Welcome to the Band of Women Leadership Podcast. I'm your host, Kristen Iday, Manager of Marketing and Business Development here at Band of Women. In today's podcast, I get to talk with Jeremy Reid. Jeremy is the lead campus pastor of Woodside Bible Church, Executive Director of Gospel Center Discipleship, and author of his new book, Pastor Jesus is Energy. 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.
SPEAKER_00Hey, Krista, thank you. It's so good to be with you today. I'm glad to be here.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, we're glad to have you, and I'm excited for our listeners to hear more about your book. Um, 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 gonna be a huge, huge resource. So I'm excited to dig in and hear about it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, thank you. I'm glad to share about it.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, 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?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I've been in pastoral ministry, uh vocational ministry for over 20 years, right out of uh Bible college at Moody Bible Institute. I graduated and I hit the ground running as uh a youth pastor uh with uh the church in central Ohio, was there for a couple of years, and then uh the Lord directed us, uh my my wife and I out to uh Northern California, where we served as a youth and associate pastor at a church just north of San Francisco for eight years. And uh in all that time and season, um, the Lord was just uh working in me and helping me grow and develop and kind of uh grow up as a pastor. And um, so I went through uh seminary and did some graduate school, uh graduate program uh with a church in Seattle uh area. And then um we were just really concerned and interested in maybe God calling us to church planting and um going and being a part of a network and uh planting a church, and that led us to a church in Kansas where we served at for a couple of years, and then uh and then uh here now to Woodside Bible Church in uh the Detroit metro area where uh we've been serving for the last eight years as a campus pastor, uh, came to a new campus that was part of a merger situation with our uh church uh body. Uh, we're a multi-site church, and so this church uh that we're presently with uh 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 uh part of that for the last eight years here with Woodside Bible Church. And it's just been a great uh time. So yeah, that's a little bit about me and what uh where I've been serving in ministry as a lead pastor and enjoying that.
SPEAKER_01That's so great. And then now I want to know about the book. I want to know what kind of inspired this.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, the book itself, uh, back in 2018, the senior pastor at Woodside Bible Church, his name is Doug Schmidt. Uh, he was saying, Hey, I'm ready to pass the baton. And he's been faithfully serving here for over 25 years and ready to um help Woodside get to their next place and and um next uh level of leadership. And so he began a secession process uh with the church. And one of the things that we were concerned about was making sure that uh our church didn't at in the next generation of leadership didn't drift from our uh theological um persuasions and our our just our standing as a church. Um 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 um in our uh teaching, but also in our philosophies of ministry and other things to make sure and to fortify that we are who we are, uh, 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 uh the series in uh in our church and uh developing research notes and that sort of thing for our congregations. Um, and so it was me working through those passages where I recognized um 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, um, and even me in that regard. And I just began to identify those things where in each letter Jesus says to the church at or to the angel of the church at such and such a place, that word angel there could be translated messenger. And that's where I recognized Jesus was talking to pastors and he was speaking, uh, you know, you made me know the phrase, as a pastor goes, so goes the church. And so um, 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 uh we find difficult in ministry, uh, all of that, Jesus is our answer for that. And so this book was really written um kind of as a response to that pastoral transition uh as well. But then in 2020, when I signed the agreement to write the book, I signed it um basically in the middle of a lockdown and had this uh 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 and she says, Well, what do you mean? You signed a book deal, like this is gonna be great. Uh, 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. Um, I think Jesus is gonna put us through the paces in this to make sure that it's authentic, that 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 uh culturally happened. Our churches are completely different now, I would say. Um, our culture is different. And this book was written in the milieu of all of that uh uh 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. Uh, and so that that's really been the context of it.
SPEAKER_01That's so great. Um, who would you say is the key listener? Like who or who should read this book? Is it written?
SPEAKER_00I'd love to see pastors. 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 uh pastors to help them uh 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 or some sort of ministry context on a university campus or something like that, I hope this book will be helpful for you just uh because you're walking through similar things as pastors are in ministry and understanding that um where Jesus meets us and where he supplies his strength for us is is really uh needed uh in any level of service and in any level of ministry. And then I would love it if uh people in the church, just congregations, um the regular ordinary, everyday people that uh are part of our churches and uh 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 uh things of life that they're uh in dealing with and trying to measure out in their heart and and uh adjust, but then also so that they have an understanding of how Jesus is enough for them as they uh do ministry within the church alongside their pastors and leaders, um, just so that everybody has our eyes fixed on Jesus and that we're following him really well and uh deriving from him the resources of who he is for all of ministry and life.
SPEAKER_01That'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 Vanderblumen.com slash get dash 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?
