This past week is one of those weeks that Jill and I highlight on our calendar. We all look forward to our annual elder and wives’ planning retreat. There are many reasons for this, and I’ll use this post to highlight them.  

Lots of Discussions

I collect information and ideas we must discuss each year to plan the retreat. Some items can be addressed at our monthly meetings, but several require much more time and thought.  

This year, we had many theological things to discuss.  

• With the growth in our church, many people would like to be baptized. We needed to discuss the who, when, and where of baptism. Given the various opinions, we needed to discuss what we see in the Bible.  
• With many people having access to podcasts with various theological positions, we needed to get well-versed in topics like modes of baptism and different views of marriage roles.  
• We have been asked about “replacement theology,” which seems to be a theological position that states that the NT church “replaces” OT Israel.    

We had several things to discuss regarding the future of CLF and leadership development.  At this year’s SGC Pastors’ Conference, Jeff Purswell gave an urgent message about developing young leaders and pastors.  I asked our elders to listen to that message (you can listen here:  https://www.sovereigngrace.com/2024-pastors-conference-resources).  The Lord stirred fresh faith in each of us about this.  One of the themes of this discussion was helping people become versed in teaching the Bible.  Beginning in January, we will start a new class once per month on Sundays called “Teaching Practicum,” which will walk people through teaching God’s word.  That will be open to men and women.  Then, beginning in June or July, we’ll start “Preaching and Pizza,” once per month on Sunday after church when two men preach God’s word.  For interested women, we will either break them into small groups for ladies to grow in their teaching or offer another group setting for them to grow in this skill.  We’re still working on some of those details.  This will accomplish two main things: give people “reps” and evaluation, and it will be another time for others to hear God’s word taught. 

Regarding our future…I’ll share more at our CLF Family Meeting on December 15th (Members, please prioritize this meeting).   I’ll mention a couple of things:  we believe CLF is in a great position to multiply and build in the next 5-7 years.  But it’s going to take all of us.  This is the last thing I’ll say:  we’re beginning to see some signs of “unhealthy” at CLF that we need to address at our Family Meeting.  To help you think about your commitment and service at CLF, I’d encourage you to read this post by Kevin DeYoung:  https://tinyurl.com/2h9pwvpm.  

Relational Building

I believe churches and organizations flourish when their leadership community is relationally connected. Our retreat is critical to this and is built for it.  We stay in the same house for 4 days.  We talk about a variety of church issues, and we usually talk about personal matters.  We relate on the deepest levels.  

Each morning, Stan Welch led us in worship, and one of our elders led a short devotional.  Each devotional was personal. There were tears, prayers, confession of sin, and worship. It was a sweet time.  

This is so important to our church because this is the type of church we want to build.  We want a church that is deeply committed to the Lord and one another.  We encounter God and each other in our gatherings.  I’m grateful that our elders and wives lead the way in this.    

Looking Ahead

We will continue our Christmas series, “Awaiting the King,” this Sunday as we look at Micah 5:2-5a.  We will look at the Prophecy of Peace.  I look forward to attending church and celebrating our great God with you.       

From the Cheap Seats

• Is there any more fitting picture of how the Cowboys’ season has gone than a piece of their roof falling before their Monday game against the Texans?  I’m grateful no one was hurt.  
• I’m unsure why Wyatt Langford wasn’t a finalist in the AL Rookie of the Year voting.   
• I understand Paul Skenes is the NL Rookie of the Year.  Here’s what Pittsburgh shared:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAqIX4kB4EY.      

Have a great week! Christ is King!

In Christ, 

Dave York