Kia Ora church,
What a whirlwind of a journey my life has been to this point.
In recent weeks I’ve: graduated from Bible college, shifted countries,
continents, time zones, houses, become a youth pastor and had to forget a few
Kiwi colloquialisms that just don’t translate well into American English. Prior
to that, I traveled the world trying to figure out how and where I fit in. I
didn’t have an active faith in Christ until he met me for what seemed like the
first time in a dingy Guatemalan apartment cell in January of 2007. The moment
was decisive and radical; much of the old David Piper died that day. New
Zealand was incredible to me. I’m forever grateful to my Avondale Baptist
Church/Laidlaw family that adopted me into theirs very early on in my arrival
to the country in 2010; how good it is to be offered rest as a displaced
traveler.
In this new season of life, I’m excited to bring vision and
passion to this community of faith, especially its young people. Life has
taught me that I’m more than inadequate on my own without Christ and a quick
survey of history reveals that in a hundred years, no one will remember my
name. I don’t mean this in a negative or morbid sense, but a freeing one.
Everything is about Jesus. Everything. From start to finish. All creation was
created through him, by him and for his glory. Only in relationship with Jesus
is life found. To deny Christ is to deny ultimate reality and the source of all
life itself. I firmly believe in life
before death for those that chose to repent and participate in building for
God’s Kingdom today. One of our prayers needs to be, “God what are you already
doing in Sequim (plus the wider world) and how can we participate in that?” It’s
about God’s Kingdom, not ours. How freeing is this?
I bring with me my extensive
twenty-seven years of life (just joking) and a highly relational style of
ministry that has been shaped by my interactions with believers from around the
world, which include weaknesses and strengths. I don’t come as a shining ‘superstar
pastor’ (whatever that means?) from a land far, far away- but from Sequim where
the majority of you have watched me grow up. I can take very little credit for
where I’m at today as my life and faith has been shaped by older women and men
who were loved and shaped by men and women older still… it ultimately goes back
to Jesus. From the Holy Scriptures, we see that the Bible begins with creation
(Gen 1) and ends with renewed
creation (Rev 21). We live in between these times. So what does it look like to
live an authentically Christian lifestyle in light of the Resurrection in the
21st century? How do we faithfully participate in the triune God’s
commission to us in Sequim, Washington? These are the questions that we must
ask and pursue in community with one another.
Hebrews 13:2 exhorts the persecuted community of faith to
never stop showing hospitality to strangers, for in doing so, some had
entertained angels. Before Bible College, I was convinced hospitality was a
huge medium to share the gospel of Jesus Christ; after, I’m even more
convinced. Starting in September I will be hosting mid-week pancake breakfasts
at my Sunnyside Flat (1/10th of a mile from the High School praise
God!) that will be inclusive of all High School students regardless of their
church attendance. God has also placed a fire in my heart to develop disciple (mentorship)
type relationships between a vast range of ages at DCC. For lack of better
terms, I believe those from the Wisdom
Years (adults) need to be in conversation with those who make up the Wonder Years (youth); for the benefit
and health of the entire Church. I heard a preacher once say, “like the Dead
Sea, if water is flowing in but not flowing out… everything dies.” I understood
this as meaning that if we’re not teaching what we are learning or have learned,
it’s not just us who are losing out. If you feel like anything that has been
said is tugging at your heart, consider that your invitation! I trust we will
be in contact shortly J
As for now, I will enjoy the honeymoon period and pray that
God uses DCC to mediate his love to the wider world. Genesis 12:3 states that
Abraham was blessed to be a blessing to the world; as his children by faith, we
stand in continuity with this promise. We aren’t blessed to simply be blessed,
but blessed to bless others. Our joy is fully rooted in how much we are willing
to mirror Jesus to the world in humble obedience to His singular mission and the
plurality of ways it is faithfully enacted every day. The total (C)hurch needs
to be involved in total mission, from youngest to oldest.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by
such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and
the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race
marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and
perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning
its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider
him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary
and lose heart.” -Hebrews 12:1-3
Now it’s our turn.
I look forward to
journeying with you in this season as your youth pastor navigating the joys and
pains of life in Christ centered community together.
His,
Piper
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