Hello Lifer’s,

I’m writing this update from Hong Kong, on the last day of our trip before we come home.  Looking forward to being with you this next weekend!

Summary

If you prefer not to read this entire update and want to get the basics, just read this section.  If you want more info, read on through the entire summary.

• Staffing Adjustments- Pastor Kevin & Pastor Jon
• Multi-site Update- LifePoint LS, Everett, CTK, Hispanic, & the Awakening Church
• New Series- Matthew: The King & His Kingdom
• Town Meeting- Everett site 12:30pm, 29 Jan 2012: bring main dish 2 share
• About The Future- What’s new for next year?

Staffing Adjustments:  Most of us recognize the unique and compelling call upon Pastor Kevin’s life to work with Not For Sale as the Director of Faith Communities.  For nearly 2 years Pastor Kevin has been at part-time paid status with LifePoint and at planned intervals we’ve released him for increasing work with the new abolitionist movement.  Kevin wears a number of ‘hats’ and in addition to Not For Sale, he’s also helping to lead the anti-slavery movement with our denomination (Free Methodist Church) as a US Missionary.  And of course Kevin is an amazingly gifted worship leader.  This past year Kevin’s part time staff designation was set to 10% in June, although like most of the staff he generously offers our church more than the 4-6 hours a week.  As the Lord continues to open doors for Kevin’s ministry, we’ve both needed to appropriately care for worship ministries at LifePoint and also support Pastor Kevin as he accepts increasing responsibility and speaking commitments with Not For Sale.  As a result, Pastor Kevin will remain on staff, but will move to appointed unpaid status as of January 1.

What does this mean?  Several things.  Pastor Jon will assume oversight responsibility for all worship ministries at LifePoint as of the first of the year.  He will work with our site worship director, Bill Weldon at LifePoint Everett and a number of other worship leaders to see that we continue to have inspiring and exuberant worship experiences in all of our Gatherings.  I expect that we will see a rotation of worship teams and leaders that will include Pastor Kevin as his schedule allows, along with Jada, Jon, and some other familiar faces.

I’m grateful for an amazing staff and feel so blessed to work alongside such godly competent people.  A little bit of confusion has developed regarding Pastor Katherine’s role at Everett, but our structure is really not complicated.  Just think of LifePoint as one church.  There’s one lead pastor, regardless of location.  I have a number of staff pastors serving under my direction caring for various ministries.  Katherine’s role as site pastor is to support the mission of LifePoint, to provide pastoral care and administration at Everett on a limited basis, and to serve as my representative in my absence (same with our other staff pastors).  This is the way our system works.  You need to know that I’m proud of Katherine and her outstanding work.  She has my full endorsement.

Multi-site Update-  All things considered, our expansion this year into multi-site ministry has exceeded our expectations.  I’m so pleased with the integration of our Everett site into our LifePoint family!  As we continue to evaluate, strategize, and prepare for the future, I invite you to participate.  Everett is your location, Lifer’s.  We need your help not only to create sustainable ministries that help followers become Christ-centered, but also to reach into the community with the gospel.  Please consider making a commitment to attend once a month or every week for a period of time.

As you know, we’re also exploring a new partnership with Pastor Cary Peterson and Christ the King, Lake Stevens.  It may be that after the new year this church will begin meeting at our Lake Stevens site on Sunday nights, offering a more participatory, ‘ancient-future’ kind of gathering.  Eventually, as the Lord leads, Cary and his church may become part of LifePoint, although we’re still prayerfully waiting on the Lord for His direction.  We’re in contact with Supt. Matt Whitehead about this, and you know that Pastor Cary preached just this last Sunday (he will speak again this week, even though I and our Asia team will also be present).

Pastor Humberto Hernandez has planted a small Hispanic church in our Youth portable that meets Sunday afternoons.  Currently independent, Humberto has expressed interest in affiliation.  Will we have LifePoint Hispanic by the end of 2012?  Perhaps!  Whether with Pastor Humberto or another gifted leader, we believe that we need to prepare for a greater Hispanic work – especially at our Everett site.

Speaking of the Everett site, we’re in the final stages of negotiating the 2012 contract with the Awakening Church (the Ukrainian Church that meets Sunday afternoon and several days during the week at Everett).  We’d like to find some additional ways to connect with this dynamic group.  In fact, the Awakening Church has invited us to their Christmas music performance December 16 & 17 (more info to come). A recent newspaper article suggested that they are moving forward with the construction of their own building, and hope to move in sometime in 2013 or 2014.

New Series-  I’m excited to tell you that as we enter the Christmas season and Advent, we’re beginning a new series studying the book of Matthew.  Called “The King and His Kingdom,” we’ll move verse by verse through this book, and I estimate it will take us well over a year to complete (if not more.)  During that time we’ll find opportunities to have a number of ‘series within the series’, and we’ll take some short breaks where it becomes necessary.  I’m eager to begin, and know that an in depth study of one of the Gospels will help us not only reach out to others but also provide many opportunities for each of us to grow more Christ centered lives.

