Baptist21 is excited about putting on a GCR panel discussion during a Wednesday Chapel hour at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. This is a critical time in the life of our convention. The GCR Task Force preliminary report is causing much buzz, and this will only increase as we move closer to Orlando in June. This panel will seek to address the issues being raised so that there is great clarity when the final report and recommendations are given at the annual meeting.
- What: A panel discussion about the Great Commission Resurgence and the Task Force Report.
- When: Wednesday April 28th at 10AM-11AM
- Where: Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary’s Binkley Chapel
- Who:
- Also Participating:
- Why: No doubt the GCRTF Report delivered by Ronnie Floyd to the Executive Committee has raised many questions and concerns. This panel will be focused on the Task Force Members bringing answers and clarity to these questions and concerns. What is the report about? And what will be the consequences if the report is adopted in Orlando? These questions and more will be answered.
Most likely the event will be live-streamed on the internet. This will allow those unable to attend in person to watch what is happening. This will also allow you to participate in the panel Q & A. The Task Force has openly asked for the questions, concerns, suggestions, etc. of Southern Baptists. This panel will give Southern Baptists an opportunity to present these to Task Force members. In a future blog we will give an opportunity for Southern Baptists to submit questions for the panel members to answer during the panel. We also hope to give opportunity for questions to be text messaged in during the panel. Stay tuned and make every effort to be at the panel if you can!
Recently, B21′s Jon Akin was given the privilege to preach at the Church of SBC President Johnny Hunt (First Baptist Church of Woodstock, Georgia). He preached all three morning services and the evening service. Below you will find both sermons.
In one sermon, Jon exposited the Temptation Narrative in Matthew
In the other, Jon took the congregation through the Noah Narrative with a sermon entitled, “The Gospel According to Noah”
Part one of this series, The Primacy of the Local Church in Church Planting
The Primacy of the Local Church should also help the mission board make church planting its primary concern (maybe only concern). The main focus of a home mission board should be the planting of churches. It should be a church planting network. Why? Jesus promised that He would build His church (Matt. 16:18), not just save individual people. When the Church at Antioch sent Paul out to accomplish the Great Commission he went planting churches not just evangelizing individuals disconnected from a community of believers. Christ is purchasing and building a people who are in community with one another (Acts 2:42-47). The local church is the manifestation of Christ’s Kingdom community on earth. So, the local church is the body commissioned by King Jesus with the task of carrying the Gospel forward. This is done as the Gospel is declared with our lips and displayed with our actions. The primary way that the Gospel is to be displayed is in the way in which believers within local churches demonstrate the cross-love of Jesus of Nazareth as they take care of one another (cf. John 13:34-35; 1 John 3:10-23). This will mean meeting the needs of those in the family of faith first of all, but also displaying mercy to those in the larger community. The Church is the community commissioned to take care of the needs of people (not the government), both chief needs (salvation) and felt needs (mercy ministry). The Church is commissioned with discipling and training its people, more so than seminaries or bible colleges. Finally, the Church is the chosen vehicle that demonstrates to the Prince of the Power of the Air that his rule has ended. Therefore, to be of utmost effectiveness, a home mission board should be about planting these “outposts of the Kingdom”. Why do we say all this about the church? Because the Church will most effectively meet the problems in our cities and country. So, it is our job to plant as many of them as we can to address the great need of the world. If we plant healthy, vibrant churches we will experience better missions, better mercy ministries, better discipleship, better church planting, resurgence of baptisms, and more ministers called out. A great article to read about the church and parachurch ministry is an article by Russell Moore entitled, “Jesus Didn’t Die for Your Campus Ministry.”
