Leaning Forward

Memorial Day

Memorial Day! Lounging on the beach, enjoying a picnic with the family, huddled around the TV in an air-conditioned den watching old John Wayne flics, going to the movies, or whatever, remember that our troops are stationed around the world right now, serving and protecting. As the picture portrays, some of them cover their deployment with prayer, gathering for devotion before a mission.

Maybe we should pray for them today too. So, as you pray over your burgers or ribs, lift up a short prayer for them, asking God to give them safety during the day. Also, ask God to remind them that we love and appreciate them, and their service to our country. It's the least we can do.

Thanks. Blessings for an enjoyable day!

The lump in the throat thing

Call me a softy, or a sentimental fool, but I still get a lump in my throat when the patriotic thing happens. So, march a band down the street playing American heritage music, go to a Friday dress parade down at The Citadel, or let me watch They Were Expendable, or any of the other World War II classics on TV, and you'll see the lump in the throat thing leave me a little speechless. Maybe it's just another sign of my age. The flag gives me chill bumps! What can I say.

The other day someone sent me a link to the Virtual Wall Vietnam Veterans Memorial. It is an amazing piece of work. I went to the sight and looked up a name from college, Capt. Carter Avery Howell, Citadel Class of 1969, shot down over Laos. Carter Howell was my squad sergeant knob year at The Citadel. The name on the wall had a face that was all too familiar to me. He was a Citadel junior at the time. He shaped my life that year perhaps more than any other single person. He yelled at me, cajoled me, encouraged and cheered for me, made me do push-ups, taught me how to shine shoes, helped me learn the TO & E of the chain of command, and started instilling in me and our other squad mates duty, honor, and country, the ins and outs of the military and the Citadel system. Reading his profile on the virtual wall brought tears. Memorial Day has a face too. Visit the Virtual Wall here if you'd like top put a face to your Memorial Day weekend as well.

In our worship this weekend we'll fly the flags and remember. Will you please take a moment to do so too?

Blessings for a safe and memorable Memorial Day!

Lest We Forget

A number of years ago during a youth trip to our nation's capitol we walked through Arlington National Cemetery. It was an awesome time of personal reflection, a reminder of some things that slip to the background of the daily pace. Memorial Day is that kind of thing for me too. Yes, we ought to be aware and thankful for the sacrifices so many are willing to make every single day. But, truly, these important things are most often subsumed into the mechanics of every day life. So, special days---Memorial Day, Veteran's Day, Mother's and Father's Day, and all those days with spiritual overtones---are observed to hopefully make us take pause.

Today, this grateful heart remembers the stroll through the national cemetery and reflects on the special joys that attend this Memorial Day. There are layers of gratitude here---[1] that so many Americans have been and are willing to serve our country in military service. This has not always been popular, at times being compelled by selective service induction. Still, the willingness of so many to seek military careers or interrupt their other life for a time of service is a remarkable testimony to their love for our country. [2] Every member of the armed services knows their service may require the ultimate sacrifice. Yet, they line up for duty, endure the hardships of training, accept the remote and often dangerous postings, and proudly wear the uniform of the United States. This is awesome. [3] The gravestones in Arlington National, and in cemeteries around the world, testify to the deeper personal sacrifices families make when their offspring, siblings, parents, spouses, family members and others enlist for military service. [4] Each grave marker reminds us of the horrific nature of war and our need to pray for peace. [5] Everything about this day is a post-it-note from those who have served that ours is a system worth dying for. Day by day we can find plenty wrong in Washington, Wall Street, Hollywood, Columbia, and on Main Street USA. Yet, our government, financial system, freedoms, and national ethos is a preferred way of life among the nations.

Sophomoric? Trite? Perhaps. Just thinking, though, lest we---no, I---forget!

The Face of Modern Missions: corporate ADHD

Competition is not, repeat, NOT, a component of missional organizations. Sectarianism, however, often creates a competitive environment. The congregation down the street may be seen as an opponent of sorts, vying for the same people and resources that you consider the constituency of your local mission. Such an attitude is not healthy for the Kingdom. Now, the dollar emerging as the primary face of modern missions, departments and agencies within the same denomination are drawn into the competition for the shrinking resources. Tension is the result. This kind of stress is not Kingdom friendly either.

