Fresh Start 2022 - Intro to A Series (Part 1)

From my Storyworth collection

It seems God is doing a new thing in my life in 2022 - “Reinventing Me at 53”. Now THAT is not a headline I would have chosen, but God does what is best for us even if we are not smart enough to know it is what is best for us. And sometimes, things just happen in life, but God works it out for our good (Romans 8:28) because He loves us and because He is a good Father.

I made a joke about “Reinventing Me at 53” because I thought it was funny and it is probably how the world would define what is going to be going on in my life this year. But I am calling it “Fresh Start 2022” because I believe God is giving me a fresh start in life. It didn’t feel that way when it started and I know there may be some stormy rides ahead, but God is SO GOOD and has shown me this is a fresh start, it is for my good, it is intentional, and it is to bless me in every way. Because of this, I want to document this journey here (in Storyworth). Most all of this (I think) will come from my journaling times with the Lord.

CONTEXT
This journey began when Pastor Don and I were talking about the most important priorities at the church and how, if we do not get the priorities taken care of, in order, a downward slide could end not well. The priorities he listed were:

1. Sunday mornings

2. Kids ministry

3. Youth ministry

4. Adult ministry

5. Communication (social media/marketing)

6. Administration

Both our children's director and youth director were volunteers, and both got raises/new positions at work that took away the time they had to devote to these two ministries. Without these two ministries thriving and growing, it is nearly impossible to attract and keep new families. We need a person to fill those roles, but it would not be financially responsible to bring on a 4th full-time pastor given our current church size and budget. What we need is a Family Pastor to oversee both kids and youth ministry. 

As we discussed this, Pastor Don asked me to pray about transitioning out of my current staff position and take this new Family Pastor position. My initial thought was, "Yes, I could do that. This is my church, and this is what's needed." I began to pray about it, talk with my wife and get the counsel of friends. An answer came quickly: Brooke cried and told me, “That’s not you.” My best friend Craig ‘yelled’ at me and said, “That’s not you.” This helped me hear the Holy Spirit saying, “That’s not you”.

Although this question was answered, I could not get away from the fact that we did indeed need this new position. Pastor Don had described the situation as a puzzle that needed to be solved. As I prayed about it, I began getting uncomfortable which is usually a sign that God is trying to get me to do something. I don't like change, so God has to make me uncomfortable to get me moving. I told Brooke, "I think I'm supposed to get another job."

When I told Pastor Don I could not take the position, he was not surprised (he also knew that was not me). As I discussed with Pastor Don my decision to get another job (one that would be a higher paying job and would benefit our family financially), he immediately offered to help me find a new job and do everything possible so that there would not be a financial cost on top of the emotional cost of this decision. He said he could find resume help for me, interview coaching or whatever I needed. He said Brooke and I could stay in the house with no set exit date (through the end of the year, no questions, after the first of the year, we can see how things look).

There was a short time between me knowing I could not take the new position and talking to Pastor Don about it. I thought my options would be to find another church job or look for a career change to become an administrative assistant. Along the way, Brooke asked, “Have you ever considered real estate?” My original response was, “No, I have not” (sort of dismissing it), but the more I thought about it, the more appealing it became as an option. When I prayed about it, I felt I had 3 options, all of which the Lord said He would bless: 1) another church job 2) administrative assistant, 3) real estate.

As I prayed about these options (see my first journaling post), I decided to pursue real estate. As soon as Pastor Don heard that, he immediately set up a meeting for me with Mark & Lisa Carrillo. Lisa is a real estate broker and Pastor Mark is now a business coach. They spent an hour and a half pouring into me, listening, praying, encouraging and sharing wisdom to help me begin this new venture. See my Miracles post for more details.

MY PLAN
As Brooke and I talked about what the future would look like, my thoughts were to stay at the church as a lay pastor which would allow me to continue leading Cop Church, ministering with ACAPP and my West Station briefings. Pastor Don was very supportive, and we talked about what that would look like.

During this time, Brooke and I had a LOT of questions, trying to work it out, and we were not always on the same page. But like no other time in our lives, we were at peace, and we were in unity that God would show us the way, we would both know it, and we would walk it out together. 

GOD'S PLAN
As you can read in my first journaling post, while I thought this was all about a job change, God had bigger plans. God spoke to me that, for now, my ministry to others would be decreasing so He could work some things in my life. I did not know what that meant when I first heard it, but over the next week to 10 days it became apparent that God was asking me to step away from ministry so that He could work His purposes in me. It was that black-and-white what He wanted, yet I still do not exactly what this means/what He intends to do. What I do know is He asked me one day if I would give up Cop Church so that He could do what He wanted to do in my life, so I said "yes". The next day, He asked if I would be willing to lay down ACAPP and my ministry with the police so that He could do what He wanted to do in my life, so I said "yes". And a day or two after that, He asked me if I would lay down my ministry at Vine Fellowship (even as a lay pastor) so that He could do what He wanted to do in my life. I could not picture my life without these three ministries, but God made it clear He was asking me to do this and that He was doing it so He could do something GOOD in my life. I said "yes".

Brooke was praying this whole time and, in her own time with the Lord, Brooke heard the same thing. As we discussed it, we realized this meant that we could not stay at Vine Fellowship because it would be impossible to be there without being "Pastor Rob and Miss Brooke". My heart is the heart of a pastor for our church, and God said His focus will be on just me and Him for a season. It was with sad hearts but 100% peace that we made this announcement to the church on April 24th at the end of service.

WHERE TO FROM HERE?
Pastor Don and I agreed on a plan that would both bless Brooke and I financially and make my transition out easier for the church; I will continue working at the church for a time (approximately 2 more months). During this time, I will also be in real estate school. My focus will be finishing classes as quickly as possible (180 hours) and setting up others to assume my responsibilities with as little disruption for the church as possible. At that time, Brooke and I will step away from the church and into what God has next. All we know now is we will find a church where we are not Pastor Rob and Miss Brooke, where we can be refreshed and allow God to do what He wants in our lives. He has made it clear that He is not done with us in ministry, but that is not for us to try and figure out now. He has blessings for us when it is time. And so, we step out in faith!