It's Monday morning as I write this blog, and we have just completed our two week series on the mission of Walnut Street Baptist Church. I thought I would take some time to write today and explain how we landed on this, and talk a little bit about where we take it from here. When we began to transition from Pastor Rusty being the Senior Pastor to him taking on a different role, we knew there would be many unanswered questions about where we are going from here.

One of the things that began to come out in conversations, and even some bible study discussions, was a sense that we needed to communicate what it is that drives what we do. Why are we here? What is our purpose? As a staff, we have always felt that we were driven by Christ's command to make disciples in Matthew 28, but it became apparent that we once again needed to make sure everyone knew where we were going and why. I began a time of study and reflection in God's word, asking the question, "What is that you want for us and from us Father?" It's important that you know I was driven to Scripture for this. There are countless books available that speak to the Church and her mission, many of which I have found very helpful. For this time in the life of our church I didn't want to present Rick Warren's or John Piper's or anyone else vision for the church. I wanted to know what God's word has to say to us.

Two things became readily apparent in my study. First, Christ commands us to love God with every part of who we are, and to love our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 22:34-40). To put it as simply as possible Christ commands everyone who would follow Him to Love God and Love People. Christ says that loving God is the first and greatest commandment, and loving people is just like it. We cannot be followers of Christ without following these commands. If this is His command to us as individuals, we must also take this command to pertain to the Church gathered here at Walnut Street Baptist Church.

Secondly, after His death, burial, and resurrection but before His ascension, Christ commanded His followers to go and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18-20). Christ commands His people to go and share the good news of His grace and mercy, and to teach them what it means to follow Christ. After some discussion among the staff we decided to summarize this as Grow Disciples. As I said in my sermon yesterday, we chose the word "grow" because of our context today. When we hear the word "make" we think of a project that you begin, complete, and then move on. Growing indicates process, time, and investment. The disciple of Christ never stops growing. We don't reach a point where we say, "Ok, I'm all done. I am complete." That point will not occur until we see our Savior face to face. Growth in Christ is a lifelong process in which we are more and more transformed into the image of Christ.

So where do we go from here? That seems to be the million dollar question. Here is my hope: I pray that as a church we will develop a passion to pursue obedience to Christ in these areas. I pray we take it upon ourselves to go and make disciples, telling people in our lives about the good news of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection. I pray that we will have a passion for seeing people grow in their knowledge and love of Christ throughout their lives. I pray that we will invest our lives in the lives of others so they might know Christ. I pray we will evaluate how we spend our time and energy, both individually and collectively, and ask if what we are doing is producing fruit for the Kingdom of God.

In talking with one of our church members, he communicated that he felt this approach (Love God-Love People-Grow Disciples) was simple, easy to remember, and biblical. This was the goal. We wanted to present the church with something you could remember, that was easy to understand, and most importantly was biblically sound and based. The call is clear. What remains to be seen is how we will respond. My prayer is we will simply say, "Yes Lord!".

Summer is here and there is much going on around Walnut Street and around the world through our people. Right now, as I write, we have members ministering in Nigeria, Kenya, Brazil and Haiti! Wow! Is that cool or what? Cool may not be the best word, but you get the picture! It’s beautiful!

And have you noticed the increase in our younger adults and college students since we overhauled the first service last fall? Yesterdays first service had lots of younger adults that came for the first time. The word is finally getting around that there is a lot going on at Walnut Street and there are places for the younger adults to serve.

Which brings me to my primary topic today. I announced Sunday morning a called business meeting for Sunday, June 17th, that we might deal with the calling of Paul Gibson as our Missions Pastor/Preaching Associate. Paul has been leading our college ministry since last fall and preached Sunday, June 10th with Kris in Haiti. Paul will preach for me this coming Sunday, June 17th.

