President s Report. Presented by: Glenn C. Burris, Jr. President

Transcription

1 Presented by: Glenn C. Burris, Jr. President Cabinet Meeting SPEAK: RECLAIM OUR VOICE When the Church speaks, the world may disagree and even get angry; but, when the Church is silent, the world suffers. I was recently privileged to receive an all expense paid trip to Israel, courtesy of IMOT (Israel Ministry of Tourism). Although this was my third trip to the Holy Land, I found it amazing how much one can learn that had been missed on other trips. Our guide was a Jewish woman, not a believer, who knew five languages, and had been born in Belgium. She added remarkable context to our six day excursion. During the concluding meal, she expressed that our group had been the highlight of the year for her, that we stood out as the top group she had ever worked with, and that we had exemplified what it means to be Christians. We concluded our week of tourism by ascending to Jerusalem. Our first visit in that City was to Yad Vashem. I actually didn t know what that phrase meant until I looked it on their web site. Isaiah 56:5 reads, Even to them will I give in my house and within my walls, a memorial and a name (a Yad Vashem)... that shall not be cut off. This Hebrew name is given to memorialize the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust. As I see it, they are shouting loud and clear that they will never be forgotten. About two thirds of the way through the masterfully laid out exhibit (that is both humbling and discouraging) is a section entitled, The Righteous Among the Nations. It is dedicated to the many who risked their lives, their livelihoods, their businesses, their families and much more to provide a safe haven for the persecuted Jews. Among those recognized was Oskar Schindler, the German war profiteer, who is credited with saving over 1,200 Jews. He is actually buried in Israel, after being decorated a hero by the nation. His life was not perfect, but he stepped up during a time of crisis and put everything on the line. Yad Vashem celebrates the lives of hundreds of people who stepped up in a moment of crisis, and took great risks to save others. Anyone can be a hero in easy times, but it takes an extraordinary person to lead during difficult times. 1

2 I share this story because Israel s history is full of promises, failures, contradictions, war, antagonism, conflicts, global scorn, etc. When you read about the centuries (not just decades) of conquering forces that have destroyed, rebuilt, destroyed again, and rebuilt their city and country, it makes it a bit more tolerable to understand their very passionate nationalism. They ve been recognized as a nation only since 1948, and have had to defend their right to exist on a daily basis. It certainly doesn t justify every decision their leaders make, but I have a better sense of their motivation. When you have lost your sense of identity, and when everything you have been taught and believe in seems threatened, you eventually choose to either surrender or fight. Being passive is not an option. Their confidence in the scriptures has given them a deep conviction of a spiritual destiny as the descendants of Abraham, who was promised this land. Yet, despite these deep emotions, their history is filled with compromise by leaders (like Samson), or in passive behavior (in men like Gideon). In many of these instances, God intervened and Israel was restored. Much of what we read today declares that we are in a Post Christian Era in the West. While things are heating up spiritually in the Southern Hemisphere, there has been a radical shift in Church culture in Europe and North America. The very institution of the Church seems to be up for grabs on many fronts. The reality is that if the Church does not wake up and realize that it s voice (influence) is being marginalized, threatened, and in some cases silenced we will wake up one day and discover that we have become irrelevant to the world around us. Our enemies are not governments, laws, or people, but very real, spiritual forces have aligned themselves against the Church. At other times, we seem to be our own worst enemy through our lack of discernment of the present Word of the Lord and our hesitation to function with confidence and conviction. My belief is that we must find ourselves at the vortex of life in our communities, and that the church is looked to as a leading voice in the midst of crisis and moral dilemmas. It is vital that we add irreplaceable value to the lives of others and that our light will so shine before men, that they may see (our) good works and glorify (our) Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:16) The Foursquare Church, which begun as a local church in 1923, has become a worldwide movement. The early days of our family s history began in the pinnacle of revival. While we don t yearn to go back, we must contend for a future that is filled with more than just strategies and plans. I humbly submit to you that we must contend for His power and presence more than we contend for growth. I believe that fruitfulness is a by product of our willingness to submit fully and freely to His plans for our church family! In Acts 18:9, the Apostle Paul was visited by the Lord in a dream. God spoke these words, Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. It is those words that inspire me to challenge us during these important days to not allow the circumstances of this season to silence our voice. We must SPEAK and RECLAIM OUR VOICE. It must not go silent. Too many lives are depending on us to step up and lead! There are Asherah poles and altars of Baal to be torn down. There are real threats to be confronted by faith and confidence. There are precious lives bound with hopelessness and fear. There are unlimited opportunities before us, and God s answer is and has always been His Church! 2

