December 19, 2017

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ELT Meeting Minutes December 19, 2017 Attendees: Pastor Mathew St. John, Jeff Westman, Dan Johnson, Saado Abboud, Cort Cieminski, Derrick Grow, Jerry Hoffman, Armando Mazon, Tony Ringsmuth, Zach O’Neel, Jim Fultz, Mike Brown, Jot Turner Absent: Pastor Paul Schoolmeesters The meeting was opened in prayer by chairman Jeff Westman. I.

Leadership Development Studies - Pastor Matthew St. John Pastor Matthew taught and led a discussion on tribalism, as applied within evangelicalism. Def: exaltation of the tribe above all other groups. Belonging to a tribe is normal, not inherently wrong, but tribalism is turning the tribe into an idol. Biblical example: Judges 12 where Jephthah has led a victory over the Ammonites and the tribe of Ephraim were jealous because they were not called to aid in the battle; division among Israel’s tribes -- with resultant killing of 42,000 Ephraimites -- arises based on the difference in pronunciation of Shibboleth. Carry that forward to today! Do we idolize Christian leaders, identifying with said leader’s tribe? Tribalism creates: pride, condescension, dismissal. Dangers: major on the minors, talk is about the tribal leader rather Christ, identity becomes isolation/separation, methods become the measure of fruitfulness/godliness, contempt supplants charity. The ELT spent time in discussion and then in prayer around these matters.

II. Call to Order and Approval of October ELT Minutes Jeff Westman called the ELT meeting to order. A motion was made to approve the November ELT meeting minutes as written. MMSC. III. Senior Pastor’s Report – Pastor Matthew St. John A. Vision Dashboard Overview Church Planting: Future initiatives/involvements are being discussed with the EFCA district leadership. All Peoples: The EFA theology conference (TX) in January is focused on this. Living With Purpose: Men’s & Women’s Ministries are working collaboratively to offer a joint conference in March utilizing a discipleship approach called 4 Chairs. Several smaller groups have been going through the material in advance of that. B. Deep Dive: Chapter 2 of Divided By Faith In preparation for our discussion of chapter 2, Pastor Matthew had asked the ELT to give special attention to two passages: p. 30: “Many … regarded antislavery agitation as the chief threat to the peace and prosperity of the church. The evil of slaveholding had become a closed subject, an extraneous issue, a highly sensitive matter, anything but a pressing concern.” AND p. 43: “Because the liberal agenda included race activities, conservative Protestants tended to shy away from addressing the race issue. As in the past, the activities in which they did engage were primarily missionary and educational.” These were then the foundation for Pastor Matthew’s question: “What might these two statements mean in our currently evangelical-American context, with particular attention to New Hope Church and the burden God has given us?” The ELT shared a rich time of conversation. In many ways, we still face the same issue today, but perhaps with society and people being more sophisticated in their ability to hide it. As a whole, the Gospel can and should be the initial solution but all too often is not. Many personal factors affect this including personal experience, what it may cost personally (including financially), as well as the extent to which one is aware of the



historical context (both in society and in the church). Emphasis was given to the necessity of us engaging these issues and conversations with charity and humility. The ELT spent time in prayer, asking that God would continue to grow us to become more and more of a multi-tribal church family. C. Sermon Series Forecast: Pastor Matthew shared his plan for upcoming sermon series: Christmas – “Bread of Life” series January 2018 – “Compelled” series based on 2 Corinthians with a theme of being compelled by Christ’s love, which will include MLK Sunday and Sanctity of Life Sunday. February/March 2018 – “One Tuesday with Jesus” series – 8-week exposition of Mark 11-12 leading up to Easter After Easter – Mental Health series Early summer – TBD August 2018 – End times series IV. Senior Associate Pastor’s Report A. Financial Update - Jot Turner Giving is up compared to last year, both in total amount and percent of the budget. Trend is going in a positive direction. The finance committee is continually monitoring financial activity; will be convening before next ELT meeting. As of December 17, giving stands at 95.3% of the budget, while spending is at 96.6%. B. Facilities / Property Council - Jerry Hoffman Jerry affirmed the valuable participation by all the property council members. Current projects completed or programmed: new security locks/doors, security camera system upgrade, painting refresh, sidewalk repair at EC, and lower level children’s area, along with developing vision for the future. C. Staffing / Ministries - Pastor Matthew St. John [BRACKETED ITEM] V. New Business A. 2018 Housing Allowance - Personnel Committee, Mike Brown The following motion was brought to the ELT by the personnel committee: The Board of Elders and Personnel Committee of New Hope Church authorizes the specified housing allowances for the following eligible ministers for 2018: Pablo Cachon, Jeremy Deck, Dayton Dodge, Jonathan Kimmel, Jeff McCourt, Holly Miller, David Myles, Paul Schoolmeesters, Matthew St. John, and Justin Wevers. MMSC. B. Membership Process A compilation of frequently asked questions to be included in the next New Member classes will be sent by email to the ELT for review. VI. Upcoming Elder Meetings Tuesday, January 16, 7pm Tuesday, January 30, 7pm (Prayer Gathering), Zach will facilitate. Tuesday, February 20, 7pm The meeting closed in prayer. Respectfully submitted, Jim Fultz ELT Member