We have a timely opportunity to take another giant step in continuing to gradually transition our church to one that attracts, engages and appeals to a younger generation, a generation that is very missional in their desire to follow Christ. The proposed addition of Paul Gibson as Missions Pastor/Preaching Associate is of great significance.

We have been wonderfully blessed that God brought Paul Gibson and his family to Walnut Street last fall, with the express purpose to help us continue to attract and engage the younger generation. Paul came to us on a mission, and now we have the opportunity to take another step in the necessary direction of increasing younger persons in this church.

Paul and his wife Tara have been married 9 years. The Gibsons have two children, daughter Natalie Ryan, 3, and son Isaac, 5 months. Paul’s recent resume will be available Sunday. Paul has a Master of Arts in Transformational Leadership from Bethel Seminary and served a three-year internship at Willow Creek Church in suburban Chicago. Tara holds a Master of Science degree in Physical Therapy.

This development/opportunity has come on us quickly, and from the pastor’s perspective, is easily one of the most exciting things that has happened since I have been pastor. To have the chance to begin to penetrate the campus at U of L with the help and cooperation of the Kentucky Baptist Convention through our Missions Pastor/Preaching Associate is an amazing development that we would have never anticipated even two months ago. The resignation of the campus minister at U of L last month opened up the discussions with the Kentucky Baptist Convention.

I truly believe God orchestrated the situation for us to proceed with this plan. It is a win/win/win scenario. The church wins because we are blessed to be able to make a huge move in the right direction of continuing our effort to reach more young persons. It is a win for the KBC because they are able to staff the campus with a very able interim who will “be there” when the students return in less than two months!! And last, but not least, the Kingdom impact of this is great.

Let me take us through a timeline of the last 14 months:

1. In April of 2011, the Walnut Street Great Commission Task Force, made up of a broad cross-section of our members, brought their final recommendation set to the church for approval.

2. Included in the four recommendation categories was the addition of a young Missions Pastor/Preaching Associate. With the understood need for our church to begin to put younger leadership on the platform each Sunday, this pastor would preach regularly. He would also provide leadership for all our missions endeavors, beginning with all we do in the city (including the Walnut Street Academy and CSM), and extending to our global missions efforts.

3. The church approved the Great Commission Task Force Report by a vote of 82% in favor of the recommendations.

4. Our finance team, with the approval of the deacons and the church, approved the current fiscal year budget, which allowed for the hiring of the Missions Pastor/Preaching Associate at mid-year, which was May 1.

5. Three weeks ago, we began discussions with the Kentucky Baptist Convention regarding our cooperation with the campus ministry at the University of Louisville. After much prayer and conversation, we reached a cooperative agreement that Paul Gibson would become the interim campus minister at U of L. This interim position will run through the end of the year. This is an amazing opportunity for us to extend our outreach to the U of L campus. Though the campus position is interim, this will really help raise awareness on the campus as to what God is doing at Walnut Street!

6. Last week our Personnel Committee met and voted to bring Paul on as our Missions Pastor/Preaching Associate. Their recommendation went to our deacons for affirmation on Monday night. Paul’s position with us is permanent, while the campus minister position is interim. For the first six months or so, he will be generally splitting his time between Walnut Street and the campus.

7. Our by laws read thusly:

A. The Personnel Committee will recruit, interview and employ all positions except the pastor. Individuals who have been called of God under the direction of the Holy Spirit shall be sought. Employment will be within the framework of the church budget.

B. The Personnel Committee is charged to consult with the pastor, other appropriate church committees, provide information to the deacons, and to seek church affirmation before taking action to employ any ministerial personnel.

8. Thus we brought Paul for affirmation to the deacons Monday night and will bring him for church affirmation on Sunday, June 17th.

