FVUMC HISTORY

PART ONE

MINISTRY CONTEXT: HISTORY, FOUNTAIN VALLEY

UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

1. THE CHURCHES ONE FOUNDATION: 1964-1989 ........................................... 4

The Early Years

The Productive Years

The Beginning of The Constructive Years

2. BUILDING ON THE FOUNDATION: 1990-1996 ............................................. 24

The Congregations Understanding of "Church"

The Biblical Foundation for Defining "Church"

The Pastors Understanding of "Minister"

The Biblical Foundation for Defining "Pastor"

CHAPTER 1

THE CHURCHES ONE FOUNDATION: 1964-1988 
 

The Early Years

Fountain Valley was known at the turn of the century as "Gospel Swamps." The high water table made the land so soggy that it made a poor foundation for building anything. However, it was well suited for bean fields and other crops. Another use for the land was discovered by Churches who began to hold joint tent revivals here. They were clear about their role in fulfilling the Great Commission of Jesus Christ. "Go therefore and make disciples..." (Matthew 28:19a). These revivals were put on by two or three denominations at once. This cooperative Gospel outreach was short lived, but in hind sight seems almost prophetic as will be shown later in this paper.

The draining of the land, a flood canal, and the San Diego freeway made this prime real estate by the 1960’s. With this new artery of transportation the town quickly became a bedroom community for white collar aerospace engineers and other middle class executives employed in Los Angeles.

As the city became incorporated in 1964 the Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church became interested in establishing a congregation in this new community. The California Arizona Conference bought a new home for the parsonage on Nightingale Avenue and a five acre parcel on Bushard Avenue, few blocks from the house. A pastor was appointed to plant this new ministry on July 1, 1964.

Methodist families that had moved to that area were contacted and a meeting of half dozen families or so took place at the parsonage. They set a date in September for their first public worship service held at the local elementary school. They went door to door inviting people to the new ministry opportunity. There were forty-five people at the first service! Excitement grew as their numbers steadily increased in those first weeks. The school auditorium began to fill up. Charter members have fond memories of carting piano, pulpits and other accessories from their homes to the school.

These young families were proud to be in on the start of something great. They had been given the awesome responsibility of developing a ministry in the community that would be faithful to the investment and vision of the United Methodist Church. Their first ten year plan was to build a one thousand five hundred seat sanctuary. Hopes were high in those first months as they met in the school.

On November 22, 1964, Charter members were received. They continued to worship at the school for two years while the land was being developed. Lots of volunteer labor went into the construction of the buildings and landscaping. The first buildings completed were for worship services and an education wing. In November of 1966 the first services were held on the church property.

In the Fall of 1967 the church started a pre-school. It quickly became one of the most well known expressions of the churches’ mission to the community. However, the nature of that mission was not consistent with the "Great Commission" in that Jesus was not the center of the life of the school. That was clearly demonstrated in that the newly forming Jewish Temple, B’nai Zedek sent their children to the school without any sense that this was a specifically Christian School.

The temple was already using the Methodist Church for its Shabbot services and had an office for the Rabbi in the facilities. The theological nature of the pre-school shows the openness to interfaith relations of the founding families. However, it is also indicative of the theology of the early ministry, in that the distinctive message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ had to be compromised for such a venture. The cross was covered for the Temple services, and anything distinctively Christian was absent from the pre-school curriculum.

Many of these young families had come from other more rural parts of the country. As Fountain Valley become increasingly covered with concrete, there was an appreciation for the undeveloped part of the Church property. A large mound of dirt left over from the construction project provided a perfect location for an "old rugged cross" to be erected. It became a nostalgic focal point for Easter Sunrise Services for years. Future construction projects finally required its removal, but the memories of "Calvary Hill" remain.

The founding pastor seemed to be excited about the new church, but something distracted him from continuing his call. No one is quite sure what happened, but when he left Fountain Valley, he left the ministry. Some heard that he went into Real Estate. If that is the case, was he drawn to the more affluent lifestyle of those around him? Did he want to make more money like the other professionals in Orange County? Did he lose his faith? There is no record of him serving in ministry anywhere after that point. Some had heard he eventually moved to the San Francisco Bay area.

