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Relationally Committed
by Rev. Steve Engram, SWCC Regional Executive
As an association, how do we accomplish our core value of being "relationally committed"? We all understand the relational component that Jesus demonstrated in His ministry with His disciples and with those He came in contact with through His ministry. His words to us ring in our ears, "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:35). But I think all of us have found that saying we are "relationally committed" to other believers is much easier to say than to do. Perhaps the hardest word in that phrase is "committed" because that calls for us to push for relationship with some who at times will not appreciate our desire for relationship, with others who might take advantage of our care for them, and there might even be others with whom we might have some disagreements about how and why we do things.
On a macro level we seek to do this through pastors helping pastors and churches helping churches. It's a commitment to be involved with peers for the purpose of serving and giving rather than primarily getting and receiving. Of course we all know the paradox that Jesus taught us that if we give we will receive, but it too is sometimes hard to practice in our busy lives. We have so many demands on our time and energy through our church, family and community, so much so that it is hard to carve the time to participate in a Connection Group with other pastors, to take their burdens upon ourselves to pray about and to seek to walk with them through their issues. But if we are truly "relationally committed" I think . . .
Steve
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Shepherding a "Heritage" Ministry
Dr. Bert Downs, SWCC Regional Coach
The conference call was scheduled to last 30 minutes. Instead, it lasted two hours with a planned continuance to come later. The focus of the call involved leading what my young ministry colleague called a "heritage" church . . . a church that once had a thriving ministry that reached and led many unchurched neighbors to faith in Christ, but has now settled into a comfortable and failing routine of taking care of existing attendees and structures.
He was called to lead a heritage church as his first pastoral ministry, and has persisted in that ministry for a few years now. Brought on to bring new hope and approaches to what those who called him perceived as a declining ministry, he has faced mostly resistance to nearly every initiative, a resistance often couched in the criticism that he cares more about those outside the church than those in it.
Amazingly, he still sees the potential he originally saw in the work and still clings to a real hope for that potential. His questions for me were, . . .
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Quick Links
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Invest
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Churches Looking
for Pastors
Click on a link below to see their website or to get an email for more information.
Calvary Baptist, Tempe
FBC Arivaca
FBC Mammoth
Mission Park Baptist, Tucson - part time worship leader
Summit Ridge Church, NV - associate pastor/worship
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Relationship: the key to ministry for Mark Phillips
 Mark Phillips told me that he became a believer in Jesus Christ in his sophomore year of High School because of the relationship he had with Dan Stout, a fellow teammate on the football team. He sa
 | | Mark and Jacob Phillips |
ys that Dan persistently invited him to his church until by God's grace he eventually trusted in Jesus as his Savior.
Mark was born in a small farming community in north central Indiana. He graduated with a BS from Butler University in Indianapolis and recently (August 2012) with a Master of Theology degree (Th.M) from Dallas Theological Seminary.
He begins as the new pastor at First Baptist Church of Quartzsite the first week of July. He says that his story about becoming their pastor is an amazing display of how God works in demonstrating His will. Before he was contacted by SWCC as a possible candidate for the search team to consider, Mark and along with his wife Jennifer, a graduate of Purdue University, and their three children, Hannah, Jacob, and Alyssa were headed in a different direction. . .
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 Creating MemoriesLast Sunday, I was riding my quad through camp headed toward our Frontier Village Camp. We were getting ready to open registration for our second 4 - 6 grade camp and I had an igloo filled with ice cold Gatorade for the campers when they arrived.
As I passed by a sign that had an arrow pointing to Frontier Village, I saw an older lady with a camera taking a picture of two young campers. I stopped so as not to disrupt the picture, and then asked her if this was a "before" picture, and if she planned on coming back of Friday to take an "after" picture.
She smiled and said "No, this is my youngest grand daughter and her friend." She went on to tell me that she had accepted Christ at a Prescott Pines high school camp many years ago. She had sent all three of her sons to camp here, and this was the fifth (and last) of her grandchildren that she was sending to camp.
As I continued with my chores, I was humbled.
I was reminded of Matthew 19:13, where people were bringing children to Jesus so He could lay hands on them and pray for them. These parents wanted their children to be close to Jesus, just like the lady with the camera. I confess that since that encounter, I have spent more time in prayer for the campers who are on our property. I want them to be touched by Jesus too!
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 SWCC Leadership Retreat - "Revitalize"
Mrs. Carol Tetzlaff, SWCC Event Coordinator
Summer at Mesa Baptist Church, where I serve on staff, is very busy. Already this summer in the month of June we have run 22 day camps and are gearing up for VBS in a week. By the end of July our staff is ready to relax and prepare to gear up for fall ministries. That is one of the very reasons why the Leadership Retreat is so vital to revitalize those of us who serve tirelessly in ministry.
This August we are looking forward to a time of renewal at the beautiful Scottsdale Plaza Resort, and I hope you are planning to join us. The resort offers all the amenities that one would need to enjoy some time away with your spouse and/or other members of your team.
Plan to attend August 15-17 as we gather to encourage each other as we each move to the next phase of our ministries. Rooms are only guaranteed through July 16th, so register today!
Since this retreat is at a resort, there are two steps to your registration: register for the retreat with SWCC and reserve your room with the Plaza Resort. You can find the links on our webpage to do both.
Hope to see your staff and leadership team in August!
Register Here
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Pastor Steve Doerksen, SWCC Connection Groups & Church Planting Consultant
Pontus, the Pastor of Desert Sun Church in Phoenix shares why he finds Connection Groups to be so valuable...
Life is awesome when ministry is going great. How amazing to see God working in the midst of my church. In those moments, I can feel as if I need no other men around me. Then, ministry turns against me.
 | | Pontus Karnsund |
I'm thrown on the ground and stomped on. I want to hide until I have that great story to share again. That's when Connection Groups can take those moments and turn them into a Kingdom force. Stepping into a room and hearing stories of other men that are in the trenches of ministry is inspiring. Sometimes we pick one guy up, other times we are sharing victory stories, and at times we brainstorm ideas to grow our Kingdom impact. As relationships grow, so does the ability we have to also find a greater and deeper support; actual friends that we can share with and learn from. That is my ideal for Connection Groups: a dynamic and safe place where ideas are groomed, skills are sharpened, and men are embraced when ministry is hitting them hard. That doesn't just happen easily though. It takes commitment and authenticity, but I see that more and more guys in ministry are ready for that.
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Dr. Ed Clavell, SWCC Regional Facilitator
 Systems: 8 Characteristics of Healthy Church Systems
I have been called the "Systems Person" on more than one occasion. Usually, when I am called a "Systems Guy"; what we have is two word description of the thought process which takes place when I make the connection between an organization and/or a person and their goals. The flow goes something like this; "What is the path between the vision stated on a piece of paper and the realization of the vision. Many churches have a gap between their vision and the execution of said vision. Without healthy systems, they will not be able to accomplish God's vision for their ministry.
What is a system? According to W. Edwards Deming; "A system is a network of interdependent components that work together to try to accomplish the aim of the system. A system must have an aim. Without the aim, there is no system." A healthy system is a simple, replicable process to help people move from where they are to where God wants them to be.
Because every organization is unique, there's no way we can prescribe a one size fits all system to accomplish the vision God has for your church. We can, however, share some common characteristics of healthy systems that may point you in the right direction.
1. They empower leaders to accomplish ministry without always having to get permission . . .
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