Harvest Barrie

Words

My book study group is reading a fantastic book right now – “The Power of Words and the Wonder of God” by several authors (see below). If you want to be challenged and want to see your tongue as the disgusting piece of flesh that it can be so that you are sickened and strive in a whole new way for personal holiness when it comes to your words – pick up this book!

I just finished a chapter written by Mark Driscoll and he lists seven practical ways that we can pray for our shepherd. My small group has been praying through one of these points each week since the end of summer…we pray not just for Todd but for the other elders and ministry leaders in our church. I thought it was a really great resource to share.

I wonder what our church would look like in a year if we committed to praying through one of these points each week for the next year? What a great way to show that Harvest Loves...OUR SHEPHERDS!

Seven Ways to pray for your Shepherd

1. Pray that God would give your shepherd a discerning mind. Your shepherd needs to discern who the sheep, swine, wolves and dogs are so that he knows how he and the church should respond.

2. Pray that God would give your shepherd thick skin. Critics can be merciless, and Judas-like friends can be even crueler. Your shepherd receives mean-spirited emails from the people he cares for, suffers from constant gossip and rumors about him and his family, and spends hours every day simply turning the other cheek. When he fails, he is criticized for being a poor leader. And when he succeeds, he is criticized by those who are jealous. When he is a young man he is criticized for being inexperienced and arrogant. And when he is old, he is criticized for not being as energetic, passionate, and innovative as when he was young. Pray that your shepherd would have thick skin and selective hearing to ignore people and comments he should — and yet to receive the people and comments he should.

3. Pray that your shepherd would have a good sense of humour. Without a good sense of humour, shepherds will be overcome with anxiety and stress and will miss wonderful opportunities to laugh deeply from the gut as an act of faith. Shepherds are imperfect as are their individual sheep (sorry, but it’s true!) and their collective flock.

Ministry is pressure, and humour is a good release valve that helps to relieve the pressure. Without the release valve of humour, the pressure on a shepherd increases until he simply breaks. This break will be spiritual, emotional, mental, or physical depending upon the weakest cracks in his life. Too many shepherd break. Some leave ministry altogether, while others limp along as their outlook grows bleaker, darker and more somber.

4. Pray that your shepherd would have a tender heart. One of the primary duties of a shepherd is to see and deal with sin, folly, and horror in the lives of people they love. It is brutal. If you are not a shepherd, imagine spending much of every week visiting the sick and dying in the hospital, preaching funerals, mending the broken marriages, serving addicts of various ills, and weeping with victims of molestation and rape. The needs are overwhelming, the shepherd feels woefully unfit for the work, and there is no end in sight. Pray that his heart would remain tender toward God and his flock, because that requires a miracle of grace.

5. Pray that your shepherd would have a humble disposition. Simply put, pride is the root that nourished the fruit of all sin and is akin to picking a fight with God. But God promises to give grace to the humble. Nothing breaks a church like pride, and nothing builds it like humility. Jesus the Chief Shepherd is the most perfectly humble person who has or will ever live …

Without this humility, a proud shepherd contributes to a church culture of rivalry, conceit, competition, and selfish ambition, and a lack of teach-ability, submission to godly authority, and repentance.

Pray that as a result of humility he would follow the truth wherever it leads, invite and pursue correction from fellow shepherds, have the courage to lead boldly despite the personal cost, learn from everyone, repent quickly and thoroughly, seek and celebrate God’s grace at work in the lives of other Christians and churches, have a spirit of thankfulness, and listen to Scripture more than himself.

6. Pray that your shepherd would have a supportive family. Between the accusations of Satan, stings of critics, and discouraging awareness of his personal shortcomings and inadequacies, a shepherd is greatly served by an encouraging wife and a home in which the Holy Spirit’s work is evident. Pray for the shepherd’s wife, because she is often put under great demands to be friends with women in the church she does not enjoy, reveal details from her personal life with people she does not trust, attend parties with people she does not know, share her marriage and family with people she does not feel appreciated by, endure gossip from people she has not met, and lovingly serve people who are not thankful.