Conversation with the pastor who followed him revealed an important perspective on those early years. He feels that his three years of ministry there were made more difficult because of the spiritual confusion of the founder. He believes this church was established with a dangerous foundation by someone who may have been more interested in money than the Gospel. This is not necessarily a reflection on the people who made up the core of the congregation themselves, but it does give some clue as to the kind of spiritual content on which they were fed from the beginning.

The second pastor’s tenure was marked by his passion for Pacifism and other social issues during the Vietnam War era. From 1967 to 1970 he preached ardently against the War and other social issues like world hunger. These were a critical issues of the day and he addressed them vigorously. He had personal views about limiting family size to two children which he expressed freely to some members who already had families of four children and more. The wounds from those views were still present twenty-five years later. His gifts were not so much in the area of pastoral care as in prophetic proclamation. This was challenging but did not do much for the development of the needs for the founding of a new congregation.

In 1970 an 1890’s Estey organ was donated by Spurgeon United Methodist Church of Santa Ana. It was a temperamental instrument that added a lot of character to the services, especially when only one or two of the ranks were working. This however, like the mound of dirt, was part of the unique appeal that was special to the members of the congregation.

They had a sense of being a little country church, even though they were in a suburb rapidly growing more sophisticated. Evidence of that can be seen in a cute reworking of Dr. William S. Pitts’ hymn "Church in the Wildwood." A pillar of the church wrote this adaptation for the church's 10th anniversary in 1974.

There’s a Church in Fountain Valley that is Methodist
A greater bunch of people can’t be found.
We come and get together to worship
and a good, good spirit is around.

Oh, come, come, come, come, come
and join us here in Fountain Valley
It’s better than working in the yard
We’ll work together for God’s purpose
At the little tan church on Bushard.

We have old-timers here in Fountain Valley
and then of course we have new timers too.
Tonight, we celebrate our anniversary
As we fellowship together, me and you!

The Productive Years

When appointment time approached, the church leadership requested a pastor who was more of people person. The Conference wanted to send someone who also had some experience in building facilities. This pastor was a big change in leadership for the church, when he arrived July 1, 1971.

He recalls sensing a type of darkness and depression over the congregation. He did not have discernment as to its source but went to work bringing hope and vision to the people. They were a young family with children and got involved in many areas of the church and community. The pastor’s wife volunteered in the public schools and other civic duties. His children helped bring vitality to the youth program. He began to establish ministries that brought new people into the life of the congregation. He was very good at visitation in the homes. He trained a group of people to teach the Bethel Bible series. Even though this comprehensive overview of the scriptures never really progressed beyond the first group, it brought the Word of God into the midst of the people. Soon they were looking at a building program and had hope for the future.

This pastor was able to orchestrate the next phase of buildings which included a fellowship hall and expanded the education wing. However, they had to finish paying off their loan from the last phase of building before they could borrow or take out bonds to finance this next phase. It was proposed that they sell two acres to a developer who wanted to put in a street and homes behind the church property. The vote was very close. The whole vision for the type of ministry that could take place at this location was in the balance. It was hard to see the need for that land as they had not grown at the rate they had expected. Although it was a highly controversial issue, and the vote was very close, the land was sold. The first services in the new facilities were held on Palm Sunday 1975. But the new buildings did not result a dramatic increase in attendance was hoped.

Even though the city was growing, their own congregation was not. Fountain Valley boasted of having the largest High School west of the Mississippi River, but the youth program was relatively small. The congregation saw other churches around them booming in attendance while they became "plateaued." Another United Methodist Church was planted in Huntington Beach not far from the Fountain Valley location. It offered an alternative type of United Methodist ministry. The "Jesus Movement" spawned by Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa, Robert Shuler’s Crystal Cathedral, and other churches in the area were becoming "mega" congregations into the thousands, while they remained a little over one hundred. The ten year goals just kept moving to the future as little progress was being made. Some in leadership felt they needed a more dynamic pastor to keep up with the "mega" churches in the area. So, as it came time for this pastor to move, the Pastor Parish Relations Committee asked for a someone who would move them dynamically into church growth. They wanted a powerful leader. That is exactly what they got.  

