Backing up...Pastor's Summit - Jackson Hole, WY

I realize that we never posted anything about our trip to Jackson Hole, WY in July for our last of 6 meetings with the Pastor's Summit. I think the reason we kept putting it off was because it's next to impossible to summarize in a blog post how life-changing the Pastor's Summit has been for us. As soon as we got home from this past summit meeting I sat down and started typing up my thoughts and reflections from the week. I think I have about 6 single-spaced typed pages so far, plenty more to write about and lots of gaps to fill in. One of the things I shared with the group of pastors and their wives at the end of this last meeting was that this has not been a mere "mountain top experience", no pun intended, where we simply attend a conference or retreat, get all fired up and then go on with life as usual after coming home. These meetings, and especially this group of people that we have been sharing our lives with over the past two years have truly affected and transformed our lives. We have been truly blessed to be a part of this.

So here are just a few pictures from our week in Jackson Hole...

The wild flowers that covered the fields in Grand Teton National Park were so vibrant against the soft green sage that filled the air with its aroma.


Here is a photo of Hidden Falls. We had to hike about a mile up into the park to see this - just gorgeous.


While the scenery was truly breathtaking, what made the trip was being reunited with the 9 other pastors and their wives who have become so dear to us. In addition to gathering with this particular group, John and I also had the added bonus of getting to spend time with Michael and Denise Wichlan, former members of Trinity that we 'sent off' to seminary 4 years ago! Denise has been on staff with Covenant Seminary's Center for Ministry Leadership, which is responsible for spearheading the Pastor's Summit, so it has been a real treat to be reunited with them at most of the meetings.


Pictured here are Josh and Shannon Geiger (in front - serving at Cristo Rey PCA in Dallas), Steve Garber (next to Josh on the left - one of our speaker/facilitators who is the director for the Washington Institute for Faith, Vocation & Culture), Donald Guthrie (next to Shannon on the right, wrote the grant for the Pastor's Summit as well as a wealth of theological books), and Lisa and Andrew Vander Maas (in the back - serving at Crossroads PCA in St. Louis).


Pictured here are Adam and Liz Brice (in front - served at Christ the King PCA in Conshohoken, PA, but are now planting a church in Lafayette, IN), Chuck and Diane Jacob (in the middle - serve at Knox EPC in Ann Arbor, MI), and Wendell and Priscilla Stoltzfus (in the back - serve at Covenant OPC in Reading, PA).


Pictured here are Drew and Becky Derreth (in front - serve at Hanover Valley Church in Hanover, PA), Janet Burns (on the left - wife of Bob Burns, the director of the Center for Ministry Leadership) and John on the right (if you read our blog, you already know about him).


April and Bob Willetts (currently serving at Trinity PCA in Norfolk, VA).


Andy & Linda Phillips (Harley on the left - serve at Providence PCA in York, PA), and David and Cindy Tate (Harley on the right - serve at Manor PCA in Cochranville, PA).


One of the biggest highlights of this last trip was spending time with and getting to sit under the teaching of Joe and Barb Novenson (both pictured on the right sitting next to Becky and Drew), who serve at Lookout Mountain PCA in TN. John and I both felt like his preaching cut us to the core and spoke to our situation in much needed ways.

As one of the other pastor's wives and I were reflecting on this past summit meeting, the one word that we both walked away with was brokenness. I remember the first time we all gathered together for worship, I was so moved by the heartfelt and emotional singing from these 30 or so pastors and their wives. I thought to myself, 'Boy, nobody sings like a bunch of broken pastors and their wives who are constantly trying to remind themselves of the transforming power of the gospel!' John also pointed out to me later that it was just so refreshing to be able to worship without the worries of the temperature in the room, the timing of the announcements, if the service was going too long, how the sermon was going, etc. etc.

Our times of worship were led by Reggie Kidd, who truly ministered to this group of pastors with his rich knowledge and talent as well as his compassion, heart for the gospel and his heart for pastors. On the last day of the summit, John and I went into the worship service right after an intense meeting with Joe and Barb Novenson over breakfast to talk about life, marriage and ministry. We were deeply encouraged by their own life journey and counsel to us and had much MORE to reflect upon. Now, I am not easily moved to tears but I quickly turned into a puddle on the floor during that last gathering for worship. Reggie had us sing, "Before the Throne of God Above", which happens to be one of my favorite songs but after such an emotionally intense week, it particularly hit me like a ton of bricks - especially the 2nd verse.

