Northern California District Church of the Nazarene

Report of the District Superintendent 2007

John Calhoun

 

THE RESCUE TEAM

 

On March 17, 2007, few people had ever heard of a 12-year-old boy named Michael Auberry.  Just two days later, he was known around the world.  Michael had been on a Boy Scout camping weekend in the North Carolina Mountains when homesickness and cold feet drove him to leave the camp in search of a highway where he hoped to hitchhike back to his parents in Greensboro.  But with no food and no shelter, Michael was no match for the overwhelming wilderness and quickly became hopelessly lost.

 

Rescue groups were called in to search for Michael.  Hundreds of people with search dogs and helicopters were seeking this one lost child.  One freezing night passed, and then a second.  After the third night came and went, hope was fading.  A fortune was spent, and great amounts of energy and resources expended, but no cost was too high in pursuit of this boy who meant everything to his distraught family. 

 

And then, to the relief of the watching world, on the morning of March 21, a rescue dog named Gandalf finally picked up Michael’s scent.  The impossible had happened; Michael was found—hungry, but alive.  Celebration and rejoicing broke out on the mountain that morning as the tireless work paid off and a young life was saved.  

 

We see in these rescuers something of what it means to be an intercessor.

           

Our world is full of people like Michael Auberry.    Lost and hopeless people are all around us and the stakes are nothing short of life-and-death.  These people are not wandering a short mile and a half from camp like Michael; they are lost for eternity and helpless to find their way to a heavenly home.  Perhaps the greatest tragedy is our own indifference to their plight.  It all seems so commonplace that we fail to join the rescue team working day and night to bring them home.

 

 

INTERCESSORS

 

Let us look at the life of our District Church in light of this compelling reality—we know the way home, but many people in our lives do not.  Can we rediscover the urgency and renew our passion for those who are lost?   Can we reignite the memories of being lost before someone loved us and led us to the Savior?  This is the Savior that transforms a soul from darkness to light—from death to life.

 

  All 66 books of the Bible point to the truth that “all we like sheep have gone astray” and that the “Hesed” (mercy) of Yahweh is “not willing that any should perish.”  They all point to the fact that the issue is not a minor problem that can be fixed by a better social environment or economic improvements.   Our lostness and brokenness is a result of sin so great that only the cross of the suffering servant Jesus can remedy it.  Our estrangement from the Holy Trinity is irreparable unless the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead also brings life to our mortal bodies.  Our hope of living victoriously as disciples of this Jesus is useless unless this same Spirit indwells and consumes our lives so that we experience “love Divine, all loves excelling.”

 

 Yes, the entire Bible testifies that our God wants to save everyone but it is clear He will not do it from Heaven.  We Wesleyans believe the Bible teaches that God has chosen that if anyone on earth is saved, it is through His Spirit using the instrument of human witness and love.    We quickly say that only the Triune God brings salvation, not us.  Yet, without the involvement of those already redeemed, the salvation story of God is not completed. 

 

 The work of an intercessor is replete in Scripture.  Abraham interceded for Lot; Moses interceded for his people; Samuel interceded for Saul; Job interceded for his “comforters”, and on and on.  Every person alive in Christ is called to intercede.    Sadly, we have limited our understanding of this word to those few who are called to “Intercessory Prayer.” In no way should prayer be belittled, but the meaning of the word intercession is less about talking and more about action.    It describes the person who sacrificially yields to the needs of someone whom God wants to save.  Intercession resides in the heart of an individual who allows God’s love to flow to a person in need of a Savior. God has not chosen angels or other means to do this rescue work;   He has always chosen human beings. 

 

  He called Abraham and his eventual family to the specific task of being witnesses of God’s promises to the rest of the world.    Moses then led this progeny into becoming a nation of priests.  (A priest is a mediator between God and other persons.)    And then, David birthed a kingdom that culminated in the God-Man   Jesus the Christ whereby He wrought an inheritance for all who are saved.  And now,   this same Jesus calls us to follow Him through the small gate and narrow road.  We head home to Heaven and seek others who are lost that they, too, might find their way along this path.

 

It’s fair to wonder why we are going through the history of the Bible in this District Assembly.    Let us remember that our only reason for being here today is to account for our stewardship of this ministry of intercession.   It is the only reason we put all of this time, money, and effort into what Jesus has called us to be and do as His followers.  Can you think of anything more important in your life than successfully interceding to help someone who is lost and broken discover God’s forgiveness and healing?    Since God obviously depends on the redeemed to proactively engage this search for the lost, how can there be inactive Christians?

 

MILESTONES

 

The slogans created each year encourage us to engage in Christ’s mission.  They each remain relevant and are woven into the fabric of our District Church.   Here is a review of the previous six years’ emphases:

1.      Pray for 10 the BLESS prayer

2.      Share the Vision—Multiply

3.      A Missional Church Invents New Ways to Love Others

4.      1+1=Many, Each Christian, a New Christian

       Each Pastor, a New Pastor

      Each Congregation, a New Congregation

5.      Empowered Ordinary Practices

6.      Be Healthy, Make Disciples, Train Disciple-Makers

           

  The theme running through these captures the vision of a church not simply sending others to mission work; rather it is itself a church sent to mission as a way of life.

