Pastor Oldham's Letter to You
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Vision is very important for any healthy church. In relation to the local church, vision is the ability to see God’s will for the future, or at least to see the direction God wants to see the church move in. Historically, this always has to come from one person; the leader, pastor, shepherd, who also has to be the visionary. Without a vision the people perish. This is because the vision strengthens the church for what is to come. It allows the church to build for the future and to be prepared for it. My vision for the First Baptist Church of Saltillo PA is not 5 things.
It is not to grow in numbers- this would be awkward at best. We tried it and proved we could do it, growing to an average weekly attendance of almost 100 several years ago. But we returned to one worship service and sacrificed numbers for quality of worship and fellowship.
It is not to build a new building- I have always believed that the church in America is “building spoiled”. We all believe that we need new big structures to do God’s will. I believe that if we have access to the kinds of resources necessary to build a new building, then we should be giving that money to missions and to benefit others.
It is not to keep alive a traditional pattern of the church’s weekly services. We need to provide MEANINGFUL worship and educational experiences.
It is not to compete with any other church. Each church should have certain resources uniquely available to them for them to use. There is no need for every church in town to do the same ministry.
It is not to copy the mega-church model of how to do church. “One church fits all” is not an option in rural Pennsylvania. Each church must find its own place in this world.
My vision, in no particular order and not to be seen as a ranking, is the following…
To keep Jesus first. (Jn 3:30)
To develop a sense of purpose (Eph 2:10) (This predates Rick Warren’s book by the way)
To develop a burden for Missions. (Mt 28:19-20)
To develop a hunger for God’s Word (2 Tim 2:15)
To develop service opportunities (Gal 6:9)
To protect the church from error (2Tim 3:16)
To develop a faith that is strong and relational (Heb 12:1-2)
To help our young people (1Tim 4:11-16) 1) dream (Esth 4:14), 2) develop a strong faith (Eph 6:16), 3) be strong in the Word (Heb 4:12), and 4) develop a love for God’s church wherever they end up living (Heb 10:24-25).
As the Pastor of the church, it is my task to continually steer us in the direction of the vision God has given me. Vision is only effective if the people adopt the vision of the leader. I believe that the Deacons have adopted this vision, at least in principle, if not as a whole since I have not shared it with them as a whole. I have shared aspects of this vision over the last 7 years but this is the first time I have shared it as a single entity. This is therefore also the first time for my asking you to adopt it and find your place in it. There is room for you! I believe that if someone can not in good conscience buy into the vision of the pastor, that person has an obligation to discuss same with the pastor and I invite you to do this. Any vision can only be carried out if everyone agrees that these glimpses of God’s will are for the church. Any aspect which meets with significant opposition will fail. (Gal 6:9) We therefore need each of you to carry out this vision. God bless you as we strive together.
--- PD Oldham
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911 Pastor's Letter (Classic Letter) Archives
Pastor Dave Oldham and wife, Jessie
September 11 Remembrance One year later, the events of last September 11 still seem like a dream. I can't believe there are people who hate us and our way of life so much as to glory in those events and their results. A year ago, I was shocked by the pictures of children in many Muslin countries celebrating and laughing in the streets as the news was released around the world. We have been forced to wake up to the fact that we are greatly hated by many. Much of this hatred stems from the Muslim world, and not just Fundamentalists. In most countries, it is not possible to even separate the Fundamentalists who would do us harm from mainstream Muslims. They look the same and their attitudes towards us are often the same when interviewed. When I see intelligent Muslim college students from 'allies' like Jordan saying that "we got what we had coming and there's more to come hopefully", I realize we have a real problem that no war can take away. The Muslims of the world have been taught to hate us for many years. Shortly after 9-11-01, Pres. Bush said on one occasion that he called on the Muslim clerics of the world to stop teaching hatred of Americans and Christians. His aides must have cautioned him against using language like that because I never heard him repeat it. But that is exactly what needs to be repeated time and time again until some begin to follow. How can we continue to be supporters, friends and financial backers of countries that condone the kind of hatred we have seen from around the Muslim world. Some have pointed to other issues and problems other than the religious. They say the Muslims are being unfairly singled out and blamed. The Muslim leaders are indeed to blame. They are the ones teaching hate and they are the ones who can stop and who need to stop. The political world does not acknowledge spiritual dynamics and this is a shame because you can not understand the problem without recognizing the spiritual forces at work. While we may not wish to speak of the spiritual forces at work, the Muslims are never shy at talking about them. The Muslims are still fighting the Crusades of a millennium ago. They see the battle as a spiritual one. I agree. I believe the whole Islamic religion needs to re-examine its teachings in order to find room in this world for us Christians. I do not believe we need to conquer Islam politically or militarily but they do believe they need to destroy us in those ways. Islam does not teach separation of church and state. So when the World Trade Center fell, many Muslims all over the world rejoiced because they saw it as a spiritual victory because they do not distinguish between spiritual victories and other kinds of victories. Pres. Bush got it right when he said "I call on the Muslim clerics of the world to stop teaching hatred towards Americans and Christians." How do we best remember the pain and hurt and loss of 9-11? I think we best honor the dead and wounded by doing what we can to make this world a better place. Without Jesus Christ, I think all efforts are temporal and limited at best. It is a spiritual war, the Muslims are right about that. It can be traced all the way back to Ishmael and Isaac. Muslims trace their heritage back to Ishmael, not the righteous line of Isaac. God told Abraham that Ishmael's seed would become powerful and dangerous. He was right. Abraham and Sarah's poor decision-making has cost us plenty all these years later. They botched things up and Ishmael was the result of their sin. We can best remember the dead and hurting by making sure that we live our lives in such a way that our sins are small, and have few consequences for those around us. Finally, we can only hope to make this progress by becoming Christian, living as a Christian and then letting Jesus Christ transform us and then use us to help transform the part of the world that surrounds us. It is a spiritual war to be sure. The forces of evil won the battle last 9-11. But the war is not over. Let us commit ourselves more wholly to God this 9-11 and allow Jesus to have the victory in us. Love, Pastor Dave
