meet with, pray with, worship with, and laugh with their greater General Baptist family will breathe encouragement into the lives of our missionaries, national workers and the mission fields they represent.

I believe Jesus is pleased with our General Baptist family when we seek to stay connected at the local, national, and international levels.

Local pastor, I know how tough ministry life can be. One weapon in Satan’s arsenal is isolation and separation. Pastors, we don’t want you to be disconnected, struggling to do ministry alone. We have designed conferences to equip you to do the work more creatively, efficiently, and meaningfully than ever before. Our Barnabas Project attempts to make personal connection to you. We offer services to help personal networking and maintain current communications.

Local church, regardless of your size, location, or budget, we value your connection to General Baptist Ministries. In light of the troubled state of our culture and the recent ruling by our U.S. Supreme Court regarding marriage and family, the time to stand strong together upon the Word of God is now.

Missionaries and national workers, we believe in your sacrifice and mission. We are dedicated to giving you our prayers as well as our financial support.

Staying Connected, Staying Strong. May these words stir every General Baptist. No Pastor can be left behind. No mission field can be forgotten. No local church can be cast aside. No General Baptist can be overlooked. You belong to a larger body of believers committed to helping you do more together than you could ever do alone.

Clint Cook – Executive Director
General Baptist Ministries

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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 7, 2015

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Christian Life, Congregrational Ministries, Executive Office, General Baptists, Pastoring

5 Wrongs and 1 Right

By Franklin Dumond

Suppose a convoy of large, over-sized, over-weight transports arrived at a bridge with specifically posted and well known weight limits that made it dangerous to cross. Suppose the drivers of the transport vehicles conferred on the implications of the weight limits by investigating the history of the load limits, the placement of the weight limit sign, along with the stated intention of the drivers to deliver their over-sized, over-weight cargo.

bridge for blogSuppose the nine drivers take a formal poll to determine the course of action with the result that five of them announce their belief that the designers of the bridge never intended to restrict access, the use of the bridge should not be restricted based on the precedent of history and everyone should be able to move whatever cargo they choose to deliver across the bridge. Despite the fact that four of the drivers object, five of them determine to press ahead to deliver their over-sized, over-weight cargo despite the clearly posted, scientifically sound weight limits on the bridge.

The analogy is remarkably like the recent decision of the Supreme Court regarding marriage laws in the United States. Their decision that marriage is not to be understood only in traditional terms of union between one man and one woman now applies throughout the land despite the logic of history and the message of a Judeo-Christian worldview.

Several concerns have been raised by leaders and lay members in evangelical churches as they consider the implications of such a decision. In the current legal framework here are some facts that need to be considered.

  1. Can Baptist pastors be compelled to officiate same-sex marriages? NO! Baptist pastors are not agents of the state and thus they cannot be compelled to act for the state. Government officials may be compelled to act for the state as part of their statutory responsibility. Pastors have always been able to determine the conditions under which they will officiate a ceremony. Many pastors require a particular series of pre-marital counseling sessions, others refuse to officiate at second marriages if divorce has been involved while still others choose only to serve the members of their congregations. None of this is changed by the Supreme Court ruling.
  2. Can churches be compelled to allow the use of their facilities for same-sex marriage ceremonies? NO! A building use policy that is crafted to tie a General Baptist Church to the Social Principles adopted as policy statements by the General Association of General Baptists will prevent any claim of discrimination or any misunderstanding of the church’s biblical view of marriage. (For more information see the General Baptist Messenger, Winter 2013, pages 34-35 at www.GBMessenger.org)

A church that engages in the rental business, however, may be subject to the restrictions imposed by public accommodation laws. That is if a church’s building use policy offers rental of the facility for stated fees and other terms that make it appear that the church provides a public access service to the community then the church may find itself without important protections.

Similarly a harsh, restrictive facility use policy that defines what the church is against rather than what it is for muddies the water. For example, a building use policy that states “These facilities shall never be used for same sex ceremonies” is very different from a building use policy that states “These facilities shall never be used in a manner inconsistent with the biblical view of marriage stated in the Social Principles of General Baptists.” The General Baptist Social Principles Booklet is downloadable from www.GeneralBaptist.com by going to the Council of Associations page and scrolling down to the We Believe documents.

I noticed with sadness the release of the Supreme Court opinion. The day it was released the sun went down, but the day after the sun came up again.

The world has not come to an end because five people made a collective mistake. The court has made mistakes in the past, most notably the Dred Scott decision in 1857. The court will most likely make mistakes in the future-all humans do.

The larger implications of the recent ruling are that the church must be more effective in evangelism and more efficient in discipleship. Real change in a culture does not come from laws and court opinions but it comes when hearts of stone are replaced with new hearts of flesh that are in tune with and guided by the Lord himself.

Despite recent Supreme Court rulings General Baptist Ministries continues to affirm a view of marriage and sexuality as defined by the Scripture and as summarized in the Social Principles of General Baptists:

“We believe in the divine sanctity of the marriage covenant, which is the union between one man and one woman only. This is God’s plan for a continued moral civilization. We reject ‘marriage’ between two parties of the same sex and count such an act in violation of God’s ordained plan for human beings…Marriage is a partnership between husband and wife and accomplishes its full purpose through unity, loyalty, and love.” (page 10)

“We recognize that sexuality is a good gift of God which, in all instances, is to be disciplined in such a manner as to bring two persons to its true fulfillment. We are to be good stewards of this divine gift. We believe that society as a whole has fallen far below God’s standards of sexual morality. We believe the Bible teaches that sexual relations should be practiced only within the marriage bond.” (page 15)

Executive Director Clint Cook has stated, “Neither courts nor legislatures or a secular culture can alter eternal standards revealed by God himself. The recent Supreme Court rulings illustrate the mandate given to the Church to make disciples one at a time so that society at large may be changed. General Baptist Ministries will continue to pursue an aggressive plan for church planting to win more and more people to the faith. We will continue to coach and encourage local General Baptist churches to aggressively pursue evangelism and missions with the goal of life transformation that will in turn lead to social transformation. May God send us another Great Awakening to rescue our lost and dying culture.”