God bless us, every one!
Good Friday Lake Tapps,
This being the last week of 2023, I was remembering back to a message I was privileged to deliver the first of 2022. In that message we looked at the pile of stones Israel erected after crossing the Jordan River (Joshua 4:4-7). Israel collected stones from the middle of the Jordan river, which the Lord had miraculously caused to stop flowing, so that Israel could crossover into the promised land on dry ground. The pile of stones was for a memorial so the people would remember, in subsequent generations, what the Lord had done. How He had parted the Red Sea, led them through the wilderness for 40 years and defeated their enemies along the way.
Like Israel, we were entering some new territory in 2022, and we needed to remember how the Lord had proved faithful in our past. We remembered how He had provided us with only two pastors in nearly 50 years, while other churches replaced pastors in less than 10 years on average. How we had survived the COVID lockdown by finding new ways to worship online and in small family home groups. How we had maintained our identity as a church during the pandemic, while other churches had disbanded. We faced many new challenges as a church. Pastor Tim had stepped down due to health reasons. We had begun to assemble again for worship, but that created a whole new set of challenges: masks or no masks, singing or no singing and how to take communion while remaining socially distant.
As we looked back, we saw how the Lord had faithfully led us and helped us find ways to overcome each challenge. His faithfulness encouraged us as we faced the end of 2022 and the start of 2023. Two key challenges emerged during November and December in 2022. First, the pastor search process was temporarily stalled as there were some unresolved interpersonal relationships. Second, there was some concern about who we were as a body. At that time a decision was made to pause and reevaluate where we were as a church and where we were going.
Thankfully, we again saw the Lord faithfully lead and provide for our body. We continued to meet each week and heard messages from our current leaders and guest speakers. It was through this association with Bert Downs, one of the guest speakers, that we were introduced to Interim Pastor Ministries (IPM). What should have taken several months to connect a pastor with a church, took us only a few weeks. When the Lord is at work, things can happen rapidly.
In July of this year, interim pastor Bob Slack began to minister to LTCC. Since that time, we’ve begun a five-step process which, Lord willing, will lead to our calling a new pastor sometime during this coming year. To determine where we are as a church, several fact-finding methods have been completed. In September, a Transition Team was formed to evaluate the data and submit suggestions to the church council to help correct any issues or questions affecting unity and clarity in our body.
So, this long-winded introduction brings us to the beginning of 2024. As we've looked back and seen the faithfulness of the Lord's leading and providing for us the last several years, there is every confidence He will continue to provide in the same way in the future.
We still face many challenges, but even as we list those obstacles, we see progress toward our goal.
A team of leaders, along with several new members who have stepped up to serve their first term, will soon be affirmed.
The transition team continues to work on tweaks to the constitution and bylaws.
The elder cohort will be completing their training soon, and they are waiting to hear the clear call of the Lord to serve as elders.
A new mission statement that has been proposed, which clearly brings LTCC into alignment with the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18–20), will need to be approved by the body.
The Journey Wall exercise revealed that LTCC wants an emphasis on intentional discipleship. This, in turn, may mean a commitment to add additional personnel to meet this desire. The effect of this new requirement is a daunting challenge as our proposed operating budget for 2024 is already strained due to current giving patterns.
And lastly, yet certainly not least, there is the search for a new pastor to be conducted.
So, looking back and looking forward, it appears two things are required. The first is the faithfulness of the Lord. Something that only He can do. And the second is committing these challenges to prayer. Something that only we can do.
I am confident beyond any doubt that a year from now, as we look back over 2024, we will know the Lord has been at work in our midst, just as He was for Israel as they crossed the Jordan river and just as He has been with LTCC in our past. Another reason for my confidence is the number of people that recently have made the decision to join the LTCC family as new members. What is so encouraging to me is the timing of their decision. At a time of uncertainty, like we are now experiencing, they have decided to take a step of faith and trust God as He leads our church family into what is coming next.
May we all agree, in the modified words of Tiny Tim, “Thank you Lord for Your faithfulness and the confidence we have in You. God bless us everyone”.
Gary for the Elders and the Council
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