What I Will Miss Most...

I've had a few people ask me what I will miss most about leaving Sevenoaks and taking a break from full time ministry. So now for your reading pleasure, here are a few things I will miss. It's not exhaustive, so please don't judge me.

People

I'm going to miss seeing my friends each week. I'll miss the staff. I'll miss the youth leaders. I'll miss the students. This list could go on for a long time. But I know relationships will look a little different now that I won't be seeing all these familiar faces each and every week.

Preaching

The fact that a group of people will let me talk at/to them for a determined amount of time about what I've been learning from God and scripture is a privilege I do not take lightly. I have enjoyed being able to develop my skills. I have enjoyed learning and growing. I have enjoyed hearing people talk about how they are learning and growing based on what they have heard. Not knowing when the next sermon is looming will be a strange feeling.

Music

I have had the opportunity to play/sing alongside some extremely talented individuals during my years here. We're talking about people that could, and probably should, be making money with their skills. I always feel like such an amateur when I get to be around them, but I love the time we've had together. I will miss the Thursday night practices. I will miss the early Sunday morning rehearsals. I will miss the pre-service Tim Horton's coffee. And I will miss the creative and musical freedom we have had. I know that not every church provides that.

My office

I have a massive office that I enjoyed spending time in. Sure it was a little messy, but I found it easy to work in my office and get things done. I'm going to miss having my own office space. And I will certainly miss the shelving. Right now the storage room is full of boxes.

Getting Paid to Do What I Love

This may sound so shallow, but it's true. Many times over the years I've stopped and thought to myself, "Somebody is paying me to do this?!?!" I've probably taken this for granted too. Shifting to life as a student for a while is probably going to highlight this fact.