The film adaptation of the “Lord of the Rings: Fellowship
of the Ring” starts out with the cryptic phrase from Galadriel the narrator,
“The world is changed.” Not to be overly dramatic, but anyone observing the
early 21st Century would say exactly the same thing: the world is
changed. Not, “The world is changing,” but, “It is changed.” The world has
changed significantly. And those changes are affecting us.
Some of these changes are overdue and welcome; some are difficult
to interact with but still welcome. Some of the changes (like the intrusion of digital
media and cellular devices) are a weird blend of troublesome and helpful. But
change is like math: it doesn’t care about your feelings. Change is inevitable.
Interacting with it in healthy, meaningful ways is of utmost importance.
Our State
Convention has changed – Under new State Executive Director Thomas Hammond,
the Georgia Baptist Mission Board is undergoing massive restructuring that has
included a reorganization of staff. Some state missionaries are being reassigned
and some have been downsized. When the dust settles the GBMB will be selling
the building in Duluth and dividing Georgia into regions, each with about a 5
person team to serve the churches in that area. The idea is to shift the
emphasis to the local church and to try and affect health (holistically) among
pastors while strengthening churches. This is still in the creative stage:
pray!
The SBC has
changed – There has been an enormous amount of turnover in our
entities. At the end of the year there
will be two new seminary presidents installed as well as a new Executive
Committee President. There is a new convention president (actually this happens
every two years). But in my opinion, JD Greear’s election signaled a helpful shift
akin to passing the torch to a new generation of leaders. The SBC is trying to understand
how to move forward with more transparency and thoughtful prevention following
the scandal of learning that over 700 cases of sexual abuse spanning over 20
years had occurred in SBC churches (Houston
Chronicle, February 10, 2019).
The Association
has changed.
·
The availability of information available at the
click of a mouse has made information handling easier for everyone. The
information the Association communicates has to be more specialized.
·
The movement away from “the program church” (which
has already happened) and the changing role of the State Convention as a trend
setter for churches affects the role of Associations.
·
The struggle for vitality in existing churches
and the attendant catalogue of issues related to that drives the Association’s
mission.
·
There is more creative pressure to prove
relevance in an era of fewer resources.
What hasn’t
changed:
·
The need to get the Gospel to every person. “The
Gospel is only Good News if it gets there in time”—Carl F.H. Henry.
·
The need to help pastors network and learn.
·
The need to help churches be the best they can
be.
·
Biblical truth. What has changed is the need for
a more basic missionary apologetic (think Acts 17:16-34) and willingness to
meet people where they are.
Bob Dylan sang, “The times, they are a changing.”
Absolutely.
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