Moses and the Ministry Lesson

I would like you to begin by turning in your Bible to a passage that we are going to study

! together this morning in Numbers chapter 27. Before we actually go to the passage, there are

Numbers 27 · chapter mention

! a couple practical things that I want to draw to your attention. First of all, I want you to know

that if you are inclined to text Caleb and Charity, Caleb and Charity are preaching this morning,

not here, but they are in the process of raising money for missions and for the work that they're

going to be doing in Jamaica. And so, if you want to text them right now, you'll find out whether

Caleb's phone is on because he's in church, and you go ahead and his phone will go off and it'll

be a lesson, won't it? And I was like, but you go ahead and let him know you're praying for him

because you're praying for me and I know you're doing that, and I'm heavily dependent on that,

and I know Caleb is as well. He is preaching at the church where his father is a pastor, and don't…

I trust at least that he gets about 15, 20 texts that say, hey, Caleb, Charity, we're praying for

you. We trust that God helps you in your ministry there and that you're encouraged by the opportunity

you have of being there at that church. Second thing I want you to know is that we are going to

have a business meeting on May 18th, May 18th, to look at the job description that is in your bulletin.

And we want you to pay careful attention to all that follows in relationship to that,

so you keep this matter in prayer. Now, I ask you to turn, if you would, to that passage in numbers,

and before we actually look at the passage, I want us to take some time in prayer and then let me give

you a little bit of background because I think it is very important. So let's pray together.

Father, this morning as I listened to the special music in particular,

I thought about the reminder that we cannot do anything without your help,

God, that our strength is in you, and that we, frail, insufficient in ourselves, can rely upon

your Spirit to lift up the name of Jesus, strengthen us for the tasks that we have,

cause us to grow in our affection for Christ and for one another, and have a genuine passion

for a world that needs Christ. So help us this morning that we would listen carefully,

that the sufficiency and the authority of the Scriptures would mark our path,

and that we would be pleasing to you. And I pray this in your precious name. Amen.

Generally, when I come to the pulpit, I mean, you pretty well know what I'm going to say.

I mean, I'm going to be in Ephesians. I'll say, let's turn to Ephesians such and such,

and you have a fairly good idea of where we're going to go from there.

I will be taking a different track this morning, and for you who are here for the baptismal service,

I'm thankful that you are here, and we will get to that part. But this is a little different than

a normal Sunday for us, not in the singing, because we love to blow the roof off. We think that when

people gather together that know Jesus, they ought not sit there looking like they're grumpy.

Do you follow what I'm saying? I mean, we ought to have fun saying,

Jesus, we love you, and we're pretty excited to sing about it. And we are going to be a people

that in our fellowship together are going to be governed by this book. And probably one of the

things you'll notice is that there are a lot of people running around here that are there with a

Bible. They have a Bible in their hand, and there's a reason for that. One of the things that

has characterized this fellowship over the years is our commitment to the Scriptures.

We believe that the Scriptures are really God's Word to us, and that they provide all that we need

for life and godliness. That's what Peter said when he wrote to the church. He said, hey, listen,

the Bible is what we have that gives us all that we need for life and godliness.

And our commitment here in this fellowship to the Scriptures is seen in so many little different ways.

For one, I already reflected on the fact that most of you here are carrying a copy of your Bible,

either in hard copy or electronically. And when I say, turn in your Bible,

you can go there, and you can, you know, and I am still looking for someone to write that app,

that when you hit that electronic little note, it goes, you know, so that I, a little older than some

of you others, take small comfort in the fact that I heard you turn, okay? But you have your Bibles

with you. Our songs are rooted in Scripture, and one of the things that I was doing as I was sitting

down there and just having a great time singing, I was multitasking. I was thinking about the words

of the song, and a couple of them, I don't know those words, but anyway, following along and still

trying to connect, what does the Bible say about that? Our dealings with one another are governed

by the Word. In the end, really, the things that we decide can be really tracked back to what the

Scriptures have to say. And it's no accident that our fellowship has been blessed by a history of open

and honest communication. An illustration of this would be that if you were to walk out in the lobby

after the morning service, you can see a record of our monthly giving and really every single expense

that we've had in this month. There it is tracked out for you. The only thing that is not there for

your public consideration is how the money that you have given to the deacons fund is dispersed.

And there's a reason for that. We don't think it's appropriate to know where some of the particular

needs are that we have responded to as a deacon, but as deacons and pastors. But apart from that,

everything is up there. Furthermore, after every monthly deacons meeting where the pastor and deacons

meet together on Saturday, what follows that is that you will have your watch care deacon on Wednesday

sit down with you and go over the outcome of that meeting. And there's a paper that you receive.

How many of you know the name of that paper? What is it called? It's called a 2020. How many of you

know where the term 2020 came from? Raise your hand and wave at me if you know. It came from Acts

Acts 20:20

chapter 20, verse 20. Strange thing about that, isn't that? You know, we're a Bible people, and so

even when it comes down to naming some of our documents, they're rooted in the Scriptures. Acts

2020, here's what it says. And at the top of the header on the 2020 that you will receive this

this coming Wednesday will be the little statement, I kept back nothing from you that was profitable.

And as a result of our commitment to follow the counsel of Scripture, we have made it part of our

fellowship that we are open and forthright, and we let you know where we are and what's going on and

why we're doing it. In addition to that, every time we have made a move, whether it has involved

changing our music style a little bit, or whether it's being a decision with church discipline,

or the matter of moving towards small groups, prior to our involving the congregation in that

has been that I have come to the pulpit as a pastor, and I have opened up the Word of God and said,

here is what the Scriptures have to say, and here is how we're going to apply it.

And this morning is no exception. Today, as in every other day, we want to be a people that depend

upon the Word. And so, before we actually go to our passage, let me ask that you turn to the paper

that was put in your bulletin. Now, I'm curious, just out of curiosity, how many of you actually have

read your bulletin now and know what is in it on this piece of paper? Raise your hand and wave at me.

It's great. What that tells me is I don't have to give announcements in the future because you're

a very well-informed congregation. But allow me, if I may, to read the first part.

It is the recommendation of your leadership that our fellowship approve the search for a man to serve

as Pastor Saul Green's replacement and as the potential successor to Pastor Knoyer on his future retirement.

Second, our thinking reflects, first, the heart of leadership that looks to make a profitable transition

to our future by adequate preparation and prayer. Second, three years that we have spent in prayerful

deliberation and research in transition or succession planning. Third, a desire to follow the model of

Scripture of discipling a man who would eventually, Lord willing, lead in our fellowship. Fourth,

a respect for the time that proper discipleship for leadership requires. Now, how's that for a way to

start a sermon? Because now you know pretty much what I'm going to say, don't you? But in keeping with

the character of this pulpit and our desire that the Word of God is preeminent and clear, I start out by

telling you what we're going to do, and I want to explain its premise on the structure of the Scripture

and allow you as a people to pray and consider carefully, and then ultimately when we come together

on May 18th, you have an opportunity to respond according to your prayerful consideration.

So, I want you to recognize that as with every other week, when I come to the pulpit,

my intention is this, is to explain what the Word of God has to say and ultimately put you on the spot

of saying yes or no to God. And I trust that in the days to follow, when you reflect back on our study

of the text this morning and our application of that text to our fellowship, that what you will say

is, I understand what God is looking for us to do, and I desire to follow Him. The first and most

important part of preaching is to make the issue clear of what God has said. What does God have to say?

And so, when a man stands in this pulpit, regardless of who it is, at the end of the day,

what you should walk away knowing is, I heard God's Word, and I understand what He wants from us.

Secondly, the second part of preaching is helping people see the connection between what God has

said already and what He wants from us as His people. So, we could say that preaching aims

to be clear about what God wants as well. With that in mind, I want you to now turn in your Bible

to Numbers chapter 27, and we are looking at a passage where we are looking into the life of

Numbers 27 · chapter mention

Moses at the very end of his life. Let me give you a little background so you understand where we're

coming from on this. You remember Moses had been born as a little baby and hidden and eventually

taken into the wife of the Pharaoh or the daughter of the Pharaoh, and he was cared for there, grew up in

Egypt, enjoyed all the blessings of that wonderful education and preeminence, and yet God intended

for him to have a different path than to be one of significance, an individual of significance in

the court of Pharaoh. He was taken out into the wilderness, and he spent another 40 years preparing.

He came back, and God gave him the responsibility of being the leader of His people. One of the things

that stands out in my thinking about Moses is that Moses, it would seem in his early life, was a man who

was rather full of himself and pretty persuaded that he could pull off whatever he thought and do it on

his own. After following sheep for 40 years and tapping them out the backside and moving them

around, he came back with a completely different attitude. In fact, when God says, hey, I'm sending

you to be the mouthpiece and to be the one who takes care of my people, his attitude was, not me, Lord,

find somebody else. But God made it clear, Moses, you're the one I'm going to leave, I'm going to use.

And for 40 years, his ministry to the nation of Israel was one that was marked by profound humility

and by tenderness and care. And all you have to do is read your way through the book of Exodus in

particular, and you'll find out over and over again, here was a man who had a heart for God's people.

He cared for them. Did he get angry at them? Yes, he did. And I will tell you frankly,

one of the things that marks our history together, one of the most significant moments in my life as

an adult was when we closed the Christian school here. It was a very hard decision. It was one that

was traumatic to me and traumatic to many people that I had loved very closely and had a close

relationship with. And in the midst of that, as the barbs and stones began to follow, how many of you

understand that sometimes not everybody is happy with all that you do, right? Do you understand that?

I found myself in my flesh beginning to want to be a little bit like James and John,

the sons of thunder. Do you remember the sons of thunder? They wanted to call down fire from heaven,

and I actually, if I'd had that privilege, you know, there may have been some toasty posties out

there, and I was… And then you know what? The Spirit of God reminded me, Tim,

Moses paid a very serious price for losing his temper with God's people. I never forgot that.

Moses lost his temper, and God said, you're not going into the promised land.

And where we are in our passage here in Numbers 27 is God says to Moses, they're right up against

the promised land, and God says to Moses, all right, you get a peak, and then you're done.

You get a peak, and then you're done. And so, I want you to think with me about what Moses teaches

us about the future. And as you look at this passage, one of the things that I want you to

notice is that as soon as God says to Moses, you're going to die, Moses doesn't go into apoplexy

about it, and, oh, Lord, you know, whining and carrying on, it's all right. And the next thing

out of his mouth is indicative of the heart that he had. Jim Berg, in his book about progressive

sanctification, he says this, you really can't blame hot water for the taste of the tea. I think

it's a nice little statement because what it's saying is this, is that pressure brings out what's

inside. Wouldn't you agree with that? I've had people say, I didn't mean to say that, or I just

let my anger get the best of me. And the truth of the matter is, is, yeah, all those things

may be true, but the fact of the matter is it had to be inside in order to come outside.

And here is Moses under that duress where he has received the notification of his execution

at the hand of God, I'm taking you home. And look at verse 15.

Moses spoke to the Lord saying, let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man

over the congregation who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them

out and bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord may not be as sheep that have no shepherd.

That was Moses' heart. Do you follow that? Here he was receiving the announcement of the fact that he

was going to die at the hand of God because of the sin that he had committed. And what does Moses say?

He said, listen, I want you to be careful. Father, creator of all, I want you to provide for your people.

And I want you to understand that those who serve as shepherds of God's people

care about people and their future. Do you follow that?

Those who serve as shepherds of God's people care about people and their future.

Moses recognized that God's people would benefit from a godly, humble leader that was willing to do

what was necessary for the children of Israel. And by the way, just in case you don't remember,

how had the children of Israel followed Moses? Does anybody have an idea? Huh? I mean, they were

always giving him high fives and attaboys in the hallway. It's like, go for it, Moses. We love you.

You're the best, you know. Moses was catching it all the time. Do you understand that?

But his love for God translated into his love for people. And so when the time came for Moses to

leave, he says, hey, what I want is for you to provide for your people an adequate leader.

I want you to recognize that this characteristic in Moses is not unique to Moses.

And that if you were to track your way through the Scriptures, you are going to find that

one of the characteristics of those who have been appointed by God and are submissive to the

leadership of God in their life to be servants of the bride of Christ or of the people of God,

a characteristic of them is that they're interested in the well-being of others.

I think for a moment about a passage that has always stood in my mind as very significant to

pastoral ministry where Paul writes about Timothy in Philippians, and he says this,

I have no man who is like-minded who will naturally care for your estate. He says,

I can't think of anybody else that just kind of loves you flat out.

Everybody else is interested in their own agenda, their own outcome, their own advantage.

I got to tell you, as a sidebar every now and then, I've been at ministry now for going over

30 years, and one of the things that periodically I bump into is a younger man who will say to me,

oh, I have an opportunity to go to thus-and-so church, and standard question to me is, why are you

going? I got to tell you, it always really makes my hair go on end when I hear a person say, well,

it's a promotion for me. I think I have some advantages there. Now listen, I'm here because

God assigned me here, and when I came here, I came because God appointed me to be a shepherd in this

flock, and you have very graciously and tenderly allowed me to continue doing that, and I serve at

your pleasure, but also God's appointment. And one of the things that God called me to do was to come

here and love you and care for you and hold up the Scriptures and teach. I want you to see this model

of other leaders in particular interested in the well-being of God's people, and so I want you to turn

your Bible, if you would, now to Acts chapter 20. I referred to Paul's remark regarding Timothy,

Acts 20 · chapter mention

but we are going to look now at Acts chapter 20 where we find the apostle. He had spent a number

Acts 20 · chapter mention

of years actually teaching in the church at Ephesus, and you'll remember that eventually it ended up that

he was going to go to Rome, and he was going to appeal the judgment that had been brought against him

by false accusers, particularly by the Judaizers, and in making that appeal to go to Rome and to go to

Caesar, he had to leave the church there at Ephesus, and so he stops by and talks with them, and he meets

with them there to break bread and to talk with them before he leaves, and we see the scene in Acts

Acts 20 · chapter mention

chapter 20, picking up there in verse 28 through 36. Let me just kind of touch on a couple highlights.

What Paul does, first of all, earlier in the passage is he explains the characteristic of the

ministry that he had had among God's people. He refers to the care and to the pattern that he had set,

but then he speaks very particularly to those who would someday in his absence care for the flock that God

had raised up, and so look with me, if you will, in verse 28. It says,

pay careful attention to yourself and to all the flock in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers

to care for the church of God, which he's obtained with his own blood.

You know what Paul was saying? Hey, guys, you need to pay attention to your own walk with Christ.

First, you need to pay attention to your own walk with Christ. At the end of the day,

spiritual leadership is never any better than their private personal walk with Christ. Does that make

sense? You can't be anything other than what you are. You can play the game on the surface for a short

period of time, but I think it was Abraham Lincoln that said you can fool most of the people most

of the time, but you can't fool all the people all the time. So who you are, you eventually display.

And Paul said this, you who are going to be leaders in the bride of Christ, shepherds to the flock of

God, you have to pay attention to your own walk. Interestingly, later in 2 Timothy,

1 Timothy, chapter 4, verse 16, when Paul writes to Timothy, he writes two different books to help

1 Timothy 4:16

Timothy at his pastoral ministry. Timothy didn't get it first time. He has 2 Timothy as well.

1 Timothy chapter 4, it says this,

1 Timothy 4 · chapter mention

Take heed unto thyself and to the doctrine. Bear with me on King James here. That's the way I learned

it, but you know, take heed unto thyself and to the doctrine, for in doing so thou shalt save both

thyself and them that hear thee. Pay attention to your walk. And here is the apostle saying to those

he has gathered that are going to serve as shepherds of the bride of Christ. He says, listen,

you need to pay attention to your walk before God. And then in verse 32, listen to what it says,

And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give

you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. As Paul thinks about his conclusion

and his eventual departure, he says to the church, hey, listen, I want those who are leaders and I want

to remind them of their responsibility because they are the ones that are going to care for the flock of

God. And their responsibility is going to be to handle the word of God and live it in such a fashion that

God's people can follow. It's interesting, and I referred to this earlier, that actually

1 and 2 Timothy were written to Timothy to counsel him in his future ministry.

And there is a sense in which 1 Timothy is an overview of congregational relations and issues,

okay? Do you know what 2 Timothy is all about? It is very personal counsel to a guy who had been

given the responsibility but wasn't getting all the pieces connected.

Here it goes. I'm going to give you a free rendition just off the top of my head.

Paul starts out and he says, don't be a wuss. It's really amazing how God uses all different

kinds of personalities to call men into ministry. There's no one template.

And so here is the Spirit of God writing to Timothy and he says,

God has not given to us a spirit of fear. Now, why would Paul write that to Timothy?

Because Timothy probably had a little bit of anxiety about not making everybody happy all the time.

And can I tell you something? You can't do that.

And so Paul says, Tim, don't be a wuss.

