Transition Questions
By: The Session
These are questions that have been submitted by the congregation and addressed at the Congregational Meeting on Sunday, May 16th concerning this time of transition at Oak Hills. We are so grateful for the honesty of the questions, and for your willingness to let the Session think through these questions ahead of time. Below are the thoughts of the Session as presented at the Congregational Meeting. As you continue to have questions regarding the transition and the search process, please don’t hesitate to ask one of the Elders or Deacons, or to email the church office (office@ohpchurch.org).
1. Will the pastoral search committee include members of the general congregation? Will the Session allow any laity on the pastoral search committee?
Yes, it is the desire of the Session that the pulpit committee include members of the general congregation. We will be publicizing the qualifications for serving on the committee, along with some information regarding the commitment of serving in this capacity, in the near future.
2. Can we specifically list how we are different enough from the other PCA churches to keep going?
What makes any church unique from other churches? Geographic location, style, doctrine, leadership, mission, personality, values would all be likely in this list – and other factors as well. Geographic location is not much of distinguishing mark among the local PCA churches, since we, and all of our sister-congregations, draw from all corners of the metro. We certainly share doctrine with the other PCA churches, and to some extent we share similarities in mission statements and values. However, the way we execute our values in ministry is unique to Oak Hills. Further, we have significant differences in style and personality from our sister PCA churches. Perhaps the greatest factor that makes any church unique from another church is the people that attend it. Much of who we are as a church is about the people in the church. As we walk together and apply the gospel in our relationships with one another, we know one another and become known by one another. This is what makes it your “church home”.
3. Does it make sense to prayerfully consider pursuing a merger with another church. If not immediately, when?
The elders have spent significant time discussing and seeking the Lord on this question. The question itself brings about several other questions and comments that require further elaboration. There has been a slow downward trend in our giving, attendance, and new member growth. We are concerned about this. This is not a new development, but we have been monitoring this for at least the last 18 months. As you know, a large part of the financial problems we face are a direct result of the fallen economy. This is real, and the church feels it the same way many of you feel it. We have taken a number of steps to continually decrease expenses and to carefully monitor our giving and expenses. In fact, we are continuing to do so by moving our office location to a less expensive alternative starting next month.
However, we recognize that finances are only a part of the un-health at Oak Hills. For the past nine months, the Session has been analyzing what we do well and what we do not. We have identified several areas of ministry that need significant attention – many of these stemming from a lack of clear vision and the leadership to coordinate the execution of that vision. Part of the solution that we developed was a revised job description for both Pastor Russ and Pastor Jon. We believed that these revised job descriptions would shed new light on necessary areas of development and growth for us as a church, areas which had not been given proper care and attention. With Russ’s call to leave, we feel no less certain, in fact, we feel reassured that these revised job descriptions are part of the next step for us to become healthy in these particular areas of ministry. In particular, we believe that Pastor Jon’s revised role will greatly increase his function as a pastoral equipper of the saints so as to grant the church much-needed improvement in the areas of ministry strategy, intentionality and execution.
One more area of “un-health” that we have identified is this idea of the congregation being relationally invested in one another. One of our greatest strengths as a church is one of our greatest weaknesses—our relationships. Many of you are actively involved in one another’s lives and finding one another to be a true source of comfort and joy. Some of you are not well connected to each other – and in some ways this has significantly contributed to us being a revolving door for visitors and new attendees. We long for Oak Hills to be a place where people know your warts and love you just the same. But to be known takes safety, courage, and desire, and we wonder if somewhere along the line we lost elements of this. The session actively bears some responsibility for this as we realize we have in many ways not shepherded the people of God as actively as our calling demands. We seek to repent of this. As well, we are seeking the ways in which we can spur you on in an environment focused on this great opportunity to walk honestly together.
