The Treasure Principle Study and Sermon Series

     For some time now several of our leaders have suggested that our church walk together through a study on financial giving.  The reasons they have given are several: (1) We have many new members in Calvary who perhaps have never gone through a study on giving; (2) Every so often it is good for those who already have studied the subject to have a refresher; (3) We adopted a challenge (faith) budget this year and it will not be reached apart from earnest prayer and responsible education.  I agree that these reasons are sufficient for conducting such a study.  In addition, I would suggest that the most important reason for a study on giving is so that individuals can discover the joy of giving and grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ.

     There are several reasons why we have delayed in adopting a study that would involve all Adult Bible Fellowships.  One of those reasons is that we wanted to find a study that would have the right approach to giving.  I commented on my blog post about the proposed budget back on November 10, 2012 about the various approaches to giving (toward the middle section of the post).  Chad Mason, our staff pastor who relates to the Adult Bible Fellowships, recommended the book "The Treasure Principle" by Randy Alcorn.  Pastor Rolando and I read it and found it to be a very good book.  It is a pleasant and yet challenging read.  It is written as a book for individuals not as a curriculum piece for a class but the material is worth considering in a class setting.  We are grateful also that the book is available in English and Spanish.

     Last Sunday Rolando and I began a sermon series using the book title and the chapter titles to discuss the subject.  This series will go through the end of May.  We will not be preaching the chapter contents.  That can be done by each individual who has a book.  We will unpack selected Bible passages and consider their implications for the management of the whole Christian life.

     This coming Sunday, Adult Bible Fellowships in English and Spanish will begin the book study.  The author of the book definitely has a grasp on this subject and he lives by the principles he advances.  As the pastoral staff at Calvary we are by no means imposing all of ideas that Alcorn proposes in this book.  Our invitation to each ABF and to each individual is to, yes, read the book, but most especially, to study the Bible passages.  The authoritative material is the Scriptures themselves.  My prayer is that as you study them with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, they will speak to you and those in your group, helping us all to grow in the joy of giving and living for the Kingdom.

     When considering principles like these, it is always important to remember that our responsibility is to examine the Scriptures and discuss them together.  But it is the Holy Spirit's job to bring conviction to people.  He will deal with each individual in a different way.  When we try to do the Holy Spirit's job, we become legalistic.  Legalism lends itself to self-righteousness and judging others by our own standards.  On the other hand, when people are convicted by the Holy Spirit and they obey Him, they will discover joy in their obedience and a humble attitude toward others.

    Pastor Chad is making available books for each participant and discussion questions for teachers.  If you have questions or need resources for this study please do not hesitate to contact him: chad@calvarymcallen.org

     Our desire is that not only ABF leaders and participants take advantage of this study but leaders in all areas of our church.  Ultimately a Scripturally-based and Spirit-driven practice of giving will benefit the individual believer, the local church and the cause of Christ around the world.

Ordination of Benjamin Aguirre

Benjamin Aguirre has been serving as our Spanish Language Ministry Associate since 2011 (He served as interim from 2009 to 2011).  Our church licensed him to the ministry in the summer of 2010.  In this role Benjamin leads the Spanish language worship service each Sunday, has a significant teaching ministry with adults and assists Pastor Rolando in pastoral ministry matters.  On Sunday April 21 the church will consider ordaining him to the ministry.

The process for ordination is as follows.  On Sunday, April 21st, Benjamin will share his testimony of call to ministry in the 9:30 and 11 o'clock services.  He will preach in the 12:30 service that same day.  An ordaining council made up of ordained pastors and deacons will meet with Benjamin that same afternoon at 5:00 PM.  They will examine Bro. Aguirre as to his testimony, his call, and his doctrine.  Based on their examination they will then make a recommendation to the Church in Conference which will meet on the same date at 6:30 PM.  The congregation will have an opportunity to ask questions before they vote.  Should the church vote to ordain Benjamin, the laying on of hands (ordination service) will take place on Sunday, April 28th during all three worship services.  

Benjamin's biographical highlights are provided here by his own hand:

"I was born and raised in Mexico City in a Christian home.  I received Christ at age fourteen.  My father was a pastor who educated me in God's Word.

Since I was a child I was taught music by ear.  I graduated from the Technological University of Mexico in 1987 with a Bachelor degree in Business Administration.  I married Nancy in 1989 and we have three children Yozy (21), Benjy (20), and Israel (12).  I studied guitar for two years with various private teachers and from 2003 to 2005 in the Higher School of Musical Composition and Arrangement in Mexico City.  I also studied studio recording and sound engineering from 1997 to 2000.

