Mission:
There are some
cultural parallels between first century Palestine and today’s globalised world.
First century Palestine was polycultural, with Roman, Jewish and Eastern
influences. There was religious pluralism. The Romans developed the
transportation infrastructure which resulted in the spread of the Gospel across
Europe. The coming of the Spirit at Pentecost reflected the strategic timing of
God which eventually resulted in the global spread of the Gospel.[1]
The Great Commission is to “make disciples of all nations, baptising them in
the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit” and “teaching them to obey
everything Jesus commanded us” (Matthew28:16-20). Furthermore, Acts1:8 tells us
that we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to be witnesses for Christ to three
kinds of geographical communities: our immediate or local community (analogous
to Jerusalem), our intermediate community (Judea and Samaria), and our
international community.[2]
Baptists are always
one generation from extinction.[3]
In addition to evangelising to the community, we need to evangelise to the next
generation because our offsprings are not “born” Christian. Furthermore, many
Chinese immigrant churches struggle to pastor the Australian Born Chinese (ABCs)
who often fitting in better with the English congregations. Therefore, many
Chinese immigrant churches have an English congregation. For example, the Chinese Australian Baptist Church West Ryde (CABC-WR)’s English
congregation is one of the bigger ones compared to other Chinese immigrant
churches in Sydney.[4] In
such diversity, defining the mission of the institution is especially important
for inspiring ministry unity (Ephesians4:3) because the mission give us a sense
of direction on what we are supposed to be doing.[5]
Leaders in the Bible have a strong sense of direction, eg. Moses lead Israel
out of bondage to the Promised Land, Nehemiah rebuilt the wall of Jerusalem,
etc.[6]
It is also important to define the purpose, which tells us why the ministry
exists.[7]
I think CABC-WR already has a clear mission statement: “To build a community
that loves God and loves others both locally and globally through the gospel of
Jesus Christ.”
Vision:
“Without vision,
the people perish.” (Proverbs29:18). A high percentage of churches that have
either plateaued or declined in attendance and ministry impact have no visions,
even if they might have plenty of plans and programs.[8]
Vision is a leader’s most potent weapon.[9]
Visions are motivated by a strong sense of mission and purpose. Effective
leadership is visionary. In the modern world, management meant ensuring that
employees had clear job descriptions and were doing the work prescribed by
managers. A good manager is one who keeps his/her units in line, producing
goods or services. In the postmodern world, people are less likely to be
motivated by this kind of management.[10]
Money is not enough: There needs to be meaning. Biblical leaders were visionary
leaders: Given a call by God, they motivated people on the basis of something
beyond them all that had ultimate meaning.[11]
The core, the Great Commission, does not change. The vision is a compelling picture
of what the mission will look like as it is realised in the life of the
community.[12] An envisioning prayer similar to that of Nehemiah
is important in establishing the vision.[13]
An effective
vision “can inspire people, bring meaning to their work, mobilise them to
action, and help them decide what to do and what not to do in the course of
their work.”[14]
Once the vision is identified, ministry leaders have to take enough time and
involve enough people to effectively communicate the vision.[15]
Communication that is thorough and multi-faceted is a form of vision-casting
that leads to harmony, participation, and the capacity for radical systemic
change with a minimum of conflict.[16]
Communication can be informal, eg. getting the team members “talking up” people
within their circles of influence. Formal communication involves the use of
sermons, bulletins, newsletters, personal letters, video announcements, skits,
and public testimonies from team members. Two way communications include a
large public meeting, online chat and listening groups.[17]
Often a retreat
setting is a great place to focus on stepping out a vision.[18]
The congregations will have emotions towards change, and it is important to
address these emotions.[19]
People tend to fear the future and prefer to live in the present, or the past.
Leaders can try and address that fear with vision clarity, so that the
congregation can see where it is headed. Nehemiah’s emotions were touched
deeply when he heard about the deplorable condition of Jerusalem and its people
(Nehemiah1:3-4), which led to his return and the revitalisation of the city. It
is important to pray for the Holy Spirit to work on the people’s emotions
because when people think back over the planning process, the events that
impacted them emotionally will be most vivid.[20]
[1] Reggie McNeal, Revolution in
Leadership: Training Apostles for Tomorrow’s Church (Nashville: Abingdon
Press, 1998), 22.
[2] Malphurs, Advanced Strategic
Planning, 178.
[3] Stephen R. Holmes, Baptist Theology
(London: T&T Clark, 2012), 143.
[4] This information came from Oliver, one of the leaders of the
Mandarin young adults fellowship.
[5] Peter F. Drucker, Managing
the Non-Profit Organisation (New York: Harper Business, 1990), 3.
[6] Malphurs, Advanced Strategic
Planning, 106.
[7] Malphurs, Advanced Strategic
Planning, 111. For instance, the intent of the mission is to make
disciples, the intent of the purpose is to glorify God. The focus of the
mission is on people, the focus of the purpose is on God.
[8] Carson Pue, Mentoring Leaders:
Wisdom for Developing Character, Calling and Competency (Grand Rapids:
Baker Books, 2005), 80.
[9] Bill Hybels, Courageous Leadership
(Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002), 31.
[10] George Cladis, Leading the
Team-Based Church: How Pastors and Church Staffs Can Grow Together into a
Powerful Fellowship of Leaders (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1999),
22.
[11] Cladis, Leading the
Team-Based Church, 23.
[12] Malphurs, Advanced Strategic
Planning, 128.
[13] Malphurs, Advanced Strategic
Planning, 138.
[14] Pue, Mentoring Leaders,
132.
[15] Pue, Mentoring Leaders,
132.
[16] Brian Winslade, A New Kind of
Baptist Church: Reframing Congregational Government for the 21st Century (Sydney:
Morling Press, 2010), 234.
[17] Malphurs, Advanced Strategic
Planning, 64.
[18] Pue, Mentoring Leaders,
146.
[19] Malphurs, Advanced Strategic
Planning, 69.
[20] Malphurs, Advanced Strategic
Planning, 69.
No comments:
Post a Comment