Barnabas File

In an interview in Newsweek, Peter Ueberroth, organizer of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and former commissioner of Major League Baseball, was asked, “What do you look for in a young leader?’’ Ueberroth replied, When you get past integrity, you go to curiosity. [When I observe young leaders] what I’m so surprised by is, everybody wants to talk—to make a presentation, to do something rather than ask questions. The smartest people are the ones who continue to drive for information. This reminds me of the old story of the two people at a reception. After a lengthy monologue, a talkative man said to the person next to him, “Well, I’ve talked about myself long enough. What do you think about me?” A good leader knows that he or she does not have all the answers; in fact, the leader may not even understand the situation. Asking good questions is the key to finding answers for oneself and for helping other people to discover their own answers. A friend of mine who is a personal coach po...

Our guest preacher this morning used the phrase, “Perception is reality.” This is not the first time I have heard this, but I started me thinking about the pros and cons of this idea as applied to the interpretation of scripture. On the negative side, the comment challenges the way that we read the Bible. As 21st century readers, we need to take care in imposing our own perspective on the Scriptures. It is too easy to make Jesus and His disciples modern, rational Americans like us. For example, I pointed out to the Sunday School class I was teaching earlier this month that “Jesus was not a Christian.” (I might also point out that John the Baptizer was not a Baptist but that is another topic.) When Jesus taught and interacted with first century folks, he was not the spokesman for the Christian church and he was unencumbered by twenty centuries of Christian history. Jesus was a Jew, speaking into and out of a Jewish context. We are really not familiar with the richness and complexity of...

On December 24, 1968, millions of us listened and watched as the Apollo 8 astronauts broadcast pictures of the Earth from lunar orbit and read the first verses of Genesis. Frank Borman ended the broadcast by saying, "Merry Christmas. God bless all of you, all of you on the good earth." It was a stunning, historic moment aglow with optimism and hope. Most of us expected that the anticipated moon landing in 1969 would be followed by the establishment of manned lunar bases and pioneering flights to Mars and beyond. Well, it did not quite work out that way. After several moon landings, the emphasis shifted to close earth orbit. Here we are in 2008 and human beings have not been back to the moon in 33 years, and we are phasing out our orbital space shuttle fleet. What happened? A primary reason was the end of the Cold War. It was no longer necessary for us to get the upper hand over the Russians. Another reason was the cost of the program. Certainly, there were scientific and tech...

I just finished watching John Adams , the HBO series based on the book by David McCullough. The series is well-produced and features strong performances. I would recommend it even to those who are not particularly interested in history. McCullough has said that “history is the story of people,” and the series tells the story of very human people who were extraordinary despite their humanity. Included with the episodes was a documentary about author McCullough. Although I had read two of his books— John Adams and Truman , I knew little about the man. He has had an interesting life. Although he considers himself a writer rather than a historian, he has an ability to understand not only the people in his stories, but the context in which they lived. This is certainly due to the fact that he is also a painter, an amateur musician, a world traveler, and an avid reader. He spent several years working on PBS television series like The Smithsonian. Of course, he has some idiosyncrasies; for e...

In an article in the Harvard Business Review several years ago, leadership guru Peter Drucker wrote: Innovation rarely springs from a flash of inspiration. It arises from a cold-eyed analysis of seven kinds of opportunities: unexpected occurrences, incongruities, process needs, industry and market changes, demographic changes, changes in perception, and new knowledge. Our nature is to resist change. Once equilibrium is established, we work to keep things in balance. Then something comes along to upset that balance. What is our response? The natural response is to try to return to equilibrium but to do so may mean casting off something or taking a new stance. Many churches and denominational entities find themselves in a time of disequilibrium. We point quickly to the financial crisis as the source of this event, but other forces were already at work—demographic changes, changes in mission philosophy, and changes in our culture. Too often we have tried to ignore those changes, b...

A new group of ministers is emerging on the scene. I call these folks ministry entrepreneurs. These are folks who have a particular vision for ministry and have not been able (or willing) to find a way to pursue it in traditional ecclesial structures. This may be a calling to minister to a specific unreached people group. The person may have a passion to build up the churches through his or her unique gifts to teach or encourage. Perhaps this person is filling a ministry niche that has been unfilled. To put it another way, the person may be saying one of the following to the churches: · "Come alongside and help me in an important ministry." · "Let me help you to do your ministry." · "Allow me to be a broker or networker who will connect you with ministry partners." We find such people involved in congregational development, clergy development, community missions, marketplace ministry, lay development, new church starts, and global missions (among others). ...

The “emergent church” conversation has much to offer Christians and the mission of God in our time. It characterizes a movement that many see as fresh, innovative, and imaginative. Although I find the subject of the emerging church personally interesting, I would like to say a word about the “institutional church.” When someone speaks of the “institutional church,” this is usually a negative statement about the nature of a church or churches. In this view, “institution” conveys fixed, stagnant, bureaucratic, impersonal and ineffective. It doesn’t have to be that way. According to The Random House College Dictionary, an institution is “an organization . . . devoted to the promotion of a particular object.” The purpose of an institution is to support and further a particular cause—in this case, the message of Jesus Christ. I see that as a worthy goal. Most of the churches that I have related to over the years would fall into the category of institutional churches. They have buildings, st...

