I am relieved and deeply grateful that my Redlands, Calif. kids and grandkids have come through last week unscathed, at least physically. (That includes the author of this excellent post.)
I pray for the widening circles of tragic impact of last week's San Bernardino, Calif, violence, for the family members and friends of all those who did not come through safely. I also remember, the immense footprint of violence left in our country by 350 incidents in the U.S. that have claimed more than four lives, including the perpetrator, so far THIS YEAR.
Pastor John Rozeboom, Oakdale Park Church, Grand Rapids, MI
Andy, good words on a critical topic, lively classes. Thanks, man! As a ministry staff guy in an urban church ministry (Oakdale Park, Grand Rapids, MI), I am having to push with our lead pastor, Pastor Emmett Harrison, to get women and men in Oakdale leadership to be delegated to classis meetings (Grand Rapids East), value the experience for congregational impact, and pitch in on classis work. Your post adds fuel.
Here's hope, Brother: two friends, a deacon and an elder having had recent positive experiences attending Classis East said, "This is good! I'm signing up to repeat attending for a year." (Our classis encourages repeat delegates to avoid perpetual novices at classis.) My own testimony: many of Classis East's meetings are real uppers for persons in the everyday grind of ministry. Keys I see at East: 1) gifted, experienced cl. leaders, in the saddle for at least a year, and classis committees who do their work well, in advance, 2) creative agenda/schedule -- a mix of usual business, discussing/approving cl. min. team proposals and interacting with panels of ministry leaders (like church planters, chaplains), Inspiring!, 3) hard stuff -- head-ache inducing overtures, 4) discipline in cl's mission: Be a community of congregations to encourage, equip, challenge each other to be vibrant, missional, 5) regular evaluation of how we are doing after Cl East renewed and reorganized two years ago (see Classis GR East website for recent eval. format), 6) sturdy spiritual reflection and ample praying, 7) good food and coffee, 8) the meeting schedule is primed and timed so beginning, middle and end are quality and we quit on time. Classis heaven? Nope -- Cl. East is still challenged to be with and consistently help the mission of local churches; it's hard to be one and many at the same time. But headed there.
Like you, Andy, I was a classis renewal drum beater for decades at CRHM -- with you, Thea L., Elizabeth G-K, Frank E, Dave S, Lori W, Duane VdB, George VdW, and Al Hoks etal. Now I'm seeing classis renewal from the results end and I'm very high on it. Please encourage your Classis Renewal mates. Keep truckin'!
John Rozeboom, Oakdale Park Church administrative pastor, [email protected]
Thank you very much, Jim, for your exquisite reminder of how God can fit together preacher, message, congregation and the times. As a Dordt student in the early '60s I heard First CRC's preacher then deliver his famous "Pail of Grease" sermon against business sponsored drawings for prizes, against gambling in any form, including, I supposed, flipping quarters for beer on Friday afternoons when we sweat-sopped DeStigter Bros' mason tenders laid off for the weekend. The preacher said then with feeling, "We insult God by imposing on Him to decide so trivial a thing as who gets a pail of grease! There is no such thing as chance!" Electrifying! Decades later I recalled the sermon to the pastor who preached it and told him (as the kid of the man who sold such) that in the 'fifties his five-gallon pail of grease ran to forty bucks. He said with feeling, "That much, John! I myself would be real tempted to . . . ." Laughter
By contrast, your wonderful story of your pastor's farewell recalls for me his softly expressed, funny, grace-full talk after-hours at one or another CRC synod. Many of us around the table took our church roles and responsibilities too seriously -- I did -- and his words heard over six blaring screens of Stanley Cup finals that "synods come and go but good ministry at home will stick" stuck.
Posted in: Pray for Peace and an End to Violence
I am relieved and deeply grateful that my Redlands, Calif. kids and grandkids have come through last week unscathed, at least physically. (That includes the author of this excellent post.)
I pray for the widening circles of tragic impact of last week's San Bernardino, Calif, violence, for the family members and friends of all those who did not come through safely. I also remember, the immense footprint of violence left in our country by 350 incidents in the U.S. that have claimed more than four lives, including the perpetrator, so far THIS YEAR.
Pastor John Rozeboom, Oakdale Park Church, Grand Rapids, MI
Posted in: Classis: Its Place in the CRC’s Renewal
Andy, good words on a critical topic, lively classes. Thanks, man! As a ministry staff guy in an urban church ministry (Oakdale Park, Grand Rapids, MI), I am having to push with our lead pastor, Pastor Emmett Harrison, to get women and men in Oakdale leadership to be delegated to classis meetings (Grand Rapids East), value the experience for congregational impact, and pitch in on classis work. Your post adds fuel.
Here's hope, Brother: two friends, a deacon and an elder having had recent positive experiences attending Classis East said, "This is good! I'm signing up to repeat attending for a year." (Our classis encourages repeat delegates to avoid perpetual novices at classis.) My own testimony: many of Classis East's meetings are real uppers for persons in the everyday grind of ministry. Keys I see at East: 1) gifted, experienced cl. leaders, in the saddle for at least a year, and classis committees who do their work well, in advance, 2) creative agenda/schedule -- a mix of usual business, discussing/approving cl. min. team proposals and interacting with panels of ministry leaders (like church planters, chaplains), Inspiring!, 3) hard stuff -- head-ache inducing overtures, 4) discipline in cl's mission: Be a community of congregations to encourage, equip, challenge each other to be vibrant, missional, 5) regular evaluation of how we are doing after Cl East renewed and reorganized two years ago (see Classis GR East website for recent eval. format), 6) sturdy spiritual reflection and ample praying, 7) good food and coffee, 8) the meeting schedule is primed and timed so beginning, middle and end are quality and we quit on time. Classis heaven? Nope -- Cl. East is still challenged to be with and consistently help the mission of local churches; it's hard to be one and many at the same time. But headed there.
Like you, Andy, I was a classis renewal drum beater for decades at CRHM -- with you, Thea L., Elizabeth G-K, Frank E, Dave S, Lori W, Duane VdB, George VdW, and Al Hoks et al. Now I'm seeing classis renewal from the results end and I'm very high on it. Please encourage your Classis Renewal mates. Keep truckin'!
John Rozeboom, Oakdale Park Church administrative pastor, [email protected]
Posted in: Using Your Hebrew and Greek - Part 2
Thanks, Verlyn! Priceless. God bless all your ministry. John R
Posted in: Morning Thanks - Our Pastor
Thank you very much, Jim, for your exquisite reminder of how God can fit together preacher, message, congregation and the times. As a Dordt student in the early '60s I heard First CRC's preacher then deliver his famous "Pail of Grease" sermon against business sponsored drawings for prizes, against gambling in any form, including, I supposed, flipping quarters for beer on Friday afternoons when we sweat-sopped DeStigter Bros' mason tenders laid off for the weekend. The preacher said then with feeling, "We insult God by imposing on Him to decide so trivial a thing as who gets a pail of grease! There is no such thing as chance!" Electrifying! Decades later I recalled the sermon to the pastor who preached it and told him (as the kid of the man who sold such) that in the 'fifties his five-gallon pail of grease ran to forty bucks. He said with feeling, "That much, John! I myself would be real tempted to . . . ." Laughter
By contrast, your wonderful story of your pastor's farewell recalls for me his softly expressed, funny, grace-full talk after-hours at one or another CRC synod. Many of us around the table took our church roles and responsibilities too seriously -- I did -- and his words heard over six blaring screens of Stanley Cup finals that "synods come and go but good ministry at home will stick" stuck.
Thanks for writing, Jim