While the world system teaches collaboration and joint venture, many religious bodies collapse into rigid silos of of function. "We do our thing and you do your thing" are the mantras of a good many ministry initiatives that are failing because they cannot see or implement a unified mission. Corporate ADHD happens when leaders stop seeing their assignment in view of the whole. Attention is diverted from the original, perhaps mandated role and mission, in favor of a shadow purpose that is super-imposed over the mission structure. The new purpose: survival.

Organizational change is always threatening. So, internal resistance to evaluation and assessment is normal and expected, especially in entrenched systems. And, yes, the church, for the most part, is about as entrenched as any hierarchical organization. All the talk about reviewing the structure of the SBC and it's agencies and institutions creates a good bit of insecurity among the work force. Down-sizing is a contemporary reality out there on the mean streets of corporate America. But, not in a religious group or agency. There is an expectation of civility, less covert ops, not quite as cut-throat as the profit minded world. 

Early on, a visible convention leader remarked that the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force was really unnecessary since the SBC had conducted an organizational review seven or eight years ago. At that time I thought the comment was essentially defensive. Still, I wondered what rock this executive had been hiding under! Seven or eight years is a life-time in organizational effectiveness. At our church we do informal ministry evaluation every week. Velocity defines our times. Organizations, especially those of a spiritual or religious character, must review their mission and structure often. This really is the only remedy for corporate ADHD.

Outcomes should compel us to institutional review. Stay with me here. When the outcomes of mission are on the decline, the problem is with us. Note. [1] God is still God. [2] God's Word is still God's Word. [3] God's plan for world redemption is still in force. [4] God's power is not diminished even in our times. So, when the demographics are down, don't point to the world, or blame God. Maybe it's just time to take a closer look at who we are and what we're supposed to be doing. 

It's how we stay on point, keep our focus, further understand that we're not here to maintain a structure or organizational chart or get our piece of the action.

There's this thing about making disciples of all nations. Now, that's what I'm talking about!

The Face of Modern Missions: where's the beef?

Trusting God with my pocket-book was a big step. The old accountant that I used to be just couldn't grasp the journal entries of the economy of heaven. Yet, our faithful God overcame these bean-counter tendencies and liberated Harriet and me to truly discover the blessings and joys of Biblical book-keeping. Trusting Him in all things is a thrilling ride. Almost every day He makes me say, "WOW!", such is His providential care.

Teaching the principles of personal finance and Biblical stewardship is an added level of His plan for pastors and Christian workers. Among life's great moments is the look of discovery and awe when believers first grasp the trustworthiness of God's promises, His faithfulness in the the various disciplines of financial management. Usually there is an exultant explosion of joy when people learn the lessons of sacrificial giving.

Evidently, our agencies, institutions, state conventions, and associated organizations are not expected to function under the same principles as our membership, the lessons that are taught in our churches. Now, pay attention here. Harriet and I live under His protective care and can affirm that He has provided our needs throughout 37 years of marriage. At the same time, we try to be good stewards, don't live ostentatious or reckless lives, and seek to be good managers of those things entrusted to our care. We trust him in all things, don't hoard money or valuables, and don't maintain large caches of reserve monies. I mean, we have been taught to trust him in all things. So, when the economy goes south, when retirement funds take a market beating, when the washer goes on the fritz, or there is a need for a new compressor, we don't freak out over it. We trust him to provide. If my retirement account reaches zero we're going to retire, or experience some facsimile thereof, anyway. Maybe when we're too old to haul me into a pulpit somewhere!

Missional congregations operate this way too. They usually dream bigger than their pocket book and count on God to come through for them. They believe God will provide for those things He has revealed or commanded. Thousands of churches are impacting their communities in incredible, measurable ways, nickle-and-diming their way to Kingdom significance, a promise and a prayer, walking by faith and not by sight.

