Category Archives: Baptist

Baptist

Migrant families and churches

(Training Next Gen Culturally Diverse Leaders Part 7)*

by Darren Cronshaw

 

Many immigrants who have come to Australia have amazing stories of courage and perseverance from their country of origin. The need for courage and tenacity continues as their families face challenges of settling in Australia including learning language, gaining education and employment, and coming to terms with a new cultural setting. The best way to learn about these challenges, and how our churches can support immigrants, is through coming alongside and talking with them. But I have also been learning form some of the existing research into the experience of migrants, migrant families and churches. As BUV explores how best to resource and train Next Generation leaders from our Languages other than English (LOTE) churches, it is important to understand the social and other challenges that migrants newly arrived in Australia face.   

For example, Mary Noseda investigated the Catholic Church’s relationship with Vietnamese Migrant women and how churches help migrants with resources as they arrive, and with stability and belonging as they settle. (2003: 10-13) She notes belonging involves some embracing and some letting go of their home and new cultures. Vietnamese migrants have maintained the central importance of family values and respect for parents and the elderly. Women usually maintain traditional roles of homemaker/mother but also become the main liaison with welfare and schools and extend into employed work, while Vietnamese men often take lesser jobs. She also notes other studies which underline that migrant priorities are English language mastery and employment – the basis of other goals including home ownership, children’s education and family reunion. There is overlap in what Noseda found among Vietnamese migrants and their challenges around English, employment and negotiating work roles and other migrant groups. Yet it is important for us to continue to talk with LOTE Baptist communities directly and understand what challenges they face with settlement and how BUV can help.

The most recent Christian Research Association (CRA) research relevant to LOTE Next Generation training explored how churches help or hinder migrant and refugee families as they settle. (Hughes 2015) Immigrants often find a sense of community in a faith community with whom they share language and values. Their children want to find a place in Australian society and necessarily navigate the cultural differences and family expectations. Other research has addressed the “tug-of-war” that second generation immigrants feel between their background culture that sometimes ignores their Western influences or education, and Western society that does not always recognise their cultural uniqueness (e.g., Tiatia 1998). But there has been minimal research on the faith of second generation Australians and how churches help or hinder. CRA interviewed small groups of youth, parents and leaders from a Sudanese and Chinese church about differences in culture and worship patterns.

The Sudanese church, mainly refugees, had struggled with English. They held a strong sense of community and interdependence. They appreciated church supporting them like a big family, and offering lots of youth activities – sport, music, socials and youth group. The Sudanese expressed a strong sense of faith and gratitude, despite famine and war they had experienced. They said they were not as distracted by material things causing them to forget God like Australian neighbours. The community was feeling the tension of different forms of discipline for children in Australia, and navigating age and gender-related roles. Sudanese girls felt pressure to look after younger siblings and do more housework, and there was some questioning of their dowry system. A strong respect for older people meant children were expected not to question parents, and younger leaders in church were expected not to publically disagree with elders. The church has leaders with an Anglo background and has morning services in English, which helps the youth negotiate Australian culture. Parents and students said they would especially appreciate help with English language and extra tutorial support for their young people to get to University. (Hughes 2015: 2-6)

The Chinese (Cantonese) Church interviewees also noted a greater respect for older people and parents, and more reserve with feelings and opinions than other Australians. They said that people in China and Australia both tend not to take religious faith very seriously and are more concerned with family life and making money. Most children of the first wave of immigrants worship in a neighbouring English church or nowhere. The Chinese church was doing more than the Sudanese church to preserve Chinese language and culture, but this may be isolating for some youth. They feel the tensions of cultural and generational differences. (Hughes 2015: 6-8)

Hughes concluded that most denominations are multicultural and need to understand cultural differences and sensitivities around values and roles. CRA is eager to extend this project among other churches. (Hughes 2015: 6-8) A similar study among BUV Chin and Karen churches could be valuable to help us understand how they are navigating life and faith in Australia, but also investigating how they understand and practice mission. BUV needs to help resource all our churches in helping immigrant families settle in Australia and maintain their faith.

