Greetings,
I want to bring you some encouragement today. I think that each of you are doing a remarkable job of enduring and persevering in the midst of this odd time that we are in. I am truly blessed to call you my brothers and sisters in Christ.
The Bible uses many terms to describe positions of leadership in the church--elder, overseer, bishop, pastor, shepherd. In 1 Timothy 3:1, Paul calls such a position, "a noble task." Today I excited to announce that Matt Smith, along with his bride Kristina, has answered the call to this noble task and become an elder at Way of Life Fellowship. This was a decision that they prayed over deeply during the past year as they worked closely with our elder team to understand all that the position entails. Matt and Kristina do a fantastic job shepherding our youth already, and they have amazing hearts for the Lord and for the people in our fellowship. I am excited to serve along with them. Please join me in welcoming Matt and Kristina into this position of leadership.
Our church values elders as the highest level of human authority in the local church. We are a church that believes in the plurality of leadership. As the vocational pastor at Way of Life, I am accountable to the elders and I represent them. I am an elder just as Craig, Sergio, Steve, Tim and now Matt Smith are, and just as Paul Paquin and Matt Jones have been in the past. You will hear from these men often as they preach and teach and lead, sometimes from the front and often behind the scenes, making all of the significant decisions that move our church forward toward maturity. We have the great responsibility of shepherding Way of Life and we work to do that with godly wisdom directed by the Word of God, godly counsel and the great wisdom of the Holy Spirit. We also deeply value the “one flesh” relationship in marriage and we acknowledge the great wisdom of our wives. This is why our elders and wives gather together many times throughout the year to pray and discuss the shepherding of all of you. Each family in our fellowship has been thoughtfully placed under the care of an elder and his wife to ensure that we are paying close attention to the spiritual and felt needs of every soul in our congregation.
We have had some tremendous elders in our fellowship. Men that depend on the Lord, lead their families well and look out for the concerns of our body of believers. Please understand that although we do the “business of the church,” we are not businessmen. Although we take good care of the finances, we are not in the work of financial investments--we are stewards of God’s ministry work. Our basic calling as elders is to shepherd and lead in spiritual matters. We petition to the Lord along with you and for you, praying for the Lord to lead and guide us all toward maturity in Christ.
It is often a position over-looked, underappreciated, and can at times be very daunting. Having been an elder from the very conception of Way of Life, I can say it is a great honor and joy to serve along with such great men and their wives. It is a very special thing to become an elder of a local church. I am so thankful for the wise shepherds that the Lord has guided to lead at Way of Life. Our desire is that we will be a congregation that produces mature men and women of God and that they would shepherd well Christ’s Church, generation after generation.
Another bit of great news I want to share with you is that over the past couple of weeks, Matt Smith and I have been ministering to the administration at South Salem High School by shopping for their food pantry and giving them resources to help needy families. The principal of the school told us how being able to help people in need with these resources has been the thing that keeps her going right now. She loves seeing the faces as they bless them with gift cards or the meals that we have purchased. She told us of grown men with tears of appreciation in their eyes as they receive a gift from the school. One man said that his cupboards were bare and he had lost his job and was just wondering where help would come from. Another administrator wrote me to tell how much the school appreciates the generosity of our fellowship.
Our church values elders as the highest level of human authority in the local church. We are a church that believes in the plurality of leadership. As the vocational pastor at Way of Life, I am accountable to the elders and I represent them. I am an elder just as Craig, Sergio, Steve, Tim and now Matt Smith are, and just as Paul Paquin and Matt Jones have been in the past. You will hear from these men often as they preach and teach and lead, sometimes from the front and often behind the scenes, making all of the significant decisions that move our church forward toward maturity. We have the great responsibility of shepherding Way of Life and we work to do that with godly wisdom directed by the Word of God, godly counsel and the great wisdom of the Holy Spirit. We also deeply value the “one flesh” relationship in marriage and we acknowledge the great wisdom of our wives. This is why our elders and wives gather together many times throughout the year to pray and discuss the shepherding of all of you. Each family in our fellowship has been thoughtfully placed under the care of an elder and his wife to ensure that we are paying close attention to the spiritual and felt needs of every soul in our congregation.
We have had some tremendous elders in our fellowship. Men that depend on the Lord, lead their families well and look out for the concerns of our body of believers. Please understand that although we do the “business of the church,” we are not businessmen. Although we take good care of the finances, we are not in the work of financial investments--we are stewards of God’s ministry work. Our basic calling as elders is to shepherd and lead in spiritual matters. We petition to the Lord along with you and for you, praying for the Lord to lead and guide us all toward maturity in Christ.
It is often a position over-looked, underappreciated, and can at times be very daunting. Having been an elder from the very conception of Way of Life, I can say it is a great honor and joy to serve along with such great men and their wives. It is a very special thing to become an elder of a local church. I am so thankful for the wise shepherds that the Lord has guided to lead at Way of Life. Our desire is that we will be a congregation that produces mature men and women of God and that they would shepherd well Christ’s Church, generation after generation.
Another bit of great news I want to share with you is that over the past couple of weeks, Matt Smith and I have been ministering to the administration at South Salem High School by shopping for their food pantry and giving them resources to help needy families. The principal of the school told us how being able to help people in need with these resources has been the thing that keeps her going right now. She loves seeing the faces as they bless them with gift cards or the meals that we have purchased. She told us of grown men with tears of appreciation in their eyes as they receive a gift from the school. One man said that his cupboards were bare and he had lost his job and was just wondering where help would come from. Another administrator wrote me to tell how much the school appreciates the generosity of our fellowship.
It is through obedience to the Lord and the leading of our elders and leaders that we can make a great difference in the lives of people around us. I want to encourage you to give regularly to the work of the Lord as an act of worship. Participate with us in blessing the community by giving regularly. It allows us the capacity to do the work of the Lord in many wonderful ways.
Love ya,
Chris