Report of the District Superintendent
June 10, 2011
Dr. Toler, Fellow Pastors, Members and Friends of the 99th Annual District Assembly of the Nebraska District Church of the Nazarene:
It is a privilege and honor for me to present to you my first report as District Superintendent. I do so with deep respect and humility and with a keen sense of sacred trust and responsibility. Truthfully, I am most comfortable when I'm preaching a sermon on Sunday morning then when I am crunching numbers for some kind of statistical report to be presented. It isn't because I think our statistics are unimportant. They are. They reflect the effort we've put forth to accomplish the work God has given us to do. With that said, if it would meet with your approval, I choose to leave the statistical report for your reading pleasure -- at a later moment, please!
I read a devotional a few years ago by Chuck Swindoll that I would like to share with you this morning. He wrote in The Finishing Touch - Becoming God's Masterpiece: Week 17, Tuesday 'Expect the Unexpected.' --
"Most folks I know like things to stay as they are. You've heard all the sayings that reveal our preference for the familiar:
"Leave well enough alone.
"I don't like surprises.
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
"Stay with a sure thing.
"What's wrong with the way things are?
Being creatures of habit, we resist change, we protect our comfort zone, we are uneasy with the unexpected.
We admire pioneers. . .so long as we can just read about them, not finance their journeys. We applaud explorers. . .but not if it means we have to load up and travel with them. Creative ideas are fine. . .but "don't get carried away," we warn. Plans that involve risks prompt worse-case scenarios from the lips of most who wait in the wings.
Don't misunderstand. Innovative ideas do include the very real probability of something going wrong. Just because the plan is creative is no guarantee that stuff won't backfire. On the contrary, surprises and disappointments await anyone who ventures into the unknown.
We've all been there, at one time or another, when those "best-laid plans" have blown up in our faces, leaving us wondering why we ever said yes in the first place.
But the fact is, the alternative is worse. Can anything be worse than boredom? Is there an existence less challenging and more draining than the predictable. I don't think so."
"Being creatures of habit, we resist change, we protect our comfort zone, we are uneasy with the unexpected."
I do not accept this dual role assignment under any illusion that the work is going to be easy or without it's challenges. Honestly, it moves me out of my comfort zone! But it's okay to be moved out of our comfort zones from time-to-time! Truthfully, the older I get (and I'm not all that old) the better I like my comfort zone! The more I like things to stay the same!
I DO accept the assignment knowing that God has "put His thumb in my back" and said, "this is the way, walk in it!" I have great peace about that and I know He will guide us through this process; He will make any rough places smooth!
I know this is a different way of doing things! It is my strong feeling that we need to be innovative in the way we do local church ministry and district church ministry. We need to position ourselves to be more effective and efficient in ministry going forward. God helping us, we can accomplish the task.
Another book I read many years ago was written by a man named Ralph Nabor - not Ralph Nader, the guy who was always running for president and not getting anywhere -- Ralph Nabor! The title of his book intrigued me and caused me to pick it up...
"The Seven Last Words of the Church
Or, 'We've Never Done It That Way Before!'"
There's not too much I remember about the book except it's title. If I have heard those words once in the last thirty-two years, I have heard them a dozen times or more! "Pastor, we've never done it that way before!" I don't think there could be another phrase spoken that could rival this one! That phrase spoken has limited or eliminated vision after vision; dream after dream. Those words have been the "wet blanket" on the dreams and visions of many good pastors and many good church leaders over the years! Men and women who have had a deep desire to do something great for God; but because the idea was fresh and new and out of the “norm” and had never been tried before, they were denied entry into the unknown possibilities of what God could do through new methods! Let that not be said of us!
Truth is, there's got to be a new way to do things! The Church needs to be willing to take some risks, to get out on the limb, to go out to the edge, to put her feet in the water, and try some new things. Methodologies change. The message never does! God is still calling us to be faithful to the Great Commission that says "GO!" and the Great Commandment that says "LOVE!" He does allow us to be creative in fulfilling that call, however!
Jesus has some seven words for us Nebraska Nazarenes! They come straight from His Sermon on the Mount and they deserve our attention today as we think about being faithful in new ways to the Great Commission and the Great Commandment. Jesus needs us to make each of these seven word phrases an active part of our daily lives -- the reason for our existence as Christians. Ready? Here they are. . .
"YOU ARE THE SALT OF THE EARTH!"
Matthew 5:13
· Salt Influences!
· Salt Preserves!
· Salt adds Flavor!
"YOU ARE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD!"
Matthew 5:14
· Light Shines in Darkness!
· We Live in a Dark World!
· Our World Desperately needs light!
· Let Your Light Shine!
God needs us to be salt and light to our communities. From Ainsworth to York; from Arnold to Superior; from Beatrice to Sidney; from Chadron to Scottsbluff; from Columbus to Omaha; from Cozad to North Platte; from Crawford to Newman Grove; from Falls City to McCook; from Farnam to Lincoln; from Fremont to Kimball; from Grand Island to Kearney; from Hastings to Papillion and everywhere in between!
Listen. . .We are not Lone Ranger churches that are spread out across the great state of Nebraska to accomplish this mission in our own strength and power! We are not independent churches. We are not dependant churches. We are interdependent churches who really DO need each other to accomplish this God-given task!
If we put our hearts, our minds, our spirits to this task -- this God-given task to be SALT and LIGHT -- willing to try new things; willing to take some risks; willing to go out on the limb; willing to go out to the edge; willing to put our feet in the water; our district could be in a totally different place next year then we are today! God just needs us to be faithful to His call!
The Seven Last Words of the Church
Or, "We've Never Done It That Way Before!"
Could it be, someone asked, that the real seven last words of the church are. . .
"We Have Not, Because We Ask Not!"
Let's join our hands and our hearts together for building the kingdom of God across Nebraska. Let's commit to a spirit and attitude of prayer and faithfulness to God so that we might see men and women and boys and girls come to know Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior! Let's commit to new possibilities and new ways to accomplish the Great Commission that says "GO!" and the Great Commandment that says "LOVE!"
Let's at least ask God to guide us in this process. Let's pray for His direction. Let's pray for the outpouring of His Holy Spirit to be upon us and enable us because things happen when the church goes to prayer!
Not everyone in your town or mine is saved! There are still lost people living in all our communities. People need Jesus everywhere! I am not about to give up on the assignment God has given the Church of the Nazarene in Nebraska! There are people to meet! There are relationships to be built! There are churches to be planted in places that need the message that has been entrusted to us -- the message of Heart Holiness; the message of full salvation!
God helping us we can do great things for him across Nebraska!
I look forward to this journey with you.
Respectfully Submitted,
Dan Cole
