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Radical

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By Dan Amos

I love that Martin is calling the series on Jesus from the book of Mark, “Radical.” Jesus was a radical and remains so today. Unfortunately, we’ve conformed our perception of Him into our cultural box, rather than be transformed by Him. There is no doubt Jesus was a man of compassion, but His mission here was anything but the passive, “gliding action” caricature we see so often.

If you’ve heard me speak and managed to stay awake, you’ve probably heard me rail against the cultural stereotype of Jesus as a long-haired European in a flowing robe. In Isaiah 53:2 we’re told “He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him.” He looked like the other Jews of the region and not as if he came from some trendy dive in Seattle. He traveled by foot, so His journey from Nazareth to the site of John’s baptism was probably 10 days. Your robes don’t stay white for very long if you do this kind of walking.

That’s just the appearance, though. At Joshua’s encounter with the preincarnate Jesus (YHWH Tzaboat… I AM the Lord of Hosts) before Jericho, the Lord introduced Himself as the commander of the hosts of the Lord. He is the commander-in-chief of heaven’s armies. He is prepared for battle and leads armies prepared for battle.

When He leaves heaven for earth in the Gospels, he is still the CINC of the angels, yet arrives in the form of a helpless baby born to a poor teenager. Can you imagine the preparation of the angels for this event? The commander leaves his forces and goes into the center of enemy territory surrounded by those who would eventually kill him. I now look differently at my favorite passage in Luke where the angels appear to the shepherds. The shepherds were afraid. You bet they were afraid! The armies of heaven were on hand to announce His arrival, and when they said be not afraid, that was a command. The glory of the Lord was on display.

In last week’s sermon, Jesus was baptized, proclaimed by God as his own, and immediately propelled into the wilderness to be weakened and tempted. Satan attacked, thinking he could defeat Jesus and get his creator to bow down to him. Jesus could have crushed him then, and the time will come, but it wasn’t then. If Jesus had, we would still have our sin problem that could only be fixed by the blood of Christ not just the defeat of Satan. Jesus knew his mission and stayed true to the Father. He endured the harassment of Satan, persevered under temptation, and did not give in.

This life is a battle and we need to know that it will be. Jesus battled and so will we. It may not be easy, but it is simple. We know who wrote the book and we know how it ends. Jesus the warrior will come and snatch His people from the enemy and those who are not His will suffer destruction.

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Good Dirt in My Marriage

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By Dan Amos

“Small differences in initial conditions … yield widely diverging outcomes” is part of the definition of chaos theory on Wikipedia. I can look back on my life and see where choices I made have completely changed my course. Obviously, one of those is whom I chose to partner with through life. And when Martin led a discussion on the parable of the sower from Mark 4, I realized that my wife has been a great contributor to my soil. Affectionately, she is my good dirt.

In the parable, the sower spreads seed on various types of ground—on the path, in rocky places, among thorns, and on good soil. The life of the seed was short and troubled on all but the good soil. Jesus said the seed in good soil grew and produced a crop, but He didn’t really define what was good about the soil.

Jesus implies it by saying what bad soil is; good soil must be able to protect the seed from predators, nurture the seed with depth, and give the seed space to grow free from thorns that would choke it out. What isn’t said is the ground has been plowed and fertilized. It is prepared to receive the seed.

I grew up in the church and was at a crossroads when I was pursuing Fran in my last year of college. I could have chosen a life of spiritual complacency, but Fran and I made finding a vibrant faith community a priority from the very beginning. Our first years together were very busy between getting to know each other, frequently moving, traveling for work, and starting a family. Our church community fed and nurtured us, but serving came later.

Elim, through Martin, challenged us to lead, first over a community group. I was asked to be an elder when I first held the prestigious position of elder of plugged toilets. Later, Martin asked me to preach one Sunday. All of these — my wife’s partnership, the fellowship of believers, and the pruning of service — all fertilized the soil in which I have grown. But if my wife hadn’t been my partner in the way she has always been, I would be in a different place. She has been my good dirt. I thank God for her and for those who have nurtured me.

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Stained Glass and Asphalt

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By Dan Amos

For the next couple of weekends we’ll be gathering to take care of our parking lot. The details will be on the website and in the newsletter. We are resealing our lot because we want to be good stewards of the property which God has given us and which those who came before us worked and sacrificed to provide. We use our budget to support people, programs, and property; as the last “p,” property is often where we make first cuts to make ends meet. We’ve been planning the resealing for years and put it off for several of those years when the funds haven’t been available. Thankfully, the time to get this done is finally here!