Part of the challenge is that young people have arrived from Burma or via refugee camps where they had lots of free time and have missed school years. Rev Kung compassionately explains they can fall into a vicious cycle of purposelessness fuelled by stress, depression, local of education and English, unemployment, distrust of police, alcohol and drug abuse, shame and isolation, and gambling. (2016) Karen and Chin churches support people through all sorts of social care issues and it would be valuable for BUV to explore how best they might help. 

 Of 5,607 Burma-born people in Victoria in 2011, 31% are aged 0-25 and another 22.7% are 26-34. They are very young churches with a high proportion of teenagers and young adults. 63.4% are a couple family with children (compared to 47.1% in the broader population). Youth and family ministries are critical. Many parents and church elders want to maintain their cultural identity, but do not want to isolate themselves or their children as they learn English and adapt to local careers, gender roles and parenting styles. The young people themselves are usually eager to adapt, and sometimes struggle to decide to what extent they can honour or whether they need to leave their culture behind. 

It has been a privilege beginning to learn from the life and mission of Karen and Chin Baptist churches in Australia, recognising the new opportunities and challenges for multicultural ministry that 8,500 Baptists from Burma have brought to Australian Baptists over two decades.  ADDIN EN.CITE
Cronshaw20159419(Cronshaw
et al. 2015)941994195Darren
CronshawStacey
WilsonMeewon Yangalso
with Ner DahSi
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CronshawRosemary DewerseGod<br /> called us here for a reason” … Karen and Chin Baptist Churches in Victoria:<br /> Mission from the Margins of a Diaspora<br /> CommunityWe are Pilgrims: Mission from, in
and with the Margins of our Diverse World263-2782015MelbourneUNOH(Cronshaw et al. 2015) They have tremendous strengths but also particular challenges, including English and employment help in general, and specifically the need for leadership training and hosting networks.

 Bibliography

  • Cronshaw, Darren, Stacey Wilson, Meewon Yang, also with Ner Dah, Si Khia, Arohn Kuung and Japheth Lian (2015). God Called Us Here for a Reason” … Karen and Chin Baptist Churches in Victoria: Mission from the Margins of a Diaspora Community. We Are Pilgrims: Mission from, in and with the Margins of Our Diverse World. Edited by Darren Cronshaw and Rosemary Dewerse. Melbourne, UNOH: 263-278.
  • Hughes, Philip (2015). “Migrant Families and Churches.” Pointers 25(3, September): 1-8.
  • Kung, Arohn (2016). Interview. Chin Baptist Church Pastor. Kings Park, 14 March.
  • Noseda, Mary (2003). “The Relationship of the Catholic Church to Vietnamese Migrant Women in Australia.” Christian Research Association Bulletin 13(3): 10-13.
  • Tiatia, Jemaima (1998). Caught between Cultures: A New Zeland Born Pacific Island Perspective. Auckland, NZ, Christian Research Association.

 

This article is part 7 of a 9 part series, drawing on a paper “Transforming Training for Next Gen Karen and Chin Leaders” to be presented at the Children, Youth and Mission Study Group at the Assembly of the International Association for Mission Studies, August 11–17, 2016 in Seoul, South Korea, and a longer version BUV background paper “Training Next Generation Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Baptist Leaders for Mission” to be published in Philip Hughes (ed). Changing Faith in the Australian Culture (Melbourne: CRA, forthcoming 2016). The research is part of a 2016 Collier Charitable Fund supported BUV project “Training Next Generation Multicultural Baptist Leaders”. As author, Darren appreciates conversations with LOTE Church leaders and BUV staff, and welcomes feedback to darren.cronshaw@buv.com.au 

 

Source: BUV News

Baptist

Bendigo school ministry

Bendigo school ministry

by Benjamin Cronshaw

Bendigo Baptist Church Eaglehawk campus, led by Pastor Brock Gravener, professes a “MAD COW” vision, which is an acronym for “make a difference, change our world.”

