Category Archives: Baptist

BUV Resolves to fight Family Violence

At our May 2016 Delegates Dinner our BUV family resolved together to take a stand against Family Violence. The resolution is posted here. Each BUV Church is charged with outworking how to enact these commitments in the local church setting:

1. Urge Baptist churches to
 

1.1 Shine a light on the issue of family violence and not allow it to be hidden.

  • Create communities where it is safe for both victims and perpetrators to disclose and to be supported
  • Work sensitively in engaging people and cultures who find it shameful to even speak about family violence, to appropriately address these issues 

1.2 Commit to training and education programs, drawing especially on

  • Anger management courses for the whole church (not just men)
  • Respectful relationship preaching, teaching and training
  • Up-to-date information and links from the BUV website
  • Gender inequality education and awareness raising resources 

1.3 Be equipped and informed to refer people to relevant specialist support and empowerment agencies like the Domestic Violence Resource Centre Victoria 

1.4 Promote White Ribbon Day on November 25, the YWCA "Week without Violence" campaign in the third week of October, and other public awareness campaigns to stop family violence 

 
2. Call on the State and Federal Governments to: 
 

2.1 Increase education on gender equality and respect in schools, and invest in more community awareness campaigns to reduce shame and educate the community on the different types of family violence.

2.2 Increase affordable housing options for women and children including private rental brokerage and Safe at Home programs. 

Learning and Sharing – BUV 2016 Study Tour USA West Coast

A team of BUV Pastors & Leaders is currently in the US learning how others engage in innovative mission to reach people who are not reached through our traditional model of church.

The series of Innovative Mission videos created by the team will be posted to Baptists on Mission and are available via our BUV facebook page.

BUV Study Tour 16: Ron Finley, The Guerilla Gardener from Simon Burnett on Vimeo.

Walden, Practical Theology for Church Diversity

 

 Ken J. Walden. Practical Theology for Church Diversity: a Guide for Clergy and Congregations.  Eugene, Oregon: Cascade Books, 2015. xiv+132pp. pbk. ISBN: 13:978-1-62032-379-3. £9

 Reviewed by: Darren Cronshaw 

I read this book on American church diversity as an Australian pastor, but we face a similar increasingly globalized and culturally diverse ministry context. The main growing edge of the church in Australia, as for much of the Western world, are our Languages Other than English congregations, and there is increasing interest in distinctly multicultural models of church. But some of our biggest challenges relate to cultural diversity – how do pastors of culturally diverse churches help different cultural groups to worship and serve together, how do we create spaces of hospitality for cultural diversity – nationally and for churches, how do we connect churches best with second generation migrants, how do we train culturally diverse leaders for mission, how can pastors and churches of different cultural groups serve together and learn from one another? There is a lot we could learn from culturally diverse congregations and leaders in North America. I am intrigued by read elsewhere about the “2040 reality” in the USA that will see the white population dip below half, and cultural minorities become the majority. So I was eager to read Ken Walden’s advice from his experience and snapshot of the North American scene.  

Ken Walden has served as university chaplain, university professor, military chaplain and senor chaplain including various cross-racial and multi-cultural ministries – as an African-American pastor often of predominantly Caucasian churches, or of multiple ethnic congregations in ne church. He offers a practical theology response to the challenge of pastoring in cross-racial and multicultural contexts; that is, what it is like and how can pastors best prepare and serve for contexts where their cultural background is different from their congregation?

Practical Theology for Church Diversity gives an overview of cultural diversity in USA and emphasizes the importance of preparing well for cross-racial ministry with self-examination about ethnicity, discussion with mentors, prayer and carefully constructed conversations with church committee and members. It includes vignettes of what is involved for pastors experiencing a welcome introduction and suggests team building or get-to-know-you activities, and offers good general advice on starting well (e.g., learn everyone’s name, learn the church history, be careful about what you change). The best chapter for me was on church collaborations, urging and modelling how to encourage people of different cultural groups to work together within and across different churches. These are essential skills for churches existing in our global village. A later chapter identifies problems of miscommunication, territorial conflict and identity crisis to watch out for. 

