ENY-NE District of the Wesleyan
Church
District Superintendent Report
May 2013 – April 2014
Dr. Lyon, District Board of
Administration, Delegates, and Friends,
I want to please my boss! I want Dr. Lyon to be proud of what is
happening in the ENY-NE District. And
she does know what is happening for she stays in touch through texts, emails
and phone calls. For those of us
fortunate enough to spend time with her, we know what is important to her. She deeply cares about making more
disciples! Growing the church
through outreach and evangelism is her passion.
A few months ago, she spent the
night with Susan and me in our home in Ballston Spa. We sat in front of a roaring fire until close
to midnight telling stories of Kingdom work all across the globe. Those were encouraging hours that Susan and I
both treasure. Little did we know that
in just a couple of weeks she would be sitting in the Oval Office sharing her
stories with six others, including the President of the United States.
As someone said when speaking of
Dr. Lyon, she wears the influence that she has gained so lightly. She is not impressed with herself – and that
is a characteristic that endears her to us.
Even more than pleasing Dr. Lyon,
however, I want to please Jesus Christ.
He, too, has let me know what is important to Him. He wrote it in a book and left it for me to
read. I am to love the LORD with all my
heart, all my soul, all my mind and all my strength. I am also to love my neighbor as myself (Mark
12:30).
He also tells me that I am to go
into all the world preaching the Gospel and baptizing converts in the name of
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. And He promised to be with me to the end of
the age (Matthew 28:19-20).
Matthew 28:19-20 (NLT)
- Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe
all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the
age.
Over the past six years, our
district has increasingly narrowed its emphasis to making more disciples. Transformation and revitalization of our
churches has been our focus. The
District Transformation Process (DTP) has gained momentum here and has spread
to other districts across the nation.
Magazine articles, videos and verbal reports of God’s work in the
northeast have humbled and amazed us.
Recently Dr. Borden, our
consultant, and I were speaking regarding the importance of staying the course;
of not growing weary or discouraged in the midst of this assault on the gates
of hell. We spent time discussing the
temptation of returning to the comfortable and familiar – to default to our old
ways and habits. It has been almost four
years since we first met with him in Albany and made the historic decision to
launch the DTP experiment. He and I concurred
that this has been a year of consolidating the gains that we have made over he
past three years and it is a crucial time as we renew our efforts to see
permanent transformation in leaders and churches.
(Borden Video)
He and I also discussed the
passages in Luke, Chapter 15 that clearly show the heartbeat of Jesus. In the three stories that are told, Jesus
amplifies the topic of the lost and found—the lost sheep, the lost coin and the
lost son.
The Heart of Jesus – Story One
Ninety-nine sheep safely lay
chewing their supper in the barn but one had wandered away. He/she was out in the darkness, in the storm,
in the danger. Rather than be satisfied
with those in the fold, the shepherd put lots of things at risk to go after
the rebel wanderer.
He
risked personal dangers.
He
risked physical illness.
He
risked financial ruin.
All of this risk for just one
rascally, confused, wayward sheep. He
could have emphasized “inner focus”. He could have taken care of the ones that were
at home in the dry, warm comfortable setting.
Instead he focused outwardly! He
focused on the broken, the hurting, the lost.
Years ago, a prominent speaker
spoke of a particular stretch of coastline that claimed ship after ship and
sailor after sailor on its rocks. When
the distress signal would sound, young men would don their storm gear and
launch their small battered boats into the waves to rescue the drowning
men. They were so successful that
grateful survivors began to send gifts to upgrade their equipment. Modern boats and the latest in rescue gear
soon were available to the small life-saving group. A lovely building was erected to be home to
the squad. Observers noted that a
strange thing happened. Although better
equipped, the rescuers went out less often.
Instead, the time was spent in seminars talking of how one could and
should use the upgraded equipment. Much
time was spent in polishing and cleaning and caring for the seldom-used
equipment.
Could it be that some of us don’t
want the risk and expense and danger and discomfort that comes from focusing on
the one lost sheep. Perhaps we don’t
want to change, even if the change brings pleasure to the heart of God. Instead we stay focused on the ninety-nine
and ignore the one that is lost.
In summary…
1) The
shepherd was willing to put the 99 at risk to rescue the one that was lost.
2) Heaven
rejoices more over the lost being found than the found being good!
The Heartbeat of Jesus – Story Two
In Luke 15, the second story was
about a lost coin. The money was
important to the lady of the home and it was lost.
