Momentum i A Publication of Redeemer Bible Church
“...I will build my church...” - Jesus
Matthew 16:18
Issue 31 // May & June, 2016
A Prayer for a Church God Loves By Darren Carlson
Twelve Benefits of Team Leadership Meet Our New Elders
Welcome
We're glad you're here! We are a church with a mission. Our mission is to enjoy, embody, and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ so that unbelievers are persuaded of the gospel, believers are built up in the gospel, and culture is transformed by the gospel – to the glory of God. Because the gospel is at the heart of RBC, we want all that we say and do as a church to honor and reflect Christ. Part of that includes making sure you are able to consistently and clearly know our vision and direction. That’s where Momentum comes in. On the first Sunday of every other month, everyone will receive a copy and be able to stay connected to the pulse of Redeemer. Inside each issue, you will find a letter from the elders, encouraging articles from our members, as well as updates on things like church finances, new members, and upcoming church activities and programs. The gospel is what keeps Redeemer moving forward. It’s our passion, our motivation, our moving force. It’s our momentum.
In this Issue 20 WOMEN'S MINISTRY UPDATE
5 LETTER FROM THE ELDERS As Redeemer enters into a new season of "Fresh Starts", Warren Watson encourages us to "focus on Christ as our Chief Shepherd, and less on man and his role and abilities."
Author, Jessica Thompson
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TWELVE BENEFITS OF TEAM LEADERSHIP “Christian leadership is not for the lone wolf. The labor is too important when souls are in the balance. Here, then, are a dozen more benefits, among others, to supplement the truth that we indeed are wiser together.”
GOSPEL LIFE BLOG 22
14 MEET OUR NEW ELDERS Our new elders share how they have been called by God to serve as an elder, and in what ways they are excited to use their gifts to shepherd the body of Christ at Redeemer.
THANK YOU FROM DEEP HAVEN 24 2016 GRADUATES
6 A PRAYER FOR A CHURCH GOD LOVES “As the excitement builds for a new season in the life of the church, I want to share with you my prayer for the future. The prayers in the letters of Paul reveal his affection for local churches. Let me mention a few from Ephesians and may you receive this as my prayer for you.”
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12 MISSION TO MESSINA During the first week in July, Redeemer will be sending a 15-person team to come alongside Karise Pagano, our missionary in Sicily.
19 BOOK REVIEW
26 WELCOME NEW RBC MEMBERS!
Communications Department CONTENT DIRECTION Sara Briggs Lorie Schnell Bill Walsh
DESIGN & LAYOUT Sara Briggs
CONTENT MANAGER Lorie Schnell
EDITING Anne Lynn Brittney Westin
i l o i c c a t Mosraiser dinner e
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Everyday Grace Day Retreat At Redeemer
Saturday, May 7 8 am - 4 pm
Fellowship Hall
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Cost: $35*
*or $50 with book, "Everyday Gr ace" by Jessica Thompson
RSVP
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MOMENTUM // MAY & JUNE 2016
Sign up at the Women’s Ministry table in the Fellowship Hall
with
Author
Jessica Thompsonm
Letter From the Elders
Dear Redeemer Family, Greetings all, and welcome! On behalf of the elders, deacons and all who call Redeemer home, we are so glad you are here, reading this, sharing with us. You may be aware that Redeemer has experienced a great many challenges especially since August of 2014. It is not an overstatement to acknowledge that something of its fabric was torn, and cohesive and loving unity stretched. In our “Fresh Start,” we have prayerfully attempted to focus on Christ as Chief Shepherd, and less on man and his role and abilities. And this desire finds complete fulfillment in John 17, Christ’s High Priestly Prayer, his intimate conversation with his father, our God. Here he is agreeing that he will soon be with his father in perfect union and praising him for the men that have been given to him during his earthly ministry. But not just them: “I do not ask on behalf of these alone (his disciples, for their unity and sanctification), but for those also who believe in Me through their word: that they may all be one; even as you, Father, are in Me, and I am in You, that they also may be in Us: that the world may believe that You did send me….that they may be one, just as We are One:….that the world may know that You did send Me, and did love them, even as You did love Me.” We are the benefactors of the words of the disciples, how they recorded it for posterity, how they shared it with others, how those have shared it with others down to this very generation. And I hope we are amazed that Christ’s desire is to show his union with our father, and with us as well, and in that union, the world sees his and the father’s love.
