1/6/06, Announcement re. Elders' Health, Work Situations, Church Restructuring/Public Day of Prayer and Fasting

From: Lyndon Dohms
To: [List]
Sent: Sunday, January 01, 2006 7:22 AM
Subject: RPNA Session Announcements

January 1, 2006

Dear Ones,

It is necessary in God's providence to make the
following three announcements for which we encourage
you to devote time to God in prayer.

1. Due to the poor health and accompanying stress that
have come upon Elder Greg Barrow, we believe it is
necessary for him to take a two month leave of absence
from his duties and responsibilities associated with
his office as an Elder. Elder Barrow's blood pressure
and cholesterol level remain dangerously high. He is
presently having difficulty adjusting to the
medications that have been prescribed for this
condition. In addition, he continues to have weekly
bouts with kidney stones (that have continued for
approximately two years) and daily problems with a
sleeping disorder which prevent him from gaining
the rest he needs. We are sufficiently concerned for
his health that we, as a Session, have taken the step
to relieve him of his duties for the next two months.

2. This leave of absence comes at a time in which
Elder Lyndon Dohms has had an enormous amount of
responsibility placed upon his shoulders with the
death of his boss and friend, Ron Mix. Elder Dohms
will likely be in Louisiana for the next two months to
complete projects that are presently under contract.
As a result, Elder Dohms will likely have little or no
time to devote to the Eldership for the foreseeable
future. Pastor Greg Price simply cannot take up the
slack that is needed in such circumstances lest he
likewise suffer from the tremendous burden of stress
that would fall upon his shoulders. Our physical
limitations and weaknesses to carry on the work of
ministry have driven us to reconsider how our present
structure is able to compensate for these human
deficiencies in God's good providence. Even prior to
these most recent trials, we have felt stretched
beyond our limits. We have seen the effects in
our inability to keep up with the work load, to
minister to those who have needs, to relieve the
stress brought into our families, and to prevent
certain ill effects in our own bodies. We desire to
be around for many years to come in order to minister
to Christ's Church and to our families. For these
reasons, we will be praying and working to propose to
the Societies over the next couple months a
restructured organization for the RPNA. No doubt you
will have many questions at this time. We ask that
you patiently wait to hear from us the specifics of
this restructuring when we make our public
presentation. At this point in time, your questions
(though sincere) will only delay being able to take
these needed steps as quickly as possible. Of course,
during the next two months, if there is an emergency for
which you need the help of Pastor Price, please feel
free to contact him.

3. In light of what has been said, we call the
Societies to a Day of Prayer and Fasting, January 21,
2006 for the purpose of humbling ourselves before God,
acknowledging our sins against the Lord and against
one another, and praying that God would be
merciful to us in strengthening our Elders, in
ministering to the needs of His people, and in
blessing the plans to restructure the RPNA. We will
be sending recommended resources as you prepare for
this Day of Prayer and Fasting.

Thank you all for your love, prayers, and
encouragement at this time.

The Session of The RPNA

Greg L. Price, Pastor
Greg Barrow, Elder
Lyndon Dohms, Elder