Progress on CBC's Mission and Vision Plan
Dr. Josh Ellis (our consultant from the UBA) continues to diligently lead and facilitate discussions with the Pastoral/Ministerial staff on addressing the focus areas as recommended in the Malphurs Group Church Ministry Analysis (CMA) received in April 2021, on redefining and clarifying CBC's mission and vision, and on defining the practical steps and next level details that will be needed to achieve that mission and vision. While they have been making progress (started in June 2021), they anticipate needing more time to thoroughly work through all of the considerations and actions, with an end goal of arriving at outcomes that reflect like-mindedness and are God-honoring, yet realistic, applicable, timely, and achievable. Dr. Ellis and the Staff have a strong desire to execute the process properly yet diligently and thoroughly, and that effort will require a significant time investment. Hence, the decision has been made to bring this version of the CAT to a close, to free up those members to serve in other CBC ministries and leadership roles as they feel led. When Dr. Ellis and the Pastoral/Ministerial staff have completed their work, a decision will be made as to whether or not a new CAT-like team will be formed to help with the next steps, or if existing teams or groups will provide that assistance.
The CAT wishes to thank and acknowledge all of the support and prayers from the congregation during our service to CBC. Our fervent prayer is that the Lord was pleased with our efforts, and that Dr. Ellis and the Staff will ultimately produce a God-honoring plan that will lead CBC into a healthy state and unified direction. As a parting request, the CAT respectfully asks that you uplift Dr. Ellis and the Staff in your prayers, for the Lord’s will to be done, as they welcome and need your support, patience, and encouragement as they continue through this process.
Third Party Consultant: Engagement and Progress
In mid May, the CAT formally recommended that Dr. Josh Ellis, Executive Director of the Union Baptist Association (UBA) in Houston, be engaged to facilitate discussions among CBC's leadership (Pastors, Ministers, Church Council, Deacons, other leaders as appropriate) to address key points from the TMG CMA Report (such as mission and vision formulation and adoption), as well as other identified issues, including but not limited to CBC Essential Belief Statement wordings. By the end of May, Dr. Ellis met with the aforementioned leader groups, and all agreed to press forward with engagement of his services. If anyone has any questions about Dr. Ellis' credentials and experience beyond what is posted on the UBA website ( https://www.ubahouston.org/josh), please contact any CAT member.
Throughout the month of June, Dr. Ellis has been meeting with the current full-time CBC Ministerial Staff (Pastors Kai Yuen Choi, Justin Wong, Oleg Xu, John Yang; Director Geraldine Lee), other ordained Pastors and Reverends who are CBC members (Pastor George Lim, Rev. Andrew Chao, Rev. Danny Lee), as well as CAT and Transition Team officers, in an attempt to formulate and crystallize a clear mission and vision for CBC. Consistent with the CAT's charter, no discussions or recommendations have taken place that involve CBC deviating from its Baptist foundations, principles, and ordinances, nor migrating away from being a New Testament church focusing on the Great Commission. Furthermore, the leaders involved in these discussions recognize and understand CBC's natural affinity for ministering and evangelizing to people of Chinese descent (spanning diverse backgrounds and generations), and plan to incorporate applicable emphasis to that effect.
Dr. Ellis has asked the Pastors and Ministers to provide their recommendations on how to address and resolve
the debate surrounding the belief statement #5 reference to "unlimited atonement, unlimited in scope" (see
full statement below), keeping in mind the goal of establishing a statement that can be supported by ALL members
of the church leadership, and does not compromise any tier 1 theological doctrine. Dr. Ellis has requested all
feedback from the Staff by the last weekend in June, so that he can compile and provide a recommendation to Church
Council on a resolution plan before he departs on his planned vacation (end of June through mid-July). Mission
and Vision discussions will resume, once Dr. Ellis returns.
Belief Statement #5 ( http://www.cbchouston.org/beliefs.html):
The salvation of sinners is wholly of God's grace. We receive this grace through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ alone. The blessings of salvation are made free and available to all (i.e. unlimited atonement, unlimited in scope). We are responsible for deciding our eternal future by either accepting or rejecting the gift of salvation from God through Jesus Christ.
Timeline of Recent Events
March 9 (Tuesday):
The deadline for all survey submissions.
The Malphurs Group (TMG) then started evaluating and processing the detailed responses from the ~45
surveys from various CBC members, across multiple demographics. The CAT wishes to express our thanks and
appreciation to all of those that submitted surveys; your inputs enabled TMG to provide a much more meaningful
report.