Pray for the shepherd's children. If they are struggling with sin and faith, there is great pressure to hide it so that their father retains the respect of the sheep and so that the swine do not have an opportunity to gloat and call their father a hypocrite, the wolves do not have an opportunity to attack their father, and the dogs do not have an opportunity to bark at their father.

7. Pray that your shepherd would have an evangelistic devotion. People are dying and going to hell without Jesus. It is easy in light of the needs of the sheep, folly of the swine, dangers of the wolves, and threats of the dogs for the shepherd to become so consumed with his flock that he does not seek the conversion of lost people.

Pray for your shepherd that he would have a heart for lost people and make time in his schedule to labour for their salvation.

From: The Power of Words and the Wonder of God John Piper (Editor), Justin Taylor (Editor), Paul David Tripp, Sinclair B. Ferguson, Mark Driscoll, Daniel Taylor, Bob Kauflin

Amy

Elder Candidate Bios

The following text was included in the bulletin on November 21, 2010.  It includes the bios of the two elder candidates and an explanation of the elder selection process.  The statement read by Terry Codling, elder chair, on Sunday, November 14 is available here. 

Dave MacDonald, Elder Candidate

Ronda and I own an employment agency in the GTA, and live in the north end of Barrie with our three children.

I had the privilege of growing up in a home where I had a generational Christian heritage and example to follow as it related to my faith. As a young boy, I professed faith in Jesus as my Saviour, but it took until my teens to understand what it meant to make him Lord of all. But wanting to make my faith a more personal one and to come to my own understanding of exactly what I believed concerning Scripture I chose to attend Moody Bible Institute in Chicago after high school.

While a Moody student I had the opportunity to spend time with my brother and attend this new church he was planting called Harvest Bible Chapel. This experience would deeply impact me in ways that nearly nothing else at Bible college would. In my second year at school, another significant development took place; I met and fell in love with Ronda and 13 months later, we were married. In 1998 we moved from Chicago to Kitchener and were involved in a Fellowship Baptist Church there.

In 2002 Ronda and I moved to Barrie out of a desire to be a part of a church that prioritized passionate worship, bold preaching of the gospel, and a community committed to doing life together. Since coming to Barrie, Ronda and I have had opportunity to serve in many areas of the ministry. Currently we lead and host the Harvest young adults small group. Previously we have led both women’s and men's small groups respectively and together led small groups and marriage FOCIS groups. Perhaps my favourite opportunity for ministry is when I get to teach the Peak Performance course.

We look forward to future opportunities to serve as God leads.

John Shewfelt, Elder Candidate

I am a chiropractor and have been in practice for 34 years. I grew up in Toronto in a family where the Lord was revered, and church attendance and involvement was the norm. I prayed accepting God’s plan of salvation at Camp Mini-Yo-We when I was 11. I wandered far away from God during my college years, but I recall vividly, times when I called out to him when it seemed there was nothing else I could do.

I surrendered my life to the Lord on April 9, 1978 at Knox Presbyterian Church in Midland, just the second week back to church at the invitation of a friend. My wife Marilyn was God’s answer to my first prayer as a follower of Christ. We were married in 1979. We have been blessed with four terrific children and a precious grandchild.

We have attended Harvest Barrie as a family since June of 2005. I have served, for the past four years, overseeing the Welcome Ministry teams during the services. Marilyn and I have the privilege of leading an incredible group of people in our small group on Monday nights. I attend a small group on Wednesday mornings with the “Men of Macedonia”, and lead a Bible teaching time for parents of Awana kids on Wednesday nights. Marilyn is using her teaching and ministry gifts in leading several women’s Bible studies throughout the week, and is such a blessing to so many women. She was a Bible teacher in Higher Ground until the Lord clearly changed her ministry focus this fall.

The Lord has given me a new zeal for his Word and for prayer in the last year. I have a love for his people at Harvest Barrie, and a passion to serve him here for his glory.  Please pray for me as I seek to serve the Lord, and you, in this role as elder.

Elder Selection

Dave and John have been chosen to serve as elders at Harvest Bible Chapel. They have completed the application and interview process and are being presented to the congregation by the elders to complete the process of determining their qualification for eldership. The biblical teaching on the subject of eldership is found in I Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9.

