Vintage21 Church

admin · Site Admin Joined: 23 Jan 2008 Posts: 39

Index:

1. Index Purpose
2. Men’s Conference
3. Elder Accountability
4. Avenues of Communication
5. Building Usage, Wisdom & Weddings
6. Traveling to Seattle
7. Offices: New Location
8. Snippets
9. Exit

Index Purpose:

“The Seatbelt Sign has been turned off, feel free to move about the cabin.” The intention of this weekly letter is to inform you. If you don’t have an interest in a particular topic, skip it. Use the index to scroll to topics you’d like to know about. In reality, the index is provided for you to decide where you’d like to go, to “move freely” throughout the article. But, if you chose not to read a particular posting, don’t let us catch you saying things like, “…such and such has never been communicated” (Smiley Face).

Men’s Conference:

Last Saturday, February 16th, men from Vintage and several other churches on the east coast gathered to hear 4 speakers challenge them with applying the Gospel to their lives. Pastor JD Greear, from The Summit Church in Durham, spoke on “The Gospel and Masculinity." Our own Pastor Tyler, hit the topic hard “The Gospel and the Sin of Men”. Pastor Jonathan MacIntosh, challenged us with “The Gospel and the call to build the Kingdom,” and finally, Pastor Rob Greene (another one of our own, transplanted to plant a church in Richmond, VA called Redemption Hill Church) gave us hard words on “The Gospel and How Men Should Treat Women”. It was an incredible day for the Men of our church. The V21 Pastors and Speakers sat and prayed with over thirty men who realized they needed to repent of sin, and be reconciled with Jesus to pursue biblical Manhood. It was a humbling day, as we’re confident God was present with us, moving among us. If you are interested in listening to the audio from the conference, e-mail me, nate@vintage21.com and I’ll send you the link. Finally, to read the follow up E-mail that was sent to the men who were invited.

Elder Accountability:

The role of an Elder is something that is not easily entered into. Every Elder or future elder at Vintage21 has gone through or will go though extensive testing, training and life examination before he’s given the title of Elder. Listed here are the qualifications an Elder is required to have before he’s given the challenge of managing, caring for and laboring in the church: (To these things, he’s held accountable)

A. Must be above reproach (Titus 1:6; 1 Tim. 3:2).

B. Husband of one wife (Titus 1:6; 1 Tim. 3:2).

C. Household must be in order with children who believe (Titus 1 :6; 1 Tim. 3:4).

D. Not a new convert (1 Tim. 3:6).

E. Self controlled and temperate (Titus 1:7; 1 Tim. 3:2).

F. Honorable, hospitable, seeking good (Titus 1:7).

G. Have a good reputation ( 1 Tim. 3:7 ).

H. Not addicted to wine ( 1 Tim. 3:3 ).

I. Not greedy ( 1 Tim. 3:3 ).

J. Able to exhort (teach) sound doctrine ( Titus 1:9 ; 1 Tim. 3:2 ).

K. Able to refute false teaching ( Titus 1:9 ).

One of the Best explanations of how an Elder practices accountability comes from Alexander Strauch’s book titled, “Biblical Eldership”.

We come now to two, extremely significant reasons for and benefits of pastoral leadership by a council of qualified elders. First, the shared leadership structure of eldership provides necessary accountability protection from the particular sins that plague spiritual leaders. In turn, this protects the spiritual character of the local church and the testimony of the Lord's name. Second, the eldership structure provides peer relationships to help balance elders' weaknesses and correct their character, an essential component in the sanctification process of spiritual leaders.

Leadership Accountability: English historian Lord Acton said, "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Because of our biblical beliefs in the dreadful realities of sin, the curse, Satan, and human depravity, we should understand well why people in positions of power are easily corrupted. In fact, the better we understand the exceeding sinfulness and deceitfulness of sin, the stronger our commitment to accountability will be. The collective leadership of a biblical eldership provides a formal structure for genuine accountability.

Shared, brotherly leadership provides needed restraint concerning such sins as pride, greed, and "playing god." Earl D. Radmacher, chancellor of a Baptist seminary in America, writes, "Human leaders, even Christian ones, are sinners and they only accomplish God's will imperfectly. Multiple leaders, therefore, will serve as a 'check and balance' on each other and serve as a safeguard against the very human tendency to play God over other people."

It was never our Lord's will for one individual to control the local church. The concept of the pastor as the lonely, trained professional--the sacred person presiding over the church who can never really become a part of the congregation--is utterly unscriptural. Not only is this concept unscriptural, it is psychologically and spiritually unhealthy. Radmacher goes on to contrast the deficiencies of a church leadership that is placed primarily in the hands of one pastor to the wholesomeness of leadership when it is shared by multiple pastors:

Laymen . . . are indifferent because they are so busy. They have no time to bother with church matters. Church administration is left, therefore, largely in the hands of the pastor. This is bad for him, and it is bad also for the church. It makes it easier for the minister to build up in himself a dictatorial disposition and to nourish in his heart the love of autocratic power.

It is my conviction that God has provided a hedge against these powerful temptations by the concept of multiple elders. The check and balance that is provided by men of equal authority is most wholesome and helps to bring about the desired attitude expressed by Peter to the plurality of elders: ". . . shepherd the flock of God among you, not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock (1 Peter 5:2,3)."

