Susanville Church of Christ ~ Susanville, CA
Our Elders: Dave Fiddament, Huel Morphis and Darrell Vermillion
Message from the Elders to the Congregation
We, Darrell, Dave and Huel, accept the role of leadership from this congregation of the Lord's people with humble hearts. We don't consider this a matter of status, but simply a position of service. We are pleased and gratified with the confidence you have shown in approving us for such an opportunity. We promise not to violate the confidence you have placed in us and will do our utmost to follow God's expectation of us as shepherds. We pledge to model our lives after that of the Great Shepherd and hopefully can exhibit proper patience, concern, and empathy for the flock.
We promise to be open, available, and approachable with each of you; to cry with those who are troubled or bereaved; to rejoice with those who feel exhultation; and to evidence compassion to everyone. We acknowledge our shortcomings and expect that our individual weaknesses will be overshadowed by each other's strong points. Hopefully, we will always refer to God's word in every situation that arises, rather than lean on our own understanding for a solution.
Even though you now have an officially recognized leadership, it does not release any of you from your individual responsibilities. Each of you need to evidence your faith and zeal by re-dedicating your lives to serving the Lord and seek where you may become more involved. There is no law against doing good, you don't need the Elders' approval to continue your good deeds. If you plan to do something new or different that may affect the congregation, then yes, by all means, seek our approval. Paul says in Galatians 5:22-23, "Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such, there is no law." The Bible tells us that while on earth Jesus went about doing good. That should be our aim also.
One role of the Elders is to have a vision for the future of this congregation and to set goals and make plans to fulfill that vision. The 21st century poses new challenges for the Church, but if we lead by following the teachings of the Apostles, as Christians did during the first century, we will be able to resist the wiles of the Devil. Satan has been attacking the Church since it came into being and some of the same problems exist today as they have throughout time because he has not slackend his efforts against Christians. We, therefore, will take a strong stand against false teaching or other efforts made to disrupt our unity of spirit and purpose.
In time, we will be selecting men, with the approval of the congregation, to assist in various temporal aspects necessary to keep this congregation functioning properly, so we can devote ourselves to its spiritual welfare.
We are keenly aware that in our role as leaders we must give an account of our stewardship to God for the souls entrusted to our care. Therefore, we seek your co-operation in this task which will make it easier for us to perform our shepherding responsibilities.
In the coming months, we expect to meet with each family or individual to become better acquainted with you and to understand your perception of the congregation and what it needs to grow stonger. We seek your ideas for improvement, your concerns, what you perceive needs to be done, how to accomplish that, and how you expect to become involved.
Jesus said he was among men as a servant and we expect to serve the needs of the members here. If you feel we are not meeting your needs or expectations, you would do us a favor by calling this to our attention. We experience the same temptations and problems as many of you and don't claim to have all the answers; therefore, we seek your assistance, your understanding, and your prayers on our behalf. We also ask that you extend that same courtesy toward our wives because of the unique roles they will be assuming. We thank our wives for their willingness to stand by us in our decision to serve you as Overseers.
Again, thank you for honoring us with your confidence.
May God bless us all as we strive to serve him.
2/21/2010
We promise to be open, available, and approachable with each of you; to cry with those who are troubled or bereaved; to rejoice with those who feel exhultation; and to evidence compassion to everyone. We acknowledge our shortcomings and expect that our individual weaknesses will be overshadowed by each other's strong points. Hopefully, we will always refer to God's word in every situation that arises, rather than lean on our own understanding for a solution.
Even though you now have an officially recognized leadership, it does not release any of you from your individual responsibilities. Each of you need to evidence your faith and zeal by re-dedicating your lives to serving the Lord and seek where you may become more involved. There is no law against doing good, you don't need the Elders' approval to continue your good deeds. If you plan to do something new or different that may affect the congregation, then yes, by all means, seek our approval. Paul says in Galatians 5:22-23, "Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such, there is no law." The Bible tells us that while on earth Jesus went about doing good. That should be our aim also.
One role of the Elders is to have a vision for the future of this congregation and to set goals and make plans to fulfill that vision. The 21st century poses new challenges for the Church, but if we lead by following the teachings of the Apostles, as Christians did during the first century, we will be able to resist the wiles of the Devil. Satan has been attacking the Church since it came into being and some of the same problems exist today as they have throughout time because he has not slackend his efforts against Christians. We, therefore, will take a strong stand against false teaching or other efforts made to disrupt our unity of spirit and purpose.
In time, we will be selecting men, with the approval of the congregation, to assist in various temporal aspects necessary to keep this congregation functioning properly, so we can devote ourselves to its spiritual welfare.
We are keenly aware that in our role as leaders we must give an account of our stewardship to God for the souls entrusted to our care. Therefore, we seek your co-operation in this task which will make it easier for us to perform our shepherding responsibilities.
In the coming months, we expect to meet with each family or individual to become better acquainted with you and to understand your perception of the congregation and what it needs to grow stonger. We seek your ideas for improvement, your concerns, what you perceive needs to be done, how to accomplish that, and how you expect to become involved.
Jesus said he was among men as a servant and we expect to serve the needs of the members here. If you feel we are not meeting your needs or expectations, you would do us a favor by calling this to our attention. We experience the same temptations and problems as many of you and don't claim to have all the answers; therefore, we seek your assistance, your understanding, and your prayers on our behalf. We also ask that you extend that same courtesy toward our wives because of the unique roles they will be assuming. We thank our wives for their willingness to stand by us in our decision to serve you as Overseers.
Again, thank you for honoring us with your confidence.
May God bless us all as we strive to serve him.
2/21/2010
