Vision 20/20

by   Carl Weiser                                                                                                                                    Vol. XXII, No. 6, June/July 2009

After ten years of Godly leadership the SBCV found itself in transition. Dr. Doyle Chauncey, whom God used mightily to lead our Convention from its inception as Executive Director, decided to transition into a different role within the SBCV. With this change came the election of the new Executive Director, Dr. Jeff Ginn. As Jeff sought God’s direction for the future of the SBCV he came to the Executive Board at the start of 2009 with a fresh vision and mission, to “review the past, examine the present, and envision a preferred future for the SBCV that will bring our God glory”. With excitement and joy the Executive Board voted unanimously to create a Vision 20/20 Team to take on fulfilling this daunting task. As the Chairman of the Executive Board and a past President of the SBCV I was excited to hear of this task and what it will mean to the continuing fulfillment of our mission as a state convention. One of the amazing things for me was listening to Dr. Chauncey give his overwhelming support to this new task.

There is no doubt that God has blessed the SBCV with a tremendous past. Its doctrinal convictions and evangelistic passion have been settled from day one. Yet, Dr. Ginn and the Executive Board see an urgent need to build upon those foundations. The SBCV, since its inception, has always been on the cutting edge of State Convention Ministry and our conviction is that now is not the time to rest on past accomplishments. The task of this team will be to discern what emphases, goals, and strategies the Lord has for the SBCV over the next decade of ministry. This is the question this team of pastors and laypersons from across VA will prayerfully tackle.

The time line for the team’s work is from January to November 2009. The team will bring updates to the Executive Board at its regularly scheduled meetings. The plan is for your Executive Board to present a report to the messengers at our Annual Homecoming, November 8-10 at First Baptist Church, Norfolk.

Please be in prayer for the Vision 20/20 Team and the members of this task force. As Executive Board Chairman I will be leading this team whose members are: Brian Autry, Wendell Horton, Tim Hight, Mike Palmer, Clovis Pause, Darren Plummer, Michael C. Smith, Amy Stewart, Jim Stone and of course leadership from the SBCV staff: Jeff Ginn, Doyle Chauncey, Steve Bradshaw, Mark Custalow, Mark Gauthier.

This is not the first time that the SBCV has undertaken a major long-range planning process. In 2004 we took on the task of reviewing and envisioning. Out of the work of our Implementation Task Force came the major initiatives such as decentralization, which took the ministry out of a building and brought it to our local churches.

The challenges of lostness are daunting; however, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to the Lord Jesus. It is He who has commanded His followers to make disciples of all nations. Please pray that the result of this process will be the development of compelling goals and strategies that will push back the darkness. I look forward to sharing with you at our Annual Homecoming a God-given vision to carry us to 2020 and beyond.

[Carl Weiser, is Senior Pastor, Hyland Heights Baptist Church, Lynchburg, VA, and Chairman of the SBCV Executive Board.]