Reflections on 42 Years in Ministry
May 4, 2026, marked 42 years since I entered the vocational ministry. It’s funny how, after you do something, you know what you wish you’d done before (that’s usually how I come back from vacation).
When I reflect on how I’ve changed, my mind goes to several examples of tough choices that I made recently. The change isn’t necessarily that I am making different decisions now than I did when I was younger, but I don’t let the hurt cut as deeply as it used to.
The reason I used to (and sometimes still do) refer to myself as the pastor of disappointment is that I KNOW people can one day say, “I love you!” and then leave you when you make ONE decision they don’t like.
It’s not that I don’t care about people (my heart in many ways is more tender than ever), but I find that I worry less about disappointing people and am more concerned with whether Jesus considers me faithful, and when I am judged or misjudged, I have learned to trust my reputation and the reputation of our church to the One we serve. Those words will always sting, but I try to talk about it as much because I don’t want to “repeat an offense” unless it is in equipping other ministers to not let the pain of leadership cause them to sway off course.
A sentence that summarizes this approach to ministry is: “We want to be known by what we are for instead of what we are against.”
As a parent of young athletes, I learned that they improve more by pointing out their strengths rather than dwelling on their weaknesses. In our “For Sierra Vista” initiative, we have worked to point out the good in our community rather than be critical of the things that could be better.
I am going to be very candid in this blog. I know that the easiest way to get the applause of most Christians is to harshly criticize sins that they aren't tempted to commit. It is always tempting to cater to people’s preferences, but the leadership of this church has always sought to advance the mission of Jesus (you can observe that churches are either motivated by preferences or by mission). To be “on mission” is to make decisions based on WHO WE CAN REACH, while preference-based decisions are always centered on WHO MIGHT WE LOSE?
Something I love about our leadership has been how we have been able to stay “on mission” for so long, and a big part of this is that in making decisions, we do not permit ourselves to ever entertain the question of who we might lose in any form of decision that we make (at any level within the organization).
It’s not that people don’t matter; it’s that we want to stay focused on the mission God has given us and not become a church that begins to cater to the preferences of people. We know that whenever you choose FOR one thing, you choose AGAINST something else.
We try to take this thinking into our relationships with other churches. We are leaders of a movement in our community called Church Connect, where leaders from 15-25 churches have gathered to focus on what we are “for” instead of our differences.
PURPOSE OF CHURCH CONNECT
I want to share with you some examples of decisions that have been made, resulting in people notifying me that they no longer want to associate with Thunder Mountain Church, and share with you my responses.
Charlie Kirk
Whenever Charlie Kirk’s name is mentioned, we get notified by somebody that they are leaving Thunder Mountain (it’s happened twice). The weekend following his assassination, we used a video where he very compassionately shared the gospel of Jesus with someone very far from God, and then recently we showed this tweet on how Charlie’s death has resulted in a surge of spiritual interest.
When I reflect on how I’ve changed, my mind goes to several examples of tough choices that I made recently. The change isn’t necessarily that I am making different decisions now than I did when I was younger, but I don’t let the hurt cut as deeply as it used to.
The reason I used to (and sometimes still do) refer to myself as the pastor of disappointment is that I KNOW people can one day say, “I love you!” and then leave you when you make ONE decision they don’t like.
It’s not that I don’t care about people (my heart in many ways is more tender than ever), but I find that I worry less about disappointing people and am more concerned with whether Jesus considers me faithful, and when I am judged or misjudged, I have learned to trust my reputation and the reputation of our church to the One we serve. Those words will always sting, but I try to talk about it as much because I don’t want to “repeat an offense” unless it is in equipping other ministers to not let the pain of leadership cause them to sway off course.
A sentence that summarizes this approach to ministry is: “We want to be known by what we are for instead of what we are against.”
As a parent of young athletes, I learned that they improve more by pointing out their strengths rather than dwelling on their weaknesses. In our “For Sierra Vista” initiative, we have worked to point out the good in our community rather than be critical of the things that could be better.
I am going to be very candid in this blog. I know that the easiest way to get the applause of most Christians is to harshly criticize sins that they aren't tempted to commit. It is always tempting to cater to people’s preferences, but the leadership of this church has always sought to advance the mission of Jesus (you can observe that churches are either motivated by preferences or by mission). To be “on mission” is to make decisions based on WHO WE CAN REACH, while preference-based decisions are always centered on WHO MIGHT WE LOSE?
Something I love about our leadership has been how we have been able to stay “on mission” for so long, and a big part of this is that in making decisions, we do not permit ourselves to ever entertain the question of who we might lose in any form of decision that we make (at any level within the organization).
It’s not that people don’t matter; it’s that we want to stay focused on the mission God has given us and not become a church that begins to cater to the preferences of people. We know that whenever you choose FOR one thing, you choose AGAINST something else.
We try to take this thinking into our relationships with other churches. We are leaders of a movement in our community called Church Connect, where leaders from 15-25 churches have gathered to focus on what we are “for” instead of our differences.
PURPOSE OF CHURCH CONNECT
- Build relationships between bible-believing Churches
- Unite us by focusing on what we have in common with the Good News of Jesus
- Encourage one another through prayer
- Help each of us bear more fruit in the unique missions God has assigned to each congregation that will be represented.
