In a week or so I will be able to watch new episodes of one of my my favorite TV shows, “Undercover Boss.” I love witnessing weekly the inevitable personal and executive transformation that results from a chief executive officer going undercover to reconnect with his or her employees. One particular episode chronicled the impact upon Sheldon Yellen, CEO of Belfor, worldwide leader in disaster recovery and property restoration. There is something extremely moving about a high level executive awakening to the needs and struggles of his or her employees, and the climax always comes as the transformed leader gives back to those that fostered the undercover awakening. I can’t help drawing a parallel with the incarnation, inadequate comparison as it is. The writer of Hebrews expresses it well: “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are–yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” I love that truth! Jesus Christ perfectly identifies with my agony in the trenches and reaches down to pull me up. The incarnation is so much more than orthodox dogma; it sustains each step and fills each breath with hope and meaning. If a corporate executive can become a caring employer who delights in giving back, I better understand how Christ joyfully extends to me full and abundant living in light of his own human journey.

Dane Fowlkes, Ph.D.
Associate Director

In the 12/28/11 email update, we asked what you thought youth ministers would benefit from learning. Our hopes are that the church will recognize various needs and areas they can learn and support. Here are some of your responses about youth ministry:

• You need to LOVE your pastor. I mean really love him, because there will be some days ahead when you don’t like him at all. Your love and respect for him will need to get you past them so that your ministry is not negatively affected by temporary feelings.
• Thank God every day you are NOT the pastor.
• I think that in many churches the youth are too segregated from the rest of the church. I would love to see youth participating in prayer meetings with mature Christians. They would learn much about prayer from hearing people who are seasoned in prayer. Also, the adults would be more aware of the needs and concerns of youth if they heard their prayers.
• First and foremost pray. Make time for prayer daily.
• When you have a great idea for the advancement of God’s kingdom though your church and ministry, go to the pastor’s office and discuss it with him. But do so in such a way that he will think he thought of the idea first! Only you and God ever need to know the absolute truth and the pastor’s opinion of you will improve remarkably as days go by.
• I would like to see pastors and youth ministers agree on times for church business meetings and encourage the youth to be in them. It would go a long way toward teaching them the workings of the church body.
• While kids value programming, and some are well served by programming because their personal and spiritual needs are met at home/bible study, the “needy” kids are interested in relationships with their youth directors.  Making this healthy and safe for the youth director is important, but understanding it will make youth ministry more
  effective for those kids.
• Maintain a meaningful devotional practice (Bible study and prayer).
• Listen carefully to the expressed needs of the young people under their care, both in group sessions and private conversations.
• Ask each member to write what he/she most wants to accomplish in life, that is, his/her goal in life, immediate and long range.
• I would press it upon other youth ministers to continue learning! A BA is not enough for the culture we encounter anymore. There are options for a youth minister apart from a Min Div. Howard Payne University has a MA in youth ministry built for the full time minister (or part time). It is possible and worth the time.
• With that read the Bible daily meditating on what was read.
• Tell the youth that you minister to your story of what God in Christ has and is doing in your life. The rest is gravy.
• Don’t make your ministry just a Christian-ized version of something kids could get from another organization. Make it about discipleship.
• Gather as many volunteers to help with your ministry as you possibly can. That will be as good for you as it is for the kids.
• As much as you can, make your ministry to whole families and keep it within the context of the larger church body.
• I would speak to them about accountability, servanthood, and earning the authority they desire by faithful service and godly example. Usually they are young and the members are older. Both sides must not dismiss the viewpoint of the other.
• Another item might be salary expectations.
• How to teach/train youth to live out their faith daily
• How to involve youth in “ministry” – serving others.

What one youth minister said would be helpful:

• I would love for someone to help me learn to better balance the primary role as a bible teacher with also needing to wear the hat of a special events/fellowship coordinator
  and a baby sitter.
• I would welcome some advice on how to motivate parents to embrace their responsibility as their child’s primary spiritual educator.

Two more questions, this time to youth ministers. What do you wish the church knew? How can the church best support you and the youth group?

