Sabbatical Video

Please enjoy a slide presentation of some of the sights of the sabbatical!

Blessings, David

Grandparents

We are back in Abbotsford after a three-week visit to Ontario. Thanks to Audrey for taking care of our cats and to Jerry for picking us up from the airport!

One of the (many) highlights of our time in Ontario was seeing our grandparents again. All of our grandparents are in their mid to late 80s and both Heather and I have fond memories of their involvement in our lives. In fact, it was my Beppe (grandmother) that first introduced me to Jesus in a way that I made personal. When I was a young boy, I spent many over-nights at at Beppe's. Each of those nights, before bed, Beppe would invite me to sing with her a little song: "Into my heart / into my heart / come into my heart, Lord Jesus / come in today / come in to stay / come into my heart, Lord Jesus." It was while I sang that song with Beppe that Jesus became real and personal to me.

Heather's "Grandma-up-the-road" lived on the farm with them. She still lives in that same house, right across from the barn and just up the road from where Heather lived as a child. Grandma is a loving and energetic women. She keeps herself busy visiting the "old people"--as she calls them--in the church. She has slowed down in recent years, having suffered a mini-stroke this past year.

Heather's grandma and grandpa are really showing their age. Grandma recently moved to a nursing home and that has caused some real life-transition challenges for grandpa, especially as the nursing home is a good 20 minutes away. When ever we talk about grandpa, the garden is the big topic. Grandpa loves to garden and he's good at it. At one time, the garden was over 1/2 an acre. Today, its a more modest dozen plants behind Grandma's nursing home. Grandpa is still proud of his church and is faithful in his attendance. Incidentally, Grandma-up-the-road and Beppe attend the same church. While visiting grandma and grandpa, it was a joy and a privilege for me to lead them in prayer.

This is all to say that the sabbatical has given us the opportunity to recall and to value where we have come from, both biologically and spiritually. We love our grandparents and it has been meaningful to see them again and to remind ourselves of their place in our lives and to thank God for what he has done in us through them.

Blessings, David

Update

I'm sorry for the blog silence. We are in Ontario, at my parents' place, and they have slow dial-up internet. This means that updating the blog has been next to impossible. Right now, I am sitting in Starbucks where they have wireless internet. So I thought I would provide a quick update with some pictures of our time so far in Ontario. Enjoy!

We miss you all at Bethel Church and are looking forward to being back with later this month.

Blessings, David

The Two Biggest Obstacles

I've been thinking a lot over the last number of weeks about the two biggest obstacles that the small church has to face -- guilt and grief. The power of memory is important. Recalling the past and celebrating how God has been at work in our lives and in our church is valuable. It is necessary to rejoice in what God has done in us and through us and for us. The past gives our present meaning. It defines who we are and why we are. We do well when we "remember the days of old" (Deut. 32:7).

The problem is that memory, a sense of history, can also torment us. Churches can often look back into their history and remember times when things were "good". Our kids were coming to church with us. We had big Vacation Bible Schools. We had a great choir. We had lots of musicians. We had a great pastor. The pews were full. The list can go on and on. Those days were "good", and they are gone, and somehow we feel grief. We are sorry that they gone. We want "now-a-days" to be like the "good-ol'-days". We want to have that again. We miss it. And so we grieve at our loss. We mourn at what was and is no more. That grief is an obstacle to the small church. It keeps us looking back with sorrow and mourning at what used to be, instead of with joy and celebration at what God has done.

Guilt is another obstacle to the small church. While grief keeps us looking back with sorrow and mourning, guilt keeps us looking back with a sense that it is our fault that the "good-ol'-days" are gone. It is our fault that our kids don't come to church. It is our fault that we don't have enough musicians. It is our fault that our pastor left. It is our fault that our choir is no more. We don't have the past, because we wrecked it. We are somehow inadequate and so things went bad. We are not spiritual enough, and so God stopped blessing us. We are not wise enough, and so things unraveled. We don't work hard enough, and so things fell apart. That is guilt, and it is an obstacle to small church.

Grief and guilt are two obstacles that can keep us in the past. While memory, a sense of history, is vital and important in the church. Grief and guilt keep us stuck there. Our history--as individuals and as a church--is what identifies us in God and his plan for us. It gives us meaning and purpose. It tells us who we are and how God deals with us and how he promise to continue to deal with us. It is a source of celebration and joy in what has been, and of hope and promise for what is and is to come. History moves us forward in God's good plan for us. Grief and guilt get us stuck.

Blessings, David

Some Quotations

I'd like to share a few formative quotations that I have run across during the sabbatical. They summarize some of where I am coming from, both in terms of new learning and in the affirmation of existing thoughts.

On the uniqueness and value of the small church:

"Small Churches are not errors to be corrected, but intentional choices of members who put a priority on human relationships.” 
(Carl S. Dudley, Effective Small Churches in the Twenty-first Century, page 11).

