By Graeme Fisher

On Saturday, November 21 the Ministry Needs and Staffing Task Force hosted a Ministry Workshop for the leadership of NSCBC. All together, 43+ people were there representing the Leadership Council, Elders, Ministry Needs and Staffing Task Force and other ministry areas. Each of the 22 ministries represented was given an opportunity to briefly report on how things are going and each was asked to report on what their greatest needs were (things hindering them from most effectively carrying out their area of ministry). This was followed by a time of collaboration/brainstorming on staffing models that might best meet our needs.

Steve Gruber and Betsy Crowe facilitated the meeting so the task force could listen and record comments. After each ministry area shared, their comments were grouped under three growth areas identified by NSCBC as important to our future: 1) Local Outreach; 2) Equipping for Ministry/Leadership Development; 3) Discipleship, going deeper in our faith.

These were affirmed at last year’s Annual Meeting, and have been affirmed by the Elders.

From the meeting, the following became very clear to us as a task force:

1. Our church (leaders and volunteers) are working very hard to keep up with all that is going on at the church. We are grateful to them!

2. Our leaders need help with • Finding and training volunteers • Clarifying and implementing a vision/plan for each ministry

3. Our ministries feel isolated • Part of this was due to the challenges of finding volunteers • Part of this was not feeling like what they were doing was closely tied into the vision and mission of NSCBC

We received many thanks and positive feedback from the meeting. People all seemed to have learned a great deal about our church, and we thought it was very helpful that we all could hear from and learn from each other. We did not walk away with all the answers to our questions, but we learned a great deal to consider as part of our process. One clear theme and need expressed is that going forward we need to clarify our vision and how all the ministries of the church fit into it. Our leaders need to provide this clarity in the future as new staff members join our ministry.

As a task force, we want to thank all those of you who participated. We were truly blessed by hearing what God is doing in our midst and we trust you were as well. We continue to covet your prayers and welcome you to share any questions or concerns you may have on the information you see/hear from us.

The Ministry Needs and Staffing Task Force has been formed by the Elders and the Leadership Counsel. We have been asked to review the church’s ministries and vision as well as the staffing model we have been working with, and to recommend a staffing model that will serve NSCBC in the years ahead.

The Task Force includes: Co-Chairs Norm Howarth and Jane Parrish, and members Liz Arthurs, Graeme Fisher, Kathy Teal and Gary Westra.

FROM THE PASTOR'S DESK

Should Baptism Include Joining the Church?

Scripture-honoring Christians have had different understandings of baptism throughout the history of the Church. Who is a candidate: believers only, or believers and their children? In the New Testament, baptism seems to follow quickly after conversion. That has led many Christian churches, Baptists in particular, to encourage baptism as soon after conversion as possible, and to think of being a member of the church as a separate matter. Should there be a connection between baptism and being a member of local body of believers?

And does it really matter? Or should we simply shrug our shoulders and say, “So what!?”

Our Elders have been discussing that question. We are moving in the direction of answering, “Yes, it matters, and we think baptism and membership in the church should be tied together.”

Many in our church were baptized as infants in Christian families and do not think they need to be baptized by immersion to join NSCBC. This is a related but separate issue, and not one I want to address in this article. But it is a relevant question and a personal one for me, since I was baptized as an infant and again as an adult. I’ll leave that for another day, and perhaps for a sermon or two.

Our Elders are coming to the conclusion that baptism and membership should be united for several biblical and theological reasons. First and foremost is the Great Commission found in Matthew 28:18-20. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Notice that verse twenty includes Jesus commanding us to teach those we baptize to obey Christ’s commands. Dallas Willard has called this the Church’s “Great Omission” from the “Great Commission.” His point is that the Church sometimes makes believers without making disciples. This passage implies a relationship with other believers who teach the person baptized to help them become an obedient follower of Christ.

Other biblical reasons for tying baptism to church membership flow from the nature of baptism and the nature of the Church. All Christian traditions affirm that baptism symbolizes an entrance into the believing community. The New Testament pattern, is “Repent and be baptized.” (Acts 2:38) We turn away from our sin and turn toward God. We cease trying to be our own God and submit to Him as Savior and King. We end our lives of spiritual darkness and isolation and begin a new spiritual life with Christ and His people. Romans 6:3-4 states its meaning beautifully: 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. We begin a new life with Christ and enter God’s family.

