The news is out, the gig is up, it was announced yesterday at our church that we will not be coming back as their pastor after conference. It was not an announcement I was looking forward to having made. Nothing can change the mood of a worship service than such an announcement, even if the majority already knew what was coming for several weeks.
The people of Camp Creek are good and loving people who captured our hearts in the short time my family and I served as their pastor. Over the last year and a half I watched a hurting, discouraged people change their focus from themselves and more fully onto Christ; I had the joy of working side by side with them as we struggled together in understanding God's purpose for the church and how to go about fulfilling that call; and I have watched them grow in expectation and enthusiasm for what God was and is going to do with them. I have been honored to be used by God in ministering to these wonderful people and we, my family and I, have been blessed by being a part of that family of Christians.
So you can understand how we are saddened by this upcoming transition in pastoral ministry, and their sadness, even frustration, with this pastoral change for them. I remember well being part of a church and having the pastor be moved after only three successful years, even after he announced that he was returning for a forth, then two weeks later announcing the ensuing move to a new church. Such transitions can be hard, for both the pastoral family and the congregation, when such moves aren't easily understood.
As a pastor of the United Methodist Church, I submit my pastoral appointments to the discretion of the Bishop and her committee. All pastors do. We don't always like the appointment that we have received, not that we don't like where we are going, but because we like where we are. Sometimes it is because it has such a huge impact on the pastor's family, especially when there are teenagers involved. Sometimes the appointment seems less of God's will and more out of convenience. Of course, there are appointments that are received with joy and excitement, sorry to leave the people you have grown to love but anticipating the new challenge at the new charge. In a nutshell, it is often a mixed bag of emotions , whatever the reasons for the move.
I have high hopes for Camp Creek. I believe they have moved forward in their outlook and planning; have grown to understand more clearly their purpose as a church; and have experienced healing, as a congregation and for some individuals.
But transitions are hard. No one likes change, and as we grow older change seems to grow a little more difficult to accept - which upsets me because I don't want to get set in my ways to the point that I keep God from using change to bring greater growth, in me or within his church. Still, transition can make even the most stable a little unnerved and anxious, which, by the way, is not necessarily a bad thing. I've learned that transition forces me out of my comfort zone; it causes me to relinquish my hold and control on the situation and I have to lean more on trusting in God and his leading. Maybe that's why I've had to go through so much transition in my life - I like having control and being comfortable in my life!
So, here I am, faced again with another transition. A new church, new faces, new names, new personalities, new location. It makes me nervous. It also makes me excited, to be able to work with people for the Kingdom of God; to touch the lives of people - helping believers grow more deeply in their faith, and being a part of others lives as they come to believe in Christ for the first time.
I know that God is in and can be seen in the transitions that we go through. When those transitions are given over to him, he is able to work them out for his glory and for our growth.
The people of Camp Creek are good and loving people who captured our hearts in the short time my family and I served as their pastor. Over the last year and a half I watched a hurting, discouraged people change their focus from themselves and more fully onto Christ; I had the joy of working side by side with them as we struggled together in understanding God's purpose for the church and how to go about fulfilling that call; and I have watched them grow in expectation and enthusiasm for what God was and is going to do with them. I have been honored to be used by God in ministering to these wonderful people and we, my family and I, have been blessed by being a part of that family of Christians.
So you can understand how we are saddened by this upcoming transition in pastoral ministry, and their sadness, even frustration, with this pastoral change for them. I remember well being part of a church and having the pastor be moved after only three successful years, even after he announced that he was returning for a forth, then two weeks later announcing the ensuing move to a new church. Such transitions can be hard, for both the pastoral family and the congregation, when such moves aren't easily understood.
As a pastor of the United Methodist Church, I submit my pastoral appointments to the discretion of the Bishop and her committee. All pastors do. We don't always like the appointment that we have received, not that we don't like where we are going, but because we like where we are. Sometimes it is because it has such a huge impact on the pastor's family, especially when there are teenagers involved. Sometimes the appointment seems less of God's will and more out of convenience. Of course, there are appointments that are received with joy and excitement, sorry to leave the people you have grown to love but anticipating the new challenge at the new charge. In a nutshell, it is often a mixed bag of emotions , whatever the reasons for the move.
I have high hopes for Camp Creek. I believe they have moved forward in their outlook and planning; have grown to understand more clearly their purpose as a church; and have experienced healing, as a congregation and for some individuals.
But transitions are hard. No one likes change, and as we grow older change seems to grow a little more difficult to accept - which upsets me because I don't want to get set in my ways to the point that I keep God from using change to bring greater growth, in me or within his church. Still, transition can make even the most stable a little unnerved and anxious, which, by the way, is not necessarily a bad thing. I've learned that transition forces me out of my comfort zone; it causes me to relinquish my hold and control on the situation and I have to lean more on trusting in God and his leading. Maybe that's why I've had to go through so much transition in my life - I like having control and being comfortable in my life!
So, here I am, faced again with another transition. A new church, new faces, new names, new personalities, new location. It makes me nervous. It also makes me excited, to be able to work with people for the Kingdom of God; to touch the lives of people - helping believers grow more deeply in their faith, and being a part of others lives as they come to believe in Christ for the first time.
I know that God is in and can be seen in the transitions that we go through. When those transitions are given over to him, he is able to work them out for his glory and for our growth.
