Kevin Ezell has begun to share his new vision for NAMB and Baptist Press is reporting it. He is planning to divide NAMB into 5 regions, each of which will have a VP who will report directly to him. He has named the VPs for the Midwest and Canadian regions.
Here is the map of the regions that NAMB has published in BP:
He claims that each of the regional supervisors will work with the state convention executives in partnership. There has been a persistent fear (long before Ezell took the helm) that NAMB has been wanting to move away from partnerships and wants to work directly with churches independently of the state conventions. Right now, that does not seem to be the case. Ezell seems to be consistently expressing his desire to work in partnership with the states.
It was that fear that was at the root of a lot of GCR opposition in the New Work states. At this time, Ezell seems to be indicating his intention to continue to work in partnership. Hope that follows through.
Of course, the thing that I have read that makes some of us nervous is the idea that he will focus on population centers for NAMB work. He says that his strategy, “prioritizes the largest areas of lostness.” That strikes some fear in rural areas and in the smaller states with smaller cities. We will have to wait nervously to see how that plays out.
Here is the full text of Ezell’s letter:
I will be presenting several items to our Board of Trustees when I meet with them February 9 and I wanted to share some of those details ahead of time.
— Strategy and Approach
I believe NAMB’s strategy needs to revolve around church planting that is focused on penetrating lostness in North America. We will mobilize churches to become part of this church planting effort. Then we will equip them for the task and help them get it done.
This national strategy will be implemented regionally, working in close partnership with state Southern Baptist conventions in a way that prioritizes the largest areas of lostness. I am proposing that these five regions—Northeast, South, Midwest, West and Canada—each have their own leader who will report directly to me.
— New Personnel
I have been asking God and others to lead me to those who would be best equipped to provide leadership for these regions. I am happy to say that I will present two of those to our trustees in February.
— VP — Midwest Region — Steve Davis
I am proposing that Steve Davis, who has provided great leadership at the Indiana Baptist State Convention since 2003 and has pastored for three decades, should lead our efforts in the Midwest Region. I could not be happier at the prospect of having Steve in this vital role.
— VP — Canadian Region — Jeff Christopherson
Jeff Christopherson has been one of our church planting missionaries and is at the forefront of those efforts in Canada. He has proven his great leadership and mobilizing abilities. I will present him to lead the Canadian Region.
These are the only two regional vice presidents we will be presenting to our trustees at this time, but I will present two other vice president candidates at our meeting.
— Organizational Structure
As I have said over the past months, once we determine our strategy, we will need to re-align our organization in a way that will let us best carry out that strategy. I will present that re-structuring to our trustees at February’s meeting. There are not any staffing reductions associated with this re-alignment.
I want to thank all of those who have been praying for me and the North American Mission Board during these days of transition. These are exciting times, but also critical days as we forge ahead with what I believe can be a new era of effectiveness for Southern Baptists.
Serving Together,
Kevin Ezell, President, North American Mission Board, SBC
January 28, 2011
Here’s hoping the “new era of effectiveness” for NAMB is more than a slogan.
Seems like a workable plan, but I’m still skeptical. It could be nothing more than rearranging the chairs on the deck of the Titanic. I’m not convinced the problems at NAMB have to do with organization. Perhaps that is part, but I think there is something else amiss. I’m not sure if what is being proposed makes NAMB more accessible to the churches, or adds another level to the bureaucracy. I don’t see a great commitment to the local church and I think that is going to be a hindrance to any real difference. If, in fact, there continues to… Read more »
I guess we all tend to look through the lens of our own interests. Since much of the work in Iowa and other smaller new works states is largely dependent on NAMB funding, anything that would interrupt that funding is viewed with skepticism. I think that the thought here might be that Iowa and its churches may know better how to strategize church planting in Iowa, because we know the region, the people, etc. Some NAMB expert that comes in might not know what we know. So, we rely on partnerships. But I think that you get at the heart… Read more »
Will this mean that the SBC will have 5 different NAMBs, each squabbling over resources? What about ethnic ministries? Geography doesn’t matter much in missions to Somalis or Nepalis or Iraqis… ethnicity, language, culture and that whole bundle of wax does.
