In our Southern Baptist Convention, the SBC churches in an area form themselves into an association. Usually, it’s the churches within one county, but often several counties (in Louisiana, counties are called “parishes”) go together to form an association.\u00a0 Our New Orleans Baptist Association (called NOBA) comprises churches from the tip of the Mississippi River, 100 miles northward into New Orleans and beyond, which takes in the parishes of Plaquemines, St. Bernard, Orleans, Jefferson, St. Charles, and some in St. John the Baptist.<\/p>\n
Here’s what often happens, as it did recently.<\/p>\n
I’ll be preaching a revival in a middle-sized town somewhere in the South.\u00a0 Often, I’ll meet with the pastors’ in the city and speak to them, maybe give them copies of one of my books.\u00a0 At some point, I’ll\u00a0ask\u00a0the host pastor, “Does the pastor of the First Baptist Church attend these meetings?”<\/p>\n
You would be distressed to know the answer is frequently, “Never.\u00a0 They don’t participate in anything the association does.”<\/p>\n
Big, big mistake.<\/p>\n
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Speaking to the Alabama Baptist Convention meeting at the FBC of Montgomery a few years back, I addressed this phenomenon.\u00a0 “Pastors need each other.\u00a0 You pastors of the First Baptist Churches, you need these other pastors.\u00a0 So, quit being a big shot. Get off your high horse, and\u00a0act like a brother in Christ.”\u00a0 You could hear the “ooooh” roll across the auditorium.<\/p>\n
I had struck a nerve.<\/p>\n
Now, there are plenty of exceptions. David Crosby is the longtime pastor of the FBC of New Orleans.\u00a0 No church is more involved in the local association than his, no pastor more than he.\u00a0 Likewise, Don Davidson at FBC Alexandria, VA.\u00a0 Shawn Parker of FBC Columbus, MS.<\/p>\n
Here’s my quick testimonial.<\/p>\n
As the seminary-student pastor of a bayou church 25 miles west of New Orleans, I attended meetings of pastors and the association.\u00a0 Mercer Irwin was the DOM and Franklin Atkinson was associational moderator. (I’m just saying this as evidence that I really was involved.) I even recall Franklin’s associational\u00a0sermon in 1968.<\/p>\n
After seminary, I participated in the Washington County Baptist Association in Greenville MS.\u00a0 J. D. Lundy was the\u00a0associational missionary. Thus, when\u00a0the Lord led\u00a0a friend and me to\u00a0conduct a Delta-wide evangelistic crusade at the high school stadium, the association quickly got on board.<\/p>\n
In my next pastorate, the FBC of Columbus, MS, they hastily made me moderator of the almost-defunct association and got more than they bargained for.\u00a0 I asked Ray Lloyd (FBC Starkville) and Joel Harris (FBC West Point) to lunch, and we decided to combine our small efforts into a work thereafter known as the Golden Triangle Baptist Association.\u00a0The state convention helped us, and J. C. Mitchell became our first (and longtime) DOM. \u00a0Our church’s minister\u00a0of students Bryan Harris supervised the\u00a0construction of\u00a0 the associational building on Willowbrook.\u00a0 The point of all this is to say our church was “all in” for the association.<\/p>\n
In Charlotte NC, I was involved in the Mecklenburg Association.\u00a0\u00a0Our First Baptist Church was not the largest SBC congregation (Hickory Grove\u00a0rules!), but no one was more involved than we.\u00a0 (Today, Bob Lowman leads the Metrolina Association there, and he has had me up to minister.)<\/p>\n
So, in 1990, when I came to New Orleans to serve the FBC of Kenner, across the street from the N.O, airport, participating in the association was never an\u00a0option\u00a0for me. It was something I did.\u00a0\u00a0In all likelihood, that more than anything else, caused the search committee to turn to me in 2004 and ask me to serve 5 years as the director of missions. I was in that slot when Katrina roared through 18 months\u00a0later and changed forever the landscape of the city and the ministries of our churches.<\/p>\n
No one but the Heavenly Father knows how He will use you if you get involved in helping the other churches by participating in the association.<\/p>\n
Here then are my top 5 reasons\u00a0why the largest Baptist churches in the area need to be involved in the\u00a0work of the association. Anyone looking for profundities can keep looking. This is not rocket science….<\/strong><\/p>\n Do this, and I promise you that Christ will be honored, your church will be strengthened, other ministers will be encouraged, and most surprising of all, you will find yourself to be more fulfilled in serving your Lord.<\/p>\n I suggest to the pastors of the larger churches that they take the initiative with steps like these….<\/strong><\/p>\n –Call some of the other ministers for coffee. No agenda.<\/p>\n –Invite a neighboring pastor to fill your pulpit.<\/p>\n –For a special emphasis (Holy Week, revival, etc), have local ministers speak each day.<\/p>\n –Tell your staff you want them involved in the association, and make sure each one knows their roles. That is, they are there as full participants, not to sit in judgment or to become a critic.<\/p>\n –When the association does events, promote it among your people.<\/p>\n –Invite the association to have some of its gatherings in your church.<\/p>\n –When you have an outstanding guest preacher, schedule a time with the other pastors.\u00a0 When Dr. Adrian Rogers did a weeklong revival in my church, following the noontime services (conducted in the fellowship hall following lunch), each day, he pulled up a chair and visited for a full hour with the ministers.\u00a0 Many will never forget those discussions.\u00a0 (I sure won’t!)<\/p>\n Big Church Pastor, we may assume two things….<\/em><\/p>\n –that you will not always be at this church. Thus, you have a brief time to make a huge difference on the community, if you are smart enough and don’t mind humbling yourself. <\/em><\/p>\n –that some of these Small Church Pastors will not always be there either. Some are destined for greater assignments.\u00a0 What if you served as a role model for them, and made a difference in the way they ministered for the rest of their lives?\u00a0 What a powerful influence you have.<\/em><\/p>\n To repeat: What a powerful influence you have.\u00a0 So please. Get out of the office and use\u00a0that influence\u00a0for the Kingdom’s sake.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In our Southern Baptist Convention, the SBC churches in an area form themselves into an association. Usually, it’s the churches within one county, but often several counties (in Louisiana, counties are called “parishes”) go together to form an association.\u00a0 Our … Continue reading \n