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The Shepherds’ StaffSupport for the JourneyThe newsletter of Good Shepherd Community Church4701 Dallas, Texas 75204Pastors Jeff Gregory and Mark BahrMinisters: the ifeforthesheep.John10:1140th Anniversary IssueVolume1, Number 1September 15, 2014 201440 Years as a Local ChurchSunday, Sept. 14, 2014, marks the 40thyear that God has enabled our church togather for worship, fellowship, andservice. We thank the Lord for his gracethat has enabled us to meet together toexpress our devotion to Christ Jesusand our love for the church, his body onearth. We trust the following items willbe interesting and edifying to you.History of Good Shepherd ChurchOn September 15, 1974, Nick andFrances Britton, along with Wile andMae Dell Miles, started what was thenknown as “The Family Church” in Nickand Frances’ living room at 4404 RuskStreet, about a mile and a half northwestof our present meeting house. Nick hadattended Dallas Theological Seminaryand had also served in a gospel ministryin the West Indies. Being a lover ofbooks, his living room was lined withwall-to-wall books. Nick was a goodpiano player, so he not only preached,but played the piano also.After a couple of years the churchmoved to a wooden building close toRoss Avenue that belonged to aHispanic Pentecostal Church. When thechurch was unsuccessful in trying to buythat building, it secured a bank loan andwas able to begin buying the building atour present location.Nick returned to his home state ofMaryland after six years and another

DTS student, Tim Easley, who had beendiscipled in the church’s ministry underNick, assumed the pastorate. Timserved as pastor for 13 years, except fora couple of leaves of several month’sduration when he was ministering inIndia. During those times Willie Milesand Ed cheek took turns leading thechurch. The church’s name waschanged to “Faith Community Church.”church’s “chief liturgist,” constructing ourworship services which continue toenrich our worship of God. He also ablypreaches whenever called upon.Many faithful members have joined inthe ministry of the church over the years– without them the church could nothave continued to exist.Who We Are as a Local ChurchDuring the last few years of his ministry,Tim had Pete Bitner and Joey Jeffers,two DTS students, serve with him asfellow elders. Tim left Dallas in 1994 toreturn to his native state of NorthCarolina to begin a ministry to helpsupport gospel work in India. Petebecame the church’s lead pastor sinceJoey was still in school. Joey movedback to North Carolina and then Peteleft to go to language training school inQuebec in preparation for ministry inFrench-speaking West Africa.Subsequently he and his wife Carolynwent to Togo and have been servingthere ever since.We are an evangelical, baptistic,transcultural, transdenominational Biblebelieving congregation. We worship thesovereign God who is calling peoplefrom all walks of life to serve JesusChrist together in the fellowship of thelocal assembly.The Purpose of Our Church is to demonstrate the infinite valueof the living God.The Mission of our Church:The mission of Good ShepherdCommunity Church is to make andbecome authentic worshipers of theliving God through Jesus Christ.In 1995 Jeff Gregory, having attendedthe church since fall, 1992, became leadpastor. Over the next several years PaulFriberg, Daniel Gillette, Jim Woychuk ,Chris Craig, and John Allie served asassistant pastors/elders. In 2005 MarkBahr, after serving several years with amissionary organization in Oklahoma,returned to the church to becomeassociate pastor alongside Jeff.Several years ago, we again changedthe name of the church to “GoodShepherd Community Church,” with thetheme scripture of John 10:11, Thegood shepherd lays down his life for thesheep. This verse captures in a nutshellour belief that Jesus came specifically torescue a particular group of peoplewhom he had set his love upon beforethe foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4).Church MottoMaking and Becoming AuthenticWorshippersFellow servants of Christ Whom WeHelp Support(Most of these folks have been a part ofthe local church ministry in the past:)IndiaJames and Komuni DhaleSince 1995, brother Wayne Conrad hasfaithfully and diligently served as the2