With the local primary school Eaglehawk Primary School just across the street, the church saw an opportunity serve the community and make a difference by helping the students. The church started school engagement around 18 months ago and has since forged a strong relationship with the school. As Brock said, “If we are serious about what Jesus says, we, as a church, simply ‘have’ to be in the school loving and serving them.”

In the mornings before school the church runs a MAD COW breakfast, with food provided by local supermarkets and the wider Food Bank network. The selection includes toast, porridge, cereal, milo and fruit. The breakfast caters for around 35-40 kids a day and reaches some 60% of the school’s students. Interestingly, Jesus himself once said to his disciples “come and have breakfast” (John 21:12). Having a proper breakfast in the morning is, of course, incredibly important for students of any age and imperative for learning. 

The program has had a noticeable and positive impact on the school culture. With breakfast provided, kids are getting to school early, they start positively and have a greater capacity to focus and engage in their learning. Student attendance increased, meaning more children are present to learn. With the students more engaged and positive, the school has achieved better educational results and has earned more funding from the government. Recognising the benefit the “MAD COW” program was having at the school, IGA donated a $1500 supermarket grant. 

Brock accepting the IGA grant

Bendigo Baptist Church Eaglehawk helps out the school in a variety of other ways as well. Young adults from the church volunteer to play sports with the kids. Some volunteer as classroom assistants helping with reading and learning support. Sometimes a struggling student needs only the dedication of someone willing to help them learn in order to improve and thrive (I can attest to this having struggled with reading in Grade 1, but became an avid reader with the help of a reading assistant). The school even calls on church volunteers to help with maintenance assistance. 

Overall, the volunteer presence has had a very positive impact on the students. Brock noted, “It has been an absolute joy to observe how our loving volunteer team engage with the students and teachers in such a caring and gentle way. The joy and loving approach of our team has meant that students have softened and come out of their shell because they have felt safe and cared for.” One boy was “predominantly angry, abrupt and self centred” but over a few months became “a friend and a peer that people love to be around.”

 Brock and the Eaglehawk students

 The church has also run a family fun day at the school with free food, a jumping castle and face painting. The event was well received with a lot of kids and their families going along. 

A variety of colourful costumes at Family Fun Day 

Brock was given a place on the school council, demonstrating the trust and appreciation that the school has for the church and enabling him to “speak into the future direction of the school.” 

He noted that the churches involvement is “so much more than just feeding students.” The church members have forged close relationships with teachers, parents and students. The students have a space where they can feel safe and loved. Ultimately, there is better learning and a strengthened community. I believe it is fair to say that Bendigo Baptist church is truly living out their motto and the message of Jesus, making a difference and changing our world. 

Source: BUV News

Baptist

Creating Space – CALD Youth

Creating Space  – CALD Youth

By Charlene Delos Santos

As a second generation Filipino-Australian, I find very few spaces where I can feel ‘at home’. I have often times felt like an outsider when I attend different Christian events or churches because I find myself in the minority. 

 

 

My need to find and create spaces for other minority groups and other culturally diverse emerging leaders is the reason why I am part of the planning team for the Ignite Multicultural Youth and Young Adults conference. 

 The Ignite Conference is on the 4th and 5th July, with a focus on providing a space for culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) young people from across Melbourne to meet each other and develop in their faith journey whilst celebrating their cultural heritage. 

My hope is that these conferences will ignite networks, connections and leadership and ministry opportunities for CALD youth and young adults. 

Hope to see you there!

To register for Ignite16:
www.buv.com.au/ignite 

 

Charlene Delos Santos is married to Michael Pham, and they live, eat and have fun in St Albans, in Melbourne’s West.  Charlene is part of the St Albans Neighbourhood Baptist Church, and works at SURRENDER Australia. 

