Send a Picture

I am sure many who will read this story have talked themselves out of a hunt before. This year I have just not felt the desire to deer hunt like in past years. The weather had been unseasonably warm. My personal work schedule had been exceptionally busy, preventing me from preparing correctly. As November neared, the landowner where I hunt sent me a picture of a bruiser he had just taken. (Picture above) His message was, "You need to get out here." 

This was all it took. I was in the stand the following evening. There was not a lot of action that day, but the deer woods was awaking, and so was I. Over the next week, I went out one or two more times but still, it was not my usual obsessive daily trip to the farm. 

Monday, November 7th, rolled around. I was somewhat excited to get out, but after a long day of work on Sunday and getting to bed late, the demon of laziness was talking to me. I had set my alarm for 4:45. As I went to turn the alarm off, I noticed a text message from a dear friend and hunting buddy, Mike Roux. He simply had sent me a picture of me with a buck that I had taken two years ago on the same farm and on November 7th. (Picture below)You guessed it! I jumped up and began to get ready. It was all the motivation I needed to get to the deer woods.

I didn't get into the stand any too early. It was about fifteen minutes before shooting hours. Because of where I have my stand, I had plenty of time to get set up early for deer traffic. I began to glass the cut bean field in front of me. (There are about a hundred acres of bean field in front of my stand and a big timber behind me.) I noticed a nice-sized buck chasing a doe across the field, headed for a cornfield to the south. I began to think, "This could get interesting".." 

After about ten minutes of watching the chase, a four-pointer came out of the woods behind me. He passed in front of my stand, heading toward the hot doe. As soon as he got to the cornfield, I noticed a group of deer making their way toward me through the cut beans. At that moment, I didn't know precisely how many deer there were or if any of them were bucks.

I began to glass them. I couldn't believe it. It was another hot doe and three bucks. Two of them were pretty nice-sized, and a third was a tag-along. These deer closed fast and right where I have harvested many deer. I began to realize that it was going to happen. I decided to harvest the buck when he got seventy-five yards away from me. 

The doe was headed directly to the woods behind me and on the main trail right beside my stand. She was moving at a pretty fair pace, and he was behind her by about twenty yards. I got ready to shoot. A quick little bleep stopped him, and I let him have it at twelve steps. When the arrow hit, he just turned around and began to walk into the bean field. I thought, did I somehow miss him? or not hit any vitals?" After about two minutes and forty yards away, he dropped. 

It was over and not even seven thirty yet. With two bucks around the down deer, I decided to just sit. As I looked back onto the bean field, I saw four more deer. I couldn't believe my eyes; another hot doe and three more bucks chasing her. (This made a total of nine bucks and three hot does.) This time the lead buck was the biggest guy I had ever seen in the field. Watching him chase her into the big woods, I began planning for the next hunt. I didn't need another picture!

The deer I took was a nice mature nine-pointer who field dressed at two hundred and thirty-five pounds. We were able to donate ninety-two pounds of venison to families who are in need of meat this winter.

30 Years

 Thirty years is a long time. Thirty years ago ministry was different. I am taking a few moments to reflect as Lisa and I celebrate longevity in just two churches. I am extremely grateful for the first ministry I was involved in. I was afforded the opportunity of sitting under the ministry of Jim McClain in Norwalk, Ohio. He began his ministry there in 1979 and retired from the same church in 2021. Can you imagine forty-two years in one place? I can because I got a front-row seat. I was able to watch a man faithfully love a group of people through teaching and training them. Sure there were hard times but Jim and his wife personified Matthew 25:21 His master said to him, 'Well done good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter the joy of your master.'

If this sounds remotely attractive to you, then take a quick look at what I am about to say and seriously challenge your thinking.

There have been a lot of changes in the ministry over the last thirty years. The advent of specialization in ministry has professionalized our purpose. Once upon a time churches were filled by ministers (lay people) within the church, We have successfully fragmented the fabric of the church which God perfectly designed the church to function effectively through the gifts within the body.

The quest for significance in ministry has created ego-centered pastors. With books, podcasts, conferences, and training centers fueling the need to be known, we have lost our way in what we have been called to do. I have fallen prey at times to this insidious disease. I have to fight the urge to be known and be heard. The only thing that matters is that He is known and heard. 

