Barnabas File

Responses to the adoption by the CBF Governing Board of a new hiring policy and the announcement of the policy’s implementation plan have been mixed.   Most seem willing to accept the new hiring policy, but many argue that the implementation plan will simply perpetuate a discriminatory approach in matters of sexuality.   This is a compromise which, in the long run, will make no one happy.  If the present implementation plan stands, the CBF “denomi-network” must be prepared to face significant consequences.  First, CBF will continue to lose those young adults who will not accept a discriminatory sexual ethic. I n a letter to the editor of Baptist News Global, divinity student Adam McDuffie wrote : “With the implementation procedure as it currently stands, excluding children of God from serving as they are called, the CBF is risking an exodus that is already beginning, and may in fact be irreversible.”  The approach adopted by the CBF ...

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied:   “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.   And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:36-40, NIV) Like others who identify with the Cooperative Baptist movement, I have been reading both the report of the Illumination Project and responses on social media.  My only conclusion so far is that we don’t all agree on this decision.  I have friends who express widely divergent and opposing opinions, so I continue to reflect on the implications of the decision, pray about it, and even look at scripture like the passage above. Of course, Jesus was not trying to start an organization.  If anything, what he was creating was a very messy, chaotic organism which was to be led by the Spirit of God.  ...

I led a retreat over the weekend challenging lay leaders in a congregation to think about a shift to  new paradigms more appropriate in a post-modern context.  My commitment for the weekend concluded with preaching in the morning worship service on Stephen as a model for innovation in faith and ministry.  My colleague, Terry Rosell, was in the service and pointed out that it was a bit ironic that the postlude was an arrangement of “Give Me that Old Time Religion.” After we laughed about that interesting contrast, I began thinking that there really is a lot we can learn (or relearn) for the “old time religion” that could help us to be more effective in congregational ministry in the 21st century. For example, church congregations in the past, especially rural, small town, and parish-based examples, provided more of a sense of community that we find in many churches today.  For good or ill, people knew each other and tended to look out and care for each other. Th...

Do you have what it takes to be a coaching leader?   A coaching leader is someone who encourages another person to identify his or her goals, discover the resources available to pursue those goals, develop action plans together, and then walk along beside that person in the process of achieving the person’s goals.   A coaching leader can apply these skills in working with groups and teams as well, multiplying his or her impact as a coach by including others in the process. A coaching leader is strong in the elements that Daniel Goleman attributes to emotional intelligence: Self-awareness. Self-regulation. Motivation. Empathy. Social skills. These are skills that can be learned once a person understands his or her own emotional intelligence profile.   The more that you, as a leader, can manage each of these areas, the higher your emotional intelligence.   Emotional intelligence is essential to be an effective coaching leader. These...

Leadership is a vital need for any endeavor.  Whether we are talking about a church, an organization, a working team, or a group, someone needs to step up and provide some structure.  Of course, there are many types of leaders--autocratic, democratic, lassiez-faire, participative, facilitative, charismatic--to name a few. I would like to make the case for being a coaching leader.  A coaching leader is one who challenges, calls out, and encourages the best in those she or he leads.  For the coaching leader to be successful, those with whom the leader works must be successful first. What are the advantages of being a coaching leader? 1.  You allow space for people to discover the strengths they bring to the table.  Each of us is very different with unique skills and abilities. Rather than forcing a person to fit into a certain box in the organizational chart, the coaching leader helps the person discover how she or he can make the greatest co...