Excellent, well-documented article. I agree. However, cost remains a huge factor for small church pastors and bivocational church planters like me. Some inevitably try to shame us by saying we need to prioritize, take personal vacations and personally pay for it if our small churches cannot. Such out-of-touch arrogance and lack of economic reality for how many of us barely get by is what pushes more and more out of our beloved SBC. Until we can have regional meetings, the masses of Absentees will be unable to buy votes for influence.
Fantastic piece, Rod. It’s one thing to hold the BF&M theoretically. It’s quite another to firmly and actively hold it as a point of bold contention. No more saber rattling; it’s time to parry and riposte in bold defense of the practical applications of the Gospel.
This is a case study in the difficulties in holding large not-for-profit and religious organizations accountable to the membership. The organization becomes so overwhelming that only the people with enough “sitz-fleich” to endure meetings in a huge assembly participate.
The normies and absentees would likely rather do the things that make them eligible to participate in such meetings, leaving the meetings to those who seemingly are participating in the “Long March through the Institutions.”
Excellent, well-documented article. I agree. However, cost remains a huge factor for small church pastors and bivocational church planters like me. Some inevitably try to shame us by saying we need to prioritize, take personal vacations and personally pay for it if our small churches cannot. Such out-of-touch arrogance and lack of economic reality for how many of us barely get by is what pushes more and more out of our beloved SBC. Until we can have regional meetings, the masses of Absentees will be unable to buy votes for influence.
Fantastic piece, Rod. It’s one thing to hold the BF&M theoretically. It’s quite another to firmly and actively hold it as a point of bold contention. No more saber rattling; it’s time to parry and riposte in bold defense of the practical applications of the Gospel.
This is a case study in the difficulties in holding large not-for-profit and religious organizations accountable to the membership. The organization becomes so overwhelming that only the people with enough “sitz-fleich” to endure meetings in a huge assembly participate.
The normies and absentees would likely rather do the things that make them eligible to participate in such meetings, leaving the meetings to those who seemingly are participating in the “Long March through the Institutions.”
It is a little hard to be sympathetic when the entire idea of Baptist polity is that we govern ourselves through regular business meetings. LOL
Christians are called to steward the Lord's tithes and ministries. If you don't show up, you can't steward. It's worth the effort.