Christ Fellowship Church: Pastor Response
CHRIST FELLOWSHIP CHURCH, FT COLLINS, COLORADO
Leading up to the Congregational Meeting on January 9, 2011, the Pastor Search Committee plans to provide the congregation with answers to many of the interview questions posed to Pastor Nominee, Brian Post. The objective is to provide the congregation with much of the same information that the Committee considered in making its decision to nominate Brian to be CFC's next pastor.
Question 1: Given the results of the congregational survey and CFC's focus on growth, what experience do you have in growing a congregation? What approach or strategies would you use?
Answer 1: First of all, it is God not man who causes growth to happen. As pastor of Dillon Community Church, the Holy Spirit grew our congregation from 100 people to about 400 people over a twelve year period. The steps to growth are quite simple. The foundation for growth is an inspirational worship service. Then, the congregation must be excellent in taking care of its youth. For adults small group formation is critical to help people find a place to belong. Finally, there is outreach within the community.
Many churches make the mistake of continuing to do what they've always done and are surprised when they get exactly what they've been getting. A church needs to develop a comprehensive Ministry Plan, very similar to a Business Plan developed for a business. At Dillon, our Ministry Plan was the outcome of a weekend leaders' retreat at which our leaders developed an extensive list of potential ministry opportunities, pared down the list to a critical few, developed a vision statement, and then developed a comprehensive, prioritized multi-year Ministry Plan for the congregation. The ministry plan is then updated annually and progress toward achieving goals and objectives is measured. Ultimately, the Ministry Plan must come from the congregation.
Question 2: The Pastor Search Committee is operating under the instructions that it is to nominate a Pastor whom they feel is led by God to be Christ Fellowship Church's next Pastor. How do you feel that you are being led by God to be Christ Fellowship Church's next pastor? Why do you feel that God is specifically calling you to lead Christ Fellowship Church?
Answer 2: We don't know that for sure, yet. Like the church, we are in an exploration process. However, CFC strongly appeals to us because it comprises several values in our lives - a small church that's eager to grow; EPC, Colorado and Fort Collins where our roots are very deep; stated priority of children and youth; the energy, intellectual passions and young people of a university town; finally, a vision for training vocational ministers. These have all been criteria of ours for returning to pastoral ministry.
Question 3: Given the application materials provided, what do you feel is the Lord's vision for Christ Fellowship Church? What do you think He is calling on you to accomplish at Christ Fellowship Church? Do you share His vision? Please be as specific as possible, providing some specific examples, short-term and long-term goals and objectives, etc.
Answer 3: The church seems to want a vibrant worship service, effective ministries to children and youth, and a season of local outreach. I am strongly interested in CFC because these priorities fit both my priorties and my experience. I have fifteen years experience at Sunday morning worship planning and leadership at Bear Creek EPC, Dillon Community Church (DCC) and the International Church of Luzem (ICL). I love to preach, and I have had good response to my preaching in all those settings.
At Bear Creek, I did a stint as the Director of Childrens Ministries and at DCC and the ICL as well. I made sure that Children's Ministries were one of the top priorities of the ministry. I also often participated in the Children's Ministries in those sttings via a Kids Korner segment in the worship service and at VBS where for some years I put together a kid's bnad to lead group singing. At DCC, we hosted a Montessori school, and once a week I led the kids in group songs. I continue to do this kind of song leading for kids, such as this weekend at the Kids Stuff Sunday School retreat with our local church.
My experience with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) in high school and at CU, my years as a youth worker at Bear Creek, and my time as a middle school and high school teacher here at Black forest Academy root me deeply in the importance of and development of youth ministry.
I also have a strong desire to facilitate a church culture that draws college students. At CU, I was involved in the FCA leadership to reach out to students via a weekly bible study. At the ICL we found our worship services attractive to the young adults going to the various vocational schools in Luzem - hotel and business management, language schools, and the like. The prospect of staying involved in the lives of college students intrigues me.
In terms of outreach, at both DCC and at the ICL I helped the churches reorganize their missions' ministries around a stated vision. I also led training seminars in relationship evangelism using the Willow Creek "Becoming a Contagious Christian" curriculum, as well as modeling and teaching what I call "Common Ground" outreach - using the leisure activities or community involvement that we have in common with non-believers to build friendships and to model and share the love of Christ. My years in overseas missions have also increased my awareness of expats in my own country, and, wherever we land in the next phase of ministry, I am intereseted in reaching out to internationals.
The personality style of the pastor your survey indicates matches mine. I really enjoy the personal side of pastoral ministry. I like to mix with the congregation before and after the service to meet, welcome, and take an interest in people. In a smaller church, I like keeping track of the people's birthdays, including the kids', and calling people to remember their day with them. I like to hear their story and what's important to them. I like hearing what people have learned and learning from them.
