March 2010, Transparency
Transparency is a Washington buzz word. It has been recently publicized by recent news that President Obama's promise for transparency has fell on hard times. Toyota, and now Honda, is curently under investigation to see if their recall troubles could have been less controversial and troublesome for their customers if they had been more transparent from the very beginning. Closed sessions, whether political, corporate or even within church committees can cause rumors to fly; thus, the reason for being more transparent. I get that.
However, for an entity to be transparent is one thing, for people to grasp this transparency is another. What I mean is that sometimes transparency becomes cloudy or limited depending on the attitudes, egos and self-survival traits of the transmitter and/or the receiver. The result? Rumors, innuendo and enough personal defamation to make a grown man cry.
Okay, so let's bring this on home. Perhaps while The Bridge was in the initial developmental stage, we were not transparent enough. Feelings ran high. Perhaps my office was not transparent enough to satisfy those who felt their tithes were not being put to good use. Now that The Bridge is not my main focus of ministry, I hope to rectify any misconceptions by being more transparent.
I must reiterate, however, that transparency is a two way street. After hearing my monthly Director's report, reading my website page or a "hard" copy, or by visiting my office, and still do not have a grasp of what's being accomplished for the sake of the Lord at CPBC, you need to let me know what else I could be doing to be more transparent. Agreed?
I couldn't be working for a greate Lord than Jesus Christ and his church. Thanks for the opportunity.
However, for an entity to be transparent is one thing, for people to grasp this transparency is another. What I mean is that sometimes transparency becomes cloudy or limited depending on the attitudes, egos and self-survival traits of the transmitter and/or the receiver. The result? Rumors, innuendo and enough personal defamation to make a grown man cry.
Okay, so let's bring this on home. Perhaps while The Bridge was in the initial developmental stage, we were not transparent enough. Feelings ran high. Perhaps my office was not transparent enough to satisfy those who felt their tithes were not being put to good use. Now that The Bridge is not my main focus of ministry, I hope to rectify any misconceptions by being more transparent.
I must reiterate, however, that transparency is a two way street. After hearing my monthly Director's report, reading my website page or a "hard" copy, or by visiting my office, and still do not have a grasp of what's being accomplished for the sake of the Lord at CPBC, you need to let me know what else I could be doing to be more transparent. Agreed?
I couldn't be working for a greate Lord than Jesus Christ and his church. Thanks for the opportunity.
February 2010, Transitions
Cherry Point Baptist Church is not the only entity going through transition. I am too. Personally, I think we all go through a transition of some sort; for example, 2010 can be a transitional time for many folks as they rethink and plan their future. The weather can be another cause for transition as cold weather clothes are exchanged for warm weather ones. There have been deaths, births, marriages, divorces and job losses that have had tremendous transitional effects on people, too.
Recently, I've observed that there are some lessons to be learned about transitions. The first lesson I learned is that life transitions are certain. They will come in spurts of many, they will come infrequently or they may even overlap; but they are certain. Secondly, a life transition will most likely effect more people than just me; unless, of course, I've always lived in a cave on an uninhabited and uncharted island. Here's a biblical example: the arrest and death of Christ. It was certainly a transitional change for Him, but also for millions of others who were compelled to rethink their beliefs.
Speaking of transitions, I've been thinking about the transition from my involvement at The Bridge (see my article in last month's Challenger) to a greater focus on ministry development at CPBC. One lesson I've learned about this whole process is that hardly anyone knew to what extent I was involved with The Bridge ministry. These folks just knew that my involvement at Cherry Point was not what they expected. The reason for this, I suspect, is that there wasn't much publicity about all my activities that were required to accomplish the development and implementation of the multi-site.
Ultimately this publicity gap is all water under the bridge (no pun intended). I intend to correct any future misconceptions by being more public about the work I do. Here are some ways I intend to do that:
**Office hours are from 9 AM to 1 PM each week day. I welcome your visit.
**Continue Director's Report at Business Meetings
**Website updates. Visit my section at www.cherrypointbaptist.com under the "Ministry Director" menu tab. For those without computer access, I'll try to have a hard copy of important topics on the resource table at the back of the sanctuary.
