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Fields Notes
Welcome to Fields Notes - a podcast where we'll take a deep dive into sermon texts, unpack Sunday mornings, and discuss questions of life and faith with fellow friends from The Fields Church in Westfield, IN.
Fields Notes
Interview With Jeff Strickland
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On this week's episode, Joe and Braydon interview Lead Pastor of The Fields Church, Jeff Strickland.
Welcome to this week's episode of Fields Notes, where we take a deeper dive into sermon text, discuss matters of life and faith, and enjoy conversations around the table with fellow friends from the Fields. Well, welcome back to Fields Notes. This week on Fields Notes, we are entering a new, I don't know, era theme topic of sorts. Phase. Phase of our podcast. Series, maybe. I don't know. We are uh we're entering the summer months of the year, and we thought it would be fun to uh do some quasi-interviews with our uh mainly our staff members. Maybe it'll branch out to other people in our church too. We will see we'll see where it goes to. But uh could be you. Could be me at some point. I don't know. Could be you, you the listener. You sitting there right now, you might be on here. You listening may one day be on Field's notes. Who knows? Well, if you're looking at the title, somehow, in some way, it's indicating that we are interviewing or getting to know who Pastor Jeff Strickland is. Some would call him just Pastor Strickland. Not many. Not many. Not many, but Jeffrey. Or Jeffrey. That'd be my mom. Uh uh, Dr. J. That's my favorite. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Uh Strick, I think, was your maybe that was what I was known until I was probably 23. Wow.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. It's been a while for that one. We might need to bring that one back. I don't know.
SPEAKER_01I'd I'd love it. It still feels right.
SPEAKER_02Well, hey, if you're listening, uh, we we just think it'd be helpful for uh people to get to know um in us, us in a sense, or in people on our staff and others in our church uh in that way. Uh sometimes as I talk to people about Fields notes, every uh first off, everyone's so encouraging. Thank you for being so encouraging. Uh I recognize you'd have you'd have opportunities maybe to not be in that, but you are. Uh, but a couple have brought up, man, it's been helpful to get to know people better when we did the Christmas one. They're like, oh, your wives were on there, it was so fun and that. And so we're gonna have some opportunities to do things like that for people to uh get to know um others in our church. Uh, we've done the uh Lay Elder Podcast, uh David Rawlson we did a podcast on. You can check those out as well. But today is Jeff's podcast. So we're gonna get to know a little bit more about the Jeff Strickland podcast. The Jeff Strickland podcast here. So get get get excited. If you're writing episode of the Jeff Strickland Podcast, who knows? Maybe it will maybe it'll boil over. Maybe everyone will be itching for more confident. Too long of an intro. We knew okay. Let's just Jeff, tell us all by yourself. Where are you from, Jeff? Where'd you grow up?
SPEAKER_01Where are you from? Yeah. I grew up in Virginia. Uh, your town, Virginia, is where I was born and raised until fifth grade, moved to Crawfordsville, Indiana. Pretty much have lived in Indiana since. Very cool. Now, is Virginia the South? I know you say that. It is 100%. Okay, Virginia.
SPEAKER_02A southerner. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Now, a different kind of South for sure. Yeah. Very cool. Tell us a little bit about your family. Now, I'm guessing most of us know, but what's family life? Yeah, my wife, Stephanie.
SPEAKER_01Uh, we met in high school, high school sweethearts, got married. Um, then we have two boys. Our oldest is 11 Carson, our youngest is seven Knox. Um, both of them are in some ways little mini me's, and um, in some ways little mini stephs too. And so uh just a lot of fun, very much on a baseball field as often as we can be uh right now, but really sweet season.
