…For a Pastor
I was so thankful last Wednesday evening to hear the report from our Pastor Search Committee. The gathering was well-attended by our PSBC family and the session proved to be one of great encouragement to my heart. I was delighted to hear how you all have shared your hearts and minds with the Search Committee and to see how they have organized your responses to be able to communicate well with pastoral candidates. The meeting was an incredibly positive expression of a church family earnestly sharing with one another as together we are looking to the Lord’s guidance for this search process. This coming Sunday, the Search Committee will share with us the position posting and we will pray over the next step in this process.
…For Answers
At Wednesday’s meeting, a couple of questions were asked that piqued my attention. The first question is, “If we are not in agreement with the belief or practice of one denomination, but we declare ourselves as dually aligned with two denominational groups, how can we expect our new pastor to cooperate with the one with which we disagree?” More specifically, in that Poplar Springs Baptist Church affirms women in ministry in ways that are not affirmed by the Southern Baptist Convention, how can we expect a new Pastor to cooperate with the SBC AND agree with who we are as a church? The second question, “What does it mean to be ‘dually-aligned’?” These are very important questions and their answers, in my mind, make a difference as we minister together cooperatively!
How is it possible to cooperate with folks with whom you disagree? First, this question is asked in the context of Christian denominations and churches. The folks we are talking about, i.e. with whom we disagree, are our Christian brothers and sisters. That being so, we take our direction not from our feelings or our opinions, or our interpretations but from our Lord Jesus. In John 17, as he is facing the cross, Jesus prays for his disciples and then he prays for US saying, “I pray also for those who will believe in me through their [disciples] message’ (17:20). In this prayer, Jesus prays that we be ONE so that the world will know that the Father sent Jesus. It is imperative, therefore, for our modern-day relationships with fellow Christ Followers, to do everything we can to work together, serve together, and minister together so that the world hears about Jesus! But what about our disagreements? That’s where the Holy Spirit comes in. Jesus was not so naïve to think that we would not have disagreements. Instead, he promised that the Holy Spirit would indwell us to be our teacher and guide us into truth (John 16:12-15). If that is so, then we are compelled to be in dialogue with our brothers and sisters in Christ so that we can learn what the Spirit is teaching them and so that they can learn what the Spirit is teaching us. In that dialogue, we are able to come together to the Spirit’s direction. So, yes, it is possible to cooperate with those with whom we disagree because we respect the call of Christ on their lives, we anticipate learning from the Spirit who lives within them, and share Jesus with the world. Of course, cooperation is a matter of choice. While we may choose to cooperate with those with whom we differ in interpretation of Scripture, we can’t make their choices for them – they may choose to separate themselves from us because of our differences. But, as Paul wrote to the Roman church so are we to live, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone” (Rom. 12:18) Our choice to cooperate with both denominational entities and their churches is the way we live out the as-far-as-it-depends-on-you part of Paul’s thinking.
What does it mean to be “dually aligned? First, we have to quickly admit that this is a misnomer of sorts. As Christ Followers in the 21st Century, we recognize that the Church of Jesus Christ is an international and multi-denominational church. That being so, as we hear Jesus pray for us to be ONE, then we are compelled to look for ways that we are more omni-aligned! Dual alignment is a Baptist thing! It basically means that we cooperate with the Southern Baptist Convention (founded in 1847) and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (founded in 1990 from within the SBC) for the purpose of ministry and missions in our world. The truth is our church never signs up to be an SBC or a CBF church. The only thing that aligns us with the denominations is that we give our missions dollars to be combined with those of other churches so that we can send missionaries around the world. It is for this reason that our denominational relationships are important. Jesus said that we are to “go and make disciples of all nations” (Matt. 28:19). Well, we live in Cleveland County, North Carolina, USA, so how can we go and make disciples of all nations? We can by serving as, and by sending missionaries. For us, dual alignment means missions – it is our way of cooperation to send nearly 4,000 missionaries to share the Gospel of Jesus around the world (plus missionaries at work in US cities). This is our conviction as Baptists for we realize that we live in a country that makes up only 5% of the world’s population but our churches keep 95% of our personnel and resources to minister to our 5% while we only send 5% of our personnel and resources to reach the 95% of the world to which Jesus “greatly commissioned” us to go!
Yes, we pray for our Pastor Search Committee as we follow the Lord’s direction to a new Pastor, and we pray for answers to our questions – questions that position us as thoughtful believers in an oft times complicated world – answers to which the Lord directs us as the Holy Spirit teaches us. Thank you for your intentional commitment to walk together as we pray!
In the Love of Jesus,
Tony Tench