It's Bittersweet

“It’s bittersweet.”

That’s been my most common response. I say that anytime someone asks me how I feel about the fact that I’ll be leaving CCJ at the end of February and joining the staff of Troy Christian Church in March as their new preaching minister. I use that word because thus far I’ve found no better words to succinctly describe it.

Because first off, it is certainly bitter. I mean…I’ve been at CCJ for five and a half years. From day one Darrel took me under his wing to help me learn what it means to lead a congregation. He allowed me to see his successes and failures…all while giving me permission to make my own. The elders have shown me continual encouragement and support; backing me up while granting me the freedom and means to minister…and, when the situation called for it, offering appropriate correction. As the staff has grown so has my list of friends and confidants; people I can rely on and learn from. The staff members here are incredibly talented and I have a great deal of respect for them all.

And I haven’t even yet talked about the people; the congregation that makes up CCJ…those who are our friends that have become our family. The people of CCJ who have opened their homes and lives to Kara, Ian and I. Who have accepted us as we are and welcomed us into their stories.

Leaving all that behind...our friends, our church, this little town which has been our home…the thought of that is a very emotional one indeed. And in short…it’s bitter to think about.

But the prospect of this move is also very exciting. To be certain, this job is an outstanding opportunity for our family. For starters my primary responsibility will be to preach and teach; the very things I’ve felt as though God has designed me and truly called me to do. Add to that this chance I have of leading a congregation, taking the lessons I’ve learned in my time at CCJ and incorporating them into working with other followers of Christ…all those thoughts are very sweet.

But I want to be clear that I’m not excited about just A new job, I’m excited about THIS new job. In all my time in Jasper I had not once applied to another place. Only a couple times have I had churches inquire about interest and in each case I easily turned them down because I simply knew that this is where God wanted us to be. And yet throughout the process of applying, interviewing and getting to know the leaders, staff and people of Troy Christian Church, Kara and I have had a tremendous amount of excitement and peace regarding this move. For the months that this process has ensued we have felt that this step was the next step God was calling us to make.  Combine that with the opportunity to be much closer to both sides of our family and I can certainly say with anticipation that this move is sweet.

Yet in most instances I do not have time to elaborate; to praise God for the experiences of the past, the peace of the present and the excitement for the future. In most cases I do not have the time or the words to speak to his faithfulness. I don’t often have the chance to discuss how in both instances God was working there before us and He’ll be there after us. Most of the time I can’t talk about any of that.

So if you ask, pardon me in case I just respond, “It’s bittersweet.”