Associational leaders urged to
figure out 'where we're going'
___By Ferrell Foster
___Texas Baptist Communications
___IRVING--In a world "turned upside down" by change, almost 500 Texas Baptists gathered Aug. 27-28 to discuss the future of Baptist associations.
___"We will never go back to where we were" and don't need to, said D.L. Lowrie, pastor of First Baptist Church in Lubbock. But Baptists do need to figure out where they're going from here, he added.
___The Gathering of Associational Leaders was planned by Texas associational directors of missions "to help association leaders better serve the churches," said Gary Hearon of Dallas Baptist Association. "This is not a political meeting." It is "to provide a forum for dialogue" among leaders.
___Hearon called the event a historic gathering because it was the first such meeting "totally financed and underwritten" by associations, the regional bodies spread throughout the state.
___Representatives from other Baptist entities, including the Baptist General Convention of Texas and the Southern Baptist Convention, attended as "observers" and were not allowed to speak in discussion sessions unless asked specific questions.
___Lowrie was one of the featured speakers, and he dealt with "The Biblical and Historical Basis of Churches."
___New Testament churches "were drawn together to face doctrinal issues" that dealt with "the core truth of the gospel," Lowrie said. The first council of churches at Jerusalem is an example. "They came together as equals. ... They listened to each other." James pointed participants to Scripture, and the Holy Spirit began to "illumine" them.
___In the Baptist tradition, "churches have always related to each other," providing help for one another in facing various challenges, he said.
___Also, "there's no better place to address doctrinal conflict" than in the local association, Lowrie said. "You know each other. It's a whole lot more difficult to call a brother a heretic" if you know him well. "If a brother or a congregation is departing from the faith, it's best addressed there," rather than at the state and national level.
___Lowrie said biblical and theological principles should guide Baptists as "we redesign ourselves." He listed several such principles:
___ The Scriptures, illumined by the Holy Spirit, are still the primary guide for faith and practice.
___ The autonomy and freedom of the local church must never be abandoned.
___ The Holy Spirit must not be quenched. "He will have a new idea," Lowrie said.
___ Baptists may change their methods without changing their message or mission.
___ Cooperation between churches must be emphasized.
___ Strong churches must be ready to help weak ones.
___ Accomplishment of the Great Commission must increasingly be Baptists' greatest passion.
___Arnold Brown, chairman of Weiner, Edrich, Brown Inc. in New York, spoke on "Trends in Society Impacting Associations."
___Brown said he doesn't agree with the often-stated position that there is a crisis of leadership in America. "What we have in the U.S. ... is a crisis of followship."
___A "profound democratization" has swept through western civilization in the 500 years since books became widely available, he said. As a result, old models of leadership are no longer viable.
___"The leaders of the future will have to be on a different model," because "you can no longer control information," Brown said. "It has to be a democratic model, ... based on the consent of the governed."
___Second, Brown dealt with the relationship between religion and society in the United States. There are shifts, he said, "in the nature of all of our societal institutions."
___Established institutions, like government, cannot respond fast enough to the massive change that is being experienced, Brown said. And "there is no question that institutions, by their nature, are resistant to change."
___A question must be asked of those institutions, he said: "Do we need to improve them, or do we need to replace them?"
___Third, Brown spoke about the aging of society. "Today's aging people are so vastly different from yesterday's. ... They live longer and more active lives."
___Fourth, "we're living in the age of marketing," he said. "You are bombarded with marketing messages." The average person encounters 2,000 to 3,000 marketing messages per day.
___As a result, quality is no longer important. Bad products are more successful than good ones if they are better marketed, he said, citing the victory won by the VHS video format over Beta, a superior product.
___Christians have a handicap in such a setting because they believe the truth of their message is enough to win converts, Brown said. "You have to be able to get people to listen to you" and then convince them of the truth of the message.
___"If you cannot get people to pay attention to you," then "your product" has no value, he said.
___Other keynote speakers were Bill Pinson, executive director emeritus of the BGCT, and Jimmy Draper, president of LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention.
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