One of the things that I love about our church is the number of people that have gone into the ministry from Woods Chapel or who have found growth and encouragement while on our staff.
I think every now and then we should celebrate these folks: Sandy Nenadahl, Kate McClain, Bob Jeppson, Stacie Williams, Clay Withers, Shawn Franssens, Jennifer Biggs, Sherri Swanson, Gina Kennedy, Wendy Minshall and others.
Currently we have at least two people that I know of in the candidacy program: Steve Elkins and Mike Scott.
For our church to help others move through our system and out to another church is a wonderful gift. It is a way that we can exponentially expand our reach. Please encourage anyone who is in or is thinking of going into the ministry.
It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
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2 comments:
What a nice and inspiring post. Jeff, you must be feeling like a dad to this little flock by now. I admire your capacity to go through what must be hard times of transition and re-working the staff when these folks move on. And I commend the way you give them in ministry to God, and want what's best for them and the spreading of the Word. In that sense I would think you feel a bit of pride in having been a part of their lives and development.
God bless.
Speaking of ministers/pastors and thinking of many things they do, there's a subject I wonder if you might address is a future blog post.
I was in a small group recently, where the subject of infant baptisms came up. To be very honest, when we joined Woods Chapel, our heart commitment was to joining a church with an incredible heart for missions, a good staff, and friendly people. We were not looking for a Methodist church. I find that Methodists get so many things right, that I can overlook some of the things I can't fully embrace. Baptizing babies is one thing I view more as a parent dedication to raise the child in the faith. To me, the child who doesn't even realize they are being baptized is not committing to anything, at that age.
Can you address how Methodists view baby baptisms and why? For many of us, baptism is a time of saying to the world, I have personally committed my life to Jesus. So can you also answer whether Methodists see any broken line commitment process, from a baby baptism, to Confirmation, to joining a Methodist Church. Do Methodists regard that symbolic statement of belief occurring at a time different than at baptism at any age? You have also mentioned that Methodist ministers are not allowed to baptize someone more than once. So what meaning does baptism have for an adult who was baptized as a baby?
Thanks so much for letting me ask about this.
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