New nets in different waters
Wednesday, April 26, 2006 at 4:17PM
It is not easy to do something differently from the way one has always done it. Change takes courage, but most often reaps great rewards!
At times, simply changing the method can be mistaken for changing the task.
I will soon be making a major methodological change in my life and ministry. Many have mistaken that for changing the task.
This is a change that is bathed in much prayer and consideration. It is undertaken with excitement, hope, and a sincere desire to continue to faithfully serve God. At the end of it all, I have always believed this simple promise from the book of Ecclesiastes "... it is God's gift to humanity that every one should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil" (Eccl 3:13).
There has been a great sense of excitement about the new prospects and anticipated opportunities, but of course there is also some sense of sadness at what is to be left behind. I find comfort in the thought that I am not leaving the task, but merely changing the method.
I have lived my adult life seeking to obediently respond to God's call regardless of the cost. At first I naively believed that the call of God and the expectation of God's church were one and the same. Sometimes they are not. Sometimes God's call is to cast one's net on the other side of the boat.
I love the Church, and I will be sad to move out of the mainstream of her life (as local Church minister that is). Whilst I will still be working parallel to the Church, I will miss the joy of obedience that comes from submitting to her authority, yet I will revel in the freedom of knowing that Christian ministry is intended for the world.
It is into largely uncharted waters that I go... Still to fish, but in a different location, still to cast a net, but perhaps with a different technique. I approach the task with the passion, commitment and intent. I pray that those who don't understand will come to see what I see, and that I will have the grace to continue to love those who will never understand.
John 21:5-6 Jesus said to them, "Children, have you any fish?" They answered him, "No." He said to them, "Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some." So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, for the quantity of fish.
PS. My Doctorate is done! I handed it in on the 12th of April! Thanks be to God!!
Reader Comments (3)
Nice perspective Digital Dion. I am glad we will still have contact through this window.
PW
Hey D: thanks for this note. Of course you are right - God is at work in all things and is not limited to the Church. In fact God is often limited by the Church! But your skills and wisdom will be a sad loss to the training of ministers. I really do wish the old farts who run our church had thought to retain your services - instead of leaving you in a place where you had to make a plan of your own.
Thanks for the encouragement! It is always a blessing to hear from friends.
I am excited about stretching my wings and finding new and creative ways of serving Christ in the wider world. I am one of those sheltered, and fortunate, souls who has done nothing but University, my military service, and serve Christ in the Church. It will be exciting to minister in a different context. I trust that the skills and insights that I gain will be of value to the Church upon my return.
Please can I just say, perhaps to set the record straight (if it needs that), that I am not leaving my post because I was forced to do so. Rather, it came time for Megan and I to decide whether we felt God was calling us to remain in this post for another three years (Unit appointments are for three years at a time. And, like other Church 'invitations' are subject the agreement of both parties for renewal). We felt, after much prayer and consideration, that our time had come to move on. I had faithfully served the Church in this capacity for three years. And so it is not glamorous or sinister.
Rather, it is what we believe to be a God lead calling to move on.
Thanks again for the support! I appreciate it.