Jim Martin's Encouragement Note #121

Yes, it is 2025 . . . Learn to live well . . . Four valuable lessons that have really helped me . . . Especially for ministers and other church leaders . . . Etcetera

(I love this picture. Taken at Puckett’s in Columbia, Tn. Happy New Year!)

The List of Five

Yes, It is 2025

Today, I’m thinking about how grateful I am to be alive and loved by God.

Recently, Charlotte and I returned to the little town in Tennessee where we lived as a young married couple (long before children) and served a small church over four decades ago. We even saw our first house. While all of this took place long ago, it seems like it all just happened.

I love these words from writer Ann Patchett:

If all fairy tales begin “Once upon a time,” then all graduation speeches begin “When I was sitting where you are now.” We may not always say it, at least not in those exact words, but it’s what graduation speakers are thinking. We look out at the sea of you and think, Isn’t there some mistake? I should still be sitting there. I was that young fifteen minutes ago, I was that beautiful and lost. (What Now? Kindle Location 25)

Do you resonate with these words? Life passes so quickly. In the words of Patchett, “I was that young fifteen minutes ago.” It really does seem like “fifteen minutes ago” that I was a young husband and minister living in Pulaski, Tennessee in the late 1970s.

Yet, real life is not just what or who we were fifteen minutes ago. Real life is to live in harmony with who and what we are right now.

Today, I want to:

• Love God deeply. “Blessed are those who fear the Lord, who find great delight in his commands” (Ps. 112:1)

• Walk intentionally in God’s mission, anchoring my identity in Him rather than constructing a fragile facade of self-importance.

• Live with joy, moving forward with those whom I have been given to love and who love me.

Today, who are you becoming in the early days of this New Year?

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Learn to Live Well

How do you learn to live well? How do you and I learn to live so that we have more joy and fewer regrets?

A lot of us have hopes and dreams. Unfortunately, some of us can look through the rear view mirror of our lives and see the wreckage. Some may contribute to this wreckage through their own choices. Others may be deeply impacted by the actions of other people, beyond their own control.

One of the quiet tragedies occurs when a person remains stuck and rusts away. Still others seem to repeat one sentence again and again: “One day I am going to . . . “ Yet, they never take the next step. I know this trap well. I recall once saying this to a very good friend. At one point, he said to me, “Jim, I think someday is here.” He was right.

Instead of remaining in slow decay or stuck in wishful thinking, you and I can pursue wisdom.

Wisdom is applied knowledge. It is what we gain to help us navigate life. In an interview with Eugene Peterson, Tara Owens observed:

I desperately want wisdom but all that the world (and sometimes the church) seems to be offering me is more information. Where do I go to find those who can lead me into wisdom? Where should I look? (Conversations, Vol. 12.1, Spring/Summer 2014, p. 11)

Wisdom can help us discern and make better decisions. Wisdom can help us avoid behaviors and attitudes which could be detrimental to what we value and cherish.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise. (Ps. 111:10)

I would like for my next steps to reflect this kind of wisdom. What about you?

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Four Valuable Lessons That Have Made Really Helped Me

There are four lessons I have learned from lived experience. These four have helped shaped my journey:

1. Invest in what will make a significant difference. For example, be intentional about investing in your own spiritual formation. You and I were meant to become Christ-like. We have been called to be shaped and formed into the image of Jesus. Do I have soul-shaping habits and practices that will help me become more like Jesus?

2. Know that you will often have to either pay now or pay later. For example, if you shop impulsively, you may find yourself living beyond your means each month. Every bill eventually comes due. If you are like some people, you might prefer to ignore this, thinking that it will all work itself out. Yet, there can be a price for postponement. You can pay now (defer or postpone spending) or pay later. Wisdom helps us see that paying the price now can save us from a heavier burden later.

3. Deal with the issues in your own life. Far too often, we can speak like experts on others’ flaws while we ignore our own. Yet, the greatest power we have is in dealing with what we have control over - our own issues.

4. Know that too many people rust out instead of wear out. Some people quit long before the race is over. Life becomes about nostalgia instead of responsibly dealing with the challenges of the present. We were never meant to shut down before we die.

Is there a particular lesson you have learned which you carry with you each year?

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Especially for Ministers and Other Church Leaders

Many years ago, I travelled for the first time to Pepperdine University. I was there for the annual lectureship. This was my first time on the campus as well as the first time I had flown into Los Angeles. I remember well the wild cab ride from LAX to the campus. The driver drove fast, weaving in and out of traffic on the busy 405 Freeway. Finally, we arrived.

Ministry has sometimes seemed like this - a wild cab ride. Everything seems out of control and you wonder when the whole thing will finally crash!

I have learned some fundamental truths:

1. Ministry is much like marriage. A healthy marriage thrives on trust, through regular deposits of faithfulness. Your relationship with your congregation depends on deposits of integrity, reliability, and genuine care. Ministry skills are no substitute for making these kinds of intentional deposits.

2. Preaching and pastoral work cannot be separated. If you preach, know that much of the conversation after church, in your office, and over coffee/lunch may be an extension of your preaching. These pastoral conversations may be the soil where the message from Sunday takes root. These pastoral moments can be critical as the church knows you are there to help them with their questions and their burdens, long after the Sunday service is over.

3. The best kingdom servants embrace a life-time of spiritual formation. The growth needs to be spiritual, intellectual, and emotional. If you are not committed to growing, maturing, and developing, you can become stuck in your thinking and functioning. Ruth Haley Barton has said, “The best thing you bring to leadership is your own transforming self.” We are called to have a relentless desire to become more and more like Jesus.

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Etcetera

1. Keith Webb - “Seven Reasons I’ve Gone Back to a Paper Planner.”

2. Bobby Ross Jr. - “Weekend Plug-In Year In Review: The Best Religion Journalism Of 2024” (December 20, 2024)

3. One little prayer book that I have enjoyed for many years is The Little Book of Hours: Praying with the community of Jesus. Over the last year, I often read a page from The Book of Common Prayer (2019) early in the morning after I have done my Bible reading.

4. Adam Grant’s list interest’s me: “The 10 New Books to Feed Your Mind in 2025.” More than anything, it helps me to be aware of what is on Grant’s radar.

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I formerly served as Vice President of Harding School of Theology, Memphis, Tennessee. Prior to this, I served as a minister in various congregations for 36 years.

I am a husband, father, and grandfather. One of my favorite things to do is to come alongside another person and encourage her or him.

Every other Monday morning, I publish this “Encouragement Note.” You can subscribe at jimmartin.substack.com. You can also find me on Facebook - @jim.martin or Instagram - @jimmartin.jm. My e-mail address is: jmartin9669@gmail.com. Feel free to write. I would love to hear what is encouraging. — Jim Martin