The Beginning of The Constructive Years

It was into this context that the current pastor was appointed in 1988. Some members told him they needed strong leadership to move ahead, while others warned him not to come on strong lest he appear to be like the high powered minister they had had before.

He tried to walk that narrow line, especially in the first year. He led primarily through his preaching and let the laity continue to run the church meetings. They did not expect him at the meetings anyway as they had grown accustomed to the absence of the ordained minister. These committee meetings were sometimes quite heated, with split votes and personal power plays. Any ideas that the pastor might want to suggest he tried to introduce through key leaders with whom he began to work one on one. In viewing this church as a "tribe" he saw himself more like a "witch doctor" who had not yet earned the position of one of the chiefs.

It was clear that a new foundation had to be built. The first thing that had to be re-established was the authority of Scripture. There would be little hope of this body becoming a church revived by God without the people believing in God's Word. As in most United Methodist churches in the California Pacific Annual Conference, the interpretation of the Bible was viewed by most as simply a matter of one's own opinion. However, many sensed that by getting away from the Bible, they had gotten into trouble. So, in the first major congregational planning meeting, the Administrative Council declared that the church would be "A Bible teaching church for all ages." The Pastor Parish Relations committee had been asking the District Superintendent for a Bible teaching pastor for two years. It is clear that God put that yearning in both their hearts and the pastor’s. This was the first major change in a return to being God’s people on mission. Without this, the congregation never would have be able to work on discerning whether or not they had an "unbiblical" clerical or institutional mentality." They never would be able to stand on the Truths of the Gospel: "God loves you, sin separates you, Jesus reunites you to God if you surrender to him."

The pastor’s wife played a major role in the direction of this congregation. She was raised in "Bible Churches" that approached the scriptures as the authoritative Word of God. With her gift of discernment and the strong models of churches of which she had been a part, she helped determine what was needed in the First United Methodist Church of Fountain Valley.

She suggested her husband deliver expository sermons instead of thematic ones. So, he began to ask the congregation to bring their Bibles to church and preached with the assumption that they would be following along verse by verse. Through Biblical apologetics in the pulpit and a Wednesday evening Bible study (also at the insistence of the pastor’s wife) the congregation became more and more grounded in The Word.

As they were establishing the authority of Scripture, the Gospel was being presented from the Bible. People began to realize that the concepts of Sin, Repentance, and the exclusive nature of the work of Jesus upon the cross were true! Although there was not a sweeping realization of this reality among the long term members right away, in time the majority of the congregation, composed of those new members being attracted by this teaching and some of the long term key leaders, began to accept a world view that was Biblical.

God began to move through His Word and the Sunday morning worship attendance doubled in a short time. Many were being saved. However, at the same time, some long term members were dropping out, one by one. They expressed a variety of reasons, most not being very candid in explanation. Some may have been genuinely neglected, but it seemed evident that some did not want the type of church that was developing. This is common whenever major changes take place, especially in the growth of a church.

With the Bible now established as the Word of God, this congregation could define "The Gospel" in Biblical terms. With the help of some key lay persons they reworked Bill Bright's pamphlet "Have you heard of the Four Spiritual Laws?" to establish a common definition of "The Gospel." They did not make it obvious to others that this was Campus Crusade material, so no one would be "prejudiced" against it as being "Non-Methodist".

They simplified the first three concepts of the Gospel into the three words; LOVE, SIN, JESUS. This established the intellectual understanding necessary to take the fourth step.... which they at first called "ASK." But soon it became clear that this seemed like begging God to do something He was almost unwilling to do. Although not a wrong view of God it was not the image they wanted to communicate of a loving God pursuing them like the Father in the parable of the prodigal son. So they changed the fourth word to "RECEIVE" to connote the passive receptivity needed for God's work to be done in them. It was a while later, in observing that there was a lack of fruit of repentance and any real noticeable change in the life style of many, that they changed the fourth word to "SURRENDER."

