1) Why did Discovery Church join the denomination in the first place?
When Discovery Church was forming, we decided very early on that we wanted to be connected to a larger network of churches. As we began evaluating potential networks to partner with, we chose to align ourselves with the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC). We chose the EPC because of agreement in core doctrinal teaching, how they handled essential issues vs. non-essentials, and church government.
The EPC is a Reformed denomination tracing its roots back to John Calvin and the Reformation. It looks to Scripture as a primary source of wisdom and knowledge in theological matters. It also draws on one of the great theological statements in church history, The Westminster Confession. These roots united us with church history and served as an anchor as we established our identity as a particular church.
The EPC is an evangelical denomination as well, which was equally important to our board. The core beliefs of an evangelical church center on the person and work of Jesus Christ, a high view of Scripture, and a strong belief in the gospel (euangelion in the Greek). The EPC expresses these core beliefs in its’ Essentials. In the Essentials, the denomination has complete unity. In non-essential issues (like women in ministry, spiritual gifts, etc.), the church shows a great amount of grace.
Finally, EPC churches reflect a presbyterian form of church government. They are led by elders who seek the will of God on behalf of the congregation. We did not want to place too much control in one individual (as episcopal polity might). We did not want too much control placed within the masses either (as congregational polity might). We wanted godly leaders to wrestle with the issues on behalf of the congregation.
In addition to these reasons, we loved what we saw in the Midwest Presbytery. We enjoyed the fellowship of churches working together in an area to advance the gospel. We delighted in seeing them address missions in a way that led to people going to serve others around the world. We loved that they took important issues like church discipline and ordination very seriously.
2) Is there a problem with the Presbytery or denomination that caused this?
To quote our southern friends: “Heavens no.” By no means is this recommendation rooted in a sense of failure by the Midwest Presbytery or the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in any manner.
3) If not, why are the elders recommending we seek dismissal to independence now?
The recommendation has more to do with the idea of merging into the One Life Network than as a reaction to anything EPC-related.
Several months ago, Trey met with one of the One Life elders to discuss what the Network would look like. There are several different models of networks or associations in the church-world. Some are very loosely tied together churches (like the Willow Creek Association or Life Church.tv -- Open). In these types of networks, churches come together for leadership training or might share creative elements, but maintain their own teaching, leadership, church identity. Another model would be a tighter network where churches actually joined together (or merged) and began to share the same identity (an example of this would be LifeChurch.tv -- United). In between these two ends of the spectrum are a variety of other network or associational connections. As the vision for the One Life Network was shared with Trey, the question was raised of whether Discovery Church would be interested in partnering at that level. Trey referred that question to the Discovery Church Session.
Discovery’s elders met and decided that they wanted to learn more about One Life and what the network would really look like before they made any decisions. The elders attended a preview service intended for the One Life -- Henderson Children’s ministry volunteers prior to its launch. They met a few days later with several members of the One Life board to discuss vision, mission, and strategy questions. Following that meeting, the Discovery elders each completed a SWOT analysis on the issue of merging with One Life. They determined that there were no “red flags” and would enter into a more dedicated season of prayer. At the end of that time, they met again and determined that they felt God’s leading to continue the discussion of what this merger might look like. Following another meeting with the One Life board, the Discovery elders met together, prayed, and voted unanimously to recommend that Discovery Church seek release from the Midwest Presbytery to independence so that we could merge into the One Life Network.
Again, let us reiterate: this has more to do with the sense of God leading us to partner with One Life than anything else. There is no condemnation or judgement of the Midwest Presbytery or the EPC in this recommendation.
4) What is the process for dealing with this recommendation?
One of the beauty’s of the EPC is that they have a very defined Book of Order that lays out clearly the process that guides us in the steps ahead. The first step is to notify the Presbytery about the recommendation. Trey did this on Friday, November 26th by sending an email to the stated clerk of the Presbytery. John Manon, the clerk, responded with a gracious note that the Presbytery will walk through this process with us and wishing us the Lord’s blessing and guidance.
The next step is to have a congregational meeting in which the recommendation is discussed. The Discovery Church elders have called a congregational meeting for Sunday, January 9th at 11:30 AM. The meeting will be held at Bob’s Gym West with a lunch and childcare provided. There will be no vote at this meeting. At that meeting, a second congregational meeting will be scheduled where a vote will be held. Presbytery will have the chance to have representatives at each of those meetings.
In the interim period, we hope to introduce you to the One Life leadership, give you a chance to hear their vision for ministry in the Tri-State area, and ask them your questions as well. We will also be letting you hear why our leadership team (the staff & elders) are excited about the possibilities that merging with the One Life Network would afford us. Finally, we will also be answering some frequently asked questions (FAQs) online. If you have specific questions, we encourage you to contact one of our elders.
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