Thank You Is Not Enough

Because thank you is not enough, here are the notes from the much longer than average introduction to my final sermon as Southview’s Senior Pastor after 16 years.

Knowing today is the last Sunday I stand before you as your Senior Pastor, I call upon your faithful prayers once more. Those prayers that have lovingly sustained our family for 16 years as we have become Nebraskans living life with you. Those prayers that carried me through 800 sermons from this pulpit as I sought with humility and courage to communicate the great truths of God’s Word. Those prayers that sought God’s will and wisdom as I strived to lead you though church life—the challenging and the welcome. Those prayers—one last time—again today. For those prayers I can not thank you enough.

You church, you Southview, and those who have made our church who she is these 66 years of existence: You are my joy.

To see how you love one another without reserve. Giving yourselves freely and fully in the life of our church. To see how you serve with your giftedness and strengths, sometimes amidst your own questions and fears. To see how you give sacrificially to meet the needs of others through your time, talents, and treasures. To see how you right yourselves and your relationships when wrongs are discovered—confession, repentance, forgiveness, and restoration. To see how you have lived those same values with my family these years. You are my joy.

I rejoice in the peace and unity which we have by God’s grace among us. It has not always been that way. Those that have been here for three decades will tell you of a difficult time and pastoral transition past. Those that have been here through my tenure will tell you that our church could have split in 2009. And because God hadn’t clearly called me to leave, many families left. Even those of you who were here in 2009 may not have known just how ugly things were. But, God had a plan; He was working for His glory. To change this pastor—to humble me, to teach me, to bring me to depend on Him more. And to change our church—to teach us perseverance and forgiveness and peacemaking. We’ve had our challenges since then; God has come though. God has given us peace and protected our unity for more than a decade. Fight for relationships. Guard our unity. Love one another. Be otherish.

I rejoice at the staff that serves us now. In my tenure as your pastor we’ve been blessed with 15 staff members. Yet, it is hard for me to express just how thankful for and proud of our current staff I am. Sarah, our custodian, quietly goes about her work keeping this place clean and setting things up and taking them down with no complaints and great flexibility. Such a blessing. Dawn, our financial secretary, not in the office as much as we wish she was. So sharp; always keeping an eye out for us and willing to share her insight. Such a joy. Karen, our office manager. Wow! It seems she can do anything and make it look easy. Not only that, she does so with such grace and genuine kindness. Such a delight. Nathan, to this point an unpaid pastoral resident but now our part-time interim pastor elect. He has been part of staff meetings, planning, and ministry for more than a year now. Nathan posses exceptional intelligence and genuine humility. I pray he will be a blessing to Southview for decades to come. David, our Associate Pastor for Students and Discipleship. He’s quiet, but impressive. Deeply loving, thoughtful, and diligent. Such an amazing servant. And Myra… though I am incredibly proud of every staff member on their own, I am no more proud of the little girl who has always had a heart for others and has shown herself to be an incredible leader and servant of our church. I love our staff. And you do too. What a joy! Southview family, you may not know how blessed you are to be served by such a staff. Love them, take care of them, share your lives with them, work with them, follow them, serve our Savior together, do life together.

I rejoice in our countless, unselfish, otherish volunteers. There are too many to name lest I leave any out. Our Deacons and Church Council not the least among them. Our Deacons redeemed the deacon ministry for me. Our Church Council changed the way we administrate our church for the better. You, volunteers, make the church. Not the pastors or the paid staff—they may administrate, direct, and lead—but you are the hands and feet that make the ministry to one another and our world a reality. I am so humbled by you all. So very humbled.

I rejoice that the best days are ahead for Southview. It is not preacher talk to say, “the best days for Southview are ahead,” dear church. God has a plan He’s been working for years to bring us to this point. To shape my character, experience, mind and heart for the new role to which he has called me. To shape Nathan’s character, experience, mind and heart for the calling to which he has surrendered. To shape you to be ready for chapter next as we grow in faith and Christlikeness.