SPEAKER_02Thank goodness they're at least somewhat mini steffs too. We're all thankful for that. Jeff, tell us a little bit, maybe one of a more serious question, one a question from people excited about. Tell us a little bit about how you became a Christian.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So I actually um grew up in a Christian home and went to a Christian preschool uh at a local Baptist church in Virginia and really got to hear the gospel thankfully often. And um, when I was seven years old, uh I was in church on a Sunday, the gospel was preached. Uh, I recognized, I think probably for the first time uh at seven, that I was a sinner and uh and that I needed Jesus to save me. And uh that's probably all I recognized. That was the extent of it, but I knew those two things. Um back in the Baptists in the South, that meant you walked the aisle. Uh, so there'd be an altar call and you came forward, walked the aisle. So that's what I did. And uh met with my pastor probably three or four times in preparation to be baptized and was baptized as a believer probably, I don't know, a few months afterwards, uh, when I uh went forward. And um, and then really in some ways, uh, the Lord's been so kind. Um, I I tell people often that my story uh is a little bit more like the elder son in uh the parable that we'll be looking at in just a few weeks. Uh that I um I I've never really been that given over to like, you know, super like worldly living. Uh that's just never been that attractive to me. Uh, but pride, selfishness, um, self-centeredness, um, those sorts of things have been are so deeply rooted in my heart. And so I feel like from age seven on, the Lord has slowly and graciously been just ripping those things out. And um, and so there were certainly some really hard times and times in which uh, especially in high school for me, um, I really wanted to fit in and um and so felt like I put Jesus in some ways my life in Christ on the back burner. Uh when I was a sophomore, uh just finishing off my sophomore year in high school, I just remember thinking, uh, really crying out to the Lord for like a month. Like, I just want to live for you every day. Like, I want to do this. Um, like I want to know like what it what it looks like and means to actually walk as a Christian. Um, and so I went to an FCA camp. Fellowship Christian Athletes was huge to me uh growing up. And so I went to this FCA leaders' camp that summer, and I really think the Lord answered my prayer. Like, not that I walked perfect, but I understood maybe for a first time really what it meant and it looked like to just walk as a Christian. Um and so I came out of that summer and the Lord did a really encouraging work. I think that's part of the time when I began to have an aspiration to be a pastor, uh, to ministry. I don't think I would have thought of his pastoral necessarily. I think I would have thought of it as like working for FCA or something like that. But I came out of that summer. Steph will tell you, I that's when I met Steph, probably a month or so after that as well. Like we went to, we would have had church, Sunday school, church, Sunday night youth group. Uh we went Wednesday nights, we went to a Bible study. Friday nights, we went to a Bible study. Uh Saturday night, we went to a Bible study. We got together every single morning, 20 of us, uh, before church to do devotion or before school to do devotions together, uh, and then prayed together and then broke for the day. Um, we were super involved in FCA. So, I mean, I any opportunity I could find to read the Bible, talk with people about Jesus, um, I wanted. And uh, and so then that's when I, you know, decided to go to Taylor University, study Christian ministry. After that, went to set seminary to learn more theology, those sorts of things. Pastored for five years in uh Crawfordsville at the church I grew up in, went back to do a PhD, then went back to Crawfordsville to pastor for uh six years at Rot Point, and then um yeah, we planted the fields five years ago. So that's a maybe the end a little bit shorter, but that's the idea.
SPEAKER_02Well, praise the Lord. Thanks for even just thanks for your vulnerability in that, Jeff. And uh praise the Lord that he saves sinners like us and um sanctifies us and um and is still doing so here now.
SPEAKER_01I just want to give encouragement. If you're someone who got was a Christian when you were young, I used to think I had a terrible testimony. And uh the the fact that the Lord has kept me from age seven to now, um, I think is the greatest show of his grace and power that I can imagine. Um and and so I just I look back and go, oh no, the work that the Lord does to save someone middle of life later in life is so incredible. But the work to keep someone in Christ uh is just as incredible. So just be encouraged by whatever your testimony may be.
SPEAKER_02That's good. Jeff, tell us something that most people in our church wouldn't know about you. I know. I feel like I'm I'm like I'm a pretty open person. So I'm trying to do that. You like to use your embarrassing life stories as sermon illustration.
