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What I Hate Most About Going on Sabbatical

Well, I’m sitting at the Indy airport and waiting for our first flight out of the US through New York. As usual the plane is running behind, but I know that the flight will be easy and relatively painless. As we think about this incredible opportunity that you and God have afforded us we have talked a lot as a family about what we will enjoy most:
- The beautiful Greek Islands
- The gorgeous cathedrals of Rome
- Walking into buildings that have stood (or kinda stood) for thousands and thousands of years
- Relaxing as a family, and just enjoying each others company
- Being able to read books just for fun and not for school or a sermon

All of these we have truly looked forward to, but we did recently ask the question, “What will you like least about our sabbatical”. After a couple of quiet moments, we all agreed what we’d miss most are the people in our lives.
- Friends who we’ve spent hours hanging out with
- People who we’ve loved and invested in
- People who love and have invested in us
- Celebrating each week with Friendship Church
- Hearing all about what is going on in your lives

I’ve heard it said, usually by a very grumpy pastor, that ministry would be great if it weren’t for all the people. To be honest, I think that statement is just STUPID!! Was that honest enough? Yes, ministry to people can sometimes be tough, draining, and downright frustrating some times…BUT the reward is you get to see people make life altering decisions to follow Christ, help a family get back together, assist people in getting their broken lives put back together. No, ministry is great BECAUSE of the people!

We love you all, and keep checking back as we’ll try to keep this as updated as possible.

Dave

Posted by  |  May 25, 2012 | Categories: Church, Family, Random thoughts | Tags: | Leave A Comment »

Why Am I Going On Sabbatical?

I think one of the coolest things about Friendship Church is that we are constantly trying to take the long-term view of things. Always asking the question, “How will this affect us 5, 10, 15 years from now?” This approach has saved us from making a lot of short-sited decisions that could have had significant, long-term repercussions. It has also enabled us to make hard decisions with short-term pain for long-term health.

This is exactly what we did when evaluating if it was a good thing and good time for my family and I to take a sabbatical. We are certainly not “burned out”, frustrated, or tired of leading Friendship. In fact, this is the most fun I’ve had in a long time. It’s an absolute joy to be able to watch decisions we made 3-5 years ago become reality and see all these people come to know Christ and so many of you take huge steps in your spiritual growth. In all transparency, this is the last time I would choose to go on sabbatical. I love leading the charge, being the visionary, teaching the Word, and watching lives change…but that is the short-term view of things.

The long-term view says, bigger things are yet to come, greater growth is just around the corner, and what we are experiencing now is just a sliver of the blessing God has for us. If I continue to lead the charge through this time, my batteries may not have enough left to lead an even bigger charge later, and that’s not acceptable. If our vision as a church is to “glorify God as an effective and influential church” then it’s leaders must make sure that they are doing the same with their lives. If staying and enjoying this Summer with my amazing church means that I won’t be as effective as possible when I’m needed most, then I’m being selfish.

I heard John Maxwell once give an incredible illustration, it went something like this. Nature gives us one of the best examples of shared leadership and the importance of down-time. When geese fly across country going South or back North they fly in a “V” formation, as I’m sure you’ve seen. This formation gives the flock incredible aerodynamics and allows them as a group to fly infinitely farther than they could individually. The formation allows for each goose to receive a certain amount of lift from the flapping of the wings of the goose directly in front of them. The lead goose takes the brunt of the wind for the group and his wings provide lift for the entire group, while the rest of the geese “honk” their encouragement to him to keep up the pace. When the goose in the lead becomes tired, another leader rotates to the front. This enables the entire group to continue moving forward while at the same time allowing the lead goose gets the much needed rest for the next length of the journey.

That is why my family and I are going on sabbatical. I want to be ready for the next phase of the journey of Friendship Church. I believe with all my heart that greater things are on their way, that God has more in store for us than any of us can even begin to think or imagine, and I want to be ready! In the short-term it will be painful to be away from you this Summer, but the long-term rewards will far outweigh short-term pain.

