Central Family,

This week we welcome Winston Peterson to Central as our first full-time Director of Music Ministry. In the days and weeks to come I hope that many of you will extend a Christ-filled and warm welcome to Winston and his family. This is an exciting time in the life of Central as we pray for Winston and his leadership amongst us. I am thankful to the Holy Spirit for opening the doors and calling Winston to come and provide leadership in the music ministry and worship life of Central. Keep your ears and eyes open as much more information will be forthcoming in the weeks to come about some of the exciting plans for growing Central’s music ministry. On September 18 Winston will be installed at all three Sunday morning worship services.

As I anticipate Winston’s leadership in and through Central I am reminded of the 4th  of 6 critical passages from Acts. In Acts 20:17-35 Paul addresses the leaders of the Church of Ephesus. He enumerates five essentials of leadership in the Church of Jesus Christ – be it in the 1st century or 21st century. This are five timeless truths for leadership in the Church. I pray that these characteristics will mark not only Winston’s leadership but all of those (not only staff) that God sets aside to lead the mission of Making Jesus Known.  Very briefly consider the five essentials of leadership that Paul puts in front of us;

1.       BE RIGHT WITH GOD (20:28) – The first priority of a leader is to be right with God. Read Acts 6, 1 Timothy 3, Titus 1 and 1 Peter 5 and you begin to see the importance of spiritual maturity or being right with God. Godly character is significantly more important than our giftedness, personality profile or acquired skills. To be right with God means to consistently exhibit the character of Jesus Christ.

2.       SHEPHERD THE FLOCK (20:28) – Shepherding is not about position, title or power. It is all about feeding and leading the people of God into the Word and Will of God! We understand that Central is God’s and the Holy Spirit has entrusted leaders with the precious responsibility of feeding and leading God’s people. The primary responsibility of the leader in the Church is to listen to, discern and carry out God’s will. The question we continually ask is, ‘what does God want us to be and do?’

3.       GUARD THE FLOCK (20:28-31) – The leader in God’s Church is to protect the people from external and internal dangers. We are to watch and warn.  In the Bible one of the great gifts of guarding the faith is music.  Luther insisted that next to Theology, music was the second greatest gift of God to the Church.  If you have a passion for music make sure you connect with Winston in the weeks and months to come.

4.       GROW (20:32) – A leader must grow!

5.       BE FREE FROM SELF-INTEREST (20:33-35) – The focus for all leaders is ‘giving’ not ‘getting.’ Jesus modeled leadership for all his followers when he picked up a towel and  basin, knelt down and washed the feet of those who followed him. The greatest privilege of a leader is to lose his or her life for the sake of the gospel and in this act the leader will find his or her life.  True joy is discovered in being crucified with Jesus.

I encourage you to pray for all the leaders of Central that these five essentials will be part and parcel of who we are in your midst. Will you also join me in praying that God will raise up additional leaders for our EPHESIAN BIBLE STUDIES in October and November. If you sense God calling you to lead one of the Ephesians’ small groups please email me indicating your interest.  Thanks for considering this!

Lastly, THANK YOU TO THE 128 HOUSEHOLDS who have made a financial promise to the three year MOVING FORWARD TOGETHER campaign. Your financial and prayer support has been the means by which God opened the door for Winston to come to Central.  THANK YOU so much for your generous support. In addition to Winston coming on board full time we have been able to accomplish one of the three important property projects.  A storage garage has been completed and provided much necessary space to store supplies for Central’s growing ministries. As additional donors step forward we will move forward with the plans for a NEW CHURCH SIGN on School Street and new carpet in the Lobby. Last year we were able to carpet the sanctuary and upper wing.  It is not too late to get on board with the Moving Forward Together campaign.  If you are able to financially support this important emphasis please speak to Kris Geslin, our Financial Administrator.

Enjoy these last days of summer and remember to pray daily for Central and its leaders. We are dependent upon your prayers!



Paul

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