Pastor Don accepts New Position

I have been on a personal journey, started by a conversation that I had in my leadership class 5 years ago, that brings me to this point. I was asked the question by my leadership instructor: "Where do you think God will lead you to spend the last years before your retirement that will utilize all of your passions, skills, abilities and experience to make the most impact on the church?" I had no idea. As a matter of fact, I didn't even know how I would find out!

His response was that I needed to pray about whatever burden God laid on my heart. He gave me until the next time we met to come up with a response. As I prayed about it, God laid the 60% of our SDA youth who are NOT in Adventist Education, on my heart. Who reaches them and who seeks to retain them? I began to reason from there. It has to be the local church and more specifically the local level youth leaders. But who supports the local level youth leaders? Hardly anyone. And just because you do local youth ministry better, doesn't mean that you have created a church environment that is enticing and/or even safe for students.

So that pulled things back another level. My burden enlarged to encompass the students, local youth leaders and the climate in the local church. Working with a church to improve the climate, working with the youth leader to custom design a youth ministry for their setting and helping students feel connected to a larger church body as well.

Then, as I pondered it further, the question came to me: But how will we know if we have been successful with a student? How will we know when they get to their young adult years that they a) really have a love for Jesus and b) feel like they belong in their church? Is there a spiritual growth path that we can put people on that would help them become disciple-making disciples? At what point do we need to focus in order to build solid, spiritual young adults? Earliteens? Youth?

Also, what about those students who, though they may have gone to SDA schools through high school, can't afford or choose not to attend an Adventist university? And the vision grew some more.

That's the dream God laid on my heart. But that job didn't even exist. I say didn't, because years ago, I left this dream in God's hands and told Him that if He wanted me to fulfill that dream, He would have to a) create a job that fit that description and b) call me to it.

Today, that happened. The Georgia-Cumberland Conference Executive committee voted that very job description into existence back in November, and today they officially offered me the position. And because God has been leading me towards this for the past 5 years, it was the next natural step for me to take in following Jesus. I would hate to be a pastor who tells others to follow Jesus while refusing to do so myself. So we are taking the next step. Sandy and I accepted the position.

It was not without a struggle because we LOVE our GCA Church family. It is our home. And I LOVE the students at GCA. They are MY kids!! Yet, I feel led to take the next step and must follow if I am to be true to God and myself. So that's the story...now here are the details.

I will continue pastoring the GCA church, even while beginning some of my responsibilities at the conference office, through May 31. June 1 to August 31, I will be taking a Sabbatical and begin writing materials to use in this next phase of my journey to help churches become more youth and young adult friendly places. Sept 1 I will officially begin in this new position at the conference.

We will NOT be moving. We will still need friends. We will still LOVE having students come over and hang out...and we will even be hanging out at GCA some. So though we are changing jobs, we are NOT changing communities.

Well...there it is. I didn't want to have to tell you all this news via e-mail, but since this is a home leave weekend, and next weekend is the music weekend, I was only left with this option in order that the conference could begin the process of finding a replacement for me here at GCA. I am so sorry. I wanted to share this with you face to face. As a result, I will be allotting a little time this Sabbath in church for the adults, and next Thursday's chapel for the students for any who may have questions for me.

Please know that I am NOT leaving because someone did something wrong. I am NOT leaving because someone hurt my feelings or is angry with me. I am NOT leaving because of major issues in the church...(as a matter of fact, I don't think we have any major issues at this point...but I may be blind to them) I am only leaving because I am trying to personally follow the call of God on my life just like I have been trying to teach you to do. And that's the ONLY reason I am leaving. I'm trying to become a better follower of God.

Please pray for Sandy and me as we make this transition. I love you all. I love this church. May we finish strong and then move on to wherever God leads.

Pastor Don​​