January 2012

Transitional Lead Pastor Update – January 2012

Joint Ministry Leaders & Elders Retreat & Process

Thank you for your prayers, emails, calls and connecting with me personally, to express your interest in the joint Ministry Leaders/Elders Retreat which was on January 13/14 at Camp Charis.

There were 23 in attendance and it was good to see elders and staff both sharing and laughing together. One of the objectives of this retreat time was to build mutual trust and respect and this certainly was present.

Barry Bowater led us through a process, which was developed by Dr. Adizes; it is an interactive session that focuses on surfacing and dealing with key issues which affect an organization’s effectiveness. It also is a process that moves discussion and sharing of information to implementation.

Barry incorporated work from the Re-Focusing process and we built off this.

Out of this weekend, we have identified key Potential Improvement Points, which need to be addressed. The first of these Improvement Points is under the area of Planning – dealing with Central Heights’ vision and planning process.

Addressing this point first will go a long way in helping to resolving many of the other needed Improvement Points.

There was brief discussion on the criteria for the kind of leader & leadership structure which will be needed for CHC; this is the beginning and out of this will come the search process.

A team was established from the weekend to work on this and we met this past Tuesday evening. Those on the team, in addition to me, are Gord Wiens, Tyson Kliem, Dave J Martens, Cam Broad, Lesley Unger, Sandy Driediger, Vonnie Enns, Lindsey Snell, Luella Schimpky and Matt Guynup.

We worked through a couple of questions:

1)      What is the ministry of CHC?

2)      Whom do we serve?

On Saturday morning, this team with the larger group will be meeting from 8:30 – noon. A draft Vision Statement and a Ministry Philosophy Statement will be presented and discussed. There certainly is more work to be done; yet there is excitement and encouragement that we are focusing on the implementation of information.

All this to be said, I do want to emphasize that while process is very important, it needs to be bathed in prayer and led by the Holy Spirit. We will begin our Saturday session with a focused time in prayer to listen to God and what He is saying through His Spirit about what has been drafted and this process. It is only as we listen to Him and agree to be led by Him, that we will become the church that He intends. This is about seeking God’s heart on what He has for CHC and also the heart of us as the people of CHC. I have sensed that there is a spirit of fear at Central Heights; it could be there for a number of reasons and others have confirmed this. We need to give this to God and allow Him to change our hearts.

February Concert of Prayer

The week of February 13, we will be having a Concert of Prayer as a church. More will be announced on this. It will be a time to seek God on the process we are on and also to release to Him our fears and encumbrances which are holding us from being the church that He has planned.

Elders Council

A Policy Task Group has been formed and will be chaired by Loren Warkentin; the purpose of this group is to review all of our Constitution, Bylaws and Guideline documents to bring the recommended changes to the AGM.

At the January 19 Elders’ Council, they approved to invite an additional 5-7 people to sit in on the EC meetings. They will not have voting rights, however, they certainly will be able to give input and some of these could very well allow their name to stand as Elders at the AGM. The Discernment Committee is working on this. We will let you know the names as soon as the invitation process is complete.

Summary Comments

I realize that you are not always able to see what we see in our roles. There is so much positive happening at Central Heights. We are striving to communicate this to you, for it brings encouragement and hope. On February 5 we will have a number of baptisms at both services. There is nothing like hearing the testimonies of those who are making the commitment to identify with Jesus through baptism. Cam will be leading this and it will be followed by communion. If you have been thinking about making this obedience step, I would strongly encourage you to let us know and be part of a great Sunday of celebration.

I will keep you informed as we move through this process. Please be in prayer, for, as I mentioned, we rely the work of the Holy Spirit at Central Heights.

Warmest blessings and love,

Pastor Bruce