Saturday, April 21, 2012

The Need For Baptist Churches To Associate

Jimmy Draper once wrote, "America will be reached not with the imposing presence of the superchurch but rather with the association of smaller churches joined together in local Baptist associations to do together what they can never do separately."

The Cooperative Program of the Southern Baptist Convention has been a wonderful tool to expand our missions work across the hills and plains of America as well as the farthest parts of the globe.  State Convention efforts have provided a faithful witness all along the ways of Texas.  But neither of these can provide the intimate fellowship of a local association of churches.  Recently many have developed a mindset that feels our churches can continue to prosper without a local associational relationship.

Let me clarify, by association I do not mean an institutional office residing in a building with a paid staff who develop to perpetuate yet another bureaucracy.  I do realize that someone should be responsible for organizing the tasks that I will set forth and possibly some compensation is in order.  But at this time I simply wish to communicate three reasons for which associating is necessary.

Local and likeminded churches should cooperate for the sake of missions.  We must work together for the sake of starting, supporting, and strengthening churches locally.  Local cooperation is necessary for the sake of educating and supporting our local works both prayerfully and financially.  No other denominational entity can replace this role.  Although conferences and seminaries are wonderful supplemental tools, the laborious journey of church leadership requires local relationships through which pastors and church leaders can sit down and talk to one another and gain from their collective experience and wisdom.  In this relationship we should strive to cooperate and not compete.  Rejoice in God's hand of blessing upon another brother's work instead of feeling threatened by it.  We can combine our resources on the local level to reach our communities for Christ.  The nation will only be changed as our states are transformed and our states will only be transformed as our communities are touched by the good news of Jesus and our communities will only be touched as our churches are faithful to God's Word...together.

Local and likeminded churches should be accountable with one another.  There should be support for one another as pastors and elders.  In this effort we should submit ourselves to one another for the sake of doctrinal accountability.  There was a time in Baptist history that our churches worked to maintain doctrinal accountability in not just their individually autonomous church but also the other neighboring churches.  If a church member was found to be doctrinally aberrant or just plain mad they were not allowed to simply leave and transfer their letter to a church down the road.  They were required to repent and seek reconciliation or their letter was not received because they were not in "good standing" with the sister church they had departed.  If a pastor was guilty of the same he was not allowed to escape without some sort of disciplinary measure.  In our day many appear to cherish autonomy above accountability but even a surface reading of the circulatory letters which now make up our New Testament will surely correct this flawed thinking.  I am suggesting both doctrinal and behavioral accountability through the associating of local churches for this purpose.

Local and likeminded churches have a mutual responsibility to one another.  We should strengthen one another doctrinally, encourage one another prayerfully, and be available to one another relationally.  I know our superchurches have vast resources and in many ways do not feel like they need anyone else for their mission.  But what about their responsibilities to other churches?  I also know that we all get caught up in the demands of daily responsibilities of studying, preaching, and visiting.  But there are thousands around us that we will not reach alone.  Let us strengthen each other with encouragement and personal prayer.  The kind that can only be accomplished by sitting down with others and locking our hands together with bowed hearts, petitioning that the Kingdom of our God may come on earth as it is in Heaven.

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