Convention Killers

• Greed
• Politics
• Arrogance
• Self-centeredness
• Self-reliance

These are the fruits of OUR spirit. They rest at numerous places throughout our convention. I would love to give several examples, but I will refrain. Look at where we are! Our thinking has brought us to extreme ineffectiveness and decline. After all, we have gone through over the past years we are still a divided lot. God is obviously not pleased. To my understanding, he has withdrawn His blessing from us as a national convention. We have become a convention that has been resistant to evaluating its own effectiveness; possibly, we have been in a mode to keep the status quo, regardless of the limits of our effective operations. Many of our churches are so inward focused that He surely is not pleased. And I believe that will continue until we repent and return to Him. We don’t need men’s thinking; we need to follow God as He leads.

Some of our past leaders have tried hard to focus us in the right direction. It is just extremely hard to accomplish spiritual work within an ingrained political system that seems to fail to consult the Lord on much of anything. It seems to me that the thing that we have failed to do is consult with God. If you believe that God has led us, then surely it is His wish that we exterminate ourselves.

Should we be so surprised at our condition? Looking at the Old Testament should give us all the proof that humans have a tendency to depart from God. We want to do things our way instead of His way. So what is needed? Another reorganization? I don’t think so.

The operative word is repent. True, gut-wrenching, honest to goodness, realization of our spiritual ineptness and complete confession that we have really messed things up. That is the first half of repentance. The second half is a change of direction. That is, stop the greedy, political, arrogant, self-centered, self-reliant thinking and get back to Jesus. I know that sounds trite. Everyone says it, but few actually do it.

What we really need is to see our own personal sin the way God sees it. I tried it and He really got my attention. Know what I found out? Repentance is really hard. But, it is the greatest thing once you realize that repentance becomes an ongoing discussion with God. Once you get in the repentance mode (humility is a key thought here), there is a freshness brought by the presence of God that can’t be found anywhere else. “Repent therefore and return that our sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” Acts 3:19

It seems we have departed far from the Lord. We have grown to become dysfunctional at all levels of our organization, from the church level up. As God reveals to us the folly of our work, we need to continually repent of our own sins (some of which are listed above) and submit totally to Him who desires to lead us. In fact, I believe He is waiting to lead us. If we could only get back on the same page with God, I am totally convinced that He would begin to do some amazing things through the SBC—things that only God can do. Wouldn’t that be great?

Who will lead us to consult with God again? Who will lead us to a renewed and radical obedience to the Lord?

I suggest that we DoM’s cooperate to begin a joint effort to attempt to facilitate spiritual renewal for pastors and churches. We can’t bring revival, but we can plan some activity where God has a chance to work in the hearts of people.

So, let me suggest something. Stop and Repent. And then let’s work together to set out in a new direction—not one of our own making—but a new direction where God is leading us and allowing His power to flow through us to get His work done. Repentance has to start somewhere. Let it start with DoM’s throughout our country. Let us regain our passion for God and for His work. Let’s model it for our pastors and our churches, and let’s pray as we have never prayed before to plead with God for His divine intervention into our lives and the lives of our churches.

Dr. Larry Richmond, DoM
Gateway Baptist Association
IL

Decisions, Decisions

It seems to me that there are two kinds of issues that churches must address: those issues in which God is interested and those that He doesn’t care about. How the church makes decisions about these issues is extremely important.

Let’s first take decisions in which God is not interested. If He is not interested in the issue, I would say that He doesn’t really care how the decision is made or the final outcome of the decision. Here are some examples: Sunday morning schedule, color of the carpet and/or the walls of the worship center, whether or not to order hymnals, when in the worship service do you take the offering, where you buy church supplies, where you place extension telephones, etc. Although these are sometimes issues that spark controversy in the church, God doesn’t care—at least we see nothing in the scripture to indicate otherwise. I would think that He would like for us to make these decisions in a manner that would protect the unity of the church (that is scriptural—see John 17).

The other kind of decision involves issues that concern God. The scripture gives us a lot of things that God is concerned about: reaching unchurched people, protecting unity in the church, each member growing in personal relationship with Him, rightly preaching the Word, activities that extend His mission in the world, obedience to His Word, living in holiness, etc. These issues have spiritual significance for church members or for those who the Lord wants to reach through your church. How we decide these issues is very important. If the Lord desires the church to decide in one direction, and they decide in another direction, a big problem exists: the church has just “voted” against what the Lord wants.