And, a pastoral transition in the midst of a capital campaign. We, Southview, are taking a bold risk for His glory. A step of faith beyond what we’ve done before. We are asking for a God-sized task and we are going to see Him deliver. We are going to! You all trust, and give, and love, and serve. These next three months preparing for our May 15th pledge Sunday. And these next three years of giving to the capital campaign for God’s glory. And in about a year, seeing our building change for His glory. Wow! I can not wait.

The timing, capital campaign with a pastor leaving. God is not surprised by the timing. He authored it. And He has done so for His glory.

I rejoice, Southview family, that your role in these months and years is to come to Jesus—heart surrendered, hands open, encouraged in faith. To say, “God’s got this. It is mine to obey. His to get the glory.”

I rejoice in my family. You know Melanie, Seth, Mary Elizabeth (in a dance completion and can’t be here today lest she let down her entire company), and John Mark. Melanie, a wife of noble character, this guy was blessed enough to find. Seth, the quietly brilliant and quickly clever. Mary, always my princess and growing in grace. John Mark, the baby discovering himself still. You have loved us well. Sometimes we’ve been challenged. A few times we’ve been hurt. Yet, more often, most often, we’ve simply been ourselves and loved one another. What great gifts! Thank you, church!

My verse through these months as God has made clear His call has been, Isaiah 26:3, “You will keep in perfect peace those whose mind are steadfast, because they trust in you.” Trust in God, Southview. Depend on Him.

It has been the great privilege of my life to serve as your pastor.. To be there with you in the most joyful and sorrowful moments, and to enjoy everything in between. Your love for me, your trust in me, your patience with me, your grace and forgiveness to me have made all the difference. Thank you is not enough.

And, finally (in this longer than average for a reason sermon introduction you wish would all would end) I rejoice—it is my joy—to open God’s Word one last time with you. One last time.

Thank you for joining me, Dear Reader. If you’d like to watch the video of that worship service, February 27, 2022, click here. To subscribe to this site in order to automatically receive new posts, click here.

Three Prayers

Gweru, Zimbabwe, 1993. On a trip from South Africa to Zimbabwe a friend told me to stop by and visit an older missionary couple. Over afternoon tea, my prayers for the future changed. They’d spent more than 30 years in one place. They’d planted over 300 churches. Their influence had changed that entire region of Zimbabwe.

From that day I began to pray, “God, can I be the guy who stays in one place his entire career? God, can I be part of calling men out, equipping them to serve, and planting new churches?”

Zuurbekom, South Africa, 1993. A missionary friend asked me to teach his class of pastors. Though I enjoyed the many and varied roles I’d performed as a missionary, this was unlike any other experience I’d had. So humbling, so inspiring. Me, a 23 year old kid, “teaching” these saintly servants of the church. I’d discovered a special affection and affinity for serving pastors.

From that day I began to pray, “God, wherever you call me, whatever I do, can I continue loving pastors? Can I continue serving pastors through encouragement and training?”

Venus, Texas, 2005. I shared the first of what would become countless phone calls with a man who would quickly become a mentor and friend. Before hanging up I quipped, “Wouldn’t it be great if God would allow Nebraska churches to raise up pastors from within so we wouldn’t have to import Texas Yehus like me?”

From that day I began to pray, “God, whenever you call me from this pastorate, would you be so gracious as that we might raise up the next pastor from within?”

Lincoln, Nebraska, 2022. Though I’d imagined I’d serve my church until retirement from vocational ministry, I have a clear, new calling. Beginning this March, I’ll be the Associational Mission Strategist for our region of cooperative Southern Baptist churches. Though the position is new to me, it’s a call rooted in decades of prayers and God’s faithfulness.

I’ll assist in planting new churches, I’ll help existing churches stay healthy, and I’ll coach and encourage pastors and ministry leaders. I’ll be a servant of our churches. It’ll be a joy.

And my third prayer—raising up a pastor from within?

God did that too. We are thrilled to have an amazing, younger pastor who has served this past year as our pastoral resident. He’ll become our interim pastor. We are prayerful and expectant for his future ministry.

One guy. Three decades. Three prayers. God’s faithfulness.

