by Gary Long

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I’ve been trying to learn to play the banjo for almost four years. “Trying” might be a generous term. I own one, I’ve watched the tutorials, I’ve even picked out a few tunes — but the truth is, I just don’t practice enough.

When I think back to when I learned to play the piano, the difference is obvious. I was five. My mom took me to weekly lessons, and made me practice every day for 30 minutes. She made sure I didn’t just plunk through scales; I learned to listen until my noise became music, and practice became not something to dread but an exercise that was an escape into my own world. Years later, that steady rhythm of discipline turned into something beautiful — the “Twinkles” became Mozart concertos, Sunday hymns—even the occasional paid wedding or choir gig. But none of it came quickly. All of it came from small, daily steps in the same direction.

Our executive director, Wayne Faison, reminds us in his recent column that the work of Mission Forward before us is not just motion — it’s faithfulness. It’s the daily decision to join God in what God’s already doing, even when the progress feels slow, even when the results aren’t immediate.

And David Washburn echoes that truth in his reflection on BGAV’s budget — reminding us that stability, discipline, and wise stewardship are not signs of caution but of confidence. Faithfulness looks like focus. Sometimes it means staying the course when everyone else is looking for a shortcut.

Eugene Peterson called discipleship a long obedience in the same direction. That phrase resonates with our moment. It’s the same lesson the piano bench taught me — and the one the banjo keeps trying to teach me. You can’t fake growth. You can’t rush fruit. You show up, you keep time, and over the years, faithfulness becomes melody.

As Virginia Baptists, we know something about that kind of rhythm. For more than two centuries, our churches have plowed, planted, and prayed through changing seasons — not for speed, but for endurance, faithfulness, and, always, always, always for mission.

Mission Forward isn’t about flash or frenzy. It’s about staying power — the kind that holds steady when the tempo changes. Maybe the truth is that the Church doesn’t need virtuosos; it needs practiced hearts. And maybe God’s still teaching us the same old tune — a long faithfulness in the same direction.

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Gary Long is BGAV’s chief marketing officer.

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