The
Rev. Dennis Cook was called to St. Timothy's, Ajax in May of
2002. Dennis is married to Eileen, who works at a local Tim
Horton’s. They have three children ages 19, 17 and 15.
Before entering the ministry in 1983, Dennis worked as a
social worker in Hamilton and North York in a Group Home,
Children’s Aid Society and Social Services. This background
is of great help in seeking to meet the pastoral needs (hospital
visitation, counselling, times of crisis, a listening ear)
of the congregation.
With an informal, yet well organized style, Dennis seeks
to make sermons, Bible studies and seminars relevant to
everyday life. He uses his gift of encouragement to enable
people to grow in their faith at their own speed and in
their own way so they can develop their own ministries
to serve the congregation and the community. Christianity
as "a relationship" and as "a faith journey" are
regular themes for sermons and studies.
Always open to new things Dennis spends his free time "surfing
the net", reading, watching British mystery and comedy
programs, listening to music (particularly soundtracks) and
watching the Leafs and Ti-Cats with his 15 year old son.
Two recent summer exchange vacations to Scotland had a great
impact on the family leaving Dennis, in particular, with
a desire to visit Scotland and Yorkshire whenever possible.
When asked, recently, to express his philosophy of ministry
and his views on worship, preaching, music, pastoral care
and church growth Dennis wrote this:
“My role as a minister encompasses many areas:
·
Preaching and teaching the Gospel in a way that is relevant
to people’s lives, offering both encouragement and
challenge.
·
Offering acceptance, care and prayer when people are in the
midst of difficulties and celebrating God’s touch in
their lives when things are going well.
·
Helping people discover, appreciate and use the gifts God
has given to them so they might grow in their faith relationship
with Christ through discipleship and service.
·
Walking with people during their faith journey, offering
help, comfort and hope.
·
Always, in all that I do as a minister, I am walking my own
faith journey and am being comforted, encouraged and taught
by those around me.
The Worship Service is the focus of the week for Christian
community. It is the place where the congregation gathers
to offer to God their lives, their praise, and their gifts.
It is the place where people open themselves up to God, supported
by one another. Worship and preaching are the times in the
work of a minister when the most people will be touched and
affected, week in and week out.
At its best, Worship is an invigorating mix of divergent
themes and hopes. It is enjoyable and challenging, awesome
and personal, formal and informal, serious and fun. It is
a community enjoying the presence of one another and seeking
the presence of God. With the Holy Spirit touching lives,
worship can be comforting and encouraging as well as demanding.
It should always be grace-filled.
Preaching is the attempt to bring God’s Word into
the needs of people in the present day. A sermon is the result
of the attempt, through a careful study of Scripture and
its context, to build a responsible application for today.
Knowing people and their concerns and hopes is essential
for relevance to occur. Illustrations and humour are very
important tools to help people remember the principles the
sermon focuses upon. I have done storytelling and guided
meditations as well as “regular” preaching so
that things can be fresh for the congregation and me.
Music is an important part of worship. I like both traditional
and contemporary music. A Worship Service can gain much from
having a blend of both. This balance is not just for hymns
but also allows for people to play different instruments
and offer solos during worship.
Because it is so experiential music has the power of underlining
memories and, as such, is a wonderful worship tool. It is
important to honour the memories of those who are older while
seeking the opportunity to make new memories for everyone
through all kinds of music.
One of the great privileges and responsibilities of being
a minister is offering pastoral care. Few people are invited
into people lives at such diverse moments as birth, baptism,
the loss of employment, family problems or break-up, the
discovery of illness and death. It is an incredible role
and must be looked upon with great humility.
My emphasis in pastoral care has been in crisis oriented
situations, hospital visitation and visitation of shut-ins.
My social work background is of help and effects the way
I perceive my role. I tend not to invite myself into people’s
lives with the assumption they want me there. If a need arises
I will be in touch with people and offer assistance. If they
are open I will become more involved. If they are not open
I will stay in touch from a distance to see if their needs
change. It is important for me to convey to the congregation
my openness and acceptance so that they feel comfortable
coming to me themselves or welcoming me when I call. I attempt
to be gentle, encouraging, non-threatening and non-judgmental
in my relationship with people and thus build trust and openness.
Confidentiality is of the utmost importance. I treat it
with the greatest respect.
Church growth is an important goal for me—growth spiritually
and growth numerically. My evangelism style is relational.
My experience and comfort level have to do with encouraging
the congregation to invite friends, relatives, neighbours
etc. who are not connected to a Church to try out our congregation.
A new person is more likely to be comfortable at a new Church
(sometimes it’s the first time ever in Church), if
a friend, whom they trust, invites them, sits with them and
makes them feel at home in the Church.
Connected to this, it is important for us all, as Christians,
to know and be able to enunciate our own faith story. Our
story about why Christ and faith are important to us is something
we can share with anyone who seeks the reason for our faith.
Relationships allow us the opportunity to share our story.
Relationships also allow us the opportunity to invite others
to Church and to help people recognize and embrace their
own faith journey.
For those who find the Church on their own, walking into
a building they do not know and sitting with people they
have never met and engaging in worship they have not experienced
can be a very challenging experience. Therefore, a growing
congregation needs to be aware of newcomers and have a warm,
welcoming atmosphere. I believe St. Timothy’s joyfully
offers this to newcomers.”
Dennis can be reached at revdjcook@hotmail.com
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