SPEAKER_01I do. I like to bring that out. I'm earing the hair. Yeah. I did do improv comedy in uh at Taylor, which I'm not sure that a lot of people have you used that maybe? I don't know. I that's part of the thing too. Has he used that? Go with it. I was also I would say he's good. I was also in show choir for four years in uh high school and and did four musicals. One I uh worked A V. Um, so I did I, you know, I feel like I have um like I have a lot of interests. Like I played football, basketball, baseball, tennis, and swam at some point in time, varsity in uh high school. I technically JV football. And um, and then did a bunch of musicals and things like that.
SPEAKER_02We have Detroit Bolton of uh of Crawford's Hill High School there. That's a high school musical record.
SPEAKER_01Okay, I was like, I don't know what that is.
SPEAKER_02Most people listening will understand. Yeah, I'm like, I don't know who that is. Clash of the worlds there. Okay. Very cool, Jeff. Wow, any uh any roles that we would know, like any plays that we would know that you're in?
SPEAKER_01Uh I was in Bye Bye Birdie. Um, and Bye bye Birdie is a pretty well-known musical, and I was like this huge nerd. Um, and so that was Hugo F. Peabody. Doesn't that sound like a nerdy name? It's the character I played. I played a tap dancing gangster in uh and I had to do a rap in my senior year. So those are we need to recover some footage of this there. That would be that would be quite fun. Yeah, maybe John and Judy. John help us out with that.
SPEAKER_02Come on.
SPEAKER_01I'm sure it's out there, guys, but I'd rather it not come out.
SPEAKER_02Oh, we would rather it come out.
SPEAKER_01I'm sure.
SPEAKER_02Uh uh last question I had, then Brain has some questions after this. Well, I have some questions at the end too. Uh, maybe so this is within then the last four years. What's something about planting a church? Uh being the lead planting pastor of a church, I don't know how you you phrase that, uh, that you didn't expect. Maybe the most surprising part uh to you about planting the fields church.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, you know, in some ways that anyone would come, perhaps? Yeah, I mean no, for sure. Like that's what I was gonna say. Like just how gracious God is. Uh, you know, Steph and I are not risk takers. We're not like, let's just jump out and see what happens. And church planting feels a little bit like that. And so I don't think either one this was an endeavor that either one of us were like, oh yeah, like we've been preparing our whole lives for this. Um, it it very much has, but but the Lord has shown just how uh gracious and good and he provides. I mean, we I feel like both Steph and I would say that our faith has grown greatly um over the last four or five years, just seeing the Lord's hand. Uh, I also think probably the thing preaching was the thing I was most scared about coming in. Um, I think this might surprise people too a little bit, maybe just because I preach most Sundays. Uh preaching's really hard for me. I I never thought I would preach. Uh I never took a preaching class. I really didn't preach much at all until I was probably like 35. Um, and uh, and really that was hesitantly um sort of forced to do so. And uh, and so I was really nervous coming into the fields, like, can I preach every Sunday? And and a little bit like, will anybody ever like come? Like, like that's I mean, real I mean for real. And so um the Lord's just been, I mean, we're such a gracious people that are just so encouraging to me in that regard. And um, and and that has been sweeter than I thought it was gonna be. It really has. I mean, I I was I was honestly, I was pretty terrified um of getting up every Sunday, and the Lord has just been so sweet. So you couldn't tell at all from our part.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, Braden's got some questions for your preaching and all the efforts that you give. So it's great. We are Brain's got some questions for you now. Yeah, maybe harder questions? Are there harder questions? Well, we'll see.
