Post Sabbatical Interview

How was Sabbatical?

It was good! It was soo good. I am very thankful for it.

I got a devotional book as a gift and I started journaling and writing in that. I decided to study Paul’s letters in scriptures. It was really fun for me to just read the Bible without having anything to prepare for.

I spent time with Amy. This was good. Having Saturday nights without the pressure to preach on Sunday was nice for all of us.

I went away for a couple of nights to an airbnb on Table Rock lake.

I read a book on the trinity and relearned how much God loves me. He loves me regardless of my works. God loves me and invites me into His community.

I memorized some scripture

I was able to spend time with my kids. I got to watch Macy finish out her basketball season. Kylie had basketball games I took her to. Colten started wrestling and this was on Sundays. We would hit up church online or in person and then go to wrestling.

I started and completed 2 home repair projects

I started and have almost completed 2 fun for me home remodel projects

I have 1 project that I was unaware of and I still need to finish

I went to Sunday Worship with my sister and brother in law

I went to church with my brother and baptized my nephew. We spent the weekend with them in Nashville(he cannonballed into the baptistry)

I attended my great Aunt’s birthday party who turned 99. I went to church with my sister then we drove to Lebanon.

I spent extra time with my dad. He came to Colten’s wrestling tournaments and I did not feel the need to rush back to town because I had to be at work the next day.

We hosted a superbowl party for my family and I smoked some brisket. We are all Chiefs fans and that was fun.

We got to take the whole family to Hawaii! This came with some struggles of sickness and some rain but I like what Macy said, “Even rainy days are happy in Hawaii”. We adventured the whole island. It was fun! We had fun! Certainly anytime you all travel as a family then there are growth moments but overall we had a good time.

What did you learn?

I learned a lot. I learned a lot about myself, a lot about my wife and a lot about my kids.

I think you will surely hear this in the coming weeks as I preach but really how much love the Father has for us and me specifically. I learned this all over again. He loves us not because of what we have done but because of who He is and he desires for us to be in His community.

example 1 Thessalonians 2:4

1 Thessalonians 2:4 HCSB

4 Instead, just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please men, but rather God, who examines our hearts.

In addition to this, another big thing is balance. Just learning how to be more balanced in my life. I think I have carried a load that only Jesus can carry. For this reason, I did not carry it well.

I am trying to find ways to balance this load better.

I have been making some adjustments to carry this load better.

I don’t think you can just say you will do better and not make changes. I have to make some changes in order for balance to actually work.

For instance, if I believe that Jesus can carry a load that I can’t, then I have a new habit of just saying to you all do you care if we pray about that right now. We then just pray!

For me, the prayer is not only going to the King of kings and Lord of lords with prayer but it is also a mental shift that this is not mine to carry.

I in the past would jump past this and try and solve your problem for you. A new practice is to take it to the Father and recognize that it is not my load to carry and He hears me when I pray.

The other piece of balance for me is how to balance my work as Pastor and my time away from pastoring. I have got to build in margin in my life. I had a pile of dirt in the back yard that has been there and needing to be moved since 2020. I started moving it on Sabbatical.

I know some of you will say thats not bad. Maybe for you its not bad but for me I need to keep up better with my stuff at home.

Not just that but it should not take a sabbatical for me to spend time with our extended family.

I need to take back my Saturday nights and be more ready to preach the next day.

I need to care for my health.

I need to balance all this better.

Coming out of Sabbatical do you have some visions for us as a church?

Let me start this answer by saying that God did not give me some massive vision to start a school or build 50 homes or plant 100 churches. I think he has called us to Welcome children in the name of Jesus and by do so we welcome Christ himself and in do this we will transform generations that transform communities.

I think I can speak for the rest of the staff that they are thankful that we didn’t come back with a massive big new plan or start 100 new things. We do so much with the resources God has allowed us to this point.

so

For me, the future visions that God has really been pressing on me is to pray more. Spend time in prayer and have fun in prayer. Enjoy it.

The other piece of vision for us is more intentional community. By community, I mean living in community with one another.

I have been studying the trinity and God is trinity. Because God is trinity, He invites us into the community of the trinity. I plan to unpack this soon. God invites us in to community.

We as a staff and my leadership can be pretty heavy on task oriented. I believe thats why we are where we are today because we have pressed hard into the task.

The future vision is to enhance community in the task.

What does this look like?

I have been more present at Bridgefit for some of my workouts.

I want our church body to have more opportunities to serve when teams come in. If you have the day off and you want to join in on a project, then I want to make that happen.

I would like to invite more people into my home. I like to cook. I would like to cook a meal and fellowship for more of you. I am not sure exactly what this looks like.

I would like to see a group of us guys getting together for breakfast or a motorcycle ride to lunch.

Exodus 32:1–6 HCSB

1 When the people saw that Moses delayed in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said to him, “Come, make us a god who will go before us because this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt—we don’t know what has happened to him!” 2 Then Aaron replied to them, “Take off the gold rings that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off the gold rings that were on their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4 He took the gold from their hands, fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made it into an image of a calf. Then they said, “Israel, this is your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!” 5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; then he made an announcement: “There will be a festival to the Lord tomorrow.” 6 Early the next morning they arose, offered burnt offerings, and presented fellowship offerings. The people sat down to eat and drink, then got up to play.

Wrestling Photo

1 Kings 18:25–29 HCSB

25 Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Since you are so numerous, choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first. Then call on the name of your god but don’t light the fire.” 26 So they took the bull that he gave them, prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “Baal, answer us!” But there was no sound; no one answered. Then they danced, hobbling around the altar they had made. 27 At noon Elijah mocked them. He said, “Shout loudly, for he’s a god! Maybe he’s thinking it over; maybe he has wandered away; or maybe he’s on the road. Perhaps he’s sleeping and will wake up!” 28 They shouted loudly, and cut themselves with knives and spears, according to their custom, until blood gushed over them. 29 All afternoon they kept on raving until the offering of the evening sacrifice, but there was no sound; no one answered, no one paid attention.

Luke 9:23–25 HCSB

23 Then He said to them all, “If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me. 24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me will save it. 25 What is a man benefited if he gains the whole world, yet loses or forfeits himself?

Pulling in to Lifechurchtv Greeters, Coffee, Lemonade, Tea. People to help you to your seat. Music on the way in

I love the sport of wrestling so this is not a message against the sport.

I would encourage you not to break fellowship with the body of believers but I would encourage that if you are doing some of these sporting things and they are on Sunday then go and share the Gospel. Go be the hands and feet of Jesus.

Not all those who are there are lost but some don’t have a relationship with Jesus.

A majority of lost people are not coming to church.