Friday, September 30, 2005

Spotlight Turns to West Virginia


The WV situation is far more complex than this (they are likely to wait to act until after the next General Board meeting, waiting for the disposition of Indiana/Kentucky amendment's likely defeat). This is an AP report found on a gay-oriented news outlet from Washington, DC.



West Virginia group urges split from American Baptist churches

CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (AP) — A group of 65 West Virginia churches is calling for a split from the American Baptist Churches USA over concerns about its stance on homosexuality. The group called West Virginia Baptists for Biblical Truth plans to call for the withdrawal from the national organization at next month’s annual meeting because, they say, “the ordination of practicing homosexuals and the affirmation of the homosexual lifestyle by some ABC-USA churches is contrary to biblical teaching.” There are 465 Baptist churches in West Virginia, according to the group. “It is time to stand on God’s word and break fellowship with those who condone flagrant sin in the church,” said Jay Wolfe of the West Virginia Baptists for Biblical Truth.

Source: http://www.washblade.com/2005/9-30/news/religion/ribs.cfm

Focus "Corrects" its Story on PSW Crisis

September 30, 2005

American Baptist Church Retraction

by Josh Montez

ABC position on homosexuality misrepresented.

Earlier this week Family News in Focus ran a story on the American Baptist Church splitting over homosexuality. We focused on the nearly 300 ABC churches in the Pacific Southwest Region that plan to pull away from the national church. Those leaving want the national church to hold local churches accountable on the topic but what we failed to mention is that the national church is refusing because of the Baptist tradition of autonomy. ABCUSA spokesman Rich Schramm."The perception here in Valley Forge is that the maintenance, the governance, if you will, of the denomination really takes place at the local church and regional level and I think that's where the issue is at this point."

ABC Pastor Rick Hamme from Delaware says there is no question where American Baptists stand on homosexuality.

"In 1992, the American Baptist Churches USA came out with a general board policy statement. It said "We affirm that the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching. The Pacific Southwest Region unfortunately has come to the conclusion that it should be implemented from the top down."

He says the ABC resolution that homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching is binding for the national staff only.

With all due respect, I think Josh Montez was hoodwinked by Schramm et al. What must be noted is that there is no will to implement the 1992 policy on the program board level, and the the Welcoming and Affirming supporters are strongly represented on staff at Valley Forge.

Beyond that, remember that homosexuality is only the "presenting issue" (Scott Gibson's phrase) of the underlying gap in theology and values between the Biblical heart of the denomination and the revisionist "left" who dominate at Valley Forge and their befuddled sympathizers.

Source: http://www.family.org/cforum/fnif/news/a0038083.cfm

Wednesday, September 28, 2005

The Welcoming and Affirming Gang Weights in on PSW Actions




From the Executive Director



Dear Ones,

I am deeply saddened by recent decision of the Pacific Southwest Region to pull away from the ABC-USA (http://www.christiancentury.org/article.lasso?id=1282, http://www.abpnews.com/news/news_detail.cfm?).

I am disappointed in the region's professed rationale of "irreconcilable” convictions and values. As Baptists we have long believed that it is possible in the grace of Jesus Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit for people to strongly disagree and to embrace one another in love. In fact, the very diversity we share among the membership of the ABCUSA exemplifies the essence and history of long-held and cherished Baptist principles of freedom and autonomy. I am troubled that this divisive decision by the PSW devalues and disregards these most fundamental Baptist beliefs. One of our great Baptist leaders, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. envisioned the beloved community in which all people embrace the otherness of those with whom they disagree. To that end we have accomplished much in our communities and throughout the world in the “common concerns of gospel ministry” that the PSW claims we share in the ABCUSA. Although the PSW states that its ministry and mission will thrive more strongly outside the tension of differing beliefs among its fellow Baptists, I belief that this is the wrong message for Christians and as Baptists to send in world that needs to see the unity of people bound by the love and grace of Jesus Christ.

At the crux of the PSW decision lies what I find to be most sad, and that is the immediate and the long-term impact their actions will have on God's dearly loved LesBiGayTrans people. Will they not interpret this as one more reason to stay away from church, one more reason to avoid people who call themselves "Christians?" If so, then I find today to be a sad day in the history of a glorious Baptist body who has welcomed, affirmed, and celebrated the myriad creations and gifts among us expressed in the good works of life-changing, world-wide ministries.

Today, I firmly believe Jesus weeps with his LGBT brothers and sisters over this decision. Jesus grieves that convictions have triumphed over compassion and like-mindedness has prevailed over love.

[Since when are convictions and compassion at odds? Bizarre thought process...]

I regret that our sisters and brothers have chosen to make the issue of sexual orientation a reason to break fellowship with a denomination that has a long and proud history of mission and ministry in the world. The PSW is making this the watershed issue and by doing so are cutting themselves off from the very things that make people respect religious institutions -- like doing justice and compassion.

Grace and Peace,
Ken Pennings

ken@wabaptists.org

Source: http://www.wabaptists.org/associational/2005-09-18.htm

Connecticut Churches Nicely Illustrate Romans 1


Romans 1:26-32:

For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged the natural sexual relations for unnatural ones, and likewise the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed in their passions for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.

And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what should not be done. They are filled with every kind of unrighteousness, wickedness, covetousness, malice. They are rife with envy, murder, strife, deceit, hostility. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, contrivers of all sorts of evil, disobedient to parents, senseless, covenant-breakers, heartless, ruthless. Although they fully know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but also approve of those who practice them.


Civil Unions & Churches Gay Couples Look Forward To Religious Rites, But Many Congregations Resist New State Law
September 28, 2005

By FRANCES GRANDY TAYLOR, Courant Staff Writer

For the Rev. Bonnie Bardot, the day civil unions become law will hold special meaning - as a pastor who has long supported such rights for gay couples, and as a lesbian who has been with her partner, Jan Gregory, for 17 years."We have not set the date, but what we have always known is that whenever anything became legal, we would do it," said Bardot, who leads South Congregational/First Baptist Church in New Britain.

When civil unions become law in the state on Saturday, gay couples will achieve new status that brings them some of the same rights as heterosexual couples.But churches, synagogues, mosques and temples are under no obligation to recognize or condone such rights. The Roman Catholic Church, Orthodox Jewish synagogues and evangelical Christian churches, for example, continue to oppose the law that allows civil unions and will not conduct ceremonies that recognize gay couples.

Bishop Andrew Smith, leader of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut, recently issued a letter to all Episcopal clergy in the state reiterating that, under U.S. Episcopal Church policy, they are forbidden to perform civil unions."The new law allows any person who is licensed to perform a marriage also to officiate at a civil union. The law specifically names clergy," said Smith's letter. "Priests and bishops in this diocese are not authorized to officiate at civil unions or at blessings of same-sex unions."

Clergy in some other denominations have long supported not only civil unions but also the right of gay couples to marry. Bardot's church, a federation between the United Church of Church and American Baptist Churches, is open and affirming, which means that gay members have the same recognition within the church as straight members.For a church to be open and affirming "lets people know that it is safe to come here, that the Bible will not be used as a weapon against them," said Bardot, who is working with two gay and lesbian couples who are planning to have civil union ceremonies at the church.

Both couples that Bardot is counseling have been together a number of years, making them typical of those now stepping forward to receive legal and religious recognition of their relationship. Even before the new law, commitment ceremonies for homosexual couples had been performed at South Congregational/First Baptist for a number of years.

The United Church of Christ has compiled a listing of its open and affirming member churches that will conduct blessings of same-sex unions. The list is available at www.civilunionsct.org. The UCC plans to publish the list in a full-page ad in The Courant and other local newspapers Saturday.

Charles "Buck" Rogers and Jack Kelly plan to join in a civil union and to have it celebrated with a ceremony in the sanctuary at Asylum Hill Congregational Church in Hartford on Nov. 12.

Rogers said that legal recognition of their 11-year relationship "gives us rights we would not otherwise have and adds to our sense of legitimacy.""

It also enabled us to feel comfortable enough to go to our minister and say, `We not only want to do this the legal way, we want to do this the right way.'"About 125 people are expected to attend the ceremony, which will be conducted by the Rev. Gary Miller, senior minister at AHCC. Rogers said Miller "did not hesitate" for a moment when the two Hartford men asked him to officiate."

"Religion is important to me in my journey," Rogers said, "and it's important for us to be able to acknowledge our relationship before God and the church as well as before families and friends."

Jewish same-sex couples will be able to turn to some Reform synagogues for a blessing of their civil unions. Rabbi Howard Herman of Farmington Valley Jewish Congregation in Simsbury said his synagogue "does affirm same-sex relationships, and I would perform one if I was asked."

