Church Planting Update - March 2024

In the Church Planting priority area of the Nashville Baptist Association, we are committed to reaching our communities with the gospel, by walking alongside church planters and the churches that send them. Here is how we are doing that in 2024.

First, we are connecting churches with church planters, in an effort to Help Churches Help Churches. For example, church planter Juan Natal is in talks with the leadership of Rosedale Baptist Church about sharing their campus space. Likewise, we have connected planter Monterrey Lee with Third Baptist Church for a potential partnership.

Second, we are encouraging pastors to identify potential church planters from within their congregations. Travis Tullis at Priest Lake Community Church is working with me to recognize and develop men in his church.

Third, we are helping church planters settle into two of our main target Church Planting areas. Robert Vickers of Way Truth Life Church is in the Church Planting process in Lavergne, with the NBA and TBMB. Gary Morgan is preparing to launch Story Church in downtown Nashville.

Our Churches Planting Churches webinars have been going strong since October of 2022. Most recently, we heard from Gary Morgan about apartment ministries. This month, I will speak about how your church can plant or be a part of a church.

Finally, we are starting a Church Planters Cohort called “Pioneers” in May. This will be a space of collaborative learning, where local church planters can help each other grow by sharing ideas and best practices. Areas of focus will include strategic planning, action steps toward church growth, financial planning strategies, vision casting, discipleship strategies, and more. We will also discuss how ministries like those in nearby apartment communities can be good outreach for church planters.

If you would like more information about the Church Planting process, or how you and your church can help, send me an email using the address below or call the NBA office.

Dwayne Lewis
NBA Church Planting Strategist
dlewis@nashvillebaptists.com

Diaspora Missions Collective Update: Sheep and Goats

Have you ever preached a sermon, taught a Sunday school class, or even tried to teach a life lesson to your kids, and immediately God tested you to see if you meant what you said or practiced what you preach?

Last month at the Diaspora Missions Collective gathering we had a great turnout for our Refugee Roundtable.  Siloam Health was represented by David Rogers. They have two clinics in South Nashville providing health care for refugees and the uninsured. 

Melissa Thomas introduced The Branch of Nashville, a ministry operating like a regional food pantry. Andrew Phay represented Only Together, a yearly conference that brings together many ministries and churches that support the refugee and immigrant communities. Bruce Krapf presented Thrift Smart, a store for those in need to buy new and used clothing and housewares. Finally, Tennessee Resettlement Aid is headed by Katie Finn. They are a relatively new refugee aid organization that seeks to fill in the gaps for those new arrivals to our city.  Light bulbs came on as local pastors realized that they did not need to reinvent the wheel when it came to plugging their churches into existing refugee work in the city.

I thought it was appropriate to lead off our discussion with Jesus’s teaching about ministering to the hungry, the poor, and the strangers:

‘For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger and you took me in; I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me; I was in prison and you visited me.’– Matthew 24:35-36 (CSB)

You can see why I chose this passage as it perfectly encapsulated the theme of the event. Feeding the hungry, clothing the poor, and taking care of the sick and foreigners are the reasons each of these ministries exists. However, what I did not remember was that this familiar passage was nested in his larger teaching on the sheep and the goats:

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.  - Matthew 24:31-33 (CSB)

In the end, King Jesus will separate his true followers from the false ones, the sheep from the goats, and those bound for glory from those cursed.  The main idea of the passage is how they will be separated.  Some feed the hungry, clothe the poor, and visit and care for the foreigners and prisoners.  And some do not. 

Last Friday I had one of those days. I was late to work and when I got there a homeless man was camping on the steps of our office in East Nashville. This is not out of the ordinary for working near downtown. I told the guy in a gruff voice that he couldn’t stay there, and that he would have to move on since this was a place of business. Just then the Spirit reminded me of what I had so recently preached but was failing to live. I had an agenda for my day. God had a different one.

