Mike Day – “The Future of Baptist Associations and State Conventions” (MidSouth – DOM)

Mike – I am a “traditional” Southern Baptist – been on every roll and every SBC program ever created through the time of growing up.

The Pathway from the Past

Beginning Days (1707-1814) Philadelphia Association was first and set the course: Church centered, advisory and cooperative. Assoc. is not superior, but subservient to churches, autonomous, and it could advise churches, but the churches were under no obligation to receive the advice.

The Transitional years (1814-1920) Local Associations helped to found State Conventions and the National bodies. Created an identity crises for local association and became an implementing agency of the state conventions. Ceased to be focused on the churches and their initiatives, but focused on the state and national associations and they became the initiating agencies.

The Modern Era (1920 – 1978) Cooperation became model and the Cooperative Program is born in 1925.
State conventions became the receivers and distributors of CP monies. The SBC said that this arrangement could be changed, but it never has. Debate arose as to whether local associations should exist. They were affirmed as the distributor of information concerning the convention.

The Re-Formation (1978 – 2007) Resurgence period. Rough on state and local bodies. Both are struggling to be relevant on emergent, contemporary, missional and other non-traditional churches.

Birthed by Biblical Baptists

Nurtured by Believing Baptists

Shaped by Bureaucratic Baptists

Defined by Battling Baptists

Questioned by Befuddled Baptists – We need to answer certain questions. Most are being raised on the blogs. Many traditional Baptists think “blog” stands for Big Load Of Gossip. I say it means Better Listen to the Outpost Guys (Where is Marty???)

The Predicaments of the Present…

1. The Duplicated-Effort Syndrome – We duplicate the functions at every level

2. The Institution-First Syndrome – We didn’t mean to create it, but we have a lot of stuff that has to be fed. All of it good, but so much it hurts.

3. The Autonomous Hierarchy Syndrome – It’s implied – we’d never admit it out loud – but there is a hierarchy. Churches most often land on the bottom.

4. The Codified Cooperation Syndrome – The narrowing of parameters within the SBC.

5. The Thinly-Spread Mission Dollar Syndrome – CP receipts are increasing in bulk, but percentages are declining and that will catch up to us. Churches and States will begin to keep more as the dollars shrink.

6. The Lost-Influence Syndrome – We are less and less culturally relevant.

How do we respond?

Some have started new Association and State Conventions. We need to overhaul our local associations, just like the SBC and State Conventions. But is an overhaul enough?

The overhaul of an engine is to take apart an engine, polish it and put it back together. When it is done, you still have the same engine, and it begins to fail again pretty soon.

A paradigm for the future, seen in part in the Tulsa Metro Association (he said it – not me):

Church-Driven vehicle – it is about the local church

Priority based – priorities of the local church: Church Planting, Leadership Development and Motivating churches to win the lost (this IS Tulsa Metro!!!)

Resource focused – utilization of resources invested in the church (Tulsa Metro!!!)

Institution free – It will work hard to avoid owning anything like camps, ministry centers, etc. (Tulsa Metro!!!)

Strategically managed – staff, if any, will be there in a catalytic role, not managerial role (Tulsa Metro!!!)

Regionally located – but not geographically bound (the world is flat)

Denominationally connected – but not in the traditional way. A combined entity – if this reaches its logical end, the state conventions and the local associations will morph into a new thing and the former entities will cease to exist altogether.

(Art: Marty will kick himself for not being here. Ben: this guy needs to be President of NAMB.)

(Charlie Cruce, Tulsa Metro DOM, I am bringing you a CD of this. I know we are the subject of this – literally – but you need to hear this. In fact, we need to get this on the net. Everyone should hear this.)

Q&A

Mike Day, is this Associational paradigm Biblically based? In its roots – the mission of the local church, Great Commission.

Mike Day, how do you deal with hierarchy with national missions and local missions? If national missions will facilitate local missions, then CP giving could well go up.

Mike Day, what about the creation of institutions to meet current needs if we are getting rid of institutions? Turn the ministries over to the local church and keep it from being an institution. (Tulsa Metro!!!)

Mike Day, what about interdenominational networking? BFM-Cooperation with other kingdom enterprises is allowed. The paradigm would allow that. Would you encourage it? From a personal perspective, yes. Absolutely.

As president of one of our largest bureaucracies, Dr. Rainer, how would you respond? I was very encouraged and we need to keep in mind that we don’t exist to keep ourselves going.

Dr. Rainer, how do you balance making money and doing our mission? We have to deal with the questions “Are we a business that does ministry?” or “Are we a ministry that does business?” We must be a ministry, WITH THE BFM AS OUR STANDARD (hello).

Mike Day, Have you implemented this in you Association? Yes. What was the response of the State and National Convention? National, no response, and State has helped facilitate. We have NOT pressed these issues with them.

Mike Day, we have traditional institutions, how do we make this move and deal with these institutions? The Associations must divest themselves of the ownership and wish Godspeed to those who take on the specific ministry of the Association.

Dr. Rainer, how can the institutions go forward? Lifeway can do it, but it will be different.

Both, I think Baptist mission money should start churches that are called “Baptist.” It seems that we are doing a bait and switch and sowing the seeds of our own demise. Are you encouraging younger pastors to not be ashamed of the Baptist name? Thom – We are doing our denominational work. Mike – We are Baptist, but we do not have anything to steer pastors to use the name Baptist *questioner: What we are ashamed of now, we will abandon in the future.

(this was met with scattered “amens” and furrowed brows – depending on to whom you were listening or at whom you were looking)

I missed the last question – sorry.

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