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Citation: Proctor, Richard Deane. “Wouldn’t It Be Nice? An Examination of 
Inter-Church Relationships Among the Oxford-Brant Association of CBOQ Churches.” 
D. Min., Tyndale University, 2021.

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Proctor, Richard Deane. “Wouldn’t It Be Nice? An Examination of Inter-Church
Relationships among the Oxford-Brant Association of CBOQ Churches.” D. Min.,
Tyndale University, 2021.

[ Citation Page ] 


Tyndale University

Wouldn't It Be Nice? An Examination of Inter-Church Relationships Among the
Oxford-Brant Association of CBOQ Churches

A Research Portfolio
submitted in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Ministry
Tyndale University

by

Richard Deane Proctor

Toronto. Canada

April 2021

[ Page i ]



Copyright © 2021

by Richard Deane Proctor
All Rights Reserved

[ Page ii ]



ABSTRACT

	The Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec (or CBOQ), contain clusters
of local congregations called “Associations” which were originally created over
four centuries ago to serve as unifying, resourcing centres of shared ministry for
member churches located geographically near to one another. These Associations
have been criticized over time for being reduced to administrative bodies that
provide little in the way of practical ministry support to the local church. CBOQ
discussions about finding a more organic means to associate together (without
requiring an official “Association”), prompted this research into fresh expressions
of inter-church partnership.

	This research portfolio will include surveyed pastors and congregants
across the sixteen CBOQ churches in the Oxford-Brant Association to determine
the specific role that belonging to an Association played in the pursuit of their
respective ministry plans. Once that data was collected and analyzed, a focus
group was formed to examine the survey results and to provide insights on the
idea of inter-church associating itself. The intent was to galvanize interest in fresh
or renewed expressions of inter-church relationship among CBOQ churches.

[ Page vi ]



DEDICATION

	This portfolio has taken three years to compile and a lifetime for which to
prepare. I dedicate its completed form above all to my wife and best friend
Annette. I could say many, many things about your love, support, encouragement
and sacrifice but I know the words that touch you most so here they are: “you
were right.” You were right that I would one day return to formal academic study
despite my having sworn it off forever. You were right that the financial and other
details for my return to classes would work out. You were right that I had the
abilities to complete it successfully despite my being unsure of those things
myself throughout the entire process. Thank you for being so right so often.

	Secondly, I dedicate this work to my children Cassidy, Joelle and
Brandon. No task, initiative, project or portfolio will ever surpass the satisfaction
and success I feel when I look at you. Neither my ministry, my reputation, this
portfolio nor any bestowed degree comprise what I hope to be remembered for
most clearly. YOU are the best legacy I could ever hope to leave at the end of my
time in this world.

	Finally, I dedicate this portfolio to my late mother Rae Deene Proctor
(1949-1994) whose death helped me eventually gain an indescribable hope
despite a painful and life-altering loss. Thanks Ma, for your legacy of
encouragement, love and for believing in me.

[ Page ] VII



ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

	I unreservedly acknowledge that nothing I have done, am doing or ever
hope to do could happen apart from the love of my Heavenly Father, his beloved
Son nor his Holy Spirit. I am a sinner saved by grace. I am a child of the King and
my identity rests confidently with him.

	I offer my thanks to my parents Rick and Brenda Proctor who, in their way,
have cheered me on as I have sought the will of God for my life these last twenty-
five years.

	I am grateful for my sister Julie Robins, her husband Geoff and their son
Randall who, although we are not physically together as often as we would like,
have continued to encourage and support me in all things.

	I wish also to acknowledge those valued colleagues and fellow pastors
who over and over again showed me by example what it means to selflessly and
enduringly share and support one another in pastoral ministry. My thanks to Rev.
Margaret Bell who showed me first what it means to lead God’s people and Rev.
Phil Butler who served alternately as a sounding board, a voice of moderation and
an example of grace and mercy in action. My deep thanks go as well to Reverend
Elaine Poproski who always spoke the truth in love, always displayed wisdom
and expressed pastoral confidence even when she felt lacking in it herself. My

[ Page ] VIII



gratitude also extends to Mrs. Carol Caswell who despite the fact that I was the
lead pastor on staff, showed me how a senior pastor carries him/herself and serves
with character and integrity. Finally, I want to express my thanks for the example
given to me by the late Reverend Andy Kaups who was my first mentor in
pastoral ministry and poured years of hard-earned experience into my novice self.
Whenever I write a sermon, I am guided by his counsel to “put the cookies on the
bottom shelf where they can be reached” and never to ruin a good cup of coffee
by putting milk in it!

	I would be remiss not to acknowledge those life-long friends who never let
my pastoral role get in the way of a very real friendship. Thank you especially to
Mike Dees who has been a life-long friend, brother-in-law and motorcycle riding
compatriot who always speaks truth and who is among the most compassionate
people I have ever met. Thank you to Jason Keillor who was there in our radio
broadcasting days, who can verify the stories from that season of life and who
also knows enough about which stories NOT to verify from those days. My friend
Gord Ashcroft set the perfect tone for an unforgettable friendship when upon
meeting me for the first time (after I came to pastor at the church he attended)
asked me, in his distinct Liverpool dialect, if I had “ever had a proper job?”
Cheers Gord! Finally, I want to acknowledge and give thanks for my buddy
Laurie McKillop. I am a better pastor, singer and person because God brought a
friend like Laurie into my life all those years ago.

[ Page ] IX



	As it relates to this research portfolio itself and the process leading up to
its completion, I am grateful to acknowledge the roles of Major Geraldine
Lindholm and Rev. Sam Barry who have been encouraging, supportive friends
since our first day of Doctor of Ministry (DMin) classes in the summer of 2018.
Your ongoing passion and inspiration was, and is, contagious and for that I am
eternally grateful to God for both of you.

	To Dr. Mark Steinacher who took a personal interest in my research,
contributed significantly in the focus group stage and who was an able and
experienced editor throughout the process of this portfolio, I thank you.

	To Dr. Bill Thornton who served as my portfolio advisor, was a constant
encourager as well as a gracious guide throughout the process of completion.

	I am also grateful to those pastors and laypersons alike from within the
Oxford-Brant Association of Baptist Churches who saw value in my research and
gave of their time and experience throughout the process.

	Finally, I wish to acknowledge those Tyndale University faculty and staff
who made significant individual and collective contributions to this three-year
process.

[ Page ] X



Contents

LIST OF FIGURES .... xv
LIST OF TABLES .... xv
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION .... 1
 Historical Context .... 3
 Outline of Chapters .... 6
 State of the Question .... 7
 Key Terms ....13

CHAPTER II I JUST WASN’T MADE FOR THESE TIMES: MY SPIRITUAL
AUTOBIOGRAPHY AND MINISTRY CONTEXT .... 15
 Introduction .... 15
 Pet Sounds .... 16
   Wouldn’t It Be Nice .... 18
   That’s Not Me .... 21
   I Know There’s an Answer .... 23
   God Only Knows ... 25
   You Still Believe in Me .... 28
   Don’t Talk .... 32
   Let’s Go Away for Awhile .... 34
   I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times .... 38
 Current Ministry Context .... 45
   I’m Waiting for The Day .... 45
   Here Today .... 48
 Conclusion .... 49
CHAPTER III A DEVELOPING PHILOSOPHY OF LEADERSHIP .... 51
 Part One: The Emergence of an Empowering and Equipping Leadership
 Philosophy .... 51
   Scriptural Basis .... 52
   Compositional History of The Text .... 53
   Genre and Structure .... 55
   Historical Context .... 56

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   Historical Background .... 56
 Cultural Background .... 58
   Religion .... 58
   Ethnically .... 59
   Social Background .... 60
   Literary Context and Canonical Placement ... 61
 Literary Analysis of the Text .... 62
 Section One: Instructions: 10:1-12 ....63
   Instructions regarding reception .... 63
   Instructions regarding rejection .... 64
 Section Two: Woes: 10:13-16 .... 64
   Woe on Chorazin and Bethsaida .... 64
   Woe on Capernaum .... 65
 Section Three: Return: 10:17-20 .... 65
   Joy of the disciples at their authority .... 65
   Jesus’ response about the greater honour .... 65
 Section Four: Thanksgiving .... 66
   To the Father .... 66
   Blessing on the disciples .... 66
 Application for Leadership Development .... 67
   Main Themes and Theological Message .... 67
   Theological Implications and Application .... 67
   Summary .... 69
 Relation to Transformational Leadership Philosophy .... 69
   Transformational Leadership .... 72
   Transformational Leadership Excesses and Deficiencies .... 74
   Summary .... 75
 Applying this Scripturally Rooted Personal Leadership Philosophy .... 76
   Concept .... 78
   Action .... 79
   Theological Reflection .... 80
   Revised Practical Action .... 80

[ Part ] XII



Part Two: A Case Study Applying This Philosophy of Ministry to the State of
Inter-Church Relationships in the Churches of the Oxford-Brant Association
Belonging to the Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec .... 81
Introduction .... 81
 Background and Overview .... 81
 Step One: Concept .... 82
 Step Two: Action .... 82
 Step Three: Reflection .... 83
 Step Four: Revised Actions .... 84
Conclusion .... 85
CHAPTER IV MY ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT .... 86
 Introduction .... 86
 Context .... 87
 Models .... 89
 Background from Scripture and Tradition .... 89
 Research Resources .... 91
   Category One: Best Practices in DMin Research .... 92
   Category Two: Canadian Baptist History and Polity .... 93
Category Three: Principles and Philosophies of Christian Leadership .... 94
 Methodology and Methods .... 94
 Field .... 95
 Scope .... 95
 Methodology .... 97
   Core Values Lens .... 101
   Feeding of the Five Thousand Lens .... 102
   Great Commission Lens .... 104
   Baptist Origins and Polity Lens .... 105
 Ethics in Ministry Based Research .... 107
 Findings, Interpretation and Outcome .... 108
   Findings .... 108
   Interpretation .... 111
   UP .... 112
   IN .... 114

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   OUT .... 118
 Outcome .... 121
CHAPTER V CONCLUSION .... 123
APPENDICES .... 131
APPENDIX ONE: RESEARCH PROJECT SURVEY QUESTIONS .... 132
APPENDIX TWO: DATA CODES ESTABLISHED DURING RESEARCH .... 134
APPENDIX THREE: FORMAT FOR FOCUS GROUP (FGD) .... 136
APPENDIX FOUR: THE FUTURE OF ASSOCIATIONS MISSIONAL TEAM
REPORT TO THE BOARD . ... 138
APPENDIX FIVE: REPORT TO THE BOARD FUTURE OF ASSOCIATIONS
DECEMBER 2018 .... 145
REFERENCE LIST .... 146

[ Page ] XIV



LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1 Current Composition of Oxford Brant Association .... 46
Figure 2 My Personal Four-Part Leadership Development Process .... 78
Figure 3 Overlapping Categories of Textual Resources Used In This Research .... 92
Figure 4 Leadership Roles Self-Identified by Participants .... 99
Figure 5 Primary Means of Shared Inter-church Ministry within Survey
Participant’s Congregation .... 103
Figure 6 Indicated Means of Shared Ministry Outside of The Local Church
Setting .... 104
Figure 7 Tools Identified By Participants as Lacking in Their Congregations and
as Such Seen as Negatively Impacting Ministry .... 105

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1 Quantitative Data Related to Survey Participants .... 109
Table 2 References in the Data to Corporate Dependence on the Trinity for
Ministry Success .... 113
Table 3 Values and Emotions in The Local Church Related to Matters of Baptist
Polity and Practice .... 115
Table 4 Indications of Outward-Facing Ministry Within Survey Responses .... 119

[Page ] XV



CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

	“There is an enormous difference between associating and Association!”
That was the jumping-off point for the talk I was invited to give to a regional
gathering of Baptist congregations known as an Association meeting. At some
point, the local churches represented by those to whom I was speaking had,
generations earlier, professed a theological like-mindedness driven by equal parts
biblical conviction and geographic proximity with one another. The voluntary
Association they formed eventually became the means for their membership into
the convention of churches known today as “Canadian Baptists of Ontario and
Quebec” with whom I had been pastorally credentialled since 2002. The phrasing
regarding my personal convictions about inter-church relationships and what I
was convinced was the difference between associating and Association fell flat
that day. What was to me a patently clear distinction between these two words—
one being a verb and the other a noun—was unmistakably lost on the audience as
delegates sat bewildered and confused trying to determine exactly where I was
coming from and how it related to them and their own local congregation. I later
learned that one of the bigger reasons my Association talk fizzled that day was
that the meeting chair had not informed the delegates that I would be speaking as
part of the programme nor about the topic on which I would be speaking. As a
result, the audience of delegates had no context for the matters that I clearly felt

[ Page ] 1



passionate about and by extension had no concept of how these matters might
impact either themselves or the churches they represented. In addition, I was a
newcomer to that Association having recently been called to pastorally lead one
of the, at the time, seventeen member churches. This meant that despite my role
as a pastor, I had far less historic ownership of Association business than the
majority of people gathered that day.

	I was disappointed that the talk I gave that day fell flat because I could
visualize something much better than I believed relationally existed at the time. I
could foresee an era when congregations would recognize ministry affinity that
went beyond denominational connection. I longed to do my part to usher in that
day when partnerships between churches would naturally arise and where new or
stronger relationships would be forged between associating congregations. I could
vividly picture a future where pastors and their congregations intentionally
invested in one another’s wellbeing and ministry effectiveness in a manner that
required no structure, no annual dues and no orchestration from an Association
executive committee. In truth, I had not once seen these activities ever take place
to that point in my ministry career. Sadly, I had never witnessed any Association
having the shape and effectiveness of what I was seeing in my mind. Given
previous attempts to cast that vision and what I experienced in my Association
talk in Oxford-Brant, it was plain to me that not everyone could see the potential
future that I was seeing.

	This research portfolio is the product of my attempt to clarify and expand
on the difference between associating and Association and the perceived value of

[ Page ] 2



inter-church relating at all. This report includes both a Qualitative survey as well
as an Appreciative Inquiry-based research project. I endeavoured to explore:

	1. Why I believe so foundationally in inter-church associating.

	2. How I have experienced that foundational belief within the Associations
to which I have been connected.

	3. Whether or not I am able to help others see any sort of deficiency in
inter-church relating among Oxford-Brant member churches.

	4. Whether it is possible or even thought to be necessary for inter-church
to be refreshed and renewed among the Baptist Churches of Oxford-Brant who
belong to the Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec.

Historical Context

	Today’s Canadian Baptist churches trace their lineage to the Anabaptist
movement in Switzerland and Germany following the Reformation of the church
in the sixteenth century. Baptists today point to the legacies of provocative
reformers like Conrad Grebel and Ulrich Zwingli as founders of Baptist life and
thought. But it is the history of Baptists in England which, as with much of
Canada’s history and culture, primarily informs the Canadian Baptist identity
today.

	The rise of the English Baptist tradition started in Holland at the dawning
of the seventeenth century with the work of luminaries such as John Smyth and
Thomas Helwys who themselves were escaping a government in England that
was hostile to their religious convictions. Convictions on such doctrinal matters as

[ Page ] 3



modes of baptism and communion as well as separation of church and state
(Mullins 1925, 91) eventually gave courageous rise in England of English
Particular Baptists. These distinctives led the movement away from its Anabaptist
and Mennonite forebears (Torbet 1952, 69).

	As more of these Protestant Baptist churches were established in England,
streams of Baptist thought diverged. In the middle of the seventeenth century The
Convention of General Baptists ultimately gave rise to inter-church connections
called Baptist Associations.

	Despite having branched off into many differing lines of thought and
practice, Baptists were never rabidly independent; instead they actively sought
fellowship with other theologically like-minded churches. As a result, the
Associations that formed at the time (Maring and Hudson 1991, 174) had a
variety of intentions and purposes. But at their root they had helpful
communication, godly fellowship and inter-church relationship among
theologically compatible churches with a common confession (Brackney 1998,
47).

	The Canadian Baptist story is also indebted to Baptist colonizers in what is
now the United States of America. Having brought their Protestant practice of
faith to the new world and having established Baptist congregations throughout
the colonies, there began, around the time of the American Revolution in 1776, a
migration north into what is today Canada. This relocation of citizens and their
congregationally-styled baptistic religion was first identified as taking place in
modern-day Sackville, Nova Scotia where the first Association meeting of local
congregations is recorded as taking place in July 1797 (Renfree 1988, 52). By the

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dawn of the nineteenth century, Particular Baptists who differentiated themselves
from other streams of thought such as General or Free Baptists, had begun to
populate the pre-confederation territories of Lower and Upper Canada which are
today the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. As with their predecessors in England
this not only gave rise to the planting of local churches but also the establishment
of regional Associations and Conventions seen as vital to the shared mission of
the member congregations. These faithful believers lived out their religious
convictions in that new land and continued to do so with great courage and
resolve throughout the next century.

	Even though Baptist life and thought had continued to fracture and split
into different branches, certain events of 1888 demonstrate the desire for unity as
well. After merging with the Eastern Baptist Convention in 1887, the Ontario
Baptist Convention, merged with three other Conventions and two “societies” to
form The Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec or BCOQ (Renfree 1988,
166). In 2008, the BCOQ was renamed Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec
and today CBOQ remains the oldest union of Baptist churches in central Canada
and is also the convention of churches with which I am accredited.

	In 1897 the Woodstock (Ontario) Baptist Association voted to amalgamate
with the Brant (county) Association to form The Oxford-Brant Association of
Baptist Churches and reported having a membership of thirty-seven churches
(Beattie and Kilgour 1967, 7). In 1927 six of those member churches opted to join
with seventy-one other CBOQ churches to form the Union of Regular Baptist
Churches following a prolonged and painful conflict that had pitted so-called
fundamentalism against so-called liberalism. In 2020 the Oxford-Brant

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Association consisted of just sixteen congregations and was the Association
where I ministered for ten and half years and which formed the context for the
research project included in Chapter IV of this report.

Outline of Chapters

	This report is comprised of five chapters which includes this chapter, an
introduction to the portfolio. Chapter II is a spiritual autobiography that is coupled
with a description of my current ministry context. The spiritual autobiography
portion is entitled “I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times: My Spiritual
Autobiography and Ministry Context.” In it I unfold my faith development and
describe my eventual calling into Christian pastoral leadership while also
outlining my present ministry context. That chapter is subdivided into sections
whose title headings mirror the tracks on the 1966 record album by “The Beach
Boys” called Pet Sounds. That album has become preeminent in my own journey
of music appreciation and an integral soundtrack for my life since childhood and
for these reasons it seemed appropriate to unpack my life story with that music
album providing the framework. The opening sentence of each section will
explain the relevance of the song title that serves as the heading for that portion of
the chapter.

	In Chapter III, I reflect upon and outline my personal Philosophy of
Christian Leadership in a section called “A Developing Philosophy of
Leadership.” That chapter reviews my understanding of Jesus’ scriptural directive
for disciples to work together, to encourage, support and learn together since,

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unknown to them at the time, they would be collectively entrusted with sharing
the gospel message following Jesus’ death. Within that chapter, I also explain
why this biblical imperative is foundational to my understanding of
Transformational Leadership development and inter-church associating.

	In Chapter IV, I report on my field research project. For that project I
surveyed a selection of pastors and church members from CBOQ churches in the
Oxford-Brant Association collecting and ultimately analyzing the participant’s
thoughts and qualitative insights on the ways they may or may not personally
value or benefit from inter-church relationships among historically like-minded,
associating congregations. The resulting findings from this survey data were then
presented to a focus group of CBOQ pastors from Oxford-Brant using some of the
principles of Appreciative Inquiry to invite them into collectively determining
some agreed upon possible next steps.

State of the Question

	The title of this research portfolio is “Wouldn’t It Be Nice: An
Examination of Inter-Church Relationships Among the Oxford-Brant Association
of Canadian Baptists Of Ontario And Quebec Churches.” With that substantive
identifier and the preceding background information, I want my purpose to be
clear. This is not an anti-Association endeavour on my part. This report is not
intended to offer overt criticism or condemnation of an historic part of the
governance model of Canadian Baptist churches; rather, this is a pro-associating
endeavour. My hope with this report and the results of my research is to argue in

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favour of an increase in local congregations partnering together in ministry. I
further hope to not only visibly identify the enormous difference I am convinced
exists between these two realities, but at the same time to offer a constructive,
biblically-rooted solution which respects the historic distinctives that Baptists
treasure. To put an even finer point on this objective, I hope that, by thinking
eternally and critically about shared ministry among congregations, this research
will set the stage for increased gospel effectiveness which I am convinced
Baptists for generations have treasured.

	In 2015, an effort by the CBOQ Board of Directors was undertaken to
attempt to answer these challenging questions about inter-church relationships
within this Convention of congregations. A task force was established to examine
this principle of Baptist polity as well as to present potential solutions to
challenges within the existing Association framework. I served as a member of
that task force. After approximately twelve months of strategizing and praying, a
final report was presented to the CBOQ Board by the task force and which offered
three potential courses of action to address the lagging state of interest and
perceived value in the organizational level of the Convention known as
Associations. That report can be seen in its entirety in Appendix Four. These three
options were the most feasible and plausible for the task force:

	1. Dissolve the present Association structure altogether and do not, in a
formal sense, replace it.

	2. Replace the current Association model with a new inter-church
relationship structure.

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	3. Do nothing and let the Associations themselves simply dissolve and
whatever purposes they were serving toward inter-church relationship and
ministry become evident in time and be addressed as required by local
congregations.

	The task force submitted its final report (Appendix Five) to the CBOQ
Board in September of 2016 and, believing option two to be unsustainable in the
long-term, recommended the Board act on either option one or option three.
Sadly, and for some unknown reason, the final report from this task force lay
forgotten until September 2018 when it was recalled by the Board and resurrected
for discussion.

	This renewed conversation now included CBOQ staff who, in December
2018, reported that all three options provided in the task force report were legally
problematic. Concerns from staff included not only the legal costs of dissolving
Associations but the inherent reality within Baptist polity that CBOQ is in fact
owned by the Associations and not vice-versa. In this sense the Board acting on
behalf of CBOQ has no authority to dissolve nor recommend replacement of, it’s
owners. The outcome of this staff consultation was the striking of yet another task
force commissioned to examine the future of Associations within CBOQ. Its
somewhat circular mandate was:

	To develop a reformed model of Associations with input
	from the Associations which upholds the duties and responsibilities
	of the Associations as outlined in the CBOQ by-laws while taking
	into consideration the problems and difficulties the Associations
	face under the current model and the diversity that exists among

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	the Associations with the understanding that this reformed model
	must be approved by the Associations prior to its implementation.
	(“Report To The Board: Future of Associations” 2018)

	As of this writing, I am unaware whether this conversation remains ongoing or
has been shelved altogether which is, ironically, the suggestion found in the third
option originally offered by the task force.

	I have also come to believe that such a change in focus within the current
organizational structure of CBOQ would first require a recognition of what Kotter
calls a sense of urgency for this type of initiative (1996, 35). That sense of
urgency does not widely exist within our existing Association at this time but it is
my hope that my Action Research Project would spark that sense of urgency.