As I get older, I find it more important to tell my story to help others stay grounded and not follow the current trend or path that leads to nowhere. I challenge those who are pastors to stop and think about what they are doing and think about the path of ministry. 

Here are three observations that will make pastors more effective in the years ahead.

1. Pastors stay put. I am amazed that guys don't account for their families when considering a move. The best advice I ever received from another pastor was to stay put. He gave me the illustration of a tree. It can only be replanted once, maybe twice before it will die. Children are much like a tree. They can only withstand so much uprooting. Sometimes you have to withstand some challenges to get to the point where fruit is produced. 

How you start is usually how you finish. I would suggest that you start with loving the people God has called you to. When you get to the finish line you will love them more and they will love you. 

2. Pastor don't fall into the trap of "more". You may be asking, more of what? It is rather simple. More people, more significance, more popularity more power, more control, I could go on and on. We all have fragile egos. We all want to believe that what we do matters more than it actually does. Contentment in our culture is nearly impossible without a single focus. I have had to drop off boards, stay away from discontent pastors and surround myself with reminders that God has a plan. 

I think sometimes that we believe that God really cares about how significant we become. In reality, He really cares how close we walk with Him. 

3. Pastor become an equipper. Ephesians 4:11-12 clearly lays out the role of a pastor in the local church. 11 And He gave some as apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some as pastors and teachers. 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ; This is missed at the highest level of training. Young men who are gifted are trained in using their gifts but often are not trained in how to train others in their gifts. This, in my opinion, is a major flaw in the church today. When was the last book you read on how to train people to minister? What is your process? How do you measure success? These are very important questions we all should be asking ourselves. 

The structure of your church will dictate what your church will ultimately become. If you find yourself frustrated, burnt out, and stressed out over the pressure of performing.... you're doing too much. Let the church be the church and start training.

If you reading this and you are not a pastor, maybe this would be helpful to share with your pastor. 

It's a Bunch of Manure!

 

When I was invited to a turkey hunt in Iowa last fall, I had no idea that I was in for the hunt of a lifetime. Chris Leppert is one of our staff members at Columbus Road Church in Quincy, Illinois. He was fully aware of my love of hunting and passion for mature toms. After applying for a first-season tag and a quick trip to his parent's farm, I was pretty excited about the possibilities.

Passion week is not the best time to take an out-of-state turkey hunt but having the opportunity to hunt in Allamakee County, Iowa in the middle of April was too hard to pass up. I could not make it in on opening day due to work responsibilities, so I drove up to the farm from Illinois, getting in around midnight. 

Chris gave me a quick review of the Grand View Farm layout from a satellite image as well as where he had seen the 30 turkeys the day before. The farm has deep ravines and arching pastures surrounded by mature trees. Chris also told me that his dad Duane had just spread manure on the top of the ridges of the pastures. My dream of hunting in my home state was about to come true.

We got up plenty early after a short night of sleep. Chris and I decided to hunt across from each other, having just a crowned pastures and three hundred yards between us. As we got close to the place we were to split off, he gave me a general idea of where to set up. We said our well wishes and broke off, leaving me to find my set up tree in the pitch dark. Not to mention, it was the first time on the farm. I walked in and found a tree with two bushes on both sides of the tree creating a perfect window to set up my decoys at twelve steps. 

My setup was a submissive hen a Jake approaching her, and two other hens one feeding and one upright. I got my set up the way I wanted it and got settled against the tree facing the pasture. It is April 12th, 2022, the second day of the first season in Allamakee County, Iowa and my dream is coming true. 

As it began to get a bit lighter, I heard my first gobble. It was over my left ear about 200 yards. Quickly, another one directly behind me, then another over my right ear. At this point, I am not believing what I am hearing. My heart begins to accelerate. Another gobble to my right, and another and another and another and another and another and another..... you get the picture? I was sitting in the honey whole of honey wholes. Turkeys were in every direction, a three-hundred, and sixty-degree enclosure. I was exciting and the smile on my face had to have shone through my face mask.

The gobbling continued for a good bit but as the Tom's found their dates the gobbles faded. I did hear a lone gobble at 7:00 that was worth noting. He seemed to have made some steps closer to my position. This made me turn to my left a bit more and kept my attention. I waited for the next hour with an occasional Jake cluck and hen purr. 