Baptists have not traditionally observed Advent, a part of the Christian church’s liturgical year, but a number of Baptist churches have started to recognize the value of using this observance to prepare their members for Christmas. I have found Advent to be a personal spiritual discipline by which I can both consider the importance of Christ’s coming to our own lives and gain a proper perspective in the overly commercialized season. Having children or grandchildren allows us to regain the wonder of the story of the birth of the Christ Child. My four-year-old granddaughter, Erin, likes to take the flannel Nativity scene that my wife bought last year and “tell” the Christmas story. I try not to edit her narrative too much at this point. Like most of us, she struggles to know what to do with Joseph. She adds her own touches such as naming the donkey “Josh” and deciding that the shepherd and the Wise Men had a sleepover to help take care of the baby. The only correction I have provided so...

When money gets tight in our household, we start making tough choices. One decision we have already made is that we are only giving Christmas gifts this year to grandchildren under 21 years of age and not to adult children or grandchildren. (We have told them that we do not expect any gifts either.) Every time a renewal notice comes in the mail, we think twice before renewing. Although the cost of gasoline is down, we still give careful consideration to every trip, even if it is just across town. Food, clothing, shelter, insurance, and church tithe are necessities in our house. Beyond these, the basic question is, “Do we really need this?” In a recent article on ethicsdaily.com , Robert Parham considers the long-term viability of religious organizations due to financial exigencies. He basically poses the question, “Are we moving into a survival-of-the-fittest scenario among local and national faith organizations?” I think his question is very appropriate. As churches experience declini...

Denominationalism reached its peak in the United States in the 1960s. I use the term for the horizontally integrated organizations that emerged in the early 20th century to “do the work of the churches.” Although some decry denominationalism as a bad thing, an objective observer could easily come up with a list of the advantages of this coordinated approach. Churches were able to identify with something greater than themselves. Curriculum was written, ministers were educated, missionaries were sent out, lay persons were trained, and people came to know the Lord. Denominations—Baptists, Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians, Episcopalians—were movers and shakers especially on the American scene. That was then; this is now. Denominationalism is not what it used to be. George Bullard is in the process of developing a typology of denominations that should be helpful for framing future ministries alongside churches. At the same time, there are a number of ministries—some of which have been a...

I think I surprised a friend over the weekend when I told her that I would be looking for another job after December 31 when I step aside as coordinator of Tennessee Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. She pulled me aside later and said, “Were you serious?” I assured her that I already had a couple of things in mind to do after the first of the year, but this was always my intent (even before the economy took a nosedive). Cecil Sherman noted in By My Own Reckoning , “Never retire FROM something; retire TO something.” When I notified the Coordinating Council early in the year that I would be leaving TCBF, I avoided using the word “retire.” I already did that once when I left the Tennessee Baptist Convention. I am not leaving TCBF because I have reached a certain age but because it is time for me to do something else and for the organization to seek new leadership. When someone has been part of an organization (especially a small “start-up”) for as long as I have, the entity tends to ta...

“Why would anyone want a woman as a pastor?” A female friend asked me this recently when she heard about the action of the Georgia Baptist Convention to withdraw fellowship from First Baptist Church, Decatur. The church’s pastor is Julie Pennington-Russell. The question points to one of the major barriers to a church calling a woman as pastor. My friend, like so many of us, has never seen a woman as the lead pastor in a local congregation. The concept is foreign to us because we have never seen it in action! We see similar stereotyping if we think about all nurses as being women or all physicians as being men. There are enough examples today of men nurses and women physicians that we have to rethink such assumptions. Given that sixty percent of our church members are women, shouldn’t we expect that—from time to time--a woman might receive the call to pastor? How can we address this? One way is to seek opportunities to have women preachers in our pulpits. Even if she is not in the pasto...

“Mentoring” has been around for years, but we seem to be more intentional about the practice today and more aware of how useful it can be in helping a person develop skills and practices for a particular vocation. Basically, mentoring is a developmental relationship between a more experienced person and a less experienced person, usually referred to as a protégé or apprentice. The mentor does not do the work for the mentee but provides a model (not “the” model) for doing the work and provides feedback for the person being mentored. On Monday, I attended a panel presentation by five women ministers. One of the questions asked was, “What would you do differently in preparation for ministry?” I think particularly every one said something to this effect: “I would have sought out an experienced minister and developed an intentional mentoring relationship.” Such a relationship is especially helpful for women who are seeking to thrive in any environment. This may well identify issues to be ad...

