Being OK with the Mystery

About

Pastors spend their days shepherding others through crises, temptations, and mental health battles, but who helps them carry those same burdens? This question led Josh Turner to launch Project 10Ten, a ministry devoted to helping pastors confront their own struggles,stay mentally healthy, and thrive for the long haul. This week Nate Dewberry sits down with Josh to unpack how 10Ten weaves rigorous academic research into practical support and counsel for church leaders. Josh opens up about the lessons he’s learned along the way as well as how raising a daughter with a rare special needs condition has reshaped his perspective on life.

Show Notes

Segment chapters

Discussion

1. Talk about your experiences in your late teens or early 20s when you were on your own as an adult for the first time. Did you wrestle with questions of purpose or meaning as you were trying to launch your life or career? Did that search ever lead you toward unhealthy escapes or places you were looking for reassurance? On the outside you may have looked fine, but underneath did you ever face feelings of emptiness or depression?  Proverbs 14:12
2. Have you ever had to end a significant friendship, or put one on hold, because that relationship was drawing you into some unhealthy temptations? Did you tell that friend why you were putting some distance between the two of you, and if so, how did your friend respond? In what ways did your life benefit from creating that distance? What was the hardest part of that relationship to let go of? 1 Corinthians 15:33
3. Discuss the verse from Ecclesiastes that gave Project 10Ten its name: “If the axe is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed, but skill will bring success.” Have there been times in your life when you felt like your emotional or spiritual “axe” had become dulled? What, if anything, did you do to sharpen it and strengthen yourself? Ecclesiastes 10:10
4. What’s the most significant truth about yourself that you’ve shared while participating in The Redeemed’s small groups? Before joining The Redeemed, were you hesitant to share that part of your story? Did it feel like something you had to hide? What kind of weight or toll did carrying that secret take on you before you finally spoke it out loud? Psalm 32:2–5
5. Discuss the distinction Josh draws between being a servant of God and being a son of God. Do you, like Josh, find it more difficult to fill one of those roles than the other? Have you spent much time pondering who God says you are, as distinct from the work that you do—even work done in his name? Galatians 4:6–7
6. What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever had to grieve? It doesn’t have to be a death – grief can come from any loss: a relationship, a job, or even a life change that was good in the long run but still required you to let go of something you deeply valued. Why do you think this particular grieving process was so difficult? Is it something you still struggle with on occasion? Are you ever reluctant to talk about it because you’re afraid people will tell you to let go or move on? Psalm 34:18
7. Josh talks about having to come to terms with the fact that there were some things he didn’t understand, and would probably never understand, about God and his plans for his life. Does this resonate with you? Are you ever frustrated by the mystery of God’s actions, and could your frustration be hindering you from building a deeper relationship with him? Isaiah 55:8–9