But what does this have to do with the Church? Think of the unified ways the Church is pictured in the New Testament. The word “church”, ekklesia, means “the called out ones,” a group called out and separated unto God. We are born into the family of God (1 Tim 5:1-2), and are members of God’s household (Ephesians 2:19, Hebrews 3:6). We are also God’s temple, “living stones” connected together (I Peter 2:5). The Church is also called the Bride of Christ (Ephesians 5:32) and the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12; Ephesians 1:22; Colossians 2:19). When you marry, vows are made and you enter into a covenant relationship. Our physical bodies have “members.” I don’t know about you, but I would like all my “body parts” to stay attached and continue functioning as “one body!”

We know that the Church is to have Elders, “spiritual overseers” of the Church who share in shepherding us and to whom we are accountable. (Act 20:28; I Peter 5:2-3; Hebrews 13:17) Just as a family has parents, so the Church has overseers. By the very nature of the Church as we see it described, we are assumed to be members of it. All of these pictures imply a recognized, intentional, covenant relationship. Further, we are not to be simply members of the global Church, but local bodies of believers. Church history tells us that before the canon was even closed, there has been a process for being baptized and joining the Church. Clement of Rome in 95 AD speaks about the believers being in churches overseen by both elders and deacons. That date is about the same as the writing of the book or Revelation! By AD 117 “The Didache” existed as a compilation of teaching used to instruct Christians on how to come together for worship, baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and to appoint elders and deacons in the church.

From the beginning, Christians have seen the importance of being a recognized part of the Church, being a part of the family of God, and overseen by its appointed leaders. When we are spiritually born again in Christ, we are born into a spiritual family. As a human person, we may speak of being part of the human family, but we realize we are truly members of our own family, with a Mother and a Father. In a similar way, we are members of the Church universal, but we should also be members of a local church. That is our primary relationship. Again, when we are baptized in to Christ – symbolizing being born again – we are born into a church, a spiritual family.

This is something to celebrate! We celebrate births and weddings, and we should celebrate baptism and church membership. What a joy and privilege to be God’s children and each others spiritual brothers and sisters. At NSCBC we want to recognize and celebrate these relationships in a way that is consistent with Scripture and with other believers through out history. The Church matters to Jesus. It is His Bride. It should matter to us.

As we enter this New Year, I am blessed to be your Senior Pastor, a teaching Elder. I celebrate my relationship to you as my spiritual family, and the flock to which God has called me as shepherd. As new people are baptized into Christ, we’ll welcome them into our family, as well.

Gary

GRACE & PEACE: COMMUNICATION FROM THE CHURCH OFFICE

How Well Do We Communicate With One Another?

Many of you know how much I enjoy writing letters and keeping in touch with friends, acquaintances and family. For many years, taking time to communicate with others has been a major part of who I am. As a young girl I had several “Pen Pals” –– people I had never met –– from all over the country. After attending summer camp, or later, working summers at a Bible Conference in New Jersey, I kept in touch with many new friends by letter throughout the year. Growing up on a farm, I didn’t have the luxury of having many friends; receiving mail became an important link with the ‘outside world’. Even sending away for free literature, and then beginning to have envelopes arrive in our rural mailbox, was an exciting thing for a young girl ‘way out’ in the country!

As the years continued –– college, living overseas after marriage, and then returning to this area to settle –– keeping in touch with friends and family became even more important. Disappointing, even discouraging, when many over the years have not responded or returned communication. For example, one Christmas card and note to an aunt was eventually returned, stamped, “Deceased”; what a shocking way to learn of a relative’s death! Or perplexion when most fail to even acknowledge when a letter, picture, note or other information is sent. However, it is important for me to keep in mind that I am not called to write or remember people in order to ‘feel good’, but because of the admonition to “encourage one another”. (Hebrews 3:13; 10:25 and other passages)

I suppose it is therefore somewhat appropriate that one who so enjoys communication with others has been charged with some of that responsibility here at NSCBC –– keeping people informed and in touch with one another. We have several avenues for that to take place: bulletins, notes, meetings, phone calls, EMail, The Shoreline, and our new ‘United’ (church on-line communication tool). Have you ever noticed how many of the Apostle Paul’s letters begin with greetings or encouragement and expressions of his desire for his recipients to know God’s blessing (‘grace & peace’)?