“No discipline (training) seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of peace and righteousness for those who are trained by it.” Heb 12:11

Posted by  |  May 8, 2012 | Categories: Church, Family, Leadership | Tags: , , | Leave A Comment »

What is the point of a Sabbatical?

Starting on Sunday, May 20th I will have the incredible opportunity to take a sabbatical. My sabbatical will go throughout the Summer of 2012 with a highlight of being able to walk the streets that the Apostle Paul walked, taught, lived, and died. So, what is the point of a sabbatical?

Rest: A major part of our sabbatical is for rest. The ability to not have to preach every single week, be ready to counsel at a moments notice, or be actively engaged in decision making. If you run an engine at maximum rpm (rotations per minute) for too long you can burn up the engine. The same is true for human beings, especially those who carry the burden of leadership. If you truly love the people you lead you carry their burdens with you, and after a certain period of time if you don’t take an extended time of rest, it begins to take a toll on your continued abitlity to lead effectively. I love Friendship Church way to much to get to the point where my leadership becomes less or even completely ineffective. I have no desire to “burn out”, I want my fire to continue to burn bright over my entire life!

Renew: The second component of our sabbatical is renewal. All throughout our sabbatical I will be reading, writing, and studying. I want my passion for Christ, my joy for ministry, and my love for Friendship to be renewed and stoked to it’s full potential! Although I won’t be physically with you I will be daily praying and asking for God’s incredible blessings to continue to flow, and when I return, with completely full tanks, we’ll be ready to take the future that God has for us!

Reconnect: The final piece of our sabbatical is to reconnect with each other. Just like any family as we grow up we tend to move towards our own loves and joys, which can sometimes cause us to not spend as much time together. Unlike other families the pressure of ministry exaggerates those tensions and makes it more difficult to reconnect. So, we decided that it was essential that none of this sabbatical was done alone, we will do it as a family. Our girls are entering transitional times in their lives and this Summer is perfect timing for us to strengthen our bond and our relationships.

I am so thankful to Friendship Church for allowing me and my family to enjoy such an incredible blessing. This is a gift that I wish everyone could enjoy at some point in their lives, and I am so blessed to be able to experience it!

Posted by  |  May 5, 2012 | Categories: Church, Leadership | Tags: , , | 2 Comments »

The Church is the Hope of the World?

Well known mega-church pastor, Bill Hybels, is famous for his oft-repeated statement, “The church is the hope of the world!”.  So, how does that hit you?  Some would say that is an overstatement.  Some would say that the world is truly without hope, that the church just simply makes this world tolerable until Christ comes back.  Some would say, “It depends upon your eschatology” (yeah, I had to throw that in there, it means your theology of the end of the world).

The biggest “push-back” I’ve really ever heard is that Jesus, not the church is the hope of the world.  Which sounds incredibly spiritual…but at best it’s Biblically inaccurate at worst it’s an intentional denial of the true nature and purpose of the church.  Let me explain:

What is the nature of the church?  

The main metaphor used to describe the church in the Bible is the Body of Christ.  We are told that Jesus Christ is the Head and the church is the body.  Taking this analogy the church is the main and only outlet for the will of Christ to be accomplished on the earth.  Now that is a powerful statement.  If you woke up tomorrow to your screeching alarm and your brain sent a message to your right hand to reach over and smack the crap out of it, but your hand didn’t move you’d be concerned.  The natural outlet of your brains or heads desires is your body.  In the same way the natural outlet of the desires and will of Christ is the Church!

What is the purpose of the church?

When Jesus Christ left this earth he gave this very specific command to the men who would launch the church,

“Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you.” – Matthew 28:19-20.

So, the purpose of the church is to reach people for Christ and then train them to be like Christ (disciples).  But, how do we do that?  Paul answers that question,

“And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him.  For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.  So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” – 2 Corinthians 5:18-20.

So, the purpose of the church is to reach people for Christ, train them to be like Christ, and our method of doing that is to be the ambassadors or representatives of Christ’s message to the world which is “Come back to God!”

