I would love to tell you that the most exciting and life-changing events on the church calendar are our bi-monthly church business conferences. I wish I could guarantee visions and mighty works of God just by showing up. I’m afraid I could be stretching the truth, maybe lying, if I said you would emerge from this meeting of the Baptist brethren and sistern with the glow Moses received after he met God on the mountain.
For some church folks, the church business conference is a “necessary evil” where the membership of the local congregation meets, argues, and creates conflicts that will never be resolved until the Savior returns for Thee Final Conference. For most folks in Baptist churches, the business conference is simply not a priority unless the word that a “hot issue” will be discussed and acted upon or if the secret gets out that the pastor and staff are planning a hostile takeover of the finance committee.
Regardless of your perception of these gatherings, they are an important part of the life of the Baptist church. We Baptists are independent thinkers. That’s our heritage. We believe in the priesthood of the believer which means we are all personally accountable to Almighty God. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and upon our acceptance of his invitation to follow Him, we have access to our Maker. You don’t have to call the local pastor or Pope and ask him or her to line up a visit with the Creator. You have direct access. Read Hebrews and you will discover that you are a priest and Jesus is the Great High Priest.
These priests gather as local congregations and Baptist priests are strongly independent and autonomous. In other words, we take our cues and determine our direction as we consult the guidebook (the Bible) and confer with the high priest (Jesus). Now here’s where it gets tricky. We Baptists can come to different conclusions after our biblical consultations and Heavenly conferences. Did I say we are independent thinkers?
As we Baptist gather as a local congregation with a variety of opinions, it becomes necessary to determine a unified course of action. The church business conference is that place and time where we “hash it out,” with the hope that a diverse people can be a living example of how earthly followers conduct Heavenly business.
Show up at our PSBC bi-monthly business conferences. Currently, we are practicing the tithing principle in our attendance. Ten percent of congregation are usually present…give or take a few priests. We can do better.
Andy O.
(704) 300-0062