Commit to faithful men who will be able to teach others

Many challenges face us as we move into the future as the network of churches we call the Northwest Baptist Convention. The staff reduction in 2012, the financial challenges we face and the necessity to change in order to effectively penetrate the lostness of our culture are among those challenges. Our partner, the North American Mission Board is sharpening its focus which has had a significant impact on the resources we receive from them and how we will use them. These realities have catalyzed the changes to our NWBC staffing. We are saddened that we will lose a team member in our region. Jon Beard brings many talents to our team and he now faces the challenge of discovering new avenues of ministry.  It is tempting to look at these challenges and changes and see only the clouds of winter. However, I have peeked into some other windows and have reason to believe that the future is bright.

I see a bright future when I look into the experience of pastors and church leaders who are pouring their lives into the lives of faithful men. (2 Tim. 2:2) The hope of the NWBC is the churches. In many of those churches, pastors are spending time with selected men, investing in them and developing leaders, who will in turn, develop others. I have sat with pastors in three separate “pastor clusters” in recent weeks and there I have discovered that many of them are meeting with groups of three, five and even ten men in their church, mentoring them and training them to become the leaders who will step up in church leadership and even step out and begin new ministries and churches that will impact our region with the gospel.  This has been one of the choruses we have repeated as our RT² has met with leaders. “Choose five men” we have challenged, and teach them to become disciples and to lead others also.

Elisha learned from Elijah, the twelve disciples learned from Jesus, Timothy learned from Paul. The Bible and church history is filled with examples of mentoring relationships that resulted in leaders developing leaders who changed the world. The future of the NWBC is in the churches, the bride of Christ. I see a great deal of hope, a bright future as pastors step up and pour their lives into faithful men who will be able to teach others also!