Dear Church Family,

At our All Church Business Meeting this morning following the service, along with sharing the status of the church, we made a major announcement.

I first want to thank the Pastoral Search Committee which has been meeting nearly every Tuesday since April for their diligent work in developing the processes and tools for finding a new Pastor.  The process developed is solid and I am certain would be effective in it's intended purpose.

The members, Anthony Godoy, Darlene Grant, Jim Jennings, Millie Jennings, Diana Shellooe and Jimmy Valencia, along with advisor Toby Will have worked very diligently on your behalf.  They quickly formed a very cohesive and prayerful team and have been a blessing to work with.  The church owes them a debt of gratitude for the hours of service they spent on this effort.  After months of building the plan and preparing to execute our search, we came across a truth that was obvious in its simplicity.

God has brought several men into leadership roles over the past several months including Mike Avecilla, Joe Engler and Kevin Gause to join myself and Toby in the overseeing of the activities of the church.

Referring to the original church structure of “a plurality of elders”, which can be found in many places in the Bible including Titus 1:5, Acts 14:23, Proverbs 11:14 and Acts 20:28, we have come to the observation that the church already has a functioning leadership team with what we currently have in place. 

As an equal member of our leadership team, Toby has been acting as our “Preacher/Teacher” with the rest of us serving in functions such as administration, finance, security, youth ministries, maintenance, etc.  God has revealed to us through His word that the early church ran with a team rather than a single “Pastor/leader”.  The leader is Jesus!

As the committee reviewed the job description they had put together, it was apparent that this was not just the job of one man, but a plurality of same.  And not just a small group of leaders, many of the tasks can be performed by others in the church that feel a calling and have a gift in different areas.

So, effective immediately, we have suspended our pastoral search and will concentrate on the strengths God has already put in place.  A leadership team consisting of the men mentioned above, acting as peers, all with equal footing.  The Pastoral Search Committee has agreed to act as an “ad hoc” advisory group the leadership team can turn to when we are looking for additional sets of eyes in discerning God’s will for our assembly and of course, we always welcome input from you.

The traditional tasks of a “Senior Pastor” may be spread among the assembly, each of whom have your own spiritual gifts.  I shared with the group this morning that we already have a great pool of talent among the 47 individuals who have signed up for one or more ministries to serve God within this church and I consider them ALL Deacons.

Pastor Ted and Dede set a wonderful foundation for this “Bible Church” to be positioned to move forward seeking God’s will in a Biblical, if not typical structure.  We answer to no organized denomination, we have a motivated and growing congregation and we are blessed with a solid financial status.

This is the church as God intended it to be!  How fitting for a “Bible Church”!

I want to share one last thing.  One year ago, Pastor Ted had approached Pastor Toby on joining the staff here at LTBC.   He is rejoicing in heaven right now with our Savior over the turn of events that God set in place long ago.  I believe this direction honors not only God, but the legacy Pastor Ted established here at this wonderful church, God's church, and for that I hope you will join me in rejoicing in that.