by the Tribune
Ventura Baptist Church and Pastor Lewis McClendon have been hosting missionary communication workshops several years. That “we’re-for-the-missionaries” mindset, coupled with the church’s physical location and well-thought-out facilities, made it a natural choice for a backup venue when a prior location had to be replaced. And in a situation where a thousand things could have gone wrong, Pastor McClendon and his congregation made hosting a Baptist Bible Fellowship national meeting look easy.
Where churches often have at least a year or two to prepare to assemble speakers, music, workshop leaders, and support people, the Ventura church had months. The program was filled with people both inside and outside the ranks of the BBFI, and while some find this disconcerting, most attendees welcomed the input and connections with other Christians, especially those who share our concern for evangelism and discipleship.
BBFI preachers in the services included Steve Bender, Jon Konnerup, Brent Moeller, Mike Frazier, Linzy Slayden, Bruce Garner, and Lee Tomlin. George Barna also addressed the Tuesday morning assembly. The Wednesday evening speaker was Kirk Cameron (see the Tribune interviews with Kirk Cameron and George Barna on pages 14-15). Workshop leaders included Jim Baize, Otis Ledbetter, Kurt Bruner, Rim Rickard, Dan Smith, Steve Van Winkle, Jon Slayden, Linzy Slayden, Mike Gleason, Tim Adrian, Dennis Jennings, Jon Konnerup, Steve Bender, Lee Tomlin, Jim Smith, and Sharon Smith. Providing special music for the meeting were Terry Blackwood, Sylvia Lange, and John and Anne Barbour. Humorist Tim McClendon entertained those who attended a barbecue dinner Sunday evening hosted by the church.
September is traditionally the missions emphasis meeting for the BBFI calendar year, but this year marked a change. For decades, a chief interest in the September meeting was the Annual Projects Offering dedicated to building church facilities and homes overseas. Instead, future meetings will be more concerned with missionary care and safety. Mission Office personnel cited increased threats to Americans living abroad and the need to spread resources more widely among missionaries. More training for missionaries and those who minister to them is part of the solution according to leadership. On the care front, the Fellowship will provide retreats, better outreach to missionaries’ children, and more training for sending churches and pastors through a missionary care offering.
Missionaries approved in September were career missionaries Carol Elkins to Nicaragua and Cory and Jessie Lyons to the Philippines. TEAM missionary Jacob Lyons was also approved.
Veteran BBFI missionary to Japan, Lavern Rodgers, received the Fellowship Faithfulness Award. Rodgers has been a missionary six decades, and several Japanese nationals traveled to California to see him receive the honor bestowed upon him. In his remarks, Rodgers recounted how he responded to the call for missionaries after the World War, and how many said “it couldn’t be done there.” He ended his message by encouraging all to “come to Japan.”
Jon Konnerup presented the annual Mission Office audit and it was approved by the Committee of National Directors. Pastors wishing to obtain a copy of the audit may contact the Mission Office.
In other business, BBFI President Linzy Slayden announced that NCPO Director Wayne Guinn had resigned his position. New banking regulations and developments in banking relationships have made it necessary for the Mission Office to assume oversight of the current NCPO church loans. BBFI Vice President Dan Lamb has been appointed interim director of the NCPO to oversee training and recruitment of church planters. Slayden said the new conditions will require some restructuring, but “…as NCPO goes forward it will be leaner, more creative, and more local-church oriented.”
College trustees proposed and ratified by the directors are (Boston Baptist College) Tracy Roby, Tim Roberson, and Dave Brown, and (Baptist Bible College) John Alexander, Rohn Boone, Brian Weed, Fred Young, and Terry Kizer.
The Fellowship heard reports from the colleges, including approved and international colleges, the Mission Office, NCPO, and the Baptist Bible Tribune.
President Slayden also announced that due to recent events in the Middle East, the planned Holy Land excursion is cancelled.
The next meeting of the BBFI is scheduled to take place near Austin, TX, at the United Heritage Center in Round Rock. The meeting is hosted by the Texas BBF and organization is led by the South Texas BBF and its chairman Mike Marcellus. The meeting is February 17-19, 2014.
The May meeting next year is scheduled on the campus of Baptist Bible College in Springfield, MO, May 5-8.