Central Church Leaders

Failiing forward

2010-02-02T13:46:00.000-08:00

Ephesians 4:1-16
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. 8 Therefore it says, "When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men."

9 ( In saying, "He ascended," what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Some of the big questions that the church and the leaders at Central needs to ask and seek answers for include the following:

1. What is all this for? Is Central to be a comfortable social place for me to gather with safe people, a great place to salve my social conscience or to be a family-style collection of followers of God in Christ?

2. What is to be my personal relationship with my fellow Christians? To gain from them what I want and need in the way that is most comfortable to me or to serve one another selflessly with the desire to do what builds others us in Christ?

3. What is the purpose of leadership at Central? To manage resources after taking a popular vote or to lead people into maturity and faithfulness in Christ?

It doesn’t take a long look at the writings of Paul (or any other New Testament author) to see that any answer reflecting a market-place, consumer driven way of seeing the church misses the mark in substantial and meaningful ways.

In short, according to this short selection from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, the answers to the questions should be along these lines:

1. We are to be the body of Christ that shows the oneness of God through our one another living.

2. We are to use the blessings of God to build up Christ’s body, the church, so that it is mature.

3. Those who have the gift of leadership among Central are to equip the church for works of service.

This is what each of us need to lead toward in our respective areas of leadership and influence. From what we do in a committee meeting to what we talk about in the hallway on the way to worship.

And it must be more that words. What we say 'at church' on Sunday or any other day is no where near as important as what we are doing.

Lead toward actions which move people toward maturity.

Will you mess up and fail? Yes. Just make sure that you keep 'failing forward'.

THE CRUSHING BLOW

2009-08-28T10:50:00.000-07:00

I wonder what it indicates about my personality that I like to watch a good fight or that most of the movies I enjoy are high adventure often involving lots of conflict. But I am encouraged when I read the letters from the apostle Paul since he often uses the language of a battle between right and wrong. He challenges us to put on the whole armor of God so we can stand. He said, "we don't wrestle with flesh and blood but with the powers of the darkness of this age. He challenged the Corinthians not to be like one who is "beating the air" or shadow boxing. One of my favorite of this kind of statement from Paul is in Romans 16:20. He had just told them he wanted them to be wise in what is good, yet innocent about what is evil. Then he said, "The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you." It is amazing to try to picture what he declares. He sees God as the God of peace. Yet the God of peace is going to crush Satan under our feet. Then he wants grace to be with us.

I must admit that most of the time it seems more like Satan is crushing me under his feet than that God is crushing him under mine. The context of Paul's statement indicate that it was their obedience of faith which would lead to their abiltity to walk over Satan and take him down. He gives us more insight into how we have the victory over Satan in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 where he said, "For although we are walking in the flesh, we do not wage war in a fleshly way, since the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds. We demolish arguments and every high-minded thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ."

The battle of our lives won't be fought with weapons of mass destruction. They will be fought with the mind, by bringing every thought captive. When we allow God to work through us in crushing Satan there is no limit to the power that is available. When we try to defeat evil and its source on our own power we are destined to complete failure.

Who is winning the battle in your mind?

Leon Barnes

LEAVING

2009-07-23T06:55:00.000-07:00

When God first made the woman and brought her to Adam, surely he was thrilled to now have a companion that was a perfect fit for him. I don't think God needed to show them a training video for them to know what to do together. When Adam saw her he made one of the greatest declarations of all time about marriage and what should happen in the relationship. "Then the man said, 'This as last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of man. Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed." Exactly what did Adam say and what was added by God for them to understand? We don't know for sure. It's clear that Adam said she was bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh, that she would be called woman since she was taken out of the man. When he used the word, "Therefore" and gave directions about marriage and family from that day forward it was probably the words of God. Adam had no knowledge of a father and mother, thus no understanding of leaving them to hold on to his wife. But God whe made them, knew what was required for the relationship to work.

From the beginning God told them it would be necessary for the marriage for both the man and the woman to "leave" their mother and dad and "hold fast" to their wife or husband. It is all too common to see marriages in trouble because one or both couldn't bear to leave their parents and the result is they are never able to hold fast to their mate. Usually this whole thing works better if the couple literally leave mom and dad and establish their own home from the beginning. It is imperative that they leave parents emotionally so they can be devoted to their mate.

The principle goes deeper than just the leaving of parents to hold fast to the mate. If a marriage is to work we must leave behind old relationships and devote ourselves to the marriage. It is amazing to me that so many people get married and still continue relationships with old boyfriends or girlfriends. I used to hear about people still calling or getting calls from their former partner, but now the going thing seems to be to carry on a facebook relationship with the previous partners. If we made the decision to not be married to that partner and to instead marry someone else, it only makes sense that we will break off all relationships with the former partner to work on my new marriage and marriage partner with all my energy. The principle here is that you leave anything and anyone that might hinder the success of your marriage.

I think the principle should also apply when preachers leave one congregation to go to work with another one. Too often after they have left and become partners with a new congregation preachers still try to maintain thier relationships with the former place and make it extremely difficult for their new preacher to ever be accepted in the group. If you are going to become the preacher at a new place, then leave the old one physically and emotionally and hold fast to the new place. It will be a favor to your new place and a huge favor to the new preacher at the old place.

One final application, if you leave one congregation of the Lord's people and go to another one to worship and serve God then leave. Don't try to hang on to the old place and the new thus having your feet in both places. There are few things more irritating than someone who moves into a new area and becomes a member of a new congretation to constantly talk about how we used to do things where we lived before. I always have the urge to say, "Hey you aren't there anymore and we could not care less how you did things somewhere else. This is how we do things here so get off the old horse and get on the new one and quit trying to ride both at once." It is equally frustrating for folks who have left to go to another place coming back to tell you how great things are where they are now. Each church has to do the work they do to fit where they are and the people and abilities there. You can't mold one after the image of the other.

After a marrage has taken place there ought to be absolutely no courtship with anyone other than the one I'm married to. That is true if it is literally in marriage and it is also true with other relationships that demand my loyalty to be of any value.

Leon Barnes

IDENTIFYING LEADERS

2009-07-22T09:26:00.000-07:00

Every business, school, church or team requires leadership to accomplish anything. Mot of the people I know think of themselves as leaders. There are some who will quickly declare "I'm not a leader, but I'm willing to work in any area you will ask me. In Matthew 20 Jesus told the story of a man looking for workers to get involved in his harvest of grapes. He went into town at all different intervals of the day asking people to come and work. Those contracted early in the morning negotiated a price for their labor. But as the day progressed the different ones hired were told to come and work and he would pay them what was right. At 5:00 in the afternoon when there was just an hour left to work he came once more to town looking for workers. He found a group of men standing idle and asked them why there were just standing there and not working. They said it was because no one had asked them. They were willing to work, but seemed to have little initiative to start anything or to push themselves forward. When he asked they went into the vineyard and worked until time to quit.

