“Gentlemen start your engines!”
“Gentlemen start your engines!” This is the phrase used to start the Indianapolis 500 auto race every May. The “Indy” is used often in our culture as an example of a long race where you do regular adjustments and maintenance to a car while it’s still in the race. It’s called a “pit stop.” The people who do the “adjustments and maintenance” are called an “Indy pit crew”. As we at LTCC continue what the Apostle Paul calls “the race” that is the Christian life, Indy paints an encouraging picture.
“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” Gal. 6:9
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us…" Heb. 12:1
Every year in a church is akin to an annual race. One of our “pit stops” or “adjustments and maintenance” is the affirmation process. It typically begins in November with incumbent leaders submitting or declining to go up for affirmation. The position that has been most talked about lately has been elder. Two things have come up in all the data the Transition Team has looked at in interviews, the Ministry Insight Tool (that survey you took) and the Journey Wall (available for viewing in room 101).
We as a church want to keep refining the way we do the whole elder process (suggesting, selecting, training, affirming, even definition).
We need more elders.
We have already been soliciting your suggestions for elder names. The elders have been going through those names and have invited a number of men to participate in elder training which starts this Sunday (Vroom Vroom). We don’t know how many of those candidates will be presented for you to affirm, or if they will even be ready by the traditional January Member meeting. However, even if they are not ready, or we have additional elder candidates to train, we can constitutionally have a later additional affirmation time after January.
Another possible “pit stop” is the adjusting of the elder process (suggesting, selecting, training, affirming, even definition) as mentioned above. Can we still do this even though we may be onboarding some elders in January? Yes! We need to do both– help our existing elders by adding more elder(s), and still examine, evaluate, and make decided adjustments to the process.
The Transition Team has recommended that we deal with the elder items listed above, as well as go through the membership roll and talk to those who haven’t been here for a long time, propose a clearer view of what our documents say about members, and split the constitution into 2 documents (a constitution and by-laws). They also suggest we work on transparency by publishing minutes of the weekly elder meetings. That last one will start in November.
One other thing we hope to work on has to do with intentional discipleship and evangelism. In our Journey Wall meeting it seemed clear that we aspire to those values, but it is not always where our checkbook and calendar end up.
We are intentionally keeping in mind that all of our “pit stops” should fall under our mission and vision. How can we best state how LTCC would live out the Great Commission and what would it look like for us to do that to God’s Highest and Best Glory? Let’s keep going ‘till the King waves the checkered flag!
For the deacons and the elders,
Love Ya!
REMINDER: This Sunday is the end of Daylight Saving Time (Fall Back)!
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Who is this week's Missionary Spotlight? Brian & Justine Peterson
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