I think the short answer, Ryan, is no.
All 5 VPs will report directly to Ezell.
Ryan, very good questions. My fear is that this plan will not be thoroughly vetted.
Im not sure how this all plays out, but I really like the idea of splitting efforts into 5 regions… Now we just need to get the money evenly distributed between these 5 regions.
Yeah, I thought the regional emphasis was good – I remember it being discussed in the GCR debate.
I’m not sure about equal distribution of funds. I’d like to see LESS money spent in the orange areas and more in the other regions.
If we can just get it to equal it would be a million times better than it is now… But yes, I agree with you.
Dr. Steve Davis is a great choice for the Midwest Region! He will be able to work well with the state exec’s since he already has a close working relationship. Excellent!
Isn’t he the state exec now?
I think it is actually a hopeful sign that he picked a Hoosier for the Midwest area and someone working in Canada for Canada. Don’t know the men, so I can’t really comment on that.
But I think it is a good sign that he is picking people with local knowledge and credibility to be the VPs.
Like Frank L., I too am skeptical (no surprise there). If your vision is to have NAMB be almost exclusively a church planting organization, then this reorganization makes sense. However, who will NAMB be partnering with? I know that Dr. Ezell said that NAMB would work in “close partnership with State Conventions,”, but what does this mean? We simply do not know what the partnership will look like, but if I had to guess, I would say it will not be a partnership of equals. If the existing partnership agreements are replaced with new ones, will funding be allocated based… Read more »
Its impossible to agree or argue, really. Until he reveals more of his strategy, we are taking shots in the dark.
I think your supposition that the Cooperative Agreements are going to change is pretty accurate. What will happen? I don’t know. Maybe the new system will be better, i don’t know.
One thing, Howell, I’m not real sure that the SBC organization has ever been as “grassroots” as we like to think. Its always been kind of a top-down thing, hasn’t it?
Resources probably won’t be distributed evenly across the regions. They probably won’t even be distributed evenly across the states. Before you all castigate me for my bluntness, let me explain. 1 million spread across the Northeast will go alot further in geographic reach than across the entire west or Canada. 1 million spread across Iowa will go further than 1 million in New York state (city, even). Also, you are not going to need as many resources hitting the South like the other regions because there is such a presence already. I just hope NAMB pulls the plug on suburb… Read more »
I don’t see that happening, but we’ll know in nine years, I guess.
If Ezell messes up and adds to the dysfunction at NAMB, you may very well be right.
If Ezell sorts things out and gets NAMB moving the way it should be, NAMB will never get folded in.
Matt Svaboda, Split it evenly huh. Based on what ? Area ?, People ? Ice 12 months of the year ? Manattees ( number in resident ) ? How about Native Indians that haven’t marched somewhere and are still on the reservation in Oklahoma with no relatives east of the Mississippi ( gets rid of any unfair Johnny Hunt connections ) ? All of Alaska’s money can go in a pile until the summer thaw. I think we need different colors. These are the same exact colors that the Government Homeland Security and they did such a wonderful job they… Read more »
Just some perspective when it comes to discussing cities vs rural. If when one argues against cities, and they are talking about southern cities (ie Atlanta, Louisville, ect) then I would agree. But food for thought. Bethel Baptist Association in Missouri (the Hannibal area north of STL) has 27 SBC churches. The Twin Cities Metro Baptist Association (The entire Minneapolis/St.Paul area) has 24 SBC churches. To the best of my knowledge there are no ethnic churches in the BBA, yet there are 11 in the TCMB. More statistics to consider, there are more SBC churches in the Blue River/Kansas City… Read more »
Serving in new works states for 24 years, I felt two dynamic tensions:
1. The need to start new kinds of churches to reach new people.
2. The need to strengthen existing churches.
Without these two wings (starting & strenthening) … the bird can’t fly … for very long.