Thank God not everyone is like those men. But in every church I've been achainted with, there are many like that. They are good people, willing to work, but will never see what needs to be done and step up to do it on their own. The fact God had Paul to list leadership as one of the figts one might have in Romans 12:1-8 indicates that you can't expect to make leaders of everyone who is a Christian. When Paul wrote his final letter to Timothy he challenged him in chapter 2:1-2 to be strong in grace and the things he had learned from Paul among many witnesses he was to commit to faithful men who would be able to teach others also. The process would be never ending. We learn from someone who sees our faithfulness to God and that we have ability as teachers and leaders in His kingdom. Then we search for others who are faithful to God and have ability to teach and commit the teaching to them so they can look for others who are faithful and able to commit the teaching to them. But if we try to commit teaching or leadershp to a person who lacks either of those qualities we will frustrate ourselves and injure the cause of Christ. Think of how many times churches look for people to serve in different leadership roles. It may be as an evangelist, a teacher, an elder or a deacon. But as the search gets under way some will suggest that someone they know and perhaps are kin to woudl be great for the job. They look nice and are really successful in business and it would be great to have them leading in the church. Sadly such people are placed into a role of leadership. A few months later people are asking themselves and one another what went wrong. But, it isn't hard to figure out what happened. We have tried to make one into a leader in the family of God who is lacking in either faithfulness to God or in ability to lead. It is absolutely amazing that we will some times put people into some leadership role hoping that it will help them become more faithful. Such a reversal in what God teaches will do nothing but harm to the church.

Notice when Paul wrote both Timothy and Titus about setting apart elders and deacons he told both men to look at how the men led in their families. If one doesn't how to manage his own family how can he take care of the church of God? Many have wonderful families because their wife is a devoted, spiritually minded person determined to train their children in the Lord's way. Then a church comes along looking for a prospective elder or deacon and sees this man's good family and determines that they would serve well as leaders. If it was the one who had really led in the family that is considered for leadership it might work. But we need to see who is behind the growth and depth of the family. Timothy was a wonderful young man. What if the church looked at Timothy's devotion and thought that his dad would make a great leader since he had done so well with Timothy? The problem is, Timothy's dad wasn't devoted to God at all. It was his mother and grandmother who had faith they passed down to Timothy.

Leadership in the family of God is a spiritual gift from God. It isn't a natural ability. Don't get me wrong there are many who have the natural ability to lead. But if it isn't a spiritual gift from God they will lead, but not in a way that leads people to build their lives on the Lord and His will. They will have the church making plans based on good financial decisions and what fits best with the political powers of the day. They will listen to everything people say they want and would help them be involved. This kind of leader will carry the church in the direction of the world and miss God's plan altogether. In Mark 10:35-44 James and John came to Jesus requesting to sit on Jesus right and left hand when he came into his kingdom. Jesus told them it wasn't his to give but would be given to the one for whom God had prepared it. The ten other apostles were infuriated at their audacity. Jesus told the whole group, "You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even teh Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Think about it today. Are we modeling leadership in the church after what the Gentiles do or what Jesus said would be the case among His followers? Every time we determine someone would be a great leader because of their charm, their money making ability, their weight in the community or their political powers, we follow the world and not Jesus. If we want to follow Jesus we must find leaders who are servants, who give themselves for others and for the Lord. Every leader in the church ought to be chosen on the basis of this text and on Philippians 2:1-10. Paul challenged them to follow an upsidedown concept of leadership. "Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility conut others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is your in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant." What would the church be like today in every place if its leaders, all the way from the godly mother leading the nursery, to the youth leader, to the preacher, to the deacons, to the elders of the church, had the attitude Paul wanted us to have? We put others ahead of us. We look after the interest of others and we empty ourselves like Jesus. It would be a joy to worship with such a group. Their service to the community would demonstrate Christ's heart daily. They would keep big things big things and puny things as insignificant.

God's church needs godly leaders, who are spiritually minded and are gifted by God for leadership. Let's look out on the world and see that the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Let's pray to the Lord of the Harvest to send more workers into His vineyard.

Play ball!

2009-06-25T07:01:00.000-07:00

With the summer comes a new metaphor we're adopting as a congregation to help our members and our leadership more effectively seek and share The Way. Our goal is to be a people who are seeking the way, sharing the way - The Way being Jesus himself (John 10:10). How we live out that goal as members of Central is by being committed to four environments in our lives:

Worship (weekly as a group and daily as individuals and families)
Life Stage Groups (weekly gatherings right before our group worship to grow together in the Bible and deeper in our fellowship and service)
House Groups (smaller weekly gatherings to grow deeper in our discipleship and in relationships)
Faith Sharing (the natural and intentional by-product of the other environments - we are changed and cannot help but share that change with others)

The new metaphor we'll be using to help people remember and plug into our ministry is a baseball diamond. The metaphor is posted all around our buildings, in our bulletin and Leon, our pulpit minister, is going to each Sunday AM adult class/Life Stage Group to present the idea.

If you've not already looked closely at it, do so soon so you can get a sense of what it is each person at Central is called to do in the path of seeking the way, sharing the way. In the weeks ahead, we'll be asking that everyone be able to think through where they are 'on' this metaphor.

In addition to asking each member to 'place' themselves, we are also asking each ministry leader to make sure they see clearly where their ministry fits into the ball field metaphor. This is the same ministry structure we've talked about for the past year, just using a different metaphor to make it easier for some to remember.

Remember that you can go back into the olders posts on this blog and see how we progressed from where we were a couple of years back through today. God has blessed us with with serious introspection time and with guidance and leadership to help us move from places we needed to leave behind and into places we need to go.

Worker Bee

2009-06-03T13:59:00.000-07:00

An important exercise for any of us in leadership is to fairly regularly be honest with ourselves and do a skill-set inventory. Asking ourselves what we're capable of, good at and recognized for with ears to hear the truth is really good.

Am I a worker? Some people are good at doing a job. A guy might say, "I can change air filters and light bulbs" - does that make him a leader? Maybe by example, but it doesn't mean he can or should be put in charge of other people or an group whose job is maintenance. Just because I can do a job doesn't mean I can effectively lead other people or develop the way that job is done.

Am I a manager? Some people can come into a system that's already set up and help it maintain or keep going in the way it was given to them. They might not be able to comprehend any changes to the system that are suggested to them or see how it could be improved, but they can keep it going "as is" or as they think it ought to be.

Am I an entrepreneur? Some people can see something others can't see YET and develop it from start to finish. They may not have it in them to manage or work it after it's set up, but they can look at the big picture and see what's needed and make an existing thing better OR develop something brand new that no one has ever considered before.

Read through Acts 6 and notice the story of the first deacons. What kind of people do you think those first deacons are or were? As you read through the rest of Acts, notice 'the rest of the story' with several of them and the kinds of things they're doing later.

Sometimes it's not only refreshing, but it's necessary for us to go back to the scriptures and clarify what God intended when he started some of the things we take for granted these days. Just because I grew up in a church with a particular heritage or culture or way of doing things does not mean that it was doing what God calls for.

Imagine re-envisioning all our leadership positions in light of scripture. I think sometimes we think "Oh, I've done that. My position is right." and never think past whether our standard of right is really scripture or what's comfortable because it's what I like and know already.

So what kind of leader are you and where do you find your kind of leadership demonstrated in scripture?

Starting 2009 on the same page.

2009-01-07T13:55:00.001-08:00

The New Year is upon us and with it the great next steps we have been anticipating for Central Church! We are seeking the way and sharing the way together as we start off 2009 and sharpening our focus on doing a few things with excellence!

