But as the church grew and people stepped forward to volunteer in the area of worship, the music began to center more around contemporary worship. Part of this was intentional, as a way to reach to younger people and unchurched people. Part of it was simply a function of who was available and willing to serve in the music ministry.
Slowly over time a group of talented musicians began to gather at Bridge City; vocalists, guitarists, drummers and keyboard players who were all excited to share their musical gifts in an open and accepting spiritual community. There was still regular inclusion of older songs and classic hymns, and regular inclusion of classical instrumental pieces--especially through the service of Tommy Wilson and his brass group--but there was no doubt that the worship was settling into a more contemporary format. For a small group within the congregation this was increasingly uncomfortable. After much discussion and prayer, the staff and the worship planning team agreed to start a third worship service to meet the needs of this part of the community--in addition to the morning worship at 11:00 AM and Night Life, the outreach focused service in the evening, there would be an early "Contemplative worship service" at 10:00 AM. The Contemplative service featured more traditional and liturgical elements, especially hymn singing to complement the message.
At the same time as this conflict was simmering, another issue was bubbling to the surface unbeknownst to most of the congregation.
The co-senior pastorate--that ideal non-hierarchical symbol--was in jeopardy. Bob and Duff had been trying hard for well over a year to sort out exactly how to share responsibility and authority but increasingly had been causing each other stress and pain. Their different leadership styles and personalities as well as differences in vision had taken a toll on their leadership relationship. Finally, Bob Bretsch approached the Board of Trustees and asked them to resolve the situation, to choose one of them to be the Senior Pastor. This was by far the most significant crisis Bridge City had faced up to this point. The Board had several emergency meetings and spent many hours in prayer. Finally they invited both Bob and Duff to come separately for an "interview" where they could explain their vision for the church and describe their leadership style. It was in this meeting that Duff Gorle first laid out his vision of a church built on John 15.
He explained that the first work of the church was to help its members learn how to "abide in Christ" and that this alone would result in changed lives and a growing church, the "fruit" of John 15. He explained this progression as a set of three concentric circles. The central circle--the first circle--represented the primary work of the individual and the church--to be individually before God, to learn how to recognize and hear His voice, to grow in intimacy with God. The second circle represented the gathering of all those committed to this first process--community. As the individuals grow in intimacy with God, they would be called into reconciling relationships with the people around them. This was the church. As the church grew in intimacy with God and each other, the impact of this growing love would naturally overflow into the world around. The outside, or third, circle represented that overflow. Duff asked the church to reorder its priorities, to make intimacy with God its first and primary task. He explained that if we focus on building a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, the other tasks of community life and outreach would unfold naturally as the natural consequences of that investment. The Board of Trustees resonated with this vision for their church. Sensing God's direction, they invited Duff Gorle to remain as senior pastor and asked Bob Bretsch to serve as an associate pastor.
While this seemed to resolve the crisis, it in fact only made it worse. Bob declined the invitation to remain as an associate. Bob Bretch had been a formative part of Bridge City and had a long pastoral history with many of the members and founders of the church. Quite a few people attended Bridge City because of their connection to Bob. Now, one of the original pastors was leaving the leadership team. This seemed like a potentially fatal blow, particularly when just three months after leaving Bridge City's staff, Bob started another church in the Portland area. The slow trickle of people who had left over this crisis increased to a much larger flow. Would the church survive?
Crisis And Opportunity.
It did not take long for the implications of this crisis to be felt as attendance dropped sharply and with that, the church's financial support. The Trustees and other leaders continued to pray for God's guidance. Was this the end of God's plan for the young church or did He have another future in mind? As a result of the financial crisis, the Board was forced to drastically reduce expenses. The most significant change was to graciously thank Milwaukie First Baptist for hosting Bridge City for over two years and look for a smaller, more affordable facility. Again, the search was on.
The church found its next facility, Harvest Christian Center, less than a mile away in the same neighborhood. While it was smaller and older, it did provide the basic needs--a sanctuary, a small fellowship hall, plenty of classrooms for the children and AXIS, and a dependable place to gather at a rental rate that was exactly what the Board had hoped for. The pastoral team--Duff Gorle, Bob Kavanaugh (responsible for Student Ministries and Evangelism) and Marc Schelske (now responsible for worship and administration)--set about to bring stability and a renewed sense of vision to the church's conflict-weary members.
The staff began to study the Three Circles that Duff had introduced to the church, spending time in scripture discovering the Biblical basis of this structure. Many of the pastors' messages centered around John 15 and what it means to seek intimacy with God. Slowly a language began to grow up around this model as people began to understand it. Circle One referred to quiet individual time with God, time in scripture, prayer and private worship. This was the heart of the abiding lifestyle Jesus had taught and lived. As believers commit to living a Circle One Life, God has space to complete His good work in their hearts, and they grow spiritually. The more time believers spend in Circle One, the more they are called to incorporate these life lessons in healthy relationships with others. That leads them into Circle Two. This represented the relationship between believers as they learn to trust each other, hold each other accountable, and support each other's spiritual growth. Circle Two includes everything from a Godly friendship between two believers, to the local church, to the Universal Church--all believers everywhere. As God knits the hearts of believers together in Biblically-functioning community hearts are healed, broken people learn how to love and be loved, and God begins to work through those relationships to change the world. That's Circle Three--outreach, evangelism, service. The natural outgrowth of Circle One is always Circle Two. The natural outgrowth of Circle Two is always Circle Three.The Beginning of the Ripples
Because of a powerful visual aid, Bridge City started referring to this model as "the Ripples." During one worship service focused on this teaching a black and white, slow-motion video clip of a water droplet falling into a pond was shown. The drop fell slowly through space. When it hit the water, it created a pattern of ripples, each ripple moving outward and seamlessly moving into the next ripple. That drop is symbolic of God's initiative. As God reaches out and touches our hearts, He calls us to Himself. As long as that call is there and the believer responds to it, there is a ripple. And each ripple naturally leads to the next ripple. No single ripple can be taken out of context. Without the drop and without the previous ripple, all other ripples will fade back in to the water. The staff felt called to focus on the first ripple, Circle one--calling the church into intimacy with God.
Several months after moving into Harvest Christian Center, the staff made an additional change. The evening service, called Night Life, had been a separate worship & outreach event since it started at Bridge City, but instead of holding two different services each Saturday, one with a worship focus and one with an evangelism focus, each led by different groups of people, Bridge City decided to hold two identical worship services that each included evangelistic elements. Instead of having two separate leadership groups, all the leaders would be drawn together into one leadership community. People who normally attended one service but couldn't due to a schedule problem, could attend the other without missing anything. People who attended the morning service, could bring a friend to the evening service. And both services would be served with the same excellence and commitment, since neither would be a "second" service.
Slowly confidence grew. Sometime during this period--for most Bridge City participants--the church transitioned from being a brand-new thing that might not be around the following week to being a fully living organism. The number of people attending stabilized. Financial giving stabilized. New leaders began to step up and make larger commitments of time. While the church was not as big as it had been even two years before, there was a much stronger sense of community and stability.
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