To look for the lost demands hard
work. The search did
not involve a little walk through the house. This was a
move-the-furniture-and-sweep-behind-every-door event. It involved shining a light in every
crevice. No casual, unconcerned
operation here. The seriousness of the
loss brought desperation to the search.
Urgency was in the air!
A couple of weeks ago, Memorial
Day weekend, to be exact, I left home before 7:00 a.m., preached at Lisbon at
11:00 a.m., and started for home. During
the seven hours of drive time, I accumulated a small pile of trash, since I
snack as I drive rather than stopping for a meal. At the Stewart’s in North Creek, I stopped to
stretch my legs and get rid of the trash.
I stood beside the car and reached into my pocket for my American
Express card. It wasn’t there. Quickly I checked the other places that I
sometimes use for safe keeping. No luck! I looked under the seats and beside the
seats. I got into the back seat and
looked from that angle. Still nothing. Three times I went through the trashcan in
front of the store. Each search was a
bit more desperate. I pawed through the
trash. I took the lid from the trashcan. This was now very serious and I was in
earnest. Urgency set in. Where was that card? It did not matter what people thought. The looks they gave me did not faze me. I was on a mission.
Finally, I found the card.
It was in the car where I usually put it. It had become stuck and was hidden from view. I rejoiced over the card that had been found.
If you had been along, we would have had
a party. I would have bought cones for
everyone (Butter Pecan). The lost had
been found!!
It is hard work to look for the
lost. There must be a
sense of desperation. One must have a
fire in the belly, a burning desire that keeps one going. A desire that gets one up early and keeps one
up late. A belief that lost people
matter to God. As Dr. Borden pointed out
in his video, the initial energy and change that comes as a result of a
consultation weekend is not the end. It
is just the beginning and must be sustained.
Listen to Jesus as he walks along
the dusty road with His followers. He
spots a fig tree. His mouth waters. He can already taste the fruit. Closer examination, however, shows that the
bush has produced only leaves. He cursed
the fig tree and it died.
In another district in days gone
by, discussion centered on churches that failed to report any souls won to Christ
during the previous years. Other stats
only re-enforced the fact that these churches were indeed dying, if not already
dead. Many on the Board were in favor of
closing this type of church, but as usual, a few wanted to give them one more
chance. One committee member with a
twinkle in his eye remarked, “Well, I’m willing to dig around them and dung them one more time.”
What a graphic picture of trying
to get a non-productive tree to be productive.
Today, prophetically I say to you that the day of fertilizing
unproductive, self-centered, inward-focused congregations is over. Instead, resources will continue to be
invested in places where God is at work.
It is unacceptable to not bear fruit.
Looking for the lost is hard work, but
when the lost are found, it produces much joy in Heaven. I can hear the woman now rejoicing as she
pockets that long-lost coin.
The Heartbeat of Jesus – Story Three
The third lesson that we see in
Luke 15 has to do with a wayward son. We
know him as the prodigal! This was the son who wasted his life and his
material possessions on partying.
However, payday for his sins finally arrived. Ruin set in.
Desperation brought him to his knees.
He brought all of his baggage and fears, his hopes and his failures back
to the old home place. “Dad, if you
forgive, tie a yellow ribbon around the old oak tree. I’ve messed up. Let me be a servant.”
But Dad had no part in the servant
scenario. “Bring a robe,” was heard coming
from the sobbing landowner as he clutched his son. “Put shoes on his feet. Kill the Thanksgiving calf that has been
fattened for weeks. Get him my credit
card. Have his name added to the
account. My son has come to his senses. He has sought help. He has repented of his sins and has been
forgiven. Let’s have a party. Let’s enroll him in Celebrate Recovery. We can
help as he deals with his hurts, habits and hang-ups. Come to the baptism down at the pond. Let’s hear his story—the story of parties and
pigs and slop and regret, the story of conviction and humbling and reversal,
the story that follows this familiar outline…”
A. This is
what I was…
o A jerk,
lost, insensitive
o Self-centered,
all-about-me
o A drunk
& immoral man
B. This is
how I met Jesus…
o Sitting
in the swine pen
o Me, the
good Jewish boy, feeding the pigs, eating mouthfuls of slop to keep my body and
soul together.
o A broken
man at rock bottom.