In 2009 we are focusing on excellence in worship, small groups/LSG’s, greeting/welcoming, youth and children’s ministry and strong, affirmative leadership to help us be good stewards of our resources and our talents. Every ministry and every leader needs to make sure that everything they’re doing is focused on those areas or supporting those areas in some good way.

The shepherds and staff are meeting twice this weekend (Saturday 8-10ish and Sunday at 2:00 p.m.) both for our ongoing prayer, planning and leadership time AND to get ready for two very significant meetings: 1) our ‘all-leadership’ meeting on Sunday January 18 after worship and 2) our 2009 kick-off congregational meeting on January 25th at 5:00 p.m.

Make it your plans to be at both of those very important meetings, especially the 18th. We’re at a time of shifting around of roles & responsibilities to be better at what we do. Some of you all have been looking for a place to put your feet down into ministry &/or to make a change – this is a meeting that will be very beneficial for you. Grab lunch, be back at 12:30ish and we’ll meet.

All shepherds, staff and ministry leaders are also asked to be a part of small groups in 2009 – no exceptions; all leadership is to be actively involved in a small group experience. If you’re not sure where to plug in, you’ll have opportunities available before this month is over. Feel free to come to the leadership training day Saturday, January 24 from 9-12 and get involved!

If you’d like to refresh your memory of some of the things we’ve done and ground we’ve covered in the last few months scroll down through the posts going back to April or so through the past year and you’ll get a sense of many of those items.

Blessings...

Wade

PS: THE ANSWER IS YES – ALL of our female ministry leaders are also encouraged and invited to be a part of the meeting on the 18th. Spouses please pass that word around and let’s make sure that all of those who are gifted and given responsibilities of leadership at Central Church, male and female, are a part of our all-leadership meeting.

A new year and new challenges/opportunties!

2008-12-11T09:35:00.000-08:00

It's almost here.

It's a year in which we make some significant changes in how we do things.

It's a time for several people in different leadership positions to change their focus. If the area of work that you are currently 'over' isn't a part of one of the three primary environments we're focusing on as a congregation, I strongly encourage you to begin looking into some areas that could use your time that ARE a part of those three main environments.

What are they? Worship (which include worship as an event on Sunday and all those 'behind the scenes areas' that allow us to function as a church), Life Stage Groups (which includes our children/youth ministries), and Small Groups. If you area isn't plugged directly into one of those things, it's time to think about a transition.

Not obvious where you fit? This might help - remember that a few months back we formally adopted the new vision/mission statement of seeking the way, sharing the way and that our shepherds and those of us on staff agreed through a series of meetings to make 2009 the year that we sharpen our focus down to doing five things very well.

Excellent worship services – well planned, well executed
Excellent hospitality/guest welcoming – from driving up to driving away, no one feels ignored, uninformed, etc and feel welcomed and wanted
Excellent Children’s/Youth ministry – ‘nuff said
Excellent small groups and other group environments (i.e. LSG’s) – continue to refine and shape our LSG’s and truly integrate a small group ministry into our congregation
Excellent stewardship or administration of ourselves - anything we are currently doing doesn’t fit into one of these areas, we begin to move resources and people away from that thing so that we can do a few things well in our pursuit of seeking the way, sharing the way.

These aren’t just platitudes, but real goals to work toward so that by the end of 2009, we can say that we have made these five things our way of life so that we can honor God, encourage one another, and reach those who don’t yet know Jesus.

As was presented in our last leadership meeting, the ‘public at large’ among our congregation will hear us say that we want everyone at Central Church to be a part of three specific environments: 1) Worship, 2) their own Life Stage Group and 3) a small group by the end of 2009 – behind the scenes, those of us in leadership will pursue these five things listed above to make that happen.

If the three big environments aren't broad enough for you to find your place, the five 'behind the scenes' areas might open a couple of more doors for you to think about. If you're not sure, ask one of the guys on staff for some time to walk through it with you.

I know that many of you are busy and have a lot on your plate. At the same time, the Lord's Church is not a place for 'seconds' or 1/2 a commitment. Way too many people live with good intentions that they can't follow up on. Don't live like that. If you can't cash that check, don't write it and ask the church to hold on to it for a while until you can find some free time that you aren't doing anything else with and then you'll give God some of your time.

If you don't feel like you can make that happen for yourself in the next couple of months, I want to encourage you to step out of your official role (if you have one) and take the time you need to do things in your life, family, etc so that you can be focused on seeking the way and sharing the way when you take your role back up again in the future.

Careful around the bruises!

2008-11-07T14:51:00.000-08:00

Our son Eli recently had minor surgery and was sent home with a low level pain reliever and instructions for us to be careful around his healing incisions and bruises. Man, did we ever! And times we didn't, we all paid the price.

Our congregation has recently gone through some 'minor surgery' to help us see better and work better and we too have some healing to do. Some people have moved away for jobs and new people have come in. Some of our assumptions about what was good and not so good about us were shifted around and modified pretty substantially.

As we go through the processes of healing from what we've learned through the John Ellas' study of our congregation and the many things that have happened since then, it's really great to know that much better things are ahead, but it's also important to remember that we're still in the healing and recovery processes and we need to be 'careful around the bruises.' So what might that mean for us a church leadership?

1. We need to be careful about what we say and how we say it. During times of transition, people often listen to hear what they want to hear and will even reintepret things to fit what they want to hear. We need to make sure we understand each other and make sure that when we speak to people about what's going on that we take the time to have them reflect back what they heard us say so we can know we're clear with each other. Not doing this can result in us 'bruising each other' unintentionally over and over.

2. We need to grow through pain. A part of recovery to health is making sure that you're going through rehab so that when you're 'healed', your whole system or body works like it's supposed to in every day life. Unlike years past, doctors today get you up walking around soon after surgery so that you can heal 'normally' and not delay recovery and normal life. We need to encourage our members to 'get back into it' with active involvement in worship, Life Stage Groups, small groups and into the ministry and outreach that come out of those. Not doing this will let us 'get stiff' and/or too comfortable in the wrong position.

3. We need to avoid assuming too much or too little. A lot of things that we need to do next are things we tried in the past but for a variety of reasons it didn't 'take' (i.e. most of our people and even us as a leadership weren't ready to really 'hear it' yet). Some of our members are way more up to speed than we often think, they've just been waiting for a moment like this. And vice versa. Think about it. We need to ask a lot of questions about what's been happening up until now and why. We need to not assume we're walking into areas/ministries in which people who went before us had bad intentions, were incompetent or are unaware of our 'new and better' way of doing things. Not doing this will cause us to unintentionally insult people who've worked hard to bring us to this point and/or cause us to perpetually reinvent the wheel.

4. We need to see the trees in the forest. In times of transition, we can get caught up in the healing and recovery process of the whole body and not pay attention to the health and growth of individuals. We need to make sure that we are focused on doing things that will cause relationships to grow and thrive - Life Stage Groups, small groups, and ministry teams. Not doing this will result in us being surprised that "Brother So and So" burned out or had a moral failure or _____________."

