Book Reviews

Mike Dente

Hard is Only Half the Story: Real Adventures From My Journey Into the Unknown is a poetical book exploring cross-cultural ministry’s deeper side. Beginning with the opening poem and with each chapter, Wendy Zahorjanski unveils her spiritual, emotional, and psychological journey. Yet it’s not a Mémoire or a Confession. She uses both first and second-person voices to bring us along with her while adding a well-crafted summary that adds an aspect of encouraging and instructing.

Honestly, I think this book would’ve been helpful for me as I made my way through the wilds of missionary life. Her inviting style made me want to read with a cup of coffee. But the subject matter never let me get too comfortable; the lessons are subtle and profound amid prose that draws us in, like talking to a friend.

I enjoyed Wendy’s transparency. She lets us see the reality of her heart and the very human struggles of being a cross-cultural minister. She doesn’t allow us to get off the hook easily; she invites us to look into our hearts and see what lies in the dark corners. In this way, she paints an accurate picture of the most challenging yet rewarding parts of missionary life. Although she shows hope in Jesus, this book is not afraid to look into the darkness and doesn’t shy away from the real pain of ministry.

Elaine O’Connor

Editor’s Note: I also read Wendy’s latest book and can’t keep quiet about its potential to inspire and encourage solo readers and groups alike. Here goes. –Elaine O’Connor

As someone who wants to remember what I’ve read, to have it impact my life, I was thrilled to discover Wendy included a list of key takeaways at the end of each chapter—as well as Discussion Questions and a Verse for Meditation for each chapter (located at the end of the book). They serve as bookends of sorts, increasing the possibility that Wendy’s goal of “attempt[ing] to expand your perception of the unknown” is met.

I read this book three times and have been thinking about it quite a bit. As a result, the way I look at the unknown has morphed from one of fear to one of anticipation. I’m an extremely grateful reader.

To give you a sense of what I’ve been experiencing, here’s a peek at the “Things Worth Remembering” from chapter four:

• Strange people and strange places = spike in humility
• You will, at some point, be embarrassed
• Open yourself to the idea that it can be the source of growth
• Don’t run
• Allow yourself to be rebuilt

Suffice it to say this book has earned a spot on my books-I’ll-read-again-and-again bookshelf.

Of note, Wendy dedicated this book to her fellow cross-cultural workers. She wanted to encourage them to keep following and to keep looking … “no matter how dark the shadows grow.” Although not a cross-cultural worker myself (in the strictest sense of the term), I benefitted greatly—as have those I’ve engaged with. I sense the same will happen to anyone who contemplates the wisdom Wendy’s latest book has to offer.

I could go on, but I think I’ll let the book speak for itself.

From the back cover of Hard Is Only Half the Story: Real Adventures From My Journey Into the Unknown by Wendy Zahorjanski:

“Do you ever feel that if life was just a little bit easier, it would be a hundred times better?

In this faith-filled, open-hearted memoir, author Wendy Zahorjanski proves that the opposite is true. When we go through difficult times and trials in life, hard is only half the story. As Zahorjanski explores the journey into grief, doubt, and struggle, she admits that she was surprised to find joy, faith, and friendship on the other side.

In a culture that both intrigued and confronted all of her expectations, Zahorjanski was forced to embrace imperfection, look past seeming dichotomies, and be willing to let her well-laid plans for her life look as if they had turned to mush.

Take a walk into the woods with this raw, real account of one Christian missionary’s hike into the unknown where you’ll learn how to:

• Embrace vulnerability to find some of the most precious moments in life.
• Experience that even when things are far from perfect, God still is.
• Laugh at the failures and absurdities that happen with authentic joy.
• Honestly look at your past and present hours of grief and embrace the person they’ve helped you become.
• Take a look at who God is making you into, one persistent action at a time.

This book is an invitation to step beyond the veil of fear to enrich your existence with the rawness of life by looking to God: the bringer of life and healer of sorrows.

Are you ready to embrace the hard moments in your life so that you can finally see what the other half of hard can really bring? It’s time to lean into the transformation that awaits you. Grab your copy of Hard Is Only Half the Story: Real Adventures From My Journey Into the Unknown today.

Wendy Zahorjanski is a nonfiction writer whose life has been an incredible journey guided by faith. Her writing goal is to unveil the amazing moments of opportunity and spiritual growth concealed within seemingly unsurmountable moments.“

Advent Shows Us How to Wait with Expectancy

Sunday, December 3rd, marks week one of Advent, which is all about hope. Hope often looks like expectation, anticipation—while waiting. Waiting is central to hope. It’s easy to see this theme around Christmas time. Children everywhere wait with expectant anticipation for December 25th, for Santa, for presents. Every year, I recall a fond memory of my four-year-old daughter Scout yelling, “Christmas is my favorite Halloween!” Kids love (and hate) waiting, but they do so because they have hope.

Advent’s hope is woven throughout our Christmas hymns. In “O Come O Come Emmanuel,” we sing from the perspective of the Old Covenant Israelites, impersonating their hope for the long-expected king who the prophets said would come—soon. This theme is in the Scriptures’ telling of Jesus’ coming. When the Messiah finally came, Philip went to Nathanael and exclaimed, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote!” (John 1:45).

Perhaps the best example is Symeon, who lived his entire life with the hope that he would see the Messiah. We’re told that he was “waiting for the consolation of Israel,” having been told by the Holy Spirit that he wouldn’t die until the Messiah came. Holding the infant Jesus in his arms, Symeon declared his willingness to die, for finally, “my eyes have seen your salvation” (Luke 2:25-32). Symeon had waited for this moment his entire life, able to endure the “in-between” because he had hope.

Advent is a season where we learn to wait. Perhaps you’re waiting for something today. You’re between jobs, between decisions, between seasons of growth, between relationships—waiting for joy, waiting for success, waiting for salvation. How can we hold on to hope in the in-between?

A Little While

Jesus’ language for that in-between is the phrase “a little while.” In John 16, he tells his disciples that for “a little while, you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me” (John 16:16). He’s perhaps referring to the few days when he goes to the cross, dies, and is buried (scholars disagree on what “little while” Jesus is talking about). In any case, it’ll be a time of grief, sorrow, and painful waiting. That’s the in-between: the difficult, perilous, frustrating seasons of waiting. But afterward, they will see him again. The dead will rise. Hope will be fulfilled as “your sorrow will turn into joy” (v20). Here, Jesus offers hope to his disciples at their darkest hour. How will they get through the trauma of the next few days? Only by holding on to hope.

Fleming Rutledge explains that this pattern of hope in the in-between is what Advent is all about:

“Advent contains within itself the crucial balance of the now and the not-yet that our faith requires… [Between] the yearly frenzy of “holiday” time in which the commercial Christmas music insists that “it’s the most wonderful time of the year” and Starbucks invites everyone to “feel the merry.” The disappointment, brokenness, suffering, and pain that characterize life in this present world is held in dynamic tension with the promise of future glory that is yet to come. In that Advent tension, the church lives its life.“ (Fleming Rutledge, Advent: The Once and Future Coming of Jesus Christ).

The “Advent tension” that Rutledge mentions is what so many of us experience on a daily basis. It’s what our songs are about and the air Israel breathed for centuries. Waiting is an everyday reality on this side of resurrection. In order to hold on to hope, we must remember three things.

The In-Between is Necessary

The “little while” was necessary if Jesus was going to make a way to God. “Until now you have asked nothing in my name,” he explains. “Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full” (v. 24). Before the cross, “until now,” our relationship with God was based on nothing but promises and hope. By going to the cross, Jesus changed the relationship. Now, we approach God “in his name.” Jesus is helping his disciples understand that he had to leave them for a little while because by doing so, he secured our relationship with God.

Sometimes we don’t understand why God tarries or why promises take a long time to fulfill. We ask, “Why?” and wonder if we’re not wasting our time. But we can hold on to hope if we remember that these seasons of waiting are necessary. God is using them for our good. Peter relayed this lesson later in his letter:

“In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:6-7).

Frodo Baggins didn’t understand why he was tasked with the season of life he found himself in. “I wish it need not have happened in my time,” he tells Gandalf. Gandalf explains to Frodo that none of us understands the times we’ve been given, nor can we control the seasons we’re in. But, knowing these seasons are necessary, one thing we can do: “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” The in-between seasons of life are something God is using. But what is he using it for?

The In-Between is Formative

God uses the in-between seasons to form something beautiful in us. Notice the verb in Jesus’ promise: “You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy” (John 16:20). That turning is the process of spiritual formation. It’s the process of becoming like Christ as we learn to trust in him, believe his promises, and hold on to hope.

Admittedly, this process is a difficult one. Pain seems bad. We might try to ease the pain of migraine with Ibuprofen or endure the heartache of a breakup with a tub of ice cream and a night of Netflix. But have you noticed that not all pain is bad? The pain of grad school—that’s a good kind of pain, the kind that promises a career at the end of it. There’s the pain of practice that promises proficiency. The pain of physical labor brings with it the promise of a remodeled bathroom. Growing pains bring growth. Exercise brings health. Labor brings a child. As we sometimes say, “No pain, no gain.” The Gospel of Jesus extends that promise to the pain of suffering:

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2-4).

God uses painful trials, James says, to form something in us. This answers the common question, “What purpose could ever come from my sorrow? What blessing could ever come from my pain?” The answer is that God is forming you into someone who is patient, joyful, and full of hope. To be sure, this is a difficult process, one filled with mystery and unanswered questions. But equally sure is this: one day, “your sorrow will turn into joy.”

The In-Between is Worth It

The beautiful promise of the Gospel is that, soon and very soon, he will bring the in-between time to a swift end. We won’t even remember the pain. We will only see what God has done and rejoice. As Jesus explains, “So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you” (John 16:22). One day, the sorrow of the in-between will give way to the permanent joy of eternal life in the kingdom of God.

I remember going on vacation with our family to my father-in-law’s timeshare in Mexico. The kids were so excited. “We’re going to Mexico!” they screamed as we piled in the car, drove down I-5, and eventually arrived … at the airport. My kids were incensed. “Dad this is the airport, not Mexico! You lied to us!” I tried to explain that sometimes, getting to your destination includes a bunch of stops along the way. In order to get to Mexico, we had first to board a plane at the airport. Getting to where you’re going involves some amount of waiting in the in-between.

It’s those little stops, fits, and starts that make a trip feel like it’s taking forever. That’s the “in-between.” God promises to deliver on his promises to us, but sometimes, we have to stop at the airport first. In those times, we’re tempted to say, “God, you lied to us! This is the airport; I want to go to Mexico!” Instead, we need to remember that it’s just a little while.

Sit tight. Hold on.

Listen to God’s voice. Trust him.

We’ll be there soon.

“What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.” (Acts 17:23)

So begins Paul’s address to the educated crowd at the Areopagus in Athens. He had discovered an altar established for an unknown God within the city, and he used that as an opening to share the good news about Jesus. This Thursday, as we gather with our families to celebrate Thanksgiving, we have a similar opening. For many of our family members, Thanksgiving is a holiday to an unknown god.

Thankful to Whom?

Regardless of religious background, many of us will take turns around the table and sharing what we are grateful for without considering who we are grateful to. The act of giving thanks is a relational gesture, and it implies a giver. Thanksgiving (Gk. eucharistia) is a response to giving (Gk. charis). To say thanks is to say thank you. Paul would recognize this as an open door. An opportunity to ask, could I tell you about the one you thank?

We can tell them about “the God who made the world and everything in it” who “gives to all mankind, life and breath and everything (vs. 24-25). To another crowd, Paul proclaims him as the one “who did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness” (Acts 14:17) and how he has done all of this so that all people, “should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him.” (Acts 17:27)

We can tell them about how humanity collectively, although deep down they know these things, has failed to honor God, or give him thanks and how rejecting such truths has made us vulnerable to lies and idolatry. (Rom. 1:21-22) For if we do not worship the Creator, worshiping created things is all that is left.

Black Friday

This ungratefulness and idolatry are not hard to illustrate. It can be easily seen in what follows our Thanksgiving celebration: Black Friday. What could make our gratitude more questionable than our actions the next day (and increasingly, Black Friday is encroaching on Thanksgiving Thursday)? Because we can’t be satisfied with the giver and content in his gifts, we fight tooth and nail for the latest and greatest, trying to fill the void. Without true Thanksgiving, the feasting isn’t enough to satisfy … barely enough for a single day.

Of course, we haven’t even gotten to the good news yet: that the God we are introducing is gracious even to the ungrateful (Luke 6:35) and that his greatest gift is the Son he sent to save our selfish world. God’s response to our making gods in our image was, as God, to come in the image of man. His life, death, burial, and resurrection bring freedom where there is slavery and life where there is death. This greatest gift produces the greatest gratitude. That is why when Christians remember what Jesus did for us, we call it the Eucharist (Thanksgiving).

A Life Defined by Thanksgiving

The Christian life, the response to God’s great gift, is defined by thanksgiving. It is the earmark of Christian speech (Eph. 5:4). For we give thanks always and for everything (Eph. 5:20) and in every circumstance (1 Thess. 5:18). Whatever we do, in word or deed, we do in the name of Jesus and with thanksgiving (Col. 3:17). Our very lives are lived as a sacrifice of thanksgiving, responding to God’s great mercy (Rom. 12:1). Even our desire to share with our family about this unknown God flows from a place of thanksgiving. We invite them to turn their “thanks” into “thank you” and join with all who say:

“I will give thanks to you, O LORD,
for though you were angry with me,
your anger turned away,
that you might comfort me.

“Behold, God is my salvation;
I will trust, and will not be afraid;
for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation.

“Give thanks to the LORD,
call upon his name,
make known his deeds among the peoples,
proclaim that his name is exalted.

“Sing praises to the LORD, for he has done gloriously;
let this be made known in all the earth.“ (Isaiah 12)

From the beginning, music has played a vital role in Calvary Chapel’s heritage. With Maranatha! Music platforming and promoting bands such as Parable and Love Song, as well as artists like Chuck Gerard, they’ve continued this legacy by presenting a new sound for worship in the church.

It doesn’t take long to realize the influence that Maranatha! Music still has on Christian music. Remember the band I mentioned earlier, Parable? The guitar player and lead female vocals for that band were John and Lisa Wickham. I think you know where I’m going with this. But just in case, they’re the parents of Phil Wickham, one of the top worship songwriters of our day. The lead male vocals for that same band was Chuck Butler, the father of Chad Butler, the incredible drummer for Switchfoot. It’s cool to reflect upon how God used such small beginnings to make a lasting impact on the church today. But don’t believe for a second that He’s done!

This is why we’re excited to announce something special: CGN Music is here!

CGN Music is about community, inspiration, and a shared love for music. We want to echo our Calvary Chapel heritage as we look forward toward a new horizon in both worship and music in general. As a new chapter and extension of CGN Media, we’re excited to hear the voices of today from our church network and provide a helpful platform to get their music out to as many ears as possible.

