Church Connections President's Perspective


by Kevin Stone, President


In the last issue, I wrote about “Convention Connections” and described some of the great connections that happened at our Fellowship’s convention in Dalmeny over the summer. Today I want to continue the theme of


connecting, but focus a bit on the local church. I have been very busy this fall travelling to our churches, meeting our people and visiting with our pastors. It has been a tremendous privilege. I en- joyed each visit so much, and I pray that the time we had together will result in increased awareness, cooperation and effectiveness within the FEBC. As I visited, I witnessed time and again that our greatest as-


set is our people. Each church has caring, loving Christ-follow- ers who are interested in sharing Jesus with the world. Tere is huge potential in the seats and pews of our churches. But there are also threats to our effectiveness. Tere are spiritual “chains” that can prevent us from unleashing the full potential of our people. Apathy, busyness, laziness, lack of confidence, lack of encouragement — all of these factors dampen our impact on the world. For instance, many of us seem far more comfortable writing


a check for a good cause than going into the community to share the love of Jesus. Is this because God has genuinely only giſted us to give financially, or is there a level of apathy? Do we lack the self-confidence? Are we too busy — and if so, why? Could it be that we’ve simply placed ministry too low on our list of priorities? Perhaps we just don’t care enough. Tis dynamic of being unengaged (whatever the cause) has


plenty of negative effects. I believe one of them is an unhealthy view of the role of our pastors.


One great privilege I have had in recent months is to partici-


pate in the installation of several new pastors. It is really encour- aging to see the enthusiasm of a congregation welcoming a new man to lead and teach. But as we conduct each ceremony, I am reminded of a profound truth: the pastor is not being hired to do the ministry of the church. I think we too oſten view a pastor as the guy we hired to do min-


istry on behalf of the church — but the pastor is hired to equip and to partner with the church in ministry. Every person in the church is called to ministry within his or her church and ultimately within his or her community. Peter reminds us that each one of us has been given giſts, and that we must use them in service to others (1 Peter 4:10). Visiting and caring for the sick, feeding the hungry, caring for


the orphan and widow, sharing the Gospel message with those who haven’t heard it — these are not the role of your pastoral staff. Tey are the duty of each member of the congregation (including pastors). Hopefully your pastor is equipping and encouraging you to do these things well. Even the tasks that keep the church functioning — mowing


the grass, printing the bulletin, preparing communion elements, cleaning the facility, greeting newcomers and an endless variety of other functions — can and should be done by the people in partnership with the pastor. In short, the right pastor won’t make your load lighter by


taking on all of the work. Te right pastor will challenge you to even deeper levels of service. Do you care enough to connect in whatever ways God might call you? If you’re ready to break the chains of apathy, busyness and


laziness, start by replacing any thought of “We hired a pastor to do that!” with “How can I help?”


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New sanctuary of Hebron Bible Church Fellowship Focus, November/December 2018 FellowshipForward.org


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