On leadership in the small church:

"We need leaders who will have a long-term perspective, who realize that, while change may be slow, it is possible. We need leaders who will love the existing congregants and lead them at a pace that will not divide the church. We need leaders who will love and live among the church members. We need leaders who will live and love in the community." (Thom Rainer from here)

On being missional:

"One of the things about the missional renaissance is that it makes the old pecking order based on size of attractional crowd really irrelevant to missional effectiveness. I work with congregations from weekly worship attendance of less than three dozen to churches running over 10,000. The issue is not the size of the crowd, but the impact on the community. “Small” attendance congregations have been beaten up for decades now in the old church growth scorecard. Getting out of that game can let them be winners in a missional measure. I think this is very hopeful for small congregations who really don’t want to consume all the energy to “grow” but to release their congregations to be missionaries.” (Reggie McNeal from here)

On success in the small church:

"God measures success according to our faithfulness. Remember that verse about “well done, my good and faithful servant”? Do we do what He has given us to do, regardless of the outcome? Are we obedient to all that He commands? Do we pray without ceasing? Do we show our faith with our works? In a word: Are we faithful? If so, that’s success.

Isaiah saw few converts, if any, but he was faithful to God’s commission. Was he a success or a failure? What about Jeremiah? Ezekiel? All three men were faithful in all that they had been given to do, in the face of insurmountable opposition, opposition that God promised would be there. No one in his right mind would call them unsuccessful prophets. Yet, I’m afraid, not one of them would be invited to our conferences to speak on church growth or to preach in our chapels. Thus, by implication, we tell others that these men, and thousands like them, weren’t truly successful. That’s to our shame.

A church’s success ought to also be measured by its ability to make disciples. Making disciples is about more than getting them into the baptistry. Discipleship doesn’t end there; discipleship begins in the baptistry and ends at the grave. According to the Great Commission, discipleship includes teaching them to obey all that Christ has commanded — in other words, teaching them to be faithful.

The successful church is faithfully teaching her people. If your numbers are low but the depth of your people’s knowledge and the expression of their faith is growing, isn’t that a success? Isn’t there something to be admired in the pastor who dedicates his life to the discipleship of the little flock that God has given him? Doesn’t he who teaches others have something that he can teach all of us? If so, why don’t we let him? Again, we let numbers tell us that success is in the numbers and those that don’t have them have little success. (Peter Beck from here)

A Note from Heather

I have heard through the grapevine that there is some interest in what I (Heather) am doing during the sabbatical time. David asked me if I would blog a bit from my perspective concerning the last few months. For the most part I would classify my participation as “coming along for the ride”. Overall, this ride has been interesting and is resulting in a grateful heart on my end.

Early on in the sabbatical, David and I were blessed to have a wonderful time away celebrating our 14th anniversary. It was very good for us to have some intentional alone time. I am thankful for a husband who loves me deeply and purposeful in nurturing me. As well, I was further gifted by the generosity of my good friend Sheelah, who took very good care of my girls.

David is very organized and that has kept him focused on his goals for his sabbatical. Being that the girls and I are included in his focus, we have benefitted greatly. It has been fun and enjoyable for us to spend quality time together as a family. I especially enjoyed the few times we spent helping out on some of the School Field Trips. It was evident that the girls were proud to have mom and dad assisting. As well, we were able to appreciate more how much the teachers invest in the lives of our children.

Even though I have still had to continue in my roles as wife and mother, I have been able to find some time to do a bit of reading and have joined David in a bunch of his exercising. I read a parenting book, a book on small church dynamics, and am working on a book on prayer. Being someone who has a hard time justifying to myself that it is okay to slow down, it has been a refreshing for me to have my routine altered. I am very proud of David’s determination in exercising…there is no doubt that he has been working hard at it.

Recently, I attended a Women’s Leadership Conference at Northview Church which drew women from many denominations and those serving in varied leadership roles. Both Audrey and David had separately, on different occasions, encouraged me to consider attending. I kind of took that as a good signal of maybe God wanting me to take advantage of this opportunity. It was a very good experience. There were some very good quality speakers and awesome worship times. Above all, it was a good time to hear from God and rub shoulders with a few other women.

Our biggest stretch has definitely been our absence from Bethel. We miss our people…..our family, our friends. It has been helpful to visit other churches but not fun to always be a visitor. We are reminded of how blessed we are to have such a loving church family.

All in all, this has been a great time of rest, relaxation and rejuvenation. I have developed a greater sense of gratitude for what I have and God’s purpose for my life. I am thankful for all who have made this sabbatical possible and who have supported and encouraged us in various ways. Above all, I thank God for His continued goodness.

Blessings, Heather

Off to Ontario

I am currently sitting in a hotel room in Richmond for an early flight to Toronto. I'm going to stay at my mom and dad's home this week to pull together the various strands of the sabbatical. I also have several consultations scheduled this coming week with some ministry professionals. I'm looking forward to picking their brains. Later in the week, on Friday, Heather and the girls will be joining me in Ontario, where we will all stay together for another two weeks of time with family. I'll continue to share my thoughts and experiences, as I am able.

Blessings, David