PODCAST | Jesus is Enough: Hope for the Weary, Burned Out, and Broken (Feat. Jeremy Writebol)

Resources:

Get your copy of : Pastor, Jesus Is Enough

Follow Jeremy Writebol on Social Platforms:
Twitter: @jwritebol 
Website: https://jwritebol.net/

Transcript:

Christa Neidig:
Welcome to the Vanderbloemen Leadership Podcast. I'm your host, Christa Neidig, manager of marketing and business development here at Vanderbloemen. In today's podcast, I get to talk with Jeremy Writebol, Jeremy's the lead campus pastor of Woodside Bible Church, executive director of Gospel Centered Discipleship, and author of his new book, Pastor, Jesus Is Enough. In this conversation, Jeremy gets to talk about some pastoral encouragement from his new book. He explains how pastors often struggle with not feeling enough and how to deal with this comparison knowing that you can rest in Jesus being enough. We hope you enjoy the conversation. Hey everyone, welcome to the podcast. Today, I'm so excited. I'm sitting here with Jeremy Writebol and we're talking about his new book that I have in my hands called Pastor, Jesus Is Enough.

Jeremy Writebol:
Hey Christa, thank you. It's so good to be with you today. I'm glad to be here.

Christa Neidig:
Yeah, we're glad to have you and I'm excited for our listeners to hear more about your book, your new book, Pastor, Jesus Is Enough. I think it's so needed at this time just for the burned out pastor. I think it's going to be a huge, huge resource, so I'm excited to dig in and hear about it.

Jeremy Writebol:
Yeah, thank you. I'm glad to share about it.

Christa Neidig:
Yeah, why don't you share just for listeners that aren't familiar with you or your work, kind of your background and then a little bit about the book and what got you here.

Jeremy Writebol:
Yeah, I've been in pastoral ministry, vocational ministry for over 20 years, right out of Bible college at Moody Bible Institute. I graduated and I hit the ground running as a youth pastor with the church in central Ohio. Was there for a couple years and then the Lord directed us, my wife and I out to Northern California where we served as an youth and associate pastor at a church just north of San Francisco for eight years. And in all that time and season, the Lord was just working in me and helping me grow and develop and kind of grow up as a pastor. And so I went through seminary and did some graduate schools, graduate program with a church in Seattle area. And then we were just really concerned and interested in maybe God calling us to church planting and going and being a part of a network of planting a church.
And that led us to a church in Kansas where we served at for a couple years and then here now to Woodside Bible Church in the Detroit metro area where we've been serving for the last eight years as a campus pastor, came to a new campus that was part of a merger situation with our church body. We're a multi-site church, and so this church that were presently with was merging with Woodside and we had an opportunity to start from day one in the revitalization work of that particular location and congregation and have been part of that for the last eight years here with Woodside Bible Church. And it's just been a great time. So yeah, that's a little bit about me and where I've been serving in ministry as a lead pastor and enjoying that.

Christa Neidig:
That's so great. And then now I want to know about the book. I want to know what kind of inspired this.

Jeremy Writebol:
Yeah, the book itself, back in 2018, the senior pastor at Woodside Bible Church, his name is Doug Schmidt, he was saying, Hey, I'm ready to pass the baton. And he'd been faithfully serving here for over 25 years and ready to help Woodside get to their next place and next level of leadership. And so he began a succession process with the church and one of the things that we were concerned about was making sure that our church didn't, in the next generation of leadership, didn't drift from our theological persuasions and just our standing as a church. And we just found that there's a whole lot of pressure on churches to move and to shift. And so we started doing some work both in our teaching but also in our philosophies of ministry and other things to make sure and to fortify that we are who we are as it were.
And one of those elements was doing a sermon series on the seven churches in Revelation two and three. And so I was responsible for the series in our church and developing research notes and that sort of thing for our congregations. And so it was me working through those passages where I recognized just some great things that Jesus was saying about the church. But then I also noticed that he was saying some very incredible and poignant things about a pastor and even me in that regard. And I just began to identify those things where in each letter Jesus says to the church or to the angel of the church at such and such a place, that word angel there could be translated in messenger. And that's where I recognized Jesus was talking to pastors and he was speaking, you made me know the phrase as a pastor goes, so goes to the church.
And so in this I realized Jesus was talking to us and wanting to address and help us see who he is and how he is sufficient and glorious and good for all of ministry and for everything that we need. And so the things that the world throws at us, the things that we find difficult in ministry, all of that Jesus is our answer for that. And so this book was really written kind of as a response to that pastoral transition as well. But then in 2020 when I signed the agreement to write the book, I signed it basically in the middle of a lockdown and had this moment after signing the agreement where I came up to my wife and I said, I don't know what I've just done. There was this trembling and this fear over me. And she says, well, what do you mean? You signed a book deal.
This is going to be great. I'm so proud of you. And I said, babe, I'm signing on to write a book called Pastor, Jesus Is Enough and at least one of the chapters in there deals with suffering. I think Jesus is going to put us through the paces in this to make sure that it's authentic, that what I'm saying here is real and lived out. And of course you know in 2020 that's when kind of the world went upside down and so much culturally happened. Our churches are completely different now. I would say our culture is different. And this book was written in the milieu of all of that cultural change, political pressure, theological issues, all of that. And so I had to learn Jesus is enough for me much through experience of writing this book. And so that's really been the context of it.

