Good Friday morning from the LPD.
Welcome to October! – we are now on our way into fall ministries, and already one week away from Thanksgiving weekend.
Last week, I shared an article about change – about making change in the local church. It is entitled, “How Long Will It Take for My Church to Really, Actually Change?” Thanks for some interaction and feedback on this. Nieuwhof writes from a larger church experience, and some of you who are in smaller church settings might feel that initiating change is more difficult in your context.
While change is never easy – sometimes it is easier than others. Sometimes we can contribute to making change more difficult than it needs to be. A few years ago, our local School Board decided to make a change by, “reconfiguring” our secondary schools. Many parents expressed concerns about this initiative, and hearings were well attended. At the hearings, the School Board members informed the parents that the decision was already made. Real and practical concerns were ignored – philosophy ruled. At the time, I commented that this was like, “a badly run congregational meeting.” The changes made could have been made much better and the implementation could have been much smoother if the School Board would have treated the parents with respect and listened to mitigate their concerns.
Sometimes, we inherit a history of previous changes made in a church. Your leaders may remember the change from chairs to pews – or from pews to chairs, and perhaps back again. Larry Osborne says that a church chair will ask three questions of a new pastor that will impact how receptive he or she will be to change. I summarize them below:
We need to understand the process of change and to be prepared and patient for the process involved. Change, even change for the better will bring resistance – just look at Moses, as he “transitioned” people from slavery and hardship in Egypt to the freedom and blessings of the Promised Land. I attach an article, “Eight Steps to Leading People Through Change.”
The dynamics of large and smaller churches are very different. Church size impacts how we lead, how we make decisions and also who makes them. Tim Keller writes of this in his article, “Process Managing; Church Size.”
Again, in reading the articles, I hope that you are encouraged by the fact that change is possible. I also trust that, while you can learn from the experience of others, you will not seek to replicate the experience of others. Ministry is more than methods and formulas. It is about prayerful servant-leadership within the context to which God has called you.
Please note:
Pastor Nathan (Amber) Kinsey, of Quadra Island Bible Church, has been invited to join with a team from a MB church in Campbell River on a mission to India in late October. I am glad for this opportunity for Nathan to serve overseas and also to experience God’s work in another culture. For our information, I have attached a copy of a brochure describing the mission. If you are able, and it is on your heart to do so, donations to assist Nathan on this mission can be sent can be sent directly to him, or if you wish a receipt, send them to Discovery Community Church, with a note regarding India. The address is 250 10th Avenue, Campbell River, BC, V9W 4E3. Let’s pray for Nathan on this mission, and for Amber and family as he is away.
If you haven’t done so already, please check out the new LPD website with new photos each week. There are resources for you and your church, information on sister churches and LPD Churches of the Week. We also have introduced the PayPal option for giving to the ministry of our Lower Pacific District. Please see our new LPD website.
Please also see the attached Five Minutes on Friday, with news and prayer items from the LPD, and also see info on Holy Sexuality Conference at Fort Langley EFC on November 7, our LPD Church of the Week feature this week.
Please note the following dates:
Here are some topics to be covered:
Dr. Christopher Yuan teaches the Bible at Moody Bible Institute and speaks around the globe on faith and sexuality. He speaks at conferences (such as InterVarsity’s Urbana, as well as the Moody Pastors’ Conferences and Men’s Conference), on college campuses and in churches (such as Saddleback Church and Willow Creek Community Church). He is featured in the award-winning documentary “HOPE Positive: Surviving the Sentence of AIDS,” and has co-authored a memoir with his mother – Out of a Far Country: A Gay Son’s Journey to God, A Broken Mother’s Search for Hope. Christopher graduated from Moody Bible Institute in 2005, Wheaton College Graduate School in 2007 with a Master of Arts in Biblical Exegesis, and Bethel Seminary with a doctorate of ministry in 2014.
Please see this link for all the info and a brochure with instructions for registration.
Please note Islanders: We are planning to provide a simulcast at Central EFC in Courtenay. Please watch for details in the weeks ahead, and contact Pastor Ben Crumback of Sointula Community Church for details! (ben.crumback@gmail.com)
May God bless and keep you as you look to the Lord, trust him for his good work through the week ahead.
In Jesus,
Rob
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This year, as our Lower Pacific District assists in the birth and revitalization of churches, we also step out in faith with local churches through providing financial support and seed money. To this end, we appreciate the gifts of many district churches and also of individuals. You can participate through both cheques and online through PayPal at our website. See LPD website for more info.