This now struck at the heart of God's initiating the Love relationship. It also communicated the issue of Lordship. They could now see that people understood that it was a major adjustment in life to surrender to Jesus. Getting saved was not an addition to the life they were leading, but a whole new way of living.

The idea that the Bible is the Word of God and that Jesus is now Lord began to affect many areas of church life. One of the most obvious was the way the congregation began to understand stewardship. Before, it was only a term used to get money for the church budget. Now the leadership realized it was an issue of Lordship. "Who's money is it? Who owns our time? Our talents? Our possessions? If Jesus is Lord, he is the owner and we are the stewards." The long term members were used to investing lots of time in the church. They also gave generously to meet a specific need, but now there was a call to tithe. This struck at the heart of one of the churches early issues in its foundation. If the founding pastor left the ministry to follow the prevailing god of Orange County, mammon, this would help explain how that attitude became part of their foundation . Would they take this step and renounce this god by tithing? There was a steady increase in giving and one year giving grew by more than forty percent as a result of several families obeying the Lord's call to tithe! Previously they would not vote on a budget until the finance campaign was completed. Now, they no longer used the budget as the basis for their giving, but worked from a view of the resources God had entrusted to them, as well as the Joy of being part of God's Kingdom work.

As the people took this step of faith and obedience they began to experience the power of the living God in other areas of their lives as well. They began to trust that the Biblical truths represented in the four "laws" would be effective if shared in love. Lives changed. Some church members who had identified themselves as "Christians" now realized they had no confidence in their salvation. Through the four laws the Lord made it clear that salvation was an act of Faith alone. In good Wesleyan tradition their "hearts were strangely warmed." They now also realized they had a clear message to share with others. They were prepared to respond to unsaved friends and coworkers with a clear message of the Gospel. They had a goal of reaching people for Christ. Before this, the primary goal had been to get people to "join the church." This then raised the question as to what is "the Church?"

This was a major issue facing the First United Methodist Church of Fountain Valley. If the Bible is the Authoritative Word of God, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ requires each person to Surrender to Him as Savior and Lord, then what does the church look like under His Lordship? Who are the ministers in that church and what do they do? What is our mission?

"Church" became defined as more than a place to come; more than getting their own needs met. A hunger was growing to know more about what God’s Word says about the Church. One of the defining passages that become a primary topic of study and discussion was from the book of Acts.

".And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer... And day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved" (Acts 2:42&46-47).

This led to increased Bible study (Apostles teaching) more social events and pot lucks (fellowship) a focus upon worship and prayer (breaking of bread and prayer) It also created a desire to begin a deliberate introspective analysis of itself as a church. One of the first administrative decisions of the pastor was to engage a study of Ken Callahan’s Twelve Keys to an Effective Church.

A group of key leaders met weekly for several months learning this analytical approach to church health. Callahan proposes an analysis of a local congregation based on six relational characteristics and six functional characteristics. The relational characteristics are the sources of satisfaction in a congregation and the functional ones are the sources of dissatisfaction in a congregation.

One of the great strengths of Callahan’s approach was that it had this church begin by working on one of its strong areas rather than one of its weak areas.

As the leaders’ findings were compiled, it became obvious to all, that the first area of focus for them was worship. They began to dream, plan and budget to improve the worship service because they felt that it was good already. A time line was developed to work on the other areas, that gave them a measurable way of moving ahead in their life together. This was a deliberate shift in the way the church was determining focus. It was being done by prayerful yet logical analysis, not by circumstantial personal preferences.

Developing a clearer view of the church was the reason the pastor felt led to get more theological education. He wanted to get direction for the major challenges of "revival" in the ministry of this body. A shift in paradigm was taking place in the congregation. It was altering their view of clergy and laity. It was altering their view of the congregation and how God intended to function in it. It raised new questions about the basic purpose of the church. The role of the pastor and of the laity to each other and the world, was being rediscovered and implemented. A new foundation was being laid in "Gospel Swamps."

Everyone who comes to Me, and hears My words, and acts upon them, I will show you whom he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation upon the rock; and when a flood rose, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built (Luke 6:47 & 48). 
 