3 Last year I shared with the Cabinet the FIVE TARGETS around which we were going to focus our time, energy, and resources. This missional framework of: (1) Leaders, (2) Churches, (3) Nations, (4) People Groups, and (5) Resources framed the beginning of a larger conversation about the need of a simple set of overall objectives for our denomination. I want to share with you how I see those targets fitting into the larger context of the multi layered organization we call The Foursquare Church. It is comprised of our national office, our district office, our local churches, and our credentialed ministers. I realize that there is confusion at times when we even use the term, The Foursquare Church. There remains an important need to continue the dialogue to insure there is clarity about this conversation. This document is an attempt to aid in that dialogue. We are well on our way to adequately addressing the distinct roles of the national office, the district offices, the local churches, and our credentialed ministers. This document primarily deals with the national and district roles in the pursuit of our mission. When I was asked to step in as interim in 2009, I outlined for the Board of Directors a fairly straight forward, three step approach to our journey together. It continues to frame the way I think about our life together, and you will be able to see how we are approaching these key issues and how they are integrated. Without a clear vision for the future, we will drift into a voiceless denomination, void of any real impact in a world that desperately needs the influence we have to offer. It s been said to write your plans in pencil, but your vision in ink! When you think of the human body, you see the genius of our God who integrated the body, mind, and spirit. When it functions in a holistic way, the synergy created provides enormous momentum. When there is conflict, ill health, or misalignment, there is not maximum effectiveness. In fact, if we are not healthy at every level there will remain significant obstacles to our fulfilling the Lord s Great Commission. I truly believe we are at a point of convergence due to great wisdom that we have gained from significant leaders, learned experiences from past successes and failures, and the continued influence and insights of the Holy Spirit (being revealed through prayer and prophecy). I m convinced we are regaining a renewed sense of identity and focus. We still have work to do; but simply put, I believe that The Foursquare Church is a Movement (of leaders and churches), with a Message (Jesus is our Savior, Healer, Baptizer of the Holy Spirit, and Coming King), on a Mission (to make disciples of all nations). We are not so much reinventing our movement as we are rediscovering it, though we should not be afraid of radically rethinking how we approach fulfilling the call that God placed on us! It combines for a future filled with new possibilities! Here is the larger framework that encompasses the five targets: 1) Spiritual Vitality 2) Organizational Health 3) Missional Effectiveness 3

4 SPIRITUAL VITALITY: It is critical to the success of our movement that we absolutely declare our dependency on the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. From Joel s prophetic words, to the birth of the early church in Jerusalem, we have a clear precedent that the full release of God s plan comes when men and women yield to the work of the Spirit. It was prophesied about and manifested itself in the release of multiple generations, of gender, and of multi ethnic people groups when the Day of Pentecost was fulfilled! We have committed ourselves to: A) A prayer culture: Our Monday morning prayer s call our movement to prayer each week. We have enlisted specific calls to prayer and fasting for Cabinet, Connection, and in the life of our Church! We have launched a prayer strategy leading up to our Global Summit, engaging our global family in prayer. B) A season in the Word: During my first year, we challenged our movement to read through the Book of Acts on a daily basis. We bolstered that with devotions and study material surrounding the birth and establishment of the early Church! This year, we are connecting through the Gospels, revisiting the powerful and incarnational life of Jesus Christ! Next year, we will challenge our global Church to engage in the Life Journal reading plan. Many leaders are already involved, and it gives us an opportunity to challenge leaders to share their journals with other leaders, engaging in a mentoring culture. This could revolutionize our movement. C) An invitation to the work of the Holy Spirit: From Cabinet, to Board Meetings, to our Connections, to our staff chapels at the national office, to our Global meetings, we are inviting the freshly anointed visitation of the Spirit in our midst! We invite a prophetic overtone and a high priority of sensing and yielding to God s presence among us. ORGANIZATIONAL HEALTH: Heading into Connection 2010 in Atlanta, Georgia, our Board of Directors made an important decision to be transparent about the realities of our financial history and of our present financial overview. That decision has marked a rising culture of an authentic journey to engage our movement at new levels of engaging information and communication concerning the life of our church. Patrick Lencioni writes in his soon to be released boo, The Advantage, that Organizational Health trumps everything else in business. He states It doesn t require great intelligence of sophistication, just uncommon levels of discipline, courage, persistence and common sense. I m convinced that you can get the Spiritual Vitality right; but, if the health of an organization is dysfunctional if it does not engage its members with clear and concise information, does not have a clear sense of identity and mission, and does not intentionally create a climate of empowerment and enfranchisement then you will not have the strength of the unity that emerges when you lead with health. We don t have it fully down yet, but we are trending in the right directions. I believe that there are three very powerful cultures that you have to intentionally create to lead you toward ADVANCE! A) Assessment: You must be willing to look at the uncensored realities of the world that you are responsible for. This is an important DASHBOARD, if you will, that gives you a concise appraisal of the arenas that are under your watch. Whether it s financial, spiritual, administrative processes, protocols, policies, etc., they all have to be continually monitored to assure that you are on target with mission. It also allows you to make mid course corrections that will significantly improve the way you serve. 4