According to the Bible the church IS the way the message of Jesus Christ is getting out.  So, the question then becomes, “Is Jesus Christ the hope of the world?”  The answer is found in the book of Matthew (other places as well, but this is really the clearest and most compelling), as he retells a prophecy given several hundred years before the birth of Jesus Christ…

“Look at my Servant, whom I have chosen. He is my Beloved, who pleases me. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations. He will not fight or shout or raise his voice in public. He will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle. Finally he will cause justice to be victorious. And his name will be the hope of all the world.” – Matthew 12:18-21

Since Jesus is without question THE one and only Hope of the world, and we his church are the main and only outlet for the will of Christ to be accomplished on the earth, then the church without question and without embarrassment IS THE HOPE OF THE WORLD!

Now the question is are we living up to our billing?

Posted by  |  February 19, 2012 | Categories: Church | Tags: , , , | Leave A Comment »

I’m not a Catholic, but…

Religious freedom is never taken away in large fail swoops, it’s taken away crumb by crumb until all you have left are, well, crumbs.  When Hitler began his attack on freedoms at the beginning of his totaletarian dictatorship he did not give a grandiose speech telling everyone in Germany that he was taking away their freedoms, no one would have voted for him.  Instead, he slowly made a group of people that were already looked upon with suspicion into enemies of the state, the Socialists.  Once he had them out of the way, he went to the next group, and the next, and the next, and so on, until he had no opposition left; several million Jews had been slaughtered, along with countless Christians, not to mention the millions of young men who lost their lives because of WWII.

I believe that German pastor Martin Niemoeller, describes the danger best in his reflections during this time:

First they came for the Socialists, and I
did not speak out —
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists,
and I did not speak out —
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did
not speak out — Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me — and there was
no one left to speak for me.

I’m not a Catholic, nor do I believe as Catholics do that contraception is wrong, however, I see a very dangerous and destructive pattern beginning to emerge.  If you listen carefully you will hear certain groups of people within the US being marginalize, criticized, and even demonized because of their beliefs, whether they are orthodox or not.  Now, we see our own government telling us what we can or cannot believe and therefore behave like, that is not okay, that is flat out wrong!

I’m not a Catholic, but I will stand up for their right to not be forced to fund that which is against their beliefs.  Primarily because one day it may be us Evangelical Christians who are being told that we must now fund “X” which violates our core beliefs or face fines/imprisonment, and I for one would like others to be there standing with us!

 

Posted by  |  February 10, 2012 | Categories: Church, Leadership, Random thoughts | Leave A Comment »

Everyone At Friendship Church Should Read This!

Yes, I know that more than just my people at Friendship Church follow my blog, and this article will be great for you as well.  But, it is essential that everyone from Friendship read this article.  It is probably one of the best, if not the best written and most practical article on the subject of our guests that I have ever read.

Geoff Surrat planted Seacoast Church and lead it as it grew to one of the most influential and effective churches in the United States.  He recently retired and has been visiting several churches anonymously, and has shared some of his insights in this article, along with some solutions.

Take 10 minutes and read through this great article and ask where you can improve!

5 Simple Ways To Make Your Church Stickier – Geoff Surrat

Posted by  |  February 7, 2012 | Categories: Church, Leadership | 1 Comment »

Charm is deceptive…

“Charm is deceptive…but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” – Prov 31:30

I want to start by saying I am no male chauvinist!  I have three sisters, two beautiful daughters, and an amazing wife.  I believe that women are incredible and except for the role of Senior Pastor within a local church can be used by God any way He sees fit.

However, I have noticed in almost 20 years of ministry and an equal amount of time growing up in a pastor’s home, that there is a type of woman who is incredibly destructive, the charming/deceptive Woman.

Now, she doesn’t wear a t-shirt saying she’s dangerous, but she should.  In fact, most people don’t even see her as dangerous, they see her as sweet, kind, and considerate; but nothing could be further from the truth.  This type of woman uses her charm to gain access to information and to gain favor so that she can later leverage them for information or for her benefit.

