can cause transformation in dark and difficult places. God’s kingdom is being established in our communities and in the neighbourhoods around our churches. But this is also a challenging passage for us as a movement because, like the frightened servant of the parable, we can bury the gifts of grace we have been entrusted with. And when we do so, it is not only the Baptist movement that misses out, but also the kingdom of God.
Burying our gifts Here are some examples of ways we can conceal our gifts: • We do not put women into senior leadership roles within our movement because we are too scared to risk upsetting people. • We remain closed to the different ethnic groups that are joining us because we are worried about losing control. • We are so concerned about preserving the status quo and the orthodox way of doing church that we fail to recognise what God is already doing down the road in our communities and our neighbourhoods. • We are not prepared to risk losing our best and our brightest, so we do not release them to Carey Baptist College for theological education and training. • We fear being accountable to other people, so only sixty per cent of our Baptist pastoral leaders are registered.
Becoming a nurturing church How do we avoid burying the gifts that have been entrusted to us? As a movement and as local
Welcome is one of the signs that a community is alive. To invite others to live with us is a sign that we aren’t afraid, that we have a treasure of truth and of peace to share… A community which refuses to welcome—whether though fear, weariness, insecurity, a desire to cling to comfort, or just because it is fed up with visitors—is dying spiritually.1 So, we welcome difference, but what then? The second quality of a nurturing church is to invest in people, but not just in those who can give you what you need. “One of the worst things I can do as a leader with the treasure God has given me, is to spend it for my own benefit,” says Jonny Weir. “I’m talking about the dark side of leadership that sees people as a commodity, not as a treasure. If I am in your church, I want a pastor that will notice me as a treasure, not merely as someone who can help you fulfil your leadership dreams.” Who are the people in your church that are seen but not noticed? Who is missing out on the investment of nurturing grace in your church? Be prepared for the investment question to strike in surprising places! The third sign of a nurturing church is when people are being empowered and released. Nurturing churches are able to think ‘kingdom’ first, and ‘my local church’ second. These churches are sending churches—challenging their people to believe wider than their church and then releasing them to fulfil these big dreams. Finally, a church that is nurturing grace is one that has a BIG God, who calls us to live lives of radical
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HOW ARE WE NURTURING, DEVELOPING, USING AND GROWING ALL THE RICHNESS GOD HAS BESTOWED UPON US?
churches, how are we nurturing, developing, using and growing all the richness God has bestowed upon us? There are four qualities that should be observable in a nurturing church: welcoming difference, investing in surprising places, releasing potential, and inspiring disciples. At the heart of a nurturing church is the capacity, by the grace of Jesus, to welcome difference. The world should be completely blown away by our capacity to be diverse. After all, most of the confusion that Jesus caused in his ministry was around this radical welcoming grace. He was constantly freaking people out about who was in and who was out, who was clean and who was unclean. Philosopher and theologian Jean Vanier says: