“I Have Spoken” is Both Comforting and Unsettling

Mike Leake

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Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son…(Hebrews 1:1-2a)

“I have spoken”.

Long before the Mandalorian made this particular phrase popular, I was using a variation of it as a father. When my kids are arguing or we need to make a decision, I’ll drop this bomb on them. Because my children are Generation Z and only speak in text messages and gifs I’m happy that the Mandalorian has given me this little gem.

There is something appealing about such a definitive statement like this, isn’t there? It’s wonderful to know that somebody is able to say, “I have spoken” and that ends the debate. But there’s also something a bit unsettling and grating about such a thing. “Who gives you the right to speak so definitively?” And it’s especially disconcerting when the authoritative declaration they make doesn’t go on in our favor.

It occurs to me that what Hebrews 1:1-2 proclaims is both comforting and unsettling.

It is comforting because it means that God speaks. We don’t have to play pretend. God has wired us to be meaning makers. We are constantly asking questions. There is something within us that wants all of our debates settled. We want a definitive answer. And God has given it through His Son. We can rightly know God because he has spoken through His Son.

But that’s also unsettling because it means we can’t hide behind pitiful excuses like saying “I didn’t know”. We are meaning makers but the fall has jaded us towards truth. We can take a sick and twisted comfort in obscurity and murky truthiness. I’ve always found these words by Soren Kierkegaard challenging:

It is not the obscure passages in scripture that bind you but the ones you understand. With these you are to comply at once. If you understood only one passage in all of scripture, well, then you must do that first of all. It will be this passage god asks you about. Do not first sit down and ponder the obscure passages. God’s word is given in order that you shall act according to it, not that you gain expertise in interpreting it.

The author of Hebrews is showing us that in the new covenant God’s revelation to us is not incomplete or fragmentary as it was in the Old Covenant. It’s still mediated but it’s mediator is the Son. It’s a much better communication because Jesus is the promised prophet, priest, and king.

But there is continuity here. God was the one speaking through the prophets in the OT and God is still the one speaking through the Son. This is phenomenal news. God has not left us in the dark.

That’s both comforting and unsettling.

“I have spoken”, says God. Will we heed his voice or pretend as if He hasn’t spoken?

Make the 20’s an Incredibly Ordinary Decade

Mike Leake

It’s not just a new year today it’s a new decade. (I say this in spite of what those weirdos who say 2021 is the beginning of a new decade try to tell you). This caused me to do a bit of reflecting and looking back at 2010. I imagine that I had some pretty big audacious goals back then. Some of them might have come to fruition. Others turned to dust.

I have a new perspective in 2020 and for the next decade. I’ve come to realize it’s not the big epic moments that shape us the most. Instead it’s the ordinary things which shape us. Consider a few things.

Let’s rewind to 2010. What if you’d set a goal of reading just one chapter of the Bible per day. Did you realize that you would have read through the entire Bible almost 4 times?

What if you made a goal of praying 15 minutes per day. Did you know that would have led to 912 hours over the last 10 years?

What if you decided that you’d share the gospel of Jesus with 1 person per week. And you did this for the past decade. Did you know you would have shared the gospel with 521 people?

Or maybe you made a goal to spend 1 quality hour per day with your spouse and or your kids. That means no phone, no distractions, just good quality time. That would be 3,650 hours in the past decade. Or 152 entire 24 hour days.

What would happen if you decided to spend something like 2 hours per week really getting to know somebody. Maybe you make it a goal to ask somebody out for lunch at least once a week, or have a coffee with someone. You dedicate 2 hours per week to engaging another human being. You know that would be 1,040 hours over a decade. Can you imagine the relational depth that could be fostered in that time? What if you said, I’m going to pick one person and actively disciple them. 2 hours per week. You do that for a decade…what is that 1000 hours going to do?

Or consider reading. At even a below average speed if you had read for 30 minutes a day that would have led to 73,000 pages. Can you think of all the great books you could have devoured?

But, did you know that the average person spends 4 hours per day on their phone. That’ll be 14,600 hours per decade. Or 608 days. That means of a decade you’ll spend almost 2 full years of that on your phone. Now it’s pretty hard to actually judge what you are doing on your phone. It might be something relationship building. It could be something that truly is of value. But I can tell you that statistics show that half the time on your phone is spent on social media (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat). That’s a lot of cat videos. So cut those 14,600 hours in half and you’ve got 7300 hours on social media in the next decade.

We’re also watching on average 5 hours of television per day. Again when you math that out it means 2 of the 10 years is going to be spent watching TV. Granted most people are on their phone and television at the same time. But I’m sharing all of this to say that ordinary activities shape us. Just an ordinary activity like checking your phone. Scrolling through Facebook. Watching a video on YouTube is shaping you. Why? Because while those big epic moments are shaping and transformative for us we truly are what we do in those ordinary moments. That shapes us far more in the long run.

