The first question I asked myself when considering a sabbatical opportunity was this: What could I do that would most energize my effectiveness in my primary role? My primary role at CBF is that of Teaching Pastor. I share about 50% of the weekly preaching with my friend and co-worker, Dave Reynolds. This was a harder question to answer than it may appear. There are a lot of things I do on a regular and ongoing basis to energize my effectiveness as a teaching pastor. Things like daily Bible reading, regular Bible study, general reading & study, formal coursework, & personal interaction with other pastors. (I'll give a description of my approach to each of these at the bottom of this post.) These are the things that regularly energize my primary role effectiveness. But the question I have sought to answer is what would most energize my primary role effectiveness in a sabbatical experience.
I'll save you the boredom of the long answer to this question and boil it down to the elements that I was inspired by: a desire for greater understanding of God's word, a desire to have God's word come more alive in my reading and preaching, and a desire to do gain these two things in a way that only a sabbatical experience would allow for.
So the proposal that answered this question that was approved by the elders was what I believe God inspired me to. I don’t mean “inspired” in the biblical authorship sense of the word, but inspired in that I believe God’s Spirit was subtlety, and sometimes directly, guiding my answer seeking and orchestrating my path.
For the first 3+ weeks of my sabbatical experience I will be studying in the Holy Lands. Although a brief experience, I want to live what I teach so that I can teach what I’ve lived! I want to learn the lands & culture of the Bible by living & experiencing it firsthand! To facilitate this I’ll be taking a Seminary course from Jerusalem University College (www.juc.edu). JUC hosts professors and students from over 30 seminaries from around the US and the world. I’ll be taking a 3 week intensive course they offer each summer.
The course title is "Geographical and Historical Settings of the Bible." I'll be based in Jerusalem but will travel and study through not only Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Judea, but also to the Elah Valley, Lachish, the Negev and surrounding wilderness, the Dead Sea area including Masada and Qumran, the Sharon Plain, the Jezreel Valley, Megiddo, Galilee, Tyre, Sidon, the Huleh Basin, and through Jordan into the lands of the Edomites, Moabites, and Nabateans and the rock-cut city of Petra! The course is intense as I've already been sent and already begun studying 2 books, a 108 page study guide, and 7 large maps. As a 4 hour graduate seminary course, it's much more than travel and sight-seeing as there are almost daily classroom lectures, weekly exams, and other projects that have to be completed. I've taken a couple of seminary courses in the last few years, but this seems to be a whole never level of intensive study and experience.
I'm excited to have my understanding of & teaching from both the Old and New Testament’s come alive with sights, smells, sounds, tastes, and touch! I also want to understand the cultures of the people living there now. In many ways, it’s still connected to the cultures of the OT & NT. Christians are not only a minority in the region, but they continue to be discriminated against by both Jews and Arabs. An opportunity I hope to not miss is that of encouraging believers in both Israel and Jordan as I get to worship with them each Sunday!
This journey to the past into the lands of the Bible for me is a blessing beyond words. It combines 4 of my personal loves: Bible study, history, cultural awareness, and travel. It is an experience I hope to share from and possibly even share with Cornerstonians in the months and years to come. (Yes, this is a not-so-veiled hint at a Cornerstone Holy Lands trip within 12-18 months of my return!)
UP NEXT: The answer to question number two, What could I do that would enhance my leadership perspective at Cornerstone?
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Bible Reading. A Teaching Pastor who isn't regularly reading his Bible is a scary thing! Currently, I'm following a chronological daily reading plan using YouVersion. As of today, I'm on day 93 of a 365 day plan (25% complete) and am using the New Living Translation. This is my first time to read this version and I find a daily reading plan is a good way to become familiar with various translations and versions of scripture. You can follow along and read with me if you have a YouVersion account and follow me on Twitter or if we are friends on FaceBook.
Bible Study. This is more in depth than reading and is usually focused around our current CBF teaching series, or sometimes it's focused on a particular church issue, question from a CBF member about a certain passage, etc. This kind of stuff energizes my effectiveness by challenging me to study deeply and thoughtfully. In this I use a variety of print and electronic resources. My primary tool in this type of study is Logos Bible Software where I can resource over 1800 of the best bible study tools every assembled. These include some of the most respected commentaries, authors, and Bible researchers available today.
General Reading & Study. Here I'm referring to non-fiction reading that's related to my role. Every year I read one or more books on preaching. This year, Dave & I, along with Ben and Cody Van Scyoc, have begun reading a book on preaching together and discussing it regularly. Our most recent was Invitation to Biblical Preaching by Sunukjian. Before that we read The Homiletical Plot by Lowry. Personally, I've also recently (in the last 2 years) read things like 360-degree leadership by Quicke, and Prepared to Preach by Scharf. I also read in the area of church leadership (recently: Sticky Teams by Osborne), theology (recently: Simply Jesus by Wright, What Good is God? by Yancey), personal devotion (recently: Hearing God, by Willard) and other areas like Christian marriage, Christian counseling, biographies, and world history.
Formal Coursework. The most recent courses I've taken were at Columbia Seminary and New Orleans Baptist Seminary, in Old and New Testament backgrounds respectively. I've also recently taken two Logos study courses one general Bible study and one on Inductive Bible Study Methods, both designed to learn how to get the most from the Logos technology.
Pastor Interaction. On a daily basis, the opportunity to interact with the other pastors at CBF is a great blessing and something that helps equip me for better ministry as "iron sharpens iron". I also try to connect with other pastors in similar positions around the area and around the country. I'll be expanding and focusing on the latter in the 2nd half of my sabbatical experience that I'll explain in more detail in my next post.
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