WHAT DO YOU SEE AS THE FUTURE OF THE MOVEMENT?
Rev Mark Douglas, Assistant Superintendent
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I have been spending time with Richard Rohr’s daily devotional. The first week of January the focus was on, “What does it mean to be prophetic?”. We sometimes have tunnel vision when it comes to the word prophetic. We associate the word with the prophets of old – rightly so. We associate the word with “future telling” – prophecy.
In a more literal sense, the word prophet is someone who stands and calls the people of God to what the Triune God desires for humanity. In a modern view of a prophet, the prophet calls humanity to align themselves with the movement known as the Kingdom of God.
Some business writers suggest that a movement is a sustained and organized challenge to the status quo.
Let that sit for a moment. Do we see the Kingdom of God movement as a challenge to the status quo both culturally and in church norms? If the movement is seen in that way, how do we actually live counter to culture or the church systems when the culture or church systems are not the way of the Kingdom.
I would suggest that we need to recover the role of prophets in the life of the church. Paul talks about the prophet as integral to the functioning of the faith community. Alan Hirsh (See The Forgotten Way) uses APEST to describe the gifts necessary for the faith community to flourish in fulfilling its call to be a movement (Kingdom of God). A=Apostle, P=Prophet, E=Evangelist, S=Shepherd, and T=Teacher.
Does your faith community have a prophet in its midst to help it align with God’s Movement (Kingdom of God)?
It has been my experience that movements stall or get off track because there is no prophetic voice calling for repentance and focus. Our churches are often led by Shepherds and Teachers. That is great for care and teaching, but that leaves out three other giftings that allow the church to be built up for works of service. As you can see, the gifts of Shepherds and Teachers have an internal focus – focused on the already convinced. That is where the movement stalls. A P E are outward focused.
As we live into the first quarter of 2023, I want to encourage you – if you are a “ST” to look for the “P” in your midst. They will be truth tellers when it comes to the movement. They will honestly say if you are equipped and organized in fulfilling the Great Commission. Listen to them.
If Jesus believed so deeply that humanity is the primary conduit to bring the Kingdom of God to creation, we better be focused on the movement not the status quo. If you are satisfied with what you are doing and who is part of your church, I would encourage you to ask the prophet in your midst, “How are we doing with our mission?” The problem is the prophet has probably been run off because they challenged the status quo. I am a “A P,” I can tell you by experience many people do not like hearing from a “P”. They create problems because they see that much of what is going on around them is not about the movement. It is more about maintaining the status quo and the comfort of “knowing everyone” and “what we have always done.” I often say the focus is on the already convinced.
I conclude by asking you to identify the prophet in your midst, one who might already be in your church or who God will bring to your church. Embrace them. Allow their sometimes hard to hear voice to be part of the church leadership. Remember, Jesus was seen as a prophet by many, and he definitely disrupted the status quo. He was a disrupter, the Kingdom of God demands that the church be a disruptive force in our world.
Is your church a movement that is sustained and organized to challenge the status quo? If not, is the church really being the church?
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TRC's LEADERSHIP SUMMIT '23 DATES |
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ANNUAL CONFERENCE
Zoom Video Conference
Saturday, June 24, 2023
8-11AM Pacific Time / 9AM-12PM Mountain Time / 10AM-1PM Central Time
REGIONAL LEADERSHIP SUMMITS
District / Location / Date
Spokane / Opportunity Fellowship / September 16, 2023
Boise / Deer Flat Church / September 23, 2023
Colorado / Meadowood Church / October 7, 2023
North Texas / Lighthouse Fellowship / October 21, 2023
South Texas / Essential Church / November 4, 2023
Arizona / Renuevo Church / November 11, 2023
All Regional Summits take place on Saturdays from 9AM-3PM
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LOCAL CHURCH BOARD TRAINING
As a part of our 2023 Regional Summits, we are offering Board training for all the local churches in the region. This training will take place the Friday prior to the Regional Summit. All LBOA members are encouraged to attend. For more information, please visit our website.
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The River Conference has a PODCAST! |
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Each month we will send you the link to our most recent podcast. We aptly named it
THE FLOW
To listen, click HERE which will take you to the available podcasts.
