BullardJournal

Major Baptist Celebrations Begin This Week in Europe

[Note: I am pleased to share this news release on the celebration of the 400th anniversary of the start of the first Baptist congregation in Amsterdam. I am headed there on Saturday for part of the celebration.]   For Immediate Release from the Baptist World Alliance

Major Baptist celebrations begin this week in Europe

Washington, DC (BWA) -- The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) and the European Baptist Federation (EBF) have planned major activities to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the founding of the Baptist movement, beginning July 24 until August 1.   The EBF, one of six regional fellowships of the BWA, will host Amsterdam 400 in the capital of the Netherlands, the site of the first Baptist church which was founded by British exiles in 1609.   Amsterdam 400, which runs July 24-26, includes various events to mark the significant occasion. The Opening Celebration on Friday will include the participation of BWA General Secretary Neville Callam, while BWA President David Coffey will preach at the final service on Sunday.   There will be workshops and seminars on Baptist beginnings and Baptist beliefs, ethnic and multiethnic churches in Europe, religious freedom, human trafficking, and urban theology. Plenary sessions will explore the subjects of mission, freedom, community and discipleship.   Worship and Bible studies will hold center stage, led by several choirs such as the Central Choir of the Baptist Union of Hungary, and speakers from around the continent including Teodor Oprenov, general secretary of the Baptist Union of Bulgaria, Valeriu Ghiletchi, bishop of the Union of Christian Evangelical Baptists of Moldova and vice president of the EBF, and Toivo Pilli, rector of the Tartu Baptist Theological Seminary in Estonia.   Raquel Contreras, a BWA vice president, former president of the Union of Baptists in Latin America, and president of the Union of Evangelical Baptist Churches of Chile, will be a special guest speaker, along with Coffey and Callam.   The EBF Council will convene for its annual meeting during the Amsterdam celebration.   The BWA Annual Gathering will be held in Ede, which is 38 miles or 62 kilometers from Amsterdam, from July 27 to August 1. The Gathering, held each year in a different country, will focus on the 400th year of Baptist witness in worship, forums, study groups, and workshops. Leading Baptist theologians, historians, educators and scholars will participate. There will be reflections on the work of Baptist pioneers such as Thomas Helwys, missionaries such as George Liele, outstanding preachers, including Charles Spurgeon, and prophets such as Martin Luther King, Jr.   A special quadricentennial service will be held on Thursday, July 30, at the United Mennonite Church in Amsterdam. The worship service will feature a Litany of Thanksgiving to be led by mostly young Baptist leaders. Denton Lotz, former general secretary of the BWA, will be the keynote speaker at this service.   The liturgy for the quadricentennial service will be available on the BWA website (http://www.bwanet.org/) as of July 30 for use by Baptist congregations around the world in their own 400th anniversary celebrations.

A Big Weekend for a Denominational Region

This was a big weekend for a denominational region and its spiritual strategic journey. The American Baptist Churches of Vermont and New Hampshire have been engaged in the Spiritual Strategic Journey process I lead for about a year. This past Friday and Saturday was their annual meeting where they were presenting their future story and allowing people to affirm the story through a survey rather than voting. On a five point scale with 1 representing the highest affirmation, around 80% affirmed the story with a 1 or 2.

That is great for this region that struggled with vision, intentionality, and unity three years ago. They have come a long way and I am proud of their efforts. It has not been without some costs and even losses, but they have stayed focused, encouraged open dialogue, and creating a process for handling complex issues that should serve them well for years to come. Currently they are in an interim period between Executive Ministers, and their interim minister has been battling a serious illness and been periodically hospitalized. This speaks to the strength they have at the grassroots that they have been able to make this type of progress.

BTW, here is their final presentation edition that was presented to their annual meeting: Download ABC of VTNH Future Story Final Presentation Edition, May 2009

I pray their forward efforts will continue for many years to come. I commend their pastors, laity, and region leaders for their wisdom and followership of their discernment of the spiritual strategic direction God has for them. I look forward to traveling to New England again in July to work with them on their Future Story Fulfillment Map to give them a clear pathway along their journey.

The Weekend That Made Ministry Famous!

This past weekend was a great example of why I love what I do. Things were happening with my clients in various places around the country, but I could only be in one place. In many ways that was good as I seek to raise the capacity of my clients to address their own opportunities and challenges.

Spiritual Strategic Journey: I was with a smaller membership congregation going through a Spiritual Strategic Journey process. This was the weekend to help them move from the ideas they generated out of their 100 days of discernment in dialogue and prayer triplets to three identifiable scenarios for their future life and ministry. The process went very well and they seemed enthusiastic to move away from business as usual to grasp a challenging future.

The Emergence of the 80 Percent Budget

During recent months I have experienced the emergence [or perhaps the re-emergence] of the 80 Percent Budget in congregations. These types of budgets are being impacted by several factors. Two primary factors are the current economic situation, and high fixed costs in the areas of personnel and facilities.

