Preamble
I have now been to two sessions (General Board meeting – 10/9/08, and MCNCD district meeting – 11/6/08) focusing on the proposed reorganization of the Missionary Church. Throughout these sessions (as well as in the intervening periods of time), I have thought and prayed and meditated on this document, for it will have effect on me, personally and professionally.
Overall, I think that the concepts of this document are sound – and I support them, as evidenced by my “yes” vote in the General Board meeting. At the same time, I think that there are some statements that need to be reworked in order to make them theologically, biblically, historically and ecclesiastically sound – which is the impetus for this response document.
In this document, I point out the areas that I think need to be reworked, and I give some suggested reworking of the area. All my remarks/suggestions are written in green ink as well as in a different font in order to quickly differentiate them from the already existing body of the document. I submit them to you for your perusal with the prayer that my meanderings will aid in the discussion of this very important juncture in our denomination’s life.
The following pages represent the work of two groups of Missionary Church leaders. They have spent several months attempting to frame ten helpful recommendations for future Missionary Church ministry that could be presented to General Board and General Conference. The President, District Superintendents, and two members of the MCI Staff developed the first set of five recommendations for a denominational Ministry Vision (and five-year goals). The Commission for Denominational Reorganization developed the second set of five recommendations for denominational Supporting Structure. Working independently of each other at first, these two groups gathered in several joint sessions for collaboration and the merging of their work into one, harmonized set of ten recommendations.
These recommendations were framed upon the following assumptions:
A. The Missionary Church denomination is a group of local churches organized into inter-dependent districts defined, more or less, by geographical boundaries.
B. These local churches desire their denomination and its inter-dependent districts to be a “network of values.” This last phrase lacks communicative as well as historical value. What is a “network of values”? Though it is defined in the next section as “a belief that by working together, the ‘whole’ can achieve more and be greater than the sum of the parts, is this American truism really the underlying theology (the only place that “faith” is mentioned in this section) for our existence as a denomination?
I would recommend that this statement be reworked to say: “These local churches desire their denomination and its districts to be interdependent.”
Thus the next section would also need to be reworked – and my suggestions are as follows.
C. A. Interdependency includes shared theological commitments, shared ministry vision, shared opportunities for ministry, shared authority structures, shared missions commitments, deep respect and appreciation for as well as loyalty to each other, and shared supporting fellowship.
The current section “D” is only a reiteration of the American truism addressed above – though I would add that the churches which have left our denomination have basically disagreed with the truism, for they have said - through their leaving - that they can accomplish more separately than together.
D. Local churches, district entities, and denominational leaders deeply desire these values to be embraced and implemented as effectively as possible.
As stated in the Preamble, both groups view these recommendations as “beginning points,” requiring additional and ongoing refinement and adaptation. However, both groups equally believe they represent sound and solid starting points for helping the Missionary Church address the ministry challenges of the future.
The five recommendations for Ministry Vision and the five recommendations for Supporting Structure address the following areas:
Ministry Vision
Call to Perpetual Intercessory Prayer
Supporting Structure
I. Faced with a 21st-Century postmodern, relativistic world, we still believe that:
A. God created all things, visible and invisible, and God created them “good”.
B. Sin was brought into this world through the disobedience of Adam and Eve, thereby placing God’s good creation under its curse of death and decay.
C. God did not abandon His creation, but He pursued after it, especially us human beings - making covenant with us to be our God, sending us His revelation through prophets, priests, and kings, and giving us His continued promises to make all things new through His Messiah.
D. At the decisive point in time, God sent forth His Son into His creation. His Son Jesus Christ, our Lord – emptied Himself and took upon Himself our human form in order to destroy the curse of sin. He accomplished this feat through His holy life, His earthly ministry, His suffering, death, and burial, His resurrection, and His ascension. Because of His thorough and victorious obedience in all things, God has placed Him at the pinnacle of everything – above every person, power, an principality.
E. Jesus Christ is Lord. As Lord, everything has been placed under His feet. As Lord, everything in heaven and on earth and under the earth should bow before Him.
F. Not yet does everything bow before Jesus Christ and acknowledge Him as Lord. Not yet has the curse of sin – though thoroughly defeated – been destroyed. Thus, God’s mighty acts in Jesus Christ still need to be proclaimed.
G. Jesus Christ established the church to carry on His life and His work in His creation until He returns. He has filled His church with His presence through the giving and gifting of His Holy Spirit – with the result that His church is His current body within His creation.
H. Jesus Christ has entrusted us, as part of His church, with His church. Therefore, it is necessary for us to:
1) Carry out His life and work in His creation.
2) Proclaim God’s mighty acts in Jesus Christ – as recorded in the Holy Bible - especially to those who have never heard.
3) Join in the Spirit’s work of making lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ.
4) Live lives of holiness to the glory of God.
II. Acting upon these beliefs, and with God’s guidance and help, it is our recommendation that we diligently seek to accomplish the following in the next five years (See Appendix B, pages 22-23):
- WE RECOMMEND CALLING THE MISSIONARY CHURCH TO PERPETUAL INTERCESSORY PRAYER.
1. We will engage every region, district, church, and believer in a “call to perpetual intercessory prayer” that:
§ Empowers us to grow in personal discipleship.
§ Empowers us to love, engage, and witness to the lost world that God loves.
