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July 2016
Vol 16, Issue 7

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STORYLINE:  Welcome Eight New Pastors to EFCA West
Bible
Life is full of transitions for individuals.  The same is true of local churches.  In the past few months eight churches have chosen their new senior pastor.  Below are links we currently have to those pastors.  Please welcome them to the district, especially if they live anywhere near you.
Eli Shakelford - Midvale, UT
Jeff Thune - Tucson, AZ
Keith Crosby - Hillside Church in San Jose
Matt Curtis - Hillside Community Church in Porterville
Michael Rice - The Orchard in Kingsburg
Scott Savage - Cornerstone EFC in Prescott
Andrew Smith - The Bridge in Fresno
Todd Arnett - Trinity Church in Redlands
STORYLINE:  A Theology of Work
web video icon
For a Spring sermon on A Theology of Work, Antioch City Church in the Highland Park neighborhood of Los Angeles featured brief videos of twelve women talking about how their work is informed by their theology.
An Opening in the 10/40 Window
The events surrounding the war in Syria and Northern Iraq have opened a window of opportunity to reach peoples that have historically been hard to reach but are now becoming reachable, amid the largest mass migration of people in over 70 years.  Join pastors, missions teams, and interested church members from other EFCA churches at Hillside EFC in San Jose, CA, on July 30 from 9am-3pm.  The cost of attending is a $5 donation at the door or one bottle of children's multi-vitamins per person to benefit refugees. Optional Lunch: $7.50.  Click here for more information on the Conference, here for Online Registration, here for more information on the refugee crisis and EFCA's response, and here for the latest blog on the refugee crisis.
New Overtime Rules May Affect Your Church by the End of 2016
On May 18, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a major update to federal overtime regulations . The "white collar" exemption of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) was revised upward and tightened. Nonprofit organizations, including churches, are not exempt from these rules according to legal advisers.  FCMM, the benefits and retirement arm of EFCA, has an informative article online with links to the important documents related to these changes.  FCMM has a helpful newletter.  You can subscribe here.
EFCA Podcast:  "Believed in All It Teaches"
Central to our faith is the belief that God's Word is "to be believed in all that it teaches." But what do we really mean? Where and how does the Bible teach this truth?  And perhaps most pressing, does our belief in the truthfulness and authority of Scripture really make a practical difference in life and ministry? On this episode of the podcast we share an interview with Dr. Doug Huffman from BIOLA University on this important topic.  You can subscribe by email here.

The EFCA Theology Podcast is hosted by Brian Farone, EFCA West Director of Biblical Theology and Credentialing.
Something to Talk About:  Church Leadership and Convoy Driving
"Under normal circumstances, emergency responders try to get safely to the scene as quickly as possible.  When responding to the scene of an emergency as a group, however, there is an added requirement.   You see, the goal of convoy driving is not only to get the group to its destination as quickly as possible, but also to have them arrive together and ready to go to work as a team.  For church leaders, getting to the desired destination together and ready to work is something to talk about."
The Pastoral Power of Undivided Attention
Counseling couple
Recently in Christianity Today, Lee Eclov, senior pastor of Village Church (EFC) in Lincolnshire, IL, spoke to the editors about The Pastoral Power of Undivided Attention.  "Folks are deeply grateful for any kind of personal visit - a lunch, a phone call at a stressful time, a quiet huddling in the foyer on Sunday morning."
Email Is Not Leadership's Friend
In a recent article in Forbes, Jen Roberts highlights the challenge of using email as a primary tool in leadership and offers suggestions for its use and avoiding its misuse. "In the quest for results and racing against the clock, leaders sometimes lose sight of the fact that it's through strong relationships (which are a result of good communication) that allow an organization to be truly successful in accomplishing its goals." Email Spells Disaster for Leadership Connection suggests seven ways to connect that are better than email.
Ten Reasons Even Committed Church Members Are Attending Less Often
DNA
A recent post on ChurchLeaders.com, listed Ten Reasons Even Committed Church Members are Attending Less Often.  "This is the first in a series of posts about church attenders who love God, appreciate the local church and are even involved in the local church, but who simply attend less often."  The list includes things such as more blended families, more focus on children's activities, and self-directed spirituality.
Why Relational Skills Are Critical to Leadership Success
In a recent podcast, Thom Rainer discusses the importance of relational skill.  The EFCA West team can validate anecdotally that relational issues are more often the cause of pastoral transition than is doctrinal error.  Why Relational Skills Are Critical to Leadership Success is a good overview of the issues involved.
Delegating Leadership or Dumpster Leadership
Dumpster leadership is similar to driving to a dumpster and quickly unloading all the things in your car that you don't want, things you never want to see again. Dumpster leadership hands tasks to others without a heart to develop them or an intentional plan to ensure the work is done well. On the other hand, delegating is wise, effective, and loving. Effective delegation spreads responsibilities to others so that the organization can accomplish more while simultaneously developing other leaders.  Read Ten Differences Between Delegating and Dumpster Leadership by Eric Geiger.
FoMo
In his blog Barking Up the Wrong Tree, Eric Barker addresses the problem of FoMo (Fear of Missing Out) and how to overcome this very common, almost crippling anxiety.  While the article is touted as "science-based answers and expert insight on how to be awesome at life," the answers he gives align with insights God reveals about the human condition in both its brokenness and in its redemption and sanctification.
Something to Think About
"One of the tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency." --Arnold Glasow
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