The goal for those of us who are transitioning is that with the additional time away from the ministry that each person would find another part-time job where they could interact with people and reflect Jesus in a different environment than the church. I have known about this direction for over six months now and have been thinking about it even longer. In fact, I am the person who has championed this transition within our leadership teams and it was my idea to move into this kind of bi vocational ministry.
So, I should be the person who has had the opportunity to think about what else I would do and put some plans together and be prepared for this transition by having another job all lined up. But I don’t and as of right now I don’t have anything concrete lined up. And I am totally fine with that.It isn’t that I don’t have ideas or I haven’t been working on things. I do and I have. Primarily I have been focusing on some things that I am passionate about and that match my skill set the best. These revolve around the areas of leadership and coaching and I have been talking to people about coming alongside individuals and organizations, especially smaller ones, to assist them in creating a healthy work culture of trust, help them in the areas of communication and conflict resolution and to walk with them organizations to develop more effective leaders. This is something that I believe we have done together at VictoryPoint and are transferable into other organizations and I am excited about the potential to do this.
I have also been pursuing some opportunities that connect business, education and mission in a global economy and while this is in the very early stages, I am intrigued about where it might all go. I have considered going back to school and working on a degree and training in a field that has always been of interest to me. There are options available, I am just not yet sure which one I will pursue.Or, maybe it will be something totally different that God has in store for me, and I am totally open to that. I am truly taking my own advice from what I spoke about last Sunday at VP to focus more on preparation and prayer than I am on planning. I am preparing as best I can and getting ready to move in the direction in which God calls me. This doesn’t mean I ’m passive, I am talking to people and enjoying the conversations as I go, but I hold on to all of these things loosely right now.
Based on my life experience I know that the words of Solomon in Proverbs 19:21 are so true, “Many are the plans in a human heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.” I know God makes plans and I want to be prepared to respond to him.And I pray. I pray for God’s leading and I ask that his will would be done in my life. That I would be wholly available to him in every situation in which I find myself. I pray that becoming a person who loves God and loves people and lives like Jesus in every facet of my life is much more important to me than what I do for a living. I know it is much more important to God!
Everyday when I get up, I remind myself of this truth, “This is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it.” ( Ps. 118:24). I desire to see each day as a gift from God in which I am given the opportunity to live for him and reflect him to the people around me, wherever that may be.Your prayers will be appreciated. I am certain that no matter how good it is, this transition will be a challenge for me and will be used by God to grow me up into the fullness of Christ. While I certainly wonder what it will all look like and I am not immune to moments of anxiousness about it, I look forward to what God has planned and I eagerly anticipate following Him wherever he leads.
I’ll keep you posted as to where that might be!
