May 2022 Newsletter
In 1972 Jane and I moved to Northern California to Pastor our first church. (see photo above - Cottonwood Calif.) It wasn’t an unnatural leap for me to enter the pastorate because I come from a long line of pastors starting with my father and older brother and on down to my younger brother and son. So needless to say church life is in my bones.
My dad was a great pastor and preacher, full of zeal with a passion for evangelism. As I truly appreciate my upbringing I had to work through some guidelines my father left me, two in particular. One was that you don't get close to anybody in your church because you'll lose your authority. The second one was similar which was not to get too close to another pastor in the city because you will lose your competitive edge. I would put these principles to a test during my first pastorate.
One day a young guy in the church came up to me after the service and said he'd like to meet. Over coffee he said God told him to be my friend. For the next several years we played tennis, shared stories and drank a lot of coffee. It dawned on me that I had developed a close friendship in the church and had broken the first rule. Next I found myself spending time with a pastor of another church. We too began to spend a lot of time together and even swapped pulpits. I was conflicted because of the rules I had been taught but it felt good to have friends. Amos 3:3 says how can two walk together except they be in agreement. This agreement in friendship requires an investment of time and energy. Interestingly two of the main commandments Christ gave us was to make disciples and take communion, both of which requires developing friendships.
I grew to understand one of the big occupational hazards of being a church leader is isolation and loneliness. I believe this isolation plays itself out in how we set up the furniture in the local meetings with all the chairs pointed one way and the one man or woman speaking from the platform without any kind of interaction outside of a few amens! Basically, the set up is the leader talks and everyone else listens.
As I investigated this topic I found that the Hebrew religious culture had an interactive dialogue rather than the greek style of lectures adopted by our western society. One promoted discussion and relational involvement and the other was primarily one person speaking and everyone else listening. So no wonder I thought for years my job as the pastor was to be the Sermonater! Obviously there is a time and place for this but the nagging question for me was when does relationship take place? Are we creating opportunities and encouraging our people to connect so they can be friends and minister to each other?
I realized things weren’t going to change unless I did so I started experimenting with changing the seating. We would put the chairs in a circle or we’d sit around tables to encourage dialogue while also emphasizing the importance of sharing meals together. These were things I considered more in line with the way believers in the early church gathered, Acts 2:42-47. This opened the door for believers to do more of the One Another’s. You know, teach one another, bear one another's burdens, pray, exhort and confess to one another. We also found this relational shift facilitates a better environment for discipleship. My goal was to show my congregation that church was more than a Sunday morning gathering with three songs and a sermon. It’s about people coming together to share the living Christ that lives in them with one another and the world.
I know this shift can be more challenging for larger churches but as the leader you need to set the example and begin to model the importance of One Anothering for your church. If its not on Sunday’s when do you meet for relational connection and discipleship? Sometimes we can be so consumed with growing our church numerically that we can negate bringing the saints to maturity. I believe its possible to do both, it just may not end up looking the way you think it should.
This relational concept is a major value that marks our ministry. If you’d like to learn more about our values you can go to our web site, permissionministries.com, where you can find helpful materials. If you’d like some personal mentoring we also offer consulting through zoom meetings. Check it out and Thanks for reading this article.
Attention TDC Ordained: As we continue to make efforts to reconnect there are many of you who have been ordained over the years that we have not heard from. Thank you to those we have heard from.
If you consider yourself still recognized by Third Day ordination board, we’d like to ask that you drop us a line on how you are doing and an update on what you are doing in your life and ministry. We look forward to hearing from you. Please send your correspondence to info@thirddaychurches.com
In His Grip, Gary
We want to wish our founders, Gary & Jane Goodell, a very Happy 53rd Anniversary at the end of this month! We love you both!!
Our ministry highlight this month, Voice of the Bride, is led by one of our very own TDC board members, Wayne Kiger-Rice. Wayne & Carol Kiger-Rice (VOB Founders) first came to San Diego joining Gary & Jane on staff at the San Diego Vineyard in 1996. They were among the first ordained by Gary, with what soon became Third Day Churches, while serving in positions of administration, worship, youth group, outreach and pastoral counseling. After a rich season of being mentored in "taking it to the streets", "to the nations" and eventually "outside the church" all together, their ministry was launched from this Permission movement.
Voice of the Bride “Worship and Compassion” Ministries exists for two purposes.
We are committed to serving the poor and needy, specifically in Mexico.
Many days of the week, we are either picking up donated food supplies for distribution in Tijuana, or distributing food and other items to those in need in the poorer parts of Tijuana. This includes orphanages, rehabs, elderly homes, women’s shelters, infirmaries, and various street outreaches, where many people hear the Gospel, as well as receive food for their families.
VOB is also committed to worship and intercession, believing that prayer and worship ‘grease the wheels’ of mission work.
VOB has sponsored and led worship in several targeted worship and intercession events. We lead worship at various outreaches in Tijuana, San Diego, as well as among Native America lands, designed to encourage people to spend extended time before the Lord in worship and prayer, and, specifically, to extend GOD’s Kingdom on behalf of the nations through worship and intercession.
You can follow VOB and the Kiger-Rice's with various links from their site http://www.voiceofthebride.net