Changes

Dear Worshippers,

Earlier this year I made a comment to the choir as I was evaluating my life and this ministry we share. I said something like, “Having been here five years, looking five years into the future I do not desire to be doing the exact same things in the exact same ways.” While it could be interpreted simply as a longing for any sort of change, it was really a cry to experience the deeper life in Christ in an ever-increasing measure. With Pastor David’s resignation on Sunday I am all but assured of doing some things differently five years from now, but I hope the deeper longing to be realized through those changes.

I am determining in these days to embrace what God wants to do in me and our church. I am willing to change, to be, to do whatever He wants that I might more effectively live the Call. That’s what Pastor David is modeling for us in his own way through this transition, and that’s what I believe God is calling each of us to do in the weeks and months ahead.

So what about you? As you deal with all the feelings that you have in response to this revelation are you determined to do so in a way that will glorify the Lord. Are you willing to change to be more like Christ? As I have said many times before, the Christian life is ultimately a life of change. No Scripture captures that better than Romans 12:1-2.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Did you see the change words in there? Transformed and renewing. If there is anything that we must be careful to do in these days of transition as a church, we must be willing to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. This starts with a clear view of God’s mercy and ends with a clear understanding of His will.

Embrace the change that awaits us as the Lord leads in these exciting days.

In Christ,

Pastor Scott

The Holy Spirit

Dear Worshippers,

Thank you for your expressions of kindness and prayers as we have become a family of six since my last entry. John Aiden and mom are both doing well. Aiden comes from the A in A.W. Tozer and John is a special name to us for a number of reasons. You can ask me sometime if you are curious. Tozer was a man anointed by God’s Spirit for a powerful ministry that is still shaping lives today. That is my prayer for Aiden as we are going to call him by that name, but it is also my prayer for each of us.

I hope that you are as excited about Pastor David’s current series as I am. What a wonderful question: “Is Jesus is You?” Pastor has been laying out the scripture to help us accurately answer that question. I hope you can declare an emphatic, “YES! Jesus is in me!”

I was talking with Kyle Linscheid about this series. Teaching and preaching on the practical daily ministry of the Spirit are not common in today’s church. Some churches teach a fiery encounter with Him that manifests in miraculous ways, while most neglect Him all together. Some talk about Him as a force, referring to Him as it. Not so in our church.

We are so blessed to be a part of a movement that still talks about and teaches about the role of the Holy Spirit in the daily life of the believer. From it’s very inception, the Alliance has been a group of people interested in the “deeper life”, a life marked by the presence of Christ. “Is Jesus in You?” points us right back to that foundation, while also asking us about His filling TODAY!

I have so enjoyed Pastor David’s series thus far, but I am also looking forward to the balance of it, beginning this Sunday. How does the Spirit lead us? How do we learn to sense the prompting of the Spirit? How do we discern His will for our lives, both today and in the future? Come Sunday expecting to be empowered to answer that question with even greater conviction. I know I will be.

In Christ,

Pastor Scott

History is His-Story

Dear Worshippers,

I trust that you enjoyed the ministry of Woody and Charlotte Stemple this past weekend as much as I did. I have always enjoyed their stories of God working in their lives. I was personally very challenged and encouraged by what they shared on this occasion. This was particularly true of Charlotte’s message Sunday morning and the way God is telling His story through her.

You will remember that she exhorted us to have “A Kingdom Perspective” in several key areas of our life. While each resonated with me, it was the section of “Everyday Living” that really struck a chord. She spoke of Christ’s ministry mentioning that much of it happened on the way to other places.

This reminded me of someone who was shared that the “Go…” in Matthew 28:19 [The Great Commission] might be translated “As you are going…” This really brings an entirely different perspective to the work that has been entrusted to us, the Church. As we are going, or living, we are to make disciples.

We are often guilty of thinking of the Great Commission as something “Great” Christians do. We would do better to see it as an “Everyday” Commission which “Everyday” or ordinary Christians do. I think we relegate the missionary work to the people featured in those wonderful books on the Alliance Women’s table by the water fountain in the foyer at church.

Instead, it is God’s desire to have each of His children involved in the task of declaring the Good News. After all, as Peter puts it [I Peter 2:9] that’s why we have been “called out of darkness and into his wonderful light.” We are “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God”. As we develop this perspective, we very quickly see that God has a great purpose for our lives that will deliver us from the rampant me-ism that pervades our culture, into a countercultural He-ism. This really is about lifestyle, which is foundational to my call, helping people live lives that bring glory to God.

We are in a place to do that when we begin to see that history, the unfolding of time in our lives, is really His-story. Last week I had the privilege of sharing this message with the elementary and middle school students at Trinity Christian School. You may have seen the article in Saturday’s Dominion Post about a historical portrayal program I wrote for Samuel’s 3^rd grade call that we performed in chapel on Friday. I give praise to the Lord for the anointing that was on it.

One mom came up to me afterwards to confirm this. She said that her daughter had been asking how to discern God’s leading for her life. She asked, “How do I know God’s purpose for me?” After she told me how she instructed her daughter this mom went on to ask me if I had any counsel for her. My answer in short was to develop her daughter’s awareness of and dependence on the Holy Spirit. More on that next week.

Suffice it to say, we each need to discover God’s purpose for our living and commit ourselves to it entirely. I hope you are daily discovering the joy of God’s story being told through you. It is the greatest story ever told, and you have a part to play in it.

In Christ,

Pastor Scott