So hopefully there will also be a strong emphasis in the new strategy of helping existing churches through evangelism, discipleship, etc.
Blessings!
I think we all agree with those primary goals, Ron, and I don’t really see them in tension. They are parts of the same Great Commission continuum – evangelizing and discipling.
But the rub here comes in the “how” and I’m not sure we have found the precise formula yet.
Let me preface my comments with a brief thumbnail sketch of my experience in nontraditional areas in the U.S. 1. 10 week summer joint church planting mission with HMB and NOBTS in 1978 in Oregon. Started from scratch and planted a church that summer. 2. 2.5 years as a bivocational pastor in Wisconsin. 3. 8 years as a full time pastor in Montana. Supported and helped finance new church plants through our church and association. Also served as Convention President for two terms. Less is Best. Put sufficient funds into fewer strategic church plants and give the planters more than… Read more »
I pretty much agree with everything you said. 1) I’ve advocated the “focus” church planting method for a long time around here. Instead of giving a little bit to 10 churches (most of which do not really go anywhere), focus a lot of time and money on one or two strategic plants. It’s a long-term approach. 2) My dad was a part of the wave you talked about of “Southern” church reproduction in the Midwest in 1960. A lot of southern engineers had moved to Cedar Rapids for the aerospace industry and wanted churches like those in the south. The… Read more »
Our church is the result of an influx of southerners who were building a missile complex here in the Langdon, ND area. The church managed to reach enough of a local population to leave behind a solid foundation, but the metamorphosis that you mentioned is currently in process (except for a name change) in order for us to be able to begin to reach the community again.
As so many have previously stated… the relationship between NAMB and the state conventions is the key. Added to that will be the work of the local Association. How can the three overlapping entities (NAMB, States, Associations) work in harmony with each other? Our autonomous structure makes organizing entities so difficult, especially when talking about dividing resources. I hope the Lord gives Pastor Ezell a compelling vision that we can all get behind and that the entities are humble enough and selfless enough to do what leads to Gospel growth. I see great value in the Association when it serves… Read more »
As a former DOM and State Convention Missionary — one of the unpleasant things that I encourntered through the years was seeing some guys develop the Golden Rule complex … meaning … he who has the “gold” rules. It generates a host of nasty attitudes and I’ve had to repent from several. They forget that all the monies in SBC Life are given by Southern Baptists at the local church level. The Association, State Convention, nor NAMB generates money in and of themselves. As many older NAMB guys have left … many of the new guys may develop this unfornuate… Read more »
Good insight.
Ron, I like your perspective, but I’m going to come at it from a different direction.
I think that one of the unfortunate side-effects of the generosity of NAMB/CP giving in New Work states has been an unfortunate dependence on NAMB to do everything for us. If NAMB doesn’t fund it, we can’t do it.
That’s kind of the other side of this whole thing.
Dave, That is the other side and I’m glad you mentioned that. I believe that partnerships are agreed upon by equal partners (No big “I” and no little “u”). The partnership agreements are spelled out. Then accountability flows through those agreements at all levels through a spirit of cooperation. Checks and balances are agreed upon. This is where the rub happens. In HMB days … guys at the national level and state level did a great job working with local DOM’s in holding church planters accountable for money received. If a planter did not report evangelistic visits — his money… Read more »
Dave,
This is the biggest problem I can see in the way things are now. This is why there is such a panic in our areas as this unfolds. We have become dependent on NAMB/CP funds in many ways. I think the answer is to work toward more self-sufficiency long term, obviously; which is probably going to come from strengthening existing churches more than just increasing the number of needy churches.