	As a former lead pastor within the Oxford-Brant Association of Baptist
Churches, I have intentionally maintained relationships within the Association
church community with both pastoral colleagues as well as members of the
various congregations. Despite this reality, I admit that my capability to
strengthen forces successfully toward any potential change or working to reduce
or restrain forces against potential change, will still rely on invitation and
encouragement of interested pastors and churches. I write this knowing that power
formally vested in CBOQ pastors to unilaterally affect change is limited but also
with an understanding that their informal ability to influence that same change is
great. This is not to suggest in any way the use of manipulation or coercion in the
pastoral setting merely to get done what the pastor wants to see done. Instead it
highlights how, in their roles as ex-officio members of all church committees and
leadership teams, they are uniquely positioned to coach and encourage their own

[ Page ] 10



lay-leaders in the direction of the change they may be convinced is necessary for
the ministry.

	My underlying understanding of leadership and vision-casting is that the
proverbial bucket containing the vision for needed change in any organization has
a permanent hole in it, requiring that the bucket be constantly re-filled with
ministry vision and purpose. That refilling process is the leadership responsibility
of those trusted pastors who are seen by their congregations to be visionary
spiritual leaders. To ensure the ongoing refilling of the vision bucket with correct
information, as opposed to seeing it filled by detractors with misinformation,
interested leaders must take every opportunity to remind the congregation and
church leadership of what God has called us to do and the unique way he has
called us to do it. This, for example, means faithfully celebrating all successful
steps in the positive direction determined in this project. Every time pastors build
or strengthen another bridge into a deeper relationship with another congregation
needs to be celebrated publicly and God given the glory. This means taking every
opportunity to tell and retell those stories that positively affect congregational
ministry and encourage ongoing pursuit of shared mission in their respective
locales.

	The original distinctive purposes and mandates for the Association
organizational model of CBOQ was focused on improved communication,
fellowship and relationship-building between congregations. This was especially
important in a time when transportation and technology made gathering together
an extreme endeavour requiring effort and deep commitment to one another. In
2020 and given the technology available today, I wonder whether or not the

[ Page ] 11



typical local Baptist congregation in the Oxford-Brant Association of Baptist
Churches truly experiences improved communication, fellowship and
relationship-building. I further wonder if an exclusive alignment with other
Baptist churches is a consideration or in their eyes a necessity.

	I am convinced that the original purposes for forming Baptist Associations
is necessary but also believe that any new or revised framework to foster
associating between churches would need to contain the following distinctives.

	1. It must be Christ-centred and put the Kingdom of God above all.

	2. It must see the local congregation as a representative outworking of a
greater Kingdom mission and not as the mission itself.

	3. It must understand and respect historic polity without falling into the
trap of making an idol of the past.

	4. It must be voluntary in nature.

	5. It must foster deepening relationships between churches that make
associating a blessing and not a burden.

	6. It may not be unilaterally limited simply to CBOQ churches.

	The questions I ask and the solutions ultimately arrived at through my
Action Research Project, may not be revolutionary but their implementation may
still elude our congregations if we remain unwilling to embrace the value of
pursuing these simple concepts for the eternal growth of the Kingdom of God. It
is my hope that this portfolio will not simply be an addition to the empty talk in
our congregational ministries but will be supported with community-based
solutions leading to concrete action. Thus the subtitle for this portfolio “Wouldn’t
It Be Nice?”

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Key Terms

	Association - the entity or level of governance originally established via
voluntary regional collections of like-minded Baptist Churches as they sought to
pool resources and efforts toward a collective Kingdom mission.

	Convention - refers to the formalized voluntary gathering or organizing of
theologically like-minded Associations which themselves are comprised of
theologically like-minded local congregations and where individuals are given
authority to govern and lead but where autonomous leadership responsibility is
retained by the member congregations. To clarify: whereas denominations are
very often seen as top-down decision-making organizations, Conventions are
bottom-up decision-making organizations.

	CBOQ - an abbreviation which refers in this report to “Canadian Baptists
of Ontario and Quebec” and is the specific Convention by which I am
professionally accredited.

	Baptist Polity - refers in this report to the theological principles and
practices of faith which have historically delineated Canadian Baptists from other
denominations and Conventions. Such principles include but are not limited to
matters such as congregational governance, the observations of certain religious
ordinances and local church autonomy (Maring and Hudson 1991, 17).

	Appreciative Inquiry - refers in this report to the means of research that is,
according to Mark Lau Branson, “a different way for the people of an
organization to know, to communicate, to discern, to imagine and to experiment”
(2016, 21). This method of research might best be visualized as, at its root, a
conversation-based journey of celebration and dreaming intended to highlight the

[ Page ] 13



shared discovery of a preferred future for the organization in question. Key
principles of Appreciative Inquiry were utilized in this research.

	Participatory Action Research - refers to what Ernest T. Stringer describes
as “a collaborative approach to inquiry or investigation that provides people with
the means to take systematic action to resolve specific problems” (2014, 8). This
process might best be visualized as a framework calling on participants to
ongoingly “look, think and act” on a common problem or concern (Stringer 2014,
9). It is also iterative. Key principles of Participatory Action Research were
utilized in this research.

	English Standard Version (ESV) - This is the principal translation from
which I will quote throughout this portfolio. Where a differing translation such as
the New International Version (NIV) is used, it will be cited accordingly.

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CHAPTER II

I JUST WASN’T MADE FOR THESE TIMES: MY SPIRITUAL
AUTOBIOGRAPHY AND MINISTRY CONTEXT

Introduction

	In this chapter I will be unpacking my spiritual autobiography. It is my
intention that this autobiography will aid the reader in understanding better the
personal, and spiritual elements that have helped form my Philosophy of Ministry
found in Chapter III and guided my research project outlined in Chapter IV.

	The headings throughout this chapter, which demarcate the various phases
of my life, share names with the individual tracks of the 1966 album by The
Beach Boys called Pet Sounds. It is my conviction that this album and its song-
by-song exploration of themes such as loneliness, abandonment, feeling
misunderstood, redemption and a longing to feel complete serves as a perfect
musical framework for my spiritual autobiography.

	As indicated by the sub-headings throughout this chapter, I am innately
and wonderfully drawn to music as a means of communicating my inner thoughts
and feelings. It seemed that it was a waste of time trying to put into words or
articulate ideas and emotions lurking inside me if someone else had already said
or sung about those feelings far better than I.

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Pet Sounds

	The song title in the above heading refers to a kind of music that was
precious to The Beach Boys founder Brian Wilson and thus became his pet
sounds. For me it was with my parent’s record collection and enormous floor-
model stereo replete with an eight-track player and a turntable where I, at a young
age, began to discover “Pet Sounds” of my own.

	My parents grew up in the early 1960’s and this was reflected in their
record rack in our home. These black vinyl and plastic discs with labels
identifying such singers as The Beach Boys and The Beatles became the
soundtrack for my own childhood years just as they had for my parents. I can
recall watching the Capital Records orange and yellow record label drop down
onto the turntable as the needle arm automatically swung over and set down into
the grooves of the record I had selected. I can remember watching mesmerized as
that label swirled in circles and brought forward the most amazing and
revolutionary sounds I had ever heard. Those nearly two-decades-old songs would
routinely pour from those old forty-fives through the speakers or giant padded
headphones into my brain. Frankly it was a balm and an escape as, in the privacy
of my bedroom, I sought to identify with the vocalists whom I was naively
convinced were way more comfortable in their skin than I was in mine.

My intimate relationship with music continued into my high school years.
Having the school music room as a safe refuge likely saved my life during that
time in my life. I shudder at the dangerous behaviours I might have been drawn
into at that vulnerable stage of my life as I still sought desperately to be accepted
and included by my peers. Frankly, the risk of those behaviours was less about my

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getting into trouble itself, but more about that trouble subsequently placing the
school music room off-limits. This would make my safe place inaccessible and
was a prospect that I wished to avoid, and which served as a good boundary with
which to reign-in my teenage behaviours. The mutual dependence of instrumental
music I played within a band became integral to my thoughts about life and kept
me focused on a more positive use of my time and collaborative efforts.
Musically-speaking, a lone saxophone is okay for a few bars and practicing music
alone has its place, but the rest of the band joining in and working together
created for me a sound far fuller and more wonderful than any instrument being
played alone could ever be. The desire for partnerships and relationships to
accomplish what I could not accomplish alone has become a repeated theme
throughout my life.

	Thankfully, even as I was called to pastoral ministry, the vital presence of
music never left me. For the first several years of my ministry, out of my own
cheekiness and as an inside joke with myself, I would give the names of classic
rock and roll songs to my sermons. For example, a three-point sermon about
salvation would be named “Gimme Three Steps” as a nod to the southern rock
band Lynyrd Skynyrd. A message that focused on the person and work of the
Holy Spirit would be called “Spirit in The Sky” after the hit song by singer
Norman Greenbaum. And so it went as I, even while undertaking a new direction
in life, gave respect and paid homage to the music that had been the soundtrack to
my life up to that point.

	During early drafts of this portfolio I was in pastoral transition and not
serving in a congregational context. During that time, I embraced a season of

[ Page ] 17



renewal and restoration, both emotionally and physically. Unsurprisingly one of
the activities that helped me through this time involved my own substantial vinyl
record collection. As a means of distraction and simply for the pleasure of it, I
launched a music-based podcast called “What IS This?” focused on strange and
rare records from my personal collection. The title was informed by my own
words frequently spoken aloud after placing an unfamiliar or little-known
recording on my turntable. Having concluded this little project after twenty-two
episodes, I can confidently say that it was fun while it lasted and served an
important purpose in my inner healing and restoration. Music has always been
what spoke to me clearest; what soothed my ache and healed my soul. This has
been especially true even at this stage of my life.

Wouldn’t It Be Nice

	In the lyrics to the song titled above, the writer wonders, “maybe if we
think and wish and hope and pray it might come true.” I reflect in this section on
that which I thought, wished and hoped for in my formative years.

	On one hand I want to offer the cliché declaration that I experienced a
typical childhood although I am unsure what a suitable definition for “typical”
might be when it comes to examining one’s own life and spiritual development. In
hindsight, I can at minimum attest that I was brought up in an unchurched,
unsaved family where matters of faith and spirituality were not spoken about nor
practiced with any personal intentionality. I have often joked that Jesus’ name
was frequently heard in my family though usually very loudly in moments of
abject frustration or anger while working in the garage! I do remember, however,

[ Page ] 18



that my sister and I were constantly encouraged to offer prayers at meals and at
bedtime. Reflecting on those practices I am unsure today why that was made,
primarily by our mother, to be such an important activity. It was not as though
either of my parents had an observable personal faith which they sought to pass
along to us. I suspect it was simply a matter of a worldly routine or ritual of
wishing for some sort of good luck not unlike the crossing of fingers or blowing
out the candles on one’s birthday cake. Despite my still unanswered questions
about the religious practices that marked my childhood, I must admit today that
through these embedded daily actions, seeds were being planted even then which
would bear fruit in my life some thirty years later. One thing I can say with
confidence is that my childhood did not contain much if anything that would
suggest a personal commitment to Jesus Christ or a career in church leadership.

	A near-death experience at the age of four following a bout of epiglottitis
left my throat visibly scarred and caused me to become very self-conscious about
this perceived flaw for years afterwards. That medical emergency coupled with
my academic promotion from kindergarten straight into grade two due to my
having mastered the expectations of grade one before the school year even started,
were two events that were formative. I would, for example, regularly wear
turtleneck shirts to hide the tracheotomy scar on my throat and for the next ten
years would largely without success try to keep up emotionally and
developmentally with my schoolmates who were now all at least a year older than
I was.

	Covering up a lack of confidence over who I was while pretending to be
something that I was not became both a habit and an escape for me. Specifically,

[ Page ] 19



the presence of this habit contributed to my adopting a lifestyle of denying my
actual identity and playacting as someone else who was perhaps older, smarter,
more self-confident or even healthier. At the same time my ongoing failure to
understand, or be understood by, my father meant I further developed what I
would term a “performance mentality” designed as a fruitless attempt to earn his
approval. The most painful example of this fruitlessness and the one that still
echoes in my mind took place at my grade eight graduation ceremony. At the
ceremony I received more awards and accolades than any other student in my
graduating class. As I was having my picture taken with my parents and an armful
of plaques and certificates my dad offered one ill-timed comment that articulated
how my approval-seeking from him was fruitless. As the photo was taken, he
simply told me not to rest on my laurels. Perhaps this was his own ill-advised
attempt to spur me on even to greater things, but it had the exact opposite effect. I
was emotionally devastated. For all that I had achieved socially and academically
it felt like it simply was not enough. As a result, I essentially stopped trying to
succeed academically. The grades which had placed me at the top of my grade
eight class in June plummeted just months later to the point that I was barely
passing my grade nine courses.

	I can now see where these feelings of being out of place and out of time,
feeling unaccepted and unacceptable all lead to my lifestyle of pretending and
acting my way through my formative years. Since I would not find total and
complete acceptance in Christ until many years later, this negative habit with its
fruitless results continued throughout high school and into early adulthood.

[ Page ] 20



That’s Not Me

	The song titled above contains introspective lyrics about a person who
realizes they have been pretending to be someone they aren’t. This is an apt
descriptor for a portion of my life where I presented outwardly as someone much
different than who I was internally.

	By the time I had arrived in high school I was still unsure of who I was
and who I wanted to be. My participation in a variety of musical, dramatic
productions and of course concerts and music festivals allowed me to test
different personas and characters while at the same time providing for the much-
needed round of applause at the end of each show.

	My predilection toward acting, pretending and endorsement-seeking
continued beyond high school when, after graduating, I found a job as an on-air
radio announcer at the local AM radio station. I spent the next seven years using
my newly developed radio voice, still acting and seeking the approval of my
employer and my listeners but now being paid for it. There was no guessing or
supposing about my relative acceptance or performance approval either, as a
ratings book would be published regularly which would tell the tale in black and
white.

	Interestingly, among the very first duties I was given was ensuring that a
series of religious broadcasts were readied and aired at the designated time. To be
clear, neither the radio station ownership nor the staff culture shared the values of
these programs; they were simply income generators as each program paid for its
time slot. Once again whether I was consciously listening or not, God’s truth was
being presented in my hearing five nights a week which again causes me to

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wonder about what spiritual seeds were being planted even as I was simply going
about my regular daily responsibilities.

	While still employed in the radio broadcasting business, I got married. I
was just twenty years old and my wife had turned eighteen the day before our
wedding in 1989. As yet another example of how little awareness I still had when
it came to Christianity and the Bible, when planning the wedding ceremony the
minister asked if there was a particular Bible passage I wanted to have read during
the service. I froze. On the spot I could not name a single passage or verse of
scripture but then it came to me. Some words bubbled up from deep down inside
and I suggested a few lines from a song I remembered: “to everything turn, turn,
turn, there is a season turn, turn, turn” (Byrds 1959). Thirty-one years later I can
still vividly recall how the minister was quite gracious as he helped me
understand that I was partially quoting a folk song written by Pete Seeger and
only partly citing a verse from the Bible.

	It is convicting and not a little embarrassing to look back and see how, for
the first few initial years of our marriage, I simply pretended my way through
early adulthood. In many ways, my choices and decisions in marriage and life at
this time were intentionally based on doing the exact opposite of what I reckoned
my father would do were he in my place. It was not so much that I was
unappreciative of my father or felt particularly unloved by him; it was just that
having been abandoned by his own father at a very young age, parenthood was
something he never seemed comfortable with or was particularly invested in.

	Our first daughter was born in 1993 with our second daughter arriving in
1996. At one point, while still working in radio, I came to the realization that

[ Page ] 22



there was simply much too much at risk for my daughter’s sake for me to
continue going through life as a pretender lacking in character and integrity. I
cannot identify what had caused this new, reflective streak within my character;
all I knew is that this child was watching me intently and learning from
everything I did in the same way I had done with my own father. I decided she
needed a better example than what I was showing her. While I enjoyed the ego-
reinforcement of being on the radio, I concluded that I no longer respected the
person I had increasingly become in order to be seen as successful in the
broadcasting industry. For this and other reasons, with no employment on the
horizon, in March of 1994, I walked away from the radio business and the paid,
professional pretending and performing of the prior seven years.

I Know There’s an Answer

	In the song whose title heads this section, Brian Wilson sings “I know
there’s an answer, but I have to find it by myself” (Beach Boys 1966). This
section contains the details of my realization that Jesus was in fact the answer for
which I had been unknowingly searching my whole life.

	There was a significant telephone conversation on the night before I quit
radio that must be included in this spiritual autobiography. Knowing that I was
committed to leaving my job the next day, I telephoned my wife’s uncle (who at
the time was employed by Human Resources Development Canada) to discuss my
decision to quit. While we talked, he spelled out my legal expectations following
my resignation and he helped me to see that there would be no financial upside to
quitting the following day. But then the tone of the conversation changed. After

[ Page ] 23



dealing with the professional realities I would be facing, he then turned to my
personal reality. While I cannot remember his exact words at the time, they must
have been gentle and Spirit-led as any other time I would not have been interested
whatsoever in spiritual things. In any event, I do remember him prodding me
about my priorities in life. He observed how it seemed that the decisions I had
been making in life had led me to a pretty unsatisfactory emotional place (if I
were to quit my job with no future plan in place). I could not disagree with him.
He then challenged me by asking how much worse it could be if I let someone
else lead my life for me. (He was witnessing to me and I was surprisingly
listening with resolve.) I remember after getting off the phone self-consciously
praying a stumbling, fumbling prayer asking God to intervene. It is to that
evening and to those events that I trace the tangible first steps toward salvation
and my eventual journey with Jesus Christ.

	At roughly this same point in my life, my beloved mother was diagnosed
with breast cancer. She had been the one person from whom, throughout my
entire life, I never had to seek approval. Perhaps her effusive support of me was
an attempt to counterbalance what may have been absent from my father but in a
matter of just a few months from her original diagnosis, she would be gone from
my life. I still look back on the year 1994 with a mix of disdain and gratitude.
That was the year that all of the things that I thought would be present and
foundational in my life, forever disappeared: first my career and then my mother.
However, I also have eternal appreciation for that year too because these events
helped put me on a serious journey to faith that helped me discover who I really
was for the first time in my life.

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	Not having been discipled in my formative years resulted, when I did
come to faith, in a very logical and pragmatic approach to faith and ministry. To
this day I still find myself excitedly drawn to those things that have never been
done before as a means of reaching those who have not been reached with the
transformative power of the gospel of Jesus. I believe my ability to have an
objective view of the church and to embrace methods and models of ministry that
increase our gospel effectiveness is a God-given leadership strength for me. At
the same time, I admit that there is a dark side to this strength in that I can be
dismissive of those models or methods that stopped working a long time ago
without thoroughly understanding their history and purpose. I believe my
awareness of this reality (as I studied inter-church relationships for my Action
Research Project) has aided me in looking with discernment on the life and
practice of churches such as mine. Moreover, this awareness helped me to seek an
understanding of why the churches that participated in my research do what they
do and the way that they do it. This research along with its findings will be
described in Chapter IV.

God Only Knows

	The centrepiece of the entire Pet Sounds album, this song seemed apt as a
heading for the section of my spiritual autobiography detailing my early Christian
discipleship.

	My decision to place importance on developing a deeper personal faith
had an immediate impact on my home life. My all-in personality was certainly
evident at this time as; like a spiritual sponge, I sought to soak up everything there

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was to know about faith, the Bible and salvation. Unfortunately, this inner
spiritual change and its outward impact was negatively affecting my marriage. As
I was actively trying to cast-off my former identity as the worldly, prideful radio
announcer that Annette had married, my persona, language, interests and passions
were all changing.

	In the autumn of 1994, our family routine now included regular church
attendance. Being among a congregation on Sunday morning was initially
something mature and appropriate to model for our daughter but soon became a
formative activity for me personally and for my later call to Christian leadership.
It was also something which Annette was doing her part to understand but with
increasing difficulty. Having decided to start attending a church, we simply went
where some of my extended family were attending. In addition to all of this, I had
been assured by our pastor that in her final days and more lucid moments, my
mother had accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and as a result was in heaven at that
moment. That was the tipping point for me in pursuing the things of God. I knew I
had to get serious about having Jesus in my life if I ever hoped to see my mother
again.

	It was my decision to be baptized by immersion that assisted Annette in
better understanding my new-found passion for Jesus. In preparation for baptism,
the pastor set up several home visits to explain the ordinance, its biblical basis,
and spiritual importance. Annette was invited to sit in on these living room
sessions and eventually began to ask questions of her own. I was still running at
top speed in pursuit of the will of God but as a result of these baptism

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conversations, Annette had begun her own tentative first steps as well. We were
eventually baptized together on April 23, 1995.

	One day while still relatively new to church and young in my own faith
development, I was named the youth group leader for a small cluster of teens. I
felt totally unprepared and wholly unready to lead the group when the leadership
role was thrust upon me only minutes before a group meeting was to begin but I
was not one to back down from the challenge. The previous leader felt like her
effectiveness had waned and her unilateral recruitment of me was enacted out of
desperation. While I do not condone this method of leadership development it was
the beginning of my fledgling desire to disciple young people in the Christian
faith even as I was spiritually growing right alongside them. I remember that first
group of young people with a deep fondness. In-keeping with my natural
inclination, I made sure everyone felt included all the time and was valued
individually for who they were even if the lessons I was teaching were
theologically shallow. Bible studies, campouts, pool parties and overnight lock-
ins were just some of the experiences I had with those teens and which I treasure
to this day. I still proudly displayed a group picture of them in my office some
twenty-two years later.

	Success in that leadership role soon led to another leadership opportunity
in our church, this time as a Deacon. As my church leadership muscles had
strengthened working with the teens, the role of Deacon now allowed me to use
those same muscles in spiritually leading and caring for adults. I eventually
became the Chair of Deacons at our church and was in that position at a time of
significant conflict within the congregation. Remembering this period, I can truly

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say it was a valuable season in the refining and strengthening of my rapidly
developing leadership skills. One skill in particular that was strengthened was that
of active listening. During the conflict to which I just referred, the ability to listen
objectively to both sides of a theological debate to hear better the heart behind
each vantage point might explain my choice of an Appreciative Inquiry style
method in my portfolio research. That manner of research relies largely on
listening to participant opinion, experience and related emotions surrounding the
research subject at hand.

You Still Believe in Me

	I chose this song title as a heading for this section due to its lyrics which
depict the singer’s amazement that his wife/spouse would still support him in life
after all the times he admits to having disappointed her.

	It was just three years after having been saved and following several
successful church leadership opportunities that I began to sense an even stronger
pull to follow in the footsteps of my pastor by pursuing pastoral ministry. Since
1995 I had been working in a secular administrative, managing role that had
become complicated due to my employer also being my father-in-law. I began to
wonder if being a minister was really the profession I was meant to have. It would
take schooling, money and about five years of commuting but I felt like it was
doable. This was really stepping out, trusting God and working to discover my
identity as a beloved child of God. With the encouragement of trusted advisors
along with the support of both my pastor and my wife, I began a seminary degree

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program at McMaster Divinity College in Hamilton, Ontario in September of
1999.

