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Preachin's Blog A little blog from an upstart theologian that will do its best to exemplify Christ while sharing a thing or two along the way. |
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![]() Tuesday, March 07, 2006 North American Mission Board articleOkay sooo...maybe I do care about some stuff in the SBC. Well in case you haven't read North America: Hanging in the Balance, an analysis from the Christian Index (Georgia Baptist's state newspaper) than you probably need to click on the previous link and read it first. Big issues here, primarily because many people have suspected some of this for some time now. Well, to be honest I'm not sure what to make of this article. I know that there are those within the convention hierarchy that would really like it for we mere Is NAMB effective? Is their corruption at their HQ? These are the central questions behind this article. The research behind the article is credible, and it simply is the writers using stats given out by the agency to add credibility to their claims. In looking at the effectiveness I do see NAMB being effective at confronting our culture with tools for reaching the lost. I see many church plants being aided by their support. (One of the major changes in the Nehemiah Project that freed up church planters to be bi-vocational was great.) I see many friends being placed as missionaries with NAMB. What aid agency sent more people into lands ravaged by Hurricane Katrina? Everywhere you look in those places hardest hit, you see a NAMB volunteer. From effectiveness I must say that they are being effective. Yet from my position (perhaps one of sheer incredulity) after reading article, and seeing/hearing the responses from fellow ministers who have read this article, I am left with one simple belief that reform must occur at some level of the organization. Yet reform is not a hallmark of ineffectiveness (thank you Brother Martin Luther) it is simply a reflection of troubled ways of doing things. The biggest bombshell, imho, for this article is the conflict of interest with InovaOne. This relationship must be resolved and, if found to be in error, terminated. It is a sad thing to hear of friends who have lost their jobs and been downsized so a personal friend of an executive can get rich off the outsourcing he suggested. We in the evangelical church have failed together in one area more than any other. In allowing the slick consumerism to march boldly into our churches we have robbed the message of Christ of its true efficacy to convict and power to heal anyone. While we need smart solutions for a lost and dying world we need them to uphold the nature and purity of the Church. How many times have I seen someone shamelessly self-promoting their latest read or workbook or pointless knick-knack at a cost which more than doubles the creation cost. We have appropriated the heresy of indulgences and turned it into a palatable capitalistic solution. It saddens me that this continues on in our churches today. The way we share our faith and act in our society must change because our society has already changed. It is not the mere suggestion of change anymore, it is the acknowledgement that they have changed. We cannot expect to ever see a campaign like "A Million More in '54" ever catch on like wildfire, so long as our culture exists as it does today. We cannot live in the past accomplishments of our brave forefathers in the SBC but must press forward to attempt greater, bolder steps of faithfulness and fruitfulness if we ever want to stem the tide of division and decay within our churches. I've been to the NAMB HQ. There are good people that work there. Within that building is more optimism and promise for a brighter church tomorrow than anywhere else I've visited. It is a denominational agency, and yes there are people hiding out from God's call there...but there are also people doing God's work there. They have smart solutions and deep care for the lost and dying world at their doorstep. As a younger evangelical minister I must wonder aloud at how this will affect us in the long run. I've heard a major leader in the SBC remark that the best thing for the NAMB is to sell off the building, invest the proceeds from the sale into actual church/Kingdom building activities, and start from scratch. While I don't take as drastic a stance, I do believe that some sort of repair must come off of this article. I am committed to continuing to support our local missionaries, Cooperative Program, and will continue to give to Annie Armstrong. I do however raise my eyebrows in contemplation of a veritable Pandora’s Box of issues which will be unearthed within our convention. Do I know what to do with this article? No. I can only support, pray, and encourage those involved. posted by Preachin Jesus | 12:05 PM | |
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