GREG DECKERT OSCAR HUERTA JOHN SWEET BILL WALSH WARREN WATSON DAVID WESSNER DAN WESTIN GABE ZEPEDA
Our desire is for a church built on the truth of Christ’s desire to be in union with us, and to have the world amazed by the love shown in that union and the unity that comes from it. Please come together with us as we strive to show a unity built in that love, and pray that the world will be changed because of it. In the spirit of that union and unity, Warren, on behalf of the elders
A Prayer for a Church God Loves By Darren Carlson
I
have now visited Redeemer multiple times and am excited every time I preach. I love this church. I loved how welcoming it was when I first arrived, how people at the door (even if I was locked out in sub-degree temperatures the first time I came), in the sound booth, in the foyer, at the donuts, all greeted me. I loved that many people helped my wife when she trekked in with five little kids and had no idea where to go. I loved singing – I mean everyone was singing – and the songs – wonderful! You have great musicians and a congregation that sings. That is a real gift. I loved the prayers – genuine and sincere. I loved communion. I loved that people stuck around and talked to each other between services. I loved that no one was actually in the service when it started – I counted four the second time I came. It actually crossed my mind that people heard I was preaching and had not returned. I loved that people asked me good questions. I loved the way Oscar gave announcements about important things. I loved the passion of some people who kindly disagreed with parts of what I preached. I loved 6
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it all! Sometimes you need someone from the outside to see clearly what is real. I’m telling you – Redeemer is a great church. As the excitement builds for a new season in the life of the church, I want to share with you my prayer for the future. The prayers in the letters of Paul reveal his affection for local churches. Let me mention a few from Ephesians and may you receive this as my prayer for you. KNOW HIM BETTER (EPHESIANS 1:17) “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.” What is most striking about this prayer at the outset is that it is a prayer for Christians. We often pray that people who do not know Christ would know him. Here however, Paul is praying that Christians would know God. A relationship with God is not like any other relationship we have. We cannot exhaust our knowledge of him. In trying to describe him, the writers of Scripture use words such as
“appearance” or “likeness of the appearance,” or “likeness.” There is just no way to describe fully the incomprehensible, yet knowable Lord. So this is my first prayer for you. My first prayer is not for your health. It is not for your kids. It is not for your marriage. It is not for your pregnancy. It is not for your relationships with others. It not about the issues this church faces. It is not about the search for a pastor. It is not about the theological divide we sometimes face. I pray – first and foremost – that you may know him. Knowing God is the greatest privilege a person can have. When I was a sophomore in college, someone gave me Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer. This small book is a classic on the attributes of God. I thought it was terrible. Three years later, I read it again and it changed my life. What happened in those three years? Paul’s prayer for me was answered. Just briefly, I would like to mention that Paul asks for a spirit of wisdom and revelation. Revelation refers to the ability to understand who God is – love, incomprehensible, omnipresent, holy, independent and more. May you grow deeply in your knowledge of who God says he is. But Paul also mentions wisdom. I believe this means that Paul believes one of the ways to know God is in the practical application of Christian truth in day-to-day life. So it is not the Spirit of wisdom only or the Spirit or revelation only. It is knowledge applied, all coming from the Father and Son by the Spirit. HAVE AN OPENED HEART (EPHESIANS 1:18-19) “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.” Again – this is a prayer for Christians. This is not referring to the blindness associated with unbelief. What exactly does Paul (and I) want the Spirit to do in your church? In a picture – open your eyes. I doubt Christians in the world will ever have 20/20 vision as to what is reality, so Paul and I pray that you would receive Lasik surgery on your spiritual eyes. And what do I want you to see – the hope to which you have been called. Hope is sharing in the glory of God. Hope is the appearing of Christ. Hope is eternity with our Savior. The prayer is that we would know who we are as God sees us. This is not meant to lead us to brag – this is grace. We are people who have been given a great inheritance, not because of anything we have done, but because of his love for us.
“God loves Redeemer Bible Church, a small expression on this earth of his redeemed people, bound together by the gospel.” UNDERSTAND THAT GOD LOVES YOU (EPHESIANS 3:17B-18) “And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord's people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” I admit that I shortchange the power of God – but here the prayer is that we would have the power (in community with other believers) to know the love of God. This power is not a gimmick or some rhetorical skill. The Spirit blows where it wants. But – when the love of Christ is grasped – transformation occurs – we are filled with all the fullness of God. So I pray that despite the hard season in the life of the church, you would grasp the deep deep love of Jesus. God loves Redeemer Bible Church, a small expression on this earth of his redeemed people, bound together by the gospel. He wants to be known, regardless of circumstance, in all his glory for who he is. He is the one who gives the power to know him more fully. He is the one who can open our eyes. He is the one who loves you. // RBC
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Twelve Benefits of Team Leadership 8
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One of the benefits of networking with other likeminded churches is seeing how they apply the same leadership principles in their own locality. In this article, David Mathis writes, not only about his biblical reflections on shared leadership, but his own real-life experience in a pastoral plurality at Cities Church. His article was written originally for leaders. But all of us can benefit by knowing how leaders can enjoy the benefits of a shared plurality among elders, deacons and other ministerial teams.
“Leading together makes each of us better. ‘Iron sharpens iron’ Proverbs 27:17.”
Grateful these days for the wider body of Christ, Yours in Jesus, Oscar
By David Mathis
C
hristian leadership is not for the lone wolf. The labor is too important when souls are in the balance, and all of us are simply too frail and shortsighted, with too much indwelling sin and too many blind spots, to go at it on our own. Whatever the role, whether on the college campus, or in the inner city, or among an unreached people group, or in the local church, we desperately need each other in all of life, and especially in leadership. Christian leadership is a team sport, and in a post-Enlightenment society, still deeply affected by modernist individualism, the biblical model of plurality in leadership is a desperately needed corrective, and a powerfully redemptive grace. Team leadership does not mean there is no “chief among equals”; it’s both inevitable and good among any group that one person eventually functions as the “senior” or the final buck-stopper — might as well name that and make it plain. But the clear model in the New Testament is team leadership in the local church — plurality we call it. “Without exception,” says Gregg Allison, “every time the New Testament mentions the government of a particular church, the leadership structure is a plurality of elders” (Sojourners and Strangers, 293).