The 80 Percent Budget comes about this way. Congregations, in response to the economic crisis, are lower their budget by an average of 20 percent to 80 percent of either their 2008 budget or their intended 2009 budget. To do this they have not been able to simply adjust soft spending on programs, missions, ministries, and activities. They have had to adjust hard spending on personnel and facilities. The adjustments on all areas have been difficult. The adjustments in personnel have tended to raise the intensity of conflict in the congregation.

Multiple Funding Streams for Denominational Organizations

Here is the Challenge

Many, if not most, denominational organizations are facing a long-term trend that is radically changing the way they finance their work.  Some denominational organizations have recognized this trend and are responding to it by multiplying their denominational funding streams.  Other denominational organizations are in denial about the funding transformation that is occurring, and are failing to intentionally multiply their funding streams.

A decreasing, yet myopic, number of denominational organizations are hanging on to the concept of one foundational funding stream composed of basic assessments to congregations by the denomination, or basic allocations to the denomination from congregations.  They are doing this in spite of the facts, and in spite of warnings from their accountants, researchers, strategists, and some leaders within their denomination.

Typology of Denominations

Here is a typology of denominations I have been working on. What do you think? Where is your denomination? What is missing? What additional definition is needed?

Emerging Denomination: This is a denomination, or a region or judicatory within a denomination, which was organized during the last 15 years, or has experienced a radical restart in the past 10 years, and is significantly empowered by its current vision. It is probably focusing on one of several emerging models for denominational organizations.

Institutionalized Denomination: This is a denomination, or a region or judicatory within a denomination, which focuses on the institutions, programs, and management aspects of being a denomination. It seeks to build long-term loyalty to the denominational organizations, and uses this as a test of fellowship for ministers and congregations.

Missional Denomination: This is a denomination, or a region or judicatory within a denomination, which has figured out how to be on a continual transformational mission that takes the denomination and its affiliated congregations into new frontiers of mission and ministry with a mission adjusted to meet the context it serves.

National Association of Evangelicals

Evangelical Leaders Survey: Many evangelical denominations have no big churches (July 2008)

National Association of Evangelicals

"When asked about the role mega churches play in their denominations the top answer from evangelical leaders responding to the July Evangelical Leaders Survey was “None.” That’s because many evangelical denominations have few if any very large churches."

Can you be an evangelical denomination and not have a few congregations who grow to a very large size? Maybe yes. Maybe no. What are your thoughts?

White Americans No Longer a Majority By 2042

[The following is being reported today on NPR News in Brief and probably many other news sources: http://www.npr.org/newsinbrief/index.html. The implications for congregational and denominational ministry are huge! What are your thoughts?]

"White people will be a minority in the U.S. by 2042, according to a new analysis from the Census Bureau.

By 2050, whites will make up 46 percent of the population and blacks will make up 15 percent, a relatively small increase from 2008. Hispanics, who now make up about 15 percent of the population, will account for 30 percent in 2050, according to the new projections.

The nation has been growing more diverse for decades, but the process has sped up through immigration and higher birth rates among minority residents, especially Hispanics, the bureau found.
The Census Bureau also found the overall population will be larger than previously thought. The U.S. has nearly 305 million people today. The population is projected to hit 400 million in 2039 and 439 million in 2050.

Steve Camarota of the Center for Immigration Studies said the increase is like adding the populations of France and Great Britain. He advocated reducing immigration, saying that is the only part of the census equation that federal policy can control. "

How is the Situation of Denominations Like the March of Dimes?

Here is an illustration of why I believe we are in a denominational transformation era rather than a post-denominational era. What makes it seem like a post-denominational era is that denominational organizations, much like Old Age stage congregations, are in deep denial that they must transform or die, may refuse to believe how deep the changes and transitions must be, and keep making accommodations in policies and structure to give buy a little more life.

The March of Dimes organization was started to combat polio. Once polio was substantially eliminated from North America, it might seem the purpose and focus of the March of Dimes had been eliminated. Perhaps the Mother’s March was no longer needed. Not so. What happened to the March of Dimes is that they realized they had misunderstood their mission. Their mission was not to fight polio. Their mission was to fight birth defects. Polio was simply their first major cause or project.

Denominations must realize their real mission is to expand and extend the kingdom of God through the basic building block of various congregational forms and movements. It is no longer to do for congregations what congregations cannot do for themselves. It is to increase the capacity of congregations to reach their full kingdom potential. It is no longer to represent the cosmic Church to congregations because networked movements allow this to be a direct connection. World denominational forms are connecting directly with congregations now. As such this calls for a major rethinking of institutional expression of denominations, and what is in the box versus what is outside the box in the overall congregational movement that needs networking.

In a certain sense it fits the motif of a continual spiritual strategic journey. Denominational organizations are on a journey. They can now see beyond their original horizon. In fact, they have been discovering new horizons every generation or two. However, their response has not been nimble or agile. So, they have fallen several horizons behind. Now the gap between the expectations and capacities of leading edge congregations and their denomination is painfully big. Therefore, incremental transition and change in no longer enough. Transformation is essential. What are your thoughts?

Concerning Denominations [on Come Underground]

Note this post at http://sagely.wordpress.com/ on June 7th concerning denominations: concerning denominations « come underground.