What do these things have to do with the question at hand – “Is Oak Hills viable right now?” Everything. We want you to know that we are in the business of actively seeing some of the areas where we are not currently healthy, and that we are going about making the long-needed changes to foster health and growth here. We are hopeful about tomorrow at Oak Hills and the Session believes with all of our heart that the Lord has a great purpose for Oak Hills that is just as unique as any other church which he is Lord over in Kansas City.
What about the finances? Certainly, if money runs out, we’re not viable – just as with any church anywhere. But we are not on the edge of this happening, and assuming we do not see extensive shifts in our congregational giving, we have enough reserves to absorb our current status for at 12-18 months or more. Having said that, we always want to have hearts that are open to whatever it is that the Lord seems to be moving us toward as a church. We will share more about our financial situation in the next congregational meeting but for now know that, along with the diaconate and the finance committee, we will continue to give the proper attention to the role of finances in future planning.
4. For a church of our size is it normal to have 2 full time pastors? In thinking about attracting and hiring the next pastor, will we be able to pay the next pastor the same amount as we have been paying Russ?
There is a “rule of thumb” that suggests that churches need 1 pastor per 100-150 regular attenders/members, so yes it is ‘normal’ for a church our size to have 2 full-time pastors (we run roughly 200 people on any given Sunday). The current and future of our church body dictate a second position. We will be requesting a compensation survey from our denomination in order to better understand how we should be compensating our next Pastor.
5. How can we support the Elders and Deacons? How can the laity of the church become more involved and responsible for the tasks of the church, thereby alleviating some of the load the Pastor carries. (i.e., greeting new people, visiting people in the hospital, visiting new people, making phone calls)
The most important thing that we as a congregation can be doing to support the Elders and Deacons through this time of transition is to pray with and for them as they continue to lead Oak Hills, under the guidance of our Lord Jesus. Beyond that, continue in your faithfulness in the life of this church. Keep looking to Jesus as your Lord and Savior in every area of your life. Serve one another. Introduce yourself to people you don’t recognize on Sunday mornings. Keep short accounts with one another and with leaders, and let love cover a multitude of sins. If you are interested in getting more involved, let any member of the Session or Diaconate know your interest and your availability. Finally, talk with your leadership; give feedback, share your thoughts and ideas, and don’t be afraid to ask questions.
6. How long will Pastor Russ be on the payroll at Oak Hills?
In order to account for unused vacation days, Pastor Russ will be paid, and will receive benefits, through the end of the month of June.
7. How many months do you think it will take to find a new pastor? (estimate?)
This is a difficult question to answer, as it is different in every situation. We expect it could take as little as 6 months, or it could take much longer.
8. Will the Session be guarding against any candidate that subscribes to the “New Perspective on Paul” and/or “Federal Vision” theology? Is the Session aware of the General Assembly of the PCA’s report on these matters?
For those who aren’t familiar with these terms, the “New Perspective on Paul” and “Federal Vision” are labels given to two movements that are hot-button issues for our denomination right now. Without going into too much detail, the New Perspective on Paul has to do with a re-interpretation (and we would say mis-interpretation) of Paul’s letters that understands Paul to speak about our justification by God through the work of Jesus Christ as some combination of faith and works. This stands against the biblical and historically articulated doctrine of justification by faith alone. Federal Vision theology is more complex and more nuanced, but in part understands our relationship to God to be conditioned upon our ability to remain faithful to God’s covenant. In other words, the endurance of that relationship is based on our obedience. The implication is that we can lose our salvation through our disobedience. This is in stark contrast to the promise of Scripture that those who are God’s will never be lost, and that nothing can separate us from the love of God. There are other factors and implication involved, but that is one key flash-point.
Our Session is wholly committed to the biblical doctrine that salvation belongs to the Lord, that sinners are made right with God only and always by the perfect work of Jesus, received by faith alone, and that Jesus’ work is the sole foundation for our eternally secure salvation. Not only are we committed to guarding against any candidate who would subscribe to any doctrine other than that which is biblical, but our presbytery is similarly committed and has the role of examining the candidate that the congregation elects before he begins his ministry at Oak Hills.
