Baptist Standard/Common Call

          Our staff recently went on retreat to evaluate ministry at Calvary and to talk about the direction God would have us to take this year.  One of the items we identified as needing our attention is communication.  We realize we need to do a better job of communicating with the congregation and our community what our vision, values, programs and events are.  We will be working on improving our bulletin, webpage, worship slides, e-mail, verbal communication, etc.

          One of the areas of communication that I believe is important for our leaders, if not for the entire congregation, has to do with information about the broader Baptist family and Christian community.  Calvary is a church that is affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas, also known as Texas Baptists.  We are strong financial supporters of mission, benevolence and education endeavors through the Texas Baptist Cooperative Program.  I believe that the more informed you as a leader are in regard to our Texas Baptist Family, the stronger our congregation will be.

         It is for that reason that I have requested a subscription of two publications for you: (1) Common Call: The Baptist Standard Magazine, and (2) Baptist Standard, Digital Edition.  The Common Call publication is a new monthly magazine from Baptist Standard Publishing.  It will be mailed to your home each month and it contains stories about everyday Christians who put their faith in action.  Additionally, it explores topics like missions, evangelism, family life, leadership and effective ministry.  The Baptist Standard, which has converted from a print to an entirely digital publication available on computers, tablets and mobile devices, will be e-mailed to you every other Monday.  The Standard will maintain its focus on Baptists, religion around the globe, trends affecting faith and life, missions and ministries, and faithful people.  If do not receive an e-mail from the Baptist Standard, this week, please let me know.  (Make sure that you add info@baptiststandard.com to your address book and check your junk mail folder for it).  You can read the Standard in its e-mail form, using the links to direct you to different stories.  You can also set up a user name and password in order to login and access previous issues of the standard and use other features of the page.

          You may also access the page directly and sign in through there:

http://www.baptiststandard.com

          You may know that the Baptist Standard is a self-supporting organization and it is not owned by the BGCT, which means it can speak to issues with freedom.  I have known Marv Knox to be a very professional, knowledgable and trustworthy editor for many years. I am grateful for his fine work and the contribution it makes to God's kingdom.

        Enjoy the publications and let us know how we might be of help to you.

Staff Re-Organization

February is here!  It seems like Christmas was just a few days ago! We have started the New Year by calling Chad Mason as our Pastor for Mobilization and Global Impact (with a 100% affirmative vote).  We also have worked with a "provisional" staff plan.  We are now functioning on a new faith budget and have had the highest January giving on record for Calvary! (see chart below; you may click on it to enlarge the image):

We are grateful to God for such a great start to this promising year.    As the month of February has arrived, we will begin to implement a staff re-organization that has been in the works for sometime.  The personnel committee approved this plan in 2012.  The plan consists of distributing the pastoral and associates staff into three primary teams:

1. The Discipleship/Missions & SLM Team
2. The Music/Worship & Communications Team
3. The Administration & Pastoral Ministries Team

See the chart below (you can click on it to enlarge the image):





















(You can also access this chart by clicking on the link below:)


Team Chart 2013

As we continue to discover what it means to Love God, Love People and Live His Mission, we realize that we must (1) have vibrant congregational worship as we encounter God's presence, hear His voice and receive His power; (2) grow as disciples in community with one another and in service to the world around us;  and (3) care for our congregation and channel our resources for the fulfillment of God's mission.  Thus,

1. The Discipleship/Missions & SLM Team will focus on helping our children, students, adults and families grow as disciples in community with one another.  The perspective of each disciple engaging in God's mission will be integrated into this discipleship strategy.  As we do this, we will strive to keep unity, alignment and synergy between our English Language Ministry (ELM) and our Spanish Language Ministry (SLM).  This is the team with the most pastoral and associate staff members because it is where we hope to focus much of our efforts over the next year or two.  Click here to see a roster of the staff members who relate to this team (or scroll to the bottom): Discipleship/Missions & SLM Team Roster
2. The Music/Worship & Communications Team will focus on helping to provide worship experiences that will express the uniqueness and the diversity with which God has gifted Calvary.  The emphasis will be to seek God's glory and presence as a spiritual family.  We are committed to continue English language worship in musical styles that express who we are as a congregation and that are relevant to those we seek to reach.  We continue to be committed to offering Spanish language worship also.  In order to celebrate our corporate identity as the larger Calvary family, on occasion, we seek opportunities to worship bilingually.  However, this is not meant to replace the English-only and Spanish-only weekly worship experiences.  Furthermore, this team will work on developing more effective communication strategies so that the entire Calvary family is well informed of what takes place in our church.  Click here to see a roster of the staff members who relate to this team (or scroll to the bottom):  Music/Worship & Communications Staff Team Roster
3. The Administration & Pastoral Ministries Team has the function of providing support for our congregation.  Our pastoral ministries aspect seeks to foster the caring-for-each-other aspect in our congregation, especially those who are ill, bereaved or shut-in.  The administration aspect seeks to channel the resources that God has given us for His glory and His mission by utilizing sensible and wise stewardship principles.  Click here to see a roster of the staff members who relate to this team (or scroll to the bottom): Administration and Pastoral Ministries Team Roster

The team leaders, as shown in the documents above, will be Rolando Aguirre, Mark Richardson and Chad Mason (assistant team leader).  As Lead Pastor, I will work closely with these team leaders and with the rest of the pastoral staff to develop strategies that strengthen our congregation so that we can fulfill God's mission.

We hope that this reorganization into teams will help us be more effective as a church in the accomplishment of our mission.  Although the re-organization is effective immediately, there are some aspects that will transition slowly.  We appreciate your patience as we implement the changes.  We will strive to make this changes as convenient as possible for you as a Calvary leader. We understand that our role is to equip leaders and members, and to provide the resources you need so that you can do the ministry God has called you to do (Ephesians 4:11-12).  We know we sometimes fall short of doing this but we desire to improve in it.  That is why your feedback is really important to us.

As our staff held its retreat last week, one of the things we decided to do was to listen more to the needs of the Calvary leaders and other volunteers.  Please know that we are ready to do so.  The pastoral staff will be seeking opportunities to listen to you so that we can do a better job of resourcing and equipping.

Above all, as a staff we covet your prayers and we commit to praying for you.  Thank you for all you do for the Lord through Calvary and beyond.  It is good to be on board with such a gifted army of leaders!  We are blessed!