Acts 16:1

Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them. So passing by Mysia, they came to Troas... And after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them. (Acts 16:6–10)

When you can't go back, and the doors to the left and right are closed, God may simply be calling you to pivot.

Twenty-Four Years of Ministry

Today I'm going to give a New Year's message—something I've done here at Cross Connection Church for many years—even though it's already the fifth Sunday of 2023. I wasn't here for the first few Sundays, so we're catching up now. Let me begin with a little personal history.

Twenty-five days ago, on January 4th, I celebrated my 24th year in full-time vocational ministry at this very church. It's surreal to say. I began on January 4th, 1999, as a 19-year-old non-paid ministry intern. My job was to fill in the gaps: keep the computers, printers, and network running, maintain the church's website (this was the era of "real video," not HD streaming), answer phones, clean bathrooms, take out the trash, and paint curbs. The church was then called Calvary Chapel of Escondido.

A little over a month after I began, I was asked to teach the middle schoolers. On Valentine's Day, February 14th, 1999, I taught the Bible for the first time, going through Galatians. Ever since, I have taught or preached the Scriptures every week, multiple times a week, for 24 years. I led the youth ministry from 1999 until late 2002, and then in January 2003 I began teaching adult services on Saturday nights, starting through the book of Joshua. Interestingly, twenty years later, we're about to begin Joshua again—this time on Sunday mornings.

A Sense of Calling and a Season of Twists

Back in August of 2002, as I was wrapping up youth ministry, I began to have a strong sense that someday I would be the pastor of this church. It took six years for that to come to pass, and those years held all kinds of twists and turns. I moved to Europe for a year and taught at a small international Bible college in Siegen, Germany. Then I returned and worked at a coffee shop our church ran on Grand Avenue called His Place. The pay wasn't great, but the benefits were spectacular—I met my wife there. So did Pastor Nick, who's on our staff. During that time I also began teaching at Calvary Chapel Bible College in Murrieta.

In April of 2008 I became the senior pastor here. This year marks 15 years as pastor and the 10th anniversary of Pastor Mark joining as our executive pastor.

"Change the Methods, Not the Message"

About half a year before I became pastor, in September 2007, our core pastoral leaders were at a leadership conference out in the Palm Springs area. In a small living-room meeting with maybe eight men, my pastor and predecessor, Pat Kinney, asked me to share what was on my heart for the church. I told them I believed God wanted us to make a shift. The message—the message of the Scriptures—does not change and has not changed for millennia. We were not going to change the message at all. But I believed our methods of reaching our community needed to change in order to reach our culture better.

Right before I took over in 2008, I was invited back to Germany for a month to teach through Romans, and my wife came with me. On Saturday, March 1st, 2008, as we sat at a gate at the San Diego airport, I got a call from one of our elders, Mark Searle, who is still on our board today. He told me that after weeks of discussion and prayer, Pat Kinney would hand the church off to me on April 20th. That month in Germany became providential—it gave me time away to plan and pray, and to talk with my friend David Guzik, who was running that Bible school. Just weeks earlier, my wife and I had learned she was pregnant with our first child, Ethan. So 2008 became a year of enormous change: becoming a pastor, becoming parents, and buying our first home.

Ten Years of Revitalization

During that month in Germany, I mapped out a plan and a vision for what I believed God wanted us to become. I didn't have a word for it then, but what we set out to do was what is now called church revitalization. That terminology wasn't common in 2008—people talked about church planting, not replants or refreshes. Today there are books, courses, conferences, and even seminary programs on the subject.

I had no idea the process would take about ten years, from 2008 to 2018. It was a complete transformation. We changed our vision, changed the name from Calvary Chapel of Escondido to Cross Connection Church, did a lot of remodeling, added staff, and reoriented how we do ministry—dropping some things, starting others. By 2019, I had a real sense that the refresh was behind us.

2020: The Year of Chaos

Coming into 2020, I had genuine anticipation. We were growing, seeing new people, and I expected a great year. But at the end of 2019, I also shared a concern that 2020 would be a year of chaos—mostly because of the chaotic political season and presidential election ahead. Well, 2020 far exceeded my expectations for chaos. It far exceeded my appetite for it.

On Sunday, March 8th, 2020, I gave a message somewhat like this one, sharing about new things God was going to do. We were in Deuteronomy 1, where Moses recounts Israel's coming to the Promised Land:

Look, the LORD your God has set the land before you. Go up and possess it... do not fear or be discouraged. (Deuteronomy 1:21)

I told the church we were growing and were going to "go up and possess it"—including adding a fourth Sunday morning service at Easter. The very next day, March 9th, the San Diego Union-Tribune headline read: "San Diego County gets its first case of coronavirus." On March 10th I was at a meeting with dozens of Calvary Chapel pastors at Horizon Church, where the discussion turned to what this coronavirus thing would mean. That afternoon our staff decided to live-stream the coming Sunday because some would stay home.

