July/Aug Delve Magazine

Delve An

Of

Intersection

Faith

And Life

July/August 2014

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Features Sunday Worship Series Discipleship Ministries Jazzmatazz Musings Financial Update

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Departments Resource Centre

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Information Contact Information Calendar

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Cover artwork by Gene Tempelmeyer Contributors: Karen Cassel Calista Chialtas Koon Leung Geoff Moore Gene Tempelmeyer

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Copy Editors: Greg kay Gene Tempelmeyer

Sunday Morning Worship Series

A Long Lever and a Fulcrum: Prayer & Acts in the book of Acts Archimedes (the ancient Greek mathematician) discovered the power of the lever. Given a lever long enough and fulcrum he said that he could move the world. Many of the key transitions that change the church in the Book of Acts begin with prayer. But action is never far away from these prayers. Using the image of our prayer as a very long lever and our acts of ministry a fulcrum, this series considers several key prayers in the Book of Acts from the standpoint of observing how prayer linked to action changes us and the world.

June 22

Acts June 29

Acts July 6

Acts July 13

Acts July 20

Acts July 27

Acts

1:12-14; 2:1-11, “An Explosive Prayer Meeting” 4:23-31, “Praying for Danger” 6:1-6, “Prayer and Service” 9:10-19, “Prayer for Opponents” 10:9-20, “A Prayer that Changed the Church Forever” 13:1-3, “After we’ve said ‘Amen’”

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Learn-2-Ride

Day Camp For youth ages 10 - 15 of all riding abilities

Solo & Group Cycling Skills Ecological & Social Impact of Cycling

Bike Repair & Maintenance The Learn-2-Ride Day Camp is Willowdale's first cycling day camp for children and youth! It is also unique in that it engages each camper as a whole person: physically, emotionally, intellectually, socially and spiritually. This camp will focus on three main parts of cycling, fostering a wholistic passion for cycling in Willowdale's children and youth.

July 21st - 25th & July 28th- Aug 1st

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The Search for a Discipleship Pastor

The task for the search committee was tough...to find a new discipleship ministry pastor with deacon and member approval by the end of June. Who were the brave souls who were up to this challenge? We were blessed to have a wise and insightful group made of Elizabeth Reynolds, Gene Tempelmeyer, Heather Prinsloo, Mike Penner, Rodway Daniels, and myself. The committee had experience with kids from babies/toddlers to teens/graduates. They also gave up a lot of personal time and evenings away from home because they care a lot about the kids at Spring Garden. Please thank them if you get a chance.

We read through about 20 resumes and chose 3 that had robust youth and children’s ministry experience. The three candidates came in for interviews and shared their vision, passion and experiences. We probed how each candidate would handle tough (but real life) situations and how well they work with teams/parents. They also got a chance to ask about Spring Garden. One common attribute the candidates liked about Spring Garden was its community outreach and partnerships. They liked how we weren’t just inward-focused.

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After narrowing down to two candidates, the search committee spent one week praying and asking God for discernment. We were looking to be indifferent to our own preferences and listen to what God wanted. After a week, we met and shared what we heard from God. The committee was unanimously shown that we should extend the position to one particular candidate, Sam Lee. Next we invited Sam for a second interview where we explained all the challenges of Spring’s discipleship ministry over the past few years. He was able to propose solutions that were practical, and he understood the gaps and diversity at Spring.

After we were confident that Sam was the person that God wanted at Spring (and he wasn’t scared off by the challenges), the recommendation was presented to the deacons board. With their approval, we moved to a members’ vote at the June business meeting. The members voted to extend the call to the candidate to serve as our discipleship ministry pastor. We didn’t share Sam’s name at that time because he was serving at a church close by. The following Sunday, we happily announced that Sam had accepted the call to serve at Spring Garden.

Sam has spent 9 years as the youth pastor at Yorkminster Park Baptist Church. He also has previous years of experience with children and junior high ministries. Sam brings strong leadership experience in equipping parents and teams to serve kids/teens. He values building relationships and welcomes hard questions. He wants to work with us and our kids so they don’t become a statistic of the many junior high kids who are leaving the church. He also has a heart for kids who are in single-parent homes.

