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Epistle to LFC
Some of you
may have been expecting a message regarding Salvation as I intended
to write for today … but I think I’m going to leave
that for two more weeks so I can deal with those two messages
back to back. Next week I will not be here again and Pastor Ben
Kirkpatrick will be speaking … you won’t want to miss
that one.
But it’s that time of year again where I attempt to share
my heart with you and pass on what I believe the Lord is teaching
me. I especially need to pass along how I believe He is asking
me to lead this church, and where we are to go from here.
With each epistle, and periodically when I get real personal about
what’s going on in my life, I have people come to me and
say they thought I was going to quit. I assure you that I do not
have any inkling that I should call it quits. In some ways, it
feels like I am just getting started here, to walk away now would
leave a lot of things undone and a lot of momentum and plans hanging
in midair. I realize God does some surprising things at times,
but I do not believe that pulling the plug is anywhere close to
the plan.
In the spring the leadership team all gathered to discuss some
planning ideas and to implement some changes in the way LFC does
church. I shared the bulk of those ideas in the message about
the People Path that we are going to be starting up this fall.
In short, the People Path is a structured way for people in the
community to find out about our particular mission and a way for
them to join us in our mission. We are always looking for new
family members as the kingdom of God is being brought to NB.
But it is not only about new people, it is also about bringing
existing family members closer to Christ in our spiritual development.
I doesn’t matter whether you have recently expressed faith
in Christ or whether you have been following him for years, we
all have more to learn and to grow into.
Ephesians 4 tells us It was he who gave some to be apostles, some
to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors
and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so
that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity
in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become
mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ
.
Unless I’m missing something we haven’t quite attained
the whole measure of the fullness of Christ… so that must
mean there is more unity and more knowledge required to make us
mature.
The People Path will be designed to accommodate our corporate
call as we all pool our resources and talents together and empower
the vision as individuals. In order to do that, we must each mature
as individuals in our own personal expression and maturity in
Christ. The People Path will assist you to understand God’s
call on your life, it will help you develop that call, and it
will give you opportunity to put into practice your God-given
mandate; inside and outside the church walls.
Not only will the People Path help us to more effectively administer
the LFC calling in this community, but it will make way for us
to send some of you out of this town equipped to bring the Gospel
and church leadership skills to other areas. I believe we will
be planting other sister churches in some of the towns in our
area and around the globe… and then we will help them to
discover, develop and implement their own People Path.
These are not ideas that will come without planning, effort and
time. But I do believe it is our calling.
I don’t believe that it was happenstance that the position
of Presbyter for this district came available in May. Through
prayer and discussion, it was agreed that I was to allow my name
to stand for the position; and I was given the mandate in early
June.
The position of Presbyter in ACOP is an overseer for the churches
in the district… as far south as Eston, as far west as Frenchmen
Butte, and as far east as The Pas Manitoba. Obviously that is
a huge area, but will not take as much time as it may seem from
your perspective. More than anything, it will allow me to influence
how the area churches work together into a greater purpose for
our district of Northern Saskatchewan. Already, it has opened
up for me to begin building a team mentality in the district and
others are open to building stronger relationships in the area
churches.
With that in mind, we are planning a district conference on Oct
12-13 and will be discussing the true nature of apostolic networks.
I and others have commented for years that our fellowship (Apostolic
Church of Pentecost) is not very “apostolic”. In other
words, there is not very much relational leadership between churches,
it is mostly structural leadership. I believe I am to help change
that, and our church ought to lead the way in developing a regional
vision.
The bottom line, is that our People Path and the position of Presbyter
will work together for us all to build relationships and minister
in other churches in the district. You are all necessary for the
kingdom of God to increase in its influence in this province we
serve in. I do not believe for a moment that my Presbytership
is anything less than a mandate for all of Living Faith to reach
outside our town.
Over the last few years we have focused on developing and implementing
a vision for loving our neighbors in North Battleford; now I believe
that not only will our local influence continue to expand, but
the geographical area which we are called to serve is also expanding.
