By Greg Yee, Superintendent, PacNWC
It was wonderful to connect with some of you at Gather. I am continuing to thank God for every opportunity to be in person. It was great to celebrate Encounter Church (Bellevue) coming in as our newest member church in our region. We were thrilled to receive the vows of six of our clergy who were ordained: Nathan Daniels, Nancy deJong, Chad Glazener, Mark Knight, Nick Pringle, Phil Rushton. Congrats!
Returning from Gather, there is an unmistakable sense that we are in a season of transition with so many new leaders: president, two executive ministers, two superintendents, dean at North Park Seminary, and interim director of operations. God has brought us wonderful new leaders.
Even within our conference this past weekend Pastors Steve Bilynskyj (Valley, Eugene, OR) and Paul Duppenthaler (Countryside, Sherwood, OR) both concluded almost 30 years of ministry each. And Pastor Peter Kim (Calvary, Federal Way, WA) is concluding 26 years of ministry. We are so grateful for these pastors! These churches now add to the seven other churches that are in some stage of lead pastor transition.
At this point in the pandemic chapter with all of the seemingly perpetual changes we’ve faced and continue to face, this moment in the Covenant can feel disorienting and maybe even displacing. Transitions seem to do that.
In William Bridges’ Transitions: Making Sense of Life’s Changes, he writes this about the road through the challenges that changes bring:
People expect to be able to move straight from the old to the new. But this isn’t a trip from one side of the street to the other. It’s a journey from one identity to another, and that kind of journey takes time.
I agree with Bridges. Moving from where we’ve been to where God is leading us will involve us significantly leaning in. But he goes on to make a key distinction between change and transition.
Change is situational. Transition, on the other hand, is psychological. It is not those events but rather the inner reorientation or self-redefinition that you have to go through in order to incorporate any of those changes into your life. Without a transition, a change is just a rearrangement of the furniture. Unless transition happens, the change won’t work.
It’s psychological for sure and I would add spiritual. It is discipleship. It is God’s revelations in prayer, scripture, and life together. It is the communal spiritual work we do together.
Whenever I think of my own discipleship journey, I recognize that so much of my personal transformation occurs after I surrender. This journey always involves me trying to do things my way or the world’s way, but then I am confronted with needing to let go.
I quickly draw the parallel with the universal experience of raising kids. I believe this is why Jesus said that the kingdom belongs to those who are child-like in their faith. No matter how old we become, we’re always God’s daughters and sons. But we need to be careful not to become independent adult children. We must remain child-like as we follow Jesus over our lifetime.
Change never feels good. With our natural tendency to find equilibrium in life, change always feels chaotic. But change offers opportunities for transition, i.e. growth; transformation. This is my hope in the middle of all of these changes we face today. As we come under new leadership, as we continue to lean into what local church ministry is and should look like going forward, and as we continue to work together in the Covenant Church, may we continue to surrender to God. May we continue to have our hearts and minds transformed and renewed in Christ. May we continue to be guided by Gather 2022 theme passage in Roman’s 12:9-13:
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
I am confident that God will lead us into exciting new work in the days ahead. I look forward to the journey together Mission Friends.