"I miss what I once had: a strong body, a clear voice, clear thinking, open doors for ministry ... I miss myself." This is what John Stumbo said after a mysterious disease ravaged his body in 2008-2009.
John Stumbo didn't swallow on his own for a year and a half. He had a feeding tube and used a walker. Once the senior pastor of his growing church, he was out of commission for almost a year, and then reduced to a part time associate position. Today, just five years later, he is the president of Jeff and Jonny's denomination, the Christian & Missionary Alliance. In this episode, John talks with the guys and tells his story. He shares about his early years of ministry, the churches he's served in, and then the illness that almost took his life. Most importantly, John Stumbo tell of the life change he experienced through the journey of pain and suffering. Once and ultra-marathoner, he feared he would become a quadriplegic. Through the suffering, and the process of recovery, his life and ministry changed, and perhaps more significantly, his marriage changed. Will it take a near death crisis for us to get real about our ministries and our marriages? Thankfully, we don't all have to experience that, but unfortunately, many of us will also never get to the depths of our growth because we will be too healthy. Maybe this conversation will encourage you to move toward your spouse, your real bride or groom, and reclaim the intimacy, respect, and commitment you owe her or him. This is not just for male pastors, but women pastors can also be guilty of being married to ministry. Whatever your situation, learn from one who has walked through the valley of the shadow of death - so you can grow without going there! P.S. We did not talk about this on the podcast, but John and his wife Joanna have written a book together called An Honest Look At A Mysterious Journey. John also has written a book titled, In The Midst: Treasures From The Dark. Both of these books are available in Kindle format for only $4.99 each. Years ago I met with a staff member for the purpose of reading said staff member the riot act. I needed this staff member to substantially change how he or she was doing the business of ministry in our church. Fear caused me to negotiate my message down to one that was less direct, less drastic, and essentially fruitless and ineffective. After the conversation, they likely walked away thinking that I was proud of them and that I hoped they would have a nice day. Now, some who know me might read this and think – “Aha! I know who he is talking about!” I’m not worried about it. They would have to guess which one. Like this only happened with one person?! I should be so good.
While prepping for a message I was so liquored up in my office I was almost frothing at the mouth rehearsing my lines! I had scripture, the Holy Spirit, a backbone, conviction, and a God-ordained calling on my side! I would be ready to share this message with all the vim and verve I could muster the coming Sunday morning. The more I thought about it, the people I would speak to, and the closer Sunday morning came, fear caused me to negotiate on some of the wording, and on the severity of my convictions. Fear negotiated away some of my bluntness and produced a more circuitous route for my words to take. Thinking ahead about our elder meeting, I began to lay out on a legal pad a vision for our ministry. It was grand, and great. I was going for broke – no half measures this year. Our ministry would gain more ground and score more points than we ever had before. The elders needed to see leadership and vision, courage and direction. As they began questioning my proposals and expressing doubt about my ideas, fear negotiated away my remaining thoughts, and I tossed out over half of my plans before even sharing them. Fear of opposition, rejection, and abandonment crept into my soul and negotiated with my wiser self – forcing me to retreat, call it a night, and recommit to try again later… a lot later! Fear is the great negotiator. It strips us of leadership and value. It puts us in the middle of Mediocreville, of Almoston. We get just far enough to stay in our seat, just enough down the road to say we’ve moved forward. But no more. Not enough to claim victory. Not enough even for a first down. Sooner or later, fear causes us to punt, and to give away the ball. Hey pastor, pssst – yeah, you! Hey mister. Hey Lady. Yeah, I’m talking to you. I know you. I am you. Been there. Done that. And I even know the verses. So do you. You could finish them…
