Two Years Later…
About three out of over 400 posts on this website have to do with life updates. In truth, I hate writing these because this isn’t the point of the Gospel Outpost. When this began early on, numerous people encouraged me to build the personal brand of Daniel Burton. There were two reasons I didn’t do that. First, if I ever wanted to build a team, having them write for Daniel Burton Ministries or what have you would be weird. What good is building something if I can’t bring someone with me? Second, DanielBurton.com is crazy expensive, probably because a congressman from Illinois has the same name as me, which would make buying that URL thousands of dollars.
Mainly, though, the focus should be on pointing people to a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ than on any personal branding.
But something should be said about the two-year hiatus on content.
In short, life got complicated. Real complicated. I was in the middle of a lead pastoral transition at the church I was serving. During this time, I had been requested to attend additional meetings (some at the ungodly hour of 5:30 am), take on new responsibilities and roles, prepare numerous messages a week, and do my best to navigate the tumultuous instability of any lead pastor transition. On top of that, some of my best friends had stepped away from the church, and my emotional well had run pretty dry. Ministry can be a lonely place, especially for pastors (for a better understanding, read Many Pastors Are Lonely… Must They Be, For The Church), and I found myself in the middle of that loneliness, sandwiched between early morning meetings and late night other meetings with work hours in the middle. Writing 2 to 3 posts per week wouldn’t happen as much as I tried.
After the lead pastor transition, giving the new guy time to get settled in, and after much prayer, we determined that my season at the church I had been serving was coming to a close. Truth be told, I was tired and felt that I had done what God had placed me there to do: navigate the complexities of transition and point to the Gospel in the process. Did I do it perfectly? Of course not. But I’m proud of my work and thankful for my time.
This is the point where some people would be looking for a juicy expose of “What REALLY happened at church?” If that is what you are looking for, then this post and this website are not for you. We are not here to bash the bride of Christ. That is a dangerous direction to go for. Can you imagine someone insulting your spouse and calling that person ugly? The throwing of hands would be warranted. Instead, even when we critique the church, we should do so as a part of the body of Christ, seeking restoration, exhortation, and building up, making every effort to consider others more significant than ourselves.
Instead, I want to answer some questions that no one but me is asking.
What Have I Been Doing?
- Ephesians Bible Study: I wrote a book. Sort of. I had been doing a bible study to disciple a couple of students. They wanted to go through the book of Ephesians. I said I would do so on the condition that it takes however long it takes. We covered every line, and I wrote a bible study for them with corresponding discussion questions to follow. You can buy a copy here: Ephesians | Christ Our Foundation
- Gospel-Centered Discipleship Writers Cohort: I had the opportunity to work on my writing craft as I learned from some of my pastoral and writing heroes. This group sharpened my mind to think about the writing process and encouraged me to shift some direction to write more. They encouraged the writing process by learning from people like Jenn Wilkin, Ronnie Martin, Jared Wilson, and others. They helped me explore how to grow as a writer and person. (Gospel-Centered Discipleship)
- Preaching: During the transition, I had been preaching through the book of Colossians to the youth and the book of Galatians to the adults. That was both confusing and fun. (Galatians Sermon Series)
- Sleeping: A lesson I keep returning to like a dog returning to its vomit (Proverbs 26:11) is the need for Sabbath and rest. It turns out you should do this. After stepping down from church, I slept—a lot. It was somewhat of an emotional issue and somewhat just catching up.
- Running: Trying to get back into jogging a couple of miles daily. While the Sabbath is good, you should also care for the body God gives you. Even as I type this, I’m snacking on celery to get healthier.
What’s Next For The Gospel Outpost?
- Articles: I plan to get back into writing for The Gospel Outpost again. I am, however, going to ease my way back into this. The pace of writing needs to be sustainable and doable. Burnout is real, and scripture cautions against it in various ways. So, look forward to additional articles and posts.
- Podcasts: Genuinely, I miss podcasting. Nobody Special was a ton of fun. While we will likely not be relaunching that show, I want to get back into producing content for people to grow in their faith in audio formats. To be frank, I have about five show ideas for podcasts, but I am just looking for people to partner with and time to do them.
- Guest Writing: I have felt like I should be devoting additional effort to partnering with other groups and ministries and helping one another out. I am looking into submitting some guest articles in places and being able to expand while also lifting other people in the process.
- Website Redesign: It needs to happen eventually.
In short, I will get back into the swing of things. Thank you to everyone who hung around and continued to read and share the content. It has been a wild ride, but God is faithful. Throughout this time, I have learned more and more what it means to trust God. He holds everything in His hands and works for the good of those who love Him. The goal will always be the same: to exhort and encourage people to grow in their faith Monday through Saturday as we create Outposts of the Gospel in our world. Thank you to everyone who continues to support me and has been a part of the story God tells in and through me.
