Reflections from Little Rock: The 82nd National Association of Free Will Baptists
Free Will Baptists observed their eighty-second national convention in Little Rock, Arkansas, on July 22-25. The theme was “Called,” based in 2 Timothy 1:9: “who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity” (NASB). Between the National Convention and the Vertical Three Conference, attendance was over 4,700 in person and nearly 50,000 online. Fortunately, all seven HSF contributors attended the convention, and a majority of them presented seminars. Below are our summaries, observations, and reflections. While they are in no way exhaustive, we hope to give our readers a thumbnail sketch of this important meeting.
Business
Executive Office: Keith Burden presented the report of the Executive Office. The most significant portion of Burden’s report was his announcement that he would retire next summer. Burden began serving as Executive Secretary in 2002. Candidate recommendations will close on October 30, 2018. He also introduced Danny Dwyer to summarize his findings from the Free Will Baptist revitalization program Rekindle. In addition, delegates approved a new Committee on Denominational Research. (M. Bracey)
Historical Commission: Eric Thomsen presented the Historical Commission report. Memorably, the commission’s honoring of Robert E. Picirilli, who served the FWB Historical Collection for decades, a position that forum contributor Phillip Morgan has now assumed. (M Bracey)
International Missions: The International Missions (IM) report was exceptionally encouraging this year. Delegates voted to change their name officially to IM, Inc. In addition, General Director Clint Morgan reported seven personal stories from the field. These stories included God’s work in places such as Kenya, Bulgaria, Spain, France, and Japan. Director Morgan also informed delegates of the progress of his department to some of the strategic goals they had set for the year 2020. Morgan then honored two retiring couples that served more than forty years on the field. Dale and Sandra Bishop began their ministry in Japan in 1972 and retired December 31, 2017. Robert and Judy Bryan gave fifty years of faithful service in Côte d’Ivoire, Africa (1968-2002) and in France (2002-18). IM also reported 1,958 conversions and 995 baptisms from the field in 2017. God is certainly at work through Free Will Baptist missionaries all over the world. To God be the glory! (Z. Maloney and J. Watts)
Welch College: Welch College CFO, Craig Mahler, and Welch College President, J. Matthew Pinson, gave a strong annual report on Tuesday. In it they noted the completion of the first phase of the new Welch College campus. The college received a major surprise when construction ceased that included a sizable, unexpected bill for overages. Pinson and Mahler felt confident the remaining debt would be paid off in five years, but also remarked that additional debt is expected over the next few years as the college will need to construct new housing and hopes to build a 1,000 seat chapel. Part of this is due to the thirty-three year enrollment record high that Welch College celebrated this past year.
Pinson announced the third publication from Welch College Press, entitled Light and Truth: A Seventy-fifth Year Pictorial History of Welch College by forum contributor Phillip T. Morgan, as well as J. Matthew Pinson. Finally, delegates voted in two new trustees: Rev. Theron Scott (SC) and Rev. Tim Campbell (AR) were elected to replace Rev. Kenny Simpson (MO) and Rev. Mark Stripling (AR) whose terms expire in 2018. Will Beauchamp (FL) was also re-elected to a second term. (J. Owens)
Seminars/Workshops
Ball: Long before the Convention had dozens of workshops and seminars, the Commission for Theological Integrity sponsored a substantial “theological trends seminar” on Monday afternoon. This year the guest speaker for this seminar was Andrew Ball, who dealt with the thorny issue of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide (PAS). While many know about PAS, few realize how quickly state legislatures are adopting laws that support this dubious practice. These topics are therefore a serious issue for this reason. In addition, we all age, and we all will find ourselves in end-of-life situations where decisions about care may fall to us or at least be influenced by our input. Ball provided a helpful overview of the subject and offered some penetrating analysis of some of the key legal precedents which have led us to our present cultural moment. He attempted to provide a theological framework to help us consider different forms of treatment available today, especially as technology creates new gray areas that pastors, clinicians, chaplains, and just concerned believers will have to think through. In the coming weeks a resource on this subject will be available at fwbtheology.com, so be sure to check in there for this free resource. (J. Watts)