We all know these verses on fear, and many, many more! We know them. Yet we still shepherd, lead, feed, and operate by fear. Some of us all the time, others of us more than we care to admit, and for others we have forgotten what it’s like to operate out of anything but fear. I HAVE AN IDEA I have an idea. Want to hear it? Can I admit I preach it to myself too?! Well, I do. I might as well be honest about it. But here’s my idea. I think we choose fear because we’ve forgotten we can do all of those same things by faith. Faith, not fear. By faith we walk next to God. By fear, he leaves us behind because we stop, afraid to advance, then in our aloneness we have only one fuel to run on – fear. What if we commit our plans to the LORD, and move forward with Him. What if we simply chose to move ahead by faith, or not at all. We move ahead with God, or we don’t move ahead at all. LET'S CHANGE THOSE PREVIOUS THREE SCENARIOS So I arrange with God what I need to say to the staff member, and then walk with God, hand in hand into the room, and in love deliver the goods, trusting God with the outcome. So I decide my message plan on my knees, asking for wisdom, mercy, and grace to deliver his words through me. I trust in his power, and go for broke with God, trusting Him with the outcome. So, finally, I do my homework on the front end of the elder meeting, with God, (and perhaps a few wisely planned meetings before the meeting) asking for his wisdom and his heart – then I proceed forward in confidence (in God, not me) asking God to give me wisdom and perhaps move the hearts of my elders. WHO OR WHAT ARE WE TRUSTING IN? Pastors, when it comes to our leadership, we either lead from fear (relying on ourselves and our own resources) or we lead from faith (relying on God, his power and his wisdom). Pick one and run with it this week. Hey, it can’t hurt, can it? Not going to get any worse, right? Been leading from fear? How’s that working for ya? Fear is the great negotiator – giving away all the good we’ve managed to scrape together. Choose faith – it’s the great facilitator – allowing your (plural, you and God) plans to move forward. If you are the pastor of a 200church, you especially need faith over fear! Lead, live, and love by faith, not fear. Negotiate that! Wow. Don’t you hate it when something you preach on preaches right back at you?! That happened this weekend. Wanna hear about it? I’ll tell ya anyway… By November of 2013, our offerings were running behind budget by a fair amount. What do you do as a pastor? Worry? Fret? Fear? Question? Brood? Second guess? Scheme? Yes! I do all of the above. If you’re like me, you could pick out a couple on this list to join me in. I think that you’re like me. In December of last year (seven weeks ago), our congregation took a special offering and brought us clear back into the black, and into a better position than we were a year ago. I felt as though I had lived through a near-death experience.
So starting 2014, I unconsciously assumed a posture of fear and dread. Will this happen all over again? Will our offerings support our budget? Will I be able to pay staff all year? What if? What then? Oh dear… Yeah, full of faith, aren’t I?! Here’s where the AHA! moment comes in. We are preaching in Hosea. Yes, Hosea, and it actually challenged me directly. We defined four areas of sin that Hosea said the Israelites were guilty of, and one of those areas was this: Pursued foreign gods/powers for protection and provision. Israel forgot that it was God who gave them what they needed. They called out to their lovers, went to the great king, called to Egypt and turned to Assyria. They did not trust in the LORD their God to take care of them, or to provide for their needs! Instead, they adulterated after other gods. When I saw this fact about the Israelites, I realized I was being just like them. Who or what was I looking to as the source of what we need? Who or what was going to source us? From what source would our provision come? The answer is God, and I needed to both realize it, and affirm it in my heart. “This is your church God, and I trust you to supply what we need here for this budget year. I will not go after “other lovers” or trust in man – my hope is in you!” Are you experiencing budget troubles in your church? Do you trust yourself to scheme and dream, robbing Peter to pay Paul? If your hope is in anyone or anything but God and God alone, you may be guilty of the Israelites’ sins in Hosea’s day. Turn to God in full trust, confidence, and dependence! He can be trusted. Don’t miss what God wants to show you, that he loves you and will provide in his way and timing. Don’t turn to foreign gods or powers; turn to Jesus, he is your source. Trust God for what your church needs, he can be trusted! p.s. This Wednesday we are joined by Dan Reiland, The Pastor's Coach on the 200churches Podcast! The heart of 200churches is to encourage pastors of small churches. When we started 200churches, we decided that we would not differentiate between denominations, debate theology, or define church governance modes – we could create blogs and podcasts for each – nor, within the content of our blog and podcast would we exclude women clergy. In our denomination, we do not ordain women as clergy or local church elders. That does not mean that we do not care about those women who are in pastoral roles in churches across America. In fact, we care deeply about every pastor who serves the Lord, loves the Word, and shepherds God’s people in the local church. To that end we introduce you to Cynthia Moore, a pastor from Central Iowa. Cynthia pastors a small, rural church two miles down a gravel road between a corn field and a bean field. Just a little rural. She has pastored this church for the past twenty years. Cynthia joins us this week on the 200churches Podcast, episode 45!