A few days later the headlines shifted: "Trump to declare national emergency," and "stay home if you feel sick." One week after I announced a fourth service for a growing church, on March 15th, half the church was gone. By March 22nd we went entirely online. I remember driving in that morning past a sign reading, "COVID-19: less is more, avoid gatherings."

Thrown Into Unmapped Territory

In March 2020, every single one of us was thrown into chaos and into what I'd call unmapped territory—a place we'd never been, with no clear way to navigate it. And when you're thrown off your path, certain predictable things follow.

Imagine you're hiking high on a mountain trail. You have a plan, a goal, good forward momentum. Then you set your foot down and the trail gives way. Before you even understand what's happening, you're tumbling down the hillside. When you finally stop, you're far from where you were, scraped up, in shock, adrenaline pumping. You assess: I'm not badly injured. But you're in a difficult, unexpected, unplanned-for situation. Anxiety fills your heart and you ask, Now what?

Then come the predictable thoughts. How did I get here? I stepped too quickly. I should have been more careful. You replay everything you could have done differently. Then you ask, How do I get back up to where I was?—and you pour energy and resources into climbing back, only to find you're stuck. That, basically, is what most of us have been doing since 2020.

Trying to Get Back to 2019

The last three quarters of 2020 were about assessing the damage while playing dodgeball with everything flying at us—not just the virus, but shutdowns, social distancing, distance learning, remote work, Zoom meetings, and masks. My wife worked in the ICU; our four kids were suddenly homeschooled. Then came the police violence, racial tensions, protests, and riots of late spring, the political insanity of the fall, and the post-election chaos.

In 2021 there was a little hope for movement forward, but it became clear we weren't getting back to the path we'd been on. Much of 2021 was spent asking, How do we return to 2019?—because 2019 had been pretty good. Then 2022 became a season of assessing how we got into the mess so we wouldn't repeat it, still hoping we might get back to "normal," or that term I hate, the "new normal." That's where many of us have been for years, including me.

Praying Toward "Now What?"

So now it's 2023, and I've spent months praying over that question: Now what? Reading the Scriptures each morning, journaling, praying. Back in early November, while teaching at a pastors conference in the Philippines with my friend Lance, I decided that I might not know exactly what to do, but I needed to start thinking differently about moving forward. On November 7th I began getting up earlier, spending focused time in the Scriptures with my journal, praying Lord, what do You want to say to me?, and getting back into running.

I kept that up through November, December, and into January. On January 4th, running on my treadmill, a word came to me—a word I want to share. But first, let me tell you about three individuals.

Three Stories of Pivoting

The first is a friend of mine, a Christian chiropractor I've known about 20 years. He'd been building his practice here in North County for about 30 years. When 2020 came, it basically killed his business. For three years he went through that whole unmapped-territory process—What could I have done differently? How do I get back to 2019? The second day after I returned from the Philippines, he texted me that he'd be closing his office at the end of the month.

The second is a friend who runs a martial arts studio, where I once trained and where my youngest son Elliot attends. He'd been building that business for more than 30 years. 2020 slammed it, and he spent most of his savings keeping it going and his staff paid. He went through the same questions. In December he called a parent meeting and told us he'd be moving the studio to a smaller location because he simply couldn't afford the current one. Then, on January 3rd, my chiropractor friend texted again—he'd decided not to close after all but to move to a smaller location and keep going.

Both men hit a wall: either close or shift. And the next morning, January 4th, running on the treadmill, the word came to me. For 2020, the word that popped into my mind was chaos—and 2021 and 2022 didn't feel much less chaotic. But for 2023, the word I believe the Lord has given me, and given our church, is pivot.

The Apostle Paul Pivots

When I say pivot, certain images come to mind. If you're a woman in a certain age range, you think of Ross on Friends yelling "Pivot!" with a couch. If you're a guy, you think of basketball: you've stopped your dribble, you can't walk without traveling or dribble again without double-dribbling, but you can pivot on one foot to get past an obstacle and open something new. But what I'm really thinking of is my third individual—someone you know if you've been around church for any length of time. His name is Paul.

In Acts 16, Paul is on his second missionary journey, aiming to bring the gospel to people who had never heard it. He's just spent time strengthening churches in Galatia that he and Barnabas planted on the first journey. Now he has Silas with him, and in Galatia they pick up a young man named Timothy, who became a Christian under Paul's first-journey ministry. Leaving Galatia, they head northwest. And here's where it gets striking:

Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them. (Acts 16:6–7)

There's a lot in those forty or so words, and a lot left unsaid. Picture the geography: they're in modern-day Turkey, moving northwest from the south-central region. They could turn left and go down into Asia Minor, toward its capital Ephesus—but the Holy Spirit forbade it. We don't know exactly why. Maybe dangers, maybe weather, maybe an inner sense that God said no. So they continue, and consider turning right toward Bithynia, up near where Istanbul is today—but again the Spirit did not permit them.