	It was just months before beginning my part-time studies that I was laid-
off from the job that I was becoming increasingly disillusioned with anyway. The
university was roughly an hour drive each way from my home and I had multiple
classes each week. My now-evaporated job had been ideal in its flexibility and
resulting income which now created a new problem for me and my family.
Annette and I both recall offering a very specific prayer at that time which
included a checklist of matters that God had to work out for us if this seminary
track was really in his will. The checklist involved him providing me another job
located geographically near to my previous one as we had a single vehicle and
such an arrangement would allow my wife to drop me off while she took the car
as needed. In addition, the job needed to bring in a wage that matched my
previous employment and the employer needed to be understanding of the fact
that all of the concessions regarding time and finance would eventually lead me to
one day leaving that job as I presumably entered ministry. To our utter shock the
Lord delivered on every one of those specific requests almost immediately as I
was contacted by a Christian businessman located within sight of my former job
who hired me and encouraged my ongoing studies. I later learned that he had also
been a seminary student at one time but did not pursue the calling. For that
reason, he was glad to help me accomplish what he had not. It was hard to deny
that God was in this!

	It is important at this juncture to say that this move into seminary though
God-led served to exacerbate the spiritual gap that still existed between my still

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deepening practice of faith and Annette’s. The previous changes in language and
mannerism were only heightened by the seminary experience and my own
inattention to affirming Annette left her to wonder what my call to ministry would
mean for her. While I had clarity about my call, that call was making things
increasingly unclear for her. God proved faithful once again as the seminary
offered a marriage workshop weekend for students and their families. This event
had not been done in recent memory and would not be repeated in the subsequent
five years I was a student there but its timing and content were a stark reminder of
my need to care for my wife’s faith journey as well as my own. It is amazing to
look back on this marriage enrichment event at the seminary and realize that the
facilitators and leaders would come into our lives roughly a decade later at
another pivotal point of spiritual growth.

	Another critical event for both my spiritual and leadership development
happened at roughly the same time as that marriage weekend. Just six months
after I had begun seminary, I was asked to preach for one Sunday at two small,
rural, churches about thirty minutes from my home. With gratitude I accepted the
opportunity as a means of gaining experience and real time ministry education. It
took three weeks and an unknown number of hours before I felt the sermon for
that designated Sunday was acceptable. When the day arrived and after having
conducted the service in one church and driven to the other church to do it again,
the chair of Deacons of the second church pulled me aside. She asked me if I
could return the following week to preach again and my immediate inner response
was to decline the offer. However, I agreed and somehow managed to cobble
together a sermon for the following week. I was already learning the

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unpredictability of pastoral ministry schedules and was rolling with the punches.
That seemingly ordinary Sunday of pulpit supply turned into a fruitful nine year
stay with those churches. After a time of sharing responsibilities with an older,
retired minister with whom I traded-off responsibilities every other week I soon
became the solo, part-time pastor and eventually the solo full-time pastor. I look
back on those nine years as some of the best training a young pastor could ever
hope to gain. Despite missteps and mistakes aplenty, those churches were
gracious, forgiving and incredibly encouraging. I wish it were the case that every
seminary student or student pastor was afforded the same loving, positive
atmosphere in which to establish and grow his/her professional skills. Since I
know this is not so, I am even more grateful for what I experienced among those
people and the way in which God was shaping me through them.

	It was perhaps my recognized inexperience and desire to please the
congregations that caused me, as had become a life-long habit, to lean into the
other pastors and churches in that particular Association. I know I benefited from
their examples and advice and saw in time how much stronger my leadership
became as a result of that inter-church relationship. It would be my wish that this
same positive experience be part of the leadership journey of any pastor new to
the call or for that matter new to our local Association. This too points to the
reasoning behind my research topic.

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Don’t Talk

	I felt that this song title would be appropriate for a section detailing how I
came to a place of having to listen intently to the voices of others with regards to
the ongoing states of my faith and my health.

	For all that was coming together in my ministry call, a potentially
dangerous convergence was happening in my emotional life during this particular
“boundary season” (Clinton 1988, 49). As someone with a marked history of
performing and pretending in order to gain acceptance, I recognized the need to
be increasingly self-aware while preparing and delivering sermons. I needed to
ensure that, first and foremost my sermons aided others in seeing Christ and were
not, inadvertently, about people seeing or approving of my Sunday morning
performance. Each week I was keenly mindful of my own weaknesses and found
myself wrestling with the weight of delivering sermons that would encourage my
giving glory to God instead of stroking my own ego. I would like to say I figured
out and mastered this tension very quickly, but as old habits die hard, sadly I did
not. Even as I was continuing to deepen my own faith, at the same time I was also
investing more intentionally in the spiritual formation of others than I had ever
done before. I did not always manage to balance these two realities in a healthy
manner.

	As the years progressed and as the heaviness of this responsibility
continued to settle in, so too did a dark, simmering sense of frustration. The same
passion, sacrifice and desire toward serving God that I was pursuing was not, in
my estimation, broadly reflected back within the church context. I was, for
example, outraged at other pastors who had chosen not to pursue formal

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theological training and whose congregations numerically outsized mine. I was
irritated that the sacrifices my entire family was making while I pursued studies
was not more appreciated by those around me. I recall being incensed in church
meetings at the lack of evangelism and outreach efforts the churches in which I
was serving were bringing forward. I was immensely disappointed during an
Annual Meeting at one of the churches when the people decided that taking the
time and effort to craft a clarifying ministry mission statement for the church was
not something they wanted to do. In short, this congregation was not interested in
doing the work necessary to bless their local community! I also remember at that
time conducting a Good Friday service and being totally convinced that no one
was really listening to the words I was preaching, and as a result was not even
able to look out at the gathered congregants as I stood in the pulpit. Sadly, the
congregants were seemingly oblivious to the cause of my rapidly growing
frustration. It was in that season when I finally realized from where that darkness
originated. While some of what I just shared would probably still aggravate me
today, I now know that my frustration and even condemnation of the people of
those two churches was not primarily about them. It was about me.

	I was diagnosed with major depression in September 2008, a diagnosis
that explained my moods and outlook as well as many unproductive behaviours
that comprised my earlier restless years. Once medicated and treated
appropriately, the heaviness that had attacked my self-image, appetite, sleep
patterns and joy was lifted. It was an incredible and nearly brand-new sensation to
feel well again after what I later estimated to be twenty-five years of untreated
mental unwellness. I even came to love and appreciate the churches I was serving

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in a new and different way than I had ever done before. Today I can joke that the
churches were so much nicer and easier to get along with once I was medicated!

	Today, I still live with mental health challenges that need to be medicated
and managed. I have been humbled to use my story of God’s grace in this way to
encourage and support other Christians who wrestle with their own mental health
difficulties and its related impact on their spiritual lives. This too is just another
way for me to role-model, encourage and contribute to productive and healthy
inter-church relations among Association churches which is the heart behind my
research.

Let’s Go Away for Awhile

	In this song from the Pet Sounds album, the singer longs to step away
from his current context and to go out into the world to see and experience new
things.

	While I was still pastorally leading those two churches in 2006, I realized
that my excitement for Christian leadership development had increased
dramatically thanks to several formative travel and study opportunities through
my denomination. The first was a trip to an international church leadership
conference in Atlanta, Georgia. While there, I was exposed to some of the biggest
names in Christian leadership who had influenced my leadership thinking. The
second trip just one year later, was an international trip to the locations of the
seven churches of The Book of Revelation in modern day Turkey. It was while in
the city of Izmir (formerly known as Smyrna) that I heard the audible voice of
God. His words laid even more foundation in my leadership development when

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he stated, “Turkey is not the end, it’s the beginning.” I understood this to mean he
had greater things in store for me in ministry. This has repeatedly proven true
including in 2008 when I applied and was accepted into the Arrow Leadership
Program based in British Columbia.

	The Arrow Leadership program is a global training program that promotes
itself as being uniquely crafted to increase the effectiveness and skills of those
who are already recognized as gifted leaders in the Christian community. It was a
great honour to have been welcomed into the twenty-seventh Emerging Leaders
Class at Arrow Leadership. I was amazed to discover that the President of Arrow
Leadership at the time was Brenda Pue and that her husband Carson was also in a
significant leadership role with Arrow Leadership. These were the same two
people who had led the marriage enrichment retreat at McMaster Divinity College
in the year 2000! Before my acceptance and first residency at Arrow Leadership, I
already knew that God was in this. From 2009 to 2011, I would be shaped and
reshaped by that Arrow Leadership experience beginning in a surprising way.

	Part of the Arrow Leadership process is that participants are assigned an
advisor whose role it is to guide them through a time of tearing down and
rebuilding. When I say tearing down it is not that we were personally torn down,
but that blind spots were identified and addressed. In God’s providence, my
assigned advisor looked just like my dad! The one whose job it was to help me
deal with issues stemming from my childhood, was a doppelganger of my father.

	In one consulting session, he led me in a prayer of confession and release
where various lies that I had internally accepted were to be named and any
supernatural or spiritual blockages that exist were to be removed as much as

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possible. Following one of my prayers of confession my advisor informed me that
I had not followed the well-intentioned format to be used for the prayer. In that
moment however all that I saw was my father looking at me and telling me it was
not good enough and that my performance in this act of prayer had failed. The
resulting anger and aggression that my advisor willingly and graciously received
from me was cathartic in achieving and receiving the spiritual freedom I
recognized as a result of my Arrow Leadership experience.

	It was under his tutelage that I finally came to an acute understanding of
the dangers of leaving my historic performance mentality unconfessed before God
and realizing that performance thinking and need for approval flew in the face of
God’s grace. I was also lovingly guided in forgiving my father for his unwitting
contribution to my proclivity towards performance.

	At about the time this Arrow Leadership journey was starting, I was also
sensing objectively that my time in leadership at Dutton/Iona Station Baptist
Churches was coming to a healthy and timely completion. In the spring of 2009, I
was called by Queensway Baptist Church in Brantford, Ontario to become their
lead pastor. The relationship with the congregation was a blessing through to the
conclusion of my pastorate there in spring 2020.

	Queensway Baptist Church was also very supportive of an invitation I
received from a mission agency in 2017 asking me to come to Nicaragua as a
visiting instructor on Christian Leadership principles for local pastors and church
leaders. This was a whole new experience of cross-cultural ministry for me. I was
humbled and blessed to be entrusted by Threefold Ministries with this measure of
pastoral influence. I eventually travelled to Nicaragua on two separate occasions

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as an instructor with the more recent trip having been in October 2019. Indeed, as
I heard in Izmir, travelling to a different part of the world was just the beginning
of this journey!

	Finally, in the fall of 2017, a divine stirring took place within me. Because
of my undiagnosed mental unwellness during the time I was studying for my first
degree, that whole educational experience was thoroughly unpleasant for me. So
unpleasant that I did not even attend the graduation ceremonies. The degree was a
necessity for denominational accreditation and as such, simply a means to end in
my thinking. Due to my undiagnosed mental illness, I had not been my best self
then and had no desire to ever return to formal degree-related studies.

	But God prompted me to explore the possibility of attaining a doctorate in
ministry at Tyndale University. An advertisement for the program had appeared,
unsolicited in my Facebook feed and I clicked on it with the express purpose of
reminding myself why I would never embark on such an academic endeavour.
Nevertheless, I found myself drawn to the concept. For the previous ten plus years
my wife had repeatedly told me that despite my protestations, I would one day
pursue further education. Surprisingly, the ability to pursue this degree in a
manner that is designed to edify my pastoral ministry and not compete with it (or
rob time from it) became attractive to me. That there was an entire track dedicated
to Christian Leadership, a topic that has become my passion was and is quite
exciting to me as well. I am eager to see how the culmination of this work in the
spring of 2021 contributes to the legacy of my pastoral leadership within God’s
Kingdom. The opportunity presented through preparing this final portfolio and to
spend dedicated time researching a topic that is of great personal importance to

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me is another tremendous benefit to this stage of my leadership and personal
development. Choosing the particular research element that I did seems to have
sprung up from that deep place within me that longs for healthy, communal
learning and mutually supportive relationships between people, pastors and
congregations.

	This brings me to the most current events in my faith development story.

I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times

	The heading of this section also serves as the sub-title for this entire
chapter. In this song, the singer reflects on the way that his imagination and
personality are so unique that they are often misunderstood. This has been my
own experience as well. Perhaps this is why personal mentoring and inter-church
associating is such an important issue to me. My own sense of social and familial
disconnection early in life and the resulting impact on me might be predominant
among the reasons that healthy connections with and between others is such a
passion for me.

	Two of the four main assessment tools in the “Formation of The Leader”
class at Tyndale University were the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (or MBTI) and
the Gallup organization’s StrengthsFinder instrument (Rath 2013). Completing
these measuring instruments was enlightening, informative and affirming
especially the MBTI which identified me as being INTJ.

	A person with a determined INTJ personality is described by this
assessment instrument as being:

	1. Introverted socially as opposed to Extroverted.

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	2. Intuitive in information gathering as opposed to Observant.

	3. Thinking through matters objectively as opposed to being driven
	   by Feeling.

	4. Judging which relies on set rules for decision-making rather than
	   the more relative approach of those known as Perceivers.

	Understanding these personality traits and especially those which applied
directly to me helped put many of the events recorded in the previous sections
into a healthier, informative context. The “I” and “J” in my personality type were
almost foregone conclusions once I understood their qualities. I have learned to
manage my extremely introverted nature. I cannot concretely decide, however, if
my introversion score was this high my whole life or something that has markedly
increased since understanding my mental health challenges. Certainly, both
depression and anxiety frequently keep me searching for quiet restorative times so
perhaps it is related.

	I believe both the “N” and “T” personality traits compliment my
introverted typology as they seem to be informed naturally by my admittedly
reserved and quiet nature. As one who watches, listens and learns in nearly all
settings, I am convinced I have become better equipped in my information
gathering and have developed a growing confidence in tackling matters
objectively rather than subjectively. I do however admit to having a measure of
difficulty accepting evidence of my being a “T” rather than an “F” in my MBTI
identification. A single conversation with my professor in that course however,
clarified this. After having received my results I was certain that it was incorrect
and that I was thoroughly people-centred and therefore more of an “F” than a “T.”

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When the professor asked me why, I explained that ensuring the wellbeing of
people ensures the wellbeing of the organization and therefore the effectiveness of
the ministry. She pointed out that my thoughts were primarily about the
organization with its systems and processes and only secondarily about how the
health of individuals themselves contributed to that. I was evidently not as people-
centred as I first thought! Inattention to how my personality is presented and how
I impact others through the various dimensions of my personality type could also
compromise my witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ. For this reason above all
others, I must consciously continue to work in a self-aware manner to manage
both the dominant and the non-dominant sides of my personality appropriately
whether it is in my personal or my leadership life.

	While these first three elements of my personality have likely developed
incrementally over time, the “J” identification is assuredly something that I am
certain has been part of my personality for my whole life. This makes sense to me
as I reflect on a lifetime of moving effortlessly and determinedly from season to
season with little nostalgia, hanging-on or backward glances. Closure and moving
forward to the next stage or step of life seems to come easy to me and I have
always reached very easy conclusions to the various seasons of my life with
minimal regret. I distinctly recall at the conclusion of the final band practice of
my grade twelve year returning my instrument to the shelf and not even taking my
saxophone reeds with me. I knew that this part of my life was over, and I was
perfectly fine with that. Moving forward into new chapters and new challenges
comes second nature to me and the embracing of new life chapters has also come
easily as I have moved from hobby to hobby, home to home, career to career and

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even church to church throughout my entire nearly fifty-two year lifespan. On the
downside, due to the insight gained through this assessment tool, I can now better
appreciate how this “J” trait has inadvertently meant I have shunned people whom
I was previously in relationship with when the terms of our relationship changed
for some reason. While it is true that there is a season for everything, I fear my
personality may have hastened the changing of those relational seasons as I
moved too quickly toward closure and hurriedly moved onward. This is sobering
to consider.

	With regards to the StrengthsFinder34 assessment, my top five strengths
begin with “Responsibility,” which means I take psychological ownership of what
I say I will do and am committed to stable values such as honesty and loyalty. My
second strength is identified as “Connectedness” in which people like me believe
there are few coincidences in life and that almost every event has meaning. My
third strength is “Belief,” which means I have certain core values that are
unchanging and that I derive a defined purpose for my life out of these values. My
fourth strength is “Restorative,” which suggests a heightened ability in dealing
with problems and at figuring out what is wrong in a situation and then resolving
it. The final strength identified is “Learner,” which is defined as having a great
desire to learn and a want to continuously improve. In this sense it is the process
of learning, rather than the outcome that most excites me and to take that
conviction even further, it is from the application of that learning that I gain the
most satisfaction. My belief about inter-church relations and the very
connectedness that I value have, in my view, largely informed and driven my

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DMin research and my desire to see these traits among associating CBOQ
congregations.

	Reviewing these five traits, I have little questions or doubts about the
accuracy of this assessment. For example, it is a strong sense of responsibility that
drove me to be a better example to my wife and children and to leave my original
career. This same strength saw me step forward to take responsibility for the
leadership of a group of teens (when no one else seemingly would) and later to
lead the Deacons of that church in a time of spiritual conflict. It is also this
strength that can be seen in the protective and defensive nature that I bring
forward in the face of threats to the marginalized, hurting and vulnerable that are
connected to my congregations and in my personal life.

	For its part connectedness might best be seen in the pattern of thinking
that led me to a career in radio broadcasting. This trait also lends itself in a
significant way to my conviction that working together with others accomplishes
far more than my working alone which is why I long to see ministry unity and
partnership not only within our churches but also among our churches. This is
why through my research project I am inviting practical action from a variety of
churches that would contribute positively to inter-church relationships.

	The strength known as belief manifests itself in my life in my need to play
by the rules and respect the processes and structures in place (at least as I
understand them) and have those around me upholding the same principles and
values. Recognizing and naming the core values that drive me has become a tool
which I have recently begun employing in my interpersonal interactions with
others. This new awareness helps me identify and name those impulses and

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reactions within me when engaging someone holding a differing worldview or
belief from my own. It is no doubt a strength but as with every strength, left
unmanaged it can also have a destructive side which provides me with ongoing
reasons for continual reflection and soul-searching.

	I can also see the way that both the restorative and learner traits work
collaboratively within me as I can perceive not only the problems and tensions in
a situation but can then formulate thoughtful solutions to those problems. Perhaps
it is the deep-seated desire for all parties in each setting or situation to work
together with agreement and purpose despite holding differing opinions that
drives me to seek out community-based solutions to what I perceive to be
community-based challenges specifically within the Baptist Associations to which
I am professionally and personally connected.

	Finally, I was affirmed by the results of a third assessment tool—a 360-
degree feedback report—which indicated consistent strengths in the category of
“Leadership Competencies.” It is one thing to consider myself a competent leader,
it is quite another thing to have others affirm it. I appreciated the feedback and
was also not surprised that I consistently scored myself significantly lower
throughout the assessment than did my selected participants.

	I was also grateful for a much-needed area of growth in the area of
“Emotional-Social Responses.” Regrettably, how I act and react in a variety of
social or emotional situations such as times of conflict, debate, high emotion, or
key decision-making is unhealthy. The responses from my peers revealed that I
am consistently perceived in these situations as being impatient, too quick to
respond when in disagreement; taking an abrupt tone with those with whom I am

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upset or who are upset with me, and taking conflict too personally. In short, these
responses were not what I expected.

	That these responses could possibly be accurate in their depiction of the
way in which I am perceived by those with and to whom I minister was very
troubling. And yet in reflecting honestly and prayerfully about my emotional-
social responses, I realized quickly that I had two clear choices before me. First, I
could reject these comments and consider their content to be unavoidable parts of
my personality that I have no control over, or second, accept this feedback and
seek to be the best version of myself that I can be. I rejected the first option
because I knew full well that all the people who answered this extensive
assessment tool did so to assist me in growing personally, professionally and
spiritually. For that reason, I have embraced option two and plan to include these
comments in my mental health counselling appointments in order to root out
systematically the basis of my behaviours. In terms of mere management
strategies, I have developed a personal mental filter so to speak in order to screen,
identify and monitor my attitudes and behaviours when differences of opinion
arise. I have already seen positive progress and will explain more in the next
section as I explore what my leadership future could look like.

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Current Ministry Context

I’m Waiting for The Day

	The lyrics in the song which serves as the heading for this section reveals
that the singer feels strongly about certain ideas and beliefs but also knows that
the ideal time to pursue those ideas hasn’t come yet.

	At the time of this writing, my ministry context was senior pastor of an
urban congregation called Queensway Baptist Church. More specifically the
Association being examined in this research portfolio is known as the Oxford-
Brant Association of Baptist Churches. The Association is named for the two
neighbouring regional counties within which the member churches reside. This is
the Association within which my pastoral placement was located.

	From a personal standpoint I have been accredited with the CBOQ for
eighteen years and have been both preaching and pastoring in the convention for
twenty years. In 2005 I was ordained to congregational ministry within CBOQ at
the call of Dutton Baptist Church at an event conducted by the Elgin Association
of Baptist Churches where I was serving at the time. Having been a member of
two different Baptist Associations I have made it a practice not simply to criticize
from the sidelines but rather to be an active part of seeking solutions to increase
the effectiveness of shared gospel-centred partnerships between associating
churches. This involvement has included holding various Association Executive
positions and being an active part of multiple unsuccessful attempts at revising
and restructuring those formal Associations. As this research portfolio deals
directly with the ministry realities facing my own Association context, it is worth

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Figure 1 Current Composition of Oxford Brant Association
[ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for Figure 1 details ]

examining challenges and
realities currently faced by the
member churches of the Oxford-
Brant Association of Baptist
Churches and how my personal
faith journey has prepared me to
help bring about God-glorifying
solutions. As the infographic
seen in Figure 1. states, member
churches of Oxford-Brant county
are challenged by a lack of
congregational attendance and
participation which creates a
cyclic dilemma, often resulting in
a self-reinforcing downward
spiral.

	For example, low
attendance for Sunday school
creates, by extension, a lack of
volunteers, which in turn, creates
a shortage of programming
opportunities. A shortage of
programming opportunities
affects the potential for increased

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attendance in those programs, which then reinforces the original challenge to
volunteers and resources. This problematic cycle is seen in many ways in these
primarily small, rural charges and impacts related issues such as budgeting,
staffing, building maintenance and upgrades, and use of technology.

	Related to the above challenges are those connected to the increased
consumerism in today’s churches. By consumerism I am referring to the attitude
toward worship and church involvement that is predominantly evidenced in the
Western church context and is centred around personal satisfaction. Whether a
demand for better children’s programming, a church volleyball team or more
women’s events, when the religious product being offered by any one church does
not meet the satisfaction of the religious consumer’s perceived needs they go
elsewhere. Frequently that individual will respond to their own dissatisfaction by
simply shopping around for another congregation who will satisfy those felt-
needs. Author David Wells suggests that American evangelicals are permitting
consumerism to restructure their faith to the degree that the “God of mercy
becomes a god at our mercy!” (1994, 114). This reality creates the temptation in
ministry to focus on putting on a better show than the church down the street to
accommodate attendees which in turn reduces the gospel to being a commodity.
This is an all too real temptation among church leaders, in the end, also places the
imperative message of the gospel of Christ in a secondary or tertiary priority
position. As a recovering performer and shameless self-promoter, I have had to
buck this trend in the church and actively resist the temptations to lead in ways
that draw attention to the church or me rather than on Christ Jesus.