5. We need to help each other see the forest. Recently, my wife put our son, Eli in my arms while I sat on the couch. I immediately felt that he was very hot and feverish and said so to Ranell (my wife). She walked back over and said, "Not only that, he just spit up all over you." Very quickly we both realized that the heat I felt was him spitting up on himself and my arm and not a fever. We need to work together as leaders to make sure that we're seeing and sensing the situations we dealing with correctly and not making a judgement on what we feel at the moment. Not doing so can result in us making judgements and decisions based on wrong, incomplete or misleading info and send us 'back to the hospital' because we took the wrong meds.

Okay, that's probably too many mixed metaphors in one blog post, but you get the idea that growing together in a local church requires ongoing attention, care and most especially prayer for God's wisdom and guidance! Remember to be careful around the bruises and before we know it, we'll be up and running stronger than we were before!

After John Ellas left...

2008-09-17T11:27:00.000-07:00

(Edited from an earlier Leadership Monthly - for those who've not read the whole Ellas' report at www.arcentralchurch.org, but would like a very brief summary.)

After John Ellas left…

...we had a lot of information to reflect on. Lots of numbers and information that show our strengths and our areas for improvement; but at the end of it all is a decision for us to make as a leadership. Who do we want to be? And after that decision is made, are we willing to make the changes in us as leaders to make it happen?

One key thing we’ve worked through in deciding ‘Who do we want to be?’ has included looking at ourselves very closely and owning up to our own myths about ourselves as a congregation. Some examples of things we’ve learned and have had to face about ourselves as a church include:

1. We’re not a downtown church – we’re a metropolitan-regional church that serves a membership that lives, for the most part, at least 5 to 10 miles away from our building.

2. Racial diversity doesn’t necessarily mean cultural diversity – we’re more similar to each other across socio-economically than most people think about, and we need to remember that race and culture are different things.

3. We are a middle to upper-middle class congregation – churches do not often find success or receptivity in reaching out to people who are different than their membership – in Central’s case, the poor or the very wealthy.

4. We still think like, act like, and organize ourselves as a congregation smaller than we are – if we want to grow evangelistically, we must make significant changes in how we think, how we speak and in what we do.

5. We do not communicate well – we must become people who listen well and who positively seek information we need about events, ministries, etc, rather than waiting for people to spoon feed us what’s often right in front of us.

6. We are showing signs of being a maintenance-driven church – “Will I like this, or does this make me comfortable?” versus “What will help attract and assimilate new people into our congregation and into God’s Kingdom?”

7. Evangelism today is different than evangelism of past decades – gospel meetings were great, but people today normally respond to ‘spiritual events’ only after a relationship with a Christian friend has developed.

8. We are friendly to outsiders and new people, but we are inadvertently reluctant to make room for new people by our not making friends with them, actively making new groups for them, or paying attention to them long term.

9. We have a lot of people involved in great service activities but one of our greatest needs is men & women who will commit to true leadership roles that extend outside of worship and class times & that aren’t simply task oriented.

10. We have difficulty getting on the same page, speaking the same language & pursuing the same goals – we need a clear language, path & agreed upon methods we will all pursue as the best things as opposed to a lot of good things.

Perhaps the hardest thing to hear was that our baptism rate is well below what a growing church must have to keep it’s head above water. Baptism of our children is precious, great thing. At the same time, baptizing our kids isn’t necessarily helping us reach out to those who don’t know Christ. We must change our thoughts and actions about evangelism.

We knew having an outsider come in to give it to us straight would be like going to the doctor for a complete check up after experiencing symptoms we were concerned about. It would have been a colossal waste of money and time to pay a person to come and tell us things to make us feel good, but conceal difficult things from our hearing.

But it’s not all bad news. While somewhat more general than some wanted to hear, he did give us some clear pointers for us to look toward so that we could begin making changes; first in our hearts about who we are and who God wants us to be and secondly in our actions as individual members at Central Church. While it is strong medicine, it is healing…

…if we will take it. Over the past three months, our shepherds and staff (hereafter known as our frontline leadership), have met to digest the Ellas’ material, prayerfully reflect on it and to begin looking ahead. In the past two months, our entire leadership group has met to talk about it and to begin taking the faith steps Our hope and prayer is that every member at Central will be a part of the upcoming meetings to talk about the new directions God is leading us in.

Seeking The Way, Sharing The Way

2008-08-02T08:14:00.000-07:00

A lot of water has passed under the bridge since last April and in that time this communication point went dormant! The time has come once again to breathe new life into it and to begin A New Way.

Jesus said "I am the way, the truth and the life and no man one comes to the Father except through me." We are a group of people who live all over central Arkansas and we worship together and covenant together to be a church under the leadership of shepherds who are leading us in very specific, focused ways to seek The Way of Christ and to share The Way of Christ in our lives.

While it may sound simple, we know that living this simple way will complicate our lives in many ways as we go through an initial process of changing how we think about ourselves, about 'church', about everyone and everything. But we crave this difference - this simple way of living in The Way.

There are some gatherings, large and small, that must occur over the next few weeks that will solidify our direction and in that process 'clean house' of ideas and actions that would drain energy and attention away from The Way as we choose to seek it through His leadership.

We look forward to the days ahead and, just as important, we relish what living in His presence today and now is like. Our prayer is that He will lead The Way...

In case you missed the last meeting...

2007-04-07T16:42:00.000-07:00

1. Vision and Process:
Below is an overview of where most all of our ministry leadership fits into the vision/process at Central Church. It is arranged with the assumption that every ministry and person in the body of Christ at Central is to have a clear and intentional place where they support or build the body. Any ministry or person without a clear place or purpose in the vision and process of Central’s body is in need of going through the necessary process of determining such and not be allowed to simply ‘be’, but rather be encouraged and held accountable through teaching and mentoring to grow into maturity and service.

The ministries, the people and the body as a whole aren’t static – meaning that there is to be regular and continual growth in maturity and in fruit produced as each is faithful with the gifts God has graced them with. There will be & there is to be regular growth, change and progression through the vision/process toward being more like Christ as indicators of health and increasing maturity. Comfort with status quo, stagnation and complacency are not to be ignored, enabled or tolerated but instead seen as, revealed as and dealt with as needs for healing, growth and leadership.

Each stage in the process, each action in our vision is not a place ‘to arrive at’ and remain. Instead they are ‘graces’ or characteristics to grow in continually. Each stage in the process and action in our vision is to be taught about and held up in front of the body, groups, etc regularly so that no one group or individual can define on their own the stages/processes in a way that would allow for division, disunity and lack of growth. Specifically, we will need to take time to plainly say on a regular basis and with increasing clarity what it means to intimately worship God, to be irrevocably committed to one another, and to intentionally serve people.

There is overlap and continuity between each stage and within and between our different specialized ministries. It is important to remember that each stage builds on and benefits from the other stages, progressively.

Central Church honors God by…

intimately worshipping Him
irrevocably committing to one another
intentionally dedicating ourselves to serving others

2. Life Stage Groups:
Life Stage Group Ministry provides the primary place for shepherding, fellowship, accountability, education, outreach/evangelism and service among our adult members/families. Below is a new alignment of Life Stage Group leadership based on the discussion and consent from the Leadership Retreat @ Lake Nixon earlier this year. Two shepherds are partnered with a Life Stage Group to meet with the leaders/teachers of that group monthly, at minimum to:

Talk about ‘where’ each group member/family ‘is’ in our ministry process, in their walk with God/discipleship, and to discuss how to better shepherd our fellow brothers and sisters in our groups. Basically, walking through your group’s members/families, one at a time & discussing/praying for them.

