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From the pastor’s heart….
Team Structure |
The month of January has been such a blessing as the Prayer Team, led by
Richard & Brenda Walton, encouraged us in a prayer focus and provided a
booklet of scriptural prayers for the church and individual members. Our
Wednesday evening prayer times were well attended, and our focus on prayer has
opened spiritual doors for us.
A godly church will never
reach a plateau where everything is going “smoothly.”
False doctrines and difficulties continually try to make inroads into the
lives of people. When we continue to
pray as we have this past January, we will win the battles as a church. The
Prayer Team will lead us into those battles on our knees in prayer.
Looking at the reports from our finance meeting this past week, you will have
noticed several teams have no money allocated. This is why:
The Finance Team averaged the offerings of the last four months of 2007,
multiplied this figure by twelve, added about $13000, and distributed the total
to cover our expenses and then to provide funds for teams. Some of the teams
were given responsibilities of ministries from the past year, and those teams
were given funds to cover those expenses. The Finance Team has divided up all
the money, not intentionally leaving anyone out as less important, but dealing
with the reality of a shortfall in funds. So how will the teams get some money?
There are two ways: People may give
specifically to a team. The Finance
Team urges that designated giving to a team be above their tithe. If people take
their tithe and earmark it where they want it to go, it completely overrides the
congregation’s wishes in agreeing to a budget.
We hope for some beyond-tithe giving to teams, special ministries and
other causes as God leads. Since there is a question about “channeling”
funds, the Finance Team is researching the issue and will make a clear and
concise report. Obviously, we desire
to be above reproach in every area of our church life.
The second way teams will get money is through general offerings above
expenses; the Finance Team can allocate above budget funds to teams that need
them. These challenges put us in the perfect position to call upon God in our
need. These are not bad times; on
the contrary, we should watch and pray to see the hand of God at work through
these circumstances!
I also remind all of us that God is not as interested in what kind of structure
a church employs as that we be faithful stewards of His grace. Church structure
is not the answer to a church’s deep need; total, absolute surrender to our
Lord Jesus Christ is the only thing that will bring a fresh breath of the Holy
Spirit of God. This means there must be a close, abiding communion with our Lord
every day. This cannot be a legalistic abiding but one of love and desire that
can only come supernaturally through close fellowship with Christ in prayer. How
difficult it is to grasp the concept of working at resting and abiding in Christ
alone. As circumstances around us challenge us in fresh ways, we must relearn
what absolute surrender means. I have not achieved a perfect plane of
understanding, but the road I will walk and encourage others to follow is the
road to absolute surrender to Christ. It is on this road that we will meet what
our soul craves for, blessed communion with our Savior!
For His glory,
Your pastor, Tim