We go to a small church

Elim Baptist Church, Seattle, Washington (Wallingford District)

Last week, I wrote about a guy who said what he liked about his church was that it was big. This week I asked a woman named Sheryl what she liked about Elim Baptist, and she said, “It’s a quirky, small, wonderful, little church.” So half of her adjectives referred to the petite nature of the place.

Finding big churches to write about is easier than finding small churches. When we google churches in Seattle, all the big churches come up first because that’s how algorithms work. (I guess. I actually have no idea how search engine algorithms work.) So maybe you’re wondering how we came upon Elim Baptist Church, whose online presence is surprisingly minimal.

When I was in seminary, I needed to do an internship at a church as part of my pastoral training. I ended up at Fullerton Evangelical Free Church in Southern California, where Chuck Swindoll was lead pastor. Paul Sailhamer was in charge of the intern program, and Elim is pastored by Paul’s wife’s sister’s husband, Mick Berberian. So we heard about the church through Paul (still one of the people in ministry I respect most highly). And Paul respects Mick and his ministry.

Elim Baptist is in the Wallingford neighborhood of Seattle, on the north shore of Lake Union. We arrived a little early, so we took a walk around the neighborhood. The church is surrounded by homes, with a large city park down the street. It’s not a commercial district. As in many parts of Seattle, parking is at a premium, so the streets were lined with cars, but we couldn’t tell if they belonged to people who were already in the church building.

The service was scheduled to begin at 10:00 am, so Mindy decided to try the front door a few minutes before. It opened, and we could see a dozen or so folks already in the sanctuary.

We sat down in the back row. In the row ahead of us, a couple of women were discussing the end of summer change in the service time. The next week, worship would begin at 11:00 am. One of the women preferred the earlier time. “Get it done, and you have the rest of the day.”

Sheryl was one of the women, and she introduced herself. We also met Marvic (short for “Mary Victoria”) who expressed appreciation for this church as a neighborhood church. Another woman came in asked her, “Are you doing music?”

Marvic replied, “Yes, join in! We’re going to be doing oldies.”

Mick was in front (I recognized him from a photo on Facebook), so I went up to introduce myself. He’s been at Elim since 1983; before that he was involved in larger ministries. This isn’t a church with a lot of programs, Mick said, “Their faith is expressed outside of the church. We see a lot of life come through this church.”

The service started a little late, nearing ten after ten. The church doesn’t have a countdown clock like University Presbyterian and a lot of other big churches have. We used hymnals for the opening song (“Morning is Broken”), and then the children were released to Sunday School. For most of the service, we could hear a baby being cheerful, which was a nice thing.

We sang several choruses, and they were oldies (“Above All,” “Lord I Lift Your Name On High,” “Seek Ye First,” and “He Knows My Name”), covering each of the decades from the seventies to the aughts.) A screen and an overhead projector were used for the lyrics. (I remember many heated discussions at other churches back in the day about whether the screen should be allowed to cover the cross.) Mick accompanied the choruses on his saxophone.

The screen was raised to reveal the three crosses, and Mick came forward to preach. “This morning we have arrived at Matthew 10 and maybe chapter 11,” he said. He referred often to the Greek word choices in the Gospel, but also said, “Verse 34 is a bummer.” (Maybe it’s just me, but the slang seemed to work especially well with Mick’s Hawaiian shirt.)

People in the congregation obviously knew and loved each other. They love their pastor and he loves them. This can happen in a unique way in a small neighborhood church. Churches -- small, big and in-between -- God can use them all.

We walk into a church and a street fair

The Junction Church, Seattle, Washington
This week our daughter Paige suggested we might want to listen to the latest episode of This American Life, which had a story on church planting. Watson Jones and A.J. Smith were trying to launch an urban church in Philadelphia. The story makes it clear that there are big challenges in starting a church these days. But there are also big challenges in maintaining an older church as well.

Outside The Junction Church’s building, you can see a cornerstone with the year the building went up, 1950. Inside, we heard that the church (not just the building) began either in 1904 or the late 1800’s. Whatever the exact year was, those dates aren’t too far from each other. It’s an American Baptist congregation, and we learned that in years past the sanctuary was filled with pews and, on Sunday mornings, a couple hundred people. When we entered the church at 10:00 am this past Sunday, barely on time for the start of the service, there were no pews and fewer than a dozen people, including ourselves.

Gil introduced himself and mentioned that he was the pastor of the church. We told him we were from California, and he told us about living in Hayward. He has been attending the church for four years, but two years ago the pastor left, and Gil “stepped up” (according to Rob, another congregant) to the role of pastor.

A young man and woman, Chris and Jessie, led the singing time that opened the worship service. There were older choruses, such as “I Will Sing of the Mercies of the Lord,” which was fun, along with a couple of more recent offerings. The slides kept up with the choruses, which doesn’t always happen. After church, Mindy and I agreed that we enjoyed the singing time, simple as it was, more than we appreciated the music in various larger churches we’ve visited.