During the interview process, Sam shared that he has a wonderfully supportive wife named Jin who is a teacher at a Christian school. They are so excited to serve at Spring Garden and to raise their kids here in community with us. He has 3 kids (2 boys and a girl). We look forward to supporting Sam’s ministry at Spring.

- Koon, Deacon of Discpleship Ministries 7

Jazzmataz Hi Everyone…it’s Calista! I would like to tell you how the “JAZZmataz” went on Friday, June 27, 2014.

It was a BIG success! With all your amazing help for JAZZmataz, my Rainbow Loom Day and the BIG, successful bake sale, 2014 SEND A CHILD TO CAMP efforts made almost $1,800! I am able to send three deserving children to camp in Muskoka!

F irst things first: I would like to thank Ms. Sharon Kim for donating her time to being my extraordinary jazz pianist. I would like to thank Greg Kay for donating the piano and of course, Spring Garden Church for donating the location. I even got tickets made and Valerie and Casey McNellen offered to print them for free. T hank you! Everyone loved the cozy couches, the warm fireplace and the beautiful marble counter was a great spot to put all the decadent food items for the evening. T hank you STARBUCKS (Bathurst & Sheppard) for sponsoring the exquisite coffee and COCOA WORLD (Sheppard Centre) for donating your delicious Belgium chocolates. Also, MET RO (Yonge & Church) gave delicious strawberries. I decided to add a chocolate fountain to drizzle all over and underneath the strawberries ~ thank you to Bulk Ville (Sheppard Centre) for generously giving your bulk chocolate to add to the fountain. Your mints really were a hit with the coffee too! It would have cost me so much money to buy all the food products but you generously gave your products and I am so grateful!

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I had so many other great sponsors…too many to mention here.

But I will be giving them all thank you cards and visiting them personally. I went to local malls, stores, shops, restaurants and businesses asking them if they could sponsor me items for my silent auction. And they did! Almost 75 sponsors…I was so excited! While jazz was playing, people could bid on amazing silent auction items. So many people bid on exciting and expensive items like a golf resort vacation (sponsored by my sweet friends parents), photography packages, restaurant gift certificates and even beautiful gift baskets. My mom and I met extraordinary people on our daily journeys to get the items and had so much F UN! It was F UNominal meeting all the people that would help me send a child to camp.

WOW…I really hope the children love CAMP! T he “JAZZmataz” was so successful that I would really love it if I can do it again next year with more people (YOU?) and to make even more children SMILE (W HO?) May God bless you and thank you for your efforts in helping me to make another child smile! Before I end this update, I would like to thank the following special JAZZmataz day helpers: Opal, Lyndzie, Cecilia Salituro, Mana, Patricia and of course, Ms.Sharon Kim…these people lovingly helped for hours with food preparation, furniture set up and clean up, silent auction set up and ticket sales. I am so grateful!

Love Calista

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Musings: Thoughts on the Church at Large

The Church in the Church Gene Tempelmeyer

“It is not possible to have God as Father without having the church as mother.” (Tertullian, 160-225 AD)

“Now all the believers were together… and every day the Lord added to them those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:44…47)

In 2005 George Barna, America’s preeminent evangelical pollster, published “Revolution”, a book about committed, born-again Christians exiting the established church in massive numbers. Not exiting the faith. Exiting the institutional church. Soon we began reading about the growing number of people “spiritual, but not religious,” i.e.- believing but practicing their belief outside the parameters of organized religion.

Recently I heard a very committed Christian explain that he no longer felt the need for “church services.” He and a friend were, instead, meeting at a Starbucks on Sunday morning to read the newspaper while sipping coffee.

“Do you pray about what you read, or discuss issues in light of the Kingdom of God?”

“No, we just get together. But you know, ‘wherever two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them’.”

Another very well known Christian blogged that he finds it far easier to encounter God at work than at church.

He very seldom hears a sermon that says anything he hasn’t already heard and, not being musical, he really doesn’t engage well with singing. But at work he can be “the church in 10

the world.”

What are these entities called “churches”? Are they something we really need, or are they an artifact of the Christendom era that began in the 4th century when, under the protection of the empire, “the church” started building “churches” and then had to create infrastructures to keep the roof from leaking?

