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The Transition TeamAt the beginning of the summer we formed a transition team at the church. We had been without a pastor for about three months. Some of you are saying "ah ha, a transition team." Others of you are saying, "a transition team?"
A Transition Team is an idea from the intentional interim pastor program. Churches that have lost a pastor can use this program to help prepare them for a new pastor and put them in the best "place" to be healthy with that new pastor. As a church we looked at the program. We decided against the intentional interim pastor, but liked the Transition Team idea. So as Baptists are apt to do we did it our way.
We did have an interim pastor, and a good one. He started as the Transition Team was about to meet for the first time. We had actually planned it that way. After about 10 weeks he resigned due to some health issues. As you can see from the previous post we miss him and consider the time we had with him blessed. In the absence of an interim pastor it has fallen to me to "moderate" the team. The person who moderates the team is supposed to be a person with "nothing to lose." I don't really fit the definition. The team has been very gracious and I hope have felt free to work.
The Transition Team has five tasks, well ours does: (1) reaffirm who we are, (2) review the membership and how we organize to make decisions, (3) clarify the church's mainstream theology, (4) define our church's sense of purpose, direction, and what distinguishes us from other churches, and (5) review and suggest changes to our constitution and by-laws. So far we have completed 1 through 3 enough so that the team can make a report to the pastor search committee. When we began one goal was to complete the first three soon enough for those things to be helpful to a pastor search committee. Our pastor search committee meets for the first time this Sunday, so mission accomplished.
I have been encouraged by the results of our meetings. Over the past ten weeks we have looked prayerfully at ourselves and what God wants to do through us. The team wants to see revival in the church and wants to be catalysts to make that happen.
Perhaps the most difficult part is next. Team members each seem to either have their own version of a vision for the church or they are drawing a complete blank. It can seem very overwhelming and the weight of the responsibility for seeking out the Lord and hearing Him correctly for the church can be paralyzing. I know as the full-time staff guy I have my opinions and what I think we should do. Certainly we need to be inbetween somewhere. With humility we should approach the task together with prayer and resolve to complete the work and not fall into the temptation to abdicate responsibility.
Pray for us as we continue. We have been asking for God to move in us: to do something unexpected and to stir revival in the church.
[2007-08-30, 10:30 PM - EDIT: I added a word to clear up paragraph six.] You Will Not Be Forgotten
This past Tuesday I received a call from our Interim Pastor Dr. Bill Austin. With a heavy heart he told me he needed to step down as interim pastor due to his health. We will miss him. The time the Lord gave us with him has been a blessing. We plan on keeping up with him and still claim him as a Park Laker. Bro. Austin, Your Not Forgotten Charles
Here is your long overdue "eprops" Charles. Glad to have you. Maybe She Needs To "Talk" On Her Phone
The New Guy Is Now The New GuyI know a month and a half is a little long for a hiatus. I apologize and will do better about keeping the blog updated. Now to the post...
WELCOME ABOARD CRAIG!!! |
During my "quiet time" we were blessed at Park Lake by the addition of a new staff member, Charles Yale. He is our part-time Music Minister. He is a major in the Air Force reserves and is the lead architect for the Central Texas Veterans Health Care System.
You remember that guy, Craig Golden, the one we brought on as interim Youth Minister at the church? Well, the church just voted recently to ask him to be our regular Youth Minister. Over the summer we have been blessed by Craig and the ministry God is able to do through him. He and Melissa have moved into the youth house and I hope they will be with us for most if not all of his time at Truett. We are "pounding" them both this Sunday night. It is not much, but it is a way we can express our gratitude for God bring them both our way and the admiration we have for him and the ministry God is doing through him.
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