Elder Blog January 2020
In January 2018, The Rock Church officially became an elder-led church. This is a decision that was made after many hours of prayer and study regarding the governing of the church. While studying, it became evident that the New Testament churches, beginning in Jerusalem (Acts) were all led by elders. The term is synonymous with pastor or overseer. (1 Timothy 5:7, 1 Peter 5:1-2, Ephesians 4:11) Because it is our goal to be a Biblically-driven church, we believe this was a necessary step in that direction.
For more understanding on this, as well as the Scripture backing the initial paragraph, you can watch/listen to Pastor Wes’ sermon series from January 2018.
Currently, the Rock Church has 5 elders that meet on a regular basis to discuss the theological doctrine of the church, the health of the body, ministries within the church, and many other items as necessary. (Acts 20:28, 1 Peter 5:1-3)
The team is prayerfully acclimating to this governing structure. We have discussed several items to date including doctrine, financial planning, vision casting, discipleship endeavors, the Box initiative, event planning and staffing needs as it aligns with the great commission.
The purpose of this blog is to be transparent with the church body, and inform you when decisions are made and the topics that are discussed.
The following was discussed at our most recent meeting on January 15th, 2020:
Discussion Topics:
The Elder team solicited the entire staff and key ministry leads to complete an anonymous survey to evaluate the individual elders according to the Biblical standards and qualifications as we understand them. Additionally, we invited a response toward the Elder team as a whole.
Our time was spent in its entirety reviewing these responses in detail, recognizing our strengths, but mostly identifying and responding to areas where individual growth is needed.
From a collective perspective, the most significant item pulled from the comments was the need to improve communications in general throughout the church. Further discussion and actionable items are needed toward that end and will be implemented moving forward. Our first action step is this blog.
We are grateful and humbled at the honest critiques and will continue to strive toward Biblical excellence and greater communication to the church body.
This blog will continue periodically as more and more meetings transpire. We understand that with anything, there is always a potential for confusion. If you have any questions for the elders now, or as the blog continues, please email sjohnson@hisrock.net.
On behalf of the Elder team,
Scott Johnson
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