One night each month, all 28 elders from across the Sojourn campuses meet together. Sometimes elder candidates join us as well, so these are big, full times of fellowship, prayer, planning and growing together in the Word. I thought I’d lift the veil today and let you know what a typical elder meeting is like.

We begin with a meal. Everyone chips in and we pick up something; Qdoba or Marks Feed Store are typical choices. We open with meditative Bible reading from a passage, soak it in and talk about what resonates with each of us.

Then we eat.

Then we fight off the food coma by singing worship songs. Chad Lewis and Jamie Barnes are both elders, so one of them typically leads us in song. Some of us are decent singers; others, not so much. But it blesses me to hear godly men who aren’t ashamed to belt out worship songs for Jesus, no matter what their ability.

Often we follow this period of worship with targeted prayer. Last night we read from Isaiah 30:15:

In repentance and rest is your salvation,
in quietness and trust is your strength,
but you would have none of it.

Then we prayed through this passage, asking God to sear this teaching into our hearts and to make us men of repentance, rest, quietness and trust.

We follow prayer with a time of teaching … and sometimes this involves a homework assignment. In March, I taught on our rational for multi-campus church ministry, using an acronym called S.U.M.  (Stewardship, Unity and Mission). For homework, each elder had to come back to the next monthly meeting prepared to issue a biblical defense for the multisite church model.

In April, the teaching was about Vision, Glory and Imagination, and particularly what it means to have a vision for God’s glory where we are – specifically our homes and marriages. Pastors can often talk about the glory of God for the city but we need to do it for our homes. So for homework, each elder was to draft up a specific vision of God’s glory for his family.

Last night we worked on Rest, which will also be the focus of our summer sermon series after we finish Genesis at Sojourn Gathered. Last night we talked about what it means to be in a rhythm of work and rest, and we looked at rest as it exists in the story of the Bible. Finally, we talked about what it means for each of us in our daily lives.

After this time of teaching, we break up into groups according to campus, and go in different rooms. Sometimes campuses have a specific agenda and sometimes we all agree on a common agenda before breaking. Last night we worked through the homework from the previous time. Elders shared their plans for their homes with their fellow campus elders.

Once a month, twelve times a year, this is what we do. Sometimes these meetings last a couple hours; sometimes much longer. It’s not uncommon for us to pray, fellowship and share with one another well into the night. No matter how late it gets, I leave these meetings with renewed appreciation for these men, renewed dedication to the Sojourn family, and a greater desire to live for the glory of God.