I see from my last post it has been over a year since I have written anything on this site. That has been way too long and so much has happened since I posted anything here. First and most important I have shifted from being a full time pastor of a church to retired. Four days after my 62nd birthday I stepped back from the profession I have claimed for the last 35 years; pastor of a local congregation and began a new journey in my life: retired clergy. On the next to last Sunday of my employment, my mother passed away unexpectedly. So when I retired there seemed to be a lot of things to dI did a couple of shows with my glass work and spent a couple of weeks helping my brother (who owned the house which my mother lived) helping him getting the house ready to sell. I also had the opportunity to spend a week in Texas learning a new technique in Glass Art.
In some ways I believe staying busy was a good thing because my mind and body were active and I did not have a lot of free time to think about all the things I needed to think about with my job transition. But after Thanksgiving my schedule has not been so busy and I am beginning to see some things unfold in the transition that are helping me see there are some thing about my former profession I miss. There are some things I don't miss.
First let me begin with the things I am not sorry to see go. I don't miss the meetings nor the politics of the modern church. It is easy for those areas to suck the life out of ministry by spending way too much time worrying who is upset and who needs to be coddled and the protocol which needs to be followed before any real ministry can happen. I never enjoyed making sure all the i's were dotted or the t's crossed in just the right way before getting anything done in the area of ministry. I really believe church politics and power often get in the way of good ministry.
So I no longer need to worry about when to schedule a special service or whether to cancel worship when the weather gets bad or did I say something wrong and that is why one of the longtime members is upset. It is nice to have that stress removed from my life.
There is one major thing I am finding I do miss. It centers around one thing the people. I really miss the day to day interaction I had with the people of the churches I served, the casual conversations, the relationships formed and the interaction I had with the people on a daily basis. For 35 years my life centered in and around the 8 churches I served and the people involved in those churches. Engaging in talk about God and the things God is doing in one's life helped me see a constant need to grow and keep up with where people were spiritually speaking.
Over those 35 years the church as a whole changed a great deal and I changed a great deal as a result by having to learn new methods and expand my theology in seeking to understand the people of my congregation.
I found it interesting during my week in Texas I was engaging the others in spiritual conversation. It seemed to flow naturally out of the events of the week. I felt encouraged when at the end of the week a member of the class in the midst of our good byes mentioned that our conversation had given her some hope for the church.
In the midst of all these changes I find myself needing to be intentional in my seeking out relationships. Out of which I will see where the conversation leads. In the midst of all the change I am finding my way into a new adventure in life.
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