A p r e a c h i n g g u i d e f o r S U M M ER 2 0 1 6
Are you a good listener? Good listeners pay attention. They turn to face the person speaking. They drop defensive body language and soften their gaze. Good listeners are not thinking about their potential response, but wondering what the other person means when they say what they say. A good listener waits to hear what the other person says next. Good listeners are not thinking about their next action, their next responsibility or the text going off on their phone in their pocket. Good listeners… well, they listen. Some counselors learn active listening. Active listeners intentionally play back what they have heard to make sure they got it right. “What I hear you saying is…” Active listeners discipline themselves to
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By Rev. Dr. Tim McConnell become better receptors of information. They use awkward silence or pregnant pauses to their benefit to suck more information out of you than you ever thought you would share. They breathe meaningfully and look deep into your eyes, peering into the hidden caverns of your soul. Scary sometimes, isn’t it? Are you a good listener? Are you an active listener? I’d be happy just to remember a person’s name sometimes! Some of the wisest counsel I have received in my life came from excellent listeners. It seems that listening well and wisdom are related, aren’t they? “The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, for the ears of the wise seek it out.” Proverbs 18:15 “To answer before listening — that is folly and shame.” Proverbs 18:13 We are a ministry of transformation. We are actively trying to shape one another more and more in the likeness of Jesus. And we believe a good disciple of Jesus is a good listener. Listening well is a powerful tool. At First Pres, we are producing disciples who passionately learn what they do not know — disciples of Jesus who listen before they lead, hear before they speak,
care before they correct and love before they act. Good listening can change the world. It can alter your marriage, restore your business, heal a community and build up a church. This summer, we will study through Luke 6-10, looking for this theme of the good listener. Jesus was an incredibly perceptive listener. Of course, being God, He had an advantage! But we want to live like Jesus and listen like Jesus. We want to have ears to hear those around us, ears to hear our friends and family, ears to hear the least and the lost, ears to hear those who disagree with us and, most of all, we want to have ears open to hear the Word of God. Didn’t your grandmother tell you? That’s why God gave you two ears and one mouth — so you would listen twice as much as you speak! Let’s be counted among those who have Ears to Hear. Yours in Christ,
Tim
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When I was in seminary, I took a course entitled Life Long Development with Dr. Bobby Clinton. What made a deep impression on me that semester was the proposed reality that we never stop learning and our best contributions in this life will most likely happen after age 60. I was 28-years-old at the time and fairly certain that my best contribution was right around the corner. Dr. Clinton helped me to pause and begin to think
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differently about the shape of my life. If, indeed, I was to be a life-long learner, I could approach each season of my life with open hands, with a humble spirit and with questions rather than answers. In the Greek, the word we translate as disciple is μαθητής (mathétés), meaning learner. A disciple is a learner. Growing up in our First Pres culture, I was nurtured in seeking wisdom and understanding. We are a congregation of learners. This is good news, for we are in a fast-changing culture which requires such a posture. We need to continue
to grow in asking new and better questions of the people around us and then listening carefully to the conversations that follow. In his book, Canoeing the Mountains: Christian Leadership in Unchartered Territory, Dr. Tod Bolsinger writes about the importance of a learning posture for the church. What has worked in the past will not work in the future. Simply employing past strategies to reach a new world will fall short; “the world behind you is nothing like the world in front of you.” New learning is required. Bolsinger calls on the church to become “a learning community.” When Lewis and Clark's exploring brought them to the end of the river and the beginning of the Rocky Mountains, they realized they had no training in navigating mountains. They would have to leave their canoes behind and learn to cross mountains. Bolsinger writes that their learning would have to start over, they would have to reconsider their strategies and form new partnerships with those who knew the territory. As a church, we are passionate about learning. Our challenge is to continue to see the road before us as an exciting adventure of discovery. How does God want to use us today and tomorrow? How does the Spirit desire to transform us into a witnessing community for future generations? As we know, learning is not just an activity of the
By Rev. Jennifer Holz mind, but also of the heart. It begins with an ability to say, “I don’t know,” but it continues as we gather in community to ask questions, to pray for new insights and to listen to God and neighbor. It takes a posture of humility to be a learner, and our ability to learn together is dependent on each of us being committed to our own transformation as followers of Christ. We read Jesus’ words in Matthew 11:28-30: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” We are first apprenticed to Christ to learn gentleness, humility and rest from Him. As we nurture relationship with the One who created us and loves us, it is not a burden to see and to listen to our neighbor and the changing patterns of our world. It is an exercise of love. Learning begins with love. Let’s boldly move into our new chapter as a church with open hands, open hearts, ears to hear and a love of learning. This is an exciting time to be the church. Rev. Jennifer Holz is the Senior Executive Associate Pastor at First Pres.