Talk about what activities, events, etc the group has planned to grow in our irrevocable commitment to one another and to serve people in and outside our congregation and/or God’s Kingdom.

Talk about the smaller, unplanned and/or not-including-the-whole group activities that individuals are doing as outreach, service, etc.

For this new alignment, each shepherd pair is partnered with the entire Life Stage Group (LSG), especially if there are multiple groups (i.e. 1A, 1B, 1C) within. Remember that you are there to guide them in shepherding their group members at their life stage. Let them plan and carry out activities, etc that relate to where they are in life. Focus your time with them on listening; asking them what they believe the best route is for their group, etc.

LSG1 – Gerst, Keesling
LSG2 – Ramsey, Jackson
LSG3 – Wallis, Collins
LSG4 – Brown, McFadden

3. Specialty Ministries:
Specialty ministries provide key services or support which individuals or Life Stage Groups cannot effectively provide for on their own without impairing the purposes of Life Stage Groups or overwhelming individuals beyond their capacity. Below is a new alignment of our Specialty Ministry leadership based on the discussion & consent from the Leadership Retreat @ Lake Nixon. Two shepherds are partnered with a Specialty Ministry (each having two specialized ministries total) and both are to meet with the leaders/deacons of those ministries monthly/every two months, at minimum to:

Talk about what is going on in their area for that month. Encourage them in their work, ask them if they need resources, etc, remind them of how important their work is and of where it fits into our overall ministry process/work at Central.

Talk about what their goals are for the next month/quarter/six month, what they are doing at the time to make it happen and who they are working with.

As with the Life Stage Group leaders, encourage their growth, leadership and abilities and avoid doing their work for them &/or letting them come to you for each decision – ask them things like “how do you think that would be handled best?” Let them know you’re behind them and that you’re confident in their ability and judgment. If they obviously need guidance, offer it judiciously.

Finance/Budget – Ramsey, Brown
Worship – Wallis, Keesling
Visitation – Jackson, McFadden
Missions – Keesling, Ramsey
Building/Grounds – McFadden, Gerst
Benevolence – Collins, Wallis
Youth – Gerst, Collins
Children – Brown, Jackson

Central Church Leadership Among Vision/Process:

1. Worshipper:

Worship leading team – Michael Cooper**, Jason Burt**, Jim Wallis, Leon Barnes, Wade Poe, Kenny Collins, David Gaminde, Darrin Williams & many others

Greeters – Anthony* & Lena Wilson, Ralph & Margaret Henderson

Parking lot/security – Charles Harrison*

Public worship coordination – Jackie McRoberts**, Lyn Poinsett*, Anthony Wilson*, Kenny Collins*,

Vans/transportation – Kevin Johnston*

Nursery – Shelby Lillard

2. Group member:

Life Stage Groups

i. 4B – Bruce McFadden, Roy Brown (“Forerunners”Community development)
ii. 4A – John Philips, Eric Holifield (“Forerunners”Community development)
iii. 3 – Leon Barnes, Jim Wallis, David Gaminde, Billy McLain, Bill Lamb
iv. 2B – Brian Beck*, Lyn* & Daphne Poinsett, AJ Gilbert*, Tim Browner*
v. 2A – Wade Poe, Steven Dearin*, Anthony* & Lena Wilson
vi. 1C – Jason Parker*, David Gay*, Ben** & Julie Hammit
vii. 1B – Shannon Cooper, Randall Archer, Mac* & Amy Bell, Michael Cooper
viii. 1A – Rob Gerst, Adam Harrell, Jason Burt

Education/discipleship
i. New members class – Chuck Ramsey, Bill Keesling
ii. Adult education – Wade Poe**, Leon Barnes, David Gaminde, John Phillips, Lyn Poinsett, Darrin Williams and others.
iii. Library – Mary DePriest** and staff

Special events – Mack Hutchison*

Mentoring – Shannon Cooper, Bobby Perry*, Leon Barnes

Children*** – Michael Cooper, Ben Hammit, Tammy Beck, Ranell Poe, Freda Ramsey, Tricia Parker, Carolyn Barger, and others.

Youth*** – Shannon Cooper, Jarod Lillard, Dan Griswold, Tom & Sydney Hess, Mike & Jan Kingrey, Brian Beck, Todd Ferguson, Hannah Sawyer, David Gaminde, and others.

3. Servant:

Missions Team – Billy McLain**, Keith Wade, Jerrad & Ami Powell

Website – Tim Browner*, Angela Sanchez

Rivercity Ministry – Crystal Hogg

Nursing Homes – Reid Landes*

Visitation*** – John Phillips**, Jackie McRoberts, Bruce McFadden, Charles Jackson & others
Benevolence: ***

Immediate needs/Interfaith ministry - Stephen Thompson*

Children’s Homes – Jerry Heckman, David Gruber* & Bill Lamb*

Widows and orphans – Bobby Perry* and Terry Shaw*

Finance/budgeting resources*** – Will Hogg**, Lyn Poinsett, Jerrad Powell, Wade Poe**, Shannon Cooper, Debby Caudle, Lora Ballinger and others who help count money, etc

Building/Grounds***

Long range planning/project implementation – shepherds, staff, and appointed teams

Ongoing projects/maintenance – Derrell Cox**, Mike Moran*, Jim Harmon*, Mike Kingrey*, Tom Hess*

Building safety – Todd Ferguson*

Building usage/scheduling – office staff

Creativity/arts (a new ministry in development) – Ben Hammit, Dan Griswold, Mac Bell, Tracy & Angela Sanchez, Stephanie Bryant, Stephen Spears and others.

When you're having fun...

2006-08-07T19:24:00.000-07:00

...my how the time flies! Well, we are officially coming to summer's end and have had a decent amount of time to see how our 'summer of service' ministry format with no Sunday PM 'big church' services would go. Our groups, families and clusters of individuals have tried a variety of service/outreach/fellowship activities both on Sunday afternoons/evenings and at other times through out the week and, even though some activities didn't pan out completely, for the most part, a lot of great things have occured and have moved us as a people to a new place in our thinking about ourselves, the 'work of the church' and of God's Kingdom as a whole.

Our shepherds have officially said that we'll be continuing on with the new format and are looking forward to seeing how each Life Stage Group and other ministries develop through this new direction. In the weeks ahead we'll begin giving more complete reporting of ministries, activities, etc that have developed through our new format in this short time period that began in June.

We're also spending a lot of time as a staff (and soon with the entire leadership) working towards getting clarity on our vision and mission as a congregation in Little Rock. Yes, we know what the Great Commission is, but we also need to spend time as a church looking at what it means in the actual day to day lives of us as disciples who worship, mature and reach out to serve as a group under the direction of the shepherds at Central. Very soon (i.e. August 27) we'll have a meeting as a group to begin this discussion that will last for several months and help us move toward better clarity, movement, alignment and focus as a leadership team.

