The 20/20 Vision in Action
Over the past few weeks, I have led the first 3 seminars related to the ARC 20/20 Vision that was conceived last April just before the annual conference. It sounds a bit ambitious, I know, but it has energized me and the call I’ve been given to help lead our churches into good pasture. Over a 10 years period, beginning this year and ending in 2020, we will focus on 5 major elements of what constitutes the making of a disciple. This year’s focus is worship, not primarily corporate worship, but rather the call to a believer to believe the gospel deeply and to engage God’s Word and Spirit in a disciplined way.
We did the seminars in Elyria and Findlay, OH and Spooner, WI. The mini-conference in Spooner included workshops on worship with our finances, worship in our homes, corporate worship, the call to worship via baptism and the Lord’s Table and the continuing worship in ongoing sanctification. I was deeply gratified by the offerings of many. Getting down to the core elements of disciple making is a foundational piece that we dare not neglect.
We’ll do a similar mini-conference in Tampa, Florida in January with Tampa Covenant Church pastored by Eric Meyer and Lou Kaloger and Faith Farm, pastored by Jim Benton from Okechobee. This would be a great opportunity for all you northerners to escape the deep freeze for a bit, thaw out, and return to the tundra with renewed vigor to make warm disciples of Jesus. Consider it, won’t you? It’ll be on the weekend of January 20-22. Eric has promised warm weather and a free trip to Disney World for the first 500 that sign up. Was that how you said it, Eric? I’ll check with Eric and get back to you all on that.
On a more sober note, I would like to enlist prayer for Grace Fellowship Church in Mansfield. Waylon Clemmons, who was installed a year ago as pastor there, has resigned and though I can’t go into details now, it has nothing to do with financial or sexual sin but is more complex. I hope to be able to give greater clarity in the future. Suffice it to say for now that everybody is in some level of pain over this. So please pray for the Clemmons family as they move on and for GFC as they seek to do the same. The elders at GFC are Matt Godsil, Tom Russell and Steve McKee. They have been faithful and pastoral in a difficult path. So for the Clemmons, the GFC elders and the GFC church family, pray and ask God for His paternal care that is our portion in Jesus.
Peace,
Ned