This post is for those of you at Lake Hills who like to deep-dive into things you’re curious about. It’s not a post for everyone, and that’s okay. If you’re bored already, stop now and pick up your Bible. 🙂
What I’m about to say sounds like an exaggeration, but it’s not: the sermon series starting on February 23 is a culmination of years of study, prayer, and conversation. It also has potential to be one of the most influential sermon series in the history of Lake Hills Baptist Church.
The sermon series is called “Who Leads a Church?” The obvious answer to that is “the Lord Jesus.” He’s the head of His Church and always will be. But the less-than-obvious answer to that is the one I’m focusing on in the sermon series. That is, what does Scripture say about the humans God intends to lead local churches?
A Little History
I was raised Free Will Baptist. The church structure (the fancy word is “polity”) of the churches I grew up in are similar to how Lake Hills functions now. Like Lake Hills, most FWB churches have one main pastor with a group of deacons called a “deacon board.” Some larger FWB churches also have any combination of “youth pastors,” “worship pastors,” or (if they’re really big in the FWB world) “children’s pastors.”
After I started full-time ministry, I gradually became convinced that God’s Word teaches a different local church leadership structure than the one in which I was raised. That structure is one of a group of pastor/elders who, while having unique roles and gifts, collectively shepherd and oversee a local church with the help of deacons, all of which is governed by the members.
There’s a lot to unpack in that last sentence, which is why I’m taking at least five sermons to do so.
One of the determining factors I had in looking for a church to pastor was the church either needed to have elders or be willing to consider having elders. I don’t remember exactly when I brought that up with the transition team, but we talked about it and the deacons and I talked about it. They all agreed to at least consider that possibility (understanding of course that the congregation has the ultimate authority on something like that). If I’m not mistaken, I believe I also talked about that in the Q/A we had before you all voted on me. And I know JD Schmucker and I talked about it in the first season of “Lake Hills Talks.”
After being installed as your pastor, I began talking about this concept more seriously with the deacons and Pastor Adam. We started by reading and discussing a book called Deacons: How They Serve and Strengthen the Church by Matt Smethurst. Then we read, discussed, and prayed through a book called Why Elders? by Benjamin Merkle. Then we read, discussed, and prayed through a book called Biblical Eldership: Abridged Edition by Alexander Strauch. All this has happened in deacons meetings and extra meetings over the past 1.5 years or so.
More History
Another part of the deep dive is related to my Doctorate of Ministry degree from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary based out of Louisville, KY. (I’ve really enjoyed this privilege of studying there.) The capstone of the degree is what they call a “Ministry Project.” It’s like a dissertation, but for people who are practicing ministry in local churches or para-church ministries outside the classroom.
The title of my project is “Increasing the Understanding of Lake Hills Baptist Church in Schererville, Indiana of Shared Pastoral Oversight.” I know the title is clunky. It’s how they require the titles of Ministry Projects to be written. Remember, the project is in academia, not the book publishing world.
I’ve been working on this project for a few years now and have written and had approved three of the five chapters. Chapters four and five can’t be written until after the implementation phase. The implementation phase is my sermon series about this topic. My goal is to increase the understanding of you all on what Scripture says about shared pastoral oversight–that is, about how local churches should be shepherded and overseen by a group of godly men called pastors or elders. To accomplish this goal, I will give a pre-survey to gauge your current understanding of the topic. Then I’ll preach the sermon series. After the series, I’ll give you a post-survey to compare and track any changes in your understanding.
After the post-survey is completed, I’ll be able to write chapters four and five and complete my Doctorate of Ministry degree! I am scheduled to graduate this coming December (brrrr but yay!). Then I will get to hang a piece of paper on my wall and make you all call me “the Honorable Reverend Doctor J. Douglas Riggs” every time we see each other. Seriously though, “Pastor Jacob” is better, doctorate or not. 🙂
Another Can of Worms Which I Will Start to Open Right Now, But not entirely
All of what I just said above probably creates many questions in your minds. “Does this mean our church is going to have elders?” “What does that mean about deacons?” “Who does Pastor Jacob think he is?” “Why are the White Sox so bad?” “Why do Cubs fans think they’re so much better than everyone else?”
Okay, maybe you weren’t thinking of all of those questions.
The sermon series is going to answer a lot of the questions you do have. Also, you will have ample opportunity to get every question you have answered in time. There is also a lot more we’ve been working on as leaders that I’ll be sharing near the end of the sermon series. Lastly, keep in mind that the only ones who have authority to change the leadership structure at Lake Hills Baptist are the members of Lake Hills Baptist Church. I think what I’m going to be sharing with you is biblical, and I’m going to try to show you that in God’s Word. The deacons and Pastor Adam have received it well and have given this their full support. But ultimately, we will move forward on this together only if and when the members approve it by vote. I also want to say that I have no plans of leaving this church even IF the members reject everything that will be proposed.
Going Back to God’s Word
But even more important than the role the members play in this is what God’s Word says. If, after listening to what Scripture says about this topic, you all of Lake Hills are not convinced in what I see Scripture saying, then may Lake Hills not approve anything that is proposed. It’s God’s Word that’s sufficient. It’s God’s Word that holds the power for our lives and for our church and for the world. It’s His Word that God blesses.
That’s really what started this whole thing in me–God’s Word. What does He want our church to look like? Our understanding of God’s Word changes over time. We learn. We grow. But His Word has not changed and never will. And even better than that (perhaps) is that His Word will never return void.
Pastor Jacob’s Blog 