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The Most Asked Question Part 2

I continue to share what was building up to us moving to Washington. If you are just now jumping into this series, you can read the first one here: Part One

Ultimately everything falls to God’s sovereignty and calling in our lives. He called my family and me out of California to go to Washington in 2020 during COVID. There is no doubt in God’s timing and leading. I was afraid of going out. I was comfortable. This was the biggest step of faith we ever took as a family and in my life. God started to work on my heart about leaving Harvest and pursuing a lead pastor position in 2015.

There was some behind-the-scenes work that God was doing in my life during that time. First, as I mentioned in the previous post, God was working on my wife and me with not being comfortable but wanting to be obedient. Second, there was this leading to be a lead pastor and wrestling with what did that look like. This took years of God working in me and maturing me. I was comfortable with a salary, benefits, and community. We had great friends and a wonderful family close by. There was a fear of going out, knowing it will be hard. There was the fear of what about the future and provision. I wondered; would I ever have it this good? The Lord needed to push me. We aren’t told to pursue being comfortable, we are to pursue obedience.

The Lord was showing me areas in that I was not trusting him, and he was helping me grow in being a shepherd. I did have formal education in ministry as well as many years of experience. In 2015 I read The Pastor’s Justification by Jared C. Wilson and The Way of the Dragon or the Way of the Lamb by Jamin Goggin and Kyle Strobel which challenged me immensely regarding ministry.

Both these books painted the picture for me of how Scripture lays out pastoral ministry. Don’t get me wrong, I was highly influenced by some very godly men. For example, Pastor Forrest Rickard who was my boss for several years, modeled servant leadership and was very diligent in what he did. Another was Pastor Ralph Arthur. He was calm, not pushy, patient, and humble. When I think of a shepherd he comes to mind (He went home to be with the Lord in 2009). Alyssa’s father, Paul, is a pastor who serves behind the scenes. He doesn’t want to be in the limelight. These men, could teach the Bible well, but were not charismatic in personality that amassed a huge following. They didn’t care about their Instagram or Twitter followers. What made them stand out was how they cared for others and humbly served. In short, they pointed to Jesus.

Am I Missing Something

There are several others too that are not speakers at conferences nor have written books but that they quietly served the Lord. I guess God used these examples as well as these books to help with the wrestling that was going on with me. I would ask myself, is what I see with so many big-name evangelical pastors the way we are to pastor? The rise of the celebrity pastor, what seemed to be influencing young men in ways to pursue the pastorate just didn’t seem quite the same as what we read in the New Testament. Am I missing something? There was this constant pursuit of what do I need to do (the following) and what the Bible says (Jesus is bigger than me).

It was in 2018, Alyssa and I went on a trip to do some research on different multisite ministry models. This particular trip led us to a church that had many locations and it seemed to be successful at it but what I witnessed was disturbing. I do not want to go into detail but to summarize what I witnessed was not a model of Jesus shepherding. Outside this trip, I was beginning to see a lot of shepherds feeding off the sheep instead of feeding the sheep (Ezekiel 34:2-5). I was alarmed and I needed to look at myself and see my motives, was that me?

Was that Me?

Shepherding From Behind the Scenes

Two passages that kept coming to mind during this time were John 3:27-30 and 1 Peter 5:1-3.

In the first passage, John 3, we read how John the Baptist was asked by his disciples why so many were leaving to Jesus. Basically, John’s following was shrinking. This would be a hard pill to swallow but his response reveals the goal as shepherds.

He says, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.’ The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:27-30).

I constantly need to remind myself- It is not about me! Jesus must be known, and I don’t need to be. Guess what, I struggle with this daily. Pride and power come up. I want to be known. Sometimes under the guise of making a difference. But at the end of the day, if I point to Jesus and I may be forgotten, that is a win because Jesus is magnified. I need to die to myself daily.

The other passage is Peter’s admonishment to elders.

So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock (1 Peter 5:1-3).

Notice Peter is pointing to the one who really runs the church, Jesus. The witness of the under-shepherd is to magnify the beauty of the Savior, the chief Shepherd. Oh, how I fail at times. There is too much of self that I must cut out and more of Jesus to point to.

Ministry is tricky. The pastoral ministry is even more so. The danger of pride and power today run rampant amongst pastors just like it did in the first century. The danger of pride and power is something that I too am prone to. Sin is knocking at the door and a shepherd must guard, fight, and ask for others to hold them accountable. Really this is shepherding behind the scenes. Jesus is center stage and there is joy pointing to him from behind!

To summarize, what led us to leave California and move to Washington to a smaller, rural church was that I was called to pastor a church. May Jesus be magnified. He must increase, but I must decrease!

Thank God for his grace and his patience. I am still learning this.

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Top 5 Books of 2022

I tried to set a goal of how many books to read in the year. Last year (2022) I wanted to read 24 books and ended up reading 25. I had a wide range that I read. Some were for school (Masters of Theology), some were fiction for fun (for example, Jeff Carson’s David Wolfe series is awesome), and for growth with my relationship with the Lord.  

