Many writers and philosophers of our age love to point out how impatient our society is, how fast food and high speed internet and everything on demand has left us wanting things to happen now, now, now. And as worn out as that observation is, I can feel its truth beating within me as I sit here at my desk on my first official day as the full-time pastor of NewLife. In so many ways, I know what I want NewLife to become… I can see our church transforming our community through the sacrificial love we show toward those around us… I can picture the passionate worship on Sunday morning filling people with a desire to know their Savior more… I can see the fellowship praying for God to move in mighty ways, and watching as He fills us with awe again and again at what He is capable of… I can see new people being embraced by a fellowship that sees past the exteriors and loves people as if they were Jesus Himself entering the church doors. And I can see the pastor and man I want to become… someone who is not afraid to give and love with all He has… a man who can speak the truth in love, and commit to seeing people through their most difficult times… a pastor whose passionate devotion to God flows through everything He does… a man who wants nothing more than to please His God. And I want all of this to happen by the end of the week.
But I’m not there yet… and we’re not there yet, either. And Friday 5 PM might be an unrealistic time to expect all of this change to have occurred.
The truth is that, while I want to give all I have to seeing that vision of myself and of NewLife come true, there is no guarantee that any of it will happen by the end of this week, this year, or even in my lifetime. And trying harder to make it so won’t necessarily make it happen quicker. This past month I’ve found that I need to breathe, slow down and put first things first, so to speak, and begin with what is in front of me. I’ve spent some time organizing what I feel like is a timeline of how I can best honor God as I move ahead in ministry as NewLife. I wanted to briefly share this timeline with you so that you would understand what I think is ahead for us.
Top Ten things not to try to accomplish during my first week as pastor
10. Stop the genocide in Darfur
9. Memorize the Bible
8. Go door-to-door to meet everyone in Glastonbury
7. Buy the abandoned Hitchcock furniture building to house our church in
6. End world hunger
5. Send the whole church out as missionaries to the unreached people groups of the world
4. Have everyone refer to me as Archbishop Eric Stillman
3. Unite all the denominations
2. Change the church’s name to “Glastonbury Superchurch”
1. Usher in Jesus’ Second Coming
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Stage 1 was my part-time work in August and September. My goals during this time were to be a consistent presence and preacher on Sundays, to begin getting to know people as their pastor, and to begin to shore up the core ministries of the church.
Stage 2 begins today, and will last until the end of December. My hope during the next three months are to spend more time on long-range, big picture things such as mission, vision, and purpose. With these in mind, I will be working with the existing ministry leaders to strengthen our ministries (such as worship, prayer, home fellowships, Sunday School, nursery, etc.) and organize them around our mission and vision. This stage will be a time of listening and strategizing, where I will welcome lots of input from you on ideas to improve fellowship, outreach, and ministries of our church. It will also be a time of getting to know you all as your pastor.
Stage 3 - The hope is that these ideas and strategies will be prayed through and organized so that January will begin the implementation of a strategy to fulfill our vision and mission. From January to August, we will hopefully begin to organize our church around our God-given vision and mission, and start dreaming bigger as we look towards the future.
Finally, Stage 4 will begin next September, as we hopefully begin the next school year with a sure foundation, improved organization and communication, and a grander vision for where God is leading our church. So please, over the next few months, get in touch with me at the office 659-8010 or by e-mail so that we can get to know each other better. I would love to get to know you and your family and support you as you seek to know and follow God. And I would love to hear your ideas on how we can work together to make NewLife into all God wants it to be. It may not all happen by the end of this week, but by God’s grace someday we will see His dreams and ours come true.
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