Allow me to help you uncover this dangerous woman:

  • She comes off as very sweet, charming, and innocent.
  • She’s NEVER offended by anything, but she ALWAYS seems to know the people who are.
  • She seems to know everything that’s going on in everyone’s lives.
  • She is constantly having lunches, coffee, and meetings with other ladies.
  • She rarely says anything blatantly wrong, but she often makes snide comments and derogatory statements.
  • She doesn’t like anyone giving her rules or guidelines (now she doesn’t buck them directly, she just complains to all of her friends about how stupid or silly they are).
  • She sees herself as a “mediator”, simply another way of gaining more information.
  • She sees a legitimate need, tells no-one about it, answers the need herself, then complains about how no one (except herself of course) is doing anything about it.
  • She is often seen after services or during functions off to the side having a “conversation” with one or two other ladies.

I’m sure we could add more to this list but this should give you some good warning signs if you have someone like this in your life.  If you do, you must immediately cut yourself off!  Here’s why,

  • A woman who will tell you about others and their problems will tell others about you and your problems.
  • A woman who can’t follow leadership is only in it for herself, you’ll become collateral damage.
  • A woman who puts down or is negative about the authority over her, will tear you apart if you ever try to confront her with any kind of wrong she’s doing.

 

Now, contrast that with the woman who “Fears” the Lord.  First, the word fear, as it is used here, means to have incredible respect, honor, and a healthy understanding of what God is capable of.  In other words, this is a lady that puts God, his agenda, and knowledge of what he can do ahead of her own desires.

  • She doesn’t attempt to manipulate a situation to her advantage, she knows that God is her advantage.
  • She doesn’t try to get the juicy details, she trusts that God will take care of what she doesn’t know.
  • She willingly and joyfully submits to her authorities because she knows that they are there to protect her, and when she bucks them she is bucking God.
  • She knows the destructive nature of the tongue and the anger that God has for those that cause division, and puts massive guardrails around her life to keep her from straying down that path.

This woman God praises, lifts up, exalts, and gives greater honor.

If I were a woman I know who I would hang around!

Posted by  |  February 6, 2012 | Categories: Christian Life, Church | Leave A Comment »

Humility served with Grace…

Friendship Church has been growing like crazy lately and I must be honest in saying that I’ve taken a great deal of joy in it.  I’m fairly certain I’ve been able to steer clear of pride or taking undue credit, but I’m pretty sure that yesterday was God’s gentle preemptive strike on any pride that might be flaring up inside of me.

I drove up to the church yesterday around 7:30am.  I had already visited my local Starbucks and had a pleasant conversation with a couple of the barista’s that I know.  I was looking forward to having just a tremendous morning worshiping unhindered with my Friendship Church family.

You know that feeling that you get when you know something is about to happen?  Yeah, I didn’t get that feeling, but something sure did happen!  In fact, a whole bunch of things happened!  Without going into detail, not an awful lot went according to plan.  I grabbed the guys that were there already, and said in my most confident voice, “Guys, when things like this happen we can be certain that God is up to something great!  Our job is just to be flexible.”  I truly meant it, I’d been here before, but it didn’t stop my heart from beating a little bit faster.

I went to my office and read through my notes and Scripture passages one more time and then I began to pray for the morning.  I prayed for my family, the families of all the ministry leaders who were on for the day, I prayed for the band, ushers, greeters, coffee team, kids volunteers, and every body else I could think of.  As I was praying I felt my voice crack, just ever so slightly.  I’ve been struggling with my sinuses for over a week and my head felt like it was about to explode.  So, I prayed for myself, that I’d be able to think clearly, to communicate with energy and enthusiasm.

As I walked out of my office for our morning prayer/pep-talk with all of our volunteers, I could literally feel the heaviness of the spiritual battle that was taking place.  I sensed that something was going on, I just couldn’t put my finger on it, and still can’t.  We all gathered together and I told them the same thing that I had told the guys earlier and we all prayed together.

As the service began there were a lot of empty seats, and that old fear began to creep back into the back of my mind.  I had just sent out an e-mail telling people how great things had been going, what they could do to help us continue to grow like parking on the grass, sitting in different spots, etc…  And, now our attendance was going to be low, “I’m going to look like and idiot” I thought.

