On August 1st, 2023, our family of 7 made the cross-country move from Cincinnati, Ohio to Fort Myers, Florida on what everyone swore was an abnormally hot day, even for summertime in Southwest Florida. But our not-so-little band of Broadhursts were warmly welcomed as I began my pastorate here at Westminster PCA, and I could not be more thankful for the Lord’s providential leading to get here. Now that we are a year in, I’ve been reflecting back on my first ever year as a Senior Pastor – considering the highs & lows, ups & downs, ins & outs (as well as my strengths & weaknesses!) all with the intent of continuing to grow and thrive here, Lord-willing, for many years to come. What follows is a smattering of reflections related to what God has done in my life, in our church, and what I believe he is teaching me as we gear up for the years ahead.
1. The Primacy of the Word
“The Word does the Work” has become a life motto of mine. It’s easy to give lip service to believing the Bible is inerrant, infallible, and authoritative. But how a pastor & church navigate their ministry will really showcase whether they truly believe in the sufficiency of Scripture. Preaching and teaching the Bible is our church growth strategy here at Westminster. From pulpit to pew, small groups to family devotions, Sunday school to 1-on-1 discipleship – the Bible must be front & center.
I began my first ever sermon series last Fall working through Paul’s 2nd letter to Timothy wherein the concept of ‘Word-based ministry’ is clearly laid out. Whether it’s dealing with heretics or interpersonal issues or what it is that a pastor is called by God to do – preaching the Word in season and out of season is of first importance. This means the bulk of my time each week is spent in reading, study, and sermon preparation. When I step into the pulpit, I want to take the depths of God’s Word and make them understandable, show how they are applicable, come across as relatable, and more than anything show how they point to Christ.
This is where, by God’s grace, I believe we’ve seen the most fruit over the past year at Westminster. People are hungry for God’s Word. They’re growing in their appreciation for theology – not only as an intellectual concept, but also for how it is practical for their worship of Christ and growth in holiness. I’ve preached through 2nd Timothy, Ruth, Haggai, Ephesians, and assorted Psalms, and my hope is that people aren’t walking away going ‘how great is Pastor Ryan’ but ‘how great is this Good News he’s been teaching us from God’s Word.’
I like to use humor and illustrations in sermons, but the goal of that isn’t to entertain so much as to do a couple of intentional things. 1) I’ve found that it helps keep people’s attention, and the more the illustration/joke/story ties into the point being made from Scripture the more likely they are to remember it. And 2) my secret is that anytime I’m about to say something hard or difficult, I’ve found that I can defuse the tension by first introducing something light-hearted, so that the hearts of the hearers are more open to hearing the convicting words that may follow. It is a deep-seated conviction of mine that we must not gloss over the hard parts of Scripture, and I want to do so in a way that humbly and winsomely helps the congregation to be receptive as much as possible.
2. The Essential Nature of Relational Shepherding
Hand-in-hand with the primacy of the Word is the pastor’s pastoring. God didn’t just save us as individuals, but as a covenant community he has bonded us together in this Gospel we cling to and proclaim. Another passion of mine is in fact the essential nature of the local church in the life of believers. Church membership is not an option for the Christian but the expectation. And not just on paper – but how we live that out in community. In our tradition, we take vows that covenant us to one another in precisely that way.
And beyond that, I knew coming in that I needed to invest time in folks in our church in a myriad of ways. As someone once said, “People don’t care what you know until they know that you care.” I take time to pray through our church directory, often writing a note here and there to let folks know that I’ve done so. I take time to visit those in the hospital or shut-ins where I can, taking communion to sweet saints to remind them they’re still a part of this body. I’ve had coffees and lunch meetings with church leadership folks and congregants and visitors, in order to get to know their stories and learn how to better care for them. I’ve also ministered to the dying and their families, including preaching at 5 funerals this past year. I’ve found through all of this that shepherding well also makes me a better preacher because I know and have experienced what our people are going through alongside them, which in-turn helps me know where and how they might need God’s Word applied.
