Dead Ends On The Road To Rest

June 18, 2012 in Sojourn, Theology with 7 Comments

Yesterday at Sojourn Gathered we began our summer sermon series, on Rest. This subject has been dear to my heart since six months after launching Sojourn, when a pastor-friend noticed my break-neck pace and 7-day work week, and asked “So how long can you keep this up?”

The tribe I have come to align myself with, the tribe I both love and hate, is of the Reformed Baptist variety. This tribe is known for theological accuracy (among other things) and a passion for biblical faithfulness. These are good traits to be known for. My tribe is filled with confession writers, institution founders, and church planters. In many regards this tribe is filled with heroes of the Christian faith. But:

  • We are often the ones who are overweight
  • Who have superficial relationships with our wives and don’t know our children
  • Who cough up blood, who have ulcers in our 30s,  and who are depressed, angry, worn out, and looking for another career.

These are all dead ends, yet we’re racing hard to get there.

What has a man from all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun? For all his days are full of sorrow, and his work is a vexation. Even in the night his heart does not rest. – Ecclesiastes 2:22-23

It’s Not Just Pastors. It’s You

  • Sixth graders who wake up at 5:00 a.m. to get to swim practice. Then to school all day, then piano lessons, followed by homework until 9:00 p.m.
  • College students who have a main-line IV pumping Red Bull into their blood stream. They take honors classes and volunteer at soup kitchens to build their resumé. They work out twice a day and attend every social event to avoid the dreaded label “single.” They need to figure out what they’re doing with their lives and develop their five year plan.
  • Young couples with dual incomes and no kids (the DINKS!) who are rising stars at work, pulling 50-60 hours a week. Since they have no children, they feel it’s their duty to lead a small group, serve in children’s ministry on Sundays, volunteer with the Church Finance Committee, and participate in Saturday neighborhood cleanups.
  • New mothers who are bitter with their sudden life change. Just a few months ago they were up to date on the latest women’s Bible study curriculum, spending an hour every morning pouring over the scriptures and drinking single-origin espresso. Now they have a crying baby and quiet times on the toilet.
  • 60 year-old businessmen who can’t keep up with the next generation. They see younger men willing to work twice as long for half as much, threatening their livelihoods and identities. They work every waking hour, despite a failing body, and even though the doctor says they need to slow down or face a heart attack.

All Dead Ends

And these are not exceptional case studies but rather the common experiences of the men and women in our churches, from the pastors to the preschoolers. Louder than any sermon, our lives are shouting to the world that we don’t trust God, we don’t know how to stop working, and we don’t know how to enjoy life

Every year, more and more statistics are being released that show our children are busier than ever, our people are unhappier than ever, our churches are plateauing or dying faster than ever, and our pastors are quitting more than ever.

Jesus says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”  (Matthew 11:28). Yet instead of finding rest, most of us have found long to do lists, lots of pressure, and more stress than we know how to handle. Let’s walk together this summer as we learn how to avoid dead ends and enter into God’s rest.

What are some of your own dead ends on the journey to Rest?

Sojourn Pastor Interview Series: My Talk With New Albany’s Michael Fleming

June 13, 2012 in Sojourn with 4 Comments

pastor-interview-michael-flemingOne of the things I love about being a multi-campus church is that I get to work with four great brothers, the lead pastors at each of our campuses around the Louisville area. Last week I interviewed Midtown Pastor Chad Lewis. Today, I’m honored to be joined by Michael Fleming, pastor of our newest campus, Sojourn New Albany:

Pastor Daniel: You’ve been leading Sojourn New Albany for close to eight months now. What is your vision for this campus and the city? Has it changed any since the campus first launched?

Pastor Michael: The vision for Sojourn New Albany has stayed the same but it has intensified. The big vision for Sojourn has stayed the same – we want the gospel to inform and transform our church, our city, and the world. At the same time, since we launched on October 16th of last year we have had the opportunity to better assess, respond, and dream about what God is doing in Southern Indiana.

We are a church plant on steroids. A few short months ago we were a core group of 100 meeting in the basement of a historic elementary school. Today we have experienced tremendous growth in every way and on every level. This year we will go from a staff of one to having multiple staff members. We are excited to train and unleash our first round of elders and deacons while we dream and plan to send out church planters and missionaries in the years to come.