After what seemed to be an eternity, I see a mature Tom to my left pop over the crest of the pasture. He saw the setup and heard my date with his own eyes. He began making his way down the hill toward me.

 This is it, I thought. Get your gun up and be ready to seal the deal. 

He came right into the decoys but a little left, right in front of the bush I described earlier. He stopped, looked, and did an about-face at fifteen yards and walked back up the hill. 

I wondered if that was going to be my only chance, but something in the back of my mind told me that I would see more action. A half-hour later I saw four Jakes walking at the top of the pasture, about eighty yards out. It then dawned on me what was happening. All those turkeys that I had heard earlier, had made their way to the manure. They were feeding on the top in the manure. All I needed was for another Tom to come to my side of the pasture to see and hear my set-up. 

What needed to happen, happened! At ten o'clock he popped over the hill. He looked big from a long way away. The beard was super thick and it was evident that was a shooter. I hit the box call followed by my Jake cluck from my Mountain Screamer box call. He slammed with a hard gobble that I could see. He then made his descent down the pasture and directly to my setup. I got the gun up and my eyes on the prize. Moving from my right to left, he walked right into my window at twelve steps and stopped. It was over. I nailed a twenty-three pound, ten-inch beard, mature Iowa gobbler at ten a.m. coming off the manure at Grand View Farms in Allamakee County, Iowa. My dream had come true.  

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Get a Life...... Pastor

Do you remember the phrase "get a life"? 

In high school, people would use this phrase in response to someone with a lame social calendar. Or it would be a way of getting someone to stop being so boring and do something more interesting. I have heard so many reports of burnout pastors during COVID-19. I believe this simple, three-word phrase could really help those who want to remain emotionally, relationally, and spiritually healthy in ministry.

This blog has been a long time coming. I have hesitated to write for fear that it could come off the wrong way but it is essential information to those who are just starting out and need a little guidance. In speaking to so many pastors, I've realized that somehow, no one trained us how to have a life outside of ministry. By no means do I believe that I have gotten it right all the time, but you don't get to twenty-nine years of ministry without making some adjustments.

In a nutshell, Pastors must have a life outside of ministry to remain refreshed, balanced, and healthy. I do not believe that most people understand it and certainly, most pastors don't understand it. I remember attending a pastors meeting and the moderator asked pastors the question? "What do you do for fun?" The room became deafly silent. After a few moments, the guys began to provide very lame answers that were generated to satisfy the audience. A large portion of the group spit out answers like, "I read" or "I study theology". I sat there and thought.... get a life!!

Here are three things to take into account to "get a life."

1. Quit following everyone else's cool. Ministry people can often get caught up in the "monkey see monkey do life". It's the "cool pastors do cool things so I better be cool by doing the cool things he does" mentality. Have you ever seen a post on social media with a stack of books, with the sub-title reading something like... vacation picks or can't wait to dig into these!! I am not knocking those that read - in fact I do my fair share. The point is to be yourself! Don't look to others to determine what you do in your leisure.

2. Find a hobby that you can totally immerse yourself in. One thing that I have learned through the years is that you have to find times in your weeks that you are totally off. By that, I mean clearing your head and immersing yourself in something other than work and problems. Days off are only as valuable as you make them. If a day off is filled with thinking about church stuff at home then you successfully have ruined your day off. I have found places and spaces where I can go to escape "the bubble". My happy place is racing a dirt modified on Friday nights. For you, it may be running, hiking, biking, fishing, or hunting. The key is finding something you can totally immerse your mind into and empty your mind of all the ministry stuff.

3. Look for something that satisfies a gap that the ministry might not provide. Lots of pastors are competitive by nature. Ministry is no place for competition yet many fall prey to it. I know some pastors who compete as runners, others play basketball, pickleball, and golf. These activities keep competition in the correct silo. Others fish and hunt which satisfies the warrior/provider drive that's within many of us. I now pastors that are super creative. One of my friends is a woodcarver. He satisfies his drive to be creative through designing beautiful wood carvings. 

It is super easy to let ministry take over your life. When a person gets to that spot - they are dangerously close to burning out. Unfortunately, I have met way too many pastors who gain their identity through ministry. It is difficult for them not to talk about church growth, ministry initiatives, or present pastoral trends in every conversation. To those people I say, in 2022, it might be time to get a life.