Remember that Harvest Sunday is coming up and that each person who is a leader at Central is asked to be thinking ahead of time how much they and their family will commit toward missions and/or Harvest Sunday so that we can set a (hopefully very) powerful example of what we want all members of Central to do on Harvest Sunday (Sept. 17). Please be ready at our August meeting to say what your family will commit to.

Also remember that the fall is the time we put together our ministry plans, budgets, etc for the New Year. You'll be receiving some reminders of when this is due (Oct. 1) and if you would like it, some pointers about how to go about writing your ministry plan for 2007 and how to arrange your budget.

What a blessing it is that God has poured out resources and opportunities on us as His people at Central! Let me encourage you to let God spark your imagination for what He can and will do as we let Him set the bar/goals for us and provide for us as He opens the doors. Blessings...

A Mid-Summer's Night...er...afternoon meeting

2006-07-14T11:13:00.000-07:00

Hey all in leadership at Central!

Remember that we're having our mid-summer leadership summit Sunday July 23rd right after our AM worship and farewell meal with the Aljians. We're right in the middle of experiencing the fruits and frustrations of transitions we entered a few months ago and we need to talk as a group about how it's going and how we can continue to improve. Blessings...

Wade

Leadership that heals & doesn't enable?

2006-05-30T05:48:00.000-07:00

From going through the process of adopting a older child, one of the most powerful things our family has learned is the idea of 'being an enabler'. We learned (sometimes the hard way) that some behaviors we thought were cute or loving were actually sometimes cute and loving, but sometimes they were actually good old fashioned manipulation used to avoid an uncomfortable situation that really needed to be dealt with.

To enable someone means you make it possible for them to be able to do a certain behavior or to think a certain way. Through how you interact with them, what you say, what you encourage or discourage in them, etc, you make it possible for them to grow in a good and healthy direction. The opposite is also true in that you can can also encourage them to move along a path that is unhealthy or even bad or sinful through what you say, do, accept, etc.

When you think about being a leader in the church, what are things that you see in yourself or in other leaders to that paves the way for (or enables) good following/followers? And vice versa, what are some things that you see that enable people in church to continue in a lifestyle of sin or perhaps at least 'ignorant bliss' about their non-Christlike lifestyle?

Work the process...

2006-05-22T19:09:00.000-07:00

Few people like to do it - make decisions about vision, values, direction and goals for a congregation (or whatever organization) and then put plain steps together in a plan that people and groups can follow and know that they are moving toward the positive goals, etc. Many people like to speak in generalities and in 'glowing terms' toward a misty vision of how the church or organization ought to be & how it will work if only we'll all get behind it and work at it. Many times those things/goals fail and the organization finds itself switching horses mid-stream and eventually finds fewer people willing to make the switch over and again.

How do you think that process ought to work? How clear must the goals of a church or of a ministry, etc be before a group actually sets out with the desire to 'try it out'? How clear should the goals be? How vague should they be left so that a group has 'wiggle room' to reinterpret the results later?

AND NOW...flip it over!

What are the times when you've seen things work really well 'at church' and a vision was cast and people followed and it all seemed to click together like a puzzle? What do you think made it go so well? How was it communicated? How was dissent or apathy dealt with?

AND THEN, through it all...

How was God's Kingdom and God Himself shown through either of the above circumstances? How did people in the church refer to God's work or His presence through the process?

I don't really want to lead: Part 2

2006-04-28T05:46:00.000-07:00

Moses - was kind of 'shoved' or goaded into being a leader of God's people to get them out of Eygpt. Wasn't really his thing until God promised him a lot of help through Aaron, etc...

Saul - hid in the luggage whenever he was being called to be the king over God's people.

David - was out tending sheep with no apparent awareness that he was even in the running to be considered as a leader of anything when he was called and annointed as king.

Jonah - ran the other way when God called him to go to Ninevah. God took him on a three day underwater tour to help him think about it.

Timothy - was in need of a strong reminder/encouragment from Paul to keep on leading and to not let himself get 'run over' in what was an apparently difficult (at times) group of people to work with in Ephesus.

John Mark - apparently wasn't a big fan of some of the trips/dangers faced by Paul and Barnabus and went AWOL at inappropriate times.

The apostles - for all their bravado when with Jesus, the all fled when he was arrested. Only Peter followed at a distance but denied knowing Jesus.

And the list really could go on...

The thing about all of these folks is that they had times when the last thing they wanted to do was to be 'in' leadership. It took each of them a time of learning or an event or a time of seeing God's power at work before they stepped up and were seen and discussed as having grown up into leadership. Doesn't mean they were perfect in that role for the rest of their lives, but that it was a process for them to get there.

Today it's the case that sometimes leaders don't materialize because they don't want to throw the balance off in their life as they desire it to be (I.e. I have way too much work, a lot of family, a little 'me time', and just enough of church/Jesus). In other words, good old fashioned idolatry and control issues. Others are rejected because their leadership is perceived to be a threat to the aforementioned balance in others' lives.

Yet at the same time, perhaps it is the case that some people don't make it in leadership yet because God wants to shape them and grow them through things they don't see yet.

It's interesting. As with previous comments on last week's post, the question really is - what is leadership today? It seems that some people equate leadership with being up front in a church service leading a song, a prayer, preaching, etc. Others seem to perceive it as being a catalyst who moves people and resources along toward a goal or in a direction.

Each of the examples from the Bible mentioned above played very different public roles and at different times for different durations. Lots of 'leadership' type roles are simply mentioned in passing in the Biblical text - leading songs, praying in public, and other things we often consider to be 'the choice roles' to have. Most of Biblical leadership seems to have to do with pointing people in the direction of the Kingdom, either for short term activities or for long range changes that might never be apparent in the life of the individual who is called into them.

Maybe it's out culture with its up to the minute news coverage and our demand for things to change now to fit what we want that has warped what God has said and called us into. Maybe it's time to spend even more time in prayer, reflecting on where and when we live, what God has already blessed us with, where he seems to be moving already and/or where he appears to be calling us to go.

I'll admit, it's tempting to demand a leadership postion that's ready made with clear objectives, a regular public 'facetime' in which I can feel acknowledged and honors, and a guaranteed successful outcome so I don't have to risk failure. That type of leadership or place in the body of Christ completely foreign to the Bible and to life in the Kingdom.

Think through the New Testament and the way 'leadership' and different gifts play out in the NT church. How similar or different are we?

"I don't really want to lead" Part 1

2006-04-21T09:52:00.000-07:00

Why is it the case that leadership is so hard to come by in the church? It seems at times that the people you both want and need to step up and lead are reluctant to do so. At other times, the people who want to be the leader (even if they won't admit it), are the very people you don't want to lead because of their lack of vision, maturity or direction.

What makes a good leader in the church? Do we really follow the guidelines that Paul lays out in his letters to Timothy and Titus? Do we follow Jesus' model of being a disciple makers? Or do we follow a 'business model' and pick out folks who seem like they've got it together? Or do we just look for 'good folks' who don't seem too messed up?

Have you ever seen someone be chosen as a leader (teacher, ministry leader, minister, elder, deacon, etc) only to find out that they really weren't or aren't cut out for that job? Or to later find out that their vision of what their role is supposed to be is very different than what yourself and others thought it was?

