Reflections On My 5-Year Anniversary at WBC

Early in 2013, I contacted an elder named Grady at a church in Wichita, KS about a teaching pastor position they were hiring for. I had only been to Wichita one other time in my life and had never heard of the church I was interested in working for – Wichita Bible Church (WBC). I was in the 2^nd year of looking for new full-time ministry outside of my hometown of Tulsa, OK.

Fast-forward to late 2013. After enduring a few helpful and encouraging interviews with the elders at WBC and spending a weekend in Wichita in October with my family to meet other attendees of WBC and preach in their morning service, we were extended the invitation to fill the position I applied for.

So, on December 30, 2013 (5 years from yesterday), we packed up a U-Haul and drove about 3 hours NE of where we had been living to begin a new chapter in our lives.

5 years goes fast, and it is not without lessons that I have learned. As I have been reflecting on everything God has done in my life, the life of my family and the body life at WBC, I am compelled to share what I have learned. I hope it is of encouragement to you.

1. You cannot underestimate the importance of a unified group of church leaders. Something I detected early on – even during the interviews at WBC before I was hired – was the teachability and humility of the 4 elders at WBC. Rick, Mark, Grady and Warren showed a commitment to God’s Word and being shaped by it in every decision they made. I could tell that our shared commitment to God’s Word and eagerness to be shaped by it would forge a strong bond between the 5 of us (now 4, since Rick went to be the Lord in heaven). We have been unified ever since. Every elder meeting – even when we have had small disagreements or don’t see an issue in the same way – has seen cordial, gracious conversations, an eagerness to defer to one another, and careful listening. That unity amongst the leaders has trickled down to other ministries and groups in the church. While we are all aware that the Evil One is always sowing seeds of disunity, God has been good to keep those “out of sight and out of mind” so far. And one by product of this unity is how I think about our weekly elder meetings. Before coming to WBC, I use to loathe meetings, because I was often frustrated with their lack of direction or misguided subjects. Now, I love our elder meetings because of these men I am privilege to serve with.

2. The Holy Spirit will always surprise you. Every new pastor has ideas of things they would like to change or see differently than their new church, because every new pastor is used to a different church culture. I had and still have some of my own ideas, but as many more-seasoned pastors have shared, we should not try to change or suggest changed to anything for at least 5 years. I remember Matt Chandler even saying that unless your new church asks you to make changes, don’t change anything. Let the Sprit do the work. So, one burden I had for WBC was the lack of any kind of Sunday School ministry. There wasn’t opposition to it; they simply hadn’t had the support for a Sunday School ministry for many years. But I was really burdened to see this kind of ministry added to our church to help better equip our people for the work of the ministry. My plans were to bring that subject up in Year 4 or 5 as a matter to pray about. The Holy Spirit had other plans. In Year 2 at WBC, the Spirit prompted a couple of the elders to ask the “What about Sunday School?” question when we were discussing our desire to teach our congregation more and provide a place where other teachers could develop their gifts. I didn’t bring it up! Thus, we made plans to launch our Sunday School ministry – called eClasses (short for “Equipping Classes”). It wasn’t my idea! I thought it would be a while until we could have that conversation. The Holy Spirit surprised me by saying, “Watch what I am about to do!” The same kind of thing happened regarding the beginning of a women’s ministry and the elders attending conferences together.

3. Depth is better than breadth. As I been at WBC longer and longer, I am preaching a longer sermon every Sunday and moving more towards covering less verses. When I first arrived, my sermons were probably around 30 minutes. Now, I am between 40-45 minutes. Why? The Word of God is deeper than we can possibly imagine. Just when we think we are scuba diving, we realize we are actually snorkeling. There is much to discover and much to learn. And as I have preached longer and covered less, the fruits have arrived. There is a growing hunger for God’s Word that I sense at WBC. There is an increasing appetite for taking it in, meditating on it, memorizing it, and building on that foundation that has been laid. God is growing our church spiritually and numerically, and we have had not a single “church growth” conversation. John MacArthur was right – take care of the depth and God will take care of the breadth.

“And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 28:2)