Along with that, there’s both a weakness and strength of mine that I’ve been learning in my first year. As a relational guy, I immediately jumped in with a load of counseling situations that I felt inclined to press in with. I want to help folks in their struggles with sin, their marriages, whatever it may be and to apply God’s Word and walk alongside them. I’ve found that while I’m decent at doing this, my weakness is that I have trouble disassociating. My first several months on the job, I was often waking up in the middle of the night with anxiety over other people’s problems because I care so deeply for them, but also my sinful flesh wants to be ‘the Holy Spirit’ at times which I can’t. If I had a hard counseling session, I felt like my emotions were sapped for the rest of the day, unable to focus on other responsibilities at the level I should. This helped me to see that I needed to do less heavy counseling and more referring – at least for the near future in my ministry. I felt incredibly guilty over this at first, but I believe it is one area where God (and our session) has graciously shown me it’s okay to have weaknesses as a minister.
Closely related to this, my wife actually helped me to see that a strength of mine is conflict navigation and ‘stepping into the awkwardness’ of life and ministry for folks. No normal person loves conflict or goes seeking out more of it! But as we’ve navigated old wounds some congregants held, some soured relationships that needed communication and reconciliation, some ‘unspoken’ issues, some church discipline issues, and some disgruntled former members or school families – I’ve spent many hours this year wading into these relational waters. These can be heavy and difficult, yet with each one I’ve been reminded that God has equipped me with a level-headed EQ that allows me to navigate, and help our session to navigate, those awkward conversations and relational decisions at times. It was several months ago now that Amy first said – “Ryan, I know that it feels like a lot, but this is why God has brought you here. You’re good at this.” We’ve still got a lot more of this to do – indeed until Jesus comes back navigating relational conflict will be a key part of a healthy ministry. But I am thankful for how God has opened my eyes to see that what sometimes feels like a ‘distraction from ministry’ is actually the ministry itself. Just as Jesus was willing to humble himself and enter into our shame, guilt, and even awkwardness, as a pastor I feel the necessity of doing the same, as I imitate the Good Shepherd.
3. Never Moving Past the Gospel
The late Tim Keller used to always say, “The Gospel is not the ABC’s of the Christian life. It is the A-Z of the Christian life.” One of the biggest shifts early on in my ministry over a decade ago – was seeing that the Gospel wasn’t just for unbelievers coming to Christ, but for believers growing in Christ. By now, I’m sure Westminster has heard this at least a dozen times from me on Sunday mornings, but as John Newton’s famous hymn put it: “Twas grace that brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.” My hope for our church is that we never lose our awe at just how AMAZING the grace of Christ truly is. Too often people think it is Christ’s blood, sweat, and tears that got us in, but NOW it must be our blood, sweat, and tears that keep us in. But our sanctification as the shorter catechism puts it, “is the work of God’s free grace, whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God, and are enabled more and more to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness” (emphasis mine.)
All that to say – this is a continued refrain in my teaching, preaching, and counseling because I believe it is a continual refrain from Scripture. It’s how people change and how they grow. But it’s also how I change, and how I grow. It is easy for me to slip into finding my identity in how good I’m doing at teaching or shepherding or leading the session. It’s easy for me to find myself operating out of ‘fear of man’ and ‘people-pleasing’. My heart is prone to wander and prone to leave the God I love, so I, too, as pastor must continually pray for the Lord to forgive and draw me back by his grace. I am so thankful for a couple of key brothers in our church family who check on me regularly and who I am able to be honest and confess to as well. I need that if I am going to stay faithful in the long run, because my own heart is deceptive at times and wants to condemn me. So thanks be to God that guys like Jim Lee and Mo McClaran care for me not only in my role as a pastor, but as a fellow Christian and brother in Christ.
