The End of an Era
Today is my senior pastor Bob Merritt’s final all-staff meeting. For 28 years, he has led Eagle Brook Church. In 1991, he arrived at First Baptist Church in White Bear Lake, MN. It was a church of 300 people and doing quite well, but Bob had a vision to reach every person who lived within a 20 mile drive of the church.
28 years later, Eagle Brook Church is a church of 25,000 people, 9 locations across Minnesota, and an extremely focused vision to reach people who are far from Christ. In the last two years, we’ve seen well over 10,000 people come to new faith in Christ. Only God.
In my role, I’ve had the extreme privilege of working closely with Bob the last several years. And as someone who has had a front row seat to his leadership, here are a few lessons I’ve learned from him:
Don’t ever settle.
Bob never settles in his own writing, teaching or leadership. He’s always scratching for a slightly better word, a slightly better phrase, a slightly better decision. Eventually, of course, he moves forward, but not after countless turns to take a good decision or thought to a great one. Countless times, he’s challenged me to keep going, keep pushing, and never settled.
Don’t ever lose sight of the average Joe / Jane person who needs Jesus.
More times than I can count, Bob has said, “Let’s stay focused on the average person who needs Jesus to help their marriage, get through Monday or parent their kids.” At first blush, to say “average person” might feel demeaning, but that’s not what he meant. Instead, he means the everyday person who is looking to improve their marriage, improve in their jobs, improve in their morality and decision-making – let’s never lose sight of them. Too often, we focus on the outliers, but instead, Bob demanded we focus on energy, time, and teaching on those everyday people like you and me who need Jesus in their lives.
Don’t ever get distracted by lesser things.
Over the years, Bob has eschewed opportunity after opportunity for the sake of leading this church. Meaning, he’s said “no” to speaking at other churches, conferences, teaching at colleges, and more. He’s said “no” to countless social engagements and meetings and accumulating material possessions. Why? So he can do what he does best and have the energy and focus to do so at the top of his game.
Don’t ever become too proud.
Last thing, Bob is one of the most humble human beings I know. When he says from the platform that he’s genuinely surprised God has chosen him of all people to lead this church, he means it. When he admits a struggle, a sin, or a conflict, he’s not making these up to “be like one of us.” Instead, this is his genuine spirit. After every message, he asks a small group of people, including me, how he can improve his message. And he receives it with humility every single time.
Today, on Bob’s last all-staff meeting, with his retirement looming on March 1, 2020, I’m eternally grateful for what I’ve learned watching him lead this church. While this is the end of an era, he’s left a lasting legacy.