The stark reality of aging seems unavoidable these days. I’m not certain it’s due so much to another year come and gone (the fifty first such event for me), as to nagging frustrations arising from increased physical limitation. Why can’t I bend over in the morning without doing warm up exercises to prepare for the warm up exercises? Why can’t I eat what I want whenever I want without then carrying it out in front for the world to see and causing Jenny Craig to recruit me for her next before and after? Why does morning arrive too soon but the night too late? Why these crevices in my face where smoothness once ruled the earth? And then, if things aren’t bad enough in the wake of my most recent birth “celebration”, I read still another reminder in Scripture:

“Anyone can see that the brightest and best die, wiped out right along with the fools and dunces. They leave all their prowess behind, move into their new home, The Coffin, The cemetery their permanent address. And to think they named counties after themselves! We aren’t immortal. We don’t last long. Like our dogs, we age and weaken. And die.”
(Psalm 49:10-12, The Message)

Well, isn’t that special?! Thanks, Sons of Korah, for the pep talk! Talk about stating the obvious but tossing tact to the wind. But, honestly, it’s that kind of straight talk I need to hear to startle me out of spiritual lethargy and a holy hardening of the arteries. Get the paddles out—jump start me Lord! Shock me into a meaningful life of submission and service. Whereas my first thought once was of self-preservation, show me how to be used up for You and for the benefit of others. I’m not immortal. I repeat—I’m not immortal! Invest what’s
left of my life so that something remains of me that matters when I lie down and join my dog. Make me a perpetual mentor, a teacher from the grave. Whatever changes are necessary, make them in me so that I will be for some a compass whose needle always points Godward: in private and public, the same; alone and in a crowd, no difference. A man of integrity and faith, of strength and grace; a “clutch man.”

No doubt I will continue to deteriorate, to age and weaken and eventually die. But, Lord, make old age an opportunity rather than a curse. Bring to life right now what will remain long after my body takes residence in its new home, The Coffin. Make mine a memory that speaks fluently the greatness of our God.

“By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.” (Hebrews 11:4, NIV)

-Dane Fowlkes
Associate Director

Carolers Blasting Silent Night

From the malls to our places of work and then to our homes we are constantly bombarded with an infinite variety of Christmas music and advertisements.  Even the greeting cards screech at us with the metallic charm of a robot!  More glitz!  More jingle!  More bells ringing in the front doors!  Does it strike you as ironic that these bullhorns are blasting the song “Silent Night” at us as if it were the latest disco hit?  Maybe Elijah wasn’t the only one who heard the voice of God in a gentle whisper.  Perhaps that is a common experience among us… Maybe we all hear God better when things are q-u-i-e-t.  (shhh!)   I don’t know about you, but my plans for Christmas include at least one night out in the cold just staring at the nighttime sky, listening and worshiping, and saying n-o-t-h-i-n-g.

TR

Cindy shared this reflection with me the other day, and I felt it was something worthy of sharing with you… via the internet!  It is something she wrote after reflecting on Matthew 22.

O holy and righteous God

You who are enthroned above

You threw the stars and planets into space

And knitted together each creature with love.

You who are perfect without any flaws

You risked the creation of man

All the while knowing that he would applause

The wickedness that would ruin your expanse.

You sent Your Son to carry away our guilt

You provided the garment which was Christ’s blood spilt.

And now we enter your wedding feast

Which we don’t deserve in the least.

All of a sudden your anger is stirred.

You see an intruder

Someone dared to enter on their own “good behavior.”

They reject your wedding garment

The Precious blood of your Son.

And insist they know how this life is to be done.

“Away with you into the darkness!” you cry.

“There is no excuse except willful pride!”

How many will be that way?  How many, O Lord?

Your Word is left on a shelf while we go through this world

We say that we know you, we go to church every week.

But are we really wearing the wedding garment you seek?

Our thoughts and actions and attitudes will tell

Whether we will be welcomed to heaven or hell.

One of the common lenses with which people view their church is the lens of leadership.  Church members, especially heavily invested church members, are keen to tell whether they feel their church has capable leadership or not.  I share their joy and pain as I have contact with several congregations each week.  It doesn’t take long to detect if a congregation is enjoying good leadership.  The people will tell you!

But what is it that makes a good leader?  That is a more complicated question.  The good leader has to do a lot of things right in order to earn and keep that label.  So where do we start to understand leadership?

I enjoyed a professional relationship with the former Director of the Williamson Baptist Association, Clint Anderson.  Clint earned a Ph.D. in leadership, and he wrote a curriculum for leadership development in which he sliced leadership into: “leading self”, “leading others”, and “leading your organization.”  I thought that was a good perspective.  If a person cannot lead him or herself, it will be very difficult for anyone else to follow.  I think what that meant was that a good leader knows how to live an intentional life.  He plans ahead, deploys his resources (money & time & energy) according to his values, manages his time well, does what he says he will do, keeps his promises, and keeps the urgent from preempting the important matters most every day.  There is a high degree of integrity about a person who knows how to lead himself.  He knows where he is going, and he is actually getting there.