April 9 (Friday):
TMG delivered the customized Church Ministry Analysis (CMA) Health report to the CAT.
The report was also eventually shared with the Pastoral/Ministerial Staff, Deacons, and Church Council
members that are not already on the CAT.
April 14 (Wednesday): The CAT met with our assigned TMG Lead Guide, to interactively discuss the report and the included recommendations, and to receive additional guidance and context.
April 20 (Tuesday):
The CAT met to further assess the report findings, and to engage in discussions on next steps.
We are continuing those discussions by researching the viability of several different options, pertaining to what to address and how to proceed. Once the CAT has reached an agreement and received any necessary approval on the as-yet-to-be recommended go-forward approach and plan, we will communicate as such via this blog and other appropriate methods. The CAT will also make the customized CMA report available to the entire church (mechanism and specific date is TBD) once the CAT has finalized the next steps, targeting mid-May.
We are also informing the church that Danny Lee has resigned from the CAT in late March, so that he can focus more effectively on his responsibilities in Tulsa, OK and on his commitments with the Pioneers ministry. We support his decision, and if the Holy Spirit so leads him to reconsider his participation with the CAT in the future, we will engage in those discussions accordingly. Furthermore, the CAT has subsequently decided to NOT replace him at this time; thus, our membership now stands at 9 total.
As always, for any specific questions, please contact any current CAT member.
The Malphurs Group to Execute Church Ministry Assessment
The CAT in now at the point of discussing and prioritizing the ~20 currently identified areas of church polity and ministry which may need attention and focus, in order to place CBC on a path to better health. To facilitate this process, the CAT will be engaging the services of The Malphurs Group (TMG) to execute their Church Ministry Assessment (CMA) https://malphursgroup.com/cma.
See below for the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) that will hopefully address any questions that
you may have. If your question is not covered in the below, please do not hesitate to reach out to any
CAT member.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Why is the CAT doing this assessment, especially
since we did one a few years ago
(with the Lawless Group)?
We have decided to do this so that we'll have a current, up-to-date snapshot of CBC's health - much has changed since the Lawless Group Report (~14 years ago), and in order to appropriately prioritize and focus on the most urgent and critical issues, the CAT believes that a fresh assessment would be invaluable. Without it, the CAT will be spending a lot of time in debate, determining which ones (at present we have around 20 on our list) to work on first, and thus delaying progress. A current 3rd party assessment will also help to alleviate speculation and personal bias.
What is The Malphurs Group (TMG), and what do they do?
TMG is a non-profit organization founded in the 1990's that has a primary objective of assisting churches and their leaders with applying biblical principles from Dr. Aubrey Malphurs' teachings, that has been shared over the last 40 years or so at Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS). Their mission is not focused on "growing their bottom line", but on offering customized consultations and services at a subsidized rate to help churches develop a strategic plan specifically for them (not cookie cutter) to get healthy. (See https://malphursgroup.com/about/).
How is the CMA structured, and how will it be performed?
The CMA comprises three major steps:
~50 CBC members will fill out a 51 question survey (with ample opportunity for adding context statements), which will cover and address six key areas of church health: mission, values, discipleship, vision, strategy, and leadership. The CAT will select the survey respondents and will manage the communication of the survey to the designated members.
TMG will compile all of the results and feedback, and will generate a customized report to and for CBC.
The TMG Guide will meet with the CAT in real-time to go over the report and address any questions and concerns. NO FURTHER OBLIGATION OR COMMITMENT between TMG and CBC is required or would be in place.
CBC is a multi-congregational church; will the CMA take this into account?
TMG believes church health can be accurately and comprehensively assessed via the previously mentioned 6 key areas - regardless of ethnicity or culture; however, they also acknowledge how these areas can be expressed and uniquely characterized within the specific church environment context. Our TMG Guide will work with the CAT to evaluate how to potentially provide the survey and feedback results in a manner that we can apply them to CBC's context of 3 different congregations, as well as a roll-up into one church-wide report.
How will the survey respondents be chosen?
