Risk and Change

            Yesterday I led one of my last services as a Pastor. I spoke to the Milton church as we met outside of what will be our new location in the fall. The sun was shining bright and I gave a motivational message about how God is about to do big things in our future. I ended the day thinking about how this is really one of the things I love to do… feel gifted to do… will really miss doing.

So why make a change then?

            This is a question I have really been wrestling with for about a year. Change is always hard and usually scary. It puts you into unknown with the assurance that you will miss many things and no promise of anything as satisfying in the future. I can guess that the change will be good, or assume that I will feel better about this change, but will never really know until I get there. And that’s the problem. Once you get there you can’t go back. It’s too late.

So again - why change?

            You can never move forward without risk. While it’s sounds basic, it is a hard thing for many of us to do. If you want to experience different things, you need to be willing to risk change. I am making a change for many reasons.

•   I want to be able to counsel families that would never come to church. Right now my days are filled completely with people who choose to come to PORTICO.
• I have been working for three years at a Masters degree. While I get to use some of those skills, I want to have the opportunity to grow as a counsellor and use those skills everyday.
• I want to have time on Friday nights to take my family away for experiences that build memories that last life times rather than lead youth programs.

            It’s not that any of the things I have been doing are bad, it’s just that to embrace the new, I have to give up the old. Any change worth making will bring pain. It will have moments of fear when you question if you are doing the right thing. However In the end the only way to experience the benefits of a new things is to embrace all sides of change (both good and bad) and take a leap.

            Next week I start as a youth/family counselor at Peel Children’s Centre. I’m thankful that I don’t have to move cities, move churches or leave my support network behind. A job change is big enough for me right now.