And then he says this, 2 Timothy chapter 2, he says,

2 Timothy 2 · chapter mention

Thou therefore as a good soldier of Christ endure hardness.

Endure hardness.

Don't ever kid yourself.

Being a shepherd for God's people is not easy.

And that's not said with rancor or ill spirit. It's just a fact.

And if you're going to be a shepherd for God's people, you better suck it up and

handle the objections and the ill spirit and the frailty of other men and women

and do so with loving gentleness.

We find then that Paul says to Timothy, you stay focused on the Word.

And then thunder, chapter 4.

Paul says this, he says,

I charge you before the living and the dead that you are to preach the Word in season and out of season.

Do you follow that?

I got to tell you, we live in a day when in the days to come, it will be harder and harder to preach the Word.

I think about young men who are going into ministry today.

And I think about the battles that they are dealing with now.

That when I was a young man in seminary, I didn't think would ever hit the fan.

I never imagined

that a fair percentage of the individuals that we contacted

as we sought out a man to serve as a shepherd in this fellowship

would actually be disqualified because of their moral purity.

And they were actively involved in ministry in places.

I never imagined.

I never imagined.

I never imagined that I would minister with a congregation, truthfully,

that really viewed the Lord's Day as something that was kind of an add-on.

I mean, maybe I'll go, maybe I won't.

It all depends on whether my kids have a game.

I was talking with a pastor over in Dayton,

and we were talking about ministry,

and I just asked him a question about corporate prayer,

and, you know, we gave that up ten years ago.

Why?

Two things.

Work and sports.

I never imagined that.

I want you to understand when Paul says to Timothy,

you are to preach the word in season and out of season

because the day is coming when people will no longer endure sound doctrine.

He was saying to Tim, you do your job.

Well, Moses, Paul, but the best example is guess who?

Jesus.

I mean, that makes sense, doesn't it?

And so I want you to understand that when you think about planning for the future

and loving on God's people,

the clearest and undeniable illustration

is that Jesus poured His life into twelve men

that would be the future leaders of His church.

The majority of His time was really not spent preaching to the crowds

or healing the vast group of people that gathered around Him

or feeding the 5,000.

The majority of His time was spent caring for those twelve

that He would leave the rest to.

And so, in practical summary,

from our study of what Moses was concerned about

and what we see in the life of Paul

and what we see in the life of Christ,

we understand that those who love God's people

are interested in helping them in transitions.

And so I trust that you understand the Bible logic

of me

and every one of the pastors and deacons

coming to you with humility

and thoughtfulness and prayer

to say,

we want you to think about

the next man we call

being considered as the potential senior pastor

for this congregation.

So let's apply

what the Scriptures have dealt with

and let's kind of think it through a little bit more.

Okay?

And so, you probably have recognized already

that today is a little bit different.

Any of you that have been

long-standing members here know

that this is really the first time

that we have put a job description

in your bulletin.

Am I right?

The standard thing is,

hey, we're going to have a meeting

and our Constitution stipulates

that before…

By the way,

did you know that we are congregationally governed

and you're the ones who are deciders?

We're recommenders.

Now, by the way,

you put us in the situation

of being recommenders.

And so we walk to you

and we say,

hey, listen,

we've been praying

and studying about this

and thinking about this

for quite a while

and now we want you to think about it.

And this is the first time

we put it in your bulletin.

Normally, it's out there on the table.

Please go out there and grab one.

And, you know,

what happens is

we have a business meeting

and we talk about it.

In this case,

we put it in your bulletin

because we want you to be

well aware

of the significance

to you as a congregation

of what we are recommending.

I want you to notice

that there are parts

of the job description

that are pretty standard fare for us.

Let me see if I can find my copy of it here.

Where did it go?

I've got one.

Believe me, I have one.

Here it is.

If you look at the job description,

there's a part of it

that if you've been here

for any amount of time,

you know that it's just standard qualifications.

You could go back to

when this congregation called me.

Now, that was in the old days

when we used mimeographs, I think.

I know some of you are thinking

about spirit stuff on your fingers

or something.

Now, we actually had copiers

back in those days

and light bulbs too,

but this is, you know,

the same, same.

It was all there.

You know, we said,

hey, we're looking for someone

who meets the qualifications

of 1 Timothy chapter 3 and Titus.

1 Timothy 3 · chapter mention

We're looking for a man

who meets,

let me say it again,

man who meets

the Bible qualifications

for leadership.

