News and Blog

The Prodigal God

Thu, 13 May 2010 09:47:50 -0400

By way of the "Parable of the Prodigal Son", Timothy Keller insightfully illustrates the patient, generous and merciful character of God in The Prodigal God. Defining the term "prodigal", not as meaning wayward, but rather as "recklessly spendthrift", Keller reemphasizes the famous Parable in a surprising ways. Keller shows the target audience (us!) of Jesus's famous Parable, dangers of misunderstanding the Parable, and how God our Father patiently seeks us out, bringing us to repent of our often overlooked sin lest we fail to enter His feast. This book is brief, concise and wise. Its concepts well illustrate the Gospel to unbelievers, shake up and change the wooden thinking of believers, and bring new and fresh ideas to the table, enabling us to more effectively and winsomely share our faith.

From the "What he said!" Department...

Fri, 07 May 2010 17:37:54 -0400

This Sunday, I will conclude a four-week long sermon series on New Hope's mission, values, and emphases. Our mission, once again, is to celebrate, cultivate, communicate, and demonstrate the grace of God that is in Christ Jesus. For the past three weeks, I have spoken about how we want to celebrate God's grace through historic worship, cultivate God's grace through intimate community, and communicate God's grace through hospitable witness. This Sunday, I will wrap up with a look at how to demonstrate God's grace through creative service.

In over ten years of preaching, I have often had the experience of finding something - a book, article, or sermon from another pastor - that communicates precisely the point I wanted to make in a sermon. Usually I find these sources a week or two after my sermon, and they always express their ideas more clearly and concisely than me - saying in a phrase or two what I try to say in several pages. Such has been the case this week, as I have been reading a book called To Change the World by Dr. James Davison Hunter, a sociologist at the University of Virginia. I won't describe the book in any detail, except to say that I came away convinced that churches must be intentional about their worship, life, and outreach if they are to be faithful to Jesus in this present generation.

Hunter affirms a very important truth - that wherever "the scripture is proclaimed, the sacraments [are] administered, and the people of God continue to seek to follow God in word and deed, God is at work; the Holy Spirit is still very much active." The Gospel is indeed being proclaimed and lived out in remarkable ways. And yet, Hunter argues that this work represents "just a fraction of the potential within the church to bear witness to the love, grace, mercy, and truth of Christ." What accounts for the untapped potential? "The problem for Christians," Hunter says, "is not that their faith is weak or inadequate...[but] that Christians have not been formed 'in all wisdom' (Colossians 1:9-10, 28)". This kind of spiritual formation cannot be done simply by individuals having their quiet times, but instead requires local church bodies that "express and embody the renewal of all of life."

This, however, raises another problem. Local churches often neglect entire areas of life as they seek to make disciples, and churches are further hampered in their efforts by the freedom people have to change congregations like they change houses, cars, and jobs. "Community is no longer 'natural' under the conditions of late modernity," Hunter writes, "and so it will require an intentionality that is unfamiliar and perhaps uncomfortable to most Christians and most churches."

The church that I served in Virginia was established in 1946. Multiple generations, living in the same neighborhoods, sat side-by-side in pews that they had helped install and refinish. For them, their church was a natural extension of their lives, and community came easy. New Hope is a very different congregation - only eleven years old, with members from a variety of places (Clemmons, Lewisville, Pfafftown, Winston-Salem, Mocksville, Yadkin County, and Davie County, just to name a few). We come from many different religious backgrounds, some more closely related to Presbyterianism than others. Our church's youth and our various differences conspire to make community difficult and elusive, and a weak community here at New Hope will produce weak disciples - not disciples with weak faith, but disciples lacking the wisdom to represent Jesus in every facet of their lives.

That, in a nutshell, is why it is so important for us to have, know, understand, and embrace our mission, values, and emphases. Once this series is done, you will continue to hear me, the elders, and the deacons referring to historic worship, intimate community, hospitable outreach, and creative service. For one thing, there is way more to be said about each of these than even I can say in one sermon (amazing, but true!). More importantly, this sort of intentionality has to continue, even if it seems awkward and unnatural, if we are to acquire the wisdom we need to see, reflect, and enjoy God in all of life.

