Core Leadership Team - September 2020

Last week we took an exciting new step in seeking to live out our value of ‘feeling like one team’ with the first joint gathering of the new Core Leadership Team (CLT) and the BUGB Trustees.  An annual gathering together of what was the Baptist Steering Group and the BUGB Trustees has been a practice that we have developed in recent years so that we can build relationships and reflect together about our common vision and our particular roles in supporting that.  Like so much of life at the moment, we had hoped that we would have been able to meet face to face, but that was not to be so we had a virtual meeting via Zoom instead!

After beginning our time reading and praying into Exodus 33:12-23 – “Presence and rest”, the majority of our time was devoted to continuing to listen, reflect and discern action needed in relation to God’s heart for justice.  This is something that the CLT and Trustees are taking very seriously.  We are taking time to listen carefully to the experiences of others.  We are also grappling with how we actually encourage and enable each other to  be more like God when our way of being church cherishes freedom and autonomy.  We are hesitant to make quick decisions that might look good now but that don’t really address the deeper issues that we need to engage with over the medium and long term.  I am sure that many of you will identify with this as you seek to respond in your local context to what God seems to be stirring up at this time.

Our Council had already discerned that the digital revolution was an area that was especially important for us, and the unfolding pandemic has brought this even more sharply into focus.  Diane Watts, our Faith and Society Interim Team Leader updated us as she and others with passion and expertise in this area are beginning to scope out what is already happening and what this priority could look like for us.

We were grateful that Rev David Pile (Minister, Basford Road BC) was our accompanier.  As always, having someone who is tasked with listening and reflecting back to us was very helpful.  He ended our time together by taking us back to the beginning and reminding us that in Exodus 33 although Moses asks God a question, God answered with something different!  As we continue to navigate this season of indefinite uncertainty we can trust that although God may lead us into unexpected things, He is still faithful and will always be present with us.

Our day ended with our first virtual Assembly.  It was great to gather together to pray and hear more about what God had been doing in and through Baptists Together in 2019.  We also looked forward to some of the things that are bubbling up for the future.  With contributions from our Moderator, Alastair Mitchell-Baker, our President, Rev Yinka Oyekan, our Treasurer, John Levick and myself as General Secretary it was an inspiring and informative hour with lots of participation from all across our Baptist family!  Don’t worry if you missed out, you can watch it all on You Tube

Whatever life looks like for you at the moment, please know that you are being upheld in prayer by your Baptist Together family.


Lynn Green
September 2020
The Revd Lynn Green is General Secretary of our Baptist Union
 
The Core Leadership Team (CLT) is an expression of covenant and interdependence for us as Baptists.  It draws together many of those offering leadership across our Movement (Regional Team Leaders, College Principals, Specialist Team Leaders, our President, Treasurer, General Secretary, the Moderators of Council and the Trustee Board, together with a leader from each of our current priority areas) and its purpose is to perceive what God is doing, to encourage flourishing across Baptists Together and to model together what it means to be a Kingdom Movement. 

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