The guy’s name was Roy. He was dressed in fatigues but wasn’t a veteran. I bought him lunch and over the next hour or so I listened to his story. He sunk into his chair, rarely looking in my direction. He grew up in Whites Creek, graduated high school, and was raised in a religious household. But like many prodigal sons, he was down on his luck, without a house, a car, or a job.  After he finished his meal, I prayed for him.  His countenance changed. He looked me in the eye and said he had not heard a prayer like that in many years.  As we parted ways I wanted to bring him to a shelter for the night, but he wanted me to drop him off downtown at a park. 

Pray for Roy and pray for the thousands of souls like Roy in our city. Pray that they cross our path and that we have the eyes to see them as Christ sees them – as prodigal sons waiting to come home.

Here are the links on how you and your church can be involved. Call or email if you have any questions.

https://siloamhealth.org/
https://thriftsmart.com/
https://www.thebranchofnashville.org/
https://www.onlytogethernashville.com/
https://tennesseeresettlementaid.org/


Brett Boesch
NBA Connections Strategist
bboesch@nashvillebaptists.com

The Power of Easter

Easter Sunday is the day that gives people the opportunity to encounter the presence of the Holy Spirit that can change their lives forever. Easter Sunday is real and undeniably the best day for a fresh start for anyone. 

Lives around the world are filled with valleys and mountains and Easter is one of those Sundays people attend church. We must continuously be reminded that our Savior Jesus Christ is RISEN from the grave.

Remember in Luke 24, the two disciples traveled from Jerusalem to Emmaus and had an encounter with Jesus? They were in a state of shock that they crucified Jesus and the women returned from the tomb that Jesus’ body wasn’t there.

“They went to the tomb early this morning 23 but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. 24 Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.”

The resurrection is clearly real! People will come to your church disappointed, depressed, broken hearted, and lost looking for more to their lives. On Easter, their miracle can happen! No matter where they are in their lives, Jesus is always present.

That’s the value of Easter. Easter causes people to reconsider their situations and circumstances, that they can find victory in Jesus Christ our RISEN Savior. 


Dwayne Lewis
Church Planting Strategist
dlewis@nashvillebaptists.com

Forty Days - Prayer and Fasting in the Lenten Season

I am writing today on Ash Wednesday, February 14, 2024. A day that other Christian denominations observe as the beginning of the Lenten Season. The season commemorates the forty days of the temptation of Christ in the desert, by observing a fast for the forty days leading up to Easter. (Sundays are excluded and not counted as fasting days.) When we lived in the Middle East our pastor called the season “the Period of Descent.” The idea is that it marks a period of reflection and repentance, fasting, and prayer.  It is a time of waiting on the Lord.

Forty is a symbolic number in both the Old and New Testaments. It is symbolic because the number connects several stories. Noah waited on the ark for forty days after the flood. God led Moses and the people of Israel through the wilderness for forty years -- one year for every ten years they were in slavery in Egypt. Elijah fasted as he traveled forty days to reach Mount Horeb and was ministered to by angels. Jesus’ own forty days of temptation in the wilderness was a reenactment of both Moses’ and Elijah’s fasts. Just as the nation of Israel was tempted in the desert, Jesus was tempted in like manner. Where Israel failed each trial, Jesus triumphed.

Jesus taught the type of fast that his followers should practice. He wanted to distinguish between the false fast of the religious actors, which was outward and showy, and a true fast which allowed for a time of prayer, confession, and humility.

16 “Whenever you fast, don’t be gloomy like the hypocrites. For they disfigure their faces so that their fasting is obvious to people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that your fasting isn’t obvious to others but to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”  -- Matthew 6:16-18, CSB

The reformers had different ideas about fasting and lent, but they did not abolish it. For Luther the practice was to be continued: “Lent, Palm Sunday, and Holy Week shall be retained, not to force anyone to fast, but to preserve the Passion history and the Gospels appointed for that season.”  (Luther, “German Mass”) Calvin thought the whole of the Christian life should be about temperance and restraint. He wanted to guard the practice of fasting against “superstition, notions of merit, and hypocrisy.” Calvin proposed three right motivations for fasting: “to subdue the flesh,” to be better prepared for prayer, and to place oneself in the proper posture of confession and repentance. (Calvin, “Institutes”)

How can we bring back an ancient practice that is both Biblical and beneficial? Is there a way to do this both individually and corporately, while guarding against public displays and hypocrisy?