5 B) Alignment: Just as the body functions at maximum efficiency when it is aligned, so does an organization. When we are interdependent, rather than independent or dependent, our effectiveness is multiplied. As you audit internal processes, you discover unintentional silos and breakdowns of communication and process. We must continue to streamline, coordinate, communicate, minimize redundancies, clarify, etc. C) Accountability: It is a strong conviction of mine that there should be accountability at every level in our organization. It is biblical, healthy, and contributes to a culture of trust, safety, and success. MISSIONAL EFFECTIVENESS: We have sounded a clarion call back to the primary mission of the Church. In doing so, we have identified Five Targets that reflect the DNA of The Foursquare Church from its inception. This is primarily the responsibility of the local church. I can t emphasize enough that the primary MISSIONAL EFFECTIVENESS of our movement will be the result of what happens locally; not nationally. The partnership at a district and national level is critical for coordination and resourcing, but where the rubber meets the road is at the local church level. Leaders are discipled, churches are planted, nations are reached, and people groups are embraced and released through the local church. There are ongoing conversations that will be shared at Cabinet by NCO and FMI regarding strategies, partnerships and next steps. This critical balance is vital to get right the balance between the national church, the district office, and the local church. 1) Leaders: Our founder (Aimee Semple McPherson) immediately established the Echo Park Evangelistic and Missionary Training Institute. That institute morphed into L.I.F.E. (Lighthouse Institute of Foursquare Evangelism). The high value and priority of developing a culture of mentoring and discipleship was infused into the DNA of Angelus Temple. Over the years, we have drifted from the intentionality of this target and value. It is important that we find our way back to prioritize this as a main target of our missional efforts and contend for healthy, reproducing leaders. 2) Churches: Our movement exploded because its leader was unafraid to multiply and release leaders to plant churches nationally and internationally. We want to return to a church planting movement where every healthy church sees itself as a resource center unafraid to multiply. 3) Nations: Our founding church sent leaders around the world; first to the Philippines and to Panama. The goal was indigenizing nations; and, through the Four Stages, we have seen that dream become a reality. The U.S. Foursquare Church pioneered the work around the world, and then we became its supervisor, evolved to help facilitate it and, now, find ourselves at an important crossroads to redefine our partnerships at a global level. Twenty one nations now send missionaries around the world, including sending them here to the United States. What an amazing opportunity there is before us! Sometimes I wonder if the Four Stage Model isn t a good model to use to evaluate our local churches: Stage 1 (Initiate Evangelizing Reproducing Disciples), Stage 2 (Nurture Strengthening Reproducing Leaders), Stage 3 (Expand Multiplying Reproducing Congregations), Stage 4 (Send Extending Reproducing Missionary Sending Churches). 5

6 4) People Groups: When the prophet, Joel, spoke of the future, he prophesied that a day was coming where multi generations would minister together, where both genders would be celebrated for their ministry gifts and call, and where peoples from all nations would help lead in kingdom expansion. We want to intentionally accelerate and facilitate this work of the Spirit. 5) Resources: In every arena from administration to structure to finance it s our commitment to help align our resources to the primary mission of the church. It s an exciting day to evaluate, deliberate, and decide together how we can best resource our mission. We have enormous challenges before us. But we also have unprecedented opportunity. With the Lord s help, we will continue to see the reformation of our movement into a formidable force that will assault the gates of hell, tear them down, and advance the Kingdom of God through an unparalleled season of fruitfulness and expansion. Thank you for your continued support and partnership as we contend together for the two billion souls who have yet to hear the Gospel! It is possible to see the Great Commission fulfilled in our lifetime. And then, the end will come! In His Service, Glenn Burris, Jr. President, The Foursquare Church March 5,