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A Tail of Two Perspectives |
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When Losing Staff is a Win-Win
Pastor Scott Little, Creekside FMC - Pendleton, OR
I’ve been a Senior Pastor now for twenty-four years, all in the same church (Creekside FMC in Pendleton, Oregon). In that time, we’ve seen a lot of changes. We’ve had times of growth, and times of decline. We’ve been through a variety of building projects, strategic plans, and leadership structures.
Of all the changes we’ve worked through over the years though, among the most difficult have been changes to our church staff. Though we’re not a large church, we’ve had the good fortune of being able to afford a number of staff pastors in various roles over the years. The downside of that good fortune, though, is that we’ve also experienced our share of staff turnover and loss, for a variety of reasons.
Staff turnover is never easy regardless of the circumstances involved. Turnover due to misconduct, poor job performance, or conflict is fraught with all kinds of complication and pain, but even when that’s not the case – even when there’s a clear sense that it’s of the Lord, and both the church and staff member agree a change is the right course, it’s still usually accompanied by a profound sense of grief and loss. Add in the sometimes-arduous process of searching for and hiring a replacement. The bottom line is that losing a staff member is seldom a reason for celebration, even under the best of circumstances.
When our youth pastor of five years, Chris, began showing signs that he was ready to move on (over time you learn to recognize the signs), I was crestfallen – for a lot of reasons. For one, the thought of going through the search and hiring process yet again felt exhausting. But worse, Chris and I had developed a rare chemistry together. He was not only someone I leaned into for support, but he also worked shoulder-to-shoulder with me in leading the church. I came to count on his passion, energy, and ideas. And even though they were young enough to be our children, Chris and his wife Jordan became good friends to my wife and I on a personal level. We enjoyed their company, and I think – as far as young people can enjoy hanging out with old folks – they enjoyed our company too.
The sense that the Lord was leading Chris and Jordan away from us wasn’t due to any problems or conflicts with either me or with our church. There was no animosity, no hard feelings, no tense confrontations or ill-will. It simply became apparent that it was time for them to take the next step in their ministry journey. That made it a little easier, but the sense of grief and loss was still profound for both me and much of the church.
But then, as I was coming to terms with this hard change, God did something unexpected. Through a several month-long process of prayer, conversation, and discernment between Chris and our conference leaders, a surprising new vision was born. Much to his surprise, Chris was feeling called to plant a church. More than that, the Lord had given him a vision to plant a church that would plant churches. He’d been given a vision to start a church-planting hub for an entire region of our conference. And much to my surprise, he wanted our church to be a part of it. Chris asked me how I would feel about our church being a sending church to help get the new work started. The first new plant would be just over the mountains to the east, less than an hour away.
When Chris shared with me what God laid on his heart, and that he wanted our involvement, my sense of loss and grief quickly changed into excitement and hope. The Lord showed me how this could blunt the sting of losing Chris and Jordan, not just for me, but for our church. Instead of a painful goodbye, we could send them off with celebration, knowing not only that we would stay in touch, but that we could play an important part in the next stage of their journey. It meant we could extend the ministry and influence of our church into something fresh that God was doing in our region. And personally, it meant I could be connected to a new thing God was going to do, even in the latter years of my ministry life.
By His grace, God has given both me and our church something rare in our experience – a staff transition filled with a sense of anticipation, joy, and celebration. A WIN-WIN. Of course, we’ll still grieve our loss, but our mourning has been turned into dancing as we partner with our beloved friends and Jesus to do this new thing for the sake of His kingdom.
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Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! It’s springing up even now; can you perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”
Isaiah 43:18-19
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What Were We Thinking?
Pastor Chris Kaufman, Hub City Church - La Grande, OR
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Nine months ago, I began a journey of prayer and discovery that would lead me somewhere I thought I never wanted to go. For the last five years, I have enjoyed the privilege of being the Youth Pastor at Creekside Free Methodist Church in Pendleton, Oregon. I was happy and content in my work, yet after five years in the same position, God began to whisper that my time in Pendleton was coming to a close. I didn’t know at that time that God was nurturing the idea of church planting in my heart.
For context, I had dabbled in church-planting endeavors when I lived in Michigan, having the blessing of working with The Harbor Dinner Church Collective in Detroit. We planted a Dinner Church ministry in a neighborhood called Old Redford while working as a Youth Pastor in another congregation. While I loved working with The Harbor Dinner Church Collective, I had been given a taste of the hard work of planting a church and decided it was something I wasn’t cut out for. Church planting was for extroverted pastors gifted in ways I wasn’t. I was good at ministering to teenagers, and I was making a steady income at it to boot.