§ Opens the hearts of the lost to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
§ Empowers us to make disciples.
§ Empowers us to intercede for the recruitment and development of more “laborers for the harvest.”
§ Tears down evil strongholds.
2. We will have achieved our five-year goal when an active intercessory prayer network has been established in every region, district, and local church, and intercessory prayer is being offered on a regular, systematic, and perpetual basis for the worldwide ministry of the Missionary Church.
B. WE RECOMMEND A RENEWED, PASSIONATE COMMITMENT TO EVANGELIZE THE LOST AND MAKE DISCIPLES.
2. We will have achieved our five-year goal when:
- The denomination and each district/region is realizing an annual conversion growth rate of 15%, and existing local churches are realizing an annual conversion growth rate of 10%.
§ The denomination and each district/region has 15% of its people involved in making disciples and each existing local church has 10% of its people involved in making disciples. (Disciple making is defined as intentional involvement in some aspect of helping people move from pre-Christian to devout Christian to reproducing Christian.)
§ Denominational, regional, and district leaders are exemplifying our passion for evangelism and disciple making to such an extent that at any given point in time, 75% of them are actively involved in intentionally evangelizing non-believers and/or discipling new Christians on at least a monthly basis.
C. WE RECOMMEND A MORE TARGETED FOCUS ON STRENGTHENING LOCAL CHURCHES.
1. We will assist each district/region in every way possible, to achieve its vision and five-year goals for:
§ The development of local church evangelism and disciple making strategies. This may require a paradigm shift in the thinking and ministry focus of both the pastoral leadership and congregation.
§ Pastoral leadership development.
§ Lay leadership development.
§ District/Regional and local church planting strategies.
We will find customized ways to help each district/region address common problems such as: a) recruiting and developing spiritually passionate pastor/leaders for our churches without pastors; b) improved preaching; c) local church conflict management and problem solving; and d) district/regional and local church financial resources development.
We will do everything possible to clarify and strengthen lines of communication, understanding, encouragement, and assistance between all parts of the denomination – Local Churches, Districts, Regions, and the National Resource Center (formerly called the National Office). Our goal will be to help district/regional superintendents give a minimum of 50% of their time to local church growth strategy, leadership training, and new church planting.
We will do a thorough and ruthless review of all denominational programs and initiatives (including a survey of their effectiveness) to determine which should be continued, improved, or abandoned, and take appropriate action. We will initiate any new programs necessary to enhance the respective visions of the districts/regions and the denomination.
2. We will have achieved our denominational five-year goal when:
§ Districts/Regions are achieving their five-year goals.
§ Clear lines of communication, understanding, and encouragement, along with multiple lines of assistance, are flowing unrestrictedly in a two-way manner.
§ Every District/Regional Superintendent is giving 50% of his time to growth strategy, leadership training, and new church planting. It is fascinating – in a macabre way – to me that, in accordance with this goal, we will be overriding the historic chief task of a bishop (which is what a district/regional superintendent is in our system). The chief task of a bishop, historically, is prayer and the Word, serving as chief guardian of orthodoxy and theology.
§ Each denominational program and initiative is producing results so effectively (how will these results be determined to be effective?) that they are viewed by the leadership majority as absolutely necessary.
D. WE RECOMMEND A GREATER EMPHASIS ON PLANTING NEW CHURCHES AND DISTRICTS.
1. We will:
§ Plant new churches, employing multiple strategies, for a five-year total of 250 new domestic churches.
§ Intentionally target 10 major domestic population areas and launch evangelism, disciple making, and church multiplication movements in those areas.
§ Create 15 new domestic districts to accommodate this growth and any leadership overload experienced in existing districts.
§ Launch 25 new international disciple-making movements with the expectation that 20% will identify with the Missionary Church.
2. We will have achieved our five-year goal when the above stated numerical benchmarks have been reached.
E. WE RECOMMEND A MORE INTENTIONAL RECRUITMENT AND DEVELOPMENT OF CATALYTIC LEADERS.*
1. We will identify, recruit, train, credential, equip, and empower catalytic leaders, both vocational and lay leaders, to lead, implement and expand our vision for worldwide evangelism, disciple making, and church planting.
2. We will have achieved our five-year goal when catalytic leaders are recruited, commissioned, and leading:
a. 250 new church plants.
b. Evangelism/disciple-making movements in 10 major population centers.
c. 15 new domestic districts.
d. 25 new international evangelism/disciple making movements.
*A catalytic leader is characterized as being spiritually passionate, missional, and entrepreneurial.
I take umbrage with this phrase and its definition because:
1. There is no mention of God’s calling, gifting, or leading of these leaders.
2. There is no mention of the possibility of God’s calling for such leaders being judgment or destruction, such as God’s call upon Jeremiah’s life or Isaiah’s life.
3. There is no mention of these leaders leading any of our established churches.
4. There is no mention of these leaders being incarnational shepherds of the people God has entrusted to them.
Recommendations for Denominational Restructuring
As I have already written, I think that, overall, the concepts of this document are sound. I have no pulsating concerns with the recommendations for denominational restructuring.
Thank you for taking the time to read this document. I look forward to any response.
Jim Smith
Note: Dr. Jim Smith is pastor of the Bethel Missionary Church, Goshen, Indiana
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