Gil spoke on Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” He used photos throughout the service, starting with cheerleaders in their eighties, illustrating the “old” part of the verse well. Another slide was of those great theologians, the Three Stooges. Finishing up, Gil talked about the history of the church as he held up hundred year old Bibles, and he talked about the need for the church to reach out to the community.

Usually, he said, they have communion every Sunday using bread and wine (not juice? We weren’t clear on it) made by members of the congregation. Not this Sunday, though. Gil encouraged people to go out into the community to West Seattle Summer Fest, a street fair held literally at the church’s doorstep. So we all took a walk.

We walked up and down the street with Rob and Susan, who are regulars at the church. They have three grown kids, as do we, so we talked about that. We heard some of their history and shared some of ours. We smelled some great food and had some samples. We saw some clever crafts. And I learned about the proposed subway system that might someday go from West Seattle to Downtown. When we got back to the church, Rob opened the door (he had a key), and we went inside and chatted a bit before heading home.

Earlier, during the worship service, we saw people inside the church wave to people walking by outside. And the church will continue to get more of those outside people in. It’s something God can do.

We go to Church and Find a Business Meeting

Riverpark Bible Church, Fresno, California
We didn’t mean to go to an annual meeting. We thought we were going to the regularly scheduled Sunday evening worship service, and the website didn’t tell us differently, but upon arriving at Riverpark Bible Church, we found a table full of annual reports in the foyer. We arrived a minute or two late and people were already singing a chorus in the chapel, but we knew something different was coming.

We were grateful to be assured from the platform that it was okay for us to stick around. In the introduction to the meeting, the pastor said that visitors to any church should really go to a church’s annual meeting; if you want to know if there’s unity in a place, you need to go to a business meeting (which is generally what a church's annual meeting is). I’ve been to business meetings that have shown the church was not a happy place to be, and I’ve heard about a lot worse (death threats and such). This was not a death threat type of meeting. It fact, someone said, “There is a high degree of love in our church right now.” And it certainly seemed to be the case.

An annual meeting is a good time to hear about a church’s ministries and philosophy of ministry. We usually have to ask a lot of questions to find out about the kinds of things that are the chief topic of discussion at a church’s annual meeting.

Riverpark Bible Church has an elder led form of government, as opposed to the congregational government in the Evangelical Free Church I grew up in or the hierarchal form of government found in, say, Episcopal and Methodist Churches, where many decisions are made outside of the local congregation.

There are elder led congregations that allow for no congregational input. The church I grew up in went from a congregational form of government to an extreme form of elder leadership, and because the elders had little regard for the thoughts and feelings of the congregation, the church fell apart.

That’s why I was pleased that Riverpark acknowledged the importance of bringing in the whole congregation in on important decisions and direction for the church, using Acts 6 as the Biblical basis. In that passage of Scripture, the Greeks in the congregation complained they were being ill treated, their widows and orphans not receiving the same treatment as the Jewish widows and orphans. The Apostles, who were the “elders” of the new Church, knew they needed help with these things, so thought the best thing to do was appoint men to care for these needs, men in the office to be called deacons. But they brought this decision to the whole church and “The statement found approval with the whole congregation.” They acknowledged a Biblical basis for a congregational say in choices. (In this explanation, the pastor said pointed for the need for a Biblical basis for their actions, “That’s why ‘Bible’ is in the middle of our name.”) They also pointed to Philippians 2 and the importance of the church “being of one mind.”

Ballots were distributed and we took one. (Mindy said, “Remind me not to vote.” In the church I last served, we were not actually members. When there was an oral vote, she often found herself responding in chorus with a firm “aye” vote.) Members were asked to raise their hands. Mindy (and I) managed to keep our hands down and there was a quick visual estimation. It was announced, “We have a quorum. So we’ll be voting on a few things: elders, deacons and the budget.”

There wasn’t much drama in the election for elders and deacons (and after last year’s presidential election I don’t think anyone would object to the lack of drama). Three elders and three deacons were nominated, and all six were voted in. “If all you guys could stand,” and all the men stood, the newly elected along with the incumbents.

Mindy noticed that two new staff members were mentioned in the annual report; one was a woman hired to oversee the children’s ministry. The annual report read something like this: “Adding a Children’s Pastor to our staff was a matter of prayer for some time, but then we realized that a highly qualified woman could do what was needed just as well.” This rankled. Does it mean the church decided to hire a woman to save money? Will she do the same kind of work a “children’s pastor” does, just not have the title? Or was the report just carelessly worded? (To be fair, both women on staff -- children's ministries and women's ministries directors -- seemed well qualified and enthusiastic about their work.)

The discussion about the budget was a little more lively. A solar project to provide for the energy needs of the congregation was proposed. Three of the buildings on the property needed roof work done anyway, so the installation of solar panels could be combined with that project. A committee, which included construction and energy experts, had come up with a plan, and a fifteen year loan from the Evangelical Christian Credit Union would pay for the project, and according to the church’s projections, the savings in utility bills each month would more than pay for the monthly loan installments.

A woman asked about collateral for the loan. She was assured from the platform that the sanctuary building, which will be used as collateral, was not at risk and could not be lost.

