Working with Hope

The week of March 28 was spent pretty much exclusively at the church doing work. There were not any random excursions and adventures to tell you about. Why? Well...above and beyond my normal duties and projects here at Hope Valley, I also was scheduled to preach that Sunday (4/3) during the 6:00 service. The pastors here all thought it would be an important part of my discerning a call to ministry if I had opportunity to preach. So they were more than happy to give me some time slots between now and when I leave.

Having only preached once before from the pulpit in my life (the week before coming to Australia actually), this occupied my mind for the whole week. Sermon prep is hard work! I said it after I prepped my first sermon and I say it again now: I admire pastors for the work that they put into preparing a sermon. It is an activity that is always on your mind. You never "check-out" or "get off work" when it comes to sermon prep. At any time, a great idea could hit you and you need to be prepared to write it down and incorporate it into the message. God is faithful to those wanting to preach his word, but He is not always timely with his inspiration!

So I had this sermon for which I had to prep. I will talk more of it in my next post.

Since I was at the church and not out doing a lot of stuff, it seems fitting to talk a bit about the pastors with whom I am working. They are all just wonderful and I pray that I have been as much of a blessing to them as they are to me. I could say so much about these wonderful guys, but I will just briefly introduce them.

First, there is Kynan Brookes (at right). Kynan is the senior pastor at the church and largely in charge of the team of pastors under him. He is an amazing man of God with a real gift in the area of equipping and strengthening those around him to exercise their spiritual giftedness. He is a man with amazing vision and clarity of purpose. Under his leadership, the church raised nearly 1.4 million dollars for a recently completed building campaign! He is truly a charismatic and inspiring leader. He is also a gifted expositor of scripture and a delight to hear from the pulpit. I hope to learn much about preaching by watching his subdued, calm, and collected style of delivery. I admire him quite a bit and am honored to learn about ministry under him.

Second, there is Roger Brook (at right). Roger is the pastor in charge of missions here at Hope Valley. He also works part-time as a lecturer of pastoral care at the local Uniting College. He is an amazing communicator of truth and a calm, reverent man of God. I am very comfortable talking to him about just anything (and I have). He is a man who genuinely cares about people and living a life characterized by Christ's mission of love. He is the one who organized, for example, the "Feed the Homeless" events I have been attending. He is constantly trying to get the members of the church to see their lives in light of a greater mission. To this end, I think he is very successful. Under his leadership, the church has several thriving local missions in addition to a annual yearly mission to Bali. His heart and how he encourages people to take part in the mission of the Church is really inspiring. I am learning a lot from watching him. Roger is also an excellent preacher from the pulpit. He has a very kind and compassionate approach to speaking without sacrificing truth or opportunities for response. Wow! He has really taken me under his wings too. For this I am glad.

Third, there is Darren Shelton (at right). Darren is our worship pastor and he does an excellent job therein. Unlike many churches, where the worship pastor leads most of the worship, Darren is the head of a huge number of "teams" which he organizes every week for each of the three services. Though he is a fine musician and singer himself, he rarely is actually up leading worship. Darren's worship teams are service specific and, as such, can really cater to the mood and tone sought for each service. For the 9:00 am service, there are a bunch of older people who lead in hymns and older worship songs. At both the10:30 am and 6:00 pm service, he has a full worship band on stage. The teams stay the same and rotate with the weeks. The system is really quite ingenious. I am not sure how many members of the church are involved on all the teams combined, but it is a big number. As an administrator and facilitator of this massive operation, I admire Darren. I don't think I could do that part of the job!

More personally, Darren is man with sound reason and a calm, principled faith. He has a heart for ministry to men and leads the church's men's small group. This is one of the strongest and most successful men's Bible studies I have ever seen in any church. It is amazing to see him as the charismatic leader of so many guys that just want to come and increase the faith. Darren is the real deal when it comes to working in this environment. Darren also has an evangelist's heart and is always talking of taking advantage of evangelism opportunities and being aware of them (in this, specifically, he has taught me a lot). Combine this with his strong love of worship and Darren makes a wonderful addition to the team.

Fourth, there is Dave Green (at right). Dave is the children's pastor here at Hope Valley and he is amazing at it. There are few people in my life which I think are truly anointed to work with kids. Dave is one. Interestingly enough, many here have described me as "reminding of them of Dave." I wonder how I should take that?!? Dave is very energetic, easily distracted, somewhat unorganized, and a master at building relationships. He is an ex-salesman and he takes those skills into the ministry. He is an amazingly easy person with which to strike up a conversation. He is encouraging, lively, and easy-going. He is a man who knows that relationships and genuine care for people builds the Kingdom. Moreover, he doesn't see his role as a children's pastor as an end in itself, but as a way through which to reach whole families. That is why he eagerly does things like sponsoring weekly playgroups for area mothers to bring their kids to play at. Through such means as these, I have seen him bring whole families into the church. Amazing! Dave also knows how to encourage and uplift everybody around them. He is really a delight to work with. Moreover, he has a lot of work and is very eager to hand some of it my way! I don't mind at all ;-). I love working with the kids here.

The fifth pastor on staff here (and another part-timer like Roger) is Jon Joyce, my good friend and host. Jon is the young adults pastor here at Hope Valley. The position sounds like a very interesting one, as most churches don't have one like it. It is definitely a needed position here, however, as the young adult portion of the congregation is huge. So Jon's job is to pour into their very specific needs, organize their life groups, and lead the 6:00 pm service here (which is geared toward this group). Jon is a pretty busy guy! Between him and Dave, I can find all the work I need. It is an honor to help and serve him though.

Jon is another pastor whom I can't say enough about. Jon is a deeply sincere, devoted, genuine, and honest man. Moreover, he cares deeply for those under his care. In many ways he is my opposite when it comes to gifts and "comfort-zones." So it is inspiring to see how he works with people, how he goes after a task with all his heart, how he doesn't need lots of time to think it through. His mannerisms and passions make him perfect for working with the group he does. Jon also does some preaching in the 6:00 pm service. He has impressed me very much the few times I have seen him do so.

So there you have it...

Like I said, I could go on forever about these guys. I find it unbelievably cool that God brought these men together in one place. Between them, I think they have all the necessary skills to lead a strong church and bring revival to the area. It is astounding to thing how well they fit together. Kynan is the visionary, charismatic leader bringing out the best in everyone. Roger keeps the vision of the church firmly rooted within the call to minister to the community at home and abroad. Darren's heart for evangelism keeps that central to the mission of the church. Dave, with his unbelievable ability to build relationships and break down barriers, keeps that relational perspective always before the eyes of the staff. Jon and his organized, "go-getter" personality can execute anything and just make things happen. Between them, I reckon they could be unstoppable....the pastoral "Fab 5."

I wish I knew what I brought to them though. I would like to think that I have something to offer these men in the ministry here. Hopefully when all is said and done, these guys will be able to tell me just what that was.

As evidence that my praise is well-founded, God is doing some amazing things here. These are the men he has chosen to be at the helm of this church. I am honored to be a part of that process and honored to call all these men my friends and my brothers in Christ.

In Christ,

Chris