How Do I Lead My Church Through

Panelists examine church’s PAGE & MOORE: role with immigration ‘WE FULLY SUPPORT ONE ANOTHER’ Page 9 Page 12 MARCH 25, 2017 • News Journal of North Carolina Baptists • VOLUME 183 NO. 6 • BRnow.org Griggs, Hannah How do I lead my nominations announced for church through pastor’s event By K. ALLAN BLUME | BR Editor wo pastors will be nominated to be president of the 2019 North T Carolina Pastor’s Conference during the Nov. 5-6 event. The president is elected two years in advance to allow flexibility in scheduling speakers. In a press release to the Biblical Re- corder, J.D. Greear, pastor of The Summit change? Church in Durham, announced his inten- Thom Rainer, CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources tion to nominate Chris Griggs, pastor of shares with Leading Change participants March 7. Denver Baptist Church (DBC) in Denver (BR photo by K. Allan Blume) for the office of president. reasons change is met with resistance in many of our churches Josh Phillips, pastor of Memorial Bap- By SETH BROWN | BR Content Editor is that we aren’t answering the question, “Why?” in a way that tist Church in Norwood and 2014 presi- any Southern Baptist churches across the nation members can fully absorb.” dent of the conference, told the Recorder face a harsh reality, said Thom Rainer, CEO of Rainer provided a roadmap for implementing change in his he will nominate Chip Hannah, pastor LifeWay Christian Resources, “We either change second address. “Stop and pray,” he said, highlighting patience of Peace Baptist Church in Whiteville, in or die.” as an important virtue for church leaders. “Change does not November. Rainer headlined a conference March 7 to help pastors and happen overnight in most of our churches – that’s an under- Greear noted Griggs’ passion for and M commitment to equipping pastors, par- church leaders guide their congregations through transitions statement,” Rainer continued. in missions and ministry strategies, so that gospel-proclaiming However, urgency is a key factor in the change process too, ticularly those serving rural and smaller churches will thrive for years to come. he said. “When you have a sense of urgency, you never have churches. Calvary Baptist Church’s west campus in Advance, N.C., ‘the good ol’ days’ or ‘the way it used to be’ … because you’re Griggs runs a weekly podcast for hosted the event called “Leading Change in the Church.” always looking forward in God’s power to what will happen.” pastors and is involved in a number of In addition to Rainer’s two plenary talks, which were based Pastors must build “eager coalitions” in their congregations training programs to prepare them for on his book, Who Moved My Pulpit?, the conference featured many to effect change and promote “a voice and a vision of hope.” effective gospel ministry. breakout sessions on specific ministry topics, alongside a Q&A Although church leaders are normally painfully aware of the Griggs has served as the lead pastor luncheon on church staffing with William Vanderbloemen, problems in their congregations, Rainer said, “What’s missing at DBC since October 2005. He holds the founder and CEO of The Vanderbloemen Search Group, a in many churches in leading change is a sense of hope.” degrees from Wake Forest University and church staffing and consulting firm based in Houston, Texas. There will be inevitable “people issues” to deal with, he Southeastern Baptist Theological Semi- (See related story, page 6.) continued, but moving the church from “an inward focus to an nary (SEBTS) and has served churches in Opposition and uncertainty face any church desiring to outward focus” is critical. See Pastor’s page 9 change ministry strategies and processes, said Rainer. Outreach and evangelism help promote change, Rainer said, In his first talk, he listed five types of people resistant to because “as new people come in, it forces the church to look at change: things differently.” 1) Deniers – people who refuse to accept negative realities; It’s also important to “pick low-hanging fruit,” and celebrate 2) Entitled – people who view the church as a country club, the small changes to cultivate momentum. In the end, Rainer paying their dues to ensure their preferences; said, church leaders can implement and consolidate larger 3) Blamers – people who never accept responsibility; changes, but the work is never finished. 