Today, October 21, I am in Dawson Creek at the beginning stages of helping a church through a difficult time of transition. In addition to offering practical help for the church in this time, it is an opportunity to test some of the principles of church leadership and transition that I have been thinking and writing about over the last few years.
The pattern that has been outlined for me in this transition is to visit this church almost every weekend to speak in the Sunday services and to meet with the church’s leadership team on Monday nights. It is a matter of helping the congregation gain a new vision for what God can do through them, and helping the leaders regain confidence about how God can use them to move the church in the right direction.
Right now, I am seeking to focus the attention of the congregation of getting a right perspecitve by seeing the big picture of God’s love and grace from His perspective. Last Sunday I spoke from Isaiah 40 on the relative insignificance of the world in contrast to God’s everlasting greatness. The idea is that we need to have a proper sense of our own significance in the context of how great He is. This Sunday we looked at Psalm 44 concerning the need to be honest with God about our feelings even when we don’ t understand what is going on. The Psalms give us permission and freedom to express our true feelings toward God, even when we are sad, discouraged, and angry. That too is a part of true worship; honest communication with God speaks of the kind of intimacy that honours Him.
I am looking forward to what God is going to do in this church as I trust Him for His grace and wisdom in helping leaders and people see His will and plan for the church through the nature of true servant leadership. I want to speak to the leaders about communication, about team leadership, about true spirituality, about structure and organization, and about evangelism in post-modern times.
Recent Comments