Jenna Blackwell Archives - Tasmanian Baptists

November 30, 2022February 22, 2023

How Did We Do in 2022?

Leadership and Growth

Wins for Tasmanian Baptists

During 2022, the Mission and Leadership Development Team were very busy, supporting Tasmanian Baptist churches.

So … how are Tas Baptists going? Read on to find out.

Click for a MaLD Reflection

Mission Director

STEPHEN BAXTER

On the Front Foot

As I look forward to 2023 it is with great hope and with a deep sense that significant challenging times lie ahead of us. These challenges are reflected in the significant change to the religious landscape of Tasmania over the past 20 years.

The latest Census figures show how those nominating as “Christian” has dropped from 69.9% in 2001 to 38.4% in 2021; and over the same period, those nominating as “no religion/secular belief” has risen from 17.2% to 49.9%.
In the five years between the 2016 and the 2021 Census, those of “no religion/secular belief” overtook “Christian” as the largest religious grouping.

This is such a dramatic change, I’m sure I cannot fully appreciate what it means for our mission and ministry. Nevertheless, I’m convinced God has been preparing us for this moment.

God has been preparing us for this moment. Stephen Baxter
How did We Do in 2022?

How Tasmanian Baptists are responding

These changes have not caught us by surprise. More than a decade ago we deliberately embarked on transitioning to become a mission-shaped movement. More recently, our focus has been on building a team of new generation pastoral leaders. Although there is still more to do, we are making significant gains.

So, where to from here?

The Tas Baptist Council is currently in the middle of a review. They want to listen to our churches in this moment, and hear from God, to clarify our next steps. It is hoped a report will be ready to present to next year’s Mid-year Assembly in May.

My encouragement to us all is the words God spoke to Joshua, “be bold and courageous”.

Given the changing nature of society, complete with some significant economic challenges thrown in, I suspect the years ahead will be quite demanding and tough. Yet, God is with us, and this turns any threat into an opportunity. We are not caught on the backfoot, but are instead progressing with confidence.

So let us move ahead full of faith, hope and love.

Stephen Baxter
stephen@tasbaptists.org.au

Mission And Leadership Development

MICHAEL HENDERSON

Focus on Joy

Every year feels big (and small) when thinking about church, community, and leadership.

It’s like thinking about family. There is no winner. Just the time-period of a year spent sustaining a community, growing leaders, deepening relationships, and dealing with setbacks.

I find it simultaneously rewarding, and challenging. As well, it is easy to let the setbacks dominate any discussion, because they are the easiest to remember.

Which is why at the end of every year I focus on what brought me joy.

Tas Baptist Pastors and LEADERS’ Musters

Courage | Presence | Proximity

I loved our March get together in Hobart, and our discussions on Courage. They set me up for the year in so many ways. I particularly loved our end reflections, and conversations I had with many, as we mutually encouraged one and other.

As the year has gone on, our conversations around Presence (Burnie) and Proximity (Launceston) have felt large. It feels like it is a constant conversation at the moment, where we are calling each other into presence and authenticity.

We are calling each other into presence and authenticity. Michael Henderson
How did We Do in 2022?

It brings me joy to spend time with you.

How we have carried courage, been present, and responded to our calling is something that gives me great hope as we head into 2023.

Blessings and Grace and Peace to you this Christmas.

Michael Henderson
michael@tasbaptists.org.au

Mission And Leadership Coach

JENNA BLACKWELL

God’s Invitation to You

As I reflect on 2022 …

There is a deep, quiet, and joyous sense of gratitude in my spirit about our Tasmanian Baptist community and what God is doing among us.

This year I have had the privilege of noticing an increased sense of team among our pastors, and walking alongside people as they courageously choose to follow God and his ways. I have seen an increase in bravery and vulnerability, understanding of self and of God, and a willingness to listen to and follow the promptings of Holy Spirit.

There is a stirring that God is doing something fresh, and we get to participate and co-create. No doubt there will be more challenges ahead, but what a privilege this is!

God is doing something fresh. Jenna Blackwell.
How did We Do in 2022?

As we turn to 2023 …

I sense an invitation for us to know God better through the presence of Holy Spirit.

There is an invitation to find guidance for better ways of engaging. To find guidance to better engage with our communities and those around us with hospitable love and transformational grace.

I sense courage (bravery + vulnerability) and deep friendships will be integral to leaning into the kingdom of God, with patience and perseverance. I also sense an invitation to lovingly and prophetically speak into younger generations. To pull down the barriers in ourselves and our faith communities as we learn to know God and each other afresh.