 

Source: BUV News

Baptist

CRA research on Immigration and Religion

CRA research on Immigration and Religion 

(Training Next Gen Culturally Diverse Leaders Part 6)*

by  Darren Cronshaw 

BUV is exploring how best to resource training for the Next Generation of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) leaders. The research of Christian Research Association (CRA) has underlined the importance of understanding faith perspectives of immigrants and their children. 

 CRA have been researching migrant and cultural diversity issues for over twenty years. The recent census data that I have analysed with CRA’s Senior Research Officer, Philip Hughes, has been especially informative for Baptists. The 2001-2011 census data shows that Baptists owe 98% of their growth over that decade to immigration growth (compared to 65% of Australian population growth from immigration). Of people living in Australia who identify as Baptists in the 2011 census, 29.9% were immigrants and 17.3% were second generation immigrants. So almost half of Baptists are first or second generation immigrants. (Hughes and Cronshaw 2013)

What, then, can we learn from the research of CRA about immigration, religion and the next generations of culturally diverse young people and their relationship with our churches? Here is an overview of three pieces of CRA research that I have been learning from.    

Survey of Cross-cultural ministry

In 2004 the Victorian Council of Churches commissioned CRA to research cross-cultural and multicultural ministry. (Hughes 2004: 1-3) This led to a resource book A Handbook for Cross-Cultural Ministry. (Hughes and Bond 2004) The project identified the importance for migrants of worshipping in the “language of the heart”. It also addressed issues of power and control, noting decision-making is often controlled by those who control the dominant language. 

Of particular relevance to next generation ministry, the project discussed youth spirituality interviews suggesting that people from different cultures approach faith and worship differently. This means that forms cannot easily be transposed from one culture to another, which can create misunderstandings. It also means there are things we can learn from and strengthen one another.

Finally, the project outlined models of cross-cultural ministry that churches adopt:

  1. Inclusive congregations, of mainly Anglo-Celtic background but welcoming the gifts of other cultures
  2. Ethnic churches, with mono-cultural worship in a language other than English 
  3. Ethnic congregations in other churches 
  4. Multicultural congregations, where worship is expressed with a variety of languages and cultural practices. (Hughes 2004: 3)

BUV churches are represented across this range of culturally diverse ministry. (Yang 2012) As well as mapping the ways BUV churches gather for worship and express inter-cultural ministry, it would be worthwhile to conduct an audit of cultural diversity in governance and decision-making. It is imperative that the voices and leadership of LOTE church members are welcomed in the broader denomination. It would also be worthwhile to investigate the missional goals of various churches. Some focus or limit mission to those who share their culture and language, whereas others recognise a call to broader mission and see language as a challenge to grapple with rather than a boundary to work within.  

Spirit of GenY

The Spirit of Generation Y Project interviewed 155 young people including nine immigrant and eight second generation immigrants, showing different perspectives to faith. (Hughes 2004) The young immigrants spoke positively about faith and attended church with their extended families. Several spoke of God helping them and feeling close to God. They expressed they were judged by religion rather than being able to judge or evaluate faith, and in contrast to most Anglo-Celtic youth said they should not question or doubt God (or ministers, teachers or fathers).

Second generation young people still felt strong connections with their parent’s cultural background as well as their adopted country, and most were still involved with their church and faith. However, there was a little more ambivalence about questioning faith: 

In many cultures across the world, the sense of authority is important and faith is an aspect of life that is transmitted in an authoritative way and is not to be questioned. Faith is something that belongs to the whole community, and worship is an important part of the life of many ethnic communities. 

As ethnic links begin to weaken a little among second generation immigrants, it would seem that young people feel a little freer to question aspects of faith. Yet, there remains hesitation, even a sense of guilt sometimes, in challenging the tenets of faith. (Hughes 2004: 11)

Some had left church and some had changed churches or attended other denominations such as Pentecostal churches. Hughes suggests this may be an “Australian” option which maintains an attractive sense of authority. (2004; also Hughes 2009: 3-4)

Kim Chan suggests that not questioning or doubting is consistent with traditional Confucian values and helps make them acceptable to their parents. A crucial question is whether this perspective will keep them in the church, or whether they will find a “first generation” style of faith difficult to maintain. First and second generation youth are often comfortable in a LOTE church enclave as they navigate teenage and early young adult years, when other factors marginalize them from Anglo-Australian society. As they grow beyond 25, they may develop completely different responses and frameworks. (Chan and Chan 2016; cf. Chan and Chan 2015) Our conversations with the next generation in LOTE churches needs to include those of different ages and stages, and prophetic rebels who have left as well as loyal stayers who are still in church. 

