Vol. XXII, No. 10 | may 12, 2012
Sabbatical
Park Cities Presbyterian Church exists to extend the transforming presence of the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ in Dallas and to the world.
& such
seriously, I pray that the Lord would reveal Himself in new and powerful ways making me like the disciples, who were unable to stop speaking about that which they had seen and heard. I long to continue learning that God’s grace is everything in our lives, and His desire for us to serve Him in ministry is one of the great blessings of life.
Ten questions with Mark Davis
Who will be preaching? The preaching will be done by a variety of our pastors. We have so many gifted preachers on our staff who take the Word of God seriously and delight in making Jesus known. Our pastors will be preaching on The Gospel according to… which is a study of characters Why are you taking a throughout the scriptures. Now many have asked if sabbatical? Skip will be preaching this summer. No, Skip will We all need moments of rest and What will you be doing? start preaching in early fall, which I’m very excited reflection. Really, it’s modeled First of all, a sabbatical is not a vacation. I will spe- about. During my sabbatical, Patrick will preach after Christ and the Sabbath. cifically be working on the areas of evangelism and several times, as well as our other ministers. These There needs to be great attention stillness. Unsure of what fruit this will yield, I want men will bless our people immensely. given to the ideas of rest, reflec- to explore what evangelism looks like in my own life tion, and worship. It’s the Christ-inspired idea that and in the life of this church. I have many thoughts on What if we see you in the grocery store? we, ordained ministers at PCPC, need to have regular evangelism, particularly in the world today, but I Well, you probably won’t recognize me with my long seasons of rest and reflection as a part of our lives. So haven’t been able to write them down. hair and disguise [Snickers]. Just kidding. Certainin taking a sabbatical, I have the opportunity for reflec- Regarding stillness, I’ll be exploring what it means ly if you see me in the grocery store, you are welcome tion and hearing the voice of the Lord. It’s dealing with to stop, listen, and follow. I’m asking: How can we as to come up and say hello—you can even buy my grostuff in your life, and it reignites the joy of your salva- a church body pursue stillness more faithfully? I want ceries [Chuckles]. tion. to learn how to lead people on silent retreats. So I’ll be participating in a 7–10 day silent retreat in the How can we pray for you? Why now? mountains of North Carolina—alone. There will be Pray that I would abide during this season. Pray that Our session has in its personnel policies that each no speaking. Someone will drop off food each morning, I would rest and be grateful for my salvation and the pastor receives a sabbatical every five years. This is a and I will spend each day in the Word, prayer, and privilege of making known the name of Jesus. Pray wise policy due to the demanding, non-stop nature of meditation. Truthfully, I’m excited about it, but I against external and internal distractions as I pursue our job and calling. We need to recharge our batteries, suspect that it will be one of the most difficult things silence. Please pray for our good health and safety so to speak. One of our elders said to me a year ago, I have ever done—yet incredibly fruitful. in travels. Then, pray that our church would con“Hey, it’s time for you to take a sabbatical.” I agreed, but tinue to grow in its focus on Jesus Christ as our Head. Will we see you at PCPC? he suggested last summer. I couldn’t do that because I believe a sabbatical should be eagerly anticipated No, but we will be in Dallas part of the time. What can we expect in the fall when and also planned. Therefore I needed to plan ahead, I’ll be spending one night a week at a you return? This fall will be an exciting time at and let our church and our staff prepare for it as well. cabin to work on the projects of evanHonestly, any time before this would have been too gelism and stillness. We will be PCPC. As I mentioned, I am excited “While gone, we will soon. There has been too much to attend to, but now taking some family time to go to that Skip is back on staff. The two miss worshipping I believe we’re in a great place—so it’s time. Plus, in 25 the beach once my kids are out for of us sat down and worked on years of ministry—10 years on staff at PCPC and four the summer. Then I’ll take my several ministry ideas, which we with this body years as senior pastor—I’ve never had one. silent retreat in July, and attend are excited about, but both Skip tremendously.” Family Camp in late July. and I agreed that we should launch What do you hope to gain? those pilot ministries in the fall. I hope to learn more and more what it means to abide Where will you worship? We’ll unveil more a little later, so be in Christ—that my abiding will be stronger, by God’s We will be worshipping at a variety of praying for Skip, because most of what grace. Second, I hope to truly learn what it means to churches, which will be exciting. I’m interested he’ll be doing starts this fall. One example: Skip be present in every area of my life—listening, convers- in watching and learning from other churches. will be traveling around many Sunday school classes ing, especially with my wife and children. Third, I However, I might disguise myself and come to PCPC sharing his story and new ideas about ministries the desire to understand God’s heart and call in regards to observe [Smiles]. On the other hand, our kids will Lord is bringing to our church. Fall 2012 will be an to evangelism and making His name known. be worshipping at PCPC. Summer is big ministry time exciting time at PCPC. Kristina, on the other hand, hopes I become a master for our youth. While gone, we will miss worshipping by JD Lemming carpenter in order to work on the house. [Laughs] No with this body tremendously.