Head over to cgnmusic.com where we’re currently featuring music from Mountlake Music, the Calvary Creative team, Heritage, and many more. We’re also working on creating a process for fellow artists to submit their recordings to be featured on the CGN Music website—so be on the lookout for that. We hope this new CGN initiative blesses you and your churches for generations to come.

Psalm 96:1-4 says, “Oh sing to the LORD a new song; Sing to the LORD, bless His name; tell of His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous works among all the peoples! For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods.”

It was 1924 when the Summer Olympic Games were last held in Paris. The world had yet to feel the weight of the Great Depression or the specter of Nazism. These were also the first Olympic Games to be commented on via radio. Yet, more known in some Christian circles, they were ones that provide the setting for the movie Chariots of Fire to tell the story of Eric Liddell and his gold medal run.

In the movie, Eric famously said that he felt the favor of God when he ran. The scene opens in joy as he announces his acceptance as a missionary to China. He tells his sister, Jenny, then explains that he will defer his call to China until he finishes the Summer Olympics. Jenny doesn’t understand; he has to talk her into it. From a pastoral point of view, I wonder if my reaction wouldn’t have been like hers. It’s rather presumptuous of Liddell to say. There’s no Bible verse to back him up on this, just a feeling he has. How many of us would have counseled him to come back down and serve the Lord with the incredible gift he’d been given: an honored chance to serve the Lord in foreign missions?

But we know Eric was right. If you look closely at the actual pictures of his face as he was crossing the finish line, we can make out the face of someone in the ecstasy of total praise. It reminds me of the blessing taken from Numbers 6:24-26 that many pronounce on Sunday at the end of the service. A blessing was given to Aaron and his sons through which they were to bless Israel in the wilderness and throughout their history so Israel would bear God’s name to all the world. I want to look at this blessing in three parts, knowing that God’s face radiates love when He sees us in Christ.

May the LORD bless you and keep you.

To be blessed by the Lord is a happy state that envelops every part of our lives. Like Israel in the wilderness, one of the great reasons for this is because God is there. When Aaron blessed Israel, the Presence was visible: He gave manna, a physical blessing, to eat; water from a rock; and even quails when they complained …

Aaron would speak the blessing, but God was there and acting through the experience. As the Theological Lexicon of the Old Testament explains: “God’s activity can be actualized through human speech; it can be ignited by it.” It’s visible and palpable yet invisible and spiritual.

Another example comes from Deuteronomy, where Moses recounts: “ So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD. Your garments did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years” (Dt 8.3-4). This was His provision and instruction, the Lord’s blessing and name upon His people.

His blessing is to know his protection. If God keeps us, it’s having Him as a Shepherd who protects and directs. This reminds me of that scene where Balaam tried to curse Israel, but wound up blessing them every time he opened his mouth (Nu. 22-24). The Lord’s protection was upon them. The prophet was powerless. It also reminds me Jesus taught us to pray that God would not allow us to enter into temptation but to deliver us from evil. In this way, He keeps us. His protection is here with us as He is here, present, and watching over us.

May the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you.

This part of the blessing brings us close to what Eric Liddell expressed. He felt the Lord’s favor, His face like a benevolent light. This is interesting because John writes that God is light without shadow (1 Jn 1.5). He is, therefore, pure and life-giving. When God turns “His face,” His regard toward us “radiates.” What’s communicated responds to the fundamental need of humanity that begins at an early age. It’s the need to know we are seen. It’s the need for acceptance and love.

Babies manifest this need from the beginning. They seek the loving gaze of their parents. They need their full attention, more than mere eye contact. As they grow, children go on showing this through what they do. On the playing field, they watch the stands to see who’s watching. They run in the door from school with a picture in hand, their creation. They want one thing: to be seen.

This blessing responds to this need, like in the case of Eric Liddell, who knew God called him but felt God’s favor as he ran. The Lord’s face turns toward us, shining with His favor, His grace.

It’s often said that grace is the undeserved favor of God, and it’s even more! His grace is love that’s infused into the dynamics of everyday life. More than saving grace, it’s holistic, physical, and, why not, emotional. He wants to do good to us. Then, this grace is like the rays that emanate from His gaze. Why? Because He has adopted us, we are His children.

May the LORD turn His face to you and give you peace.

His gaze is favorable toward us. It’s important to let that sink in. The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament puts it this way: “to raise the face, turn towards, lift the countenance, to encourage, take sides, show partiality toward the one He blesses.” This is how He sees us in Jesus. God sees us and smiles with affection. We do the same when looking at someone we love. His face radiates love. Knowing that God loves us this much strengthens us when times are difficult.

If that weren’t enough, He gives us His peace. It is one of the most precious aspects of this blessing: peace with God. Jesus became our peace because we were enemies with God. Let’s allow Scripture speak: Colossians 1:21-22 “And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight.” Jesus became our peace, between us and the Father.

Yet His peace goes beyond judicial righteousness. Jesus spoke of the peace He gives through the Holy Spirit. John 14.27: “Peace I leave with you, The peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

Then, we can even go further. His peace translates into a state that covers everything, just like it says in Isaiah 26.3-4: Y“ou will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You Because he trusts in You. Trust in the LORD forever, For in YAH, the LORD, is everlasting strength.” Because He is there, we know that all will be well, and the storms that swarm around us will calm down with the power of His loving gaze into our lives.

In the end, Aaron would pronounce this blessing on Israel so that God’s name would be upon them. Knowing that we bear the name of Christ, His name is upon us, too. That is why we end our worship services with this blessing and can go into the world knowing of His favorable gaze towards us. He loves us. Maybe you are like Eric Liddell. You know God has something for you, but you are on another project today. I hope this article encourages you. What God has given you today, do it with all your heart and enjoy His favor. It’s He who takes care of His plans. It’s enough today for us to trust Him, receive His blessing, and live in His favor.

This past spring, several friends and I started a community garden. Some of us had experience gardening, and some of us did not. I was in the latter group, but enthusiasm had me counting down the days until the soil would be warm enough to begin planting.

Finally, by the end of April, the conditions were right, and one of the first things we stuck in the prepared ground were potatoes. We were committed to avoiding harmful chemicals in our garden but were also aware that potatoes have an infamous arch nemesis: Leptinotarsa decemlineata, aka the potato beetle. If left alone, these insects can completely defoliate an entire plant, destroying it and significantly decreasing crop yields. They multiply quickly and are ruthless eaters. One way to prevent them is to spray pesticides, but since we had decided to go organic, we were left to find another alternative.

Find Them and Squish Them

We decided to pick them off one by one as they appeared. This is just as tedious as it is gross. The picking-off part is fine. Gloves and a jar keep tiny crawling legs from coming into contact with skin, but after being collected, the bugs must be destroyed. Fingers or rocks, it doesn’t matter the tool of choice; the pop sound of their shell being crushed is the same. So is the sight of little beetle guts oozing out everywhere. Not one of us looked forward to that part of the task, but knowing the damage they would do if not destroyed gave us enough motivation to stick with it until it was finished. Potato beetles lay their eggs on the underside of leaves, so finding those required us to slow way down and inspect each leaf. One cluster of eggs missed would result in a horde of adult beetles.

As a novice gardener, my first priority was to learn what these beetles looked like because I didn’t want, in my ignorance, to kill a beneficial garden bug. I needed to recognize this pest in all its stages of life: eggs, larva, pupa, and adult. Then, armed with my new knowledge, gloves, and a glass jar, I’d be ready to take up my vigil. The plants needed to be checked every time we went out to the garden, and sometimes I didn’t feel like doing it. It seemed to take forever to do, and it was boring. I would rather have done other things in the garden, even weed. At least when weeding, you have visible evidence of your work. A nicely weeded garden row is very satisfying and pretty to look at.

