Pastoral Questionnaire Responses

Transcription

1 Pastoral Questionnaire Responses Personal Information Name: Lance Augsburger Address: 418 NW Arlan Dr. #8, Ankeny, IA Phone (cell): Age (DOB): 31 (8/18/1985) Family: My wife, Carrie (Johnson) Augsburger, and I have been married since March 2, We both have a deep love for the local church and enjoy serving the Lord there. We look forward to doing so in a full-time capacity. EDUCATION AND TRAINING School: Graduation Date: Degree/Major: Rolling Meadows High School June, 2003 High School Diploma Faith Baptist Bible College May, 2006 B.A. in Local Church Ministry/Greek Faith Baptist Theological Seminary May, 2009 M.A. in Theological Studies; M.Div. Honors/Awards: Biblical Studies Award, Excellence in preaching Award; Delta Epsilon Chi Award, Ralph Turk Preaching Award. FUN TIDBITS Just to introduce ourselves, I ll share a little about our personalities, interests, and so forth. I am quiet by nature, but I also enjoy interacting with people. I love to make people laugh or smile or groan, depending on the response they have to my dry sense of humor. I enjoy music I played the piano and trumpet for many years, but I m out of practice, and I play the guitar. I also enjoy singing especially with my wife. I enjoy most sports, though soccer is definitely my favorite. I played for many years and have coached for the past 8 years. My favorite subjects, before college, were math and science and especially physics since it involved both! My passion, however, is to share God s Word with people. My favorite thing to do in my spare time is to spend time with my wife, Carrie! She s amazing. God began our relationship as a vibrant friendship that has grown deep and strong and fun! We love to spend time together. Carrie is the perfect teammate for me. She loves the Lord and walks faithfully with Him. She is a great encouragement to me in this way. She also loves people. She loves to get together with others for coffee and conversations, and frequently asks me if we can have people over for meals. She has a great smile, and smiles often. Though she is quiet, she has an easy laugh (she laughs at my jokes!) and a deep care for people. She thinks of others and asks perceptive, caring questions in conversation. She is the more compassionate of the two of us. She is tender and sensitive to the pains that others feel. All that to say, you ll love getting to know her! She loves music and plays the piano and flute, and has a beautiful alto voice. We enjoy just about all food, but especially Mexican food and especially fajitas, and chips, and salsa, and guacamole. There s plenty more food we like, and there s plenty more we could share, but that s enough for now.

2 MINISTRY DIRECTION Testimony of Salvation I was born into a Christian home. My dad, Bryan Augsburger, is a pastor (pastoring, in fact the same church as he was when I was born! He s been at First Baptist Church of Arlington Heights for 34 years!). He and my mom sought to raise us to love the Lord. I heard the gospel many times in those early years, but God decided to open my understanding to my personal need to be saved on a Sunday morning. I was in Sunday School listening to the teacher explain that we have all sinned against God and deserve punishment for our sins. That punishment is death. But God showed his love for us by sending His Son, Jesus, to die in our place. While I had heard all of this before, God helped my little six-year-old mind understand that I needed a Savior, and that Jesus died for me. While I knew the truths of the gospel, I had never trusted Jesus to save me. So that morning I talked to the Sunday School teacher and she helped me to ask Jesus to save me from my sins. I was excited about my decision and went to tell my dad. He walked through the details with me to make sure I genuinely understood. I was baptized a few years later, around the age of 9, to publically show my obedience to Christ. God s Leading From as early as I can remember (probably even before I trusted Jesus) I wanted to be a pastor. I think mainly it was the typical boy s longing to be like his dad, and I wanted to be like mine! I continued with that goal all through elementary school, junior high, and high school. It actually provided a number of opportunities to share the gospel most of my public school friends had no idea what a pastor was. During my junior year of High School, I was more seriously confronted with the question of my college education and future employment. I was assigned a college counselor at my High School, who helped me interpret various personality tests and such, to determine what degree, career, and college would best fit me. As I thought more seriously about the future, I decided that I shouldn t become a pastor simply because my dad was a pastor. I began to consider other careers. The field of engineering was attractive to me. I enjoyed math and science and a few of my friends were planning to pursue engineering, too. At the same time, God was working in other ways. In my personal devotions, I had recently been impacted by the first few verses of 2 Timothy chapter 4. While I had read these verses before, I believe God s Spirit was especially highlighting them to me at that time to impress upon me the importance of preaching the Word! Also at that time, I was given the opportunity to prepare and preach a sermon. My dad helped me to study the passage carefully, construct an outline, and add beneficial application and illustration. I found that I thoroughly enjoyed the process of sermon preparation, and preaching. Specifically, I found the opportunity to explain the Word of God to spiritually needy people the most exhilarating thing I had ever done! That experience, along with God s work through my personal devotions, cemented my resolve that God was leading me toward pastoral ministry. There is nothing more valuable, or exciting, than opportunities to explain God s Word to people, and to watch Him change their lives. Therefore, by God s direction, I have given my life to this task. Objective I am seeking to serve God in full-time ministry. My desire is to do this in the context of the local church, as a pastor. I have a deep passion for opportunities to see God s Word change lives through counseling, teaching, and especially preaching. I look forward to doing these things in whatever capacity and context God allows. Family Focus Carrie and I have a deep love for the local church and enjoy serving the Lord there. Currently we both work at Faith Baptist Bible College. She is the Dean of Women and I am the Dean of Students. We get to work together every day and it is a blessing! We are both heavily involved in counseling and discipleship. This is a source of great joy, since we are both passionate about these avenues for ministry. The only major down side (which isn t really a down side at all) to our current ministries is that they are through a para-church organization rather than primarily in a