When Every Door but One Is Closed

Think about the scenario. Paul is an apostle who saw the risen Lord on the road to Damascus, on a mission to preach the gospel, with Silas and Timothy following. They try to go left to Asia—door closed. They try to go right to Bithynia—door closed. They can't go backward, because that's where they came from. So they keep moving forward:

So passing by Mysia, they came to Troas, and a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them. (Acts 16:8–10)

Notice that "we"—Luke, the author, has now joined the team. They moved all the way forward until they hit the Aegean Sea at the coastal city of Troas. They couldn't go back to Galatia, left to Asia, or right to Bithynia. Hemmed in, God gave a vision of a man of Macedonia—across the sea—pleading, "Come, help us." So they pivoted. They shifted. They moved.

That's what I see with my chiropractor friend and my martial arts friend: years of hoping to get back to 2019, then the realization that things have changed dramatically, so it's time to downsize, shift, and move in a new direction. And it's the same for the church. We were coasting along in early 2020, then everything changed, and we kept hoping things would come back. They're not coming back the way they were. You have two basic options: sit and stew about how terrible everything is, or shift. For Paul, the door to Ephesus was closed and the door to Bithynia was closed—so he waited for the Lord to open a door and moved that direction. That's what I believe God is saying to me, and maybe to you: it's time for a pivot.

Five Essentials for Pivoting

Is "pivot" all I've got for you? Not exactly. When you're in unmapped territory and can't get back to where you were, you have to adjust, reinvest yourself in what you were focused on, and get moving forward. As you do, keep five critical things in mind: purpose, mission, vision, values, and strategy.

If I rewind all the way to September 2007 in that room of pastors, it all comes back to these five. I teach this often when training church planters and ministering to pastors. Paul met brick walls constantly—can't go left, can't go right, can't go back, now what? You pivot, and you pivot by keeping these things in mind.

Paul knew his purpose: he was sent by Christ to carry the gospel to the Gentiles. His mission was simply to fulfill that purpose—the mission is always the same. His vision was clear: he could see himself fulfilling that purpose wherever he went—Galatia, Asia, Bithynia, Macedonia, Greece, Rome. He knew his values, found all through his thirteen letters. One of them is in Romans:

And so I have made it my aim to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build on another's foundation. (Romans 15:20)

And his strategy runs all through Acts: to the Jew first, in the synagogue, then to the Gentiles—going wherever he possibly could. Purpose, mission, vision, values, strategy. He had all five.

What Has God Called You To?

So here we are in 2023, after the chaos of the past three years and after so many of us tried to get back to 2019. We're not going back. Things are different. This is a year to realize, like my two friends did, that it's time to adjust, shift, and pivot. Something has blocked your way, but the goal is still there.

When you make that shift, what guides you? First, purpose: What has God called you to do? Sit down and take time, as I've been doing each morning. My clear calling, given to me in January 1999 when I was asked to teach the junior highers, is found in Ephesians 4:11—to equip the saints for the work of the ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ.

What has God called you to do with your energy, assets, time, talents, and treasure? Maybe to be a nurse, a doctor, an architect, a teacher, a firefighter, a police officer, a stay-at-home mom or dad. Your mission is to fulfill that purpose. Your vision is of you fulfilling it. Your values come from the Scriptures—sometimes we have to regroup and go back to find them. Then your strategy is simply how you put it all together.

The purpose, mission, and vision are your north star. When something stands in your way, or you fall down the hill, you reorient toward that star. You pivot, but you keep your value set in place, because the values are the curbs on either side that keep you headed in the right direction. From there you build a strategy.

Press Toward the Goal

The easiest thing to do when something stands in your way is to sit down, pout, get angry, and grow depressed. The harder thing is to pivot and say, "It's time to move forward." That fits perfectly with where we're heading in our studies this year, because we're about to enter the book of Joshua—exactly the message we need for such a time as this.

What does "pivot" mean for Cross Connection Church specifically? I'm honestly not 100% sure. I just know we are not going back to 2019. You can't keep sitting in the valley crying. It's time to move forward into what God has called us to do as a church, and what He's called you to do—with your time, talents, treasure, energy, and abilities, for His name and His kingdom. Sometimes you've got to pivot in order to move in a new direction toward that same goal. As Paul says in one of my favorite passages, "I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:14).

Closing Prayer

God, I pray that You'd help us to do that here in 2023. Give us a vision for any time we find ourselves in unmapped territory, where we aren't exactly where we thought we'd be. Help us to reorient so that we can see and gain a vision of where we're going, and then move in that direction with a strategy for it. Lord, help us to do that as You enable us by Your Holy Spirit. For we ask this in Jesus' name, amen.