Bracey: Sarah Bracey, adjunct teacher and campus counselor at Welch College, presented a workshop on “Dealing with Anxiety: Theological Psychology.” She began by establishing a theological basis for psychological challenges. She then presented on a four-sphered model for understanding human psychopathology, including biological, psychological, sociological, and spiritual factors. Third, Bracey offered practical helps for struggling people. She concluded by fielding questions. Central to her presentation were the works of Eddie Moody, Eric Johnson, and D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. Bracey’s workshop was interactive and engaging. (M. Bracey)
Hunter: Ron Hunter presented a workshop entitled “Eight Steps to Leading Your Church Into Family Ministry.” Drawing from various leadership experts, Hunter posited eight steps that are necessary for any effective change in a church—specifically family ministry. He challenged listeners’ assumptions on leadership, arguing that true leadership was more than simply influence. Furthermore, he argued that sustainable change will not be a quick process but instead will often take multiple years to accomplish. This includes reading books together, presenting strategies, and encouraging your church to see the need for change. (C. Talbot)
Pinson: J. Matthew Pinson, president of Welch College, presented on the question: “Is our Denomination Dying?” In it he satirically presented seven easy steps for killing the Free Will Baptist denomination. In his analysis, he explained that deemphasizing our distinctive Christian and Free Will Baptist doctrine is the surest way to bring an end to the denomination. He encouraged the overflow audience to display confidence about our distinctive confessional and cultural heritage while leaning out into the world to reach the lost. (P. Morgan)
Owens: Forum contributor Jesse Owens gave a presentation on the reorganization of twelve General-Free Will Baptist churches in eastern North Carolina from 1755-1761. Men from the Philadelphia Association of Particular Baptists directly reorganized four of these churches. Pastors who had embraced Calvinism reorganized the remaining eight churches. The process (of being reorganized from Arminian Baptist churches to Calvinist Baptist) typically occurred in this way: The pastor embraced Calvinism, some of the people embraced Calvinism, and the church was reconstituted as a Calvinist Baptist church with only a portion of the former congregation. (J. Owens)
Pinson, Bracey, McAffee, and Oliver: Welch College hosted a seminar on Welch College Press’s first publication, Sexuality, Gender, and the Church (2016), co-written by forum contributor Matthew Steven Bracey with J. Matthew Pinson, Matthew McAffee, and Michael Oliver. The four contributing authors each gave a brief synopsis of their chapters that encouraged deeper reflection on the issues at hand. (P. Morgan)
Pontius and Hawkins: Welch College sponsored several apologetics-themed sessions in which two people presented. In one of them, Aaron Pontius, student pastor at The Donelson Fellowship and adjunct instructor at Welch College, and Ian Hawkins, department chair of the Arts and Sciences department and coordinator of the biology program at Welch College, presented on thinking worldviewishly. Pontius and Hawkins explained the dire need for the church to help its members think holistically about the world. Christians must build their worldview on the right foundation, which is centered on the gospel through which all knowledge can be evaluated and used to help us build God’s kingdom through every vocation, including scientific vocations. (M. Bracey)
Thomsen: Eric Thomsen, managing editor of ONE, presented a workshop on “Honoring Our Heritage: Preserving the Story of the Local Church.” He began by giving a Biblical apologetic from Luke for why church history—and specifically local church history—matters in the kingdom of God. Documentation is vital, and writers must seek both truth and unity. Throughout the workshop, Thomsen reviewed different ways to approach a local church history. He also gave nuts-and-bolts advice on writing and publishing it. In short, Thomsen presented a practical how-to for those interested in preserving their church heritage. (M. Bracey)
Thornsbury: Christa and Frank Thornsbury led two seminars: the first on art and the second on entertainment. Both seminars concerned ways in which to think Christianly about all types of culture, a theme that was illustrated by their exhortation to think of culture as food, a reference to Ken Myers’s threefold analogy as found in All God’s Children and Blue Suede Shoes (high art as gourmet food, folk art as home cooking, and popular culture as fast food). In the first seminar, Christa emphasized the need for Christians to interact with high and folk art. She concluded that high and folk art provide key nutrients—to continue the food analogy—to the Christian’s cultural diet. (C. Thornsbury)
