Many of you will know by now that Greg, our minister for youth and young adults, announced on Sunday that he and his family will be heading to the San Diego area later this summer to accept an internship in pastoral ministry. He will study under pastor Doug Swagerty, who has trained and sent out many church planters in the area. In case you did not get Greg\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s email, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve included it below.<\/p>\n
To say that we all \u00e2\u20ac\u0153love\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Greg and Caitelen (and Aria!) is some kind of gross understatement. In fact, a DSC without Greg and Caitelen is some kind of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153alternate universe\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (a Trek term) that I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know if I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m ready for!<\/p>\n
We are all supporting Greg in this move and new vocation, and blessing him as he goes! One of several reasons that I myself am thrilled is this:\u00c2\u00a0 What Greg is doing will not be easy (he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not going into a fully funded, benefitted position). But I know that in my own life it was precisely those times when the future was not certain, and the job description was not crystal clear, and the money was not completely there, that our good Lord grew me by leaps and bounds. Me individually. My marriage. And what my young children were able to see as Mom and Dad trusted the Lord.<\/p>\n
Finally, and this is especially for parents of youth, and for young adults, we want to ask for your input on this position. As elders we will be asking many of you for your thoughts in person in the next couple weeks, but there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no way we will get to talk to each one of you. There is no specific \u00e2\u20ac\u0153plan\u00e2\u20ac\u009d right now for the youth area, as in replacing Greg or tweaking the balance in this position of youth and young adult.<\/p>\n
In fact as elders we outlined four areas in our meeting Tuesday that we need to discuss and decide on in the next few weeks. Things like \u00e2\u20ac\u0153to what extent do we continue youth and the Well as one position?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d or \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Is the Sunday morning Paradox meeting doing what we want it to?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Though we had planned on discussing these with Greg after serving in both youth and young adult for 6 months (and will still of course do so), again we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d love to broaden input from the congregation.<\/p>\n
Since we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re inviting input, can I offer a word on making a recommendation to leadership? And part of this is as basic and simple as the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153golden rule\u00e2\u20ac\u009d idea. Although it helps, it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t help immensely to have someone simply say, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153youth here is the best, don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t change a thing!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Likewise it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t help to ask for input and receive a laundry list of things that are wrong, as in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153you guys need to change A, B, C, \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6\u00e2\u20ac\u009d In sum, what is so, so welcome is a thoughtful analysis that includes strengths and weaknesses, and shows that you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve talked with Greg or others and understand, even if just generally, our philosophy of youth\/young adult ministry.<\/p>\n
As a quick example, we have, for a number of years, been intentional about not being extremely \u00e2\u20ac\u0153attractional\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (fun and games maximized and discipleship minimized, instead of a balance). We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve also tried to avoid an extreme of sectioning youth (and young adults) out so much from the congregation that their only worship experience is with their peer group.<\/p>\n
Historically and statistically, in our country, this kind of approach (youth only interact with each other and youth leaders) leads to youth and young people not being more<\/em> active in church after they leave their parents\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 house, but less<\/em>.<\/p>\n Please let us know how we can bless Greg and Caite as they embark on what can truly be called an adventure.<\/p>\n Greg\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s email is, again, below. And thanks for listening (or, I guess, reading!).<\/p>\n Pastor Ron Giese<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Greg’s Email to the DSC family:<\/strong><\/p>\n DSC family,<\/p>\n This Sunday, in a variety of meetings, Caitelen and I announced an\u00c2\u00a0update on a new chapter in our lives. In case you’ve not heard the news, we consider it a joy and an honor to share it with you now.<\/p>\n Here is the email I sent to Paradox, Well, and Staff after 2nd service:<\/p>\n It is with bittersweet joy that I am announcing the acceptance of a job offer toward pastoral ministry in Encinitas, CA. I have been invited by the elders at North Coast Presbyterian Church to intern and apprentice in pastoral ministry and mission for the next 2-3 years, with an eye on a possible future church plant or pastoral call. This multifaceted opportunity is both\u00c2\u00a0challenging\u00c2\u00a0and exciting. It represents a new era in our lives and ministry. That said, we are already sad to leave our friends and family here, remembering frequently to never take for granted God’s living grace at DSC.<\/p>\n We are planning to move sometime in mid July 2012. Until the day we leave we will do our best to faithfully serve the wonderful body at DSC. My\u00c2\u00a0responsibilities\u00c2\u00a0will not change during this time and I am eager to finish strong, doing my best to serve you all as unto the Lord. Although we are not being sent\u00c2\u00a0by<\/em>\u00c2\u00a0DSC, I assure you we are going with the blessing and\u00c2\u00a0encouragement\u00c2\u00a0of the elders. There is no negative reason for our departure, only the call set before us and the difficulty of leaving such a great church behind.<\/p>\n Caite and I have countless wonderful relationships here. We have grown and been blessed so deeply in the last 8 years. However, we are confident that this is a door the Lord has opened, and he is calling us by faith to step through it. Please keep us in prayer as we enter into this transition, and do not hesitate to ask me any questions you might have.<\/p>\n Thanks in advance for all your love and support.<\/p>\n Greg, Caitelen, Aria, and #2<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"