In addition to providing close accountability, genuine partnership, and peer relationships--the very things most imperial pastors shrink from at all costs--shared leadership provides the local church shepherd with accountability for his work. Church leaders (like all of us) can be lazy, forgetful, fearful, or too busy to fulfill their responsibilities. Thus they need colleagues in ministry to whom they are answerable for their work. Coaches know that athletes who train together push one another to greater achievement. When someone else is running alongside him or her, a runner will push a little harder and go a little faster. The same is true in the Lord's work. That is one reason why the Lord sent out His disciples in twos.

Peer Relationships: One of the deep joys of my life has been to share the pastoral leadership of a church with a team of dedicated pastor elders. As partners in the work of shepherding God's precious, blood-bought people, we have sharpened, balanced, comforted, protected, and strengthened one another through nearly every conceivable life situation. I do not hesitate to say that the relationship with my fellow elders has been the most important tool God has used, outside of my marriage relationship, for the spiritual development of my Christian character, leadership abilities, and teaching ministry. The eldership has played a major role in the sanctification process of my Christian life.

Shared leadership can provide a church leader with critically needed recognition of his faults and deficiencies and can help to offset them.. We all have blind spots, eccentricities, and deficiencies. We all have what C. S. Lewis called "a fatal flaw." We can see these fatal flaws so clearly in others but not in ourselves. These fatal flaws or blind spots distort our judgment. They deceive us. They can even destroy us. This is particularly true of multitalented, charismatic leaders. Blind to their flaws and extreme views, some talented leaders have destroyed themselves because they had no peers who could confront and balance them and, in fact, wanted none.

When a single leader is atop a pyramidal structure of organization, the important balancing of one another's weaknesses and strengths normally does not occur. Note the strong language Robert Greenleaf, author of the book Servant Leadership, uses to convey his observations:

To be a lone chief atop a pyramid is abnormal and corrupting. None of us are perfect by ourselves, and all of us need the help and correcting influence of close colleagues. When someone is moved atop a pyramid, that person no longer has colleagues, only subordinates. Even the frankest and bravest of subordinates do not talk with their boss in the same way that they talk with colleagues who are equals, and normal communication patterns become warped.

I believe that traditional, single-church pastors would improve their character and ministry if they had genuine peers to whom they were regularly accountable and with whom they worked jointly.

On this level, the Vintage21 Elders are in life together. We hold one another accountable; we fight and labor hard to ensure the steps of faith and practice are lovingly followed in each other’s lives. If you have more questions about Elder accountability, we’d love to talk with you. E-mail nate@vintage21.com to begin that conversation.

Avenues of Communication:

We want you to know who to talk to and where to go for information. On the home page of the forum is a long list of ministries. Under each ministry title is the contact information for each of the people responsible for those areas. Look through that list, determine what area your question or need falls into and go ahead and contact the appropriate person. If you look on that list and still don’t know whom to contact, E-mail info@vintage21.com and we’ll make sure you get the answers you need.

Building Usage, Wisdom & Weddings:

We have an amazing facility. Our building at 117 S. West St. (where we hold services) is incredible, and we’re amazed to be there. We’ve grown, and God has seen fit to bring us into a place that we love and can actually call “Home”. However; here’s the struggle we’re facing. Though the building has got many incredible advantages, it’s got some large disadvantages as well. We have the difficult task of paying much larger operating bills with close to the same amount of income we had at our previous building. We pay almost 2.5 times the rent, and 6 times the utilities. The reality is, that because of extremely high utility cost, every time the building is opened it cost the church more money than just the rent we pay. The costs per use are in the hundreds of dollars. For stewardship reasons, we’re forced to make tough calls, frame working how the building is utilized. Here’s the filter through which we make the decisions.

1. The Building is used for Mission. (Here’s what lies in mission)
a. Sunday Services
b. Follower Development. (Classes and Training)
c. Conferences

2. The Building is used to bless the City. (Enables us to Practice Hospitality)
a. V21 Productions
b. First Friday

3. Owner Weddings.

We would love the building to be opened up for many other uses but because of the lack of finances and the lack of volunteers we are unable to do so. We have just a few people laboring hard who are willing to sacrifice time and energy, and we need to make sure these folks are care for well and not stretched too thin. The simple facts are these: To open up the building more, means we need more money and more volunteers, both of which we can’t seem to rally, though we’ve made numerous challenges. Humbly, as you think through building usage, please don’t hesitate to ask graciously why we’ve decided to open the building or not open the building.

Traveling to Seattle:

Pastoral Assistant Rob Davis and I will be traveling to Seattle tomorrow to participate in an Acts29 Church Planting/Pastoral Conference. It should be a good trip for training and gathering information that will help us labor in our Church. Additionally, God has been gracious, as he’s given us favor with several gifted leaders who’ve made themselves available who are willing to pour out what they’ve learned to help us better steward what God is giving us as a church. Please pray for Rob and me as we leave our families and travel for the week. We’ll let you know how it goes.

Offices - New Location:

There has never been any official communication about the fact that Vintage21 has offices. As we’ve continued to grow, it’s been crucial that we centralize operations and give the staff a consistent work environment. In December, we signed a lease and moved into our amazing office space. We’ve been in here now for 2 1⁄2 months, and it’s already been incredibly helpful and productive for us. We’d love for you to come by and visit. The office address is 133 Fayetteville St, Suite 310. Pop in and take a look!

Snippets:

1. We still need to hire a bookkeeper, please let me know. If you are interested, please let me know. (nate@vintage21.com)
2. Owner’s night: Prayer. Tyler Jones and Whitney Chambers will be teaching. 7pm.

Exit:

Thanks for reading. As always, please let me know if you have any information that you think needs to go into this letter. Have a great weekend!

Blessings,
Pastor Nate