We’re not known for having a magnificent facility, but our community noticed when we paved the previous gravel and puddle lot. We’re making some improvements and getting some work done that we’ve put off when times have been lean. We fixed our deck and dry rot issues with in-house labor and did it all for much less than if we had contracted it out. We have a solid deck and ramps enabling access for everyone due to the ingenuity and hard work of many people.

Every year we go through a painful exercise of creating a budget. We set a target based on giving patterns and then form a budget to accomplish ministry within that budget. There’s always more we want to do within that balance of people, programs, and property. Consistently, property gets cut to the bone and many things get left undone. But we’re in an unprecedented situation this year: we’ve had unprecedented giving. We want everyone to know our budget is spent prudently, and we try to do what we can while capitalizing on the precious, limited resources of our people’s time and energy.

Don’t expect to see stained glass in the next, well, probably ever. But, if we continue to be blessed with strong giving, we will take care of our people, support our programs (ministries), and make wise improvements to our facility to make Elim an oasis for renewal with God and one another.

Saturday, August 24, 8 a.m.
We will work on sealing cracks and holes and priming oil spots.

Sunday, September 1, after church
We’ll close off the parking lot and get it ready for Monday’s sealing. We’ll leave it closed off until Wednesday to give the sealant time to cure.

Monday, September 2, 8 a.m.
We need a couple dozen people to come out. Parking will be on the youth house lawn. We’d like to have three teams starting in three corners of the lot and working toward a center. We’ll have people on each team carrying buckets of the pouring material for those who will be pulling wide squeegees and spreading a thin coat over all of the lot.

Please sign up or let me know if you can help on those days or at some other time. Thank you!

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Independence Day Thoughts

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By Dan Amos

The Elder Board is taking time at each meeting to study the Statement of Faith, and this month we looked at Article Two, The Bible. This discussion, current events, and the Independence Day holiday led me to think about one of my heroes. John Adams has been a favorite of mine ever since I saw the movie 1776 for the first time. I love Adams’s passion for liberty, his persuasive arguments, and his absolute belief that God did create us all equally. He described himself as “obnoxious and disliked,” but that did not dissuade him from leading the charge to independence and a constitutional republic.

John Adams’s thoughts on government were instrumental in drafting state constitutions and influential in forming the US Constitution. The latter document has served us well for more than 220 years, but is now, more than ever in my lifetime, under constant attack, especially regarding the First, Second, and Fourth Amendments.

I write this not to start a political debate but to note that we have always had documents that guide us in life. As those documents put bounds on acceptable behavior, they come under attack and revision. Often they lose their authority and effectiveness when they are revised.

Of primary concern to us as Christians is the primacy and authority of the Bible. Article Two of the Statement of Faith declares:

We believe that God has spoken in the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, through the words of human authors. As the verbally inspired Word of God, the Bible is without error in the original writings, the complete revelation of His will for salvation, and the ultimate authority by which every realm of human knowledge and endeavor should be judged. Therefore, it is to be believed in all that it teaches, obeyed in all that it requires, and trusted in all that it promises.

In sin we rebel against God and reject His Word, but in submission to Him we accept the Bible in its entirety. There have always been and will always be throughout this age those who will try to change the Bible. Even though many of the men who worked on the Constitution were Christians and therefore filled with the Holy Spirit, this doesn’t make the Constitution divinely inspired. The Bible, though, is divinely inspired. It has an unparalleled pedigree which one would expect the Almighty Creator to use to communicate His plan for the redemption of His people to Him. Men may make changes, but they have no authority and no power for salvation. Only His Word remains true.

As we celebrate our independence and the blessings of being an American, my hope is not in our nation. The nation will pass away, but the promises of God and His kingdom are eternal.

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Unprecedented

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By Dan Amos

Last year we embarked on a strategic adventure. As a body, we brought on a
third full-time staff member. We stepped out in faith that the budget would
be met and through your faithful giving and the Lord’s blessing we are
seeing a small abundance that has many praising God on a regular basis. In
nineteen years, I can’t recall a time such as this. We are working on a
strategic response.

