Pastor's Report 2024
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Last year we set out to be a people who embodied HOPE - Heaven on Planet Earth.
FAITHFULNESS PRODUCES FRUITFULNESS!!!
What has God been doing in your life?
Did we do that?
Combined youth and adult intergenerational class on Wednesday Night
Combined, intergenerational, Christmas program
Men’s breakfast met the 2nd Saturday EVERY month (rain, snow, sleet, or shine)
Supplied Christmas baskets for 4 families connected to our elementary school and our MOVEMENT gathering supplied a basket for another family connected to the hotel we rent space from
Continued to have our Halloween Trunk-r-Treat. This year there were many more volunteers as hundreds of people came to get candy
We provide Christmas Family Photos for our community
2 Free Markets and a Spring Family Event is connected with that. This past year we had the most people attend the Free Market EVER AND many people attended the Family Fun Event on Saturday.
Supplied dinner for a touring group
Heard from Missionaries
Hopsters, Eugenios, ??
We sent me to India to teach pastors on the Delhi District through South Asia Nazarene Bible College
We journeyed through Revelation, and a biblical view of giving/income,
Where are we headed this year?
Faithfulness produces fruitfulness
Be faithful where God is challenging you
23 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
Too many times we look for GREATNESS and SUCCESS, but God calls us to BE GOOD AND FAITHFUL!!
CONTENTMENT AND SATISFACTION...
6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.
12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
Sometimes we run after GREAT things that we miss the GOD things happening right in front of us!
Be Built Up to Serve...
This past year, one thing I lament is that the ministry teams did not always carry out the ministries of the church. Yes, the ministries may have been accomplished, but aside from a few ministry teams, most teams did not meet.
As an example, there was no discipleship team to meet to discuss the goals for our discipleship program this year. Curriculum was provided, teachers were encouraged, but there wasn’t a team of people involved in this. For me specifically, this meant that there were a number of statistical endeavors that flat out did not happen as no one gathered the data needed. I know that it is true I could have asked someone to do that, but the goal is NEVER that the Pastor has to do it or find someone to see it accomplished.
I have, again, challenged those who were nominated to serve on the board that they are to be willing to develop ministry team leaders who are encouraged and challenged to develop the ministry teams.
Ministry is NOT up to the 5 or how many people there are on the board. The board is to meet every other month to discuss the BIG PICTURE of the church, but the ministry decisions should be left to the ministry teams. This also helps because when board members change it SHOULD NOT affect the ministries of the church.
However, as stated earlier, aside from a few ministry teams, that did not happen. This is MY FAULT for NOT holding our leadership accountable to make it happen.
This new year will be different. This year, I will lead differently. I will not be content simply with ministry being accomplished, I will be content with ministry being accomplished by the MANY! This year I will expect more and do more to fulfil my own expectations.
1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 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 to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8 This is why it says:
“When he ascended on high,
he took many captives
and gave gifts to his people.”
9 (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? 10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) 11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Paul calls for unity in the midst of the diversity of gifts
What are Paul's credentials here?
Paul here declares himself to be a prisoner for the Lord...
He could have said, “HEY, I am an apostle and you all need to listen to me.” He could have clung to his credentials as one who had seen the Resurrected Christ and had then been commissioned by Christ to go to the Gentiles.
And, sometimes Paul did that. When he was dealing with the Corinthian church, and their issues, he made sure, a few times, that they understood his authority as an apostle.
But, in this case Paul clings to his authority as one who is a prisoner for/of the Lord.
Paul has worded this in an interesting way… This verse can be translated with a couple of meanings (“Prisoner OF the Lord)
1) It could be translated that Paul is in prison, which he most likely was when he wrote the letter to the church in Ephesus. He is in prison, in this case, due to his ministry of serving the Lord. In other words, he has been placed in prison. Because of his ministry for the Lord, he is in prison.
2) He could also be saying that he is the Lord’s prisoner. That he is held captive by the Lord. That although he is in prison, it is not the Roman Government who has him held captive - ultimately. Yes, it is true he is being held captive by the government, but he is being held captive by the government BECAUSE he was ALREADY held captive by the Lord.
Yes, he is in prison. But, his greatest captivity is that he has allowed himself to be fully surrendered to the Lord, Jesus Christ. Therefore, he was already a servant/slave of the Lord. He was already a prisoner of/for the Lord. His captivity by the Romans is of no consequence.
I, in my own personal opinion, believe Paul wants us to understand that he means both interpretations - that he wrote it in an unclear point so that we would understand both ways of looking at this verse.
Paul is both a prisoner of Rome because of his service to the Lord as an Apostle. But, that imprisonment came about because he was ALREADY fully surrendered as a prisoner of Jesus Christ.
In either case, Paul's credentials, that he states here in Ephesians, is not his ordination, it is not his degree(s). It is not that he is on the board, or that he gives so much to the church or organization. It is not that he grew up here, or over there.
His credentials are that he is fully surrendered to Jesus Christ, that he is a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and he is a prisoner FOR Jesus Christ. And, ultimately, that he models the message that he is writing to the church about.
And his message is that the Church MUST be united while allowing for a diversity of gifts and a diversity of involvement...
He instructs the church to live a life worthy of their calling.
