Walnut Hill Presbyterian Church

Core Values of Walnut Hill Church

/ Dennis Griffith / Leave a comment

Walnut Hill Logo

I recently finished a series unveiling the Core Values of Walnut Hill Presbyterian Church.   The Elders of our church worked on these for several months, as we tried to discern the characteristics that define and drive our church.

Leadership expert Aubrey Malphurs calls Core Values “the qualities that make up and establish an organizations character, and that character determines how the organization conducts its ministry or business…” 

In short you might say that the Core Values reflect the DNA of a church or organization.  While other things my change, such as worship style, ministries, etc, the Core Values should remain pretty much intact.  In the fae of a changing surrounding culture, or the addition of new members, the Core Values themselves do not change. Only the ways that the values are expressed should change.

So what are those Core Values that make Walnut Hill unique?

God’s Global Glory 

Authentic Spirituality

Gospel Transformation

Kingdom Advancement

Relational Vitality

Contagious Joy

Becoming a House of Prayer

/ Dennis Griffith / Leave a comment

Jesus said:

“My house shall be called a House of Prayer for all Nations.”

It is my dream for our church, Walnut Hill Presbyterian, to become a House of Prayer.  That dream is shared by the Elders of the church, and by several members. 

Don’t get me wrong. Walnut Hill is, in many respects, a praying church.  We have a number of faithful & powerful prayer warriors among our number.  Wednesday evenings were set apart for a service of prayer long before I arrived on the scene a little over a year ago.  And each Saturday morning the Elders meet at the church at 7:30am to pray for our members and our community. (This is another practice that was already in place before I returned to Tennessee.) 

I don’t know how one would gauge such a thing, but I suspect that Walnut Hill would rank among the upper percentiles for prayer among churches in the USA.

But still, that is not what I am hoping for.  It is not the same thing.  There is a difference between a praying church and a House of Prayer. In fact, Cheryl Sacks, in her book The Prayer Saturated Church, lists several differences:

1. A church that prays may have a limited number of people involved in a prayer ministry; A House of Prayer involves the entire congregation.

2. In a praying church there may be little, or even no, regular emphasis from the pulpit about the ministry of prayer; A House of Prayer regualarly teaches and emphasizes the priority of prayer from the pulpit.

3. In a praying church very little training is offered to people to prepare them for prayer. It may be assumed that prayer is easy, and people already know how to pray.  In a House of Prayer it is recognized that prayer can be hard work, and many people feel inadequate about their prayer life. Therefore classes, seminars, and other opportunities for prayer and training in prayer are offered.

4. In a praying church it may be that only a few leaders attend prayer meetings, with no regular commitment. In a House of Prayer ALL leaders, and staff, have a burden for prayer, and have made it a priority in their lives to participate in the prayer meetings.

5. In praying churches groups or committees open with prayer as an item on the docket or agenda. In a House of Prayer groups spend time praying together, pray at regular or spontanious times throughout the meeting, and set times of prayer in addition to regular meetings. 

6. In a church that has a prayer ministry, there may still be something that is lacking in the atmosphere because prayer may be feeble. In a House of Prayer there is a fresh flowing of the presence of the Holy Spirit that permeates the atmosphere of the church. 

7. In churches that pray members have the freedom to pray; In a House of Prayer there is a natural flow of prayer going on throughout the church.

8 In a church that prays, having a ministry staff person is not recognized as a viable part of the church staff. In a House of Prayer a prayer coordinator is an essential member of the staff, and may even be a paid staff member.

These are just some of the distinctions. Some are subtle, while others are glaring, differences.  (Click to read Slacks actual and complete list: God’s Standard.)

Another difference between a church that prays and a House of Prayer is the focus and substance of the prayers offered.  Jack Miller, in his book Outgrowing the Ingrown Church, makes the distinction between two types of prayer meetings: Maintenance or Frontline. Miller confesses to having led both kinds in churches he had pastored.  I will offer more insight about what Miller says about these in another post, but here is the essence of each: 

Maintenace prayer meetings focus on perpetuating the status quo. Prayers are offered with little expectancy, and usually from the hosptial list and for some generic ‘blessing’ on the ministries and programs of the church.

Particiapnts in the Frontline prayer meetings expect to encounter God, and to be changed as a result of that encounter.  The prayers offered are specific expressions of “Thy Kingdom come. They Will be done…”  In other words, the purpose is, by God’s grace and power, to advance Christ’s Kingdom. 

There are a number of reasons why many churches are not as effecive in prayer as they might hope to be.  Chief among these reasons are probably:

1. Prayer is hard work.

2. People don’t know how to pray.

You might be surprised that I suggest people don’t know how to pray.  But you shouldn’t be.  This disciples, who were mentored by Jesus, didn’t know how. That’s why thay asked: “Lord, teach us to pray.” (Luke 11.1)   Apparently effective prayer is something that needs to be learned. It takes work.

We want to take some steps toward becoming a House of Prayer. 

Beginning Sunday October 5, Walnut Hill Church will participate in 40 Days of Prayer. During these next eight weeks we will coordinate our Sunday School classes with our morning messages; and we will encourage one another to make prayer a more focused part of our daily lives.

While effective prayer will always be hard work, to alleviate some of the practical difficulties that often hinder people from getting started we will: 1) supply church members with some tools to assist them in prayer; 2) introduce new opportunites to pray for our neighbors and community through PrayerWalking. (If this is a new concept to you, click: Practical PrayerWalking, to read a brief introduction by WayMakers.  Also click on What is PrayerWalking? and How to PrayerWalk on the WayMakers page.)  

