Seasons

There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens (Ecclesiastes 3:1, NIV).

Only two things don’t change: God and change.—Dr. Steve Brown

Every pastor is an interim pastor.—William Vanderbloemen

One of God’s favorite things is change. He loves change! Change is a tool He uses with all the skill of a master craftsman to shape us, mold us, cut away from us, and add to us as He sees fit, to make us into the people we need to be. He does this not only for our own benefit, but for the benefit of our families, so that it is all God wants it to be; and He does it for the church, so the Body of Christ is all He wants it to be.

To become all that God wants you to be, God will bring you though seasons of change. You can’t stay as you are, or where you are, or really even who you are. God is the God of the living, and all living things change.

Twenty-five years ago on December 29^th I got married. My season of bachelorhood ended and my season as a husband began. Let me tell you…I can tell you from experience, marriage changes a man. Your responsibilities change, your perspectives change, and your leadership changes.

Three years later, in August of 1993 my season of living in New England ended and we moved to Orlando Florida, and a new season began as a student at Reformed Theological Seminary. It was one of the happiest seasons of my life. I liked many of the changes that season brought…not the least of which was the distinct absence of snow. =) I had hoped that season would last a long time. I had no desire to leave. Like summer, I did not want it to end.

But God saw things differently. In August of 1997, that season ended and a new one began as a student at Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, New Jersey. If Florida was like summer, this season was like winter. This was a time when God was doing a lot of preparation, a lot of work in my heart and soul. But I did not see it that way at the time. I never really felt like it was “home.” Friends were few and struggles were plenty—virtually the reverse of our experience in Florida.

Again in August (August seems to be significant in my life…hmmmm…) on August 23, 2002, the next major season in my life began. I became a father. Nothing I have found so far is so life altering as being a parent. Again I found my responsibilities, perspectives, and leadership change greatly.

Later that year, In December I began my first season of ministry as a pastor at First Parish Congregational Church in Wakefield, Massachusetts and my second season of living in New England. It was good to be near family again, especially with our growing family. This season had many little seasons in it with four moves in our time there. It was hard to feel settled. But I began to appreciate the work that God had been doing in me during my season in New Jersey. God had been cultivating me like soil for a long time, now the fruits of that work were starting to show.

A little more than seven years ago, I was given the great honor and privilege of a call to Byfield Parish Church to serve as the Pastor of Administration and Church Ministries. This was the church my wife had grown up in. We were married in this church. The pastor who married us was still serving there. In many ways it was a dream come true. For my wife Mandi it was like coming home.

About two years ago, God’s Spirit began signaling that seasons of ministry were on the horizon for my church family as our senior pastor was well into his seventies…about six months ago, I began to accept that part of that coming season of change included me.

Seasons come and go. They—by definition—do not come to stay, they come to pass. Summer, fall, winter, spring….these seasons come and go with foreseeable regularity. What I have been learning for a long time now is that the seasons of life are not nearly so predictable. Perhaps you have been learning this too. Not all seasons change when we want or how we want. But like summer changing to fall, and fall to winter, they come:
whether we plan for them or not,
whether we are willing to accept them or not,
and whether we want them or not.

And come it did. So yesterday, along with the end of the year, God brought this pleasant season of ministry to a close. It has been a great season. I would not trade it for anything.

And with the New Year God has begun in a new season, one in which the focus is to be on my family, finishing my PhD, and preparing for my next assignment in God’s Kingdom. My family at Byfield have graciously made this possible. What that next assignment will be, I do not know. God has not made that clear yet. What He has told me, is that He has cleared, guarded, and provided for the next several months for me to focus on finishing my thesis and investing time into my family. Jesus is a good Master, He will make the direction after this clear to me in His time. I trust Him.

Honestly, I am really looking forward to this time. Pastoring is hard on family by itself even in the best of circumstances. And we have had no shortage of additional challenges along the way…especially these past two years. Having time to give special focus to my wife and three girls is a very good thing.

I am unsure how this season will affect my blog. Most of what I have been posting over the last couple of years was taken from material that I prepared for classes, studies, or sermons. Since I will be writing like mad-dog at academic level about Jonathan Edwards and his concept of theoretical-practical (emphasis on the practical) theology, I will not be naturally producing the same kinds of material.

Writing is how I process things however, and God never stops using everyday life to teach us; and I have the regular posts of Tuesdays with Edwards, Fénelon Friday, and most recently a prayer on Sundays. I do plan to keep those up at least if I can.

Part of growing is learning to accept change, to see the need for it, to sense when it is coming, and to embrace it when it does. I have embraced this change, and trust that Master Jesus will lead me and my family well in this season as He has in every season past.