The book is full of good advice, although much of it reads like good general advice for any pastor starting anywhere. So I enjoyed reading it and by the end of the book the author had convinced me of the importance of the topic and encouraged me to think about how to enhance church diversity, asked some insightful questions and pointed me to some extra reading, but I would have loved more “how to” advice about doing leadership differently for culturally diverse contexts. For example, the book refers to excellent diversity training offered by hospitals and emergency services, but I would love to read the author’s analysis of what that looks like or what it could like in churches? It recommends becoming familiar with different religious customs, but offers limited examples of what to look for or how to develop intercultural intelligence. Comments on theological education verge on a rant against institutions for not preparing students well for intercultural ministry but with minimal suggestions of how they could do better. The author has a wealth of experience in this ministry area and I resonated with his heart and appeal for the importance of this topic, but I would have loved to have read more about his experiences and reflection on practical theology implications of how others could learn to do culturally diverse ministry in fresh ways. 

The book is a concise 128 pages and as such is a good introduction to the issues with good questions to ask and further reading for anyone considering or engaged in culturally diverse ministry.  

 

This review was originally published in Practical Theology 9:1 (March 2016), 95-96.

 

 

Source: BUV News

Building a Bright Future – Victorian Chin Baptist Church

 The Victorian Chin Baptist Church is the largest of our BUV Burmese congregations, but has been without a permanent home, holding services and activities at Mooroolbark Baptist Church, The Salvation Army Mooroolbark and Mooroolbark Anglican. Within excess of 900 members, this vibrant and rapidly growing church community needs its own ‘home’. Members of the Victorian Chin Baptist Church are predominantly those who are persecuted for their faith in Burma and have fled to Australia as refugees. Their faith is central to their lives and they dream of building a home and place to worship here as part of or Baptist Union of Victoria family 

An ambitious, $5million project is underway to develop a site the church has purchased in Croydon, with the church having raised themselves all but the final $1.5 million. They are building and believing!  Currently in the ‘build’ phase, oversighted by Pastor Japheth Lian, some of our BUV team were recently treated to a site visit and overview of this exciting project.

     

Pastor Japheth Lin, Pastor Mang (from Australia Zophei church), Pastor Peng Thang (from Burma) and Pastor Van Dawt Thawng hosting some of our BUV team (David Devine, Meewon Yang, Marc Chan)

In order to maintain the activities and pastoral care of this large congregation, and continue the building project, responsibilities have been divided between the two Pastors Japheth and Van.

                

The church is undertaking many aspects of the build themselves, with regular working bees and people contributing skills and resources they have. A particular asset to the project is John Billingham who brings the building project management skills needed, as well as deep understanding of the functionality and heart needed for such a project.

                

John Billingham onsite

We look forward to watching as this new home for Victorian Chin Baptist Church rises from the ground and becomes a solid base for dynamic and effective mission. Watch this space for updates on the project later in the year!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source: BUV News

KGB Partnership – Opportunities for Rural Churches

Kerang, Granite and Boort Baptist Churches living out #bettertogether as a region of ‘connected up’ churches.

 How might your church better connect and partner with other Baptist churches around you for more effective mission – together?

 

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cmsVac3yVM]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source: BUV News

Love in an Age of Narcissism

From The Single Thing That Can Change the World, by Rev. Scott Higgins.

 

A central tenet of the consumer culture in which we live is that by getting more possessions and more experiences we will get more satisfaction. And so we invest our time, our energy and our wealth not in loving our neighbour but in acquiring more possessions and more experiences for ourselves.

If we are to become people who lead lives of love for God and others we need to carve out an alternate way of being.

For Christians, an alternate spirituality must begin with the recognition that the centre of reality is a God of generous love and that we are created to image this God to one another. In light of this, we will seek to shape our lives around love for God and neighbour rather than mere experiential satisfaction. A love-based spirituality does not simply add random acts of kindness to a lifestyle that is otherwise self-absorbed. Rather, we will see our careers, our consumption, our use of time, and our spending of our money as opportunities to enjoy the generous love that God has for us and to serve others.