"Even before it became law, we were willing to spiritually recognize these unions," he said, "even if the law did not."

A committee at the synagogue is working to establish a policy on the blessing of same-sex unions, with the stipulation that both partners must be Jewish, Herman said.

The Rev. Terry Davis, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Hartford, has been an active supporter of civil unions and religious blessings for gay couples, and he testified before the legislature in support of gay marriage. First Presbyterian has offered blessings of same-gender unions since 1992.

Though controversial at the time, the Presbyterian Church USA later adopted a policy that allows pastors to conduct commitment ceremonies but not marriage, which is defined by the church as a union between a man and a woman.But the Presbyterian Church currently has no specific policy regarding civil unions, Davis said."We have a committee working on a policy [at First Presbyterian], and I am certain the outcome will allow the pastor to bless civil unions," Davis said. To receive a blessing of commitment at First Presbyterian, one of the partners must be a member of the church.

Davis is among more than 100 members of Connecticut clergy who signed the Clergy Declaration of Marriage Equality, which was released this past weekend. The declaration calls for the right of marriage, not just civil unions, to be granted to gay couples.

"Good marriages benefit the community and express the religious values of long-term commitment and faithfulness. Civil unions cannot fully embody these values; only marriage can," the statement reads in part. "There is no difference between a man and a woman, two men or two women. As our traditions affirm, where there is love, God is in our midst."

The Unitarian-Universalist Society has recognized same-gender couples for years, and many of its churches routinely conduct same-gender ceremonies."

The civil union law doesn't affect our practice," said the Rev. Joshua Pawelek, pastor of Unitarian-Universalist Society East in Manchester. "We just marry gay couples, and that practice is going to continue. ... Civil union is still second-class citizenship."

Pawelek, who is also a signer of the clergy marriage declaration, takes the further step of refusing to sign marriage licenses at all, in the belief that clergy should remain separate from authorizations of the state.

Bardot also sees civil unions as only a stop, not a destination, on the quest for equal relationship rights for gays and lesbians."

I think we need to be really clear: Civil unions are a big step, but it is not the same as marriage," she said. "We are still separate but equal, which is not the same. Separate has never been equal."

Boy, oh, boy, this writer gets the "bias in reporting" award.

Source: http://www.courant.com/features/lifestyle/hc-civil.artsep28,0,315404.story?coll=hc-headlines-life

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

Source: www.hisbarkingdog.blogspot.com. I think Dennis is spot-on.

What Does the Parchment Valley Agreement Mean?

A News Analysis

by Dennis E. McFadden

What does the Parchment Valley Agreement really mean? In the days since it was announced last week, much ink has been spilled discussing the implications of the covenant between eight ABCUSA regions (with two more likely in the next few days). Representing more than 40% of the ABCUSA (more than 50% when the other two regions sign onto the accord), the press release (9/22/05) announces the intention as follows: “We are an association of Executive Ministers committed to authentic covenantal relationships with one another in order that our regions can cooperate in mission.”

Proclaiming core values of Biblical Authority, Associational Integrity & Accountability among Regions, Leadership Development, and Equipping our churches to impact the world for Christ, leaves unsaid some of the relational dynamics and the broader downstream implications.

In the main, this concord emphasizes a movement toward congregational focus, ministry resourcing, and con-joint efforts among regions representing at least half of the membership of the ABCUSA. The thrust was positive, cordial, and familial.In last week’s “Summons to Lead” gathering in Lombard, two of the principals spoke publicly about the meaning of the agreement. Both Al Fletcher (Maine) and Larry Swain (Ohio) addressed the assembly of more than 350 ABC pastors and lay leaders. They spoke movingly of their satisfaction with the agreement among like-minded executives to do ministry, focus on the local congregations, and include the soon-to-be withdrawing Dale Salico (Pacific Southwest) in their covenant relationship. As Fletcher put it: “What did the congregations of Maine do to you to make you want to break covenant with us?” Fletcher expressed a desire to see shared ministry and fellowship continue regardless of PSW’s official relationship to Valley Forge, or to the Office of the General Secretary.

When asked if this might possibly provide a context for the PSW to return to the “fold” of ABCUSA, Swain made it very clear that Dr. Salico said, “no.” PSW is not thinking about re-examining that commitment, according to Swain.

By way of analysis, both relational and organizational dynamics should be considered. Relationally, Executive Ministers all appear to have a warm and cordial relationship with Dr. A. Roy Medley, General Secretary of the ABCUSA. He is both an engaging and gracious man, profoundly decent, and markedly spiritual. His passion for unity is genuine and often spoken in every venue. Unlike some of his predecessors, Dr. Medley speaks in his “own voice” and with the same emphasis regardless of whether he meets with those on the left or the right. But, the Executive Ministers meeting in Parchment Valley also have very warm fellowship with each other. As essentially like-minded, they represent the center-right coalition within the ABCUSA. In contrast to some progressive voices on the left, the PV leaders seek to maintain an essentially evangelical presence within the ABCUSA.Contrary to some previously published reports, the meeting was regularly scheduled and openly held. The agreement, on one level, simply recognizes the desire to continue in covenantal relationship and to lift up certain core values for ministry regardless of what happens in the broader ABCUSA context.

One should not, however, miss the larger organizational and political realities. When asked what PV meant, one EM told me that it was an incremental step taken which recognizes a gradual “pulling away” from the ABCUSA. Two other principals have openly voiced that Dr. Medley was most unhappy with the agreement. Reportedly he objected to a subgroup forming their own ad hoc fellowship rather than working things out in the context of a full General Executive Council gathering. Further, he took the covenant to include PSW as negative insofar as it allows PSW to remain in covenant with ABC regions once it ceases to be in fellowship with ABCUSA.

But, finally the agreement does apparently represent (at least according to a couple of the EMs) an intention to say "we aren't going to keep doing things this way any longer." The refusal to enforce the '92 resolution is viewed as tearing up the denomination. As one EM put it, "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing in the same way and expecting a different outcome. We can't go along with this program any longer. We need to stand up and say 'no!'"

Downstream realities often move well beyond anticipated outcomes. Ask a participant of the PV meeting what happened and you will likely hear a story of fellowship, friendship, and renewed commitment to shared mission. In the context of the ABCUSA conflict, however, this observer sees potential for a radical re-alignment within the ABCUSA. Center right voices are now moving into position to work more closely together, perhaps presaging a new denominational reality once the General Board rejects (?) the IN/KY proposal in its second reading this fall.

Monday, September 26, 2005

Congratulations to His Barking Dog


Congratualtions to Dennis McFadden, who today entered the Land of Blogastan with www.hisbarkingdog.blogspot.com. Check it out. Down, boy. Hey stop that. Stop chewing on the sofa. I mean it, down boy. Ow! That's gonna leave a mark. Gemme a rolled up newspaper.

WHO WOULD WANT TO TAKE OVER THE TITANIC?


The theological left always thinks that theology is all about power, never principle, as so well illustrated in this article.

ABCUSA leaders call for unity; conservative leader fears
denomination's next step will
be to align with 'similar' CBF





Sep 26, 2005
By Gregory Tomlin
Baptist Press

VALLEY FORGE, Pa. (BP)--The General Board Executive Committee of the American Baptist Churches USA expressed grief and sadness Sept. 19 at the planned departure from the denomination of 300 conservative churches in its Pacific Southwest Region.

In a statement issued following a two-day meeting in Atlanta, the denomination’s Executive Committee called for unity and said a decision by the California-based Pacific Southwest Region will “separate the region from the American Baptist family and our mission if the region completes its action.”

The region voted Sept. 8 to recommend its churches stop sending money to the denomination’s national headquarters by Dec. 31 and sever fellowship over of the refusal of the General Board to address the issue of homosexuality and the development of several gay-friendly associations in the ABCUSA. The General Board claims that it is powerless to effect changes in the “theological interpretations” of its member churches.

“The General Board ... does not set policy for local congregations on theological or other issues. We are not hierarchical or Episcopal because we are a denominational family related by a series of voluntary covenantal relationships among autonomous congregations to partner together in mission,” the statement said. The board also cited its respect for the “autonomy and primacy of the local church.”

But not all leaders in American Baptist life agree that the issue is one of local church autonomy. The Pacific Southwest Region said in a statement Sept. 14 that, while the failure of the ABCUSA to implement its resolution on homosexuality was the catalyst for conflict, deeper problems exist in the denomination over the issues of “biblical authority and accountability.”