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	As previously identified, Baptist Associations were formed for the
purposes of sharing resources, offering support and mutual encouragement
between theologically like-minded congregations. Ironically these historic
principles do not appear to be actively valued nor widely employed in today’s
CBOQ Associations in ways that could combat the trends referenced above.

Here Today

	I chose this song title as a heading for this section due to its depiction of
the passing of time and the way that, to the singer, those things that are present
today seem to disappear all too quickly.

	While certainly not a new problem to the church, this congregational
rivalry on Sundays remains a very real predicament. Forty or fifty years ago the
existence of the Lord’s Day Act in Canada meant that few social activities could
or would take place on Sundays. This reality contributed in no small part to the
historic high attendance many churches enjoyed in the 1950’s and 1960’s as
legally, there was little else competing for that precious time (Reimer and
Wilkinson 2015, 15). By the time that act was officially abolished in 1985,
Sunday had ceased to enjoy an exclusive place in the weekly calendar. Now such
options as grocery shopping, attending sports activities, entertainment facilities or
fulfilling employment obligations make Sunday worship attendance just one
option among many. The predictability of attendance that the church once knew
has given way to the redefining of regular church attendance from twice every
Sunday to just twice per month (Lifeway Research 2020).

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	Finally, as this portfolio is being assembled, there is one enormous
unknown that the local Oxford-Brant Baptist Church faces and that is the fallout
related to COVID-19. While some congregations were able to pivot toward
creative solutions such as an increased online presence during the prescribed
season of social distancing, many others in the Association did not or more to the
point, could not. It is plausible that the previously mentioned challenges have
conspired to make congregational recovery questionable for numerous member
churches throughout the CBOQ Congregations in which attendance and offering
had been barely passable before COVID-19 now face a massive threat to their
continued existence.

Conclusion

	I feel equipped to ask these and many other questions in a way that
perhaps many church attendees cannot. As my spiritual autobiography detailed, I
was not raised in the church and so was not brought up to respect without
question Baptist traditions. As one who came to faith in adulthood, I feel today as
though I can better and more objectively see both the beauty as well as the cracks
and faults in the church that many have forgotten were even there. I am not
claiming to be all-knowing or the final voice on inter-church associating, it is
simply that my faith journey has given me a perspective on the identity, purpose
and mission of the church that many do not have. It lets me, on one hand, be
critical of her flaws and blemishes while on the other hand still being deeply in
love with her as the redeemed and beloved bride of Christ.

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	Finally, I trust that by having read this chapter, the reader can, through the
revelation of my spiritual autobiography, understand better my own spiritual
development as well as those elements that have helped form my Philosophy of
Ministry found in Chapter III and guided my research project detailed in Chapter
IV.

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CHAPTER III

A DEVELOPING PHILOSOPHY OF LEADERSHIP

	There is, as my spiritual autobiography in Chapter II attests, an historical
pattern of on-the-job learning during my personal and professional development.
In this chapter, I intend to examine the origins of this educational conviction
which was shaped within a non-Christian home. I also will explore how I have
come, as an adult and Christian leader, to understand the theological basis for this
leadership philosophy. This will include exegeting its scriptural imperative and by
articulating the way it is uniquely seen in the methods I employ when striving to
develop leaders.

Part One: The Emergence of an Empowering and Equipping Leadership
Philosophy

	The at-home schooling provided by my mother surpassed that which was
being offered in the formal school setting and resulted in my advancement one
full grade from kindergarten directly to grade two. Later, I entered the radio
broadcasting industry with no formal training or education and instead was
encouraged by my employer to figure it out on the job while being coached along
by various radio veterans on staff. I am a visual and experiential learner who
places enormous formative value on hands-on instruction through being witness
to the work of others. John Stott suggests we can be “shaped more by culture than

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by Christ” (2016, 113) which perhaps explains how these traits became deeply
rooted as my own philosophy of leadership developed even before I was aware of
the need for Christ in my life.

	My initial forays into volunteer Christian ministry first as youth leader and
later as Deacon involved no specific training either but afforded many practical
opportunities for learning through simply doing it. Professionally speaking, I had
become a regular preacher/leader in a church after just six months of seminary
studies which meant a whole lot of figuring out of ministry while on the job.
Truly, the first nine years of professional ministry were replete with daily on-the-
job experiences of success and failure thereby providing life lessons. The
commonality of all these life experiences was the equipping and empowerment
afforded to me, the reflexive choice to lean into those more experienced than
myself and the chance in it all to reflect and learn important lessons in real-time.
This hands-on manner of training and education with its integrative nature and
resultant sense of personal and professional accomplishment is in fact what
attracted me to the DMin program at Tyndale University.

Scriptural Basis

	As I grew in knowledge and understanding of the Bible and as my
philosophy of Christian Leadership developed, I was drawn to the scriptural
events of Luke 10:1-24. In this passage, Jesus empowers seventy-two of his
disciples (how the consensus on this number emerged will be examined later) into
the mission field. This commission was evidently for the express purpose of
having those disciples apply the Kingdom principles with which they had been

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equipped by Jesus over several years while allowing these lessons to move from
theoretical concepts to practical activity. Despite Scott Rodin’s assertion that a
Jesus-centred leadership model is “too simplistic and worse obfuscates Jesus’ real
mission” (as quoted by Burns, Shoup, and Simmons 2014, 92), Jesus-centred
leadership has become foundational in my philosophy of leadership. This will be
exegeted fully within this chapter.

	I find this passage to be relevant in an examination of Baptist Associations
due to its depiction of Kingdom-advancing efforts, ministry partnerships between
invested people and the way that Jesus training of the disciples was intended to
prepare them for future ministry events in which they would partner together. One
can also see other scriptural precedents for ministry partnerships among believers.
The depiction within the gospels of the way that ministry took place from within a
network of houses is one example. The healing of Peter’s mother-in-law in Luke 4
highlights the sort of shared ministry activity that happened when believers
gathered together in one another’s homes. The apparent connectedness of the
churches named in Revelation 2 and 3 also displays the overlapping and shared
ministries that these churches shared due to geography and shared convictions
surrounding Jesus Messiah.

Compositional History of The Text

	Authorship of the Gospel of Luke has since the second century been
traditionally attributed to the physician Luke who was a ministry companion of
the Apostle Paul. Several New Testament passages including Colossians 4:14 and

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2 Timothy 4:11 record Paul’s thankful regard for Luke. Less well attested
regarding authorship matters for this Gospel is the suggestion that the Gospel
bearing Luke’s name was in fact written by a Syrian from Antioch. The majority
opinion leans toward the associate of Paul mentioned in scripture which I accept
as well. With authorship attributed to the same writer as the Book of Acts, this
Gospel’s composition is generally agreed to be circa 85 AD although some
sources add or subtract as much as ten years or more (Brown 2015, 226). The
earlier composition date could possibly explain why Luke makes no mention of
the destruction of the second temple in 70 AD. It is conceivable that the event had
not yet taken place.

	Given the content and style of this writing, the author is evidently an
educated Greek-speaker, who knew the scriptures in Greek but was not an actual
eyewitness to Jesus’ ministry. It is possible that the author was a convert to
Judaism before becoming a Christian but was not a Palestinian convert. Such a
description would certainly include Luke the ministry associate of Paul the
Apostle (Brown 2015, 226).

	Bock, despite accepting Lukan authorship and the passage’s unity,
nevertheless observed that its structure is “complex and confused” (1996, 986).
Some of this confusion enters the discussion when trying to determine Luke’s
primary source material. As this passage from Luke 10 parallels that which is
recorded in Matthew 10 and 11 but with different content surrounding the return
of the disciples following their evangelistic endeavour, one must ask from where
did Luke’s information derive? As one who subscribes to Markan priority for his
Gospel and considering the non-Markan material recorded in Luke’s Gospel, I am

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forced to wonder how much of Luke’s writing depended on Mark’s earlier
account of Jesus commissioning his disciples. In addition, I remain curious as to
how much of Luke’s source material relied on other written accounts such as the
“Q” document and how much relied on verbal accounts of eyewitnesses which
were passed along to him. These questions have remained debated points among
international scholars for generations and while important to mention and
consider here, will not be solvable within the context and scope of this portfolio.

Genre and Structure

	The Gospel that bears his name, broadly resembles the other Synoptic
Gospels in structure, character and style. The Gospel genre was a unique creation
of Christian writers, determined partly by the realities of Jesus’ life and partly by
the necessities of the Christian mission. In this sense Luke’s Gospel joins the
books of Matthew and Mark in being a focussed biography or historical narrative
concentrating on the words and works of Jesus in his public ministry, especially
those details associated with his death and resurrection. One source I consulted
suggested that this book belongs to the biographical tradition of antiquity and
should be filed as a “Hellenistic biography” due to its inherent claim of being
written about an historical figure (Theissen and Merz 1998, 103).

	Structurally, the verses being observed here in chapter 10 of Luke’s
Gospel are comprised of several different and distinct sections. These sections or
movements closely mirror the four stages of my personal philosophy of leadership
have undoubtedly impacted me and as such will be expounded upon later in this
chapter. The chronological placement of these four sections and their synoptic

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parallels within the geographic and historic ministry of Jesus is difficult to assert
concretely and many possible combinations exist when it comes to ordering the
content. Despite this chronological challenge, Bock has titled each of the four
sections anyway as follows: Instructions, Woes, Return and Thanksgiving (1996,
986). I am attracted to and am guided by this formatting and as such will observe
each section in more detail in a later portion of this chapter.

Historical Context

	I am indebted to Martin Marty’s book The Christian World for a clear
depiction of the historical, cultural and social background of the Gospel of Luke.
His description of the life setting for these events with thorough details and vivid
imagery was most helpful in aiding my understanding of the text and its place
within the world where the recorded events originally occurred (2009, 11).

Historical Background

	In terms of geography the events within this passage take place in the
region known informally if not imprecisely today as the holy land. This is the
very land that was promised to Abraham the recognized grandfather of the nation
of Israel and later granted to his Israelite descendants many centuries later. At the
time of this biblical occurrence, the region of Judea beyond the Jordan fell within
what was commonly referred to as “Roman and Herodian Palestine” (Tomasino
2003, 275).

	The political climate surrounding this biblical passage is a complex web of
rule, royalty and reticence. At the time of Jesus’ ministry and the commissioning

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of Jesus’ disciples, the supreme ruler of the land was Emperor Caesar of Rome.
The promised land once belonging to the nation of Israel had, over time, fallen
into the hands of Rome and had become part of the Roman empire as so-called
“provinces” (Tomasino 2003, 246). As a result, at the time of the Luke 10 events,
the Hebrew people were living under foreign occupation with direct local
authority placed in the hands of local Roman governors or procurators. The
Roman empire installed these representatives to oversee the conquered land,
maintain order and stamp out any hint of insurrection that would threaten the Pax
Romana (Roman peace).

	While the Roman occupation was an everyday reality for the land once
owned by the nation of Israel, there remained in nominal power over the Jewish
people themselves King Herod of Judea. The Herodians were a royal family of
oppressors whose jealousy of anything or anyone that threatened their power went
back to the time of the birth of Jesus and even farther. The Herodians as a result,
figure prominently in the historical and political context of the story of
Christianity itself.

	Power also resided in the ranking Jewish social collective known as the
Sanhedrin. This was the Jewish Council of seventy men charged with acting as
the local arbiters of justice and order (Tomasino 2003, 205). The Sanhedrin
operated with deference to Rome while at the same time remaining under the
cultural rule of the Herodians and was therefore reticent to say or do anything that
might risk their prized social standing and cultural authority. For all their social
and religious power however, there were limits to the authority under which the
Sanhedrin operated. As is observed in the events directly following the betrayal

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and arrest of Jesus and which are recorded in the Gospels, it becomes clear to the
reader that the Sanhedrin was not permitted for example to sentence a person to
death. Such a judgment needed to come from the ruling royalty or ruler which
explains the actions that eventually led Jesus to the Roman Governor Pontius
Pilate.

Cultural Background

Religion

	The centre of Jewish religious life, as had been the case for generations,
was the Temple of Jerusalem. In the surrounding locales however, the synagogue
served as the place where religious teaching, instruction and devotion would have
been lived out. Daily life for the Jewish citizenry was governed by the rabbinic
understanding of the Laws of God as recorded in the Torah whose writing is
attributed to Moses. Such intricate understanding of the law was finely detailed in
every way. To cite an extreme example this included the number of steps one
could take on the Sabbath before it would be considered work and therefore a
violation of the sabbath rest commandment. Expectation that the anointed
Messiah would come and rescue the oppressed people of Israel ran high in this
atmosphere of persecution and the virtual exile the people faced in their own
homes as well as in their hometown (Tomasino 2003, 300).

	The recognized religious leaders in the temple, synagogue and Sanhedrin
would have included the high priest, local rabbis and religious sects such as the
Pharisees, Sadducees and Zealots. These socially high-ranking members of the
Jewish citizenry were constantly engaged in a grand scheme of appeasement

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toward every layer of political governance previously mentioned. For these
reasons they were reticent to do or even allow anything that would be upsetting to
their Roman occupiers. At the same time, while presenting a reverence for the
laws of God, they also showed great deference to the royal family of Herodians. It
takes very little imagination to appreciate the way that Jesus’ radical message of
justice and peace in the name of God threatened to upend the delicate and self-
serving balance upon which the Jewish religious leaders depended.

Ethnically

	While Jerusalem was a hub for Jewish life, one should not assume the city
was monocultural. By virtue of the previously mentioned political and cultural
realities underpinning the life and ministry of Jesus, it is obvious that there was a
collision of multiple ethnic cultures informing everyday life for the first century
Judean resident. Every day the typical Jew would be engaging with his/her own
people in his/her mother tongue. Jews would also, out of necessity, be engaging
their Roman occupiers in whatever Latin they knew. An additional literary
demand involved communicating with the still-growing Hellenistic community
within Jerusalem. It is also clear from the words of Jesus himself such as those
recorded in Mark 5:41—“Taking her by the hand he said to her, ‘Talitha cumi,’
which means, ‘Little girl, I say to you, arise’”—that Aramaic was also a language
in regular use in the region surrounding Jerusalem at that time.

	One of the more obvious historical and biblical events which points
directly to the multi-cultural reality at that time is seen in the details recorded in
John 19:20. It is in this scene where the Roman Governor Pontius Pilate after

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having condemned Jesus to death by crucifixion, orders a sign be hung on the
cross over Jesus and that the message of the sign be written in three different
languages: “Aramaic, Latin and Greek” (John 19:20 ESV). Such a step was
perhaps designed to communicate the desired message “THE KING OF THE
JEWS” (John 19:20 ESV) to as many people as possible taking into consideration
the main languages spoken by the typical person living in and around Jerusalem.

Social Background

	While not what would later become known in cultures such as Southeast
Asia, Pakistan or Nepal as a caste system, first century Judea most certainly had
categories or strata of people whose inherent social position dictated the treatment
they received in the greater community. In the period surrounding the events of
Luke 10, this would be true for tax collectors who were often Jewish citizens
themselves collecting tribute for Rome and therefore seen as traitors to their own
people. In addition, other marginalized individuals would have included
prostitutes, the diseased and the physically or mentally disabled. Notably it was to
all of these and more with which Jesus’ intentionally socialized and to which he
ministered.

	Another significant element of Jesus’ radical message of justice was seen
in his treatment of women and children. Socially, women and children were little
more than appendages in the life of a man. Jesus’ teachings brought an
unapologetic heightening of social stature to those accustomed to being
marginalized even in their own homes and unaccustomed to being shown respect
and being granted social value.

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Literary Context and Canonical Placement

	The Gospel that bears Luke’s name is a member of the synoptic Gospels
which also included the Gospels of Matthew and Mark. Luke provides a third
perspective on the person and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth that aids the reader in
achieving a more rounded view and vantage point. While the Gospel of John is
also numbered among the New Testament Gospels, with its content being ninety-
two per cent unique material when compared with the content of the synoptic
Gospels, it stands uniquely independent. At the same time, even with its inherent
uniqueness, I believe it plainly testifies to the gospel truth of Jesus as being the
long-awaited Christ of God.

	Luke’s own declaration at the opening of his gospel that what follows is
an “orderly account ... that you may know with certainty of the things you have
been taught” (Luke 1:3 ESV) explains well the intended accuracy and chronology
of the events that he then proceeds to record. The Interpreter’s Bible breaks
Luke’s Gospel up into seven sections all based around various stages of Jesus’
own life and ministry from details of his birth to the events regarding his ultimate
resurrection from the dead. For its part the passage under examination in this
paper is included in the section titled “On the Journey to Jerusalem” (Buttrick,
Bowie, and Knox 1952, 8:24). On the other hand the New International Version
Study Bible divides Luke’s book into three geographically determined sections
with the events in Galilee being recorded in 4:14-9:50; the events in Judea and
Perea from 9:51-19:27 and the final week in Jerusalem from 19:28-24:53. In both
of these sources, the passage under examination falls into the section
encompassing Luke 9:51 to Luke 19:27.

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	It is in this section of teaching and preparation for the events still to come
in Jerusalem where Jesus, knowing his time on earth is comparatively short,
determinedly preparing his followers for what was to come. One means of that
preparation is observable in the details of Luke 10:1-24. Within Luke’s orderly
retelling of the good news of Jesus and during a period leading up to Jesus’ final
arrival in Jerusalem the reader encounters the Lord enacting his own manner of
empowering leadership development and one which has shaped my own
Philosophy of Ministry.

Literary Analysis of the Text

	Contributors to The Interpreter’s Bible identify the style of Luke’s Gospel
as “non-literary Greek” (Buttrick, Bowie, and Knox 1952, 8:3). Such a category
encompasses writings that are typically short and to the point, and do not use a lot
of figurative language like imagery and metaphor. These writings usually contain
detailed facts and figures and universally have a main idea, a purpose, and an
intended audience. These descriptors certainly match Luke’s Gospel, it’s style and
declared intent.

	In terms of the writing style, these same commentators point out that the
language of Luke’s Gospel demonstrates an outstanding command of the Greek
language which is also intentionally geographically and culturally sensitive in
nature. Bock for example suggests that in a more Jewish setting such as within
Jerusalem itself, Luke is seen to use more Semitic language while his references
to Paul were delivered in a more Hellenistic context (1996, 6).

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	To examine the passage more specifically as a means of literary analysis, I
have chosen to follow the four sections by Bock referenced earlier in this paper.
These sections of Luke 10:1-24 are once again: Instructions, Woes, Return and
Thanksgiving (1996, 986).

Section One: Instructions: 10:1-12

	After having journeyed with his disciples for many months during which
time he has been preparing them for the time when they would preach the
nearness of God’s Kingdom themselves, the time had finally come. Before
dispatching the seventy-two, Jesus offers some final instructions beginning with
directions regarding prayer. Here Jesus positions the work the disciples are about
to undertake in its proper place which is under the headship of God. By
instructing the disciples to pray to the Lord God to “send out workers into the
harvest field” (v. 2). Jesus is plainly providing a stark reminder to the disciples
about whose work they are undertaking and who they are being sent out to
represent. In this way, before a single step is taken, Jesus offers instructions to
first pray and then “go” (v. 3).

Instructions regarding reception

	Beginning in verse 5 Jesus presents some instructions to the disciples
about how to respond to those whom they will encounter on this missionary
journey. The Lord instructs the seventy-two to bless each home they enter and
accept whatever hospitality is offered. At the same time and in return, the
disciples are instructed to bless the people in the towns they will visit through

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communicating the nearness of the Kingdom of God and healing the sick. In these
directives Jesus also prepares the disciples for those certain times when they
would not be made welcome by those they met.

Instructions regarding rejection

	In his final words of instruction to the seventy-two, Jesus advises them
with regards to the inevitable rejection that they will receive to the Kingdom
message they were to bring. In verse 10 Jesus tells the disciples—should they
enter a town and not be welcomed—they should then continue to another location
but not without first having at least expressed the hopeful message of the nearness
of God’s Kingdom. Jesus knows the price that rejecting the hope of God brings
and expresses these thoughts through the pronouncement of woe on several cities
in the Galilean region that had previously rejected God’s invitation and hope.

Section Two: Woes: 10:13-16

Woe on Chorazin and Bethsaida

	Little is known about the city of Chorazin but Darrell Bock suggests that
it’s grouping with Bethsaida and the subsequent woe pronounced on Capernaum
indicate they were geographically near to one another—perhaps less than eight
kilometres apart (1996, 1003). The point of their mention by the Lord however
has less to do with geography than it does with the rejection he found in all three
cities in response to his work. By referencing the Old Testament cities of Tyre

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and Sidon, Jesus is equating Chorazin and Bethsaida with two of the most
egregious acts of rejection toward God contained in the scriptures.

Woe on Capernaum

	Capernaum had served as the centre of Jesus’ ministry in the region of
Galilee. In this sense that city had seen and experienced much of Jesus’ divine
power at work. Yet citizens seemed to have largely rejected the invitation into
God’s Kingdom as evidenced by Jesus’ powerful words of condemnation here.

Section Three: Return: 10:17-20

Joy of the disciples at their authority

	An unspecified amount of time passes between the departure of the
disciples in verse 16 and their return in verse 17. During this unstated period,
Jesus’ own activity is not recorded nor are the specifics of the work of the
disciples. The collective return of the seventy-two includes a firsthand report
about the mission field and harvest and is accompanied by great joy and
happiness as they jointly share their perceived successes. The disciples are
bubbling over with delight as they describe the spiritual authority they had
wielded while away from Jesus.

Jesus’ response about the greater honour

	In reply to the enthusiastic debriefing that the disciples share with Jesus,
the Lord takes the opportunity to use their perceived successes as a teaching point.

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To remind his followers of appropriate priorities while serving in God’s
Kingdom, he states plainly to them that success is not measured by interactions
with hell but rather with the promise of heaven.

Section Four: Thanksgiving

To the Father

	As this event concludes, Luke records Jesus drawing this mentoring
session to a close in the same way he had begun it, with prayer. Jesus first offers a
thankful prayer to God the Father for all that he has revealed to the disciples
through this missionary journey. Jesus further praises God for his decision not to
use the wise of the world for this mission but rather those who are young and
immature of faith.

Blessing on the disciples

	As he completes this time of real time instruction, Jesus pronounces a
blessing on the seventy-two. He commends them for what they have seen and
experienced and reminds them of the great blessing God has given them through
having allowed them this real-time opportunity to be part of the harvest on behalf
of God the Father.

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Application for Leadership Development

Main Themes and Theological Message

	While demonstrating a brilliant model for leadership development, Luke
10:1-24 does so while stressing the primacy of mission within the Kingdom of
God. While encouraging dependence upon God, Jesus allows his disciples to
understand firsthand what it means to be part of God’s planned harvest. In the
course of this teaching, the Lord also allows the disciples to experience how great
in size the harvest is and how many more workers are needed (Bock 1996, 992).

	Jesus does not ensure or guarantee success in the mission on which he
sends the seventy-two. It is just the opposite; in fact, as he plainly prepares them
and their message to be rejected. In so doing Jesus reminds them of both the
gravity of the task they are undertaking as well as the gravity of declining that
divine message.

