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Pastor's Points July 2016

Dear Church Family,

I am very excited to share with you this month the end result of months of prayer and seeking God’s face as it relates to our future as a church family.  Last November I shared two messages with you that God impressed upon me.  I knew at that time that we needed to grow believers spiritually that could stand in their faith in the middle of an unbelieving culture, and that we needed to provide biblical counseling resources that would help prepare us to engage the ever changing issues and culture around us.  We believe that God has given us a tool to help our church family grow in their faith and equip us to make more disciples as we minister together.  The tool is called the “faith cycle”.  I asked Pastor Nick to write an explanation of it that I want to share with you all in my article.

The “faith cycle’s” purpose is to see people grow in spiritual maturity for the purpose of edifying and replicating disciples.  In this way, it is a catalyst that will hopefully lead our church to be people who are more reliant and dependent on the Word of God, who are able to defend why they believe what they believe, and who are able to take this truth and give it away to others through intentional evangelism and discipleship.  This process is built on the assumption that it is essential for one to invest in himself spiritually so that he is more equipped to in turn invest in others. 

Truth

We believe Scripture is the only consistent source of truth for all of humanity.  The Christian worldview is established in faith and supported by further examination and meditation on the contents of God’s Word.  Because of this, it is necessary that the Christian be continually growing in his understanding and application of the Bible’s contents.  The Bible itself is clear, necessary, and sufficient for the purposes of living a life glorifying to God.

Story

As we progress in our understanding of Truth, we begin to see the thread of redemption that runs through the length of the Bible’s pages – The Story.  From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible is about God establishing a kingdom for himself in which Christ redeems, returns for, and reigns over.  The New Testament informs the Old Testament and makes clear in the New what was hidden or “mysterious” in the Old.  The concept of the Messiah is one that was promised in Gen. 3, inaugurated at the crucifixion and resurrection, and will be consummated at the return of Christ.  Understanding concepts like these help make sense of the content of Scripture and provide encouragement and motivation for the believer to share the Good News and make disciples for the purpose of God’s glory. 

Beliefs

Our understanding of Truth also informs the Beliefs that we have about who God is and how he interacts within his Creation.  Everyone’s worldview will lead them to provide answers to questions like: “Who is God?”, “How did we get here?”, “What’s wrong with the world?”, “What’s the solution?”,  “What happens after death?”.  The Bible serves as the foundation by which we can stand firmly and boldly and declare and know the Truth.  These beliefs are essentially summaries of the conglomerated knowledge gained from Scripture.  It is important that Scripture always inform theology first, rather than theology informing our understanding of Scripture. 

Action

The purpose behind the Truth, the Story, and the Beliefs of Christianity is the Action.  Christianity is a practical faith in the sense that we are called to do something in response to the Truth.  The Story and Beliefs are not the end goal, but they are a means by which Action can be taken to evangelize and disciple.  God is absolutely glorified in our understanding of the Story and Beliefs, but his task for believers is not merely an intellectually ascent.  It is a practical outworking of this knowledge for the purpose of seeing people begin the faith cycle for themselves. 

Please be in our worship services in July as I unpack each of these areas separately.  I am so excited for our future together!!  I love you and love being your pastor!!!

Pastor's Points June 2016

Dear Church Family,

• First, Paula and I want to say thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your very kind display of generosity! Serving Oakhill for 10 years has been our privilege and joy and we are excited to see what God is going to do in the next 10 years to come!!
• Second, I shared recently with our pastors and deacons that I felt God leading me to lead our church family into a new chapter of ministry focusing on making disciples like we never have before. In fact when we consider the word “disciple” we need to understand that it describes who we are, and what we are to do.  Pastor Robby Gallaty says that… “A disciple is a learner, one who is set on growing and developing.  In nearly every sphere of life, people learn specific skills from others who have previously developed such abilities.  An electrical certification is attained only after an extensive apprenticeship with a more experienced electrician.  When a prospective doctor finishes medical school, he or she invests several years in a residency, during which time he or she shadows an experienced physician.”  And in the same way I believe that we should be investing in one another for the purpose of becoming more like Christ.  We should desire to be known for more than being a Christian, we should desire to be known as His disciple.  And as we learn and grow in our faith, we should want to help others learn and grow in their faith as well.  Gallaty goes on to say… “As a Christian, we believe Christ is Lord.  As a disciple, we live in light of his lordship and are actively conformed to the image of Christ through our actions and the sanctification of the Holy Spirit.  Christ is our teacher, and by interacting with him through the written Word and prayer we identify ourselves as more than mere followers—Christians—but disciples like the Twelve.  Hence, to summarize in the most simplistic of manners: a Christian believes, whereas a disciple does.”  Over the coming months and years I know that God is going to do a deeper and greater work in us as we become more intentional in our discipleship making.  I am so excited to see what He is going to do!
• Also, please be aware that we are currently offering a Biblical Counseling Ministry to our church family, as well and to those outside of the church. This has been going for a little while now, but Mike Schloss, one of our lay elders, has
  recently completed a very intense certification process through the Association of Certified Biblical Counseling.  Thank you Mike for taking the time to prepare yourself and have the willingness to serve your church family in this way!  If you would like, you can see the ACBC website at www.biblicalcounseling.com.  This is just another way that we are going to help people to become more like Christ.  My prayer is that as we go forward we will blow up the stigma that sometimes comes with “getting counseling”.  Biblical counsel is simply another way in which we grow in our walk with the Lord.  

In closing, I want to encourage you and your family to be plugged in to all that is going on in the life of our church this summer!  Make sure you pick up one of the summer event cards from the welcome center and hang it on your refrigerator so you will not forget the upcoming events.  Invite your family, friends, and neighbors to come, especially if they do not have a church they attend.  I cannot wait to see what all God is going to do!!