General Assembly 2006 marked the appointment of the Rev Martin Baker as the new Assembly Executive Secretary. Martin takes over from the Rev Dr Kerry Enright, who leaves the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand after 10 years to take up a global mission-focused role with the Uniting Church in Australia.
Martin brings 22 years in ministry to the role. He has extensive parish experience as well as a management background in both mission and community development. Currently minister at First Church Dunedin, he has a high community and church profile.
He holds a Bachelor of Social Science and a Bachelor of Divinity from Otago and a Master of Sacred Theology from Union Theological Seminary, New York. More recently, Martin has completed courses in organisational leadership and human resource management at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.
Tracey Patterson asked Martin a few questions about his upcoming role and where he thought the Church was heading in the future.
Tracey: What made you take the position of AES?
Martin: To be involved in the national life of the Church at a time which is so full of hope and possibility is a very exciting and challenging opportunity. While I do feel a strong sense of God’s Call to this work, as a continuing part of my commitment to Christian Ministry, I also can hardly imagine being in the midst of a more stimulating and interesting environment. I see the fact that we can work together with our ethnic, theological and situational diversity as expressing something very special about the Christian community. Treating one another with respect and an acknowledgment of our mutual giftedness lies at the core of our identity as people brought together by the Holy Spirit. Witnessing to the outworking of this kind of community is like being there on the day of Pentecost.
I feel an enormous sense of privilege with this appointment.
What do you see as challenges in the role?
One of the challenges of this work is the enhancement of organisational trust. Creating a sense that we can do more together than we can apart. That money and resources given locally, regionally and nationally are used well and express our mission as God’s people together. I would hope that congregations around New Zealand will feel increasingly excited about being part of the Presbyterian Church and really want to contribute to the work of the national Church because they see that as extension of their own local congregation’s outreach and ministry.
Just imagine, for instance, if we each had enough confidence in our Presbyterian
Church that we would all work to free up even 10 percent of our capital assets and to allow that resource to fund the planting of new congregations and support the development of dynamic and outreaching Christian communities around New Zealand. While I have no desire to build a bureaucracy, there is a role, I believe, for national coordination and a degree of centralisation in order to build the resource base that will support local churches in these initiatives.
Where do you see the Church heading in the future?
Our church can be an enticing beacon of hope and possibility for the people of our country. I like Kevin Ward’s description of “fewer churches but more congregations”. I personally believe that the economic and perhaps historic model of a single church supporting a full time minister to provide a once-weekly service for a largely mono-cultural congregation is already becoming a thing of the past. I do not believe that that is a sustainable model of organisation nor is it reflective of our mission context. I think we can affirm our commitment to well trained and educated leaderships, collective and democratic decision-making and also develop and support new modalities for our church. If we can take the initiative now that will support these development, then we will be able to avoid the worst of the conflict and pain that often accompanies changes that we will be forced to make further down the track.
What do you wish to achieve in the role of AES?
Our first obedience must be to the proclamation of the Gospel and a confession of Christ’s sovereignty over our lives and the life of our Church. While unity is a sign of the work of the Spirit, it is not an end in itself. The most exciting and challenging aspect of the church and central to its identity is found in its life work as the bringer of Good News. As AES I will have the privilege of working culturally, organisationally and corporately to enhance and support the church’s faithfulness to the claim God makes on the life of the Presbyterian Church. Ultimately, for me in my role, it comes down to real things. The reaching of the lost; the transformation of lives; the stewardship of God’s wonderful Creation. I am looking forward to serving a Church committed to seeing these things happen.
Martin takes up his appointment as AES on 13 November 2006.