When Satan tempts me to despair and tells me of the guilt within
Upward I look and see Him there who made an end to all my sin!
Because the sinless Savior died my sinful soul is counted free!
For God the Just is satisfied to look on Him and pardon me,
to look on Him and pardon me.

Once the tears started, I simply could not stop them. But I soon realized that I was far from being the only one who was so moved. I heard several others from the pastor's summit comment that they were more encouraged by the shared trials, sufferings and brokenness with the other pastors/wives than they were by the shared triumphs. How true it is that Christ's power is made perfect in weakness. "Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." (2 Corinthians 12:9b)

10 hours of glorious sleep

Eugene Peterson says that sleeping is an act of humility. The act of sleep says, "the world does not depend on me." If this is true, then I was very humble last night! ;-) Mindy and I made it home without a flight delay (I don't remember the last time that happened) and we were both in bed a little before 10pm. I slept 10 hours! It felt so good. It also gave me hope that I can make it through the rest of the weekend. Today I must write my Sunday sermon and tomorrow I'm teaching a class from 9:30 till 2:30. Jeff Morrow was kind enough to teach my men's group this morning. It's great to sleep in your own bed and it's even better to get all caught up. At some point, perhaps next week, I would like to blog some reflections on what I learned over the past few days. I really appreciate Trinity's willingness to let me participate in the pastor's summit.

Days 2 and 3 in Orlando

We had a wonderfully exhausting day yesterday, filled with intense, personal and very meaningful conversations from 8am straight until 10pm. We meet again in a few minutes and talk until noon. Then we'll get to the airport and be home in Dallas by 6pm, Lord willing. Our two books were "The Fabric of Faithfulness" by Steve Garber (who is here with us) and Jayber Crow, a novel by Wendell Berry.

Update from Orlando

Mindy and I made it our room in Orlando a little after midnight on Monday night. Christopher has a fever that still comes and goes, but Mindy is feeling quite a bit better. So we're thankful for that. The 10 pastors met in a circle for 6 hours on Tuesday, updating one another on the states of our ministries and lives. It was sweet time. Then Steve Garber led us in a book discussion until 10pm. We just finished breakfast and our next meeting has started even as I type. Today's reflections will be on calling and vocation. We'll go till 10 again tonight, with some times for journaling along the way. We're staying at the San Pedro Catholic Retreat Center. It's very pretty. I'm using the dial-up computer in the conference room, so we won't be checking in as often, but so far it's been a great time.

St. Louis in pictures...

Here is a brief summary of our week in St. Louis. We feel as if we've been drinking from a fire hydrant all week long and are still digesting everything that we've learned and discussed! So it will be difficult to summarize in just a few words all that the Lord has been teaching us this week through the speakers and through the discussions with our fellow "cohorters."

We arrived in St. Louis late Monday night and had a sweet reunion with Michael and Denise Wichlan. Michael and Denise were members at Trinity before John became the pastor, but had felt a call to full-time pastoral ministry while we were there. So we had the privilege of 'sending' the Wichlans off to Covenant Theological Seminary to prepare for the ministry. While there, Denise was asked to serve in her current job as the administrative assistant for the Pastor's Summit! It has been great to have the Pastor's Summit as an excuse to get together with the Wichlans!

Tuesday morning we had even more reunions with the other pastors and their wives who are a part of the "Westminster Cohort". We cannot even begin to describe the blessing it is to share struggles as well as encouragements with these fellow partners in the ministry. Our sessions began Tuesday at noon with our speakers, Pete and Geri Scazzero, who serve at New Life Fellowship in Queens, NY and who authored the books, Emotionally Healthy Church as well as Emotionally Healthy Spirituality. Each session was followed by exercises (i.e. journaling, listening/conversations between spouses, etc.), which were incredibly helpful to each couple as well as to the larger group as we regrouped to reflect and discuss. We recognized how much we need to grow emotionally as individuals and as married couples, and how this affects church leadership as well as the church at large. As I said earlier, it's too much to summarize, so I highly recommend the books!

We finished Thursday afternoon and spent all day Friday touring St. Louis with our personal tour guides, Michael and Denise Wichlan! Denise is like the "mother hen" of the Pastor's Summit, making sure everyone gets there on time, knows where to go and what to do, and makes it home on time. What's funny is that after spending the day with them in St. Louis, we got stuck in unexpected traffic and missed our flight to Dallas! Thankfully, there was 1 more flight that evening and we made it home a little after midnight... But hey, we had a great time with the Wichlans and we're home safe!

