Resignations...

Definitions of resignation on the Web:

*acceptance of despair
*the act of giving up (a claim or office or possession etc.)
*a formal document giving notice of your intention to resign; "he submitted his resignation as of next month"

Our pastor "resigned" today. Going by the above definitions I would say that all 3 fit.

I suppose I should be surprised, but I'm not. I should be sad, but I'm not.

Let me tell you why.

Our pastor is a character...........a character of all characters actually. He is my friend, my ear to complain to, my intellectual champion, my lesson in patience.

I love him and I despise him.......all at once. He has pushed me and encouraged me, he has challenged me and he has frustrated me. Overall he has had an incredible impact on my spiritual life...some good, some bad..........but always a growing experience. He will forever remain special in my heart because of this.

I'm not surprised he is leaving. Our church is not enough for a pastor like him. We are a dying church...........literally and figuratively. Most of our members are over 65 years old, there are few children and essentially nobody in my own age bracket. Numbers have dwindled over the years and I see no end in sight. Our church is traditional and dogmatic........our pastor was a man with vision.........the church just never could accept his vision and in the church's defense, our pastor didn't always present his visions wisely thus complicating things. I think he came for a reason........to stretch and challenge.........to clean house so to speak. But now that he's done that, I think a different kind of pastor may be needed.

I'm not sad he is leaving. I feel a bit guilty, after all I was a little mad at him after our mission trip........but now that seems so insignificant and petty. I will be sad if he moves away and I lose his friendship........however I am not sad to see him move on to something more in line with his style, personality and passion. I actually would look forward to spending time with him without the constraints of our pastor/parishoner roles.........I actually prefer him as a friend than a pastor.

We had resigned ourselves to the idea of looking for a new church after many months of being unhappy where we are. Part of it is the demographics, part on account of the pastor. With the pastor leaving that most likely will make it easier for us to make a change. Whether we stay or not we have truly been blessed by our time at our church and by and through our pastor.

I am excited to see where God leads him and I hope to always remain a part of his life in some way, however..........

I will miss him in a most profound way.......