Bob Ferguson—Robert U. Ferguson—was my pastor when I was a teenager. He was a good preacher, looked handsome in a suit, and was a strong pastoral influence for me and my family. He actually pastored the church on two different occasions and was back at the church when I was ordained to the ministry in 1970. I have a lot of good memories of Bob Ferguson. One is of him sitting in a group of youth as he showed us how to use Bible commentaries and other material to better understand the Book of Genesis. Another was a time when he spotted me—a hapless teenager—standing at the side of the road trying to change a flat tire. He stopped, took off this suit coat, and got down on his knees to help me change the tire. Brother Bob had another life as well. He was a pioneer among Southern Baptists in seeking peace and good will across racial barriers. This led to appointment as director of interracial relations for a state Baptist convention. I did not realize at the time how challenging and...

At various times, I have used this blog to point to the changing face of denominationalism in the 21st century. One example came across my desk this morning. This is the time of the year when Baptist churches present their budgets for the coming year to their congregations for adoption. Often these proposals are published in the church newsletter and released to the world. One such church newsletter came in the mail today that included the church’s proposed 2009 budget. The item that stood out for me was the change in the amount allocated for “cooperative missions.” This is the amount (usually a percentage of projected budget gifts) that the church intends to send to a denominational group to support missions. This may be the Southern Baptist Convention, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, or some combination of the two and their respective state organizations. In so doing, the church relinquishes the control of these funds to another body—a convention, a fellowship, or a missio...

I have had the opportunity to work with a couple of churches that were trying to clarify who they were and what they should do. In both cases, the first thing the pastor said was, “We have done a survey.” This action is not unusual in churches in their situation, but I have found that a written survey is not always the best step to take initially. Here’s why. First, a survey produces information, but this is often information in a vacuum. Without some preparation and understanding of the context, how does one know what questions to ask? Trained researchers start with a hypothesis, then they determine what questions they will ask. Second, communication comes first. The first step in dealing with congregational issues should always be verbal communication, usually with a small group or groups that are representative of the congregation. In this interpersonal communication, issues may be identified, needs expressed, and the right questions can begin to be formulated. Third, writing ...

In December 1969 I was in the middle of my last year in seminary. I was married with one child and another on the way. Louie Farmer, who had been my Baptist Student Union director in college, invited me to go with him and a group of college students to Mission 70, a missions and ministry conference for college students and young adults scheduled to be held in Atlanta between Christmas and New Year’s Day. Since I was networking (although I did not know that term in those days) and looking for a job in collegiate ministries, I gladly accepted his invitation. A day or two after Christmas, Bro. Louie and I found ourselves in his car on the way to Atlanta with two young African-American women in the back seat. I don’t remember how long that trip from Hattiesburg, Mississippi, to Atlanta, Georgia, took but I do remember that the two college students did not get out of the car to eat when we stopped (and I am not sure they ever went to the bathroom) as we crossed Alabama and made our way ...

One of my favorite quotes is, “It is better to have tried something and failed than to have tried nothing and succeeded.” This came to mind as I was clearing out files in preparation for my departure from the Tennessee Cooperative Baptist Fellowship at the end of the year. Although we have developed some successful projects and relationships over the past ten years, I was struck by how many we attempted that did not succeed or result in an ongoing relationship. We have developed a healthy relationship with twelve ministry partners. All but two of these have been included (or are presently included) in our Tennessee Partners in Missions offering. These are ministries whose values and ministry goals match those of TCBF. All are independent of our organization, but they are our friends and they honor us by giving us the opportunity to work with them. On the other hand, there are at least 15 ministries with whom we have tried to establish an ongoing relationship, but this has not developed...

In a recent devotional written for the Smyth and Helwys publication Reflections, Bruce Lampert tells this story about legendary Alabama football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant. Someone asked Bryant the secret of this success. He pointed out that there was not secret. “I’m just an old plow hand, but I have learned how to hold a team together—to lift some up and calm others down—until finally, as a team, we’ve got just one heartbeat. So there are just three things I would say. If anything goes bad, I did it. If anything goes semi-good, we did it. If anything goes real good, you did it. That’s all it takes to get people to win football games for you.” Allowing for a little false modesty on the coach’s part, he has identified a key ingredient to team success—alignment. We may have different gifts and strengths, but we can learn to work together and pull in the same direction. Of course, this means that each of us must be willing to pull our share of the load! The real challenge in any ...

My colleague Mike Young loaned me his copy of Phyllis Tickle’s new book, The Great Emergence , so that I could do a quick scan. The thesis of the book is that we may be experiencing a seismic shift in the nature and practice of the Christian faith. This change may well “rewrite Christian theology—and thereby North American culture—into something far more Jewish, more paradoxical, more narrative, and more mystical than anything the Church has had for the last seventeen or eighteen hundred years.” (p. 162) There is much to consider in this little book, but here is one item that certainly impacts how we operate as Fellowship Baptists. Tickle explains the difference between “center-set” and “bounded set” Christian movements. “Bounded-set” groups define their boundaries. Their rules determine who is in and who is out. “Center-set” groups are doing what they are committed to do and allow individuals to decide how close they are to the center. Traditional churches are “bounded-set” people whi...