Personal updates and substantive writings have been slim on this blog, I acknowledge. Part of this has been the outlet of weekly preaching, plus other writing projects I’ve been working on (more on those in the weeks to come!). I’m also continuing to teach remotely at a seminary in South Asia (name withheld for security reasons). I have five students in my MTh course, Introduction to Biblical Interpretation. Starting in November, I will teach Exegesis of Isaiah 40-55 for them.

Well, if weekly preaching has resulted in much less blogging output…then you might see an increase of output here. Sadly, July 30–today–was my last Sunday as pastor of Center Church in Grove City.

As you might remember, I interviewed for this pastoral position remotely from Lithuania back in June 2022, and we decided to accept. I was officially voted in by the congregation in September, and then we moved here in November, to an apartment in Slippery Rock. My installation service was in January, and we moved to our renovated house in Grove City back in March.

After several months of things going quite well (so I thought), there has been a serious disagreement about strategy and direction between me and a majority of the elders. The disagreement reached an impasse, such that I announced on May 23 that I had to resign as their pastor.

What I discovered was that the congregation was already deeply divided, and the proposed facilities change that brought the divisions to the surface was ultimately a rather ridiculous matter, which I don’t want to elaborate on here. Roughly one-third of the church said that the proposal was a waste of money and the last straw for them after many years of not feeling that their voices were heard.

I also didn’t think that it was a good idea on the merits, but even worse was the prospect of splitting the church over something that is not an essential of our faith. I tried to convince the elders not to move forward in this direction, and told them I would resign if they did so. But a slim, four-member majority decided to move forward anyway. Now with all the chaos, more than one-third of the members have departed, including one of the elders who agreed with me. It’s just a big mess, and all avoidable.

As I said, today was my last Sunday. It was bittersweet. We heard testimonies from the youth returning from the mission trip, and we celebrated the Lord’s Supper. I preached a shorter homily from Jeremiah 32:6-15, which I hope made sense in the circumstances.

There is still a lot I am thankful for about this pastorate. I enjoyed many aspects of pastoral ministry, including preaching and visiting homebound (older) members. I definitely learned a lot that I will take with me into the next pastorate (and what to look for in the interview process!). The presbytery has said they’ll help me find something in a church when the time is right, but I don’t know what that would look like or how long it will take.

We don’t have plans to leave Grove City at this time, but we’re now having to think about what might be next. We have bought a house, the kids have made friends at school and in the neighborhood, and we are getting to know the area. We agree that for the moment, it’d be best to find some sort of work that does not determine where we go to church as a family—something like teaching or chaplaincy, or working outside of ministry vocation. Corrie also has not yet found a permanent job, but has several possibilities.

Please pray for healing and wisdom, and that God would provide for our needs.