Part of our problem is language. Language establishes our assumptions on a very deep and unreflective level. Several centuries ago Martin Luther called the word “church” a “blind, obscure word.” I think it is no clearer in English than it was in Luther’s German. Like “love” we mean so many different things by one word. In our language “church” can mean the entire collection of people who follow Jesus throughout all time and all places; a building that sits at the corner of Kenneth Street and Spring Garden Ave.; the collection of people who happen to meet regularly in that building; or, what we do between 10:00 and 11:15 am every Sunday.

In the New Testament the Greek word consistently translated “church” is ecclesia: “called out.” In 2012 the President of the Olympic committee ended the London Games with a traditional formula: “I call on the youth of the world to assemble four years from now in Rio de Janiero for 31st Olympic Games.” The athletes have been called out. They are both invited and instructed to put down their newspapers, take a break from their jobs, and assemble in a particular place to engage in a particular set of activities. That is what it means to be ecclesia.

Ironically, that is not what the English word for “church” actually means. “Church” evolved from “kirk” (if you are from Scotland you may not have caught up with this linguistic evolution). Kirk is the anglicized version of the Greek word kirakon. In the Septuagint (an ancient translation of the Old Testament into Greek) kirakon is translated “Temple.” Kirakon is a place, a building. Ecclesia is a special group of people 11

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called to assemble for a particular purpose. “Church” is a blind, obscure word!

A large majority of the times ecclesia appears in the New Testament the word refers to a specific collection of Jesus followers who regularly assemble in a specific location such as a home. The many times the word is plural (“..the churches of Judea…”, for example) the reference is again to a specific and definable group of believers who meet together. On a few occasions the word “church” refers to a collection of specific churches in a particular city or region (“…the church of God in Corinth…”). The times we read about the ecclesia as the complete collection of people who have followed Jesus are relatively few in the New Testament (“…through the church the manifold wisdom of God should be made known…”).

What we see in the New Testament is like one of those Russian dolls that come apart to reveal a smaller doll inside.

There is “a church in a home” within “the church in a city” within “the church”. But it is impossible to conceptualize the large church without the smaller units of church into which God’s people are called out of the world (time to put down the newspaper and turn off the work computer) and assemble as a church. The church scattered into the world is made up of the churches gathered together on street corners and in living rooms around the world.

Ecclesia never refers to a place, although the ecclesia may meet in a place. The place is immaterial. It is the specific collection of people who are committed to meeting with each other that is the church. Interestingly enough, kirakon the word from which we get “church”; the word that describes a place - does not appear anywhere in the New Testament.

We might imagine Paul and Barnabus traveling through Turkey on their first missionary journey. They represent “the church” and are part of “the church” in the sense that they are part of the group of people God has called to assem13

ble together. But as they travel, even though Christ is in the midst of them, they are not “a church.” “Their church” is the group of people many miles away in Antioch who sent them out on this journey. They will plant “churches” in the cities and towns they visit.

These “churches” will consist of people who commit themselves to regularly assemble with one another to engage in the activities of a church gathered together. They will need places, times and leaders to facilitate these gatherings. They will be more than a random intersection of people who happen to believe in Jesus who bump into each other at the grocery store.

What makes an assortment of Jesus followers who are part of “the church” also “a church” in the sense that the word ecclesia is usually used in the New Testament? Of the several practices observed in New Testament “churches,” the celebration of the Lord’s Supper may be the most obvious. We also see the churches gather for meals, prayers for each other and the world, and for the multi-faceted mutual support indicated by the many “one another” commands of the New Testament.

A regular part of the gathering was putting aside money for the poor and for the missionary enterprise. All of this is facilitated by leaders recognized by the apostles. Singing together and other forms of liturgy are also indicated.

Subsequently, Christian thinkers have considered what elements distinguish “a church” from a conference, an evangelistic crusade or two Christians reading the newspaper at Starbucks. The most simple and most enduring definition comes from St. Cyprian (200-258 AD) who a century before the birth of Christendom defined a church as a gathering where “the Gospel is rightly taught and the sacraments (Baptism and Communion) are rightly administered” (some are more comfortable with the term “ordinances” instead of “sacraments”).

