I just completed six months with the DC Baptist Convention and my biggest surprise is how fast time flies. My Grandmother Wood always said, “the older you get the faster time flies.” Maybe she was right, I am older and some of my get up and go has gone! Then again, it could be the workload, “a busy day passeth the time away.” A more soothing rationale would be the pace of life. Life in DC is fast and furious, definitely not the lifestyle found in “Kansas.” Regardless of the reason, the fact remains that my time flies and I must be intentional with every moment of my day.
Another lesson that I have learned in these fleeting six months is that the DC Baptist Convention is marked with historical figures that not only impacted the Convention in remarkable ways but impacted the world for the cause of Christ. From Anna Johenning, James Langley, Jere Allen to Jeffrey Haggray, the footprints of ministry are deep and wide. In all of their ministries, their love for Christ, passion for His Kingdom and commitment to historical Baptist principles are evident. Another mark of their leadership is the remnants of their willingness to take risks and blaze a trail of cutting-edge ministry that is unique and contextual to this region of the Kingdom.
Since a group of Baptists got together in the late 1800’s to form a group of cooperating Baptists, which eventually transformed into the DC Baptist Convention, each generation of leaders embraced the waves of changes and morphed the organization into what it needed to be for that moment in time.
Today, our Convention is faced with another call to change and transition into an organization that embraces the challenges of cooperative future work among Baptists and the communities in which we have been given to serve.
More than ever, leaders are needed who are willing to take risks, risk failure, exhibit a spirit of humility, walk more by faith and create ways for emerging thoughts. No longer can denominational entities maintain the status quo and seek to keep the institution afloat. The status quo and institutions are not the future.
Without leaders willing to take a risk, risk failure, paddle against the current, journey in faith and live in the shadow of being doubted, questioned and misunderstood by those who gather in the crowd…
- Noah would never have built the Ark
- Abraham would never have left Haran
- Moses would never have left Pharaoh's Court
- Joshua and Caleb would never have battled the giants
- Deborah would have never become a judge
- Jeremiah would never have wept
- The disciples would never have left their "all"
- Jesus would never have suffered the cross
- Stephen would never have been stoned
- Paul would never have been converted
- There would never have been any missionary journeys
- Priscilla would never have preached
- Phoebe would never have been a deaconness
- Religious freedom seekers would have never ushered in the Reformation and
- The District of Columbia Baptist Convention would never have been birthed
Now I am far from the caliber of faith these women and men exhibited, but I am a fellow pilgrim on the same journey. I have had the opportunity to relish in success by decisions I made in leadership. In Montgomery and Birmingham, I surrounded myself with a ministry team that was willing to take risks and create new ministries to meet the needs of those hurting. Were all of the decisions I made understood? No. Did all the decisions garner overwhelming support? No. But we had the foresight and fortitude to make them and because of that some neat things happened.
I have had the opportunity to fail due to bad decision-making. Just as important as success, failure due to a bad decision or ill-informed choice left me with many valuable lessons and served to hone my skills, attitude and spirit. To be honest, I believe the failures taught me more and made me a better leader than all of the successes. Did I want to fail? No. Did I like the feeling of failure? No. Do I want to experience failure again? No, but I do acknowledge that failure is a part of life, especially part of a leader’s life.
As I continue this journey with the heart and spirit of a servant leader, I move forward each day with the legacy and inspiration of our past leaders, the support and challenge of our present leaders, pastors and staff team whose goal is to honor the Gospel of Jesus Christ through our cooperative witness and ministry, so at the end of my day, I will be found faithful.