3 local church. We truly enjoy our jobs, and are thankful for them. We find great fulfillment in the opportunities to share the Word with such impressionable college students. MINISTRY EXPERIENCE I am not ordained, nor have I ever been a pastor. However, God has faithfully provided opportunities to serve in pastor-like roles over the past few years. They include the following ministry experiences, listed in chronological order, past to present: Position (Organization): Dates: Ministry Experience: Summer Ministry Team (FBBC) Summers Singing, serving, ministering to people, preaching regularly. Chorale Chaplain (FBBC) Give spiritual leadership, devotionals before every concert. Youth Leader (Faith Baptist Church) 2004-Present Disciple teens, lead singing, share devotionals as needed. Assistant Soccer Coach (FBBC) 2007-Present Spiritual Leadership, discipleship Assistant Dean of Men (FBBC) Disciple/Counsel students Students Alive! Director (GARBC) 2009-Present Plan and run a week-long teen conference (theme, speakers, activities, music, etc.) Sunday School Teacher (FBC) 2011-Present Teach, lead, and care for class Dean of Men & Chaplain (FBBC) Oversee daily chapel, schedule speakers, facilitate activities, supervise and manage men s dorms and Resident Advisors, disciple and counsel students Dean of Students (FBBC) 2013-Present Oversee Student Life Department (consisting of: Dean of Women, Assistant Dean of Men, Assistant Dean of Women, Nurse), Resident Advisors, campus housing, discipline, activities, and events. Disciple and counsel students. Deacon (FBC) 2014-Present Support the Pastor, serve the Body, lead spiritually. Council Member (BMM) 2015-Present Attend all Baptist Mid-Missions council meetings, support Mission and missionaries. Philosophy and Practice PERSONAL GROWTH I believe the one thing that has the greatest impact on the effectiveness of a pastor s ministry is his personal relationship with God. It is difficult, and at least ineffective, for a pastor to draw his flock to the proper awe, worship, trust, and obedience of God if these things are not existent in his personal life. It is the glory of God the very radiance of His image formed in us that impacts and changes people. We cannot grow in our brightness, or even keep ourselves from fading, unless we spend regular consistent time in His presence, knowing Him. I make it my aim to get up early every day to spend quiet, focused time with Him reading Scripture and praying.