Come hear the last part of the series on Sunday, and then get ready to continue the conversation!

The Future of New Hope

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 09:50:43 -0500

Our Body Life event back on February 17 focused on the future of New Hope. Those who were present expressed a great deal of excitement, and left with a renewd desire to pray for the work to which God has called our congregation. For the benefit of those who could not attend, a summary of the presentation follows below. For even more information, click on the "About Us" tab to your left and check out the subheadings called "Our Method," "Our Mission," "Our Emphases," "Our Values," "Our Vehicles," and "Our Vision."

Many of the most "frequently asked questions" at New Hope have to do with the future of the congregation. In many churches, the answers to these sorts of questions comprise what is often called a "philosophy of ministry." This document is an attempt to flesh out such a philosophy for New Hope. Doing so will require answering four questions:

WHO decides where New Hope is going?

HOW is New Hope going to get there?

WHERE is New Hope going, anyway?

WHEN will we get there?

WHO decides where New Hope is going?

There are two groups of people that play a role in deciding New Hope's future: the officers (elders and deacons) and the congregation as a whole.

According to our system of government, the elders are given the responsibility for leading the congregation in most areas. The elders plan all of our public ministries and are accountable before God for the spiritual welfare of each New Hope member. The deacons assist the elders in a variety of ways, from caring for the facility, to carrying out mercy ministries, to preparing an annual budget.

But while the officers have much responsibility (and therefore much decision making power), the congregation also does much in the way of steering New Hope's course. First, the congregation alone has the power to elect officers (elders and deacons). By determining who is nominated, trained, and ultimately elected, the congregation has a large say in the decisions reached by the officers. In addition, the congregation decides New Hope's future through its own initiatives. From the beginning, New Hope has been a church where the elders have encouraged members who see a need or an opportunity to "seize the day." Examples of this abound, from the children's choir (started by Jodi Stephens), to the "Daughters of the King" and "Precept" Bible Studies (started by Cynthia Ruble and Rose Cushing), to Financial Peace University classes (started by Steve Johnston and now led by Lisa Middleton).

This system has worked fairly well, but has two major weaknesses. First, the leadership of the officers depends upon how well they communicate their plans and decisions. The officers have not always done a good job at this. Second, the initiatives started by members of the congregation often lead to confusion among the church as a whole. People are often surprised to learn that a new ministry has been launched or a major event scheduled. Equally often, people who would like to take initiative on an issue fail to do so because they are unsure of where to take their ideas.

The Session has crafted a solution which it hopes will shore up our weaknesses while preserving our strengths. Specifically, that solution is to create MINISTRY TEAMS.

Ministry teams may sound like committees. But while committees merely discuss ideas and make recommendations, our Ministry Teams will both discuss and act, with the authority of the Session. We hope that this will allow New Hope to create and alter ministries more nimbly, without having to run every issue through the Session as a whole for approval.

One Ministry Team will be created for each major area of work. These teams will oversee all of our current ministries and will plan for future initiatives. Each team will consist of one or two officers, along with three or four members from the congregation at large. The officers may lead the team meetings, or they may delegate this to another member. Either way, the officers will be there to articulate the goals that the Session has set for New Hope, and help their teams devise projects that are in keeping with those goals.

We hope that our Ministry Teams will enable better communication from our officers and better initiative from our members. Each elder and deacon will, at a minimum, be speaking frequently about the Session's vision with at least three or four other members of the congregation. Members, in turn, will have clear "go-to" people whenever they have questions or ideas about a particular sphere of the congregation's life.

Our Teams will be in place by the end of March, 2010. These Teams will be led by elders

Children's Ministry and Christian Education - Mike Clark

Evangelism and Outreach - John Lindsay and Brett Munn

Life Groups and Discipleship - Paul Horton and Gerald Chrisco

Men's Ministry - Perry Bartelt and Gerald Chrisco

Missions - John Lindsay

Prayer - Brad Carr

Women's Ministry* - Perry Bartelt

Worship - Brett Munn

Youth Ministry - Clay Walkup

* The Women's Ministry Council will serve as the Ministry Team. Perry will act as a liason between the Session and the Council.