I also believe that the team that God has assembled for us is
well able to begin the next aspect of the vision, but more ministers
will need to be developed … that, of course, is where the
People Path comes into importance.
Personally, I have been through the wringer. I told you earlier
that I had just been through the most difficult time of my life
as I struggled emotionally and my vision seemed to be foggy at
times. Those were not pleasant times for me, and had it not been
for a solid wife and an understanding leadership team I may still
be there. But I am no longer there.
It would be easy to say that it was the Lord’s work in me.
It might even be easier to say that it was my own personality
that was suffering as I dealt with issues of life. More likely,
it was a combination of the Lord’s work in me dealing with
those flaws in my own personality… in any case, I believe
I am a better man for it.
I am still very tired, and the pace of things just seems to keep
getting busier, but I can honestly say that the clarity I now
have regarding where we are at as a church and the direction of
where we ought to go from here is as clear as it has ever been.
The components of that vision still needs to be packaged and delivered,
but that part is simply a matter of taking the time to put it
all together. I think that part will be fun.
Many of you
are relative newcomers to LFC. I want you to understand that we
consider you just a much a part of the family as others who have
attended for decades. We do not believe that the family is a hierarchy
where you work your way into greater and greater membership. If
you’ve committed yourself to Christ, and to the vision of
LFC then you are as much a part of this local family as anyone
else, and we’re all glad you belong.
It has been refreshing as of late to visit with some of the people
who have been part of this assembly for years and to see the renewed
vision for God’s call on their lives as it pertains to the
vision of LFC. There is a certain functional advantage that is
gained from prolonged participation in the vision of this family.
The longer you have been committed to it, the more it can become
a part of who you are instead of just something that you do or
something that you watch others do.
Regardless of whether you have been here for years or have only
recently joined us, the criteria for participation in the LFC
vision are twofold; spiritual maturity and commitment. It is our
intention to provide the necessary components for maturity based
on the your level of commitment. In other words, we want to provide
you with as much fellowship, teaching, and ministry opportunity
as you are committed to follow through on. We do not intend to
make anyone mature so they can do nothing with it … that
would be a wasted effort on both ends.
Working from the premise that as long as we have breath we are
here for some purpose, we will endeavor to help you discover your
purpose, equip you for that purpose, and help you find opportunity
to express that purpose. Our level of commitment to you will match
your level of commitment to Christ and to his vision for this
local family; it will not be based solely on your length of tenure,
your contributions of time or finances, or even the amount of
time that you spend in prayer… however, these are all components
that reveal your overall commitment to the corporate vision.
In all of this, I hope you are getting the sense that LFC will
become more intentional in assisting each individual believer
to become mature in Christ as well as prepare them for ministry
in the unique manner in which God has gifted them. I hope in reference
to that that you also understand that we do not intend to build
a big ministry machine and make you become something that you
are not in order to keep the machine running. We will challenge
you to become what God has intended, but will not force you to
become what we need for the machine.
I want to commend you for your responsiveness. More than any other
congregation that I have been a part of, this family responds
well to adjustments and shifts in protocol. When the way we do
church changes slightly or considerably, you’ve shown the
flexibility and understanding that makes those adjustments as
efficient as can be expected. It isn’t long before the new
way becomes the comfortable way; unfortunately that cannot be
said for many churches.
Finally, I
wish to again express my appreciation for the way that this church
family has treated my family. In some congregations, the pastor’s
family is expected to be perfect or at least exceptional. You
know that we are just normal people and you’ve allowed us
the room to make mistakes and grow. We have never felt unnecessary
pressure to conform to your preconceived notions. We have noticed
on rare occasions that some people did expect something different
from us (especially from me), but that expectation has never become
a demand… or if it has, I didn’t notice. (I’m
prone to not noticing things like that) In every way, we are glad
to belong to your family and plan to remain with you for a good
long time …
Pastor Dan
& Darla, Jordan and Jared
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