Real

Earl Buchan

Description

Pastor Earl Buchan encourages those who are called to serve in ministry and those currently serving the church to be fierce followers of Christ.

Earl Buchan, a pastor and church planter, shares encouragement for all those looking around and saying to themselves “there must be more than this.” It all begins with a fearless searching of our hearts to rewild ministry from the inside-out.

He looks to the Bible and over twenty years’ experience in the church to share from his own successes and failures sharing wisdom, warnings, and reminders of why we are meant to be in Christ. Earl shares that it all starts with us, live a life of openness and it will change the atmosphere in our churches and in our homes.

As you read, you’ll get answers to questions such as:

What can you really expect when you enter ministry?

Why is it so important to be your authentic self in all circumstances?

What are the costs to living His will, His way?

How can we overcome ourselves so people see more of Jesus and less of us?

This journey is not for the faint of heart, or those full of themselves. The author has been both, and he shares how the Lord rewilded his own heart in order to reveal the beauty of a called life.

Sujets

• Religion
• Christianisme
• Christian Ministry
• Philosophie et théologie
• Adult

Informations

• Publié par: WestBow Press
• Date de parution: 31 août 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781664274525
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

REAL
Rewilding the heart of ministry from the inside out
 
 
 
 
 
EARL BUCHAN
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
Copyright © 2022 Earl Buchan.
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
 
This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.
 
WestBow Press
A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.westbowpress.com
844-714-3454
 
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
 
ISBN: 978-1-6642-7453-2 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-7454-9 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-7452-5 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2022914278
 
 
WestBow Press rev. date: 01/20/2023
DEDICATION
Marria, somehow surviving the long adventure of ministry with me and knowing how to laugh at the times to come.
Elijah & Victoria, Micah, Asher & Peyton. Thank you for not giving up on me.
Terrence, Melanie, Adaelia, Chloe, Bart, and Sterling. You are my family. This life has been made brighter because of each of you.
Mariella, I will see you again on the white shores of a far green country, my child.
CONTENTS
Dedication
Introduction
Author’s Note
 
Chapter 1       Foundations
Chapter 2       Reality Check
Chapter 3       His Will, His way
Chapter 4       Mess with the method
Chapter 5       Broken
Chapter 6       Shepherds & Wolves
Chapter 7       Submission
Chapter 8       Fear
Chapter 9       Connections
Chapter 10     Balance
Chapter 11     Leaving Well
Recommended Reading
 