National Church Life Survey 

CRA have published findings from the National Church Life Survey (NCLS) which has investigated the cultural background and attitudes of migrants. NCLS 2001 asked about involvement in (so-called) ethnic ministry and relationship with LOTE congregations. NCLS shows that Baptists are more culturally diverse and more involved in ministry among culturally diverse groups than Uniting and Anglican churches, but less than Catholic and Pentecostal. NCLS is translated into a number of languages but NCLS figures likely underrepresent migrant attenders because of lower participation of monoethnic churches. (Powell 2004; Powell 2009) With another five yearly NCLS coming later in 2016, it will be important for all our churches, including LOTE congregations, to participate in NCLS and see all we can learn from the latest survey results.

Bibliography

Chan, Samuel and Kim Chan (2015). A Mission of the Second Generation (Australian Born Chinese) in South Australian Migrant Churches: Dealing with Unintentional Marginalisation Due to Confucian Values. We Are Pilgrims: Mission from, in and with the Margins of Our Diverse World. Edited by Darren Cronshaw and Rosemary Dewerse. Melbourne, UNOH: 97-110.

Chan, Samuel and Kim Chan (2016). Interview. Directors of Red – Pioneering Australian Born Asian Ministry in South Australia. Adelaide by Skype, 11 March.

Hughes, Philip (2004). “Ethnic Background and the Spirituality of Youth.” Christian Research Association Bulletin 14(4, December): 10-11.

Hughes, Philip (2004). “Ministry in Multicultural Contexts.” Pointers: Bulletin of the Christian Research Association 14(4): 1-3.

Hughes, Philip (2009). “Religion and Ethnicity.” Pointers: Bulletin of the Christian Research Association 19(3): 1-4.

Hughes, Philip and Sharon Bond (2004). A Handbook for Cross-Cultural Ministry. Melbourne, Christian Research Association.

Hughes, Philip and Darren Cronshaw (2013). Baptists in Australia: A Church with a Heritage and a Future. Melbourne, Christian Research Association.

Powell, Ruth (2004). “A Snapshot of Multicultural Issues from the 2001 NCLS.” Pointers: Bulletin of the Christian Research Association 14(4): 4-5.

Powell, Ruth (2009). “Snapshots of Migration and Church Attendance.” Pointers: Bulletin of the Christian Research Association 19(3): 16.

Yang, Meewon (2012). Ways of Being a Multicultural Church: An Evaluation of Multicultural Church Models in the Baptist Union of Victoria. Master of Theology, MCD University of Divinity.

 

This article is part 6 of a 9 part series, drawing on a paper “Transforming Training for Next Gen Karen and Chin Leaders” to be presented at the Children, Youth and Mission Study Group at the Assembly of the International Association for Mission Studies, August 11–17, 2016 in Seoul, South Korea, and a longer version BUV background paper “Training Next Generation Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Baptist Leaders for Mission” to be published in Philip Hughes (ed). Changing Faith in the Australian Culture (Melbourne: CRA, forthcoming 2016). The research is part of a 2016 Collier Charitable Fund supported BUV project “Training Next Generation Multicultural Baptist Leaders”. As author, Darren appreciates conversations with LOTE Church leaders and BUV staff, and welcomes feedback to darren.cronshaw@buv.com.au 

 

Source: BUV News

Baptist

Advancing Mission Together

Baptist Financial Services (BFS) is  in the business of supporting Baptist Churches to engage in effective mission. Watch this great story of partnership with Torquay Christian Fellowship in innovative mission through Childcare.