Not only do we want to send missionaries to the nations but we want to own our own backyard as well. Pastor Gary is leading out in reaching students, families, and teachers in our surrounding neighborhood, especially through New Albany High School & middle schools. This summer we are having a community block party and basketball tournament, while also planning to host our first medical clinic this fall. It has been a roller coaster of a year but the one thing that has been evident above all is that God is at work in a major way in our church and in our community.

Pastor Daniel: You’ve said that when you came on board at Sojourn you discovered that the culture is “Animal House meets Monastery.” Talk about this impression.

Pastor Michael: I first made that statement at a Membership Meeting where I was trying to capture what it is like to work alongside three other Campus Pastors. What I love about working with our team is that they are such godly men who encourage and inspire me in my passion for Christ. Our job is about leading through the word and prayer, so the majority of our time is spent together praying for and with one another, wrestling with the scriptures together, and visioning for our churches. To make matters worse, when you walk in Daniel’s office he has a quote by a monk hanging above his desk. As a team we take the calling to preach and pastor really seriously.

But then out of nowhere, Daniel will break out a huge tray of meat for lunch. No bread. No condiments. Just meat. And then Chad Lewis will get out his guitar and — on the fly — will start singing a song confessing his love for meat. Our elder meetings are book ended with brotherhood: we start by sharing meals while watching someone do a crazy skit wearing a clerical collar, and then cap it off by hanging out until midnight and laughing together.

You can count on the fact that every time we meet something will be flying through the air or someone is racing a four wheeler around a telephone pole in someone’s front yard. There is a great balance as a team of working hard together and playing hard together.

Pastor Daniel: You left the Denver area to live in Indiana. A short time later, the Colts traded Peyton Manning to the Broncos. Is there a connection?

Pastor Michael: My attorney has warned me to be careful with how much I share about the details for Peyton’s sake, but yes I was a part of that trade. At the beginning of the trade talks it was originally going to be both Tim Tebow and myself in a package deal but my trade value rose too high because of my superior arm strength and foot speed. Tim got the underwear ad and New York, while I got the Bob Evans endorsement deal and Indiana. Not rubbing this in anyone’s nose, but I definitely got the better deal. Plus I get to play with Jeremy Linn(eman).

Pastor Daniel: Speaking of sports, how is rugby similar to being a campus pastor at Sojourn?

Pastor Michael: When I was being interviewed for the Sojourn pastor position I was asked if I played any sports in college. I shared that I played rugby for the club team at Texas A&M (Yes, gig ‘em indeed my friends!). Since then I have been incessantly harassed by some on our team (Not naming any names but Mike Cosper has a beat down coming sans our London trip).

I’ve always loved to play sports and like much of the rest of my life, I enjoy trying new things. Rugby was by far the best sport I’ve ever played because of the physical challenge, the pace of the action, and the camaraderie. In that sense, working at Sojourn is a lot like rugby. It is challenging to figure out how to work together with four other campus pastors and our executive pastors as well as leading my own campus team. We’ve never done it before but it is a blast working through the growing pains and seeing the gospel and kingdom fruit growing from our efforts.

Sojourn is a place where a slow week is akin to a fast week in most other settings. There is a lot going on and a lot to do but being able to dream and influence for the sake of Christ is worth it. Being around men of this caliber keeps me on my toes and challenged to bring my best to the team.

Pastor Daniel: I’m encouraged by your example as a Pastor-Dad. Can you share some ways that you’re pastoring your kids? And tell us what you did for Mother’s Day …

Pastor Michael: The Lord has blessed my wife and I with four children. My oldest three are boys and my youngest is a girl. I really want to instill in my sons a deep sense of honor and gratitude for the women in our home because I think it is a brilliant way to paint a picture of the gospel for our whole family. So for Mother’s Day we made a special meal where the ladies lounged in the living room with some sparkling apple cider while the men cooked my wife’s favorite meal.

After the meal we had my wife and daughter sit side by side on two stools. I had each of my sons share what they love most about their mom and sister through an encouraging or funny story. Then we laid our hands on them and I prayed a prayer of blessing, protection, and commitment. I re-wrote Ephesians 5 into a few short statements of our commitment as the men in our home and after I read each of them I had my sons respond by saying, “With God’s help we will.”

