How to Celebrate Kingdom Progress in 2032
Local denominational organizations/judicatories empowering their congregations to serve from the base of their context. Based on Baptist associations in the Southern Baptist tradition.
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Beginning in January (2025), I started writing and publishing a series of columns with The Baptist Paper—then posting them on this blog—about imagining what a national denomination would be like if the local denominational organization—rather than the regional or national organization—was in the lead role by the year 2033.
The Baptist Paper is a publication of TAB Media. Request a free trial HERE. See all TAB Media columns written by George Bullard HERE.)
SPECIAL OFFER! Use promotion code “Bullard” to subscribe to The Baptist Paper print and digital editions at half-price by going HERE. Ten of these columns have posted on this blog. As of today I have at least one more to go.
How to Celebrate Kingdom Progress in 2032
If your association catches a vision for imagining itself in the lead missional role in the denomination by the year 2033, you will be proactively different.
How will your association be different in 2032? Will it be proactively different? Will it be passively different? Or will it be indifferent?
If your association catches a vision for imagining itself in the lead missional role in the denomination by the year 2033, you will be proactively different. That is, it will be if you get started soon enough on the journey outlined in the previous 10 columns.
RELATED: Check out more articles on the impact of Baptist associations.
If your association faithfully follows the initiatives from the denomination more than it follows how your context cries out for you to serve them, you may be passively different.
If your association repeats the programmatic and relational patterns of the past each year, then you might be indifferent. I hope not. I believe God has higher expectations of your association than for it to be indifferent.
Anticipating a Proactive 2032
If you choose in 2025 to imagine you are in a lead missional and denominational role in your context by the year 2033, then as you enter 2032 you will arrive at a new sabbatical year following six years of prophetic missional engagement.
During 2032 you will do several things:
First, you will take a sabbatical to rest, relax and reflect on what God has been doing in and through your family of congregations through the missional engagements you launched during the past six years.
Second, you will celebrate the Kingdom progress God has inspired, motivated and led through your congregations. If you followed the suggested pattern, you have “celebrated next” three times per year or approximately every 120 days and then adjusted your strategies and actions to stay as close as possible to where God leads you.
Third, you will listen for God to speak anew in and through your congregations about what the next discernment might be and how to go further in fulfilling your overall mission in your context.
Fourth, as you listen for the voice of God, you will begin developing the next round of strategies and actions for a new series of seasons of planting, growth, cultivation and harvesting as referenced in Leviticus 25.
Fifth, you will recalibrate your resources to prepare to “launch next” during 2033. Adjusting, strengthening and expanding your resources within your family of congregations will be essential for the next movement forward.
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Let me hear from you if you want to talk about this.