The Primacy of the Local Church will set in place a Church-focused Strategy. Here is the strategy, “Find the churches who are already planting healthy churches and let them set the pace.” The main strategy of this church planting network should be to find churches that are planting well, support them, and teach others to follow their pattern. The mission board should find those churches that have the vision to do this and have a track record of doing it well. There are many examples here to follow. One pattern could be that of FBC Woodstock and Pastor Johnny Hunt. They pick strategic areas that need churches and they bring in men who they think are capable of planting and they train them on site for nearly six months. They train additional staff for a couple of months and they encourage people to go with the church planting team and make up the church’s initial core group. They then send them out with great financial resources. These churches have proven to be successful. Here is what Danny Akin said about them in an interview in 2008 with the Western Recorder, “First Baptist Church of Woodstock, Ga., which has started three churches in the Las Vegas, Nev., area and funded them initially with $500,000 each. Each church now runs more than 1,000 members.” This is a model to emulate. The church planting network should come along side of a church like Woodstock by: 1) giving them the resources necessary to do this on an even greater scale and 2) helping them model this for other churches. For churches that are smaller, they could emulate churches like Open Door Baptist Church in Raleigh, NC (here is a baptist21 podcast with Open Door’s Pastor Dwayne Milioni). So far Open Door has planted 3 churches with 3 more in the works very soon. All of them are viable and the plants are even looking themselves to plant other churches. Open Door has planted on a small scale because of resource limitations, but if they were to be aided by a church planting network they could send many more out. For very small churches, this church planting network could help them form “networks” or associations with other local churches in which they pool money together and help each other plant churches. The main call of the board should be to come along side all these churches and help them plant. Churches that for whatever reason feel that they absolutely cannot plant but still have a passion to see churches planted in order to reach North America would still be able to give to the church planting network to be a part of something greater than themselves through the Cooperative Program.
Jon and Nathan Akin
Part 3 of this series will deal with streamlining this church planting network
Baptist 21 writers Jon Akin and Walter Strickland recently sat down with Chad Bresson to do a radio interview for THE PATH. The Path is a Christian radio station that broadcasts out of Cedarville University. Bresson asked Baptist 21 about the events of the Convention and what is in store for Baptist 21. You can check out the interview here.
Here are some of the questions asked in the interview:
You can also listen to interviews done at the SBC with: Danny Akin, Johnny Hunt, Ed Stetzer (2nd part), Alvin Reid, Mark Dever, JD Greear, Albert Mohler, and others.
Baptist21 would like to encourage our readers to seriously consider attending an upcoming conference that we believe will be of great benefit to you. Annually, Pastor Johnny Hunt (President of the Southern Baptist Convention) holds a conference for pastors called Timothy+Barnabas. This is a time where you get to rub shoulders with Pastor Johnny and learn about ministry from him. This conference is designed to give you personal interaction with Dr. Hunt and other pastors, as well as rest from the demanding pace of pastoral ministry.
From the conference website, the purpose:
God has given Johnny Hunt a heart for young pastors and a vision to minister to the ones who are hurting or just struggling with the demands of ministry. From that vision the Timothy+Barnabas Ministry was born. The goals of Timothy+Barnabas are…
- To instruct pastors in their responsibilities as the Pastor/Shepherd of the flock God has placed under their care.
- To encourage them in the difficulties they face from inside and outside the Church.
- To challenge them in the area of personal integrity and purity.
- To encourage them to develop relationships with other pastors that they may serve as support to one another.
Founded in 1994, Pastor Johnny explains, “The name Timothy+Barnabas was chosen to speak of instruction and encouragement. I’m not sure that most pastors need a lot more instruction as much as they need encouragement in the instruction they have already received.
Information about the Event: There are two times available for this conference. The first will be held September 16-18 in Atlanta, GA at the Legacy Lodge at Lake Lanier Island, cost $599 per couple, $350 single with roommate. The second will be held September 23-25 in Gatlinburg, TN, cost $399 per couple (DOES NOT INCLUDE LODGING) and $250 per single (DOES NOT INCLUDE LODGING)
Topics to be Discussed:
To Register Click Here or for a Brochure with More Information Click Here
A word from Pastor Hunt about the event:
Life at the speed of ministry is exhilarating but it can also be exhausting.
There’s a reason that when He set creation in order, God included a day of rest. He may not have needed it, but He knew we would. We started doing Timothy+Barnabas retreats years ago to give you hard working pastors a much needed break of encouragement and instruction. I’ve found that as pastors we don’t often need the instruction so much as the encouragement. That’s why, at a Timothy+Barnabas Pastors’ retreat, you won’t find yourself simply sititng in a row taking notes from a distant speaker. You’ll be rubbing shoulders with your peers and myself. In the process, not only will you get to relax and receive, but you’ll experience the sharpening power of LIFE ON LIFE. You’ll leave our three days together prepared to work perhaps even better than ever before. And most importantly you’ll leave with a network of friends cheering you on whose encouragement will follow you throughout the year. I look forward to slowing down and re-focusing with you at a 2009 Timothy+Barnabas Pastors’ Retreat.
Please mark your calendar and if possible be at one of these events!