Christa Neidig:
That's so great. Who would you say is the key listener or who should read this book?


Jeremy Writebol:
Yeah, I'd love to see Pastor. I mean that's in the title first and foremost, right, Pastor, Jesus Is Enough. So I'm aiming my comments and I'm aiming this study at pastors to help them primarily, but I think of any Christian leader. If you're in a leadership role in the church or in a prayer church organization or some sort of ministry context on a university campus or something like that, I hope this book will be helpful for you just to, because you're walking through similar things as pastors are in ministry and understanding that where Jesus meets us and where he supplies his strength for us is really needed in any level of service and in any level of ministry.
And then I would love it if people in the church just congregations, the regular ordinary every day people that are part of our churches and congregations would read it as well. Just one, to give them an example or an experience of what their pastors are walking through and the things of life that they're in dealing with and trying to measure out in their heart and adjust. But then also so that they have an understanding of how Jesus is enough for them as they do ministry within the church alongside their pastors and leaders, just so that everybody has our eyes fixed on Jesus and that we're following him really well and deriving from him the resources of who he is for all of ministry and life.

Christa Neidig:
That's great. When your team isn't whole, it disrupts your mission. We have staffed over 2,500 missions of faith. Build your best team through our customized executive search. Go to vanderbloemen.com/get-started to talk with our team today. What are, you mentioned, what are some of those kind of struggles or anxieties that pastors and ministry leaders face and how does your book address that?

Jeremy Writebol:
Yeah. Oh, there's so many. You could just start with the reality of we got to get up and preach pretty much every weekend. And so you've always got to be fresh and ready. And I feel like our first worship services on Sunday morning start at 9:00 AM so about 8:45 as people are coming into the building, I just feel like I've got to be on right away and I can't be weak. I can't show any flaws. I've got to have all the answers. My message has to be just incredible that Sunday because I know people are going to go and they're going to be watching other pastors and other leaders on the internet, and I feel that comparison sometimes with them. And so I just want to serve my church family really well. So there's that pressure to perform first and foremost, but then there's other pressures. I think about how in the world we live in, when you make a statement of truth, you are affirming one thing and you're probably denying something else.
And that affirmation and that denial will either put you in a community or in the right standing with a certain group of people and it'll kick you out with others. And that can be a very tempting place for a pastor to say, listen, I want to be a part of this community or this tribe, or I want these folks to give me acceptance. And if I say this truth from scripture, they may not like that. And so that pressure exists there to how do we navigate truth in a post-truth world as some have put it there. And then there's the other pressures and the anxieties of maybe you're at a smaller church or a littler context and you look at the pastors and the leaders that have had great success in ministry and large churches and large budgets and just bigger reach. And you go, am I really, am I making a dent in anything? Does this matter at all?
And so in each one of those pressures and cases and there's more, I just want pastors and leaders to hear Jesus say to them, in each case, I'm enough for you. You don't need to stress your life about how big your ministry is or how little it is. You don't need to worry about not saying truth so that you get acceptance, but you can preach the truth in love and you have mindful of blessing and acceptance. You can go in and serve, not to perform but serve like Jesus did and abide in him and his love because you're his and you belong to him and he's enough in that way. So that's how I hope to address that and answer that question.

Christa Neidig:
No, I think that's great. I think it's actually really refreshing to hear that. As hard as it is, I think it's a lot of times church members put pastors on a pedestal and don't think about all the difficulties that come alongside that. And it's a great reminder that we're all human, we're all sinful, we all need the same savior. And it's just such a great reminder of why we put our hope in Jesus above all else.

Jeremy Writebol:
Right. Right. In every one of those letters, Jesus doesn't answer the question or the need of that moment or that particular congregation with a kind of self-help, here's five tips to have a better church or 10 ways to preach the greatest message ever. He offers himself every single time. And there's a description that he gives in every letter of who he is in a unique way to that particular context and location. And I think that that's really the precious reality of that. Jesus is the one saying, here I am for you. I have sufficient abundant resources in who I am and they're all yours if you're in me. And so that's just an incredible way of which those concerns I think are answered by Jesus himself, with himself.

Christa Neidig:
Yeah. And I was just about to ask you about that. When you studied the seven letters, kind of some of the things that stood out to you in those takeaways and then how that is relevant to pastors.