Upon consultation with TMG, the CAT will select "...a survey group that encompasses a broad demographic of ages, in addition to both male and female points of view. Desirable characteristics: Godly character, Servant-minded, Positive attitude, Respectful of church authority, Respected by others..." (taken from TMG's website). The CAT will use that guidance in conjunction with these additional criteria:
must be a CBC member in good standing
have a deep enough involvement in and understanding of CBC ministries and current condition
be willing to fill out the survey and provide meaningful feedback. The CAT will also strive to select as diverse a group as possible (age, gender, family cycle, congregation - English, Cantonese, Mandarin); some of the groups that the CAT has already tentatively selected - all full-time Pastoral/Ministerial Staff, the CAT, current Church Council, all active Deacons
What is the cost and from which budget line item will the expense be funded?
CBC has paid a one-time fee of $85 for the entire CMA (not per hour nor week, not per submitted survey, not per meeting), which will be taken out of the Senior Pastor budget; the CAT is working with Church Council, S&F Committee, and the Treasurer on establishing the proper accounting processes for any possible future CAT expenses.
When will the CMA start and how long will the CMA take to complete?
The CAT anticipates sending out the survey to the designated members by February 15 and will give them 2 weeks to respond. TMG will then need ~4 weeks to compile, assess and evaluate the data, and to generate the customized report. We anticipate being able to meet with TMG to go over the report and their evaluation around Easter (which is April 4).
Once you have the report and feedback from TMG, what are the next steps?
TMG does offer "next level" engagements and consultations, but at this point the CAT has not committed to those additional consulting levels. Upon completion of the CMA process, the CAT will then decide which areas require our prioritized attention (based on TMG's counsel and our own review), and the CAT will develop a plan to address them accordingly.
Formation and Purpose
With full endorsement from the Pastoral/Ministerial Staff, Church Council, Transition Team and Deacon Body, the Chinese Baptist Church (CBC) Assessment Team (CAT) has been formed via appointment by the Transition Lead Pastor (TLP), in consultation with other church leaders. This team will seek to identify, prioritize and make recommendations to address the most critical and urgent needs of CBC, including but not limited to consideration of CBC governance improvements (organizational structure, operations and decision making) that will improve effectiveness and to better align CBC's focus and ministerial efforts to its vision and mission.
The CAT will assess CBC's governance (organizational and committee structure, administrative
and ministry functions, staff and leadership roles, Bylaws and COM), but will strive to limit the
scope of proposed changes to improvements that do not alter or would misalign with CBC's core beliefs,
purposes and mission of a New Testament church nor its association with and adoption of Southern Baptist
ordinances and fundamental principles.
CAT Charter
- (1) Assess the health, effectiveness, and needs of CBC
- (2) Prioritize needs identified as most urgent and critical
- (3) Create and Recommend a plan and process for addressing the highest priorities
- (4) Get approval(s) from Church Council, other church leaders and the CBC congregation as required
- (5) Consult on (and participate in, as needed) the implementation of the recommendations and plans
Team Membership/Roster
| Rev. Andrew Chao | Betty Lam | Liling Ng |
| Pastor Kai Yuen Choi | Danny Lee | Gary Sham (Chairman) |
| Rochelle Dy (Secretary) | Tom Lee | Pastor Justin Wong |
| Larry Joe (Vice Chairman) |
Accomplishments, Progress to Date
- (1) Completed team dynamics overview training (Pat Lencioni, https://www.rightnowmedia.org/Content/Series/235291?episode=1) and team profile analysis
(https://www.leadlikejesus.com/disc), both intended to help the CAT work more effectively as a team - (2) Elected Officers
- (3) Finalized and approved the purpose and charter of the CAT
- (4) Finalized and approved internal team processes and governance (decision making, voting, behavioral standards and agreements, other logistics)
- (5) Developed a preliminary list of potential focus areas (18+ topics and issues)
- (6) Established a default meeting cadence of every two weeks; meeting virtually (via Zoom) for the time being
Next Steps
- (1) Clarify, finalize and prioritize the focus areas list and decide on which topics the team will address (tentatively the top 3-4)
- (2) Clinically and objectively determine what are CBC's current governance, processes and approaches and the rationale and history behind them, without passing judgment; this step is essential for establishing a clear baseline
- (3) Deliver next communication update to the church - tentatively by January 22
What the CAT humbly requests of CBC, in prayer
- (1) For the CAT members to constantly remain unified in purpose, obedient to the Holy Spirit and to put CBC's best interests at the forefront
- (2) For the CAT members to be transparent and open-minded during team discussions, respecting and honoring the team's diversity
- (3) For the Lord to impart wisdom, discipline and fortitude to the CAT members, as they strive to meet their objectives