I’m always on the hunt to take the things we already do and redeem them with gospel intentionality. My primary job as a parent isn’t to entertain my kids or make sure they get into a good college. It is to help my kids be independent of me, dependent on Christ, and responsible for their actions.

5 Things I’m Reminded Of When Doing Triathlons

June 6, 2012 in Random Stuff I Think About with 4 Comments

TriathlonFirst let me clarify: I don’t do Iron Mans; I do sprint triathlons. These consist of anywhere from:

  • Half mile to a mile swim
  • 12-24 mile mountain biking
  • 4-6 mile trail run.

It’s hard to exercise without a goal, so for my daily exercise I set the goal of trying to do a couple triathlons per year. But it’s not simply about having a goal. Running triathlons teaches and reminds me of important things:

The Trinity

All great things come in threes, right? The perfect unity and diversity of our triune God is a divine wonder that we should reflect on whenever we see triune patterns in this world (check out my “3 Books On The Trinity” post here).

Hilarity & Humility

Doing a triathlon always physically humbles me, no matter how much I train. I leave the race feeling smaller than when I began. Last year I almost needed an IV at the Xterra Trail Run in Alabama because I hadn’t trained enough. And in every triathlon, as soon as I start swimming I feel like I might drown.  My goal is always to finish in the top half — Sometimes I make it and sometimes I don’t. Triathlons are a great way to remind me of my limitations, and help me to not think too highly of myself.

Community

A race is never just about the race.  You’re not doing it alone. The joy comes from people I prepare and go to the race with, and talk about it with afterwards. We experience camaraderie and the kind of bonding that happens when you go through something extraordinary with others. We were created for community; doing triathlons with others is a good reminder and display of this gospel truth.

Training

Training is a constant reminder that all good things require discipline and sacrifice. As Paul said,

For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. — 1 Timothy 4:8

One value of physical training is the reminder of the need to be disciplined in what we do. It helps me see the importance of discipline and sacrifice. The book Triathlon Training In Four Hours A Week has been a big help in my training. I don’t have a great deal of free time, and I’m sure you don’t either. But four hours a week? That is doable.

The Glory

With training comes glory. Even when I finish in the bottom half of a triathlon there is a certain glory in just finishing. It’s the glory of the feast that comes afterward, the celebration with my family. This Christian race is similar. God calls us to finish the race.

But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. — Acts 20:24

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. — 2 Timothy 4:7

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, — Hebrews 12:1

“Triathlon” image by Pieter Smit, used via Creative Commons license 

My Summer Tree Mission

June 5, 2012 in Louisville with 10 Comments

“Thinking is more interesting than knowing, but not so interesting as looking.” Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe.

I grew up in Southern California — basically a desert. I moved away in high school; then when I returned I found that I missed the trees here in the midwest and south.

I spend a few hours in Cherokee Park every week, mountain biking and trail running. I have favorite trees and plants throughout the park, that I notice time and again when I’m out on the trails. I love watching them return to life each spring. I love looking how their dense, lush foilage makes Cherokee seem like a jungle in the summer. Then autumn arrives with it’s rich hues, and winter exposes everything, so you can see long distances through the trees and tell that you’re in an urban park.

But now I want to take this experience to the next level. I have a hard time remembering the names of trees, birds and plants so before I get too old to remember anything I want to memorize a dozen trees, a dozen plants and a dozen birds that inhabit Cherokee. Do any of you nature lovers have suggestions for me?

My inspiration and “guide” right now are two books. I know — surprising, right? It’s always books with me. Reading helps us to reframe our experience and to know things more fully than if we simply observe. For example it may seem weird to read a book on marriage but it allows us to reflect and reframe our own marriages. So my “guides” in learning the names and characteristics of trees are:

The Life And Love Of Trees by Lewis Blackwell 

This is basically a coffee table book, with fascinating pictures. “In breathtaking photographs and stories we are taken on a journey from the boreal forest at the edge of the Arctic to the rainforests girdling the planet; from ancient bristlecones to fresh-leaved seedlings; from the charming and familiar to the scary and rare.”

Seeing Trees by Nancy Ross Hugo and Robert Llewellyn

This review says it all: “Focusing on widely grown trees, this captivating book describes the rewards of careful and regular tree viewing, outlines strategies for improving your observations, and describes some of the most visually interesting tree structures, including leaves, flowers, buds, leaf scars, twigs, and bark. In-depth profiles of ten familiar species – including such beloved trees as white oak, southern magnolia, white pine, and tulip poplar – show you how to recognize and understand many of their most compelling (but usually overlooked) features.”