Thornsbury: In the second seminar, Frank talked about how all culture communicates a vision of the good life and how entertainment culture is no different. In other words, culture communicates values and beliefs about what makes life worth living. For the Christian, the values and beliefs of entertainment culture demand special scrutiny. In order to judge well, one must have taste, based on a coherent worldview, rather than mere consumer preferences. Ultimately, instead of adopting the values of entertainment culture wholesale, Frank proposed that we participate in the arts of living, a term created by John Crowe Ransom to describe leisurely pursuits that reconnect us to place, people, and the land (i.e., the hunt and the table). (C. Thornsbury)
Vickery and Ball: In one of the Welch College apologetics workshops, Zach Vickery, a rising biblical scholar, and Andy Ball, a Free Will Baptist philosopher, presented. Vickery gave a helpful talk introducing listeners to the work of textual criticism. Ball followed with an overview of Abraham Kuyper’s life. Ball explained how Kuyper’s legacy is instructive on the subject of developing a Christian worldview. They then fielded questions from a packed room. No doubt many are interested in helping their congregations understand the origins and integrity of the biblical texts and helping promote a comprehensive Christian worldview. Vickery and Ball offered much towards this end. (J. Watts)
Evening Services
In the Sunday evening adult service, Pastor Ben Gibson of Phillips Chapel Free Will Baptist Church in Springdale, Arkansas addressed Christians’ call to holiness. Expounding on 1 Thessalonians 4, Gibson specifically addressed holiness relative to sexual purity. Gibson called listeners to be pure in a world of licentiousness and impurity. He especially warned of the danger pornography poses for the contemporary church, and urged those present to repent. He explained how our call to be holy gives us a new identity and moral clarity in the world we live. His sermon consistently pointed to Christ’s holiness and our call to be like Him. He challenged those in attendance to commit themselves to the call of holiness Scripture has challenged us to. (C. Talbot and W. Watts)
On Monday night in the adult service, the congregation heard the very interesting history of the National Association meeting in Pocahontas, Arkansas. It was inspiring to hear of the Free Will Baptists of years past coming together in Christian community to show hospitality to their brothers and sisters from across the denomination. Lázaro Riesgo preached on the gospel call to unity. The message was solidly Biblical and reminded the congregation that we seek unity for the glory of God. The sermon was unique and especially poignant because Lázaro preached it in Spanish with Jose Rodriguez translating it. That approach gave the primarily English-speaking congregation an idea of a bi-lingual service. (C. Thornsbury)
On Monday evening in the youth service, Jake Manning gave an outstanding message at the Vertical Three Conference. Jake serves as Pastor of Students at Unity Free Will Baptist Church in Greenville, North Carolina. He spoke on three necessities for a growing faith from Hebrews 11:1. These necessities of a growing faith include: (1) awestruck fear of God, (2) all-inclusive love for God, and (3) appropriate trust in God. Throughout all three points, Jake taught how our faith strengthens in direct proportion to our understanding of the object of our faith. One’s view of God, His work and person, is essential to growing your faith. I encourage everyone to listen to this sermon available on the Vertical Three Conference Facebook page. (Z. Maloney)
In the Tuesday evening adult service, Mike Cousineau, former missionary to the Ivory Coast and founder of the non-profit 1040i, gave a stirring message on the Biblical call to suffer. Drawing on personal experience on the field, Cousineau cautioned listeners to avoid insulting God with “safe living.” Instead, he called us to follow the pattern of Christ in servicing in the face of suffering. (J. Watts)
On Wednesday night, all Free Will Baptist missionaries, both home and foreign, were introduced to the congregation. Seeing new missionaries commissioned to the field was a blessing. Fittingly, David Crowe’s preached on the call of the gospel. He reminded us to act locally and think globally, highlighting the need for the good news of Jesus everywhere and reminding us that we ought to be involved in sharing the gospel right where we are. (C. Thornsbury)
Conclusion
Next year’s National Association will meet in Cincinnati, Ohio on July 21-24. Between now and then, delegates have much to consider as they return to their places of service, transition to new ones, and try to apply the truths and strategies they were given at this year’s meeting. As a movement, we must pray for our Boards, Commissions, Departments, committees, and local churches as they pursue the Father’s business. We hope the collective voice of the Forum contributors can be one of encouragement and support in this enterprise.
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