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

Source: BUV News

Baptist, News

Compassion in Lakes Entrance

Earlier on in the year, the BUV informed our church leadership about the ongoing hardships the local businesses in the East Gippsland region were experiencing, due to the devastating bushfires. Hearing about this truly broke our hearts, and we all felt we needed to help these communities out in a small way. So, a group of approximately 20 people from our congregation took the opportunity to travel to the East Gippsland region during the March long weekend (before the current COVID-19 restrictions came into place), visiting the local cafes, restaurants and accommodation sites to assist them financially.

Our first stop on Saturday was brunch in Bairnsdale where we split into two groups to ‘The Old Grain Store’ and ‘Metung Hotel’. There, we were advised that one of the towns hit hardest financially was a town called Bruthen. So we decided to visit this town. When we arrived there, some of us had lunch at 'Bull Ant Brewery' and some had afternoon tea at ‘Bruthen Bakery’. The staff there really appreciated our efforts to come down here to help them out in this time of need.

In the afternoon, we all checked into our motels at Lakes Entrance, splitting our accommodation arrangements over several different businesses. Our next stop was to go see the bushfire affected sites in the area. Although we were very saddened by witnessing the remains of many burnt down trees, the new sprouts emerging from the trees gave a sense of hope that the bushland will recover and be fruitful once again. Our last stop for the day was Lakes Pizza, where we had a delicious dinner.

On Sunday we started off by attending the Lake Entrance Baptist Church service. We were warmly welcomed by Pastor Michael & the church congregation. After the service we shared tea and coffee with leaders and members of the church. It was amazing to hear from one leader of the church that in the midst of all the damages and hardship caused by the bush fires, they are still praying and asking for God’s guidance to plant a church in Orbost, one of the bushfire affected areas. We are glad that we helped the church community by contributing our tithes and offerings.

After church we decided to go to Orbost to have lunch where once again we split in to two groups for two different cafes. We then visited another bushfire affected area in Orbost. It was devastating to see how the bushfires have affected the whole area and the environment.

After the visit to Orbost, we returned to Lakes Entrance. That evening, as a church family we all had a great time over dinner at “Nick’s Café and Authentic Thai Restaurant”. We stayed one more evening before heading home on Monday .Throughout the whole visit we were encouraged and amazed of the church’s faith in God and the spirit of rebuilding the bushfire affected areas again.

 

Baptist, News

Baptists on Mission 1970-01-01 20:00:00

It all started with a friendship—with a Syrian woman I met in Shepparton in December 2017. When I asked her how I could help her and other Syrians recently arrived in Shepparton, she said they needed help practicing conversational English.

From that I began to teach classes, creating a program called Thrive Shepparton, with a plan for a creative expansion called Shepparton Story House. When students began to ask for writing and grammar alongside conversation, I knew it was time for Story House to begin.

Only it didn’t begin right away. Unable to secure a new working visa, I went home to the U.S. for nearly a year, during which time Rev Richard Horton at Shepparton Baptist Church contacted me. He’d read my plans for the Story House program and he wanted me to return to Shepparton to begin this program at his church.

In the year and a half since he contacted me, Shepparton Baptist Church has become home to two Congolese fellowships, an Indonesian fellowship, and continues to have an English service each Sunday and a Chinese service fortnightly. In mid-2018, Thrive Friendship Café launched at Shepparton Baptist Church, and friendships began to form between volunteers and close to a dozen Syrian families in our neighbourhood.

My working visa to begin Shepparton Story House at this already diverse church arrived the same week as COVID-19 restrictions. Not wanting to let down our expectant students, in term two we launched our three levels of English classes online, as well as our Bible Story & Chat program and Creative Writing Hub. With God’s grace, these programs have all continued through the past three months, growing despite launching online. Now we’ve also launched our program’s Story Platform with an online storytelling series: “Coming to Australia” which aims to show the diversity of migrants in our city and pave the way for our future story platform program at the church.

