This morning included a message from Dennis Episcopo on the need for effective leadership. It was basically a call for church leaders to endure hardship and persevere in our calling because of the responsibilities and rewards of the position. He emphatically rebuked pastors for whining. His underlying presupposition about mission was the same as Scott Slocum--saving the lost. He went so far as to say that he knows the church is supposed to be for Christians, but until 85% of the individual members of the congregation are regularly involved in evangelism, the church must structure itself for the unbeliever rather than the believer.
Now that's a pretty bold claim because presumably if the church is "supposed to be for Christians," the reason for this supposition is the Scriptural mandate. The reason church is supposed to be for Christians is because the Lord says so. However, because (in Mr. Episcopo's estimation) the church is not doing enough evangelism we have an obligation to change church from the way the Lord commanded to make up for this failure. The greatest commandment from the Lord Jesus Christ is to evangelize; everything else is subordinate to it and, therefore, negotiable.
The afternoon meeting included elections for several denominational positions including the board of directors. Also, there was an open forum with President Benedict, vice presidents, directors, and other leaders where delegates were allowed to ask questions regarding virtually any C&MA issue. One such issue was the role of women in worship services. The head of National Church Ministries, John Soper, made an unambiguous declaration that women are free to do anything in the church, including preaching, as long as they are under the authority of the elders (who must be male). John Stumbo (the opening night's speaker and pastor of a large church) was then asked about his church's practice and he described how much of a blessing it is to have women as part of his preaching team. He recognizes that this would not be appropriate for all churches, but it is very beneficial to his. Essentially, he removed the role of women from the arena of principle and placed it into the category of personal (or individual church) conviction. Rather than looking at it through the lens of 1 Timothy 2 and 3 or 1 Corinthians 11 and 14, we should consider it a Romans 14 situation, like eating food sacrificed to idols (my words, not his).
Oswaldo Cruzado preached the evening service in Spanish with an English speaking translator. His burden was to remind pastors and missionaries of the sufficiency of Christ. We should not look to methods, programs, or techniques for ministry success, but to Christ alone. Jesus is sufficient to deal with unbelief, demon possession, financial predicaments, etc. We did not choose our time or place of ministry, the Lord chose it for us, and we must rely upon Him for effectiveness. Mr. Cruzado's message included several personal experiences as evidence of Christ's faithfulness in his ministry.
Such were the significant events of Saturday in Orlando.