If there are any personal matters pertaining to these candidates that require resolution, please contact them directly. If you are unable to resolve the matter or if you have any questions about the process please contact Terry Codling, elder chair.

Our Process Is:

Selection
When the need arises for additional elders, a nominee will be recommended by the existing elders. In keeping with the clear biblical injunctions regarding authority structures within the church only men will be considered for the office of elder. An in-depth interview will ensue to determine if the nominee is biblically qualified. The congregation will then be reminded of the biblical requirement for elders and given four weeks to speak personally with the nominee if they are aware of any disqualifying characteristics. If the matter remains unresolved, the nominee or church member should approach the elders for assistance in reaching a resolution.

Duties
The Scriptures are clear that the elder's responsibility is the spiritual oversight of the congregation. The elder's responsibility can be broken down into three main areas:
•    Ensuring that the doctrine of the church remains purely biblical; all doctrinal issues in the church will be settled by the elders.
•    Ensuring that the direction of the church remains consistent with our statement of purpose and the four pillars statement as outlined in the constitution.
•    Administering in love and humility the biblical process of church discipline as outlined in Matthew 18:15-20 and Galatians 6:1-4.

All decisions affecting the overall doctrine, direction, and discipline of the church will be the responsibility of the elders.

Structure
All elders will have equal authority and responsibility. The senior pastor will work in cooperation with the elder board chairman to ensure healthy ministry development and strong accountability.

Death. Grief. Hope.

It was 1976. I was twelve years old and my Nanny had just died. She loved Jesus, though at the time, no one else in our extended family was the least bit interested in him. Her funeral service was unlike anything our family had seen or heard before. There was grief at her loss, but the people leading the service exuded love and found hope in Christ. My grandmother had been “promoted to glory” in the words of the Salvation Army officer who led the service. For these people of faith, death gave way to hope. What our family saw in these people was something they themselves did not know.

I didn’t actually get to go to the funeral. None of the grandkids did. Our family was steeped in sorrow and fear. Superstitions surrounding grief and who could handle it (evidently not the children) meant that we didn’t get to deal with the death in a proper way and bring closure to our relationship with Nanny. For some months afterward I had nightmares of her calling to me but always being just out of reach.

Looking back all these years later, two things are clear to me from that experience. First, it is possible to both grieve and to have hope. And second, most people don’t know this and have never experienced it.

In Genesis 2:17 God lets Adam and Eve know that the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was off limits. He said to them, “In the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die.” Of course, if they had stayed away from it, they would have enjoyed eternal life and been free of death and of grief.  After they sinned and ate from that tree, God cursed them. The most devastating and tragic consequence of their sinful choice was death.  God said to Adam words that are spoken at most funerals to this day, “You are dust, and to dust you shall return”.

The stories of the Bible are actually one story. From that opening scene in the Garden of Eden, the narrative takes us through all of the tragedies of life and the sin-filled realties we face to find redemption. The story is about reversing that curse. It is about eliminating death. In the final scene in the final book of the Bible we read this, “Death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore” (Revelation 21:4).

Until that great day, we are here experiencing the effects of sin and death. For those who do not know Jesus Christ, the whole thing is about loss, mourning, crying, pain, heartache, sorrow. Attempts to paint death in a positive light are hollow at best. Despite assurances from well-meaning loved ones and misguided ministers, too many are left with doubts. They may talk of hope, but they don’t really have any.

Evidently the new believers in Thessalonica were struggling too, so Paul wrote some of the most comforting words in the entire New Testament to allay their fears and bring comfort in the midst of death. There’s no denial of the grief…we should grieve. But for the follower of Christ who looks forward to the day when, “death shall be no more” it is a different experience altogether. And like it was for our family all those years ago when my Nanny died, the way we handle grief should catch the attention of unbelievers who don’t have this hope.

The postscript to the story is salvation coming to our family. I didn’t go to that funeral, but of course, my mom did. Within mere months of that funeral service our family of four was in the midst of a major crisis. The turmoil had mom looking for help. She remembered the love, faith and hope that she found in the people who led that funeral.  And she went to where she knew she’d find the same kind of people. It wasn’t long after that our family heard the gospel of Jesus Christ and mom, dad and I all became Christ-followers.

