ON JOINING A NEW DENOMINATION…

Yesterday Dana and I attended a regional clergy conference for the Baptist General Conference (aka Converge Worldwide), held in Quincy, Mass. As most of you know, this might be the new denomination with which our church affiliates. All morning I was sputtering to myself about having to relinquish so much of my day for this event…so much to do and so little time…you know how it is…but what a mistake it would have been for me to stay home!

I can’t speak for Dana, but personally I was exhilarated by the experience. After years of suffering through the theological mish-mash of ABC ordination councils and annual meetings, spending time with colleagues who are on the same theological page was in itself an enormous breath of fresh air, sending me home feeling good about the “rightness” this denomination for us. Time will tell if the First Baptist Church body agrees.

As many of you know, post-worship this Sunday we’ll vote on whether or not to pursue the application process with the BGC. May I remind you, this vote is not a decision to affiliate, but a decision to pursue the process of affiliation. In other words, upon deeper investigation, if something turns up that proves unacceptable to us (or to them) we’ll call a halt to the application and move in some other Holy Spirit-led direction. I’m not expecting this, but you never know. Joining a new family of faith is a big deal, one that we all hope will significantly enhance the effectiveness of our church’s mission. Please pray for God’s counsel.

One more thing…in response to the inquiries of a few of you, there’s no plan/intent/desire to change the name of our church. In other words, a new denomination is not tantamount to a new name.

Hope to see you this Sunday.

Love and blessings,

David