These programs aren’t just for our Syrian friends, but for those in our own church and all of those in the community around us who are learning English. So far our program participants have been from over a dozen countries.

It all started with a friendship— and as we hear and tell our own stories through our programs, we are blessed with many friendships across our beautifully diverse community.

Baptist, News

Box Hill Baptist Church initiates Whitehorse Easter Greetings

During this time of isolation and separation, it is wonderful to see so many of the churches of the City of Whitehorse join together to share this message of hope and promise to the entire community on Easter morning.

Eddie Chapman, Box Hill Baptist Church’s Administrator, said “Knowing that all of our churches would be worshipping 'alone' over Easter, kind of made me feel like it'd be good to send some positive messages across churches in the area – So even if we're worshipping alone, we would appreciate that there's many of us doing so 'together'”.

Thankfully just a couple of days after it was suggesting it to Rev Jim Barr, the Pastor at Box Hill Baptist Church, there was a Zoom meeting with many of the Pastors in the City of Whitehorse, facilitated through Whitehorse Churches Care.  Jim was able to ask the Pastors on the Zoom meeting to record their greetings around the virtual 'room'.  This was then edited, tidied up, and distributed it out to all those churches to include in their own services or share accordingly.

“We're pleased that it's been well received across the congregations involved.” said Eddie.

Whitehorse Churches Care is an inter-denominational group with the following churches as members:

Stairway Church Whitehorse, One Church, NewHope Baptist Church, Gardenia St. Presbyterian, Blackburn Box Hill Salvos, St Francis Xavier Catholic Church, Korus Connect, Crossway, St Alfred's Blackburn North, St Luke’s Anglican Church, Vermont, Nunawading & Waverley Lutheran Church, FGA Melbourne.

Video Link: https://www.facebook.com/boxhillbc/videos/157998505512612/

Baptist, News

A Call to Persevere – Building Pastoral Resilience in a Crisis

For pastors in Victoria and right around the world, let me just come right out and state the very obvious… Things have changed dramatically in recent times! I know it’s not a new piece of news but it needs to be said.  And for pastors, there have been so many significant changes to the way we minister, that it is important to stop for a moment and acknowledge this.

You can most likely identify with the following…

  • I have not been able to meet personally with the people I pastor
  • I have had to learn new ways of communicating to the church, and to do it more often
  • I have had to change the way I prepare for Sundays in order to adjust to online services
  • I have seen what other pastor are doing online & there is the opportunity to compare like never before
  • I have been at home more and my routines, disciplines and boundaries have needed to adjust
  • I have had to work harder to collaborate and have had to make more decisions on my own
  • I have started to think about what I need to do differently when the restrictions are lifted

These changes are real and have left many pastors feeling fatigued as a result of all the decisions they have had to make, emotionally drained as they feel like they are always trying to catch up, and physically tired as they wonder how long they can sustain this level of challenge. This is the reality for many pastors.

So now, perhaps more than ever, we need to hear anew the call of God’s word to us through the writer of the letter to the Hebrews…

“…let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” (Hebrews 12:1)

While the events threatening to stop the recipients of the letter from persevering were persecution and the trials of life in their day, we face challenges and changes that can cause us to feel like we are unable to go on. But God wants us to persevere, to keep going, to run the race marked out for us.

Now is the time for pastors to have resilience more than ever. It’s the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties, from challenges. Just like the “slinky” toy many of us had when we were growing up, resilient pastors spring back and resume their original form after stretching. They don’t give up, they endure, and they prevail in the midst of adversity. How can we ensure that we are resilient in these times?

Remember – God got you into this!

God has called you to run.

It is God who got you running this race. You believed the gospel, you responded by faith and began the journey as a follower of Jesus. You surrendered your life to him. And now you are a pastor and you are running this race. People are looking to you. God called you and has equipped you. You must persevere. Until God makes it clear you have completed the race, keep running.