CHAPTER 2

BUILDING ON THE FOUNDATION: 1990-1998 
 

Change is difficult for any individual. Change is even more difficult for a group of people like a local church with a new pastor. People like things that are familiar. Even when that which is familiar is not good it is often chosen over the risk of changing. People like to set up systems, programs, ways of doing things that are comfortable. These become paradigms, set models, like grooves that enable them to handle other variables. But these grooves can also become ruts.

The first year or two of this Pastor’s ministry had many of the traditional "honeymoon" responses. Everyone tried to be on their best behavior. There was excitement in seeing attendance climbing at the Sunday morning services. Enthusiasm was building and lives were being changed. The Lord was at work breaking this congregation out of its ruts and changing their paradigm of what it meant to be the First United Methodist Church of Fountain Valley. But as the pain of change set in, some wanted to return to the comfort of the past.

The biggest changes were happening in the churches’ identity as a living organism instead of an organization. This was challenging as they faced decisions that exposed the understanding of "church" as a place in which to receive ministry, instead of as a body ministering to others. The realization was growing that God is the only reality that does not change. "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever" (Hebrews 13:8). However, God reveals himself to people progressively. "God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son" (Hebrews 1:1&2a).

The leaders of this congregation saw that if they were to remain faithful in being His followers they must individually and corporately maintain a real and personal "walk" with Him! This dynamic relationship with Him is actually what God had wanted most all along! But they had tried to be the church based on a philosophy of ministry that could be carried on without any immediate "living" relationship with God at all.

This Church began to realize that there was a movement of the Holy Spirit across many denominations that was at least national if not international, calling forth a change in the identity of what it is to be a church as well as the identity and role of what it is to be an ordained clergy person. Since the scriptures had been established as the foundation for all decisions in this church, the pastor began to develop a Biblical Foundation for this movement.

The Biblical Foundation for Defining "Church"

The following pages have been gathered from the Pastor’s sermons, newsletter articles, and conversations among the leaders of the congregation. These pieces began establishing a theological basis for Gods vision for the church. The first order of business was to lay out a Biblical foundation for being the church.

"Jesus said to them, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working" (John 5:17). God is always at work. God has an all encompassing plan for His creation. He created the church to work with Him. This work requires the people of God to "abide in Him" moment by moment, day by day. The Church must be sensitive to God's leading and make the changes and adjustments necessary to follow as led.

People are creatures of habit. The Bible gives real historical people as models of God's activity. From God's activity in their lives people can learn to recognize Him at work in their life. These models become paradigms out which people function. But their relationship with God is in danger when their understanding of God is based more on a memory than of anything current, real and personal. Then people develop a static model of what they ought to be about that replaces the dynamic relationship they have lost.

Some were taught in Sunday School to respond to any given situation by asking "Now what would Jesus do if he were here?" It seems like a very good slogan until you realize.... Jesus IS here! Yet this WWJD (What would Jesus do) slogan can be found printed on almost anything. People do not have to rely on his life in the first century alone. Christians can draw upon his life, his living presence now! It is not that there is anything wrong with asking "What would Jesus do?" That question may lead persons to seek the Lord’s guidance. But a better question might be "Lord Jesus what are you doing in this situation right now and how can we be with you in it!" This is a major change in ones thinking about God.

Throughout the Old and New Testaments there is an essential call to maintain a real and intimate relationship with God. Adam and Eve had this kind of open communication before "the fall" as evidenced by their hiding from it afterwards "...they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God.." (Genesis 3:8).

There is a great deal of hiding still going on today even though many are unaware of it. Many people’s "busy-ness" and activity can be a way of avoiding God. People were designed to be in the presence of God, in a relationship that enables them to have communication.

After the fall, Adam and Eve had a major change in understanding their relationship with God. They were banned from the garden, toiling for food, and needing covering. One of the dramatic moments in the story, that can be easily missed, is how God covered the man and the woman. In Genesis 3:21 as the Lord makes garments of skin for the man and his wife one realizes that the covering of skins required the death of the animal who was sacrificed to provide this covering. Here is the first substitutionary death by the shedding of blood.