Let me (Jeff) share with you my connection to Cynthia’s church. My oldest son has been dating a girl for over five years. She has attended this church all her life. Cynthia is the only pastor she has known. My son’s girlfriend is a wonderful, godly young lady. I thank Cynthia for the spiritual input she has had in her life! So Pastor Cynthia Moore is the first woman we’ve had on the podcast, but she is also the first rural pastor we’ve invited as a guest on the podcast. Small church pastors experience unique challenges and church dynamics. Rural, small church pastors experience a context all their own. If you are a rural church pastor, you will resonate with this week’s podcast, and hopefully also be encouraged by it. You know, people who live in rural, lightly populated areas need pastors too, right? They need someone who sees their ministry not as a stepping stone, but as a significant work in the Kingdom of God! While we’ve had guests from a larger church context, or a parachurch ministry, we also want to include small church pastors on the podcast. That is, after all, what we are – pastors of a 200church! We have a number of small church pastors in mind for future episodes, and for a very important reason – small church pastors have something to say! They have value to give. They have helpful and practical content to contribute to the conversation on small church ministry. How about you, for instance? If you could share two things about small church ministry, that you believe would help and encourage other pastors, what would those two things be? Well, you CAN share two things! Right in the comments below – go ahead, make our day! Hopefully someday we could get to have a conversation with you that we include on a future podcast episode. And… we know that Wednesday’s podcast, episode 45, will encourage and challenge you as you join Jonny and me in our conversation with Cynthia Moore. This week on the podcast we share a conversation between Jeff and Rob Tarnoviski, Lead Pastor of Bethel Fellowship, The Church @ Franklin Mills, in Philadelphia PA. They've known each other for 30 years, and have shared countless life experiences together. You’ll get a chance to listen in on the conversation of two friends talking about their life’s passion: ministry. Rob and Jeff have gone in very different directions in ministry. Jeff left home, Rob returned home. Jeff is in his third full time ministry location, Rob is still in his first. Jeff has moved churches in directions of change and transition. Rob’s church was focused philosophically when he got there. Rob finished a graduate degree early on, Jeff is just finishing his.
But they have also gone in very similar directions. Both have been focused on ministry. Both have invested heavily in their friendship. Both have never stopped learning and growing. Both have failed miserably and succeeded greatly. Both have wives and kids who enjoy(ed) living in a ministry family. Neither has stayed the same, both have grown, changed, transformed, and moved on. Neither would espouse many of the doctrinal and ministry philosophies they were educated in thirty years ago. Jeff talks with Rob about his journey of beginning in a church of 80, and over 17 long, wonderful, and difficult years growing with that church to see it today at almost 1,500. Rob is a 200church pastor who never stopped, who outlasted the critics and quitters, and who is just too stubborn or stupid to think that his church can’t reach more people in his community! Rob’s story is not one of meteoric growth. It is one of faithfulness and consistency over time. His story is one of sacrifice and commitment to a community, a staff team, and a body of believers who were willing to join the team, and buy the vision. Rob grew his church in the first 15 years by about 5 people a month. Modest growth by any means, just over a long period of time. In 2013 America, most of us pastor types want rapid, exponential growth over a very short span of time! We are not patient to wait for results, we want them quickly. If we do not enjoy immediate results, we are too ready to jet, to fly, to bounce. Jeff’s conversation with Rob is about plodding, slow, hard ministry over a long stretch of time. We hope that it encourages you to think about your own ministry and what your expectations are… Are you ready to quit? It’s probably too soon. Ready to bounce? You’re likely jumping the gun. Looking up U-Haul’s phone number? Don’t do it quite yet. Life, ministry, and results just take time. Don’t quit. Stay put. Love your people. Depend on God. All easy to say, right? But harder to DO. Who ever said ministry was easy? Yeah, that’s right – no one who ever did ministry! Finally, what’s it all about? It’s about Almighty God – our Creator and Maker. We serve him. It’s about our Lord and Savior Jesus, the Christ, the Son of the Living God. The coming King, and current King of the Kingdom. We follow him. It’s about the Holy Spirit of God, the one who lives within us, counsels us, comforts and empowers us, and gifts us for ministry. We live with him. Our lives in ministry are about GOD. He doesn't call the fit, he fits the called. We’re the called. Called to love and serve. Called to make a difference in the lives of others and expand the Kingdom of God. We get to do this! We’re blessed! We hope that this week you are encouraged personally, and vocationally in your ministry. Your leadership, and shepherding in your 200church matter HUGE in the Kingdom of God! |
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