Here are some items that we should be in prayer about this season:

  • Pray for the next director of the Nashville Baptist Association. We pray for wisdom and discernment for our board.

  • Pray for the churches. We have some who a seeking pastors and a few who are seeking new places of worship.

  • Pray for our pastors.

  • Pray for our nation, especially during an election year.

  • Pray for repentance, humility, and patient endurance.

I will be at the NBA office in East Nashville every Friday from noon to 1pm from now until Easter, if you would like to pray and fast together. If you want to send in prayer requests by phone or email, I will handle them discretely.

Fast and pray – Easter is coming!

Brett Boesch
Connections Strategist
225-288-9491
bboesch@nashvillebaptists.com

Diaspora Missions Collective

Diaspora is not a Greek New Testament word although it sounds like it should be. It can be found in the Septuagint version of Deuteronomy 28:25 referring to the curse of the Jewish people if they did not obey the voice of the Lord.  They would be defeated and dispersed, scattered amongst the nations. Although this did happen, Isaiah prophesies a future return of their people. “He will raise a signal for the nations and will assemble the banished of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.” (Isaiah 11:12)

In modern usage, diaspora refers to any group of people that has immigrated and no longer lives in their original homeland. The greater Nashville Metro area has a population of close to 700,000 people, with roughly 22% or 150,000 being foreign-born (source). While some are immigrants, many are refugees escaping war, famine, or persecution in their homelands.

Having this knowledge begs a response. Is this a problem or an opportunity? This opportunity is exactly what the Diaspora Missions Collective seeks to address. If we are mission-focused, we could save our money, plan a trip, and get on a plane to Antioch or Smyrna (Izmir), both located in modern Turkey. Or we can take Murfreesboro Pike and visit the eponymic cities right here in Middle Tennessee. We could visit Lebanon in the Middle East or Lebanon, TN on I-40.

The nations are here. The nations are in our backyard.

The Diaspora Missions Collective is a partnership between the International Mission Board, the North American Mission Board, Send Relief, and the Women’s Missionary Union. They have a small traveling team of missionaries, and they seek to “collaborate, share, and pray” with local Baptist associations like ours.

For the last half year or so, we have hosted the Diaspora Missions Collective gatherings at the Nashville Baptist Association office and local churches monthly. These gatherings are for pastors, missions pastors, ethnic pastors, WMU leaders, and laymen who have a heart for seeing the nations reached in and around our city.  We usually have a speaker, discussion, and prayer and since we are Baptist we usually share a meal.  Some of our previous speakers were Terry Sharp, Nathan Velazquez, Abraham Shepherd, and Dr. John Klasssen. Future topics will be on the refugee response, sharing faith with our ethnic neighbors, and church leader health.

Be in prayer for our city and the nations that live among us. Be thankful for the blessing that God has brought them so close. Try to join us at one of our gatherings, or be prayerful about which staff or lay leader you can send on behalf of your church.

You can read more about the DMC and connect with the Nashville Collective here: https://dmcollective.org/nashville/

The author of Hebrews reminds us that Christians also are a diaspora people. We are exiles. This is not our home:

All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them..

– Hebrews 11:13-16 (NIV, emphasis mine)

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to call me.

Brett Boesch
Connections Strategist
225-288-9491

 

Partner with Rescue 1 Global to Fight Human Trafficking

January is human trafficking awareness month, and in light of that emphasis, we are highlighting Rescue 1 Global.

