Give For Your Eternal Reward (By Thomas Hill

Low Country Boil

We had a perfect evening for a great meal and to talk about the gospel! Around sixty were present, about one-third were friends and family from outside our church. I am excited to see you using this event for gospel purposes. May the seed of the gospel go into deep, rich soil and produce exponential fruit.

Elder Nominee: David Trice

The elders recommend that the church reaffirm David Trice as an elder. David has served previously as a Crestview elder. After faithfully serving two terms, he rolled off to take a required sabbatical break. He and Brenda have enjoyed this rest, and he is ready to return to active elder service. We rejoice over this and are grateful for his willingness to serve.

At the quarterly members meeting on November 16, the church will have the opportunity to affirm David’s nomination. If any member has questions about David, please address them to David or the elders. Thank you for praying for David, Brenda, and our church as we discern the Lord’s will together over these next four weeks.

October Focus: Week Three: Give for Heavenly Reward

During October, we are focusing on the grace of giving. In addition to shaping our hearts, a biblical motive for giving to your church is heavenly reward. Jesus taught: “Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal” (Matt 6:20). Paul wrote to the church in Phillipi: “Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit (Phil 4:17). When we use our money to support the work of God’s kingdom, he promises us heavenly rewards.

Let’s be SUPER CLEAR: God does NOT promise that if you give to your church, he will increase your net worth today. Such reasoning is the so-called prosperity gospel and is heresy!

The Bible does promise eternal, HEAVENLY rewards resulting from faith-driven, grace-motivated obedience on this side of heaven. What you do with your money today potentially affects you forever. So, let’s give with an eye toward heavenly rewards.

A typical practical question we all ask is: How much should I give to my church? First, plan your giving. Develop a family budget that includes giving to your church along with your expenses for housing, food, transportation, and everything else your family needs. Second, plan to give enough to touch your heart and draw your attention toward the Lord and his heavenly kingdom. Third, give in proportion to your income. Those who have more should usually give more.

May we all continue growing as disciples who use money for the Lord's glory.

For His Glory,

Pastor Thomas

Elder Nominees

Church Family,

Welcome New Members

This past Sunday, we received two new members: Josh and Mindy Griffis. Josh and Mindy have four children: Ruth, David, Nathan, and Abigail. Thanks for making the Griffis family welcome!

Elder Nominees

On Sunday, the elders nominated the following men to the congregation to be recognized as elders: Rocky Stubbs, Cole Barnes, and Brandon Vaughn (reaffirmation). If the church approves, these three men will join David Trice and me to comprise a five-person pastoral team overseeing Crestview. 

Elders are biblically qualified men, affirmed by the church, who provide spiritual and administrative oversight. Crestview refers to this office as “elder." Other synonymous words the New Testament uses are “overseer, bishop, shepherd, and pastor.”

Elder nominations are essential in the life of our church, and need your prayers. If anyone knows why any of these men would not be biblically qualified to serve, please speak to them directly, or come and speak with David, Brandon, or me.

Following gathered worship on Sunday, March 5, we will hold an elder nominee question and answer session. At this round-table discussion, nominees will field questions from the congregation related to elder ministry.

On Sunday, March 19, there will be a special called conference following gathered worship to vote on the nominees.

Proposed Constitution and By-Laws Amendments

On Sunday, the elders submitted amendments to the constitution and by-laws to the congregation. The reasons necessitating these amendments were outlined in the members meeting. These amendments effectively entail the following: (1) The role of associate pastor is added, (2) the associate minister role is not an elder, (3) the title of senior pastor is changed to lead pastor, (4) deacon service is removed as a requirement for lay-elders, and (5) the requirement for a majority of the elders be lay-men is removed. If anyone has questions about the proposed amendments, please talk to any elder. The congregation will vote on the proposed amendments at the March 19 called conference. The proposed amendments are available: HERE

Proposed Updated Financial Policy

Additionally, on Sunday, the elders and finance team submitted to the congregation for consideration an updated financial policy. The need for an updated policy was explained in Sunday’s meeting. In short, our current financial policy needs to be updated to reflect the church's organizational structure and the sound financial practices we are following. If anyone has questions about the proposed policy, please get in touch with any elder or finance team member. The congregation will vote on the proposed policy update at the March 19 called conference. The proposed updated policy is available: HERE

Roof Work is Underway

Roofing work is underway! Praise the Lord!

Let’s be faithful to pray for all these items.

For His Glory,

Pastor Thomas

Important Items for Consideration from the Elders

“So I exhort the elders…shepherd the flock of God that is among you…” 1 Peter 5:1-2

This past Lord’s Day was another blessing in the life of our church. Gathering as the church family and eating the Supper together build us all up. Thank you for the positive feedback and encouragement on the Hosea series. It has been a blessing to study and preach the riches of this incredible, God-breathed prophesy. As we approach the final four chapters, pray for our continued attention to hearing, believing, and applying Hosea.

In the members meeting we received in four new Crestview members!  Welcome Reese Carroll, Emma Lael Sisler, as well as Danny and Bethany Lane.

I want to follow up on several important items the elders brought to you for consideration on Sunday. 

MOTIONS RELATED TO ELDER LEADERSHIP

The elders introduced two related motions to the church for consideration: Motions Related to Elder Leadership. The church will vote on both at a special called conference on June 27 following gathered worship.  

We are pleased to commend David Trice to you to be reaffirmed as an elder. David is a wise, biblically qualified brother who has been a faithful shepherd of this church for the past 6 years.  He and Brenda are a wonderful example of Christ-centered marriage and are encouragements to us all. We rejoice that he desires to continue serving. Please prayerfully consider this nomination. Anyone who knows of any reason David may not be biblically qualified to serve is encouraged to follow the steps set forth in the constitution and by-laws.

ELDER PAPER ON MARRIAGE, DIVORCE, AND REMAIRRIAGE

As the pastor/teachers of the church, elders are responsible to instruct the church in sound doctrine. On Sunday we presented an elder paper: On Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage; & The Meaning of “The Husband of One Wife” In Elder and Deacon Qualifications.  This paper is the culmination of several years of discussions and study. We regularly receive questions on this topic and felt this avenue was the best way to communicate clearly. While this paper is not a change to the church’s Statement of Faith, it is the opinion of the elders on how we believe the Scriptures should be applied in the arena of marriage. We hope it will provide guidance to you.  

We encourage you to read the paper meticulously and give attention to examining the Scripture references.  For further reading we recommend the following journal article: David Andrew Naselli, “What the New Testament Teaches about Divorce and Remarriage” Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal

As you can appreciate, it is impossible to anticipate every question and life situation. We welcome questions, clarifications, and constructive feedback. Our desire is to honor the Lord by helping the church to think and walk according to the Word of God.

WORSHIP CENTER PROJECT

 We are growing and feeling the pinch! Sunday you heard the exciting launch of our next major campus improvement effort: The Worship Center Project. The facility planning team and elders have developed a plan to expand the maximum seating capacity to 250 – adding 60 more seats. The Worship Center and the rest of the 1st floor, including nurseries, will receive a fresh, tasteful, contemporary update. The project cost estimate is $150k-$200k. Over the next several weeks you will be hearing more about how you can be part of making this project a reality. Please pray that we will take responsible care of the disciple making tool that is our church campus - for the glory of God’s great name!

For His Glory,

Pastor Thomas