**Our monthly church newsletter, The Challenger, will contain information from the Ministry Director.
Your feedback is always welcome.
Recently, I've observed that there are some lessons to be learned about transitions. The first lesson I learned is that life transitions are certain. They will come in spurts of many, they will come infrequently or they may even overlap; but they are certain. Secondly, a life transition will most likely effect more people than just me; unless, of course, I've always lived in a cave on an uninhabited and uncharted island. Here's a biblical example: the arrest and death of Christ. It was certainly a transitional change for Him, but also for millions of others who were compelled to rethink their beliefs.
Speaking of transitions, I've been thinking about the transition from my involvement at The Bridge (see my article in last month's Challenger) to a greater focus on ministry development at CPBC. One lesson I've learned about this whole process is that hardly anyone knew to what extent I was involved with The Bridge ministry. These folks just knew that my involvement at Cherry Point was not what they expected. The reason for this, I suspect, is that there wasn't much publicity about all my activities that were required to accomplish the development and implementation of the multi-site.
Ultimately this publicity gap is all water under the bridge (no pun intended). I intend to correct any future misconceptions by being more public about the work I do. Here are some ways I intend to do that:
**Office hours are from 9 AM to 1 PM each week day. I welcome your visit.
**Continue Director's Report at Business Meetings
**Website updates. Visit my section at www.cherrypointbaptist.com under the "Ministry Director" menu tab. For those without computer access, I'll try to have a hard copy of important topics on the resource table at the back of the sanctuary.
**Our monthly church newsletter, The Challenger, will contain information from the Ministry Director.
Your feedback is always welcome.
January 2010, Restructuring A Vital Ministry
After Pastor Rob's departure on December 6, and after the last personnel/Deacons meeting, Steve VanOrd (Deacon Chairman) talked with me about the desires for the committee to redefine my role at The Bridge that included the redirection of my ministries to Cherry Point Baptist. This decision does not surprise me, in fact, Pastor Rob and I talked about it before the news of his departure became public. Question: what does this mean for The Bridge?
David Glasgow (pictured above right) has been the Director of Ministries for The Bridge since April 2009 and has gained much experience and attended many meetings and learned many things about the polity of Baptists. So it only stands to reason that it is time he be given the full reins of leadership. Maybe this term is a misnomer; he already has a feel for the leadership and he is not alone in this position. The Core Group is a valuable ally that shares the same vision and seeks the same goals. In addition, there are other leaders rising up within the small congregation that will offer stability and sound advice.
In In 2007, Pastor Rob called me to his office and asked a question, "Ed, if you were given free rein to do anything you wanted, what would it be?" I answered, "Start a new church." It wasn't long before Rob called me to his office again to announce that he had decided to begin the process of starting a new church and he wanted me to be the facilitator. I gladly accepted and immediately set off with task in hand. After much research, fee payments, permits, meetings, and other hurdles, The Bridge was launched in February 2009. Today an average of 30-35 are attending services on Sunday afternoons.
My position at The Bridge is not very visible like the Campus Pastor, or the Teaching Pastor, my function is closer to being an "administrator" and therefore, I hang around behind-the-scenes. As an administrator, I help provide the on-going needs of The Bridge like, 1) providing a liaison between the Atlantic Baptist Association and The Baptist State Convention of NC, 2) creating and updating the website, 3) providing information and reports to Baptist agencies and 4) maintaining an information and correspondence flow to alll groups. My point in saying all this is that I have a great deal of time invested in The Bridge. But more importantly, it's been a dream of mine from the very beginning of my ministry career and God has seen fit to use Cherry Point Baptist Church to see it come into being. Praise the Lord!
Although my responsibilities will diminish at The Bridge, my support, encouragement and prayers will persist. The the Lord and give him all the glory!