Rescue 1 Global is an organization based in Middle Tennessee that combats human trafficking through prevention, rescue, and restoration operations. Prevention Operations raises awareness and provides training on how to identify and combat trafficking. As cohorts develop as part of a regional Task Force, outreach teams conduct strategic touch-points to prevent those who are vulnerable from falling victim, identify victims and assist in the initiation of Exit Strategies with the Rescue Operations. Rescue Operations provides a 24/7 crisis hotline, crisis response teams and urgent shelter care. Trained Rescue Operators offer investigative services, respond on-scene to the immediate needs of victims, and serve alongside law enforcement to identify and advocate for those affected by trafficking. Restoration Operations provide holistic physical, emotional, social, and spiritual care to survivors as they heal from trauma and rebuild for their future, offering personalized development plans (case management) through our Grace Oasis safe communities programs.

As you might imagine, there are various needs associated with this ministry. In the area of prevention, the greatest need is volunteers for outreach. In the area of rescue, there are great needs for funding the crisis response team for response operations. And in the area of restoration, the greatest needs are for volunteers and staff to join in daily operations of development plan and essential daily living. 

To find out more and volunteer in this effort, see rescue1global.org.

Leadership Transition at the Nashville Baptist Association

Friends of the Nashville Baptist Association -

Thank you for the chance to serve alongside you the past couple of years at the Nashville Baptist Association. I continue to be proud of the work we are doing together as we help churches help churches, and I'm grateful for the progress we have made in doing so.

My last day as the Executive Director of the NBA will be in mid-January. I have accepted a position as the Director of The Rooted Network, a discipleship and publishing organization which seeks to create life-changing discipleship experiences in the church. While the organization is based in southern California, the position is remote in nature, and my family and I are glad to remain in the Nashville area.

I'm also grateful that our Board of Directors has asked me to be available for the next several months in a consultative role, helping as best I can to keep the strong momentum and vision we have embraced together going while they search for a new Executive Director. 

Jeff Mims, pastor of Judson Baptist Church and current Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Nashville Baptist Association, asked me to share this word of encouragement with you:

"We are sad Michael is leaving, but affirm God's calling in taking this new step in his journey. We believe the work Michael has accomplished has prepared us for our future as an association. We are grateful to the NBA staff and have full confidence in their ability to accomplish the work of the association in the coming days.

This week the Board of Directors began compiling a list of candidates to contact in the first of the year. We hope to move as quickly as possible to fill the vacancy. If you have a candidate you would like to recommend, please feel free to email me at jeff.mims@judsonbaptist.com. In the coming days, the Board humbly asks for you to pray for our staff as they work in this transition, and we ask for you to pray the Board will have wisdom in the hiring process." 

Thank you for the way you have embraced the vision of the NBA and have committed to working together for healthy churches in Middle Tennessee. The work will continue, and as it does, please feel free to reach out to the NBA team directly:

Michael Kelley
Executive Director

How you and your church can help Coptic refugees

There is a farm on the Old Nashville Highway between Smyrna and Murfreesboro with an unassuming house out front. As I drove up the driveway yesterday, I was greeted by a short man with very little English. I told him I was delivering winter clothes and supplies from a local church. Just then a large rat scurried across the carport. Soon I was met by another Egyptian named Happy*. Happy has much better English. I explained to him what I was up to, and he cautiously consented. Soon, one Copt after another filed out of the house. No one’s sure exactly how many people are staying at the house—one said twenty or so, and another closer to forty.

These Egyptians are Copts. Egypt and Copt stem from the same root word, but the distinction between the two terms lies in their usage. Copts are typically Christian while Egyptians are generally Muslim. About ten percent of the modern nation of Egypt is Coptic. The Copts are culturally Christian, tracing their Christian roots to the first century with St. Mark the Evangelist. Although Copts differ theologically in many ways from modern Protestants, they have persevered and stayed true to the ancient orthodox faith for over 1300 years of Muslim rule.

