Pastor Nate Toso

Pastor Nate has accepted another call and his last Sunday at Beaver Lake will be November 3, 2019. Join us after service to celebrate his time with us and to wish him well!

An eloquent reminder from our last transition from Pastor Mike Peterson:

“Change” is the essence of interim and interim ministry.  Let’s be up front and honest about this transition period between pastors: change is happening.

We are transitioning from the former into the future.

A good scripture reference is Mark 1: 29-39.  After Jesus heals Peter’s mother-in-law we read that the whole town gathered at the door and Jesus healed many who had various diseases.  Early the next morning he disappeared.  Peter and friends went to look for him…they hunted him down…and when they found him they wanted him to return to town because there was a huge public demand for him.

But Jesus said…”Let us go somewhere else…”  Really?!?!  They had a successful ministry going and Jesus wanted to leave it behind.  Peter wanted to go back to the good times of yesterday.  Jesus wanted to move forward.

Pastor Brian Stoffregren says it most eloquently:

“In this event, we have the first dispute between Jesus and his disciples. This dispute might be characterized as the disciples' (and people's) desire to have Jesus go back to where he was vs. Jesus' desire to move ahead to new areas. Jesus did not come to keep the gospel hidden in Capernaum, but to spread it throughout Galilee and Judea and the world. What is so enticing about "going back" is all the successes back in Capernaum. Miracles were happening. People were being cured. The entire city was at the door. There has been no opposition to Jesus and his ministry. Who wouldn't want to continue such "successes" in ministry?. A family systems approach stresses the fact that much of the unhealth in systems (and congregations) is caused by being stuck in past successes -- continuing to do the same old things when they are no longer appropriate or no longer effective. In order for Jesus to fulfill his mission, he had to leave behind his successes in Capernaum.”  (Crossmarks.com)

One of the Developmental Tasks of an Intentional Interim period is to become friends with our congregation’s history.  This means acknowledging the past successes, struggles, failures, sorrows and joys…and then forgiving myself and others… or celebrating…and then moving on.  It doesn’t mean that we forget what happened, it means that we learn from our past and we use those lessons to propel us into the future.  It also doesn’t mean that we try to keep the gospel hidden in the past (our own comfortable Capernaum).

May the Holy Spirit will inspire and lead all of us to accept and celebrate this opportunity to move forward with Jesus.