Bill Nicoson, executive director of American Baptist Evangelicals (ABE), a California-based conservative group, said the denomination’s leadership should disavow unbiblical theology “as soon as it knows about it.” He cited the leadership’s unwillingness to yield to biblical authority on the issue of homosexuality and a long track record of ignoring sin.

“They are living in a paradox; they call it a paradox. A prime example of that is Tony Campolo, one of the best-known American Baptists, who said at our biennial convention in Denver that he and his wife disagree over the manner in which the church should deal with this issue, but that their disagreement was no reason to get divorced. There is nothing mentioned as to the unbiblical nature of it; there is only a pragmatic response to it,” Nicoson said.

Nicoson said poor leadership in the denomination and a church hierarchy that expects to be served by the churches has rendered the ABCUSA useless. “I really see a bureaucratic system that cannot move and cannot make decisions,” he said. But he and other conservatives in the denomination are quick to point out that they have tried to move the denomination’s leadership to action.

“Our goal has always been to reform our denomination, to influence it and change it. We have always called our leadership to adhere to biblical standards and to lead. We have always wanted to persuade them,” Nicoson said.

Not everyone agrees that conservative leaders are merely persuading the General Board to lead. Critics such as Susan Johnson, pastor of Chicago’s Hyde Park Union Church and a former member of the ABCUSA General Board, have charged that ABE and other conservative groups are attempting to take over the denomination.

But Nicoson and the 560 conservative American Baptist churches voluntarily affiliated with ABE reject the charge. “Who would want to take over the Titanic?” he asked. “Our denomination is not healthy and I just don’t see a future for it.”

The national leadership of the ABCUSA, however, disagrees with that assessment, and with the charge that it has failed to address the issue of homosexuality and its compatibility with the Christian life. In the statement issued by the General Board Executive Committee, the ABCUSA explained its position:

“Contrary to published reports, ABCUSA does have policy statements and resolutions related to homosexuality. Our Family Life Policy Statement (1984) states, ‘We affirm that God intends marriage to be a monogamous, life-long, one-flesh union of a woman and a man. ... We affirm God's blessing and active presence in marriage relationships....’ In 1992 the General Board adopted this statement: ‘We affirm that the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching.’ In 1993 the General Board called for continuing dialogue on issues of human sexuality. In June 1998 the General Board reaffirmed the prior actions and rewrote the ‘We are American Baptists’ statement to more strongly affirm the importance of biblical authority. All of these policy statements and resolutions remain in effect.”

The statement, however, did not reference the Evergreen Association, a gay-friendly group of American Baptist churches, the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists (AWAB) or the transference of gay-friendly church affiliations from conservative regions to regions where homosexuality in the church is not opposed, such as the Rochester/Genesee Region of New York. The regional transfers were conducted with the blessing and approval of the General Board.

Nicoson said the statement proves the denomination has lost touch with its laity, and as a result he feels it best to break with the denomination’s headquarters. And so he supports the action of the Pacific Southwest Region. “I don’t want to spend any more time and any more dollars trying to reform something that is irreparable,” he said.

Jay Wolfe, chairman of West Virginia Baptists for Biblical Truth, anticipates the departure from the ABCUSA of his state’s conservative churches in the near future. He told Baptist Press that the denomination’s leadership continues “to spin a very confusing and tangled web in trying to explain their position as it relates to those who profess Christianity while living a sinful lifestyle of homosexuality.”

Wolfe said the General Board’s opinion on its role in leadership is contradicted by the group’s standing rules. “On one hand they say, ‘We are not and do not seek to be a legislative body,” while on the other hand their own standing rules (definition 10.4.2.1.1) define the General Board’s function as the ‘legislative body of the ABCUSA.’

“The fact is that even a clown club has rules. To take their logic to a laughable extreme, then a local church could be promoting temple prostitution and still be allowed to remain a part of the ABC,” Wolfe said. “We believe it is time to stand on God’s Word and not on man’s rules.”

Wolfe said that ABCUSA leaders appear to be adopting the position of liberal regions that favor the acceptance of homosexuality as a practice approved in the Christian life. He cited as an example a June 2005 letter from New York Baptists to the General Board that said, “... in a broken and contentious world, Jesus calls us to be one not in doctrine but in Spirit.”

A plan for conservatives assuming leadership in the denomination would take up to 10 years, Nicoson said. He pointed to the example of the Southern Baptist Convention, saying that American Baptist leaders will not stand on biblical authority as had SBC leaders.

“Our leadership won’t lead. Yours will,” Nicoson told Baptist Press. “Southern Baptist leaders will write letters, encourage changes and take on initiatives. If you are a true leader, an evangelical leader, you can call up pastors and say, ‘You guys really ought to do something about this.’”

ABE, according to Nicoson, stands ready to assist American Baptist churches that wish to withdraw from the denomination but may face financial hardships and legal battles in doing so. The national headquarters owns some of the church properties, he said.

Should the ABCUSA lose a significant portion of its churches over the issue of homosexuality, Nicoson said he could not predict how the denomination will survive. But he expressed some concern that the ABCUSA might find a ready alliance with moderate Baptists.

“My biggest fear is that the ABCUSA will align with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. The survival of the denomination may only happen by their merger with it. There are so many similarities with them, down the road I believe they may come together,” Nicoson said.

CBF national coordinator Daniel Vestal would not comment to Baptist Press on the relationship of the ABCUSA and the CBF.

Source: http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=21727
See the bolded section. I have NEVER heard Patterson's remarks cited by anybody among the "reformers." The SBC has had a negliable impact on ABC developments. Personally, I hope we (the new, yet unnamed movement) are able to join the BWA.

American Baptist Leaders Clarify Stance on Homosexuality

Bob Allen
09-20-05

Leaders meeting Friday and Saturday in Atlanta denied that American Baptist Churches in the U.S.A. condones homosexuality, but said the denomination lacks authority to dictate theology to local churches.

"We grieve and are profoundly saddened by the decision of the board of directors of the American Baptist Churches of the Pacific Southwest 'to initiate the process to withdraw from the Covenant of Relationships,'" the executive committee of the ABC/USA said in a statement. "This decision will separate the region from the American Baptist family and our mission if the region completes its action."

Leaders of the ABC/PSW voted Sept. 8 to deliver on an ultimatum to end ties with the national body unless issues related to homosexuality were "biblically dealt with" at the denomination's recent biennial convention. The region includes about 300 churches in southern California, southern Nevada, Arizona, Hawaii and Baja, Mexico.

Another region, the West Virginia Baptist Convention, is expected to consider similar action when it meets next month.

Responding to the Pacific Southwest action, General Board leaders expressed concern over "serious implications" of the vote.

"Contrary to published reports," they said, the ABC/USA does have policy statements related to homosexuality. They include a 1984 statement affirming marriage as between a man and woman, a 1992 resolution declaring homosexuality "incompatible with Christian teaching" and reaffirmation of previous statements in 1998.

Comment: we all know now that this was a sop to placate the evangelicals, and that there is no will to implement the policy.

While all of those statements remain in effect, the executive committee said, "The General Board … does not set policy for local congregations on theological or other issues."

"We are not hierarchical or Episcopal, because we are a denominational family related by a series of voluntary covenantal relationships among autonomous congregations to partner together in mission," the statement continued.

"Nothing in our structure allows us to dictate theological interpretations. That authority rests solely with local congregations and individual American Baptists. We are not and do not seek to be a legislative body, since we respect the autonomy and primacy of the local church."

Conservatives in the Pacific Southwest and elsewhere charge that the 1992 General Board resolution on homosexuality hasn't been implemented as policy. They are seeking to close a loophole that allows a church kicked out of a region over homosexuality to remain American Baptist by joining another region and claim that churches belonging to the pro-gay Association of Welcoming & Affirming Baptists are over-represented in denominational leadership.

A group called American Baptist Evangelicals is planning a "Summons to Lead" conference this weekend to explore alternatives to denominational programs.

The General Board executive committee, meanwhile, planned to send letters to PSW churches explaining they will remain affiliated with the national body if the region severs ties, unless they vote as a congregation to disaffiliate. American Baptist leaders will also set up meetings to inform churches how they can continue to participate in the national body and determine future regional affiliations. They also will work with entity boards to explore full ramifications and consequences of the PSW board's decision to withdraw, such as the impact on retirement and insurance plans.

Meanwhile, a Southern Baptist Convention leader criticized last year for declaring American Baptists lax on homosexuality as a rationale for severing ties with the Baptist World Alliance, said his comment may have hastened the ABC/USA split.

"We can no longer afford in this particular day, when the press for gay marriage is on, to be in alliance with denominations that support in any form or fashion gay marriage," Paige Patterson, president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary said, speaking in support of a 2004 study committee recommendation to leave the BWA. "What you give your money and name to, you give tacit approval to."