In order to help us encourage one another, I welcome any suggestions you may have. Most important is that all we say (do, write ...) be done in such a way that is honoring to God (I Corinthians 10:31). Paul’s letters did not engage in ‘small talk’, but rather things of real substance. May our conversations, notes and letters contain the same.

“Be clear minded and self-controlled ... love each other .... Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has ... to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace ... If anyone speaks (or writes!) ... (or) serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised... To Him be the glory!!” (I Peter 4:7-11)

Let us find ways to encourage one another in Christ!

Marilyn G. Sweet, Office Administrator January 2010

LIBRARY FOOTNOTES

by Jean McKenna, Librarian

Thanks: Thanks to all our patrons, supporters, and especially our Librarians for a great 2009. We truly appreciate your donations, suggestions, and helpfulness throughout the year. We couldn’t do it without you?? A big thank you to Chrissy, who we will miss a lot, and Rachel who lit up the Library. And, of course, thanks to Marilyn on whom we rely too much.

News: For your edification and ease of perusal, the photo albums from years past have been placed on the top shelves over fiction books, and to the right of the rear door. Please feel free to take them down and enjoy looking through them. Thanks, Marilyn.

Check-Outs: We dislike harping on the same old themes, but taking out books from the Library continues to be a problem for a lot of folks. PLEASE remember to stamp both the book and card with the correct date, which would be three weeks from the Sunday you are taking out the books – a generous amount of time to get the materials back by the due date. Our Library is not completely automated, so the Librarian who checks in books must go through the entire catalog of materials that have been taken out in order to find items not properly stamped. You would be surprised at how many long overdue books and videos/DVDs have not been returned. It is costly to replace items, and makes it difficult to purchase new ones. Also PLEASE DO NOT CHANGE DATE DUE STAMP, and if you have little children who do not know how to properly take out books, please help them. Thank you!

I recently purchased a book entitled Grace and Truth; Or, The Glory and Fulness of the Redeemer Displayed, 1798. for my out-of-print business. The book had been the property of the Beverly Third Social Library 1806. Written beautifully on the front endpaper were these words:

An Epitome of the Laws of the Beverly Third Social Library.

Art. 1st Neglecting to return a book within 2 yearly month’s subjects the holder to a fine of 1 cent per day till returned (pretty hefty for 1806 I would think).

Art. 2nd A Book being injured must be made good by the Proprietor to whose account it was sett down.

Art. 3rd Neglecting to return a book the Saturday before the annual meeting (which is the 2nd Tuesday in January) subjects the holder to a fine of 25 cents.

Not much has changed!

New Acquisitions:

Non-Fiction: Schlatter, Victor. Showdown of the Gods: The Global confrontations Between Islam, Humanism, and God.

Crowder, Bill A. Overcoming Life’s Challenges.

McManners, John. The Oxford Illustrated History of Christianity.

Gonzalez, Justo L. The Story of Christianity: The Early Church to the Present Day.

Wiersbe, Warren W. Heirs of the King: Living the Beatitudes.

We also have several new (to us) videos, some new fictions, and several new children’s books.

Review (sort of): The following was received from Dan Feins: “My daughter just finished reading me, RattleBang, written and illustrated by Mark McCord. This is a fabulous book, and I’m so glad it was on display in our Library. Iona couldn’t wait to read a bit more from the book each night. And we were able to talk about the book, and she even knew the biblical reference!”  Dan also asked if we could order the other two books in the series, and we surely will. This is the type of feedback we love to receive. Thanks Dan!

Again, thank you for making use of our Library –– a great resource for NSCBC. Our New Year’s resolve is to better serve our community and to provide them with the necessary information that will help each person to develop their Christian faith.

Thank you to our Librarians: Jan Biggar, Beth Anderson, Jane Robinson, and Jane Murphy.