De-beetling the potatoes, however, is invisible work. Standing back, you wouldn’t notice the bugs, unless there were an infestation of them, and that means that the ‘before’ and ‘after’ picture of beetles vs. no beetles look just about the same. No Instagram picture opportunity there. What is noticeable are the effects of not taking the time to destroy the pest. Avoiding or ignoring this mundane task leads to death. Death of the plant above ground and death of the potato it feeds underground. Talk about noticeable.

So, pull off the bugs we did. Even though we were diligent, it would have been an unrealistic goal to try to keep every beetle from ever stepping foot into our garden. These insects will come and inevitably will eat some of the leaves they find, but a complete takeover can be prevented. If kept under control, the leaves they eat will not adversely affect an otherwise healthy potato plant. The plant can produce new leaves to replace the nibbled ones, and the potatoes will turn out just fine.

Notice that I said an otherwise healthy plant. What would happen if we had decided to spend all our time going after the beetles? The weeds would choke the plant out because we didn’t take time to clear the dirt around the roots. The sun would burn the leaves because we didn’t take time to water. And, the soil would fail to nourish the plant because we didn’t take time to replenish it. The reason would be different, but the result would be the same: no potatoes.

It was not enough just to kill the pest. We also had to set aside time and energy to nurture the plant. We had to become experts in cultivation as well as extermination. The ultimate goal is to do both in tandem, maximizing growth and minimizing harm.

Potato Bugs in My Heart

This goal of feeding the good and starving the bad is the same in my life as it is in my garden, just more subtle. Unlike the beetles and potato plants, the battle between life and death wages under the surface. My potato beetles are the invisible thoughts and lustful passions found in my heart. The Apostle Paul calls them the earthly things, and while he didn’t write an exhaustive list of what they are, he did give us quite a few examples, including covetousness, impurity, anger, wrath, and malice: universal pests that we all fight or have fought against. Paul warns us to put them to death, and for good reason. If left to their own, they’ll destroy us as they tear through our lives with their insatiable ardour in order to rule over us.

The first step in the battle against these foes is the same as it is with the beetles. We must be able to recognize them in all of their nasty forms. Thankfully, we have help. The Holy Spirit and the Holy Scripture are our main guides, but the church is also indispensable in helping us to recognize, pluck out, and remove these menaces.

It does no good to recognize and find them, just to put them in our jars for analyzing and self-sabotaging guilt-tripping. Paul’s call is to get rid of them by killing them, not to save them and be condemned by them. It is interesting to note that not once does Paul tell us to be ashamed of those worldly things that pester our lives, but he is straightforward in his exhortation: put them to death, put them off, crucify them. This is the language of extermination, and Paul employs it because he knows that these things have no place in our new identity in Christ. They are sin and they lead to one place: death.

Help!

How do you kill invisible heart issues? Do you punish yourself by always putting yourself down in your thoughts and your words? Should you deny yourself all pleasure? Maybe physically beating the sin out of you is the way? While creative, all these methods have been tried, and they failed. The truth is we can’t do it on our own. We need someone to save us and that’s just what Jesus did.

He came to save us from being overrun. In fact, we were already overrun. We were dead. We had no hope. The infestation was already in full force. No amount of picking and removing could clear our hearts of the sin with which it was inundated. We needed someone to come despite the mess and free us. And Jesus did. On the cross, He saved us from the power and dominion of sin and resurrected us. He didn’t just give us a new garden-heart completely separate from the old one. Nope. He resurrected the dead one right where it was, drowning in beetles, igniting life where there was none. His death and resurrection squashed the power of sin, making way for the power of life to be released. He exterminated one in order to cultivate the other.

Extermination of sin isn’t an end in and of itself. It clears the way for what is to follow, but we can easily become so obsessed with finding each and every beetle that we neglect the other elements essential to overall spiritual health. This, too, is the lesson of the potato bug. Killing them, although important, doesn’t guarantee that you will harvest potatoes, and as shocking as it might seem, putting to death the works of the flesh does not automatically ensure that we will live an empowered, fruitful Christian life.

When we decide to follow Jesus, we are freed from the overwhelming force of sin in our lives and are filled with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit in us produces fruit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. The potential is there from the moment we believe, just like the potential for the potato plant to flourish is there from the moment the tuber is planted in good soil, but in both cases, health has to be maintained for fruit to mature.

Cultivating Love

So, how do we unleash the potential and reap the biggest harvest possible? This is an important question when gardening and even more important when cultivating our spirits. The answer that Scripture gives is so simple that it is frustrating. Love God. What? That’s it? Yes, loving God looks very similar to loving my garden and potato plants.

An onlooker can see that I love my garden because I set aside time and energy to be in it. It is obvious that I enjoy working in it. It is not a duty most of the time, but I did make a commitment to it, so discipline and consistency are a must. More often than now, I am sad to leave it and want to stay just a little bit longer. Love for my garden evidences itself in my fascination with it. I walk through it, carefully examining vegetables and plants, wanting to learn more about them. What do the leaves look like? How and where does the fruit form? How does the plant grow? Tall and skinny, bushy and wide?

I want to know my garden better and better. I read about gardening when I’m not in it. I talk to experienced gardeners to get their advice and suggestions. I inspect other’s gardens to learn tricks and get inspiration. I work in my garden alone and with others, recognizing that both have advantages. I also protect my garden. I put a fence around it to protect it, mostly from my dog Sven, but also from other animals. I water it to protect it from drought and pick off those pesky potato bugs to protect it from harm.

Loving God looks like setting aside time and energy to be with Him: to experience and enjoy Him. This can be in prayer, meditating on scripture, walking in His creation, spending time with His people, singing praise to Him through songs, etc.

Allow yourself to be fascinated by Him. Dig deep into the Scriptures and other books holding to the same truth. Learning more about who He is, what He is like, and what He is not like is a good way to nurture your love for Him.

Talk with other experienced lovers of God. Learn from their example. Observing how they love God will enrich your love for Him.

Pray. It is the water that brings vitality to our inner lives and love for God.

Last but not least, protect your love for Him. Make boundaries to keep the enemy out and get rid of those beetles.

Scriptures for Meditation:

Ephesians 4:22-24: “to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”

Colossians 3:5-10: “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.”

Hebrews 12:1: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,”

Editor’s note: CGN is proud to announce our partnership with Pastoral Transitions. They have an excellent podcast which you can listen to here. This article will give you an idea about their heart and vision.

When I was a pastor, I’d have days where I thought I was the luckiest person on earth. Standing in front of a couple renewing their wedding vows, preaching a message I was passionate about and the people got it, or even taking my shift at the dunk tank during the Fall Festival.

But you know where this is going.

Sometimes, I wanted out.

Dealing with the conflict, carrying the burdens, never being able to shut it all down, there were times of daydreaming: “What would it look like if I wasn’t doing this anymore?”

And then I didn’t have to imagine it; I found myself living it.

Two completely different realities.

A question that lingers in the hallways of church offices, and in the hearts of many pastors is, “Is there life after vocational ministry?”

Turning Transition into Transformation

Ministry work is more than just a job. It’s a calling that intricately makes its way into one’s identity, community, and sense of purpose.

So, what happens when a ministry leader steps away from this calling, or is asked to step away from this calling?

Is there life after ministry? Is there ministry after ministry?

Indeed, the answer is a resounding “Yes!”

But the approach to these transitions can make a profound difference.

The decision to transition out of a pastoral role often comes with a mix of emotions—grief, uncertainty, but also hope for a new beginning. Whether it’s initiated by the organization or by the pastor, the transition represents a whole-scale change of life, not simply heading down the street and filling out an application for a new job.