Have you ever been asked to lead in some role? What went into your decision to accept or decline a leadership role? Have you ever taken a leadership role that you probably shouldn't have? What happened? Have you ever wanted to be a leader but have been overlooked or not considered? How did you respond?

There are different kinds of leaders - some are good at managing a system that's already in place, but aren't that creative or able to adjust to changes in the system. Some leaders are people with creativity and vision and can develop a picture in their mind and move people and resources toward it by helping them see their picture. And there are folks that fall somewhere in between.

Next week...reluctant leaders from the Bible.

What will that look like?

2006-04-07T11:14:00.000-07:00

Well, the news is finally out! Beginning in June, all members of Central are asked to begin using the time on Sunday nights to get involved in some kind of service project, home Bible study, small group, or in some other activities that will help them to grow more in their journey in God’s Kingdom. Everyone is asked to feel free to do a variety of things and not necessarily the same activity every week. Basically everyone should use the time to invest themselves and their family into God’s Kingdom.

We've thought and prayed a lot about it and decided as a leadership that to seek The Kingdom of God even more than we have been, we’re at a point where we need to realign our resources & meeting times & asking the members of Central to use the time we normally set aside for “Sunday Nights @ Central” to become a part of some activities that will help the reign of our Lord extend even farther into a) our relationships with each other as believers, b) our neighborhoods &/or communities & c) into our homes and families.

We know that many of our folks will hit the ground running and will pray about it and let God lead them into areas of relationship development, outreach, service and growth that others may not think about. That kind of ‘entrepreneurial’ thinking, direction and action is highly encouraged. If you’re that kind of person, go where God leads you in this new format and remember to share with others at Central the great things that are happening as a result.

For those who want ideas, suggestions or a little bit of structure in which to begin using this time, we will have (upon request) some suggestions or possible ideas to get you going. Know that, at minimum, Life Stage Groups will be planning events and activities that can also help provide you with ways to get involved in the new format. Please do not feel locked into any particular option or idea that anyone suggests or throws out to you, but instead to use them as guidelines to get you down the road a little further.

When you think about the area of ministry that you are over, how do you think the changes in our format will impact of effect your work or the work of others at Central?

PS: Our 7th Wednesday at Central will have 'part 2' on April 12th since we didn't quite have enough time to get into our clusters to do work and planning this past week.

Big stuff headed your way!

2006-03-23T12:24:00.000-08:00

Hey Central Church Leaders,

In a few short weeks, we'll be making a modification of some of our Sunday 'programming' that will be as positive and forward thinking as our Life Stage Groups development last year at this time. We've been looking at different ways to equip and empower more of our membership for ministry in The Kingdom and after a long look inside and a lot of prayer, we're ready to make that next step. We aren't putting it out there completely yet because we want to get it in front of a small and diverse group of folks from among us to get a sense of how to best present it. Check back here next week to get all the details. Feel free to email me if you'd like a bit of a preview. Blessings...

Wade

7th Wednesdays

2006-02-17T11:50:00.000-08:00

This past Wednesday night we kicked off what we hope to be a great 'next step' with our ministries at Central. It's essentially a repackaging of what we did when we first moved into our new facilities about two years ago. At that time however, we just weren't the kind of folks who recognized or felt the need for organizing ourselves better so we can do a better job of seeking The Kingdom first in our lives as individuals and as a congregation. Now, I think most people see it and feel it and our first "7th Wed. PM" seemed to be welcomed as a time to do just that!

Our Wed. PM equipping classes run for six weeks in a stretch and then we have "7th Wednesday" where all the adults come together for a brief time of worship/devotional and then break into our seven major areas of ministry or work for a time of talking about what's going on, planning for how to do it better, and hooking people into the work right there on the spot. This past Wed. was our first time to do it and all the groups seemed to get off the ground well.

We know that some folks will likely move around in the months ahead as they try to find exactly where they feel God wants them to be serving as a member of Central AND that some folks will be involved in more than one ministry. We do want to encourage everyone to find at least one thing they can and will commit to, but not to burn themselves out or to get involved in 'church work' to the point that they ignore their family or don't have time to be with 'outsiders' who don't know Jesus yet so that they can reach out to them in ways that God will provide.

Let us know how you think it went in your area of ministry (if you were there) or if you have questions about what's going to happen next! Blessings...

Conserve energy...go nominal!

2006-01-09T13:36:00.000-08:00

"Why put out all that effort? We've got enough going on as it is." What do you think? If we are to give at least 10% (suggested donation) to God, is that just from our money or does that include our time as well? And if it includes our time, do we deduct from that amount the time we spend with our families or in being neighbors and friends, etc? Or does that 10% just go toward things we do 'at church' when we're at the building (or in planning for things that go on at the building)? If God really want's 'all of us' what does that mean? Shouldn't we just relax and be nominal?

How do you as a leader find balance between work, church, family, being in your community, and/or in other activities? Chart out your time per day or week and see how much you spend in each. What would you recommend for a leader who works 60-80 hours per week on a job and barely has enough time for their family, much less to be involved in the leadership role at church?

"Hello? Hello? Is this thing on?" See in previous posts how to comment if you don't know or can't figure it out.

Marriage Mentoring

2005-12-13T12:02:00.000-08:00

Our Marriage mentoring program is just getting started. We have 13 pairs of couples who have committed to meeting monthly over the next year to work on building healthy marriages.
Too often we are unable to discuss our marriages in a way that is helpful. What barriers do we have up that prevent us from being a community that partners together to ensure faithful marriage.
I think one thing that we forget to do is remember our vows. I had our vows framed so that I can read them every time I walk by. I also try to be very intentional that when I go to a wedding I remind the brade and groom that I have witnessed their commitment and know that responsiblity comes to me as a witness to hold that couple accountable to their promises.
I guess the bottom line is that I dont want to forget that a marriage isnt just a partnership, but a sacred rite, a divinely sanctioned commitment to a person before God and the church.

Changes with bulletin

2005-12-13T07:21:00.000-08:00

Times are changing. Snail mail is slow, expensive and a lot of work. Beginning the first of the year we plan to stop mailing the bulletin with the exception of shutins and people away from here who do not have e-mail or internet service. We will e-mail each person on our list a notice that the bulletin is up and ready for viewing with a link to the bulletin that will lead them directly to it. Please make certain we have your e-mail address and anyone else's that you might get to us so most people can recieve it right away. The bulletin will also be available on Sunday at worship. This should save us over $3,000 per year in postage and paper.

Leon

Follow up from Tuesday (12/6/05) PM meeting!

2005-12-12T14:12:00.000-08:00

This past Tuesday we met for a while & went over a lot of different stuff ranging from a new ministry plan or structure (as Leon detailed for you to read in the post before this one) to what's going on in each ministry to taking a survey on 'church health' Central. Brian led us in a good discussion at the beginning about leadership, what a church ought to be about doing, etc & we had a whole lot of good soup courtesy of Freda & Lora!

Please take the time to read the 'open letter from Leon' to get a summary of the plan he presented. This is a plan in progress and will go along with and be shaped by a number of us working together in concert. Sometime before too far into the New Year, we'll be presenting the plan in different settings, getting feedback and working out any kinks; kind of like we did and/or are doing with the Life Stage Group ministry.

