Posts Tagged with Eastside Baptist Church

I’m just wrapping up a month long sabbatical. Here is my bullet point evaluation/summarization of the past 30 days. (We begin the journey home on Friday afternoon). For a daily journal documented by Renee and me, visit this page: 2018 Sabbatical

• Date: September 1-28, 2018
• Location: the Machaseh House – Shoshoni, Wyoming

For someone who’s never been on a sabbatical It’s hard to describe what a sabbatical is. I have heard of pastors taking sabbatical leave but I don’t actually know many who ever have. Several years ago Eastside Baptist approved a leave policy for pastors to take a sabbatical leave ever 5 years (I’ve been pastor of Eastside Baptist for just over 17 years). Last December (2017) I asked permission to take the month of September (2018) and do just that. I’m now asking myself, “why haven’t you done this before now?”

It felt odd at first explaining to others what I would be doing in September, probably because I didn’t know what it was either, but mostly because I felt like I was somehow explaining something that sounded like a “glorified” vacation (I don’t even take all of my allowed vacation days most years.) I just have to overcome this feeling that some people must think pastors don’t work hard. However, my church is very kind to me. I think they understand the work load and duty of a pastor better than most churches. Then, I just simply don’t like being away from home very often.

Now that I’ve been away, with a game plan, I know better what to do to prepare for the next time and help my preacher friends know how to prepare for a sabbatical leave.

How and why did you decide to go to Wyoming? I first heard of a place called the Machaseh Children’s Ranch several years about when my parents were living in Riverton, WY. The children’s ranch was a foster home ministry of John and Debbie Scudder, former pastor of Warm Valley Baptist Church in Pavillion, Wyoming. In late 2017 they decided to transition the ministry from a foster home to a home to minister to churches and pastors in need of a retreat location. I contacted John about the possibility of coming for the entire month of September 2018. They were kind to allow me and Renee to come and stay in this home, free of charge. A young seminary student, Brad, is on staff at United Baptist Church in Riverton, WY lives at the home too. This has been a blessed provision, a rich provision that I could not afford to have paid for. There are many kind and generous people who have made this home available to pastors and churches to use. We bless the Lord for this kind provision every day. Every friend of mine in the ministry that needs a place like this for a sabbatical season, please contact me.

What did you do? There were things that I did here that I can’t do at home, like roam among the antelope who show up every morning and evening, watch the neighboring farmer harvest his alfalfa, feed corn, and wish he would stop and ask if I wanted to drive any of the farm equipment. Apart from the normal routine of life, like eating, sleeping, brushing teeth… etc. I think I would answer that with three main answers.