While much has been written about church leadership transitions, the focus is often on how to welcome a new pastor, rather than how to care for the outgoing one.

So, given the real-life experience of our own exit out of ministry, my wife and I decided to tell our story and the story of others. We launched the Life After Ministry podcast.

Purpose of the Life After Ministry Podcast

This podcast is not about trying to point the finger at the church and tell her everything that’s wrong. We care deeply about the church and want to see her become the splendid bride we read about at the end of Revelation.

Good intentions on the part of church boards or leadership teams are important—but insufficient. The tangible impact of a leader’s exit can reverberate through not just their own lives, but their families and communities as well.

If your last day of ministry was called “Day 0,” we take a look at what “Day 1” looks like.

• How do you decide what your new career is?
• What’s your financial runway, and are there smarter ways to mitigate losses?
• Where’s God in the midst of a transition?
• Do you need some counseling? How about your spouse and kids?

And what’s the impact on a church community?

If not managed well, a pastoral transition can cost a ministry far more than they anticipate. Anger and division within the congregation can lead to reduced giving, and a loss of members means fewer resources for mission and outreach. Worse, the social capital of trust and community is depleted, sometimes irrevocably. Don’t believe us? We’ve seen it, and you’ve at least heard about it.

Benefits of Turning Transition into Transformation

Imagine a scenario where the outgoing pastor is honored with grace and their transition is managed as an investiture into their future, rather than a termination. An announcement from the pulpit might go something like this:

“We love this pastor deeply and care about what’s next for them, as much as we care for the ongoing vitality of our church community. That’s why we’ve contracted with an organization called Pastoral Transitions, to closely work with them over the next six months to ensure their success and emotional well-being.”

The result?

• The torches are put away.
• The anger dissipates.
• The gossip disappears.

Everyone can breathe a collective sigh of respect and relief, thankful for the compassion extended by leadership.

Whether you’re in ministry and considering whether there’s life AFTER ministry, or you have to make a tough decision regarding a ministry staff member you love, we invite you to listen to the Life After Ministry podcast and hear stories of turning transition into transformation.

In this new covenant, make sure to read the fine print.

Sometimes, cars explode.

That’s what a fireman told me after putting out the conflagration that used to be my 1998 Geo Prism. Driving down 85th Street in Seattle, my engine just—exploded. I’m serious: it erupted in flames. Terrified, I pulled the car over and from the window of a nearby Jack in the Box, watched my car burn to a crisp in the middle of traffic while eating a Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger. When the fireman finally came, I asked him why this happened. He told me, “Yup, one thing they don’t tell you when you buy a new battery is that they can spontaneously combust. Sometimes, cars explode.”

When you buy something, it usually comes with a contract, an implicit agreement stating that you, the buyer, know what you’re getting into. And at the bottom of the contract is the fine print: the details about the dangers and inherent risks of this product. “Warning: May spontaneously combust.” Fine print is everywhere.

Leaving Behind Who You Used To Be

Even living in the Way of Jesus comes with fine print. And his terms and conditions are no less unsettling. This contract states that to follow him is to follow him to the cross.

Of course, the cross is the locus of God’s mercy, redemption, and love. Jesus spent three years recruiting and training students to learn his way. He cast a vision of life “that is truly life” in the kingdom of God; allegiance to the world’s true king; certain belief and sure faith; a vision of future hope; ethics of service, care, and justice. Following Jesus is, at times, brilliantly exciting.

At other times, it’s unimaginably difficult. The cross is also the locus of pain, betrayal, and sacrifice. At the end of his earthly ministry, the man who is God ended up on a Roman cross, falsely accused, brutally tortured, and publicly executed in the most shameful way imaginable. When that road leads to suffering, we might wonder whether we want to live in the Way of Jesus anymore.

We should have read the fine print.

Three times, Jesus tried to teach his followers that his road led to the cross. But they couldn’t fathom such a fate. They couldn’t imagine that Jesus’ promise of eternal life might include death, or that the coming of the king would include condemnation as a criminal. But Jesus made it crystal clear that this was his road—and that the same road applies to us as well.

Becoming A New Person

“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it” (Luke 9:23-24 ESV).

If you want this vision of life in the kingdom of God, Jesus says, then just know … it’s gonna cost you. This is the fine print: “Warning: May die on a cross.”

The Apostle Paul read Jesus’ terms and conditions carefully. In his letter to the Colossians, he states, “I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake” (Col. 1:24). Under no illusions, Paul understands what’s been asked of him. Further, he writes this letter from prison, a victim of state oppression. Yet note his attitude: “I rejoice.”

Of course, not everyone who follows Jesus comes to the same fate. The Rich Young Ruler, for example, isn’t asked to suffer—only to give up his possessions. The Pharisees are asked to swallow their pride and care about mercy and justice. Zaccheus has to repay the money that he stole. Some give up their homes. Others, such as the prostitutes, give up their occupations. Some give up old habits. Some have to trust Jesus with yet another miscarriage. Some have to process old, traumatic concepts of family. And one day, all of us will have to face our own mortality with bravery and lasting faith.

In the Scripture, it’s all the same idea. Following Jesus comes with suffering. To suffer with Christ means to leave behind who you used to be. The process of becoming new in Christ is a painful and sometimes violent process. It’s costly.

We live in a culture that believes suffering is meaningless. We view it as an interruption to our scheduled programming. It’s an inconvenience that doesn’t fit in a world of Amazon Prime and Uber Eats. Suffering is far from something we embrace, much less “rejoice in.” Our culture views suffering similar to how Peter described it, “as if something strange were happening” (1 Pet. 4:12). The doctor Paul Brand, who served all over the world before coming back to serve in America, famously observed that American culture is “a society that seeks to avoid pain at all costs” (Paul Brand, The Gift of Pain).

The problem with this view is that suffering is unavoidable. It’s characteristic of a world broken by sin. It’s part of everyday life. Whether you are righteous or evil, rich or poor, suffering is inevitable. Just look at Jesus’ example. He’s perfect, sinless, and yet all throughout the Gospels, we see him weeping. Jesus cries over the loss of friends and the injustice of his nation. Isaiah named him a “man of sorrows,” a “suffering servant.”

Rejoicing In The Process

That describes the Apostle Paul as well. After stating that he “rejoices in” his sufferings, Paul goes on to say that he embraces it “for the sake of his body, that is, the church” (Col. 1:24). He embraced the fine print because he was a servant of others. For Paul, suffering was meaningful, purposeful, even helpful. Though it is at times difficult, long, and painful, Paul knew that suffering creates something beautiful for him and others. In his letter to the Romans, Paul describes how this process works:

“We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Rom. 5:3-5 ESV).

This is the fine print. God will call each of us, in different but significant ways, to suffer for him. It might not be the same experience as someone else—and 1 Peter 4:15 makes clear that some suffering can be caused by our own sin. Nevertheless, in each of our lives, there will come a time when the Lord calls us to sacrifice, loss, betrayal, even death. It’s inevitable. It may be difficult, long, and painful. It might seem mysterious for a time as we wonder “Why have you forsaken me?” But God promises that the fine print is meaningful. The first step to embracing and rejoicing in it, is reading it.

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father” (Jn. 14:12).

You’ve got the right stuff …

A. The Father’s Blessing for a New Season

My teenage son and I were driving back from a retreat we attended together. It had been one of those memorable father-son experiences, the kind you know you’ll remember for the rest of your life. During the afternoon, we had gone for a hike up a mountain and talked along the way about life, God, hopes, dreams, etc.

