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Retreat to Plan

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Last week, I was freed up from my responsibilities at home (thanks, Meg 🙂 to get away and consider life, ministry, and long-term direction.  I know it comes as a surprise to some of you, but making plans for an organization like a local church doesn’t come by simple planning or simply getting strategic goals lined up with direction.  For me, I need lots of time unhurried to pray, think, reflect, and seek God.  While I’m perfectly happy to chart a course for a local church, this overestimates my ability to my (and the church’s) peril.

Jesus, in John 15, said that He’s the vine, we are the branches.  If we abide in Him and He abides in us, we will bear much fruit, for apart from Him, WE CAN DO NOTHING.  Get that?  It’s not about me, the Elders, or even what our local body believes we can do.  Apart from Jesus, we can do nothing.  And, His plans for the church comes as we abide in Him.  His plans for the church emerge as we consistently abide in Him.

So, I’ve been blessed with this time to plan.  What emerged out this?  Well, I spent a lot of time thinking about what I need to preaching on and what book I need to spend time preaching.  I considered where we are as a church and how that lines up with the Master’s plan for His church.  I’m stirred to action to see what needs to happen before the end of the year or even in the coming year.  And, in light of all this, I realized that apart from Him I can do nothing.

I say all this to encourage you.  Are you abiding in Jesus?  This is where fruitfulness begins.  Whether you’re a pastor or someone charting a course for this next season of your life and work, begin with abiding in Jesus.  Fruitfulness and enablement will happen through this season — at least that’s what Jesus says.

T4G 2016 Recap

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Last week, I posted that I was at T4G 2016.  Here’s a post in which I recap some highlights/reflections…

T4G is an amazing event in the circles I run in theologically.  This year, over 10,000 pastors assembled in Louisville, KY to think about matters of eternal significance and to encourage one another.  Here are some random reflections:

1) It’s about people — The content, which I’ll say more about in a second, is usually stellar.  But, T4G is about people.  There are lots of friends with whom I connect.  Also, there are people who usually come from our local church.  Getting unhurried time with them on the road and around this conference makes the experience for me.  This time, in particular, we were happy to have friends from India with us.  T4G is about coming together with others around these truths.  That’s what always stands out to me about this experience.

2) There were some outstanding talks — I thought Mark Dever’s sermon was one of  the best I’ve heard at T4G.  Piper’s sermon gave an amazing picture of mankind and how we need a Savior.  Platt’s usually on point and his sermon was the right call at the end of this conference for application.  Resources will soon be up on the T4G website.  I’ll let you weigh the content for yourself.

3) Books — You get many free resources at T4G and this year didn’t disappoint.  Some I had already and I’ve passed them on to others.  But, many of these works will have a lasting impact in my life.

4) Singing – Hearing 10,000 people sing is always something I remember.  This year, the song He Will Hold Me Fast especially gripped me.  We’ll probably be teaching this one soon.

I’m blessed to have a church that allows me to participate in things like this.  I hope this helps you see what I appreciate about events like this.