These Ministry Teams will be led by deacons:

Facility and Grounds - Terry Deakle

Finances - Kevin Wendelboe

Mercy Ministry - Mark McKenzie

Our newest deacons, Darrel Bolen and Greg Stiling, will split time between the Facility and Mercy Ministry Teams.

HOW is New Hope going to get there?

New Hope's activities from week-to-week will inevitably build the congregation's future. But what will those activities be, and what will they look like? To what extent does the Bible determine our ministries? Do we have any room to develop a distinctive flavor as a church?

The Bible gives us a general description of the task of the Church. This general description is our MISSION. Very little about our mission is unique to New Hope – in fact, nearly any Bible-believing church should be able to agree with our Mission Statement. But while it is generic, it is still valuable, reminding us clearly and succinctly of the priorities Christ has set for us.

To this broad Mission Statement we have added our EMPHASES, VALUES, VEHICLES, and VISION. These four statements grow out of our mission, and sharpen it, making it unique to our calling and situation. Our mission is a generic, Biblical definition of the Church, while our vision is the specific way that we want that mission to be realized at New Hope. Think of these five together as forming a pyramid – the mission is the broad base, the vision is the capstone at the top, and the emphases, values, and vehicles connect the two.

Mission – The Church's Biblical Mandate

The Mission of New Hope Presbyterian Church is to celebrate, cultivate, communicate, and demonstrate the grace of God in Christ Jesus.

Emphases – The core activities of our congregational life

We celebrate the grace of God through worship

We cultivate the grace of God through community

We communicate the grace of God through witness

We demonstrate the grace of God through service

Values – The influences that give New Hope its "flavor"

History

Our worship is rooted in the Reformed Tradition, which is itself rooted in the "Great Tradition" of orthodoxy, held in common by all branches of the Church (Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant). The Scriptures are our only infallible rule of faith and practice, and the Reformed and orthodox traditions shape how we approach, interpret, apply, and express this rule in liturgy, music, preaching, and observing the sacraments.

Intimacy

Our community aspires to intimacy with God and with each other. "This is eternal life," Jesus said in a prayer to his Father, "that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent" (John 17:3). Personal, intimate knowledge of God inspires us to know and love one another, and also the world of which we are stewards. "We love because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19). Ignorance and pretense are deathly enemies of intimacy, and we strive to uproot them with tools like teaching, learning, sharing, giving, and confessing. God promises that this labor, though difficult, is not in vain. "Now we know in part; then we shall know fully, even as we have been fully known" (1 Corinthians 13:12).

Hospitality

Our witness to our neighbors occurs in and through hospitality. As Jesus traveled from place to place, he welcomed any and all who expressed an interest in him and his teachings. Jesus welcomed sinners as they were, without requiring them to clean themselves up first, and he shared with them all that he had – his friendship, wisdom, power to feed and to heal, in a word, his love. As sinners ourselves, we are in no position to deny to anyone what Jesus so freely gave. Therefore, we seek out and welcome any and all who are interested in Jesus. We strive to create a safe atmosphere in which to express doubts and raise questions. We use our wealth, including our facility, to meet the practical needs of members, visitors, sister churches, missionaries, and the community.

Creativity

Our service takes the form of creativity. "If anyone is in Christ, he is new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come" (2 Corinthians 5:17). As new creations, we are called and empowered by Christ to join with him in building a new heaven and a new earth. This involves both facets of our lives – public and private – and all three of our faculties – mental, moral, and aesthetic. "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things" (Philippians 4:8). We will promote truth, justice, and beauty in our homes and in our workplaces, in commerce, labor, education, and the arts, locally and globally, by whatever means and to whatever extent God allows.

Vehicles – Ministries that embodying our Emphases and Values

We celebrate the grace of God through historic worship – specifically, our weekly gathering on each Sunday at 10:30 AM. While the "feel" of our worship service is relaxed contemporary, and participatory, the elements of the service are derived from Scripture as interpreted by the orthodox and Reformed traditions. Thus, we use extemporaneous as well as ancient prayers, choruses as well as hymns, and testimonies as well as creeds.

