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Oct 21

2015 Elders Q&A Recap

2015 | by Trent Hunter | Category: Elders Q&A

On September 30 we hosted this year’s Elders Q&A. Families have weekly, seasonal, and annual rhythms to keep them close. From meals to reunions, families have more and less structured ways of staying a family well.

The Elders Q&A is one of our annual rhythms as a church to stay a healthy family. This helps us stay a healthy church in a number of ways: it allows us to get feedback from you;  it promotes an atmosphere of honesty and vulnerability; and it opens the lines of communication in a way that is symbolic of how it always really is. We’re available to you.

Trent opened the evening with an explanation of why we do this each year. Then, the evening was divided into two parts. In Part 1, Trent moderated pre-submitted questions among the elders. For Part 2, Nathan fielded questions from the floor.

Here’s a list of questions we addressed with time stamps for the audio, which is available here.

Eldership

  • 8:23  How does someone become an elder at Desert Springs Church?
  • 9:46  How can we, as a congregation, better practically encourage and love the Staff and Elders?

Update to the Doctrinal Statement on Gender, Marriage, and Sexuality

  • 11:16  Explanation and reading of the update to the DSC Doctrinal Statement.
  • 14:54  If someone is a member and they disagree with us, what should they do?
  • 15:40  This sounds like we’re hiding from conflict and unwilling to suffer consequences for our convictions. Is this a sign of doctrinal sheepishness or courage?
  • 17:12  Can what I believe as a Christian on these matters effect how I operate my business?
  • 17:51  People have different kinds of jobs where they may have different kinds of relationships with same-sex ceremonies. Does it matter what kind of a job a person has and how can they discern how to faithfully be a Christian?
  • 20:39  What resources would you point a family to who has children interacting with other kids and families who embrace a genderless vision of marriage?
  • 23:10  What is the change in the wedding policy, and what might it mean for some people who find themselves outside of what that policy would provide for?

Ministry Related Questions

  • 28:33  Why don’t we have a college ministry, and why don’t we have a single’s ministry?
  • 31:10  Community Groups are dormant during the summer months, which is 25% of the year. That seems to signal that Community Groups, for as much as we talk about their importance, are programmatically not emphasized like some other ministries that run year-round. Why is this so?
  • 32:40  Do all Elders do counseling? Each man has a somewhat narrow area of oversight and one is assigned to Biblical Counseling. Is counseling something that all elders are responsible for?
  • 34:04  What happens to the finances when the year is over if there’s a surplus in the budget?

DSC’s Next Church Plant

  • 38:16  Update on Redemption Church.
  • 39:44  I’ve heard rumors that DSC will be planting another church. Is there any substance whatsoever to that rumor?
  • 39:56  Why would a church like ours plant more than one church? Isn’t one enough?
  • 41:03  Who’s going to lead us in planting this church?
  • 42:31  Not every pastor sets out to plant a church. Why would you, Nathan Sherman, want to plant a church?
  • 45:25  What is the timeline for this church plant?
  • 45:42  Where will this church plant be established?
  • 46:43  How will this church plant be funded?
  • 48:04  With whom will this new church plant be affiliated?
  • 51:28  Some people have different experiences with denominationalism, and different experiences with the SBC (Southern Baptist Convention) in particular. What would be some misconceptions that you would address for us?
  • 55:26  What are we going to do about Nathan leaving? What happens from here? What will the transition look like?
  • 57:33  How can someone learn more about this church plant?

Questions from the Floor

  • 59:39  What is the church’s policy now on usage of the facility? Is there a policy about members only, who can use the church for “other” events (other than weddings)?
  • 1:02:49  Are there events that cannot be held at the church in the youth department specifically? Are we able to use the church for youth functions? Is there a policy that says that we don’t use the facility for youth functions?
  • 1:05:00  Has there been any discussion about growing in our work with Native American communities?
  • 1:08:05  Ryan, you recently completed your PhD. Why did you pick John Owen, and how has that helped you personally? How do you think that has helped the church? How does that help the larger church?
  • 1:11:07  You said if we had issues with the statement before November 1st, to come and talk with you and we could leave the church without any discipline. Then we talked about employment and career decisions. To me, the implication was if you made that decision to “bake the cake, take the picture etc.” After November 1st, you could be subject to church discipline. I just want to make sure I understand what exactly the policy is on that?
  • 1:16:19  If New Mexico legalizes marijuana, should a Christian be able to do that?

For audio from past Elders Q&A gatherings, click here.