connection magazine 
May 2014

Bible Centered 

by Steve Engram, SWCC Regional Executive

 
Steve Engram

If you had to describe your church to someone, what would be some of the first descriptions you would give?  I can imagine a lot of descriptive terms that would come to my mind: loving, evangelistic, mission-minded, friendly, etc.  But I would imagine that for most all of us in the SWCC high up on our list would be Bible-Centered.  It is something that is important to all of us.  From the inception of our movement some 70 years ago until the present, the centrality of the Word of God has been foundational to our identity. We believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God and that to study it is to study the wisdom and truth that belongs to Him. At the heart of our commitment to the Bible is the faithful preaching and teaching of the Word. We believe the Word of God holds the message of salvation that brings eternal life to all people everywhere.  And thus as an Association our first Core Value is that we are Bible-centered. 

 

And our commitment to the Word goes beyond simply preaching and teaching the Bible in our churches. We all hold to the truth that the Word of God must be lived out in our lives. We believe that as followers of Jesus Christ we must walk in obedience to its truth, follow its precepts and live within the guidance of its wisdom. In John 14 to His disciples, in intimate conversation about how their future relationship was going to work since He would be leaving them, Jesus said "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments." (John 14:15 NASB). The Scriptures are of primary importance to our relationship with Jesus.

 

We believe that the Holy Spirit will use The Scriptures to transform our minds and our hearts and that the Bible will be a chief tool He uses as He conforms us into the image of Jesus. It is this transformational effect of the Word that is so powerful to the world around us: Change Lives! It is the power of God lived out in our lives before a world that does not yet know Him. It is this integrity of obedience in Christ-likeness that shouts to the world that the power of the gospel is real!

 

So it is this quest to be Bible-centered that leads us to continually seek to be more effective in our communication and imparting of God's Word to our church families. It causes us to learn from one another new ways to create a hunger and thirst for God's Word in the lives of our people, for we believe the Word of God is the power by which the Holy Spirit transforms lives and shines the light of hope to a world that is in darkness. I hope that you will find in this magazine some new and challenging ways to make the Bible more of an integral part of your life and ministry.

   

Steve

bible
In This Issue
The Word of God is Timeless
Camp - Teaching the Word at a Kid's Level
Annual Connection Group Roundtable in Tucson
Bi-Vocational but Fully Pastor

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The Word of God is Timeless 

Carol Tetzlaff, SWCC Event Coordinator  

Carol Tetzlaff

 

William Shakespeare, Aristotle, Tocqueville, and other classical authors were part of our daughter's reading requirements at the Great Hearts high school she graduated from in 2012.  I still can remember her ninth grade year as I struggled with her through the book "Democracy in America" by Tocqueville,  a French political thinker and historian who wrote of the state of America in the 1830s.  His purpose was to explain that the republican representative democracy had found success in the United States even though it had failed in many other countries, referring to his native France.

 

Upon publication, his book became popular in both Europe and North America.  The book is still used today in many undergraduate political-science classes and in schools that teach classical literature.  At the time, and still today, Tocqueville's analysis of the state of America is accurate and his predictions of what would continue to evolve are relevant even as we live in the 21st century.

 

Although Tocqueville's work is respected in many circles, it is not the center of our political structure and it not looked upon for wise council by our government leaders. Times change and so does the source of wisdom in our culture, that is in every aspect of culture except Christianity. 

 
In Matthew 24:35 we read that "Heaven and Earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away."  From the accounts of creation, Noah, and the Patriarchs to the journey of the Apostle Paul, the stories of God have been passed down throughout the generations.  As Abraham sat in his tent tell Isaac about the world-wide flood, we too tell our children the story of the animals coming two-by-two.   

 

The Word of God is timeless, it spans beyond our generational preferences and even our culture.  It meets us in our greatest need and finds us in our greatest trial.  It is the revealed Word of God that He has given us straight from His heart.

 

What He reveals to us through His words is the essence of His very character:  merciful, loving just, righteous, wonderful and good.  But He also withholds information from us that we may not be able to comprehend as we live here on earth.  God chooses not to reveal our plans in advance because at times our "human vision is so desperately nearsighted, we would never be able to see the glory for the pain."  (Whispers of Hope, 136)

 

But one day we understand as we read from I Corinthians 13:12,  "We will fully know even as we are fully known."  Until that time let us encourage one another in the Word, not just in theory, but in practical ways.   

