New Perspective, New Identity

December 18, 2003.
June 25, 1994.
March 12, 1998.

What are the significance of these dates?

I graduated from college.
I married Jennifer.
Noah was born.

What do those dates have in common?

They don't seem to be related, except for being significant dates in my life, but they are. On each of those dates, I ceased to be one thing and became something else.

I was no longer a student. I became a college graduate.
I was no longer single. I became a husband.
I was no longer sane(!). I became a dad.


Yesterday afternoon marked another transition for me. At 11:30am, I was no longer the pastor of a church that met in a school cafeteria. That may not seem like a big deal, but that's been a big part of my identity for the past 451 weeks. And it's really the only kind of church my kids know- our oldest was 5, our middle child was 3, and our youngest hadn't even been born when Faith Church started worshiping in the school. 

This is new territory for us, but the change didn't happen overnight.

Just like with college, where it took several years of classwork and credits to earn the right to receive a degree; or with my wedding day, which arrived after more than a year of dating; or with the birth of our first child, which came after nine months of planning and preparing, this transition for the church from the high school to a building of our own has been over months of construction and years of development. 

I think our faith journey works the same way. While there are dates and milestones along the way, we are constantly being shaped and molded into the person that God created us to be. The transitions that happen are necessary to move us from one perspective to the next. Each new perspective opens our eyes and our minds to exciting new possibilities and challenges. 

I'm looking forward to seeing what God will do next.