SPEAKER_00We'll see what Jeff thinks. Braden is less nice than I am, so they might be some harder questions. Oh, yeah, I left these off the script for sure. That's great. Just coming at. Uh where's the last place on earth you'd want to live? Place that you would hate to be. And then you can flip it. Where's the best place? Besides Westfield, Indiana, where would you want to really live?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, the last place on earth I'd want to live. I mean, I'm sure there's some places out there that I just don't know how terrible they are to live, but maybe some places that I can like think of pretty. I mean, anything that's just has no cities. So I'm thinking of like Nebraska um or like a Arkansas, like some of these places, I like city culture, life, things like that. Um, you know, there just be, I would think some areas that are like very flat and which I everybody's like, this is Indiana. Um, I love Indiana. I think the mountains of Indiana. I don't know that I care. I like mountains and I like water and things like that, oceans, lakes, things, but I think I I would want cities and culture and college towns and things like that. So I think places that are that in my mind are just void of that. I think anything that is super, super humid, I hate humidity. Uh so like we've gone down to like I love Alabama is a sweet place, but man, it is so humid. I had to like take a water break playing mini golf one time. Uh so I mean it's just I'm not interested in that. Yeah. It's great. It's great.
SPEAKER_00Uh, biggest pet peeve and why.
unknownOh man.
SPEAKER_01I don't, I don't know. Man, I almost wish Steph was here because she could probably tell me what yours is. What my biggest uh pet peeve is. Um I don't know that I have a ton of like pet peeves. I do think, and I've even realized the last podcast we recorded, I did this to Joe. I think I do care a lot about grammar and spelling and pronunciation and things like that. Um so I um I but it's not a pet peeve. Like it, but it I can't- You are very gracious in it.
SPEAKER_02Well, I can't not correct. It's pretty much it's pretty much me who I get corrected by Jeff and my wife, who just always correct me on the things I say or do you think.
SPEAKER_01Both of us are probably very wired to care about those sorts of things. Um so but I don't know if it's a pet peeve, but honestly, sometimes too. I have to put like um I don't, yeah. I feel like my boys sometimes, I'm sure, could tell you what my pet peeves are too. Like any sort of like tapping, like can things like that will, yeah, they'll get to me. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. But I probably do those too. So things that Joe can be doing the rest of the episode now.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Uh what is something that is gonna be maybe like one thing in life or something you could think back to that you're like, man, I wish I could do that over. I wish I could get a redo on that. You may I mean I've done that a huge regret, but you're like, oh man, if I could get to redo something that was like significant or yeah, and this is probably this this probably feels too like Christian, but uh I just wish I knew how important the church was earlier.
SPEAKER_01And I think early on in my ministry too, and I'm really thankful for how the Lord has worked, but I just I don't think I really understood what it meant to be a part of a faithful church and what a faithful church was and and those sorts of things. And I just look back at my college career, I really didn't plug into a really good local church. Um, I just I think the church was a fringe in my Christian life for a while and and maybe the influence of FCA and some of those things, but I just wish I had a if I could go back to being a like understanding the importance of church and digging into a local church, which sounds so like on brand for a church planter, but I just am like, oh man, I think I wish I could go back and do that.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah, that's good. I would probably resonate with that in some ways too. But um what's uh what's something that you like many people enjoy or like or have done that you would be like, I would never be interested in doing something like that?
SPEAKER_01Anything with heights, so roller coasters, skydiving, uh like rock climbing, like inside, like the little rock climbing wall that goes up 25 feet, no problem. I think. Um, but any of those things I'm I'm just not interested in. Really, your run club on whatever, you know, things like like I have no interest in running um at all. Or anything that really has anything to do with my feet, soccer, kickball. Like, I don't like any of those things. Um so and I think a lot of people do, and you know, I'm I'm glad for them. Good for you. Yes, right.
SPEAKER_00Um couple uh maybe, you know, maybe better, deeper questions to think about. Uh well, maybe quicker one. What would be the title of your next book and what would it be about? Mr. Author Dr. Jeff Strickland.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Is there an is there a next book? Maybe. Um I'm I I think there is. I don't know timing-wise. I'm I'm sort of something we talked about even as elders. Uh, you know, it takes a long time. It takes a lot of work to write a book. For sure. And so just trying to figure out whether it's wise to start tackling something like that right now. And uh my uh conclusion right now has been it is not wise. So but it's in my mind.
SPEAKER_00That's the title of the book.