I want to share with you some examples of decisions that have been made, resulting in people notifying me that they no longer want to associate with Thunder Mountain Church, and share with you my responses.
Charlie Kirk
Whenever Charlie Kirk’s name is mentioned, we get notified by somebody that they are leaving Thunder Mountain (it’s happened twice). The weekend following his assassination, we used a video where he very compassionately shared the gospel of Jesus with someone very far from God, and then recently we showed this tweet on how Charlie’s death has resulted in a surge of spiritual interest.
Both times, someone wrote that they were leaving. When this happens, I do not apologize, and my response is to instead just listen to the sound bites (created by people to manipulate them politically). I encourage them to listen to what Charlie has actually said in context (like we would study the bible).
RISE AZ
A couple of weekends ago was the Rise AZ music festival and worship service. We heard from a couple of people who took issue with the testimonies that were shared, and a person asked us to remove them from all serving teams.
My Response:
“Rise AZ was a community event, and because we don't insist that those events be done our way, they will always have a different flavor than our people are used to. People’s testimonies are their testimonies. We plan on sponsoring Rise AZ again next year, praying that God will continue to use it so that those who are living unsanitized lives find hope and healing in the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
We will always be a church that celebrates people who have a past that they have given over to Jesus! We believe everyone has a past and a next step, and when people work to take that next step towards Jesus, we want to encourage them and not continue to look at their past.
COMMOTION AT THE AIRPORT
RISE AZ
A couple of weekends ago was the Rise AZ music festival and worship service. We heard from a couple of people who took issue with the testimonies that were shared, and a person asked us to remove them from all serving teams.
My Response:
“Rise AZ was a community event, and because we don't insist that those events be done our way, they will always have a different flavor than our people are used to. People’s testimonies are their testimonies. We plan on sponsoring Rise AZ again next year, praying that God will continue to use it so that those who are living unsanitized lives find hope and healing in the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
We will always be a church that celebrates people who have a past that they have given over to Jesus! We believe everyone has a past and a next step, and when people work to take that next step towards Jesus, we want to encourage them and not continue to look at their past.
COMMOTION AT THE AIRPORT
Kim and I were going into the Tucson airport terminal to pick up my cousin when there was some commotion at the other entrance, causing people to react uncomfortably. My first reaction was, “Let’s get inside quickly!” but then the Holy Spirit seemed to say, “Listen,” and I heard someone yell something like, “Jesus Christ!” and I said to Kim, “I think he’s one of ours.” I ran to the commotion instead of away, and found at the other entrance Mike Servin, who was one of the artists coming for the Rise AZ festival (This was where he said, “We are going to dance!” If you saw THAT video.) This man’s life was SAVED AND TRANSFORMED BY JESUS which is why everywhere he goes, he speaks that name! If you look though Rise AZ photos on Instagram and Facebook, you will see this same man personally baptizing several people on Sunday
MY TATTOOS
MY TATTOOS
No one to my knowledge has left over me getting a couple of tattoos (I can respect the difference of opinions shared), but the reasons I have gotten these were mainly because many people with tattoos don’t expect to be welcomed in churches, and I wanted people to be able to look at ME and say, “I will be accepted here!”
SO WHAT?
Many look at the attendance of Thunder Mountain and assume that we want to be popular, which, as you can see here, IS NOT THE CASE.
What we are is fully committed to honoring God through obedience to His word and fully committed to valuing people by loving them unconditionally. By the grace of God, I hear that we do this remarkably well.
There are many people who don’t “fit” in the typical church, which is why we have sought to be a church for those people (when they give up on church). This doesn’t make us a “better” church (because there are many people who find a home in other churches), it just makes us different.
So we are comfortable with what makes others uncomfortable, and we don’t conform to the expectations of people very well at all (we don’t say that with pride either).
All we want is for as many people as possible, when they meet Jesus face-to-face, to see Him smile when He looks them in the eye and to hear, “WELL DONE MY GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT! I AM SO GLAD THAT YOU ARE HERE!”
There is NOTHING I will let get in the way of THAT!
SO WHAT?
Many look at the attendance of Thunder Mountain and assume that we want to be popular, which, as you can see here, IS NOT THE CASE.
What we are is fully committed to honoring God through obedience to His word and fully committed to valuing people by loving them unconditionally. By the grace of God, I hear that we do this remarkably well.
There are many people who don’t “fit” in the typical church, which is why we have sought to be a church for those people (when they give up on church). This doesn’t make us a “better” church (because there are many people who find a home in other churches), it just makes us different.
So we are comfortable with what makes others uncomfortable, and we don’t conform to the expectations of people very well at all (we don’t say that with pride either).
All we want is for as many people as possible, when they meet Jesus face-to-face, to see Him smile when He looks them in the eye and to hear, “WELL DONE MY GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT! I AM SO GLAD THAT YOU ARE HERE!”
There is NOTHING I will let get in the way of THAT!
Recent
Archive
2026
April
2025
February
June
2024
2023
February
October
November
December
2022
March
June
No Comments