Why do I not regret the change?

I get this question quite frequently. The answer is “No.” I don’t have a single regret leaving full-time preaching ministry. In fact, it may be one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

I say this for those reading who are contemplating stepping away from preaching ministry because I know you are out there. You are torn. You are scared. You worry about what others might think.

I’m here to tell you that there is life on the other side.

That many have been duped into thinking that the only effective ministry is preaching ministry is unfortunate. I know people indeed work under this misconception because it was a burden once placed on me.

But I took the plunge, and may have salvaged many other aspects of my life because of it.

Here’s why I don’t regret my decision…

I made some people happy!

To be sure, your critics will be glad you are no longer preaching. For a while, I got emails from my critics stating that I wasn’t fit for the pulpit any longer. My decision to minister elsewhere was a blessing to them.

I also made my wife happy. The fishbowl our families get thrust into when we are involved in full-time preaching work is never mentioned as a part of the package but it’s always in the fine print. My wife and kids didn’t deserve some of the treatment they received. To have been moved from a fishbowl to open waters has been a blessing to us all!

I’m engaged in work people appreciate.

Don’t misunderstand me here. Preachers are appreciated. What I mean though is that when people ask me what I do now, they become intrigued. When I would tell people I was a preacher, they would generally become guarded. I think we all know why. In fact, many would become people they really weren’t. In my opinion, that is unfortunate. Now when I tell people what I do, I get amazement.

A few months ago I went back to my hometown for my 20th class reunion. I was amazed at how genuinely interested and intrigued my friends from “back in the day” were with the work I do. I wouldn’t exchange that for the world.

Kids matter! They are the future. Our world in 30 years will be shaped by the preteens Tisha and I work with now. What could be nobler work than affecting the world now for the sake of the future? I can tell by our donors this is a work they appreciate!

You don’t have to preach for a church to minister!

I alluded to this earlier, but I’ll reiterate it once more… You don’t have to preach for a church to minister!!!!!!! Was that stated clearly

Serving gravy at the NMCCH Pork Chop Breakfast

enough?

I work in an incredible environment with incredible people! This is a unique environment. I am somewhat insulated from a lot of things, but regardless of where we work we can minister to others.

I have a friend who left the pulpit and now works as a prison counselor. He’s doing what he could have never done while in preaching ministry. I would venture to say he feels like he’ s making a huge impact! I think he is. He is in the trenches, and is in a position to make an enduring impact.

One Last Thought…

The business model is working against the church. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again:

Jesus didn’t die for a 501 C3 Non-Profit Organization!

It’s true! The first century church wasn’t dictated by a budget. It didn’t hire and fire ministers. I don’t think it voted to see who would become elders and deacons. From everything I can read, it didn’t operate like a business. But that is the norm today.

This became a major source of frustration for me. Criteria were crafted for helping people. It wasn’t “opportunity” based assistance (Galatians 6:10). There was too much worry about getting scammed. Who can feel good about telling someone, “Sorry… Can you come back another time and we might help you then?”

I’m not suggesting the business model is necessarily wrong. It’s a way for the church to function. But I’d contend the business model has hindered the church more than it has helped it, and I’m glad I’m no longer beholden to it.

The sooner ministers realize this, and the sooner that elders and church leaders understand this, the better off the church will be.  The sooner we quit abusing Jesus’ parables about kingdom growth for the purpose of giving us incentives to “grow” the church, maybe we’ll quit acting like salesmen  on late night infomercials. Those guys drive a lot of us nuts, and if we’ll listen to those outside the church, we might find that our gospel sales pitches aren’t doing much for them, either.

Ministers who believe that it is incumbent upon themselves to grow a church may not realize they are putting themselves in God’s place. After all, God is the one who gives the increase (1 Cor. 3:6). Sure, we plant and water, but God gives the growth.

I am terrible with plants. Last Summer, I built planter boxes for our front porch, bought a few plants, planted them and watered them. Guess what happened to them? They died. I planted and watered them, but I could not give them life or sustain their lives.

Here’s the perfect segue into our concern for saving churches. It is not our job to save churches, either. Last year, Dan Bouchelle, a talented pulpit minister for a healthy, growing church in Amarillo, stepped away from the pulpit to run an organization involved in church planting. On his blog, Confessions of a Former Preacher, he began to share with his readers why. On May 15, he offered this post. It apparently stirred up a lot of controversy, but I’m inclined to believe much of it was because what he stated was true, and it was something that some of us don’t want to believe. Read it, though. I think it’s worth the time. He lays out a real framework for thinking about churches that makes sense.

Shortly thereafter I, too, stepped away from the pulpit. It was not for all the same reasons, but I stepped away nonetheless. It was somewhat symbolic for me. In stepping away from the pulpit, I saw myself as actually surrendering to God, giving him the reins that he deserves.  He could now use me as he saw fit. He didn’t need me to micromanage his church, grow it, or save it.

I believe the misconceptions about growing and salvaging churches revolve around the business model we’ve incorporated in America for churches. They operate as 501C3 non-profit organizations with operating budgets and all the politics that goes with them. Programs are often slashed, not because the don’t work, but rather because churches don’t possess the operating expenses to sustain them. Something is wrong.

Still, God used experiences, blogs, and truth to show me how off-base I was. Thankfully, I got the picture. I learned the lesson.