Then, there are the vast reserves of our agencies and institutions. OK, I know the mission boards want to be prepared to provide a strong financial footing for our missionaries in the event of a world-wide financial collapse. At the same time, educational institutions are required by accrediting agencies to maintain strong ratios of endowment to operating income. So, reserves are, in themselves, not a bad thing. Certainly, sound accounting principles demand a measure of reserve funding to determine the viability of some organizations. Harriet and I have a reserve fund too, all the change in our pockets at the end of the day go into a jar. It is our emergency Starbucks fund. Call us foolish or short-sighted but we don't have a nest egg stored away for the future. Maybe we're nuts but there is this daily bread thing that sustains us. We still believe that.

So, we're all in a panic over the GCRTF report, and the possibility of reallocating the vast funding that our churches provide month by month. To be sure, our hearts have turned to mission. That is a good thing, a resurgence of the passion that launched our wonderful denomination, the mission work that is our our heart, a return to our Biblical roots. Yet, the face of mission has changed, and we've become a "cookie monster" bureaucracy. Getting our piece of the pie is the deal these days. 

The question of the day, as we anticipate a vote regarding the GCRTF report, is where is the beef? You know, where is the faith we're always talking about, the belief in His wonderful promises, the trust in the promises He has given us. I mean, get real. If God is for us, who can be against us?

Once, the leaders of the young church were in trouble. Jail, or worse, stoning, awaited them. A Jewish leader named Gamaliel intervened. He said, "...if their purpose or activity is of human origin it will fail. But, if is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God" (Acts 5:38-39). An isolated case or God's sovereignty? Or, a way to find the beef, the trust to move into uncertain times with the God whose promises are real. 

Where's the beef? Right where is always was, before it was only about the money and before is was de-formed into a "cookie monster."

The Face of Modern Missions: it's planting season

To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven, or something like that, depending on the version you're using. Yes, among the various activities under heaven is a time to plant and a time to uproot (v. 2). Wired into nature's clock is an opportune moment to put seed into the ground and watch it grow. And, you know what? It's planting time right now!

Predicting the spiritual seasons involves more than counting days, tracking the heavenlies, or reading an almanac. Sure, certain atmospheric conditions exist to announce the time to plant, but it is essentially a matter of discernment, that would be, spiritual discernment. Knowing when to plant, and being prepared for that choice time is really the issue.

Church planting is a front burner topic for Southern Baptists right now, and one of the more significant aspects of the disconnect we're experiencing with the younger set. Reviewing a life-time of Southern Baptist motion, I've always been impressed  with our passion to start new work. For many years this has been a major objective, a unifying purpose under heaven. Yet, recent years have shown flaws in our church planting strategy. As a result, many individuals with the heart for planting new work are aligning themselves with other groups to launch new congregations. Many of these starts are effective missional outposts actually changing the spiritual landscape of their communities. They seem to understand the intricacies of planting and are geared to accomplish this work and sustain it. You see, it is planting season, and these Kingdom workers have the heart to go into the harvest fields to make new church plants happen. 

The atmospheric conditions for planting are not meteorological. You don't have to have Live Viper to forecast them. Yet, they are readily apparent. I mean, you must simply have eyes to see, and be willing to think outside of the normal boundaries a little! So, what are they? What are the cultural realities that make planting season so obvious right now? (1) New work reaches more unchurched and dechurched  people. (2) There is a cultural bias toward existing, more traditional congregations that inhibits their outreach, especially to non-traditional, younger demographics. (3) God is raising up a generation of entrepreneurial strategists who understand the times and are willing, yes eager, to invest their lives in the arduous work which church planting requires. (4) Many local congregations are passionate about reaching the gen x and millennial cohorts but do not have the energy or human resources to launch a new congregation. They would, however, provide funding if asked and presented with a workable strategy. (5) The church planting strategy of the North American Mission Board and state convention partners is antiquated and needs a make-over. 

These winds have stirred up some dust. Consequently, the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force report, in Component Four, speaks to our need to prioritize church planting in a re-invented North American Mission Board, partnering with state conventions, associations, and spear-headed by local congregations. Standing firmly in favor of this component, I will vote affirmative to approve the GCRTF report in Orlando next month.

