District Conference Remarks

Intro

I want to thank Pastors Mike and Kiley for leading us so well. Than you Mike for your report and I want to thank Dr. Jim Dunn who has been intimatley involved in the search process for a new District Superintendent.

This morning I am going to do three things.

I want to help you understand the search process

I want to talk about The Interim Time

I want to introduce you to the Interim Team

The Search Process

First I want to share with you what the search process is like.

Stage 1: Research and clarity

Pastor Mike Notified us back in March that should Dr. Dunn be elected that Mike would take a position as the Assistant General Superintendent

It was at this point that we began having DBA meetings to discuss the search process.

Because there was no vacancy in this position we did not search right away for a person. Before we did that our district board got intense about defining success and creating a candidate profile

We took a number of steps to do this

First we prayed. We recognize that this is a significant position in our church and that the next leader could shape the direction of our movement for years to come

Second we evaluated the current state of our district. We asked the question, what is our reality right now

Third we asked one of the most impotrant questions that we could ask “What does success look like for this position in the next 5 years”

Because of these questions we took an unprecedented step in this search. We surveyed all senior pastors and board vice chairs. We asked for you input.

Then we interview key Pastors and district leaders, both current and former

From all of this research we created a guiding document that serves both as a definition of success for a District Superintendent and a leadership profile of who we think we might be looking for.

Stage 2: Discerning the Names

After this key step was done, we asked our board and key district officials who they think might be able to do this work. We also asked our new general superintendent. From there a list of people were nominated.

Then We publically posted this position and we had multiple people apply

Through this time we went through a thinning process.

I am incredibly grateful for the work of Brian Wilbur and Sharon Westfall. They went through the process of checking references for every person and doing initial interviews for our board to watch

Our next step in this process will be on July 20th when our board will gather to attempt to select final candidates

Once we are prayerfully settled on the final candidates

We will have final interviews in what we hope will be august.

Stage 3: Selection, Voting & transition

Once we have selected the person who we will choose as the next DS. What you have to know is that even though the DBA selects someone, The vote of this conference is the hiring vote.

So we will do the DS Tour where we will take the District Superintendent elect around the district and then get ready for this, we will have to have another district conference.

We will need all of you again, but since it is for one vote and one vote only, this will be a hybrid conference where we will meet both online and in person

This process will likely happen on zoom and in person. Details will be forthcoming on this

The Interim Time

I want to take a few minutes to talk about this interim time

There may be a temptation to think, hey we have no DS right now we can just cruse. That is not true for a number of reasons.

Before you only had to worry about Mike

Now you have to worry about me and a whole interim team

One of the lessons I have learned in ministry is that you can not coast.

You can rest. But you can’t coast

and there is a difference.

Resting is recharging to grab ahold of the kingdom calling that you have

Resting is retreating back to intimacy with Jesus so you can have fresh wind and fresh fire to go after the preaching of the gospel, the saving of souls

Rest is one of the most impotrant ingredients in a sustainable ministry.

There was a study done by the Duke Clergy Health Initative that found out that 43% of pastors do not sabbath!

These are shocking numbers. Pastors you have to rest, the work of ministry is not something you can leave at the office, it is all encompassing and demand’s your life

Resting is for restoring your health, your vision your passion so that with God’s help you can run even faster and harder. So if your a pastor I want to tell you as my first act as a very short term Interim DS

I wnat to ask you to Honor the Sabbath, Rest and I believe the Bible is true….you’ll have a long life.

Honor the Sabbath, a set time with God every week and you will grow healthy

But do not make this mistake. You can mistake Resting with Coasting

Coasting is taking your foot off the accelerator

Coasting is checking out

Coasting is losing your passion

I ride bikes quite a bit and I intimatley know there is only one direction you can coast and that is downhill.