Questions for you to ponder …

What is God’s invitation to you for 2023?
What does it look like for you to carve out time to dwell in God’s presence?
Who are the safe people that you can increase vulnerability with?
How can you build relationships with people of different generations?

Jenna Blackwell
jenna@tasbaptists.org.au

FIND OUT MORE about the Mission and Leadership Development Team and how they can support you and your Tasmanian Baptist church.

Read ReCharge

November/December 2022

Christmas Events Tasmanian Baptist churches celebrate! (from 14th December)
Deep Thought Dec 2022 The Change Makers by Melissa Lipsett BWA
CROSSOVER Christmas Resources Helping Baptists share Jesus at Christmas
AROUND THE CHURCHES November 2022 Find out what’s been going on!
ANNUAL ASSEMBLY Anthea Maynard reports
FAMINE In the Horn of Africa Be Informed by Baptist World Aid

NEWS: November 2022 | December 2022

Printable (PDF) Issues of ReCharge

How did We Do in 2022?

April 13, 2022May 17, 2022

Being Strong and Courageous

reengage | reimagine | realign

Tasmanian Baptist Leadership Development Coordinator Jenna Blackwell grapples with being strong and courageous in our new paradigm.

Can you remember a time where you found yourself at a crossroads?

You know the path you think you should take, but you find yourself reverting to a familiar one, with well-worn tracks, common distractions and quite possibly even the same destination that you’ve been to before.

Sound familiar?

It takes courage to move beyond your experiences and presumptions and enter something new.

The Courage to Change

Over the last year, Tasmanian Baptists have encouraged individuals and faith communities to reengage, reimagine and realign with God’s mission.

This is a nice concept, but to implement these in our lives takes a lot of courage!

Even fearless entrepreneurs, and those who love change, find themselves tripped up. Maybe the path is different, or a replica of a previous one. But regardless, the formation of experiences, beliefs and values impact the current experience and the end result.

Often we don’t know what stops us getting the desired outcomes. Other times, we might know why we’re getting those results (or not getting), especially in personal leadership and spiritual development. However, we can lack the courage to face our fears and failings needed for different results. The fact is, we usually delude ourselves with defence mechanisms and excuses.

It takes courage to move beyond your experiences and presumptions and enter something new. There is always inherent risk when stepping out of the known. But, isn’t this the faith journey?

What does it look like to walk with courage?

A decade ago, “courageous faith” probably meant talking to a stranger about Jesus.

While this still takes courage, many people are coming to realise there is courage required to lead oneself to God. This is where it all starts – personal leadership and spiritual development. No matter what your daily life looks like, these are foundational aspects of courageous faith.

So then, what is meant by personal leadership and spiritual development?

It is taking ownership for our contribution to a surrendered life to God. This includes personal times of stillness, practicing listening, inviting others to journey with us (especially in our brokenness), and loving our families and those around us.

This is by no means an exhaustive list.

Being Strong and Courageous

Lately, I have reflected on Psalm 131. Verse 2 reveals a picture of a trusting child coming into the loving embrace of a loving and trustworthy parent. This provides an example of how we can come into the arms of God – to rest, to be still, to be loved.

But I have calmed and quietened myself,
    I am like a weaned child with its mother;
    like a weaned child I am content.
Psalm 131:2

But allowing yourself to be truly loved takes courage.

It requires entering the desert and owning your brokenness in order to realise how dearly loved you are. In that stillness, you are (maybe after a time, if you have run without reprieve), strengthened for the journey ahead, by coming into your identity in Christ Jesus.

As it is a journey for the glory of God and the sake of others, this journey also takes courage, which requires surrender.

The Courage to do it with others

Tas Baptist Assembly Oct 2021 Photo Credit Gabi Dunn
Being Strong and Courageous — “There are some very courageous people in our Tasmanian Baptist community.”

It is also a journey requiring other people. You are not called to a life of individualism, but a life of community. It is in loving one another and doing life with others, that we are sharpened and find a more full picture of God.

It is difficult to make changes without the support or community of others. But changes do occur when other people are invited into the journey. This takes immense courage, for it requires revealing your brokenness. Without such courage, it is possible to remain on familiar paths with familiar outcomes. The wheels keep turning but the endpoint remains the same.

There are some very courageous people in our Tasmanian Baptist community. No doubt you can identify people in your community who you would call courageous. The question is, how do you walk with courage as we reengage, reimagine and realign with God’s mission?

