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We saw last week that the Church is the Body of Jesus Christ here in
the earth. God has designed each member
of the body of Christ to function specifically in their own unique
gifting. The spiritual leaders that He
places in the context of each local church are given the responsibility to
equip God’s children for “the work of
service.” This, in turn, lends
itself to building up the body. When my
feet, legs, hands and arms cooperate and work together on an exercise machine,
my whole body is built up and strengthened.
Even so, “the proper working of
each individual part” of the Body of Christ “causes the growth of the body.” (Ephesians 4:11-16)
As many of you know, we are tremendously blessed here at Hill Point to
have two new groups leading us forward in our growth and development. We now have an Operations Board, led by Doug Tabor, that is tasked with the responsibility
of helping us take better care of our campus and physical property. They are working to help all of us be better
stewards of the resources which God has entrusted to us.
Additionally we have a new Deacon
Team, led by Brett Nelson, that is focused primarily on various ministries
of mercy throughout our church family.
They are going to assist us with our responsibility to reach out to
those who are hurting or in need within our body. It is God’s desire “that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may
have the same care for one another.”
Our Deacon Team will help us reach out with the love of God and with practical
hands of mercy.
Some of you may be wondering what, then, is left for the Elders to do? Early on in the Book of Acts (chapter 6), we
encounter a very real physical need in the Body of Christ which became quite
demanding of the spiritual leaders’ time and effort. The Apostles brought the congregation
together and said "It would not be right for us to neglect the
ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables.” Their conclusion was to appoint individuals
that could carry on this much needed ministry of mercy, while the Apostles
would continue to give their attention “to prayer and the ministry of the word."
Throughout the New Testament, we find that the elders in the church are
those who have been tasked with the spiritual oversight of the body. They are to teach, admonish, equip, watch
over, shepherd and protect the church of God.
The spiritual leaders in Acts 6 concluded that it was not right to neglect the teaching of
God’s Word and the ministry of prayer.
Intentionality and diligence are required constantly in the lives of
elders to protect the priorities of prayer and the ministry of the Word. Otherwise, life throws innumerable
distractions their way and the enemy provides every imaginable sidetrack in
their path to seduce them away from their God-given function in the body.
Over the past three years, the Council of Elders has worked diligently
in dealing with many needful matters; yet not all of them were related necessarily
to the priority of prayer and the ministry of the Word. Often times the matters at hand were related
more to the physical property of the church, the material aspects of people
needs and the practical considerations involved in ministering to this
congregation.
There are several reasons why our new Operations Board and Deacon Team
are such exciting developments for Hill Point.
First, the areas of our campus and physical properties will get more
focused attention that they require. Second, those in our church family who are
hurting will be tended to more consistently by those committed to minister
mercy throughout the body.
Third, the elders will be able to devote themselves once again to the
much needed focus on prayer and the ministry of the Word. And finally, and most importantly, the Body
of Christ will grow properly “as each
part does its work.” As the body
grows properly, we all move towards becoming “mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” And when the fullness of Christ finds
expression here, the Glory of God will radiate through us “from glory to glory!”
In Jesus our King,
Pastor Scott
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