The difference for us was that these people grieved, but “not as others do who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13).

We’ll be taking a careful look at our understanding of death, grief and hope in this week’s message in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.  Paul says, “Comfort one another with these words.” I hope to do just that for you.

See you Sunday.

Todd

A Thousand Ways to Serve

Sometimes we get caught up in the extremely false notion that there is little that I, as an individual, can do to help someone else.  There are likely a lot of reasons for this, including at the top of the list, a huge lack of understanding or disregard for the power of prayer.  With prayer as the baseline for getting involved in what God is doing in someone else’s life, we need to get just a little more creative in finding ways to help.

Some of the ways we jump in are tried and proven.  Make a meal, watch the kids, helping to clean the house or yard or garage.  Just providing a little of the normal, routine everyday energy to get the normal, routine, everyday, stuff done can be a huge boost to someone!

We can discount some of the ways we help because we are part of a team or a larger volunteer effort.  We possibly fall into thinking, “It only counts if I do it all on my own.”   It should be obvious that there has never been a movement, an outpouring of support, or a great effort of relief without individuals stepping up to be a part of something bigger than themselves. 

So here are a few, (out of thousands), creative ways to help others:
1.    Drive patients to their cancer appointments
2.    Volunteer at the hospital
3.    Give blood (“It’s in you to give” – I love that tag!)
4.    Pay for someone to go to a conference
5.    Donate body parts while you are still living.  (Okay, I better explain that one!)  By way of example, here is a request that came across my desk via Unity Christian High School.

Glenn Van Zeumuren, a parent of students in OACS Christian schools and the coach of the TDChristian Cross country team, has been in the hospital for four weeks and has been diagnosed with a bone marrow disorder. He now needs a stem cell/bone marrow transplant.  A transplant can only occur if a match for his marrow is found. The best chance of a match is from people with a similar ethnic background as he is European.  Please go to www.blood.ca  and register to be a potential donor, for him or someone else.  Registering to be a donor takes five minutes and all that is involved is a cheek swab to see if you are eligible. This is a worldwide registry so it doesn’t matter where you live. 

While I know individuals who have given a kidney to a family member or friend, the above is not nearly as threatening to one’s own health.  Who knows, maybe you or I could be a match and an answer to prayer?

You may be thinking that some of those suggestions are just a little out there or even still beyond your means so here is one I think is in the realm of possibility for just about anyone:  make a phone call.  Ask the person how they are doing.  Ask specifically if there is something you can pray for them.  Then before hanging up – pray.  Trust me, it will help!

Roger

Relevant Evil

“I want to be relevant” – I feel like I hear Christians using that phrase a lot. What does that even look like for a believer? I kinda know what they’re getting at…but when I stand before Jesus I’m pretty sure he’s not going to be overly concerned with how relevant I was…but probably pretty concerned about my personal pursuit of holiness.

Philippians 4:8 is pretty clear:

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

I took 13 minutes recently to watch a Mark Driscoll clip that was all over FaceBook the other week and was SO impressed by what I heard. The whole clip focuses on the current teenage (and beyond) fascination with vampires, werewolves, sorcery, witchcraft and other far from honorable, pure and lovely things. Why on earth are we giving headspace to these things?? Why are we allowing our youth to be filling their minds with this garbage? And not just allowing – we’re buying them the books, taking them to the movies…WHY!?!?

In talking with someone recently they stated something along the lines of, “Good thing I know what’s going on in the latest (insert Twilight book title here) so that I can discuss that with my peers but too bad I don’t know the bridge illustration and can’t share the gospel.”  How sadly true.

From the book "For the Love of God" D.A. Carson says...

 “People do not drift toward holiness. Apart from grace-driven effort, people do not gravitate toward godliness, prayer, and obedience to Scripture, faith, and delight in the Lord. We drift toward compromise and call it tolerance; we drift toward disobedience and call it freedom; we drift toward superstition and call it faith. We cherish the indiscipline of lost self-control and call it relaxation; we slouch toward prayerlessness and delude ourselves into thinking we have escaped legalism; we slide toward godlessness and convince ourselves we have been liberated.”

