Monthly message

OUR MUTUAL CONVENANT

Welcome Pastor Tim and Rhonda. Welcome to the family of St. John’s. We had been excited in the anticipation of calling you and now we are joyful in the reality of your being our Pastor. In the days and weeks ahead you will get to know us, and we you. As your letter of acceptance states, A “Call” is much more than a hiring of an employee, it is a mutual covenant acknowledging God’s joining of an Ordained Minister (Pastor) and a body of Christ (congregation) together for the sake of Christ’s own mission and ministry.
As a congregation it is incumbent on us that we treat our new Pastor with loving care and the following are some ways to help us as a congregation live up to our part of the covenant. Some of the ways we can do that are:

1: Pray for him daily.
This is the first and the greatest of the ways we can help. This is a big job with big expectations and big stresses. Whatever strength our new minister has, it will be unequal to the task. He will need power from beyond himself. The stories are legion of ordinary ministers who have been prayed into greatness by their congregation. And if we pray for him, it will prepare our heart to receive the message God has for us through him.

2: Don’t triangulate.
Triangulation is telling Bob what you think about Joe without ever confronting Joe. It is a vicious sin, akin to bearing false witness. It is destructive of church life, business life, and family life. If you have something critical to say about him, say it to him directly. He’ll appreciate your candor, and it will help him make the mid-course adjustments he’ll need to make to do his job.

To the congregation council, I urge you not to conspire in triangulation. If someone gives you negative information about the pastor, you should respond in one of three ways. The most helpful is to say, “Please take that information to the pastor directly.” If the complainer won’t do it, say, “I will go with you.” If the complainer won’t go with you, then say, “I need to tell the pastor this, because this is important information he needs to succeed in his job.”

The only way to disarm triangulators is not to cooperate with them. Tell them they need to act in a Christ-like way and go directly to the person they are criticizing.

3: Scale down your expectations.
Our new pastor has many gifts and abilities, but some things he won’t be good at. Some of you will think his preaching is great; others won’t like it. Some will think he’s wonderful and caring; others will think, because he can never know all your names, that he doesn’t give a hoot about you. The expectations for a senior minister of this congregation are enormous, and I think, unrealistic. Each member has different ideas of what a minister should be and do. Trying to meet all those expectations is simply not possible.

To read 4 - 10, click below!

4 - 10....Read More

news & events

February A Note from Pastor Bean...

Dear Family and Friends,
Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Son, Jesus Christ!

On behalf of Rhonda and myself, I want to thank you for your warm and loving welcome to the St. John’s family of faith. Thank you for the wonderful reception following my installation as your new Pastor. I hesitate to “name names” for fear of leaving someone out, but I truly wish to thank everyone for their hard work and labors of love, your participation and excitement, and your God loving servant hearts. St. John’s is an awesome body of Christ and we are blessed to be a part of Christ’s ministry and mission in, with, and through St. John’s.

In Christ’s Love,
Pastor Tim & Rhonda

February A new member class is forming!

A time and date will be announced in the coming weeks. If you would like to make St. John’s your church home, please contact Pastor Tim through the church office or at pastortimbean@gmail.com.

February 21 Shrove Tuesday—Pancake Supper & Bingo Night

The youth are sponsoring the Annual Pancake Supper on Shrove Tuesday. We will be playing Bingo after the supper and winners get to choose from a variety of theme baskets and other items for their prize. We had so much fun with Bingo night last year -we hope everyone will mark their calendars for Tuesday, February 21. Pancakes are served at 6:00 pm followed by Bingo, around 6:46 pm.

March NEW Bible Study

“The Four Acts of Prayer” We will meet each Saturday in March (Lent) in the fellowship hall from 10:00AM-noon. The series builds each week from the previous week(s), so please commit yourself to attend each Saturday.

March 4 Congregational Meeting

Congregational Meeting will be held on Sunday, March 4, 2012 after worship in the sanctuary. At this meeting we will vote (yes or no) on ratifying the constitution for the NALC.

March 8 Men’s Pizza Night

The next pizza night for the men will be held on Thursday, March 8 at 6:30 pm at Village Pizza on Highway 90. Join us and bring a friend!

March 10 Men’s Group Monthly Community Breakfast

8:00 — 10:00 AM Proceeds to benefit Iredell Christian Ministries & 5th Street Ministries Come and bring your neighbor! Suggested donation: $6

More News and Events Info

                   

services