As we left the retreat center and drove home, we talked together, and I sensed God’s desire for me to “bless” my son. This was something very different than a simple pronouncement after a sneeze, or merely saying, “You’re a blessing to me, son” or even something along the lines of, “Here’s some money; I just want to bless you.” No, this was something of Biblical proportion.

Allow me to briefly digress. I was raised as an observant Jew and came to faith in Jesus as Messiah as an adult. I had experienced Bar Mitzvah as a rite of passage. Our sons similarly experienced this rite of passage as I their father, rabbi, and pastor led them through Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and explained they were now men before God, sons of a New Covenant with God and sons of God’s blessings. Yet the day that I drove home with my son from the retreat, I sensed that God wanted me to bless my son again for a new season in his life … a new blessing to prepare for a new passage.

The Father blesses the Son in various important seasons of life and ministry.

This might seem a novel concept in a New Testament context, but consider that presumably Jesus experienced Bar Mitzvah in the Hebrew tradition.

Yet, when Jesus began His earthly ministry, a rite of passage, again His Father pronounced a blessing over His Son, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:17).

Again, at the Mount of Transfiguration: The quest to the cross began in earnest, and another rite of passage is discovered. The disciples Peter, James, and John would be encouraged by the discovery of His glory as they were being prepared for their unique leadership roles. Jesus was far greater than their understanding of Messiah as declared at Caesarea Philippi (Matt. 16:16). The blessing of the Father would also encourage the Son, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 17:5).

The Father’s blessing is highly valued.

The concept of the father’s blessing was critical to the Patriarchs. The yearning for the blessing caused Jacob to scheme in an attempt to secure his father Isaac’s blessing (although God had assured him of the blessing), and caused Esau to lament the loss of something that he had previously neglected. The importance of the blessing caused Joseph to attempt to guide his elderly father Jacob to pronounce a blessing over Joseph’s oldest son when Jacob was directing the greater blessing of God upon his younger grandson.

The twelve sons of Jacob gathered at their elderly father Jacob’s bed as the patriarch pronounced blessings that foretold the destiny of each of these twelve tribes of Israel. The blessing of a father is a critical event to help prepare for the passage into adulthood and for various seasons of passage in life ministry and discovery and fulfillment of calling.

As I drove with my son from that retreat, I too sensed that I was to bless my son. Then the words came forth, “I believe that God wants me to encourage you and bless you that you will do greater works than I ever have or will do.” These were words that I had never previously spoken to my son. They were words of great weight and were spoken with conviction. The experience was profound.

A father is a source of great influence for his children. When they become adults, he’s to be a mentor as he continues to train equip and encourage them for the seasons they encounter and prepare them for the ones that lie ahead. He’s to assure them that they have the right stuff!

The blessing, “In whom I am well pleased” is not conditioned upon perfection or performance but flows from the relationship of father and son or a mentor and disciple.

It’s only natural for parents to want their children to have a good life. But to want them to truly do greater things, especially greater Kingdom work, is supernatural. Unfortunately, that blessing can be impeded by a father’s competitive nature. A father who competes with his adolescent son in sports, resisting the son’s desire to beat (do greater than) his father, might find it difficult to yearn for his son to do greater than he has done. The difficulty pronouncing that blessing might say more about the nature of the father than the nature of the son.

B. The Son’s Blessing for a New Season

Nevertheless, a blessing apparently flowed easily from the lips of Jesus as He prepared the disciples for their rite of passage in the Upper Room when He declared,“ Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father” (Jn. 14:12).

The commencement address: You will do greater works …

Imagine the disciples hearing those words in the Upper Room. They were being prepared to continue the Kingdom work Jesus had groomed them for. The work would continue through them, and this was the time for their rite of passage. Certainly they would be confounded by the idea that they could possibly do greater works than Jesus. They had witnessed miracles performed by Jesus.

As they considered their own frailties and insecurities, they likely couldn’t imagine these encouraging words as an actual declaration of prophetic truth. Yet, true were the Savior’s words. For indeed the scope, magnitude, and influence of Christ’s disciples would in some respects be greater works. In the span of about fifty days, three thousand converts would enter the Kingdom at Pentecost in response to Peter’s anointed proclamation of the Gospel.

This sum would represent more than all of the recorded converts in Jesus’ entire earthly ministry. Soon thereafter, the number of converts would measure five thousand. Today the total is estimated in excess of two billion—a far greater number than the 120 who gathered in the Upper Room awaiting the gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Similarly, Jesus’ earthly ministry was essentially within a thirty-mile radius of His home at Galilee. The Book of Acts records the spread of the Gospel to the known world, and today, the four corners of the globe.

Jesus’ declaration that they would do greater works is the outpouring of the blessing of a Kingdom leader to prepare Kingdom leaders.

He was letting them know in no uncertain terms that they had the right stuff because they were His disciples (he who believes in Me). He not only blessed them to prepare them for their calling, but He would help and strengthen them for that work by sending forth the Holy Spirit who would be with them just as Jesus had been with them.

C. The Need for Blessing Leaders

Church leaders who are focused on developing their personal kingdom are generally more like the competitive dad with his adolescent son. They are okay with their disciples doing good, and maybe even great, but are reluctant to bless encourage and help their disciples to do greater than their mentor. Again, this dynamic may speak more in regard to the nature of the church leader as opposed to the disciple. Kingdom leadership requires a transition from the competitive mentor to the blessing mentor who truly desires his disciples to do greater works.

The need for greater works to be done to accomplish Christ’s commission

Here’s an interesting concept that can help motivate church leaders towards Kingdom leadership: the success of the disciple enhances the reputation of the mentor. For example, the success of Joshua in regard to bringing God’s people across the Jordan River and leading the conquest of the Promised Land actually enhances Moses’ reputation. Similarly, the many miracles of Elisha are connected to his mentor Elijah. Certainly the works of the twelve elevate the reputation of Jesus. Yet, this reality is not the proper motive for being a blessing leader.

What should motivate us to bless like Jesus is a genuine love for God and others—and an understanding that greater works are needed to accomplish Christ’s commission locally and globally.

The desire to bless leaders to do greater works than their mentors leads to action in regard to the allocation of resources.

Time, talent, and treasure are focused on emerging growing Kingdom leaders to equip, encourage, and empower them to do greater works.

I began to seek to live this principle during the last few years in the context of training disciples and teachers and preparing church planters. I began intentional training with a group of men who had Kingdom potential as Bible teachers and church planters. It required some hours a week of my time and theirs. I encouraged them as their growth as teachers and leaders became evident during the course of training.

Furthermore each of them sought to discern their calling for the next season of ministry in the Kingdom. Some of them went on to plant churches, some were called to significant teaching and leading roles at our local church, but all of them were blessed with the words, “I pray that you will do greater works than I have ever done or will ever do.”

Presently, I have committed time, talent, and treasure resources to continue to coach these men (and others) and support the work God has called them to. And I’ve discovered the wonderful experience and contentment of yearning to see these men whom I disciple do greater works than me, their mentor.

Remember, not only do they have the right stuff, but so do you!

Contemplate and Consider:

1. Who in your sphere of influence do you see as having Kingdom potential (the right stuff)?

2. How can you encourage prepare and assist them to walk in their Kingdom calling?

3. How can you communicate blessing to encourage them that they will do greater works than you and that you desire to assist them to do so?

My family and I started attending Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa in 1974 when I was 11. It was during the height of the Jesus People movement and an exciting time to be around the church. Every night, something was going on at the church, and the main services and concerts were always packed full of people of all different ages. It was truly the way the music group Love Song described it in their song “Little Country Church”:

“Long hair, short hair, some coats and ties / people finally comin’ around.
Lookin’ past the hair and straight into the eyes / people finally comin’ around.“

I remember going to the Thursday night Bible study in the Sanctuary with Pastor Chuck. The place was packed full of people. Not only was every seat taken in all of the pews, but young people ages 11 to 18 were sitting on the floor up and down the aisles as well as on the floor in front of the stage.