Speaking of books, you’ve probably noticed that trees play prominent roles in the Bible, from the Garden of Eden to the cross, to the Tree of Life in Revelation. According to another of my favorite books, The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery, trees are images of providence in a two fold sense, they remind us of God’s provision, and they communicate abundance (because trees were scarce in Bible lands).

  • Any advice for helping me memorize the names and properties of trees?

 

Sojourn Pastor Interview Series: My Talk With Midtown’s Chad Lewis

June 4, 2012 in Sojourn with 6 Comments

One of the things I love about being a multi-campus church is that I get to work with four great brothers, the lead pastors at each of our campuses around the Louisville area. Over the next month I hope you’ll join me as I talk about family, life and pastoring with each of these four men. Today we begin with Chad Lewis, pastor of Sojourn Midtown:

Pastor Daniel: When I first met you I said you were the “Young, Reformed version of Rich Mullins.” I love your music and I always enjoyed when you lead worship. Can you talk some about your transition from worship leading to being a campus pastor?

Pastor Chad: During my ordination council some years ago, one of the pastors who had known me for a while asked me if I am a singer who preaches or a preacher who sings. I thought for a while and answered the latter. Though music will always be a part of my life, my longing to teach, shepherd through counseling and care, and equip the saints for works of service is truly my heart’s cry. So at the end of the day, the transition was natural and I feel extremely blessed to serve as a campus pastor at Sojourn.

Pastor Daniel: Not long after you came on staff, you were stricken with chronic fatigue syndrome. I tell everyone that you are our strongest pastor but also the most afflicted. Talk about your journey and how you function with this illness.

Pastor Chad: It’s interesting to track the progress of my illness now that I’m four years in. In the first year and a half, I was literally crushed and it is a miracle that I made it as long as I did. At that point of crises, my pastors (with you helping to lead the charge) forced me to take a 5-week sabbatical.

It was during those times of complete unplugging that God did an amazing work in my life. God set me free to embrace more my identity in Him and embrace the gift of limits. From that point, I came back and whittled my life down to work at Sojourn and family. That was an amazing and life-giving decision and I’ve been rolling by God’s grace ever since. 2 Corinthians has been one of my best friends in the last few years. Paul writes in the first chapter,

“We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead.”

In a small but profound way, I was crushed beyond my ability to endure but as a result, I have learned a bit more what it means to walk moment by moment depending on God’s strength and not my own.

Pastor Daniel: Everyone on the Midtown Campus staff raves about your staff culture. Can you share your secrets? What are some of the ways you lead and influence the culture of your staff?

Pastor Chad: One year ago, Pastor Nathan Ivey and I locked ourselves in an office for four hours to seek God’s face and see what God might be doing in our hearts to create a culture of change. From that brief meeting, God moved in amazing ways. We came up with a cheesy acronym and still use it weekly in our staff meetings. ATTACC is the word on our lips that stands for:

  • A-Affirmation
  • T-Teamwork
  • T-Trust
  • A- Acceptance
  • C-Celebration
  • C-Critique.

We literally “ATTACC” each other in the meetings and throughout the week. The T for Teamwork has been huge. As any church gets big, silos in ministries naturally begin to form. Ever since last summer’s VBS, we have seen a servant hearted nature take over where we have “all hands on deck” to serve different aspects of ministry.We recently had a huge need for Sojourn Kids workers on Easter so pastors Nathan Ivey and Robert Cheong jumped in to teach that Sunday. As word spread tons of Sojourn members jumped in to help as well.

In addition to this, I supply each of our staff with a book we slowly read through so we can be learning and growing together. Thus far we have read A Praying Life, Trusting God, and Gilead in the last year. We have grown by living life and serving each other.

Pastor Daniel: You are our only campus pastor without an iPhone. What’s up with that?

Pastor Chad: Well, four plus years ago I had the first iPhone. As a real tangible way to love my wife and family, I decided to downgrade from a data plan to a bare bones flip phone. It’s stuck ever since. I actually have to keep taping on the back of my phone because it keeps falling off. However, don’t be surprised if you notice a smart phone the next time you see me. I’m about to upgrade from 2006 to 2012.

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