Service of Ordination For
Brandon Greason Michele Peck Karen Rogers
February 3, 2017 Second Baptist Church belong | believe | become
300 E. Kansas | Liberty, MO 64068 | 816-781-2824 | 2bcliberty.org Social media: @2bcliberty WiFi: 2BC-Guest Password: 2bcguest#01
belong | believe | become
Deacon Ordination Service of Worship February 3, 2017 Prelude
7:00 PM “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing”
+Hymn of Praise 625
“Standing on the Promises”
Invitation to Worship
Al Travis PROMISES
Amy Duncan
Presentation and Affirmation of Brandon Greason
Mark Hilton
Hymn of Affirmation 620
RESURRECTION
“Because He Lives”
Presentation and Affirmation of Michele Peck Hymn of Affirmation 326
“How Majestic is Your Name”
Presentation and Affirmation of Karen Rogers Hymn of Affirmation 680 New Testament Reading
“I Then Shall Live” John 21:15 - 23
Becky Gossett HOW MAJESTIC
Harold Phillips FINLANDIA
Connie McNeill
(Pew Bible, page 89, New Testament)
“Feed My Sheep”
Calling Forth of the Candidates and Litany of Ordination
Daniel Vestal Drew Kingery
Litany of Consecration to Deacon Service Leader: Sisters and brother, every Christian is called to follow Jesus Christ serving God the Father, through the power of the Holy Spirit. God now calls you to a special ministry of servanthood within the church. Do you believe that you are truly called by God and this church to the life and work of a deacon? Candidates: I believe God has called me to service.
Do you have a favorite type of vacation travel? I do. It is a camping road trip. I think my folks planted a love of nature in my DNA. All my life, few experiences have refreshed and inspired me more than getting up close and personal with God’s good earth. I love the desert, the mountains, the prairies, the coastlines — I love it all. And the farther I remove myself from cities and crowds and noise, the happier and more responsive I seem to be. One tool which has made nature even more accessible and enjoyable for me is the GPS—the Global Positioning System. I bought this second-hand one on-line about 12 years ago. Having the GPS to plug into my car’s lighter makes me feel free as a bird. I can point my car in any direction that beckons, wander until I give out, and then just hit “home.” This jewel of a GPS takes me right back to wherever I tell it I want to roost for the night. A few years ago, a friend from India was with me on a road trip when she first noticed how much I use the GPS. As I turned off the car’s engine at a rest stop, the normal message popped up saying “External power lost.” It was just a reminder that the maps would be disappearing until the car was turned on again. My friend, however, only got a quick look at the message on the screen and was alarmed. “Oh no! Eternal power has been lost!” She believed the GPS had somehow died a sudden death and would no longer be available as our companion and guide. Later, I reflected on how my relationship to this GPS reminds me of my faith story. My childhood plug-in to security and guidance was a caring, disciplined family. Our parents made sure we four children showed up on time where we were supposed to be, prepared and with appropriate attitudes. That included regular attendance at Spring Valley Baptist Church in Raytown, where the pews are still filled with gracious people who love the Lord. I was nine years old when I took that step forward to say I wanted to be a Christ-follower and I was baptized in that church. During my teens, connections for my spiritual GPS broadened to include sources other than my parents. Increasingly, I learned to listen to the voices of other adults, peers, and media. And as I grew in faith, I became more connected with that external power, the eternal power accessible through prayer, scripture and communion with the saints.
Leader: This is the Word of the Lord. People: Thanks be to God! Sermon
Karen Roger’s Faith Story
Other than childhood, the most formative years of my life were when I moved away from home for college and career. In unfamiliar environments, I was introduced to a broader frame of reference for my life experiences. I was privileged to see how God was at work in ways I hadn’t considered and I began to rely more fully on a different version of GPS, the God’s Positioning System. A desire to see the world as an integrated whole, all created by God and populated by people created in God’s image, that desire continues to direct my journeys. It is my prayer that I will always seek to understand how God is working in the world and how God wants to create a servant’s heart in me. I pray I’ll be sensitive to the fact that turning off my connection to God, even for a moment, is like unplugging myself from the external power source, the eternal power that God is always there offering if I’ll only stay plugged in. God is ever ready but waits on me to take the initiative to plug in or hit the “home” button when I am ready and willing to be lead and to do the work of Christmas.
