Baptist & Reflector

Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835

THE IMB: WE MUST REFOCUS AS WE RESET

By Randy C. Davis
TBC Executive Director

Randy C. Davis

Randy C. Davis

Almost everyone has seen the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels perform their amazing aerial acrobatics. These highly skilled pilots are among the best of the best in the world. The “Blues” as they are nicknamed, fly $60 million F/A-18s inches apart at hundreds of miles per hour. There is virtually no margin for error. These pilots strive for perfection every time.

But they are not perfect. Immediately after every “mission,” the Blues debrief every moment and dissect each to the smallest detail. The point is not to dwell on the past but to improve for the future.

In a sense, Southern Baptists need a debrief in the wake of approximately 1,000 International Mission Board missionaries and staffers stepping away from Great Commission work. The purpose of such a rigorous introspection would be to improve for the future. We need to refocus and reset.

In a previous column (“IMB: How Did We Get Here?” in the March 9 issue of the Baptist and Reflector), I offered six observations why I believe Southern Baptists should step back and evaluate our advance of the gospel. My assessment is that we’ve lost evangelism as a priority, that we’re failing at discipleship, that we’ve become financially selfish, that we’ve focused on maintaining the “SBC Machine” more than the mission, that we’ve become prideful, and that we’ve created unrealistic expectations by extending our missions force beyond our financial resources. [Read more…]

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IMB ADDRESSES BAPTISM NUMBERS

By David Roach
Baptist Press

A decrease in international baptisms reported is due largely to changes in data-reporting methods, the International Mission Board said. -BP photo.

A decrease in international baptisms reported is due largely to changes in data-reporting methods, the International Mission Board said.
-BP photo.

NASHVILLE (BP) — Decreases in the number of baptisms and new churches reported by International Mission Board missionaries during the past decade reflect changes in data-reporting methods and missions strategy, not a lack of evangelistic ministry.

That’s the conclusion of a March 21 IMB news release issued in response to observations that overseas baptisms for 2015 are at their lowest level since 1969 — 54,762, according to the IMB’s 2016 Ministry Report to the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee, down from a high of 609,968 reported for 2007. [Read more…]

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ANSWERS STARTING TO COME FROM IMB

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

Lonnie-WilkeyIn the Jan. 27 issue I wrote a column expressing concern about the lack of information coming out of the International Mission Board. The IMB had made some major decisions about needing to cut between 600 and 800 missionary/staff positions due to overspending by $210 million over the past five years or so.

In addition, the IMB announced it was eliminating its Communications Center in Richmond with 30 of the 40 employees losing their jobs. Ten were reassigned to other areas.

I was critical of the IMB for their lack of information. President David Platt was not available to the media. I stand by what I wrote at the time. It was valid and needed to be brought out. [Read more…]

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THE IMB: HOW DID WE GET HERE?

By Randy C. Davis
TBC Executive Director

Randy C. Davis

Randy C. Davis

It was a dark day two weeks ago when International Mission Board President David Platt stepped to the microphone to inform Southern Baptists that 983 missionaries and 149 IMB staffers were stepping away from their involvement in taking the gospel to the nations. Dr. Platt described it best when he spoke of the “heaviness” of the day. I agreed, and wondered, “How’d we get here?”

That’s a question worth exploring. It is important to learn from our past so that we can make necessary changes that positively impact our future. There are lessons here for all of us, and as Christians, we need to pause and take stock in how this applies to us individually and collectively. [Read more…]

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NEARLY 1,000 MISSIONARIES RETURN HOME

IMB ‘reset’ will allow missions agency to have balanced budget for 2016-17

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

IMB staff members Phil Nelson, left, and Terry Sharp, second from right, visit with Tennessee trustees David Miller, second from left, and Phil Mitchell during the IMB trustee meeting held at the International Learning Center near Richmond late last month. Both Nelson and Sharp have strong Tennessee ties. Sharp formerly served on the staff of the Tennessee Baptist Convention and still lives in Hendersonville while Nelson formerly served as missions pastor at First Baptist Church, Concord, in Knoxville.

IMB staff members Phil Nelson, left, and Terry Sharp, second from right, visit with Tennessee trustees David Miller, second from left, and Phil Mitchell during the IMB trustee meeting held at the International Learning Center near Richmond late last month. Both Nelson and Sharp have strong Tennessee ties. Sharp formerly served on the staff of the Tennessee Baptist Convention and still lives in Hendersonville while Nelson formerly served as missions pastor at First Baptist Church, Concord, in Knoxville.

RICHMOND — Trustees of the Southern Baptist International Mission Board were told Feb. 24 that 988 missionaries are leaving the missions field along with 149 stateside staff members.

