Barnabas File

You can do a Google search on this quote, but the results on its origin are ambiguous.  Most likely, it is a Native American tribal saying popularized by leadership gurus like Peter Drucker.  The meaning, of course, is clear.  When something no longer work, it is time to move on. This is easier said than done.  In business and industry, abandoning a project may mean the loss of jobs and capital investment.  In education, old approaches must be unlearned and new ways learned.  In the church, there may be some fear that we are giving up part of what makes us faithful when we end a program, ministry, worship service, or building.  It is not only about change, but loss as well. R. Buckminster Fuller   said, “You never change things by fighting the existing reality.  To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”  So what do you do when the existin...

Sociologist Brene Brown once said, “What we know matters, but who we are matters more."  This applies to our understanding of Christian discipleship.  As Christians, we often struggle with the balance between orthodoxy (right knowledge or doctrine) and orthopraxy (right practice or action). This is the challenge that James presents when he writes, “ But someone will say, ‘You have faith; I have deeds.’ Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.” (James 2:18, NIV) Both right belief and right action are necessary in the life of a follower of Christ, but can one get in the way of the other? Historically, Baptists have been very good at communicating information about the Bible and the faith.  They delight in asking questions of scripture that exegete the text in an attempt to understand the who, what, how, and why of the passage.  We are less open to letting the text speak to us.   For example...

The Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond is closing its doors at the end of this academic year.     BTSR has blessed many through its capable administration, gifted faculty, and effective alumni.     Born with a great vision in a time of Baptist turmoil, the seminary encouraged many who were seeking an alternative path for theological education and ministry formation. In light of the seminary’s closing, Paul Baxley , senior minister of First Baptist Church of Athens, Georgia, asked these questions: “As Cooperative Baptists, are we really committed to the importance of theological education in preparation for ministry? While there is still time, are we willing to act boldly to strengthen our remaining schools so that congregations may thrive and ministers may be trained? Are we willing to envision a new covenant between our churches, our current ministers, our theological schools and those whom God is calling into ministry now and in the future?” My ans...

"We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their color." --Maya Angelou Diversity is something of a buzz word today.  Most often it refers to a racial and ethnic mix, but it can also be applied to any number of other categories.  Diversity recognizes the reality that society itself, as Angelou noted, is a tapestry. Although there may be similarities, no two people are exactly alike, not even identical twins.  We are part of a rich and variegated society. Perhaps the greatest gift that diversity provides is the opportunity to learn from others and to create a stronger society, organization, church, or product by incorporating the unique experiences and abilities that each person brings to the table. We make efforts to create diversity by reaching out to individuals who are unlike us, but inherent in any group is a thread of div...

A positive aspect of teaching classes for Central Seminary (Shawnee, KS) has been the diversity of the student body.     In addition to working with students from a number of denominations, I also have the opportunity to engage students of different racial and ethnic backgrounds.     I have especially learned from the experiences of African-American Christians who have been willing to share not only their church culture but their personal experiences as well.     Even with this exposure, I still have a lot to learn about relating across the racial gap, so I appreciate Terrell Carter’s informative and challenging book   Healing Racial Divides : Finding Strength in Our Diversity . Dr. Terrell Carter is an artist (he provided the cover art), pastor, theologian, educator, and former police officer.  He combines these experiences with the insights of theology, the social sciences, law, and cultural analysis to address the key issue in Ameri...

We see the articles and blogs daily: church membership is in decline, mainline influence is waning, church buildings are a burden, membership is declining, fewer people are entering the ministry.     Despite the challenges, there is a way forward for the church.     I believe that the church will survive and prosper in the days ahead, but the form It takes will change.    Here are some strategies that may allow the church to remain vital and relevant. First, congregations must learn to engage in a deeper spirituality that will foster meaningful discernment.  Spiritual vitality is at the core of a healthy congregation.  There must be a significant shift from voicing what parishioners want to seeking where God is leading.  This will require both personal and corporate prayer, Bible study, and sacrifice. Second, we must recognize there is more than one path to leadership in churches.  Churches will continue to...

The relationship between God and Israel recounted in the Hebrew Bible is a bit of a roller-coaster ride.     A good example is found in Exodus 32.     God has delivered the Israelites from Egypt. They have gathered at the foot of Mount Sinai to worship God, receive the Ten Commandments, and affirm a covenant with the Deliverer God.     Moses goes up to the mountain for 40 days to receive the commandments etched on stone by God and full instructions for a Tabernacle to symbolize God’s presence with the people.   Then it all falls apart. For their own reasons, the people despair of Moses’ returning and are afraid that this God he has proclaimed has forsaken them.  They call on Aaron to help them create a golden idol that they can see and worship.  They rebel. God sees this happening and declares to Moses, “Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt.”  (32:7, NIV)....