One of my predecessors as pastor at Myers Park Baptist Church was the great Carlyle Marney, who confessed, “The real crisis for me was in Charlotte” where he was caught in a web of socio-economic forces that included “money, banking,…
A week later: Myers Park offers lessons for us all
Most all our readers seem to have an opinion about the news story I wrote last week about Myers Park Baptist Church in Charlotte, N.C., abruptly forcing the resignation of their pastor the Sunday before Thanksgiving and one week before…
Role of deacons changing as churches embrace missional focus
Just a few years ago, Eddie Hammett says, the subject of deacons in the free church tradition started coming up in much of the congregational consulting and coaching work he was doing. Many churches — and plenty of deacons — were doubting the effectiveness…
The gift of a ministry of presence
It was impossible to go to all of the breakout sessions at the CBF General Assembly in June. Because of this, my wife and I chose sessions that would be most applicable to us as a pastoral couple getting ready…
Deacons in a Baptist church are a waste if . . .
Sarah looks at the ballot for deacons for the coming year in her congregation. Today in the Sunday worship services is the annual election of a new set of deacons. As she looks at the ballot, she wonders to herself,…