I did a study of the history of the Missouri Baptist Convention and the Texas Baptist Convention (BGCT) to help me understand where we were in relationship to those two older State Conventions. I think they are both at about 150 years of existence.
The states the SBC entered after World War II are "celebrating" about 50 years right now! The MWBC had its first Church started in 1956. At 50 years into the work in Missouri and Texas they were about where our Pioneer states are now. Pioneer states are mostly weak, mostly still southern transplant in both the Pastoral Leadership (Denominational also) and in Church Membership. Both Texas and Missouri grew rapidly between their 50th and 100th years. I wanted to know what happened and how we here in BLBA could duplicate the results they experienced after their first 50 years.
Here is what I saw happen:
#1. They became more indigenous in Leadership and Membership. It takes time for the people who grow up in the state to take over leadership. Transplants tend to be better educated and better connected so the locals almost must run a coupe to become the Leaders who take the responsibility of winning their state to Christ. No one needs to convince the indigenous people to win their family and friends to Christ. They also stay after retirement which gives even greater stability to a state. Just a side note...I have NO retired Pastors in my association. We were, in 1993, 100% transplant Pastor's and about 85% transplant members. Today we are about 40% Indigenous Pastor's and about 75% indigenous Membership.
#2. They began schools to train the men who were answering the call to Preach. Texas started Baylor and Missouri started Wm. Jewel. We are working with Midwestern and Southern to provide Centers here to train-up the indigenous men who are answering the Call of God. The sacrifice of those who do the teaching is along the line of giving of themselves for the furtherment of the Gospel than any hope of a good second income. Again, with no retired Pastor's the weight of this is placed on Mission minded Pastor's and DOM's.
#3. It seems that when the decision making process was placed into the hands of the indigenous that the growth took off like wild-fire. They had to become ready and they had to be given the freedom of "Calling out their own". Today, I would imagine both Texas and Missouri have somewhere around 80-90% of their Pastor's and Leaders who are indigenous. I'm guessing that Pioneer Missions areas where this has not been studied have a higher % of Transplanted Leadership than does BLBA. Also, In my studies of Spiritual Awakenings; those denominations who centralized their decision making processes lost during the Awakenings. Those denominations who kept the decisions close to the field, where the "action is", gained significantly during the Awakenings. The Methodist centralized their "Governance" in the 1850. That is when they began their decline that continues even today.
Do you remember Lewis Drummond's little HMB book, "God's Divine Work", (he shared this at the SBC in Kansas City back in the early 1980's) Chapter 6, "The Revival at Ebenezer"? I believe we are at that point in History, where 1 Samuel 3:1 "Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord before Eli. And word from the Lord was rare in those days, visions [Lit no vision spread abroad] were infrequent."
"Much preaching, but no real word of the Lord. Many ideas and schemes and plans and programs, but no frequent vision." says Dr. Lewis Drummond on page 44.
The people of God became so desperate that they said; "Let us fetch the ark of the covenant...". Desperate people do desperate things to attempt to recapture what they once had and have of evidence lost. There desperate act brought on more destruction than any restitution. They made an Idol of God's ark, the ark that represented God's presence, His Shekinah Glory. After everything fell apart Eli's daughter-in-law had a baby that she named "Ichabod", meaning "the glory has departed". Israel had arrived at Ichabod and God moved His repentant, prayerful, sacrificing people from there to "Ebenezer", meaning "the land was healed".
Dr. Dennis Hansen, DOM
Bay Lakes Baptist Association
Appleton, WI
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