PASTORS E-NEWSLETTER
NOVEMBER 2011
Hi fellow Pastors!
THE CHALLENGE of SIZE
Often when meeting with pastors and congregations to chat about the health and well-being of the church the issue of size comes up. Unfortunately in some people’s minds size is seen as an end in itself rather than what might be accomplished by being a large group. There are those who see being or becoming a large congregation as a matter of prestige while others value being small. I believe that so long as it is a healthy vital and missional community, there is a place for both small and large congregations.
Sometime in a future newsletter I’ll be keen to discuss this issue in greater detail. In our broader movement there are appealing aspects and limitations to whatever sized church we may be part of. I’d welcome any reflections or insights you might have about church size and its implications for mission.
SELF-CARE STRATEGIES
As I’m sure you are aware, MSD often emphasizes the need for all pastors to have self-care strategies in place as an investment in our well-being and long-term vitality in ministry. Of course, this is easier to say than do. One of our own pastors, Paul Summers, has provided a short reflection and lessons learnt from his own journey and the need to keep a regular rhythm of self-care in our lives. Read what Paul has to say on www.msd.org.au/resources. A further encouragement to ensure we have mentors or coaches (shepherds) in our lives can be found at http://goo.gl/yuhLM.
SELF APPRAISALS
You might like to check out a couple of tools for assessing your strengths and character profile in leadership approaches. NCLS has a helpful appraisal tool on leadership strengths that can be found at http://www.ncls.org.au/default.aspx?sitemapid=6343. Details of another character assessment profile can be found at www.heartstyles.com.
UPDATE on the IMPLEMENTATION of DIRECTIONS 2012 DECISIONS
The Baptist Union Executive has been overseeing the implementation of the Directions 2012 decisions. Some of this implementation has included agreement to appoint a Communications Officer early in 2012, the expansion of Regional Ministers and the appointment of the Pastor to Pastors. The training of church consultants will continue plus strategies to give greater support to pastors. Further discussions continue in raising financial commitments to support these initiatives.
The BU Vision Committee spent November 7 & 8 together praying and seeking God as we focused on framing and articulating the purpose, values and direction for our movement of churches. The Committee will be spending another day on December 5 continuing our considerations. Following this, members will then interact with the Constitution Committee plus numerous focus groups representing the breadth of pastors and churches to sharpen the vision and mission statements and to ensure it reflects what the churches decided in the Directions 2012 decisions.
The Constitution Committee has also been very active formulating a new constitution that reflects the governance decisions. They hope to distribute a final draft in January for consideration at the AGM in March. The committee is aiming to produce a plain English document that captivates our purpose, values and how we might enable the vision that God has been giving us. The intent is to then proceed with appointing an interim Assembly Council who would initiate a process to appoint a Director of Ministry followed by an Associate Director for Administration and Finance.
Please continue to pray not only for those who are actively engaged in these implementations on behalf our churches, but also those who will be significantly impacted by the transition.
REVIVE 2012
August 17-18 will be the occasion for our Revive Conference in 2012 with Matthew Barnett co-founder of the Dream Center, Los Angeles, being our keynote speaker. This will be held at the same venue as 2011 so please put these dates firmly in your diary. The Revive Pastors Launch will be held at Morling College on May 2. Planning is well under way in regards to musicians, workshops, etc. For those who may not be familiar with Matthew or the Dream Center you might like to read his book, The Cause Within You, co-written with George Barna or look up google to see part of their story.
* IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR AUTHORISED MARRIAGE CELEBRANTS and BAPTIST RITES
Last week the Australian Baptist Ministries (trading name for Baptist Union of Australia) Council meeting adopted Marriage Rites for Baptist Marriage Celebrants in Australia. These can be found at www.msd.org.au/resources. These rites have been sent to the Federal Attorney General’s Department. To conduct a wedding as a Baptist Celebrant in Australia, these rites will need to be followed for the marriage ceremony to be valid. You will notice that the rites have been kept to a minimum with little prescription to enable a fair bit of freedom in the ceremony. However, it does affirm the current definition of marriage according to the Australian Marriage Act. It also affirms that this is a Christian ceremony.
As mentioned in the previous two newsletters celebrants are required to keep up-to-date and be familiar with the Marriage Act to continue as marriage celebrants. To assist with this, MSD has been running regular refresher courses throughout the state over the past four years.
In 2012 we will be holding further Celebrants Refresher Courses on:
Wednesday 15th February in the Illawarra region (location tbc) 10.00am – 12 noon
Friday 1st June at the Baptist Ministry Centre, Epping 9.00am – 11.00am.
Friday 14th September in the Western Suburbs (location tbc) 10.00am – 12 noon.
Monday 15th October at the Baptist Ministry Centre, Epping 10.00am – 12 noon.
After then, those who have not completed a refresher course over the past 5 years will most likely not be able to retain their registration.
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.
Ken Clendinning
Director of MSD
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