We were able to get pictures of all the members of our cohort, the speakers, as well as a few fun pics around St. Louis. My only regret is that we didn't get a picture of the Wichlans, even after spending all of that extra time with them! We hope that you enjoy these pics almost as much as we enjoyed our trip to St. Louis!


Here we are standing at the base of the Jefferson Memorial Arch. Hannah is hiding behind the doll.


The arch is very impressive. We saw the video about the 'making of the arch' and decided we didn't need to take the tram car up into the arch.


St. Louis has the largest park within city limits, which includes a beautiful zoo, museums, walking trails, etc. - all of which are free to the public! Our favorite part of the zoo was the penguin and puffin exhibit. Here are some puffins swimming around.


Here are some King Penguins. They were so noisy...but very cute.


Here are our speakers, Geri & Pete Scazzero. What a gift they gave to all of us who attended the summit!


Pete & Geri in action... sorry these pics are a little dark.




The Pastors Summit is made up of 3 cohorts - the Reformed Seminary Cohort (those in their 1st 5 years of full time ministry), the Westminster Cohort (those who have been in full time ministry for 5-15 years), and the Covenant Seminary Cohort (15+ years in the ministry).


After the large group sessions, we would gather with our individual cohorts and reflect.


Priscilla & Wendell Stoltzfus - serve in an OPC church in Reading, PA.


Lisa & Andrew Vander Maas - serve in a PCA church in St. Louis.


Josh & Shannon Geiger - serve in a church plant targeting the Hispanic community in Dallas, TX.


John & Mindy - you already know about us...


Drew & Becky Derreth - serve in a PCA church in Hanover, PA.


Diane & Chuck Jacob - serve in an EPC church in Ann Arbor, MI.


Dave & Cindy Tate - serve in the 2nd oldest church in the PCA in Cochranville, PA. (This picture gives the illusion that Cindy is rather tall, but Dave is actually quite a bit taller than Cindy).


Bob & April Willets - serve in a PCA church in Norfolk, VA.


Linda & Andy Phillips - serve in a PCA church in York, PA.


Adam & Liz Brice - serve in a PCA church in Conshohocken, PA.


Hannah was such a trooper throughout the week! She stayed with us through all of the sessions, mealtimes and discussions and hardly made a peep. She is certainly happy to be back in her own bed though.

In St. Louis after a long delay at the airport

Mindy and I (along with baby Hannah) arrived in St. Louis last night around 8:30 pm, after a 3-4 hour flight delay at DFW. There was a backlog of flight due to weather and the AC on our plane went out, leaving temps in the plane at 97 degrees. Fortunately, they deplaned us and fixed the AC. It was much better waiting in the terminal than on the tarmac.

We had dinner with our friends Michael and Denise late last night at the hotel. This morning we met up with a bunch of other pastors/wives for breakfast. Our cohort has its first official meeting at noon today. It looks like we'll be meeting from 8am to 10pm until Thursday. Mindy and I are really excited to be back with our group. We've gotten to know them pretty well over the last two summits and we've formed some great friendships. We're expecting the Lord to do some good things in our lives this week.

Next week in St. Louis

Mindy and I will be leaving the older kids with the grandparents on Monday and heading to St. Louis for the week. We'll meet up with other pastors and their wives and spend the week talking about marriage and ministry. We met up with this same group in Orlando back in February and talked about conflict in ministry. Peter Scazzero will be addressing our group about some of his own experiences in Queens. We're really excited about this week together. I won't miss any Sundays in the pulpit on either side of the week. Thankfully, I have most of a sermon ready for a week from this Sunday. We'll get home late Friday night, after spending a day with our good friends Michael & Denise W.

Back from Orlando

Mindy and I have spent Monday night through Thursday afternoon in Orlando, Florida meeting with a group of pastors and their wives. We got home last night around 9 very mentally, emotionally and spiritually stimulated but physically exhausted. We met from about 8am till 10pm every day, with only a little 5 min potty break here and there. Our time was filled with VERY intense conversations over very weighty topics. It was a great, great time, but we are very glad to be home. Today I'm going to spend some time capturing on paper many of the high points of our discussions and thinking through how to incorporate the lessons learned into my own life, as well as devoting all of these thoughts to the Lord in prayer. We read "The Leader's Journey" and "The Peacemaking Pastor" before attending this summit. We're now going to read "The Emotionally Healthy Church" and "The Emotionally Healthy Spiritual Life" before our next gathering this July. But for now, we're glad to be back!