ONE TEAM
We share our stories and enjoy the fruit In writing this, I am reminded of the power of reminiscing and story-telling and how this builds our sense of family and belonging. How important it is for us to keep listening to one another’s stories as churches, associations and colleges; I am wondering how we can encourage more of this? As I mentioned earlier, we are a large network of around 2,000 churches, 13 regional associations and five colleges and it is not easy to maintain relationships across such a movement. We need to consciously take every opportunity to build relationships and celebrate not only our common bonds but also, by God’s grace, the fruit of our endeavours. God is at work in and through us in amazing ways and it is good to just stand back and celebrate and be thankful that, together, we can be part of his purposes.
Renew the Covenant
When I was on retreat last summer, I sensed the Lord say to me, “renew the covenant” and I want us to intentionally move towards being in this place. And when I say ‘renew the covenant’,
I don’t primarily mean that some of us will stand up and read words off a page, although I am sure that this will be involved. I am thinking of a time when we are so deeply passionate about our shared love of Jesus and our common purpose in his mission that it will no longer be ok to ‘hang loose’ to the Union as a leader or a church and to wear that as a badge of ‘honour’. Please let’s leave this behind us now. If we delight in the unique way we have been led to being church, if we value and respect our fellow leaders and churches, if we are filled with compassion for those who don’t yet know Jesus, then let’s be the best that
we can be and fulfil our unique place in God’s purposes. Baptists Together is not some historical anomaly to be preserved; we are a Kingdom force in the present and for the future; independent and interdependent, Christ- centred, mission-hearted and relating as one team for the sake of the Gospel. I cannot make this happen; each of us needs to choose to live in this reality in 2016 and beyond. Lynn Green is General Secretary of our Baptist Union. To find out more of about our renewed culture visit www.baptist.org.uk/culture
How do you respond to Lynn’s message? Share your thoughts at www.baptist.org.uk/oneteam
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