WISER TOGETHER Before providing a dozen additional benefits of plurality in leadership, here is a headlining principle: We are wiser together. “Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed” (Proverbs 15:22). “By wise guidance you can wage your war, and in abundance of counselors there is victory” (Proverbs 24:6). The vast majority of decisions we face in life each day are not clearly laid out in biblical do’s and don’ts. The way we learn to do “what is good and acceptable and perfect” is by being “transformed by the renewal of your minds, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God” (Romans 12:2). We don’t live life following a list. Rather, God remakes us from the inside into increasingly new people, and as we’re “renewed in the spirit of your minds” (Ephesians 4:23), we exercise wisdom as we “try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:10). As we are “filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding” (Colossians 1:9), we learn to “approve what is excellent” (Philippians 1:10). Plurality in leadership, then, is the corporate manifestation of such sober-mindedness, sanctified level-headedness. The toughest decisions we face in leadership are not clear do’s and don’ts. And in leadership, the messes multiply, and the decisions become more difficult. What we desperately need is to exercise a collective wisdom stemming from God’s remaking of us, not just individually but together. We need to supplement each other’s judgment, and seek to discern together God’s path for the ministry we lead. Which is why one of the first characteristics required of elders in the church is “sober-mindedness” (1 Timothy 3:2).
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A DOZEN MORE GIFTS When we have carefully guarded the door to leadership on the way in, and we know each other well enough to confirm we’re walking together in the light, then we can exercise great trust in the team’s sense of direction. We are significantly wiser together than alone. Of course, there are drawbacks to plurality in leadership. Even though it’s more likely that an individual will be led astray, whole groups have been deceived and corrupted. And as Alexander Strauch concedes, “Team leadership in a church family can be painfully slow and terribly aggravating” (Biblical Eldership, 44). That’s true. But on the whole, the benefits of leading together far outweigh going at it alone. Here, then, are a dozen more benefits, among others, to supplement the truth that we indeed are wiser together (these are not meant to heap discouragement on those who are in singular leadership situations and would love to be surrounded by fellows but have none. Rather, we hope they will give you incentive to keep praying for, and investing in the lives of, future teammates in ministry).
At the heart of Christian leadership is speaking God’s words (Hebrews 13:7). So pastors and elders must be skillful in teaching (1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:9). And it’s just as important to have a plurality of elders in public teaching as it is in private meetings and decisions. Also, when there is a team of qualified teacher-leaders, they can teach in various settings. In this way, there are multiple significant influences on the people. No one teacher has all the gifts, and all the balance, that a healthy, vibrant community needs.
1. MORE STRENGTHS, FEWER WEAKNESSES Plurality in leadership means rounding out our giftings with the talents of others, and pooling our complementary gifts to do the work more effectively. God gives “gifts that differ according to the grace given to us” (Romans 12:6). Even among leaders, there are varieties of gifts, service, and activities (1 Corinthians 12:4–6). Leadership is better when together we are “good stewards of God’s varied grace” (1 Peter 4:10). And as we pool our strengths, we make up for our deficiencies. Leading together covers many of our weaknesses. In a team setting, our individual lapses in judgment cause less damage, if any; other voices can speak up and point in another direction. It’s okay to be imperfect; others can see our blind spots and bring correction. And leading together can guard against domineering tendencies in individual leaders, as peers stand alongside to sharpen and challenge them.
4. BEING PASTORED AND ACCOUNTABLE Plurality in leadership also provides essential care and accountability. When the church’s most public leader has peers who can speak into his life, and hold him to the fire, there is less room for subtly taking advantage of privilege and making self-serving decisions. And for every Christian shepherd, our more fundamental identity is being one of the sheep (Luke 10:20). Pastors need to be pastored. We all need to be held accountable and have some structure for being called out if we get off track, as well as led proactively into greener pastures.
2. HEALTHIER TEACHING It’s good for individual teachers to make their provocative points, have their well-placed hyperboles, and exhibit their own winsome quirks and idiosyncrasies. But when they’re alone over the long haul, they can introduce wobbles and imbalances into local church life. Any group with only one teacher will become painfully like that leader if you give it enough time. 10
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3. LIGHTENING THE WORKLOAD Pastoral leadership can be very demanding. Not only is there the proactive labors of preparation and delivery of public teaching, and the long meetings to make mindbending decisions, but also the intensive reactive ministry of responding to needs in the flock. When we lead together, we share the heavy load that shepherding can be at times. When we divide the labor and distribute the weight of ministry, we make everyday life more livable for leaders and protect them from exhaustion and burn out.
5. MORE SAFETY TOGETHER Often in Christian leadership, we encounter situations that seem far beyond us as individuals. We simply don’t know what to do, or what counsel to give. We’re confused and torn; we feel stuck. Leading together not only makes us wiser together when many options are on the table, but also helps us to move carefully forward, one step at a time, into a situation in which we’re not even sure there’s one good option. As Proverbs 11:14 says, “in an abundance of counselors there is safety.” 6. MORE SUPPORT FROM THE CHURCH Because elders are first and foremost sheep, not shepherds, they are “of the people.” This office is different than that of Apostle, as those who represent the Chief Shepherd in a
more significant sense. We might say that while the apostles are “of God,” the elders are “of the people.” The elders are from the people, and among the people, and having a plurality of elders among the people helps to create congregational support for decisions, before and after the fact. A single leader is not able to influence and win support and deal with individual circumstances nearly so strongly as a team working together. 7. LESS STING FROM UNJUST CRITICISM Flying solo in leadership means all the sting lands squarely on the lone wolf. But when we lead as a team, and make and own decisions as a team, we’re less exposed to unjust criticism for those decisions. We still feel the sting, but not nearly so sharply as when we take it together. Which connects, then, to our ability to encourage one another in difficulty. 8. MORE ENCOURAGEMENT IN DIFFICULTY All leadership in a fallen world involves difficulty sooner than later. It’s just a matter of time. And perhaps all the more in Christian leadership, because so much is at stake, and because there is a genuine enemy with schemes against us. Trials will come, but when we lead together, we’re in much better condition to walk in those trials without losing hope. Together, we strengthen each other to continue truly, deeply, continually rejoicing, even as we experience great sorrow. Having peers in leadership proves to be a priceless encouragement in trouble. 9. MORE STABLE IN TRANSITION Transition comes to every leadership team if the organization is healthy and survives for much duration of time. In particular, when the senior leader transitions, whether to retirement or some other vocation, the plurality contributes greatly to stability during change.
