Dear BMAMO churches:
Well, it seems like I just wrote an article for the paper! We are so thrilled that Bro. Jim Hoffmann is doing well, and I ask for your continued prayer for him. Bro. Juan’s dad seems to be improving or holding his own. We heard great news on Bro. Larry Woods’ wife Tammy this last week! They discovered that she does not have thyroid cancer, but instead a rare thyroid issue that takes care of itself over a few months’ time, Also, Bro. Larry’s nephew passed away during their delay of going to the mission field, which allowed Bro. Larry and Tammy to minister to the family during this loss. Please pray for the family during this difficult time. They are scheduled to leave for the field on July 12
Missions news about one of our very own here in Missouri:
Bro. Michael Quillman (missionary to Zambia) needs a vehicle. As a result of the sale of Charity Baptist church through Westview, a donation of $30,000.00 was given which we thought would be enough to complete the purchase, but due to the rising costs of everything these days, a $30k SUV in Africa six months ago is now $45k, so please pray for this additional amount to be raised quickly. If you are interested in helping as a church or individual, please contact Bro. Quillman or myself.
One of the expectations of the State for their director of missions is to visit with churches that request a visit from the director. Since I am a full-time pastor, I knew most Sundays were unavailable. Therefore, I made the special missions committee aware that I would only be available on Wednesday nights through the summer. I am pleased to report that on July 13 I will be at Stoney Point, August 17 at Bethel Sikeston, and August 24 at Mt. Olive in Salem. If any other Churches close to these venues would like to join in, I am sure these Churches would welcome that. I want to thank these Churches for inviting me and I look forward to sharing our missions effort and the BMAMO Benchmark Assessment at these Churches.
In closing, I want to share a pet peeve of mine. I love Christian music – all flavors! However, one issue I have is the groups that critique the church in their songs on the airwaves for anybody to hear it, and then we wonder why the world has such a sour view of the Lord’s church. I do not share the world’s view, much less the dissatisfied Christian’s view, of the Lord’s Church. Is there room for improvement? Always! But let’s keep the correct messages and songs in-house, please.
With that said, this is an article that goes directly to our churches. It is my understanding that it goes on our website also, but I would say that for the most part it is only BMA folks, and specifically BMA Missouri that avail themselves to this media. So here we go, I had a conversation with a young man that is helping me with the missions assessment, and we launched into a discussion on why some churches may struggle with change, new ideas, or new methods. And this word came up: autonomy. Autonomy is a beautiful word for our churches, because we are most definitely autonomous. What does that word mean for us? It means we do not have to bow to anyone except the Lord and His word on our faith and practice. However, what happens when a church needs to address change and ultimately embrace change to stay alive? Well, quite frankly, they need to not allow autonomy to become a stumbling block to the very thing they need to stay in existence. So this is what I am asking you as our BMAMO churches: please pray for and with me on how we can help any church struggling with any level of this issue so that for the glory of the Lord we can navigate these troubled waters to get churches to see the dangers when we allow our autonomy to blind us to reality.
Here are the questions I’m asking all of us to pray through and use to help us all truly understand autonomy:
What are you doing with your autonomy?
Who gave it to you?
Why did He give it do you?
What does He want you to do with it?
What good is it if you’re not using it for the intended purpose?
Autonomy is not for us to do what we want, but rather it is to do what we ought. It was never meant to be a shield for preferences.
I submit these questions with humility, trembling, and foreboding. I am not trying to do anything but hold up the mirror of God’s word and ask the question, “Is there room for improvement?”
Let’s enter into prayer together, ask our loving Father this question, accept the answer, and ask for His assistance to change for His Glory
May the Lord richly bless you is my prayer.
Bro. Ben Kingston