ABC/USA General Secretary Roy Medley called Patterson's statement "outrageous."
"This parting of the ways was already underway when I said what I did at the SBC," Patterson said in a Friday story in Baptist Press. "However, our statements did have the effect of establishing what many outside of the ABCUSA were unaware of and may, therefore, have hastened the departure."

Jay Wolfe, chairman of West Virginia Baptists for Biblical Truth, credited Southern Baptists with doing "the right thing" by separating from the BWA.

“When I heard the statement from Paige Patterson about the BWA last year, and the ABC being pointed out as the example of churches where homosexuality had become a problem and where liberalism was an issue, I was surprised," Wolfe said. "I thought we had the issue settled. But we began to investigate the matter and found that the problem still existed and no one was doing anything about it."

Ken Pennings, executive director of the Association of Welcoming & Affirming Baptists, said he feared the PSW decision would give gays and lesbians one more reason not to come to church and to avoid people who label themselves a Christian.

"I regret that our sisters and brothers have chosen to make the issue of sexual orientation a reason to break fellowship with a denomination that has a long and proud history of mission and ministry in the world," Pennings said in a column. "The PSW is making this the watershed issue and by doing so are cutting themselves off from the very things that make people respect religious institutions--like doing justice and compassion."

The ABC/USA's National Executive Council, which includes Medley and other employed leaders, expressed regret at the Pacific Southwest vote.

"Our denomination has been blessed by the historic commitment by our regions to interdependent dialog and action for mission in the name of Christ," the leaders said. "We grieve when partners in ministry move away from that covenantal relationship."

Bob Allen is managing editor of EthicsDaily.com.

Focus on the Family Reports...

My apologies to Kirk Mackie, Senior Pastor at the church in Fullerton.

September 26, 2005

American Baptist Split Grows
by Josh Montez

Hundreds of churches are threatening to leave the denomination over the issue of homosexuality.

Wilshire Avenue Community Church in Fullerton, California is one of 300 churches in the Pacific Southwest region that are in the process of breaking away from the American Baptist Church USA. The denomination is known for being somewhat liberal on the issue of homosexuality but a growing number of local churches in the denomination want to be accountable to what the Bible says about the lifestyle. Mark McCormick pastors Wilshire Avenue Community Church. "We've asked the national church to hold other churches and leaders accountable to what we say is the biblical authority on this issue."

He says national leaders don't see it as their place to insist on a biblical model that says homosexuality is a sin.

"Our fear obviously is that this begins to place us on a slippery slope. If you say that this is not an area of biblical authority that does not allow us to hold people accountable to, what else will come up?"

The Board of Directors for the Pacific Southwest Region agreed to withdraw contributions to the national headquarters by the end of the year. Rich Schramm, a spokesman for the American Baptist Church, says they're sorry to see the locals go.

"We deeply regret the action taken by the ABC of the Pacific Southwest, whom we love in Christ, to begin movement toward withdrawal from the Covenant of Relationships."

But Reverend Lou Sheldon of the Traditional Values Coalition doesn't think they're sincere.
"It's because they don't believe that the Bible is the inspired and authoritative. That is really the underlying issue."

The West Virginia Convention of the American Baptist Church is considering a departure as well.

I met Lou Sheldon a number of years ago, and was not impressed. He is a caustic, angry man. But I think he's right about "the underlying issue."

Source: http://www.family.org/cforum/fnif/news/a0038026.cfm

Sunday, September 25, 2005

PRESENT AT THE CREATION: LOMBARD CONFERENCE CALLS FOR THE CREATION OF A NEW ORGANIZATION FOR BAPTISTS; MAKES PLANS


This is a re-post, slightly altered, of my post of Saturday evening.

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 24, 2005

Conferees at the Lombard Meeting agreed today that a new organization for conservative American Baptists will be created and launched within months--essentially a new Baptist denomination.This comes days after the American Baptist Churches of the Pacific Southwest began a process of separation from ABCUSA and two days after a group of like minded executive ministers in the ABC met with and affirmed a continuing relationship with Dale Salico, the PSW executive.

A task force was partially created to work out the details, including the statement of faith, mission and values, after a lengthy discussion by the attendees. They are expected to report back by sometime in November. They will also make a proposal regarding the name of the new denomination.

The following vision statement was adopted by acclaimation:

We intend to be...“A group of Baptist congregations committed together to an orthodox, biblical and theological foundation that will result in the growth of the church of Jesus Christ as demonstrated by healthy congregations.”

The new movement can be for churches that leave the ABC or stay in the ABC and wish to be dually aligned or have already left the ABC, or that may be attracted to the new movement.

Message by Charles Revis at Lombard Conference

This was the Friday night message at the Lombard Conference. Dr. Revis is the Executive Minister of the ABC of the Northwest.

What It Will Take to Become a Missional Movement

Charles Revis September 22, 2005

I would bet that there’s not one of us who caught a plane or car to this event that hasn’t pondered long and hard about the question, “Where do we go from here?” “What are we to become?” “Can it really make a difference for our future together?”

There has been much discussion on message boards and in telephone conversations about this very subject. And, more has taken place today. We have our work cut out for us. Yet, I am encouraged.

I believe the most important place to start is to be clear about mission. Without clarity of purpose and calling we will drift aimlessly, and there will be little energy for starting this new work.

We must be birthed in mission, remain focused on mission, and guard the integrity of this mission, or else we have no reason to start a new organization.

Now, having said that, such a mission must be defined by the clear directives of scripture. It must be biblical, concise and compelling. It should be like a “song in the heart” that calls us to mutual action. All for the sake of the Gospel.

In fact, more than important than anything else, this mission should result in a mighty advance of the Gospel, first and foremost. So, before we go any further we must talk about that, the Gospel.

1. To become the missional movement that God desires we must be clear about the nature of the Gospel.

To comprehend the true essence of the Gospel we must turn to the Scriptures. Apart from the guidance of Scripture we can confuse the nature of the Gospel, replacing it with many well-intentioned, human-centered works that are powerless to save. As one person has said, “The world has many religions, but only one Gospel.”The scriptures taken on face value leave no doubt about the true nature of the Gospel.

First of all the Gospel is rooted in our Savior’s own declaration, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” John 3:16-18

The Gospel informs us that sin has separated each of us from a holy God leaving our souls in a precarious position.

The fact that our sins have condemned us is underscored by Paul when he wrote, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. (Romans 3:23) and again when he wrote,
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)

This Gospel found in the Scriptures reveals that we have a Father in heaven who loved us so much that He sent His only begotten Son to die for each of us.

This Gospel of the Scriptures declares that in His death Jesus took upon Himself your sin, my sin, and the judgment of a Holy God against our sin.

This Gospel announces that this Savior was resurrected in victory demonstrating His power over sin and its consequences: death and the judgment of a holy God. Jesus is the Victor over Satan. In that resurrection there is proof of His authority to declare, “Your sins are forgiven.” He has bought us with a price, and that gives Him authority to command, “Go and sin no more.”
This is a Gospel that not only convicts of sin, but offers incredible hope in this life, and for the life to come.

When I personally fell under conviction as an eight year old child, I cried out to Jesus for forgiveness, invited Him into my heart to be my Savior, then that same Jesus, the resurrected Christ, washed me and cleansed me, and adopted me as His child forever.

My Holy Father and my Savior Jesus Christ seated me in the heavenlies, baptized me with the Holy Spirit and set my feet on a path of discipleship and service that would never end until I am transferred from this life into the realm of the new heaven and new earth upon the return of Jesus Christ in Glory.

This is the Gospel, the Good News revealed in the Bible and passed down from generation to generation of believers. It is this Gospel that brings new life to each person who calls on the name of the Lord.

T.S. To be the missional movement that God desires we must be clear about the nature of the Gospel, and that Gospel is revealed to us in the Scriptures.

2. To Become the Missional Movement God Desires We Must Believe this Gospel Has the Power to Change the World.

This is the Gospel that transforms people into new creations. These new creations reproduce themselves as they proclaim the Gospel to others. The Holy Spirit forms these new creations into a new community, and God compels this new community to turn the world upside down through the life-changing power of Jesus Christ.

There are several reasons American Baptists evangelicals have balked at accepting homosexual practice as normative. Besides the obvious teaches of scripture, to affirm homosexual practice is to deny the life-transforming power of the Gospel. Jesus is in the life-changing business, and we should be too.