We will see that our call to love extends beyond the circle of our family and friends, that we are not simply called to avoid harming others but that we are called to do good to them. Where people do not know themselves to be loved by God, we will bring the news of Jesus. Where people are excluded, exploited and oppressed, we will seek to build communities in which they are welcomed and included. Where people are broken and wounded we will seek to help them find healing.

In 2008 a young Australian woman, Hailey Bartholomew, found that she wasn’t enjoying life. She described herself as feeling lost and stuck on a treadmill. It was almost inexplicable. She was married to a man she loved and had beautiful children who held her heart. So why was she feeling so down about her life? 

Hailey sought the counsel of a nun, who advised her to spend time each day reflecting on something for which she was grateful. Hailey began a project called “365 Grateful”. Every day she took a photograph of something for which she was grateful. It changed her life, for it allowed her to see things she had never noticed. Hailey had always thought of her husband as unromantic. One day she took a picture of him serving up dinner, the thing which she was grateful for that day. She noticed for the first time that the largest portion of pie was placed on her plate. She realised that the largest portion was always placed on her plate and that this was one small but profound way her husband showed his care for her. Hailey had found mothering a “boring job”, but as she took photos of her children holding out their hands to her, playing and exploring, she discovered how much joy and wonder there was in her world. Through the art of gratitude Hailey found herself lifted out of her rut and celebrating life.

Scripture is filled with injunctions to give thanks to God for the good things in our lives. This is not because God needs our praises but because we need to give God our praise and thanks. Gratitude causes us to slow down and appreciate the many good things in our lives; relieves us of the notion that they are the results of our own hard work; and liberates us from the consumerist illusion that we don’t have enough. It enables us to recognise that the good things we have in our life often come to us as a gift from others and from God and engenders within us a sense that just as we have been blessed by God and others, so we want to bless others. 

Gratitude is one of the most significant resources for lifting us out of narcissism and into generous love.

 

This article adapted from Chapters 2 & 3 of The Single Thing That Can Change the World, the new discipleship series from Baptist World Aid Australia. The series launches on Sunday 24 July 2016 in Baptist Churches around the country.

 

If your church is not taking part in this series, then why not use it to inform your own daily devotionals? 

Scott’s insightful, theological study of what it means to be generous will challenge you to grow your concept of generosity. Discover afresh God’s generous love for you! Get The Single Thing That Can Change the World at: www.baptistworldaid.org.au/TheSingleThing

 

 

Source: BUV News

Looking back: 52 years of the Baptcare Community Nursing Service

Looking back: 52 years of the Baptcare Community Nursing Service

 Ivy West Baptcare Community Nursing Service, the first nursing service to make house-calls in Victoria, was given its start over 50 years ago, on March 24th 1964.


The service’s founding nurse, Ivy West, initially focused on providing palliative care and urgent night calls to members of the large Brunswick Baptist Church, though more and more patients came forward as word of mouth spread.

During those early days, nearly 2,000 nursing house-calls were made in one year alone and two more volunteer nurses soon joined to meet the ever-increasing demand.

In 1968 the Church Nursing Service, as it was then known, received its first grant from the Health Commission which allowed them to pay the standard nursing wage. Local, State and Federal Government grants, along with support from the Baptist Church and community donations, have continued to fund this service ever since.

Ivy West and her husband, Alan, were known in the community for going the extra mile. Alan sold his business early on to oversee administration of the Church Nursing Service, going on to provide chaplaincy services and organise and officiate at funerals in the community. From 1970 onwards, he also built up a fleet of cars for the nurses to use, which he maintained himself in his home garage.

After the first ten years, demand for the Service continued to grow. Turning her attention to the new generation of nurses, Ivy held training sessions at local hospitals, where she taught best practice in home nursing and new methods of delivering care.

By the 1980s, Ivy and Alan were delivering a nursing service that made over 31,000 house-calls per year, with an average of 606 per week. These days, their good work continues in our Community Nursing Service.

Current Program Manager, Janette Lemish, said of her predecessor, “Ivy was putting an active service model into place long before it was known. She was ahead of her time and innovative.”

 

Ivy West was recognised for her dedication with a Medal of the Order of Australia in 1984.