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John Calvin affirmed Cyprian’s definition in his “Institutes.” Martin Luther also used this definition in the Augsburg Confession but later added to it identifying seven marks of “a church”: preaching; communion; baptism; rebuke of sin followed by corporate confession and assurance of forgiveness; ordination; singing and prayer.

As Protestant religion became increasing personal and individualized in the 19th and 20th centuries the question “What makes a church?” receded from view. Carl F.H. Henry, who largely defined evangelicalism in the 20th century, wrote God, Revelation, and Authority, a six-volume systematic theology covering every major theological issue – and quite a few minor issues! Every issue, that is, except one. Nowhere in that six-volume theology is there a discussion of ecclesiology: the nature and purpose of the church.

It is not that we have lost the idea of the church. It is that we have lost half the idea. In discovering that the church is not a place but a people we have found it easy to declare with joy, “We are the church!” And we are! Indeed, two Christian people silently reading their papers at Starbucks are part of “the church.” But they are not “a church.”

They could be “a church.” There is no reason there could not be “a church” at Starbucks (though the manager might object). For some people who are part of “the church” actually to become “a church” or “the church at Starbucks at Yonge and Avondale” they would need to add to their newspapers and coffee rightly teaching the Gospel and administering the sacraments/ordinances.

If we do not need the Gospel taught, nor regular communion, nor the offer of baptism to new followers, then we do not need “a Church.” Being part of “the church” will suffice.

My own thought is: if we neither need the Gospel taught nor the ordinances something has gone badly wrong in our faith.

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Recomendations From The Resource Centre

Books Acts of God: why does God allow so much pain? By Bob Russell “Why God? Why did you let this happen?

Why do you allow so much pain?” Be it a job loss, illness, or loss of a spouse or child, these are questions we’ve all had. It’s as much a cry as a question; a wound; a shout of betrayal of all the rules of life and fairness as you knew them. Bob Russell offers no trite platitudes to answer the questions in Acts of God. Instead, through the biblical story of Joseph, he provides assurance that we are in a bigger story than the pain, suffering, and trials tell us we’re in. Whether you’re in the middle of suffering, processing something from your past, or seeking answers to the suffering you see around you, Acts of God shows a way back to hope; hope in God that brings hope to our circumstances.

10:10 Life to the fullest, by Daniel Hill Why do so many of us sense that something is missing in life? Even people

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of faith fail to find fulfillment and purpose and spend their days spinning their wheels and looking for more. But Jesus said that he came that we might have life--abundant life or life to the full. In 10:10, pastor Daniel Hill shows readers how they can have a holistic life in Christ that displays emotional health, spiritual vitality, vibrant evangelism, diverse community, and everyday justice. In short, they can have a faith that touches every aspect of life and makes all those disparate pieces come together in a whole. Hill shows readers how faith looks when it comes to their fears, intimacy, and mission and then helps them develop a transformational faith that is fully alive and impactful, right where God has placed them.

Astonished: Recapturing the wonder, awe, and mystery of life with God, by Mike Erre In Astonished, Pastor Mike Erre calls Christians away from simplistic formulas to honest and rugged faith in the mysterious and unpredictable God. God is more about deepening the mystery of faith, not removing it. Jesus should get bigger the longer we walk with Him. Life and faith should grow to be more profound and wondrous, not less. In Astonished, you will see how we are far more comfortable with tips, steps and techniques for living, than we are with ruthlessly trusting the

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If you know of books or DVDs that you’d like to recommend to the resource centre, please contact Karen Cassel

karen.cassel@bell.net mysterious God of the Bible. God asks us to follow Him into tension, frustration, and difficulty because He wants our trust, not just our intellectual agreement. He calls us to seek Him even as we live in awe of all that is yet to be known about Him. Astonished is an invitation to question in a culture that wants answers, to wonder in a world with little mystery left, and to believe in what is unseen and find it beautiful.

Illustrated family Bible stories: over 200 beautifully illustrated events from the Old and New Testaments.

If you are looking for a way to make Bible history come alive for your children, this book is the one for your family! Children are invited to jump into the daily lives of biblical legends. They are invited to explore what life was like in those times and those places, to be immersed in historical information with words and vivid pictures.