A great American Baptist theologian once pointed out that life-changing power is an essential evangelical conviction in his book The Evangelical Heritage. Bernard Ramm wrote:
“The evangelical believes that the real touchstone of a theology is its spiritual power not necessarily its intellectual shrewdness, or sophistication, or learning.”

Ramm proceeds to point out that this power is first the power of the message to make true converts to Jesus Christ. The message preached must have the power to cause people to be born anew.

The second meaning of this power is that it must result in the creation of a genuine new life in Christ. New creations live lives distinct from their former old creation lives. These new creations give birth to a new community, and this new community attracts people to the Savior like moths to a bright porch light shining on a dark summer night.

An evangelical Gospel expects these new converts to make spiritual progress that becomes visible through a demonstrable righteousness. As Paul wrote, “we who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” 2 Cor 3:17

Dr. Ramm summarizes his advocacy for “transformational power” as a key component in an evangelical theology with these words:

“Evangelical theology attempts to be a theology of power. It does want the Word, but it also wants the Spirit. It wants exposition, but it also wants application. It wants understanding, but it also wants transformation. It wants academic excellence, but it also wants spiritual excellence.”

This Gospel of radical conversion and transformation is the Gospel that has been lost at the center of our life together as American Baptists. It is the Gospel that once drove Baptists to Burma, to Thailand, to Central America and to the Congo . For our forbearers believed there were people in those lands who were lost, and would remain lost, unless someone brought them the glorious message of salvation in Jesus Christ.

This is the Gospel that propelled the Home Mission Society to send out home missionaries to California, Oregon, Washington, Montana, Idaho and Utah .

What happened to that spirit? That missionary spirit which would not rest until it pressed forward into new harvest fields? It was lost because we lost the essence of the Gospel. We lost the conviction that Christ has come into this dark world to save and transform all people. We lost our passion for the Gospel as grounded in the unchanging truths of the Bible, and the historical fact of our Savior’s death on the cross and His subsequent bodily resurrection.
Today if you traverse the environs of Salt Lake City , Utah you will find only seven American Baptist Churches. Only one of these is healthy. One of our Utah pastors told me a few months ago that he remembers the day when there were 28 to 35 ABC related preaching stations and churches in the Salt Lake area.

T.S. To become the missional movement God desires we must recover our passion for the Gospel, the Good News that has power to change the world.

3. To Be the Missional Movement God Desires We Must Believe that Sharing this Gospel Is Job Number One.

The proclamation and dissemination of this life-changing Gospel is Job Number One. When we are giving ourselves away in the service of this Gospel it breathes life into believers, and churches. When the proclamation of the Gospel slips to second place, or third, or worse yet, is relegated to a job on a committee job description, then the church begins to die.
Yes, I know there are several important, non-negotiable purposes of the church. Worship. Community. Discipleship. Teaching. Leadership development. Service. I’ve read Rick Warren, and I applaud him, and others, who help us recover the church’s God-given purpose.

But, I submit to you that winning the world for Christ, one person at a time, is Job Number One. What other purpose--even the top ones I’ve identified--was commanded by our Lord just hours before His ascension into Heaven?

Last words are important words, that’s why they are noted, even if sometimes they are rather ludicrous. For example:

As he lay dying in a drab Paris bedroom, Oscar Wilde’s last words were, "Either that wallpaper goes, or I do.”

Just before he died Douglas Fairbanks said, "I've never felt better.”

These last words were pronounced by a man who was executed by electric chair in New York in 1928, "Well, gentlemen, you are about to see a baked Appel.” His name was George Appel.

And, then there was W.C. Fields who said during his last illness, "I have spent a lot of time searching through the Bible for loopholes.”

“You can be a king or a street sweeper, but everyone dances with the Grim Reaper." — Robert Alton Harris, executed in California's gas chamber, 1992.

Actually, final instructions carry a lot of weight, especially when they are the words spoken by the second person of the Trinity. That’s why we pay special attention to them.

Remember Jesus’ last words:

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Matt 28:19)

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”(Acts 1:8)

These essential, fundamental directives coupled with the expulsive power of the Holy Spirit given on the Day of Pentecost formed the followers of Jesus Christ into a MISSIONAL PEOPLE, and continue to do so today when we seek to obey them.

The church can only be a healthy and obedient church as it yields to the Spirit’s lead in continuing the work and mission of Jesus Christ. The head of the church, Jesus Christ, came declaring His life’s purpose: “I have come to seek and to save the lost.”

In Pentecost we have confirmation that Christ Jesus, as head of the church, directs His body to continue fulfilling His life’s purpose. The church, then, is an incarnational presence of Christ continuing the mission and ministry of God in Christ.

When the church is out of sync with the Head, it declines, fades away into non-existence, primarily because it has abandoned the mission of its Head. As someone has said, “A church that isn’t a missionary church will soon be a missing church.”

So we could say that Mission both precedes and creates the church.

Or, as Ray Anderson has written: “[It is] mission, rather than missions, [that] constitutes the ground of the church itself.” ~ Ray Anderson

Which calls to mind the words of Emil Brunner who said, “The church exists by mission as fire exists by burning.”

David Bosch explains it like this, “Mission was understood as being derived from the very nature of God….Father, Son and Holy Spirit sending the church into the world…a movement from God to the world:…There is a church because there is a mission, not vice versa.”

The church as a missional people obeying Jesus’ marching orders will not rest until the world is won. This missional imperative is the driving force of a healthy church. And, it must be the driving force of any new movement that God raises up.

In most cases when a church is missional at heart and in purpose it will find ways to join forces with other missionally centered churches. At one time we understood that we were a people “on mission together.” ABC interdependence was birthed in part to expand the mission of the local church beyond its own Jerusalem.

A solitary missional church will have a great impact on the world. Yet, that impact will pale as compared to a whole tribe of missional churches linking arms together in Christ with the intention to radically turn the world upside down for the cause of Christ.

Can you imagine the spiritual impact on this nation if hundreds of churches across the nation closed ranks and launched a cooperative missional movement to win the world for Christ? I’m calling on us to become this missional movement.

4. To Be the Missional Movement God Desires We Must Embrace New Testament Practices that Sustain the Movement.

So, if we find ourselves excited about the possibilities of a new missional movement composed of ABC-related folks, what guidelines for birthing the new movement should guide our trajectory?
What will sustain this movement towards full bloom?

I would suggest there are three streams that will inform us:

1) Recent new forms of connectionalism.
2) Historic Baptist patterns of associationalism.
3) Embracing the practices of the early church.

I don’t have time to delineate these to a sufficient level of detail. But, let me sketch out how each may inform how we organize this new movement.

1. New forms of connectionalism.

There is no doubt that we are living in a “post-denominational” age even though new denominations are birthing all the time. Most of us in this room are quite aware of the emergence of networks.

These are sleek (as in efficient), simple (as in flat structure), responsive (as in little bureaucratic red tape) and pragmatic (providing resources that emerge from hands-on ministries that meet specific needs). Whatever we craft together should operate more like a network than a denomination.

Lyle Schaller in his book, From Geography to Affinity, points out that churches are already in the habit of using the services of affinity networks. How many in this room have attended a conference hosted by the Willow Creek Association; launched a 40-Days of Purpose emphasis through Saddleback; conducted stewardship training through Dave Ramsey; grabbed your sermons off Sermon Central; downloaded a graphics worship piece off Sermon Spice, set your people free through the deliverance methods taught by Freedom in Christ; organized your small group ministry through one of the G-12 Cell Group ministries; learned conflict resolution through Peacemakers Ministry, and trained your leaders through CCN?

This is to say that we are already accustomed to identifying with multiple networks at the same time. The challenge for us is to launch a movement that will provide something fundamental that these others fail to provide. And, do it in the simpler, sleeker methods of a network, rather than in the form of a denomination.

T.S. So, what might this new missional network provide? One clue may be found in the original Baptist associations.

2. Historic patterns of Baptist Associationalism.

The Philadelphia Baptist Association was formed in 1707 and was an influential model for the next hundred years of Baptist life. Prior to the emergence of the over-emphasis on local church autonomy that arose in the 19th century the association was considered a fundamental expression of the Baptist concept of the church. There were two primary reasons for this.

First: our Baptist forbearers knew that an individual church in and of itself is an incomplete expression of the Body of Christ. The Body of Christ is always larger than any one local congregation. Individual churches in association gave visibility to this “invisible” reality.

Second, Baptist churches discovered that as they associated together they could accomplish more for the Kingdom of God. In fact, they were healthier in association, than as separate, isolated, stand alone congregations

Howard Stewart and Leon McBeth both inform us as to the power and function of the Association. Here’s a summary:

1. The provision of a duly qualified ministry for the churches. This association developed regulations and procedures for the recruitment, education, ordination, and placement of ministers.

