PASTORS E-NEWSLETTER
MARCH 2011
Hi fellow Pastors!
Greetings again! I trust that you are feeling personally blessed in your service for God, even if everything isn’t going along smoothly. I’m sure that we are all at different seasons at the moment, with some of you travelling well while others are struggling in difficult circumstances. May you not lose your sense of intimacy with God in whatever circumstances you currently find yourself. Hopefully there will be something of interest and help for you amongst the items below.
VALUING VOLUNTEERS
Some of the unsung heroes in our churches are the army of volunteers who give of their time and gifts in supporting the ministry of the church. While at times we may focus on those who don’t fully engage in ministry activities, it is so easy to overlook those who give so much of themselves in contributing to the life and ministry of the church. We need to value and honour them. I must admit that I’m not always good at remembering to show my appreciation as often as I should. May we all be more diligent in expressing thanks for these unsung heroes, both publicly and privately.
MSD certainly wouldn’t be able to serve our pastors and churches to the level we do without the many volunteers who support our endeavours, especially the MSD Executive, the members of our 9 taskforces, Regional Ministers, etc. I recently wrote all their names down and there are over 70 such volunteers. What champions! They give of their time because they want to make a difference for the Kingdom of God.
From time to time MSD could, however, use some more volunteers in a range of areas. On occasions we need volunteers to assist us during times of high demand, whether they be persons with specialized skills or to assist with admin or mailouts, photocopying, etc. If you know anyone who would like to give us a hand from time to time, please don’t hesitate in encouraging them to contact Ros at adminmsd@baptistnsw.asn.au. Their contribution will be in serving all our movement of churches.
PASTORS DEVELOPMENT DAY – TRAINING in BIBLICAL CONFLICT RESOLUTION
Conflict is an inevitable part of human experience. Followers of Jesus and the churches they are part of also experience conflict. Responses to conflict can either be biblical or destructive.
If you struggle to deal effectively with conflict, or just wish that you had more skills to handle difficult people better; if you like to be equipped to understand conflict from a thoroughly biblical perspective, as well as be given practical tools to model God-pleasing ways of responding to conflict; if you would like to learn how to build a genuine culture of peace in your church, then you are invited to an opportunity for Training in biblical conflict resolution on 15 July 2011, 9.00 am – 4.00pm.
This workshop is being sponsored by Ministry Support and Development (MSD) in cooperation with Peacewise. The cost is just $85 (normally $154). This course will also qualify you to do the next level of PeaceWise training. Further details can be found at www.msd.org.au/resources.
PARTNERING TO PREVAIL LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE.
At the end of 2010, one of our colleagues, Kevin Warner had the opportunity to attend the Partnering to Prevail Conference in Chicago conducted by the Willow Creek Association. Kev found this a very rewarding experience and so with his permission I have added Kevin’s report and reflections on the experience at www.msd.org.au/resources for your own consideration. If at any time you attend a conference or reflect on some reading and would like to share these reflections with your colleagues, please pass them onto us and we will include them in future newsletters.
MARRIAGE CELEBRANTS REFRESHER COURSES!
MSD continues to conduct refresher courses for Baptist Marriage Celebrants at various venues around the state. All celebrants are required to complete a refresher course at least once every five years to retain their registration. If you haven’t attended one of the two hour refresher courses over the past 4 years then it will be important to include one in your diary very soon to ensure you are able to remain a marriage celebrant.
Refresher courses coming up include:
April 7 – 11.00am – 1.00pm at Gunnedah Baptist (let Terry Logan know if you plan to attend)
April 13 – 1.30pm – 3.30pm at Milton-Ulladulla Baptist (let Rob Tanner know if you plan to attend)
May 20 – 9.00am – 11.00am at Baptist Ministry Centre, Epping (let Ros know if you plan to attend)
HOW DO PEOPLE VIEW GOD?
While many people may indicate that they believe in God, what kind of God do they actually believe in? The following article, while referring to a study in USA, has enough similarities for us to reflect upon. You might consider what implications this might have for the way we seek to engage our communities. Have a look at www.faithandleadership.com/features/articles/how-americans-view-god.
DIRECTIONS 2012: TASKFORCE 2 – BAPTIST IDENTITY
As the MSD Ministry Team members move among our churches, especially when assisting them in focusing of where God may be leading them into the future, one obvious observation is the number of folk who come from other denominational backgrounds and yet have made their spiritual community in a local Baptist Church. Often such people make up 50% of the congregation. The second taskforce of Directions 2012 has been exploring ways to assist our congregational members to appreciate the core values that have driven our Baptist Movement from its beginnings over 400 years ago and their relevance today.
Unfortunately, for various complex reasons, we have not always been able or committed to assisting our church people to understand our heritage nor our core beliefs and values. Historically we are a non-conformist movement, a missionary movement who are committed to the Lordship of Christ and the Authority of the Scriptures, yet this isn’t always evident in the midst of our pragmatism. We do need a fresh way, even in a more non-denominationalism era, of expressing and embracing our core beliefs and values as a movement. MSD encourages pastors to explore ways of communicating this in a more contemporary way without losing the essence of those beliefs.
June Heinrich has asked if we could complete an Awareness Survey in regards to the Directions 2012 recommendations. Could I please encourage you to complete the short survey that can be found on www.msd.org.au/resources and return to June on heinrichjune@gmail.com.
HOUSE SWAP IN BEAUTIFUL COTSWOLD VILLAGE
A Baptist Minister in Minchinhampton, UK, is looking for a house swap for 2-3 months over (Australian) summer/autumn, 2012. [This has been passed onto me via a couple of sources.]
Liam Eaglestone is interested in taking a sabbatical in Sydney very early next year. He’s looking for a family to swap homes and cars for a 2 to 3 month period any time between January and April 2012.
Liam is offering accommodation in a four-bedroom manse in Minchinhampton, west of London, , about an hour from Bristol and just over an hour to Oxford, with access to two vehicles, an eight-seater Previa, and a smaller Yaris. In return you’d be making your home available to Liam, his wife Kate and their four kids, aged 7 to 3. He would be happy to do a bit of preaching, though he is not looking to have responsibilities every Sunday. I’m told he is a very good communicator/preacher. They would really like to spend their time in the Sydney area
If you’re interested in a sabbatical/holiday/LSL in a pretty, snow-covered village in the beautiful Cotswold countryside, check out the details on www.msd.org.au/resources and contact Liam directly with any questions you might have.
Ken Clendinning
Director of MSD
Recent Comments