This book opens up the opportunity to discuss with your children the fact that the Bible is more than a book of stories - it is the history of people and generations, it is the shaping of lives and souls, it is the making of the world we know.

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Leadership at Spring Garden Pastoral Team Jay McIntyre, Church Administrator

Ext. 221

(on Sabbatical until Aug 5th 2014)

Gene Tempelmeyer, Pastor

genetemp@springgardenchurch.ca Greg Kay, Worship Pastor

gregkay@springgardenchurch.ca Margaret Sutton, Pastoral Care/Seniors

margaretsutton@springgardenchurch.ca

Ext. 222 Ext. 224 Ext. 226

Deacons Anne Barron - Missions Marion Cameron Mary Ellen Hopkins Koon Wah Leung - Discpleship Ministries Mike Penner - Adult Ministries/Board Secretary Derek Prinsloo - Chair Matt Silver - Community Life Judy Tranter - Pastoral Care/Membership Jim Turner - Property

416.724.9329 416.491.8542 905.731.0492 416.225.7092 416.227.1840 647.349.4610 416.391.5479 416.229.0494 416.512.1360

Elders Garth Barron Darlene Boyd Cindie Chaise Jennifer Moore

416.724.9329 416.385.2483 647.345.2476 416.786.8727

Spring Garden Church T 416.223.4593 112 Spring Garden Ave. F 416.223.6126 Toronto ON M2N3G3 www.springgardenchurch.ca

office@springgardenchurch.ca

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Prayer Line 416.223.4038 ext1

Spring Garden Baptist Church Financial Update January 1st, 2014 to May 31, 2014

2014 Budget ……… $519,500 – ($9,990/week)

approved March 2, 2014

Budget from 1/1/14 to 5/31/14 Offering & Rental Income received Shortfall

Total $222,500 179,400 ($43,100)

/Wk $9,673 7,800 ($1,873)

Comments: We have committed to this 2014 Budget for the Lord’s Work at Spring Garden! How should we respond?!

“Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver”. (2 Cor.9:7) Thanks!

Dale Houser – Deacons Geoffrey Moore – Treasurer P.S. At the Annual Meeting on June 22, 2014, the Congregation passed a Motion by the Deacon’s to increase the Budget by approximately $20,000 or $384/week.

We are currently $43,000 behind the pro-rated Budget and face further losses in July and August!

Let’s all be aware of our obligations and plan accordingly for donations….

Thanks Geoff 21

2014 Shared Curriculum...

This fall our Life Groups will be sharing a study based N.T. Wright’s book, “Surprised by Hope.” The content will be available on DVD and come with a discussion guide for participants.

A POT LUCK LUNCH will be sponsored by the Life Groups Team on Sunday, Sept. 14. We hope people who are already involved ina Life Group will join us for lunch as we talk about how Life Groups work and minister - if you are not already part of a Life Group we extend a special invitation for you to attend!

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What’s Happening Life in Spring Garden

Weekly Tuesdays

2:00 pm - Pastoral Team meeting

7:00 pm ESL Café - Resumes this fall Wednesdays

9:45 am - Refresh Women’s Bible Study Sundays

10:00 am - Sunday Morning Worship

(communion on the first Sunday of the

month)

This Month July Monday July 21st - August 1st - Revolution(s) Learn-2-Ride

camp Thursday July 24th - Revolution(s) mural painting/cycling

advocacy and trail maintenance day,

Bayview Bike Park 10 am - 4 pm August Sunday August 24th - McIntyre farewell party

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Refresh for Women Wednesdays 9:45 am. to 11:15 a.m. in the lounge at Spring Garden Church Friendly, open, fun...these are just a few of the words that describe the Refresh experience. Refresh is a time of gathering where the Bible is read, life’s stories are shared and new friends are made. Though a Christian group we are open to anyone who is interested in hearing about Jesus and how to apply His teachings to our lives. We will be meeting on Wednesdays starting around 9:45 am until about 11:15 am. At the moment the group is comprised of young new mothers to grandmothers and every age in between! Please contact Victoria for more information: shipmaker@primus.ca

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