Question 4: Please describe your leadership style, specifically, how you include others in decision making, administrative style, ways you deal with conflict, etc.
Answer 4: Leadership means casting a vision and leveraging resources to achieve that vision. I believe in leadership by team and by consensus. When a new direction needs to be taken or something needs to be done, I usually assemble a team of invested people. I facilitate team brain-storming, problem solving, goal setting, and the plan to achieve those goals. One of my skills is seeing what issues are involved in a given situation. I like to put those issues as I understand them before the team and let the team come to a consensus about whether those really are the issues and what the solutions may be. I don't mind adding my insights to the discussion, but my input is not any more important than anyone else's.
I really like seeing a team of people go through this process and accomplish something in which everyone plays a significant part. Part of this process is allowing people to find a way to contribute that fits their skills and interests. This involves a combination of letting people find their role, but of also encouraging people to try tasks that they may not have choses for themselves in order to discover of develop new skills. Regardless, my success is found in the success of the team. I don't want to do it all, I don't have the skills or time to do so, and a good team will accomplish more than an individual.
In terms of administrative style, my desire is to find the people who like and are capable at administration and let them do as much of it as they can or care to. The rest then needs to be divided up among the team to make sure it all gets done. The team should also seek help from folks in the congregation to help out with aspects of the work.
Conflict and the need to resolve it is inevitable in working with people. I thrive on peace, and I very much dislike conflict. It's usually the evidence of something that needs fixing, however, and I've learned to view it that way. Let's face the conflict, find what's broken, and try to fix it.
I try to deal with conflict by creating understanding through communication. People need to speak to be understood rather than to win a point. And people need to listen to understand rather than to prepare a response. This means talking about one's own feelings and reactions in a circumstance rather than hurling accusations at the other person. It also means responding to to people's comments first with reflective listening before adding my perspective to the mix. I've found that this kind of communication creates empathy, unity and the desire to find a solution rather than to punish eash other. Then we can get on with brain-storming solutions to the conflict.
Question 5: Can you share elements about your daily walk with the Lord? What do you do to not only draw yourself close to Him, but also keep yourself close? What is involved? How do you know that you are led by Him and by Him alone?
Answer 5: I am very regular with an early morning quiet time; before the houshold is up. I use this time for private worship - bowing before God and pouring out praise to Him. I use a private prayer book in which I have written down a wide variety of prayers that have been meaningful to me throughout my life for the content of my prayers. I have also written down the lyrics of my favorite 25 or so hymns, and I mix in singing with my spoken prayers. (You can imagine how long it took me to slowly write everything down in this book, and once last year I misplaced it for two months! I was so bummed to have to start over, but a private prayer book like this has become a very important part of my devotional life, and I was prepared to start rewriting it. Thanks to God, I found it.)
My regular devotional times also involve regular reading. I'm always reading through Scripture, and I always have a history book in tow. I read them both in this morning time.
In terms of staying close, that's a humbling challenge for all of us, but I was deeply impacted by Brother Lawrence's Practicing the Presence of God. This fabulous little book written by a 17th century, disabled, French monk really challenged me to cultivate a sense of God's presence once I'm out of the prayer closet. A phrase from Lawrence is that we we should do everything with a sense of His presence, out of love for Him and in a way that pleases Him. Lawrence worked in the kitchen, and he said that he strived even to pick up the straw off the floor out of love for God. Cool.
I was also deeply challenged by A.W. Tozer's fine little book, The Pursuit of God. He calls on people to find the beauty and the value of extended times of solitude simply to prostrate ourselves before God to adore Him. Thus, my little prayer book and direction from people such as Lawrence and Tozer have helped me to improve at practicing worship throughout the day.
Also, as a senior in high school I strted memorizing Scripture through the Navigators Topical Memory System. Since then, I have made it a practice usually to have a passage of Scripture that I'm in the process of memorizing, or of re-memorizing, and silently reciting these Scriptures to myself at stop lights, waiting in line, in moments of temptation or stress. This has been a powerful way to stay close to god. The importance of this was confirmed for me when I learned that it was a practice of rabbis in Jesus' culture to chose a text of Scripture for the day, memorize it, recite it and think about it throughout the day. When I can keep that focus, it's a powerful and joyous way to stay close to God.
Of course, obedience is a big part of staying close to God. In John 14:21, Jesus said that if we love Him, then we will obey His commands. Simply the act of being mindful of His commands and eager to follow them is an act of staying close.
