Change

The resignation of our senior pastor was announced in church yesterday. I am sad. He is well loved and I absolutely love his preaching. His whole family has been a tremendous blessing to our church. My hubby and I were somewhat surprised, though he had said on our way to church just that morning, "I wonder if the sabbatical will lead to a resignation?".

The elders and deacons of our church encouraged us to focus on prayer right now rather than speculation, which I agree is the right thing to do. And we are confident that his reason for leaving is NOT due to any sin or immorality on his part (stating that for my readers who will automatically wonder). I am glad, however, that there will be a question/answer time next Sunday evening. We are hoping that some of our own questions will be answered at that time. I have often heard when a pastor resigns (and it was stated yesterday) that, "he feels God is taking him in a different direction" or, "we feel God is leading our church in a different direction." Those words "different direction" seem to have become the default explanation for leadership changes. But I would like to know what that means. What direction were we going, and what direction is God taking us now? It is important for us to understand the "direction" that the leadership feels we are going, because if our church is going in a new direction, what if it's not a direction that our family can support? There is also a big difference between a different direction in terms of position and a different direction in terms of methods. We have no need or desire to know all the details surrounding this decision, but as it pertains to our understanding of our church's philosophy of ministry and the direction we are headed, we strongly desire a broader explanation.

Change is almost always hard, isn't it?