	Upon their return Jesus includes further teaching for his disciples
seemingly as a means of grounding their recent experiences. His intention appears
to be that the Kingdom message be kept accurate while at the same time ensuring
the disciples definition of was success based upon God’s actions and not their
own.

Theological Implications and Application

	It seems evident to me, as author Steve Addison suggests, Jesus taught, as
was Jewish tradition at the time, through the rhetorical device of repetition (2012,
47). Indeed, by the events of Luke 10, the disciples had already heard
approximately three years of firsthand teaching from Jesus in a variety of

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geographic settings and contexts. By the time the seventy-two are dispatched
here, they would almost certainly have been familiar with his lessons, parables
and sayings and yet Jesus did not assume at all that they had grasped his deeper
meaning and message after hearing it the first or even second time. It was
obviously insufficient for the Lord simply to assume or hope that his disciples
picked up the hopeful message about God’s Kingdom the first time he shared that
critical information with them. For this reason, the Gospels reveal multiple ways
in which he repeated that message through word and deed. This intentional
transfer of vital data is in keeping with Brad Lomenick’s concept of “passing the
baton (2015, 203). This becomes especially obvious following the death of John
the Baptist whose own primary message focused upon the nearness of the
Kingdom of God.

	The Jewish tradition of teaching and being taught through memorization
and repetitive action was clearly at work here. This principle is easily seen in
Jesus’ model of leadership development with his disciples where he shares a
concept thoroughly and repeatedly and encourages his students to experience the
weight of the message themselves in a practical sense. Afterwards Jesus would
debrief their subsequent experiences and perceptions and then correct or affirm
their convictions and understandings before commissioning them to do it all over
again. In short, he prioritized repetition and hands-on learning. These two vital
elements have been formative in my own leadership development philosophy.

	The method of being sent out to experience learning in real-time and then
debriefing the experience (as seen in Luke 10) can also be seen in the sending out
of Paul and Barnabas from Antioch (see Acts 13). The church leaders employed

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Jesus’ method of leadership development as they lay hands on these two, sent
them out together and then later received back from them the firsthand report of
what they had experienced in the course of sharing the gospel of Jesus.

	It is most specifically the concept of shared ministry demonstrated in this
event that connects it most directly to my personal philosophy of leadership. In
addition, the shared exploration by the disciples who were, by design, sent out in
pairs, informs the convictions surrounding Baptist Associations that prompted the
research component of this portfolio.

Summary

	I believe this examination of the Luke 10:1-24 passage and the evidence of
its rootedness in Christian discipleship since the earliest days of the Christian
church has been one that exposes its inherent truth properly while also
demonstrating reasons for my having based my own personal philosophy of
Christian leadership on it.

Relation to Transformational Leadership Philosophy

	As identified and explored in detail in the prior sections of this chapter,
my preferred method of leadership development and practical theology of
leadership is deeply rooted in the events found in Luke 10:1-24. Initially in
researching leadership theories, I saw numerous overlaps between this biblical
event and several acceptable models of leadership development. There were for
example the tenets of Path-Goal theory.

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	Peter Northouse describes Path-Goal theory as putting “much of the onus
on leaders in terms of designing and facilitating a healthy and productive work
environment to propel followers toward success” (2018, 117). Based on their
definition, R. J. Banks, B. M. Ledbetter, D. C. Greenhalgh, W. Dyrness, R.
Johnston, and M. De Pree (2016, 13) seem to posit that Path-Goal leadership
though not a perfect match in any sense, compliments in many ways the specific
events surrounding the sending out of the seventy-two disciples to which I have
referred.

	I was also encouraged by fellow students in this course to see the relation
to Servant Leadership in this biblical passage depicting Jesus’ way of leadership
development. Servant Leadership as a concept was originally put forward by
Robert Greenleaf and was based on his extensive observation of corporate
management practices (Banks et al. 2016, 13). That this model of leadership
reverberates within Christian circles is in no small part because of many of Jesus’
own words and actions such as those in Mark 10:43-45 when he washed the feet
of the disciples and declared that he came not to seek to be served but rather to be
a servant to all. Certainly many authors like Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges in
their work Lead Like Jesus argue strenuously that the “greatest leadership role
model of all time” is the Servant Leadership model embodied and perfected by
Jesus Christ (2008, 34). In the same vein one contemporary proponent of the
Servant Leadership model whose associated practice and life example was raised
in our class was Henri Nouwen.

	In the book In The Name of Jesus, Nouwen says the following about his
view of Christian leadership in the future: “It is not a leadership of power and

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control, but a leadership of powerlessness and humility in which the suffering
servant of God, Jesus Christ is made manifest” (1989, 92). If one looked only at
Nouwen’s very humble example of leadership as well as his correct observation
that Jesus sent out his followers in pairs (1989, 15) one might conclude this to be
the precise model best matched with the practices of our Lord. After carefully
reviewing Northouse and his considered handling of the Servant Leadership
model however, I rejected it as being the theory best matched to the biblical
events of Luke 10:1-24.

	Northouse describes Servant Leadership as “an approach focusing on
leadership from the point of view of the leader and his or her behaviors.” He goes
on to say, “servant leaders put followers first, empower them and help them
develop their full personal capacities” (Northouse 2018, 227). As my previous
exegesis of the Luke 10 event concluded, I fail to see where at any point Jesus, the
recognized leader, was focused on himself. Neither do I see that his main concern
was that the disciples were somehow being personally developed to their fullest
individual capacities. I maintain that Jesus is concerned chiefly with the reality
that the Kingdom of God was near and that many had not heard the Good News
yet. For this reason, Jesus’ primary leadership development purpose was
seemingly aimed at facilitating the sharing of that good news to a world that
despite having no other legitimate hope, would be hostile towards it.

	Author James Lawrence finds the concept of servanthood and Christian
leadership inextricable. By examining the events of Luke 22, Lawrence concludes
that Jesus is instructing his disciples on the key reality that any leadership offered
in his name must be marked in large part by servanthood (2004, 32). I cannot

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legitimately argue against this assertion altogether but neither do I accept it
conclusively as the final word on the leadership model most associated with the
ministry of Jesus Christ. Although many tenets of Servant Leadership are
inarguably seen repeatedly in the life and ministry of Jesus, nonetheless I
remained unconvinced that this model was the one best associated with my own
philosophy of Christian leadership.

	In the end, and despite the similarities and considerations of the above-
mentioned leadership theories, I still see a much sounder alignment between the
biblical precedent seen in Luke 10 and its subsequent Kingdom impact with the
leadership model known as Transformational Leadership.

Transformational Leadership

	Precise definitions of this leadership theory vary from source to source. In
Transforming Leadership, Leighton Ford describes Jesus as “the transforming
leader” (1993, 30). For its part, Max Depree’s definition of leadership includes, in
no small part, the critical qualification that “leaders are responsible for future
leadership,” which strongly points to the need for transformation in today’s
followers to become tomorrow’s leaders (1989, 14). Bernard Bass and Ronald
Riggio claim that this leadership theory involves “those who ... help followers
grow and develop into leaders by responding to individual followers’ needs by
empowering them and by aligning the objectives and goals of the individual
followers, the leader, the group, and the larger organization” (2006, 3).

	Finally, I examined Skip Bell’s definition of the biblical theology of
leadership which states “Christian leadership is the transforming relational

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process of a serving community sharing a common God-inspired vision and
purpose” (2014, 389). Bell further says this process is seen when “people freely
associate for the transformation of society, church, family and the individual”
(2014, 389). This highly relational element of Jesus’ leadership style is also
explored succinctly by Boyd Bailey in Learning to Lead Like Jesus (2018, 81).
Through the eleven leadership traits of Jesus he identifies, he ably points out the
manner in which those who seek to lead as Jesus did should seek to incorporate
healthy relationships in their own leadership lives.

	When examining the complexities of Transformational Leadership and
noting the many working definitions that exist and by examining the
commonalities in these varied definitions, one reality is certain. At bare minimum
that Transformational Leadership is at its root, a leadership approach that
intentionally causes change in both individuals and the social systems in which
the leadership functions. To take this thought further, when a leader applies the
principles of Transformational Leadership correctly it can create valuable and
positive change in the followers while still focusing on the primary end objective
of developing those same followers into leaders within their particular context or
society.

	It is perhaps important here for purposes of clarification to communicate
the difference between Transformational Leadership and Transactional
Leadership. Transactional Leadership according to Northouse focuses on the
exchange that takes place between leader and follower. This might for example
involve a leader offering a promotion to the follower who best follows the
leader’s desires and instructions. One of the simpler examples Northouse provides

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is the transaction within the typical classroom where the teacher or leader
provides a grade to the student or follower for the successful completion of work.
In contrast Northouse states that Transformational Leadership is not so much
about exchange as it is about connections between leader and follower. Examples
offered include the life and legacy of Gandhi as well as others who sought to
change the core values and related actions of the people which they were leading
(Northouse 2018, 164).

	Although he was not directly addressing Transformational Leadership
Theory per se, it was once again Skip Bell who eventually connected the dots for
me regarding this theory when he pointed out that “Jesus’ service was relational
and process oriented directed toward the transformation of those who would plant
the Christian Church” (2014, 360). Transformational Leadership has been
characterized as including an idealized and influential leader who offers
inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individualized consideration
of those who are being developed themselves into leaders (Northouse 2018, 169).
I believe we see exactly these traits in these early verses of Luke 10.

Transformational Leadership Excesses and Deficiencies

	It is also important before going forward on this subject to examine and
admit to the most obvious excesses and deficiencies of the equipping/empowering
basis of the Transformational Leadership paradigm that I argue for here. Among
the excesses of this model is that its requirement of a charismatic, visionary leader
has an intuitive appeal. Unchecked and unmanaged this can create emotionally-
driven followers rather than values-driven leaders. The charismatic leader within
this model who does not exhibit a healthy measure of self-awareness risks seeing

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leadership development as the mere copying or duplicating of the leader’s own
thinking and practice. The fact that this leadership development model is a
progression or procedure which Gervase R. Bushe terms “experience” (2011, 93)
is also attractive towards the process of transformation. Its focus on the needs and
uniqueness of the followers is also important, but this can just as easily become a
deficiency which I explore next.

	When I turn to deficiencies of Transformational Leadership there are
several that immediately present themselves. One major weakness in this theory is
the extent to which it relies on the charismatic, influential leader for success. In
the wrong hands and with the wrong motivations, this leadership model can easily
be abused to become autocratic while creating a sort of cult of personality.
Similarly, if the leadership process is unduly dependent on the traits and character
of the recognized leader and is not centred around the values and vision being
expressed by the leader for the good of the followers, it comes at the expense of
the societal transformation truly being sought.

Summary

	As articulated previously, I disagree with those who suggest that Luke 10
primarily displays Servant Leadership. In contrast I am in agreement with Nelson
and Dickens and see Transformational Leadership very much as a biblically
sound model of leadership development and evident in the passage under
examination (2015, 93). Despite the similarities and considerations of other
legitimate leadership theories, and after fully exegeting this biblical passage, I still
see not just a possible redemption of Transformational Leadership for leadership
development in a ministry context but I also see a more sturdy alignment between

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Luke 10:1-24 and Transformational Leadership than with any other theory
examined.

	It is within the research portion of this portfolio that I make an argument
for the need for transformation of the Association structure within CBOQ I
believe such a transformation can only be led through a model of
Transformational Leadership that encourages and promotes the value of inter-
church relationship to the degree that I am convinced it should be.

Applying this Scripturally Rooted Personal Leadership Philosophy

	It is true as the scriptures declare that there is “nothing new under the sun”
(Ecclesiastes 1:9) and that includes my Philosophy of Christian Leadership. What
I recognize as the paradigm most biblical and practical in my own ministry
context is in no way unique or revolutionary. In fact, this model has many
similarities to other existing leadership development theories being practiced
today. These include Mike Breen’s “3DM” (three dimensional ministry) model
where he identifies “Kairos Moments” where God’s will and plans for a person or
group of people is revealed sometimes in positive events and sometimes negative
(2011, 56). According to Breen this revelation is developed through a systematic
six-step process of observing, reflecting, discussing, planning, accounting and
acting which ultimately leads to a further cycle of the six procedures.

	Another similar theory to my own is the “practice-theory-practice”
position of Don S. Browning. In his brief reference to this theory, Browning
suggests practical theology to be better seen as what he terms “theology on the

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go” (as quoted by Ward 2017, 169) where reflection and the associated learning
that goes with it takes place between initial actions and their subsequent reactions.
This happens according to Browning in real time and as part of a cyclical method
of practical theology not unlike the corporate thinking behind continuous quality
improvement.

	In What Jesus Started, Steve Addison explores a circular four-step means
of discipleship that involves a continuous loop of learning. This process begins
with connecting with the workers (to use the language of Luke 10), sharing the
message with them, training them up to both own and share that message,
gathering again with them to discuss and debrief before starting the “loop” all
over again (2012, 236).

	Finally I acknowledge the example of learning developed by Laura Joplin
and included by David Livermore in Cultural Intelligence (2009, 199-206). This
method includes five vital stages Joplin posits to be necessary in the process of
learning and therefore vital to effective leadership. The first stage for Joplin is
“Focus” in which the emphasis is placed on the proposed lesson to be learned.
This is followed with “Action-Reflection” where the learner experiences the
lesson and, in some manner, “tries it out” for him/herself. Third comes the
“Support-Feedback” stage which involves the teacher or leader speaking into the
learning process as it’s happening for the purposes of challenging such things as
methods or even attitudes. Then Joplin suggests a fourth stage called “Debrief.”
This differs from the “Support-Feedback” stage in that it takes place when the
learning experience has concluded. In other words, if step three looks at what is
happening, step four looks at what has happened. Finally comes stage five which

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Joplin refers to as “Learning Transfer.” Simply put, this is where the lessons
learned via the previous four stages are integrated into the student’s lives and
become part of their everyday rhythms and routines.

	While I see value in all of the models just described, my own philosophy
of Transformational Leadership as seen within my own practical theology, is a
four-step practice that I have rooted in Luke 10:1-24. It involves the following
progression:

Figure 2 My Personal Four-Part Leadership Development Process
[ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for Figure 2 details ]

Concept

	This step is the foundational one upon which the entire rest of the process
rests. In many ways this starting point looks like that place in which Path-Goal
Theory starts in that a destination or purpose is necessarily depicted and
articulated before anything else happens. This is the place in the process where
the questions of what, why and how must be clearly expressed by the leader as
well as understood by the student or follower before any practical application of

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the concept is undertaken. This might involve purposely exploring such matters as
the nature of the vision or value the leader wishes both to communicate and
impart to follower, why this value or vision is significant (culturally, personally or
even spiritually) for the follower to grasp, and the means by which will the vision
or value will be pursued. These realities and more must be communicated in both
word and action to those being developed as leaders before any possible action
takes place.

	In the biblical precedent for this philosophy of Christian Leadership the
concept being imparted by Jesus in Luke 10 might best be summarized as “the
kingdom of God is near” (NIV v. 9). As their recognized teacher and leader, Jesus
had to ensure that his disciples understood the message and concepts at hand and
understood as much as they were able, what it meant and how they were expected
to communicate that message to those they would encounter on their journeys.

Action

	After concepts, and objectives have been communicated and (hopefully)
understood in Transformational Leadership Theory, the follower is to pursue them
tangibly. In Luke 10 Jesus ushers in the “Action” phase of his leadership
development plan with the single word “go” (v. 3). With this imperative along
with additional words of caution and reminder, he sent his disciples out onto the
mission field for what was an unspecified period of real-time learning and concept
application. This unrecorded period falls between verses 16 and 17 provided
opportunity for the disciples to apply the previously seen and taught concepts that
Jesus was asking them to undertake relative to the Kingdom of God. This is also
the empowerment element that is vital to successful Transformational Leadership.

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Theological Reflection

	Following the return of the disciples from their respective ministry
assignments, Jesus spends intentional time debriefing them and reflecting with
them on their just-concluded period of practical application (Luke 10:18). This
personal and relational approach to leadership development is also an integral part
of Transformational Leadership. The disciples had already begun to see the
change in themselves and reflect upon the results of that brief internship from
which they had just returned. Jesus, as their leader, reinforces that change of
perception and understanding with the intent that this new perspective (now being
held by the disciples) would be permanent.

Revised Practical Action

	In this my fourth step of practical theology, I see a crucial activity within
Transformational Leadership that will seek to embed the previous reflections into
future practice. This is simply another way of promoting the profound truth that
learning from practical application should always lead to the revision of any
assumptions or actions that prove contrary or counter-productive to the originally
stated objectives and goals.

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Part Two: A Case Study Applying This Philosophy of Ministry to the State of
Inter-Church Relationships in the Churches of the Oxford-Brant Association
Belonging to the Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec

Introduction

	As this Philosophy of Leadership chapter attests, I have a strong
conviction toward partnerships and shared ministry whether as individuals or as
entire congregations. For this reason, the Baptistic ideal of people and churches
associating together for the express purpose of enhanced and increasingly
effective ministry is not only attractive but to me it is an absolute. Sadly, this
conviction is not endorsed or supported even by those who have historically
aligned with Baptist life and thought. I find it baffling that congregations once
established on the principle of shared ministry and mutual support are, based on
my personal experience and observations, no longer broadly seeing value in that
conviction; in contrast many seem to be finding greater or equal value in not
associating with other congregations. The research project detailed in Chapter IV
is my attempt at addressing that reality through the lens of my philosophy of
ministry. It is also a means once again to envision associating churches thriving
thanks to the congregational partnerships they are enjoying.

Background and Overview

	The principle of CBOQ churches associating together for ministry,
encouragement and edifying communication goes back hundreds of years in the
history of our tradition. After twenty years of participation in CBOQ life, I have
witnessed increased ambivalence directed at the governance level of our

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convention known as Association. As evidenced by the task force report
referenced in Chapter I, this has been recognized at the highest levels of
governance in our convention with little forthcoming in the way of vision or
answers. Perhaps the concept of geographically clustered churches is a dead
notion. Is it possible that technology, culture, transportation and shifting
theological alliances have eclipsed the historic reasons for and benefits of
Associations? Through my research which sought to integrate and apply my own
Philosophy of Leadership here, I hoped to discover answers to what I perceived as
an ongoing conundrum.

Step One: Concept

	Simply put, the concept of shared ministry, pooled resources and mutual
encouragement has been bedrock in the history and tradition of Baptist churches
since their inception. As one who is convinced, as the scriptures testify in
Ecclesiastes—“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for
their toil” (4:9 ESV)—our churches may benefit from rediscovering this trust and
discovering new expressions of this ancient principle. I believe it remains true that
congregations humbly associating and serving together in ministry significantly
increases Kingdom effectiveness at the local church level.

Step Two: Action

	Whereas I am convinced there remains significant merit to continuing to
foster these concepts, I have witnessed and participated in multiple unsuccessful
attempts at renewal and re-visioning of the Association ideal. As a result, I accept
that something yet untried might provide the solution. There was no shortage of

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audible concern and complaint about the fruitlessness or even necessity of
associating together as CBOQ churches including in Oxford-Brant. In that light
my invitation for those congregations to work together via my research toward
possible shared solutions and fresh expressions of associating is my own best
effort to address those concerns and criticisms.

Step Three: Reflection

	As stated, I have been a member of two different Baptist Associations
over twenty years in pastoral ministry and have seen moderate attempts to
reposition Associations into a more relevant ministry resource to member
churches. In every case, success if seen at all has been temporary before an almost
determined return to what can only be described as intentional mediocrity. In
other words, associating together for ministry is not working successfully and in
fact is no longer as effective as it once was. Oddly, participation and appreciation
of the importance of associating is at an all-time low in the member churches and,
yet, those same churches continue to stick firmly and perhaps frighteningly to
what they know and have always done.

	Worse than not embracing change is what I term the toleration of change
so long as someone else shoulders the workload and responsibility. A real-time
example of this was seen in my former church where the Oxford-Brant pastors
would gather monthly for a lunchtime ministerial. The church where I was lead
pastor played host to this gathering for many years and was responsible for
everything related to the gathering including the menu. The associate pastor and I
could no longer manage all the work of preparing the setting and atmosphere for
inter-church associating and asked the other churches to share the workload for a

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while. No one did. The ministerial lunch stopped happening. After approximately
twelve months I floated an idea to restart the ministerial with a much more
intentional focus and purpose including continuing education and heightened
focus on prayer. There was a great outward response to this concept until I invited
the Association pastors to share responsibility for the content and execution of
this new model for ministerial associating. No one did and as a result it never got
off the ground.

Step Four: Revised Actions

	The twenty years I have spent on committees, task forces and leadership
teams seeking to maximize ministry efforts among associated congregations has
not seen a marked contribution to the positive renewal of inter-church relating and
that is nowhere more true than within the Oxford-Brant churches of CBOQ.
Seeking support from Annual Meeting delegates has not, as earlier outlined,
achieved this. Simply opening the floor for input and solutions from Association
clergy has not concretely addressed these challenges either.

	Reflecting on the concept itself and the requisite action needed to further
inter-church relationships between CBOQ congregations and applying my
Philosophy of Leadership suggests that some form of revised action is required.
Rather than declaring solutions that don’t receive broad understanding or renew
the Association model through new structures and constitutions without
consensus, a new course of action is needed.

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Conclusion

	In this chapter I set out to communicate the personal origin, theological
basis for and practical implementation of my Philosophy of Christian Leadership.
The following chapter records my attempt at applying this philosophy toward
addressing the shortcomings depicted above in the area of inter-church relations
within the CBOQ. Unlike past repeated attempts at finding solutions to our failing
state of inter-church relationships, it is my hope that any eventual plan arising
from my Action Research Project (detailed in Chapter IV) will bring about a
different outcome. With data analyzed and presented to an Appreciative Inquiry-
based focus group of CBOQ pastors and with next steps having been established
by that invested group of Oxford-Brant clergy, perhaps it will finally provide a
model and a setting for increasingly effective Kingdom ministry that can be
undertaken and enjoyed among the various congregations.

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CHAPTER IV

MY ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT

Introduction

	This research project examined the perceived value and necessity for inter-
church relationships among churches located in the Oxford-Brant Association of
Baptist Churches and belonging to the CBOQ. The voluntary historic clustering of
theologically like-minded churches located in geographic proximity to one
another for the purposes of ministry support, partnership and increased
communication has been organizationally enshrined in the structure and practice
of Baptist churches for at least four hundred years. The research objective that
drove this research asked whether or not the historic practice of Baptist churches
joining together for mutual support and encouragement is seen by the churches
themselves, specifically those located in the Oxford-Brant Association, to be
necessary or productive for the ministry of the local church in 2020. In this
chapter I will detail findings stemming from this question.

	The requisite methodological approach for this study utilized the
principles of Participatory Action Research. Three representatives from each of
the sixteen CBOQ churches in the Oxford-Brant Association were invited to be
research participants. Since the presence of COVID-19 made personal interviews
impossible, each participant was asked to complete a ten-question online survey

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using the SurveyMonkey platform. Further data were generated later in the
research process via an Appreciative Inquiry style focus group comprised of
CBOQ pastors from the Oxford-Brant Association. This invited group which had
the potential to number twelve pastors, was encouraged to respond from their own
experience and emotion to the analyzed results of the online survey. In the end,
four pastors comprised the Appreciative Inquiry style focus group.

