Campaign Title

Dear subscriber,

One in a Thousand

Can the Bivocational and Small Church Leadership Network realistically expect to raise its annual receipts to a level that will enable it to support a salaried National Coordinator, including office and travel expenses? I believe that it can!

There are approximately 23,000 churches in the Southern Baptist Convention who are served by bivocational pastors. An additional 8,000 churches run 75 or less in morning worship. This means that more than 30,000 churches and 30,000 pastors are served by the BSCLN. Of these 60,000 units, can you envision 1,000 (either churches or pastors) who would donate $100 per year to a ministry that is designed to:

• Serve as an advocate for bivocational and small church SBC pastors on the national, state and associational level
• Generate conferences, seminars and retreats for pastors and their wives across our nation
• Establish resource centers for pastors at Baptist colleges and universities
• Provide and recommend resources that will be of value to pastors
• Maintain a website that will be valued by the 30,000 pastors who it seeks to serve

I can! I believe that the old Baptist adage “tell the people and trust the Lord” will enable us to find 1,000 pastors or churches who will give $100 per year to the Bivocational and Small Church Leadership Network. They will be One in a Thousand who will provide $100,000 per year and enable the BSCLN to establish an adequate and continuing financial base.

But wait (as the television commercial announcers might say), there is more! There are 1,200 associations across the Southern Baptist Convention, 1,000 Associational Directors of Missions, state convention personnel, and pastors and lay people in our larger churches who grew up in small churches and still appreciate the vital role that they play in Christ’s Kingdom. In other words, there are thousands upon thousands of churches and individuals across the Southern Baptist Convention who might want to be One in a Thousand.

As a recipient of this newsletter, would you consider helping us get this message out? Printed materials will be ready, soon, and a download that can be printed as a bulletin insert is available on our web site. And, you might prayerfully consider being One in a Thousand. I believe that your investment will produce great blessings to many pastors and the churches that they serve.

--Larry Barnes

If you want to become One In A Thousand, send your check marked BSCLN One In A Thousand to our treasurer Joyce Byrd. Her address is Joyce Byrd, Treasurer, 5111 Marc Court, Nashville, TN 37211

The Baptist College of Florida is “Ministry Friendly”

The Baptist College of Florida was founded 66 years ago for the purpose of educating and training men and women who had been called into Christian service. Throughout the years the College has taken on new looks, but it has never taken on another heart. In 2009 the trademark of the school best states the heart of its work: “Changing the World through the Unchanging Word.” All students at the College sign an affirmation that they have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and that they have surrendered their lives to all that He desires to do in and through them. Thus it is clear to see that BCF is “ministry friendly.”

My heroes in church as I grew up were my pastors. The interesting thing was that not one of my pastors ever had his church position as his primary means of making a living. They were house painters, short order cooks, barbers and loggers. In fact I was married with a family before I ever attended a church in which the pastor was “full time.” I do not feel at all deprived by my background. In fact, I feel enriched. I received “real Word” ministry from men who also had “real world” jobs.

During the almost twenty years that I have had the privilege of serving as President of The Baptist College of Florida this school has been focused on equipping our graduates for whatever form of ministry that our Lord gives to them. Currently we reach out to bi-vocational and small church ministers in a variety of ways. These include:

Limitless Delivery of Regular Classes – We are working to make sure that each class is delivered through multiple means so that students can attend in the classroom, at a distance site, or at their home through their personal computer. They can get the lecture as well as all of the supporting information wherever they are located.

Conferences – Through our Baptist Center for Expository Preaching we offer conferences throughout the year. These are offered on a one or two day basis to enhance the opportunity for pastors to attend. Also, we are making them available through electronic means for the minister to have at their location. Conferences include: January Bible Study Previews as well as Doctrine Study Previews and various other topics throughout the year. The Preaching Center also provides printed copies of the conference materials.

