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Taking up the Mantle

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By Larry Short, Elder Chair

While listening to Steve’s final sermon Sunday on the fascinating transition of prophetic leadership from Elijah to Elisha, I was reminded of something I wrote in my blog 13 months ago. And I realized that God used the story of the Elijah-Elisha transition then to help me prepare for what was coming.

I’m just going to quote some of the salient points. If you’d like to read the blog in its entirety (realizing it was written more than a year ago), click here. Otherwise, for an updated summary, keep reading.

We have been undergoing a “pastoral transition.” That’s a rather pleasant-sounding way to describe a lot of work and emotional trauma. In early 2019 our senior pastor of 25 years resigned and took up a new career (for which he is well-suited) as a chaplain. Some months later, our long-term (18 years) associate pastor also resigned so he could take up a senior pastorate at a church in Colorado.

That’s a lot of transition for a smallish church. Of course when anybody leaves, it’s emotionally difficult. We hired an interim pastor who is a transition specialist, and the good news is that Pastor Steve has now done his job, with prayers and sweat of a lot of Elim’s faithful leaders thrown in. Our new lead pastor, Ryan White, arrives with his family THIS WEEKEND and is on the job in April, and we are all VERY excited about what God has in store!

But when I first learned of our pastoral transitions back in 2019, I was distraught. I liked our church the way it was! Stepping into an uncertain future can fill one with foreboding.

And then there’s all the extra work. Darlene and I retired in 2019 and had happy plans for our new life. But suddenly the need to invest large quantities of time and energy in “keeping the plates spinning” at Elim began pressing down on us.

And then of course COVID-19 hit, with all its shutdowns and isolation and social distancing. Following hot on the heels of that disaster was the recurring trauma of the results of centuries of racial injustice. And we as a church struggled (as nearly all churches were doing) to resolve diverse opinions on all of these controversial topics and to figure out (with a lot of halting steps) how to move forward in the love and unity of purpose that our Head calls us to demonstrate as His Body.

In a men’s group last February we were studying aspects of leadership, and one of our studies focused on 2 Kings 2. Elijah was mentoring Elisha when it came time for a huge transition to occur. (That’s one thing we can always count on: change!)

Elijah gave Elisha several opportunities to withdraw, but Elisha insisted he would follow. He followed Elijah first to Bethel, then to Jericho, then to the edge of the Jordan River. Also in the entourage were 50 “lesser prophets,” local prophets in Israel.

Once at the river, Elijah removed and rolled up his mantle (or cloak, the symbol of his prophetic authority) and smote the river Jordan with it. Just as the waters parted before both Moses (at the Red Sea) and Joshua (also at the Jordan), so they split before Elijah, and he and Elisha continued on across, leaving the rest of the prophets behind.

Elijah then tells Elisha—both knowing that his time is short—“Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you,” and Elisha responds brazenly, “Please let there be a double portion of your spirit on me.”

Elijah replies, “You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it shall be so for you, but if you do not see me, it shall not be so.” But sure enough, chariots of fire soon separate Elijah and Elisha, then Elisha sees Elijah taken up into heaven in a whirlwind.

At this point Elisha rightly grieves for what once was, just as I shed tears at the early-2019 meeting when our former senior pastor announced he was leaving. Elisha tears his garment in a sign of mourning for Elijah’s departure. But then something amazing happens. Elijah’s prophetic mantle comes fluttering down, and Elisha picks it up. He turns his back on the scene and heads back toward the Jordan. Then he does something extraordinary and incredibly risky.

Elisha takes Elijah’s mantle, rolls it up just as Elijah had done, and cries aloud (in the hearing of the prophets who are watching from the other side), “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” He then strikes the waters with Elijah’s mantle. What an enormous act of faith! Sure enough, the waters part. God shows up! His back to the departed Elijah, Elisha walks across (alone) on dry ground, and rejoins the prophets

As a result, the prophets now are compelled to acknowledge that “the spirit of Elijah has rested on Elisha!” (Duh! Right?) Yet these lesser prophets still remain focused on the glory of the past. They want to launch a search mission to try to find Elijah! “It may be that the Spirit of the Lord has caught him up to cast him onto some mountain or in some valley!” They are not yet willing to let go.

But Elisha has already let go. He seeks to convince them of the new normal: Elijah is departed! But they persist, and he finally relents. They search for Elijah for three days, to no avail. “Didn’t I tell you?” Elisha challenges them. The past is behind, the transition has occurred, and the future is now upon us.

