Let me greet each one of you, faithful pastor, lay leader and church member!
As the President of our very own Cordillera Southern Baptist Churches Ministries (CSBCM), formerly BABBCA, it is my honor and privilege to lead you with fear and trembling before God. But by the grace of our Lord, we, your newly elected officers, will endeavor as a team knowing that together we can achieve more.
With our new name, CSBCM’s effort to reform itself is a bold move to cope up with the challenges of times. Some of the major ones are our attempt to regain the Cordilleran identity of our local churches. Blessed with rich cultural heritage, our local churches are planted in a unique setting of these mountainous provinces. Another is in regaining our heritage as Southern Baptists. SBs are known for its commitment and cooperative program in missions by reaching out the world through the Gospel of Jesus Christ! CSBCM too, is a cooperative effort to lead local churches in reaching every possible people group for the Lord.
It is for sure, CSBCM will move forward to become stronger and better—more united. We will continue to nurture our missionary history and reach our potential destiny. Our forefathers established this fellowship of local churches as a cooperative program to fulfill the mandate of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Great Commission. But how can we effectively achieve the ultimate mission of God?
We need to identify our collective vision that comes from God. A clear vision from God is necessary for us to move forward. The Bible says, “Without vision people will perish.” Without God-given vision (indeed, a “revelation”), we do not have focus. We need to ask ourselves: what does God wants for CSBCM to achieve? Our great mandate is God-given and God-sized. We also need the same for our collective vision. In order to effectively “make disciples of all nations,” all of us must be precise to answer the question: where do we go from here as CSBCM?
We need to strike the balance between our autonomy and responsibility. Our local church’s autonomy and collective responsibility as an association must be taken into consideration. CSBCM does not exist to interfere with the activities of the church. It only facilitates fellowship to emphasize that we belong to the greater body of Christ. The church belongs to Christ, not the pastor or SCBCM. We need to extend our encouragement to one another, far beyond our church’s four walls. Again, together, we can achieve more!
We need our pastors to truly represent the local churches in our meetings. Some say, “We are too busy.” Who’s not? Many of our representatives are also very busy people, but they took time to attend monthly meetings. It is not that they don’t have time; they gave time. I believe we can improve our leadership attitude and style by faithfully representing the churches that we pastor. Remember, CSBCM is an association of churches, not a ministerial group. Let us represent the church of Christ.
We need to cultivate stronger relationships and partnership. What will happen to a CSBC if there are no genuine relationships between representatives? Each one is accountable to go beyond cultural differences, insecurities, positions, or preferences. Even if the local churches are the members of the association, pastors represent not just the local body but the agenda of God. We need to be kingdom-minded. Let us reach out to our spiritual family beyond our denomination. If we have opportunities to work with fellow evangelical Christians, let us do so in humility. Why? Simply because we cannot do the Great Commission and transform the nation alone! We need each other.
Brethren, reform is useless without a vision. Without clear and collective direction, there is no future destiny for our association. I encourage every representative to understand why CSBCM exists (our purposes). Knowledge is, indeed, power. With much prayer, it will empower us to discern God’s ultimate leading. Our commitment and involvement in our regular planning will fasten CSBCM’s qualitative and quantitative growth. To preserve unity, representatives—who happen to come and go—must think of the member churches—which happen to stay.
If we want to outlive our lives and ministries, positioning for the future requires clear vision.
As the President of our very own Cordillera Southern Baptist Churches Ministries (CSBCM), formerly BABBCA, it is my honor and privilege to lead you with fear and trembling before God. But by the grace of our Lord, we, your newly elected officers, will endeavor as a team knowing that together we can achieve more.
With our new name, CSBCM’s effort to reform itself is a bold move to cope up with the challenges of times. Some of the major ones are our attempt to regain the Cordilleran identity of our local churches. Blessed with rich cultural heritage, our local churches are planted in a unique setting of these mountainous provinces. Another is in regaining our heritage as Southern Baptists. SBs are known for its commitment and cooperative program in missions by reaching out the world through the Gospel of Jesus Christ! CSBCM too, is a cooperative effort to lead local churches in reaching every possible people group for the Lord.
It is for sure, CSBCM will move forward to become stronger and better—more united. We will continue to nurture our missionary history and reach our potential destiny. Our forefathers established this fellowship of local churches as a cooperative program to fulfill the mandate of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Great Commission. But how can we effectively achieve the ultimate mission of God?
We need to identify our collective vision that comes from God. A clear vision from God is necessary for us to move forward. The Bible says, “Without vision people will perish.” Without God-given vision (indeed, a “revelation”), we do not have focus. We need to ask ourselves: what does God wants for CSBCM to achieve? Our great mandate is God-given and God-sized. We also need the same for our collective vision. In order to effectively “make disciples of all nations,” all of us must be precise to answer the question: where do we go from here as CSBCM?
We need to strike the balance between our autonomy and responsibility. Our local church’s autonomy and collective responsibility as an association must be taken into consideration. CSBCM does not exist to interfere with the activities of the church. It only facilitates fellowship to emphasize that we belong to the greater body of Christ. The church belongs to Christ, not the pastor or SCBCM. We need to extend our encouragement to one another, far beyond our church’s four walls. Again, together, we can achieve more!
We need our pastors to truly represent the local churches in our meetings. Some say, “We are too busy.” Who’s not? Many of our representatives are also very busy people, but they took time to attend monthly meetings. It is not that they don’t have time; they gave time. I believe we can improve our leadership attitude and style by faithfully representing the churches that we pastor. Remember, CSBCM is an association of churches, not a ministerial group. Let us represent the church of Christ.
We need to cultivate stronger relationships and partnership. What will happen to a CSBC if there are no genuine relationships between representatives? Each one is accountable to go beyond cultural differences, insecurities, positions, or preferences. Even if the local churches are the members of the association, pastors represent not just the local body but the agenda of God. We need to be kingdom-minded. Let us reach out to our spiritual family beyond our denomination. If we have opportunities to work with fellow evangelical Christians, let us do so in humility. Why? Simply because we cannot do the Great Commission and transform the nation alone! We need each other.
Brethren, reform is useless without a vision. Without clear and collective direction, there is no future destiny for our association. I encourage every representative to understand why CSBCM exists (our purposes). Knowledge is, indeed, power. With much prayer, it will empower us to discern God’s ultimate leading. Our commitment and involvement in our regular planning will fasten CSBCM’s qualitative and quantitative growth. To preserve unity, representatives—who happen to come and go—must think of the member churches—which happen to stay.
If we want to outlive our lives and ministries, positioning for the future requires clear vision.
Some call this process “visioneering.” But the vision must be in-line with the kingdom purposes of God and apart from Him, we will certainly fail. That vision must force us to trust Him to work through us, with us, and for our nation. So where do we go from here? Please pray that we have one answer.
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