Jan 29, 2019
In December Executive Director-elect Carl Greene proposed the following to the current Executive Director for his approval and then subsequently to the General Council for their consideration. The SDB General Council wholeheartedly endorses this vision and leadership direction proposed by the Rev. Carl Greene.
By Rev. Carl Greene, Executive Director-elect
I am truly excited about the upcoming season of training and mentoring to serve as the next Seventh Day Baptist Executive Director. More specifically, I am excited about where I believe God is leading us during this time of transition—toward a fuller and deeper realization of the Life of God in us as individuals, churches, and as a Conference. The great 19th century preacher Charles Spurgeon captured it in these words:
You do not need new ways or new people, you need life in what you have. If you want to move a train, you don’t need a new engine or even ten engines—you need to light a fire and get the steam up in the engine you now have! It is not a new person or a new plan, but the life of God in them that the Church needs. 1
I love this illustration. We are not going to move the train by our own strength, nor with a new train. Likewise, as Seventh Day Baptists, we are not going to move forward in a God-glorifying way through some new, slick strategy. This is true in our individual churches, and it is true as a General Conference. We desperately need to join God in the work He is already doing amongst us by tending the fire that is already burning. My primary goal as the incoming Seventh Day Baptist Executive Director is to tend this fire in a way that builds up steam for forward movement. This forward movement of Seventh Day Baptists will be specifically geared towards our local churches.
Building Steam
There are four main areas that I see this steam-building potential amongst Seventh Day Baptists.
Here are the fires that are already burning thanks to faithful people who are currently joining God in His work, and passionately following a biblical model:
◼︎ Leadership Development —2 Timothy 2:1-2
◼︎ Church Planting — 1 Peter 2:4-10
◼︎ Church Revitalization — Ephesians 4:11-16
◼︎ Communication of the gospel — Romans 1:16-17; Romans 15:18-21
My goal is to join the collaborative team that is already tending these fires to build steam for the forward movement of Seventh Day Baptists. Together we will tend the fire with an expectancy of increasingly witnessing God’s manifest work amongst us. To do this, there needs to be intentionality in the months ahead.
Tending the Fire
First, I will join you in prayer. Together, we will listen for God’s leading, we will pray for unity in discerning God’s voice, and pray for passion in responding to His call. Second, I will engage in preparation. During the first eight months of the year I will pursue coursework at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School that is specifically beneficial in preparation for the role as Executive Director. Third, there will be observation. I will establish new relationships and deepen friendships amongst Seventh Day Baptists with the express purpose to listen well—to hear about how God is at work in our local churches as well as what hurdles are dampening and smothering the fire of God’s work. This time of observation will also include the critical activity of listening to SDB pastors, SDB directors, and the broader SDB leadership team.
Stoking the Fire
Fourth, there will be guided learning. Beginning in September, I will be blessed by a season of overlap with the current Executive Director, Rob Appel, where I will be able to learn practical skills and practices through direct interaction. I will spend an appreciable amount of time shadowing Rob and progressively assuming responsibilities during this season of training to be prepared for assuming the Executive Director role on January 1, 2020. Fifth, there will be vision casting. The Fall of 2019 offers a season of asking questions. A lot of questions. Together with SDB Directors and the SDB leadership, we will seek to find ways to stoke the fire and build steam in these four critical areas of SDB work: leadership development, church planting, church revitalization, and communication of the gospel. What is stifling the flames in our engine as a Conference? How can we better fan the flames of God glorifying work in our local churches? What sins do we need to repent of that are impeding our pursuit of God’s preferred future? It is from this place of introspection that we will collaboratively cast vision and develop our specific next steps to continue to build steam for forward movement.
I hope that something stands out clearly in all of this—I am excited to be able to join you in the already God glorifying work of Seventh Day Baptists. In part, my passion for this work is because this story is personal. I am so thankful for our local churches—churches who have invested deeply in me through discipling. I am grateful for SDBs who are passionate about their faith in Jesus Christ and invited me to receive a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. I am honored to have been mentored by, and continue to be mentored by, a number of faithful SDB pastors. I am thankful for SDB leaders who have gone before us and laid the foundation that we now build upon. I am truly grateful for the Directors and SDB leaders who now work tirelessly for the sake of God’s kingdom. Most of all, I am thankful for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
I am looking forward to tending the fire with all of you.
1 Spurgeon, Charles. “Spiritual Revival, the Want of the Church.” In Devotional Classics. Richard J. Foster and James Bryan Smith, eds. New York: Harper Collins, 1993.