Certificates – During the Fall Semester of 2009 BCF began a new program of Certificate Training. We offer several different certificates that cover a wide field of ministry. These classes meet on flexible schedules in numerous locations around the state. Certificates are located wherever there is enough interest to create a class. Students may enroll for college credit in the certificates, or they may take them just for the information that is available. Certificates are offered primarily in the evenings. Cost of the certificate classes is a 90% reduction from the regular tuition rate at the College.

The Baptist College of Florida is “ministry friendly” in the contents of degree programs, schedules for certificates and classes and strong commitment to the local church. Our greatest joy is to see students who once thought that they could not get to classes or who thought that they could not do college level work become successful students and more successful ministers.
For more information on the “Ministry Friendly” atmosphere at The Baptist College of Florida please feel free to contact me at 1(800) 328-2660 ext 445 or takinchen@baptistcollege.edu.

To learn how to become a Regional Resource Center for Bivocational Ministry Contact Ray Gilder.

Thomas A. Kinchen
President
The Baptist College of Florida

How Are We Like The Mesquite Trees Of The Southwest?

It's pronounced "muh-skeet." And in what's called the Coastal Bend of south Texas, the winds blow so constant and heavy that mesquite trees often grow horizontally instead of vertically. The trunks are apt to spread long and low to the ground, twisting and curving.

Like the mesquite, we are shaped by the constant winds of our culture--the books we read, the TV programs we watch and the friends with whom we spend time. Are we twisting to meet others' approval, swayed by any influence or trend that comes along?

The form of the mesquite tree doesn't matter, because the seeds, bark and wood of the tree are so valuable. Native Americans relied on the pods as a dietary staple and used the bark for medicine. Today, cows still eat the beans, and bees like the trees' blooms to produce a fragrant honey. Steaks and Mexican food wouldn't be the same cooked without the flavor of Mesquite. The wood burns slowly and is smokeless.

Like the mesquite, we are valuable as children of God. In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus calls us to flavor our world: "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?"

Another interesting fact about mesquite trees is the roots that keep them healthy. Arizona Highways Magazine reports that mesquite taproots can grow larger around than the tree’s trunk. They have been found as deep as 175 feet, digging for a drink, but generally reach 50 feet underground, making the roots bigger than the tree itself!

Like the mesquite, our roots can keep us healthy as we dig for a drink of the living water. As long as we are rooted in the word of God and the firm foundation of faith, love and grace, we can grow spiritually straight and tall no matter how hard the winds blow.

"But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:14 (NIV)

Sermon/Teaching Illustration:

Life yields such great illustrations. Over the years I have found great life illustrations from the Paul Harvey Radio Program. Here are a few of my favorites:

To illustrate how our actions often give us away, use this example.

As heard on Paul Harvey… There is a yellow diamond-shaped warning road sign on I-95 as you approach DeLand, Florida. The sign reads, Narcotics Inspection Ahead. There is no inspection station but travelers who read the sign, panic and make an immediate illegal U-turn are stopped and searched.

To illustrate how our perception is our reality, use this example.

As heard on Paul Harvey… The Kilgore, Texas News-Herald reported a motorist was removed unconscious from his car and carried to a nearby gas station. As he came to, he opened his eyes and immediately began to struggle with all his might.

Asked later in the hospital why is put up such a struggle with his rescuers he explained. They had taken me to a Shell station and someone was standing in front of the “S”.

To introduce how some people have different motives to answer a call, use this example.

As heard on Paul Harvey… The basketball coach at La Salle University was Speedy Morris. One day as Speedy was shaving, his wife called out to let him know Sports Illustrated was on the phone and wanted to talk with him. He was so excited by the reality of national recognition that he nicked himself with the razor. But in a dash, still covered with shaving cream and blood, he took off for the phone, fell head first down and steps but still managed to pick up the phone. With a very profession voice said, “Speedy Morris.” The voice on the other end said, “For just seventy-five cents an issue you can get a one-year trial subscription…”