we really are in humility, brotherly love, and true servant spirit.” (Biblical Eldership, 114) Leading together makes each of us better. “Iron sharpens iron” (Proverbs 27:17). 11. GREATER JOY TOGETHER Leading together also brings greater joy than going at it alone. “It is much more satisfying . . . to pastor as a team than to be a lone-wolf shepherd” (Jeremie Rinne, Church Elders, 95). While at times it may feel easier to make all the calls yourself, the joy of leading together, with all its attendant difficulties, far surpasses the simplicity of being the king of the hill. 12. TOGETHER UNDER THE CHIEF Finally, and most significantly, working as a team of undershepherds should remind us continually that there is only one “Chief Shepherd” (1 Peter 5:4). We under-shepherds are plural, but there is a singular great “Shepherd and Overseer of your souls” (1 Peter 2:25), only one “great shepherd of the sheep” (Hebrews 13:20). He is the one with shoulders broad enough to roll all our burdens for the flock onto him (1 Peter 5:7). He is the one who has promised that he will build his church (Matthew 16:18) and that his gospel will go to all the nations (Matthew 24:14) through the church (Ephesians 1:22; 3:21). The reality of plurality reminds us that we are not the lone leader of Christ’s church. He is. // RBC
David Mathis is executive editor of desiringGod.org and pastor of Cities Church, Minneapolis. He is author of Habits of Grace: Enjoying Jesus through the Spiritual Disciplines. He and his wife, Megan, have three children. Used with permission from Desiring God. www.desiringgod.org
10. MORE SANCTIFYING Not only is there the collective wisdom, but leading together makes us better as individuals. Shared leadership is more sanctifying than leading alone. Leading together, says Strauch, “…exposes our impatience with one another, our stubborn pride, our bull-headedness, our selfish immaturity, our domineering disposition, our lack of love and understanding of one another, and our prayerlessness. It also shows us how underdeveloped and immature MAY & JUNE 2016 \\ MOMENTUM
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By Betty Cooper
Mission to
Messina By Bill Walsh
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Photo credit: Karise Pagano
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ou might be thinking that a mission trip to Sicily sounds rather glamorous, but the reality is that Italy constitutes some of the hardest spiritual ground in Europe. After many centuries, Italy and Sicily itself is still 85% Roman Catholic. About half of those are devout. Additionally the secularism and materialism of the West is quite dominant there as well. In all of Italy, only 1% consists of various flavors of evangelical or Protestant. For the most part, Italy could be still classified as unreached. More than 70% of Italy’s communities are without Bible-believing congregations. Karise Pagano, a member of RBC, serves in Messina as an administrative assistant at Messina Bible Church along with a small, attached school called the Italian Theological Academy. These missions are primarily staffed by support-raised expatriate workers. Karise is a supported missionary of our church. Messina Bible Church is an aging congregation and this team is working to bring renewal and see God raise up a new generation of followers of Christ. During the first week in July, Redeemer will be sending a 15-person team to come alongside these ministries for a little over a week. Our team will join with fellow believers to engage in community-based, gospel-centered ministry. We will help to build upon existing relationships and presentations of the gospel in creative ways, in the hopes that God would open the eyes of the blind that they might embrace Christ as savior. Ultimately, we are praying that God would use us to help establish and
strengthen the church’s impact within the Messina community. Specifically, this team will engage in teaching English as a second language to children and teens, as well as other types of community and church-based activities including music, sports and service opportunities. We will also be with the local church community worshipping and fellowshipping together for mutual strengthening and encouragement. God has called together a diverse team of 4 youth and 11 adults with a variety of gifts. We will partner with the local congregation and leaders to help build credibility in the community and winsomely model how God works in and manifests himself through a community of believers.
In the months and weeks leading up to the trip, we are all training and learning to better understand how to reach across cultural boundaries and genuinely love others who are different than we are. Christ himself left the comfort of his Triune community to come to earth as a humble, servant making God visible and tangible to all of us. He is calling us to follow his lead and bring his love and his gospel to other peoples. We are asking you, our sending RBC congregation, to help us through your prayers and giving so that this team will be well equipped to serve. Please pray for our hearts to be prepared, for our knowledge of the people and culture to be expanded, and for our financial support. // RBC
Consider a donation to our team by visiting: www.RedeemerBibleChurch.com/Sicily
Sicily Team 2016 Front row (L to R): Nancy Axelson, Diane Warren, Marcia Parel, Malaya Parel, Jocelyn Pagano, Rebekah Zepeda, Alyssa Shaffer, and Ashlee Sames. Back row (L to R): Cameron Warren, Alex Hollermann, Danny Suchta, Mike Meyers, Gabe Zepeda, Brady Shaffer, and Bill Walsh.