Yep
It’s definitely a good start to see people placed in regions they are familiar with. And living here in the South, I can see why it looks like we need church vitalization more than we need church planting, but you do run into the stone wall that local church autonomy can be. A primarily Anglo congregation sits in a neighborhood that has become predominantly one ethnic group or another, but there’s White Island Baptist Church (Apologies to any real cities of White Island and their respective Baptist churches) in the middle. They’ve got a big facility left over from the… Read more »
Doug, in your scenario where you just “avoid Old Family Baptist Church” where are you going to get the money for new work? I think this strategy is the same flawed mentality that gave us “New Coke.” One can’t get milk from a dead cow. I don’t want to see a strategy that crates an us/them scenario of new work vs. Established churches, or “old folks be damned.” this attitude has prevailed in many purpose-driven preachers and brought more strife than growth. I’m not saying you believe this or this is an inevitable consequence of Ezell’s strategy. However, some of… Read more »
Since I pastor a church that could be “Old Family” but we’re working to grow spiritually beyond that. Certainly the scenario is faulty, but that’s a part of what does happen: there are churches that won’t reach their neighborhoods but will fund the efforts of someone else to do it. We’ve got several here in this state, and my experience in other states I’ve served in reflects the same situation. In the end, where do you get the money? You milk “OFBC” until it’s gone, and hope the new work is self-sufficient by then. This is, honestly, what it feels… Read more »
Another thing I’ve thought about: the first church I pastored was a bi-vo position in rural Arkansas. Many of the children of that church had grown up and moved to cities where they were going to churches with oodles of staff. There weren’t jobs left back home for them with the change in agriculture and other economic issues, but the people that had left had good work and were part of churches that were, in truth, doing well. Anybody think we could ever persuade multi-staff churches to delay employing one more “Associate Pastor for Junior High Boys Last Names A-G”… Read more »
Sounds good to me. Unfortunantly, I will never pastor a mega-church, but if anyone figures out how to get them to fund that, I’ll be in line!
Seriously, we are too self-centered for that to ever happen. But I will make it a prayer concern.
John
I note with approval the mention of checks and balances and the rejection of the Big I and Little You mentality. Respect for individuals regardless of their status or standing is the mark of Christian Love and Faith. The church, the ekklesia, is composed of believers, each of whom is the equal of the other in regards to rank and standing and right to participate in the work of the Church.
I’m not sure why trying to reach the most needy areas of North America would strike fear into Southern Baptists. If I was the president of NAMB not one more dollar would go to any work in the south. The existing churches, associations and conventions can plant churches without NAMBS resources. Not one more penny for the South! Please reach New England, Canada, the West, or even South Florida. Someone mentioned spreading the money evenly. Really? Money needs to follow need, not greed.
The words of the GCR Recommendations, Dr. Ezell, and the SBC establishment have been fairly clear — NAMB will be almost exclusively a church planting organization. I fully expect their actions to follow their words. I do not know anyone who is opposed to strategically planting new churches. However, there are many of us who continue to argue that the seemingly “single-minded” pursuit of church planting to the seeming de-emphasis on discipleship and church growth/revitilization — at least as far as NAMB is concerned — is short-sighted. I can tell you that bird will not make it very far off… Read more »
Howell for president! Superb post. A single-prong approach may give short-term buzz but long-term problems. I suspect this is a done deal, however, and NAMB may become an arm of the mega-church movement.
I prefer an even distribution across all regions. Yes, we have fewer churches in the green, yellow and blue states where the culture has been very resistant to the gospel, so we desperately need to invest resources there. But in spite of a plethora of churches in the orange region, there is still plenty of lostness in this culture which is much more open to the gospel, at least for now. We dare not abandon this open door to reach people in a culture where church life is still revered by country singers and comedians. Suppose you are a mission… Read more »
What about if the churches in the orange region have the money to spend independently and can still win the 1000 souls without the help of the mission board; whereas the green region doesn’t have those same resources and cannot do so? Where should the money go then?
Most of the orange churches I know are laying off staff and cutting back across the board — salaries, operations, missions, etc. A “Robin Hood” approach only works if somebody, somewhere is actually rich. The one exception might be the less than 2% of our churches that qualify as megachurches. They do spend “independently” in their multi-site expansions, but take a good look at their CP gifts. When they spend independently on local missions, it seems there is very little leftover for the green region. I would say that, primarily, it is the great number of SMALLER orange churches that… Read more »
Maybe we struggling Northerners tend to think all southern churches have an unlimited supply of cash and that there is a church on every corner.