I’d like to take some time and unpack some of those things over the next few weeks. Right now my list is at five. More might come but here’s what I have so far.

1. A minister’s job isn’t to grow or save a church.

2. God, not human ingenuity, grows a church numerically and spiritually after Jesus.

3. A husband isn’t faithful just because he doesn’t cheat on his spouse.

4. It’s much easier to talk about wanting to be a peacemaker than it is to actually live like one.

5. The future is bright!

What did 2010 teach you?

I’m sure, for some of us, his job description might not help. After all, he cleaned carpets for a living. He might have been the owner for all I know. That’s inconsequential. What matters is that he got it.

He was cleaning my carpets in conjunction with my residential lease agreement. There were several companies to choose from; I made the call; he came.

He, though, asked the question: “Why are you moving?” Here’s how the conversation went.

“New job,” I responded.

“Military?”, he inquired.

“Nope… I’m in ministry.”

“What kind of ministry?” he probed.

“Well I was a pulpit minister, but now my wife and I are going to work with a children’s home in Portales.”

He developed a look on his face that said it all. He smiled with a particular look on his face, shook his head, and we continued to converse about which home we were working with. But as we parted company, I couldn’t help but think to myself…that guy got it. He really got it.

My decision to give up pulpit work for something else hasn’t been well received by all. There are not few who believe that pulpit work is about the only to do ministry. I use to think that myself.

I knew there were a variety of spiritual gifts one might use, and they weren’t necessarily connected to a preaching ministry (Romans 12: 6-8), but I still thought pulpit work was the only legitimate way to serve. Youth Ministers were a waste of money. Family Life Ministers were silliness. Both might be “unauthorized.” Looking back, I wound up being the one with the silly thinking.

Real ministry happens when service takes place in the name of God. It might be at a church building, a homeless shelter, and/or a children’s home. Scratch that…I’m now 100% certain that it happens at a children’s home. It is odd, though, to see who really gets it.

There are a number who have been vital to my life. I’m truly indebted to Trey Morgan. His passion and heart for people has forced me to evaluate the quality of my own ministry. By being the light of Jesus, he has caused others, in particular myself, to glorify God in their own lives (Matt. 5:14-16). I wouldn’t be who I am today, in part, had I not come to find friendship with Trey. My friend and fellow minister, Clay Martin, whom I’ve known since 3rd grade has been a strong presence in my life. He’s been there for me through think and thin. There are numerous others for whom I frequently give thanks. But there is someone to whom I am incredibly indebted who flies under the radar. This person wouldn’t be considered a “minister” in the professional sense. This person doesn’t stand behind a pulpit. This person doesn’t get paid by a church. But this person is a minister to be sure. Every Christian should minister in whatever capacity possible because this was the life of their Savior.

My wife, Tisha, has been an amazing ministry presence in my life. Unfortunately, I haven’t always been one who was willing to value her thoughts about things. When I began to, though, I found her insights intriguing and informative.

Most of all, though, she has been an incredibly stable source of support to me in my ministry. She has sought to keep me grounded. She has reminded me that I cannot please everyone, nor do I have to. When I get down she is there. In my darkest moments she has been there. Even though we both know that the life I’ve given her wasn’t what she really signed up for (the minister’s wife thing), she has been a trooper through it all.

Tisha has not confined her ministry to me either. She has served women who were contemplating leaving their husbands. She even gave up a kidney to save the life of a child not her own. Her rationale? Jesus died for her, so giving up a kidney to help a five year-old boy parents not lose their son was her faith in action. That single act has affected me, maybe, more than anything. Her faith is amazing. She believes in agape. She shows it to me, our kids, as well as to others. People have learned that she will speak her mind, so beware what you ask of her. She is, truly, a gift from God!

This is my tribute and I am thankful that someone like Tisha has walked with me the way she has for my 1o years of ministry. I’ve made many mistakes. We both have. She has seen me through them all, and that has made all the difference!

This morning I was reading through Acts 6 and I was struck by the life of Stephen. He was one of the “seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and wisdom” selected to tend to the Grecian widows who’d been neglected in the daily distribution. He was also described as “full of faith” (v. 5). Still later, we read of Stephen as “full of grace and power…performing great wonders and signs among the people” (v. 8). He met formidable opposition from those of the Freedman’s Synagogue, but “they were not able to stand up against the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke” (v. 10). Ultimately, his history lesson of Israel’s rejections of God’s prophets over the years, which culminated in the rejection of the Messiah, got him killed. But what a compelling argument he was for the faith of Christ!

The guy chosen to “wait on tables” (v. 2) apparently had much more to offer. And he did. Inside of him was a heart for souls. His ministry was about meeting the needs of others. If by food distribution, so be it. He offered food that met physical needs, but he was also willing to serve food “that lasts for eternal life” (John 6:27).

Service, in whatever form, is mighty ministry. Jesus boldly proclaimed the “living word” with passion and urgency; yet, washing his disciples’s feet was no less ministry, and no less significant.

Like Jesus, Stephen wasn’t a one talent man. His selection for a specific work didn’t mean he wasn’t fit for anything else. In a sense, I think it helped groom him for more. Unfortunately, it seems to have been a life cut short, but like others who have gone on before, “though he is dead, he still speaks” (Hebrews 11:4).