Dr. Tim Lubinus, Executive Director/Treasurer
By Tim Lubinus, BCI Executive Director/Treasurer
The Executive Board made a small structural change at their last meeting that I think will improve its ability to lead and impact the Baptist Convention of Iowa (BCI). The change will not sacrifice any of our ideals for the board such as accountability to the churches, healthy representation of all our churches, nor the strong leadership of our convention.
My observation is that the effectiveness of many executive boards is uneven. I really like the idea of a group of committed leaders united together to work through plans and problems that come up in an organization. However, I’ve observed in some contexts where an executive board structure can take a group of committed leaders and somehow make the whole much less than the sum of the parts. In other words, solid leaders on an individual level can, with the wrong structure, devolve into an inefficient decision making body.
In order to help avoid this, the executive board approved a proposal to divide into three focused groups that give input and set guidelines on the three main areas of our work. For continuity, the seven member administrative team will serve in all three groups as officers, while, the remaining seventeen people on the board will each be in only one group. The total number of meetings per year for each person will go down slightly.
The three groups are:
Church Starting: This group will examine the needs in this area and the BCI’s strategy and ministry for supporting churches, starting new churches, and supporting other church planting initiatives. Topics like church planter recruiting, developing, support, and placement in various population segments will be discussed. Our church starting team leader will also participate (when this position gets filled).
Church Development: This group will examine the needs in this area and the BCI’s strategy and ministry for supporting and encouraging pastors and churches. Topics like associations, pastor support, discipleship, small groups, men’s retreat, women’s retreat, pastor and wife’s retreat, and Impact University will be discussed. The discipleship team leader and pastor/church support staff will also participate.
Community Transformation: This group will examine the needs in this area and the BCI’s strategy and ministry for supporting churches to reach the vulnerable and needy in our communities. Topics like Friendship Baptist Center, community ministry coaching, Disaster Relief, and starting additional ministries will be discussed. The Friendship Baptist Center Directors and Disaster Relief Director will also participate.
Soon a group from the executive board will begin to gather information assessing the BCI’s Church Development ministry and work though a list of recommendations for their upcoming meeting in May. If you have comments or suggestions on the structure in general, or on church development specifically, send them to me (Tlubinus@bciowa.org) or to our convention president Lloyd Eaken (lrseaken2@gmail.com).
Question? Comments? Email me directly at TLubinus@BCIowa.org.