Everyone was there to feast on the Word of God. Everyone, including all of us younger people, was super attentive. There was no hype, no fanfare. It was truly a revival, although none of us really even knew what that was at the time. God was doing something amazing in a generation of people, and God used Pastor Chuck as one of His key vessels during that time.

My First Encounter With Pastor Chuck

My first personal encounter with Pastor Chuck happened during that same year. I started attending Maranatha Christian Academy, the school at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa. I was in the 5th grade, and the school and church staff were playing a flag football game against the kids.

Pastor Chuck was playing running back. If you have ever played sports with Pastor Chuck, you know how competitive he could be. Well, there was this play where he took a pitch and was running a sweep right. He made it past the line, and the only obstacle between Pastor Chuck and the end zone was me; I was playing safety.

As Chuck came running toward me, I got into position to try and pull one of his flags. I expected him to try and put some move on me. But instead of putting a move on me, he just ran me over. As I lay there on the ground, completely unhurt, I might add, I remember thinking, “Wow, that guy is my pastor.”

Seeing The Ripple Effect of Pastor Chuck’s Leadership

My next personal encounter with Pastor Chuck happened about six years later, during my junior year of high school. Randy Osborn, the high school pastor, was leaving, and I had been a part of the high school group at the church for three years at that point.

Under Randy, I felt like the group was going as well as it had been in my three years of involvement. The group had doubled in size, and I was really vested in the group. I went to a public high school, and high school ministry was my sanctuary, my refuge, my lifeline, so I really wanted Pastor Chuck to make a good decision in picking Randy’s replacement.

One Sunday after the morning service, I waited in the line out in the courtyard to speak to Pastor Chuck. When it was finally my turn to talk to him, I introduced myself and told him my thoughts about the high school ministry. I asked him if, before he made a decision, he would come and visit the group on a Wednesday night and see what was happening there.

When I think back on that conversation today, now as a Senior Pastor of a church, I think how silly it was of me that Pastor Chuck would need to visit the group or have the time to visit before he could decide on who was supposed to lead it.

Well, Pastor Chuck didn’t visit, but he did send a little Italian guy named Richard Cimino to come and check it out. Richard became the high school pastor, and God used him to make the single greatest impact on my life from the age of 17 to 21.

It was Richard who gave me my first opportunities to serve the Lord and to teach the Bible. Richard has been a dear friend in my life for the last 41 years. Chuck definitely made the right choice.

Richard served in the role of the High School Pastor at CCCM for nine years. During those years, hundreds of kids were saved and became true disciples of Jesus. At last count, at least 100 students who were involved in that high school group over those nine years went on to serve Jesus in full-time ministry as pastors, pastors’ wives, missionaries, and church planters around the world.

Wondering If God Could Use Me

Aside from Pastor Chuck’s faithfulness to teach the Bible, he faithfully loved the sheep at CCCM for all his years there. The single greatest impact that Pastor Chuck made on my life is one that he didn’t even know about when he was alive.

It happened during a Preach The Word conference that Greg Laurie was hosting. I was a young man serving as a youth pastor and wondering if I had a call on my life to be a senior pastor. I was looking for this conference to help me grow in my preaching. Pastor Chuck was one of the speakers, along with Chuck Swindoll and a few other noted and well-esteemed pastors.

Pastor Chuck was the last to speak, and the pastors who preached before him gave these very polished and masterful sermons. They were textbook sermons with great introductions, great connected points, humor in just the right place, and personal illustrations to drive their point home.

I remember listening to these amazing messages and thinking, “I could never do that!” “I could never preach like that.” I later found out that several of my friends who were there that day were all thinking the same thing about their lives. These men were such gifted communicators that my friends and I realized we just didn’t have that kind of gifting.

But then it was Pastor Chuck’s turn to give his message, and Pastor Chuck did something that day that I had never seen him do before and never saw him do afterward. As he was giving his message, he suddenly paused and said, oh, I forgot something. Then he started flipping back through his notes until he found it.

When he found it, he said, “Oh, there it is,” and proceeded to share that point. It was such a weird, awkward moment that stood in stark contrast to the other perfect messages the other speakers had given that day.

Realizing That God Can Use Me!

To this day, I don’t remember what the point was, but that moment impacted me and, later found out, also impacted all my friends who were there. It was at that moment that we all had this thought, “I can do that!” “Maybe, just maybe, God can use me to teach the Bible to people. ”

Later, as I reflected on that moment and those other speakers, I realized that none of them have had many other men who have come out of their churches and have gone out to plant other churches, but to this day, there are at least 1500-2,000 churches that have been planted out of Calvary Chapel that can trace a connection back to Pastor Chuck who lived by the principle to simply teach the Bible simply.

Pastor Chuck’s impact on my life through his example and his faithfulness to teach the Bible has shaped me deeply as a pastor. I have often said that should the Lord tarry another 100 years, which I doubt He will, but if He does, in 100 years, people will be talking about Pastor Chuck and the influence he made on the church in the same way that we currently talk about the influence of Spurgeon.

I greatly miss the stability that Pastor Chuck brought to our family of churches.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published on October 31, 2017 and is part five of a five-part series. 2023 marks the 506th anniversary.

2017 is a special year, marking the 500 year anniversary of a world-changing event: the start of the Protestant Reformation. It’s really not fair to mark one point alone for this revolution of faith and practice in Europe and the world because it was the product of forces that developed over many decades.

But Martin Luther’s October 31, 1517, declaration of 95 complaints against the practice of selling reductions to the penalty of sin is a pretty good place to say, “Here it started.”

The great men of the Reformation—Martin Luther, Ulrich Zwingli, John Calvin and those associated with them—declared their beliefs in a series of solas (in Latin, one would say the plural as solae). Sola means “alone” or “single.” We get our words “solo” and “solitary” from this Latin root. The classic sola statements of the Reformation were and are:

Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone)
Sola Fide (Faith Alone)
Sola Gratia (Grace Alone)
Solus Christus (Christ Alone)
Soli Deo Gloria (Glory to God Alone)

In this article we want to consider the final aspect: Glory to God Alone.

Overview of the Previous Four Solas

In most lists of the five solas, this comes last for a good reason. It’s because it’s the logical result of the previous four solas. If we properly understand the first four sola statements, they will lead us to the final statement, “giving glory to God alone.”

If we let scripture alone be our guide, we listen to God’s voice above all others. We understand that what God says matters more than anyone or anything else. This gives God the glory He alone deserves, as the heart, voice, and mind that should be regarded above all others.

If we let faith alone be our reception of God’s rescue, we understand that we don’t deserve any credit for what God does for us. We simply receive by faith what He so generously gave to us. This gives God the glory because we understand that we can’t save ourselves; Jesus must rescue us.

If we let grace alone be the grounds on which God rescued us through the person and work of Jesus, we understand that it’s not by grace and faith, not by grace and good deeds, not by grace and a good heart and not by grace and human initiative. It’s by grace alone. This gives God the glory because He alone gets the credit for the past, present, and future of our salvation.

If we let Christ alone be our salvation and center of life, it means that it isn’t through a mere man or institution that we’re made right with God. It’s by the person and work of Jesus Christ alone. This gives God the glory because it properly puts the focus on Jesus and takes it off everyone and everything else.

Putting the Focus on God and His Glory

In this we see that one of the great works of the Reformation was to once again put the focus on God and His glory.