So God continues to work in incredible ways in our midst. Only God could have arranged the circumstances in such a timely manner, bringing his parties together at just the right time! Walnut Streeters, it is truly exciting to see what God is doing in our midst as the plan continues to unfold! I am reminded of my favorite Scripture verse, Eph 3:20-21 Now to Him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think—according to the power that works in you—to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever! Amen. Do you believe that passage? Really believe it? Or do you believe that our best days are in the past? I beseech you to seek God’s perspective and come to believe that God cannot be through with Walnut Street, if we will continue to take steps of faith in pursuit of Him!

Community Groups- Study, Pray, Serve, Live

After a hiatus this past six months we will be relaunching our Community Groups after the new year!  Many of you have asked what is going on with these groups so before we relaunched I wanted to tell you a little about what you can expect from these groups and about some changes that are being made.  In the first weeks after the new year you will begin to see sign up opportunities with details on locations, leaders, and meeting days and times.  In the mean time, here are some things that you can expect to happen in a Community Group.

Groups will be built to serve four main purposes:

1. Study-  Groups will be built around the study of God's word.  What does it say?  How can we apply it to our lives?  Though we have benefited greatly as a church through studying books about the Bible or about God, a common theme we have heard from people is they want to be in the word more.  What a wonderful thing to hear!  Each week you can expect open God's Word, read it together, and and see how God will change your life through it.
2. Pray-  Prayer is vital to any church.  When we look at what the early church did together prayer was one of the vital components of their lives.  Each week you can expect to share needs with each other, pray with each other, pray for each other, and be prayed for.  This will grow our groups close first to the Father and also to each other.
3. Serve-  When we read God's word we cannot escape the call to serve.  Part of each group's DNA will be to actively serve together on a regular basis.  We hope that our groups will seek to serve others in their neighborhoods, communities, and elsewhere at least once a month.
4. Live-  So many times church life consists of showing up on Sunday morning and not really seeing each other until the next week, but that is not what God desires.  As you study, pray, and serve together you will begin to see meaningful relationships grow between you and other groups members.  We pray that these relationships will be a blessing, support, and and encouragement as you seek to grow deeper in your relationship with Jesus Christ.

To accomplish these things, we feel that groups will need more than 6-8 weeks to meet.  Going forward our groups will be ongoing with no end date.  That doesn't mean that you are signing up for life, but we recognize that relationships and understanding of each other takes time to build.  This does not mean that you will meet with the same group of people for the next ten years.  In fact we hope that as new people join groups (these aren't closed member only clubs) and groups grow that we will see groups split and new groups formed.  We feel that involvement in these groups will be an important part of our church life moving forward as we seek to grow in our love for the Lord, grow in our relationships with each  other, and engage the community around us.  Begin praying now about how God would use this ministry to grow closer to Him!

Blessings,

Kris

What an amazing night we had at Trunk or Treat last night.  Estimates are that well over 1,000 people came through our parking lot last night.  We were blessed with perfect weather, and we had a fantastic time seeing so many children and families from our neighborhood.  Thank you all so much for your participation and support of this event!

One of the key components of last night was passing out info for Upward Basketball.  I am already receiving calls this morning from people with questions about the league, so please continue to pray that God will use this opportunity we have to bring kids into His kingdom!  We are still looking for Upward volunteers.  I will be publishing another post later on this week with the specific needs that we still have.

These are obviously exciting times in our church.  One thing I am particularly excited about is the addition of JP McCammon as a youth intern.  JP has been actively involved as a volunteer in our student ministry and has been a great asset to our ministry.  Here is a little more about JP from the man himself:

We are so excited that JP is here.  God is so good to us here at Walnut Street and it is obvious that He is at work in our church.  We are meeting new people every Sunday, and our new college class that had zero people the 2 months ago had 7 this past Sunday.  Please continue to pray that God will use us for his glory and ask you He wants you specifically to be a part of His work!

Blessings,

Kris

Dear Walnut Street Member,

This is Resurrection Sunday! Up from the grave He arose! And I pray that this Easter will be a glorious day for you and your family and friends. As each of you are aware by now, next Sunday, May 1, we will have a congregational vote regarding the recommendation set from our Great Commission Task Force . The specific recommendations are available elsewhere and on the web, so I will not rehash those initiatives in this letter.