2. The assoc. provided printed materials for the churches. Included in the standard publications were such items as a Confession of Faith, the Treatise of Discipline, a catechism, and a hymnal.

3. Home Missions, benevolent work, and struggle for religious liberty. The Philadelphia Assoc.
began by sending missionaries into Virginia as early as 1745. They also gave funds to destitute churches and financed the relief of widows.

4. Provided models for preaching. “Preaching was always a major feature of association meetings, and churches put forward their best preachers. The younger ministers, and the less capable, heard Baptist preaching at its best and learned thereby.” (McBeth)

5. The assoc. afforded the churches an opportunity to 'upbuild one another in love”. That is, the association provided fellowship for “lonely Baptists.” “In areas sparsely settled, with Baptists at best unpopular and at worst severely persecuted, the opportunity to share with others like-minded was important.” (McBeth)

6. Theological stability. When a church deviated from the accepted Confession of Faith, the Association stepped in to give a ruling. For example, in 1748 the Minutes of the Philadelphia Association indicate a censure was requested for those who denied the foreknowledge of God. In 1784, a church admitting unbaptized persons to the Lord's Table was the recipient of letters from sister churches exhorting a discontinuance of the practice.

7. The Association assisted local churches in solving various types of problems that they could not work out for themselves. They also spoke out on political and social issues. The Associations also provided Baptists a means of speaking and acting in unity on such matters as religious liberty, separation of church and state, slavery, and the use of intoxicating beverages.
T.S. These early associational practices provide clues for working together. Couple that with the practices of the early church, and the picture comes into focus.

3. Embracing the Practices of the Early Church As one observes the early church in Acts, and read Paul’s epistles, it becomes evident that those first churches were connected together, even though miles, cultures and nations separated them. Imagine doing Paul’s ministry without a computer, email, fax machine, cell phone, web site, Honda Accord, or Southwest Airlines. Give me a break! If any group of people had excuses for not connecting together they did. Yet, throughout Acts and the epistles there evidence that the churches were “together” in spite of the miles that separated them.

I wish to identify at least five ways they managed to connect together The last two chapters of Romans will be my main source, but these chapters are certainly not exhaustive.

1. They joined together for MUTUAL ENCOURAGEMENT and ACCOUNTABILITY. Romans 15:14, 15; 32, 33

Paul went from church to church encouraging them, bringing greetings from their sister churches, and addressing issues in the churches. Here is an example.

14I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another. 15I have written you quite boldly on some points, as if to remind you of them again,… 32so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and together with you be refreshed. 33The God of peace be with you all. Amen.
Paul gives the Roman church high marks. Look at his encouraging words! The letter does not seek to redress errors. Yet, Paul has written bold points to remind them again of certain essential truths of the faith that must not recede in their appreciation.
Yet, this is not a one-way street. Paul looks forward to his visit with the Romans and he describes it like a commercial for a soft drink (maybe Pepsi or Coke), only better: “together with
you [we will] be refreshed.”

There are a few of us who have such internal fortitude and drive that we can press on without encouragement. These are the energizer bunny leaders who just keep on keeping on. For the rest of us more mortal men and women, we’re more like nickel metal hydrides. We need to be regularly plugged in and charged up.

Paul was always sending a Timothy or a Tychicus or a Barnabas to encourage the church. No wonder he commands:

“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” I Thess 5:11

2. They joined together in SHARING RESOURCES. Romans 15:23-27

25Now, however, I am on my way to Jerusalem in the service of the saints there. 26For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. 27They were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews’ spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings.

Paul was keenly intent on the Gentile churches sharing financial resources with the poorer believers in Jerusalem. Just as the Jerusalem church had shared their spiritual blessing with others, the Gentile churches return the favor by sharing their financial blessings. The churches shared resources with one another.3. They joined together in DEVELOPING and SUPPORTING LEADERS. Romans 16

Have you paid attention this list in Romans 16? I find it fascinating. Here is a long list of workers, apostles, and ministers that Paul recognizes as partners in the Gospel. Have you ever wondered where they came from? He, and others, developed them. Paul, and the other apostles, were devoted to the multiplication of leadership. Other evidence in scripture include these passages:

Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust. Acts 14:23

The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you. Titus 1:5

4. They joined together in MISSION (primarily in the form of church planting). Romans 15:18-20

18I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done—19by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ. 20It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known,

Paul’s all consuming passion is to “lead the Gentiles to obey God.” Through preaching, service, displays of signs and miracles, and the power of the Holy Spirit; he has “fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.”

If you were to join Paul at Starbuck’s for a Grande Triple-Shot Caramel Macciatto he would direct the conversation to this grand venture. Paul wouldn’t be interested in sport, news or weather. He would talk about sharing the Gospel! 23But now that there is no more place for me to work in these regions, and since I have been longing for many years to see you, 24I plan to do so when I go to Spain. I hope to visit you while passing through and to have you assist me on my journey there, after I have enjoyed your company for a while.

Now Paul sets his sights on Spain, the next mission field. He could have made his plans to go directly to Spain and by-pass the church in Rome. His mission theology, however, includes the church as strategic and instrumental for this mission. He writes to the Roman church to solicit their investment in this mission. If the Roman church joins him in this endeavor they will become his base of operation.

We would be wise to re-embrace this principle, that is, “go to Spain via the ‘nearest church!’” Go to New England and plant evangelical churches through the missional cooperation of this new movement we are birthing. Come to the Northwest and plant churches where more unchurched people live than any other place in America.

5. They joined together in PRAYER. Romans 15:30-31

30I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me. 31Pray that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea and that my service in Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints there,

There is no record of any revival in the world that was not birthed out of a concert of prayer. What would happen if we truly focused on prayer? Baptists have historically been people of prayer. What if we renewed our heart for being a missional movement through a renewed commitment to prayer? What might God do through us?

What if our prayers primarily focused on reaching the lost, on churches attempting a transition, on new churches that were being birthed?So, here you have it. A short list of how New Testament practices that missional people do together:

• Mutual encouragement and accountability
• Sharing resources
• Developing leaders
• Joining together in mission efforts
• Prayer

Story of Tim Brown and Clovis FBC. We have been so blessed by the help we received from our Region that we want to share that blessing with others. (Ministers Conference, Tools for the Trade, Ministered in two of our churches, and Intermountain Area coming up.)

Story of Vida, MT…Dan Purchase looking for partners, resources, prayer warriors, and co-workers to plant churches where there is no evangelical witness. We don’t have limited resources for helping him. Do any of you want to join him; I’ll help you make the connection!
These are the kingdom endeavors we can do together IF we are willing to join together and become a missional movement. It will require that:

• we agree on the nature of the Gospel
• believe the Gospel is nothing less than life-changing
• we demonstrate that sharing the Gospel is Job Number One
• we follow connectional, historical and scriptural practices for sustaining the movement as we launch it.

“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.” ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Saturday, September 24, 2005

PRESENT AT THE CREATION: LOMBARD CONFERENCE CALLS FOR THE CREATION OF A NEW ORGANIZATION FOR BAPTISTS; MAKES PLANS



SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 24, 2005

Conferees at the Lombard Meeting agreed today that a new organization for conservative American Baptists will be created and launched within months--essentially a new Baptist denomination.


This comes days after the American Baptist Churches of the Pacific Southwest began a process of separation from ABCUSA and two days after a group of like minded executive ministers in the ABC met with and affirmed a continuing relationship with Dale Salico, the PSW executive.

A task force was partially created to work out the details, including the statement of faith, mission and values, after a lengthy discussion by the attendees.


The following vision statement was adopted by acclaimation:

We intend to be...“A group of Baptist congregations committed together to an orthodox, biblical and theological foundation that will result in the growth of the church of Jesus Christ as demonstrated by healthy congregations.”

The new movement can be for churches that stay in the ABC have left the ABC, and that may be attracted to the new movement.

There was also a wide-ranging discussion of core values. Bill Nicoson of ABE presented some, which were expanded upon by the whole body.

Core Values

  • Biblical authority
  • Healthy churches
  • Relationships
  • Confessing (that is, a clear strong statement of faith)
  • Transformation (of churches and of individuals)
  • Reproduction (Evangelism and church planting)
  • Mission
  • Authenticity (of relationships)
  • Accountability
  • Leadership
A presentation from Green Lake Conference Center and from Purpose Driven was also received.

The morning ended in a time of prayer.

DURABLE DATA

There were some problems with yesterday's material, which I am now reposting in its entirety. I will post again tonight regarding Saturday's events.