Where to begin

Perhaps it begins with being still – coming into your identity as God’s beloved; entering the desert and facing your brokenness; and quietening your soul. By doing these things you are strengthened for the journey ahead, which is for the glory of God and the sake of others.

If this article has left you challenged, encouraged, or questioning, the Mission and Leadership Development Team would love to hear from you.

We encourage you to invite others on this courageous journey as you digest the implications of this article.

Jenna Blackwell
jenna@tasbaptists.org.au
Tasmanian Baptists Mission and Leadership Coach

Being Strong and Courageous

November 18, 2021March 4, 2022

The Man (or Woman) in the Mirror

youth and young adults:

A Check on your own attitudes and responses to the world. Who is that “Man in the Mirror”?

By Jenna Blackwell

Do you listen to Michael Jackson? It can be difficult not to sing along to songs like Beat It, I Want You Back, or Man in the Mirror. A friend recently played a Jackson song as a trivia night question, and while it didn’t create an uproar, it certainly started discussion!

Not sure what I’m talking about? Welcome to cancel culture – the culture that ‘cancels’ a person, group or organisation due to a conflict in values. It is now at work in our community today.

Michael Jackson: This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC
Man in the Mirror

Predominantly, it happens when there is a perception of immoral or unethical production, content, or in Jackson’s case, inappropriate behaviour with young people.

A Growing Awareness

People in today’s society, especially younger adults, are affected by mistrust, abuse and non-transparency. It may be because of their own experiences or learnt second-hand from the experiences of their parents. It includes the unbridled use of the planet’s resources, often fuelled by greed and unsustainable practices. Young people have an awareness in their hearts of the need for justice, equality, and fairness.

People in today’s society, especially younger adults, have been affected by mistrust, abuse and non-transparency.

The rise of clothing companies who value ethical practices and sustainability is a response to the is a concern of many, including the younger generation. This is because consumers boycott companies due to unethical treatment of workers. And more younger adults switch to ethical banks and superannuation funds.

Recently, our Mission Director, Stephen Baxter wrote, “The challenges facing churches are not due to the Church gone wrong, but a world grown different . . . God uses times like these to reform and renew his Church.”

Actions Speak Louder

So, what does this have to do with ministry for children, youth, and young adults?

These days, character speaks more than competency, and trust must be built and maintained. We have a message that needs to be heard by those who have never heard it, and by those who have heard a different variation of it.

We have a message that needs to be heard by those who have never heard it.
"Man in the Mirror"

It is a message of hope in Jesus Christ – not just for eternal life, but for transformation, change and love – here and now.

In these days of cancel culture, when character, integrity and aligning actions speak volumes (and the lack of such speaks even louder), we have a message that needs to be heard.

Since I started working for Tas Baptists a few years ago, several youth groups have shut down. Two new ones started, but overall, the youth scene has significantly decreased. This is sad and frustrating. And, while I am prone to take responsibility upon myself, we all have a part to play.

If younger people are willing to pay more for something that has a greater impact, what’s stopping them connecting with the cost of following Jesus?

Ponder these Points

As we imagine how to re-engage with younger generations (or any of society), let me present you with some points to ponder:

Following Jesus is costly. If younger people are willing to pay more for something that has a greater impact, what’s stopping them connecting with the cost of following Jesus?
- Is it purely a lack of knowing or hearing? Or is it not being exampled?
- Is it a lack of trust based on history – how we’ve treated people and the planet?
How well do speak of, and example, our Jesus of compassion, mercy, truth and forgiveness?
Do we value their voice? Are we too caught up in our well-known and well-loved songs?
Quite practically, is our tea and coffee ethically produced and traded? In other words, do we care more about Kingdom values or dollar values?

Checking that Man in the Mirror

Two questions for you to consider as you go about your work today, your church meetings and your Bible study.
"Man in the Mirror"

So, I have two questions for you to consider as you go about your work today, your church meetings and your Bible study. Let me challenge you to check yourself in the mirror.

What are you doing with Jesus’ message of hope?
How can you (and your church) share it, and example it, with the young people in your life?

Maybe today, you can take one small step towards sharing that message of hope with our young people.

Jenna Blackwell was, until recently, overseeing the Baptist youth and young adults’ ministry in Tasmania. She is the Tasmanian Baptists’ Leadership Development Coach, and a member of the AB Next Generations taskforce.
jenna@tasbaptists.org.au

Being an Imperfect Missionary

Heartlands Spring 2021

Being an Imperfect Ministry by Jenna Blackwell (scroll down)
Walk | Pray | Love Events during November 2021
Baptist World Day of Prayer for Women by Elissa Macpherson

food for thought:

Mission in Tasmania

Jenna Blackwell ponders her frustration about mission in Tasmania

A friend once asked me when I first heard about mission or “felt the call”. I fumbled for words, speechless. No recollection, just compounding moments and realisations through teachings, coaching and mentoring.

