I am in transition from the So MacArthur Church of Christ to the Mansfield Church of Christ. After 14 and one-half years with a great group of God’s people I am in ministry transition. No, I am not mad at anyone. I wasn’t “let go” (fired). I am not bitter. It’s simply a transition time in my life. So Mac is a compassionate, service centered, mission hearted church in a global community. It’s time for new birth and my transition will clear the way for seeing a new future. The church belongs to God and the Holy Spirit is in the people of God at So Mac.
My last Sunday is August 15. Right now, I am doing the leaving and cleaving work or as I like to call it–the sad, mad and glad work of separation. Here’s what I mean. Healthy ministry is about relationships–of carrying people through life as God’s servant; of marrying people in the name of Christ and burying people, some in Christ, some not. Ministry involves one’s own fears and tears and after nearly 15 years in one church my mind is flooded with so much carrying, marrying and burying. So it stands to reason that there are those who are sad I am leaving. For others, their sadness involves some hurt, sense of abandonment and being mad. It’s part of the process. And for others, they are polite, even detached and frankly glad I am leaving. They are not mean people or dare I say, “unchristian,” they are merely ready for a change. As one person told me, “It’s not that I don’t like you, it’s just time for a change.”
What I do know is that God is God and I am not. This is a great line by a priest in the movie Rudy. I also know that life is short, so many things just don’t matter and nostalgia will not sustain Christian faith. Neither will nostalgia sustain the church. Ps 137 is about God’s people in a strange land yearning for the good ole’ days. They were singing and weeping but when the song is over they have to be God’s people. I am there. We are there. God is present.