Michele Peck’s Faith Story I believe that God does some of his best work during the most heartbreaking times. That he surrounds us with people who love us. People who are willing to get messy with us and show us who God really is.
Leader: Do you now, in the presence of God and the church, commit yourself to this trust and responsibility?
I have had some heartache in my life. My biological father was an alcoholic. When I was a baby, my mom packed my brother and me up, sold her wedding ring for necessities and escaped in order to provide the kind of life for her children that she thought we deserved. Growing up, I never hated my biological father or felt that he didn’t love me. He had a disease that prevented him from being the person he probably wanted to be. And, I grew up with a father who loved me as if I were his own.
Candidates: I do, with God’s help.
My cluster of heartache came when my daughter Ally was little. Brad and I were struggling with infertility. We tried many procedures for several years and found ourselves broke and tired, and I was angry at God. If that wasn’t enough, my dad was diagnosed with brain cancer. We faced a painful journey with the inevitable at the end. After grieving the loss of having another child and the death of my father, we readied our hearts for adoption, only to have the mother choose to abort. This was the beginning of a bitter time for me. I began to live a story that was about me. I wanted answers and I wanted a crystal ball to look into to tell me when my problems were going to be over. I found myself doubting God and wondering why he would allow so much pain and uncertainty to be in my life. This is when God showed up . . . in the darkest of hours. I was invited to be a part of a 2BC Renovare group that met weekly. This group of women dug into my wreckage and I began to see some light. My anger turned into patience and the realization that God was with me during the bitter and the sweet. Upon the group’s encouragement, I began to see Ray Kesner. I know that Ray is humble, but I feel it is important that people know when they change a life. He helped me to be at peace with many things I haven’t discussed here today as well as the ones I have. During the time I was meeting with Ray, my family went out to dinner. As we were eating, Ally asked when we were going to get that baby. We had not found the words to tell her. When we told her that the mom had changed her mind, she started crying so hard that we had to leave the restaurant. We had to go to the store that night and when we were there, I felt a nudge to purchase a pregnancy test. I had no idea why, but I did it. The next morning, I was meeting a friend for an early run and took the pregnancy test before anyone else was up. I was pregnant with Hope! I don’t know who was more excited when I told them . . . Brad or Ray. Today, when I look back on my life, I realize that it has been full of bitterness and sweetness and I need them both. It is the bitterness that brings me strength and draws me closer to God. Shauna Niequist says it best when she writes: “The idea of bittersweet is changing the way I live, unraveling and reweaving the way I understand life. Bittersweet is the idea that in all things there is both something broken and something beautiful, that there is a sliver of lightness on even the darkest of nights, a shadow of hope in every heartbreak, and that rejoicing is no less rich when it contains a splinter of sadness. Bittersweet is the practice of believing that we really do need both the bitter and the sweet. Sweet is nice enough, but bittersweet is beautiful, nuanced, full of depth and complexity. It’s courageous, gutsy, audacious, earthy.” My symbol is bittersweet chocolate. I have chosen it because just as you have been there for me during the bittersweet times in my life, I want to be there for you too. I want to get messy with you and show you who God really is. Thank you for this honor.
