Church Family,
This is a hard, yet good announcement for my wife and I to be able to share with you all. After going through a prolonged season of prayer and discernment, and in unity with our church leadership, we have made the decision to step down from my pastoral position at Landmark. We make this announcement with great peace and excitement.
This is a decision that is really good for our family at this point in time. As many of you know, over the past few years our church has gone through a very challenging season. Leah and I have personally faced some arduous physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual hurdles and we have discovered that we need more time to rest and recover more fully from the challenges we faced.
Some of you may feel sad about our decision, maybe even confused. We also are sad but have great clarity that we want to share with you because we believe that God is leading us in this decision.
Here is a verse to help us understand together. In Psalm 32, the Lord tells us that He will instruct and teach us in the way we should go and that His counsel is with us while His eye is on us. Leah and I have experienced God’s leading, and we know the Lord is instructing us to take this step so that we learn what He wants to teach us in this new season. We have been connected with a number of wise counselors as well as the elders, and have received great counsel in our decision making process. We feel His eye, or better said, His love, is upon us.
Let me anticipate 4 questions that I’m sure many of you have:
2. Are we leaving our call to ministry? No. We are temporarily stepping back from any leadership responsibilities for an undetermined season of time. We do intend to enter back into ministry at the right time and place - when I have healed sufficiently, and when God leads us to do so.
3. Are we leaving our church family at Landmark? Yes and no - we are stepping away from our staff and leadership responsibilities, and we will not be attending Landmark for the foreseeable future. However this does not mean we do not want to be seen. We have many mothers and fathers, and sisters and brothers in the faith here and we will want to keep in touch and maintain and enjoy our relationships with you all. Our love for this church family has not changed. While we will miss seeing you on a regular basis, we do believe this is an important step in our healing process.
4. What are you going to be doing? Our focus for the next season is to work on finding a balance between work, education, and family. We plan to be better equipped through mentorship, counsel, and the family of God for whatever is next for Leah and I. We are not considering any new ministry opportunities. What Leah and I know for sure is that we are hopeful for what God has in store for our future. We also know this looks like disconnecting from things that have taxed our souls in order to be more focused on being with God over doing for God. (That is a very current learning-curve for us as we speak.)
Finally, we want you to know that we are so grateful for all the ways that our church family has blessed us. We are thankful for the elders walking with us and helping us in many ways over the past few months. And, we appreciate all of the support and encouragement that have been given to us. Leah and I are so thankful for all that God has done over our 7 years of service here. We want to rejoice with you all over what God is doing in the seen and the unseen. Let us rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep today, as we embrace together new beginnings for God’s future work. To Him be all the glory!
Sincerely, your brother in Christ,
This is a hard, yet good announcement for my wife and I to be able to share with you all. After going through a prolonged season of prayer and discernment, and in unity with our church leadership, we have made the decision to step down from my pastoral position at Landmark. We make this announcement with great peace and excitement.
This is a decision that is really good for our family at this point in time. As many of you know, over the past few years our church has gone through a very challenging season. Leah and I have personally faced some arduous physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual hurdles and we have discovered that we need more time to rest and recover more fully from the challenges we faced.
Some of you may feel sad about our decision, maybe even confused. We also are sad but have great clarity that we want to share with you because we believe that God is leading us in this decision.
Here is a verse to help us understand together. In Psalm 32, the Lord tells us that He will instruct and teach us in the way we should go and that His counsel is with us while His eye is on us. Leah and I have experienced God’s leading, and we know the Lord is instructing us to take this step so that we learn what He wants to teach us in this new season. We have been connected with a number of wise counselors as well as the elders, and have received great counsel in our decision making process. We feel His eye, or better said, His love, is upon us.
Let me anticipate 4 questions that I’m sure many of you have:
- Why am I "really" leaving? - Leah and I are leaving because I have experienced a long season of soul fatigue and we need to enter a further season removed from full time ministry to better recalibrate. This next season will be key to my healing personally. In addition, I really believe that I need to continue and finish my education. I am already enrolled in classes at college and plan on finishing my undergraduate degree. This will equip me to be able to better serve the Body of Christ in the future. This next season for us is necessary so that we can continue to recalibrate and revive our spiritual lives, our marriage, and pursue a deeper walk with God. We are excited for this opportunity.
2. Are we leaving our call to ministry? No. We are temporarily stepping back from any leadership responsibilities for an undetermined season of time. We do intend to enter back into ministry at the right time and place - when I have healed sufficiently, and when God leads us to do so.
3. Are we leaving our church family at Landmark? Yes and no - we are stepping away from our staff and leadership responsibilities, and we will not be attending Landmark for the foreseeable future. However this does not mean we do not want to be seen. We have many mothers and fathers, and sisters and brothers in the faith here and we will want to keep in touch and maintain and enjoy our relationships with you all. Our love for this church family has not changed. While we will miss seeing you on a regular basis, we do believe this is an important step in our healing process.
4. What are you going to be doing? Our focus for the next season is to work on finding a balance between work, education, and family. We plan to be better equipped through mentorship, counsel, and the family of God for whatever is next for Leah and I. We are not considering any new ministry opportunities. What Leah and I know for sure is that we are hopeful for what God has in store for our future. We also know this looks like disconnecting from things that have taxed our souls in order to be more focused on being with God over doing for God. (That is a very current learning-curve for us as we speak.)
Finally, we want you to know that we are so grateful for all the ways that our church family has blessed us. We are thankful for the elders walking with us and helping us in many ways over the past few months. And, we appreciate all of the support and encouragement that have been given to us. Leah and I are so thankful for all that God has done over our 7 years of service here. We want to rejoice with you all over what God is doing in the seen and the unseen. Let us rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep today, as we embrace together new beginnings for God’s future work. To Him be all the glory!
Sincerely, your brother in Christ,