So as he approaches that challenging and uncertain future, Elisha has chosen to leave Elijah in the past and seek the ever-living LORD of the past, present, and future. New days and new challenges lie ahead!

Through His Word, God challenged me in my grief: “Are you going to be like one of those lesser prophets, refusing to let go of days gone by? Or are you going to be like Elisha, who was prepared to meet the future, who moved forward from the past and headed out in faith and anticipation toward the river and whatever lay ahead?”

Yes, transition is uncomfortable. It is emotionally challenging, risky, and a lot of work. But so is this task to which Jesus has called us: “Take up your cross, and follow Me.” And elsewhere, “No one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the Kingdom of God.”

Yes, God is changing us! We are to learn from the past, thanking Him for it, but not to live in it. He calls us to move forward at this present moment, in faith, with hope for what He will do in whatever future He has in store for us. So, let’s roll up the mantle and move forward!

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Standing at the Crossroads

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by Cindy Waple

This weekend begins the in-person process of finding a new senior pastor for Elim. Don Rayman will be coming to meet with the elders and members of Elim. It will be our opportunity to “interview” him: to meet him and spend time with him, get to know him, ask him questions, and hear him preach. AND he will also be interviewing us. He will be meeting us and spending time with us, he will be getting to know us and asking us questions. He will hear us “preach”—actually, share—our thoughts about Elim, our past and present experiences of Elim, and our hope for Elim.

I recently was meditating on a passage, Jeremiah 6:16: “This is what the LORD says: ‘Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.’”

The context of this passage is wrath and destruction, but that is not why I chose it.

I chose it because we are at a crossroads and have been at a crossroads since Pastor Martin left. And I would say, even before Pastor Martin left. Change was coming. And we have been looking and asking the Lord, “What is the way You are calling Elim to go?” The elders and the Transition Team spent months exploring that question. And then COVID hit, then racial injustice issues, then reopening the church, then more COVID, then ramping up for the elections, and COVID is still with us and schools are not opening and Elim is trying to reopen, people are leaving, our leaders aren’t doing what we think they should do, and on it goes—and we still stand at a crossroads, looking and asking, “Which is the way to go?” And sadly, depending on who you ask, the answer is varied. Go this way—no, go this way—go my way—no, go that way. And now we stand at the crossroads, divided. More divided than I have experienced during my 18 years at Elim.

Another verse that I was reminded of is John 17:20-21:

My prayer is not for them alone. I (Jesus) pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as You are in me and I am in You. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that You have sent me.

Jesus, before His arrest and crucifixion, had one prayer for His followers, that they would be one. And then He adds, “May they also be in us so that the world may believe that You have sent me.”

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we stand at a crossroads and we are looking and asking, “What is the way to go?” I believe with all my heart that there is only one way for us to go, and that is the way of Jesus. It is the way of love, grace, and mercy. It is the way of humility, surrender, and putting others before ourselves. It is the way of compassion, healing, and reconciliation. It is the way of saying, “Not my will, but Your will be done, Lord.” It is only as we seek to follow Jesus with all our hearts, as we seek to walk in His ways, will we find rest for our souls.

For me, and I pray for you as well, following the way of Jesus begins with examining my own heart and motives, then confessing and repenting of being led by my own pride and/or fear, of following my own agenda or the agenda of another on social media or the news, of judging and criticizing those I strongly disagree with (and for me, wanting to prove them wrong), of not loving well—first my brothers and sisters in Christ, and then those I adamantly disagree with (mostly people I don’t even know).

Following and walking in the way of Jesus means I am willing to come together with my brothers and sisters in Christ to lay aside our egos, agendas, latest reports, and stats supporting my opinion and humbly seek together God’s will and desire. To earnestly seek together to love God with all of our being and love one another, to be one in Christ and to truly desire to point others to Jesus, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Don Rayman will be interviewing Elim. And in this precious church, he will find people confused, hurt, and, yes, divided. But more importantly, I know he will find committed believers longing and desiring to follow and walk in the way of Jesus above anything or anyone else. And if Don is the man God is calling to Elim, then I pray his heart will join with ours and together we can walk toward love, healing, unity, and hope for a whole and vibrant church, walking in God’s truth, sharing the Gospel, and shining the light of Jesus’s love on South Hill. To God be the glory.

