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JACKSON, Tenn. — Feb. 22, 2007 — Southern Baptist associations and state conventions must face the “predicaments of the present” in order to be viable forces in the denomination, says a Tennessee Baptist director of missions.

Since the first Baptist association was established in 1707 in Philadelphia, the association has continued to evolve, said Mike Day, director of missions for Mid-South Baptist Association, based in Memphis.

After state conventions came into being and the Southern Baptist Convention was formed in 1845, the roles of the entities have become intertwined, Day observed during a session on “The Future of Baptist Associations and State Conventions” at the Baptist Identity Conference held Feb. 15-17 at 51���� in Jackson, Tenn.

Baptist associations began to face an identity crisis after state conventions and the SBC came on the scene, Day noted. That crisis heightened after the Cooperative Program was established in 1925 and state conventions were given the assignment of collecting and dispersing those funds three years later, Day continued.

Now, as the SBC continues to grow and change, both state conventions and associations are “wrestling with the dilemma of creating a denominational brand in a post-denominational world,” Day related.

“Both state conventions and Baptist associations are seeking to be relevant,” he said.

Day observed that much of what occurs in Southern Baptist life related to its various levels (national convention, state conventions, associations) is confusing to members of local churches.

As a result, Southern Baptist associations and state conventions are dealing with the “predicaments of the present,” Day told participants at the Union conference.

Those predicaments include:

• The duplicated-effort syndrome. “We do the same things at a lot of different levels,” Day observed. He noted that some associations can assess, train, and deploy a church planter. Those same services are also provided by state conventions and the North American Mission Board, Day said. He noted the largeness and the success of the denomination has created a duplication of services.

• The institution-first syndrome. Day noted that there are institutions to be cared for, especially on the state convention level. “These are not bad things, but they are expensive things,” he said. “Our need to provide, educate, and edify pushed us into the institution business,” he continued.

• The autonomous hierarchy syndrome. Day noted that every entity, beginning at the local church, is autonomous. “But we behave as if we require approval of others or that we have the right to approve. It is an implied hierarchy,” Day said.

  He noted that the problem with this “predicament” is that the “church winds up at the bottom of the pile. In Scripture, the church is on top of the pile.”

• The codified cooperation syndrome. Day observed that the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 issues a strong set of parameters for how Baptists cooperate. “Yet, almost daily we try to further define what it means to cooperate as Baptists,” he said. “The Baptist Faith and Message is enough to define us,” he insisted.

• The thinly-spread missions dollars syndrome. “Our missions dollars are thinning out,” Day said. Simply put, he noted, fewer dollars are being shared with more ministries at all levels.

• The lost influence syndrome. “We have lost our influence as denominational entities in resourcing churches to do their jobs. Consequently, churches have lost their influence in the world,” Day said.

“Realistic Southern Baptists can look at their associations and state conventions and see that these predicaments exist,” Day said.

He noted the options Southern Baptists have in dealing with the predicaments are to either start a new association or state convention or to establish a new paradigm for associations.

Day listed several elements of a new paradigm.

• It is church-driven. “A new paradigm affirms the Great Commission was given to churches and not a denomination,” Day said.

• It is priority-based, focused on church starting, church mobilization, and leadership development.

• It is to be resource-focused. Under the new paradigm the association would have no programs to maintain, Day said. “It uses collective resources to assist churches in fulfilling the mission God has given to them,” he said.

• It is institution-free. “The association of the future may have to own a building, but does not have to own camps, ministry centers, or schools,” the Memphis DOM noted. “That does not mean associations would not support those institutions. It just means they would not own them.”

• It will be strategically-managed, staffed by directors of missions who are catalytic and facilitative in their leadership.

• It will be regionally located but not geographically bound.

• It is denominationally connected, but not in the traditional way. Under the new paradigm, the association would not necessarily rely on the state convention, Day said.

“If this paradigm plays out to its fullest, the association and state convention as we know it will cease to exist,” Day predicted.

He emphasized there are concerns in the Southern Baptist Convention structure that must be addressed. “It is time for us to apply appropriate pressure and stop the bleeding,” Day said. “It is time to eliminate the things that are not contributing to the kingdom of God.”