Dear Team Highline,
"The future ain't what it used to be!" This is one of my favorite quotes of Yogi Berra. This Sunday, I am going to attempt to share with all of you a "vision" of where I think Highline needs to head in the next few years. I am hoping to tie these ideas into one of the great moments in the history of Israel recorded in the Old Testament book of Nehemiah. I hope I'm able to help you see "what could be…" (a concept I will address Sunday) in our future.
We also are going to have a continental breakfast in between services that should be a fun time of fellowship together.
Many of you might know that changes are taking place in our youth ministry, also. Tim Kennedy will be leaving us at the end of June. I see this as part of the bigger picture of what God is doing at Highline. If you have children in our program, you have probably already received Tim Kennedy's email about all this. A number of parents have emailed me asking for more explanation. I thought I would copy all of you on my response to one of those parents. I will probably also refer to all this on Sunday, so here is some background:
"Dear ______ ,
Thanks for you prayers and concerns. To simplify what was a long and complicated process - preceeding even my arrival - I spent a year evaluating the youth ministry - with Sondra first, and then an outside consultant who observed, met with the leadership team, spent a number of hours with Tim, etc. My conviction was reached with some difficulty that we needed to make some changes - including having a woman staff person working with the girls and increasing our focus on outreach. The only way to do this under our present financial situation was to go to two part-time positions. In case you are not aware, TK was the only remaining full-time person on the staff. The rest of us are all part-time, cover our own benefits, and work outside jobs to make it possible to serve the church. As you know, I offered Tim the other part-time male staff position and he felt like he should not accept that. I hope this helps. I'm sure I will address this either by a letter to the congregation or in the family news.
Bob"
I know this is a very brief explanation, but either I or any of the elders would be glad to talk with you about this. I look forward to seeing you on Sunday.
Bob
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