4 Furthermore, I seek to keep my gaze on Him throughout the day. I believe this relational time in the Word, seeking to know God, ought to be kept separate from sermon preparation, though it will certainly impact sermon preparation. Currently I am studying various passages through a devotional book entitled At the Throne, by John MacArthur. THE CHURCH Purpose The primary purpose of the church is to glorify God. Ephesians 3:20-21 remind us, Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Clearly, the church is to glorify God. It is then important to understand how God wants the church to glorify Him. There are many specific instructions in the New Testament regarding the proper function of the local church. I have found it easiest to divide them into three general categories: (1) The church s relationship to God, (2) The church s relationship to its members, and (3) the church s relationship to the world. (1) Since glorifying God is the primary purpose of the church, this first category may be the most important for the church to get right. God has clear instructions regarding the relationship of the local church to himself. The church is the body of Christ, and He is the head, so it must submit to Him in all things (Ephesians 1:22-23; 5:23-24) and demonstrate the unity brought by His Spirit (Ephesians 4:1-6). The church is to worship Him (Colossians 3:15-17; Ephesians 5:18-20). Both the content and form of worship ought to be pleasing to Him. (2) Regarding the church s function in relationship to its members, God provides many instructions. Most of them related to the church s responsibility to edify its members, and thereby be built up toward Christlikeness (Ephesians 4:11-16). (3) The church has clear and important instructions regarding its relationship with the world. These instructions may be best summarized by the command to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 1:8) which involves evangelism, testimony discipleship, and more. The Pastor The pastor (shepherd) of a local church has a few God-given roles in the church. He is to shepherd the flock (1 Peter 5:1). Shepherding involves leading the flock by ministering the Word, primarily through preaching (2 Timothy 4:1-4) counseling, example (Hebrews 13:7), and prayer (Acts 6:4). The pastor is also accountable to equip the members to do the work of the ministry (Ephesians 4:11-13). The pastor should be primarily devoted to preaching the Word, and prayer. However, he also leads the church by example (Hebrews 13:7) in His relationship with God, worship, evangelism & discipleship, and so on. My desire would be to say, with Paul, Imitate me as I imitate Christ. (1 Corinthians 11:1). The following paragraphs will explain my philosophy and desired practice in a few pastoral areas. Relationship with God As I mentioned in an earlier paragraph. This is the most important thing in any person s life. As a pastor, I would aim to maintain a vibrant walk with God and to lead others to do the same. Preaching Preaching is one of the primary ministries of the Pastor and the local church. Based on Scripture teaching about the power of the Word in preaching (2 Timothy 3:16-4:10; Hebrews 4:12), I believe in the exegetical preaching of the Word. While I am not opposed to topical messages, the primary ministry of the Word ought to be careful exposition of passages of Scripture. Topical preaching lends itself to forming sermons around the views and ideas

5 of the preacher, rather than Scripture. A preacher ought to be as unoriginal as possible, obtaining even his outlines from the text of Scripture if possible. A Pastor ought to be able to devote ample time to sermon preparation each week, giving careful study to the original languages, the historical context, and the proper interpretation of a passage. The preparation ought to include time to consider practical illustrations and pertinent, personal applications for the congregation to consider. The delivery ought to reflect the passage and the work of the Holy Spirit on the preacher s life during the preparation of the sermon. I make it my aim to include a presentation of the gospel in most sermons, though I do not believe the gospel is mentioned in every passage of Scripture. Evangelism & Discipleship I believe that discipleship is the process of teaching [all nations] to observe all things that I have commanded you (Matthew 28:19-20). The process of discipleship begins with evangelism - sharing the good news of Jesus death and resurrection for sinners with the lost so they would trust in Him for salvation, and follow Him in new life. I think it would be important, as a pastor, to lead the way in evangelism & discipleship. Currently, I seek to be involved in discipleship in a number of ways. I teach a Sunday School class each week. During the school year, I meet weekly with young men (individually) to personally disciple them. I work with a small group of 3-5 young men from my church for weekly discipleship. I meet weekly with a long-time friend and mentor for personal accountability and discipleship. I participate in a weekly community indoor soccer program in order to develop contact with the lost. I would like to continue some of these things and add more! Music & Worship Music was created for God s glory, and should be used to that end. Any music (or lyric) which promotes ideas that are opposed to the character of God, or the truth which he has revealed to us in His Word, is sinful. Music is an important part of the Christian life and should influence the believer toward godliness and benefit those seeking to walk in the Spirit. Music ought to help believers put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh. It should be held loosely and abandoned promptly if necessary for the pursuit of Christ, the benefit of fellow believers, or the testimony of Christ to unbelievers. By definition, worship is intended to declare the worth of God. It is to magnify His beauty, to praise His glory. I like Les Ollila s definition of worship: The response of my mind, will, and emotion prompted by the indwelling Holy Spirit to the Person of God and the precepts of God as revealed in the inspired Word of God. It is both structured and spontaneous, congregational and personal, resulting in adoration, agreement and action out of love for God, to the glory of God. Scripture teaches that we are to worship God in Spirit and in truth (John 4:24). This means that Worship should flow from our submission to the Holy Spirit in us, and should reflect the truth of God, expressed in His Word. Worship takes many forms, including preaching, meditating, prayer, singing, talking. The common essential qualities being that it be about God, for God, and for His glory, not for the worshipper. Regarding traditional or contemporary style in worship, I consider myself more moderate. I think each part (of the worship service), each song, and each decision must be considered in light of God s glory. We worship on His terms. Healthy worship will likely involve classic, deep, theological hymns, as well as new songs that are rich with meaning, and reflect the truths of God s Word. Music accompaniment ought to draw attention to the text of the song and should not be overly loud, distracting, or offensive. PowerPoint slides can be helpful to get people from singing down into a songbook. Worship is not a feeling, so the music should not intentionally manipulate emotions. A variety of instruments may be used in worship, as long as it isn t distracting. Special music is fine from time to time, but should not be forced into every service. As people are led by the Spirit to minister in this way with their God-given gifts, and have sufficiently prepared in advance, a testimony in song can be a great encouragement to the believers, and worshipful to God.