 

When we look at our work for the past year, we must remember that it only has meaning   if it resonates with our call as intercessors on a rescue mission to seek and save those who are lost.  We know there are many ways to be on the team in this task and there are many ways to measure our progress.  We have set goals for ourselves in order to “press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of us.”

 

 

 

 

We rejoice that:

·        638 New Nazarenes joined the rescue team (it took 11 of us to reach one new member)

·        225 baptisms occurred (one for every 31 of us)

·        $8,602,566 (about $1150 per capita giving).

 

You are responding well to the challenge that each congregation births a new congregation.     We welcome these new congregations (Mission Outposts) to our District Church:

 Marin Hispanic, GGF, Hayward Manna de Cielo, San Jose (Central) Hispanic, Castro Valley Samoan, S.B. Samoan (restart),Oakland Hispanic, San Jose (The Point) Chinese, and San Francisco Hozanna.

 

OUR NEEDED FOCUS

 

  I believe it to be very important to emphasize Church Health.  About half of our congregations have taken the Church Health Survey.  I have been asking each church to do this for two years now, go figure.  Maybe those that will not take the survey are like the people afraid of going to the doctor for fear of finding something wrong.  You know the famous saying;   “Denial is more than a river in Egypt.”  I will keep nagging about this until we all do it.  How can we improve our effectiveness until we are honest about what needs improvement?    By the way, the results of those that have taken the survey show that, as a District Church, our strongest characteristic is our Need-Oriented Evangelism and the area that needs the most work is Inspiring Worship Services.

 

Our other emphasis for this past year is   “make disciples—train disciple makers.”  This is not just a passing fad for us.  Pouring oneself into another person so that they may become a fully devoted follower of Jesus is the greatest expression of an intercessor’s role.  The newly published mission statement for the entire Church of the Nazarene only adds weight to this call of lifetime investment.   “To make Christ-like disciples in the nations,” clearly defines our roles as intercessors.  We will continue this next year with our slogan;   “Be Healthy, Make Disciples, Train Disciple Makers.”

 

OUR INVESTMENT PRIORITY

There is one more sign of an intercessor’s heart I want to highlight.    The attitude of a generous heart is among the clearest signals that God’s will toward the lost and broken has taken residence in one’s life.   We Nazarenes are a connected people because we believe we are most effective in our calling by working together, rather than independently.  For that reason,   we share in ministry beyond the local church because we are called “to make Christ-like disciples in the nations.”  For expediency, we call this paying our “budgets” but I hope we see this not as a tax, but as part of our ministry of intercession. 

 

Most all of you have sacrificed greatly to give your portion of our agreed allotments and I deeply thank you.  We tried hard this year to be a 100% fully sharing District Church in each category.  Thank you to those who went the extra mile to do this.    I ask you church leaders here today to take responsibility for letting your people know where this money goes and why we share it.  Otherwise, the people will resent someone taking money from the local church where there is always a need for it.

 

Further in this line, we have not yet seriously taken the challenge before us to help build a   new religion building on the campus of Point Loma Nazarene University.   Anyone can honor the name of another with a $1000 gift paid out over three years.  That is less than the price of one cup of coffee every weekday, and I am not talking about Starbucks’ or Peet’s specialty drinks.  It is crucial for us to invest in the students and ministers of our region who will benefit from this new building.

 

  Families bring both blessings and burdens.  It’s draining to feel like someone always needs something from you.  Without the responsibility of family, the pressures would certainly be less.  But would you want a trade like that?  Yes, we could be relieved of all this extra need to support the mission and vision Jesus left us.  We could choose to not be bothered.    But in the end, how will our treasures stored on earth compare with our treasures stored in Heaven?

 

Bear with me for just one more matter of importance.  In light of this call to assume the way of the intercessor, it is my conviction that the District Church can be more effective in stimulating the starting of new congregations than it is now.  With that in mind, I will propose to this year’s District Advisory Board that we   liquidate our assets in the District Office buildings and find a better return on our investment.   The earnings will more adequately supplement the District Budget.  Be assured that this move means we must insure the safety of the corpus of the funds.

 

  This action will give local churches the option of investing what is given now for District Budget into the launch of new congregations, if they so choose.  Each church, or a group of churches, will be invited to make a proposal to plant new congregations and the District Advisory Board will develop a policy that guides this process.   Local churches are the most effective way to parent a new congregation.

 

  The story of Michael Auberry brings us a vivid picture of what it means for someone to love a lost and broken person enough to go to any length to rescue and restore.  “Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.    I once was lost but now am found was blind but now I see.”

  Romans 10:13-15  …for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?  And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"

  We accept the call of God to let His will take up residence in our hearts which includes offering sacrificial love to some lost soul.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

JHC