SPEAKER_01Uh I think I would write something on joy or heaven from the Puritans. Uh, I've got both of those things uh kind of in my mind. I really think um it'd be really helpful for Christians to understand what real joy is, um biblical Christian joy. And then I I think I would love to, yeah, to write a book from the Puritans, uh, not just what heaven is, but how we meditate on heaven, how we think of heaven, why heaven matters, uh, things like that. So those are two sort of books that I think would be um in the mix. I I don't I assume they will title them. That's usually what happens with me. I had a great title for uh my dissertation, and they were like, nope. So what's that title? I kinda wanna know. I think it was too it it felt like it was gonna be too encouraging, and they were like, this is an academic book. Um we don't want people to pick it up and think it's gonna be really interesting. I think that's they didn't say it that way, but that's kind of how they said it. I think I it's called the foundation of joy. I think I had something in there like the wellspring of joy, um, something like that that make it a little bit, but yeah, it didn't go.
SPEAKER_00Not not not it. They weren't having it.
SPEAKER_01Nope.
SPEAKER_00Um, what is a like normal, small, easy way that people in our church uh could do uh to encourage one another? What's a small, simple way, small step, maybe even this Sunday or this week, that someone could do to encourage another brother or sister in Christ.
SPEAKER_01You know, I feel like we are um longing for connection. And so I I just think if we as a church regularly sort of just every time, and I think the spirit does this often, every time we have someone who comes to mind in our church that we could just be like, oh, I just want to encourage them, I want to send them like this was really helpful to me. I just think we need to let people know those things more often. I think a lot of times we're like, oh, I should have let them know, and then we never do. Um and I just think not letting those things pass. And then I think secondly, um, on Sunday mornings, I was usually talking about this at Fields 101. I I just think if we came into Sunday mornings going, I want to drink so deeply of God's word this morning, but I also want to be used. Like I just I I I want to I don't want to leave this Sunday morning without praying for, encouraging, um you know, telling someone of God's grace, you know, the those sorts of things. I I just want to make sure I do that at least once every Sunday. I I just think if if we were doing some things like that, I think that'd be huge.
SPEAKER_00I got one more, then we can transition to some rapid fire Joe. Uh we're doing that. But um maybe what's a spiritual discipline that you want to grow in, or one that's underrated that you're like, man, I I would love to myself, other people spend more time doing this thing. I think we probably think about the easy ones, Bible reading, prayer, but other ones that you think about, or maybe just growing in, that sort of thing.
SPEAKER_01I so badly want to memorize scripture, and I'm trying. Like I'm actually trying to do this with Colossians as we prepare to preach it, and I honestly failing pretty miserably. Um, so I just think memorization is so if you can like actually literally store God's word in you, like how great is that? Um, so I had the opportunity when I was in seminary to memorize the entire book of James for a class, and I still have passages from James. I don't have it memorized anymore, but I kind of do. Like it's just in there. It's kind of there, yeah. Yeah, and it's so helpful. And so I'm like, why don't I do that more often? So I think scripture memorization is like the most overlooked and I think just practically helpful thing for Christians.
SPEAKER_02That's great.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02That's great. Some rapid fire questions for you, Jeff, to close us off here. At a coffee shop, what's your normal coffee order?
SPEAKER_01So I only drink decaf, which is already gonna make some people leave the church or be very disappointed. Um, I uh I would get a decaf quortado.
SPEAKER_02Well, for us those listening, you know uh what's a cortado?
SPEAKER_01Cortado is equal parts espresso and steamed milk. Um so it almost looks it's really small. It's probably like four ounces. Um so very, very small, but it's it's just really, really good. If you ever want to know if a coffee shop is legit, the de the the cortado don't have to be the cortado. If the cortado is good, it's a it's a if they know what a cortado is, that's that they better know that. And then if it's good, then you know you're you're on the right.
SPEAKER_00Well, if it's not four ounces, that's that's that's a way to tell you. That's not a cortado.
SPEAKER_01If they don't know what it is, they don't give you a cortado, they would know. But I also feel like it is like one of the best ways to really get a full good taste of espresso coffee, that sort of thing.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. I thought is maybe I'm just thinking now, is maybe a pet peeve of yours bad coffee? Would that be it? Would that be in the realm?