6 Leadership My own leadership style is to lead by example. I am able, when needed, to take vocal leadership in a situation, but my natural style of leadership is to show the way by my own actions. Strengths and Weaknesses I tend to be sensitive to others. I am generally aware if they are happy or upset. This helps me to reach out to them and care for them if they have needs. On the other hand, I can be swayed by people. It is an easy temptation to do something with the motive of making people happy rather than primarily for God s glory. I tend to be a peacemaker and people pleaser, which can be a strength and weakness. It helps me to avoid conflicts in general, and helps in conflict resolution. Though I am not naturally confrontational, I have learned to confront sin in my role as the Dean of Students. I seek to be disciplined in my own use of time. While I do try to balance ministry and family, it is the conviction of my wife and I that we have life so that we can give and serve. It is our joy to spend and be spent for the souls of people (2 Corinthians 12:15). I have not been a pastor, but can see the importance of delegating certain tasks so that my weekly hours reflect the priorities of Scripture: prayer and the ministry of the Word (Acts 6). I like to think ahead and plan. I work hard to be well prepared for tasks and situations. I am very task oriented and I like to accomplish a lot with my time. This is good, but can result in impatience or frustration when people get in the way of my plans, or when God redirects my path. I am thankful for God s patience with me, and grace to help me grow in these areas! Missions The local church s participation in world missionary efforts is the result of a desire to glorify God by making disciples of all nations. In the natural process of growth and moving of the Holy Spirit, I believe God leads His people to take the gospel of God s glory to all of the people of the world. Members of local churches have the opportunity to participate in such worldwide discipleship by praying, giving toward missions, going on missions trips, or going themselves as missionaries. Again, the focus of all missions work is God s glory, which should never be sacrificed in the name of missions work. It is important that any missionaries and missions agencies have deep affinity with the doctrine and practice of the supporting local church. It is a matter of integrity that the monies of the church be used to support and promote ministries that match its convictions and practice. DOCTRINE I am in agreement with the Doctrinal Statements of the GARBC and Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary, which can be found online for review. I have read Maranatha s Covenant, Statement of Faith, and constitution, and I am in agreement. Views on Controversial Issues (not addressed in the Statement of Faith of MBC) These are brief summaries of my views on a variety of controversial issues. Bible Translations Regarding Bible translations, I prefer to use the New King James Version for general use. This is simply because I ve used it for many years and I m familiar with it! I appreciate the King James Version, but prefer not to use it because it isn t written in today s English. I enjoy reading the English Standard Version, the New American Standard, the Holman Christian Standard, the NIV, and from time to time the New Living Translation. I prefer literal translations as opposed to paraphrases especially for study, preaching, and teaching. Marriage and Divorce While there is some debate about the nuances of God s instruction on divorce, I believe a few things are very clear. God s design for marriage is lifelong unity between a man and a woman. I believe all divorce is a sin in that it falls

