ThuFeb92012
Harvest,
Sure hope you've had a chance to meet our elders at Harvest. They and their wives are such a huge blessing. One thing we say at Harvest is that we want our elders to "smell like the sheep." That means we want our elders to be actually doing the work of ministry in the lives of people. By Gods grace, our elders smell like sheep...so do their wives!
Please pray for our elders and their wives as God leads: Jay and Iva Carey, Gary and Ann Keeler, Ken and Gina Paulsen, and Mark and Laura VanderPloeg. God will bless you as you lift up others in prayer.
At the same time, please pray for our deacon candidates. It's time to install deacons at Harvest. Our elders have been in place now for over a year, and we're now ready to put deacons in place. Our deacon candidates are Dan Ness and Larry Olilla. Also, pastor Randy Cates will be leading our deacons. So, we'll start out with a team of three and watch God add to our deacon team in the next few months. Please let us know if you have any ideas of godly men as candidates for our deacon team.
Now, some of us may wonder what deacons do differently than elders at Harvest, and especially in scripture; here's the difference:
First, look at Acts 6 for the biblical precedence for deacons. The need arose for deacons when widows in the community were not receiving their daily portion of physical sustenance. Instead of the elders serving the widows, and thus getting away from the work of teaching and leading the people spiritually, deacons were put in place to serve.
Second, elders at Harvest are called to serve mainly in the areas of the three "Ds." That's leading the church in the areas of Doctrine, Direction, and Discipline. That is, protect and teach the doctrine of the church, discern and move forward with God's direction for the church, and enter into relational situations that require the work of discipline and restoration.
Finally, deacons at Harvest are more geared to serve in very specific areas. We might have a deacon that serves in the area of benevolence, or in the area of grounds and facilities, or in the area of missions or something like that. We're not sure how all of this will play out specifically with our deacons, but we're trusting the Lord will clarify that in the next few weeks.
Our timeframe to get Pastor Randy, Dan Ness, and Larry Olilla serving as deacons at Harvest is some time in the next couple of weeks. We'll be setting aside some time on an upcoming Sunday to pray for these three men and set them apart for serving as deacons.
Okay, Harvest, see you on Sunday! Lots going on on Sunday: Preaching on the Greatness of God and baptizing believers in Christ. Can't wait!
Love you, Harvest!
brent