The children of Adam and Eve were not born spiritually alive. From the story of Cain and Able one can see they understood the need for sacrifice to be in relationship with God. What huge paradigm shifts these were! But they were all made within the context of being able to know God's will. God speaks to Cain in a manner that was clear to him.

Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? "If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it (Genesis 3:6&7).

Abraham, Issac and Jacob all had this kind of immediate sense of communication with God. They did not have to get locked into a paradigm of how God would work, they were open to God telling them how He was at work. Moses, David and the prophets had this relationship as well.

As the people fell away from God, the immediacy of his communication decreased. By the time of Eli the priest the Scripture says "And word from the LORD was rare in those days, visions were infrequent" (1 Samuel 3:1). Eli continued to try to function as a priest based on a "paradigm" of what a priest was supposed to do without having the immediate access to God. He was going about the "business" of "religion" without relationship with God.

Throughout the Old Testament there is evidence that the Lord communicates with His people. There are hundreds of references to "The Word of the Lord" "the voice of God "the Lord said." Indeed God distinguishes himself from the other so called gods by this specific activity; His ability to communicate.

"Of what value is an idol, since a man has carved it? Or an image that teaches lies? For he who makes it trusts in his own creation; he makes idols that cannot speak. Woe to him who says to wood, `Come to life!' Or to lifeless stone, `Wake up!' Can it give guidance? It is covered with gold and silver; there is no breath in it" (Habakkuk 2:18&19 NIV).

All the true prophets of God were able to hear God's voice and respond. That distinguished them from the false prophets. Jonah did not try to run to Tarshish based on a guess of what God might be calling him to do but on a sure knowledge of God's will.

Moving ahead to the New Testament the life of Jesus becomes a model of intimacy with God. Jesus functioned out of intimate contact with the Father that enabled him to know what to do moment by moment. "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. Yes, to your amazement he will show him even greater things than these" (John 5:19-20).

Yet, Jesus made it clear that he was functioning within the context of what God had been doing from the beginning. He had come to fulfill the law, not abolish it. He had come to bring understanding to their view of themselves and God. It required great change for the disciples to throw down their nets and follow him. Throughout Jesus' ministry he continued to show and tell them of the distinction between the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of this world. He wanted them to know that in the Kingdom of God there is once again intimacy with God. This would be fulfilled when the promise of the Holy Spirit came.

Not only would they be able to be in relationship with God individually, but they would also have a corporate ability to know the will of God for them as a people. Jesus told the disciples to all wait together until the Holy Spirit came upon them corporately. (emphasis the authors) "I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high" (Luke 24:49).

They understood themselves to be a team, a people, as they went to Jerusalem and prayed together "They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers" (Acts 1:14) They understood themselves to be in ministry together as they made reference to Judas. "For he was counted among us, and received his portion in this ministry." As they prayed in Acts they knew they had a calling to be together. "And they prayed, and said, "Thou Lord, who knowest the hearts of all men, show which one of these two Thou hast chosen to occupy this ministry and apostleship..." (Acts 1:24-25)

They believed God had put them together to have a ministry and saw their role as one of apostleship. Nevertheless, they still depended upon circumstances by drawing lots as their only means of determining God's will. However, when the Holy Spirit came upon them, as recorded in the second Chapter of Acts, they no longer drew lots! The prophesy in the second chapter of Joel had been fulfilled. God was pouring out his spirit on all humanity and the young men were seeing visions and the old men were dreaming dreams. They had an incredible paradigm shift through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit!

Throughout the book of Acts there can be seen the early church walking with an intimate relationship with God the Holy Spirit.

"Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them" (Acts 16:6-10). (emphasis the authors)

Now they began to understand that this powerful Spirit they had seen operative in the life of Jesus, was operative in their own life together. They were to be the body of Christ! They were to do greater things than even Jesus did. They were now able to witness in the power of the Spirit to even the remotest part of the earth!

They now understood that it was not because of the divine nature of Jesus that he could walk on water. It was because of his obedience. He listened to the voice of the Father and whatever the Father asked him to do he did and mighty things were accomplished. This is how the disciples began to understand their ability to perform miracles. They did not have control of the situation, they got in line with God's control of the situation.

