Hi fellow Pastors!
As I write this newsletter, it is Sunday night following three very intense (positive) days of worship, celebration and decision-making and I’ll be taking a few days break now with Judy to relax, refresh and renew.
I am profoundly appreciative for all you pastors who turned up on Saturday for the decision-making sessions regarding the denominational governance structures to support the vision and direction of our movement of churches in NSW and ACT. I was deeply moved to see you all gather at Parkside and being willing to sacrifice and invest your time and energy in what was a long day. As we met for prayer for 90 minutes beforehand (and some of you had to get up at 3.00am to travel in time to be there), to worship and meet around the Lord’s table seeking God’s heart and mind, it was the natural and appropriate way to lead us into a day of discernment and to listen to God’s Spirit.
While our processes are not usually conducive for good dialogue and interaction in seeking together what God is saying to us (and I know there are better ways which I hope we will now explore), I thought there was a wonderful tone and spirit in our deliberations on Saturday. While some of you may feel that you didn’t contribute greatly as you didn’t say anything in the public interactions, your very presence spoke volumes over any words you could have uttered. The presence of so many of our pastoral leaders who had been praying for this day was such a powerful statement. The MSD team particularly felt greatly supported.
I have no doubt that the Spirit of God covered us on Saturday and I also thought we finished on such a high note of thankfulness. You significantly lifted the bar in decision-making because as pastors you understand what pastoral leadership is about. It wasn’t the actual voting that counted most but your commitment to each other and our wider movement of churches to collectively listen to what God may be saying. In speaking later with those who were guiding us from the platform, they were blown away with the energy of the yes for the first motion. They were taken aback by the general unity that started from that point and was evident in most decisions. God had been at work.
In regards to the content of the decisions we made, I believe this will go down as a watershed day for the Baptist churches in NSW and ACT. We made some of the most important decisions we have made as a family of churches for over 60 years. We have agreed to change our whole model of governance so that the denomination can better serve the churches and pastors and actively pursue the vision and directions that we had already identified as being where God wants us to go. These decisions will assist us to respond more appropriately to the diversity of our churches and to a changing society where we seek to be Kingdom people and to bring the Gospel in word and deed to a needy world.
However, this is only the beginning not an ending. Governance itself is not the vision. It is only our human attempt to enable us pursue the vision that God has put before us. Please pray for those whose task it will be to convey the intent of these decisions into the framework of a constitution. Actually I’m already heartened by the approach to this task that is being considered. Pray for those who will continue to dialogue and consider the best way forward in the two areas we were unable to full resolve (ie. How the Committee for the Ministry members are appointed and where Global Interaction best fits). I believe we will move towards the same mind on this if we carry that same tone and spirit into these deliberations.
Pray too for those of us who will be responsible for the implementation of these decisions and for those of us, particularly denominational staff who will be impacted by these decisions. And please be gracious as in our humanness we will make mistakes.
These few days were not only about governance. On Friday I found the reports from around our churches inspiring and challenging. For those of you who were unable to join us we focused on 9 different churches from around NSW and ACT and heard reports of what they were doing to reach people in their area. This included numerous videos, powerpoints and interviews. We have linked copies of these so that you can see for yourself if you were unable to be with us on the day. Be inspired by the wonderful display of diversity in these presentations. http://msd.org.au/assembly-2011/
The Accreditation Service where we accredited 8 ministers was also a great/ moving celebration as we recognized these pastors. As they publically declared their commitment to serve our movement as pastors, the rest of us present committed on behalf of all our church folk to encourage and support them. Therefore, I’m asking if you will pray for them. They are Greg Brugglemann (North Haven Baptist), Nathan Dirs (Narwee Baptist), Raed Haddad (Bankstown Baptist), Tim Kay (Yass Baptist), John Lewis (Mayfield Baptist), Des Ong (New Life Kellyville), Ben Rodgers (Ryde Baptist) and Jonathan Smith (Concord Baptist). Why not drop them a line, give them a call or introduce yourself whenever you get a chance. I was personally challenged by the evening as I was reminded of my own ordination vows. [I even forgot the Bulldogs were playing at the same time.]
Today was also an important & moving occasion when Steve Bartlett was inducted as the Director of Church Planting with MSD. Steve starts this week. Steve’s appointment will enable us to support further the momentum of church planting while allowing Pete Davies to focus more on Church Health and Evangelism.
REVIVE 2011 – HOPE
Revive provides us and our congregational members with a further opportunity to inspire and be inspired, encourage and be encouraged, equip and be equipped for the ministries to which God has called us. Please join with us to spur each other on to be the Kingdom people that God has called us to be. Revive registrations are now open! Revive is on Friday the 26thand Saturday the 27thAugust. Revive is about inspiring the church in building Kingdom Communities. You can now find out heaps of info and register online at www.revive.org.au.