But
Jesus –
The one
who loves the unlovely
The one
who speaks to the wayward
The one
who cares about the fallen
His
Spirit met me in the barnyard
A new
day dawned
Old
things passed away
I was a
new creation
Desires
changed
I was
forgiven
C. This is
what He is making of me…
o Humility
instead of pride
o Part of
the family instead of a loner
o A giver
rather than a taker
But hold on. Wait a minute. The drama continues to unfold. From the back of the barn came the elder
brother. He is unhappy. Angry even.
Jealousy is on his shoulder. It appears that he is not interested in
grace.
“Father, you are using MY
resources to fund this party, MY farm to harbor this ungrateful wretch. He brings baggage. He upsets the chain of command. Some of his friends may join him here. Let’s not rock the boat. We are comfortable just as we are. Why let this renegade change the good thing
that we have going?”
Wow. What a negative barrage. He had no understanding of what was important
to the father. All of the elder brothers
are not dead, my friends. Jealousy! Sour grapes! Bitterness!
Control! These negative emotions
can flourish in the hearts of those who witness God’s blessing and grace and
favor at work in other folk and other places.
“Why are they experiencing revival
and blessing while we slowly die?”, they ask.
“Why is transformation and renewal
taking place while we go backwards?”
“Why is the DTP working faster and
better and bigger for them?”
My friend, life is not fair, but
God is. He is at work where He
chooses. He blesses where and whom. He will.
He is God and we are not! As Henry
Blackaby said years ago, “Our job is to discover where He is at work and join
Him in His work.”
Luke 15 clearly shows us the heart
of God. Let’s join Him and His big heart
in searching and seeking and finding the lost.
The Three Assumptions
Today, one more time I’d like to
remind you of the Three Assumptions that undergird all we do.
1. If a
church is healthy, it grows and reproduces.
In ENY-NE we believe that if
churches are not growing, they have dysfunction and disease that needs to be
addressed. For those of you who have
become DTP churches, we want to thank you for your willingness to participate
in a consultation weekend. For many of
you, this was the beginning of your pathway to health. All did not immediately become better when
you heard and accepted your prescriptions.
However, slowly and steadily and gradually significant change is taking
place in the lives of DTP pastors, churches and leaders. Reports today will show that much seed has
been put in the ground. Research tells
us that it takes five to seven years to see true transformation in a church,
and perhaps it takes a little longer than this in the northeast. If this is true, then we are on the verge of
amazing renewal throughout our churches in the next three to four years. If we sow, the scriptures teach, we shall
also reap!
While I could highlight many
situations in our district, time will not permit. However, in the next few pages of this
report, I will sprinkle in stories that illustrate where we are headed as a
district.
Fusion Community, located in Cobleskill,
NY, has been the recipient of the favor of God over the past few years. Pastor Andrew Fetter and his people are
acutely aware that God has not blessed them so that they can keep all this
favor to themselves. Instead, they are
looking to leverage this favor by seeding a nearby DTP church with people and
by launching a multi-site campus.
Our latest DTP church is
Niskayuna. Located in the heart of the
capital region, Niskayuna is also in the center of the most post-Christian area
of the United States. After the
consultation, the church voted overwhelmingly to accept the prescription (38 –
1). They are now in Developing Church
status. An LAC made up of Andrew Fetter
and Wes Lawrence of Fusion, Dick Osborne of Hadley-Luzerne, and two local
leaders has been appointed by the DBA.
Tomorrow in a service held in this room they will be asking God’s
forgiveness for failing to permeate the community and make a real difference in
this region.
This month their name will be
changed. The image of the church will be
rebranded. Upgrades, both inside and
outside, will say to the thousands who pass here daily that change is in the
air. While this facelift is taking
place, the church will go mobile, holding its Sunday services in Central Park
of Schenectady, located just a half mile from here, and the Niskayuna Civic
Center. Music and a simple message will
be followed by free food and networking with community residents who frequent
these locations. Outreach events through
the summer will seek to give this new church a presence in the community.
Relaunching in late September or early
October in a modernized building that emphases young families and children,
this church will be poised to impact its community. Fusion is sending several dozen of its folk
to join this effort for a season. The
influx of people from Fusion will help create critical mass as well as provide
staff for crucial ministries.
Anticipation is running high, high, high. Other churches in the SU South group will
help by sending work teams or contributing monthly missions funds to Niskayuna,
one of the neediest areas on the planet.
Fusion also is praying over their
first multi-site location. Electronics
are being purchased as we speak. Campus
pastors are being trained. Amsterdam,
Rotterdam, Schenectady and Oneonta are the communities that are presently under
consideration.