Now the Lord calls all true believers to be his people, the church! The is His Spirit powered people, with the responsibility to know God's will. All people have the free choice to accept this call to relationship or to reject it, but each person does so with the risk of great consequence. For those who say "yes," the greatest fellowship imaginable awaits them; an awe filled life of shared joys as well as sorrows; to those who say "no" eternal separation from God.

The church is to be a people whose love for each other reflects the Love of God so the world can taste and see that the Lord is good. In Acts 2:41-47 Luke records the huge shifts in lifestyle that took place with baptism into the body of Christ. They devoted themselves to Bible Study, fellowship, worship, and prayer and out of that grew wonderful miracles including a freedom to sell their possessions and sharing things in common to meet the needs of others.  

After this huge change in the life of the Apostles, there were others to come. They had to learn to walk in the Spirit. They dealt with two who lied to the Holy Spirit about their possessions "Then Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?" (Acts 5:3). 

They had to stand against the religious leaders of the day. "Peter and the other apostles replied: We must obey God rather than men!" (Acts 5:29). They were rejected and scorned. They had to be so close to God and sensitive to the Spirit that they could discern and obey God. That included all kinds of things that they would have previously rejected. They had to be able to change their opinion about one of their chief adversaries, Paul. They were then called to receive the outcast Gentiles who were now to be allowed into the fellowship. Think of Peter seeing the sheet come down out of heaven in the book of Acts chapter ten, and being told to eat these unclean things. He had to make a major shift in his thinking about God and righteousness. The people of God must always be ready to let God invade their lives and call for change!

One of the key things the early disciples learned was how to organize themselves according to "giftedness" and calling in order to fulfill the ministry given to them.

"Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word" (Acts 6:3&4).

These different assignments were not given to set up a hierarchy of individual worth, but in recognition of the importance of each member of the body. They could remember quite well the words of the Lord,

"Jesus called them together and said, "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:42- 45)."

As the influence of the twelve spread out to the thousands of believers in Jerusalem and Judea, Paul began to extend the Gospel to Asia and beyond. In his letters to these churches there is great insight into what it means to be the people of God.

As these early churches struggled with shifting from their old way of being to this new Kingdom way, they needed lots of guidance. From their struggles are the classic passages from Paul about the gifts of the spirit.

Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant. You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them In all men. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good (1 Corinthians. 12:1-6).

This is the kind of direct relationship the church of God can have with the Lord. He wants to be head of every local church. He can only function as head if His body has body learned to listen and discern and are willing to change according to His lead.

The Church finds it must make a major adjustments to go with God. Sometimes these adjustments are so major as to constitute a complete shift in the identity, mission, and goal of the church. Discerning these shifts in paradigm are necessary for a church to continue to be a viable resource in God's activity as she prays "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew. 6:10).
 

The following is the pastor’s first person testimony of the changes that took place in his identity as a minister.

A Personal Testimony by John McFarland.

I first thought of being an ordained minister when I was in sixth grade. My reasoning was simple. If God is the most important thing in the world then being a minister would be the most important thing I could do. The Methodist minister was one of the most significant people in our small rural community and I wanted to be significant. However, after that minister left, the next several men were some of the least significant people I knew. The position quickly became undesirable.

I maintained this view of ordained ministers even as I entered college. Potlucks were the most exciting thing that happened at church, sermons were boring and the job of the clergy was for nice, weak men. They did secretarial work, ran bulletins, visited but did not have much to say, were not athletic, fun or exciting. Now I believed in God and all but the role of the minister was fairly insignificant as far as I was concerned.

During my junior year of college The Lord led me to a minister that changed my view of the job. He was athletic, fun, entertaining, had a large following and was important in the community. He had a radio ministry and was loved by all: youth and old folks. He was the center of attention. Now he made ministry seem appealing!