1. I spent many hours working on a book idea I’ve wanted to do for several years. I actually came here with two books to write but only worked on one. And still have a lot of work to do on that one. I’ve never devoted myself to the discipline of writing a book so I have much to learn and discover as I go home to continue working on it. I am the “curator” of my dad’s sermon collection. He pastored in three churches in Colorado; New Castle, Rifle, and Trinidad from 1971-1990. I estimate that he must have preached nearly 2,000 sermons during that time, I have about 1,200 hand written sermon notes that he carried into the pulpits of those faithful churches. When he passed away I gathered up all of those sermons from his study and have stored them in a large tote. I spent the first few days sorting them out chronologically. The earliest sermon notes were from his seminary days in 1967. Nearly every sermon he preached was from hand written notes that were mostly comprised of simple outline formats. I then spent several days reading these sermons. Sometimes I would laugh out loud, other times I would weep, I read a few of them to Renee. Then I began to enter them into an electronic format for archiving and publication potential. This took much longer than expected. I’m a slow typer, for one, then the sheer volume showed it a much more aggressive goal than I could accomplish. I have made a dent in this, but I have a mountain of work to do before I can even begin to figure out how to begin the publication side of the task.
2. The second main task was that I wanted to read and listen. I wanted to read several books, listen to several sermons, spend several hours alone in wilderness type settings to read Scripture, meditate upon Scripture, and pray. I want to walk close to my God. I don’t want to just know about Him, or how others know Him. I want to abide with Christ as one whom God would be pleased to find usable for whatever He wants to do in me. I brought several books with me, I brought blank paper to write thoughts on. I read most of what I brought to read, but one book I did not come prepared to read has left a profound impact upon me. The book is from an early American pastor from the Northeast, Albert Barnes, 1798- 1870. The book is not in print anymore, but fortunately I could download it. The Theory and Desirableness of Revivals, has left a mark on my heart, soul, and mind. I will be rereading it soon.
   • I spent a day on the Wyoming Heritage Trail. This is a 22 mile stretch of abandoned railroad path from Riverton to Shoshoni. I had Renee drop me off in Riverton and gave her instructions of when to get me in Shoshoni. This was much more difficult than I had anticipated. But I spent the day praying for my church family. I prayed for every person individually, every family unit, and church body as a whole.
   • I spent an entire day in the Popo Agie Wilderness area. This 9 mile hike was a time to meditate on Scripture, enjoy uninterupted fellowship with Christ, my savior. I sang along the way, meditated on Psalm 25: 4-7, and spent time just listening to the sounds of creation. I should do this again soon.
   • I listened to several sermons. The one that was most encouraging to me was a sermon preached by W.A. Chriswell. In 1985, I had just graduated from high school when this sermon was preached. As an 18 year old, I knew nothing of what was going on in the denomination of my youth. Southern Baptists were in a fight for survival and this sermon was a pivotal sermon for the convention as a whole. The ongoing movement away from the inerrancy of Scripture has largely happened to many denominations and many individual churches. Renee and I both listened to this sermon and I highly recommend it. Here is a list of the sermons I listened to. Most of them are archived on YouTube.
     • The Battle for the Mind – Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones
     • Satan’s Strategy for Stealing the Church – John MacArthur
     • 1985 Southern Baptist Convention Message – W.A. Chriswell 
     • The Kind of Preacher We Need – Vance Havner
     • Why We Believe While Others Reject – John MacArthur
     • Prayer – Ron Dunn
     • Pray and Be Alone with God – Paul Washer
     • Do Yo See God Working in Your Life – Paul Washer
     • The Lord Comes As A Thief – Paul Washer
     • Prayer – Richard Owen Roberts
     • Humility – Richard Owen Roberts
3. On the weekends, Renee and I would attend church at local Southern Baptist Churches; United Baptist, Riverton, WY, Warm Valley Baptist, Pavillion, WY, Hillcrest Baptist, Riverton, WY, and Set Free Church, Riverton, WY. We are thankful for the unique settings of each of these churches and were blessed to hear the preached word together. It is as expected, as a pastor, I rarely get to sit with my wife under the preaching of the word. To some respect Renee is like a woman who attends church without her husband. Not because I avoid her, but because I’m not next to her. This was good to do for several weeks in a row.
   We also took advantage of nearby sights and locations nearby to participate in some rest and relaxation together.
   • We enjoy geocaching and there are plenty of these in the area.
   • We enjoyed several of the local eateries in Riverton, Dubois, and Lander.
   • We spent a day hiking to Popo Agie Falls, horse back riding along the Tetons, sight seeing around Dubois.
   • All time together was refreshing, blessed, and rewarding. I should do this more often at home.

What would you do different? I would plan for more of the “wilderness” times. After reading, meditating, praying and listening I need to give myself to more wilderness type living. Not for the joy of backpacking, (however, I should spend more time backpacking with my family) by “wilderness time”, I mean more time meditating, praying and listening to God. By “more” I mean I would have scheduled this more in advance and purposed more intentional time. I realize that I am a public figure, but I can’t expect to be effective for my pastoral duty if I am not given to a hunger of concentrated, consecrated time with God. This was a sweet reward and one that I would plan for more of next time.

Do you recommend others to go on a sabbatical leave? Absolutely! Start talking to your beloved church now. Plan to stay where you are for a very long time. Let your church bless you with a sabbatical leave for your benefit and theirs. Don’t delay this kindness. (Contact me for information on the Machaseh House.)

To my beloved church, I am looking forward to gathering with you this coming Lord’s Day to worship our God together. Lord willing, I am looking forward to sitting under the faithful preaching of our beloved brother, Mark King, with you. We have missed you and have been pleased to pray for you. May the Lord bless you, may the Lord bless your households, and above all may the Lord be pleased to find us a fit and ready people to move the gospel forward in our day, if He chooses, for His glory.