Our local Baptist association is going through a time of transition right now. This transition period has given me the chance to think and talk with friends and fellow pastors about several aspects of local association ministry. I want to use this post and few that will follow to think out loud about what local Baptist association ministry can and should look like in today’s world.
To get started, I’d like to point out a couple of resources that I’m aware of. If you know of any other helpful articles or resources, please feel free to add to this list in the comments section.
- Don’t Pull the Plug on Your Association Yet by Matthew Spandler-Davison
- Some Thoughts on Associational Revitalization by Nathan Finn
- Do Associations Have a Future in New-Work States? by Dave Miller
- Also, about a year and a half ago, I preached a sermon at one of our association meetings called Local Baptist Associations in the 21st Century. You can find the audio recording and sermon notes here.
A couple of issues I’d like to deal with in future posts:
- The Role of a DoM: A Pastor to Pastors?
- Is the Association Like a Church?
- Autonomous Local Churches and Voluntary Participation
- Keeping the Local Church Central in Association Ministry
I’d enjoy your feedback and input if you have some perspective on these issues and look forward to thinking through them together.