Stay On Mission

Dear Worshippers,

I mentioned last week two challenges that were affirmed in my heart over and over again at District Conference the week before. I would like to take the next couple of weeks passing them along to you. I hope they will stir your heart in some measure as they surely stirred mine.

The first was, in my words, Stay on Mission. This seems pretty straightforward. Do what you are supposed to do and do not be distracted by a myriad of other passions and pursuits you could cultivate. Our mission is clear. “Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations…” Matthew 28:19-20. That’s the mission part, but how do we stay on it.

You know the old adage that goes something like, “If you aim at nothing, you will certainly hit it.” That is part of what comes to mind here for me when I think about staying on mission. I have to have the completion of the mission ever before me if I am going to be a part of helping fulfill it. So I ask myself some questions.

How is this mission before me? Am I praying about it? Am I giving of my resources [time, treasure, talent] to see it completed? Do my thoughts and passions reflect that the completion of the Great Commission is at the front of my mind, or even on it at all? Does the plight of the lost concern me, or does the sheer size of the task of finding them paralyze me?

I want to encourage you to take a few minutes and answer these questions. Make it a matter of prayer. I intend to.

Although it is essential to consider my personal investment, it is not enough to be committed to the task. I must be empowered for it as well. One of the saying we have used in the past few years to describe ourselves begins like this. Ordinary people. Empowered by an extraordinary God. Consider with me the source of that empowerment as we take a look at the other challenge I received at District Conference.

Next week…Be Filled With the Spirit.

In Christ,

Pastor Scott

Overwhelmed

Dear Worshippers,

Last week I wrote to inform you that I would be at District Conference in Ohio and to ask for prayer for myself and the other delegates particularly as we would elect a new District Superintendent (D.S.) . I write today to thank you for those prayers and to attempt to give you a sense of the way God answered them.

Every year, District Conference is a wonderful time of doing business for the district, but also reconnecting to peers and especially to the Lord. While every conference is a blessing this one was exceptional. Though I suspect my recent reading of Tozer had something to do with it, my awareness of the presence of God throughout the conference was very keen. Frankly, it was overwhelming.

Monday night we heard of God at work through our church plants. God is moving irrespective of culture, geography, economics or any other “limiting” factor. He has given us power and is making us witnesses for Him. We learned at the close of the night that our current D.S. is going to be planting a church after July 31^st when he finishes his term.

We had a three hour concert of prayer Tuesday morning that was a sweet time with the Lord and our District family as the D.S. intertwined some things he has gleaned over his years. The afternoon was business conducted smoothly and that evening the service centered around having a passion for the lost, brought to focus through the message of the D.S. It concluded with a powerful time of seemingly-spontaneous prayer.

We had a seminar on “peacemaking” Wednesday, which was good, but the highlight was the ordination service that evening. Always a solemn time of celebration for those who have completed their preparation, this was especially so. A great message from our Vice President of Church Ministries for the C&MA climaxed with the laying on of hands for ordination which followed the most stirring rendition of “I Am Not Ashamed of the Gospel” that I have ever heard. I found myself weeping and shouting and raising my hands in worship, which I figure is no big surprise to anyone.

Thursday concluded conference with the mission’s hour, election of our new D.S., and the closing service of communion and healing. In the missions hours we commissioned 16 new missionaries who are going out from our District in the next year. 16! To hear their stories of surrender was inspiring. We elected our new D.S. who then went on to lead us in one of the most moving services of communion I have ever experienced.

It was an amazing week. I found myself overwhelmed on numerous occasions. Let me boil it down into two challenges I received in a variety of ways that I now pass along to you: 1. Stay on mission, 2. Be filled with the Spirit.

It is imperative that we keep reminding ourselves why Jesus has not yet come back – we are not finished with the commission He gave us. The only way we can finish well is to keep ourselves under the influence of the Holy Spirit. Commit with me to pray for that for yourself and our church.

Next week…More about these imperatives, OR a new direction.

In Christ,

Pastor Scott

Spiritual Authority

Dear Worshippers,

I am at District Conference this week in Dover, Ohio. It is an annual gathering of the pastors, other official workers, and numerous lay representatives from the Central District of the C&MA, comprised of nearly 90 churches in eastern Ohio and the entire state of West Virginia. We conduct business for the District as well as enjoying several times of corporate worship and prayer and hearing from God’s Word. It is a very enriching time and I thank the church for sending me and the other staff members to represent you.

