been redeemed by the powerful and gracious blood of Jesus Christ as pro- claimed in the Gospel. We have our challenges. We fall short. We don’t always love as we should. We have much room to grow as a “Healthy Church,” and in “Birthing Healthy Christians.” However, in participating in the
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Church Revitalization ministry spon- sored by Outreach North America close to 20 years ago, we came to realize that our goal and prayer for the church was that we grow into a “Healthy Church.” The expectation along with being a “healthy church,” is that healthy churches grow. They will grow in the grace and knowl- edge of the Lord Jesus Christ. They will grow in the marks of love, for God and for others. They will be nourished by the grace of God in the observance of the sacraments of bap- tism and the Lord’s Supper. These are marks of a healthy church. And just as healthy children grow, we an- ticipate a healthy church will grow in numbers as well. The beauty of this kind of growth
is that it is clearly organic, rooted in the Gospel, dependent upon the work of the Holy Spirit, and bearing fruit. The disciplines of grace are ap- plied in the life of a healthy church. The fruit of the Spirit is evident in the lives of a healthy church. Loving God and loving others in Jesus’ name are evident in the life of a healthy church. And the glory of a healthy church belongs singularly to the King and Head of the Church, the Lord Jesus Christ. One aspect of “Building Healthy
Churches” that is evident to us in Lake Placid is the double blessing of long-term stability in leadership, along with a shared leadership that is both giving and forgiving. When the Lake Placid congrega-
tion made the decision to call their first Associate Pastor, I was complet- ing studies at Erskine Theological Seminary. It was my privilege to be called to a church that had the stabil- ity of a pastor who had then served
May/June 2020
ike any church family, the Lake Placid congregation is com- prised of sinners who have
the congregation for 16 years. My desire was to serve alongside Rev. DeWitt and learn practical ministry skills while so doing. The Session of the church asked for a commitment of at least five years from me. It was not a binding promise. But it was a good-faith commitment to serve there with eyes and heart fixed on Jesus and devoted to the work to which I was called: serving families and the youth of the church. Our family was warmly welcomed to Lake Placid. The work began and was
going well. Then, 18 months later, our pastor accepted a call to another church. Six months later the congregation decided to take a flyer on a still very green pastor. Five years has quickly turned into what will be 35 years this coming summer. God is good! God is faithful. God has heard our prayers for the inner growth that develops a healthy church. And we are continuously amazed and thankful for God’s kindnesses toward us. God has put in place a system of government through Presbyters that is sim-
ply brilliant! Healthy churches will be led by healthy Sessions. The Elders of First Presbyterian Church have for years demonstrated a humble desire to con- tinue to grow in their own faith and walk with the Lord. In our monthly meetings, we begin with a time together in God’s Word, fol-
lowed by corporate prayer for the congregation, for the various ministries of the church, for the persecuted church, for the church at a state and national level, for the ministry of other evangelical congregations in our community, for the work of missions, and for the needs of the nation and the world. We con- sider this the first business of the Session. It is usually an hour into the meeting before we come to our first business item on the agenda. This emphasis on the discipline of prayer has been a remarkable way in which the Lord has blessed us with a unity of mind, heart and focus. One demonstration of this humble focus was especially represented by a
matter that came up at a Session meeting a few years ago. In the weeks leading up to the meeting, two prominent pastors in south Florida had to resign their positions after moral failures had come to light. At the monthly meeting the question posed was this: “If that could happen to them, then how can we bet- ter equip ourselves so that it will not happen with us?” What a great question. What a humble attitude. There was no assumption of moral or spiritual superi- ority. There was a keen awareness of our own vulnerability, and an urgent de- sire to make use of whatever means of grace were available to grow in spiritual health as Christians and as Elders. This humble attitude, combined with an earnest desire to grow stronger in
God’s grace, led us to invest the next several months working through a book together: The Enemy Within: Straight Talk about the Power and Defeat of Sin, by Kris Lundgaard. It is based on the works of John Owen, Indwelling Sin and The Mor- tification of Sin. Knowing that Jesus challenged the Pharisees to focus on remov- ing the plank in their own eye before being concerned with the speck in the eye of another, our hearts told us to begin with monitoring our own lives, guided by the Word of God. Healthy churches are led by healthy Elders, who are aware of their own frailties and desire that the Lord shape and equip the leaders of the church to lead with humility and biblical clarity. When Elders are so equipped, and growing together with the Ministers of
the church, there is a beautiful and powerful accountability. It is based on a mu- tual care for one another and love for Christ’s Church. It opens the door for hon- est conversation, questions and encouragement. Correction comes across out of genuine love. There is no sense of spiritual “gotchas.” Instead of “selfish ambi- tion or conceit … in humility count others more significant than yourselves” (Philippians 2:3), they strengthen one another in godliness. Healthy churches are led by spiritually healthy Elders and Pastors. One of the great blessings for the Lake Placid congregation has been the sta-
bility of leadership. We have a rotational Session, yet some of our elders have served as many as five terms (20 years) over this time. New Elders are elected so that they may receive training by seasoned, godly men as they too learn to serve
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