Some people will call for delays in approving and implementing the GCRTF report. State conventions and institutions are fearful of funding reductions. The "cookie monster" needs to be fed. As a result, the face of missions now is the almighty dollar. I'll speak to that issue tomorrow. Today, let's be reminded that it is planting season. Every environmental indicator signals the time for planting is now. Therefore, we must not delay.

There is a time to plant and a time to uproot. It's planting time now.

The Face of Modern Missions: the cookie monster goes to church

A few years ago, a journalist cleverly referred to the United States government as the "Cookie Monster". It was a not-so-subtle reference to the insatiable appetite of government for our tax revenues, like the TV character's refrain, "Me want my cookies". Pretty apt to me!

It's really an accurate description of just about any bureaucracy. Unless checked, hierarchical organizations, whether public or private, even spiritual institutions, can take on the traits of a "cookie monster." This growth hormone can be easily tracked in bureaucratic systems, the expanding waist-line of the organization being readily visible in (1) growth in the number of personnel, (2) the physical plant that houses the group, and (3) the budget needs required to fund the work. At some point, also, "cookie monsters" often evolve into self-justifying hierarchies. They must constantly gorge themselves to maintain the huge caloric intake required for sustenance. When the cookie jar is depleted, however, the feeding frenzy that used to supply the nourishment must be curtailed. Need an illustration? Look at local school districts and state and municipal governments as they adjust to a small grocery list necessitated by the recent economic downturn.

Alas, the "cookie monster" has gone to church, so to speak! Few church members, perhaps a good many  local church pastors, cannot fathom the "cookie monster" similarities in our denomination. This is not necessarily a criticism. Extension of the Kingdom is a growth enterprise. The genius of the Cooperative Program has been the thought that all of us could accomplish, in terms of the Gospel, more than any one of us could individually. This, of course, is very true. Forty-four thousand congregations provide a rather astounding base of missionary recruiting and a very impressive financial footing upon which such a vast endeavor, world-wide evangelization, could occur.

Over the years, the funding formula hasn't provided sufficient monetary support for the growing ministry plan. So, we've asked our church members for more. The "cookie monster" syndrome grew the structure of our work, so our financial needs out-ran our offerings. Subsequent offerings were requested to insure the continuation of our work around the world---special offerings for international missions, North American missions, state missions, associational missions, world hunger, and various other state institution offerings. The "cookie monster" just continues to grow.

Perhaps the most appealing aspect of the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force report is the simple possibility that our work can be reviewed and assessed in light of mission realities that exist today. Our tried and true funding mechanisms, while sufficient for the times in which they were introduced, may not be up to the tasks in an era marked by such complexity. Certainly a complete review of our internal systems is warranted every few years. Successful organizations demonstrate the ability to adjust and stretch and contract to meet the needs of quickly changing environments. This process can not only stream-line the work and eliminate needless duplication, but insure that more of the monetary resources reach the actual object of our affections, that is, I presume, to make disciples of all nations. 

Unless feeding the "cookie monster" is now the mission. And, if that is so, many will just take their goodies somewhere else. That is sad, but true.

The Face of Moderrn Missions: it's green with envy

It used to be a Ugandan child, or a student from Kazakhstan, maybe a Siberian worker, a family from Delhi, a Chinese peasant. Today, it is George Washington or Alexander Hamilton, or one of the other historic personages pictured on American currency. Suddenly, it is about the money. Today, sadly, that is the face of modern missions.

For months now the agencies and institutions of our great work across America have awaited the release of the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force report. Speculation about specifics has raised anticipation of the recommendations, maybe even fueled some of rumor mill that has attended their deliberations. Now, with the report being circulated around the denomination, there seems to be a mad scramble for the coveted Cooperative Program dollar. We are being warned, at least in South Carolina, of the dire consequences of tampering with the funding formulas. It reminds me, and I really despise this comparison, of what is happening in the public sector and educational establishment with diminishing tax revenues. Maybe I'm just an idealist, but I would have expected faith-based organizations to express a little faith.  