One of my favorite things we did this past year was introducing weekly communion. (You can read more about this shift in previous articles on this site.) I’m an ‘ordinary means of grace’ guy. Which means that – like my heart for the centrality of preaching – right alongside that is the importance of sacraments like the Lord’s Supper. After 9 months of doing this every week, I have loved the conversations I’ve been able to have with folks who say this regular spiritual nourishment is life-giving and reminds them of God’s grace every single Sunday. It also leads to some awkward conversations at times – by design – because there are folks who haven’t yet believed in Jesus or who aren’t members of a church, or who don’t understand why their young children aren’t permitted to partake yet. But these are discipleship (and evangelistic!) opportunities that God, in his wisdom, intends with ‘fencing the table’. But the regular reflection on our relationship with Jesus and our relationship with one another is a key ministry aspect for promoting the unity of the body here at Westminster week in & week out.
This past year I’ve also had the opportunity of baptizing some covenant kiddos into our church family, and in the next month I get to do that a few more times. I’ve loved getting to help folks understand the Presbyterian view on baptism and why it matters. What better picture of God’s grace than an infant who has water sprinkled on them! It is our prayer that in the same way the Spirit would be poured out on them, and they’d believe the Gospel promises on display at their baptism.
4. Creating a Culture of Humility, Joy, and Authenticity
One of the phrases I’ve used with our church officers, especially our elders, is how we want to be the Lead Repenters of Westminster PCA. Spiritual leadership – whether for husbands/fathers in the home or pastors/elders in the church – is not about being the holiest, smartest, most theologically astute, or getting it ‘right’ all the time. First and foremost, it is about pointing people to Jesus and leading out of our own weakness. Being the first to acknowledge our own need for him.
Both with our staff and our leadership here at the church, my heart is to create a culture where it is okay to laugh together and cry together. It’s okay to admit our mistakes and confess our sins and remind one another of the Gospel. I want Westminster to be known as a church where we take the Gospel seriously and, because of that, we don’t take ourselves too seriously. Life is too hard, sin is too serious, and suffering is too prevalent for us to not have church be the Gospel-centered sanctuary our souls desperately need.
In that vein, I led our deacons in the study of a book by Matt Smethurst simply entitled Deacons, and our session is currently finishing up Paul Tripp’s book Lead: 12 Gospel Principles for Leadership in the Church. These have been incredibly fruitful discussions about who we are, and our role to lead out in these ways. Additionally, I try my best to be authentic about my limitations and sins from the pulpit as well. Sometimes, this has probably led me to be too informal or casual for some people, but I want to err on the side of acknowledging how I don’t have it all together but thanks be to Christ that HE holds me together!
This past year, I’ve battled anxiety and anger, lust and pride, and all that comes with living in this sinful world. I still need the Gospel and my brothers who hold me accountable and encourage me as much as ever! Our family has dealt with health issues – including 3 separate ER visits in 2024 (so far!), an A/C going out, difficulties adjusting to a new home, school, friends, etc. But through it all the Lord has been faithful, and this church has lovingly come around us time & time again.
The more we are able to create a culture of honesty, humility, and hopeful joy – the more we’ll become Passionate Presbyterians instead of the “Frozen Chosen”. This has become a phrase that our church has heard from me several times now, and I thank God that we’re seeing the fruit of this borne out. Just this past weekend, I was blown away by evidences of God’s grace as we had great attendance at meaningful ministry events (including 55+ ministry AND Slip-N-Slide for young families) and over 200 in the building for Sunday worship during an off-season month; we had the introduction of our new Asst. Pastor Gage Jordan who is going to not only help shoulder my load but also lead out in key ministry areas; and we had some of the most robust congregational singing I’ve heard in my time here.
The growing heart for God’s Word, increasing enthusiasm in corporate worship, and cultivation of relationships in this church all tell me we are, by God’s grace, on exactly the right path towards Passionate Presbyterianism!
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