Happy New Year to the members of Laurel Baptist Church in Greenville.
I know that your official status in denominational-speak is “declining,” but you have decided to “rebuild the walls” of your church according to your new theme for 2012 and beyond.
KirklandTo accomplish your difficult task, you have taken significant steps to alter the way you “do church,” and you have good reason to hope for a future filled with fruitful work for the Kingdom of God.
Maybe your story — the one we’re telling on page 1 in this issue of the Courier — will serve as an inspiration for other South Carolina Baptist churches that also are seeking renewal while struggling for survival.
For you are not alone, Laurel. Too many of our churches are declining or, at best, holding their own.
It is not easy to break with tradition, as you did, by tossing out overly restrictive bylaws that got in the way of your functioning efficiently as a congregation, and by signing on to a new ministry strategy — the Acts Ministry Plan — that aims at turning each of you into effective ministers.
You spoke boldly of your determination to revive Laurel by calling Danny Burnley as your pastor. You believe that, with God’s help and your support, Danny can be instrumental in leading Laurel to renewal. I know this. He came to you from West Gantt First Baptist Church in Greenville, which had been in decline for a dozen years, but is now thriving after his eight years of leadership there. I know, too, of his work with a new church start, Sierra Baptist in Anderson, which was growing and poised for even more advancement when, after three years, Danny left for West Gantt. This has been his story at every stop along his pastoral journey.
A few days ago, I visited with Danny, along with three of the pastor search committee members — Gertie Mullis, who also serves on the Executive Board of the South Carolina Baptist Convention; Carol Marshall; and Bill Heath, who has been one of your members for more than 70 years. I could sense their hope and even their confidence that your days of labor in the Lord’s vineyard are far from done.
You showed wisdom in summoning Delano McMinn to be your pulpit supply for some six months before you called Danny. And Delano showed wisdom by resisting your desire to make him Laurel’s interim pastor by insisting, “You need a pastor.”
No one was more pleased than Delano with your decisions regarding the church’s bylaws and by enlisting in the Acts Ministry Plan. It represented a much-needed break with tradition, and you did it. Delano views that break as “the key” to Laurel’s steps toward renewal — that, and calling Danny, who was his choice for your pastor from the start.
By the way, I saw that big screen recently installed behind the pulpit. I don’t have to wonder what plans you have for that. No doubt, longtime members will be having some new experiences in worship in the weeks and months to come, and it no doubt will be an appealing element of worship for others who are led to Laurel.
You have a difficult job to do at Laurel. Turning a declining church around is no stroll in the park. To “rebuild the walls,” you must be like your spiritual ancestors, the children of Israel, who “had the will to work” in repairing the walls of Jerusalem.
So, do the work with the energy and guidance God will give you. And remember that South Carolina Baptists are praying for you.
Again, Happy New Year, Laurel.