I urge you to check out the video below…see what the latest in teen fiction is these days, then PURGE the bookshelves in your home and get focused on things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely and commendable…things that point us to the cross. 

Amy

 

Food Bank

When we moved into our new offices we each were assigned an office with built in desks and cupboards in various kitchen styles.   Mike’s is so retro!  Mine is just classy, without being ostentatious!  We had some stuff lying around from moving and I found a paper bag that was left over from our last collection for the food bank.  I thought it quite entertaining to put it up on my wall as “art” since we didn’t have much at that moment.  It read, “Our cupboards are bare but you can help fill them.”  I would leave my office cupboard doors open so everyone could see how empty they were.  Ha,Ha!

I have taken it down because now we have stuff on the shelves, (and it never was very funny).  We don’t have bare shelves here that should be holding food.  But I know two kinds of places that do.  The Barrie Food Bank’s shelves are bare.  And that means some of the people who depend on them have empty shelves also. 

We are handing out empty paper bags so in November we can change that.  By filling them we can fill the shelves at the Food Bank and in turn the shelves of those who need the food.  We are the ones that can help fill the shelves.  We can bring our filled bags back here each Sunday, drop them off at our office (112 Caplan Avenue) or deliver them directly to the Food Bank.  Perhaps you would consider volunteering there.

The Food Bank was so thankful that we helped out in the middle of the summer.  That can be a hard time for them.  But now they are heading into an even busier season.  Now is the time to make a difference.  Fill up the bag!  Fill up the cupboards!

Roger

Family Chat - November 14, 2010

Below is the statement read by Terry Codling, chairman of the elders, Harvest Barrie, following the services on Sunday, November 14, 2010.

Today, on behalf of the elders, I am going to share with you some long awaited good news.

In Acts 14:21-23 we read that, at the conclusion of their missionary journey, Paul and Barnabas “ … appointed elders for them in every church … “. Clearly from the beginning the appointing of elders in each church was and is a priority. It is obviously a significant part of God’s eternal plan for the church. In the Scriptures we find three words describing this role: elders, overseers and shepherds. Each of these is found in 1 Peter 5:1-5. Each describes certain characteristics and roles. Elder indicates maturity, experience and wisdom. Overseer refers to an authority role among God’s people that sets an example of faithfulness, service and responsibility. Shepherd defines the task of protecting and nurturing the flock of God.

Commonly, and rightfully so, Bible believing churches like Harvest focus on the biblical characteristics required for elders from 1Timothy, Titus and 1 Peter. There are, however, some subtle attributes that are also  important to this role. It is often said like this, “Elders or shepherds smell like sheep”. This means elders are not pristine, spotless, hands off leaders. Rather they get down in the ditches where their hands get dirty while they walk the trails of life with the flock of God. These men have lived through the struggles and suffering, the highs and lows, the failures and victories experienced while walking with Christ. They are devoted to God’s Word and constant in prayer. They are involved in leading small groups and effectively teaching God’s Word. In other words they have and are walking the same road that you are walking and have demonstrated a desire to share your journey. They smell like sheep.

Due to all of this, we have taken a long time to examine men who might take on the role of elders in this church. All of these were men that you suggested to us about 10 months ago. For some it is clear to us that they will probably be elders at some time in the future. We are determined to prepare them for that task. Our Lord also made it clear that others were not suited for this role. In the end we’ve come down to two men that we want to introduce to you this morning. I will ask them to stand as I share their names. We believe our Lord has led us to select John Shewfelt and Dave MacDonald to be new elders in his church.

 

 

Here is the process that we will follow:
1.    Additional information and bios of each man will be in next week’s bulletin;
2.    You will have four weeks, until December 12, to personally resolve any issues you have with either of these men using Matthew 18 as your guide;
3.    If you are unable to personally resolve your concerns then speak to me, Roger or Todd and one or more of us will go with you to seek a solution;
4.    With any issues biblically resolved, on December 13 these men will effectively be elders of HBC Barrie;
5.    On either the second or third Sunday in January we will lay hands on these men, praying God’s blessing, protection and wisdom for them.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we know that neither of these men is perfect; in reality they are sinners saved by grace, just like you and me. Please continue in prayer for them and for our church. May the grace of our Lord Jesus, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with each one of you. You are loved.