 

 

This story is adapted from the book Making a Difference: The legends and landmarks of Baptcare, available through Melbourne Books.

Source: BUV News

Worker / Pastor for Children and Families

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Do you love Children?  Do you love God? Are you looking for a new challenge?  Maybe you’ve helped in Children’s programmes and you’d like to lead!  Or maybe you are training for ministry and wish to start out with one main responsibility.

Come join a thriving supportive community in Melbourne’s Eastern Suburbs as we seek to expand our ministry in the area of pre-school children and their families. 

Waverley Baptist Church has a vision for a weekday ministry that reaches out to families through the children. Waverley Baptist Church has many grandparents and the community has lots of young families moving in, and we are flexible enough for you to shape the ministry at its inception.

Essential Qualities:

You know Jesus well, and love God and working with younger children.

● You are a mature Christian committed to serving God and regular worship and personal discipleship.

● You want people to come to Jesus and you love working with people.

● You are good at making and keeping friendships with people of all ages.

● You have had some experience in children’s weekday ministry and wish to lead.

● You have a valid Working with Children Check.

This position is funded for 2 days a week (0.4FTE) and there is always the possibility of extension should the ministry and church continue to grow.

The successful candidate could commence immediately.

An application form and a more detailed Job Description is available on request from our Senior Pastor, Rev David O’Brien, email: <dobrien@waverleybaptist.org.au>

Source: BUV News

Tekivu Tale – Rebuild Fiji

The phrase “Tekivu Tale” in Fijian means to rebuild and that’s the goal of Tekivu Tale, to help rebuild and assist the beautiful people of Fiji.  

 

The nation of Fiji suffered catastrophic damage when on 20th February, 2016, cyclone Winston wreaked havoc on the island nation of Fiji. 43 people lost their lives, severe damage was inflicted on infrastructure, and the cost of recovery is estimated around 360 million dollars. The challenge to rebuild this country will require the efforts of the global community measured in years of recovery work.

 Tekivu Tale is the name of the volunteer network of parties (both indigenous and international) tackling this enormous challenge through a collective approach; combining resources, experience and a cohesive strategy. The goal is to build 30 homes in 8 months completing construction by the end of 2016.

Under the umbrella of Operation Foundation led by CEO Peter Schultz and volunteer Project Manager Mark Wilson in Australia, both local and overseas organisations, churches and individuals have come together in volunteer partnership to pool resources and maximise recovery efforts.

 

Mark Wilson and his wife Cheryl,  founding pastors of Katalyst Baptist Church in Officer, Victoria, with previous experience living and working in Fiji, have both stepped up to the challenge. They are playing a major part in the recovery effort both on the ground in Fiji and here in Australia raising awareness and support.

Other Victorian Baptist Churches have also been involved in providing financial support to the Fiji rebuild project, including  Hampton Park Baptist, Katalyst Church, Rowville Baptist , and Doveton Baptist.

You can read more about this project here

 

General Donations to Tekivu Tale can be made through Katalyst Church: Account: Fiji – BSB: 704 922  Number: 100014151

Tax deductible donations can be given for Rebuild Fiji through Pioneers of Australia via their website: www. pioneers.org.au. Click on the Fiji Cyclone bar on the right hand side of the home page then the donate now box. Specify the donation is for the project, Rebuild Fiji.

 

Source: BUV News

Learning together for BUV’s cultural diversity

By Darren Cronshaw

I had been really looking forward to sharing with this year’s Multicultural Pastors’ Retreat. BUV staff gathered with more than twenty pastors, showing their commitment to sustainable ministry and encouraging one another. We especially appreciated Meewon Yang and Marc Chan for organising and hosting us as a group. 

I am the pastor at AuburnLife Baptist Church, which is seeking to grow as a vibrant, multi-cultural mission-shaped community. So I am an aspiring multicultural pastor in the sense that I am passionate about growing a culturally diverse church. Of course in multicultural Australia we need all our churches to be serious about culturally diverse ministry. Thus I enjoyed being part of the retreat as a fellow pastor with the group, and pastor interested in multicultural ministry. 

