Well, George has done it again. This time it’s in a video form. A 7 minute .wpm file was posted on his journal promising a list of 20 things that Denominations must do to thrive in the 21st century. I scribbled furiously as I listened [wishing he had printed up the list]  But, watching it  did add punch to the presentation.

As I reviewed the list, a number of his points connected and confirmed some of the initiatives that I have been worked to provide. Point 1: denominations must see their primary role as servicing their churches; Point 10: denominations must help “perfecting congregations” [congregations that are faithful, healthy, and earnestly cycling through their future] to reach their next level; Point 15 denominations must find a way to make peace with the parachurch world; Point 16: denominations must find ways to become resource brokers for their churches.

Over the last Spring and Summer, my involvement with the Church Development Commission and Best Practices for Church Boards has created an interesting initiative. Because individual congregations have asked for help, and because the Fellowship Baptist churches have become familiar with Outreach Canada’s Ministry Fitness Check – I went ahead and took the training to become a coach for the Outreach Canada Vision Renewal process. One of the things that struck me in the training was the distance that exists between the denominations and an agency like Outreach Canada. That led me to take up a challenge: to find a way for a denomination, like the Fellowship, to broker a valuable tool like Vision Renewal with the fellowship churches. There is a bond that we share that can only be strengthened through partnership. It’s an interesting experiment, and it’s nice to see that if I get all the ingredients to mix well and not explode … we will have provided something substantial for our shared future.

So – go see the video! http://www.bullardjournal.org/ Can Denominations Thrive in the 21st Century? Download george.wmv