Waiting on God
By Greg Cryer
Many of you are likely wondering what is happening with the search for our Lead Teaching Pastor. In past updates, we have shared that we reviewed more than 150 resumes and have more seriously considered 10 of those candidates. We all recognize we have been at this for some time.
What has emerged for me is a theme of waiting. God uses waiting to teach His children. This is clearly part of God’s design for us to know Him, depend on Him, and build our faith in Him.
Earlier this week, our family brainstormed times of waiting in the Bible: Noah and the ark, Abraham and Isaac, the Israelites eating Manna in the desert, Joshua to enter the Promised Land, David to be king, Elijah in the desert, Simeon for the Messiah and Jesus, Mary and Martha for Lazarus, the many that Jesus healed, and now us the Church as we wait for the Messiah.
Waiting… Waiting… Waiting…
What has emerged for me is a theme of waiting. God uses waiting to teach His children. This is clearly part of God’s design for us to know Him, depend on Him, and build our faith in Him.
Earlier this week, our family brainstormed times of waiting in the Bible: Noah and the ark, Abraham and Isaac, the Israelites eating Manna in the desert, Joshua to enter the Promised Land, David to be king, Elijah in the desert, Simeon for the Messiah and Jesus, Mary and Martha for Lazarus, the many that Jesus healed, and now us the Church as we wait for the Messiah.
Waiting… Waiting… Waiting…
David’s Waiting
Take a quick walk with me through David’s life.
Samuel arrives at the house of Jesse to anoint David the shepherd and musician - the youngest of eight brothers. As a teenager, David is anointed as the future king! He experiences many victories: slaying lions and bears, conquering Goliath and killing many in battle. He even has the privileges of gaining a best friend in King Saul’s son, Jonathan, and playing his lyre for the king.
Out of King Saul’s jealousy of David, he decides to pursue and kill David. David flees after his best friend, Jonathan, warns him of Saul’s plot. David has been anointed as king and knows God’s promise. Knowing he will one day be king, he is literally running for his life while Saul seeks to kill him.
Running . . .
Waiting . . .
In this context, we can learn from David’s Psalms. I have been reflecting on David’s life and his words in Psalm 27 as Saul pursues and seeks to kill him. This Psalm has given me help and provided me great peace.
Samuel arrives at the house of Jesse to anoint David the shepherd and musician - the youngest of eight brothers. As a teenager, David is anointed as the future king! He experiences many victories: slaying lions and bears, conquering Goliath and killing many in battle. He even has the privileges of gaining a best friend in King Saul’s son, Jonathan, and playing his lyre for the king.
Out of King Saul’s jealousy of David, he decides to pursue and kill David. David flees after his best friend, Jonathan, warns him of Saul’s plot. David has been anointed as king and knows God’s promise. Knowing he will one day be king, he is literally running for his life while Saul seeks to kill him.
Running . . .
Waiting . . .
In this context, we can learn from David’s Psalms. I have been reflecting on David’s life and his words in Psalm 27 as Saul pursues and seeks to kill him. This Psalm has given me help and provided me great peace.
My Waiting
Early this year, we established our search teams and process, and the pursuit for our next teaching pastor began. For those that know me, you know that I am a fast mover. It became clear after some months that God’s plan was not a fast one. (How often is it?!) His plan, which clearly wasn’t my plan, included what?
Waiting . . .
As the months have continued in the search, my default response has often been to evaluate and seek improvement. I’ve asked many questions including:
What can I do different? How can we adapt our process? Should our approach change? Are we looking for what God wants or what we want? Do we have enough urgency? Too much urgency? Are we prioritizing the right things? Are we expecting too much in some areas? In and of themselves, these are good steps and often the right questions to ask, but this cannot be the default.
David expresses where he goes in the midst of fear and uncertainty in Psalm 27:8: When you said, “Seek My face,” my heart said to You, “Your face, O Lord, I shall seek.”
The Lord has been teaching me this year, in a new way, to release the pastoral search as my first thing and seek Him first . . . seek His face above all. This is the mentality I must embrace.
We also know that our enemy, Satan, is out to attack, confuse, distract – anything he can do to disrupt God’s plans and take our eyes off of Him. Consider some examples from the scriptures. While Joshua waited to enter the promise land, the Israelites heard the whisper of the enemy and questioned God’s promises. In the midst of the storm, Jesus slept, and the disciples began to believe the lie that He didn’t care.
For my family, this has manifested in many forms: nagging trials that seem to come one after another after another; whispers challenging our trust in God and His timing; and a sense of weight in personal ownership of the outcomes directly contrary to God’s care and His sovereignty. Satan has been prowling as he often does when search teams are seeking God’s direction to hire a pastor.
David provides direction on how we are to respond under attack. In Psalm 27:3 it is clear we can remain confident: “Though a host encamp against me, My heart will not fear; though war arise against me, in spite of this I shall be confident." We can be confident because He protects us. We know that He is good and that He will prevail.
To provide another picture of the active strength and protection of our God, Psalm 27:5 says, “He will lift me up on a rock.” We have seen God active this year. We will continue to rely on God’s strength as He lifts us on the rock to protect us from the evil one. We do not need to fear.
