Yes, I’m now a pastor. I still shake my head at how the whole thing came about.
For a couple of years now, a group of men (myself included) have met at Emmanuel Baptist Church on Wednesday mornings for prayer. Last April, one of the elders told us of an interesting development from the previous evening’s prayer meeting. A few men from Little Brown Chapel, a small church up in Wickersham (about a half-hour’s drive away), had come to Emmanuel to ask if they knew if someone who would be willing to preach for them (and maybe become their next pastor), since their pastor was stepping down in June.
During our half-hour of prayer time, several men prayed that God would raise up someone to bring God’s word to this small flock. I, on the other hand, was stunned into speechlessness. The moment that Bruce told us of the need, I knew. I knew that this was God’s will. I knew that I was going to preach for these people. I knew that I was going to become their next pastor.
When the prayer time was over, three different men separately told me, “You need to look into this, John. This sounds like a good fit for you.”
(At this point, I have to back up for a minute. I’ve always loved preaching and teaching, but for about 6 months prior, I had felt God stirring my heart toward pastoral ministry. I knew that this was impossible – there was just no way it could happen with my current life situation. But the longing was there, and it was growing.)
I went home and told my wife about it, sure that she would be totally against the idea. And who could blame her? Leave our comfortable church of 600+ with a terrific children’s ministry and top-notch preaching for a congregation of 20? Plus, Naomi (a missionary/pastor’s kid herself) had made it clear that she could handle anything but being a pastor’s wife.
“I think you should call Christian and follow up on this,” Naomi told me.
So I sent Christian Smith, my pastor at Emmanuel, the following email:
Hi Christian -
This morning at prayer group, Bruce shared with us about the visit to the elder’s meeting from the Wickersham church who are looking for someone to preach. I don’t put much stock in inner promptings, but I immediately felt prompted to volunteer to help this congregation out if the need hasn’t been filled already. I don’t know if this is a good fit (as my pastor, you can perhaps judge that better than I), but I’d be remiss if I didn’t reach out to investigate the possibility.
- John
Three minutes later, I got an email back from Christian, which began like this:
Wonderful! I had you in mind too!
The next day, I got a call from Ray, who heads up the elder board at Little Brown Chapel, and I was all set to start preaching on June 12, and to continue through June and July, at which point “we’d see how’s it’s going.” (In other words, this was a trial run – kind of like 7 weeks of candidating!)
Oh, and since their departing pastor was going to be out of town on May 15, would I be willing to preach that day too?
(Stay tuned for part 2!)
August 16 2011 | Uncategorized | No Comments »
When I left for the Together for the Gospel conference last week, I was planning to post to this blog frequently, and maybe even upload some video. In my backpack was a huge stack of newly-minted business cards, which I hoped to distribute to raise my company’s profile so I could (eventually) get some business from churches. However, while sitting in the airport getting ready to leave Seattle Monday night, I felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to change my plans. The laptop stayed in the bag, and I gave out less than 10 cards – and only then because my email address was on them. I didn’t go to T4G as a business owner or a citizen journalist, but as a Christian.
I also decided to wait until a week after my return had passed before posting my reflections on the conference. Had I posted during or immediately after the event, I would have gushed about Sproul’s or Piper’s message (which were excellent, as were the others), or about how much the worship moved me (apparently, hands were raised, which isn’t something I’m prone to do). In the week since I’ve been back, I’ve relistened to five of the eight messages (I’m going in reverse order, so I’ve reviewed the sermons by Mahaney, Piper, Mohler, Sproul and Dever, with Macarthur, Anyabwile and Duncan still to go) and spent a lot of time thinking and praying. The usual “conference glow” has largely subsided.
And one week later, I can say this with complete confidence: T4G 2008 changed my life.
By God’s providence, the Wednesday speakers – Macarthur, Dever, Sproul, and Mohler – together set forth a glorious picture of the Gospel. They together pointed out areas where the Gospel is under attack in our day, and held forth the glorious truth of Jesus dying in our place, bearing our just punishment and satisfying the wrath of His Father, becoming a curse for us. (As Sproul so powerfully put it, “the gospel is our only hope – and it is hope enough.”)
And then Thursday morning, John Piper spoke on how that same gospel spurs us on to radical sacrifice. One of the texts Piper used was Hebrews 13:12-14:
So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.
At T4G, God stirred my heart. I want to go outside the camp – no, I want to go to Jesus outside the camp. I want to bear his reproach.
I used to me a little angry with my church because it seemed that I rarely get opportunities to teach (and never to preach), even though the feedback has been uniformly positive whenever I’ve done so. I think I see now why God orchestrated my forced sabbatical – there was a lot of pride in me that needed to be dealt with. I’m not saying that I’m now pride-free (that likely won’t be the case until I’m with Jesus), but at least now I see it and I hate it for the destructive sin that it is.
If God wants me to teach the gospel to a few 5 year olds, I’ll do it. If God wants me to go back to school, I’ll do it. (Granted, He’ll have to supply the means to do so – I do have a family that relies on me!) I’m not putting any parameters or limits on this. I’ll suffer if I have to. I’ll do without if I have to. I’ll look like a fool if I have to. I’ll take any opportunity that God brings my way to proclaim His gospel, because it is the world’s only hope. And it is hope enough!
Here I am, Lord. Send me!
April 25 2008 | Uncategorized | 1 Comment »