Eric and Rohini SackmanDaniel and Laura GilletteAbraham and Laura JosephJason and Jemima DeutschAfricaPete and Carolyn BitnerJean BaumbachCambodia boundDon and Margaret LoweUnited StatesTim EasleyJim Woychuk (Scripture Memory)Joseph BlanchardVivian BusbyDavid Sitton (To Every Tribe Ministries)OthersJonathan and Althea BylerSky and Michelle TaingSo, so how do we mature spiritually? Isthere anything we can do to work with orcooperate with the Holy Spirit in order togrow more as Christians? How do we“grow up” in Christ? Here are severalsuggestions:1) Stay in the WordIt is impossible to grow without exposureto the Word of God. The Word is theinstrument that the Spirit uses toconform us into Christ’s image. It is easyto inadvertently neglect the Word in thebusiness of modern life. Sometimes ittakes creativity to get ourselves into theWord. We can install Bibles on oursmart phones, as well as downloadsermons or Christian music. We canlisten to the Word in our cars on CD’s.We can read Christian literature - booksand magazines – that will get us into theWord. There are many ways we can getourselves exposed to the Word if we willthink creatively.Spiritual Growth – How Am I Doing?by Pastor Jeff GregoryHave you ever wondered how matureyou are as a Christian? Are you one ofthose whom Paul says still needs milk,or are you one who is able to eat anddigest “meat” (1 Cor. 3:1-3)? Perhapsyou have you been a Christian for anumber of years, but have wondered ifyou are at the level of spiritual maturity aperson would be expected to be at,having been a Christian as long as youhave. Are you a strong, mature, stoutoak tree (Psalm 1), or are you more likea young sapling, more vulnerable to thevarious storms of life. Or maybe, likemost of us, you are somewhere inbetween.Every Christian needs to grow andmature in Christ. The more we grow, themore we will reflect our Savior, and themore glory we can bring him. The Lordtells us through the apostle Peter: Growin the grace and knowledge of our Lordand Savior Jesus Christ (1 Pet. 3:18).So we really do not have an option.2) Be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’sleadingObedience to God is crucial for theChristian. It’s not that we perfectly obeyhim all the time, but that needs to be thesincere intention of our lives: to honorand obey him.Without a doubt the Holy Spirit inhabitsthe Christian and leads, convicts, andencourages him. Sometimes we mayfeel impressed by the Spirit to dosomething, or maybe not do somethingor say something. If we’ve been walkingwith the Lord for a while, we tend todevelop a discernment or sensitivity tothe Spirit’s leading. When we sense hisleading, we should follow him and obeyhim. Whatever he leads us to do, ofcourse, will be in conformity with hisWord.The Spirit himself lives within theChristian and there is an ongoing,dynamic relationship between thebeliever and the Lord, who is the Spirit.We must follow him where he leads us.To disobey the Spirit’s guidance isTo be pleasing to God we must seek togrow in Christ, to mature in him.3

spiritually dangerous. We need to obeythat still, quiet inner voice of the Spirit –this is one way we follow Christ, weplease him and thus obey him.Although this is true, there is anotherside to this coin. We must work withGod the Holy Spirit. We must exerciseall the effort we can to follow Christ, toplease him, to obey and fulfill his Word.We work for God’s kingdom with all ourmight, yet we realize that it is God atwork in us, moving us to honor him inthe affairs of our lives. So we participatewith the Holy Spirit; we offer ourselvesas “living sacrifices” on the altar ofGod’s service (Rom. 12:1; 1 Pet. 2:5).3) Stay connected to the local churchJust like it is impossible to grow withoutexposure to the Word, it is alsoimpossible to grow without vitalconnection to a local assembly ofbelievers. It is the teaching ministry ofthe church which is the primary meansby which we grow in the grace andknowledge of Christ into spiritualmaturity (Eph. 4:11-16). To beseparated from the local church is to cutourselves off from the body of Christand to live in isolation from the veryinfluences and input that we desperatelyneed to grow as Christians. Can a handsurvive by itself if it is separated fromthe body? Likewise a believer whokeeps himself away from theworshipping people of God would havea difficult time surviving spiritually in theworld. To separate oneself from thechurch displays a self-sufficientarrogance, a lack of love for the peopleof God, a lack of interest in bringingglory to Christ through public worship,and a lack of desire to expressadoration and thanksgiving to the Onewho merits all our thanks and praise. Iwill fulfill my vows to the LORD n thepresence of all his people.Psalm 116:18.5) Knowing Christ is the keyThe apostle Paul has a good word for ushere: I count everything as loss becauseof the surpassing worth of knowingChrist Jesus my Lord, that I may knowhim and the power of his resurrection,and may share his sufferings Phil.3:10.When Paul wrote these words he was amature believer. But he was still strivingto know Christ better. It did not matter ifsuffering became the avenue by whichhe drew closer to Christ. Paul’s numberone priority was to get to know his Lordpersonally in a greater way than he hadever known him before. This should beour goal also. The better we know him,the more we will reflect his glory in ourown lives. Spending time with Christ inprayer, meditating on him, reading abouthim in the Word and in books,worshipping him in song, andparticipating in corporate worship are allways of drawing closer to Christ.4) Realize that the sovereign Godproduces maturity as we cooperatewith himPhilippians 2:12-13 reveals this truth: work out your own salvation with fearand trembling, for it is God who works inyou, both to will and to work for his goodpleasure. We can rest in the fact thatGod is at work within us. There is nodoubt about this. God’s Word revealsthis and we who have been walking withChrist have experienced this. God issovereign and is graciously working inour lives to conform us more to Christ.It is good to consider our own level ofspiritual maturity. Where do you rank ona scale of one to ten? Are you satisfiedwith your own level of spiritual maturity?But more important, is Christ satisfiedwith you? Let us so live as to pleasehim, our gracious Lord, and look to himto bring us along the path of Christianmaturity, to grow us as stouter trees inhis kingdom, as we work out our ownsalvation with fear and trembling pursuing, by his grace, the prize of the4