Key research findings suggested:

	1. A lukewarm, dispassionate comfort by congregants with the existing,
historic organizational structure of their local church, the wider Association and
with CBOQ convention of churches itself.

	2. A sense that congregants felt ill-equipped both spiritually and
practically for ministry in the local church.

	3. A sense of discouragement in ministry at the local church level despite
belonging to an established network of churches ostensibly meant to encourage
and support one another.

Context

	This Action Research Project exclusively involved the participation of
both clergy and lay leaders in Oxford-Brant member churches with the exception
of four clergy who lead churches in other CBOQ Associations. Those four
additional participants were utilized to compare and contrast the responses from
Oxford-Brant.

	The Oxford-Brant Association of Baptist Churches included sixteen local
congregations located in two different geographic counties in southwestern

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Ontario. The average age of congregations in this particular Association of
churches is 165 years old. Of the seven Oxford-Brant churches who were willing
to be represented in the research data and based purely on the physical location of
their church buildings, three would be classified as city churches and four would
be considered rural.

	Survey respondents representing these churches were comprised of both
males and females though I did not quantitatively seek to identify the percentages
of each. I was however able to determine through self-disclosure by the survey
respondents that 26% of all respondents self-identified as being between the ages
of thirty and forty-five. Thirteen per cent were between the ages of forty-six and
fifty-nine and 60% self-identified as being over the age of sixty. Combined,
participating church leaders indicated having been active in their respective local
congregations an average of twenty-one years. This average includes the tenures
of both pastors and laypeople alike.

	Relative to the research question being explored through this data, it is
worth noting that at the time of survey completion, 48% of respondents indicated
a personal satisfaction with the current level of inter-church relations involving
their congregation. Conversely the remaining participants (representing 52% of
respondents) were not satisfied with the current level of inter-church relations
involving their congregations. This statistical division (nearly fifty-fifty) was
realized through a survey question soliciting a yes or no answer as to the
respondent’s personal satisfaction with the present level of inter-church relations.
The resulting answers, and ultimate conclusions to which the data lead, comprise
Chapter V of this portfolio.

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Models

Background from Scripture and Tradition

	The theological framework around which this research centres was rooted
in the Scriptures and then centuries later became ingrained in Canadian Baptist
tradition. The scriptural foundation for its original inclusion within Baptist polity
was, I initially felt, best seen through several biblical events. The first involved
Jesus, just prior to his ascension, charging the disciples with what has become
known as The Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). The second scriptural
precedent is that scene also involving Jesus Christ wherein he miraculously feeds
5,000 men and many more people with a mere five loaves and two fish (Matthew
14:13-21). It was my initial conviction that Jesus’ process of breaking the crowd
of people into smaller clusters for the purposes of a more efficient means of
service was a helpful metaphor for today’s Canadian Baptist Associations. As I
outline below, I have since concluded that this scriptural precedent is not as
aligned with Baptist history as I had originally concluded.

	As was already mentioned in Chapter 3, the model of house churches that
were essentially networking together in ministry as depicted in Luke 4 and
Revelation 2 and 3 are also informative when examining inter-church associating.
The example of the way in which resources were shared and encouragement was
offered among close-knit gatherings of believers would seem to provide a more
accurate precedent for the true reasoning behind the formation of Baptist
Associations. Sadly, this was a realization that arose once my research analysis
was already complete and was not made part of the research process.

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	In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus commands his disciples, upon his pending
departure, to put into action all the things that they saw and heard while studying
under him for the previous three or more years. Specifically, the Lord calls on his
followers to look outward; to go into the world with the Good News on their lips.
They are given authority in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit
and are called to teach, baptize and make new disciples of Jesus. Christ’s promise
is that his disciples won’t be doing this all alone; he will be with them all the way.
This succinct commission is filled with visible and measurable acts of ministry
that are meant to be evidenced as an outworking of Christian community. When I
reference efficient or inefficient ministry at the local church level in this portfolio,
it is the principle of outwardly expressing the love of God behind these and other
Spirit-led tasks which I hold up as a measurement of effective or ineffective
ministry. It is humble obedience to this commission, which I strongly believe
Christian believers through healthy inter-church relationships, have the potential
to best incarnate.

	A second scriptural incident which I considered as illustrative for Baptist
history and practice points to what I first saw as Jesus’ design for efficient
ministry within larger groups of people. All four Gospels (Matthew 14:13-21;
Mark 6:30-44; Luke 9:10-17; John 6:1-15) include the miraculous scene where
5,000 men are fed efficiently and satisfactorily. Mark’s particular record seemed
best to describe what I saw as Jesus’ facilitation of efficient ministry among such
a great crowd of people. In verse 39, Jesus instructs the mass of people to gather
in smaller groups of fifty or one hundred. From an organizational vantage point I
was originally seeing this structuring of the people as a means to provide for an

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orderly distribution of food as well as an opportunity to share resources within
each comparatively smaller cluster while at the same time also providing for a
smaller more intimate means of blessing and serving one another. As this chapter
will record, this scriptural illustration did not in the end turn out to be as helpful to
my research as it seemed to me at first glance. This biblical event for example
nowhere implies that the smaller clusters of people grouped together by Jesus for
the meal that day had any future shared activity for which they were being
prepared which was foundational in the establishment of Baptist Associations. In
the end I concluded that this biblical imperative did not in any marked fashion aid
my research efforts to determine whether or not an intentional relationship among
congregations remains relevant or necessary to the people of the Oxford-Brant
Association of Baptist Churches.

Research Resources

	This section references the research resources that were of the greatest
help during my Action Research Project. As depicted in Figure 3, these core texts
can be grouped into three connected categories that when overlapped, form a
Venn diagram of their collective contribution to my research. As depicted in the
diagram, category one encompassed those resources that informed my
understanding of the essential practices of academic research itself. Category two
included resources that reinforced my knowledge of Canadian Baptist history and
polity. Finally, category three involved resources specific to understanding my
preferred philosophy of Christian leadership and framework for its application.

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Figure 3 Overlapping Categories of Textual Resources Used In This Research
[ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for Figure 3 details ]

Category One: Best Practices in DMin Research

	Within category one which I refer to as offering “best practices for DMin
research,” it was Tim Sensing’s book Qualitative Research: A Multi-Methods
Approach to Projects for Doctor of Ministry Theses that informed a significant
portion of my high-level planning and execution. For example, Sensing’s
statements regarding Purposive Samples (2011, 83) were instrumental in guiding
the manner in which I selected research participants for my project. He provided
such reminders as ensuring participants have a vested interest and are generally
knowledgeable regarding the research topic, having participants chosen by
someone else, including deviant cases to identify potential outliers in my research
and ensuring participants represent the typical case relative to my research.

	When it came to the Appreciative Inquiry-based focus group element of
my research, Mark Lau Branson’s Memories, Hopes and Conversations:
Appreciative Inquiry, Missional Engagement and Congregational Change
afforded me a helpful framework through his five Core Processes (2016, 25). As
Branson suggests, these core processes have the dual benefit of clarifying and

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guiding the required movements in the Appreciative Inquiry style process while at
the same time allowing flexibility in exercising the process. That ability to be
flexible in the focus group stage was crucial in light of the limitations presented
by COVID-19 and the requirement for the focus group to take place in a virtual
setting.

	In terms of the coding phase, I am indebted to Johnny Saldana’s book The
Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers. Specifically, it was Saldana’s
identification and explanations of both values coding (2016, 131) and evaluation
coding (2016, 140) that were fundamental in approaching and understanding how
best to align my data for maximum categorization, understanding and
interpretation.

	Data reflection and analysis was largely guided by chapter five of Ernest
T. Stringer’s Action Research 4th edition. In this chapter, Stringer walks the reader
through the data analysis stage of the research and does so in a manner which, for
a first time researcher like myself, was invaluable in both its language
accessibility and potential for application (2014, 135).

Category Two: Canadian Baptist History and Polity

	The resources included in what I refer to as Category Two, informed my
understanding and application of existing Canadian Baptist History and Polity. I
am especially indebted to the authors of three extraordinarily helpful resources.
Baptist Life and Thought: A Source Book by William H. Brackney was
particularly informative in examining Baptist origins in Europe, the subsequent
migration to America and eventual exodus to Maritime Canada where the
establishment of Canadian Baptist Churches began (1998, 474).

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	Harry A. Renfree’s Heritage and Horizon: The Baptist Story in Canada
has become a highly referenced standard when examining the Canadian Baptist
historical context. Indeed this resource provided extremely helpful content
relative to the Canadian Baptist experience and the founding of the Baptist
Convention to which I and the churches surveyed in my research belong (1988,
166).

	Maring and Hudson’s A Baptist Manual of Polity and Practice was also
highly useful in examining Canadian Baptist life and thought. I was particularly
grateful for its well-presented content surrounding matters such as doctrinal
distinctives and organizational intentions and most especially for its clear
explanation of the creation and purposes for Baptist Associations (1991, 174)

Category Three: Principles and Philosophies of Christian Leadership

	Category Three consisted of two key resources focused on the principles
and philosophies of Christian Leadership. Leadership Theory and Practice by
Peter G. Northouse strongly aided me in identifying the philosophy of leadership
under which I have come to operate. This model is known as Transformational
leadership (2018, 163). That realization was also undergirded by Skip Bell’s
Servants and Friends: A Biblical Theology of Leadership which affirmed me and
my own leadership philosophy in the same manner as Northouse
(2014, 360).

Methodology and Methods

	This section includes a description and rationale for the approach adopted
to accomplish this project. It begins with a brief depiction of the research setting

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and the participants who engaged in the research which is offered here in addition
to the Context section found earlier in this chapter. This look at the field of
research is followed by an explanation of the scope (i.e., limits and boundaries) of
the project. The methodological approach which utilized the principles of
Participatory Action Research is summarized, together with a discussion of the
research tools in this case the online survey and focus group gathering used to
amass the data. A timetable is provided to outline the specific dates and actions of
the various phases of the project and this section concludes with a consideration
of ethics in ministry-based research.

Field

	Invited participants in this research project derived from the sixteen
congregations that comprise the geographically determined cluster of
congregations known as the Oxford-Brant Association of Baptist Churches. In
addition, for purposes of comparing and contrasting responses, there were four
participants from four different CBOQ Associations outside of Oxford-Brant. The
criteria for inclusion as well as the timeline for planning and the process of
execution are all included in this chapter.

Scope

	The scope of the research was limited to exploring in what ways active,
local church participants view and value inter-church relationships with other
congregations. A significant constraining factor in the research was the voluntary
nature of my invitation to research participants. With three people from each of

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the sixteen congregations within Oxford-Brant having been invited to participate
along with four individuals from other Associations within CBOQ, the possible
number of survey participants was fifty-two. The actual number of individuals
who chose to complete the survey was twenty-three people which represented
those four participants from outside Oxford-Brant and just nineteen people from
seven local congregations from within. In an effort to avoid any perception that
this research was merely a critique of current Baptist polity, the principle of inter-
church relationships among congregations and the ways in which these
relationships contributed to effective and productive ministry at the local church
level was the honest and repeated rationale given to participants as their input was
solicited. Many potential respondents for their own reasons (which were not
disclosed to me) opted out of participating. This possible weakness in the research
pool sampling was perhaps an indication of the lack of desire to work together as
Oxford-Brant CBOQ churches which I chose to perceive as simply another clear
reason why my research was important and timely.

	Apart from three quantitative survey questions regarding the participant’s
age, the name of their congregation and the length of time they have served within
that congregation, the remaining questions were exclusively qualitative. Seven
survey questions asked participants to provide experience-based opinion and
insight specific to their own local church contexts.

	The primary delimiting boundary was the fact that I deliberately chose not
to use the language of the current organizational structure of CBOQ
(“Associations”); instead, I spoke only of inter-church relationships. I made this
decision as an attempt to avoid the research being treated inadvertently as an

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assessment or judgment of existing Baptist polity. I focused as much as possible
on simply observing and collecting data regarding the manner in which local
congregations either share or do not share in ministry. To summarize, I did not
want the research to be seen not as an anti-Association project but rather as a pro-
associating project intended to elevate the importance of inter-church ministry.

Methodology

	The methodology employed in this project is based upon the principles of
Participatory Action Research. This means of research was earlier defined in this
portfolio by Ernest T. Stringer, but Tim Sensing defines this form of research
perhaps even more succinctly. He defines this methodology as being
collaboratively utilized with other people with the simple goal being “to solve a
specific problem” (2011, 52). As my research objective was to explore whether or
not “the historic practice of Baptist churches joining together for mutual support
and encouragement is seen by the churches themselves, specifically those located
in the Oxford-Brant Association, to be necessary or productive for the ministry of
the local church in 2020,” this methodology seemed most productive. The reason
for this approach is that it inherently seeks out community input to determine next
steps and/or solutions. As I intend to make clear in this chapter, this approach to
solution-based action also married itself extraordinarily well with historic
Canadian Baptist polity and practice.

	Research commenced in mid-June 2020 with an initial contact with the
pastors of the sixteen Oxford-Brant congregations via email and informing them
of this research project and soliciting their assistance in recruiting lay leader

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participation from within their congregations. This provided a broader scope of
experience and opinion from within the church community as, in accordance with
the principles of Participatory Action Research, I sought their help in finding
plausible solutions to the problem the research was examining. If each
congregation’s pastor and two lay leaders participated in the research along with
the addition of four invitees mentioned previously, that would provide fifty-two
potential data sources. Beyond the pastor themselves, the criteria for inclusion of
two additional lay people was:

	1. They are actively involved in the ministry of the local church. For the
variety of church leadership roles represented by the survey respondents see
Figure Four.

	2. They had a minimum understanding of the challenges and opportunities
that inter-church relationships with other congregations might afford the local
church.

	3. They are not related to anyone else participating in the research. It is
indispensable that volunteers do not share the same convictions on the topic as
those selecting them. Since the pastor would not see the survey questions ahead of
time, there was no way for them to predetermine their opinions on the issues
being raised and then select people who aligned with those opinions.

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Figure 4 Leadership Roles Self-Identified by Participants
[ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for Figure 4 details. ]

	A second informal email communication was sent to the pastors about two
weeks later explaining the research again, plus repeating my call for assistance in
recruiting participants. The email also advised them that the online
SurveyMonkey survey would commence on July 10, 2020. On that date a formal
invitation was sent out to the sixteen churches (and four additional participants)
with full instructions, a weblink for logging in and completing the online survey,
and the reminder that it needed to be completed by noon on July 31, 2020. On
July 17, 2020 a second formal email went out to the sixteen churches thanking
those who had already participated and reminding those who had not that there
was still time before the intake of data concluded on July 31, 2020.

	Once my SurveyMonkey was closed, the data was collected and
downloaded to my personal computer for analysis. The first step in that analysis
was to assign reference numbers to each of the twenty-three survey participants.

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That information was then entered into a Table that also recorded the limited
information I had collected on each participant such as their age bracket and home
congregation. From there I began the process of studying and noting what patterns
and themes might have appeared. This included noticing what churches were
represented and age demographics were represented as well as any tabulations or
mathematical calculations that were quantitatively deemed helpful in the analysis
stage.

	With the principal means of data collection being the ten-question online
survey, I also utilized feedback from a focus group comprised of CBOQ
Association pastors and using the principles of Appreciative Inquiry style. The
survey (Appendix One) consisted of three quantitative and seven qualitative
questions focused on shared ministry from the vantage point of local church
leaders. Each of the qualitative questions featured a dropdown box with potential
answers the respondents could give to each question, but it always included a
fillable text box for any content or responses not reflected in the dropdown box
suggestions.

	Once the assignment of reference numbers was complete, the next phase
was to begin the process of coding the data. Ultimately, I created forty-one
different codes that were connected to specific words or concepts found in
respondents’ answers as well as codes for concepts and words which I expected to
see reflected in those same survey answers but were not. Examples of codes
developed from survey answers included words and phrases such as “spiritual
encouragement,” “ministry execution,” and “hope.” Codes developed but not
largely reflected in survey answers included “prayer,” “God,” and “Jesus.”

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	Those forty-one different codes were then imported into another separate
Table for the purposes of calculating the frequency with which those codes
appeared in the survey data. This then led to the process of studying the coded
data to gain different perspectives and potential meanings followed by grouping
them together in a variety of ways to see what patterns and themes would emerge.

	As I worked with them, those forty-one codes began to fall naturally into
nine broad groupings of commonality or affinity. These categories included
themes such as “Practical tools,” “Baptist Polity,” and “working together.” With
those nine different classifications now assembled, and through the processes
suggested by Saldana (2016, 131-140) I began to see how the respective codes
could be further understood. This deeper understanding and interpretation evolved
after grouping the categories and their respective codes into four overarching
lenses through which to examine them closer. Those lenses utilized to view the
resulting research data were: 1) core-values, 2) lessons from the “Feeding of the
5,000” (as seen in Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:30-44; Luke 9:10-17; John 6:1-15),
3) the Great Commission and 4) Baptist origins and polity. It was enlightening to
see specific questions within the survey, in an unplanned way, inform each lens
specifically.

Core Values Lens

	The core values lens was a means with which to see and understand what
it was that each representative church valued most highly and ultimately whether
or not inter-church relating among congregations was a positive contributor to
those self-defined core values. It was specifically question four: “To what do you
credit your church’s ongoing ministry success?” and question nine: “Are you

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satisfied with the current level of inter-church relationship your church has with
nearby Baptist (or other) congregations?” that spoke most directly to this theme.
Eventual data codes such as “hope,” “faith,” “tradition,” “leadership,” and
“family” conveyed respondents’ conviction on these, as well as other personal and
congregational, core values.

Feeding of the Five Thousand Lens

	As previously declared in this chapter, the “Feeding of Five Thousand”
lens turned out to be a much less useful model to apply to the data. For the
purpose of my research I wanted to see if the CBOQ’s long-time tradition of
forming congregational clusters makes ministry in 2020 more effective and
streamlined in the way I originally observed it in these and other scriptures. In the
case of this lens, analysis of survey question six “Including CBOQ churches, in
what way(s) does your church associate with or share ministry with other local
churches?” and question seven “With which of the following does your church
engage in ministry?” were employed as a means to reveal participant convictions.
Figure Five depicts the majority of responses to question six, which looked at
resources shared between church congregations. The open text box for
respondents to include other means of inter-church relations returned responses
such as “Association involvement,” “CBOQ pastor’s ministerial,” and reference

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to special shared services such as on Good Friday and Easter gatherings. Survey
answers submitted in the “Other” category by the respondents went beyond those

Q6 Including CBOQ churches, in what way(s) does your church associate with or share
ministry with other local churches? (please choose all that apply)

Figure 5 Primary Means of Shared Inter-church Ministry within Survey Participant’s Congregation
[ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for Figure 5 details ]

ministries historically and traditionally supported by Canadian Baptists to include
church and para-church organizations such as Youth for Christ, The Salvation
Army, Compassion Canada and Galcom Canada.

	Survey question seven was a more mission-based question meant to look
at ministry partnerships and relationships beyond the congregational context. As
Figure Six depicts, the most common shared mission among respondents was
CBM or “Canadian Baptist Ministries.” This stands to reason as it is the long-

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standing missional body overseen by Conventions of churches including CBOQ
Among the open text “Other” box responses were several insightful contributions.

Q7 With which of the following does your church engage in ministry? (please choose all that
apply)

Figure 6 Indicated Means of Shared Ministry Outside of The Local Church Setting
[ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for Figure 6 details. ]

	The most astute in my observation was the recognized need for “training
for ministry online, especially during COVID-19, but moving forward beyond the
pandemic as well.” While these responses were informative, this lens I concluded
did not provide the ministry clarity and direct alignment with Baptist life and
thought that I hoped that it would.

Great Commission Lens

	The third lens through which I studied the data was one that I termed the
Great Commission lens. In Matthew 28 the Lord Jesus sends his followers out
into the world with a specific set of tasks and divine expectations. This lens
sought to observe the means in which the respondent churches were in fact
obeying the command and how that obedience to the Great Commission was

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augmented (or not) through inter-church associating. I determined the survey
questions that most informed analysis through this lens were questions five and
seven. Question seven inquired about ministry activity taking place outside the
local congregation (see Figure Six) while question five asked “What practical
tools might your church be lacking that would better your success in achieving its
mission?” As Figure Seven displays, the declared need for “more volunteers”
along with “volunteer training” and “evangelism training” were the most selected
choices. This is not all that surprising given the documented decades-long decline
in church membership and attendance. CBOQ churches have not escaped this
diminishing trend.

Baptist Origins and Polity Lens

Q5 What practical tools might your church be lacking that would better your success in

Figure 7 Tools Identified By Participants as Lacking in Their Congregations and as Such Seen
as Negatively Impacting Ministry
[ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for Figure 7 details. ]

	Finally, there was the Baptist origins and Baptist polity lens. This lens
took into consideration the original necessities and purposes for Baptist

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Associations with an eye toward determining whether or not the churches being
studied were still requiring these purposes. Secondarily this lens explored how
important “doing church well” was to the local churches represented in the
research and the way in which inter-church relating was, or was not, contributing
to their respective definitions of ministry success. I felt that the already utilized
question seven: “With which of the following does your church engage in
ministry?” was again helpful in this lens as was survey question eight: “Is there
anything else you would like to share about the value of the interactions your
church has with other congregations/agencies in your region?” Question eight also
differed from the previous questions in that it was a totally open-text answer that
included no suggestions or promptings. I felt that providing this unguided
opportunity for survey participants to comment openly about their personal
convictions, thoughts and ideals would offer insight not otherwise gleaned by the
prior survey questions. The “Findings” segment of this chapter includes evidence
that this was in fact the case. Due to the restrictions imposed by the social realities
of COVID-19, the focus group element of my research was undertaken virtually
via the Zoom platform. This focus group examined key results and trends from
the data once preliminary interpretation had been completed. Specifically, I was
seeking pastoral reactions to those findings (Appendix Three) as well as soliciting
ideas and next step concepts from them as a means of positively responding to the
data findings with participant-determined action steps in keeping with the
principles of Participatory Action Research.

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Ethics in Ministry Based Research

	In my original application to the Tyndale Research Ethics Board (REB),
which was approved on March 19, 2019, the single ethical consideration that I
declared at that time was the position of power I held over one of the proposed
survey participants. Specifically, this person was an associate pastor in the
congregation where I served at the time as lead pastor. In my original application,
I expressed the way that I intended this potential ethical conflict to be managed
responsibly and appropriately for the sake of the research participant himself. As
it turned out my pastoral tenure concluded in the interval between my original
proposal and the commencement of my research, which meant I no longer had a
position of authority over anyone taking part in the research. As a consequence,
that previously declared ethical consideration was now no longer a consideration
whatsoever and therefore required no special considerations or management.

	My original application to the Tyndale REB also included a series of ten
survey questions as well as the proposed line of questioning I intended to bring to
the focus group portion of my research. Subsequent to that approval and with the
help and guidance of Dr. Mark Chapman, the planned survey questions were
refined and wording better crafted. These revisions to the phrasing of the ten
survey questions were then made part of the actual research phase of this project.
Although the field, scope and methodology had not changed from that which was
previously approved, Dr. Narry Santos wisely suggested in August 2020 (in his
role as Dr. Chapman’s sabbatical replacement), that I should communicate these
minor deviations to the REB for the sake of transparency (which I did on August
5, 2020). The Tyndale REB replied on September 1, 2020 stating that a new

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research ethics application was not necessary. The REB asked only that I submit
the new wording for the research survey questions so they might have them on
file (which I did the same day).