That, of course, is not all there is to leadership, but it is a really good start.

TR

Last evening was a time to remember!  We gathered at FBC Woodway to celebrate our 151st annual meeting as an association, and shared some truly beautiful moments of fellowship and worship.  The folks at FBC Woodway just outdid themselves to make everyone feel welcome, and to make sure the meal and the facility, and the program were perfect.  The desserts were yummy, the meal delicious, and the welcome was genuine.  Thank you to all who contributed to that effort.

Those who led the program also set a new high standard.  Kathy Hillman, our moderator and the annual meeting committee led by Sinai Wood made it so that we could enjoy the whole evening, the meal and the business and the worship, in a time frame that allowed plenty of time to just visit with one another.  Chris Wommack led the choir with his usual grace and joy, and the singers… all of them, blessed us with their gift of music.  Dr. David Garland delivered a phenomenal message about the design of God for the church as a tapestry.

Wow, this sounds pretty gushy, but it really was all that good.  As each person contributed their part (seamlessly and beautifully), it all folded together like a beautiful piece of multicolored tapestry.  I will remember this meeting as one of the best association meetings that I have ever attended.

Thank you, Lord.  You are good!

TR

Last week was just and incredible week of seeing the wonderful “tapestry of faith” that is at work every day all across this region.  In two weeks, William Creek in Axtell has baptized 11 people.  Pastor Billy Burchfield is very excited about how the Church Strengthening Process has ignited his church with a new passion for loving the people of their community.

On Thursday evening, I met with the Community Ministries Team and saw with my own eyes the powerful ways that God is moving both in the La Vega Community Church and through the members of the team.  First off, at the Community Ministries Team, we heard from two of our new staff members, Jon, Jenny, about their longing to see the churches of the WRBA deeply engaged in effective ministry on the campuses of TSTC and MCC and in their communities to those families and children who are struggling to eat nutritious food each day.  The members of our team spent dozens of hours this summer praying, interviewing, and searching for these three who feel called to be a part of this bigger ministry at this time in history.

As that meeting was concluding, we walked out under the carport at the La Vega Community Church and had to weave our way through about a dozen teenage girls that were seated on the sidewalk.  There was a volunteer there who had played basketball with them in the gym, and she was immersed in prayer for these girls… one at a time… blessing their lives with the Word of God and ministering to them on that sacred spot.

Wednesday evening, I had the privilege of leading the Strategic Planning Committee of FBC West through a process to help their congregation discover what is important to them.  In a moment during that meeting, everyone realized that everyone else in the room was dreaming the same dream as they were for their church!  Earlier on Wednesday, I met with Jeff Anz, the incoming President of the Board at Latham Springs, and he shared with me his conviction that it is time to raise the money to build a beautiful new conference center there on the camp in order to open up the retreat ministry to a whole new level.

Tuesday, I met with a small group of the Leadership Development Team and heard of how that team is embracing and using Covenant Groups and Coaching to sharpen their ministries and the ministers around them. Also on Tuesday, I heard back from Jimmy Bartley that he had been able to go to the St. Mary’s Baptist Church in Mart and was going to be able to help them remove a giant hive of bees from the back of their parsonage. (Thank you very much, Jimmy).  A practical demonstration of the Lord’s Love as it flows from one to another to another and then to another.

Sunday, I led the leaders of FBC Mart through the first steps of the Church Strengthening Process, and began to see a glimmer of joy in their eyes as they captured the potential of this moment in the life of their church.  Cindy and I also were able attend our home congregation (Calvary) and heard a friend, Meg Cooper, preach the morning message. She did a terrific job.

What a week!  Whew.  Now, I’m ready for a bit of fun tomorrow at the Baylor Football game.  Maybe I’ll see you there.

Tim

“I never had any intentions of starting Shekinah Glory. Actually, I didn’t intend to pastor period,” said Pastor Charlotte Jones.

She was an Itinerate Elder at the AME church and attending Truett Seminary when she felt God saying she would pastor a church. Upon graduating, advancement within the AME church did not arise as she had originally thought would happen.

“The Lord asked me, ‘Are you going to wait on a man or are you going to follow what I’m trying to do in your life?’”

She had already been holding a Bible study with Erma Smith, a lady she knew growing up.