Second thing is that

he shall be in complete agreement

with the confession of faith.

Complete agreement.

I can't tell you

how many times

we talk to credible individuals

who in every other area,

their life,

their walk,

credible individuals

to serve as a family youth pastor,

but there are a number of them

that said,

you know,

I just don't believe in this

or I just don't believe in that.

And, well, God bless you.

You know what?

We're going to be neighbors in heaven,

but it's,

and I believe that.

There are going to be

Presbyterians there.

My sister is a Presbyterian, okay?

There are going to be Nazarenes there.

There are going to be Wesleyans there.

My brother-in-law is a Wesleyan.

There are going to be Charismatics there.

There are going to be Church of God.

There are a lot of people

and we ought to love on all of them.

Now, do we eat differently

at the table sometimes?

Yes.

Yes.

But when a person becomes a shepherd

in our fellowship,

we want them to be in our perspective.

Does that make sense?

So you recognize here

that there's an aspect

to this whole thing

that makes complete sense

according to the way

we've done things.

And I want you to know

that behind this recommendation

has been a lot of careful consideration

and prayer.

Pastor Saul announced

his eventual retirement

to us well in advance

of the date he had set

for May 5th,

or is it May?

May 3rd.

Raise your fingers over there

so I can...

May 3rd.

He knows the day.

Okay?

He told us 18 months out.

Do you know why

he told us that?

That's a loving thing to do.

Do you follow that?

It says ahead of time,

I care about you

and I'm not going to walk in,

walk up here to the platform

and say,

I quit.

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow.

I've had many friends

in the ministry

who have done that

to their church.

I think it's unconscionable.

I think it's unconscionable.

Pastor Saul let us know

well in advance.

And if you'll remember

from that meeting,

you'll remember that

after he announced

his retirement,

guess what followed that?

I came up and I said,

Lord willing,

if you put up with me,

my intention is to

continue preaching

and to serve as

your under shepherd here

until I'm about 70,

give or take.

I said,

and we'll bring you

a job description

in the spring.

How many of you

remember me saying that?

This is about as close

to the end of spring

as we could get.

And we can say

that God was in that detail.

We had decided

as pastors and deacons

that if for some reason

God had not providentially led

in our calling

Pastor Andrew

and his bride Deanna

to become part

of our ministry team here,

we were going to let you

know the plan

because we,

Pastor Saul is retiring.

Case closed.

And so we thought

we have to tell you anyway.

I mean,

we're not hiding

anything from you

but we wanted to be able

to focus on calling

Pastor Rowley

before we said,

hey, guess what?

You get another chance.

I want you to understand

that what lies ahead

for us is going

to be a challenge.

So why do we propose

a succession plan?

Our thought is

that the next pastor

to be hired

will come

in the hopes

that over a period

of time

our discipleship

of him

would lead us

to eventually

call him

to be our senior pastor.

And the reason

that we ask you

to consider that

is for one,

preparing for the future

is a wise thing to do.

I want you to understand

that successful businesses

do it all the time.

Successful businesses

always plan

for what their future is.

Sadly enough,

among churches

that is generally

not the case.

As a result of that,

there is a standard

little ditty

that is shared

among pastors.

And it's this.

You don't want

to be a pastor

following a long-tenured

pastor.

pastor.

You want

to be the pastor

who follows

the pastor

who followed

a long-tenured

pastor.

I don't want

to do that to you.

I don't want

to do that to you.

I don't want

Discipling a man

that hopefully

would serve

as your shepherd

and future senior pastor

will take time.

Regardless of where

he comes from,

what his background

is,

what he's accomplished,

it will take time

for him to learn

to love you

and to be faithful

to his charge.

I thought it was

interesting

last Sunday

when

Ken Loro

was here.

Providentially,

he was here

for the wedding

and Ken Loro

came up here

on stage

and I asked him

to pray for

Andrew

who is now

Pastor Andrew.

How many of you

remember that?

One of the things

that Ken Loro

said that

I thought,

hmm,

that's interesting,

he said he really

appreciated the

mentoring process.

Whether you know

it or not,

in every single

case,

it's been about

a three-year

process to

prepare a man

to become

productive and

fully engaged

in this

fellowship.

And in that

three-year

process,

what has

happened

historically

is either

a man

grows or he

goes.

Do you

follow that?