It made me wonder: Am I a missionary?

I looked out the window at the blistering wind and thought of the people in my city, Jenna Blackwell, Food for Thought

Recently, I was sitting in my lounge room on a rainy morning, heater on, cup of tea in hand. I looked out at the blistering wind and thought of the people in my city – those without homes, without food, without heating, without safety, without peace.

Without.

I sat there in my frustration, guilt, and sadness.

Is it as easy as just going out into the streets and filling my lounge with people for a night, so they can get out of the ice and wind? What about the next night? What about the people fleeing domestic violence? What about those who are grieving loss?

There is so much hurt! How can I call myself a follower, while I sit in my comfort? Please, tell me you’ve wrestled with this.

Called to GO

As I reflected, I was reminded of my friend’s question about mission. We often think mission is about being overseas, or just for ‘really special’ people. But aren’t we all missionaries?

My workplaces are mission fields – full of opportunities to show the character of God, and to connect people to the Kingdom. But I so often fail my own expectations. There is still something in me that desires perfection.

While there is a balance needed, and while I cannot do everything, I also cannot excuse my own laziness and selfishness.

We are called to go – to the hurt, to the broken, to the lonely, to the messy. While I know this to be true, it is uncomfortable. So many of our churches are full of middle-class people. Have you wondered why? Have you considered how to change this? Do you even want to?

Recently, Denise Stephenson challenged us to consider “unfiltered” selves, and an unfiltered church. Maybe there’s a connection between this, and our comfortable churches. I like comfort. I like safety.

But God does not call us to be comfortable. He calls us to follow the feet of Jesus, who did life with those who are messy, who others thought were unworthy, and no one wanted to be around.

The hard work of WRESTLING

I am an imperfect missionary.

As I’ve sat in my lounge over the last few weeks, soaking in Luke 10 and contemplating all of this complexity, I have wrestled – with myself and with God.

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. Luke 10:2 (NIV)

It’s been uncomfortable. But I have resolved to not be unattached and ignorant of those most vulnerable in this city. I may not have the right words or actions to understand this fully yet, and it is terrifying! But there is nothing about me that makes this easy or special. Just a hesitant willingness to follow God into the difficult, heartbreaking and vulnerable places.

I don’t know what it is to live and relate without privilege, and I don’t have all the words, or a 12-step plan. But I know following God must mean changes.

My next step is to learn to be in the places my privilege resists, and do it out of an overflow of God’s presence. To be an imperfect missionary.

God’s presence is key

After spending time in Luke 10, it suddenly hit me one day that immediately following Jesus sending the 72 out with power and authority, he told a story about a foreigner/outsider being the one to sacrifice and help someone in humiliating need. (Luke 10:25-37) In so doing, he challenged the one who thought he was right to take that same position of vulnerability and humility.

Doing is not the goal. Rather, it is about doing as an overflow of being. Jenna Blackwell, Food for Thought

Jesus then challenged the balance of being and doing. He reinforced that being at his feet was most important. To take the position of a humble learner who spends time and their teachers’ feet is to know the teacher and the ways of the teacher, so much so that everything one does is an overflow.

If life consisted of only being at Jesus’ feet, I think I would be at peace with that. It is my natural reflective state, and I could spend days in God’s presence. The challenge for me is to act, to do. But as I have been challenged to do, God has reminded me that doing is not the goal. Rather, it is about doing as an overflow of being – spending time at the feet of Jesus, in God’s presence, so that my life and actions may be an overflow, an extension, of the One that I live for.

Your call

I am an imperfect missionary, drawn to safety and familiarity. I am someone who, without compounding understanding, would not have called themself a missionary. But we are not on this Earth for ourselves.

We are called to be an extension of the Kingdom of God here on Earth – to spend time at the feet of Jesus so we may be filled to overflowing and transformed by his grace, ready to go about our daily lives, extending transformation to those around us – in our workplaces, in our homes, in our streets, in our cities and towns.

How is God calling you to be an imperfect missionary?

How is your balance of being and doing?
What does being look/sound/feel/taste like?
What does doing look/sound/feel/taste like?
What’s your next step?
Who are you doing the journey with?

