’Tis the season for Baptist annual meetings. But will declining numbers, the expense of gathering people for face-to-face encounters and rapid advances in technology soon mean the demise of the rite?
Not necessarily and probably not anytime soon.
Fellowship and the sense of community will hold the practice together, at least for a while longer, according to some Baptist leaders.
“There is a sense in which annual meetings nurture community in a way that other activities cannot,” noted Baptist historian Bill Leonard, the James and Marilyn Dunn Professor of Baptist Studies and professor of church history at Wake Forest University School of Divinity.
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In the past, annual meeting has been the primary opportunity for cross-generational contact and for discussions about missions, evangelism and theological dialogue. Ending the practice would be a “huge loss,” Leonard said, because no similar opportunity exists.
“When those sources of connection disappear, where do you nurture that sense of community?” he asked.
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship executive coordinator Suzii Paynter sees theological benefit of annual meetings for an organization centered in connectedness.
“Who are we but an incarnational group? Part of coming together … is the visceral experience of being together as a national body, as an international body,” she said. “Christ’s presence is expressed through this visceral experience. Being together is more than the sum of our parts.”
Nurturing community also is practical in a changing world. “In a pluralistic, post-denominational culture, … we can feel alone at church,” Paynter said. “Being together reminds us we are not alone. … We can do more together than one church alone.”
Keith Herron of Kansas City, Mo., CBF moderator for 2012-2013, focuses on community as well, noting churches aren’t designed to function alone. The CBF General Assembly is a picture of hope for the body’s future.
The meeting “keeps us together, keeps us informed and keeps us inspired. Churches don’t do well as totally autonomous bodies but rather need other congregations that are struggling or prospering in similar ways,” Herron said.
“There is a unifying force of mission that stirs the imagination and the spirit of congregations when the pot of ideas and inspiration is stirred.”
Herron loves to walk through the host hotel lobby “after the wrinkled, graying founders” have gone to bed, he said. “The room glistens with the energy of the younger ministers and student attendees,” and he realizes “the Fellowship has a vibrant future waiting to be explored.”
Personal and community connections
The Lott Carey Foreign Mission Convention usually holds a weeklong annual gathering in August that focuses, naturally, on missions. Strong personal and community connections — a cultural necessity among African-American churches — likely will allow that body to continue its meeting tradition.
“Given the high value of relationship cultivation, personal and ministry networking, and the ‘family reunion’ aspects of Baptist communities of African-American heritage, the annual meeting remains essential to the life and work of these bodies,” noted David Goatley, Lott Carey’s secretary-treasurer.
Although American Baptist Churches USA congregations meet biennially, leaders also stress the community-building aspect.
“In an age of high tech, we believe in high touch,” explained Leo Thorne, ABC-USA associate general secretary for mission resource development.
A public annual meeting can serve as a platform for addressing social issues. Large bodies can issue statements or vote on resolutions that cause media, other denominational leaders and church members to take note. Last year, Fred Luter’s election as the Southern Baptist Convention’s first African-American president attracted considerable media attention.
Sometimes, a political bent to a national annual meeting draws criticism. In 2002, the SBC Pastors’ Conference, held prior to the larger session, ended with a patriotic salute of music, pyrotechnics and visuals — including a dramatization of the raising of the American flag at Iwo Jima. Retired Lt. Col. Oliver North gave the closing address.
Then-President George W. Bush spoke live to messengers via satellite that year, as did other politicians. The overtly nationalistic theme and strong Republican flavor garnered opposition, especially from church-state separationists.
But for some denominations, the political aspect is deeply engrained and is a vital part of identity. This year, participants at the Lott Carey annual meeting in Washing-ton will participate in a Pilgrimage of Remembrance to mark the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
Delegates also will commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation and the 200th of Lott Carey’s liberation from slavery.
“Justice is a missiological theme,” Goatley declared, “and to be missional is necessarily political.”
To remain viable and relevant to participants, national gatherings must use time and resources wisely, leaders agreed.
Process
Business is boring, many may believe, but some members want to understand items being considered. As part of the team that formulated the CBF’s meeting model, Paynter explained the Fellowship’s approach to business grew out of the frustration some people feel when they aren’t given enough time to discuss an issue or to have questions answered.
“It is a way for people to express views, a more deliberative and contemplative discussion,” Paynter said. “It introduces discernment and consensus more than you can just through Robert’s Rules.”
While some Baptist bodies stream parts of their annual sessions online, apparently none is conducting completely “virtual” meetings.
The only organizations that would benefit from providing annual sessions solely in “virtual” format would be those that use the national meeting only for business, Goatley believes.
But he added, denominations would have to make certain they provide “good information that is clear and fair, rather than slanted in the direction of the authors of the distributed materials,” he said.
Groups that use national sessions to “cultivate relational capital” probably should remain with the current annual meeting concept. “Virtual meetings cannot adequately nurture networks for people whose primary orientation is around helping people strengthen their relationships with Jesus,” Goatley said.
To remain viable, annual meetings may “need to be refined,” he emphasized. “Many gatherings seem not to have been planned with the best stewardship of time and presence in mind.”
Yearly meetings can continue to benefit Baptists when they are creative and planned well. “Strong, engaging and enriching annual sessions have potential to strengthen the life and work of denominational communities,” Goatley said. “Substance and style, form and function, must be addressed intentionally to make the meetings worth people’s time and money.”
Ministry
Several Baptist bodies include ministry as part of their annual sessions.
The theme for Lott Carey meetings always centers on some aspect of missions and includes a Community Feast, which brings together delegates and people of all walks of life from the host community. When members met in New Orleans last year, the feast included the homeless, who told their compelling stories. Members also do a Mission Blitz of service projects on the Monday of their weeklong meeting.
The National Baptist Convention, the CBF and the SBC also offer hands-on mission opportunities as part of their annual sessions.
ABC-USA is trying a different approach this year. For the first time, its session will be conducted as a missions summit. In the past, the organization held separate conferences.
And for the first time, ABC-USA shifted its meeting format. Rather than inviting an “expert” to share how to deal with certain issues or topics, the June 21-23 meeting will foster small-group discussions. Participants will “attend the group that meets their interests. … Then they will be challenged to go back to their church, discuss what they learned and find ways to implement it,” Thorne said.
Annual meetings will be around for the foreseeable future, these leaders believe — the key remains freshness and relevance.
Vicki Brown ([email protected]) is managing editor of Word & Way.
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