4) Critics – people who are never satisfied; “It does not end. Change is continuous,” insisted Rainer, 5) Confused – people who don’t understand why change is highlighting that healthy churches always search for better and needed. more biblical ways to do ministry. Rainer emphasized the “confused” category describes most Find videos of the event and other resources at leadingchange. church members that oppose ministry adjustments: “One of church. CHRIS GRIGGS CHIP HANNAH 2 Opinion/News MARCH 25, 2017 • BIBLICAL RECORDER • News Journal of North Carolina Baptists Celebrating, strengthening the Cooperative Program he Cooperative Program ought hire additional staff. But we held firm. whole, the Cooperative Program is best not a winning strategy. My assessment is not be a sacred cow, but it is My second church, conversely, had to led by pastors. The uptick in Coopera- not a pragmatic or political calculation. T close to one for me. Began by trim its budget on a couple of occasions. tive Program giving in recent years is It is a biblical and theological one. Christ Southern Baptists nearly a century ago, Cutting CP would have been the easier a direct result of past SBC president promised to build his church, not our it has proven to be a most effective and way to balance the budget, but we held Ronnie Floyd’s efforts to this end. He, denomination. enduring way to support our firm then as well. I had come in concert with Frank Page, strategically Let’s clean up our vocabulary, and use collective ministry and mission to value the Cooperative Pro- worked with pastors, encouraging them words like “please” and “thank you,” work. I often visit with leaders gram enough that I advocated to strengthen their CP giving. Thank- and shelve words like “should” and of other evangelical denomina- against cutting it. Thankfully, fully, current SBC president Steve Gaines “must.” The Southern Baptist Conven- tions who are envious of the in both churches, the CP won has continued this emphasis. Perhaps no tion agencies and our state convention Cooperative Program. And out, and we kept our giving at single factor will determine the strength partners serve the churches, not the other they should be; there is noth- its high levels. of the CP in the years ahead more than way around. As we serve them, they will ing like it in American Protes- Now, as a seminary presi- how much our pastors believe in and support us. tantism. dent, I lead an institution that advocate for the CP. Southern Baptists’ persistent gener- I was reared in a Southern benefits daily from the Coop- Second, those of us who serve in osity through the Cooperative Program Baptist church, so I grew up erative Program. Without it, CP-supported entities must constantly is one sign of God’s continued hand on with a general awareness of the JASON K. ALLEN we would be forced to double give SBC churches good reason to our work. In denominational circles, it Cooperative Program. But, it Guest Column tuition on our students. Such support us. This is true at every level is a modern miracle. Through the mis- was not until I sensed God’s a move would decimate the of denominational life: local, state and sions and ministries of the SBC, we call to ministry that I became fully aware seminary, plunge the enrollment and national. We exist to serve the churches; have together impacted the world. Let’s – and fully appreciative – of the Coopera- bring immediate and long-term financial they do not exist to serve us. We need to continue to celebrate and strengthen our tive Program. hardship on our students. In the world ensure that our churches continually see collective work. As a seminary student, I was as- of theological education, the six South- the benefits of their entities working for (EDITOR’S NOTE – Jason K. Allen is tounded by how affordable my seminary ern Baptist Convention (SBC) seminaries them. As our churches find in us skillful, president of Midwestern Baptist Theological training was compared to other evangeli- stand as grand anomalies in size, support faithful and responsive service, surely we Seminary. He is the author of two recently- cal seminaries. While a student at The and overall strength. The Cooperative will find from them sufficient support to released books, The SBC & the 21st Century Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, I Program is essential to this vitality. do our work. (B&H Publishing) and Discerning Your Call learned more intimately how the Coop- Though the Cooperative Program has Third, all of us must be careful how to Ministry (Moody Publishing). He regularly erative Program worked, felt how much been proving itself since 1925, we can- we posture and speak of Cooperative posts essays on his website, jasonkallen.com, it helped me and saw it impact the world not take it for granted. We neglect it, or Program giving. If a church is evaluating and hosts a weekly podcast, “Preaching & by providing for our missionaries. It was minimize it, to our own peril. Without or trimming their CP support, let’s not Preachers.” This article is posted on his website during this time that I became a true a robust CP, our work as a whole will cajole, pressure or shame them.

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