Probably the most significant act of business next week will be to elect a new District Superintendent, who serves essentially as the pastor of the pastors in our district while providing numerous other avenues of leadership. Our current D.S. Gordon Meier has served for 9 or 10 years and I believe has been in the District Office for around 18 years. Our District has been richly blessed by His Christ-like, faithful service. We truly thank God for this man, and his lovely wife and helpmate, Barb.

This time of transition is a crucial one in the history of our district and the advance of the Kingdom through the Alliance in this region. We have benefited from Gordon’s leadership and long for the next anointed leader to exercise his role of spiritual authority with similar excellence and humility. We as a local church will be blessed through this new leader. You will be blessed. To that end I want to entreat your prayers.

We have had a nominating committee working on this for months. They will bring a recommendation to us. Pray for the delegates of conference that like them, we will hear of the voice of the Lord and confirm the selection by election of our new D.S. or to otherwise discover together the will of the Lord.

When I was reflecting on this process last week, the faith of the centurion in his encounter with Jesus came to mind. He understood chains of command and the blessings of following them. He affirmed Jesus authority over sickness and the life of his servant at the very least. You will remember the account:

The centurion replied, "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."

When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, "I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Matthew 8:8-12

In the days ahead, and stretching on for years, may we know the blessing of serving under one who has such a clear understanding of the authority of our Christ. Pray with our staff as we go to participate in the process of his selection. And pray for our families back home and our safe return on Thursday. Thank you.

In Christ,

Pastor Scott

Worship is… Humility

Dear Worshippers,

We complete our journey through the core values of our worship this week with the twelfth and final value, Humility. As I keep saying, you may be surprised that none of the things the Elders have adopted as core values of our worship are necessarily music-oriented. Actually none of them deal with elements at all, but rather with the essentials of worship. They are more the why than the what of worship, if you will.

Humility. It has been defined as a modest opinion or estimate of one's own importance, rank, etc. Though it is listed last, it is certainly not the least of the values. One might say that for any true worship to occur, humility is a prerequisite. While I would agreed with that, we offer it here at the end because it is so important to not only start from this position in worship, but to maintain this position. A position of submission, meekness, unworthiness. When we consider God, we should assume such a position. With this in mind we offer that worship is… Humility. There are any number of Scriptures that speak to this value, but here are the ones we have adopted for inclusion in the philosophical document:

…if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. II Chronicles 7:14

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:5-11

But Samuel replied:
"Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD ?
To obey is better than sacrifice,
and to heed is better than the fat of rams. I Samuel 15:22

He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8

The first passage here is from the dedication of the Temple which Solomon built. It is outlining how the people of God can return to Him if they walk away. It is instruction for both lifestyle and for the gathering of worship. It makes me think of the song “The Heart of Worship” by Matt Redman. “I’m coming back to the heart of worship, and it’s all about You. I’m sorry Lord for the thing I’ve made it, when it’s all about You Jesus.” This takes humility. It is humbling to acknowledge that even our worship can become something that is not at “all about” God, which it is supposed to be.

If our worship is to be all about God, where better to look for an example of how to live that way that to the person of Jesus Christ. The Philippians passage, believed by some to be a hymn that was known by the early church, clearly portrays the humble attitude of Jesus, and exhorts us to have the same. If He had such an estimation of the Father, we should as well.

The I Samuel passage affirms this as well by teaching that God wants more than just the outward trappings of worship, he wants the heart. A heart that is willing to obey and to heed the voice of God is a heart that is rightly positioned to worship. God is certainly interested in right responses to His glory, but He wants those responses to generate from deep within heart of the worshipper so that worship is not so much a series of actions as a way of life, like in the final scripture.

A worship lifestyle is pictured here: not only in the first two statements, but especially in the final one. “Walk humbly with your God.” Did you notice that this is a short list of things that Micah says “the Lord require[s] of you”? This is not optional. In order to do this we must have a proper understanding of Who He is, and who we are in the light of Him. This implies not only knowing, but ongoing relationship – walking with Him. And how are we supposed to walk? Humbly. Humility should mark our relationship to God, our living with Him, and this demonstrated through every act of worship, but especially when we gather.

In Christ,

Pastor Scott