Last August IMB President David Platt announced that for financial reasons, the IMB needed to cut 600-800 missionary/staff positions. Over recent years the IMB consistently spent more money than it received — a combined $210 million more since 2010, leading to the critical need to balance the organization’s budget.

Missionaries and staff age 50 and above, with at least five years of employment, were given a Voluntary Retirement Incentive (VRI). Those not meeting that criteria were given the opportunity to retire through a Hand Raising Opportunity (HRO). [Read more…]

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IMB’S PLATT LOOKS FORWARD AFTER ‘RESET’

Baptist Press

IMB President David Platt casts vision for the future of IMB and responds to questions and comments submitted live via Twitter during a livestream event Thursday, March 3. -Photo by Chris Carter/IMB

IMB President David Platt casts vision for the future of IMB and responds to questions and comments submitted live via Twitter during a livestream event Thursday, March 3.
-Photo by Chris Carter/IMB

RICHMOND, Va. (BP) — Following an “organizational reset” that saw more than 1,100 International Mission Board personnel transition away from the board, President David Platt told a March 3 live stream audience he is ready to focus on the future.

“I really want to shift the conversation from talking about numbers and finances to talking about how this army of brothers and sisters going out specifically from Southern Baptist churches across North America can make the Gospel known among the nations,” Platt told an online audience that included viewers on more than 1,000 electronic devices. [Read more…]

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PLATT ANNOUNCES LIVE STREAMED Q&A

Baptist Press

160302plattRICHMOND, Va. (BP) — International Mission Board President David Platt will host a one-hour live streamed video session on the entity’s future at 11 a.m. Eastern Time March 3, answering questions and responding to comments submitted via Twitter under #IMBLive.

Platt has expressed a desire to move the conversation beyond discussion of the 983 missionaries and 149 stateside staff members leaving IMB through a Voluntary Retirement Incentive (VRI) and a Hand Raising Opportunity (HRI) collectively aimed at balancing the entity’s budget.

Registration is available free online to the public here. [Read more…]

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SHARING GOD IN SWEDEN TOUGH: MOENCH

By Charles Braddix
IMB Writer

Stockholm, Sweden

Stockholm, Sweden

STOCKHOLM, Sweden — What’s the most embarrassing thing you can talk about in your city? Discussions that include God, said a Scandinavian pastor.

The pastor in Denmark told this to sociologist Phil Zuckerman, who spent 14 months interviewing nearly 150 Scandinavians, according to The New York Times.

This can pose a dilemma for Christian workers trying to evangelize and plant churches in countries like Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The key, however, is not leaving God out of spiritual discussions, but knowing how to have an appropriate spiritual conversation with Scandinavians, said International Mission Board strategy leader David Moench, a Tennessean and member of Brentwood Baptist Church, Brentwood. [Read more…]

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EC WRAP-UP: SMALL-STATE REPRESENTATION CONSIDERED

By Baptist Press

The SBC Executive Committee gathered Feb. 22-23 for their meeting in Nashville. -Photo by Morris Abernathy

The SBC Executive Committee gathered Feb. 22-23 for their meeting in Nashville. -Photo by Morris Abernathy

NASHVILLE (BP) — After nearly an hour of discussion, the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee’s officers withdrew a recommendation to propose granting representation on three key SBC committees to Baptists in pioneer regions. EC leadership promised, however, to make an alternate proposal with the same goal but addressing logistical concerns raised by EC members.

In other business during the EC’s Feb. 22-23 meeting Nashville, the committee recommended a change in the method for asking questions of entity leaders during SBC annual meetings; approved a one-time transfer of funds from the North American Mission Board to the International Mission Board to assist IMB personnel leaving the board during its “organizational reset”; and withdrew the convention’s fellowship from a South Carolina church whose pastor performed a same-sex wedding ceremony with the deacons’ approval. [Read more…]

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IMB ANNOUNCES MISSIONARY VOLUNTARY RETIREMENT TOTALS

160114imb-officeEditor’s Note: A more complete story with responses from Tennesseans who serve on the IMB trustee board will be posted later and will appear in the March 2 print issue of the Baptist and Reflector

By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector

RICHMOND – Trustees of the Southern Baptist International Mission Board were told Feb. 24 that 988 missionaries will be leaving the mission field along with 149 stateside staff members.

Last August IMB President David Platt announced that for financial reasons, the IMB needed to cut 600-800 missionary/staff positions. Over recent years the IMB consistently spent more money than it received – a combined $210 million more since 2010, leading to the critical need to balance the organization’s budget. [Read more…]

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