Speaking of relaunch, three years
ago in our very first DTP consultation, it was prescribed that we should close
Ridge Road and relaunch under a new name and format. We are now thirty-six months into that
experiment and can report that God’s Spirit is blowing in a new way through
Vantage Pointe. A year of recruiting a
launch team and two years of seeding the ministry with prayer and hard work is
paying off. Young families with children
are being reached. Expectancy is in the
air. From the core group of 30,
attendance is now approaching 100.
Salvations and baptisms are the norm.
Pastors Dean and Rosalie Brown are to be commended for sticking with
this project through the difficult relaunch days.
Pastor Dean says, “These days are the best days for the
two year old church that meets on Ridge Road in Queensbury. Vantage Pointe is
not a remake of something former but a new and energized community of faith
that is answering God's call to be Christ's ambassadors to the spiritually
unresolved people of our region.”
There is also a fresh wind of the
Spirit in the northwestern part of the district. Cornerstone, located in Heuvelton, has
experienced outstanding growth over the past two years. A recent move to two services has resulted in
160 – 180 worshippers on a Sunday morning.
Pastor Rusty Bissell and team are watching God orchestrate events that
are exceedingly above anything that they could ask or think.
Recently, Pastor Rusty said, “The
District Transformation Process laid the perfect foundation for our church to
build on. Using that consultation as a
momentum builder the church is now experiencing true revival. Lives are being regularly transformed and our
community is taking notice and being impacted.”
As I give this report, God is at
work relocating assets to the Heuvelton/Potsdam/Canton area that could result
in a multi-site or church multiplication project in one of the larger
population centers of St. Lawrence County.
While speaking of reproduction, I
have asked Dr. Mark Gorveatte, president of Kingswood University, to come
alongside us as a church planting/church multiplication consultant. He has consented. Mark and his wife, Sherry, are some of the
most dedicated and gifted people I know.
During the ten years that he was D.S. in West Michigan, 25 churches were
planted. His expertise, his networks,
his vision and his zeal will be a tremendous boost as we move to multiply
churches throughout our district.
A press release that will go
public shortly after this conference will give details as to where this
partnership is headed.
“The Buckingham
Leadership Institute (BLI), a ministry of Kingswood University, is pleased to
partner with the Eastern New York – New England District to develop greater
effectiveness in church multiplication.
The Eastern
New York – New England District has made remarkable strides in resourcing
churches for increased vitality and Great Commission effectiveness. The evidence is clear that God delights in
blessing churches that prioritize His passion for making disciples.
This
essential work of church revitalization must continue until every ENYNE church
is effectively making more and better disciples.
But,
even then, there will still be millions of people unreached by our churches
because the distance is too great for sustained impact in their community. This distance need not only be geographical.
The distance may be cultural or even generational. The fact that some people
are not convenient to reach does not negate our responsibility to evangelize
and establish reproducing communities of faith.
Mark
Gorveatte, a lead consultant with BLI, brings insight from his experience
supervising and resourcing 25 church planting projects. The network of churches that he led
established strong systems and structures for multiplication. These efforts continue to bear fruit with
more than 4000 people (70% were previously unchurched) attending these new
churches.
Commencing
with the regional Success University meetings this September, 2014, and
continuing through June, 2016, Mark Gorveatte will assist DS Paul James and the
pastors of the ENYNE District in developing partnership networks to plant
churches. These efforts will initially
create momentum in our areas of greatest strength and build capacity to
ultimately reach our communities of greatest need.
The
objective will be for at least one of the partnership networks to launch a
pilot project in conference year 2015-2016.
The expectation going forward is for each network to launch at least one
project every 3 years. Furthermore, each
new church plant will be launched with the DNA of multiplication so that their
first daughter church will be budgeted for from day one and planted before
their fifth birthday.
The
Buckingham Leadership Institute, a ministry of Kingswood University, exists to
inspire and equip leaders in the local church to maximize the fullest potential
for themselves and the organizations they lead, all for the glory of God. “
2. The
second assumption is that the church exists to be outward-, not inward-focused.
Another way of saying this is that
the church exists for those lost souls surrounding the church, rather than the
found souls already inside. Sometimes we
get push back as we talk about this assumption.
