Barnabas File

Even though we know how important the appointment is, I have not found a single person who looks forward to an annual physical with his or her personal physician.  Whether male or female, the patient has to provide samples of his or her bodily fluids, submit to a list of personal questions, and endure various indignities at the hands of the doctor.  The physician always does this in a personal and caring manner, but I come away with a sense of relief that the ordeal is over for another year! I got into the routine of having an annual physical when I was working for a denominational organization that required it.  Despite the inconvenience, I realized that this was a good thing.  The annual meeting with my physician made me review the state of my health, provided a baseline for future treatment, and helped me to set some personal goals for the coming year related to lifestyle. When I changed places of ministry and the annual exam was no longer required, I conti...

Recently  I wrote a blog on bi-vocational ministry that was picked up by  ethicsdaily.com .    I received several responses including one from a friend in another state who gave me permission to share his own experience.   We agreed that I would delete specifics to assure anonymity. A couple of years ago [my wife] lost her job suddenly when our local hospital closed, taking away more than half of our household income and our insurance.  Long story short, she is now working and drawing early retirement and we are doing just fine.  But in the meantime, I got a job as a part-time driver for a motor coach operator, having operated heavy equipment as a teen with my grandfather and driven thousands of miles in a church bus…as most of us have. Out of the blue about two years ago, a voice just told me to call [name of company] and ask about part-time employment.  I don’t always know what to call “the voice of God,” but it was providential with...

Mildred and Ircel Harrison  with Ircel, Jr., in November 1944 As you might expect on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, the worship leader invited all of the veterans and currently serving military personnel in the morning service to stand.  I did not think much about this until my wife mentioned the next day that there weren’t many people standing. My grandfather was on a ship heading to Europe when the Armistice was declared in World War One.  My Dad served in the Pacific during World War Two.  My Army service included a tour in Vietnam.  My son was planning on military service but an accident prevented him from serving.  Although none of us wanted to go to war, we were not averse to serving our country in the military and even considered it an honor. War is not what it used to be.  We no longer have a draft.  Those who serve in the military do so voluntarily.  The two World Wars in the last century had a major impact on our c...

We fret sometimes over what we called “unanswered” prayer—those things that we take to God but about which we do not seem to obtain any resolution.   I recently came across a passage, however, that prompted me to think about the “unasked” prayers in my life. In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus tells the parable about the host in desperate need who goes to his neighbor at night for help: Then Jesus said to them,   “Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread;     a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’     And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’     I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity   he will surely get up and give you as much as you need. ...

Rather than going through the process of searching far and wide for a new staff member, many churches are choosing to select someone from within the congregation who exhibits gifts for ministry.   This is nothing new for Baptists, of course.   In the late 19 th century, young George W. Truett was headed in a different vocational direction when his church decided that he should be their pastor.   He went on to be one of the leading pastors in Baptist life. This approach is often found in the early Christian churches where leadership evolved from within the fellowship. There are pros and cons to this approach, and both should be carefully considered before the call is extended to someone who is already part of the congregation. One can identify a number of factors on the plus side, but let me suggest only a couple.  First, the person is known by the church so other members can attest to the individual’s character, abilities, work ethic, and passion for mini...

The animated film “Frozen” is a hit with our younger grandchildren.   We have both the DVD of the movie and the CD of the sound track, so even the little guys—ages 3 and 5—know all the words to the songs.   I recently saw this comment on Facebook:  “Have I seen Frozen?  No.  It is just a children's movie.”  I disagree.  Just as fairy tales are not just for children but address universal themes of life, “Frozen” is an interesting story that provides the platform to consider topics like guilt, responsibility, selfless love, and life choices. The screenplay evolved as all good stories do, often taking on a life of its own as the characters and their motivations became clearer. In interviews about the movie, the creators--especially song writing team Kristen Anderson-Lopez   and   Robert Lopez -- explain how the direction of the film changed as new and significant themes emerged.  They started in one direction and ended up somewhe...

My grandfather adhered to the position that the pastor of a Baptist church should preach on Sunday and “have a real job” the rest of the week.   He was proud of me when I became a minister, but I am not sure that he every accommodated himself to the fact that I was paid a full-time wage as a campus minister and did not “have a real job.” In almost four decades as a minister, I was fortunate to be able to pursue my calling while being compensated by various configurations of Baptists—primarily through state organizations of churches.  So I expect some criticism when I suggest that those who follow the call to ministry in the future must plan to have alternative means of supporting themselves and their families. There are several reasons for this challenge:  First, Christians are not financially supporting their churches as they once did.  Second, mainline churches are dealing with high maintenance expenses for aging buildings and have to make difficult choi...

In a recent blog post, Daniel Burrus points out that effective leaders must not only be agile in navigating a changing context, but they must be anticipatory as well, perceiving what’s ahead before it is clearly manifested.  He suggests that such a leader must create change and drive disruption “ from the inside-out rather than being disrupted from the outside-in.” Ministry leaders are not very good at this approach.  We tend to be reactive rather than proactive, and we want to prevent any disruption in churches and not-for-profit organizations because it is hard to control.  The status quo always appears safe until it is no longer! Burrus suggests three principles for anticipatory leadership.  How might these apply in a religious setting? First, make the future more visible by identifying the changes that are common and those that are uncommon.   Burrus states that there are two types of change—cyclical change and linear change.  There are...