READ Jenna’s POEM, INSPIRED BY THIS ARTICLE

Jenna Blackwell is the Tasmanian Baptist Mission and Leadership Coach
jenna@tasbaptists.org.au

August 12, 2021October 21, 2021

Without

A poem by Jenna Blackwell

WITHOUT

Heater on, tea in hand,
Curtains just ajar.
Pen at the ready,
I sit, I watch, I wait for you.

The trees, like fits of rage on a drug-induced night,
Bend every direction in the gusty wind.
They are but shadows against the dark sky,
Mere blurs, not close to human.

The sky has been crying all night,
The fields are flooded in its tears.
My eyes on this city prompts my heart,
As a ten-tonne truck sits on my chest.

People. It's always people.
Without homes, without safety,
Without warmth, without family.
Without weighs on my chest.

Does without have a name?
We hide them away, buried in darkness.
We wish someone else would jump in the muck
And bring them to the light.

My heart rages at injustice.
But my outward eyes turn in on me
And the truck reminds me of its weight.
What am I doing?

Comfy, warm, safe, peacefully alone
I too have flooded tears, but not over this.
"Disconnect!" my mind screams
But I refuse to let this be another too hard basket

I don't want to sit in comfort,
Disconnected from those without.
I don't want to say "I'm yours, God,"
And not break for what breaks you.

I love comfort, but I don't want to live it
If it's outside of your reign.
I don't want to be another Sunday-goer
Who isn't transformed by you.

I want people to know your goodness,
I want lives to be transformed.
I want connection, not disconnection.
I want... to be without?

That's too scary to say aloud,
I wrestle with the discomfort.
But they say to live is to die.
To die to self is to live for you.

Without, they cry.
Without, I surrender.

_{Jenna Blackwell © 2021}

Inspired by Jenna’s article Am I An Imperfect Missionary?

June 17, 2021November 23, 2021

Mission and Leadership Development

engaging your community:

Opportunities for Churches and Leaders

At the May 2021 Assembly Michael Henderson and Jenna Blackwell spoke, describing their new positions with Tasmanian Baptists from 1^st July.

Tasmanian Baptists are now described as “mission-shaped”. But in the real world, how do churches do that?

Community engagement is the answer! For churches and leaders, it’s either a new way of thinking, or else, shifting 20th Century concepts into 21st Century form.

Mission and Leadership Development

Thankfully help is at hand! From 1^st July, Michael and Jenna are set aside to serve you and your church with mission leadership and development.

Michael with Mission and Leadership Development
Jenna as Mission and Leadership Coach

At the recent Assembly, they both spoke about how they can serve you and your church. Their talks were interesting, informative, and gave a glimpse into the ways in which Tasmanian Baptist churches can “skill-up” to connect with the community where God has placed them.

Why you should engage in leadership development

Michael explains Leadership Development

Jenna outlines “The Why”, and opportunities for coaching

WATCH their presentations at MAY Assembly

Saturday 8th May 2021 (42 minutes)

READ MORE IN THE JUNE 2021 ADVANCE | step by step

Wins for Tasmanian Baptists

Mission Director

STEPHEN BAXTER

On the Front Foot

How Tasmanian Baptists are responding

So, where to from here?

Mission And Leadership Development

MICHAEL HENDERSON

Focus on Joy

Tas Baptist Pastors and LEADERS’ Musters

Mission And Leadership Coach

JENNA BLACKWELL

God’s Invitation to You

As I reflect on 2022 …

As we turn to 2023 …

Questions for you to ponder …

Read ReCharge

November/December 2022

How did We Do in 2022?

reengage | reimagine | realign

The Courage to Change

What does it look like to walk with courage?

Being Strong and Courageous

The Courage to do it with others

Where to begin

Read More!

Being Strong and Courageous

A Check on your own attitudes and responses to the world. Who is that “Man in the Mirror”?

By Jenna Blackwell

A Growing Awareness

Actions Speak Louder

Ponder these Points

Checking that Man in the Mirror

READ MORE IN THE NOV/DEC 2021 ADVANCE | STEP BY STEP

Heartlands Spring 2021

Mission in Tasmania

Jenna Blackwell ponders her frustration about mission in Tasmania

Called to GO

The hard work of WRESTLING

God’s presence is key

Your call

How is God calling you to be an imperfect missionary?

READ Jenna’s POEM, INSPIRED BY THIS ARTICLE

A poem by Jenna Blackwell

Inspired by Jenna’s article Am I An Imperfect Missionary?

Opportunities for Churches and Leaders

Mission and Leadership Development

Why you should engage in leadership development

WATCH their presentations at MAY Assembly