A Letter of Gratitude and Encouragement to the Saints of Faith Community Church

The Apostle Paul wrote 13 letters of the New Testament. Some of these letters were written to particular people[,] but most [were] written to churches. As the Apostle writes these letters, they would first be read in the local congregation and then copies would circulate to other churches. Of course, Paul was writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to pen the very words of God. But my emphasis in bringing up Paul’s letters is to highlight the relational zeal and love that Paul wrote with. Notice this relational language of love and gratitude in his letters:

• Romans 1:8–12 – Paul thanks God for their faith and expresses a longing to see them [so as] to mutually encourage one another.
  
  
• 2 Corinthians 7:4 – "I am acting with great boldness toward you; I have great pride in you..."
  
  
• Ephesians 1:15–16 – Paul gives thanks for their faith and love toward the saints.
  
  
• Philippians 1:3–8 – Paul thanks God for their partnership in the gospel and says, “I hold you in my heart.”
  
  
• Philippians 4:1 – "my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown..."
  
  

I have been in ministry for nearly 15 years. I have spent time with brothers who have been in ministry for decades. Admittedly, a lot of the talk amongst pastors is not talk of gratitude for “the flocks which God has made them overseers” (Acts 20:28). If you were to hear most pastors speak in private, you would hear a lot of negativity and ungodly speech. It’s as if they have forgotten the call to elders from Peter — “shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly” (1 Peter 5:2). Pastors are tempted to fall into the trap which James gives great warning of in James 4:1 – “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?” Many pastors have good and godly desires that are gone about the wrong way. It truly is a temptation for any pastor. However, the temptation cannot lead to treating the members of a church as if they are the means to fulfill his own vision and if they don’t then they need to “get on the bus or get run over” (a quote used by Mark Driscoll). This undermines the spirit of a pastor, who is called to be an undershepherd of Christ himself.

Now, pastors need to deal with tough situations, and they need insight and counsel where details need to be shared, but I am afraid that pastoring has been hijacked by ungrateful hearts. When this happens,  pastors fail to see God’s goodness and fail to maintain the high calling and character of pastoring. At the same time, every church is different and some brothers serve in particularly difficult churches where the fruit of their ministry may not be so evident to them. Regardless, I am convinced and want to be committed to having gratitude on my lips for the saints whom God has entrusted me to shepherd.

And this is the point of this article: to express gratitude to the saints of Faith Community Church.

When I talk to people outside of our church and they ask how the church is going, without a doubt one of the first things I say is that our people love the Word. Admittedly, it’s not easy to play church at FCC. So if you’re not coming for the Word, then you will probably not last long. That may sound harsh and I don’t mean it that way, but it is true. Our ministry is hyper-focused on the ministry of the Word. And our people love it.

Recently, through some providential circumstances, a friend was able to come to Bainbridge to be a part of our recent Family Conference. She is a videographer and offered to do some work for the church. I did not know what to think about a videographer doing “work” in the midst of the singing or preaching. Eventually[,] we came to a conclusion to do a short video which attempts to capture the ethos of FCC. In anticipation of this video being filmed, I asked several members of our church — “What do I say? What is it that captures what our church is all about?” Without fail, everyone that I got feedback from gave an answer that included the ministry of the Word.

To the members of FCC: You love the preaching of the Word. You love the Word in Community Groups. You love the Word in other formats such as conferences, workshops, additional preaching opportunities, etc. You are a wonderful picture of Paul’s charge to “let the word of Christ dwell in you richly” (Col. 3:16).

So thank you for loving the Word. After all, “the church is the pillar and buttress of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15)!

No doubt our church is different from most modern American churches. I actually take that as a compliment. We intentionally avoid certain things in ministry and intentionally focus on other things in ministry. In short, you show up. You are committed in attendance and in heart, soul, mind, and strength. You take your roles seriously as members of the church, which is rare in modern Christianity. But might I add, it is biblical.

There used to be a phrase — “If the church doors are open, then me and my family will be there.” Of course, that phrase is loaded. Sometimes the church does things because that’s how they’ve always done it. Sometimes the church is legalistic in requiring people to be there every time the church doors are open. Obviously there are ditches to avoid here. However, none of these are true of the members of FCC. You come with joy.
 