The argument goes like this. We
cannot just ignore the people that are already in the church to go after new
people. There is some truth to that
statement. We must not ignore the hurts,
habits and hang-ups of those already worshipping with us. However, the nature of humans is to gravitate
to self-centeredness and to an it’s-all-about-me mentality. As a result, we end up not practicing the
Great Commission and instead cater to the agendas and demands of people who, by
rights, should have matured years ago.
After years of preaching, praying
and exhorting about reaching the lost, would you
believe that we still had five churches that reported zero conversions this
year. Another 14 reported no
baptisms. This is incomprehensible! We are not asking that you abandon those who
are already in your churches but we are asking you to actively use over 50% of
your time, energy and money on those that are not yet in your church. Impacting your community is not an option; it
is an imperative!
As one pastor said in SU, “By
design we must focus 51% or more of our energy, time and resources on those who
have not yet accepted Christ and are outside our walls. Just
one more – whatever the cost is more than a motto. It is a way of life!” Watch the inward-focused lifeboat leader in
this video clip and note the difference between him and the outward-focused
passenger. Ask yourself which attitude
do I and my church come closest to sharing.
(Titanic Video Clip)
“Come back to the ship!” the
captain calls.
“No! We aren’t going to go back. I’m in charge of this boat,” a sailor
replies, “and we will do what is best for us.”
Those words haunt me. Of the twenty or so lifeboats that night,
most partially filled, only a couple ventured back to pick up drowning men and
women.
One of the ways in which we must
be outward-focused is in reaching the multi-ethnic groups of the
northeast. This year the Greater
Hartford Wesleyan Church purchased and refurbished a lovely building. It is our prayer that from this base many
souls will be won.
Another wonderful opportunity to
become more diverse is in Springfield, MA.
Larry and Leona Fair have laid an excellent foundation for reaching the many ethnic groups of that city. As the Fairs move into their last year or two
of ministry in Springfield, please join us in praying that God will provide the
right pastor—one gifted in reaching people from a multitude of backgrounds and
nationalities.
3. The
third assumption is that the Gospel never changes, but the methods of sharing
the Gospel are always changing.
Often I am thrilled with the
creative ways our team is using to reach out to the communities of our
district. Time does not permit me to go
from church to church relating the out-of-the-box methods that are paying off
in lives transformed. This report is
already long enough. However, let me
suggest that you pay close attention to David Norman when he gives the
Statistical Report and to Dick Osborne when he gives the Building Committee Report. As they relate what you have accomplished in
what has been a tough year in the northeast, please know that I am standing and
applauding you. You truly are the heroes
of this grand experiment that we are living.
As we continue to work our way through the ‘muddle in the middle’, I am
in the trenches alongside you. You make
my job one of the best on the planet. As
my mother told me over and over, “Paul, if God calls you into His work, don’t
stoop to be a king!”
Speaking of my parents, they came
for a visit this spring and in the last few minutes that they were in our home,
Mom fell and broke her leg. Following
surgery she has spent approximately three weeks in the Saratoga Hospital and
Rehab Unit. Next week she will join us
in our home for an extended period of convalescence. Seldom do I visit her without seeing a
sparkle in her eye as she tells of a nurse or an aid that has sat on the edge
of her bed and told her their story. She
talks about Jesus to them and often they leave with tears flowing down their
cheeks. “Paul,” she says, “You have a
wonderful district. The people here are
so kind and they are so hungry.” Last
week when I went into their bedroom to say good night to Dad and to check on
him, I found the lights out and covers drawn up around his chin. “Everything okay?” I called. “Yes,” came the reply. “I was just laying here praying for your
district.” The comments of these two
special people reminded me that we are building on the foundation of those who
have gone before us. Millions of prayers
have been prayed. Millions of dollars
have been given and I dare say that millions of messages have been
preached. And multitudes of acts of
kindness have taken place—those cups of cold water that have been given in the
name of Jesus over the past hundred and seventy-two years in the great
northeast. Let’s never lose sight that
we stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us and cared greatly
about Kingdom building.
Cam is a delight to work with and
adds so much to the district through the office administration.
Susan is the love of my life. In three days we celebrate 42 years of
married life together. I suspect that
she will get some type of Summit Award in Heaven for living with me that long.
I am a Hoosier by birth
A South Carolinian by heritage
A Christian by choice and
A Northeasterner by call
It is here, Dr. Lyon, that my
heart is being buried.
I am respectfully yours,
Rev. W. Paul James
Now turn your attention to the
screen for a celebration of Northeast –
2014.
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