God called me to the ministry when I was age 16 and I began to work with Campus Crusade in Mexico through a music ministry called Mexico 80.  I also served with various evangelistic musical ministries such as "Tierra Prometida" (Promised Land).  I worked with Christian recording and touring artists such as "Torre Fuerte," Yuri, Maria del Sol, Ana Gabriel, and others, either playing guitar or engineering sound.

God allowed me to study at the Rio Grande Bible Institute in Edinburg, Texas where I graduated in 2010 with a Bachelor degree with a pastoral ministry concentration.

God brought me to Calvary by the invitation of Mark Richardson where I ended up serving as interim in the Spanish Language Ministry with Pastor Rolando Aguirre."

We are grateful for the life and ministry of Benjamin Aguirre.  Let us pray as we consider the opportunity of affirming his call through ordination.

Texas Baptists Family Gathering

The Texas Baptist Family consists of about 5,500 churches in Texas of multiple ethnicities and languages.  This year a "Gathering" of this Texas Baptist Family has been planned for July 14-17 in San Antonio.  This is a historic event.  Usually the annual meeting of the Baptist General Convention of Texas (BGCT) takes place in the fall.  Throughout the year other BGCT-affiliated fellowships also have their annual meetings such as the Hispanic Baptist Convention (Convención), the African-American Fellowship, the Vietamese Fellowship, the Chinese Fellowship and the Western-Heritage ministry (Cowboy churches).  When the BGCT met in McAllen a couple of years ago, messengers voted to have a gathering of all these fellowships in one place at one time every five years to celebrate what God is doing throughout the state in our churches and ministries.  This is the first one of those!

The various fellowships will have their meetings throughout the day, workshops of different kinds will be offered, and each night there will be a corporate worship celebration (including the Lord's Supper on one of the nights).  Because the meeting is in the summer there will be a track for students and a day camp for children.  There will even be a "Baptist Day" at Fiesta Texas on Saturday.  You can see more information about the schedule, the venue, the speakers and the hotel block here: Texas Baptist Family Gathering

Any interested person is welcome to attend.  Any Calvary member may be elected as a messenger.  A messenger is able to vote on officer elections, budget adoptions and other decisions brought to the floor.  Any Calvary member, at his/her request, may be elected as a messenger to the BGCT and/or to "Convención" (and to any other fellowship he/she might be interested in).  If you or someone you know would like to serve as a messenger to this meeting(s), please contact Alma Escobar in our church office by Friday, April 19 and indicate to which of the conventions/fellowship you would like to be a messenger.  (Keep in mind that you can be a messenger to more than one of these regardless of which service you attend at Calvary or of your ethnicity.  This is based on your interest only).  On Sunday, April 21, the church will vote to elect the messengers.

Whether you plan to attend as a messenger or simply as a participant, I encourage you to check out the hotel information at your earliest convenience since there are number and date limitations on this block.

Church in Conference on April 21st

On Sunday April 21st we will hold our spring Church in Conference at 6:30 PM.  Please note the items that we will be considering so that you can be prepared in prayer and otherwise.  In addition to hearing reports, the church will also:

1. Entertain nominations (from the nominating committee and the Coordinating Council) to fill committee vacancies;
2. Entertain nominations (from the nominating committee) for part of the 2013 Deacon Screening and Nominating Committee;
3. Have an opportunity to elect messengers to the Texas Baptist Gathering in San Antonio this summer.  (Click on the link to find out more information).  If you would like to be elected a messenger, please notify our office by Friday, April 19;
4. Entertain a motion (from the Coordinating Council) to elect a "Music and Worship Staff Study Committee."  Please pray and think about names of people who might serve in this committee.  If you have names submit them to Joe Averill, chairman of the Coordinating Council.  See more information about this subject by clicking here: Music and Worship Interim Plan
5. Entertain a motion (from the Ordaining Council) to ordain Benjamin Aguirre to the ministry;
6. Entertain a recommendation (from Pastor Rolando Aguirre) to license Raul San Martin (who has been pastoring our Sullivan City mission for over a year) to the ministry.  Raul will share his testimony during the Church in Conference.

We will gather as Church in Conference in our worship center.  As usual, we will begin our time with worship through singing and prayer as we seek God's direction and blessing on all we do.  The reports and documents for the Church in Conference will be available for downloading from our webpage this weekend.  We provide these documents on-line for two purposes: (1) We want the congregation to have an opportunity to see the reports before the actual meeting; (2) We want to reduce the amount of paper copies we make in order to save resources.

Please plan to participate and encourage Calvary members to do so also.

Music and Worship Interim Plan

     Since our Pastor for Music and Worship position is currently vacant, I have worked over the last several weeks, in coordination with the personnel committee and the coordinating council, to put an interim plan in place.  The search process for a pastoral position can be a lengthy one.  And it should be so.  We do not want to rush filling such an important position.

