Who Gets the Credit — the Association, the Director or Churches?
A Column in the Baptist Associations Series with Applications for all Local Denominational Organizations
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(This column appears this week in the digital and print edition of The Baptist Paper. Access the column in the digital edition HERE. The Baptist Paper is a publication of TAB Media. Request a free trial HERE. See all TAB Media columns written by George Bullard HERE.)
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Who Gets the Credit — the Association, the Director or Churches?
By George Bullard
“You can observe a lot by watching” is a Yogi-ism credited to the legendary baseball player Yogi Berra.
I watch a lot of associations. They are the best part of denominational life.
I help associations serve with greater Kingdom effectiveness. When I do, I observe a lot of things.
Key question
One thing I observe is who gets the credit when an association does well. The spiritual answer is “God.”
Let’s assume that is the best answer and focus on the ongoing functioning of a Baptist association.
It is important to define the three possibilities: the association, the director and the churches.
When I say “association,” I mean the organizational entity we call a Baptist association. I contend the best associations are an organic movement of God and not an organization, but it is still fine to evaluate the organizational aspects of an association.
The director is the staff leader of an association. Increasingly the term “associational mission strategist” is catching on to identify this person.
Some associations have multiple ministry staff. Many have at least an administrative assistant. In these cases, we ought to include the staff when talking about who gets credit.
Then there are the churches. They are the churches in association with one another and represent the missional movement of God’s Kingdom among Baptists in their fellowship area.
From a missional movement perspective, the churches are the association. It is the interrelationships of the family of churches that define an association.
When something happens that enhances the fulfillment of the Great Commission in the spirit of the great commandment because of the ministry of churches in association, who gets the credit?
That is the key question. It is the most revealing observation I make when looking at associations.
When someone declares an association is great, to what are they referring? The organization? The director or staff? The missional movement of the churches?
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