Barnabas File

One of the best messages at the recent Cooperative Baptist Fellowship General Assembly was delivered by Global Missions Coordinator Rob Nash on Thursday night as part of the commissioning of missionary personnel.   His primary focus was on the value of cooperative networks or “herds” in carrying out the Great Commission in the 21 st century.   He said, It is clear to me that the right approach for global mission in the 21 st century is this network or herd approach, joining together in communities of engagement that emerge out of our God-given passions and that aren’t owned by any of us.   If we tru ly believe that networks of churches and individuals are the future of global missions, then we ought to embrace such a way fully, boldly, and courageously . . . It is my conviction that the global mission engagement of the twenty-first century is going to be about the blessing and sending of networks of us, herds of us into the world, driven by our passions to tru...

The Tennessee Cooperative Baptist Fellowship held its General Assembly at Monte Vista Baptist Church in Maryville this past Saturday.   This was the first meeting since Terry Maples became Field Coordinator of the organization and reflected well the priorities that he and the Coordinating Council have adopted to ensure the future of this organization:   faith formation, mission opportunities, next generations and networking. Rob Nash, Global Missions Coordinator for CBF, spoke at the closing worship service.   Nash is an articulate and visionary leader.   I first learned of him when I read his book   An 8-Track Church in a CD World   (I think it is time for a sequel— A CD Church in an MP3 World ).   Nash pointed out that this is a time of rapid change in missions and church life but he shared his optimism about the church’s ability to adapt. He appropriately cited Albert Einstein’s statement that “The kind of thinking that will solve the wo...