But we live in a microwave culture. We want what we want and we want it now. We move from epic thing to epic thing and think that it’s going to shape us. Honestly, what we do is we give our ordinary moments to the things of the world and plead with God to capture us with those epic times. I’m going to dedicate a weekend to you, Lord. And he shows up. He’s gracious. He transforms. He does things at conferences and stuff. Don’t hear me wrong. But what if God had the ordinary this year? This decade?

So I’m going to commit myself to just doing simple ordinary things for a decade and see what happens.

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Photo source: here

How ‘Being a Creed’ Helps in Pastoring

Mike Leake

I’ve grown weary of articles telling others what they should and should not do. I am especially weary of the “Pastor, Here Are 14 Things You MUST Do to Succeed” posts. I say all of that to say, take what I’m saying here as the simple ramblings of a guy who has found help and think you might too—or you might not.

For quite awhile now I’ve had this practice of trying to learn a new skill every month. It’s had me trying to learn to make an omelet, learning a Rubik’s cube, and pretty soon it’ll have me trying my hand at both improv comedy and pottery.

This has been incredibly helpful to my soul and to my mental health. I encouraged folks awhile back to Be a Creed. I think it’s a helpful practice for really anybody to try to learn a new skill every month. But today I want to say that it’s been absolutely helpful to me as a pastor.

First, it’s a reminder to me that I’m human. I don’t mean here that it keeps me off a pedestal (though that’s always a needed practice). I mean that doing these things reminds me that I’m not fundamentally Pastor Mike. I’m Mike. I’m not a resource, I’m a human. I’m a human that is trying to make an absolutely killer oatmeal crock-pot recipe. Not for a sermon illustration. Not for some deeply spiritual thing but because God created me with taste buds and to find enjoyment in things like oatmeal.

Which, as a side note, this is why I went home and wept after our Pastor Appreciation meal back in October. The gifts and cards they gave were amazing and I would have been blown away by that alone. But there has been a way they’ve communicated love to my family and I that makes us feel a part of the family. I feel valued and loved as a person and not just as the guy who preaches.

But for some reason I think there is always a pull to dehumanize our pastors. So to perpetually do battle with the professionalization of pastoral ministry, I’ll keep trying to make an outrageously wonderful oatmeal. Just because.

Secondly, When I try new skills I’m sometimes awful at them. This not only keeps me humble but it keeps me fresh and alive. It’s good to fail. And to fail miserably. If we only try things we are good at and succeed in, then we are going to be very flat characters and even the things we do well are going to become dull.

Lastly, it allows me to put energy into something tangible. This is also why I’ve taken up woodworking. Pastoral ministry is difficult in that it’s never really finished. But I can finish a crafting project. I make oatmeal. I can learn the Rubik’s cube. I can discover that I’m absolutely terrible at making an omelet. (I still can’t get it to look like an omelet). Having an end to something helps our pysche.

Maybe you’re the type of person that is able to thrive nose to the grind, writing sermons, thinking deep thoughts, building relationships, and all that stuff 24/7. I’m not. I collapse. So, I’ve learned that doing things like this will help me to be far more productive and healthy.

And it’s enjoyable.

Read This! 12.12.19

Mike Leake

Ten Tips on Sermon Illustrations

If you want to know how to do this well immerse yourself in Spurgeon and the Puritans. They illustrated phenomenally well. They used Scripture but they also used day to day things. As a side note it is rather comical when the Puritans use common held medical advice for illustrations.

John Newton, My Friend

Mine too! It’s a goal of mine to help many others rediscover Newton. I have a book idea that would make his letters current and be specifically written to pastors. But I’m not sure I’ve the talent to bring it to fruition. (That isn’t me being needlessly pessimistic about my writing skills. It’s a serious concern—I want to do justice to Newton’s work).

30 Books Every Christian Should Read Before Turning 30.

I’ve read 22 of them. I think my list might be a little different. Maybe I should do a 40 books pastors should read before turning 40. I’ve been shaped by so many good books.

Christianity Is Not a Frowning Contest

I think Alcorn is right. I’ve argued for awhile that we’ve forgotten how to lament. I think the other pole is missing as well. We don’t know how to be absurdly happy.

52 Ideas For Your Church This Year

There are some really fun and creative ideas in here. I rarely print off an article (with this being the 21st century and all) but I did print this one to go through in a future missions meeting. I think some of these might be great outreach or fellowship ideas.

Resting in God’s Sovereignty over My Anxiety

I believe there is a ton of truth in this article. There is a way that anxiety might be the means that God leads to propel us into greater joy in Christ. “Plenty of ink has been spilled on the numerous ways we can be sinful in times of depression, anxiety, and worry. I am careful to own my sinful thinking and repent. But have you ever considered that the other side of the anxiety-sin coin could be begging (dare I say, demanding) that the Lord remove the very thing He is using to refine us? Could my prayers for deliverance actually be sinful discontent?”