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Oh, there's so many. Um, you could you could just start with the uh the reality of we gotta get up and preach pretty much every weekend. And so you've always got to be fresh and ready. And and I feel like you know, our serve, our first uh worship services on Sunday morning start at 9 a.m. 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 gonna go and they're gonna they're gonna be watching other pastors and other leaders on uh on the internet. And you know, I feel that comparison sometimes uh with them. And so I just want to serve my church family really well. Um, so there's that perfect perfect that that pressure to perform uh first and foremost, but then there's other pressures. Uh, you know, I think about how in the world we live in, uh, when you make a statement of truth, you are affirming one thing and you're probably denying something else. And that affirm affirmation and that denial will either put you in a community or in the uh right standing with a certain group of people, and it'll kick you out uh with others. And uh, 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 uh from scripture, they may not like that. And so that pressure exists there to how do we navigate truth in a uh post-truth world, uh, as some have uh put it there. And then there's the other pressures and anxieties of um, maybe you're at a smaller church or a littler context, and you look at the the pastors and 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? Is this does this matter at all? And so in each one of those pressures and cases, and there's more, I just want uh pastors and leaders to hear Jesus say to them uh in each case, I'm enough for you. You don't need to, you don't need to stress uh your life about how big your ministry is or how uh 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 my full of blessing and acceptance. Um, you can 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 he belongs, you belong to him, and he is enough uh in that way. So that's how I hope to address that and answer that question.
SPEAKER_01No, I think that's great. I think it's actually really refreshing to hear that. As you know, hard as it is, I think it's a lot of times church members put pastors on a pedestal and don't think about, you know, 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.
SPEAKER_00Right, right. And every one of those letters, Jesus um doesn't answer the question or the need of that moment or that particular congregation with uh, you know, kind of self-help. Here's five tips to have a better church, or or 10 ways to preach the greatest message ever. He offers himself every single time. And there's a there's a description that he gives in every letter of who he is, uh, 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 uh, so that's just uh an incredible way of which that those concerns I think are answered by Jesus Himself with Himself.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. 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.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, as I mentioned, you know, the thing that um probably one of the chapters that has been where the Lord has been working at me is that one that I mentioned that just about the size of a ministry and the size of a church. And um, you know, you can feel that that pressure where you look at um the other churches around you and the you know, in the neighborhood, uh even in your city, your community, and go, man, they're doing so great. And is it really matter? Is like, am I am I even making a debt kind of thing? And um, that's been one place where Jesus has refocused my heart anyway and um 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 uh that's the 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.
SPEAKER_01That's so great. Um, I want to talk more about the pastor and just kind of some things that they can take away from this. Um, you talk in the book about the union with Christ uh for pastors in Christ. How is that union, how does that approaching that shape their ministry?
SPEAKER_00Right. I think about how oftentimes we um we live in a sense of pursuit. And so there's things that we we desire, we want to be uh well known, or we want to uh be approved, even accepted, you know, to hear the the attaboy and the well done, good and faithful servant, or or we want um, we just want a sense of a peace, you know, like uh everything's stable um and not as as um up and down as it can feel as a pastor at 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 uh identity and the reality of our union with Christ. What it what Christ has done, what he has accomplished on our behalf, um is is gifted or or won for us, given to us, um, through the reality that we are in him, as the scriptures say. And so I think about, you know, well, we if there's a pastor out there or leader that's saying, I want acceptance, you know, 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 he and I the proof of that is when Jesus was baptized, um, this is before Jesus started any of his ministry. He hadn't, he hadn't preached a sermon, he hadn't done a miracle, nothing yet. When he was baptized, you may remember the 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 that's where Jesus started ministry from. And that's I think a needed thing for uh 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 and what God is doing in us, and we can pursue him all the more with a freedom, I think, uh, because we are united to him by faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_01That's so great and so encouraging. I think there's just so many great things about this book, um, 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 and true peace in truth. So great. Um, what's your hope for the book? Like what is your hope that will come out of this?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I think I could say it pretty simply, but then I'll elaborate on it. You know, my hope is that pastors um and myself included, would just keep our eyes on Jesus, um, that we would uh rest in and uh rely on and enjoy Him and really put our our uh our ministries back in His hands. Um, because that's the thing that that uh John and the revelation shows us there, that we're already in Christ's hands. He holds his pastors in the hand in his hands, he stands in the midst of the seven gold lampstands, which are identified as the seven churches. That so that's a reality of the church entirely. You know, 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 how just how sufficient he is for everything, that there's not a an area lacking or a um 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, uh I need to come up with these resources on my own. So my hope is that we'll get our eyes on pat on Jesus as pastors, and that will begin to focus and shape how we do ministry uh once again, that we'll we'll be heralds of the word of God, uh, we'll uh do things in uh truth and with with the gospel that our or 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 for to everyone that Jesus is first and foremost the love of our heart and everything else kind of uh 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.
SPEAKER_01That'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. Um, a very uncertain time. William actually um released in his updated version of it next in 2020, which is between us a horrible time to watch it. Um so it's just so great. I want to thank you for that and just the resource that this is gonna be for listeners. Where can they get their hands on their very own copy of your book?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, anywhere online that books are sold, you can pick that up. So if that's Amazon or Christian Book or Barnes and Noble, uh anywhere online, you can pick that up uh there and get it. You can go to LexumPress.com, which is a publisher, and they have it as well uh there. Or if you use Logos Bible software, you can get it digitally that way too.
SPEAKER_01Great. And we'll make sure um I'll have my Vanderblumen 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.
SPEAKER_00Krista, thank you so much. It's been a joy to talk with you today.
SPEAKER_02Thanks for listening to the Vanderblumen Leadership Podcast. At Vanderblumen, we help Christian organizations build their best teams through hiring, succession, compensation, and diversity consulting services. Visit our website, Vanderblumen.com, to learn more and subscribe to our Vanderblumen Leadership Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts to keep up with our newest episodes. Thanks for listening.