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Meet Our New Elders
Greg Deckert
Greg and Pam Deckert
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ASPIRATION/CALLING
SERVING THE BODY OF REDEEMER
Coming to Redeemer in 2008 has been a blessing from God for our family, causing us to grow and mature spiritually in many ways. We have grown in our understanding of the ramifications of the gospel message and in our love for Christ. My own aspiration to the sober call of eldership has progressed through the years in the process of making and leading dear
I am excited to be part of the new team God has providentially brought together. There is so much to do, and it is a high privilege to be part of God’s plan here at RBC. I am looking forward to serving the church as an elder however God leads, but particularly in the selection and calling of a new vocational pastor for preaching, as well as in assisting with the necessary changes to our church’s governing documents, and in reinvigorating Redeemer’s commitment to personal and family discipleship and related ministries.
friends in our community group, as well as through others at RBC encouraging me to step forward and respond to the need for new leaders at this time in our church’s journey.
Elder Installation Service on April 17, 2016
Oscar Huerta
Oscar and Cindi Huerta
ASPIRATION/CALLING
SERVING THE BODY OF REDEEMER
I have experienced an emerging desire to serve in vocational ministry since my conversion to Christ in 1981 at the University of Wisconsin. After experiencing two short-term mission trips to the former Soviet Union in 1984 and 1985, my wife Cathi and I sensed God was calling us to missions; in particular, bi-vocational church planting in the former Soviet Republic
I hope to serve Christ's church by continuing to be astonished with joy by his continued answers to prayer and shepherding of us as a church. I long for the Lord to lead us into renewed outward ministerial opportunities for the future, undergirded by a deep, pervasive healing for those members of our body still living in the sorrows of our shared pain from the past.
of Uzbekistan among Muslims. The aspiration to shepherd at Redeemer has never diminished, but has probably intensified as we watched first-hand our beloved church endure painful difficulties over these many months. MAY & JUNE 2016 \\ MOMENTUM
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Meet Our New Elders
John Sweet
John and Paula Sweet
Bill Walsh
Bill and Cindi Walsh
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ASPIRATION/CALLING
SERVING THE BODY OF REDEEMER
I have felt a desire to shepherd God’s people for many years—first at Christ Presbyterian Church, where I served as a deacon from 2000 to 2004—and more recently at Redeemer, where I served as an elder candidate from 2006 to 2014, and then as an ordained elder from 2014 to present. Participating in the repentance, reconciliation, and re-confirmation of the Fresh Start process has been highly convicting and encouraging, as the Lord makes more and more clear that Redeemer is his church and that he is a jealous God—I am so grateful to him! The elder training course both confirmed my internal sense of calling to shepherd the Redeemer flock and increased my desire to be part of a more God-centered leadership team.
I am looking forward to serving the body at Redeemer by: 1) supporting our Children’s Discipleship ministry and staff, 2) through loving and shepherding individual members, and 3) by occasionally serving in the pulpit. I love this Redeemer congregation from the bottom of my heart. One of the most difficult aspects about this past season in RBC’s history was simply the small number of elders to carry the load. The sheer volume of work per person prevented us from ministering more deeply. Now that the number of elders has increased, I am so excited to see each elder be allowed adequate time to serve well in a more specific area.
ASPIRATION/CALLING
SERVING THE BODY OF REDEEMER
For 14 years, we were members of Bethlehem Baptist Church, where the Lord gave us a sense of his global mission. During that time, I began leading short-term mission trips around the world. This led to starting a new ministry within Desiring God Ministries called International Outreach, where we continue to engage in Theological Famine Relief, an effort now part of The Gospel Coalition. We have been members at Redeemer Bible Church since 2013. I have served as community group leader, and missions director. My elder candidacy began before our crisis season.
I believe that the local church is at the core of God’s global strategy to call a people for himself from every nation. My aspiration for eldership comes from an inward and outward call to see God’s people live in gospel grace. I am encouraged by a sense that God has great things in store for Redeemer Bible Church, and I am eager to participate in the good work ahead that he has laid out for us.
Warren Watson
SERVING THE BODY OF REDEEMER
ASPIRATION/CALLING There have been many instances
I'm very excited about serving with
throughout my life that a call to the
four really new faces to the process,
pastorate
thoughtful
all godly and wise men, and the three
and prayerful idea. The first was just
others who have been stalwart examples
after high school graduation and into
of God's patience and strength. Sort of
college. Since entering the pastorate at
“who wouldn't want to do this with these
Redeemer in 2007 as a “candidate” and
guys?”
has
been
a
“ordained” in 2010, and experiencing
As the only man left from the old
many pastoral and personal challenges
culture, I have a deep hope to be a loving
in that time period, the post continues
bridge to the new, looking less and less
to be a winsome reality for me. God’s
in the rear view mirror but in hopes for
persistent endorsement of this position
healing what is left to attend to.
through dark valleys and green pastures encourages me to continue the race.
Warren and Colleen Watson
Finally, I have a deep hope that as we look to Christ's shepherding heart for the future, we see a vision for our church that hopes to address the question, “How can we be messengers of the gospel regionally, nationally and globally, all the while loving, tending and teaching the local sheep”?