The Annual Dinner for Pastors and Spouses will again be held at the Bel Parco Restaurant, Bicentennial Park, on the Friday evening of the 26th. Register now as there will be limited seats available. Part of the purpose of these dinners, besides sharing as pastors and spouses around fine food in pleasant surroundings and great company, is to express value and appreciation to those who have responded to God’s call to serve in Christian ministry. Often our calling comes at great cost and sacrifice not only for ourselves but for those we love the most. These dinners are intended to affirm you and your spouse and to say thanks for all you do. Even if your spouse is unable to accompany you or you live on your own, we are very keen for you to attend.
This year’s speaker will be Dr Graham Henderson (from Carlingford Baptist) who is a leading layman of our denomination and who has a heart for championing pastors and pastor’s families. (Judy and I know from personal experience.) Our guest artist will be Russell Ixer (from Northside Baptist). We do recognize that it isn’t a cheap evening but we do want it to be a special night out. Therefore, Christian Super has again agreed to sponsor the dinner enabling us to offer discounts for rural and regional pastors and those pastors who are only paid part-time or are doing it tough financially. We don’t want finance to inhibit anyone, so if you need assistance, just let Ros or myself know and we will arrange a substantial discount for the evening. If you would like me to write to your church leadership encouraging them to meet the costs of the dinner, please let me know and I will write to them. You must register to attend as we will need to give final numbers to the restaurant in advance. Registration Forms are available on www.mds.org.au/resources.
FINANCIAL BOOTCAMP for PASTORS
Due to the success of this seminar last year, MSD and Christian Super will be holding a similar seminar on August 25th. This has intentionally been arranged on the day before Revive so that rural and regional pastors may more easily attend. Details will soon be available.
RETREAT for PASTORS and for PASTOR’S SPOUSES
Planning is well under way for a retreat for pastors and for pastor’s spouses to be held at Collaroy Plateau on October 16-18. Our keynote speakers for the few days will be Murray and Marj Robertson from New Zealand. There will also be elective options for pastors, for spouses and for couples. This is part of MSD’s endeavours to support and provide input into the lives and ministry of pastors and also Pastoral couples.
FOUNDATIONS for COACHING and MENTORING SEMINAR
Due to the popularity of these coaching seminars, another seminar day will be held at the Baptist Ministry Centre Epping on Saturday 17th September. This is not only open to pastors but also to others in your congregation who you think would value such training. It is also an introduction to more advanced training. This is a good way to invest in leadership development. See more details at www.msd.org.au/resources.
INSPIRE CONFERENCE
The 3rdNSW/ACT Baptist Inspire Church Planters Summit brought together almost 70 planters & planting team members, (plus kids, presenters and mentors) for 2 days of equipping, coaching and recharging at Kiah Ridge. Participants came from a wide variety of church plants. Some, like the team from Narooma Simple Church, have been planting in their location for a few years now. Others were like Jamie Freeman, who leads H3O Church which was launched only the week prior to the summit and gathers at Dee Why Surf Club. Still others have not yet planted, and are open to God’s direction to pioneer something new in the future. Numbers swelled on the Tuesday morning as more pastors and leaders dropped in for the session with Mark McCrindle. A noted Australian social researcher and a keen Christian, Mark shared on Future Thinking and Cultural Trends in 2011 Australia. This and the other plenary talks from the Summit are available free as mp3 files and can be downloaded from http://msd.org.au/inspire-2011/.
PREACHING SKILLS WORKSHOP #2
This workshop will be held @Morling College onMonday 8th August, 10am – 3pm. All participants will receive a free copy of the newly published Apologetic Preaching & Teaching for the Church & Marketplace – a How-To by Rev Dr Ross Clifford, to be launched on the day. Full details of this workshop can be found on www.msd.org.au/resourcesor register at www.morlingcollege.com/events
BARNABAS NETWORK
Mike Robinson, one of our own retired pastors has a website of reflections, resources, articles, etc to encourage, support and sustain pastors and others in ministry. You can find this network site at www.barnabasnetwork.com. I encourage you to visit “Barney” (as he is affectionately known) to find a range of helpful resources and links.
If you also have an article or link that you would like to share with your colleagues in ministry, please pass it on so that I can include it in further newsletters.
Now the fasting period for Directions 2012 is over, I can now get back to watching some rugby league.
Ken Clendinning
Director of MSD
kclendinning@baptistnsw.asn.au
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