Town Meeting- We’ve scheduled a Town Meeting for both sites at Everett 12:30pm, 29 Jan 2012.  This is the meeting when we report on our finances, review the year, talk a bit about the future and allow for some Q & A time.  Whether you attend LifePoint at Lake Stevens or Everett, please plan to attend and bring a main dish to share.

About The Future- As we near the end of the “Year of Loving Dangerously,” I want to thank you for the way you’ve responded to His leadership as we’ve discerned it in 2011.  We’ve stepped out in some ‘dangerous’ ways in an effort to put ourselves in a better place to help the world find Jesus!  I like one of the phrases that Pastor Kevin has been using regarding Lifer’s and biblical justice:  “Creating new futures . . .”  This is what we are about at LifePoint, and I’m planing to press us further on mission in the next year.

I recently heard one pastor tell his congregation “Church is NOT for church people!”  I like that.  Of course there’s an appropriate sense in which we ‘church people’ see what happens at LifePoint as being for us, but it is so important that we don’t get caught up building a safe fortress in which to hide from the world.  We’re more like a light house than a gas station.  In fact, if all we do is spend time, money, and energy primarily upon ourselves, very few if any people will ever find Jesus and His love.

That’s why we will try more new things in the future.  That’s why we emphasize mission and ministry trips to Asia annually.  That’s why we talk about important biblical justice issues like slavery and human trafficking.  That’s why you can fully expect more change in 2012.  That’s why we are trying a Men’s Night Out Poker Night (no gambling) next month.  As one missionary put it, we’re going to “attempt great things for God and expect great things from God.”  This is fueled by our vision and mission to live by faith, be known by love, and be a voice of hope; so that we may influence as many people as possible toward Jesus.

I’m glad to be your pastor,

Eric Spangler, lead pastor

I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed for thee or laid aside for thee,
exalted for thee or brought low for thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal.

And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it. And the covenant which I have made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.

Adapted by John Wesley

WCA had several bloggers following the sessions, which made note taking much easier!  Among them I found Paul Steinbrueck’s site helpful:  http://www.liveintentionally.org/   At Paul’s site, you can find notes on every session.

I found Mama Maggie Gobran’s session particularly moving –she ministers to the poorest of the poor in Cairo’s Garbage City.  She reminds me (and others) of Mother Theresa: humility, simple devotion and love for Jesus.

Did you attend?  What did you think?

Show Me  Audrey Assad

(Listen here: http://bit.ly/pS1i55)  (Buy on iTunes: http://bit.ly/o5nXUc)

You could plant me like a tree beside a river
You could tangle me in soil and let my roots run wild
And I would blossom like a flower in the desert
But for now just let me cry

You could raise me like a banner in a battle
Put victory like fire behind my shining eyes
And I would drift like falling snow over the embers
But for now just let me lie

Bind up these broken bones
Mercy bend and breathe me back to life
But not before You show me how to die

Set me like a star before the morning
Like a song that steals the darkness from a world asleep
And I’ll illuminate the path You’ve laid before me
But for now just let me be

Bind up these broken bones
Mercy bend and breathe me back to life
But not before You show me how to die
Oh, not before You show me how to die

So let me go like a leaf upon the water
Let me brave the wild currents flowing to the sea
And I will disappear into a deeper beauty
But for now just stay with me
God, for now just stay with me

Here’s the original prayer without the song:

Like many of us, Stott had a commitment to the truth of Scripture to transform life.  In one tribute, a short list of commitments that formed the basis of Stott’s own life.  I find that I really resonate with them:

1. Make personal devotion to God in Christ our highest priority.
2. Live consistently, with integrity. Resist the temptation to develop a public persona.
3. Develop core disciplines like Scripture reading and mediation, prayer, work and rest.
4. Trust in the unchangeable truth of Scripture. Go deep in our study of it.
5. Prepare public talks with a focus on substance. Look for the connections and orders of our ideas.
6. Value relationships with other leaders. Be a mentor without having to be called a mentor. Follow natural patterns. Don’t turn discipleship into a program.

Read the entire tribute here: http://bit.ly/rlNb1T

Last Sunday’s Podcast is up!  Here’s the link:  http://bit.ly/kGxPLd OR     iTunes: http://bit.ly/bQrot2

Dangerous Characters for week 3:  George Muller and Elijah.  Here are some links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Müller

Good Audio Message by John Piper about George Muller (http://bit.ly/nlxY3I)

Movie/Documentary about George Muller “Robber of the Cruel Streets” (http://amzn.to/ro2rJK)