Changes in Ministry

Earlier today I ran into some former ministry colleagues who were loading their stuff from storage into a moving van. It was awkward, as they were people whom we had trusted, but in the end they showed that we probably shouldn't have trusted them. On the one hand, I wanted to wish them well. At the same time, however, I have the feeling that if they don't make significant character changes, then history is doomed to repeat itself again for them.

As I get older, I am realizing that ambivalence is often a part of life and ministry. I seem to find myself in situations where there are ministry leaders with whom I am working in conflict with each other. As I tend to have a strong sense of justice, I often have the feeling that this one is right and this one is wrong. However, I usually need to get along with both in the long run, so it's hard to know what to feel, say, and do in these cases.

I believe that there are times when it is right to graciously(if possible) part from one ministry due to a principle or a philosophy of ministry difference. I know some people in ministry who are in the middle of trying to make a decision on this right now. The boomerang effect of these potential changes would definitely impact what I'm currently doing, and possibly will do in the future.

This next year will definitely be a transition year for me, particularly with Francis Dognon not being on the scene at Belleville. Our 3 year old will start school in September, so our lives will start being impacted by the French school schedule. My wife should deliver our 3rd child in February, bringing in all sorts of changes in our family dynamic and continuing to drain lots of her energy. The arts and ministry to and through artists are very important to me. However, I don't think that these are as important to our church leadership, so I'm not sure how this will impact me and my work for the immediate and long-term future.

I trust that it is God who brings good teams together, as well as breaks up and recompositions them into new teams, as well as being the One who assigns us to fields, sometimes even new ones.