     The interim plan for music and worship will consist of a team of individuals with special skill sets in order to address the needs in each area.  They are,

• Jared Solis, Media & Worship Associate.  Jared will continue to be the one to coordinate all logistical and communication aspects for all three worship services.  He will be in charge of the administrative aspect of the music and worship ministry.  Jared will also continue to be the worship leader for the 11 o'clock service.
• Andy Muskrat, Interim Worship Pastor for the 9:30 service.  Andy (biographical information below) will be in charge of planning the 9:30 worship experience with special attention to congregational singing.  He will lead worship for the 9:30 service and play the piano/keyboard for the 11 o'clock service.  He will be available to help in both the 11 o'clock and 12:30 services as needed.  (Chad Mason will lead the 9:30 service on April 7).
• Chuck Olson, Interim Choir Director (9:30 service).  Chuck will lead the choir rehearsal on Wednesday nights and the choir song in the 9:30 service.
• Diann Whisnand, Interim Assistant to the Choir Director (9:30 service).  Diann will assist Chuck with the direction of the choir and will also assist with orchestra coordination.  
• Benjamin Aguirre, SLM Associate.  Benjamin will continue to lead the 12:30 service in addition to this pastoral responsibilities in the Spanish Language Ministry.
• Kathleen Beecher, Music & Worship Ministry Assistant.  Kathleen will continue to provide administrative support to the music and worship ministry.

The personnel committee has approved this plan already.  It is effective this week with the exception of Andy Muskrat who begins work next week.  Chad Mason will be filling in for the 9:30 service this Sunday, April 7.  The agreement with those holding "interim" in their titles (Andy, Chuck and Diann) is initially through the end of May with the possibility of extending it through the summer and beyond if things work out on both sides.

     All of these, with the exception of Andy Muskrat, have already been very involved and deeply invested in the music and worship ministry under the leadership of Mark Richardson.  The one new element is Andy.  So let me tell you a little about Andy.  First, here is his photo:

Andy currently lives in the Waco area (China Spring).  He was born in Joplin, Missouri, accepted Christ at the age of 7, grew up in Buenos Aires, Argentina, as a child of (IMB) music missionaries (his parents taught at the Baptist Seminary in Buenos Aires).  Andy is married to Heather Rebecca Ward and they have two boys: Jacob (age 2) and Braeden (6 months).  Andy received a B.M. degree with piano emphasis from Baylor University (Waco) in 2005 and an M.A. in Worship from B. H. Carroll Theological Institute (Arlington, Texas) in 2012.  He was ordained to the ministry by First Baptist Church, Bentonville, Arkansas, where he served on the music and worship staff.  He has served on the music and worship staff in several churches including First Baptist, Bentonville, Arkansas; High Pointe Baptist, Cedar Hill, Texas; and First Presbyterian, Hillsboro, Texas.  Andy is a very talented pianist, worship leader and is fluent in English and Spanish.  Since our 9:30 service is a "classy" blend of traditional and contemporary worship music, Andy is an excellent fit.  He has knowledge and appreciation of both worship styles.  This delicate balance is a rare find.  He will be commuting from the Waco area each weekend.  We are blessed to count on him during the interim time.

     Our bylaws make provision for the search process of pastoral staff positions.  At the adequate time, the Church in Conference will elect a search committee that will work to find a candidate for the church to consider calling.  The Coordinating Council (made up of all the administrative committee chairpersons and the chairman of deacons) and I feel like it would be important at this point in the life of Calvary to evaluate and assess the current reality and needs of our church in relation to music and worship.  Thus, at our next Church in Conference (April 21st), rather than recommending the election of a search committee, the Coordinating Council will bring a recommendation of electing a "Music and Worship Staff Study Committee."  This committee would be tasked with the responsibility of studying, evaluating and assessing current music and worship needs with a view to developing the profile for a future Pastor for Music and Worship.  If you have suggestions of names for this study committee, please send them to me julio@calvarymcallen.org or to Joe Averill joe@averillbuilders.com chairman of the Coordinating Council (and of the personnel committee).  This committee will report back to the Personnel Committee.  Once their work is done, the church may elect a search committee to look for a candidate that will fit the profile.

     Most importantly, please pray much.  Pray for Mark and the Richardson family in their transition.  Pray for our current Music and Worship team.  Pray for the study and search process.  Pray for Calvary.  This is a time to fully depend on God for his blessing, power and direction.  When we rely on Him and we follow his direction, then at the end of the day, He will receive all the glory.  Ultimately, worship is more than our Sunday morning services.  It is the giving of all the glory to God in everything that we do.