Thoughts on My First Year Back in Ministry
As 2016 comes to an end, I celebrate one year back in pastoral ministry. I started in ministry when I began in seminary in 1996 and began my first paid position in 1998. I pastored at a number of churches and then resigned my last church in 2012. During that time, I did not know if I would ever go back into pastoral ministry.
I considered a number of careers during that time. Becoming a full-time chaplain in the Canadian Forces was an option (I was already a chaplain in the reserves) but I’m glad I didn’t go there as my health would have forced me to release anyway. I worked for a year and a half as the associate editor at Faith Today. That was a great experience and it developed my writing in ways that I still use today. I was also very involved in teaching at the time. Between my teaching at Emmanuel Bible College and Tyndale University College, I was teaching the same course load as a full-time professor. I love teaching and I still teach a couple of course for Tyndale.
I must confess that it was frustrating to be in my mid-40s and not really knowing what my final career would be. It’s not how I expected my life to look. A number of times during those three years, I considered returning to pastoral ministry. Part of it was not excitement of returning that role but the fact that was where my training and education were and it was likely I could get a job. But my heart was not really in it.
Through a number of circumstances, I realized that God’s call to ministry was still on my life. When the opportunity for Queen Street Baptist Church opened up, I was ready to return as a pastor. But of course, there was always a question of how smoothly that transition would go.
Having now completed my first year at QSBC, I can say confidently that I am where I am supposed to be and doing what I am supposed to do. In fact I see all of the things that I was doing my three years out of pastoral ministry, not as distraction from my true call, but preparation for what I am doing now. I use all of those skills in my current ministry.
I am blown away with the congregation that God allows me to pastor. QSBC is multi-generational, multicultural and is autism-friendly. I feel like this has always been home not like this has only been a year. There are tremendous leaders and volunteers in this church. New families are attending and new ministries are starting. I am really the most excited about ministry that I have ever been.
I really am looking forward to 2017. I have a number of goals for my pastoral ministry, but those all rely on God’s will. I’m so thankful that I am able to serve in this way.