Instead, I will attempt to briefly present my thoughts and try to tell you how this now lengthy process began. I go back to November of 2009…it was obvious to me that what we were doing as a church, and how we were doing what we were doing, was not working as it should. That reality was (and remains today) that we were in a steady decline.

In January of 2010, I prayerfully, before God, came to the conclusion that He wanted me to invest the next two years of my leadership life to lead us through a critical examination of reality and come up with a plan that would prepare us for more effective kingdom impact in the years to come. In so doing, I would lay my leadership life on the line here at this church. Soon thereafter I appointed our Great Commission Task Force. Three months later we engaged Lifeway Consulting to assist us in this process.

The Task Force is made up of a representative cross section of Walnut Street members, many who have been in the church for years, some more than 70 years! The cumulative Walnut Street tenure of the Task Force is 801 years. The collective wisdom of this group is great and the Task Force is not a group of newbies, but is made up of those who have been deeply committed to God’s work through the ministries of Walnut Street for a long time. There was another qualification for those asked to serve: Each individual had to currently be supporting the church financially. No one who was not supporting the church with a tithe was asked to serve. The reason is biblical: one cannot withhold from the storehouse and be right with God. That’s not my word, that’s the Word. To withhold gifts from the storehouse is to rob God, not the pastor.

The Task Force met more times than we could count. The Task Force was prayed for more hours than could be counted. The Task Force retreated overnight in an effort to begin to distill the findings and thoughts down to a manageable plan. The recommendation set is the result. Two weeks ago, after multiple meetings and discussions, our deacons unanimously approved the report and recommendation set.

Next Sunday is the day when you will vote either yes or no in support of this initiative. I believe that the vote marks the most significant statement the church will have made in about 45 years or so. As you vote, please be aware that you are, to a great degree, voting on the future of this church for the next ten to twenty years. This is that important.

Several thoughts I want to convey in this letter. First, I believe that the Bible teaches that God gave vision and direction to those He called to lead. I believe that the pattern continues today. I believe God still gives vision to those he calls to lead. I know some of you reading this either don’t agree or that this makes you very nervous. However, I have preached this from the Word often enough that you know my thoughts on this and you know the biblical pattern, even if you don’t like it. And some of you don’t like it. And for you, you have said that much of this recommendation is about a “power play on the part of the pastor.” There is nothing under heaven that could be further from the truth.

The truth is, and God himself knows my heart on this…that if we approve and implement the plan that over the next few years there will be less of me and not more of me. There will be less of me and more of you involved in doing the work that God calls us to be about, the ministries that He entrusts to us. Less of me and more of you who desire to be about the mission and ministry of our Lord. As David Platt’s new book is titled…Radical Together: Unleashing the People of God for the Purpose of God. Unleashing you the people of God for the purpose of God. That is what the Task Force plan is about.

You can choose to believe otherwise. But the Lord knows my heart and He knows that this is not about me. This entire effort is a strategy for less of me and more of others. We need to, strategically, move in the direction of my stepping down over the coming years.

I don’t want to do less; I want to do less of what I now do, in the best interest of the church. I want to administrate less and pastor more. I want to be there more often when I am needed and be present less often in the endless meetings that are the way we “do church” at Walnut Street. I want to intentionally, strategically, preach less and share the platform more with a younger leadership team. Less of me, more of others. NOT working less, but working toward a finish line in the next few years. I plead with you to trust my heart here, that I do not want more control.

We must also deal with the reality that the way we make decisions is very, very cumbersome. The plan addresses the findings of Lifeway and their recommendation that we need to take a hard look at the process we follow in making decisions.

