Mar 20, 2019
By John J. Pethtel
Two New Awards for Pastors
The SDB Council on Ministry is pleased to increase the recognition of our local church pastors by initiating two new annual awards: The David L. Taylor Pastor’s Heart Award and the Excellence in Preaching Award.
The David L. Taylor Pastor’s Heart Award will be an annual recognition award established in honor and memory of Pastor Dave Taylor, who is a beloved pastor to many SDBs. This award honors Pastor Dave’s legacy by recognizing a pastor who consistently exhibits a pastor’s heart and is a blessing to others.
Whenever we speak of the pastor’s heart, we normally think of a pastor who has a genuine calling on their life to shepherd God’s people. We would normally think of them as having a gentle spirit and as one who has the spirit of being able to sit with a person and listen to them unfold their lives. They would be a person who could be trusted with confidential information yet helpful in counseling others biblically. They would celebrate wildly with those who saw God’s blessings and favor and commiserate with those who experience suffering and loss.
• The recipient of the David L. Taylor Pastor’s Heart Award must be a called pastor of a member church or a retired pastor in a member church in the SDB General Conference USA & Canada and over the age of 18.
• Anyone can nominate a candidate for the David L. Taylor Pastor’s Heart Award. The submission should include a brief biography of the candidate (including but not limited to contact information, SDB church service, and family information) as well as a summary of how they exhibit a pastor’s heart. Submissions may be sent to the Director of Pastoral Services anytime.
The Excellence in Preaching Award will be an annual preaching award established to honor a commitment to excellence in the preparation and delivery of sermons to a congregation, as well as his commitment to instilling the desire for excellence in preaching in a generation of other preachers, evangelists, and pastors.
• The recipient of the Excellence in Preaching Award must be a member of a member church in the SDB General Conference USA & Canada and over the age of 18. The sermon used for entry in the competition must have been preached in the calendar year previous to when the award will be given (i.e. 2018 for the 2019 award).
• Anyone can nominate a candidate for the Excellence in Preaching Award, including the candidate. The submission will include a brief biography of the candidate (including but not limited to contact information, SDB church service, and family information) as well as a sermon submission (preferably video) from the calendar year previous to when the award will be given (i.e. 2018 for the 2019 award). Submissions may be sent to the Director of Pastoral Services anytime. Submissions will be judged on faithfulness to the Biblical text/context, gospel connection, clarity/understanding, application to today’s audience, and delivery.
If you have any questions about these awards, would like to contribute a gift to the winners of these awards, or need to know more about the nomination process for these awards, please contact the Director of Pastoral Services.
(jpethtel@seventhdaybaptist.org)
The deadline for submissions is May 1, 2019.
PULSE
One of the things that happens when we go to the doctor’s office for a checkup is that we get our pulse taken. They like to know that our heart is still beating—but also they want to know how fast or how slowly it is beating. They want to know the factors that might lead to our heart beating abnormally (illness, anxiety, stress, etc.).
One of the things that needs to happen in your church is for you to be able to check your church’s PULSE. The SDB General Conference desires for all of our member churches to be pursuing the best health for their churches. To aid this pursuit, the Church Revitalization Task Force has created the PULSE process to help guide churches in a continuing examination of their health.
PULSE is a process (not a program) that will help guide your church to examine four major areas of health in your local church: Expectations, Discipleship, Outward Focus, and Leadership/Relationships. This process can be used continually to help you discover and live out the mission that God has for your local church as well as continue to gain greater clarity surrounding this process.
If you are interested in checking the PULSE of your church, please contact the Director of Church Development at jpethtel@seventhdaybaptist.org or 608-752-5055 ext. 1009.
SDB CHURCH DEVELOPMENT
Do you have information about what is going on in your church or group that you want to share? Would you like to gain tips and insight from other SDBs who are serving the Kingdom and their community? Do you like to network with other SDBs from around the country?
If the answer is yes to any of these questions, then you are invited to join the Church Development Network. We currently have a monthly call hosted by our Church Development Network Coordinator, Pastor Chris Galarneau, on the 4th Thursday of every month at 8 p.m. (Eastern).
The process for joining is simple. Send an email to the Director of Church Development at jpethtel@seventhdaybaptist.org and you will be added to our list. We send out monthly invitations to our Church Development Network call and other email news and reminders when they are available. Join today!
PASTOR SEARCH
The following SDB churches or groups are looking for pastoral leadership. Please keep them in prayer as they search for their next leaders.
Bay Area SDB Church (Pinole, CA)
Covenant SDB Fellowship (Hungry Horse, MT)
First SDB Church of Hebron (Coudersport, PA)
Remembrance SDB Church (Ft. Worth, TX)
The following SDB General Conference member churches do not currently have pastoral leadership. Please keep them in prayer as they search for God’s more preferable future:
SpringsLife Church (Colorado Springs, CO)
Pine Street Gospel Chapel (Middletown, CT)
Waterford SDB Church (Waterford, CT)
Agape SDB Church of the South (Kissimmee, FL)
First SDB Church of God of Putnam County (Palatka, FL)
Stonefort SDB Church (Stonefort, IL)
Central SDB Church (Mitchellville, MD)
Faith SDB Church (Doniphan, MO)
First SDB Church of Alfred (Alfred, NY)
Pawcatuck SDB Church (Westerly, RI)
SDB Church of Albion (Edgerton, WI)
There are other potential vacancies in the near future. If you are interested in one of these vacancies, if you are called to pastoral ministry, or if you know someone who might be
interested in pastoral ministry, please contact the Director of Pastoral Services by email at jpethtel@seventhdaybaptist.org
or call 608-752-5055 ext. 1009.