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I DO care

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by Dan Amos

If I had written this a couple of weeks ago, I would have titled it “I don’t care.” But that can be discouraging and easily misinterpreted when what I really intend is to confess my actions reveal I can care more. As Pastor Steve encouraged us to find someone who has followed Jesus for a long time and listen to their counsel, several weeks ago I had such a person challenge me with “You don’t care. If you did, you’d do something.” I recognize circumstances and age have conspired against me to give me less time and energy than 10 years ago. But the real question is, What do I do with what remains?

The Transition Team has been an exciting time for me. I’m not saying I enjoy meetings at all. Nobody would believe that. But a large part of the process has been getting these two dozen or so people to dream together of what we believe is the purpose God has for His church on this corner on South Hill. There’s a hunger to be more, to reach out more, to make a difference in the kingdom. It is exciting to see it manifested in so many. The land lies before us.

On Sunday, Pastor Steve encouraged us with Joshua’s last words to the people of Israel. We, like Israel in Joshua 23, are in the process of a leadership change. We are looking at a new era for Elim. The land is plentiful and ready for harvest. We must remain strong and courageous. I see the giants around us, too, but God is bigger, and He goes before us.

Pastor Steve pulled four actions from chapter 23 for a winning strategy to remain faithful or, in other words, to always care about what God cares about:

  1. Imitate people who have walked with God for many years.
  2. Remember God’s faithfulness to you in the past.
  3. Be sensitive to diluting influences.
  4. Resolve to be faithful. 

That statement, “you don’t care,” was not intended to be harsh or even critical. It was a challenge to reflect and evaluate. It’s been running through my head since I heard it, making it really effective. I am vulnerable to diluting influences. I can make different choices with the time and energy I do have. I do resolve to be faithful. I do care, and it matters.

The Lord has driven out before you great and powerful nations; to this day no one has been able to withstand you. One of you routs a thousand, because the Lord your God fights for you, just as he promised. So be very careful to love the Lord your God. (Joshua 23:9-11)

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When the Plan Is Exile

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By Hannah Comerford

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

This verse was every teenager’s life verse when I was in youth group. I’ve seen it on plaques and in greeting cards. It’s used to bring comfort and assurance in the midst of difficult circumstances.

But what if those plans God has for us are painful?

I don’t want to deny that God can bring comfort through it. He does work all things together for good (Romans 8:28). So the sentiment that God has plans for us is true. But Jeremiah 29:11 is much more complex and not as easy as it might seem.

I tend toward the pessimistic end of the attitude spectrum. When things go wrong, it’s easy for me to dwell on the negative and get frustrated by pat answers and efforts to cheer me up. And, well, I won’t pretend like the last couple of years have been easy at Elim. We’ve seen three pastors leave for various reasons in a short amount of time. I don’t doubt that God is in control of these situations and is working good in us, but it’s hard. We might have a future and a hope, but right now we’re living in a hard place. It’s painful.

And I think that’s okay.

If you look at Jeremiah 29:11 in context, God isn’t actually offering a hope for immediate good things. God was speaking through Jeremiah to the exiled people of Israel. They’d been forcefully taken to Babylon. They’d lost everything. Other prophets were telling them good news, that their exile would be short and they’d be going home soon. They wanted to cling to those promises. Yet God wasn’t speaking through those prophets. He wasn’t telling them to prepare for their happy return.

Instead, God told the people through Jeremiah that they should build houses, marry, plant gardens—settle in for the long haul. God was going to keep them in Babylon for 70 years, and then they would see their release from captivity, the hope and the future they were promised in verse 11.

God was calling His people to trust Him and find peace where they were placed, even though it was heartbreaking.

I don’t know what the future holds for Elim. Of course, we aren’t exiles in Babylon, but it’s okay to acknowledge that this isn’t a comfortable place to be in. Some of us miss how things used to be, the comfort we had in the home that Elim was to us. And there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s okay to be homesick.

But maybe we can learn to find comfort now, when we don’t see the future. Maybe we can trust that God will still be with us even here, in the uncomfortable places, when we don’t have our bright future yet. Maybe we won’t see the future and hope for a long while, but we can learn to grow and live and find contentment in the exile.

We don’t know when we’ll welcome our good future. But we do have a God who is with us now, in the land that doesn’t feel like home.