“A SUMMONS TO LEAD” CONFERENCE

FRIDAY REPORT

LOMBARD, IL

8:50 AM

An air of expectancy is evident as attendees arrive and fill the Linder Conference Center. The attendees are greeting each other and now have the agenda, which will include a message from Paul Cedar of Mission America (formerly president of the Evangelical Free Church and Senior Pastor of Lake Ave Congregation Church in Pasadena, CA).

9:00 AM

Had a quick hallway conversation with Al Fletcher, Exec from Maine and an old friend about Parchment Valley Agreement. He characterizes PVA as a promise among regions for a continuing promise of joint ministry, and a way for PSW to say that their problem is not with other regions, but with VF.

9:04 AM

Bill Nicoson calls us to order and prayer. Bill did a kind of roll-call of states showing the nationwide scope of the meeting.

Bill noted that the Linder Center is at maximum capacity. (See picture)

A profound time of worship followed. (See picture)

A video from Mission America, Paul Cedar’s organization, followed. It was a humorous take on faulty ways of evangelism.

Paul Cedar, who is a graduate of Northern (’68), spoke. Hurricanes Katrina, Rita: turbulent weather. We’re in turbulent weather as well.

The problem of forgetting the basics

John 17 on authentic spiritual unity. Jesus’ “High Priestly Prayer”
John 17:20-23

Authentic unity is not organization or administrative; real unity moves the world to believe that the Father sent the Son.


Three ingredients of authentic spiritual unity

1. John 4:31-34. Jesus didn’t come to do His “own thing.” He came to do the will of His Father. That’s the basic foundation of Christian ministry. Not doing the “latest thing”, but doing the will of the Father. Call it Fidelity to God and His revealed word. That means denying yourself, taking up the life of the cross and following Jesus. You cannot have spiritual unity with people who are not following Jesus as Lord. Jesus also came to “finish His work”. That work was the cross—the heart of it all.
2. Next is Focus: the Great Commission. He turns to the disciples and tells them of their task: “the fields are ripe for harvest.” Unity is never an end in itself, but a means to the end of winning the lost who grows to become like Jesus.
3. Finally, the role of the Spirit—the Fullness of the Spirit.. Jesus says He will depart so that the Holy Spirit will come. John 13-17, Acts 1. The danger of having “church” without the Holy Spirit. Dead orthodoxy will not do!

Today has the potential of being a kind of Pentecost.

GL: I wonder what role Mission America may have in the emerging movement.

“Our Leader is waiting for us to ask us to lead us.”


Bill Nicoson thanked Paul: 15 minute break.

Another hallway conversation. A well-placed source from Ohio says that Ohio has 9 months maximum, based on the potential exodus of churches. A task force to facilitate actions after the December meeting of the General Board has been formed. (It is expected that the strong wording proposed by IND/KY on homosexuality will be defeated there.)

Back in session, Bill Nicoson introduced Bob Lindner of Cincinnati, America Baptist laymen, billionaire owner of the Reds. (He and his brother gave the money for this conference center, and have been big supporters of ABE.)

Bill introduced Larry Swain, Exec of OH and commented on the Parchment Valley Agreement.

Bill’s Message:

For me, a time of fear, anxiety as well as hope. Only five hours of sleep a night since calling this meeting.

What can we do collectively as well as individually? What’s the point of collective action?

A lot of pressure on this meeting…

“I don’t have a grand scheme, I hate to disappoint you.” But what bothers me is the reality of a world without Christ. Can we unite for mission?

Acts 6

The number of disciples was increasing

Bill’s hope:

“A group of Baptist congregations committed together to an orthodox, biblical and theological foundation that will result in the growth of the church of Jesus Christ as demonstrated by healthy congregations.”

A church that

• Thrives on persecution, not popularity
• Preaches Christ, not self-help
• Gives sacrificially

A Biblical church provokes a satanic counterattack.

The means: Persecution, moral failure, distraction and division.

“I don’t want to look back any more.” He’d rather reach Elliot, his dry cleaner.

Our DNA.

Doctrine

Solid, Christo-centric doctrine becomes a foundation for doing mission.

Nurture

The battle for evangelicals in Massachusetts—they just want to get on to ministry.

Accountability

• Relationships
• Confessing




Standards of effective leadership (from Acts 6)

1. Quick action, not bureaucratic red-tape
2. Dynamic interaction between leaders and the led
3. Priorities need to be established and honored; some things are more important than others; the apostles knew this, and that’s why the “deacon” task force was set up. “Leadership” takes a backseat to the preaching of the word and prayer.
4. Leadership selection was based on a unique set of qualifications. Not “personality type” but godly character.


“As we lead together, let’s do it Biblically.”


Lunch Break


Panel Discussion 1:15 PM

Basis of discussion: the ABC/USA is broken beyond repair.

Dr. Scott Gibson (ABE President, Professor of Preaching, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

Dr. Vic Gordon (VP; FBC Huntington-Beach Fountain Valley, CA)

Bill Nicoson

Three questions for discussion sessions later:

1. Do we want to organize a new group?
2. What will the new group look like?
3. How do we get there?
4. What’s the desired outcome?

Comments from Scott Gibson

Reflecting on the birth of ABE in PA
The importance of Biblical authority
The issue of homosexuality is only a “presenting problem”; the real issue is (and always has been) Biblical authority.
The rebuffs from VF; especially at Denver (2005)
Now, a new tact must be taken.
Transition: now from renewal to a new beginning
New developments: PSW separation announcement
Parchment Valley Agreement

“We are at a sea-change.”

“That’s all I can stands and I can’t stands no more.” --Popeye

This is an “Esther moment.”

Comments from Vic Gordon

To continue from Bill and Scott
Ephesians 4: real unity
Concern: that we not split out in a thousand directions
Unity for the sake of mission

But, “These are dangerous days for us.”

Diversity can only be celebrated if there is an over-arching unity.
Imagine what 1,000 faithful churches can do compared to 5,600 churches in a dysfunctional system.

What about churches in regions that will not become part of the new movement?

The Panel Discussion

Q: Report on Parchment Valley.
A: Larry Swain (OH) and Al Fletcher (ME) took question

Al: What did ME to PSW? Nothing. PVA: a statement of continuing relationship.
Larry: Mid-West regions began meeting together a few years ago. Extend to other Execs in other parts of the country. “We need each other.” Need of authentic relationships with each other, especially a way to affirm Dale Salico.

It is obvious that Larry and Al are a bit “stuck in-between” and have to measure their comments. They are not to be blamed for this.

Q: Are they formulating a plan?
A: Only indirectly…this is going to be a long and varied process.

Q: (to Vic) What did the PSW Board do?
A: We are in the process of withdrawing from the budget covenant. Board must vote again in December. A special meeting of churches to vote on action will be called in March 2006.

Q: (to Mark Schipul) What will be ABCPSW become?
A: We don’t know…we want to be bold without being arrogant.

Comment from Lee Hamby (FBC Alhambra): the new name will be Pacific Southwest Baptist Churches.

Breakout Sessions 2:15

PSW Group

1. Do we need a new group?

Yes, but we don’t want to be a “denomination”
Better: a movement
Join with BGC (Baptist General Conference)?
Home is no longer home…we need to hold together
Logistics a problem for creating a new denomination
We need “something”

2. What would a new movement look like?

At this point, I floated the name “Baptist Churches in America” as a possible new name for the new movement.

Lean, mission-focused
Loose
Commonality
Organized
Doctrinal statement
Multi-ethnic/multi-cultural
Authority of Scripture
Accountability without “hard-edges”
“Classical Christianity”

3. How do we get there?

Maybe PSW could do a DBA of “BCA”
Any organization could do that: Green Lake, Northern, or WVBC
Via regions
The power of Big Mo
Convention
MI’s suggestion: abolish VF (General Secretary’s office)—that kind of model Manageable sub-group to do deal with new structure, values, doctrine, etc.
Need to empower a task force to deal with those issue
Use ABE as a shell
Bathe it in prayer!

4. What’s the desired outcome?

Positive
Multi-cultural
See people won to Christ—in an accelerated way

Need a vision? One articulated by Bill Nicoson

“A group of Baptist congregations committed together to an orthodox, biblical and theological foundation that will result in the growth of the church of Jesus Christ as demonstrated by healthy congregations.”

Special Report:

Sarah Day Cheeseman from M&M Board came to dispel rumors that M&M benefits will be denied to members from churches that may separate.

Report Back for Regional Group Discussions 2:35


Q1: New Group?

YES!

Q2: What will it look like?