7 short of God s perfect design for marriage. I also believe God s grace through the cross is great enough to cover and cleanse the sin of divorce! I do not believe there are any exceptions that make divorce ok. The believer s pursuit should always be unity in marriage. Divorce and Service in the Church While the preceding paragraph highlights Scripture s teaching that God is opposed to divorce, the sad reality is that many couples do go through divorce. The great likelihood is that there are and/or will be members of any local church who are divorced. This raises the question of service. The primary issue is whether the man (or woman) is qualified for their desired service position. Thus, we must consider their maturity, and spiritual state. It should be clear that the individual is walking with God and has repented of the sin of divorce. The nature of the service position is also important. I support Maranatha s constitution, which states that a divorced man (or one married to a divorced woman) cannot serve as a Pastor or Deacon (or SS superintendent). Divorce and Remarriage Can someone who is divorced remarry? This may be the most difficult issue in the list. To summarize my view, divorce (and remarriage) is sin. They transgress God s design for lifelong union. However, God does seem to recognize second marriages as valid. In my view, it seems to be that a second marriage then nullifies the first marriage. So, in rare cases, a spouse that did not seek divorce, but rather pursued unity and reconciliation, who was ultimately divorced, and whose spouse remarried to another, may be free to remarry. It would also depend on the person s spiritual state, repentance, desires, and so forth. Such a remarriage should never be pursued rather the unity of the first marriage should be the goal. God s recognition of second marriages seems to be the result of His grace and healing in broken situations. Scripture is clear that the death of a spouse does allow the living spouse to remarry. This is the only sinless form of remarriage. Due to the difficulty of these situations, I would not personally remarry anyone. Women in Ministry I believe that men and women were created equal, but with different roles. We see similar equality with varied roles in the persons of the Trinity. Thus, God has many important roles for women in His body. Based on His instruction regarding these roles, I would uphold the constitution of Maranatha that women should not serve as Pastors or Deacons. I would also say that Scripture seems to prohibit women taking roles of spiritual authority over men. So, for instance, I would not have a woman teach a Sunday School class with men in it. I would promote and encourage women to teach women and children! Finances/Debt The local church must be careful concerning finances, understanding that it is dealing with God s money. All church spending must be considered prayerfully, in submission to God s Spirit, and the teaching of Scripture. I do not believe Scripture prohibits loans as they currently operate. While there are a few passages that teach about the folly of being indebted or owing something to someone else, I believe these do not apply in situations where an agreement has been made with a bank and the church or individual is on a regular repayment plan. As long as they pay on time according to the plan, they are not indebted and do not owe in the sense that Scripture prohibits. Dress As with all aspects of local church ministry, the primary focus should be God s glory. Therefore, the church ought to consider that dress in the various ministries of the church ought to be modest (meaning they are not intended to draw attention to self). Neither gender should dress in a way that draws undue attention to self, or the physical body. Believers ought to be concerned for their brothers and sisters in Christ and avoid dressing in a way that might cause temptation to sin. I think it is healthy to dress up for church as a means of worship to God. Showing that I value Him and His glory. In Iowa this may take many forms, depending on what a person wears consistently

8 through the week and what dressing up may look like on Sunday. Regardless, we ought not to judge one another in terms of righteousness and sanctification based on outward dress, but rather love! Education The Lord has not blessed us with children, so we have not come to any hard and fast conclusions. Carrie and I were both education in the public school system. We greatly value the education and experience we had. God s grace was abundant. I see strengths and weaknesses to public school, Christian school, and home school educations. I think each family needs to consider their situation, their children, and their values to make a wise, God-honoring decision in this area. If I had to make a choice now, I d probably choose to send my children to the public school, depending on the results of some research into the specific school system in any given area. VISION I am excited about the potential at Maranatha Baptist Church. The times I have preached here, I have sensed a tenderness to the Word of God and to the work of God s Spirit in the person s life. With these foundations, there s no limit to what God can do at Maranatha! I do not know where God will take Maranatha in the future, but here are some exciting possibilities in my view: Grimes All the way back to the church s establishment, one of the goals has been to reach the city of Grimes. By God s grace, we can transform Grimes! It would be wonderful to see many people in Grimes come to know Jesus Christ as Savior, and begin to attend Maranatha. I would love to see Maranatha adopt Grimes as its mission field. Maybe God would even work in some of our lives to move us to the mission field to live in Grimes and reach the people here for Christ! Here are a few ideas for Maranatha in the area of evangelism, and reaching Grimes: A Preaching series through Mark called Who is Jesus and what does it mean to follow Him? An Evening Series/Sunday school series on the gospel, training in sharing your faith, regular testimonies in church of personal salvation or witnessing opportunities, praying for open doors, new move-in gift baskets, visitor follow-up, soccer camps, ESL, fitness class, basketball, Sportsman's Adventure, advertising (more signs: on building, on 141, around town), facebook and internet presence, better assimilation between programs (Awana, VBS, Youth Group), evangelistic Bible Study materials (Stranger book, etc.), counseling, and so forth. Growth When I say growth, I don t have numbers in mind. I envision each member of Maranatha Baptist Church taking the next steps in their walk of faith: unbelievers getting saved, new believers being disciples, mature believers discipling and being disciple, increased evangelism, and commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ! I long to see each believer grow in their love for Jesus Christ as their earthly attachments diminish. Multiplication As the Lord blesses in the first two goals, I believe He will grow the church numerically. Since Maranatha is a church plant, church planting is a part of its DNA! As God allows, I see Maranatha having a crucial role in planting and/or revitalizing numerous churches in central Iowa.