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Well, you're charitable. I'm charitable to that. I like to mock people, but then I drink decaf. So it's just one of those where you just feel so silly. Very fun.
SPEAKER_02That was too late. That was not rapid fire. My bad. Yeah. More rapid fire. What's your least favorite food?
SPEAKER_01I mean any vegetable.
SPEAKER_00Wow.
SPEAKER_01Realistic. Okay. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Favorite ice cream flavor.
SPEAKER_01Uh, probably mint chocolate chip or mint Oreo, something with mint in there, or the uh blackberry chip at Graters. Graters, super good.
SPEAKER_02Anything at the book of the Bible that you would be most excited about preaching.
SPEAKER_01Man, that is that's uh it's whatever's coming up most of the time. But I I would have loved at some point in time, I'd all have preached through Romans. But I want to get to where I think I can actually do it well.
SPEAKER_02I think you said that's what you were like, I once I'll become a good preacher, then I'll once I get we're like Jeff, you're a great preacher. Come on. Yeah. Not to Roman standards, yeah. But for the Bible, you would be least excited about preaching. Are we allowed to ask that? Is that okay to ask? That seems like a tough question. It's a tough question, but I don't know.
SPEAKER_01I'd go. Yeah, I'm I mean, uh honestly, my worst experience of a proverbs. Uh I mean, I just not big I love Proverbs, so helpful. Preaching it is just like, I don't know what to do. That would be unique. Yeah, it's so tough.
SPEAKER_00Be unique. Uh favorite sport, baseball. In light of that, what what's your life walk-up song?
SPEAKER_01Oh man, we talk about this so often. Um it shifts so often. I I I would if I was walking up right now, I'd walk up to Andy Minio's You Can't Stop Me. Uh would be probably what I would walk up to. Get you ready to go. Yeah, yeah. Hit a home run. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, for me, that a single over the second base of its head. That's a home run. Maybe double if you go fast. Probably not. Come to run club.
SPEAKER_02I'll steal second. Last question I have. I don't know if Braden has more. Favorite book that everyone should read? I think the Bible doesn't count in this. Is that right, Braden? Yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Uh I think everybody should read Mere Christianity.
SPEAKER_02Mere Christianity.
SPEAKER_01Yes, Lewis. Yeah, either one of those are yeah. Huge. Uh Pilgrim's Progress. There's so many, but uh, Mere Christianity. Favorite book. Mere Christianity. Braden, any other questions for James?
SPEAKER_00I got one more. Uh superpower. What's a what would be a superpower that you would pick?
SPEAKER_01What would be my what would be I think I I honestly I would love, I don't know, is that true? I mean, probably to fly, even though I'm afraid of heights. But I think if I was in control and I knew that I'm like, I'm gonna be fine, I think it would be to fly. I think flying would be awesome. Get places pretty fast. It'd be I could get places really, really quick. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I and it would just be what cool views. And it's gotta be so like just feels freeing. Like, just I don't know. I think flying would be it. Yeah, that's great.
SPEAKER_02Those are the questions you passed, Jeff. We um, Jeff, we're so thankful for you and all you do to love us, Braden and I especially are around you often. So we see you often, but our church is around you. We love you, Jeff. We are I'm so sure that being a lead pastor of a church is there's so many difficulties. You balance everything so well, Jeff. We're so thankful for all you do. You pour yourself out for the good of us, the glory of Christ. We are so thankful.
SPEAKER_00So absolutely true. Yeah, thanks, Jeff.
SPEAKER_01It is the sweetest privilege uh that I know um outside of being married to my wife, being in Christ to pastor the fields is is amazing. So thanks, brothers.
SPEAKER_02We're thankful for you, Jeff. We're signing off for Fields Notes. I don't know who will be I'm not sure who will be next, but there will be more to come. One of the two guys I'm looking at. At some point, I feel pretty confident about that. At some point, we'll be on here as well. All right, we're signing off for Fields Notes. See ya.