30 For 30 - Pastor John Lehman

Pastor John Lehman is concluding 30 years of ministry as a pastor at a Hampton Park Baptist Church on December 31st and transitioning to a missions-focused role with his ministry called Words Fitly Spoken.

Here are 30 reasons for 30 years I’m thankful for Pastor Lehman. They're divided into six semi-overlapping categories - Loving, Encouraging, Exercising, Giving, Serving, and Being.

1. Love for his God. He has prioritized his relationship with God consistently for decades.
2. Love for his family. He has tremendous love for his wife and four kids, their spouses, and lots of grandkids.
3. Love for his church. He has poured out love to the people at HPBC for three decades.
4. Love for others. He has been an encouragement to those he interacts with anywhere and anytime in our community and around the world.
5. Love for athletes. He has been deeply connected to the upstate fitness community and is a local legend among area athletes, especially runners.
6. Encouraging words at races. He can be found cheering runners on at finish lines of local races that he is timing and/or running in. I have great memories of him running in races and then standing at the finish line to cheer on other runners finishing.
7. Encouraging words at church. He greets all with a genuine smile and words of welcome each Sunday. He can often be found talking to newcomers and wearing a bowtie.
8. Encouraging words in meetings. I usually sit beside him in our HPBC pastoral body meetings and love to interact with him there. He eats a lot of M&Ms but even at his age has the metabolism for it not to be a problem.
9. Encouraging words in sermons. He prioritizes God’s Word and it’s application to our lives when he preaches. He often manuscripts his sermons to stay on track as he could say so much on so many topics due to his wealth of wisdom.
10. Encouraging words in texts/emails. He quickly responds to emails and texts. When I was sending monthly updates while a missionary in Asia for six years he replied nearly every time with words of encouragement.
11. Early morning runs. We share a love for insanely early morning workouts and have been able to run many miles together in the wee hours of the morning. His structured track workouts have helped me get faster 5k times.
12. Early morning swims. But only when it’s warm as we both dislike the cold. He has been know to wear a wetsuit to stay warm while swimming laps in an outdoor pool...in the summer...in South Carolina.
13. Early morning bike rides. We have cycled many miles in the dark while talking (with him using his portable amplification system). Sometimes it's just the two of us and other times it's with a group (FOTC!).
14. Early morning walks. Taking slow laps around the track when one or both of us are recovering from an injury and talking about life and family. He encourages me to love Fleur and my kids well and gives advice on family-related topics.
15. Early morning weight training. He often opens up the HP weight room for those wanting to do weight-training or other indoor machines. Whenever I ask to meet with him to talk, perhaps over a meal, he has always suggested we talk while doing some form of exercise. I honestly do not remember eating a one-on-one meal with him in my entire life.
16. Giving advice. He is happy to give gracious and humble recommendations (while we exercise). I'm thankful for his helpful input for how to lead my family spiritually and stay in shape physically.
17. Giving time. He came to the hospital to pray with us when our son Joni was going in for a surgery a few years ago. He's done the same for dozens of other families.
18. Giving joy. He demonstrates an aroma of joy and is a genuinely happy person (the kind of joyful person David Brooks describes in the introduction to his book "The Second Mountain").
19. Giving race swag. He has given so much running gear to so many people. I think half our church has multiple pairs of running socks from Pastor Lehman. I have so many socks, gloves, bags, and other swag through his generosity...and I use the stuff all the time.
20. Giving equipment. He is generous with his gear, letting me and others borrow things from headlamps to mountain bikes and everything in between.
21. Serving in church. He helps to welcome visitors, serve elements at communion, clean-up after events, and counsel challenging situations.
22. Serving on mission trips. He often uses vacation time to go on mission trips to support and encourage missionaries around the world and teach seminars for them on various topics such as marriage, family, and fitness.
23. Serving youth. He served in youth ministry for many years. I can't count the number of HP ski trips I've been that he and Suzie have led. My favorite one was thee Blue Mountain trip in PA about 20 years ago. I'm taking my son Joni snowboarding for the first time this year and the Lehmans made that trip happen.
24. Serving young families. He has taught the newlyweds Sunday School class for years and always encourages young families as they begin life together. He gave invaluable marriage counseling to Fleur and me before we were married.
25. Serving food. Sunday school breakfasts and passing out apples at HPCS are normal happenings for him.
26. Being a friend. We were running together at Paris Mountain on a cold and dark January morning in 2015 when I tripped and knocked out my three from teeth. He literally found and carried my broken teeth as we walked out of the park, put them in a ziplock bag, and gave them back to me in case they could be of use to the dentist (unfortunately they weren’t and now I have three fake front teeth).
27. Being a mentor. He has modeled Christlikeness and invested in so many young men over the decades. He has shown me particular grace and kindness during challenging times.
28. Being a servant. His default setting is servant-leadership as he joyfully serves in less-than-glamourous ways to help others succeed.
29. Being an encourager. He is primarily known for his encouraging spirit and embodies a friend that "loves at all times" and giving out words fitly spoken to encourage others.
30. Being a Christlike example. Around 15 years ago I made a list of 7 men I wanted to watch and emulate over the course of my life. Pastor Lehman was on of the men on the list. By each name I wrote a two-word description of what I admired and desired to emulate in each man. For John Lehman I simply wrote: Loving Exhorter.

Thank you, Pastor Lehman, for being a loving exhorter for so many years. May God bless you and Suzie for many years to come.