Michigan Report
ABE: stay in there!
ABE: provide a new home for disaffected churches
ABE: a “region”
A few others: Stay in our region, join an existing denomination
Confessional/statement of faith

Northwest Report
Confessional/statement of faith
National footprint

Indiana Report
“Come, Lord Jesus”—a new organization with a new leader
Hope for Indiana Resolution that it might pass
Hope that Exec Ministers will lead the charge
17 execs are sympathetic (over 4000 churches)



Iowa/MN Report

Lean, missional organization
Decentralized
No politics

Northeast Report (NY, New England)

Need new organization
May have to dually aligned churches first

Kansas/Nebraska Report

Missional
Confession of faith
Coalition level
Dually aligned

PSW Report

Unite with existing fellowship: a minority report
Lean, doctrinal core
Without a doctrinal edges
Multi-ethnic

West Virgina Report

Many open possibilities
Must get rid of our will and find the Lord’s
Let ABE hold the banner for a time

ABC of the West

New organization
Association within ABC?
New denomination?
A network!
Let ABE be the organization network

Side-Report: the Great Commission Network (Kaiser, ABCW)

A time to take a stand
History, vision, mission, strategies
Robust doctrinal statement
Must embrace all four strategies (mentoring, coaching, consultation, opening)
Delivery systems
GCN also working with Presbyterians and RCA

See www.greatcommissionwork.net

Q3. How do we get there?

IA/MN: lean mean missional team
PSW: legal entity, empowered group
Have a Core group to work on vision, mission and values
Not an anti-ABC group
Northwest: this group is the core. Use the momentum generated in this room
MI: avoid mistakes of the past; we are in a different context because the regions a are leading the way

Q4: What’s the outcome?

IA/MN: Be on the cutting edge
NW: Support churches doing the primary work: seek and save the lost
Partner with like-minded entities (not just other Baptists)


An extended time of prayer followed before the dinner break. Bill Nicoson urged us to pray for Roy Medley and for the VF staff.


Evening Session 7:00 PM

– Time of worship
– Greeting from Chuck Moore, President of Northern Baptist Theological Seminary

Message from Charles Revis (Exec, ABC of the Northwest)

“Launch! What will it take to become a Missional Movement?”

1. We need Mission Clarity

Biblical, concise and compelling
Must be clear on the essence of the gospel
“The world has many religions, but only one gospel.”
John 3:16-18
Romans 6:23
Jesus’ death on the cross

2. We must believe that the gospel has the power to change the world
To affirm homosexual practice is to deny the life-changing power that is at the heart of the gospel
The power of the message to make converts
The power to create new life
2 Corinthians 3:17: transformation

What has happened to that missionary spirit? It was lost because we lost the reality of the life-transforming power of the gospel. We have lost ground in America!

3. We must believe that sharing the gospel is job number one.

The importance of Last Words (Matthew 28:19, Acts 1:8)
We must do the command that Jesus gave us.
When the body and Head are out of sync, it goes spastic—as we now see.
“A church that isn’t a missionary church will soon be a missing church.”
“There is a church because there is a mission, not vice-versa.”
We will not rest until the job is done…

Churches like that will find like-minded churches. Baptist interdependence was founded to enable us to carry out mission.

Imagine a whole tribe of missional churches linking arms together in Christ!

Revis’ experience in NW.

4. We must embrace NT practices that sustain the missional movement

1. New forms of connectionalism

Multiple networks
Parachurch style

2. Historic assosiationalism

Philadelphia Baptist Association 1707
The local church is incomplete
Associations made the churches healthier
Associations made mission stronger
Confession of faith
Disciplined theological stability
Problem solving

I’m happy to say that Revis cited my friend and member of my church, Dr. Howard Stewart…

3. The practices of the early church

Reflecting on Romans 15

-Mutual refreshment
-Sharing of resources
-Developing and supporting leaders
-Joined together for mission
-Joined together in prayer

Implications for now:

Fellowship
Mission together
Prayer

The example of FBC of Vida, Montana: vital renewal and evangelism

Bill Nicoson closed in prayer.

Tomorrow: we’ll do some work!

END OF FRIDAY REPORT









Friday, September 23, 2005

Panel Discusses Options and the Parchment Valley Agreement

Panel Discussion 1:15 PM

Basis of discussion: the ABC/USA is broken beyond repair.

Dr. Scott Gibson (ABE President, Professor of Preaching, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

Dr. Vic Gordon (VP; FBC Huntington-Beach Fountain Valley, CA)

Bill Nicoson

Three questions for discussion sessions later:

1. Do we want to organize a new group?
2. What will the new group look like?
3. How do we get there?
4. What’s the desired outcome?

Comments from Scott Gibson

Reflecting on the birth of ABE in PA
The importance of Biblical authority
The issue of homosexuality is only a “presenting problem”; the real issue is (and always has been) Biblical authority.
The rebuffs from VF; especially at Denver (2005)
Now, a new tact must be taken.
Transition: now from renewal to a new beginning
New developments: PSW separation announcement
Parchment Valley Agreement

“We are at a sea-change.”

“That’s all I can stands and I can’t stands no more.” --Popeye

This is an “Esther moment.”

Comments from Vic Gordon

To continue from Bill and Scott
Ephesians 4: real unity
Concern: that we not split out in a thousand directions
Unity for the sake of mission

But, “These are dangerous days for us.”

Diversity can only be celebrated if there is an over-arching unity.
Imagine what 1,000 faithful churches can do compared to 5,600 churches in a dysfunctional system.

What about churches in regions that will not become part of the new movement?

The Panel Discussion

Q: Report on Parchment Valley.
A: Larry Swain (OH) and Al Fletcher (ME) took question

Al: What did ME to PSW? Nothing. PVA: a statement of continuing relationship.
Larry: Mid-West regions began meeting together a few years ago. Extend to other Execs in other parts of the country. “We need each other.” Need of authentic relationships with each other, especially a way to affirm Dale Salico.

It is obvious that Larry and Al are a bit “stuck in-between” and have to measure their comments. They are not to be blamed for this.

Q: Are they formulating a plan?
A: Only indirectly…this is going to be a long and varied process.

Q: (to Vic) What did the PSW Board do?
A: We are in the process of withdrawing from the budget covenant. Board must vote again in December. A special meeting of churches to vote on action will be called in March 2006.

Q: (to Mark Schipul) What will be ABCPSW become?
A: We don’t know…we want to be bold without being arrogant.

Comment from Lee Hamby (FBC Alhambra): the new name will be Pacific Southwest Baptist Churches.

Bill Nicoson: Facing the Struggle


Another hallway conversation. A well-placed source from Ohio says that Ohio has 9 months maximum, based on the potential exodus of churches. A task force to facilitate actions after the December meeting of the General Board has been formed. (It is expected that the strong wording proposed by IND/KY on homosexuality will be defeated there.)

Back in session, Bill Nicoson
introduced Bob Lindner of Cincinnati,
America Baptist laymen, billionaire owner of the Reds. (He and his brother gave the money for this conference center, and have been big supporters of ABE.)

Bill introduced Larry Swain, Exec of OH and commented on the Parchment Valley Agreement.

Bill’s Message:

For me, a time of fear, anxiety as well as hope. Only five hours of sleep a night since calling this meeting.

What can we do collectively as well as individually? What’s the point of collective action?

A lot of pressure on this meeting…

“I don’t have a grand scheme, I hate to disappoint you.” But what bothers me is the reality of a world without Christ. Can we unite for mission?

Acts 6

The number of disciples was increasing

Bill’s hope:

“A group of Baptist congregations committed together to an orthodox, biblical and theological foundation that will result in the growth of the church of Jesus Christ as demonstrated by healthy congregations.”

A church that

· Thrives on persecution, not popularity
· Preaches Christ, not self-help
· Gives sacrificially

A Biblical church provokes a satanic counterattack.

The means: Persecution, moral failure, distraction and division.

“I don’t want to look back any more.” He’d rather reach Elliot, his dry cleaner.

Our DNA.

Doctrine

Solid, Christo-centric doctrine becomes a foundation for doing mission.

Nurture

The battle for evangelicals in Massachusetts—they just want to get on to ministry.

Accountability

· Relationships
· Confessing

Standards of effective leadership (from Acts 6)

1. Quick action, not bureaucratic red-tape
2. Dynamic interaction between leaders and the led
3. Priorities need to be established and honored; some things are more important than others; the apostles knew this, and that’s why the “deacon” task force was set up. “Leadership” takes a backseat to the preaching of the word and prayer.
4. Leadership selection was based on a unique set of qualifications. Not “personality type” but godly character.

“As we lead together, let’s do it Biblically.”