   

This encouragement is one of the evident outcomes of our Leadership Retreat.  This year it will take place from July 30th - August 1st at the Scottsdale Plaza.  These gatherings offer pastors, church leaders, and their spouses the chance to be reignited in their own faith through the words and connections with others.  This year we are offering a new format that encourages lead pastors and spouses to come a day early to spend time with our speaker.  We will also have a session just for pastor's wives as we bring them together to speak to their heart.

 

Please visit the website for more information 

 

camp blog
 Jim Trail, Prescott Pines Camp Director
article by Micaela Clark, Prescott Pines Camp
 
Jim Trail
Camp - Teaching the Word at a Kid's Level 

 

Prescott Pines Camp has a unique opportunity to present Bible truth to those who come to visit. Throughout the year, we have over 319 different churches bring people to our main camp. During the summer we open a second ten acre camp for children based around an 1860's western theme. Frontier Village is a seven week effort to touch the lives of children and youth. We use college age counselors and staff to share the good news in a creative way to the campers.

 

Serenity is the name of the town within Frontier Village. It is a child's safe haven, a place where children get to be themselves. They find adventure, meet their best friend, sing silly camp songs, and most importantly, experience God on a personal level.  At camp the kids are given the Word   
truthfully and in a way they can understand.  During this week in their lives they are exposed to a strong Bible centered theme in each activity they do. This year's theme is based around Luke's story of the Good Samaritan. 

 

Our Good Samaritan parable will involve different citizens of the western town being confronted by the needs of an injured stranger who needs their help. The skits, teepee devotions, and chapel talks will all be influenced by this year's theme of the Good Samaritan.  

 

The great part about teaching kids the Bible is seeing how smart they are and also being able to see the understanding they have for God's messages in everyday life. We have a unique, humbling, and amazing opportunity to watch children not only accept Christ for the first time, but to also continue to grow over the years as they come back to attend camp year after year. Watching their relationship grow stronger and make a difference in their lives is what camp is all about.   

 

making connections 
 
 
 
  
 Steve Doerksen, SWCC Connection Groups & Church Planting Consultant
 
Steve Doerksen
Annual Roundtable in Tucson 

Last week was the second annual Connection Group Roundtable event in Tucson.  It's a training event where the leaders of our connection groups gather once a year to encourage each other, report on their respective groups, and discuss ways to improve and add value to the groups.  We all appreciated the encouragement and teaching of Steve Engram, Jim Bull, Greg Lavine, and Dan Gavaza, which by no coincidence, all originated from biblical principles.  The philosophy of pastors investing in pastors and even the strategy and structure of our Connection Groups all finds its source in Scripture.  Thank you group leaders for investing out of the margins of your life into this valuable ministry.


More on Connection Groups  

around the network

 

 

 

 

Dwight Hunt, SWCC Church Health and Placement Consultant

 

Bi-vocational But Fully Pastor 

Dwight Hunt

  

No one denies the reality that being a pastor is difficult particularly in our culture.  But for our bi-vocational SWCC pastors, ministry can be a great challenge.  They may have two incomes, but they are fully the pastors of their churches that God has called them to preach and teach His Word.

   

Mike Wright, one of our bi-vocational pastors who serves at Sonoita Bible Church, points to "the tremendous benefit" of seeing God work through him to minister to people.  He sites his weekly preaching opportunities and his pastoral responsibilities as ways God has used him.  He also says that the big-time challenge comes from balancing the running of his 55 hour per week insurance agency, his 20 hour per week pastoral responsibilities, and his important time with his family.  But all-in-all these experiences have matured him and made him relevant as he shares with his people what God has been teaching him through the week.

 

Bart Muller, another bi-vocational pastor at First Baptist of Superior, says that his "worldly" profession for the past twenty years has been repairing exercise equipment.  Until recently he ran his own business (from 2001-2013), but now he works for Sears Home Services repairing water softeners and exercise equipment.  Bart points out that perhaps the biggest advantage of being a bi-vocational pastor has been his connecting with the members of his congregation who are also working.  He says, "there certainly isn't any notion that I can't relate to the struggles in the workplace."  Like Mike he struggles with balancing time demands between "secular work," serving as a pastor, and his wife and children. Yet he has seen Go.   

 

Definitely both Mike and Bart along with our other bivocational pastors can relate to Paul's words when he says not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God. . . (2Cor 3:5).