Purpose & Principles of a Local Church, Part 3

Ed Vasicek

Introduced by Pastor Ed Vasicek. Read Part 1 and Part 2.

Here is the last part of our “Purpose and Principles” document, developed and unanimously approved by our 1996 Elders’ Board. It grapples with what we consider to be reasonable and the proper balance in matters of how we conduct services, when we separate, and political activity. It continues to explain what makes our church distinct from both mainline churches and other evangelical churches. This line in particular grips me: “Our concern is that we are headed toward involving our people in edification and ministry, not matching anyone’s model.”

Views on Ministries

Discussion

Counseling - relationship -vs- ministry role

Dan Miller

In years past, I was a youth leader. I met with many teens. Some boys one-on-one or in twos, threes, Bible study groups, etc.

With some, I developed friendships that persist even now, and we still sometimes talk on the phone or text. With others, the relationship waned with their graduation and progression out of our youth ministry. Even in those cases, I would still consider myself their “friend.”

My wife and I have also done a very limited amount of pre-marriage counseling. In most of that, we have not kept up significant contact with some of those couples.

Discussion

Humility & Anxiety in Christian Service

Dan Miller

Philippians 2 is often called the Kenosis passage because it describes Jesus as emptying Himself. He “made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” The word kenosis means empty or nothing, and the idea is key to understanding and solving the issues of humility and anxiety in Christian ministry (See the recent How to Insult Your Pastor Creatively).

Discussion

Purpose & Principles of a Local Church, Part 2

Ed Vasicek

Introduced by Pastor Ed Vasicek. Read Part 1.

In the first installment of our “Purpose and Principles of Highland Park Church” document, I explained how the elders (1996) unanimously embraced the views expressed in it, and that this document still represents my viewpoint.

When I tell folks, “I don’t want our church to be like other churches,” they almost always say, “I don’t either.” But we often mean different things by that statement. This document goes a long way toward explaining what I mean.

Last time, we saw that involving a lot of people in our gatherings (body life) was key to our view of a successful church. We look at edification as the template and rubric for our services. This is one of the major, intentional distinctives between our church and most others in our area. While many other churches are putting their “best” in the limelight, we want to develop our people via participation and body life (as we understand the Bible to mandate). We also want people to be attracted to HPC because they see God at work in our people (not just a few), and we want to showcase that reality as much as we can.

Discussion