Let me say it

again,

a man

grows or he

goes.

And we

had the joy

of watching

Ken grow

to be just

a minister

of the Lord

Jesus and a

blessing to us

as a fellowship

and what a joy

to watch him

now as he's

in Awana

and a missionary.

It's our

blessing.

And I've got to

tell you,

when we were

interviewing

Andrew,

who's now

Pastor Andrew,

how many of you

are picking up

on that?

We call him

Pastor now?

Just in case.

In fact,

I had to tell

Pastor Andrew

the other day,

he was answering

the phone,

he says,

hello,

this is Andrew.

I said,

no.

Remember,

discipleship three

years?

We'll get the

Pastor Andrew

part pretty quick

here,

but it's like,

hey,

hey,

you know,

your wife,

you can say,

this is Andrew,

but to the

bride of Christ,

your ministry

is as a

pastor.

And it's

a responsibility

that carries

weight.

So,

we're going

to be involved

in discipleship

if you allow

us.

I do want

you to

understand,

furthermore,

that a lot

of thought

and prayer

has gone

into this

recommendation.

I first

asked our

pastors and

deacons to

begin praying

about this,

I'm going

to guess,

what,

four years

ago?

Does that

sound funny

to you?

Four years

ago.

Now,

it became a

formal agenda

item about

three years

ago.

A formal

presentation

was made

to our

deacons

about our

planning,

and a

committee,

succession

planning

committee,

was formed

and continued

to work

throughout the

last several

years behind

the scenes.

That committee

has read a

variety of

resources,

done interviews,

talked with

pastors and

organizations that

have both

succeeded and

failed at

planning and

making successions

work.

And I've got

to tell you,

there are

probably more

churches that

fail at it

than succeed.

And we have

given careful

thought to why

those churches,

they can put

their finger on

this is what

happened and

here's why it

happened.

We don't want

that.

Do you know

why?

Because we

believe that

godly people

depending upon

the word of

God and

following His

counsel can

succeed at

succession.

there's going

to be a

day when

if you call

me pastor,

I am not

going to be

disrespectful to

you, but I

would say,

that's the

man.

Call him

pastor.

Now for some

of you, since

I've buried your

father and I've

married your

children or

whatever else,

it's going to

be a little

hard to suck

it up.

But if I

can't be Tim

among you,

do you follow

that?

and mow

the lawn

like everybody

else, we

got a problem

because I

want to be

able to

righteously

and honorably

hand off the

responsibility to

another man.

We talked

with leadership

at ABWE.

We talked

with leadership

at Cedarville.

We talked

with leadership

at Word of

Life.

We've talked

with literally

dozens of

pastors.

deacons.

We sought

out.

I've talked

with the

executive

pastor at

Bethlehem

Baptist Church

where John

Piper just

finished his

ministry and

they handed

off the

reins.

And I want

you to know

that your

pastors and

deacons recommend

unanimously that

we consider and

follow this

path as a

congregation.

So what's

next?

Well first

of all,

and this is

almost like I

could say this

with my eyes

closed.

Read over the

material, pray

about it, and

if you have any

questions, guess

what?

Guess what I'm

going to say?

Talk to your

pastors or your

deacon.

Every one of the

deacons that have

been appointed by

this congregation

are fully aware

of the planning and

thought that has

gone into that,

and there may

be a question or

two that they

don't know the

answer to.

That's all right.

It's not a bad

thing to say, I

don't know for

sure, let me get

back with you, but

I can tell you in

the next couple

weeks all our

deacons are going

to be putting their

arms around us and

giving us a hug and

saying, do you have

any questions?

Does this make

sense to you?

Do you understand

why we're thinking

this?

On May 18th, we're

going to meet after

the morning service

to have a formal

vote on the

recommendation that

we are bringing to

you this morning.

And we trust between

now and then, you

as a congregation

have the opportunity

to pray, to think

carefully, to ask

any and every

question that you

have, so that when

we come to deliberate

as a body of

believers, that we

have done our very

best of being clear

in our information

and allowed you to

consider the matter

before the Lord.

And all God's

people said,

Amen.

John, would you

come and lead us?

Let me pray as the

musicians are coming.

We are going to look

forward to baptism,

and I ask the

candidates to come

at this time as we

prepare for baptism.

Let's pray as the

musicians are coming,

and then we will

enjoy singing together.