What is God doing at Renton Bible Church? As a pastor and elder, this is a question to be asked time and again. How is God working? Where do we see His hand moving? Central to leadership in Christ’s church is being aware of God’s leading. Why is this important?
I am reminded of a small group study I led as an intern while attending seminary. We used Henry Blackaby’s Experiencing God for our curriculum. What a tremendous study this was. And though the popularity of this study has faded as new curriculums have come along, the basic message still resonates quite powerfully, because it is based on Scripture. In a nutshell, Blackaby’s message was that, as believers, we need to find out where God is working, then join Him. Is this not the example Christ gave us in John 5:19? “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.” Our more natural tendency is to ask God to come alongside us and bless what we are doing. But Blackaby argues that it should be the other way around. We must seek to join God in what He is doing. In other words, it is not about man’s plans, purposes and programs, but God’s plans, purposes and programs.
There are two significant implications of this principle that are even now being worked out in our body. The first of these “outworkings” is found in our hiring for a new staff position, and the second in a ministry direction our leaders are considering.
First, we have sensed God’s blessing on Joshua Williamson’s internship with our church. This has been evident not only in our conversations as elders, but also in feedback we have received from various individuals in our body. As a result, though this was not part of our original plan, we decided to create a 30 hour a week associate pastor position enabling the Williamsons to continue as part of our body. This direction was only affirmed by the positive comments at our meeting Sunday, December 19th, with the result that the elders decided to call Joshua to take this new position.
Starting January 1st, Joshua will transition from pastoral intern to associate pastor. Joshua will continue as he has been with a number of his current ministries: Silver Eagles, Youth Discipleship/Leadership Development, Men’s Fellowship and Connect Sunday School. However, he will increase his involvement in three areas: Preaching (six times a year), Regular Pastoral Duties and Community Ministry (monthly instead of quarterly). This last one, centered around community outreach, is an area that we have particularly seen God leading in our body and is a reflection of our desire to join Him in what He is doing in 2011.
The second area where we desire to join God in what we see Him doing has to do with an emphasis in our ministry. During my sabbatical this summer I read a book entitled, The Trellis and the Vine. The basic gist of this book is that, in the church, we need to focus less on the trellis, the framework and structures that help keep ministry going, and more on the vine, making and nurturing disciples of Christ. In the church, it is very easy for trellis work (i.e., buildings, programs, committees) to overshadow the more important work of tending the vine.
Over the next month, our elders and pastors will be reading this book in preparation for our annual elder retreat the last weekend of January. At this retreat, we will discuss what we have read and consider how we are doing, as a church, at tending the vine. Overall, this annual retreat is our chance to stop and ask, specifically, what it is that God is doing and how He wants to use us in the coming year.
In view of this upcoming retreat, I want to invite you to consider praying for our elders/pastors on a daily basis during the month of January. Specifically, would you pray for God’s leading as we read this book? As well, would you pray that God would grant us wisdom to see where He is working in our body so that we might know how best to join Him in what He is doing in 2011? Finally, would you pray that God would lead us as we seek to lead the members of Renton Bible Church to more faithfully accomplish His Kingdom purposes?
In 2011, may we continue to grow in seeking God’s leading in our lives and in the life of our church and may we do our part in becoming and making more fully devoted disciples of Jesus Christ.
In Christ, Pastor Dan