We cultivate the grace of God through intimate community – specifically, we meet together to learn, to share, and to support one another. Children and adults gather on Sundays at 9:15 AM for Christian Education classes. Younger children (Pre K – 3^rd Grade) meet together for further training during a portion of the Sunday worship service. Sharing and support take place through youth ministries, men's and women's ministries, and adult Life Groups.

We communicate the grace of God through hospitable witness – specifically, our monthly Body Life Events, our mercy ministries and marketplace ministries, financial support for and visits to foreign missionaries, and by building relationships with neighbors who use our facility.

We demonstrate the grace of God through creative service – specifically, by supporting agencies with funds and volunteers (Clemmons Food Pantry, Solus Christus, etc.), by hosting community activities and exhibitions in our facility (Clemmons Community Theater, West Forsyth YMCA, Classical Conversations Homeschool Group, Local Artists and Quilters, etc.), by equipping members to be salt and light in their vocations and neighborhoods, and by inspiring neighbors with visions of truth, goodness, and beauty derived from the Gospel.

The Point of All This Stuff

The elders will use these statements as a grid for designing and evaluating ministries. The congregation should use them as a guide that explains New Hope's direction and style.

WHERE is New Hope going, anyway?

At first glance, you would think that this question should come before the previous one. Don't you need to know where you are going before you make any decisions about how to get there? Perhaps in most things, but not where the Kingdom of God is concerned.

The Bible tells us that the future is already written. The resurrection of Jesus from the dead, which took place in the middle of history, has determined what is going to happen at the end of history. Broadly speaking, God's name will be praised, and his kingdom will at last be perfectly and permanently established upon the earth.

People disagree on exactly how this future will come about, but passages like Revelation 21:22-27 seem to suggest that the New Heavens and New Earth will be both a departure from and a continuation of the Old Heavens and the Old Earth. On the one hand, the visible presence of God will redefine heaven and earth forever. On the other hand, the Bible says that the kings and nations of the earth will "bring their treasures" into this "New Jerusalem."

What does all this have to do with New Hope's vision for the present, or for the immediate future? Plenty! Our vision is inspired by God's future – the resurrection of Jesus gives us great hope that our goals are not foolish but realistic. Our vision must also be in harmony with God's future – we have no business pursuing rabbit trails that will not lead to the Kingdom, and we have no business ignoring features of the Kingdom that we can build and enjoy to some degree here and now. No single church or group of churches can exhaustively embody the glory of God's coming Kingdom, but every single church or group of churches must strive to embody as much of that glory as is possible.

What is New Hope's vision? This next statement is not official, but should be helpful as a "rough draft":

The vision of New Hope Presbyterian Church is to become a MULTIPLYING, MULTIETHNIC, MULTIGENERATIONAL MULTITUDE that lives for the glory of God in Christ Jesus.

These four "multi" words correspond (in reverse order) to the items contained in our mission and emphases.

MULTIPLYING – qualitatively, by improving the civic and cultural life of Clemmons, and showing that the Kingdom of Christ is broader and deeper than we often realize; quantitatively, by planting daughter churches as God gives us the means. This is what we hope will result from demonstrating the grace of God through creative service.

MULTIETHNIC – either by growing into a multiethnic church ourselves, or by partnering with other churches that reach minority populations in the area. Our relationship with King's Castle Ministries, a Hispanic Assemblies of God congregation, is a first step in this regard. This is what we mean by communicating the grace of God through hospitable witness.

MULTIGENERATIONAL – becoming a congregation that includes people at all stages on the life spectrum, and that connects people across generations (adults and covenant children, older adults and younger adults, etc.). Of special interest are senior citizens and young adults. Seniors are often marginalized in newer churches like ours, and young adults are conspicuously absent from nearly all varieties of churches. By connecting a breadth of generations, we will be cultivating the grace of God through intimate community.

MULTITUDE – becoming a congregation of between 300 and 600 members, large enough to accomplish our vision (including planting a sister congregation) but small enough to cultivate close relationships and to worship at a single time.

WHEN will we get there?

Only the Lord knows, of course, when we will realize the goals listed above. The Session has not set any timetables. However, the work on every aspect can begin right away, and in many respects has already begun. Here are some examples. Pray for them and join in!

