Friday, September 29, 2006

The local church and the sent church

Do you remember the days when missions in local Baptist church life consisted of collecting three special offerings per year and giving a portion of the budget to missions through the Cooperative Program? Remember when we trusted the "professionals" to do missions for us?

Perhaps I am exaggerating to make a point. But - you know what I mean. Many Baptist churches did missions vicariously. It was a 20th-century model that served us well in many regards. However, those days are over. The fundamentalist juggernaut that rolled through the Baptist family has forever changed the denominational landscape. Other factors contributed to the sweeping changes we have witnessed in the past 25 years as well. For many Baptists, the root system of the Cooperative Program (namely, trust) has been destroyed as we have seen too many bodies strewn along the road on the path to power and control.

As difficult as it all was to watch and experience, God remains enthroned and the Gospel of Jesus Christ remains empowered! God is raising up a different kind of local Baptist church in this generation. Many of us in the local church setting are embracing the changes and sensing the movement of God's Spirit among us.

What I am witnessing and experiencing is a revival of the doctrine of ecclesiology specifically as it relates to missiology. At the core of this discussion is the question: How does the local church relate to the sent church?

I would suggest you read Patrick Johnstone and Ralph Winter for helpful and wise insight in this area. I am finding myself studying Acts and the letters of Paul searching for clues to assist me as I lead my church to become increasingly personally invested in the Great Commission. Churches across the world are addressing this issue. I am encouraged by what I see and the conversations I am having in this regard. More and more churches are stepping up to the plate and sending missionaries, teams, businessmen/women across the world in the name of Jesus Christ.

I believe a new wave of missions is forming out in the sea of the not-to-distant future.

What do you think?

- Dennis R Wiles

Saturday, September 09, 2006

The Future of Baptists and Missions


What is the missions future for Baptists? The question is more than a rhetorical one or the speculation of an academician.

"The question is not whether Baptists will do missions but whether Baptist missions will be relevant in a changing world and a dynamic force for world evangelization." - mws

  • Read the full article by Mike Stroope at . . .
  • Tuesday, September 05, 2006

    GCPN

    There is a fresh new wind blowing in missions. It is not all that new, actually. Many church leaders are searching for more meaningful ways to involve their people in missions. The days of writing a check to a denominational agency and vicariously living out the Great Commission through that agency are over.

    It is a new day in missions!

    I believe we need a network of churches growing in community and partnership in the missions task. Global Connection Partnership Network (GCPN) is one attempt to create such a community. GCPN is a church-based approach that will offer churches an opportunity to become partners in a global strategy aimed at reaching the world for Christ.

    How are we going to accomplish this? How are we going to launch this new network? How are we going to develop strategy? How are we going to create opportunities for community?

    These questions -- and many more -- are being addressed right now through conversations between pastors and missions leaders in our state. We are supportive of what currently exists in Texas Baptist life -- e.g., WorldconneX, Partnership Missions. However, some of us believe we need a church-based entity that will assist churches in sending missionaries and developing global strategy.

    One thing that is going to happen -- a group of Texas Baptist churches are going to be hosting a Missions Rally at First Baptist Church of Arlington on November 12, 2006. This rally is held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the BGCT in Dallas on November 13-14. We will have several seminars that afternoon beginning at 3:00pm. Register now. The Rally will begin at 7:00pm in our Sanctuary. There is much to celebrate. God is at work through our churches as we are seeking to respond to the challenge of the Great Commission.

    You are invited! Spread the word!

    - Dennis R Wiles

    All Things in Common Network

    Welcome to the All Things in Common Network of the GCPN!

    This is an invitation to participate in a virtual community of Great Commission churches who desire to partner for the common goal of reaching the world for Christ.

    In terms of its challenges, the church of the 21st Century has much more in common with the 1st Century church than it does with the 20th Century church. With that in mind, we would be wise to explore the qualities of the early church that God used to insure its success in taking the Gospel to the world.

    Acts 4:32 describes the collaborative mentality that characterized the early church – All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had.

    Can you imagine the potential of:

    • a church network whose primary goals included the success of all its partners in winning the lost to Christ …
    • a network which shared people, resources, information, education, and ideas…
    • a network made up of churches and partners who possessed no political agenda nor a spirit of competition…

    Could such a community actually exist? God said it did and he used it to birth the Kingdom within an opposing world. The spirit of selfless cooperation that enabled the spread of the Gospel in the 1st Century can be claimed by you and I today as we address the challenges of the Great Commission together. Welcome.

    - Dr. Dennis R. Wiles