This raises a number of questions. One problem concerns how Southern Baptists have traditionally made decisions: by majority vote at a business meeting. Although this is very common in many churches, it is not scriptural. At least in my understanding of scripture, the Bible gives us no indication for the church to vote on anything. When votes were taken in scripture, often the vote was wrong. (For example, the 12 spies came back with the wrong recommendation for Israel NOT to go into the land of Canaan. That decision caused Israel to wander in the wilderness 40 years until nearly everyone who lived at the time of the decision died!). Our voting on issues in the church probably comes from United States governmental democracy (just guessing). Voting in opposition to God’s desires can be downright harmful to the church and its members. (I am not saying the church should have no say in church operation. There are things that are very appropriate for church members to consider.)

Here is a related issue: You don’t have to look around very long to understand that it appears quite likely that there are some unregenerate church members (they may think they know Jesus, but, their lives don’t display fruits of the spirit). Let’s get honest. Some of our church members are not saved. If that is the truth, why in the world would you allow them to vote on spiritual issues in the church? In addition, many churches allow children to vote—as long as they are church members. Others in the church, even some adults, are not really grounded in the Word and do not understand scriptural mandates. Why would you give them opportunity to vote on spiritual issues they may not understand? It creates a scenario of the church becoming spiritually disobedient.

Here is another issue. It is my impression that most votes cast in the church result in the church member voting his/her preference on the issue. That, in my opinion, is a recipe for spiritual disaster. If the outcome of a decision is very important to God, why wouldn’t we ask people to seek His leadership in the issue and then vote God’s way rather than vote their preference? Voting our human preferences in the church is the quickest way I know for a church to become disobedient to God.

Well I surely don’t have all of the answers. I do have a lot of questions.

Jesus said if you have a problem “Come unto Me”. If you have a decision to make in the church, especially one that has spiritual consequences, Jesus said “Come unto Me”. He wants us to consult Him. It is as easy as that. Here is a suggestion, for whatever it is worth: If you have a spiritual decision to make and you are asking church members to vote on it, ask them to pray about the issue and then ask them to vote the way the Lord has led them. If a church member can’t understand God’s direction, maybe he shouldn’t vote—or else he might find himself opposing God. If church members can’t get a consensus on a decision, maybe we ought to give the Lord some time to convince people what He wants.

I wonder if that is why God has chosen not to bless some churches—they have opposed Him too many times.

Dr. Larry Richmond, Director of Missions
Gateway Baptist Association
Illinois

Taking & Transcribing Minutes of a Meeting

(Help for Associational & Church Clerks)

STEPS TO TAKING MINUTES

Meetings may be conducted formally or informally, depending on the objective of the meeting and the circumstances. The following guidelines for taking minutes for committees, ministry teams, or for business meetings are based on Robert's Rules of Order.

STEP 1 – The clerk needs to obtain the meeting agenda, minutes from the last meeting, and any background documents to be discussed. Consider using a tape recorder to ensure accuracy. It is also advisable to have a copy of the organization’s Constitution and bylaws and any other guiding documents.

STEP 2 - Sit beside (or close to) the chairperson for convenient clarification or help as the meeting proceeds.

STEP 3 - Write "Minutes of the meeting of (exact association/church name)."

STEP 4 - Record the date, time and place of the meeting.

STEP 5 - Circulate a sheet of paper for attendees to sign. (This sheet can also help identify speakers by seating arrangement later in the meeting.) If the meeting is an open one, write down only the names of the attendees who have voting rights.

STEP 6 - Note who arrives late or leaves early so that these people can be briefed on what they missed.

STEP 7 - Write down items in the order in which they are discussed. If item 8 on the agenda is discussed before item 2, keep the old item number but write item 8 in second place.

STEP 8 - Record the motions made and the names of people who originate them.

STEP 9 - Record whether motions are adopted or rejected, how the vote is taken (by show of hands, voice or other method) and whether the vote is unanimous.

STEP 10 - Focus on recording actions taken by the group. Avoid writing down the details of each discussion.

Minute Taking Tips

TIP 1 - You do not need to record topics irrelevant to the business being discussed. Taking minutes is not the same as taking dictation.

TIP 2 - Consult only the chairperson or executive officer, not the attendees, if you have questions.

STEPS TO TRANSCRIBING MINUTES

STEP 1 - Transcribe minutes soon after the meeting, when your memory of the event is still fresh.

STEP 2 - Follow the format used in previous minutes.

STEP 3 - Preface resolutions with "RESOLVED, THAT..."

STEP 4 - Consider attaching long resolutions, reports or other supplementary material to the minutes as an appendix.

STEP 5 - Write "Submitted by" and then sign your name and the date.

STEP 6 - Place minutes chronologically in a record book.

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Bobby Gilstrap, DoM

Huron & Southeastern Baptist Assocaitions

Michigan