And look I am a pastor first and foremost. I know the church can beat you up sometimes…I know that it can be tough out there…I get it I have had those times too

But guess what. I guess your just called to take a couple of beatings and to keep your foot on the gas pedal why? Because as a pastor

It becomes easy to coast…and almost freeing, although its a false freedom because there is a big crash coming at the bottom of coasting

Instead I want to remind you of something.

You serve in an institution that is supernatural.

And it is never intended to be an institution, it is a revolution.

This community we call the church of Jesus was created because Jesus died and then he took his life back up again.

You were called

Not to coast but to lead

Jesus has raised you up and called you out to be his spokes person to the nations.

You were called to be an under-shepherd of the good shepherd

You were called to correct, preach, teach rebuke

You were called to stand up week in and weak out and point the way to Jesus

You were called to spend and be spent for the kingdom of God

Yeah but its hard to be a pastor…

Can I tell you the secret…

Your job as a pastor while it is hard at times, while you might dream of quitting most mondays….

Want to know the secret?

I have been laughed out of the room for saying this…… but I will preach this till my dying day

If you do it as Jesus intended. You could have the easiest most joy filled job in the world…

You were never meant to walk in your ministry alone.

Matthew 11:28–30 NIV

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Jesus is using a field plowing metaphor…

The nature of a yoke is that it is for work…Hard work!

Jesus has called you out to serve in his church but he invites you to take his yoke.

A yoke is an instrument of hard labor….But the distinction is that you are not pulling the weight alone

So I am niave enough to trust Jesus when he says that his yoke is easy

This is why I believe that ministry is the best and easiest job I have ever had because I get to do Jesus’ will and not my own

See ministry gets really hard when you start walking a different diretcion than Jesus

That yoke will make life all kinds of hard for you unless you surrender and walk with him

You know when it is getting hard…Your forcing your agenda and at one point you realize you never prayed about it…Ministry gets hard

You are preaching your opinions and getting pushback…Of course you are, just preach the Biblical text. Your best ideas on your best day will never be scripture so just stick with God’s word…My best ideas return void but somehow God’s word never returns void

See being Yoked to Jesus keeps the main thing the main thing. It keeps you walking in step with Jesus…

I have know pastors to get distracted with a thousand other good things…But often times they do this becasue they started walking out of step with jesus

Pastors, Churches. Keep the main thing the main thing.

Seek out the lost…The son of man came to seek and save the lost

Disciple people. This is literally the one thing that Jesus commanded his whole church to do. Teach people to obey his word! Make disciples

And Let God do God’s job

God said that he will grow the church. We need to let him

There is no shortage of instagram adds of smart programs you can buy to grow your church

But there is no subsitute for healthy

and healthy starts with Matthew 11:28-30

Healthy churches will thrive and they thrive when their pastor and pastoral staff is wakking in step with the spirit of God

So what I can tell you as a district while we have a specific task of finding a new district superintrendent

We will go after health

We will go after seeing our pastors yoked with Jesus

We will go after

PAstors, lay leaders. You have the greatest call in the enture universe that ever existed

You get to introduce people to their creator

You get to usher people into a relationship with the one who died for them and rose again

You have a definate ask upon your life by God to lead people to freedom in Jesus

You get to call people to the freedom of surrendering their lives to Jesus

Anyone who is here whether you are a lay person or a senior pastor, if you are leading someone to Jeuss then you have the most impotrant job in the church. And as a district we will

Equip you

Encourage you

and Empower you over these next three months.

I want to introduce you to the team that will be leading for what we hope is only three months and then I want to ask Dr. Dunn to pray for us as we lead.

The Team

Interim Team leader/ DS  Dave Johnson

Executive Assistant: Barbara Anderson

Administration: Steve Babby & Tim Kirkes

DBMD Chair: Chris Snider

Treasurer: Brian Wilbur

Secretary: Tim Kirkes

Communications/tech: Chris Snider

Zone Leadership:  

Nor Cal: Dave Johnson

Eastern: Dusty Farmer

San Diego: Karl Westfall

Los Angeles: Tim Kirkes

Spanish: Damaris & Alvaro Sánchez