I understand that spending cuts at NAMB in order to channel available funds to its church-planting program included an elimination of support to the Conference of Southern Baptist Evangelists (COSBE).
Max
The comment above was third in the comment stream for a post here at Southern Baptist in NC. The post was one where I analyzed the recent NAMB mission statement that was approved at the convention in June. Brother Max commented concerning the COSBE cuts made by NAMB and certainly we have many full-time itinerant Evangelists concerned over their relationship with the entity that was created in order to evangelize North America.
My concerns about this new mission statement covered four areas and not one of these areas had anything to do with COSBE. In all four areas my concern was the appearance of eliminating any kind of partnership with the local association. When Brother Max brought to my attention the concern of elimination of COSBE I remembered how church planting here in NC, at one time, was not producing churches that were known for baptizing people. To my recollection there was a time in NC that we did not see a significant increase in baptisms among our church plants. That concern was voiced throughout the pastors of NC and within the halls of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina (BSCNC) offices in Cary. Thus, I responded to Max with the following comment.
I believe you are correct. That is what I understand. What you will find if you check with state conventions is they are eliminating Evangelism Director and even entire evangelism departments. Many are going with just church planting.
Here in NC, our Evangelism Director had a come to Jesus meeting [Emphasis were not in original comment] with our Executive Director/Treasurer concerning church planting boot camp without training the church planter in evangelism training. The results of that meeting was an implementation of evangelism training in the church planting boot camp and that resulted in church plants growing.
We seem to have gone to a new evangelism of just planting churches. Read the Church Planting report of our recent BSC Board of Directors meeting. We are seeing many churches planted and many baptisms. Thus, it seems all one has to do is plant a church if one wants to see baptisms increase.
Blessings,
Tim
Many times comments garner me emails and sometimes a phone call or two. Some emails and phone calls are very cordial and encouraging while others are not so encouraging or cordial. I have come to understand that you take the good with the bad. Well, this comment did more than garner me a phone call, it brought about a follow-up visit from Brother Don McCutcheon, Executive Director of our Evangelization Department.
Let me say from the start that Brother Don’s visit was both encouraging and cordial. I wish all of my visits from people that disagree with me on a comment were this way. Brother Don came out and we enjoyed a couple of hours together discussing ministry and cooperative efforts within the Kingdom. The time we enjoyed together is the kind of time I desire to spend with all my denominational leaders. His visit opened the door to, what I pray will be, a very close and joyful relationship with a Brother in Christ.
Brother Don expressed a concern over the statement that he had implemented a “come to Jesus meeting” with the BSCNC Executive Director/Treasurer, Milton Hollifield. He expressed to me that it gave the appearance there was a rift in the BSCNC office concerning this issue. He was very insistent on assuring me that there was no such division concerning this issue and the meeting that took place to discuss the baptisms of new church plants was a concerted effort of the Church Planting Team along with the Evangelization Team and Brother Milton.
My writings mirror the way that I talk on a personal level. It has been very hard for me in blogging because my writing comes across sometimes as very coarse and terse. Those who study communication tells us that 90% of communication is in body language. Thus, my writing many times reveal something that was not exactly what I was trying to say. I work diligently not to allow that to be the case in my writing but sometimes what I write is not what I am saying. This is one of those cases.
When I used the phrase “come to Jesus meeting” I certainly did not mean to imply there was a division within our leadership team. I understand that when some people read that phrase, to them, it expresses a division that must be worked out or someone has to go. That was not what I understood about this meeting and my writing implied, to some, that we had a division among our leadership team here at the BSCNC. As a matter of fact, Brother Milton Hollifield and I had a gracious and productive conversation concerning the meeting I had with Brother Don. Brother Milton went out of his way to schedule a phone conversation with me just to follow-up the conversation Brother Don and I had.
My point, as I expressed to both Brother’s Don and Milton, was not that we had a division that had to be worked out. The point I was trying to make was a concern needed to be addressed by our leaders over the lack of baptisms within our new church plants. Our leaders addressed that concern, not as a result of one individual, but as a concern within the church planting department and our leaders came out with a plan that all work hard to maintain. When I used the term “come to Jesus meeting” I intended to convey that our leadership teams came together and would not quit until they successfully addressed the concern. I did not acknowledge our Church Planting Team as a part of that process in my comment because I depended on my memory instead of doing the simple research. I thought the Church Planting Team was under the Evangelization Director. However, if one views our convention structure one will find the Church Planting Team is a department separate from Evangelization.
Allow me to express my desire to clear up any misconceptions I may have caused by using that phrase. It was never my intention to present the NCBSC as being divided over this issue. I beg the forgiveness from our Leaders if that was the way my words were perceived by my readers. While I am not in complete agreement with all things BSCNC, I respect Brother Milton and our Leadership Team and desire to see the BSCNC pierce the darkness. Not only do I desire to see it, I desire to be part of its efforts! Thus, I am in support of our leaders and beg their forgiveness for any unintended consequences, and unintended explanations they had to issue, that my comments may have caused.
