Call Committee Update 12/19/21

ASLC Call Committee December 19, 2021

“Call Notes”
“An He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and
teachers, for the equipping of he saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to
the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to an
fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of
deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head –
Christ – from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according
to the effective working by which every does its share, causes growth of the for the edifying of itself in
love.” Ephesians 4:11-16 NKJV
Your call committee has been meeting, working and praying to help prepare the congregation for the
process of calling a Pastor to shepherd us in our mission and vision. Pastor Baker has been shepherding
us through this preparation and process with scripture and commentary from Pastor David Wendell
(Assistant to the Bishop for Ministry and Ecumenism). We, in turn, will shepherd the congregation
through this process by sharing scripture and commentary with you, as it has been most helpful to us in
our mission.
John Maxwell, in his “The Maxwell Leadership Bible”, says, “Paul used the metaphor of the human body
to help leaders and followers better understand the church. He call Christ the “head,” while he calls
followers the “body.”..Just as a “head” cannot accomplish anything apart from the hands, feet, eyes,
ears, etc., so a leader cannot accomplish any goal without each part of the team contributing to the
whole. In the same way that Jesus enables us to act on his vision for the world, so the leader enables the
followers to act on the organization vision.”
In a similar vein, The NALC manual on the Call Process states, “Calling a pastor in the equivalent of
“hiring and employee.” Many in the congregation will be tempted to think in terms of secular
employment: develop a pool of applicants, interview them all, select the best one, and fire them if they
don’t work out. The call process is much more relational and covenantal. Calling a pastor is much more
like a marriage, and the call process more similar to finding a mate for life. In this sense, going slowly
and intentionally, seeking God’s will, and developing a relationship are more important than lining up
skills and needs.” (Call of a Pastor vs. “Hiring and Firing’ / Pastor David Wendel (article attached)).
Christ wandered through the wilderness for forty days before beginning his ministry and, although we
won’t be wandering through the wilderness, we must be patient and allow the Holy Spirit to work in us
and with us to call the person God has intended for All Saints Lutheran Church. As we embark on this
journey, the Call Committee asks that you pray for us as well as for yourselves, and we will keep all in
our prayers and open our hearts to your questions, concerns, and wisdom.

Marc Funderburk
Chair / ASLC Call Committee

 

 

 

 

 

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