The Forgotten Month

In some ways November is almost like the forgotten month for me. Not quite winter. The leaves are all gone so it is too late to really be fall. October has Thanksgiving. December has Christmas. November is just the month in between. In September we have the start of school, June marks the end of it and the start of summer.  July and August are amazing for sooooo many reasons. April and May mark the start of spring. March has the weeklong break. January is about a fresh start. And lonely little February is distinctive in its own way. But November? No one pays it much mind.

But I’m finding November to be quite full and eventful. First, there’s the Movember thing, which is simply fun and a great way to raise some awareness and some dough for prostate cancer research. If you haven’t yet made a donation or joined the team, check it out here.

And then there’s Remembrance Day. We closed our office for the morning on November 11 and, as a staff team, led a charge of more than two dozen who went into the crowd post-service to hand out $5 Timmies cards. We were met with tears of gratitude and many surprised looks.  One veteran who is scheduled for surgery next week even asked for prayer on the spot!  It was a great morning of expressing our love to our military personnel and veterans.

And that love is exactly what we want to be talking about and living out every single day of this month. November is great because it is the month we have right in front of us right now.  With October behind us and before the nonsense of December gets rocking, we have November!

What are you going to do with the 19 days of November that are left? How will you use them? One way, of course, is to spend a couple of them with the church hearing the Word and worshipping together. One of those days is coming up this Sunday.

As we gather this Sunday as the church, we will be in 1 Thessalonians 4:9-12 looking again at how to love each other. The people we prove to be are people who “love one another”.  This is pleasing in God’s sight and brings about amazing impact in those who do not yet know Jesus Christ.

Let’s make this November the greatest of all months. Let’s commit in an unusual and extraordinary way to genuinely love God, each other and all.

See you Sunday,

Todd

Movember

Having a little fun over here at the office this month.

Perhaps you have noticed some sweet moustaches on the faces of your pastoral team. Mike, Roger and I are all doing what we can to promote the cause of prostate cancer awareness and research.  The rest of our staff team are not growing mo’s but only because they are women.

Our mo-tivation is that two good friends of ours who are fellow pastors have successfully battled prostate cancer in recent years, and we’re growing the Mo for them. 

Check out the website and search “Harvest Pastors” to join the team or to simply make a donation. If you are joining the team, you can do so whether you’re a guy with a mo or a woman with no mo who can join our team as a Mo-Sista. When you join, be sure to promote the cause and our group on your Facebook and Twitter pages.

Even if you don’t officially join, you can still make that donation. Make sure you credit our team (“Harvest Pastors”) with your donation. 
THANKS!

Todd

Location Location Location

Just in case you’re in the south end sometime soon and have an overwhelming urge to bring someone coffee, the staff here at Harvest thought it would be a good idea to review where you can find us <winks!>.

Here’s how it is right now:

Sundays – worship with us at 750 Essa Road…9 a.m. or 11:15 a.m.

Monday to Friday – come by and see us at 112 Caplan Ave (corner of Caplan and Veterans in the old Canac Kitchens building…enter through the north facing doors…and you don’t really have to bring us coffee!).  We have been truly blessed as a staff to be back working together, with a fax machine, photocopier and phone lines all ready to be used. Feel free to drop in anytime to say hello and get a tour!  Don’t tell the rest of the staff but I totally have the best office (and the nicest smelling one!).

And if you want to mail us anything you can send it to:

37 Mapleview Drive West
PO Box 31040
Barrie ON
L4N 0B3

You might be thinking, “Wait a minute! What  about that house up on Bayfield Street!?!”  We’re really just waiting on the Lord (and the city) right now so please join us in praying for God’s clear leading, direction and timing.

In the meantime, drop by 112 Caplan for a visit…and feel free to bless us with coffee if the Lord just happens to lay that on your heart ☺.

Amy