Transitioning

They say that you can never go home again.  I’m not really sure who “they” are, but “they” say a lot of things that don’t necessarily end up being true.  Katie and I were able to announce earlier this week that we are indeed going home again… well, close to home anyway.

As a United Methodist pastor, I’ve committed myself to a life of itinerancy, which means that I could potentially move at any time – if the bishop and district superintendent think that it is time, then I pack up, move and continue the ministry to which God has called me in a new location.  It’s interesting being part of a process like this.  Every spring, there’s a handful of people that I know who end up dusting off their boxes and move on to the next stage of ministry.  This year, I’m one of those people.

On July 1st, we will join in ministry with the good people at Smith Valley UMC in Greenwood, IN.  This is an unexpected blessing because we both grew up just a few miles north of where Smith Valley is located.  Nearly all of our family will be within 20 minutes of our house, and that’s only because there can be a lot of traffic in this area.

After I graduated from high school – literally, the day after my graduation – I moved to Alabama for the summer to work at a mission camp.  Then, I moved to Evansville (3 hours away) for college, Wilmore  (3 hours) for seminary, Noblesville (45 minutes) for my first appointment, and Fountain County (1 hour and some change) for my current appointment.  Now, in Smith Valley – 10-20 minutes, depending on who we want to visit.

It’s hard to develop relationships, get to know people, be their pastor and, then, move, but that’s part of the life as a pastor in the United Methodist Church.  Once the North Indiana and South Indiana conferences merged, we knew that we could be anywhere from Angola (in the far NE corner of the state) to Mount Vernon (in the far SW corner of the state).  We also realized that we may never be moved close to our families.  Again, it’s part of the life to which God has called me.

We are excited about this move.  Not because we are eager to get out of Fountain County – we’ve enjoyed our time in Veedersburg, and we have some good friends in the area.  Veedersburg/Hillsboro was a perfect appointment for where I was at that time in my life, and it has helped me grow so much as a pastor.  We don’t look at it as though we are eager to “get out of Dodge.”  But it is a rare opportunity when the church is located so close to where our family already lives – and to have this happen so early in my ministry “career” is even more rare.

We are excited about the opportunities that Smith Valley UMC presents us, and our attention begins to turn to how we transition both as a ministry couple, and how we prepare Veedersburg and Hillsboro for this transition as well.