TODAY AT NEW DAY

A NOTE FROM PASTOR RUSTY RUSSELL

Hello friends, I have several important topics to cover in this week’s enewsletter. Thanks for taking the time to read each update.

ALCOHOL-FREE MONTH 

This past weekend, I challenged the congregation to consider going without alcohol or other intoxicants until June 1. If you’re taking the pledge, please click here to let us know. The Bible commands, “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18). It would be a great encouragement to know that many are directly applying the Scripture in this way.

NEW SERMON SERIES: PARENTAL GUIDANCE 

This weekend will be the last in our “Impact” series, covering Acts 1-2. On the following weekend, May 10-11 (Mother’s Day weekend), we will begin a new series on 2 Corinthians 10-13 titled “Parental Guidance.”

Several years ago, in the fall of 2022, I preached through the first nine chapters of 2 Corinthians. I knew we wouldn’t be able to cover the entire book in one fall. The book breaks nicely after chapter nine, and I promised to come back in another season to finish the remaining chapters. I’m finally making good on my promise starting next week.

The last four chapters of 2 Corinthians, chapters 10-13, highlight Paul’s leadership characteristics as he defends his own integrity against false leaders in the early church. I decided to apply these leadership principles specifically to parenting. So, from Mother’s Day to Father’s Day, we will talk about the character traits of good parents, learning from the integrity and sincerity of the apostle Paul. The lessons apply to all leaders, but we will focus on leadership in the home. Please pray for a great season of learning and inspiration from 2 Corinthians 10-13.

RUSTY’S UPCOMING SABBATICAL  

The summer of 2025 has been a scheduled sabbatical for me for several years. I usually take four weeks in the summer for a “Study Retreat” to plan the future sermon schedule. But the elders have graciously given every pastoral staff member a periodic sabbatical, and this summer is my turn. After our Executive Pastor Mark Williams returned from his sabbatical earlier this year, he was excited about the positive effect he knew my sabbatical would have. He suggested it needed to be extended by a couple of weeks to create in me a craving to return to the daily duties of ministry. The elders graciously agreed.

I feel very spoiled and appreciate the elders’ care for me. This means that instead of being out the month of July as usual, I will be gone for both June and July. My dad will be preaching for us twice in July, and our associates will cover the other weeks. They’ve done such a good job preaching lately that I’m worried I won’t be missed! I’ve been working with them in some of the preparation phases, and I’m excited about the series they’re doing on Ecclesiastes this summer.

As I look forward to this sabbatical, there are several things I’m thankful for:

• In general, I’m thankful for the sabbatical. I have looked forward to it for months. I love my job! I would do it for free if I could. But I admit it can be taxing. Sam Pepper’s dad is a retired minister. He says he once read that preaching on the weekends requires energy equivalent to 40 hours of work. I don’t know how someone would prove that, but I believe it! As much as I love our church and my role, the responsibility does drain the mind and body, and I am very thankful for the planned time of refreshing. My assistant Amanda told me recently that she typically schedules me for about 65 hours a week of work, and she’s having difficulty scheduling all the demands on my time. She and Kellie work together to balance my schedule so I don’t work 80 hours a week or more. The sabbatical will provide refreshment and an important reset by forcing me to allow others to share the load while I’m gone. Others will grow as leaders while I’m away, and I’ll be able to return refreshed and refocused on my primary gifts.
• I am thankful that we have elders and a pastoral staff who are capable of leading while I am away.
• I’m thankful for the sabbatical for my wife’s sake. Kellie sacrifices a lot under normal circumstances. Her love language is quality time, and she gets very little of mine. I hope the time away will reward her for her constant sacrifice. But she has also been carrying heavy responsibilities of her own in recent months. Her mom has had some health issues and needed to move back in with us. While we’re honored to have her with us, the transition has been a lot of work. Kellie has also taken on several other heavy responsibilities beyond the norm. I know she too needs the time of refreshing. Hopefully time with me will be energizing and not more draining!
• I’m thankful my dad is still in such excellent health at 81 years old that, Lord willing, he can come to preach for us twice in July as part of the Ecclesiastes series.
• I’m thankful for an Executive Pastor who cares about the pastoral staff and presented this plan for sabbaticals several years ago to the elders. I’m thankful for elders who are shepherds and don’t lord it over the staff, and who quickly agreed to the plan. Mark’s presentation included great data on the benefits of sabbaticals. Most telling was the fact that pastors who are given this particular benefit have much greater long-term tenure, much less burnout, and healthier marriages, as you would predict.

Lord willing, I will preach for the next four weekends, then return ready to hit the ground running in August. Please pray that God continues to grow our congregation in my absence, that this time away is positively stretching for our leaders as they learn to lead without me, that it is refreshing for both my wife and me, that no emergencies interrupt the sabbatical, that we have great health to be able to enjoy it, and that I return energized and excited about the next season of ministry.

NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER TOMORROW

Please join me tomorrow (Thursday) at 6:30pm for a joint worship service at Family Church to honor National Day of Prayer. Last year, we hosted this event and had a great turnout. My friend, Pastor Jim, at Family Church, agreed to host this year, and I know they’re planning a meaningful event. We have always had a good contingency from New Day at these events, and I hope we can keep that up again this year. Our nation needs prayer!

Thank you for your prayers, and I look forward to seeing you this weekend!

In Jesus,

Pastor Rusty

P.S. The first week I’m gone, we are taking a family vacation along with the entire Bob Russell family – my parents, my brother’s entire family, all our kids, and all the grandkids – to celebrate my parents’ sixtieth wedding anniversary! I’m so proud of my parents – what a testimony!