Just then it hit me, now it wasn’t an audible voice but I heard it just as if it was.  ”Do you see how fragile ‘your’ success is?  With just a few sick children, a couple of families that stayed up too late last night, an alarm clock or two that didn’t go off, and the numbers are all gone.  Remember, it is only with ME that all things are possible.”

At that moment I thanked God for all He has done for us, and will do for us.  I confessed any potential pride that was welling up inside of me, and I simply prayed that somehow, in some way that the message and the music would make an impact in someone’s life.

When I got up to speak, I was stunned.  No, not every seat was filled and we were down a little bit, but what I saw was that God had already worked even before I said a word.  My message was certainly not the best, my head is still throbbing and I’m pretty sure I lost my train of thought more than once, but I’m also certain that he used it, IN SPITE OF ME!

And there my friends was God serving me a little bit of humility with a side of grace…

Posted by  |  January 29, 2012 | Categories: Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

10 Questions Unchurched People Aren’t Asking – Perry Noble

One of my new favorite guys, both as a speaker, pastor, and blogger, is Perry Noble.  A while ago Perry posted 10 Questions that churches tend to answer even though no one is asking.  Perry doesn’t suggest that these aren’t important questions, just that no unsaved, lost person is asking them.

A lost person cares about 1 thing and 1 thing only, is what you are offering going to be of value to me.  Now, before you get all uppity, stop and think for a second.  The term the Bible uses for people who don’t know Christ is, “LOST”.  I don’t know about you, but I’ve been lost on more than one occasion in my life, one time in the woods (I’ll tell you that story later), and do you know the only question I was asking?  ”How do I get out of here?!”  I want to be the type of church that points lost people in the only direction that will actually help them get, Un-Lost!

Check out his post here: 10 Questions Unchurched People Aren’t Asking 

Posted by  |  January 18, 2012 | Categories: Church, Leadership | Leave A Comment »

Unexpected, but not Unprepared

I woke up this morning to high winds, rain, and thunder…in the middle of January in Indiana!  Now that is unexpected.

I have a friend who up until just recently was the main trainer for an entire State Police force, who visited us just recently.  We had a couple of different long conversations and one such conversations veered into being prepared for things you can’t prepare for.  We talked at length about things that had come into our lives that were unexpected and completely unplanned for, and how we handled them.

Near the end of our conversation he said, “What I teach State Troopers each week is eerily similar to what we’ve been talking about.”  He went on to explain the levels of preparedness he teaches all his recruits, I’m using my own terms but it’s the same idea:

Oblivious: you go through life with absolutely no clue that something might not go as planned.  So, when something hits you, you freak out, you have no plan, you have no backup, you are, well to put it bluntly, screwed!

Aware: you are walking through life with a plan, but you don’t expect anything to happen. You have an idea of what you would do if something does happen, but you haven’t fully thought it out.  So, when something hits you, you don’t totally loose your cool but it takes you a while to recover.

Alert: you are walking through life with a plan, and a back-up plan, and you know how you’ll react if something does happen.  So, when it does you’re not shocked, you can quickly correct course, and continue to move forward.

Alarmed: you walk through life with a plan believing that the very next step you take will bring about the destruction of everything around you, you have 7 different plans of reaction.  So, when it does happen, you have the potential of over-reacting and making a bigger deal out of it then necessary, and thereby cause bigger problems.

As I listened to my friend talk, I realized how often I had talked with people who were living in oblivious-ville.  They were stunned and their lives were almost destroyed, simply because they were walking through life without any expectation of the unexpected.  I also thought about the amount of times, especially early in ministry, that I assumed I was walking on alert status, when I was only really aware, and how long it took me to make the necessary corrections because I hadn’t clearly thought through my backup plan.

I have made it my goal to walk through life living comfortably on Alert status, not red alert borderline paranoia, just alert.  I want to be ready when that thing comes around the corner in my life, I’m determined to expect the unexpected.

Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. – 1 Peter 5:8

Posted by  |  January 17, 2012 | Categories: Christian Life, Leadership | Leave A Comment »

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