First Notes: Returning to the Deep Stream (Sabbatical Plans)

Dear First Baptist Family,

When I was 11 years old, I visited Knoxville with my family for the 1982 World’s Fair. We stayed in the Smoky Mountains and spent time tubing the Little River.  

It was a formative trip that led to a lifelong love for rivers. Rushing rivers, meandering streams, nickel and dime creeks — I love them all. My heart sings when I get next to a river or in a river. 

Rivers for me symbolize the spiritual life. Meister Eckhart said, “God is a great underground river that no one can stop and no one can dam up.” So our lives are lived on the surface, but the source is the deep stream.

After 30 years of pastoral ministry, I sense the need to return once again to the deep stream. That’s what my upcoming 3-month sabbatical is all about. Through a generous grant from the Lilly Foundation, I will be able to travel to some of the great rivers of the world, such as the Nile, Ganges, and Amazon, in search of inspiration and refreshment. 

This sabbatical is not just about me, though. It’s also about our church. We are strategically located, facing Main Street but also rooted next to the Tennessee River. That symbolizes how we are called to be in the center of the city with Jesus, but also nourished by the deep stream of God.

My sense is that after 183 years, our church is yearning once again for a deeper experience of God. As we reengage in spiritual practices like prayer and Bible study, invest in theological reflection to inform our mission, and carry out acts of service to help our downtown neighbors, we are called to represent a generous Christianity to people who affirm a faith different from ours or no religious faith. 

Like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in season (see Psalm 1), we all need the constant nourishment of the life of God. 

My plan is to rest, reconnect with family and friends, reflect on some of the great texts of Christian religious history as I travel, and return ready to serve. 

Here’s a snapshot of my time away:

June 12-29: Scotland (the River Ness) and Ireland (the River Shannon)
June 30-July 3: at home with family
July 4-July 10: North Carolina with extended family
July 11-18: Florida with extended family
July 19-29: at home with family
July 30-August 9: India (the Ganges, with an opportunity to preach and teach my book Prayer Power) 
August 10-23: Egypt (the Nile)
August 24-27: at home with family 
August 28-September 7: Peru (the Amazon) 
September 8-13: at home with family
September 14: first day back with the FBC family 


There will be a few guest preachers in my absence, but the bulk of the preaching will be carried out by Josh Gibson and Paul Bagai. We also have a good plan in place for how things will continue to function with pastoral care and other leadership needs. I feel incredibly confident and blessed to work with a capable staff and lay leaders who will continue to carry out effective ministry while I am away. 

I am looking forward to preaching for the next two Sundays, participating in VBS, attending Church Council on June 11, and then heading out the next day. Please pray for me, Jen, our church staff, and the ongoing work of the wonderful body of Christ known as First Baptist Knoxville. 

Thank you for blessing me in allowing this time away. It means so much to me and I am very, very grateful. I want you to know that I love you and I will be praying for you, too.

Pastor Brent McDougal