Frequently Asked Questions
INTRODUCTION
I am an animal lover. It’s hard for me to imagine hunting and to take another life even if they are providing food or warmth with their hides. There’s something about my upbringing that has kept me rescuing animals over the years. I get that from my mother, we had a constant stream of stray animals in our house. So, when I went hunting with my friend and his dad (Al), it wasn’t the hunting that left an indelible mark on my life. It was following Al off into the woods on a wintry morning unaware of where we were going. My friend’s father was silent and strong, a little hardened by a life that wasn’t very good to him. That said, Al was a good father to his sons. This hunting trip was a day trip, but it emotionally it felt like we were leaving civilization for a month. Something about leaving home and in the company of others can make a simple trip seem more significant. We lived close to the wild. It didn’t take much to get lost if you didn’t have your bearing. You didn’t have to go far before you found all matter of animals making their way in the forest, either. Even when close to home it can feel like we are on a big adventure.
Al walked ahead of us breaking trail through the snow. It’s a sound that’s hard to explain, but you know it if you’ve heard it before. There’s an eerie stillness to an early morning forest, even more so when there’s a blanket of snow. I was a very young kid, and I remember having a sense of fear, I was away from home and not sure where we were going. I was forced to trust my friend and trust his dad. The only thing that acted as a real guide through it all was following Al’s footsteps. They were broad and strong lengths, and at times we had to skip ahead, or we’d sink too deep. All I could see was the back of him, but I knew it was good to follow and that we’d be safe. I wasn’t a Christian then. I wasn’t raised in a Christian home, and it would be a few years before my encounter with Jesus. I look back at that moment as one of my first times I’ve put my life in the hands of another. I had no choice but to trust the path they were taking me on. In a way, that day following the dad’s footsteps made it not so strange to follow my savior’s footsteps in the years to come.
Some things in life happen in a way where you can feel lost in the woods, wishing you had a guide. Nothing can ever prepare you for these life changing events which turn you around. How do we find our way when we feel as though we have been flying right-side up our whole lives? Yet, we find that really, we’ve been upside down? When we’re starting out in ministry, we can think we have it all figured out until the rubber hits the road. Ministry demands an authentic person with a heart submitted to Jesus Christ. Any middle ground is cheapening things to the point where it can be more of you and less of Him. There needs to be a change, a rewilding of the pastoral heart. We need to get back to the days of Acts 2 and live them out beyond knowledge of the words themselves. Those are the kinds of private revolutions that send ripples throughout your sphere of relationship. Nothing can prepare you for when The Lord calls you out of the rhythm of life to walk His will, His way.
This is not a book about tearing into the church. It’s a book about building up the person, you, me, those of us who know we are called to a kingdom life. This is all about rewilding ministry from the inside-out. I thought I had things in my life all together. What I didn’t realize was how much I needed someone to share what I share in this book. The encouragements, the warnings, and the reminders of who we are in Christ. We are all called to different things, and in the eyes of our Lord they are all one in the same. There are no greater or lesser callings. We have a joyful submission knowing we are always one day closer to going home to Heaven. You may not be called to a life of plenty. You may be kept in physical poverty and obscurity while you go about God’s work as a faceless servant. It’s possible you’ll be entrusted with much and lead many. You may be providing for ministries and stewarding the wealth God has given you. One thing we are all called to do is to follow in Jesus’ footsteps. This is not an easy process; it comes with personal revelation and a dying to self that is inescapable. You’ll be thrown way out of your comfort zones. You may find you have attitudes that need to be conformed to His nature and character. Your opinions and perceived rights to be surrendered. You’ll find your life become more about others than yourself. It’s all about following Jesus, one step at a time.
Keep in mind that I cannot tell you how to do the ministry in which you are called. That’s between yourself and The Lord. It is your path and not mine. What I can do is share some battle-hardened lessons. I hope you’ll see that it is better be real than it is to try and look like you have it all together. There are courses and books, yes, even this one, but everyone’s experience is different. We’re all different in our personalities and approaches. Some will do ministry with a team and have help for days. Others will be left on their own wondering how they got where they wound up. I longed for someone to tell me what to expect, and it wasn’t that I didn’t have the very best mentor a pastor could have, I did. I wanted to see the footsteps ahead even if I didn’t know where I was going. It wasn’t like there was an absence of church planting organizations. There are always pastoral prayer groups around if you look hard enough. Even with all this support, it is a solitary venture that is difficult and thankless. This book is written to prepare you for those realities. This isn’t a “pretty” book that hypes you up like a bible college graduation ceremony. This is an adventure into the “real,” and brings up topics that may be difficult to read. After twenty-three years of ministry, I can say that it is better to be the real person God has made you to be and not imitate anyone else. Be sure of your calling, because there will be days when that assurance is all you can lean back upon. It will feel at times you’re hopping from one footstep to another as you follow Jesus, and that is how it’s meant to be.
Here I am sharing my own successes and failures. If you can, try to imagine us sitting over a long cup of coffee somewhere. That’s how I am treating this book, one human to another, one servant to another, one sinner to another. I have more joy and happiness than I have ever known, right here and right now. I have tried to quit my position as senior pastor well over a dozen times, and I talk about that in chapter 7. I have argued with God on a consistent basis, and sometimes through tears as I ask him why things are the way they are. Yet, He is my captain and my friend, my Lord, and my King. Even in our worst moments we must look in the mirror and realize that we get to be His messengers. There is no other life that has a sense of eternal purpose and meaning, and none of us get o