While I was getting to know some of the Coptic men, Gasim drove up. Gasim is a Sudanese pastor in Nashville, whose congregation meets at Tusculum Baptist Church in Nolensville. I had asked him to meet me at this location because Gasim speaks Arabic. The men gathered around us while Gasim translated. I noticed they all wore sandals. Sandals may be the norm on the streets of Cairo, but they’re not ideal for the December weather in Nashville.

These Coptic men are all seeking asylum. They came to America to escape religious persecution. When I asked about their biggest need, they replied in unison, “jobs,” so they could make money to send back to their families in Egypt. I have been around many refugees in my life, and this generous spirit is typical. Blessings are meant to be shared. Earned money is first for the family and then for the individual.

Gasim had brought a box of Arabic Bibles, and everyone who was outside received one cheerfully. Then Gasim, simply and naturally, asked to lead them in a Bible study. They all agreed, and these Egyptian men stood around soaking in the teaching from Scripture. At the end, I asked If I could share a verse and a prayer with them. I read from Leviticus 19:33-34:

“‘When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the LORD your God.”

Leviticus 19 is a favorite passage of mine these days. Moses was delivering a speech from Mt. Sinai directly from the Lord. The speech begins with “Be holy, for the Lord your God is holy,” and then what follows unpacks how to do just that. To be holy is to be completely different from the world. It is this chapter that Jesus quotes when he said: “Be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect.” He quoted from this chapter again when he gave the second half of the Great Commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Read Leviticus 19 when you get a chance and then pray about the needs of these men. Maybe your church or those in your circle of influence can help in some small way:

  1. Jobs—their asylum papers are in process, so only odd jobs may be possible.

  2. English—maybe a church or Sunday school class can volunteer an hour or two a week to teach them there at the farm.

  3. Clothes—socks, winter clothes, jackets, anything to keep them warm during the winter.

  4. Thrift Smart or Wal-Mart gift cards so they can purchase winter shoes.

  5. Food—churches volunteering to bring a meal for the group.

Do not hesitate to call me with any questions you may have about how to serve these men seeking refuge.


Brett Boesch
Connections Strategist
Nashville Baptist Association

*Names changed for security.

Bible Reading Resources for 2024

Though we are in the thick of preparations for Christmas, always a busy time in church life, we should also have an eye on the coming new year. As January approaches, we as church leaders have the opportunity to take advantage of a season in which people are likely making resolutions for their next twelve months and challenge them to a new commitment to Bible reading.

Reading, understanding, memorizing, and living out the truth of the Bible has never been more important. The State of Theology research study, a joint effort between Ligonier Ministries and LifeWay Research, is conducted every two years in order to report on the theological temperature of the United States. Here are a few of the findings from the last study in 2022:

  • 48% of evangelicals agree that God learns and adapts to different circumstances

  • 65% of evangelicals agree that every one is born innocent in the sight of God

  • 56% of evangelicals agree that God accepts the worship of all religions including Christianity, Judaism, and Islam

  • 43% of evangelicals agree that Jesus was a great teacher but he was not God (up from 30% in 2020)

These are revealing statistics, and they point to the great need for our people to be committed to God's Word as the source of truth. January provides the unique opportunity to do just that. In order to help your people, you can download two different Bible reading plans in this post to help your equip your people. 

The first plan is chronological in nature. It enables a person to read the Bible all the way through in one year from a chronological standpoint. Adopting this plan not only immerses someone in God's Word; it helps reinforce the timeline of the Bible in order to see the historical order in which events occurred. (Download the chronological plan.)

The second plan is also aimed at reading the entire Bible in one year, but in this case, it calls for a person to read from different parts of the Bible each day. Every day a person will have a reading from the Psalms and wisdom literature, a reading from the Pentatuch and the history of Israel, a reading from the Chronicles and Prophets, and a reading from the Gospels and epistles. (Download the genre plan.)

Of course, there are many more plans available with just a quick web search, but whatever you choose, don't miss the January opportunity to challenge people to be in God's Word all year long.

--
Michael Kelley
Executive Director