But I am also privileged to serve on the BUV Mission Catalyst team, with Meewon and Marc among my favourite colleagues who I love learning from. One of BUV’s three main priorities is to embrace our cultural diversity (and also connect better with younger generations and develop pioneering leaders). My role with BUV is research and developing teaching and ministry resources, and a main focus this year is exploring how we can best train Next Generation culturally diverse leaders. Rev Moo Hei, Rev Gail Moe Dwai, Rev Dr Si Khia and Rev Za Tuah Nguri who were at the retreat, and others have been invaluable in starting to help me understand some of the challenges and the needs for helping our churches to help 1.5 and second generation youth and young adults to develop in all God has for them as leaders. 

I am starting to better understand the sort of issues all the LOTE pastors are working with every week – how young migrants and their children have to navigate two cultural worlds, develop their identity, learn language and make the most of educational opportunities, and make their contribution to Australian society but also continue to engage positively with the churches of their culture. I want to understand how we can best help our young people to get a vision and develop the skills for effective mission to their own people, and to other Australians and beyond. I said to the LOTE pastors that their young people, as much as or more than other young people, understand intercultural communication and religious diversity and insights that are so valuable for mission in 21st Century Australia – we need them. They will make the best missionaries – here and cross-culturally overseas. 

Those at the retreat represented 21 different churches, from probably 15 different cultural groups. I maintain that our denomination or tribe of churches in BUV would not be the same without them. We need one another. Baptist mission in Victoria and beyond needs the contribution of your young people. I think we all need the different perspectives that our different cultural groups bring, so that we can learn from one another about the fullness of the gospel. Cross-cultural missionaries often say that it is from other cultures that they learn new things about God and the Bible; here in Victoria we can really bless one another’s faith as we listen and learn from one another. Let me say that my church – and all our churches – need the gifts and lessons in perseverance and insights into the Bible and commitment to communal and family values that LOTE pastors and their culture bring. We will be the lesser without it. That is why helping all our churches embrace cultural diversity is a research and ministry priority of mine.   

Australian Baptists would be the lesser in numbers and growth without LOTE and culturally diverse churches too. We have looked at the growth of Australian Baptists 2001-2011 from Census figures and have seen that 98% of our growth is from immigration growth (without Baptists from other cultures coming to Australia we would be in serious decline). Almost half of Australian Baptists are first or second generation Baptists. That is a huge challenge to all our churches – to be welcoming and hospitable to new arrivals, but also to get more fruitful in evangelism with Anglo Australians. (See Philip Hughes and Darren Cronshaw, Baptists in Australia, CRA 2013, for more details) We need your help with that too.       

BUV is developing two approaches to helping LOTE churches with the strategic need of Next Gen leadership development. Firstly, we are co-hosting training days for LOTE (Languages other than English) church Sunday School and Youth leaders, starting with Chin and Karen congregations. I am working on these training days with Marc and Meewon, and our NextGen facilitator Kylie Butler, and Rev Gail Moe Dwai at Werribee Karen Baptist Church, Rev Moo Hei at Croydon Hills Baptist Church, and Rev Arohn Kung and Chin Baptist Church. We are exploring another Chin church partner in the East, and are also keen for other hosting churches for other cultural groups.   

Secondly, we are developing a very long-term commitment to mentoring next generation leaders. This is for all our churches, but we are very eager for this to include and resource LOTE churches. The importance of this program is reflected in BUV appointing Jo Semple as Emerging Leaders coordinator to focus on recruiting suitable mentors and matching them with youth and young adults with real potential to grow and flourish as leaders. 

 

For me, and for all of us at BUV and in all our churches, this learning journey is about resourcing your churches for mission to your own people and all Australians, and beyond; but it is also about helping all our churches learn from you and be transformed by your heart and hospitality and communal cultures. 

This is why I invite ongoing conversations with LOTE pastors and leaders and others interested in these issues Moreover, all of us at BUV are available and interested in getting to know and resourcing and learning from LOTE churches and other churches interested in embracing cultural diversity and growing in culturally diverse ministries.  

 

Source: BUV News