Leader: Will you be faithful in prayer, in the reading and study of the Scriptures, in stewardship of spiritual and material goods, in seeking the will of God for yourselves and the church, and in promoting the unity of Christ’s body? Candidates: I will. Leader: Will you do your best to pattern your life in accordance with the teachings of Christ, so that you may be a wholesome example to all people? Candidate: I will, with God’s help. Leader: Will you in all things seek not your own glory but the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ? Candidates: I will. Leader: Congregation, what commitment do you make to these candidates whom you have identified to serve God in this place? People: It is our commitment to support these new deacons through prayer and through the bonds of Christian love and friendship. We ask the Lord to grant them the needed graces, compassion and devotion to serve the people of this church and the kingdom of God. Leader: Brandon, Michele and Karen, with human hands from a divine creator and words from our hearts, we gladly consecrate you into deacon service. All: Amen. Choral Anthem
“Lord Here Am I” Sanctuary Choir
John Ness Beck
Ordination Prayer and Laying on of Hands Jason Edwards All those participating in the laying on of hands are asked to sign each candidate’s “Laying on of Hands Register” +Hymn of Consecration 502
“Lord I Lay My Life Before You”
IN BABILONE
Brandon Greason’s Faith Story Time of Greeting
Jason Edwards and Gwen Phillips
+Benediction Postlude
All Songs UBP CCLI #1091036
Mike Lassiter “Majesty”
Lyndell Leatherman
All Video UBP CCVI #502497070
Organ: Ann Posey Sanctuary Sound: Ron Whited
Dr. Daniel Vestal
Piano: Linda Greason
Daniel Vestal is the Distinguished University Professor of Baptist Leadership and Director of the Eula Mae and John Baugh Center for Baptist Leadership at McAfee School of Theology, Mercer University. From 1996 to 2012 he served as the Executive Coordinator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, based in Atlanta. Prior to that he was a pastor of Baptist churches both in Texas and Georgia. Educated at Baylor University (B.A. and M.A.) and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (M.Div. and Th.D.), Daniel Vestal has been in leadership with a number of denominational and institutional organizations and has been involved in ecumenical efforts and interfaith dialogue. He is the author of five books, including Exemplars: Deacons as Servant and Spiritual Leaders, and a contributor to five other books, numerous journals, periodicals, and news magazines. He has traveled extensively as a preacher, teacher, and speaker for conferences, conventions and retreats. Daniel Vestal and his wife Earlene have three adult children and six grandchildren.
Our Ministry Team Jason Edwards, Senior Pastor | Mike Lassiter, Assoc. Pastor, Community Care & Missions Connie McNeill, Assoc. Pastor, Administration & Discipleship | Charles Smith, Assoc. Pastor of Student Ministry | Gwen Phillips, Children’s Pastor | Ann Posey, Worship & Music Associate David Fulk, Interim Worship Leader | Don Brown, Interim Choral Director
When I was in high school in the late nineties, Lexus ran a car commercial with a slogan at the end that has stuck with me. After the commercial played images of cars driving winding roads, a voice at the end would say, “The passionate pursuit of perfection.” My faith story is not much different than many of yours. I grew up in the church as the son of a pastor— you know those kids are always the worst! I had the unique and special opportunity to be baptized by my dad after becoming a Christian. There was never a time we did not go to church. This was especially true in my middle and high school years when we lived in a parsonage right next to the church, much to the chagrin of my mom and dad. I grew from a child-like faith as a young person growing up to, like many of you, having more questions the older I got. I began my college career at William Jewell College as a religion major, trying to figure out if I was supposed to be a pastor like my dad. I eventually decided against that career path but questions about God persisted as I continued to pursue my faith. During my college years and subsequent years since, I feel as though the number of questions I have regarding faith have only increased. I don’t view this as a bad thing. On the contrary, I feel this is what drives me to continue to live out my faith. The God I worship is much bigger than anything I can comprehend. Back to the Lexus commercial—“The passionate pursuit of perfection.” I tend to be a perfectionist. This at times can be and has been a hindrance to me. However, when I think of this quote through the lens of my faith, the passionate pursuit of perfection is what drives me. In recent years this tagline has been changed simply to “The pursuit.” Pursuit of what? Shouldn’t something worth pursuing be done with passion? In the words of that aphoristic sage, Bono, I have climbed the highest mountain I have run through the fields Only to be with you, only to be with you I have run, I have crawled I have scaled the city walls Only to be with you, only to be with you But I still haven’t found what I’m looking for. I still haven’t found what I’m looking for could have a deleterious meaning for some but I don’t view it that way. These lyrics remind one to pursue God with all you have and then some. And even though you may not find what you’re looking for, or if your pursuit only leads to more questions than answers, you keep pursuing with all you have because there is joy in the pursuit and because God pursues us passionately. You may be wondering what all this has to do with a baseball cleat. Well, have you ever pursued a baseball through the wet grass in the outfield without cleats on? Or tried stealing second wearing regular tennis shoes? I was an athlete growing up. A two-sport athlete I might add, but that’s mostly because the school I attended only offered two sports. Cleats are an essential piece of equipment when playing baseball. They provide the footing one needs to dig, pivot, hit, chase, or run. My faith, like a baseball cleat, provides the footing I need to passionately pursue the perfecter of faith in Jesus Christ. I know that I have been passionately pursued. I don’t have many answers to questions I have, but that’s ok, because I believe in the saving grace of God.