Stormy Higgins

I was blessed to grow up in a family that was committed to the Lord and to church. I witnessed not only regular church attendance, but parents and grandparents that lived out their convictions in their communities. My grandfather's daily Bible reading and my parents and grandparents stepping in to help neighbors carry burdens they could not carry alone, provided a model for my life. I have also been blessed by being a part of congregations that modeled for me and encouraged me to be involved in sharing God's love, compassion, and Word in our neighborhoods, communities, and the world.

It has been almost forty years since I surrendered my life to Christ. Over those years my connections to family, the church, and my personal study and prayer have shaped my desire to serve God and His creation.

My vision for Highland is complex because the many needs of Highland's members, the community, and the world at-large are complex. My vision for Highland is to be like a thriving city; a solid infrastructure to support growth and provide direction; an education system to educate and challenge spiritual maturity; a hospital to strengthen the weak, heal the sick, bind up the injured; a search and rescue service to bring back the strays, search for the lost; a fair and gentle judicial system to deal with conflicts or disagreements; and a community center to encourage teamwork, fellowship, and ministry to the world. Highland should be a place where members, the community, and the world may see and experience the love of God, be reconciled to Him, and give Him glory and honor.

There is no better metaphor for the role of elder than that of shepherd as described in Ezekiel 34. The shepherd is to look after God's sheep, to strengthen the weak, heal the sick, bind up the injured, bring back the strays, search for the lost, rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness, and to shepherd the flock with justice.

The role of elder is to oversee the congregation, encouraging individual spiritual growth and reconciliation to God, as well encouraging direction, unity, and strength of the congregation as a whole. The elder's responsibility is to "look after" God's people and His church, being His ambassador, loving and caring for His people the way God Himself would.