Jeremy Writebol:
Yeah, as I mentioned, the thing that, probably one of the chapters where the Lord has been working at me is that one that I mentioned just about the size of a ministry and the size of a church. And you can feel that pressure where you look at the other churches around you in the neighborhood, even in your city, your community, and go, man, they're doing so great and is it really matter? It's like, am I even making a dent kind of thing? And that's been one place where Jesus has refocused my heart anyway and helped me understand my identity is in him. And he has strategically placed me here, he's sovereignly placed me here and called me to this ministry.
And so I have to be faithful to him in that. And that's a thing he's inviting me into and saying, Hey, listen Jeremy, follow me. Stick with me. Do the work I've called you to. Don't worry about the other people and the other churches and the other ministries. You stay faithful to the task I've given you and you'll be fine and that'll be good. And so I'm helped by that often.

Christa Neidig:
That's so great. I want to talk more about the pastor and just kind of some things that they can take away from this. You talk in the book about the union with Christ for pastors in Christ. How is that union, how does approaching that shape their ministry?

Jeremy Writebol:
Right. I think about how oftentimes we live in a sense of pursuit. And so there's things that we desire, we want to be well known or we want to be approved, even accepted to hear the attaboy and the well done good and faithful servant, or we just want a sense of peace. Everything's stable and not as up and down as it can feel as a pastor sometimes. And I think all of those things are already true of us because Christ has won them for us. And so that's the identity and the reality of our union with Christ. What Christ has done, what he has accomplished on our behalf is gifted or won for us, given to us through the reality that we are in him as the scripture say.
And so I think about, if there's a pastor out there or leader that's saying, I want acceptance. I want to do the best ministry I can so that God will say to me one day, I love you, well done, good job. And I want to tell pastors that because you're in Christ, he's already saying that. And the proof of that is when Jesus was baptized, this is before Jesus started any of his ministry. He hadn't preached a sermon, he hadn't done a miracle, nothing yet. When he was baptized, you may remember the heavens were open and the father speaks from heaven and says, "This is my beloved son with whom I'm well pleased." That's where Jesus started ministry from. And that's I think a needed thing for us today to recognize we have in Christ that acceptance from the Father that says, I am pleased with you, well done, good and faithful servant. Those realities are lived out and what God is doing in us and we can pursue him all the more with a freedom I think, because we are united to him by faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Christa Neidig:
That's so great and so encouraging. I think there's just so many great things about this book looking through it that are just restful for a pastor or a ministry leader who is struggling with these things. There's a lot of peace that can come from this, peace and truth. So great. What's your hope for the book? What is your hope that will come out of this?

Jeremy Writebol:
Yeah, I think I could say it pretty simply, but then I'll elaborate on it. My hope is that pastors and myself included, would just keep our eyes on Jesus, that we would rest in and rely on and enjoy him and really put our ministries back in his hands because that's the thing that John and the Revelation shows us there that we're already in Christ's hands. He holds his pastors in his hands, he stands in the midst of the seven gold lamp stands, which are identified as the seven churches, so that's a reality of the church entirely. Jesus is here in the midst of his church, he's holding his pastors and leaders in his hand. He's got us. And so my hope is that we will see that and we will see just how sufficient he is for everything, that there's not an area lacking or a need that he cannot meet or a way that he leads that he doesn't direct us in that would cause us to go, well, I need to come up with these resources on my own.
So my hope is that we'll get our eyes on Jesus as pastors and that will begin to focus and shape how we do ministry once again. That we'll be heralds of the word of God, we'll do things in truth and with the gospel, that our loves will be ordered rightly so that it wouldn't be said of us, you've lost your first love, but instead it's evident to everyone that Jesus is first and foremost, the love of our heart. And everything else kind of falls and is ordered underneath him as our first love. And that we would be red-hot, passionate for the gospel of Christ and what he's doing in our lives.

Christa Neidig:
That's so good. Jeremy, thank you so much for spending the time. I always like to thank authors that have written a book because I know that is a long process, especially in the middle of 2020 when it was a scary time to sign a book deal, I'm sure, a very uncertain time. William actually released his updated version of Next in 2020, which is between us a horrible time to launch. And so it's just so great. I wanted to thank you for that. And just the resource that this is going to be. For listeners, where can they get their hands on their very own copy of your book?

Jeremy Writebol:
Yeah, anywhere online that books are sold, you can pick that up. So if that's Amazon or Christian Book or Barnes & Noble, anywhere online, you can pick that up there and get it. You can go to lexhampress.com, which is a publisher and they have it as well there. Or if you use [inaudible 00:18:31] Bible software, you can get it digitally that way too.

Christa Neidig:
Great. And we'll make sure, I'll have my Vanderbloemen team add all of these links to the show notes on the website, so you can easily find those. Jeremy, thanks again. I really appreciate it.

Jeremy Writebol:
Christa, thank you so much. It's been a joy to talk with you today.

Christa Neidig:
Thanks for listening to the Vanderbloemen Leadership Podcast. At Vanderbloemen, we help Christian organizations build their best teams through hiring, succession, compensation, and diversity consulting services. Visit our websites, vanderbloemen.com to learn more and subscribe to our Vanderbloemen Leadership Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts to keep up with our newest episodes. Thanks for listening.