First Elijah collects himself under God's care; then gets connected to God's spirit and with others; then is commissioned to go out and do ministry in cooperation with others.
PURPOSE: The Senate of the Ministers Council meets annually to worship, fellowship, and carry out its purpose, “to build up the Church of Jesus Christ by sustaining and improving ministerial leadership of the American Baptist Churches in the U.S.A.” The Ministers Council is an autonomous, professional, multi-cultural organization of ordained, commissioned and lay Christian leaders within the American Baptist Churches in the U.S.A. We are women and men who advocate for and covenant with each other to deepen our spiritual journey and to increase our effectiveness, as persons who are accepting the call of God and church for the advancement of the Gospel mission of the church of Jesus Christ and to proclaim His truth in a prophetic voice as led by the Holy Spirit.
The focus of this session is the second part of our three-part long-term strategy:
Three-part Ministers Council strategy (scope and frequency variables)
STYLE OF WORK: The Senate will conduct business in the manner of Worshipful Work, seeking first to hear God before we take action. As a summons to discern the Spirit of Christ, we begin each session by lighting the Christ candle and focusing on Scripture that affirms God’s intention to transform creation. We may alter the flow of the meeting at any point to turn to God in song or prayer, longing to be filled with God’s will and way. For this meeting the role of discernmentarian complements that of parliamentarian. He will assist us to discern the spirit of the meeting and proceed accordingly, just as she will assist us in parliamentary procedure as our rule of order.