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God’s Perfect Plan Can Be Stressful

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by Kendrick and Janna Gilli

Change is hard, and goodbyes can be even harder. Over the past six months, we grieved as we said goodbye to the Schlomers, then Cheryl retired . . . and now Brian and Tomina are moving to Colorado. To an outsider or a non-Christian, it might seem as if our church is in trouble. However, for those of us left at Elim, we can be assured of something very different, because our God is in the business of change. In fact, he is right in the middle of it.  In Jeremiah 29:11, God promises us that He has a good plan for our future, a plan to prosper us. He uses change, grief, hardship, and sorrow to refine and mold us into the people He wants us to be. And He is definitely working at Elim.

As I reflect on a certain loud-mouthed, rather brash New Yorker who came into Janna’s and my life over 20 years ago, I am reminded of that. In fact, as Brian’s brother-in-law, I have had a front-row seat to witness the astounding ways God has changed Brian through Elim and Elim through Brian. When Brian came to Elim, he was little more than 20, young and inexperienced and often immature. He often said things before thinking and rubbed some people the wrong way. However, we watched God begin to change Brian, to give him wisdom and to humble him. Over the years, he learned to listen more before speaking, to forgive more, and to judge less. He has become a man whom I respect and admire and one who has had an incredible impact on our congregation, particularly our youth.

God knew that Elim needed Brian when he came to us almost 18 years ago. We needed someone who would change the youth program and train up leaders. And Brian is so, so good at that. He has raised youth into leaders who in time became adult leaders and continue to pour into the youth at Elim. In fact, Brian has passed on his heart for the Lord so well, that we know that the youth program will be fine when he leaves. The legacy that he is leaving is incredible and will not soon be forgotten.

Just as God has a perfect plan for Elim, he has a perfect plan for all of his people. As Brian was changed and molded during his time with us, he was being prepared for a certain church in Colorado Springs. It is so hard to see him go, but I am also so joyful and proud of Brian. It is so good to see God working and carrying out his plan and it gives me such hope for the changes coming to Elim.

And change IS coming to Elim—but it doesn’t have to be scary or overwhelming. If we remember that God is in the business of change and that He has a good and perfect plan for us, change can actually be quite exciting. What is God going to do at Elim next?

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If We Wanted Easy, We’d Be Done . . . and Probably Doing It Again

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By Dan Amos

“Challenging.” That’s the nice way of saying being pushed out of your comfort zone. That’s where I am regarding our transition to our next pastor and exactly where I expected to be. We chose to engage an intentional interim pastor, not because we expected him to do things for us, but because we wanted to be challenged. We want Elim to reach its potential for what God has for us.

In elder meetings and Transition Team meetings, we are looking at where Elim has been and where we want to be in the future. I don’t always like what I hear, nor do I always agree. But the process is important, and I remind myself that we want this and need this. It would have been simpler to immediately form a search committee and hire a senior pastor, but we want to find the right person who will lead us to more effectively reach our community. Even saying “reach our community” is a decision. We could focus internally and create a place where people can come in and worship. Or, we can reach out and bring people in.

We’ve spent a lot of time over the last several Transition Team meetings trying to create a mission statement. Over the decades, we’ve spent a lot of time on mission statements.

An oasis for renewal with God and one another

Nurturing passionate followers of Jesus Christ who know God, grow together in Christ, and go and serve South Hill and beyond

I would be lying if I said I enjoy mission statements. My job title is strategy analyst and I’m no stranger to mission statements. In our exercise at Elim, we are looking for a handful of words that describe who we are and what we’re about. Words that will speak to those outside the church and inspire those within. Words that will be a measuring stick for what we do and whether we’re successful.

Within that, we continue to go back to the Great Commission, looking to tie our mission to what Jesus told us, His disciples, to do. This is exceptionally difficult in just a handful of words that speak to those inside and out, that inspire and draw in, that challenge and measure. But I believe the process has been good. This group of 20 plus people are wrestling with the future of our church. Within this, I have been challenged by a number of thoughts.

We value transparency and authenticity. People can see when we’re trying to hide and when we’re not. We want a place that is full of imperfect people building each other up into something better—Christlikeness. We want a place where we can come with all our faults and mistakes and worship the God who knows them and died to forgive them.

One phrase my wife suggested for a mission statement was doing life together. That challenges me deeply. That means not just coming to church on Sunday and serving here or there. It means being an intimate part of other people’s lives. Sharing in their joy and pain, struggles and triumphs. It means bringing others into mine, too.

The last challenge I’ll share is our current assignment to interview community leaders and unchurched people. We have a list of questions to prompt a conversation, but really, we’re going out and talking to people we don’t know and asking them to think about what our little church can do better to serve and reach our community. Challenging. Necessary. Impactful. A first step . . .

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