Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Day One

As of today I am part time interim pastor (6 month term) at Crossroads Community Church.  Duties are limited and I'm also looking forward to beginning another part time job--as a substitute and "trip" bus driver for the Dassel-Cokato school district.

I wrote the following to the chair of the Crossroads "launch team" a few days ago:
"I could be wrong, and all of this will need to be talked about with the launch team, but this is what I hear God saying about our future.  As you read this, don't focus on the details... just pray about the general outline of it.

"Crossroads is a ministry center where people of all ages are called to know Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.  These believers will be offered to the opportunity to be ministry partners.  Crossroads Ministry Partners are Christian believers who commit to one another for an initial period of six months in these ways: pray every day, worship every week, read the Bible, serve at and beyond Crossroads, commit to Christian relationships and give generously to support Crossroads as God has first given to them.  Such partners will have the right to vote and be elected to the Crossroads board of directors.  The board of directors will guide the worldly affairs of the ministry with the guidance of the pastor and elders.

"Many details will still need to be worked out, but I believe we are being called to be less a 'church' that people are members of and more a 'ministry' where people are called to be partners, serving alongside others to pray and worship and read the Bible and serve and relate and give so that the kingdom of God can become more fully realized in our community.  The building is a 'center' for gathering people together, proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ, seeking the Holy Spirit's empowering and healing, saving presence, holding one another accountable and equipping believers for Christian service in their homes, churches, workplaces, and the wider world.  The Crossroads Ministry Center will work together with churches and other Christian groups to help us all be more effective in prayer, worship, Scripture reading, service, relationships and giving.  Various people will come alongside us to help and share God's Holy Spirit inspired gifts.

"This is in harmony with what God has already been doing in the lives of those He has called to Crossroads--in fact, what he has been doing in their lives in this community for many years."
None of this is official in any way. I'll be working with the launch team to make decisions, and any final product could look very different than what I've outlined above.

If you care to comment or in another way let me know what you think, I'd appreciate it.  The Crossroads building is located on the south side of U.S. Highway 12, west of Cokato, between Cokato and the Dassel-Cokato High School.

www.equalsharing.com

1 comment:

  1. I really like this vision! Afterall, "the church is not a building, the church is not the steeple. The church is not the meeting place, the church is the people! I am the church, you are the church, we are the church together!" Yeah, corny children's song... but so true. :) I'm excited for what God has in store for Crossroads.

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