Because we are made in the image of God, we’re capable of astonishing achievements of many kinds. We see what men and women can accomplish in art, science, engineering, athletics, and intellect and so easily put our emphasis on man instead of God. Yet, mankind at his best and greatest is still far short of God. He alone deserves the glory and honor that the first four sola statements illustrate.

This leads us to a practical point. We should resolve that, God helping us, we will give greater interest, care, and effort to advance the glory of God instead of the glory of self, of our congregation, or of our particular group in God’s greater family. As many men and women of God have warned, “don’t touch the glory”; let the honor and credit go to God and no one else.

Everyone should have this sentence over their life and work for God: Glory to God Alone.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published on October 26, 2017 and is part four of a five-part series.

On October 31, 1517, the German monk, pastor and seminary professor, Martin Luther, published 95 complaints against the church practice of selling reductions to the penalty of sin. The iconic figure we cherish is of Luther nailing a paper with these 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, but historians aren’t completely confident that he did this.

We have no record of Martin Luther himself referring to the event.

Whether or not he actually nailed that paper to the church door, he certainly wrote it, sent it to some important leaders, and it was soon published and distributed widely across Germany and much of Europe.

There were many complaints against, and objections to, the theology and practice of the Roman Catholic Church in those days, but Luther’s complaint had an effect like none before it.

There were many reasons for that, but one important reason was because Luther put his finger on a point of great corruption: the practice of selling indulgences.

The Practice of Selling Indulgences

As mentioned before, the selling of indulgences was essentially giving something to the church (usually money) so the church (through its leader, the pope) would reduce the penalty one had to pay for their sins in purgatory. I strongly object to the idea of purgatory altogether and can’t find it anywhere in the Bible. But in the Roman Catholic idea, purgatory is the place where after death a person is cleansed from their spiritual and moral impurities by painful fires before they can be admitted into heaven.

What is more, in classic Roman Catholic thinking, the pope has the authority to release tormented souls enduring the cleansing fires of purgatory. In Martin Luther’s time slick, high-pressure salesmen sold these releases from purgatory. They promised people that for a generous donation to the church, the pope would grant them or a loved one release from some or all of purgatory’s fire.

Near where Martin Luther lived, there was a Dominican monk named Johann Tetzell, a successful salesman for indulgences. Tetzell’s slogan was, “As soon as the money in the basket rings, the soul from purgatory springs.” Tetzell used to say, “Listen to the voices of your dear dead relatives and friends, beseeching you and saying, ‘Pity us, pity us. We are in dire torment from which you can redeem us for a pittance.’ Do you not wish to?” Tetzell raised a lot of money for the church by selling these indulgences.

Luther’s protest against indulgences developed into the movement we know as the Protestant Reformation.

The ideas of the Reformation are often summarized in a series of statements called the five solas:

Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone)
Sola Fide (Faith Alone)
Sola Gratia (Grace Alone)
Solus Christus (Christ Alone)
Soli Deo Gloria (Glory to God Alone)

The first three solas were discussed in previous articles, and this short piece looks at the fourth of the list: Solus Christus. That idea of Christ Alone is vitally connected to the original protest Martin Luther made on October 31, 1517.

The Fundamental Problem With Indulgences

As the ideas of the Reformation matured and deepened, it was understood that one of the fundamental problems with the whole idea of indulgences was that it put humanity’s rescue into the hands of the pope. The idea was something like this: “Men and women are not saved by Jesus, but through the pope and the institution of the Roman Catholic Church.”

Against this wrong and dangerous idea, it’s important that we emphasize the truth: Christ Alone. At the end of it all, we are not saved by a mere man, whether that be a pope or a pastor. We aren’t saved by an institution, whether it be Catholic or Protestant. We aren’t saved by our own good works or even our good faith. We are rescued by Christ alone and He alone gets the honor, glory and credit for rescuing us from sin and self. It’s true that what He gives by grace must be received by faith, but the work is done by His giving, not our receiving.

The principle of Christ Alone should remind us that Jesus is always the center of the Christian life. As the New Testament says, in Him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28). The core of the Christian life is Jesus Christ, and Christ alone.

It is hard to believe that our beloved Pastor Chuck has been gone for a decade. I remember how honored my husband, Tom Stipe, was to be among those chosen to eulogize his spiritual father. We discussed what he would express, and it did not take Tom long to decide. He would highlight Chuck’s faith and willingness to take a risk when he allowed a nineteen-year-old like him to be launched into ministry. That night, he underlined how Chuck had platformed him and a massive team of youthful ministers and how forever grateful Tom was for what he did.

Tom and I were friends when we first came to Calvary Chapel in 1969. And it was early in 1970 that Tom was given the opportunity that would change his life forever. After praying like crazy, Tom approached Chuck and boldly shared that he was in Bible College and had been a youth director. Tom explained how his call to the ministry had been affected during his short time at Calvary and what a blessing it would be if Chuck would allow him to serve at the church. Tom told Chuck that there was a call on his life to teach his generation. Without any hesitation, Chuck told Tom to plan to prepare a message for the following Tuesday night. Tom was incredulous as he heard Chuck say he would give Tom a chance, and “they” would see how it would go.

The “they” who would see how it went was Pastor Romaine. He stood in the back, calmly listening to Tom’s every word. When the study was over, Romaine put his arm around Tom and, with a slight smile, said, “So, do you think you can do that again next week”? And as it turned out, the next week, Chuck listened, and the rest of the story is history. Tom was on the team.

The team back in those days did not have offices. In the “little chapel.” Chuck had an office, his secretary had an office, and everyone else was on their own. The young men “trying out” for the team were relegated to “Room 6.” Room 6 was a Sunday school room hijacked during the week by all the “ministers in training” as a place to go and wait to serve. Tom would pick me up from my nearby high school after school and head to Room 6. In those days, clusters of young people hung around the courtyard of the little chapel almost all the time. Hippies, musicians, and wayward kids of every shape and description who had accepted Jesus, many sharing one thing in common: they had broken lives.

As the pastor, Chuck could not possibly minister individually to all the many young people with needs. So incredible as it may be, he let us (Tom, Chuck Smith, Jr., me, and others willing to volunteer, mere teenagers) sit in Room 6 and welcome people who wanted ministry. I could share many episodes of what happened in Room 6. What I remember most is that Chuck Smith not only let it happen but was always affirming of us all. He would stick his head in the room to encourage us. Still, in the end, it was clear that he trusted us to depend on the Holy Spirit and, out of that anointing, to minister to others. Let it be known that Chuck, as a coach, also instilled character. Chuck expected us to be faithful servants, hard workers, and students of the Word.

Years later, as a pastor’s wife with years of ministry under my belt, I would think back to those formative times in our lives and marvel at what Chuck did as the pastor of the Jesus Revolution. First, he let it happen; he welcomed thousands of hippies and wanna-be hippies into his church. And then somehow, he coached a vast team of us into becoming influential leaders in the Body of Christ.

While many remember Chuck as Papa Chuck, I also remember him as a great coach. He seemed to not be watching but always had his eye on us, encouraging those with true gifts to try the next ministry challenge and never seemingly worrying about the possibility of the ramifications of failure. As a female and a very young pastor’s wife, he encouraged me, just like the guys, and as a result, I never looked back.

Today, my much-loved helpmate Tom is with Chuck in heaven. As I remember Chuck, I appreciate that he not only raised a young team of warriors for God but was also willing to let a young woman like me on the team. Over fifty years later, I am still a counselor and teacher in the ministry. I will be forever grateful to Chuck Smith for the chance he gave me and so many young people like me to minister under his careful watch.

I am very thankful that I got my start in Room 6.