by Kevin T. Bauder
Over the past 60 or 70 years, the work of missions has been left largely to the sending agencies. I am very grateful for those agencies, and I deeply appreciate their labors. The business of missions, however, belongs to local churches. The agencies have ended up performing many tasks by default simply because local churches and pastors have been negligent.
by Daniel R. Brown and Kevin T. Bauder.
What Is a Church Council?
A church council is a representative body of pastors and messengers, invited from fellowshipping churches, called by a particular congregation to advise it on matters of organization, ordination, or resolution of disputes.
Who Calls a Church Council?
by Daniel R. Brown
Baptist churches prize the independence and autonomy of their local churches. They wear the doctrine of independence as the king wears his regal robe. Independence does not apply only to unaffiliated Baptist churches. Baptist churches that fellowship with associations, conferences, and conventions may lose some degree of their self-determination because of complications over property, missions, and the like; but even they insist on being independent.
by Kevin T. Bauder
When I accepted my first senior pastorate, I thought that I had no illusions about ministry. I had grown up in a pastor’s home, been through four years of Bible college (which took me six years to finish), completed four years of seminary (M.Div. and Th.M.), served in an interim pastorate, worked as a pastor of youth and music for two years, and taught Greek and theology in a Bible college for two years. I thought that I knew what I was getting into.
I was wrong.