You have a call and a sense of purpose, so remember that “the one who called you is faithful and he will do it.” (1 Thess. 5:24) It might just be the right time to retreat and spend a half or full day in prayer. On this day, why not reflect on how God called you initially into pastoral ministry, give thanks and praise for all that he has helped you through in the past, and ask God to help you, to strengthen you, to give you wisdom, to empower you and to fill you in the light of this current challenge. Remember that God’s grace is sufficient, and that when you are weak, you are strong in Christ Jesus (2 Cor. 12:9-10). 

Remember – Comparison Kills

God’s has marked out the race for you.

“…let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” (Hebrews 12:1)

As churches have started streaming their weekend services online, many pastors have had their very first opportunity for a long time to see what other churches are doing and to compare themselves with other pastors & churches. It’s possible to see the sermons other pastors are preaching, how they pray, how they lead. We can end up feeling all kinds of regret, inferiority and inadequacy. But the writer to the Hebrews says that we are all in a race, but it is one that he has marked out for each of us. We don’t run the race in the same way as someone else does. Run your own way in this race, the way marked out for you. Run with the unique gifts, skills and experiences he has given you. Craig Groeschel has said, “The fastest way to kill something special is to compare it with something else.” Don’t waste time comparing yourself or your church with others. If you keep looking around, you’ll run off course. Run your race with all that you have for God’s glory. Be yourself, everyone else is taken!

What are your strengths? Build on them. What gives you joy? Work toward those things. What are the unique needs in your church and your community? Ask God to help you meet them. The race is before you. Run your unique way. You have something special as a pastor to offer the people God has entrusted to you. We’re cheering for you!

Remember – Look to Jesus

“…let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing your eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith” (Hebrews 12:1-2)

Look to the One who called you to run.

When we fix our eyes on Jesus, we can experience the fullness of God’s grace poured out on us. We may have failed, stumbled and fallen so far short of our hopes and expectations, but at the cross as we see Jesus, we can declare with boldness, “I am forgiven, I am accepted, I am redeemed, I am called.” This fills us with joy.

When we fix our eyes on Jesus we see his example of how to persevere. The cross of Christ reminds us of the terrible suffering Jesus faced which was not only experienced physically but also in taking upon himself the sin of the world. Still, the promise of future joy provided Jesus with the strength to suffer. We are called to help pastor flourishing churches. What a joy it will be to see lives changed and communities impacted. Keep your eyes on Jesus as you run and don’t give up!

Resilience Resources

We need resilient pastors who persevere in the face of great challenge. Now is the time to build your resilience. The BUV has great resources to help you and I want to point you to a number of them.

  1. Rev David Devine has presented a Professional Standards Workshop that can be completed online for maintaining your accreditation. It is called Resilience for Pastoral Leaders and is very helpful.
  1. Maintaining supportive relationships is a key to building resilience, and the most significant relationship that many pastors have is that with their spouse. That is why the Marriage Course is being offered to pastoral leaders with Rev Dr Bill and Julia Brown hosting the course. This course started last Wednesday (6th May) but if you are quick you can still join in and catch up on the first episode. Sign up here…
  1. Pastoral Clusters are operating right across Victoria using ZOOM to connect, encourage and offer peer support. Contact your regional pastor for information about when the next one is happening near you.
  1. I attended the online The Resilience Webinar hosted by Partners in Ministry with Mark Connor and Psychologist Dr Grant Bickerton as guest speakers, the full webinar is available here on demand. I found the webinar very helpful and would recommend it to you.
     
  2. Life Therapies Victoria, an organisation founded by psychologists and members of New Community Ringwood Baptist Church, has a number of video and PDF resources on wellbeing and resilience – http://www.lifetherapiesvictoria.com.au
     

Together as Baptists on mission we can not only persevere through this time but I believe we can prevail. Remember that God got you into this, that comparison kills and that Jesus is the one to keep looking to at every step of our race. There will be great joy when we meet Jesus face to face one day and we celebrate together!