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Service of
Installation
O
n Friday, June 10, First Pres will host a service of installation for new Lead Pastor Rev. Dr. Tim McConnell. This will be a special evening of worship and celebration as we begin the next chapter in the life of our church. As part of this service, representatives from our ECO Presbytery – The Presbytery of the West – and ministers from churches throughout the country will be participating in worship. Below is more information on the role of the Presbytery in this service and a list of the special guests and where they currently serve.
The Role of the Presbytery
In ECO, the Presbytery plays an important role in the life of the church. According to ECO Polity, the document governing the organization of the denomination, the Presbytery, “as a covenant community, exercises apostolic authority by and for the nurture and benefit of its congregations, that the communities they serve may know the love and invitation of Christ.” As part of that duty, the Presbytery walks alongside churches during 6 | www.first-pres.org 4/16
times of transition. When a Lead Pastor candidate is selected and examined, the Presbytery forms a commission of Elders to install the new Lead Pastor for service in a particular church. Three members of the commission formed to install Rev. Dr. Tim McConnell at First Pres will participate in this service. Participating Ministers:
Rev. Dr. Marnie Crumpler – Sermon
Rev. Dr. Marnie Crumpler serves as the Executive Pastor of Peachtree Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, Georgia. She was recently selected as the new Senior Pastor for First Presbyterian Church of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and will assume her post in late June. She speaks to people around the country on leadership, family life and evangelism.
Rev. Nate Dreesman – Installation Questions
Rev. Nate Dreesman serves as Moderator of the ECO Presbytery of the West, which includes First Pres. He is part of the Commission to
Install Rev. Dr. Tim McConnell. Dreesman serves as Senior Pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Jerome, Idaho. He previously served as Chair of the Pastoral Ministry Ordination Team for the Presbytery of the West.
Rev. Erik Hanson – Charge to the Pastor
Rev. Erik Hanson serves as the Lead Pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Boulder, Colorado. Prior to coming to First Presbyterian Church of Boulder, Hanson served as an Associate Pastor at First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley, California. He is part of the Commission to install Rev. Dr. Tim McConnell at First Pres.
Rev. Dr. Richard Gibbons – Charge to the Congregation
Rev. Dr. Richard Gibbons is the Senior Pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Greenville, South Carolina. He began his ministry at First Presbyterian Church of Greenville in 2007. A native of Scotland, Gibbons began Biblical studies at Glasgow Bible College in 1982, where several years later he supervised the student placement program and lectured in Evangelism, Communications and Practical Homiletics. During this time he initiated missions in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. While serving The Church of Scotland’s Board of National Mission in Inverness from 1997 to 2007, Gibbons served as a Regional Development Officer to eight highland presbyteries and then as the Moderator of the Presbytery of Inverness. Gibbons currently acts as co-moderator on the ECO denomination’s Theological Task Force.
Rev. Dr. MJ Romano – Prayer of Installation
Rev. Dr. MJ Romano is the senior pastor of First Presbyterian Church of La Junta, Colorado. She previously served as the first Moderator of the Presbytery of the West, and is a part of the Commission to install Rev. Dr. Tim McConnell. In addition to her ministry, Romano teaches philosophy and ethics at Otero Junior College.
ECO – A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians began in January 2012 and continues to grow each year. Currently ECO has 273 churches and 450 pastors that are members, with more in the process of joining. In addition, ECO has grown to include 13 Presbyteries. First Pres is part of the Presbytery of the West, which includes churches from Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri. The Presbytery of the West is led by Moderator Nate Dreesmann, who serves as senior pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Jerome, Idaho. To learn more about ECO, and to see a map of all the ECO congregations, visit the denomination’s Website at www.eco-pres.org. ECO Board Members The staff of First Pres continues to take a strong leadership role with our denomination, ECO – A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians. Six members of our staff serve on committees within the denomination. See the list below: Rev. Dr. Tim McConnell, Theological Task Force Rev. Jennifer Holz, ECO Synod Executive Board Rev. Dr. John Goodale, Permanent Judicial Commission Rev. Nate Stratman, Covenants of Accountability Rev. Katie Fowler, Pastoral Ministry Ordination Team Executive Director Alison Murray, Health and Welfare Committee 4/16 | www.first-pres.org | 7
a d d r e ss
S ER V ICE
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Non Profit Org. U. S. Postage PAID Colo. Spgs. CO Permit No. 419
Tickets on sale June 6 at the Congregational Support Desk
sunday, July 3 ê 4 p.m. in the Sanctuary ê $5
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