How do we know that God is leading us? Again, that's a very humbling question. Many times throughout history people have done wrong thinking that God led them. It's a huge statement to say, "God told me". however, if we're immersed in Scripture, if we delight ourselves in loving God by dying to self in order to serve people, if we decide not to love earthly glory and riches and to store up our treasures in heaven, if we ask God's guidance and seek out his voice in the counsel of biblically wise people, then we stand a good chance of doing what He wants us to do.
Question 6: Please describe briefly your worship emphasis.
Answer 6: First of all, I love worship. I love private worship. I love worship in small groups. I love large, corporate worship. I am captivated by the greatnes of God and how worthy He is to be praised and proclaimed regardless of how we feel on a given day. So the first order of worship is that it is God-centered. We are there to highlight His glory, to tell of His deeds, and to submit to Him. My heart is hungry for this kind of worship, and I long to see others learn this hunger.
In terms of worship culture, I like a blended service. I grew up playing rock 'n roll guitar, and I like contemporary music in the church. However, the great hymns of the church should be purposely, systematically enjoyed and passed on to the next generation. They are a treasure in the English language not to be ignored. Volume and lighting should be handled so that people feel connected to the worship leaders, hear themselves pray and sing rather than being blasted out by amplification and separated by stage lighting, such as in a concert. I also disagree with the contemporary useage that "worship" means the music. Music is very important, but worship is much bigger than music.
I enjoy the less formal, community church style service popular in the US these days. Worship should be relaxed, friendly and joyful. People should feel welcomed when they're there and not badgered when they're not. Dress in worship should be as people wish within the boundaries of modesty. People should feel free to dress up to honor God or to dress casually to enjoy there Abba relationship with God.
Being less formal does not mean, however, that we lose our conneciton with the great creeds and other precious litrugical elements that have proven their worth through the centureis. Such elements as the Lord's Prayer, the 23rd Psalm, the Apostles Creed, and the Doxology should be skillfully mixed into worship often enough that people learn from them well and use them in public and private worship without those elements losing their freshness. I've found that people are not only moved by these elements, but, in a world of constant change, people like staying connected to traditions that have survived the ages.
In terms of preaching, I am very much a product of the Reformed tradition. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Biblical preaching is the center-piece of worship, and done well people long for more. It feeds their faith like nothing else God has ordained. The mind needs to be enlightned by Scripture and the heart quicked by the compassionate challenge to obey.
I preach with a single big idea in each message that is taken from a text of Scripture. My "points" then are points of application. A big portion of each sermon is given to application to specific situations of daily life. I like to explain the meaning of the passage, clearly and quickly, then get on with why it matters and how it's applied.
My preaching style is conversational. I speak with common phrases, looking people in the eye, moving enough to address the entire conregation but not so much as to distract. I have notes with me, but I use them sparingly, just enough to keep myself on tract. I often use PowerPoint to help people follow the flow of my ideas and to give pictures which help people remember and delight in the message. Also, I prepare a note sheet each week for people who want to write as they listen. This way I offer people the opportunity to engauge the sermon on three levels: hearing, seeing, and writing. For those who wish, I also write small group discussion questions for such groups to study the sermon topic more during the week.
I use lots of illustrations from history, current affairs, funny stories that I find in the media or from my own life. I tend to use illustrations to open and close the sermon so as to engauge people from the beginning and to drive home the point at the end. I am comfortable being transparent about my own fallen-ness in sermons so that people don't feel like I'm the superstar. We're fellow travellers in this journey, and people should see that the minister is on the same road with them.
Question 7: Please comment briefly on your views regarding women in ordained office.
Answer 7: This is an issue about which I have mixed feelings. When I examine the Scriptural position of both sides, I can understand and empathize with both. I have never served in a church with women pastors or women elders, however, I have served with them in presbytery, and that has not been a problem for me. So my concerns on this issue fall along these lines:
Those who believe that women can and should hold these offices need to ground themselves in Scripture rather than just being driven along by the battle of the sexes. If women do serve in these offices, they need to be women who don't have a chip on their shoulders about this issue. Women who are angry and confrontational about this issue should not hold these offices. Women's ordination should not drain energy away from the central mission of making disciples of all nations. I'm sure that Satan would love to see a church divert itself away fromt he Great Commission in order to argue and divide over this issue.
So, if a church feels strongly about men-only elders and pastors, I can serve in that environment as long as women with the gift of leadership are honored and encouraged to use that gift in other meaningfull ways. If a church feels strongly that women can serve as elders and pastors, I can also serve in that environment as long as the women leaders are humble and the issue is not divisive to the whole congregation. Either way, let's get on with the Great Commission.