FAQs - Andrew Vander Maas

Some thoughts on Moving Forward Together - Crossroads and Grace

I realized that due to the holidays we have not had a lot of communication on the merger together, as a church. I am sure that many of you have been thinking about this at various times with various levels of information.

I thought I would give some answers to questions I have been thinking/praying through over the break and some questions that I have heard expressed …

Is Merger the best term for what is happening?

Probably not, because though we are merging into one ministry unit with shared leadership and ministries, we are not merging into one site, there will be two sites in which this ministry will take place. I think the idea of merger, at least initially, presented a vision of two churches coming together to worship together. We had thought that worshipping together might make sense for some period of time, and may have falsely fueled that vision. Perhaps a better way to think of our coming together is in terms of joining forces to better accomplish kingdom ministry goals and to creat a vision for what a multi-ethnic body working together might look like.

One question I keep exploring with myself, as well as others is why are we pursuing this?

I recognize that right now many churches are starting sites of one sort or another. I see that as much as anybody, maybe more given my ministerial circles. I have wrestled personally with whether this opportunity is an opportunity to keep up with the Jones’, to add another feather to the cap of Crossroads? To be honest this is a temptation for me. I like to be well thought of, successful, I like to lead the pack if possible. This is temptation, but it is also sin.

In this instance I have really wrestled with God to take any of this selfish falsity away and to help me see clearly His will in the situation.

Two things have emerged in my thinking. The first is that there is a reason why so many churches are going down the site route, it makes sense. It is easy to look at a trend and dismiss it because it is a trend. But if we do this we miss some of the really good benefits that come from this strategy for ministry. More on that later.

Second, there are really good theological reasons for pursuing this merger.

The first is that it keeps our church Moving Missionally. In the great commission Jesus commands us to “go” make disciples of all nations. This is a perpetual going. A “going” contrary to the “if you build it they will come” philosophy. Now this certainly does not mean that if this opportunity had not come along we would have been sinning by staying at our Maplewood site and carrying on with our mission as we have. But it does remind us that God’s mission is not static, it is dynamic. It involves change and risk. And we must faithfully explore opportunities that present themselves to us, particularly when they involve an opportunity to capture new territory for the kingdom. Which is certainly what we have as we look to Olivette. This is an underserved area of our city with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We have a group of people who have a heart for planting the Gospel flag in the area, our working together can help this be done more effectively. But beyond Olivette, we should feel the encouragement to missional movement in Maplewood. As we partner in prayer, hear of their conquests, and see too how much work is left for us in Maplewood. As some of our number leave Maplewood to focus on Olivette, the impetus will be on those still in Maplewood to fill their seats with friends and neighbors who need the Gospel.

The second theological motivation for pursuing this merger is the joy that multi-ethnic ministry brings to glory the Lord. Many of us at Crossroads have, from the beginning, longed for a church that looked more like what heaven is going to look like in all of its diversity. Here is an opportunity to enter into multi-ethnic ministry with all of its joys and challenges. Some have questioned how this will be experienced for those in Maplewood. While it is true that the most obvious multi-ethnicity will be at worship in Olivette on Sunday morning, the ministry as a whole will become multi-ethnic throughout. All of our current ministry teams will be infused with Asians, as will our session and diaconate. Ministry functions such as retreats, Bible studies, and fellowship groups will all be mixed ethnically. As we grow and are changed by our interaction with the folks from Grace it is expected that some of that more obvious diversity will find its way to Maplewood.

And this, I believe, brings glory to God. He has taken on our sin in order to break down the dividing wall of hostility (Eph 2), his glory is shown forth when his people are unified as he is unified (Jn 17), and this is simply a foretaste of heaven when people from every tribe tongue people and nation will gather to sing praise to his name (Rv 7). We need to pursue this while we have the opportunity.

Does this mean that we are done in Maplewood and we are on to the next thing?

Not at all. In fact as I alluded to above this should show us how much we still have to do, and give us the impetus to get out there and do it. As we have grown we have inevitably, become more and more comfortable. This merger should bring back again to front and center the things that need to be front and center, namely the need to be going and living missional lives.

What about pastoral care for those already in our mix?

This is a great question and one that needs to be wrestled with. Two thoughts immediately come to mind. First, with our combined resources we should have the ability to add more staff that should create a more loving environment for all. Already Dan Song is committed to coming on as a pastor to young couples, singles, and college students. This is a level of pastoral care that our folks have not had before and a need that we can now more readily meet. We should be able to add some back office support which will create a more loving environment for those who spend so many volunteer hours here, this is pastoral care. Other opportunities should emerge along these lines as things become clearer.

Secondly, this will force us to recognize that the pastoral staff cannot do all the pastoral care. That much needs to be pushed down through elders and kingdom group leaders. This is a lesson that we need to learn at Crossroads anyway, and I am not sure how well I have led or equipped you all to do that. This merger will force us down this road.