I think what you are describing Rick has been called “The Walmartization of the Church.” Towns used to have a lot of little shops and Walmart comes in and they all go out of business.
Megachurches do a lot of good but are also draining the smaller churches.
There’s a church on every corner in my town.
But there’s only one corner.
For four years I pastored in small town in Virginia – there was not a traffic light in the entire county.
There are about 20 traffic lights in the county. 14 are in Stuttgart, where 60% of the county’s population lives.
The single busiest intersection in the county is a 4-way stop.
City-slicker
Yep. No walking uphill both ways in the snow with no shoes for us in the big town. Shoot, that Wally-World is only 14 miles away! So is the grocery store. And anything else but rice fields and soybean fields.
Does a flashing yellow/flashing red light hanging in the middle of a hwy intersection count as a traffic light? Otherwise, we don’t have one in our county either.
Our closest Wal-Mart is in Canada, but I don’t have a passport at the moment and customs is a pain anyway. We just discovered that there is a Supercenter to the west of us that is only ~110 miles away as opposed to the one in Grand Forks that is ~120 miles away.
If flashing lights don’t count, we don’t have 20. We have 12.
Jeff, be careful that the convenience of that newfound Walmart doesn’t do you in, financially. When it’s that much closer, you might be tempted to go more than once a day!
Dr. John L. Nevius spent his life and ministry in China and left defeated. He asked himself the question: If I could do it all over again, how would I do it differently? He wrote his thoughts down and his path crossed with three young missionary couples taking the gospel into the virgin land of Korea (well over 100 years ago). He taught these young missionary couples the principles that he had learned the hard way and through the study of scripture. These young missionaries went into Korea and applied the Missiology they had been taught. Today the largest churches… Read more »
Interesting stuff, Ron.
Ron, you said this: In our land that is quickly becoming pagan, we must learn that some of the secrets have been learned in the past, and they will not be found in the latest seminar, book, or gospel guru. And I can’t help but think you’re very right. One area I think we need to grow in as Southern Baptists, even down here in the “Orange Area” (let’s use that label all the time :)) is to stop assuming the Gospel. I think that’s part of our issue. We spend a lot of time bemoaning moral issues and the… Read more »
Here is a link to Nevius’ work on missions.
FYI, for reasons I don’t completely understand, our spam filter is still taking some of your comments. I just went in and got some out. I’m checking it pretty regularly, but its still putting some of you in the penalty box and I really do not know why. Plus, a bunch of comments by regular commenters went into moderation (ones I did not put there).
I’m monitoring things, but ask for patience.
Jeff Musgrave, As I’ve been told two brothers from Germany came to this country; one went north to a town a few miles southwest of you called Wolford and the other south. I only, credit them with the saying, ” If you find work – write “. It’s not said if either did. Many moons ago I got hired as a co-pilot with North Central Airlines in Chicago and flew over your area. The whole earth was a white out with the airport runway in a tunnel of blown snow and a quonset Hut with snow on it. I’m glad… Read more »
Jack,
I can’t even begin to describe for you the awe I have for the people who went before us here. Many of my church members talk about the thrill of getting indoor plumbing when they were younger and/or the “winter bathrooms” that were set up in basements back in the day(can you imagine running to the outhouse at -25). I have heard some pretty amazing stories.
So, there’s indoor plumbing now? I’m shocked.
Jeff M, While Dave’s machine is acting up, One of mt Heros is Teddy Roosevelt who after his wife and Mother died on the same Valentines Day went to Medora , battled as well as any man and survived with his life but his business failed. He wrote, hunted a lot. In the summertime the bees take over the outhouses in AK which is a thrill. I’ll know you’re there when I read the news about severe weather as is shaping up now. Take Care.