John Markum

Tag: Missional

Dear people of the South Bay…

Posted on by johnmarkum

SB overlookI’m writing this to the approximately 2 million people who live in the South Bay area whom we are compelled to relocate to this summer for the sake of bringing the Gospel. It is now three months away from the time that we will be moving into your communities, integrating into your busy streets, and sharing our lives with you. As I watch these words appear on the screen before me, I am acutely aware that these thoughts are largely meaningless to most of you at the time of my writing them. And yet I must share my heart with you in hopes that, one day, what I say here will have profound significance for many of you.
Unlike so many of your residents, we are not relocating because of the promise of a new career opportunity. Rather, we are coming because of you. You see, I have looked into the eyes of so many of you, and have listened to your stories, and have seen myself… apart from Christ. Ambitious. Driven. Opinionated, yet tolerant. Socially active, and yet somehow kind of lonely and empty when you thought no one else was watching.

But I’ve watched. And prayed. And even fasted for you. And as the vast majority of you continue to do life far from the grace that God would have for you, you have not gone unnoticed by Him, and therefore by me. I’ve always been a “big-picture” kind of guy, so here’s how I currently seen things…

I am 31 years of age as I come to you. I am old enough to have made enough youthful mistakes and have grown through them, yet young enough to still take risks. I am strong, strategic, and in my prime. I am offering to you the very best years I have to give. This is not simply the “next step” in a career path that I’ve chosen. You’re it for me. There is nowhere else I intend to go. They will bury my body in your soil one day, hopefully a long time from now. I, my family, and the several people coming with us, are laying our lives down for the Gospel… for you.

Even now, as I sit 2,004 miles from where you are, my heart is with you. I am committed to you. And I will stop at nothing to reach you. I don’t expect most of you to understand this yet, but we love you. You matter to us. The Bible tells us of a God who moved Heaven and earth to get to humanity to save us. That same God is sending me to you, not because I am somehow special in any way, but because you are special to Him in every way.

One day, as I stand before you as your pastor and watch hundreds, or maybe even thousands of you worshiping Jesus passionately, and responding in faith to the Son of God, and as I get to see Him heal relationships, and restore identities in Himself, and break addictions, and you begin to love others as He has loved you, and whole communities are renewed by God’s work through you – I will remember this moment. The moment when God breathed into my life a vision of what He would do in you and through you, and I believed Him enough to commit it to writing.

Between now and then, I’m still thinking about you and praying for you. Every one of you I get the privilege to meet is a divine appointment from my perspective. I cannot wait to see you begin to fully experience life in Christ together!

So, hi. My name is John. I’ll be your new neighbor in July. I follow Jesus, and I believe that greater things are coming here. I can’t wait to meet you! See you soon.

Blessings,
Pastor John

Pastors: Book list

Posted on by johnmarkum

I was told in college, “Leaders are readers.” How true I’ve learned that statement to be! I do a substantial amount of reading because I’ve discovered I don’t know it all. Shocking, I know. Whether you are in ministry full time, part time, thinking about pursuing ministry as a career, or simply a devoted lay leader, here is a list of books by people way smarter than me that I suggest you get your hands on. These books each changed my life.

  1. Sun Stand Still by Steven Furtick – When I found out this guy was writing a book, I totally geeked out. As I finished reading the last page, I had goose bumps. Very powerful message. EVERY person in ministry should read it 3 times, seriously!
  2. Courageous Leadership by Bill Hybels – This is a pastor who has withstood the test of time. And this book opened my eyes and challenged me in big ways to the power God has invested in His church. Purely life-giving!
  3. Next Generation Leader by Andy Stanley – Andy Stanley is nothing short of a voice to my entire generation when it comes to leadership. This isn’t 21 things you need to know about leadership (nothing wrong with that either), it’s 5 simple applications that work.
  4. 7 Practices of Effective Ministry by Andy Stanley, Reggie Joiner, and Lane Jones – Every church leader/aspiring-church-leader should read this book, and have it easily accessible to reference and re-reference. This book cuts through all of the responsibilities of a pastor and forces us to focus (something we’re bad about doing) on the heartbeat of our calling in the ministry.
  5. Communicating for a Change by Andy Stanley and Lane Jones- Last Stanley book, I swear! I love this one because this simplifies all of the mystery surrounding how to prepare and deliver a message. This book changed the way I preach after doing for over 12 years.
  6. The Purpose Driven Church by Rick Warren – Long before he was making number one best sellers, Rick Warren was simply a pastor leading one of the most dynamic moves of God. His church has lead the way on how to do ministry for countless thousands of pastors. This was probably the first real book on starting a church from someone who did it extremely successfully in the last 40 years.
  7. The Heart of a Great Pastor by H.B. London and Neil Wiseman – These 2 are veteran pastors with a powerful legacy of training ministers to do the same. I think I like this book so much because it made me fall in love with my calling all over again. And it compares our “shepherding” as pastors to the “Good Shepherd,” Jesus. It’s so powerful and encouraging, that I reach for it every time I feel like my burden is getting too great. Every pastor should have it on hand. Don’t know how I got through my first 4 years of ministry without this…
  8. Planting Missional Churches by Ed Stetzer – This book totally changed my approach to ministry here in the states. As a pastor who started a new service, this book is a must-read for anyone beginning a new service/church.
  9. It by Craig Groeschel – Pastor Groeschel is mega-leader! It’s refreshing to see a man with such an expansive ministry that remains pure to the Gospel, and carries himself with humble confidence. You know that feeling you get when you walk into a church whether big or small, new or established, and immediately sense “Oh, yeah this place has it!”? This book is about it and why some churches have it, while other similar ministries do not. Very powerful. If you don’t have it, you can get it. If you do have it, you can lose it. So get It, and read It!
  10. The Minister’s Instruction Manual by Mel Brown – Last, but by no means least! Pastor Brown is my pastor here at Edgewood, and has served our congregation for over 42 years. He has 6 degree including an earned Doctorate of Ministry, and a Doctorate of Counseling Psychology. He has trained over a dozen missionaries and church planters. Over the years, pastors time again kept asking him to make his materials available to train other church leaders. This book is the compilation of all of that. I love it so much because it is all the pragmatic things that no one teaches you how to do in Bible college.

The phrase no pain, no gain has been a mantra for athletes and fitness junkies for years. And what they understand about physical pain needs to be broadened to a much more general use in all of our lives. Pain hurts. That's the whole problem. No one enjoys it, and if someone does, we rightfully

The Premium of Pain