Budget line items for grounds and facilities have been routinely underfunded,
and now we have a bit of money in the bank beyond our operating reserve.
Even though some really good deals have presented themselves recently, we
chose not to go after them because they weren’t strategic. This implies a
firmer set of strategic goals than what we had at the time, but we are
working on it.

We’ve begun collecting requirements from leaders and are putting together a
plan. We’re forming a strategic goals team for this reason. We are also
recruiting a grounds team and a facilities team.

The grounds team will look at what needs to be done for lawns and plants,
sprinklers and tools. The facilities team will look at the maintenance
needs of our buildings and property. With lists of what needs to be done we
can prioritize, budget and schedule. These teams will coordinate with the
strategic goals team to make sure we maximize our efforts.

The people we need for the grounds and facilities team need to love Elim and
want to see it thrive for God’s glory. Team members won’t be expected to be
doing the work any more than now, but we need people with an eye for what
needs to be done as well as some people with expertise in various areas.
Elim’s people are great at responding to the call when work needs to be done.
Now we need to identify the work to be done.

If you were here on Sunday and heard the message on our Shepherd and His sheep,
you can see that we need some lead sheep to make the first move. If that’s you,
please contact me and we’ll get to work. Thank you!

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Sabbatical

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By Dan Amos and Pastor Martin

As we engage in ministry there are ebbs and flows, seasons of work and seasons of rest — because, let’s face it, ministry is hard work. Elders are only allowed to serve in their role for six years, and then they must take a break for at least one year. Most of us will serve in a role within the body for a time and then step back for a time while another volunteer steps in to carry the load.

The periods of rest and renewal are more difficult for the full-time ministry worker, when times of professional growth have to be crammed into a 24/7 commitment. This is the practical basis for offering a sabbatical to our ministerial staff. We ask them to step back for a time and experience renewal in their relationship with the Father and pursue personal spiritual growth.

Jesus modeled this behavior during His public ministry by getting away from the crowds and concentrating on His relationship with the Father. Perhaps when He sent the disciples out to experience ministry on their own He experienced a longer period of spiritual refreshment.

The Elder Board began seriously pursuing the sabbatical model over the last couple of years. Our goal is to give our pastors this break every six years. Pastor Martin has been faithfully leading and shepherding us for 19 years without this opportunity. Pastor Brian has also been asked to begin planning for his own sabbatical next year.

We are asking Martin to take this break with specific professional and spiritual goals. We are convinced this is good for him and good for all of us at Elim. The Evangelical Free Church declares that taking sabbaticals is a “positive trend reflecting increased awareness of a series of work/rest cycles found in the scriptures. Observing them is a healthy practice that assures sustainability in ministry.”

Martin will be away from Elim from May 1 through July 31, 2013. Pastor Brian and others will fill the pulpit during this time. Brian will lead the staff and day-to-day ministries, while being supported by a host of people, including the Elders and all of us at Elim. We ask for your prayers for Martin and Kim as he is away from us and for the staff and Elders as they fill in.

Elim is experiencing a time of health and growth, and it is my prayer that we put into practice what Martin has modeled for us. We trust we will welcome him home in August healthier and stronger than when he left.

From Pastor Martin:

The big question is, what will I do on this sabbatical? In addition to getting some rest and some much appreciated “wind therapy,” I will go through some life coach training which deals with the integration of the spiritual, relational, professional, and personal dimensions of a person’s life. This training will be a benefit to my ongoing ministry at Elim as well as to other consulting opportunities that may cross my path in the future.

Second, I will seek out a pastoral prayer mentor. It has been my desire to deepen my prayer life and to better shepherd Elim toward becoming a “house of prayer.” There are a couple of opportunities that I will explore to find the person who will best equip me to fulfill this vision.

Third, I will visit some churches which have a clear strategy for discipleship. I want to continue to sharpen my strategic understanding for growing passionate, persevering followers of Jesus. This is our mandate; therefore, it must be our mission.

Fourth, I will immerse myself in reading the Gospel of Mark multiple times in preparation for preaching this Gospel beginning October 6.

One final question must be answered: “Do I plan on staying at Elim after I return from this sabbatical?” The answer is yes. I have no plans for leaving and have no intention of using this time to look for other ministry opportunities. Kim and I love this body and we look forward to having many more years of growing disciples at Elim.

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