“It was just the two of us but somehow the Holy Spirit was just overwhelming the two of us…. I had no idea what God was doing and I didn’t think in terms of starting a church.”

Erma Smith said, “My favorite thing is she teaches within the Bible, she teaches the Bible…. She explains it to you real well.”

When Jones found God pulling her to start a church she acknowledged “God had already started the church and I just didn’t know it.”

She moved the Bible study to the club room and watched membership grow. Jones eventually felt the Lord pressing her to hold Sunday services. The transformation took place on May 5, 2007.

“It was never my idea. It was always something that God had always planned,” she said. “He even gave me the name of the church, and He has given me a vision of what the church will grow to be one day. I’m just thankful that He allowed me to do that.”

Jones is under no illusions about the controversy of female pastors.

She said, “When God asked me to do that he was not concerned about me being a female. He just wanted someone who would be willing to do the ministry, who would be available, who loved Him and loved the people.”

Smith enjoys fellowship and service. She says the church is growing but it is slow.

She said, “We keep praying and asking God to give us a stabilized place…other than that we’re happy.”

They have Sunday school, worship services, Bible study and several ministries, including an urban ministry.

Jones said, “We take 10 percent of whatever we have coming in and we put that toward missions. So we’re able to help with a light bill, water bill, food, rent. It’s not that much but we do that.”

The church has also joined forces with the apartment complex and Wal-Mart to provide some ministry services.

While there are many ministries in the church, but few leaders. Jones started several ministries to meet various needs and is seeking God’s wisdom and guidance in who should lead each one.

She said, “I’m praying and waiting on the right person.”

Jones teaches the youth Biblical studies as well as guiding them in civics, leadership and the consequences of certain choices. Smith admires Jones’ work.

“(Jones) works so hard to instill in the youth things of God, things that are right and things that are wrong … leadership,” Smith said.

The church even support international missions. Jones preached in Haiti in 2010 with the BGCT. Shekinah Glory now partners with a church there. She also created an “Adopt-a-School” contract to work with developing schools in other countries.

There is a “Boys to Men” ministry designed to have the older men mentor the young men of the church.

Jones is adamant about honoring God in all relationships which is part of why the church hosts Twogether in Texas workshops (http://www.shekinahglorybaptist.org/Events.html).

Shekinah Glory has a women’s ministry called “Sisterhood”. Each October there is a ceremony where they make a vow to the Lord. Every older woman has a younger woman that they mentor.

“The sisterhood is there to help women with all sorts of problems,” Jones said.

Ethel White has been attending Shekinah Glory for seven months and is praying about joining. She had reached a hard point in her life and watched as Jones ministered to her and her brother.

White said, “I was raised in church, but I’ve strayed for so long. Going back, it feels so good to serve God and give Him the glory.”

She has seen what God has done in her life and know He will work in other people’s lives as well. Under Pastor Jones’ guidance, she has started studying the Bible and witnessing to people at work.

White said, “I’ve got a long way to go until I get there, but I’m not going to let anything stop me.”

Shekinah Glory is currently sharing the Third Street Baptist Church facilities while praying about the future growth of the church.

In the same week, we have heard of the arrival of a new pastor to the Seventh and James Baptist Church and the resignation of Shelton Markham as pastor of Western Heights.  Shelton has accepted a call to serve as the student pastor at Community Bible Church in Fort Smith, Arkansas.  We will miss them dearly.

I have observed churches for the past 13 years from a unique perspective as a Director of Missions and as a Congregational Strategist.  I have probably given orientation to more than 70 pastor search committees, and walked with as many churches through this important moment in their history.  I could make a lot of observations about this time in a church’s life, but I will limit my thoughts to just one here.

Church members and leaders intuitively understand this kind of transition as a potential time of high risk.  Anxiety rises and speculation abounds.  The departure of one senior pastor and the arrival of another produces large quantities of hope and despair at the same time.  The people understand that it matters A LOT who is serving as the senior pastor.  But from my perspective, it is a good time to remember who the real Head of the Church is, and to recall who it is that we are really following.  We should be growing in our obedience to Jesus Christ regardless of who is serving currently as the under-shepherd.  Our loyalty as Christians is to Him who purchased us with his life, and to one another who are our brothers and sisters in the faith.  Much of the rest of the speculation and worry and discussion is an unproductive use of energy that deprives the body of its focus and inertia.  Both, the pastor who is leaving and the pastor who is coming, would probably say “amen” to that.