I use Goodreads to keep track of my progress. I don’t usually add a review on there but others do and sometimes it is helpful to read what others think about the book. You can set up your reading goals and add the books as you go.

Here are 5 of the ones I took away the most from:

Live No Lies

John Mark Comer, a pastor in Portland, brings forth this thought-provoking book about living a life of honesty. He is influenced by Dallas Willard and thinking spiritual formation. I did this book as an audiobook. John Comer read was the narrator and it was good. His writing style is different, and you need to listen well. I think I would like to go back and read it the next time around. 

Comer writes, “Human beings simply can’t live without loving relationships and meaning to both our suffering and our existence as a whole. Jesus comes to offer both.” This quote shows the focus of the book is on the power of the gospel transforming our lives.

Amusing Ourselves to Death

After reading George Orwell’s 1984, I was intrigued with dystopian social science fiction. I wanted to read Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman. It takes a different approach to dystopian literature that instead of the government limited reading and knowledge, people are so amused by news and media that they are apathetic to reality. Postman warns that we would become so inundated with irrelevant information that we would be apathetic to what does matter. Given today’s strong social media presence this is very timely.

Overcoming Apathy

Uchi Anizor is an associate professor of Theology at Biola University. This book was challenging and very needed. Anizor describes what apathy is and the dangers for the Christian. It is a light book and easy to read. I would recommend this book as a read for Christians.  

Anizor writes, “Overcoming Apathy is an attempt to think through the concept, experience, and healing of apathy. Its goal is to help readers see apathy and its causes more clearly, highlight how God responds to the apathetic in gracious and hope-filled ways, and explore practices to help combat it in the day-to-day.” Christians need this reminder as we are inundated with many distractions. The danger is becoming apathetic to God’s calling in our lives. Apathetic to loving our neighbors. Apathetic to loving God.

Gospel Bound

Collin Hansen and Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra do an excellent job of presenting the importance of the gospel in an age of anxiety. Through storytelling they share the struggles of others relieved and impacted by the gospel. We live in an age and day where hope is lost and many are anxious. It is so important for us to point others to true hope that is in Jesus Christ.

The Apostle Paul writes, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope” (Romans 15:13).

Secular Creed

Rebecca McLaughlin addresses contemporary terms and what do they mean. This was a great and short read that helps navigate through some the culture wars of today. It is so important for Christians today to be grounded in the Word of God (1 Peter 3:15).

McLaughlin handles tough topics such as Black Lives Matters, Women’s Rights, and Transgenderism with grace and truth. I recommend this read to Christians to help navigate those tough topics while being able to address them with truth in love.

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The One Thing

I try to read a variety of books and every now and then I try to read something to help me be a little more focused or productive. I still highly value Tim Challies book, Do More Better. It is simple and he gives some very practical direction. I recommend reading it regarding productivity with a Christian perspective.

Recently I read The One Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan. It is not written with a Christian perspective but more of a business book on executing that one thing well. The theme of the book is to focus on the one thing that we are doing and do it well, focus on it, and guard from being distracted to divert from it. 

I could not help but revert to what the Apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians about himself. We don’t get a lot of pre-Paul before he was a Christian other than he was zealous in stopping The Way. He wrote this background about himself and about his purpose in life, “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil 3:12-14).

What’s the Christians One Thing?

The Apostle Paul points to his one thing that really is summary of the Christian life. 

The Christian doesn’t have to figure out what their One Thing is. We are told. It is Jesus Christ. Paul says, “But this one thing I do…” This is him showing what his motivation is, what his purpose is, what gets him up at night, what he guards with his time, what he says yes to and what he says no to. 

This is also not limited that The One Thing that a Christian does is meant for the pastor or the evangelist. This one thing that Paul desired was to make Jesus Christ known. The Christian can be, is encouraged to be, creative in this endeavor. The Christian can work in a secular business and still be about The One Thing- Jesus Christ. Their work becomes more than a job, it becomes an opportunity to share the gospel.

The Christian looks at their house not just as a home, or shelter. It is an opportunity to live out the One Thing- Jesus Christ among their neighbors.

The Christian looks at their community based on God placing them there and a place to love their neighbor because of their One Thing- Jesus Christ and to make him known.

The Straining Towards This One Thing

Paul uses this language of stringing towards the goal. It is like a runner leaning in, straining to cross the finish-line. They are all about it at that moment. The Christian is all about this one thing.

There are many distractions out there, there are many other things that can cause the Christian to lose focus.

Paul’s language points to the priority of the gospel regardless of other things.

Did you lose gospel focus in 2022?

I am so thankful that God’s mercies are new each morning (Lam 3:22-23). He is gracious and forgiving. When you think much of the gospel it is our motivation to go forward. Jesus, who knew no sin, became sin for us, so that we would be counted the righteousness of God (2 Cor 5:21). Knowing what Jesus did on our behalf is what we need to as we strain towards the goal each day.

Think much of the gospel in 2023!