One Pastor's Perspective

This is NOT a blog entry about Republicans, Democrats, Independents, Green Party, Tea Party, or any other political group in America.  Or maybe it is.  I saw a tweet today from a friend that started a chain of thought I need to express.  Don’t be angered by this … Think about it, and by ALL means pray about it.

We as the church SHOULD be a Theocracy.  NOT a democracy.  NOT a benevolent dictatorship.  A THEOCRACY.  Meaning we are LED BY GOD.  The governance and movement of the church SHOULD NOT be done on the feelings, opinions, or whims of ANY man or woman.  Not of ANY PASTOR.  Not of ANY DEACON.  Not of ANY OTHER LEADER.  The church should only MOVE on the “opinion” of GOD ALMIGHTY.  Period.

Therefore, when churches created the miniature political terrariums that attempt to install checks and balances between Ministers, deacons, committees, elders, boards, and any other entity, THOSE CHURCHES ARE APPROACHING THINGS IN AN UNGODLY MANNER.  If there is a lack of trust between these groups, there is a huge problem.  And somewhere ONE of these entities is trying to conduct business with their own agenda instead of seeking the holy heart of God Himself.

How do we fix this??  ALL YOU CAN DO IS SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS.  And all these things will be added.  And if a church begins to do this in unity, God is glorified, His kingdom is built, and He can do great things with that body of believers.

And THAT is what I want for my church … How about YOU???

Traveling the Romans Road from Ebenezer BC on Vimeo.

The Big Picture from Ebenezer BC on Vimeo.

Serving without Swerving from Ebenezer BC on Vimeo.

Reverse from Ebenezer BC on Vimeo.

There is a strategic purpose for this blog entry.  It applies to Ebenezerites and really ANYONE who is involved in some type of pastor search, so if this applies to you, read on!!

As our search continues (and we ARE making progress), there will come a day and time when the Personnel Team at EBC will present to the church a candidate for our vacancy in Student Ministry.  HOWEVER, with the advent of Twitter and Facebook, the rules have changed somewhat and we need to respect them!

When we DO have a candidate to consider, we certainly need to pray for that one but also respect where they are in life.  Whether leaving a ministry or another profession, we need to respect their privacy and allow them to make that departure on THEIR terms.  This means we need to keep that candidate’s name off of social media until a time when we know it is okay to do otherwise.  Then, WELCOME and LOVE that person with all of the social media you want!!!

Nothing could be more devastating to a candidate than to have such a decision made public in a manner that is inconsiderate of the feelings of those he might leave behind.  We know from experience that it hurts to lose a family member, and we want to make any transition as easy and smooth as possible.

We don’t have a name for you next week (or anything like that), but this is something we all need to start thinking on.  Hope you have a great week!!!

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We had a great quarterly business meeting last night at Ebenezer.  (Has ANY pastor EVER blogged that before??)  And I am quite serious!!  There was some good discussion about where our Weekday Ministry is headed, and where the church is headed, too!!

We started the HOW Campaign in late 2008… Just about a month before the economy took a major dive in the United States.  And yet, our church was faithful.  We built the Youth Assembly Building, pushing it ahead of the Sanctuary and addition education space because the need was great.  Architects worked hard with our New Facilities team to create a plan.  Many people worked HARD for hours.  And there we were, with thorough sanctuary blue prints, money slowly coming in, waiting on a decision… And waiting … and waiting.

Some people have looked to me to press the button:  I will do that as soon as God tells me to!  But He hasn’t.  And I had no idea why until a few months ago!!

I’ve been a firm believer that He sets the time table and He says when and He says what!!  And here we are:  The greatest need before us right now is educational space, both for our Sunday School AND for our Weekday Ministry.  And when I look at where God is at work in Ebenezer, He is definitely at work in our Weekday, where many people (both churched and unchurched) are lining up around the block to get their children a spot in our kindergarten/day care.  And these people are paying us money to tell their children about Jesus!!!  And for some of these, this will be the only connection to a church they will have!!!  So we get this awesome opportunity to tell them about Christ and BE the church to them!!

Bottom line is this:  We have BIG decisions ahead.  WHO WILL MAKE THEM??  Will WE??  Or will God??  When I look at what is happening here, I see the great need of more space AND almost enough money in the bank RIGHT NOW to meet that need AND to invest in the Family Life Center as a possible temporary worship location!!  But, this decision is not really mine to make.  And it is not really yours.  It belongs to God!!

Pray and seek His will for all of this!!  If we come together and ask Him, HE WILL ANSWER!!

The Prominence of Stuff from Ebenezer BC on Vimeo.

For Everything there is a Season from Ebenezer BC on Vimeo.

Good to Great from Ebenezer BC on Vimeo.