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++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The Nature of Greatness We live in a society that has brainwashed us to accept mediocrity. We have been taught to accept mediocrity in ourselves, our schools and our church. We have been conditioned to accept mediocrity in our leaders and those we should be looking to as leaders. We have been told to accept immorality in our elected officials as long as it does not interfere with the performance of their duties. Is it any wonder then that Bill Clinton came in tenth on a list of America’s top ‘heroes’ (US News)? How are we defining the word ‘hero’ in order for Bill Clinton to fill the tenth spot? It is obvious that the word ‘greatness’ has little connectivity with our culture. If Harris (who conducted the US News survey) had asked American’s who they thought were the ‘greatest’ people, would Pres. Clinton have made the list? If we do not expect our heroes to be great, then who do we expect to be great? Probably nobody. We have replaced greatness with mediocrity as the ethical and moral standard for our heroes. It is time to reclaim greatness, both in our heroes, and in ourselves. It is time to replace mediocrity with greatness as the standard by which we measure accomplishment. Heroes should be our role models. They should be people who are great. Heroes should be those whose stories tell of greatness, for greatness alone will inspire us to a higher level of positive impact in the world. Greatness alone will challenge us to take a risk for the sake of the greater good. Mediocrity never inspired anyone and Hollywood never sold tickets to a movie by advertising mediocrity. Hollywood sells heroes, heroes who do great things. They sell heroes to inspire us. Even Hollywood however, has offered us in recent years, mediocre heroes. They have sold us the same bill of goods as our culture, namely that heroes are tainted, rather than great. I expect nothing less than greatness from the people I look at to inspire me. I do not need mediocre heroes, for I am already there. I need heroes to take me to a higher plane. Heroes should be role models. They should be people whose good deeds and willingness to sacrifice, speak of humility and compassion. Isaiah did not know what was going to happen when he said to the Lord, “Here am I! Send me!” He was taking a risk. He was not simply using some gift, as many in contemporary Christianity would define our role. In the eighties, churches conducted a multitude of “Spiritual Gift” workshops, believing that the most important thing in the church was for people to know what their gifts were. The emphasis was on our gifts. But there were no heroes, simply people learning to exercise some gift, making people out to be little more than automatons. We are not simply called by God to use our gifts. We are called to go beyond our gifts. It does not take a hero to use a gift they have. It takes a hero to go beyond. A hero says “Here am I!” even when they have no gift to offer, no expertise to use, and no experience to lean on. A hero sees a need and responds. A hero is willing to take a risk in order to be faithful, is willing to sacrifice to help others, and is willing to leave their comfort zone to make others more comfortable. The US News survey of America’s top heroes did contain one redeeming and revealing feature of our cultural landscape: Jesus Christ was number one on the list. Even those who are not Christians (except possibly in name) acknowledge that there is something about Jesus which makes them put him on top of their list of heroes. Jesus was greatness incarnate. His greatness connects with people who are looking for something in their heroes, something they may not see in other heroes. People are looking for greatness. Who are your heroes? In what ways were they great? We need heroes. We need heroes whose greatness inspires us to be greater ourselves. One day maybe we can be someone else’s hero. Try making a list of your top ten heroes. Then identify areas of greatness you can be inspired by. The go out and try being great. The time has come to no longer accept mediocrity. God has called you to something greater than mediocrity. He has called you to greatness. Love, Pastor Dave
Email: saltillo@mail.com
R. G. Lee, a great Baptist preacher once wrote:
“There never was another Who caused all creation to be ransacked in pursuit of words appropriate to convey to human hearts and minds His glorious pre-eminence.
There never was another Who was a human child and also a divine Son; Who was wounded by Satan and Who, at the same time crushed him;
Who was appointed the Savior of men, yet crucified by men;
Who was Judge of all men; yet led as a felon from one trial to another.
There never was another Who died and was buried and yet lived again; Who saved others and Himself did not save; Who had no sin in Him, yet all sin on Him; Who was the King of Glory, yet His crown was a crown of thorns; Who, in the glory He had with God before the world began, had the angelic hails of heaven and yet, on earth, gave Himself to the murderous nails of men!
There never was another Who was the Prince of life, yet died on Calvary; Who was the age of His heavenly Father and older than His earthly mother.
There never was another Who was the victim of a Roman cross and victor of a Jewish grave.
There never was another Who poured all seas, all lakes, all rivers out of the crystal chalices of eternity, yet on a cross said with a mouth hot like a parched desert that cries for rain, ‘I thirst’”.
All of this was written to describe the Lord Jesus Christ; the babe in the manger, the teenage teacher, the Rabbi, the healer, the friend, the suffering servant, the one Who without a word…took your place on the cross! He died once for all and will never die again…it is finished!
R. Neal Gracey
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