Passing the Baton
by Joe Leavell
Photo by Rebekah Leavell
You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. - 2 Timothy 2:1-2
Paul understood that the end of his race was coming soon as he faced Roman imprisonment such a short time before his death. He had spent so many years sharing the Gospel, raising up churches, and investing himself into the discipleship of others. These relationships that he had built with those he had seen come to Christ and grow in the faith were very close and personal. In this passage in 2 Timothy 2, Paul even addresses Timothy as, “my child.”
The old apostle addresses his child in the faith one last time, calling him to carry on the work that had been entrusted to him by the Lord. The interesting part is that Paul not only called on Timothy to carry on with the baton of the Gospel, but not to hoard it for himself. Demonstrating his forward care, Paul urged Timothy to pass the baton to those who would be ready to entrust with the mission when the time was right. They were to continue passing the baton to the generations after.
Our Turn With the Baton
Timothy and many others did indeed carry on the Gospel, training up pastors, leaders, and congregations who spread the Gospel far and wide. From generation to generation, the Gospel has been handed down and entrusted to faithful men and women, who worked in loving and discipling others in their own areas of influence to further the mission of the cross as long as God gave them strength. As they labored, they continually worked to prepare the next generation. Once they were mature, they began to share responsibilities, and eventually entrusted their turn with the baton to the care of the next cohort of believers
This is the nature of the Gospel that transcends time, generation, culture, or country. Each of us is entrusted with the baton for just a short time. Yet, the ministry that we are entrusted with is not ours to keep. It belongs to God, and it is ours to steward by investing our lives into others who will carry on the name of Jesus long after we are gone, until He returns. The joy of knowing that we have a part to play in the story of what God is doing through the ages is such a joy but also a responsibility! We are not to keep it only for ourselves but to entrust it to others who will do the same.
Kathi’s Turn with the Baton
One of Jesus’ servants who has faithfully served her Lord for many years has been our founder and director, Kathi Bishop. For decades she and her husband Chuck have served, and continue to serve the Lord at their local church.
Kathi and Chuck have long cared for those who are hurting and have sought opportunities to care for them in meaningful ways with the love of Christ. Kathi grew in her care for women in her congregation by pursuing her skill in counseling through training and certification. For many years, she invested in the lives of others as her burden for the hurting only continued to grow. She wanted to help those even outside of her congregation to experience the love and freedom of the Gospel.
With the blessing of the elders, and with the help of close friends that shared the vision, Chuck and Kathi founded Biblical Counseling of Arizona in 2015. For over 8 years, Kathi has taken on a considerable amount of responsibility in running our non-profit organization. She has counseled, directed, supported, and mentored her fellow counselors. She has led conferences, taught classes, and has counseled literally thousands of people. Why? Because she loves her Savior and loves the hurting who need His loving care.
Passing the Baton to Joe Leavell
For these 8 years, God has blessed me by allowing me to minister alongside Kathi at BCA. I have had a front row seat to watch her run the race of directing our organization both faithfully and skillfully. Yet, Kathi has always had the same mind of Paul, discipling and caring for others. Every person on our staff has been personally mentored and, in a very real way, many of us would not be counseling at this level without her care and support.
Kathi has always been forward thinking, looking to entrust her ministry of counseling and of supporting churches to other counselors that also share her burden to serve in this way. After many years of conversation, mentorship, and working together, Chuck and Kathi, along with the rest of the board, decided the time was right to begin that process of entrusting the baton of leadership at Biblical Counseling of Arizona over to me, Joe Leavell.
Was this a difficult decision to make? In her own words, Kathi says it this way,
"Changing leadership can be hard but not with me. This change has been a long time prayer answered. I've known Joe for many years and watched him serve Biblical Counseling of Arizona well. He will be a huge asset as the new leader! I plan to support and encourage Joe for years to come at Biblical Counseling of Arizona as the former director under his leadership but also as I remain counseling at BCA."
What Comes Next
Transition times are often challenging for organizations. Some generations have not passed the baton well, gripping it tightly long beyond when it should have been let go to the next generation. Others have not prepared the next generation to lead and have let go too soon, dropping the baton to the ground. Kathi, however, has been a model of encouragement for me, even expressing that she is “elated to watch Joe take over the director position at BCA!” Kathi truly has not only been a colleague or a mentor, but a spiritual mother through these years! Her support and ongoing encouragement are more than anyone could hope for as we begin this new chapter!
As BCA looks to the future, we do so merely continuing on in what was started and entrusted to us by our founder and mentor. Our organization will continue to care for the hurting, support the local churches in our community, and seek to spread the love of the Gospel of Christ to anyone in our care. We will work to faithfully carry the baton, but also seek to disciple up a new generation of counselors and leaders to come behind us for not just our region, but beyond!
In this coming year, we are committed to working on raising support for our organization from churches and donors we work with to help expand the ministry by hiring additional counselors and expanding scholarships to those in low income or dire situations.
We are also stepping out in faith as an organization to begin offering 50% scholarships in 2024 for local pastors and wives for up to 6 sessions. Please pray for us in this that God will provide and that many pastors and their families will be blessed in this way!
If you are interested in hearing more about the vision and goals of Biblical Counseling of Arizona, would like to request one of us to present the ministry at your church, or if the Lord leads you to pursue a more formal partnership through supporting our efforts to provide biblical counseling to more of those in need, please contact us at info@biblicalcounselingaz.org.