A man then asked whether it was wise to take on another loan, as the church is already paying a loan on another property (which the city had required the church buy in order to provide for parking). “Perhaps we could hold off a few months and see if God provides without taking out a loan,” he suggested.

“You’re a Crown guy, aren’t you?” was the initial response from the platform. "That's fine. I'm a Crown guy too." Crown Financial Ministries was cofounded by Larry Burkett to help people with their finances, and a basic principle of the ministry is staying out of debt. Again, there was an assurance from the platform that the utility savings made this a practical financial decision.

Someone asked, “What about the elevator project?” (We never did hear in full about this “elevator project,” but apparently a previous project had cost overruns leading to a decision that on future projects, a committee with experience would make the plans, and any prospective indebtedness in excess of 10% of the annual budget must be approved by congregation.)

But again, there were assurances from the platform of the wisdom of this choice, “Solar is the way to go in the future.” Eventually, after it seemed people had had their say, a vote was taken. “That was exciting,” the chairman said after the votes were collected.

It was time for verbal reports from the staff.

Eben Sherwood, the Executive Administrator, said, “I don’t think the buildings are what is important, it’s the people. We have a warm, caring congregation but we need more small groups, people getting together. Who’s discipling you? Who are you discipling?...That’s my report, such as it is.”

Karen Drew, the Director of Women’s Ministries, said,  “Just put girl or woman in front of everything Eben said.” She also talked about Mirror, Mirror, an upcoming event with what was described as a very unique fashion show.

Mike Bohr, the Worship and College Pastor, said, “Let me say a word about the music ministry here at Riverpark. God will use all different kinds of music. We all have preferences, but we want all ages to worship here at Riverpark. We no longer have choir robes but we desire to see all generations worshipping together.” About the other half of his job description he said, “I love, love college ministry.” He also talked about the staff at Riverpark, “Everytime I go into Eben’s office I get saved. As a staff, we all talk all the time, and we are all on the same page, and we love one another.”

John Cox, the Pastor of Adult Ministries, has been on staff less than a year. He said, “I’m new to the church, but not new to ministry. The plan is to make every little area of the church about discipling. In the parking ministry, we want the parking people praying for the people that park. We want the people who visit here to be greeted by seven people on the way into church. There is much fruit in the church, we want more.”

George Posthumus, the Senior Pastor, spoke last, “We’ve got to be mindful of younger people. I’m a part of pushing for changes so we have all generations worshiping God. Blending songs so generations are brought together. Ties are not a part of that. Robes are not necessary; if God said wear robes, we’d wear robes. If you look at the pictures from 1905 on the walls at the Spaghetti Factory restaurant, you’ll see things have changed. We need to give the Gospel without distractions. Paul said in I Cor. 9 to be all things to all people. I do all things for the sake of the Gospel.”  He spoke about the importance of making choices in the church in a Christlike manner,  “We disagree agreeable. We have preferences, but we have to put preferences aside to reach other people. Good Bible teaching attracts people to church, but relationships connect people to a church -- discipling, doing life together.”

Then he said he was changing the subject. “I’m hard of hearing, so you need to say, ‘New subject.’ My Mom would see something and say, ‘That’s a disgrace to the ministry.’” He talked about certain things his mom might call a disgrace to the ministry: the restrooms in the Family Center, the Chapel, and the children’s check-in area. He had proposals to improve all those areas. He also talked about a relaunch of the website. Speaking about the ministry in general, Posthumus said, “I have intense optimism.”

The results of the vote was announced: 207 ballots, with at least a 2/3rds majority in favor of all the issues.

Pastor Posthumus said, “We want to be stewards of what you give to the Lord’s work.” To us as visitors, that certainly appeared to be true. If you take worship as a means of honoring God and serving Him, this annual meeting was a fine worship service.

Statistics

Service Length: 1 hour 10 minutes

Sermon Length: Though not a sermon, Pastor George spoke for about half an hour

Visitor Treatment: People around us were pleasant, and we weren’t the only non-members there, but beyond a nod or two as we entered, there wasn’t much in the way of greeting visitors

Followup by Tuesday Morning: None (we filled out a connection card and dropped it in the offering box in the lobby, but that had probably been emptied for the week after the morning worship services)

Our Rough Count: 225

Probable Ushers’ Count: 250

Snacks: none

Musicians: acoustic guitar (man)

Songs: "I Believe/The Creed"
"Doxology"

Distance to Church: 4.5 miles

Open WiFi: no

Tie/Suit Count: 1

Church Website: riverpark.org

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We Go to 2 Church Thanksgiving Dinners in Wyoming

Cooking in a motel room requires a little creativity

Yesterday, we were thankful for churches that open their doors for feasts that welcome all comers. We found that two churches in Casper, Wyoming, celebrate Thanksgiving with a meal together, and since one began at noon and the other around 2:00 pm, we were able to spend time at both.

College Heights Baptist Church and Saint Mark Episcopal Church, we're very grateful for you. Thank you for making us feel like family.

Thanksgiving meal #1

On our way to dinner #2

Games before the meal 

Ask Dean if you want to know how to play Telephone Pictionary

As we sang before the second meal: "For health and strength and daily bread, we praise your Name, O Lord."