If you are a part of the Walnut HIll family, we ask that you join us on this journey.  Whether you are part of Walnut Hill or just someone who stumbled on this page, we ask that you pray for us: that God, by his grace, and for his glory, would transform us into a House of Prayer.

Marks of a Healthy Church

/ Dennis Griffith / Leave a comment

Over the next several weeks the leaders of Walnut Hill Church will engage in a number of discussions concerning the health and direction of our church.  These discussions will cover a wide range of considerations. 

Walnut Hill, though a smaller church is in many respects already a healthy congregation.  I believe that if we were to compare ourselves with the majority of churches around the country, we would find that we are doing quite well.  But such comparative health is not our aim. Instead we want to be faithful to all that our Lord calls us to be and to do. We want to be and do everything that we were designed for; we don’t want to just be (or seem) better than some others.

Toward that end…

  • Our Elders will be going to Birmingham, AL in a few weeks to participate in the Embers to Flame Conference, which I expect will provide some common ground for our discussions.  The key concepts emphasized by the Embers Conference will then serve as a sort of “scaffolding” as we labor to strengthen and build and our various ministries.  
  • We will continue our process of moving from a church that prays toward becoming a House of Prayer for all Nations.  Already Walnut Hill displays a priority of prayer that is very encouraging to me as the pastor.  But we want to explore how we can still grow in this area. (I’ll compose several posts that I hope will clarify some of the distinctions between a Praying Church and a House of Prayer.) 
  • We will explore the Gospel, and its various aspects. And we will consider how the Gospel applies to us each day as followers of Christ, and not just as a plan of salvation to be explained to those who do not (yet) believe. (See Colossians 2:6, Galatians 3:1-3, and 2 Peter 3:18)
  • We will reflect on the Core Values, or the DNA, of our church, so we can build on those things that make Walnut Hill unique. And we anticipate developing a clear and comprehensive philosophy of ministry – which we will put in writing. Much of this is already in place, but still needs to be clearly articulated so we can communicate it to those who will be – and already are -joining us. 

These are a few of the things that we will be undertaking, and obviously only a broad sketch. But I wanted to share it with you so you will know how to pray for us. And I also wanted to provide an open door for you to consider some of these same things along with us. 

As part of our discussion I will also post a series of articles by Dr. James M. Boice from his series: How to Have a Healthy Church.  While these are not exhaustive, I find these insights to be very helpful and, as I look at Walnut Hill, encouraging.   

Dr. Boice suggests there are 6 Marks, which will be published in six subsequent posts: 

I invite you, the Walnut Hill Church family, to reflect on these marks, and consider to what extent they are evident at Walnut Hill, corporately; and in our own lives, personally.

To any degree you find us lacking, please pray that, by God’s grace, these marks would become increasingly evident in and among us. 

Hello World!

/ Dennis Griffith / Leave a comment

Why am I doing this?  I am not particularly tech savvy.  And I have more than enough things to do with my time. So why am I taking the time to start a blog?

I suppose another question might be: Who am I doing this for?  Both questions are probably pertinent.

1.  To Communicate with Others. 

Blogging will give me an opportunity to communicate with other people.  Who are these people I expect to converse with?  It may be a diverse group.  In my mind’s eye I see several groups of people:

The Church I Pastor 

I have been given the privilege of serving the Body of Christ as a pastor.  And I recently made a transition, moving from a church in Pittsburgh to Walnut Hill Presbyterian Church in Bristol, Tennessee.

My hope is that posting will provide the people Walnut Hill an opportunity to get to know me – my interests, passions, and personality.  At the very least they’ll get to know how my mind works…

My hope is also that blogging will be an avenue through which I can exercise the teaching aspect of my ministry.  It can be a supplement to my pulpit ministry and other teaching opportunities. And because blogging is not a one-sided medium, it can provide a forum to discuss issues that time may not permit in those other, more structured, venues.

Partners in Ministry 

This group may include a vast spectrum, ranging from other pastors to missionaries & parachurch ministers, to anyone else engaged in advancing Christ’s Kingdom.

I am not so arrogant as to assume that whatever I have to say will be a significant treasure.  But I do have a lot of friends who fall into this category.  And I know there is joy in a shared journey. My experiences and thoughts may simply encourage others in their lives & ministries… and, of course, if along the way there are at least occasional tidbits of insight or wisdom, so much the better.

People in Past Ministries (i.e. Old Friends) 

I have had the privilege of serving in churches & ministries in Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Virginia, Georgia, and Pennsylvania.  In all of these places we have made some great friends.  I suspect that our friends from those past ministries (and perhaps some “not-so-friendlies”) will pop in to see what is going on…

Passers-by 

I suppose it is also possible that some people will stumble across this blog by accident, or when looking for something else.  Hopefully they will find something useful, and from time to time check back.

2.  To Express Myself 

In a very real sense I am keeping this blog as an outlet for personal expression.  In that sense, as I begin this, I am not certain if it really matters if anyone else ever reads what I post.  Blogging gives me the opportunity to work through and catalog things that interest me, to try to cultivate creativity, and simply to express myself much like as if I kept a journal in a notebook.  (Though I still hope there will be some things posted that are occasionally of interest and/or value to others.)

3. To Honor God 

Since my primary purpose in life is to glorify God by enjoying Him, my hope is that this blog will honor Him.  My life is inseparably linked to this purpose. No facet of my life is outside this scope.  Whatever I do, whatever interests I have, this purpose should always be in view.

Hopefully, not only will the posts themselves honor God but, the accumulated works should be a tangible chronicle of my own life’s journey – one that I pray and trust will have a demonstrable growth in knowledge, progress in maturity and increase of sensitivity to God and His Kingdom. These will be a testimony of His grace at work in my life.