In the waiting during our pastoral search, I have made conscious efforts to share my life with trusted mentors to assure that I am not trying to solve this problem my way. Abraham tried a shortcut with Hagar and that did not accomplish or fulfill God’s promise. We must not believe the enemy’s lie that our way is better. Our solutions without God will lead to despair.
David did not know when his waiting would end, but he declared: “I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord.”
There have been moments in the waiting where I have seen a glimpse of His face. Making that my first thing, I find peace settle within me as I trust Him and His goodness. We will see the goodness of the Lord. We must take this to Him, talk to Him, and take courage while we wait for Him. We need to seek God’s face together during this time of transition.
Waiting . . .
As the months have continued in the search, my default response has often been to evaluate and seek improvement. I’ve asked many questions including:
What can I do different? How can we adapt our process? Should our approach change? Are we looking for what God wants or what we want? Do we have enough urgency? Too much urgency? Are we prioritizing the right things? Are we expecting too much in some areas? In and of themselves, these are good steps and often the right questions to ask, but this cannot be the default.
David expresses where he goes in the midst of fear and uncertainty in Psalm 27:8: When you said, “Seek My face,” my heart said to You, “Your face, O Lord, I shall seek.”
The Lord has been teaching me this year, in a new way, to release the pastoral search as my first thing and seek Him first . . . seek His face above all. This is the mentality I must embrace.
We also know that our enemy, Satan, is out to attack, confuse, distract – anything he can do to disrupt God’s plans and take our eyes off of Him. Consider some examples from the scriptures. While Joshua waited to enter the promise land, the Israelites heard the whisper of the enemy and questioned God’s promises. In the midst of the storm, Jesus slept, and the disciples began to believe the lie that He didn’t care.
For my family, this has manifested in many forms: nagging trials that seem to come one after another after another; whispers challenging our trust in God and His timing; and a sense of weight in personal ownership of the outcomes directly contrary to God’s care and His sovereignty. Satan has been prowling as he often does when search teams are seeking God’s direction to hire a pastor.
David provides direction on how we are to respond under attack. In Psalm 27:3 it is clear we can remain confident: “Though a host encamp against me, My heart will not fear; though war arise against me, in spite of this I shall be confident." We can be confident because He protects us. We know that He is good and that He will prevail.
To provide another picture of the active strength and protection of our God, Psalm 27:5 says, “He will lift me up on a rock.” We have seen God active this year. We will continue to rely on God’s strength as He lifts us on the rock to protect us from the evil one. We do not need to fear.
In the waiting during our pastoral search, I have made conscious efforts to share my life with trusted mentors to assure that I am not trying to solve this problem my way. Abraham tried a shortcut with Hagar and that did not accomplish or fulfill God’s promise. We must not believe the enemy’s lie that our way is better. Our solutions without God will lead to despair.
David did not know when his waiting would end, but he declared: “I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord.”
There have been moments in the waiting where I have seen a glimpse of His face. Making that my first thing, I find peace settle within me as I trust Him and His goodness. We will see the goodness of the Lord. We must take this to Him, talk to Him, and take courage while we wait for Him. We need to seek God’s face together during this time of transition.
What God is Doing
God is good to us, church. He has brought us John Witte and incredible staff and pastors to serve us during this time. We have seen a strong sense of team emerge in response to this present challenge as we work together as the body of Christ. God has demonstrated He has His hand on our church. He will continue to provide for us.
Our teaching team now works together to develop Sunday morning talks in such a way that has resulted in growth for all involved. The collaboration fuels questions that our small group and many others have used to dig deeper into the scriptures and connect in community. We have also seen an expert HR team of our church members get together to form our personnel committee to better support our staff. Our ministries are working together like never before to cover the diverse needs of our church through every stage of life. Lives are being changed by His grace as we love one another in community.
Our teaching team now works together to develop Sunday morning talks in such a way that has resulted in growth for all involved. The collaboration fuels questions that our small group and many others have used to dig deeper into the scriptures and connect in community. We have also seen an expert HR team of our church members get together to form our personnel committee to better support our staff. Our ministries are working together like never before to cover the diverse needs of our church through every stage of life. Lives are being changed by His grace as we love one another in community.
What is Next
Our waiting is and must be active. We are seeking Him and letting Him lead us. In that, we are continuing to process resumes, engage candidates, and ask the Lord to refine us and our process. I can assure you that our elders, our leadership team, and those in our body that are involved are working hard.
We would ask that you pray for us, that our elders, pastors, staff, and volunteers will:
How long must we wait? We hope and pray not much longer. We thank you for joining us in the waiting. We will seek Him. We will not despair because we can trust in the goodness of God. And, when He brings our next pastor, we will give Him the glory both for the person but also for what He accomplished in us through the waiting.
We would ask that you pray for us, that our elders, pastors, staff, and volunteers will:
- Continually and actively seek God, finding peace in Him through prayer, worship, and His words
- Prioritize seeking Him first
- Stand on the rock and declare victory over the enemy
- Not be discouraged as we wait
- Lean in and be sustained by Him as we continue to work
- Seek His wisdom as we interact with candidates
- Learn every lesson He has for us in this time
How long must we wait? We hope and pray not much longer. We thank you for joining us in the waiting. We will seek Him. We will not despair because we can trust in the goodness of God. And, when He brings our next pastor, we will give Him the glory both for the person but also for what He accomplished in us through the waiting.
Posted in Spiritual Growth