COMMUNITY – We have added a new Life Group this year, one which is devoted to young adults. A core group of 18-29 year olds meets every Monday at Brett and Laura Munn's home. This group is learning about Jesus and their place in his family, and the members are eager to invite their friends. Children's Fellowship is now being used to prepare our youngest kids for admission to the Lord's Supper. Jodi Stephens has further added to our Children's Ministry by forming a Children's Choir. Youth Ministry has, of course, taken on an entirely new dimension since Clay and Rhoda Walkup arrived last July. Women's Ministries have grown steadily over the past two years and our women will be enjoying their first retreat this weekend. Finally, two new initiatives for Men's Ministry have launched in the past month, with more to come.

OUTREACH – The sprinkler system has allowed us to welcome back many groups to our facility, including Classical Conversations (a home school co-op), and club volleyball. Financial Peace University Classes (FPU) are currently being held every Saturday and Sunday, with the potential for a third class this summer. Terry Snider has helped assemble a group of people eager to raise New Hope's profile in the Clemmons community. Their plans will be pursued vigorously by the new Evangelism and Outreach Ministry Team. We have entered into a partnership with King's Castle Ministries, a Hispanic congregation affiliated with the Assemblies of God. This group is now using our facility for Bible studies and outreach events, and plans to begin meeting at New Hope for worship on Sunday afternoons. The members of King's Castle are going to help us immensely by setting up and taking down the chairs for worship. We, in turn, will have opportunities to help them as they start English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) classes this spring.

SERVICE – Clemmons Community Theater is back in action and will put on a production of the musical Nunsense this April. New Hope has entered into a partnership with the Muddy River Arts Association to display works and host receptions for their members. Discipleship groups are being planned for men that will meet during the week and will focus on how to be Christ in the marketplace.

Art Exhibit Grand Opening at New Hope

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 14:22:37 -0500

Join us Friday, February 19th at 6:30 p.m.

for the Grand Opening of the new art exhibit in the New Hope lobby

We are excited to announce that New Hope and the Muddy River Art Association are partnering to bring local art work to the community by having an exhibit in the New Hope lobby. Please come and bring some friends to view the art and have a chance to meet some of the artists! Light refreshments will be served.

The Wonder Years

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 14:09:45 -0500

For Christmas this year Clay bought me the entire series of the tv show, "The Wonder Years." The show aired on ABC from 1988-1993, with each season being set exactly 20 years prior to the air date (so 1988 takes place in 1968). I had been trying to find this show on dvd for quite some time, with no sucess. We were suprised when it came in the mail from China, and even more suprised that it was a copy of reruns from the ABC Family channel (it turns out that ABC hasn't made the show available on dvd). As soon as I put the dvd in and heard Joe Crocker singing the theme song, "Have a Little Help From my Friends," I immediatly felt all warm inside with memories of enjoying this show each week with my family growing up.

Clay and I love this show, not only because it brings back fond childhood memories, but because of what the show is all about. It is focused on the Arnold's, a typical middle class family living in the suburbs in the late 1960's. It's main character is Kevin Arnold, who is beginning junior high school at the start of the first season. The show is narrated by Kevin when he is an adult, as he recalls his experience of being an adolescent. The show is wonderfully done. Every person that watches it is immediatlely able to relate to Kevin and his experiences.

Youth ministry has been a calling that Clay and I have shared since we were youth ministry. When people ask us what we do and we say that we work with students, a frequent response is "Oh yikes! Good for you, but I could never do that...junior high were the worst years of my life!" We just smile and say that the same is true for most people. But we know it doesn't have to be true. As I watch Kevin and his fellow junior highers struggle through growing up together, I am instantly taken back to my own struggles during that time. That is when I feel called to youth ministry more than ever. The problem is that people forget what adolescence really felt like.

When I think about what it would have been like to have somoone who was speaking into my life during those junior high years- someone who cared about me, who I could trust to be honest with and who would understand what I was going through, that is when youth ministry's value grows exponentially. When I entered High School, I found that at my youth group.

So...

A special thank you to Clay for getting me the series. I know that as we watch it together we will only be able to relate that much more to the students in our lives!