David Wessner
David and Patti Wessner
ASPIRATION/CALLING
My aspiration to serve as an elder at Redeemer flows from reading about the importance scripture assigns to the role; that God owns each local church, that Christ is the chief shepherd, and that he calls men to watch over each church. I aspire, with trembling, to carry such responsibility, accountable to the other elders and to God. I am impressed with the way the biblical qualifications for elder reflect the mature Christian life. They are not unique or different, they are what we are all called to become. In this way elders should model what Christ has called the people of God to be. I aspire to be such an example. I approach the eldership with humility and a
recognition that it is only through the work of the Holy Spirit that I approach and fulfill such a role. SERVING THE BODY OF REDEEMER
I look forward to serving the body of Redeemer as a servant leader, learning and listening to our brothers and sisters, and with the Holy Spirit recommending and taking action with the other elders to help all of us grow and flourish in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
MAY & JUNE 2016 \\ MOMENTUM
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Meet Our New Elders
Dan Westin
ASPIRATION/CALLING Ever since coming to Christ at a very
of service for which I’m best suited within this gifted, plurality of elders.
young age, my parents instilled in me the
Dan and Brittney Westin
Having
been
the
benefactor
importance of surrounding myself with
of
godly leadership. Attending a private
accountability, I have an interest in
Christian school, where I obtained a
helping others in these areas. In addition,
biblical studies minor and went on a very
as a business owner and team leader in
impactful mission trip to South America,
an investment firm, I have experience in
fostered my motivation to further the
administrative oversight and wish to see
gospel. I have greatly benefited from
God’s resources prudently managed
the leadership and shepherding I have
and his people well cared for. As a
received through faithful teachers and
result, I have a burden to see the body
mentors of mine, and I want to be faithful
of Redeemer shepherded well by leaders
to the work in which the Lord calls me in
who, by God’s grace and the spirit’s
each stage of my life. I am excited and
power, exhibit integrity and character.
sobered by the awesome responsibility to serve as a newly installed elder.
intentional
discipleship
and
My wife Brittney and I have so appreciated
the
gospel
centric
relationships we have with so many in the
Gabe Zepeda
SERVING THE BODY OF REDEEMER
Redeemer family and look expectantly to
As a first time elder, I will be particularly
God’s plans for us as we co-labor with
sensitive to identifying the specific areas
you.
ASPIRATION/CALLING
SERVING THE BODY OF REDEEMER
When the Lord saved me at age
I am eager to serve Christ’s Church
fourteen at a summer camp, I remember
in any way possible. However, I believe
an early desire to serve Jesus in any
the Lord has gifted me in these three
way possible. What I didn’t realize was
ways: 1) shepherding through worship,
that this desire would flourish into a
2) shepherding through discipleship,
desire for full-time gospel ministry. As
3) shepherding through preaching and
this desire grew throughout my high
teaching. I long to see the church enter
school years, I felt the Lord had called
into God’s presence together through
me to Bible College to grow deeper in my
worship, vibrant relationships, and in
understanding and love for Jesus through
speaking and applying the gospel to real
God’s Word. Upon graduating, the Lord
life.
equipped me and solidified my calling for gospel ministry by calling me to serve at Calvary Baptist Church in NJ for seven
Gabe and Rebekah Zepeda
years. After serving in youth ministry for four years, the Lord affirmed my calling through his people and the Holy Spirit to serve as a shepherd at Redeemer.
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MOMENTUM // MAY & JUNE 2016
Book Review Your Church is Where Jesus Wants to Show His Beauty By Ray Ortlund
T
oday is the launch of my new book, The Gospel: How The Church Portrays The Beauty Of Christ, part of the 9Marks series on Building Healthy Churches. The biblical gospel is not only a doctrine on paper, not only a theological flag to salute. The gospel also creates a relational environment, an ethos of beauty, an experience of humaneness. In other words, gospel doctrine creates a gospel culture. In this new kind of community, which only the gospel can create, desperate sinners coming to Christ have nothing to fear. They are finally safe. They can open up about what’s really going on in their lives. They can find healing for the past and hope for the future. This new kind of church feels like heaven on earth. And the way to get there is not by slick packaging but by gospel rebuilding. It’s what the doctrine is for – building a new kind of community to compel the attention of the world. If in our churches we have gospel doctrine only, without a gospel culture, we actually undermine the doctrine, however strongly we adhere to it. But if we allow the gospel to sweeten the flavor of our churches by the grace of Jesus, the doctrine starts shining more gloriously than ever before. A gospel culture is itself an apologetic argument for the doctrine, and the best argument. I believe that, as the Lord helps us build churches marked by the beauty of Christ, it will be his answer to our prayers for revival. But churches with correct doctrine only will continue to turn people away from Jesus.
RAYMOND C. ORTLUND The Gospel: How the Church Portrays the Beauty of Christ. Wheaton: Crossway, 2014. 144 pp. $14.99.
Used with permission from The Gospel Coalition. www.the gospelcoalition.org MAY & JUNE 2016 \\ MOMENTUM
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Women's Ministry Update
Women's Ministry Summer Plans By Jen Carter
S
ong of Solomon 2:10-13
My beloved spoke and said to me, ‘Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, come with me. See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land. The fig tree forms its early fruit; the blossoming vines spread their fragrance. Arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with me.’ Women of Redeemer! As you consider your summer, we pray that you hear the Savior’s voice calling you to “arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with me.” We pray that during the summer season, the Lord Jesus himself would refresh your weary hearts as you make time to be with him!
