We Remember Anne

Today, my mother-in-law Katherine Anne Mayhigh Pittman (1930-2003) would have been eighty years young. It's appropriate to remember her on her birthday the same week the Southern Baptist Convention met in Orlando. For seventeen years she served as church hostess for the First Baptist Church of Richmond, Virginia. Once she "retired" she served as a volunteer at the International Mission Board offices. For many years she served more hours per year than any other volunteer. One of her many duties was hosting the hospitality room at the SBC annual meeting every year. She fed missionaries, denominational leaders, and trustees. As a seminarian and pastor of a small church, my buddies and I always knew where we could get a quick bit at the convention on our small budgets. She was a gracious hostess.

She was also one of the most courageous persons I have ever known. She fought a 25-year battle with cancer with courage and grace. She left us with a legacy of ministry and service. She lived out her faith every day faithfully. thanks Anne for your love, faith, service and example......We'll see you soon.

SBC Convention: some positive news!

Yesterday the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in Orlando, Flordia passed by a wide margin a new strategy for the denomination. The recommendations of the Great Commission Task Force were approved with language inserted to strengthen support for the Cooperative Program. I believe it is a great NEXT step to great missional effectiveness. Going forward the most critical aspect of the recommendations is the redesign of the North American Mission Board (NAMB)and its relationship with state conventions. I pray that the NAMB trustees find the right leader and then allow him to be part of the redesign for that mission organization.

In other positive news at the SBC was the election of Bryant Wright, pastor of Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in metro Atlanta as the new SBC president. Bryant represents a new wave of leadership for the SBC and I believe this to be a very positive development. He deserves our support and prayer.

Now we must continue to keep our focus on making disciples.

High Expectations for Adult Class members Part II

What expectations should your church have for members of an adult Sunday School or Bible study class? Let’s continue our top ten expectations:
6. Follow up with guests and ministry opportunities. You’re not exempt from the Great Commission! Work with your church and class leaders and help them follow up with Sunday morning guests. Invite them to sit with you in the worship service or invite them to eat with you afterwards. Drop a note or an email latter in the week and thank them for coming.
Follow up on ministry opportunities. Take the initiative to prepare a meal for a grieving family; send flowers to someone in the hospital or make quick call to someone in need of encouragement.
7. Be vulnerable share your life. As you faithfully and consistently study God’s word together every week share with fellow members what God has done in your life. This doesn’t mean you should share a (dirty) laundry list of personal sins with other class members. In fact the Bible says, “confess your sins one to another.” Share what God and has taught and is teaching you.
8. Build community in your class: 24/7/365. It’s not just a Sunday morning thang! Hang out together. Do stuff….or nothing at all….together! Connect with others in your class who share interests, activities and hobbies. Love and Laugh….together!
9. Find someone to serve in your church and community. Find someone to minister to in your church or community. Be intentional about it. The class I’m a member in plans at least one mission project every quarter. We also have a monthly rotation of members who visit a senior adult in our community. Recently, nearly two dozen class members spent an entire morning cleaning her home, garage, yard and automobile. The need is great. People are out there. Discover and do!
10. Invite and bring others. A personal invitation is the best and more effective tool you have. Put it to good use. Think about the people you know who need to be in a Bible study. Make a list. Begin to pray for them. Begin to invite them. See what God does. He won’t disappoint.
How are you measuring up? God has expectations for all of us. Let’s begin to meet them and see what he does.

High Expectations for Adult Bible Study class members, part 1

The theme for fall 2010 Southern Baptist Sunday School/Bible study launch is “High Expectations.” Those of us who lead, teach and serve understand the need for “high expectations.” But what are the expectations for the class members and attendees who are also in the classroom or small group? I am convinced there are expectations for those as well. Here are ten expectations for adult bible study class members:
1. Be prayed up and ready to hear God speak to you. Pray for your teacher, class and yourself. This shouldn’t happen in the car on Sunday morning. It should be a part of your every day spiritual discipline.
2. Greet class members and guests. Of course this assumes that you are on time so you won’t interrupt your teacher. All of us have had the “bad restaurant” experience where we’ve been stuck in a corner and ignored. Nobody will help us or talk to us! Unfortunately, that happened across the country every Sunday morning!
3. Be willing to step up and serve. Serve your class, as a greeter, outreach leader, or another position on your class leadership team. Serve by helping start another class. God’s math is multiplication not division! New classes reach people faster. Finally, set up and serve in another age group during Bible study. Right now across the country church staff’s and nominating committees are gearing up for the fall by enlisting people to serve. The only place to find those new workers is in adult Bible study classes.
4. Come with comments and questions. Don’t be afraid to interrupt or ask questions. This means being prepared. Read beforehand the lesson passage and church provided curriculum aid.
5. Support your church leadership on issues related to Bible study ministry. These issues may be related to scheduling, facilities or church approved curriculum.

One disturbing trend I’ve observed over the past few years is a movement by many adult Bible study classes to “do their own thing” in the area of Bible study curriculum. There are a couple of problems with that approach. First, it makes it extremely difficult for church leaders to get everyone on board, going in the right direction. Alignment is a powerful tool. Second, I believe this occurs when teachers forget that teaching is a right not a privilege. Teaching also comes with responsibility and accountability. Using a church approved curriculum or Bible study plan achieves both accountability and responsibility where it should be: on church leaders trained and called to provide leadership and oversight. Finally, this particular approach works nowhere else in adult education. My wife teaches at the Louise Herrington School of Nursing at Baylor University. Every semester her Dean tells her what she’ll teach and when she’ll teach it. Your pastor or minister of education is the dean for Christian education for your church.

Later this week we finish this topic.

What your Adult Bible Study Teach Should Expect from You