Pastor's Update

A weekly newsletter with encouragement and teaching from Pastor Craig for the Grace Church Family and beyond.

So We've Got to Say Goodbye for the Summer!

Our Sabbatical takes us away for a time to get us ready to be here for a long time

As I hope you have heard by now, Kathy and I leave on a church-provided sabbatical beginning this coming Monday and lasting for three months. Right now is not an especially restful moment as we do all we can to gather what we need and want to take. We'll try to put what we want in the car, and then discover what will actually fit. It's quite the production!

What makes a sabbatical different from a regular vacation? Well, in some ways there are similarities. There will be visits with family and friends, travel to desirable spots, and hopefully at least a little fun in the sun! But what makes a sabbatical different?

First, it is longer. In part, that is because of the other purposes for a sabbatical--it takes more time to accomplish the multiple purposes. In academia, sabbaticals are either a semester or a year, depending on the institution. Of course the sabbatical year in the Bible was just that--one year where the land (and the animals that worked the land) would have a year where crops would not be planted or harvested. It takes time for land to recover from regular farming, and it can take those who receive sabbaticals longer than a normal vacation first to disengage from normal responsibilities and then to be restored and renewed for another lengthy season of productive work and ministry.

Second, it is to be purposeful rest. Rest is not sleep, or doing nothing. Rest, in the biblical sense, is setting aside one's normal labors to make space for those activities that promote renewal, including rest from those labors, engaging in energizing activities, and time for thinking and reflection.

Third, it is meant to lead to renewed energy for the tasks at hand. The land that was given rest would, by God's promise, be plentifully fruitful. Faculty sabbaticals can lead to revised classes, new books, and ground breaking research. And for the pastor who returns from a sabbatical, personal experience teaches me that fresh perspective, clearer thinking, and greater energies result.

I have had two previous sabbaticals, and each has proven to be even more helpful than I would have known beforehand. After each I have found myself energized to face the years of ministry ahead with joy. The weeks and months after those returns have had some of the greatest challenges and advances of my ministry life, and the rejuvenation of the previous sabbaticals was invaluable preparation for those moments. Now, I'm really hopeful that all the days following this next sabbatical will be only good, but knowing what life and ministry is like, it probably will have some hard things ahead--that's how God grows us best, after all. I'm so blessed to have a church family that helps me be better equipped to serve the Lord, and them, too!

Summer Preaching Schedule

While I'm Gone, Some Reading Suggestions

Here's my occasional list of recommendations

Another summer, another reading list for you. I have quite a bag of books, and I was going to tell you about all the books I hope to read. But Kathy reminded me that I may not like them as much as some others I've already read. I think I will, but there are so many I have read I can recommend, I'll play it safe. Here you go!

1. Delighting in the Trinity, by Michael Reeves. This is a great book that not only presents you with a clear, biblical understanding of this vital teaching, but does so in a way that makes you see how central a proper understanding of Father, Son, and Spirit is to the whole of our faith. Simply put, this will equip you to discuss and defend this doctrine, but it will cause you to, as the title says, delight in it as well.

2. Encounters with Jesus, by Timothy Keller. I have to be careful not to just turn this into a list of Keller books to read for the summer. This is not as well known as some of his books, and that is a shame. Keller chooses significant meetings Jesus had with people in great need. Through his insightful examination, Keller helps us see how Jesus' answers for them are the same answers people need today, including us. And in each, Jesus is seen to be the answer behind the question. It was a great read and went too fast.

3. The Gospel Comes with a House Key, by Rosaria Butterfield. This book was winsome, instructive, and convicting. Whenever you discover someone who has grasped a concept and lived it out as well as this writer has done with Christian hospitality, you are bound to be both blessed and uncomfortable by the reading. Mrs. Butterfield believes that table fellowship is both edifying and evangelizing, and she shares how it is so. It is a powerful book filled with compelling story evidence.

4. Decision Making and the Will of God, by Garry Friesen. I first read this book early--I think I may have been a Cedarville student. In it I saw that the way we talked (and still talk) about God's will is not anchored in Scriptural teaching, but that there is a better way. Others have taken up this message (Kevin DeYoung in Just Do Something is one), but I reread this book recently, and it stands the test of time. Read it and be edified. And then I'll give you the names of some other older books that shouldn't be forgotten.

5. Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices, by Thomas Brooks. Brooks was a Puritan pastor who wanted to warn his flock of the many ways that Satan attacks believers. And so he catalogs them (the devices) and then he shares the various ways that Christians can overcome them (the remedies). It is a fascinating study of the psychology of temptation, and even though it is old, it is still quite applicable today.

May you get through a few (or all) of these in the months ahead. Tell me what you think about them, too!

Odds and Ends

A Full Sunday Ahead

This week, our kids will make their moms (and others) proud by offering some special music. We will celebrate and pray with families presenting themselves and their new little ones before the Lord in dedication. A couple students will be baptized. And I'll share a "summary" message from Acts, dealing with its rather abrupt ending and the continuing significance it should have for us.
 

A Quick Praise Update

I received an email from Wade McComas yesterday--the needed visas have come through, and they are able to keep their plane tickets and original schedule. They will be with us this summer. Praise the Lord!

Oh, and to enter the contest from the header, click here.

That's all for now. See you Sunday. Love you, Grace Family!