Questions About Resignation...

Here are a few of the FAQ's that have been asked since my resignation was made public:

How long have you known?

This is not a decision made overnight and it's been in the works for some time.  But I can say that we committed to it on October 29th. My lead and exec pastors were informed after a staff meeting on November 1st. The rest of the pastoral team found out 2 days later. And then it was all a matter of timing about when the news went public on a bigger scale.

Why February 15th?
There's a few reasons for this. First, it will mark 6 years for me here at Sevenoaks.Second, who wants to be saying a bunch of goodbyes during the Christmas season? Nobody. It will give us lots of time once the Christmas season is over to say goodbye and to make sure we have everything in place for our students & leaders before we leave.

Will you reconsider or change your mind?

I'm amazed how many people wonder if we will change our mind. I'll take it as a compliment. But no, we're not looking at changing our mind on this one. Six figures might get us to consider it though. Just kidding! (Or am I?)

(I hope it's not too soon to joke a little about this...)

What will you do next?

I'm not 100% sure, which is a little frightening. I have a packet full of MDiv details to wade through this week.  Maybe that. Or maybe start looking for a new ministry position. I did hear of an opening in Hawaii...

Will you still be a youth pastor?

I don't know. This is one of the questions I have about my own ministry fit.  I've been working full time with students for almost 11 years. I have not just enjoyed it, I have loved it. I could probably do it again. But I'm not convinced that God isn't going to lead me to do something else. Why?  Youth ministry is safe for me. I know how to "do the job" and I have been led to believe that I can do a good job at it. But I also feel God may want me to take on something else so that He can continue to shape me and so that I can increase my ability to trust Him and rely on Him. This is something where I feel I need to at least ask some of the big questions before I jump straight into a new youth ministry position. That said, if God says to keep working with students, I will.

Are you moving?

Most likely.  We're just not sure when. Our house is up for sale, but believe it or not that is currently unrelated to our resignation. For now, even if the house sells, our plan is to remain in Abbotsford for the remainder of the school year as Erin and the kids need to finish out the school year. Where we end up after that is a complete unknown.

Will you still attend church here?

As of Feb 15 we will be taking some time off. I feel it is important, as much for me as for everyone else, to create some space. We don't expect to be strangers though. Our hope is to be able to visit in the future!  And the loving and affirming responses we are receiving from everyone lead us to believe this won't e a problem.


Will the church hire a replacement?
That will be a decision that is up to the board of elders. I would guess that they would probably try to hire someone at some point. But your guess is as good as mine as to when or how that will happen. 




If you have another question, fire away and I will try to answer it if I can.