Through a series of interesting events I became convinced I was to go to seminary. Not to be a local pastor but thinking I might be able to do something through radio or television or drama ministry. However, I soon was confronted with other models of ministry. I met dedicated social and political activists, contemplatives, chaplains, and professional counselors as well as those who were headed for parish ministry. In the process of seeking my "calling" the Lord confronted me with the basic question of the Gospel, "Who do you say that I am?" I took the leap of faith and embraced Jesus as The Christ. Now I had a reason to be a minister!

Instead of trying to use the ministry to meet my ego needs I now genuinely wanted to serve Christ. I really wanted people to be saved! But my identity as a Christian person and my identity as an ordained pastor were never distinguished.

In my first church as minister in charge, I used my position as a way to do my personal ministry. I needed others to come along and help me, but the focus was on MY ministry, MY evangelism, MY maturity, MY Church, My witness. I was trying to serve the Lord and drag the congregation along with me for support. With this model there were over one hundred people enabling one person to do ministry!

In a dream I saw myself running ahead of the congregation, trying to get them to keep up! In the dream The Lord said, "John, I called you to walk with my people. This was the beginning of my call to be an equipping pastor. I began to change my thinking about my role and to get the people to do ministry and not myself. I looked to the Bible for guidance in this process.
 

The Biblical Foundation for Defining "Pastor"

With his eyes opened to the model of an equipping ministry the pastor could then see the life of Jesus in a new light. The goals of the life of Jesus were not so much to accomplish as many healings as possible, win as many people to the Kingdom as possible, or do great things for God in his short three years of active ministry. The Father had a much more significant plan. Jesus was to invest in making disciples. His was not the body that would do the most significant things, but this new creation called the church, would be the Body of Christ that would do greater things. "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father" (John 14:12).

Jesus prayed all night to the Father before selecting the twelve disciples. From this it is clear that the role of prayer as very important in the process of selecting people within a congregation to equip others to be equippers. It requires great discernment to know which members of the body have the gifts and graces to disciple others.

The primary method Jesus used for producing maturity was intentional modeling. This was the basis of the incarnation. He was living out love. His life was the lesson plan. He did not just talk about it. He lived it. The disciples lived it with him and were ready when the Holy Spirit came upon them to live a life that drew people to Christ. "When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus" (Acts 4:13)

The people were not noting that they had been taught by Jesus, but their lives made it evident that they had been with Jesus!

Paul understood this aspect of Christ's ministry and lived his life this way. He set out to disciple disciplers. This can be seen in his ministry to Timothy as he instructed the young pastor. "And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others" (2 Timothy 2:2).

Timothy was not only to look for people who would become more mature Christians because of his teaching, but people who had the qualifications to become equippers themselves. This was obviously how Paul saw Timothy, an equipper of equippers!

Paul viewed himself as a model for ministry as he set out to incarnate the life of Christ. "I urge you, then be imitators of me" (1 Corinthians 4:16). This could seem arrogant if it were not so obvious that he was not trying to make disciples of Paul, but disciples of Christ! Like John the Baptist, he was not trying to create his own following, but in humility he pointed to the one "whose sandals I am not fit to untie" (Luke 3:16).

Paul was working for Christ to be made manifest in others. "My little children, with whom I am in travail until Christ be formed in you" (Galations 4:19)!

Paul's desire was that people would have his passion to die to self and be single minded toward Christ.

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Galations 2:20).

This is the kind of equipping pastor that is needed today. One confident enough in his or her own walk to be able to exhort, correct, and build up disciples in love. The pastor can not just look at this disciple or the second generation disciple but on to the third and fourth generation of men and women for God. This model of ministry confronts the human desire for quick success. This calls for a lifetime of investment in others. Besides there is a common inclination of those who like ministry to be "in the game" not coaching others to play.

Essentially, the pastor's first priority is to so invest himself or herself in a few other persons that they also become disciplers and ministers of Jesus Christ. It is to so give oneself to others and to the work of discipling that the New Testament norm of plural leadership or eldership becomes a reality in the local congregation. In other words, it is to bring the ministry of all of God's people to functioning practical reality.

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Fountain Valley United Methodist Church
18225 Bushard Street, Fountain Valley, CA 92708
phone - (714) 962-2593
fax - (714) 964-1434