Back in Pendleton, the more I tried to ignore the Lord’s whisper, the louder it grew. At that time, it was graduation season in our youth ministry. This is the happiest and saddest time of the year for Youth Pastors. Students leave our congregation to go on to bigger and better things. With this being our 5th graduating class, we saw teens whose lives we had an influence in heading onto various colleges and Universities across the Pacific Northwest. With this, a familiar cycle showed up; our teens would leave our town and attempt to connect at another church in their new home, only to find a lack of Free Methodist influence at a critical stage in their lives.
The most common destination for our youth is Eastern Oregon University, a relatively small institution located in the mountains of Eastern Oregon in a town called La Grande. Over my five years in Pendleton, many of our youth set off for this University, and almost all of them had the same experience; they couldn’t find a faith community like ours where they felt they could belong. In fact, we even had youth leave the faith because of the challenges they faced alone.
The River may bring life wherever it flows, but in our region, it has felt like a dried riverbed for some time. Who would God send to help us correct this issue? Where were the faithful and gifted church planters that would serve the communities in Northeastern Oregon and Southeastern Washington? Eventually, the answer came to those questions, and what was a whisper became a roar loud enough to break through my thick skull. It was me. If I wanted to see these communities served, it had to start with me, but I had no qualifications for this kind of work. That’s the beauty of our Lord, He often brings folks into our lives to help us in our weakness. The River Conference paired me with a mentor. After a lot of prayers, conversations, fasting, and more prayer, we concluded that La Grande, Oregon, could become a regional hub for church planting.
Not only did God bring me a mentor, He also brought about an exciting partnership at the church where I was on staff. Lead Pastor Scott Little graciously gave us the exposure we needed to share our vision with Creekside Free Methodist Church. Instead of throwing themselves into despair for losing their Youth Pastor, they responded by asking, “What can we do to help?” One board member even approached me after our meeting and said that while he was sad we would be leaving, he also knew that planting this church was Creekside’s duty to the Gospel, and he was excited for the chance to be a part of it. Creekside voted to become the sending church for our new work and has been our most important supporter and cheerleader every step of the way. After gathering a small launch team, asking God for a vision for this area and this region, and sharing that vision with Creekside Church, Hub City Church was born.
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So, what is Hub City? After a lot of research, we found an old nickname for the city of La Grande because of its transportation infrastructure and focus on cultural arts; called Hub City. La Grande was the “hub” of Eastern Oregon and was seen as a gateway to this region of the Pacific Northwest. Our team wanted a name that would identify us with the city and, at the same time capture God's vision for seeing new churches planted in the region. It was almost as if God had handed us the name on a silver platter.
After settling on a name and a model for growth based on “Scattering Groups” across the city, we sought a location to hold our first small meeting. Because our heart was for the young adults in the community, it made sense for our team to pursue finding a place to meet on the University campus. What felt like another confirmation was a chance to rent a room in the Hoak Union Building on campus, named HUB 301 for short. Coincidence?
We set to work preparing for our meeting of potential stakeholders. We gathered as a new team to pray and plan but more than anything; we wanted to begin the work we believed the Spirit was calling us to. During our planning stage, God began to bring new opportunities our way. I had received a communication from the Chewelah Free Methodist Church in Northeast Washington; Pastor Brenda Nagunst and their LBOA had been doing their budget and evaluating where they would invest in God’s mission. They came to the conclusion that God was calling them to support a new church but had no idea where that money would go. Their pastor went online, and as they were looking at the church plants within our Conference, they saw a line that had just been put up days before for a new work in La Grande, Oregon. When Pastor Brenda came back to her board to tell them about the opportunity, one board member responded by saying, “I remember years ago when there was a church in La Grande and they helped us. We have to support this new work.” Right then and there, the matter was settled for them, and even though we had yet to officially announce our intentions to plant, God was bringing partners to our work.
A few weeks later, after we officially announced our intentions to plant, we were invited to the Colville Free Methodist Church in Washington. I was asked to preach a sermon and share God's vision for Hub City. What I didn’t expect was the ensuing enthusiasm. The Colville congregation welcomed us warmly and closed their service by praying over us. They also announced that their special offering for February would go to support Hub City Church. After the service, I had no shortage of conversations about the excitement around our work and encouragement for our first meeting coming just a week from that day. It refreshed my soul to see another Free Methodist congregation 200 miles away from us so enthusiastic about planting churches.