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MOMENTUM // MAY & JUNE 2016
The Women’s Ministry Team has gathered several times this year to pray, dream, and plan for this vital ministry! We hope you will join us in prayer as we seek the Lord’s timing and will for every endeavor! We look forward, with great anticipation, to our annual Women’s Retreat on Saturday, May 7, (8am-4pm) which will highlight guest speaker and author, Jessica Thompson! In three sessions, Jessica will cover various topics from her book, Everyday Grace. We will enjoy breakfast, lunch and a dessert snack, and have worship and discussion time. It’s not to late to sign up. Scholarships are available! Please Join Us! (Please note: there is no childcare provided) Erin Johnson will host the first summer playdate opportunity at Woodlake Nature Center on Thursday, June 9 at 10am. Bring your kids to enjoy a nature walk, and then build a fort in the natural playscape. We are looking for more women to host Thursday playdates all summer long. Choose a park, splashpad or your own backyard! Stay tuned for details to come. Starting the week of June 13, we begin a summer study of the Psalms-
-a great opportunity to share life and apply the truth of the gospel to our lives. Hosted by a variety of women, each gathering will last for about an hour and a half and will include a short meditation on one Psalm, discussion, and prayer. Our Women’s Summer Psalms Study will meet the weeks of: • June 13, 20, 27 • July 11, 18, 25 • Aug. 1, 8 No need to register, just come as you are! Specific dates, times and locations will be announced. (No childcare provided unless specifically noted by that week's host) As questions arise, please feel free to contact any member of the Women’s Ministry Team. We love hearing from you and look forward to growing in Christ alongside of you! Katie Campbell Jen Carter Debbie Hansen Erin Johnson Wendy Pace Rebecca Peel Patti Wessner
Highlights from the Gospel Life Blog
Everyday Grace
By Debbie Hansen
D
o you ever feel like a failure in relationships or burdened to despair over the enormous failures of others in relationship with you? Perhaps you have said in your heart as I have, “I should be better at this.” Or, “Come on, you know better!” The everyday sorrow over our own selfishness and the pain of other’s failures can quickly send us spiraling downward into fear, despair, isolation or distrust of letting anyone into our lives again. How do we balance sorrow over our own sin and looking realistically at who we are? How do we love those who have hurt or failed us when our hearts are cold or deeply wounded?
Everyday Grace, Infusing All Your Relationships with the Love of Jesus, by Jessica Thompson, has been addressing these concerns and speaking truth into the lives of the women of RBC who have been attending this season’s book study. This transparent look at the messiness of life in a fallen world identifies with our weaknesses and points us to the One who understands and yet loves us completely! As an adopted child of the Father, we stand forgiven, accepted, loved, understood, interceded for, and are given a Helper, the Holy Spirit. I love the reminder of the truth Tim Keller has shared that we are more sinful and flawed than we ever let ourselves believe, and we are more loved and welcomed than we ever let ourselves hope. In light of this truth, Jessica Thompson states, “That thought will change all of our relationships. Why would we be shocked at the sin of another church member? They are sinful and flawed just like we are. We are free to love sinners because that is who Jesus loves.” I know this is true, but the reality is that I often live as if I have forgotten the truth of amazing grace. Restoring and moving forward after pain and loss in relationships is not reduced to a simple formula. The helper, God the Holy Spirit, stands at the ready to help us in our weakness, to remind us of our status as a child of the King, and defend us. Jessica points out, “Jesus didn’t describe the Holy Spirit as comforting, but as a person who is the Comforter. That is what He will be to
you in times when you feel like you just can’t let your heart be hurt one more time. He comes and envelops you in His presence. He teaches you love by loving you.” I am grateful for the reminder of the Comforter’s presence and promised work in my life and those around me. He gives me hope, courage and strength for the day. As I turn my eyes on Jesus and recall his great love and adoption of me, a weak and needy sinner, I find comfort and assurance and am enabled to move gently toward those who have hurt me or have hurt others close to me. Resting in my undeserved adoption as a child of the King, I do not have to shrink back in fear of what others think or say, but can trust him for the outcome. My Abba Father is the Sovereign Ruler, his dearly loved son fights for me, and he has given me a helper. Gradually, my fearful, wounded or angry heart is softened by his sure love for me and is given a new attitude, even love, for my offender. Come Holy Spirit, and do your work among us. O soul, are you weary and troubled? No light in the darkness you see? There’s light for a look at the Savior, And life more abundant and free. Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace. From Helen Lemmel’s Turn your Eyes Upon Jesus
MAY & JUNE 2016 \\ MOMENTUM
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Friends of Redeemer
D
ear Redeemer Family,
Thank You from Deep Haven By Warren Watson
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MOMENTUM // MAY & JUNE 2016
Deep Haven Counseling Center was the focus of the Mercy Minute and offering for the month of March. And it is the amazing recipient of the offering given for its ministry. On behalf of the Board of Directors, my office manager Rebekah Zepeda, myself and the many clients that are seen at Deep Haven, I wish to thank you all for your amazing generosity. I won’t bore you with statistics, but will thank you for what an offering of this kind means to people. Deep Haven offers many hours of counseling at a significantly reduced rate for those that are unable to pay the full fee and do not have insurance to cover their care. We are, in large part, able to do this because of generous hearts that believe in counseling ministries and have given of their resources to support this. Many men, women and teens come through the door struggling with depression, anxiety, marital problems, challenges to emotional stability, overcoming the long-term effects of childhood physical and sexual abuse, relational abandonment. Many are marked by shame in various forms.