Findings, Interpretation and Outcome

	In this section I outline the results of my research, explain my
understanding of what these findings mean, and consider their implications for
existing and future inter-church ministry between churches in the Oxford-Brant
Association belonging to Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec.

Findings

	Quantitative examination of survey participation indicated that there was
representation from seven of the sixteen Oxford-Brant Association churches as
well as the four additional participants from outside the Association. In total that
meant twenty-three pastors and lay-people completed the research survey and
provided the data to be subsequently analyzed. The heading shown on Table One
indicates the assignment of a respondent identification number and indications of
his/her congregational affiliation, the length of time he/she has been affiliated
with that congregation and his/her age demographic. The four shaded entries seen
in the Table indicate those participants from outside the Oxford-Brant
Association. The reader should take note that this is the only personal information
collected from participants during this research. No names or any other
information that might reveal or disclose participant identification was solicited in
any way. The footer in Table One records the totals and/or numeric averages of
all participant data recorded.

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Table 1 Quantitative Data Related to Survey Participants
[ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for Table 1 details. ]

Respondent	Church		Years in	Age -	Age -	Age -	Age-
Number		Affiliation	Current 	19-29	30-45	46-59	60-75+
				Church	
1		Drumbo 
		Baptist		40					X
2		Springford 
		Baptist		74					X
3		Drumbo 
		Baptist		15					X
4		Queensway 
		Baptist		32					X
5		Drumbo 
		Baptist		6.5					X
6		Springford 
		Baptist		6					X
7		Queensway 
		Baptist		8			X		
8		Springford 
		Baptist		13				X	
9		Thornhill 
		Baptist		1				X	
10		FBC 
		Woodstock	52					X
11		Jerseyville 
		Baptist		23					X
12		Burgessville 
		Baptist		36					X
13		FBC  
		Tillsonburg	15					X
14		Burgessville 
		Baptist		60					X
15		Burgessville 
		Baptist		2			X		
16		FBC 
		Tillsonburg	15					X
17		FBC  
		Tillsonburg	13					X		
18		Jerseyville 
		Baptist		9			X		
19		Westview 
		Baptist		5				X	
20		FBC 
		Woodstock	16					X
21		FBC 
		Woodstock	1			X		
22		Priory Park	16			X		
23		First 
		Yarmouth	30					X
Respondents 	Number of	Average	Represe	Represe	Represents
= 23	Number of Congregations = 11	Average = 20.24 yrs.	Represe nts = 0%	Represents = 26.10%	Represents = 13.04%	Represents = 60.87%
Respondent Number	Church Affiliation	Years in Current Church	Age - 19-29	Age - 30-45	Age - 46-59	Age -  60-75+

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	Question eight resulted in numerous enlightening responses regarding
inter-church relations. For example:

	• “We are a congregation of app. 25 over 70 yrs. old, difficult to really
	  carry on with programs.”

	• “We are a community minded church. We open our church up to
	  current issues in life. We don’t back down from these issues.”

	• “Our congregation is older and ‘tired’. They are pleased to be part of
	  the CBOQ but do not have much energy for involvement beyond the
	  congregation.”

	• “...send(ing) Sunday messages from our pastor to friends and
	  families.”

	• “There is value in thinking beyond ourselves and there is strength in
	  what we can accomplish together. There is also blessing and
	  inspiration in sharing mission opportunities.”

	• “We also participate in the Christmas place and other branches of
	  outreach along with the other churches in the city. We take our turn at
	  hosting the World Day of Prayer services.”

	• “If we host a fundraiser local churches are very supportive as we are
 	  with them.”

	• “Building relationships in the community and surrounding area is a
	  vital aspect of evangelism and ministry.”

	• “Pooling our resources has been beneficial to all involved. Enabled the
	  churches to provide a united front in our community. Working

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	  together even though we have differences sets a standard that
	  hopefully others will follow.”

	• “We do not really have an extensive relationship with other
	  congregations.”

	• “Other people’s points of view. Sharing our faith in Jesus as the only
	  way to heaven.”

	• “We partner with two other local congregations for Good Friday. One
	  is from our Association, the other is from a different denomination.”

	• “Association involvement has been helpful. Training events hosted by
	  the Association and the Association's work supporting pastor and
	  helping them build relationships has been helpful. The local ministerial
	  has been a wonderful support and resource as well. The CBOQ has
	  provided many helpful resources and information for our church
	  ministries.”

Interpretation

	For my process of interpreting the resulting survey data, I again looked to
pare-down the themes and patterns that emerged through the previously explained
four lenses. I settled upon a simplistic means of examining the data results deeper
which I came to call “UP,” “IN,” and “OUT.” Each of these processes will be
expanded upon in the paragraphs that follow but in summary can be understood as
follows:

	The process of looking “UP” with the resulting data was a matter of
observing in what ways the actions, reactions and convictions of the respondents
related to or referenced the Holy Trinity when reflecting upon ministry in their

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local congregation. The lens that I erroneously felt would be helpful here was the
“Feeding of the Five Thousand” lens previously referenced. This lens despite my
earlier convictions did not lend itself effectively to an observation of inter-church
relations since there is no indication that the manner with which Jesus fed the
people was intended to foster ongoing, long-term partnerships among the people.

	Looking “IN” involved observation of the ways in which the actions,
reactions and convictions of the survey respondents related to or referenced
looking inwardly at the purpose, identity and declared priorities of the local
church itself. This was largely seen through the Baptist history/Baptist polity len
as well as the core value lens mentioned earlier.

	Finally, the process of looking “OUT” sought to observe in what ways the
responses of the survey participants reflected an active and intentional element of
looking at the world outside the church for the purposes of engaging that world
with the Gospel of Jesus. I used the Great Commission lens to aid in seeing how
the various respondent answers were rooted in some way to the Matthew 28
directive from Jesus.

UP

	I purposely did not include the Trinity itself, nor any individual member of
the Trinity by name, nor even the main biblical means of interaction with the
Trinity within the dropdown options in any of the survey questions. I felt that
when a question probed reasons for a participant’s ministry success, God, Jesus or
the Holy Spirit were leading answers of the sort one might expect in the
proverbial Sunday school class where the cliche suggests that the answer to every
question is Jesus. I did however leave an open text “Other” box for those

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respondents who felt led to point to the Trinity, or any of its members as key to
perceived ministry success at local church level—the data showed that few did.

Table 2 References in the Data to Corporate Dependence on the Trinity for Ministry Success
[ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for Table 2 details. ] 

Word or Concept	Code Number Assigned	Frequency of Appearance in Data
God			35			2
Prayer			36			1
Worship			41			1
Jesus			39			2
Spirit (Holy)		40			0

	The data results reflected in Table Two record the number of times each
Trinity-related answer was referenced in respondent replies. It is important to note
that in all cases code numbers were assigned to the various words and phrases as
they appeared. There was no established list of codes before beginning the data
interpretation phase. This should explain why certain codes that seem to have a
natural affinity with one another are not numerically grouped together (Appendix
Two). In the above table, each row includes the term in question, the coding
number attached to it during the analysis phase, and the number of times that term
was referenced (or alluded to) in respondent replies. As the most right-hand
column suggests, there was little, or no reference to the Trinity, any member of
the Trinity, or the biblical means of engaging with the Trinity such as prayer and
worship.

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	The apparent lack of automatic acknowledgement of the roles of Father,
Son and Holy Spirit would seem to suggest that discussing, referencing or
commenting on one’s personal relationship with God or his active role in the life
of the local church are not instinctive to the survey participants simply because
they actively attend and serve in a local church. This possibility does not however
conclusively prove or even suggest a total non-appearance of personal faith within
participants, only that in the absence of deliberate prompting, acknowledgement
of the role of the Trinity in church life is not reflexive for those who were
surveyed for this research. This observation was raised as a point of discussion in
the subsequent Appreciative Inquiry-based session and will be referenced among
the conclusions of this portfolio.

IN

	The category I have entitled “IN” is itself comprised of numerous sub-
categories emanating from the codes applied to the answers given by survey
respondents. These sub-categories include coding related to values and emotions
attached to life in the local church, leadership in the local church, specific
elements of Baptist polity and practice, the concept of local churches working
together, practical tools seen as necessary in the local church and finally ministry
execution itself.

	Any term matching an established code that appeared fifteen or more
times in the aggregated survey results has been shown in a bold-faced font in the
following three Tables. In doing this, several notable patterns appeared via the
data analysis.

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Table 3 Values and Emotions in The Local Church Related to Matters of Baptist Polity and Practice
[ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for Table 3 details ]

Word or Concept			Code Number Assigned	Frequency of Appearance in Data
Inferiority/Hopelessness		3			3
Hope					37			2
Faith					13			2
Family (figurative)			34			5
Tradition				27			7
Leadership				11			0
Pastoral leadership			23			27
Lay leadership				32			2
Church tradition (denominationalism)	15			23
Convention (CBOQ)			29			21
Association				33			23
Faith in Action				9			16
Ministry execution			19			34
Church building				22			6
Printed materials			25			7
Tangible/Visible resources		21			0
Finances				10			24
Family (blood)				12			2
Church people (inward)			14			5
Independence				1			2
Attraction				6			0
Human resources				5			30
Multiculturalism			7			1
Fellowship				30			4
Support					31			8
"Sharing"				28			34
Spiritual encouragement			4			6

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"Host"					38			1
Ecumenicalism				8			23
Word or Concept			Code Number		Frequency in Data

	To reiterate what I have previously stated, I purposely did not use the
terms “Association” or “Convention” as prompts for any potential answers in the
dropboxes but did make room for such answers via the open text “Other” box.
This again was my attempt to focus on inter-church relationships themselves as
opposed to an assessment of the effectiveness of the existing Association
structure. With that said, and as the table records, without explicit use of those
organizational terms, there were still many references and allusions to church
tradition as well as prevailing common elements of Baptist denominational and
Associational life.

	There were also significant references to the execution of ministry. The
codes for “faith in action” and “ministry execution” were commonly referenced in
the respondent’s answers. Much of the ministry execution concepts connected to
various forms of “human resource” needs in the local church (i.e., volunteers and
volunteer training). More pointedly, the data reflected that more volunteers as
well as increased finances were identified most often as being necessary for
ministry success. The trends (included in the above Table) suggest that
participants clearly understand the hands-on part of ministry even if their local
church does have sufficient volunteers. As reflected previously in the “UP”
category, as the church looks inward, discussing, referencing or commenting on
one’s personal relationship with Father, Son and Holy Spirit was not an automatic

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thing for the typical local church adherent taking part in this research. In addition,
the data did not prove conclusively that ministry programs being considered or
done are God-led or Spirit-filled callings unique to a specific ministry context.
The data only confirmed that there was an acknowledgement by participants that
congregational life is one of volunteer action.

	The concept of “sharing” ministry among local congregations was of
interest to most respondents. The code “sharing” was in fact an en vivo code
meaning the word itself as well as variations on it (share, shared) were
specifically utilized by respondents and tabulated accordingly. It’s clear this was
not meant to apply exclusively to shared ministry among Baptist churches as
working together cross-denominationally, or ecumenically was specifically
testified to as being important in the respondent’s local church experience. This
position was highlighted even by those survey participants who also admitted that
they are not presently doing, working or sharing in ministry with other CBOQ
churches, or any other churches.

	Similar to what was seen in the “UP” category, as with previously
mentioned matters of the personal practice of faith, congregational lay leadership
as an outworking of one’s own faith or spiritual gifting was not front of mind for
survey respondents. The roles and responsibilities of pastoral leaders in achieving
ministry success (as the respondents themselves might define it) was however
frequently highlighted.

	Structurally speaking, the participants’ answers reflect an awareness of the
existing denominational framework to which their church belongs even though
their local churches are not choosing to lean into that structure of inter-church

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relationships. It is also unclear from the data whether or not the present
organizational configuration for inter-church relating among CBOQ Baptist
congregations is affording relevant and useful opportunities in such a way that
local congregations feel compelled to act on this conviction. All of this is
underlined by evidence in the data suggesting that inter-church relationships are
seen as important to the majority of respondents both denominationally and
ecumenically. There is at minimum in this data tacit acknowledgement that
Christians working together as parts of the body is how (biblically-speaking), it is
supposed to be.

	When participants talked about leadership, they were almost exclusively
thinking of pastoral leadership and did not elevate lay leadership to the same
importance or automatic regard. This is not to suggest that participants are
patently unwilling to shoulder their share of leadership in the local church only
that they are more concerned with attracting and then assigning ministry
responsibilities to others than with developing and empowering congregational
leaders from within the body themselves.

OUT

	As with the previous two categories, any term matching an established
code that appeared fifteen or more times in the aggregated survey results has been
shown in a bold-faced font in the Tables included here. In doing this, several
notable patterns appeared via the data analysis.

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Table 4 Indications of Outward-Facing Ministry Within Survey Responses
[ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for Table 4 details. ]

Word or Concept	               Code Number Assigned	Frequency of Appearance in Data
Surrounding community (outward)		20			49
Incarnation				26			14
Outreach				16			 6
"Local"					24			33
Discipleship				17			11
Evangelism				18			15
Mission					2			51

	It was encouraging to see through the analysis process, the declared
interest and spiritual concern for the world outside of the local congregation.
Codes that measured such concerns as the “surrounding community” and those
that are “local” to the congregation itself were seen especially frequently. At the
same time there was even more reference to “mission” and “evangelism” although
the working definitions being applied by the survey respondents for each of these
concepts was unclear. In terms of the frequency of its use, the key means of
referencing “mission” for the survey participants was through acknowledging
involvement with and support of Canadian Baptist Ministries (CBM) the main
missions arm for CBOQ member churches.

	The frequency of mentioning the local community and evangelistic
responsibilities of the local congregation suggest a significant sense of
compassion and concern for the neighbours. The data does not conclusively prove
however that there exists a universal understanding of what the local church is, or

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it’s mission, or how believers can determine the best means of blessing their
neighbour. Similarly, the information in Table Four should not be used to
conclude that discipleship is not valued by participants despite the numeric lack of
verbal indications regarding personal faith. Once again as was earlier noted
regarding matters such as the Trinity and such biblical values of hope and faith, it
suggests only that these doctrinal matters were not in the forefront of the
participant’s mind.

	This “UP,” “IN,” and “OUT” process led to the formation of three main
observable findings connected to my research question:

1. The responses as relayed above as well as the omissions noted, suggest a
   heightened sense of discouragement at the local church level (i.e., the stated
   need for volunteers, finances, and pastoral leadership).

2. The designated and professed spiritual leaders within the Oxford-Brant
   churches belonging to CBOQ do not seem to express through their responses a
   sense of being equipped both spiritually and practically. Training for ministry
   was seen as highly valued and good pastoral leadership, more people
   attending (and even more vitally serving) along with more money are all seen
   as critical to future ministry success. Key doctrines and convictions of the
   Christian faith were scarcely offered by participants when asked about critical
   tools and resources for successful ministry.

3. Respondents reflected a significant familiarity (leaning more toward
   dispassionate comfort) with the existing, historic organizational structure of
   the local church, Association and CBOQ itself.

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	In addition to the series of Appreciative Inquiry-based questions intended for
use at a planned focus group meeting of CBOQ pastors (Appendix Three), these
three streams of inquiry from the survey data findings were also made part of a
focus group discussion with the pastors of Oxford-Brant Association on
September 19, 2020. The focus group itself was comprised of just four out of a
possible twelve pastors from the Association. This numeric level of participation
was itself in keeping with the research results and subsequent conclusions.

Outcome

	Using the experience and some of the emotion-based principles of
Appreciative Inquiry, the focus group offered several, helpful insights and next-
step actions. Due to existing Baptist polity, none of these next steps can be
unilaterally imposed on any Association church which is a fact alluded to in the
focus group comments and insights themselves. The following comments from
focus group participants stood out as they reflected on the three findings from the
survey data:

	“I think that things would really be improved by knowing each other
better ... some of that happens with pastors maybe there’s some awareness there
but knowing our churches knowing what’s going on in our churches, being able to
pray for each other, I think those things are really vital.” “L” - focus group
participant
	“I think it’s difficult to ask pastors to be the ones to carry this (i.e. the
improvement of inter-church relations) ... I think we’re called to our
congregations and so our first thing is to our congregations ... pastors will already
create the connections that are meaningful to them (personally).” “R” - focus
group participant

	“I’ve enjoyed equipping opportunities where pastors and key church
leaders can come together . maybe that can be the genesis for something
(improved inter-church relations) because I can see the “why?” in that . we’re

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getting together to be equipped specifically and to encourage each other on a
specific issue then you can take it back to your church and apply it to enrich your
own local congregation. For me THAT’s a meaningful connection.” “S” - focus
group participant

	“One of the things that we haven’t explored is “where is God in this?” and
I am wondering “what is it that God would intend to happen and what might that
require of us to enter into in order for there to be something really God-pleasing
(among churches)?” “L” - focus group participant

	As the focus group members mulled over the research findings presented
to them and filtered those findings through their own personal and professional
experiences as Canadian Baptists, the following actions were agreed upon in
principle:

1. Create reasons and opportunities to connect together as churches separate
   from simply transacting business at an Annual General Meeting or other
   official setting.

2. Provide and promote more reasons for gathering beyond relational
   development and encouragement.

3. Provide training/educational elements useful for church ministries more often
   at Association meetings.

4. Incorporate prayer, worship and scriptural study more often at Association
   meetings as the means to explore the question “where is God in this?” (i.e., in
   this conflict, this discouragement, daily church life, these successes).

	Unclear from these four conclusions is who or how would these or any other
next steps be implemented.

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CHAPTER V

CONCLUSION

	This research portfolio has attempted to examine critically and soundly the
present-day relevance of inter-church relationships to the Oxford-Brant
Association of (CBOQ) Baptist Churches. In this portfolio, I have scrutinized to
what degree the shared history among these churches remains a necessity and a
benefit toward effective local ministry to their respective surrounding
communities.

	The original research question asked: “Is the historic practice of Baptist
churches joining together for mutual support and encouragement seen by the
churches themselves, specifically those located in the Oxford-Brant Association,
to be necessary or productive for the ministry of the local church in 2020?” The
data shows that when the question was broadly asked in this research, the
resulting answers were, at best, mixed.

	While inter-church relationships are seen through the data as productive
and necessary for some, they are not regarded as essential for everyone. This
reality is evidenced by the near fifty-fifty split in satisfaction and dissatisfaction
with the current level of inter-church relationships as well as those respondents
reporting no inter-church associating with their church.

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	While inter-church relationships are seen as productive and necessary,
such benefits are left up to clergy alone to embrace (or not embrace) this value for
themselves. This is evidenced in part by the non-participation in this research of
nine Oxford-Brant Association churches either currently without clergy, or whose
clergy are working a limited number of contracted hours.

	While inter-church relationships are seen as productive and necessary,
there is no perceived practical and applicable take-away directly benefiting the
ongoing ministry of the local congregation. This is evidenced by the frequent
reference in both the survey responses and the focus group for the need of various
means of leadership training.

	Even for those who see inter-church relationships as productive and
necessary, sadly it appears that our historic structures, traditions and Baptistic
processes are, ironically, not allowing churches to spend increased time seeking
the will of God together. This is evidenced by most survey responses reflecting an
understanding of what tools are helpful to church operations but an overwhelming
lack of obvious references to the church’s biblical mandate.

	The survey data reflected that fifty-two per cent of survey participants are
dissatisfied with the current level of inter-church relations involving their own
local congregations. While absolute reasons for this dissatisfaction cannot be
concretely arrived at through the data collected, the results of this research display
an apparent philosophical and theological divide in the belief and practices of
churches who, due to their voluntary affiliation, are ostensibly historically like-
minded. The next steps offered by the focus group seem to support those figures
in that they offer principles rooted in the research. These findings lean towards the

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necessity of increased inter-church involvement while at the same time respecting
Baptist polity which prevents any proposals or solutions from being imposed on
the member churches. The question as to whether or not this research has elicited
any practical answers to the problem identified as the original research objective
remains unanswered.

	I have recently moved to a new Canadian province to a church that
belongs to a different Association then where this research occurred. Were I to
undertake this research again in this new context, there are several matters which,
as a result of the creation of this portfolio, I have become aware of that might
possibly lead to different results than those found in Oxford-Brant.

	The first matter involves my own assumptions on the topic. I assumed
that the people of Oxford-Brant would actively pursue better inter-church
relations upon seeing the research outcome. I now realize that I innately assumed
that simply showing the resulting data to the member churches and their
congregations would spark a latent interest in renewed inter-church relations.
Further to this I assumed that there existed a marked, if unspoken, desire for a
different state of church relations than the fifty-fifty split eventually confirmed
through the data exists. These assumptions all were proven wrong by the research
and its subsequent outcomes.

	Related to my assumed desire for communal change was my conviction
that a Transformational Leadership model, when eventually employed by invested
church leaders, would result in an excited revolution in thought and practice
among the Oxford-Brant member churches. This assumption too was wrong. I

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shared my research findings in a public presentation on October 15, 2020 hosted
by the Oxford-Brant Association of Baptist Churches itself. There were
approximately thirty voting delegates at that meeting who heard a full report on
the doctoral-level research that was centred on their own Association. When the
presentation concluded, just two people asked questions or requested clarification
on any of the content presented. Once again, this lack of palpable engagement
with the content seemed to bear out my inherent conclusion all over again while at
the same time highlighting my wrong-headed assumptions.

	I am also forced to consider whether or not some of the principles of
Appreciative Inquiry, when done through a virtual medium like Zoom, were the
best tool for the focus group portion of my research. Once again, my assumption
was that by utilizing this tool I could access a wide variety of experience, passion
and firsthand knowledge from pastors representing the width and breadth of the
Association in a manner that was convenient to them. As it turned out, just three
people participated in this portion of my research and, as a result, I cannot say
with confidence that utilizing some of the principles of Appreciative Inquiry as I
did served my research well through the virtual medium I used.

	The matter of methodology and the use of technology goes deeper than
this and is yet another issue that I now see should be looked upon critically were I
to employ this same research question in my new Association. If I were to
undertake this research in my new ministry context, I would use less of what
became impersonal technology and instead employ an increased portion of face-
to-face interviews. My anonymous online survey followed up by a Zoom-based
focus group, which was then followed up by a Zoom-based Association Annual

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meeting, were in hindsight far less than ideal forums for a clear exchange of
thought. Ironically it also meant that this research on building healthier
relationships was taking place in a time of government-ordered isolation in
response to COVID-19. So, while I cannot control the advent of a global
pandemic in the future, and had no ability for including face-to-face interviews in
my present research, I would, as much as possible, strive to make the process of
data collection far more individual in nature. Such interviews will rely
foundationally on my having actively and intentionally developed those personal
and professional relationships in advance of undertaking the research.