On January 29, 2023 we held our first meeting. It was a powerful time where the Spirit moved among those gathered. We met new friends and old ones who had come to the University years ago. We praised God together and began as a group to ask what the Holy Spirit would have us do next in each of our lives and who we needed to invite to this gathering. During our conversation time, one man said, “I haven’t thought about God in a long time, and I haven’t been to church in a long time either, but I really needed this.” He was unable to find a church where he felt he belonged, and his relationship with Christ suffered, but that night a prodigal came home.
We also learned that night that a handful of items would be necessary for our small church to have so we could minister more effectively. From carts to carry our things around, to signs so we can be found more easily, to Bibles and pens. One of those in our team suggested that we create an Amazon wish list to give to people interested in donating to the cause. That night we put one together and posted it on our personal Facebook accounts asking anyone willing to donate to do so. The next morning, I came into the office and found that over $700 in equipment and supplies had been purchased by various friends, family, and strangers.
Our Conference leadership shared our post and rallied the troops to help fill our need. Churches and individuals all over The River Conference stepped up to donate. I even received a communication from one Free Methodist Pastor in Northwest Washington who is not in our Conference but believed in the Kingdom's work of planting new churches. Their congregation had supplied several items, and he encouraged us to keep up the good work! Through all these people, God had mobilized His Kingdom to supply more than half the things we needed in a 12-hour time span!
While we are still in the very beginning stages of our church plant, I learned plenty of lessons. Much of it is that when we show up and plant new churches, God makes miracles happen. I have seen churches be given new life over the opportunity to partner with us. I have seen impossible needs met in record time. I have seen prodigals come home.
It would be dishonest to tell you that I haven’t had anxiety attacks over the decisions that have led me to this journey in the last few months. But at every turn, our needs have been taken care of, and I believe wholeheartedly that God will continue to supply what we lack. God’s heart is for the multiplication of His Kingdom here on Earth. It is long past time for us as the American church, and more specifically as Free Methodists, to step out of our comfort and into the wild unknown. Where once the land was dry, The River is flowing again. God is doing a new thing in Eastern Oregon and our country. He invites us to partner with Him, and we are saying yes.
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If you are interested in getting involved with our efforts to grow the Kingdom through church planting, contact TRC's Church Plant Director, Rick Snodgrass
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July 24-28, 2023
Orlando, FL
REGISTRATION
Opens on January 1, 2023
for event tickets and hotel reservations
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Below are conferences sponsored by the Free Methodist Church USA. Click on the image to go to their website and registration page. |
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March 6-9 in Orlando, Florida |
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April 27-28 in Cleveland, Ohio |
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A NEW WAY TO SUBMIT TRC APPORTIONMENTS |
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The process of receiving the Conference Apportionments via ACH Withdrawal has begun. The churches who completed the necessary paperwork to auto withdraw the amount submitted on the Conference Tithe / Apportionment Report are up and running.
This report is to be submitted by the 10th of the every month via TRC's website. TRC has an encrypted form that allows you to provide your banking information so your church can begin to participate in our ACH program.
It is our plan to have 100% participation. Please click on the link below and complete the authorization form to begin your participation. This is the same process used by Defined Benefits (retirement), Brotherhood Mutual, and utility companies.
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Are you a part of our Regional LGL3 teams?
Contact your District Leader to get more information on joining.
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TRC DISTRICT LEADERS
ARIZONA
BOISE
COLORADO
NORTH TEXAS
SOUTH TEXAS
SPOKANE
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Upcoming TRC Committee Meetings
Tuesday, March 7, 2023
MAC Video Conference
Thursday, March 2, 2023
MEG Video Conference
Thursday, March 9, 2023
Property Team Video Conference
Monday, March 13, 2023
Conference Multiplication Team Video Conference
Tuesday, March 14 , 2023
Conference Advancement Team Video Conference
Thursday, March 16, 2023
Board of Directors Video Conference
Tuesday, March 21, 2023
Finance Team Call
Thursday, March 23, 2023
Nominating Committee Video Conference
Tuesday, March 28, 2023
District Leaders Video Conference
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