Metanoia Church is part of a network of over 40 Southern Baptist churches in the middle Maryland region. Recently our network, the Mid-Maryland Baptist Association (MMBA), featured us in a newsletter article celebrating the diversity of churches in our particular network. Check out the article: Different Methods: Same Gospel.
Those of you who hang around Metanoia know that I strongly believe in cooperating with networks and organizations that further God's Kingdom. The MMBA is one of those networks that not only embraces diversity of ministry style, but puts their money where their mouth is by financially supporting churches like ours. Admittedly, Metanoia really doesn't look like a lot of Southern Baptist churches in our area, but we share the same doctrine and core value for mission.
I have little to no tolerance for Christians who bemoan the "institutionalized church" (whatever that is), denominations and traditional forms of church as completely useless. Granted, a lot of these ministry styles are "out dated," bureaucratically bloated and are ridiculously slow to embrace change, which is why I am serving as pastor at Metanoia and not one of them! However, if it weren't for these churches and the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ in these churches who met God, embraced His call to mission and shared the Gospel, Metanoia wouldn't be here today. And, I seriously doubt that those who bemoan such expressions of church would have met Jesus personally--who else would have told them about Him?
One of the things I have always said is: I am Christ's child by identity, a member of Christ's family (the church) by adoption and associated with the doctrine and mission of Southern Baptists by choice. I may not agree with all that my tribe does all the time, but I cooperate until such relationship is no longer possible.
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