Thanks for joining me, Dear Reader. Follow the links to learn more about my beloved church, Southview, or my new position at the Heartland Church Network.

Next

In the now. Now can be good. Now can be safe. Now can be nice.

Yet. Now can be neutral. Now can be plateaued. Now can be stuck.

Instead…

Dream the next dream.

Take the next step.

Welcome the next day.

Write the next page.

Make the next decision.

Start the next chapter.

Dream it.

Take it.

Welcome it.

Write it.

Make it.

Start it.

The world doesn’t stop. Neither should we.

Next.

The Greater Miracle

“In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?””

— Luke 1:26-34 (NIV)

Luke starts in verses 26-27 in his typical, detailed manner. When, where, and a repeatedly specific who—Mary, the virgin pledged to Joseph in Galilee—the angel Gabriel was to speak to.

Gabriel begins speaking, “you who are highly favored.” Curious but positive. “The Lord is with you.” Much better than against me. But, what’s he leading up to?

Gabriel adds, “Fear not. You’re favored by God.” Again, great, thanks. But where is this going?

Then Gabriel shatters all expectations, “You’re having a baby. Jesus.” That name means Jehovah saves. Followed by a list of five other overwhelming descriptions of the baby who would be: King over everyone, forever.

Mary knew who she was. Mary knew what she had done. And contrary to rumors that would follow then and conspiracies through the ages following, Mary knew what she hadn’t done. Mary knew naturally and rationally there was no way she could have a child. So she asks. And we wonder if her thoughts went like this.

“Pardon me, Mister Angel Gabriel, Sir. It’s amazing all the things you say my child will be. King of our people. King forever. Savior. I am overwhelmed to be the mother of such a child. But, Sir, I’m a virgin. How can I have a baby?”

God describes Mary’s son with six unmistakable terms, yet she knows none of these possibilities can become reality without the first step. The first hurdle. The first obstacle. The first reality. The first, supernatural act. The miraculous conception.

Did Mary lack faith? I doubt it. Verse 38 buries that question.

Did Mary doubt? I think it was faith seeking understanding.

Mary just needed to know how the first step was going to be accomplished. If she was to remain a virgin, if it were to be a miracle, then how would it happen?

Gabriel offers that understanding in verse 35. He adds another miracle to validate his word with the pregnancy of her cousin Elizabeth in verse 36.

Finally, Gabriel reminds us all as recorded in Luke 1:37, “For no word from God will ever fail.”

If God says so, He makes it so.

If God promises, He provides.

Which was the greater miracle? A virgin conceiving a child? Or Mary’s faith believing God would do just that?

Sometimes the greater miracle is accepting that God can.

Sometimes the greater miracle is the faith to trust the first step.

Discouragement > Faith

“Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and harsh labor.”

— Exodus 6:9, NIV

God’s people, the Israelites who had lived in Egypt for generations, had been enslaved by the Egyptians. Among their many duties as slaves, they made mud bricks with straw to help bind the bricks together. Under the oppression of the Egyptians, the Israelites cried out in prayer to God for deliverance.

“Let my people go,” proclaims Moses to the Egyptian Pharaoh on God’s behalf.

“Let your people get their own straw,” replies Pharaoh. Same backbreaking brick quota. Double the difficulty.

After his failed meeting with Pharaoh and with the Israelites suffering increasingly harsh treatment, Moses proclaims God’s message to the Israelites. “I am God. I will free you. I will keep my promises.”

Yet, as Exodus 6:9 reports, “they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and harsh labor.”

God’s people were so discouraged by their situation, they could not listen to God.

Discouragement greater than faith.

When is the last time you were in such a state? Maybe you feel that way today.

Your circumstances are so difficult that God and His promises seem far away. You want to believe the Bible but can’t. You want to walk in daily love relationship with God but can’t. You are beat down, tired, anxious, and you want to give up.

Let us pray for one another to know and have faith in God’s promises amidst whatever difficulties we face.

Don’t allow the discouragement of your current situation to be greater than your faith in our sovereign, loving God. With encouragement from the Holy Spirit and through the Bible, turn that equation around.

Faith greater than discouragement.