Message from the President

By Rev. Tony Facenda (March, 2005)

Greetings from the Outer Banks! As president of the board of Baptist Home Missions, I am excited to see how the Lord will work this year in and through BHM and each of our respective ministries. I appreciate the faithfulness of the past leadership and their great love for church planting and am eager to see that spirit continue.

As we look forward to this year and beyond, we are faced with a great number of opportunities and responsibilities. The pluralistic society in which we live offers a great many open fields for evangelism and in-depth discipleship. At the same time, however, there are a multitude of counterfeit and destructive messages being presented to the communities in which we serve. We all know that the ultimate power of reaching people lies in the sufficiency of God’s Word and His power. Yet it is evident throughout scripture that God desires for each of us to strive for excellence in each of our fields of ministry and in every area of our lives.

Faithfulness
Noah’s life is an example of excellence in faithfulness. Can you imagine preaching year after year with NO response? It is unlikely that Noah would have been invited to speak at any church growth seminars. However, he did exactly what God called him to do – in the place God called Him to do it – for the time that God ordered. Each of us needs to examine our commitment to faithfulness in light of the great enemy of faithfulness, – familiarity. Many times people will claim to be faithful in serving God when in reality all they are doing is “showing up.” It is the path most familiar to them so they keep doing the same thing while the passion and commitment is lacking. This year let us each reaffirm our commitment to faithfully fulfilling God’s plan for our ministries.

Contentment
The early years of David’s life are an example of excellence in contentment. He was content with keeping sheep, content with running errands, content with playing music, and when needed, content with killing giants. It would appear from scripture that he moved effortlessly from one role to another. As church planters, we, like David, are called to wear a variety of “hats.” Though the goal of church planting is to transfer these hats to other qualified people as soon as possible, it usually takes a great deal of patience. In the mean time what do we do? We must choose to excel in contentment. This is possible when we resist the temptation to compare ourselves with the accomplishments of others or with our own preconceived goals. Let it be enough for each of us that we are doing that which God has called us to do in the place of His choosing and in the time of His setting.

Moral Character
The life of Joseph is a powerful example of excellence in moral character. He was sold into slavery, misused and abused; yet, he would not compromise. He is the first person that practiced that old saying, “Feet don’t fail me now!” He applied the principle of Romans 13:14, centuries before Paul wrote it. Joseph’s strong moral behavior illustrates the principle of prevention. If you never put yourself in a place where you can do wrong morally, guess what? YOU WON’T! Though there is no place you can go that will guarantee the right way though life, there are always preventive steps you can take. Let it be our practice to take them this year – this month – this week – today!

Recognizing True Success
Finally, Paul’s life is an example of excellence in recognizing true success. Like me, you have probably read books and attended conferences that promised to show you “How to Do It.” However, it is quickly apparent that many times the sovereignty of God and of His Word has been ignored. Instead, let us follow the parameters of success that Paul used. Determine God’s will (Acts 16:10); do your best (Acts 20:24); and trust God to keep score (I Corinthians 4:5). Paul’s assessment of his own life in II Timothy was centered on the concept that success is faithfully fulfilling God’s will for your life.

As we serve the Lord this year in our various ministries, may we succeed in being faithful to the task at hand, in being content with His plan, in being morally pure in the midst of our surroundings, and in allowing God to be the judge of our accomplishments. Let us strive for excellence in each area of responsibility so that many will see the character of God, and His name will be glorified.