Dear Church Family,

We addressed several significant developments for our church in the service this past Sunday. First, the elders presented Brent & Elizabeth McBurney as candidates to join our team of elders. Brent & Elizabeth have been at COSC for 25 years and have served in just about every aspect of church ministry during that time. We believe that they are called by the Lord to eldership at this time. Our Constitution stipulates that the congregation will vote to confirm this calling and we will have this vote by written ballot on Sunday October 7. Members who will not be in service on that Sunday are invited to email in their vote to affirm or not affirm to office@christourshepherd.org. Last Sunday we reviewed our statement of Vision and Values because the elders decided that we needed to keep that statement in front of ourselves and the congregation more than we have been. This past Sunday we also focused on an aspect of our life together that the elders want the congregation to be more aware of. This is the ministry of Stuart and Celia McAlpine that takes place outside of our congregation.

What was shared are not new initiatives or a change in the ministry roles of Stuart & Celia. Instead, this is what is currently taking place and has been happening for several years in increasing measure. It is the will of the Lord and an intentional decision of the elders, to support the expression of their Stuart & Celia’s gifts for the edification of the larger body of Christ. As the founding pastoral couple of COSC, their gifting has planted and built up our body. And the Lord has called for us to support them in a role of ministering in His church worldwide and in Washington DC. We purpose to do a better job of informing and involving the congregation in this calling. This is not primarily about the McAlpines or their work. It is the Lord’s work and it is an important aspect of our calling as a congregation.

Celia shared about ASK and how the Lord is impacting the world through this ministry. Most of the times that Stuart and Celia are away, they are attending ASK conferences for this worldwide organization that they founded and provide ongoing leadership for.

The other major area that Stuart & Celia are involved in is what we have labeled City Wide ministry. Stuart has always had a heart for meeting with other pastors for mutual encouragement and for the promotion of church unity. But this has become more central to his life and ministry as the elders have instructed him to prioritize City Wide ministry in how he spends his compensated time. The truth is that while virtually all churches and pastors will talk about the value of church unity, the demands of local church pastoring leave very little room for the time needed to pursue and express church unity. On the priority list, relationships with other pastors and churches gets squeezed out.

We realized that Stuart & Celia are uniquely gifted to gather and minister to a wide variety of pastors from different theological camps and backgrounds. So, our commitment to church unity needed to be expressed by freeing a significant amount of time from COSC pastoral needs for the promotion of church unity in our City. Stuart shared some of the current fruit from this endeavor, exciting and significant developments of relationships amongst pastors.

We also welcomed Pastor TL and Mable Rogers, who will be sojourning with us for a season, bringing their gifts and experiences to mature us as a body. This is one of the relationship fruits of the City Wide ministry. We look forward to how the Rogers will help us with racial reconciliation and greatly desire to be a blessing to them in this season of their lives.

If you missed Sunday’ service, be sure to listen online to Celia, Stuart, TL and Mable and get caught up on Church life.

Pastorally Yours,

Bo Parker