Some things about the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force and the implications of adopting their report are not being said. So, this week I'd like to honestly assess an item or two. Of course, these are just the reflections of a life-long Southern Baptist (my age + nine months), a run of the mill pastor who doesn't possess any clout, a pastor who loves the local church and missions, and one who is concerned about our future, most especially the exodus of younger pastors from our ranks. You know, one man's opinion. Anyway, here are a couple of things that are not being said---

1. Most pastors I know love our denomination, our mission work, our state convention, and our institutions.
2. Declines in CP giving are not solely the result of the economy.
3. Funding reductions are mainly the result of dissatisfaction with (a) formulas for allocating gifts between the State Convention and the Cooperative Program, and (b) the work of the North American Mission Board, especially the church planting strategies of NAMB and the state conventions.
4. Most of the pastors I know not only approve of, but welcome, the GCRTF report.
5. Most of the pastors I know have no desire to de-fund our state institutions.

These are certainly complicated times. The unified program that has defined out excellent work since 1925 is under scrutiny today because it is broken. The GCRTF is an effort to insure viable Kingdom missions in the years to come, and to make certain the face of modern missions isn't merely a piece of currency. I will be attending the convention in Orlando and vote in favor of the report. This will enable us to begin the process of examining the entrenched systems and mechanisms that have reduced the face of missions to a dollar bill.

I'm praying that we can look beyond all the balance sheets, reserve funds, and contingencies, and learn once again to trust our Gracious God, Jehovah Jireh, to provide what we need for the Kingdom work that He has graciously assigned to us.

And, that the face of modern missions to us Southern Baptists will one again be a human person who needs to hear about Jesus.

No body told him---

Last week I was with a forty something man who was facing a life crisis. We had met a while back through a family member and have talked a couple of times, mostly just in passing, light weight stuff. His situation has recently changed drastically and he is facing major adjustments, perhaps serious medical treatments, relocation. In short, he is at the end of his rope. Mainly, he is frightened.

Of course, our talk eventually turned to faith. It shocked me that he didn't know anything. He's forty years old and knows absolutely nothing about the Bible, the essentials of faith, church, or anything spiritual. This is incredible to me. He knows nothing. Nada. Nil. Zip. 

Here's the  real deal. He's in the generation right behind me, that is, he's twenty years my junior. As we talked, I initially took for granted that he already knew all the information about Jesus, salvation, the Bible, and the things of faith. When I asked him why he had never made spiritual decisions, he said, "well, nobody told me."

That's the essence of the message of Deuteronomy. One generation telling the next.

And, that is exactly my heart and prayer this Lord's Day.

A not so gentle reminder

Before crossing over God told Moshe and the new generation of leaders a thing or two about perpetuating their line. You see, for forty years this tribe just ran around in circles waiting for the old leaders to die off. Under this kind of death watch the important corporate processes slipped to the background. Important rituals and family processes were lost in their survival mentality.

God was direct in speaking to them. It was a not-too-gentle reminder of God's process for a national leadership continuum. He took the elder Israelites to task, reminding them of two important facts: [1] the burden or preparing the next generation is on the elders, and [2] the younger generations don't know the important information because no one had taught them. Twice he said, in effect, remember this: your children didn't see that God had done to the Egyptians, and how God had delivered Israel. Emphatically, he said: it was your eyes that saw what had happened. He made them know who is responsible for preserving the important history, beliefs, and traditions of the nation. Whooaaaa! This is big.

The builder(? -1945) and boomer (1946-1964) cohorts in our population, of which I R one, are always belly-aching and whining because the gen x'ers and millennials don't know (1) American history, (2) the Bible, (3) the unique character of our founding and constitution, (4) the important dates and sites of WWI and WWII, (5) the significant people in our national epoch, and a lot of other data necessary for the perpetuation of what is dear to us. What God told Moshe is a not-too-gentle-reminder to us: they don't know these things because we haven't told them. Instead of being angry at them, we should resolve to correct the situation---insure the accuracy of the history books, demand curriculum integrity, take up the slack in our sub-standard public education system by telling these things at home. 

Our weekend text is Deuteronomy 11. As we encounter it, we'll recognize both our senior adults and graduates, a multi-generational celebration of what makes a national treasure and perpetuates the wonderful fabric of our corporate life.

And, we'll  let this not-so-gentle reminder stir our awareness, and re-awaken our responsibility toward those who come after.