For one, we have intentionally avoided too many scheduled things. While at the same time, I would say that we are by no means passive in our church calendar. We certainly want to grow and make every effort we can to do so. But the members of FCC show up because they are convinced of what happens at church. They know that if they miss, they truly have missed something special.

What a joy! So, to the members of FCC, thank you for your commitment to the ministry of FCC and being there when the doors are open!

Seeker-sensitive churches are churches that want to make an impact on people’s lives. However, they do so to the detriment of themselves, to God, and to His Word by being so out of balance in their attempts to reach people. In reaching people, they have actually sought to please people.

This is not true at FCC.

Without a doubt, the members of FCC want to reach people but they realize that what happens at church is not for the people primarily. Now, the saints will certainly benefit from gathering together regularly on the Lord’s Day. The Scriptures make that abundantly clear. But our primary focus is on God. And for that I am grateful.

Too many man-pleasers fill churches today and they have no real backbone on anything. Well, that’s really not pleasing to God and that’s not truly effective at reaching people. The order matters of who we are aimed at pleasing—and the members of FCC are aimed at pleasing God first and primarily with all that we do.

We are not interested in entertainment. We are not interested in self-help. We are not interested in shallow, meaningless relationships. Rather, we are primarily interested in God who is worthy of worship. He gives us the means of self-denial and true righteousness through the work of Christ. And He has adopted us into a great family with brothers and sisters who love our Father.

So, to the members of FCC, thank you for your commitment to being God-pleasers and not man-pleasers!

Commitment to a local church is a core essential of the Christian life. But it is not an easy task. At times, it seems like another plate to spin, another calendar event to fit in, and frustration on how it all works out.

My commendation to the saints of FCC is for the good work that you do and participate in. As you do so, be encouraged by Paul’s words in Galatians 6:9–10 — “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.”

Don’t let the world convince you that this work is not necessary. We have a reward in eternity that awaits us if we continue in this work. Continue doing it, and grow all the more in the work. It is an honorable work.

Here are some principles to help you endure:

1. Be persistent in your daily personal spiritual disciplines. This will be the fuel that fills your tank to press on.
   
   
2. Develop relationships with your elders to be sure that the ministry of FCC never becomes aloof. The elders want to have a ministry that is biblical but one that is also effective. Biblical and effective ministry are not at odds with one another. You are a part of the ministry, and the elders want your fingerprints all over it as well.
   
   
3. Don’t forget the beneficiaries of your ministry: God, other members, the community of Bainbridge, the missionaries we support, and future generations to come. Have a long view in mind. You are building and leaving a legacy that will outlast you.
   
   
4. Develop a conviction that sounds a lot like — “If the church doors are open, then me and my family will be there.” You won’t regret it.

Someone who reads this might think that this sounds like a perfect church. Let me be the first to tell you that it is not. As I write this letter, I am writing it to the congregation as a whole [with] particular individuals in mind. There are, without a doubt, members of our church to which this applies more than to others. That is why this is a letter of commendation as well as admonition — to be sure that it is a well-rounded letter. Paul did this same thing. He would often offer commendation and yet avoid flattery. He would often offer rebukes and admonitions without being harsh and condescending. I hope to do the same.

Members of FCC:

• If you read this and are encouraged, praise God!
• If you read this and are encouraged yet challenged to do more, praise God!
• If you read this and are only challenged, praise God!

In this letter, you have 3 marks of what a faithful church member should be. So whatever stage you are at, always be striving to be more faithful!

My commendations do not come with no exceptions. Of course there are exceptions. I nor anyone in our church has the mindset that FCC is some church off in Utopia, USA. But as a whole, it is our desire to love God and to love one another.

If you’re not a member of FCC reading this, there are a few things worth mentioning:

• We are a church of redeemed sinners who submit to the rule of the Scriptures in everyday life and in the life of the church.
• We have wayward members. We rebuke one another. We struggle with sin. The elders make mistakes. Our services have hiccups in them. There is lots of forgiveness that is passed along. We have gone through all stages of church discipline on numerous occasions. To me, that is exactly what a biblical church sounds like. We are not a perfect church.
• Find a church and give your life to it. If you are close by to Bainbridge, come join us and you will experience all of these glorious realities for yourself.

Soli Deo Gloria,
Ryan Wade