Most of you also know by now that our Finance team is working with our personnel committee and Task Force Leadership Group to figure out how to downsize the staff in an effort to reduce our payroll costs and reallocate resources that will lead to more kingdom impact. This is a painful process. Painful because we are dealing with people we love and care about. There is no easy way to accomplish this, but note that ministries and churches of every size and kind are dealing with similar restructuring and reorganization.

If we choose to support this plan, I see a brilliant future with regard to kingdom impact for this church. I see a neighborhood transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ, with Christ-centered storefronts. I see a Walnut Street Academy that strategically seeks to disciple kids in Christ, that doesn’t simply entertain. Our mission is to make disciples! I see a hugely expanded CSM, where people don’t stand in the weather for help but stand (or sit) inside. A CSM that has much more neighborhood impact than it does now. A CSM that seeks to change lives through Christ…remember, we’re to be about making disciples!

I see missional efforts and effectiveness from our neighborhood to the ends of the earth, with more and more of our people involved in hands on mission work here and afar. More people, more opportunities. I see a church in which every one of us sees clearly that we are missionaries and that God’s plan for each of our lives is missional. That this is not about us, not about our comfort. Not about what the church has done for us lately, but how have we been involved in the work of the kingdom lately.

There are those of us who believe that most of our efforts should be here at home. I understand the comments and thoughts. The only problem is that such thinking is in conflict with the Word of God. He gives us the mission to which He has called us and it begins here, it doesn’t end here. Our mission extends from here to the nations.

Finally, am I 100% sure? Can I give a guarantee that if we do this our kingdom impact will expand dramatically? No, I am not sure. Nor can I offer guarantees. But I do believe that the collective wisdom of those who have been involved in the process is great. I believe that they have the best interest of the church at heart, and that their conclusions are of God. Furthermore, I believe if we do not do this, we are in for more years of significant decline, clinging to “our way of doing things at Walnut Street.”

Church, we have a choice. It is no longer up to me, nor the Task Force. It is up to you, the people of Walnut Street. What’s at stake here? The very life and future of this church. I believe that this is a life or death decision. We are currently dying. Note that I said, the life of THIS church, not the life of THE Church. THE Church is alive and well and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. But while Christ’s church is alive and well, there are churches that are dying by the thousands because of their refusal to change. If we don’t do this if we don’t change the way we do things, God will bring someone else to the neighborhood who will get His work done…in fact, isn’t He already doing so?

We have also discussed the lostness of the young generation, 85% of whom do not have a relationship with Christ. The decision we make next Sunday will impact the extent to which we play a part in God’s plan to reach this lost generation. If we choose to continue to do church as we currently do church, we will play little part in God’s plan to move among the young people of this nation. It should be obvious to all of us that this younger generation is choosing to stay away from churches like Walnut Street. God has given us a responsibility to pass on to the young what He has given to us and done for us. He will hold us accountable for this responsibility.

God is giving us a chance. It’s up to us, but more than that, it is up to you. As your pastor, I urge you to agonize on your knees and give prayerful consideration to voting in the affirmative.

Whether you agree with me or not on these matters, I love you. I am thankful to be your pastor. That said, God does not allow me to be silent or neutral on this plan. That is not what God-called leaders are called to be or do. We are charged to lead and sometimes that means taking a stand regardless of the popularity of that stand. To be sure, I have a responsibility to each of you, but my higher responsibility is to be faithful to God himself and His call upon my life.

Thus it is my prayer that we will resoundingly, clearly, strongly approve the work of the Task Force and that God would be glorified in ways beyond our comprehension in the years ahead through His work through Walnut Street. And remember, this is about God’s glory, not Walnut Street’s. He hungers for His own glory, not ours. It is my sincere prayer that the Spirit of God will so work in every heart that we will so overwhelmingly approve this plan that we will have a great sense of excitement as we press on in the months ahead.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen! –Eph 3:20-21

See you expectantly next Sunday with a Bible in your hand and the love of Christ in your heart!

I am,

Thankful to be your pastor,

Seeking to serve Christ,

Rusty Ellison