	I am also wondering at this stage if my personal history as a constant voice
of critique regarding Associational health might have worked against me in the
data collection phase. I have through my ongoing attempts to address the
effectiveness and relevance of Associations gained somewhat of a reputation over
the years for my position. Historically I have challenged Association
Constitutions, Nominating procedures, financial handling and the content and
efficacy of Association annual meetings. I cannot say for certain that survey
participation was less than expected due to the fact that I was the researcher. I do
remain curious however as to what the numeric participation might have been if
the research invitations had gone out on behalf of the recognized Association
Executive instead of me.

	Related to this thought is a question concerning my conscious decision not
to tie the research directly to the familiar entity known as Association. Instead I
chose to use the term inter-church relations throughout the research, and I wonder
if that term might have been too vague or subjective for the participants. It might

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very well be that if I had simply used the accepted and proper name of our
collection of churches, the participants might have had more clarity and
conviction in their responses than was evident with regard to inter-church relating.

	Finally, as previously stated, the attempt to see inter-church ministry
through the biblical lens of the Feeding of the 5,000 fell flat. The motivation
behind the actions I was observing in the text did not, upon reflection, align well
and therefore, as I discovered, its inclusion was not directly comparable nor
applicable in this research. In this portfolio I identified other scriptural
imperatives that were in much better alignment with my research and were I to
undertake this project again, I would utilize those passages instead.

	While the unsatisfactory answer to my original research question remains
discouraging, it does not mean that lessons were not learned. The writing of my
spiritual autobiography for example gave me an opportunity to reflect on my
Christian development and the importance that mentors, partners and peers have
played in my faith journey. My experience has demonstrated the imperative to me
of having others alongside for the purposes of encouragement and support in my
Christian development. This has led to me seeing great value for an entire local
congregation to experience the same blessing both individually and corporately
with other like-minded churches.

	I was particularly stimulated in the writing of that chapter once I began to
realize that the various phases of development in my life fell with accuracy under
headings taken directly from the titles of songs found on my favourite record
album. This manner of organizing my thoughts and faith progression truly

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brought together my secular upbringing and my Christian salvation in my mid-
twenties while wrapping the story in a musical blanket that continues to be a
source of comfort to me even today.

	My philosophy of leadership chapter provided me, for the first time, the
ability to put a name and biblical basis to the convictions that I have developed
regarding discipleship and pastoral leadership in the church. The recognition
through this research to see lives transformed by Jesus was most helpful. It
allowed me to understand more clearly the great sense of frustration and grief that
I feel when such transformation does not seem to be present or even sought by
fellow believers. Knowing that all spiritual growth and discipleship success is
dependent on the work of the Holy Spirit, my desire to foster an atmosphere in the
church where this can happen unobstructed, is something I must continually lay
before God.

	Conducting the research project itself was a steep and significant time of
growth for me. Never having conducted any form of formal research prior to this
DMin requirement meant that I did not know what to expect from the process.
This was actually a strength because it forced me to be methodical and thoughtful
in the process. It meant confronting my own limitations when it came to academic
writing but also accepting that, despite my protestations about further academic
study, I am able to succeed at this level of study. In fact, based solely on the
grades I earned throughout this degree program, I have exceeded even my most
optimistic hopes regarding my academic abilities.

	Regarding academics, I believe with this portfolio, I have completed a
research document which clearly confirms the presence and reality of ministry in

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the Oxford-Brant Association. No longer do the member CBOQ churches in that
region have to wonder about the relative relational health of their Association, the
data reflects that qualitative mediocre measurement plainly. The research also
provides potential next steps should this constituency of CBOQ churches wish to
address the current state of relational health among its member churches. I further
believe that this research and its findings are not anomalies within the Oxford-
Brant Association but other CBOQ Associations could also become informed,
educated and perhaps even encouraged regarding whatever state of relational
health they are experiencing among their own member congregations.

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APPENDICES

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APPENDIX ONE: RESEARCH PROJECT SURVEY QUESTIONS

1.	Which age range best describes you? (4 checkboxes labelled: 19-
	29, 30-45, 46-59, 60-75+)

2.	Which CBOQ church do you attend? (OPEN TEXT
	ANSWER)

3.	How many years have you been part of the Baptist church where
	you worship? (OPEN TEXT ANSWER)

4.	What roles or duties have you in the past or do you now perform in
	your local Baptist church? (DROPDOWN BOX: Spiritual
	Leadership [Elders, Deacons], Christian Education [Sunday
	School, Youth Group, Small Group Leader] Worship
	[scripture reader, music, technical, usher] Hospitality,
	Property & Building Maintenance, OTHER [a fillable space] -
	INSTRUCTION: “Choose all that apply.")

5.	To what do you credit your church’s ongoing ministry success?
	(DROPDOWN BOX: our building, our neighbourhood, our
	reputation in the community, our pastoral leadership, our
	Baptist history, faithful donors, OTHER [a fillable space] -
	INSTRUCTION: “Choose all that apply.”)

6.	What practical tools might your church be lacking that would
	better your success in achieving its mission? (DROPDOWN
	BOX: more volunteers, volunteer training, technical training,
	discipleship materials, evangelism training, financial
	assistance, OTHER [a fillable space] - INSTRUCTION:
	“Choose all that apply.”)

7.	In what way(s) does your church associate with or share ministry
	with any other local Baptist Churches? (DROPDOWN BOX:
	Pulpit exchanges, volunteer exchanges, shared curriculum and
	printed materials, financial support, OTHER [a fillable space]
	- INSTRUCTION: “Choose all that apply.”)

8.	With which of the following does your church engage in ministry?
	(DROPDOWN BOX: Local food bank, local shelter [i.e. Out of
	The Cold”], Pregnancy resource Centre, Friendship House,
	Camp Oneida, CBM or another mission agency, OTHER [a
	fillable space] - INSTRUCTION: “Choose all that apply.”)

9.	Is there anything else you would like to share about the value of
	the interactions your church has with other congregations/agencies
	in your region? (OPEN TEXT ANSWER)

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10.	Are you satisfied with the current level of inter-church relationship
	your church has with local Baptist (or other) congregations? (YES
	OR NO ANSWER).

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APPENDIX TWO: DATA CODES ESTABLISHED DURING RESEARCH

Code			Code Number		# of Appearances in data
Inferiority/		
Hopelessness		3			3
Hope			37			2
Faith			13			2
Family (figurative)	34			5
Tradition		27			7
Church tradition		
(denominationalism)	15			23
Convention (CBOQ)	29			21
Association		33			23
Discipleship		17			11
Evangelism		18			15
God			35			2
Prayer			36			1
Worship			41			1
Mission			2			51
Jesus			39			2
Spirit (Holy)		40			0
Faith in Action		9			16
Ministry execution	19			34
Surrounding		
community (outward) 	20			49
Incarnation		26			14
Outreach		16			6
"Local"			24			33
Church building		22			6
printed materials	25			7
Tangible/Visible		
resources		21			0
Finances		10			24
Leadership		11			0
Pastoral leadership	23			27
Lay leadership		32			2
Human resources		5			30
Multi-culturalism	7			1
Fellowship		30			4
Support			31			8
"Sharing"		28			34
Spiritual		
encouragement		4			6
"Host"			38			1
Ecumenicalism		8			23
Family (blood)		12			2
Church people		

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(inward)		14			5
Independence		1			2
Attraction		6			0

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APPENDIX THREE: FORMAT FOR FOCUS GROUP (FGD)

9am	FGD begins
• I will provide an overview in the next 60 minutes including the
  importance of today’s content to the final report and assure the
  participants there will not be a survey to complete this morning only
  open discussion on the material being presented.

• I will ask permission to video or audio record the discussion for
  transcription purposes only.

• I will make clear the purpose of the research project is NOT to deride
  the existing Association model but rather to examine the value to our
  churches of any form of inter-church relationships or “associating.”

• I will then present both the research survey questions and their
  analyzed results.

• I will highlight any themes and trends from above survey results while
  being cautious not to editorialize or sway the subsequent discussion.

• I will then ask the probe, follow-up and exit questions shown below.

• When all questions have been asked and all FGD answers given, I will
  conclude the FGD.

11am	FGD is dismissed

Focus Group Discussion Questions:
Probe Questions:
• Do you agree with themes and trends that were pointed out from the
  research this morning? Why or why not?
• How has your church benefitted most recently from associating with other
  churches?
• How familiar are you with the workings of our current Baptist
  Associations?
• How often do you attend Association-related events?
Follow-Up Questions:
• What are your favourite and least favorite aspects of associating with other
  churches?
• What are your favourite and least favourite aspects of Association?
• What influences whether or not you associate with another church
  congregation?
• What influences whether or not your congregants associate with another
  church congregation?
• If we were to narrow the reason or purpose for inter-church associating
  down to one single criteria, which one factor would you choose and why?

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Exit Question:
• Is there anything else you’d like to say about inter-church relationships or
  other church-to church associating involving your congregation?

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APPENDIX FOUR: THE FUTURE OF ASSOCIATIONS MISSIONAL
TEAM REPORT TO THE BOARD

September 2016

Introduction

	In November of 2014 the CBOQ Board voted to create a Future of
Associations Missional Team (FAMT) with a mandate to provide the board with a
full range of options concerning the future of Associations, from existing without
them to revitalizing them. The Board of Directors identified Associations as one
of five ministry partners that it would review as part of the CBOQ’s 2015-2017
Strategic Plan. The goal is to strengthen relationships between CBOQ and its
Associations in a manner that enables/empowers CBOQ and Associations to
fulfill their respective mission and vision. Currently, the CBOQ relates with 16
Associations of varying degrees of commitment and associating among churches.

	Using the report provided by the Associations Review Advisory Team,
and the purpose of Associations drawn from our CBOQ By-law, which reads that
Associations are to be “the primary means of strengthening fellowship and
mission among Local Churches”, the FAMT set out to provide those options
and fulfill the board’s mandate. After four meetings, team members Deane
Proctor, Frank Fedyk, Melody Currier and Tim McCoy have drafted a glossary of
terms, three options for the future of associations to be considered by the board,
and suggested questions about next steps.

Glossary

	What follows is a glossary of many of the terms used in the accompanying
report. This glossary of terms as well as the definitions have been prepared by the
“Future of Associations Missional Team” at the request of the CBOQ Board. The
definitions provided for each individual term are not intended to provide legally
binding definitions nor do we expect these definitions will satisfy every
theological position or the personal conviction of every reader. These definitions
are intended to aid the reader’s understanding of how the missional team utilizes
each term throughout the report.

	Association (noun)-the entity or level of governance originally
established via voluntary regional collections of like-minded Baptist Churches as
they sought to pool resources and efforts toward a collective Kingdom mission.

	Associating (verb)-the action whereby our churches naturally,
organically and voluntarily choose to come together as partners/friends/allies for
the purposes of undertaking specific fellowship, ministry and mission together.

	Fellowship (noun)-a voluntary community of like-minded people or
churches who gather together to commune socially, spiritually and around a
common interest or purpose.

	Fellowship (verb)-the action whereby a voluntary community of like-
minded people/churches gather together to commune socially, spiritually and
around a common interest or purpose.

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	Mission-the active, tangible ministry actions and activities springing from
an individual and/or corporate scriptural understanding of the Good News of
Jesus Christ and the subsequent, inherent obedient expectations of Christ's church.

	Relationship-a clearly-defined connection, association, or involvement
between like-minded people/churches who gather together to commune socially,
spiritually and around a common interest or purpose.

	Participate/Participating-the voluntary fellowship or mission activity
that springs from a clearly-defined connection, association, or involvement
between like-minded people/churches who have agreed to commune socially,
spiritually and around a common interest or purpose.

	Member-an individual or church who has agreed or covenanted into a
clearly-defined connection, association, or involvement with other like-minded
people or churches. Participation in such a covenant is meant to provide clear
expectations and obligations emanating from a voluntary decision to commune
socially, spiritually and around a common interest or purpose.

	Membership-the status of a member (individual or church) who has
agreed or covenanted into a clearly-defined connection, association, or
involvement with other like-minded people or churches. Participation in such a
covenant is meant to provide clear expectations and obligations emanating from a
voluntary decision to commune socially, spiritually and around a common interest
or purpose.

	Ordination-the act or ceremony within a local congregation whereby an
individual is officially affirmed and “set apart” for Christian ministry during
which the title of “Reverend” is bestowed.

	New Church-any new or existing congregation or fellowship that has
agreed or covenanted into a new, clearly-defined connection, association, or
involvement with other like-minded churches. Participation in such a covenant is
meant to provide clear expectations and obligations emanating from a voluntary
decision to commune socially, spiritually and around a common interest or
purpose.

	CBOQ-The duly elected, governing body known legally as “Canadian
Baptists of Ontario and Quebec. “This body is enabled and empowered by
voluntary regional collections of like-minded Baptist Churches known as
Associations which are voluntarily comprised of like-minded churches seeking to
pool resources and efforts toward a collective Kingdom mission.

	Convention-The model of governance employed by voluntary regional
collections of like-minded Baptist Churches known as Associations which are
voluntarily comprised of like-minded churches seeking to pool resources and
efforts toward a collective Kingdom mission. This model is built upon the
autonomous nature of the local, member church and can be commonly referred to
as a “grassroots” style of governance as opposed to the hierarchical, “top-down”
nature of a presbyterial governance model.

Option 1: Dissolve Association structure as it relates to CBOQ
	Option 1 removes the requirements Associations currently have without
our operating structure. It allows churches within Associations to continue to
voluntarily associate without it being a requirement. Many procedural tasks
Associations currently perform on behalf of/with CBOQ would be handled by

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CBOQ staff. Key procedural tasks to be addressed include ordination,
accreditation and new churches.

Pros							Cons
	Finances allocated as “dues” 			Intentional gatherings for
can be redirected into other 			fellowshipping are no longer part of an
ministries.					intentional annual calendar.
	Natural missional affinities 			Creates ownership questions
among Churches can flourish and/or 		for camps (Oneida etc.)
continue outside of any perceived 
“structure”	
	Natural social/fellowship 			Raises polity questions about
affinities among churches can flourish 		how we continue to value an historic
and/or continue outside of any 			"bottom-up" ecclesiology while
perceived “structure”				promoting an increasingly centralized 
						process
Ministerials could take on 				Possible loss of Baptist identity
additional significance as THE place 		in regions
for church leaders to come for mutual 
support and encouragement instead of 
being the “add-on” to Association life 
that they are now.	
	Creates more dependence on 			Creates more dependence on
CBOQ for support, assistance, 			CBOQ for support, assistance,
inspiration, education, missional		inspiration, education, missional 
opportunities, resources	 		opportunities, resources
Local community among 					Just because the current
ecumenical/affinity groups/networks 		Association model is no longer
will emerge					relevant nor capable of serving the 
						needs and expectations of member 
						churches and leaders doesn’t mean a 
						form for “associating” amongst CBOQ 
						churches shouldn’t be supported and 
						nurtured by CBOQ
	Frees up resources (human 			Don't throw out the "baby"
and financial) to direct to ministry 		with the bath water. if the goal is to
rather than Association operational 		strenghthen the partnership/relationship
expenses.	 				between CBOQ and its Associations 
						dissolution of Associations will loosen 
						the bond between CBOQ churches and 
						between CBOQ HQ and local 
						churches. Is it possible to 
						identify/discern the way forward and a 
						new governance model to enable 
						churches in a region/geographic area to

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						“associate” to advance the Kingdom 
						message and to encourage fellowship 
						and ministry partnerships?
Associations no longer the 				Some traditional Baptist
“first contact” for “help” when a 		churches may claim CBOQ is
CBOQ member church seeking 			abandoning its Baptist roots and
assistance (calling a pastor; conflict 		history.
resolution, etc.)	
	Not all Associations have full- 		Some may claim dissolving
time nor dedicated resources to 		Associations doesn't fix the problem
coordinate and lead Association 		of how to encourage and foster local
ministries and responsibilities.	

Option 2: Remain at status quo
	Option 2 keeps us functioning as we currently do with regard to CBOQ
and Associations

Pros							Cons
	Some Associations are 				More about the past than the
attempting to re-new or re-envision 		future
their purpose	
	Joint missional ventures 			2014 survey suggests many
(camps or youth networks)			pastor do not recognize the Association 
						as playing a significant role in 
						strengthening fellowship and mission in 
						their church
	Deep history of Associations			Resources and relationships 
						Associations have provided in the past 
						are now available through other avenues
	Fellowship					16 different ways that churches 
						become members of an Association, 
						and, ultimately, CBOQ
	Pastoral support				Lack of finances to support 
						Associations
	Ordination / credentials 			Newer churches don't
system						feel/understand the relevance of the 
						Associations
	Lack of clarity between 			
differences of CBOQ and 
Associations	

	Widening theological 
positions impacting desire to work 
together	

Option 3: A new model
	As in Option 1, this option dissolves the Association structure as it relates
to CBOQ, but it also includes CBOQ encouraging and supporting its churches to

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“associate” in order to identify defined and executed ministries together. Such
associating would be voluntary.

Pros							Cons
	Maintains part of our deep 				Some Associations will not
							survive
	Frees up Associations from 				With no reason to “associate”
CBOQ imposed expectations and 				CBOQ churches and leaders may
responsibilities (sponsorship of new 			question why is there a CBOQ?
churches for membership;  
accreditation)	  
	Individual CBOQ churches can 				Could lead to rethink of what
“associate” to define and execute 			it means to be a CBOQ church? What
locally discerned ministry and 				does it mean to be a Baptist church?
partnerships - such as youth/family 
camping ministries; Vacation Bible S
chool/Summer camp ministries; 
men/women/family workshops, 
training and fellowship; local and 
international missions, etc.	  
	Reduce financial and human 				May not be sufficient				
burden on Associations structures 			ministries identified to foster CBOQ
to “associate”	 					 local churches to associate
	Creates more dependency of 
CBOQ churches on CBOQ for support.	
	Clusters would not necessarily 
be “assigned” 
geographically (but could be for 
maximum efficiency)	
	Clusters (churches with existing 
or newly recognized affinities) can 
undertake mission and fellowship as 
they feel led by God to do (NOT as 
sanctioned or endorsed by “The 
Association”)	

Conclusion and Questions for the Board

	Significant cultural, demographic and economic change has occurred since
“Associations” were first envisioned and created over 125 years ago. In turn, the
roles and responsibilities of Associations to resource/support Association
churches has evolved and changed to respond to the discerned missions of
member churches and desire for mutual fellowship and ministry. Moreover, the
relationship between Associations and CBOQ HQ has evolved to reflect new
realities, diversity, culture and needs. Until 2003 CBOQ staffed and funded area
Ministers who worked side-by-side with Association leaders/churches to fulfill
administrative and ministry duties (such as sponsorship of new churches,

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accreditation, regional workshops, etc.). Area ministers were abolished as a cost-
saving measure and Associations were left to choose how to resource and
structure governance models in 17 geographic defined Association regions.

	At the same time, federal regulatory requirements have increased such that
all charities are under increased scrutiny and strict reporting requirements. Most
CBOQ churches have been incorporated as non-for-profit organizations and are
required to compile with government-imposed governance requirements (elected
officers, annual meeting of members, annual reports, audit of financials, etc.).
Registration and compliance with Revenue Canada Agency CRA) is also required
to receipt donations and expend funds for charitable purposes.

	Over the last two plus decades “birthing” of new CBOQ churches has
been primarily supported by a “parenting” CBOQ church rather than as a plant by
an Association or the CBOQ office. Given that the growth in Canada’s population
is projected to continue to rely on new Canadians - who choose to settle primarily
in cities/urban centres - it is most likely “new” CBOQ churches will continue to
be concentrated in urban areas of Southern Ontario and along the Quebec City -
Windsor corridor.

	To assist the Board as it prays and discerns the way forward the
following comments are offered:

	1. Status Quo (Option 2) is not sustainable over the long-term. One of 17
Associations has disbanded (2015) and many CBOQ churches (facing their own
human and financial challenges) question why Associations exist and see them as
resource takers rather than resource providers. Similarly, federal and/or
provincial regulations have placed demands on Associations to have governance
structures that create additional demands for limited resources. The CRA also
requires all charitable organization to register and report to maintain their
charitable status. The lack of purpose/mission/volunteers will continue to be
challenges for Associations and their churches.

	2. Option 1 -Dissolving Associations is the simplest to implement from an
operational perspective but will likely be the most politically demanding as it
would force a “rethink”, discernment and explanation of what CBOQ is and how
it fulfills the Great Commission to make disciples and “birth” churches in
communities across Ontario and Quebec. If Associations are no longer a resource
and instrument to fulfill the mission/vision of the CBOQ, is there a reason for a
CBOQ?

	3. Option 3 -is a “modified” Option 1 -as CBOQ headquarters would
“assist” (nature of support and resources to be defined) those Associations and
churches who discern they wish to “associate.” Few Associations have clarity of
mission/purpose/ministry that captures the hearts and souls of its member
churches. Would Associations thrive or survive in this model?

	Questions for the Board

	1. Is there a need for an organizational structure (e.g. “Associations”) to
support CBOQ churches to “associate” and accomplish the Great Commission?

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	2. Is there a need for a church to be an “Association church” to be a
member of the CBOQ?

	3. Should CBOQ continue to maintain the existing Association structure
or develop a new Association model?

	4. Is now the time to engage in a dialogue with CBOQ churches on the
nature and role of Associations?

	5. Are the three options representative of the range of appropriate
organizational structures for CBOQ churches to “associate” and accomplish their
mission?

	6. Are there other options that the Missional Team/Board should
explore/develop?

	7. Should any new Association structure reflect the demographic shift that
the vast majority of Canadian now live in urban/city centres? That is, create a
unique structure that encourages urban churches to associate while establishing a
different organizational model to support rural churches across the two provinces
to associate?

	8. What does the Board envision as next steps?

	9. When and how should the Missional/Board engage Associations?

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APPENDIX FIVE: REPORT TO THE BOARD FUTURE OF

ASSOCIATIONS DECEMBER 2018

	A mandate was given to the Future of Associations Missional team in
2014 which stated, “provide the board with a full range of options concerning the
future of Associations”. In 2016 the Missional team provided 3 options which
included:

	Option 1 - dissolve the Association structure
	Option 2 - remain status quo
	Option 3 - “dissolving the Association structure... CBOQ encouraging and
supporting its churches to associate...would be voluntary.” Elsewhere Option 3 is
described as “a modified Option 1”.

	In 2016, the board voted to adopt Option 3 and send the document back to
the missional team taking into consideration what the staff and CBOQ support in
the new hybrid model. No further action was taken by the missional team at that
time.

	During a conference call on December 6 between Wayne, Bob, Dallas,
Melody and Ev, it became very apparent that dissolving Associations is very
problematic. One of the things not previously highlighted was the legal costs and
implications of dissolving Associations. Also, the board cannot unilaterally
dissolve associations as “Associations are established by local churches in
consultation with the CBOQ board and other Associations” - CBOQ by-laws.
Staff have requested a clarification of the mandate from the board.

	It is recommended that the board consider tasking either CBOQ staff or a
new missional team with the following mandate:

	“To develop a reformed model of Associations with input from the
Associations which upholds the duties and responsibilities of the Associations as
outlined in the CBOQ by-laws while taking into consideration the problems and
difficulties the Associations face under the current model and the diversity that
exists among the Associations with the understanding that this reformed model
must be approved by the Associations prior to its implementation.”

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