It was requested that we remind everyone of the elder/deacon groupings that we made last month and so here there are!

Chuck Ramsey, James Johnston, Lance Aljian, Brian Beck, Kenny Collins, Jeff Crone, Stephen Dearin, Mark Delashaw, and Todd Ferguson
Bill Keesling, Rob Gerst, David Gay, AJ Gilbert, David Gruber, Jim Harmon, Charles Harrison, Mack Hutchison, and Kevin Johnston
Bruce McFadden, Roy Brown, Jack McKee, Mike Moran, Jason Parker, Bobby Perry, Terry Shaw, and Steve Thompson
Jim Wallis, Charles Jackson, Kenneth (KC) Collins, Reid Landes, Anthony Wilson, Lyn Poinsett, Tom Hess, Mike Kingrey, Tim Browner, and Mac Bell

Shepherds, please remember to get with the deacons you're paired with to see what's going on, what kind of support they need, etc. Deacons, if they don't get with you, chase'm down and give it to them anyway!

The Healthy Church Assessment Tool results will be emailed to everyone as a .pdf file since they don't post well in this weblog format (or at least I haven't figured out how yet). Look in your email reminder about this posting for the attached assessment results.

Please feel free with this, as with any of these posts, to offer comments, suggestions, etc by clicking on the 'comment' button/word at the end of each post. You can post anonymously or you can get your own ID if you want to go through the process that blogspot.com lays out.

The next leadership meeting is TBA, but will definitely be well into January!

An Open Letter from Leon...

2005-12-12T14:03:00.000-08:00

Dear Central Church Leaders...

This past Tuesday night we had a very important elders, deacons and ministry leaders meeting in which we laid out some very significant changes and plans for the future. I realize there are times when you can’t be at a meeting. But these meetings are very important to your work as deacons and ministry leaders. I hope that as you make plans for 2006 you will plan to attend these meetings and make a difference for the future of Central.

As any congregation grows they hit certain levels where the growth stops and if they don’t change some things about organization and involvement it will soon start down hill. I asked everyone to read study and memorize 2 Timothy 1:14. You have a treasure committed to you. Guard through the Holy Spirit who indwells you, your treasure.

If we are going to be a great church we must extend the GREAT INVITATION to all people (Matthew 11:28-30). We must obey the GREAT COMMANDMENT of loving God with all our being (Matthew 22:36-40). We must devote ourselves to carrying out the GREAT COMMISSION to make disciples of all the nations (Matthew 28:18-20). And we must offer the GREAT EVIDENCE that we are the body of Christ (Luke 7:18-23).

We are developing a spiritual growth plan for everyone who obeys the gospel of Christ is restored to the Lord or who becomes a member at Central. It will also apply to all who have been members for years. That plan will have four levels.

Level one – Seeing – Philippians 3:10 It is seeing God, Christ and the Holy Spirit and getting to know God in our lives. It is seeing His will and worshiping Him in spirit and truth.

Level two – Serving – James 1:27 Jesus came to serve and for us to be great we too must serve. We serve all people

Level three – Sharing – Galatians 6:1,2 Getting to know each other and being involved in each others lives. Fellowship.

Level four – Sending – Acts 1:8 Every Christian is to be a witness for Christ. We must train people to bring others to the Lord.

To take our members through these levels we will focus each service we have on a different level. Sunday morning worship will be focused on SEEING God and worshiping Him. Sunday evening’s service will be focused on SERVING and we will offer ways for people to serve others for God’s sake. The Sunday morning class time (The Life Stage ministry) will focus on SHARING where we strive to build the bonds of love and care for each other. Wednesday night’s service will focus to SENDING. We will offer training for reaching the lost and means of outreach. The goal will be clear for each service and to carry all our members through all the levels of growth.

Organizationally we will divide our entire ministry into seven major areas with a deacon or ministry leader over that whole area. Beginning the first of the year our attendance cards for members will include a place for one to check which area they would like to serve in. If two weeks pass in a row in which a member doesn’t sign a card one of the staff will call the person to see if something is wrong and if there is any need in their lives. If three weeks pass in a row in which one doesn’t fill out a card one of the elders will call to see if there is a problem and to encourage the family. Our prayer is that this will cut way back on the number of people going out the back door about as soon as they came in the front door.

The Seven Major areas are: Worship, Teaching, Outreach, Body Life, Family, Building and Helping. All of our ministries and the ones we will start in the future will fit into one of these areas.

If a person fills out their Member card on Sunday morning and checks that they want to be involved in Outreach, they will receive a call from someone in that area telling them how glad they are that you want to work in that area. They will be asked about specific areas of interest in that general area. They will be invited to a meeting with that whole group they next time they will be meeting. They will be offered material on that whole ministry and ways they could get involved.

One Sunday night every other month immediately after the singing and a short devotional everyone will be divided into these seven different areas, depending on what they signed up for. There will be about an hour long meeting to talk about that area and what needs to be done and ways that people can get involved. Plans will be made for ways everyone in the group can serve and make a difference.

At this time we are working on finding the seven men needed for those major areas to step up strong as leaders for the future.

2006 holds huge opportunities for us as a church. God has blessed us in tremendous ways. He has given you a great responsibility to serve as a deacon and leader in His church. I plead with you to pray regularly about your service and commit to giving God your best effort this coming year. If I can help you with any aspect of your ministry please let me know. Remember that being a deacon means serving in the congregation to build up the people and equip them for service. Read again Ephesians 4:11-16 about leading. There is no such thing as “At large deacons”. Read 2 Timothy 1:14 again. What is your treasure?

I’m praying for you each day and I ask you to please pray for me and the other ministers as we try to do the work God has given us.

Sincerely,

Leon

Central Teens

2005-12-12T12:48:00.000-08:00

What one thing would you think to be the most important thing to accomplish during the teenage years?

Shannon

Central Church 2006 - Going where Jesus leads us...

2005-12-10T22:41:00.000-08:00

We're a group of men & women who happen to worship together, sometimes learn & grow together in community, & who are in the process of becoming more like Jesus in what we say and do. This little spot on the web is for us to communicate with each other when we need to and, hopefully, a place where we can talk freely in truth & love so that we can use our Ephesians 4, Romans 12, etc gifts to build each other up, strengthen one another & expand God's Kingdom by what we do in our family at Central.

Like any family, we sometimes look across the room at reunions & wonder why Uncle Bob is 'that way' or why Cousin Carlos keeps everyone at arm's length or how our sister turned out so great in spite of such a hard time growing up. Just like that, we at Central are a family that is sometimes close & sometimes scattered, sometimes clear about who we are & what we're doing and other times trying to remember what we did last Sunday night so we can get a sense of what's going on. And in all of it, we are God's family, living in God's Kingdom, by His grace.

On the practical communication side of it, we'll post updates of meetings we've had, progress in ministries, Life Stage Groups, etc. And on the fellowship/community side, we'll talk about (via posts and comments, etc) how we are growing, where we need for Jesus to give us more wisdom and courage, and generally be a virtual, ongoing leadership meeting that's available all the time. Be sure to check in at least once per week and remember that we'll send out email reminders when there is a new posting for everyone to read.

Blessings and grace...