God’s Word says that he is “near to the broken hearted, and saves those crushed in spirit.” When they cried to the Lord in their trouble, He brought them out of their distresses. He caused the storm to be still, So that the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad because they were quiet, So He guided them to their desired haven. (Psalm 107:13, 29, 30) We desire to be that haven, a place of rest and restoration, compassion and healing, for all who need it. Thanks to your lovingkindness and gifts to Deep Haven, that mission is being accomplished and I can’t thank you enough. Sincerely yours, Warren O. Watson Counselor
VO LUNT EER
Appreciation DINNER Please RSVP on or before May 14th to the evite you received (if you did not receive the evite to this event, and feel you should have, please contact Betty Dodge).
,
Childrens
DISCIPLESHIP
THURSDAY, MAY 19 6:00-8:30 PM FELLOWSHIP HALL
Summer Psalms women's
STUDY
meeting the weeks of :
June 13, 20, 27 July 11, 18, 25 Aug. 1, 8
>> more details to come!
CONGRATULATIONS!
...to our high school graduating seniors! These students, whose families are members of RBC, are receiving the book, “The Reason for God” by Tim Keller as a gift from Redeemer in honor of this milestone.
2016 LUKE SWEET 24
MOMENTUM // MAY & JUNE 2016
CONNOR WARREN
JACOB LISKA
MARISSA LAVASSEUR
TORI WILLIAMS
ABE HUERTA
INGRID SEELAND
CIARA LYNN
NAOMI NORD HANNAH SULLIVAN
SOPHIE KAHN
GRACE BECK MAY & JUNE 2016 \\ MOMENTUM
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New Members
Welcome to the Family!...
Rick Dack
Wendy Eckman
Moms
Park play dates
Erik Pfeiffer
# Thursdays @ throughout the
summer Contact women@redeemerbiblechurch.com
Patricia Sykes
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MOMENTUM // MAY & JUNE 2016
if you would like to host a playdate in your area this summer.
Family rbc
gathering worship | the lord’s table | family forum
ng
@ 6:00 pm
sunday, june 5th
orum
RBC
church picnic
sunday, june 12th 12:30 pm // church parking lot
>> more details to come!
NOTE TO PARENTS: Last day of Children’s Sunday School for the summer is Sunday, May 22. (Nursery and Preschool classes will continue through the summer.) Last day of Redemption Youth is Wednesday, June 1. Last Redemption Youth Sunday School is Sunday, June 5. Mark your calendars for Youth Camp, August 11-15. MAY & JUNE 2016 \\ MOMENTUM
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May
June WEDNESDAY // 1st
SUNDAY // 1st
SUNDAY // 15th
9a | Gathered Worship 9a | Redemption Youth SS 11a | Gathered Worship 5p | Mostaccioli Fundraiser Dinner & Family Gathering
9a | Gathered Worship *LT 9a | Redemption Youth SS 11a | Gathered Worship *LT
6:45p | Redemption Youth 7-8p | Gathered Prayer
9a-3p | Dorcas Dames
WEDNESDAY // 18th
SUNDAY // 5th
9a | Gathered Worship 9a | Redemption Youth SS
9a | Gathered Worship *LT 11a | Gathered Worship *LT
TUESDAY // 3rd 7p | Women's Book Study
WEDNESDAY // 4th 6:45p | Redemption Youth 7-8p | Gathered Prayer
6:45p | Redemption Youth 7-8p | Gathered Prayer
THURSDAY // 19th 6p | Children’s Discipleship Volunteer Appreciation Dinner
WEDNESDAY // 8th
FRIDAY // 20th
10a | Moms Park Playdate
SATURDAY // 7th
9a-3p | Dorcas Dames
8p | Women's Day Retreat
SUNDAY // 22nd
SUNDAY // 8th 9a | Gathered Worship 9a | Redemption Youth SS 11a | Gathered Worship
11a | Gathered Worship 6p | Family Gathering
9a | Gathered Worship 9a | Redemption Youth SS 11a | Gathered Worship
WEDNESDAY // 25th
WEDNESDAY // 11th
6:45p | Redemption Youth 7-8p | Gathered Prayer
6:45p | Redemption Youth 7-8p | Gathered Prayer
SUNDAY // 29th
FRIDAY // 17th
SUNDAY // 19th
WEDNESDAY // 22nd 7-8p | Gathered Prayer
THURSDAY // 23rd
7-8p | Gathered Prayer
10a | Moms Park Playdate
THURSDAY // 9th
SUNDAY // 26th
SUNDAY // 12th
9a | Gathered Worship 11a | Gathered Worship
9a | Gathered Worship 11a | Gathered Worship 12:30p | Church Picnic
WEDNESDAY // 29th
WEDNESDAY // 15th
10a | Moms Park Playdate
7-8p | Gathered Prayer
THURSDAY // 30th
7-8p | Gathered Prayer
THURSDAY // 16th
10a | Moms Park Playdate
*LT (includes the Lord's Table)
9a | Gathered Worship 9a | Redemption Youth SS 11a | Gathered Worship
Momentum
16205 HIGHWAY 7 | MINNETONKA, MN 55345 P: 952.935.2425 E: INFO@REDEEMERBIBLECHURCH.COM W: WWW.REDEEMERBIBLECHURCH.COM