What is their calling? It is to fulfill what they meant when they declared, “Jesus Christ is Lord.” To declare that Jesus Christ is Lord is also to declare that NO ONE else is lord.
This calling, as one who bears the image and name of Christ into the world is one that draws, or should draw, the believers together in UNITY (no surprise there).
Paul Challenges the church to MAKE EVERY EFFORT to be United.
3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
This unity is “of” the Spirit. Or, because of the Spirit, or simply the Spirit’s unity (it comes about as the Spirit gifts it to the church.
And it is PEACE, and the Holy Spirit that brings this unity about in the Church.
Peace is not simply the absence of conflict.
True peace is God’s presence bringing WHOLENESS and COMPLETENESS in all situations - EVEN SITUATIONS OF CONFLICT.
The church can be united, BUT it is a gift of the Spirit and a work of peace
There may be conflict, but if PEACE is allowed to be present in the conflict, then God’s presence is there, and then UNITY can follow. However, God’s presence that brings peace will often find solutions to resolve the conflict.
Ultimately, Paul encourages the Church to seek God’s presence, to know God’s peace, in the midst of struggle and to allow God to guide the struggle to a peaceful, united end.
So, Paul gives some examples of what this looks like, even before he gives the challenge for unity.
Unity calls for changed character!
2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.
The Church has to LEARN how to get along amidst their diversity!
This begins ith humility and gentleness.
It extends into how we are patient with one another. patience LITERALLY means to suffer for a long time in the midst of the situation. We are patient with the immaturity of others (yes, we try to instruct them and give them examples of how to live differently - but we are patient and suffer long with them through that process).
Ultimately we bear with the shortcomings of each other in LOVE! The word Paul uses for love is the word that describes God’s love for us. It is an unconditional, unmerited, fully gracious and merciful love. This is the love we are called to share with one another so that there could be UNITY.
But why would we do this?
Because our faith CALLS us to do this.
Everything about the Christian faith is centered on UNITY. There is ONE BODY of Jesus Christ. There is ONE Spirit that unites us together. There is ONE hope that we were called to (yes, there are many facets of that hope, but it is ONLY ONE HOPE). There is ONE Lord, ONE Christian faith, ONE baptism (baptism is one church is just as effective as baptism in another church) ONE God and Father who is over all things, working through all thing, and who is in ALL individuals who call upon Jesus Christ for salvation.
ONE, ONE, ONE, ONE, ONE… I think Paul is painting a picture. If all that is true, then the CHURCH MUST ALSO BE ONE!!
And that Unity comes through DIVERSITY!
Unity is not the idea that we “copy-cat” the person next to us. We are an individual...
Unity comes when individuals come together for a common purpose and each individual does his/her own part so that the entire whole can function...
And, dare I say there is truly NO UNITY if we are not trusting the other to do their part. There is NO TRUE UNITY if we feel we HAVE to do it all...
The best image of this is the image of the body… One body made of many parts...
In discussions on the gifts of the church Paul highlights that gifts are like different body parts...
12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.
15 Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
In this images, Paul highlights that unity comes when we as individuals work together for the good of the group.
That there is a single purpose, but each one must do his/her part to see that purpose accomplished.
There is the reminder of the working together towards that purposed. And, therefore, a symptom of the lack of unity is the individuals not doing there part.
Unity requires the individuals to do their part for the whole… AND UNITY REQUIRES WE ALLOW OTHER INDIVIDUALS TO DO THEIR PART FOR THE WHOLE!
Back to the passage in Ephesians 4… Paul discusses Christ bestowing gifts upon the believers. The point of the gifts is so that the body of Christ is built up and we can become united as each person does his/her part.
11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
The purpose is so that the BODY is built up!
Those who are leaders in the church (missionaries, pastors, teachers, prophets, evangelists, board members, etc…) it is OUR job to equip OTHERS for ministry - NOT to do it all ourselves.
There are people in the pews who are ready and willing to serve, they simply need to be pointed in the right direction.
It was a number of years ago we began to develop the ministry teams of the church. The challenge for us this year is to dust off what was started, put some fresh gas in the engine, and fire it up again.
There IS a ministry task for everyone - everyone needs to be involved somewhere (and maybe at times everywhere).
As I consider God’s BIG vision for the Church of the Nazarene in Mission Valley it hasn’t changed since I came here almost 9 1/2 years ago. Yes, circumstances have changed, people have come and gone, but the Lord CONTINUALLY reminds me of the vision he gave me for the Church of the Nazarene in the Mission Valley - Target specific ministries, Bible studies, preaching points scattered throughout the valley...
Each specific area must be good at reaching its neighborhood
Pablo needs to be great at reaching Pablo
Polson needs to be great at reaching Polson
We have a lot more to learn and do in BOTH locations...
But, in order to do that EVERYONE, NO MATTER WHAT YOUR AGE, GENDER, HISTORY, etc… must come together and do their part. This means that ministries need to be organized with leaders who are bestowed with the authority to lead their respective ministries. Leaders who schedule team discussions and make plans and pull people together into ministry.
And, as you consider the ministries of the church, if there isn’t one that gets you fired up, then maybe we need to start one!
NO ONE NEEDS PERMISSION TO MINISTER! So let’s authorize ministry team leaders and get ministry teams going and CONTINUE to embody HOPE (HEAVEN ON PLANET EARTH) as we reach our valley!